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Emiri Amamiya’s reflection stared back at her through the train window, the rolling farmland of Yaso-Inaba serving as an inconsistent backdrop to her mirror image turning this way and that. Her makeup was on point when she’d applied it that morning, but the long journey from Tokyo had probably diminished its effect somewhat. Based on her reflection, it was probably still fine, but in cases like these she wanted it to be perfect.
It was her homecoming after all.
She rolled her eyes, pushing away from the window and taking stock of her belongings. Her bag, with a sleeping Morgana inside? Check. Her women’s Yasogami High uniform she’d had to have Sojiro threaten hellfire to even get? Check. Ryuji’s jacket that he’d thrown at her as she was getting out of the van, like the big doofus he was? Check check check! It didn’t matter if it was too hot to reasonably wear right now, she had that shit on. It was what boyfriend jackets were for after all.
Emiri grinned to herself as she sat back in her seat. It sucked having to come back to Inaba after her year in Tokyo, what with the tiny town and the kind of people who lived there, but she was going to make the best of it like she always did. She’d been practicing a whole host of rude hand gestures Makoto wouldn’t approve of, and she was excited to try them out.
Speak of the devil, however, and the Priestess shall appear.
Emiri’s phone buzzed, a cutesy drawing of a panda appearing on screen. She had to roll her eyes, flicking the accept button and holding it up to her ear.
“Ahoy ahoy.” Emiri smirked into the receiver. “Don’t tell me you monitored the schedule to know exactly when I’d be getting to Inaba.”
“Of course I did.” Makoto already sounded exasperated at the question, which meant Emiri was doing her job right. “Was I right and you’re at the station then?”
“Actually, there was a delay in Iwatodai.” Emiri pouted, having to hold back her snickering. “A whole five minutes, can you believe it?”
“Iwatodai’s infamous in the train watching community for its delays. There was one incident about a decade ago where…” Makoto trailed off as Emiri’s snickering echoed out through the phone. “You’re teasing me.”
“Just a bit, sorry.” Emiri snorted, looking back out the window. “Everything good back home, or has it all fallen apart without me?”
“We gave the slip to those men tailing you, yeah.” Makoto hummed in that way she did when she was thinking. “We decided it would be better to split up, just to be safe. Everyone’s back home now.”
“Good. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll get tired of hanging around you soon enough.” Emiri waved her hand dismissively. “And before you start worrying about me, a bunch of G-men are going to stand out way more in Inaba.”
“I wasn’t-“ Makoto groaned in the way someone who was definitely about to worry would. “Fine. We’ll drop the warrantless government agents worry then. What about everything else? Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Got no choice but to be, really.” Emiri shrugged, even though Makoto wouldn’t see the motion. “It’s like I said, I only need to slum it out here one more year before I can come back. You’ll be trying to get me out of your hair again in no time.”
“I do envy your confidence, I can say that much.” Makoto sighed, faint thumps coming through the receiver as she shifted the way her phone sat on her shoulder. “What about the people there? Are your parents going to be a problem about… you know?”
“I’m not worried about them.” Emiri laughed, fighting back the faint pang she felt in her chest as she leaned against her hand. “They don’t care. I’m pretty sure they won’t even remember they used to have a son.”
“That’s- I mean they’re your parents so I’m not one to say.” Makoto harrumphed over the phone. “But you should still be ready for what might happen.”
“You know I work best when I improvise.” Emiri rolled her eyes. “And you’re really overestimating them here. They don’t bother with me at all, they’re not even coming to pick me up from the station.”
“Wait, really?” Makoto’s voiced flashed with that familiar anger, the current of justice that made her such an effective Phantom Thief. “Re- Emiri, that’s unacceptable.”
“Like I said, they don’t care.” Emiri sighed, twisting a lock of hair around one of her fingers. “At least in this case it’s a good thing. Trust, okay? I’ve got this.”
“…you’ve earned that trust.” Makoto groaned, and for a moment Emiri felt a flash of satisfaction imagining the dressing down she would have given her parents. Unhelpful, probably. But satisfying. “If they cause you any problems though-“
“You’re all just a phone call away.” Emiri nodded, smiling more earnestly that time. “Shame we can’t steal their hearts, huh?”
“We’d have bigger problems if we could.” Makoto sighed, the silence stretching for a moment before she let out a faint oop. “Not that we shouldn’t, just- you know if the Metaverse came back then we’d have a big problem, so-“
“Pfft.” Emiri laughed into the phone, earning her an annoyed humph from Makoto. “Sorry, didn’t want you to spiral there. It’d be fine, Makoto. If it came back, we’d just beat up whatever god’s causing trouble. Easy as.”
“It really isn’t.” Makoto groaned. “We don’t have a plan for if we have to fight another god so far apart from one another.”
“Like I said.” Emiri winked at nothing. “I work best when I improvise.”
“Yaso-Inaba.” Static crackled over the train’s PA in tune with the rumbling of the tracks as the car began to slow, the rolling farmland turning to the gentle sprawl of Inaba. “Now arriving at Yaso-Inaba. All passengers please prepare to disembark. This is the final stop on this line. Yaso-Inaba.”
“Sounds like that’s my cue.” Emiri stretched, rolling her neck as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “Talk to you later, okay?”
“Mhm.” Makoto sounded distracted for a moment, a brief lapse in attention interrupted by a faint gasp as she realized what was happening. “Oh, right. Remember what I said, okay? Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Promise.” Emiri snorted, watching as the train slowed to a stop. “Remind Ryuji to take his meds for me, ‘kay? He’ll forget otherwise.”
“You can tell him yourself you know.” Makoto groaned, earning her a smirk that Emiri was sure she could see all the way in Tokyo. “I know you’re going to call him as soon as he’s out of practice.”
“Always do.” Emiri began moving towards the exit to the train, still smiling to herself. “Still, two scary women telling him to keep on it can’t hurt, right?”
“You know he thinks we’re two very different kinds of scary.” Makoto groaned, and Emiri did pretty much see the eye roll all the way from Tokyo. “I’ll keep him on track. Talk to you later, Emiri.”
“Heh.” Emiri winked at her reflection as the door to the outside world opened. “Talk to you-“
“Watch it.” A man in a heavy coat with a hat pulled down over his eyes all but shoulder checked Emiri, not waiting for her to disembark before muscling past her and sending her phone falling from her hands and onto the ground of the platform. “Tch. Idiot kid.”
“Uhuh.” Emiri rolled her eyes, moving to pick up her phone as a wave of nausea passed over her. Expected, really. “Already off to a good start.”
“A good start?” Makoto’s voice turned to concern. “Wait, what-“
“Like I said, talk to you later!” Emiri stuck her tongue out at the phone as she hung up, turning to make on of those gestures she’d practiced in the direction of the train. “Hope you feel nice being a dick to a teenage girl, asshole!”
“Mngh, why are you yelling?” Morgana poked his head out of Emiri’s back, shaking it and blinking at the sunlight. “I still need my beauty sleep you know?”
“You’ve been napping all day.” Emiri rolled her eyes, pushing her glasses up on her face. “We’re here.”
“Oh, we are?” Morgana suddenly sprung up to attention, looking around the station as Emiri headed for the front steps. “Hm, from how you talked about this place I thought it would be more…”
“Just wait.” Emiri couldn’t help but sigh as she made her way to the curb and tried to flag a taxi. “You’ll see.”
The first two taxis to pass by just ignored her outright. The third pulled to a stop, took one look at her and Morgana, uttered something about ‘policy’ and sped off.
“Hm.” Morgana slunk down into the bag. “I guess he doesn’t like charming gentlemen rogues who look like cats.”
“Or me.” Emiri rolled her eyes, flagging a fourth cab down. “But, stay down just in case.”
“Okay, where t-“ The cabbie frowned as Emiri slid into his back seat, a look of clear disdain in his eyes as he recognized her. “…Amamiya.”
“Oh, hey Namatame.” Emiri grinned at the man in the front seat. He’d lost even more hair since she’d seen him last and he’d gotten even thinner somehow, but he was that same old Namatame. “Long time no see.”
“You-“ Namatame gripped his wheel tighter, staring the girl down. “I thought you were in Tokyo.”
“Unfortunately not anymore.” Emiri sighed dramatically, leaning against the window. “I need to go to the mayor’s office to file some paperwork for coming back. Could you take me there?”
“Show some respect you little-“ Namatame grit his teeth as he started the fare meter, pulling out into the street far more recklessly than he should have. “I still haven’t forgotten what you did.”
“That’s a laundry list.” Emiri snorted, waving her hand dismissively. “Do you mean when I blabbed about where your campaign finances were going? Or was it the egg thing. I think it was the egg thing.”
“You know damn well that it was all a misunderstanding!” Namatame took a turn too quickly, jostling Emiri in her seat. Again, so strong against a teenage girl! “I-I needed more funds, it wasn’t…”
“You spent it at a casino. Where you lost it all.” Emiri scoffed, sitting forward to stare at the man. “Worse, you got caught by a 12-year old. Did you really think it was going to stay under wraps?”
“You don’t understand. This town just doesn’t understand.” Namatame scowled, glaring daggers at Emiri in the rear-view mirror. “There are things out there that are outside what people know! I-I needed to win to protect them, to protect the town! And I needed the money for it, that’s all!”
“Seems to me like the town’s still here.” Emiri gestured out the window. “So…”
“Yes, and it’s being ruined by freaks like you!” Namatame spat as he pulled up in front of the town hall, slamming on the brakes hard enough for Emiri to smack her face on the back of his headrest. “Now get out!”
“Hey!” Morgana all but careened out of Emiri’s bag, claws out. “Don’t you dare talk to her like that-“
“Careful.” Emiri caught Morgana before he could fly at the cabbie, just giving Namatame a smile as she kicked the door open. “You know, someone could get hurt if you drive like that. Wouldn’t want a lawsuit on your hands, would you? Trust me, they suck.”
“Get away from me.” Namatame spat as Emiri exited, slamming the door shut behind her as she did. “Freak.”
And with that, he span his wheels and darted off.
“What a pleasant guy.” Emiri smirked, holding Morgana with one hand and putting the other on her hip. “Wonder when he’ll realize the fare’s still running?”
“You should have let me claw him.” Morgana hissed, staring grumpily at the cab as it swerved around the corner down the street. “You shouldn’t have let him talk to a lady like that!”
“Trust me, if you clawed everyone who’s shitty to me, half the town would have permanent scars. I prefer this method.” Emiri made another rude gesture at the empty street, smirking to herself. “Changing his heart would have been good too.”
“That would be convenient.” Morgana huffed as Emiri scooped him up onto her shoulder. “But if the Metaverse came back, we’d have a bigger problem, you know?”
“You and Makoto both said that.” Emiri rolled her eyes. “Can’t a girl dream about justice once or twice?”
“Well, sure you can.” Morgana settled on Emiri’s shoulder, huffing. “But you need to remember that-“
“Kitty?” A girl’s voice interrupted Morgana, a pair of brown pigtails bouncing into view as a girl who must have been about middle school age jogged up to Emiri. “Oh my gosh… Miss, can I pet your cat?”
“Sure, he loves that sort of thing. Or so he claims.” Emiri drooped her shoulder to let the girl pat Morgana’s head, a smile on her face. “Nanako, right?”
“Wait, how do you…” Nanako frowned, inspecting Emiri’s face for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, Ren???”
“It’s Emiri now, actually.” Emiri tapped her cheek, letting Morgana hop down from her shoulder before standing upright. “There was a witch in Tokyo who transed my gender.”
“That isn’t a thing… is it?” Nanako furrowed her brow, evidently unsure if Emiri was joking or serious. Which was just how she liked it, honestly. “So wait, are you back now???”
“Sure am.” Emiri smirked, crossing her arms as Morgana purred against Nanako’s legs and got pets for his efforts. “Already got a classic Inaba welcome and anything.”
“…it was Mr. Namatame, wasn’t it?” Nanako frowned, glancing down the street the way the man had left. “I thought so…”
“Sounds like I’m not the only one he’s been giving grief.” Emiri’s expression turned serious, her hands dropping to her sides. “What’d he do to you?”
“Nothing- well, nothing recently really.” Nanako rubbed her arm, looking away. “You know how he is. He still thinks he’s some kind of saviour, even though… I shouldn’t say.”
“Good policy with cops, but I didn’t sprout pig ears, did I?” Emiri bit the inside of her cheek, frowning. “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to, but I wasn’t joking when I told him he might be due a lawsuit or something.”
“He acts like he never lost the election. Like Inaba’s some sort of… weird sanctum he needs to protect.” Nanako grunted, then giggled slightly. “I learned that word in class recently. Sanctum. It’s good, right?”
“Sure is.” Emiri grinned at the girl. “Sounds like the worst kind of politician to me. Met a few like that before.”
“Mhm.” Nanako nodded, her smile fading. “I came to town hall to-“
Candidate found.
“What?” Morgana blinked as his body blossomed into his Metaverse form, the street around them suddenly clouding with fog. “That- wait, that’s not possible!”
“Well shit.” Joker stepped back as her metaverse outfit reappeared, blue flames trailing against the creeping fog. The town hall transformed in front of her, TV screens standing stuck to marble archways, a grand temple adorned with banners bearing Namatame’s face looming over the town. “That’s convenient.”
“What just-“ Nanako took a step back, staring up at the Palace with wide eyes. “Wh-where are we?!”
“Somewhere that shouldn’t exist.” Joker grinned at the girl, pulling her glove tight. Despite the… objectively worrying reality of finding a Palace in Inaba, damn it felt good to be back. “But hey, when in Rome…”
“Are you joking?!” Morgana hopped up and down angrily in place. “Don’t you know what this means?!”
“Probably something bad with a god or something. But, that’s for later.” Joker snorted, cracking her neck and smirking at Nanako. “You want in?”
“Wh-what?” Nanako just blinked, dumbfounded. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?!”
“I’ll show you.” Joker shook her head. “First question is, are you tired of Namatame’s shit?”
“I… well…” Nanako hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “I am. There was a time when he wasn’t a bad man, just… wait, what does that have to do with all this?!”
“Like I said, I’ll show you.” Joker laughed, fog swirling at her feet as she walked towards the towering temple. “It’s showtime!”
“Oh no…” Morgana groaned as he followed the pair into the Palace. “Queen’s going to kill us when she finds out about this…”
That was going to be a fun phone call.