Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 30: Home is where the Heart is.

Memories of a Summer Day - Persona 5

"I'm home!"

Makoto quickly came to realize that after the event with Kirie was over, his parents would, hopefully, be able to return to their normal lives. His Mom and Dad had been losing a lot of sleep ever since their debts and had even been working later hours to wrack up more money to reach the frankly impossible quota.

It was all Makoto's fault, and yet they hadn't blamed him for it once.

He felt like scum...He didn't deserve to have parents like them.

"Hey, welcome back!"

Komaru had clearly been antsy. She had been waiting at the door for him to get back. She looked more relaxed than she had been in recent times, but still decently stressed out from everything. Playing the waiting game for Kirie's change of heart was just as hectic as the mission to do so. Fortunately, Toko had come to the house to keep her company and calm her down.

"What's up?" Makoto asked them, "where are Mom and Dad?"

"Mom, Dad, and Kotoko-chan are all upstairs in bed right now. It took me like a whole hour to convince them to put down their accounts and get some shut-eye," she told him, "seriously Makoto. We need to take them out to dinner after this is all over."

"Agreed, 100%," Makoto nodded, "by the way, have you guys heard from Shuichi and Kaede since splitting up?"

"Actually, yes, we did. Listen up," Toko spoke up, "Kaede just sent us a message. Kirie's ended up sick in bed..."

"Sick?" Makoto repeated, sweating.

"Don't worry! This probably just means the change of heart is already taking effect," Monomi told him, "remember, Kyoko said Fuhito was very much the same way when undergoing his own change."

"You're right..." Makoto nodded, trying to compose himself. He REALLY didn't want to screw this one up.

"But that's not all," Toko continued, "Kaede and Shuichi are at their home taking care of her for the time being. But apparently, she apologized to Kaede and...told her to contact us. She told us that Kirie wanted us to forget everything. Apparently, she plans on sending an official document to the courts to have her demands turned over. Of course, she'll need to recover first..."

"So...she's calling off our debt?" Makoto asked, "that's good, right?"

"Like Monomi said, it probably means the change of heart is already happening," Komaru played with her fingers, "but we won't know until the day of Kaede's concert. Speaking of which, we did end up getting tickets for it."

"I don't like leaving this until the last second," Makoto crossed his arms and frowned, "but I suppose that's just the biz, huh? Are you guys gonna go?"

"I think we should," Toko said, "I don't really do stadium shows or gatherings, but I wanna show my support for Kaede. Plus, if Kirie's change of heart happens on the day of, then I want to be there in person when it does."

"Good point..." Makoto acknowledged, "I wonder how those two are doing right now?"

Everyone's Killing Graduation Ceremony - Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Kaede's show was right upon them. Within one more day's time, she would be out in the middle of the pitch of the Tokyo Dome stadium, playing piano in front of possibly several hundred people.

And while she had tried to practice, she and her classmate were busy taking care of her poorly mother, who lay in the bed quiet and still. She had barely said so much as a word to Kaede since she'd gotten home, and despite Shuichi's presence, she didn't seem to be angry.