Working With Phantoms

The Great Reveal

June 17th

Madran awoke to the lovely realization that it was a Sunday, which meant less time sitting at school and more time towards figuring out Alibaba's and Medjed's identity. Then, after she got ready for the day, fed Chicory, and made coffee for her and Elia, she then snuck out Elia's paperwork and began to look through it.

"So, Dharma, what do you think?"

"From what we have at the moment, all signs point towards this Futaba having a role in all of this. From the relations with Sojiro, to how she once was with Isshiki, and developed mental issues due to her mom passing away..."

"Wait, where'd you get all of this?"

"The papers you're looking at. Do you know what a hikikomori is?"

"Huh? Um, sorry, I've never heard that word."

"Well, there is a type of 'lifestyle' that involves being a total shut-in. Like, no social interactions at all. This, according to the Japanese, is who a 'hikikomori' is."

Madran then read more of the papers, feeling much like a daring protagonist on some of the crime shows she would watch with Suga and Sheila. Then, as she went through more various files, she found a page that appeared to be from a hospital.

"Huh... chronic depression?"

Madran then caught herself talking out loud, and immediately quieted down.

"Wow, that's not good. Did she get all of this from her mom dying?"

"From what the other pages read, then yes, her mom, Wakaba Isshiki, passed away after seemingly jumping in front of a car."

"Wow. Poor girl. So, she was then passed through several abusive relatives, as seen by this, and ended up with our current Isshiki."

"Correct. Then, according to this judge's order from a year ago, she moved to living with Sojiro Sakura, a friend of Wakaba's, due to Isshiki's poor treatment of her."

"Yikes. This girl's been passed around like a cake at a birthday party..."

"Indeed. It seems that she hasn't yet recovered from her shut-in status as well. This is possibly what's causing Isshiki to try to get Futaba back."

"Goodness. Hey, I know."

Madran then took her phone out and opened the Metanav.

"Youji Isshiki."

After Madran put the name into the Metanav, she saw that the man had a location in Mementos.

"Huh. Well, that's unsurprising. Still, I wonder about Futaba..."

"Same here. However, while we do know that either Futaba Isshiki or Futaba Sakura will work, we don't know an address or corruption."

"Ooh, I know. Maybe, we could ask Alibaba."

"Good idea. Let's put this away, very quietly, and then stalk back to your room like nothing happened."

Madran then put all of the papers back in their order as neatly as she could and slipped the folders back into Elia's briefcase. Then, she took a cup of coffee with her back to her room and found Alibaba's number.

"Ok, well, here goes."

Madran then called the number, with an almost immediate pickup from the mysterious hacker.

"Hello? Oh, right, it's you. What do you want?"

"Hey, that's my line! Um, anyways, I think I found the name of the friend you're talking about. Is it Futaba Sakura you're mentioning?"