Chapter Text
“I don’t know if the Phantom Thieves are real, but… I heard about you guys three years ago. I was only thirteen then, but… it really inspired me. Stealing hearts, I mean. Helping people who couldn’t be helped any other way. I have a bit of an odd request. My friend Sunny Suzuki has been inside his house for the last few years. I’ve seen small glimpses of him through his windows, he’s alive in there. His mom leaves… he never has, not once in four years. It started right after his sister committed suicide. He found her, I’m pretty sure. Nothing’s been the same since. I’m worried about him, but he’s never responded to me. I need your help.”
“I need you to take his heart.”
Ren reread the message a few times on the train to Faraway Town. It… resonated with him, for a multitude of reasons.
It evidently resonated with Futaba, considering she’d gone to him in person to ask him to do it.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been to the US, far from it, but he rarely left urban areas. Going to a place so suburban it bordered on rural was a change of pace.
“Jeez, are we there yet?” Morgana groaned from the bag sitting on Ren’s lap.
“You’d have heard it if we were.” Ren mused, “Besides, you don’t have to sit in there.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Morgana yawned, “This thing creaks a ton.”
“Still, rather it be creaky than cramped.” Ren replied, leaning back and lounging in his seat. Trains were a rarer and rarer thing these days. Even if it wasn’t a subway, it brought back some nostalgia.
With time (and only a little more complaining from Morgana), the train slowly pulled into the station in Faraway. Taking his long term stay bag from the train, he picked up Morgana’s bag and took his first steps into the summer afternoon. This town had a distinct feel to it. The way the sun felt on his face, the wind blew through his hair…
He liked it, but something was… off.
“Let’s get to work then.” Morgana said, hopping out of the bag and onto the warm concrete. “And by that, I mean drop off your bag at the hotel.”
“Fiiiiine.” Ren said with a faux sigh, “I was hoping to lug it around all day.”
“Be my guest, not like it’s weighing me down!”
The hotel had the same feel to it. It was the only one in the town, and was pretty modestly sized. Getting a room wasn’t exactly hard, and within the next few minutes his bag was resting in a room and a key was in his pocket.
“So Ren, are we going straight to the target?”
“Yeah, unless you’re hungry.”
“Nah, not yet, I need a run.” Morgana groaned, taking a long stretch down the sidewalk.
Futaba had managed to dig up the kid’s address relatively quickly. His sister’s death had been large news in a town like this, especially considering the circumstances surrounding it.
Being the one to find it must have torn the boy apart.
“Ren… Something’s wrong.” Morgana said as they turned the corner down the street the house was on.
“What is it Morgana?” he replied, grasping at the knife concealed at his hip.
“This was a request right?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“There’s a strong distortion here… strong enough that I can sense it in the real world.”
Ren felt the blood drain from his face.
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely,” Morgana said, stepping down the street, “It’s only getting stronger as we approach the house.
“This complicates things.” Ren sighed, following his feline-shaped friend down the street. Morgana’s whiskers twitched as they stood outside the house; if that was because of the atmosphere of the place or the dog they had passed to get there he couldn’t decide.
“This is the place.” Morgana said, “I’m sure of it.”
“So… his house then.” Ren said, pulling out his phone and opening the MetaNav.
“Sunny Suzuki, Sunny Suzuki’s House… Hell.” Ren said, throwing out a guess.
“No candidate found.” the app responded, responded to by a sigh.
“When has that ever worked?”
“Hey, it’ll be true for someone Morgana, just you wait.”
“Wait, someone’s coming.” Morgana said, his whiskers twitching. Ren closed the MetaNav and walked up to the door. The door to the neighbor’s house opened, and a teenage boy stepped out. His orange jersey stuck out even against his yellow painted house. The new arrival stared at the duo, namely at Ren. The teenager quickly ran around the fence and over to where they stood, looking Ren up and down.
“Are you… a phantom thief?” the boy asked, tilting his head.
“No? What makes you say that?” Ren replied, layering on a confused facade.
“O-Oh, nothing, nevermind. What are you doing here?”
“Checking the place out, I’m a… private investigator, you could say.”
“You’re checking out about Sunny, right? Did his dad hire you?”
“Confidential, but… yeah, I'm looking for him. You know him?”
“Yeah, but...” he began, before cutting himself off with a sigh. “Just… good luck.”
And with that, he turned and hopped his own fence to go back into his house.
“Full of energy, I guess.” Morgana muttered, “Shame we can’t get more out of him without revealing ourselves.
“Actually, I think we might want to get in touch with him later. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who sent the request.” Ren replied, “Just not while we’re out here. I’d rather avoid it if we can, but… We’ll need something to get in that house.”
“Yeah, and just standing out here talking into your phone is conspicuous as hell!”
“I’ll have to see if Futaba can get me a connection.” Ren sighed, stepping back to the sidewalk.
“I knew the cat was weird, you’re talking to him aren’t you?” the boy from before said, looking over the fence. Ren froze in place, Morgana slowing to a stop to look around. He never actually left, just went over to watch and wait.
“Let me be a cat whisperer in peace.” Ren deadpanned, leaning down and scratching behind Morgana’s ears.
“Not a caaaat…” Morgana yawned, looking between Ren and the boy.
“Look, just… I want to help him, but I don’t know what you’re actually here for.”
“Investigating for a private party.”
“If you want to get more, Sunny’s best friend is still in the neighborhood."
A real lead.
“Alright, what’s the catch?”
“I want in on it.”
“Greaaaaaaaat…” Morgana sighed, “Could you have not made a better excuse?”
“The more the merrier.” Ren said tentatively, “Though most people like to introduce themselves before forcing themselves into someone else’s business.”
“Aha… I get that. My name’s Kelsey, Kel for short.” he said with a wave, “And you are?”
“Akira.” he answered after a moment’s hesitation. If Kel noticed it, he didn’t say anything.
“You’re too soft for your own good.” Morgana said, flicking his tail back and forth.
“Shush Morgana.” Ren said, scooping up his significantly smaller companion.
“Oh, it’s a she?” Kel asked as he ran back around his fence.
“No, Morgana’s a he.”
“Odd name choice then.” Kel said with a shrug, “Whatever, his house is down this way.”
He led the way through the neighborhood, stopping at the other end of a parallel street. The outside was surrounded by various filled pots, flowerbeds, and bushes.
“Alright, uh…” Kel said, stepping up to the doorstep, “Maybe you should ask? I don’t think his caretaker likes me much.
“Caretaker?” Ren thought to himself, stepping up the door and ringing the doorbell. “Something must have happened to him too.”
“Coming!” a young woman’s voice answered from inside, the door swinging open a few moments later to reveal a woman only a few years older than Ren. “Er… who are you?”
“My name is Akira Kurusu, I’m a private investigator looking into a boy named Sunny Suzuki. Would there be someone here who’d know something about him?”
“Oh... “ the young woman replied, her expression darkening, “That’s… no. He isn’t here.”
The door was closed in his face.
“You’re about as subtle as a sledgehammer sometimes.” Morgana said, “Isn’t a phantom thief supposed to have tact?” Ren just rolled his eyes, walking back towards Kel.
“Dang, I really thought she’d at least give us the time of day…” Kel sighed, “Well, there is someone else, but..."
“Oh, maybe someone we can get something out of in the Metaverse!” Morgana said.
“What’s their name?”
“Uh… Aubrey. She’s probably hanging around the park if you really wanted to go and look for her.”
“I would have passed it on the way here, so… I’ll be on my way.”
“Hey, look. If you think she’s gonna be nice to you you’re out of your mind. She’s-”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” Ren said, “Thanks for the help.”
“I'm tagging along.” Kel said.
“Do you not have anything else to do today?”
“Nope.”
“And I take it you wouldn’t listen if I said not to?”
“Nope! Figures a PI would be good at reading people.” Kel said with a giant grin on his face.
This was starting to go from a blessing to a curse very quickly.
The park had an old school feel to it, bringing Ren back to memories of when he was a kid in his hometown. Not that he had particularly pleasant memories of his childhood, but whatever.
Someone, or rather two someones, caught his eye.
A blond boy about the same age as Kel was crying in a sandy patch of the park, with a girl in a hoodie and glasses standing over him on a scooter. They were arguing about… something, he couldn’t tell at that distance.
“Wait a second, that’s Basil!” Kel exclaimed, taking off towards the two teenagers ahead of them. Ren sped up to follow, while Morgana maintained a relaxed pace. Wasn’t much for him to do in that kind of situation anyways. “Hey! Leave him alone, you bully!”
Ren missed out on any of the argument, but… it seemed like Kel was on his way to starting a new one.
Damn him for still not learning when to not intervene.
Ren stepped up between the two, with his back to the blond. The girl glared at him, sizing him up from the look she gave him.
“Mind your own business, Kel!” she yelled, “And that goes for you too,” she continued, turning back to Ren. “Figures Kel would have weird friends.”
“Figures a kid on a scooter would be an ass,” Ren sighed.
“Shut up asshole!” she yelled, very quickly looking flustered, “Auuuuuubrey! We’ve got trouble!”
“M-Mister, you don’t have to-” the boy behind him began, going silent as five other teenagers slid from trees around the park.
“What is it, Kim?” one with bright pink hair said, bringing up her bat over her shoulder. A weapon would be a problem, Ren would have to deal with it first if things got ugly.
“Kel brought some weirdo with him to bother us!”
“No, not to bother you, I’m looking for your leader.” Ren said, focusing on Aubrey.
“Wait! So you tricked me!” Kim growled, “Ooooooh…”
Well, she could think he was planning ahead further than he was if she wanted to, he wasn’t going to stop her.
“What do you want then?” Aubrey scrowled, kicking her scooter over and walking up to Ren. Despite being quite a few inches shorter than him, she had an intimidating aura. One Ren was more than used to, but regardless.
“He’s looking for Sunny, Aubrey.” Kel said, walking up to the blond in the sand, “Figures you guys would be busy bullying Basil again.”
So he was Basil then? Figures why his caretaker was… iffy on him speaking.
“J-Just give me back my photo album! Please!” Basil cried, “I won’t bother you anymore, just give it back!”
“After you went and destroyed it you damn freak?!” Aubrey yelled, lowering the bat from her shoulder, “I’m shocked you didn’t burn the damn thing when you had it.”
Ren stood silently in place, trying to gauge Aubrey’s reaction. The rest of the gang around her seemed to just be troublemakers instead of full on delinquents, but…
Their leader was another problem entirely, even discounting her weapon.
“Look, I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going on here yet, but I don’t think it’s any of your business what somebody else does with their things.” Ren said.
“You don’t know a damn thing...? Then why don’t you shut your mouth before I shut it for you?”
“Aubrey?” Kel muttered, evidently taken aback by her aggression. The gang behind her stood back too.
Seems he accidentally struck a nerve.
“Seems like your gang isn’t interested in a fight.” Ren said, looking over Aubrey’s head.
“Y-You don’t have to do this Aubrey, re-” Basil began, tentatively taking a step towards Aubrey only to be punched in the chest. He was crying before he even hit the ground.
“I’m sick of you, all of you! You don’t even care about a damn thing aside from being self righteous douchebags!” she yelled, “We’re leaving!”
Within moments, the gang picked up their scooters and wheeled away.
“Jeez Basil, are you alright?” Kel said, helping him to his feet.
“Yeah, d-definitely.”
“You don’t sound so sure.” Ren said, looking down at him.
“Really, I’m alright. I’d hate to get in your way if you’re trying to go after Aubrey.”
“Well, it wasn’t Aubrey in specific. He’s…” Kel paused, “He’s looking for Sunny.”
Basil went pale.
“O-Oh.”
“If you don’t want to say anything that’s fine.” Ren dismissed, “Really.”
“I’d… rather not.” Basil sighed, “Umm… but if you can find my photo album, it has… pictures of him in it. Stuff from when he was out and about.”
“Alright, we’ll get it back for you Basil, I promise!”
“R-Really?”
“Where would her house be then?” Ren said.
“Wait, why wouldn’t we look for her first?”
“Is… there a reason we wouldn’t be able to get it from her family?”
Silence.
The message was clear enough.
“Alright, let’s go looking then.” Ren sighed, “All her friends left with her, we’ll have to track them down.”
“Well I know where a few of them would be!” Kel said, “Three of em anyways. But… why wouldn’t we just go for her?”
“Do you know where she went?”
More silence.
“Yeah alright, let’s… go with your idea.” Kel muttered sheepishly, “Do you want us to walk you home Basil?”
“I’ll be fine alone, but thank you.”
He trotted off as Morgana trotted over, sitting down at Ren’s side.
“Lead the way, Kel.”