#and it reminded me that i was still in the process of working on zenkichi and my thots on him

[samarecharm]

What if i caved and gave Zenkichi gray hairs, huh? What then? How much further will I go? You dont know me. Ill give this man piercings if u dont stop me. Its hot. Im tired of pretending its not- *im dragged offstage kicking and screaming* ITS HOT. DONT LET THEM TELL YOU ITS CRINGE! YOU GAVE HIM LONG HAIR! LET ME GIVE HIM TATS!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

While the kids were busy hanging out in Akane's room, Kanji decided now was the perfect time to call up Naoto and fill him in on what they'd been up to. Sure, he had been keeping Naoto updated via text, but he felt a phone call was a better way to keep him updated. (Also, he just kind of wanted to hear Naoto's voice. Totally not in a sappy way or anything.)

Naoto was quick to pick up, not that Kanji expected anything else. "Hello, Kanji."

"Hey, Naoto!" he replied, sitting up a little straighter. "Just wanted to give you a rundown of what all of us have been up to."

"Wishing to expand on the cryptic texts you've been sending me?" Naoto said with a note of amusement.

"Listen, I'm not gonna type a full novel every time I gotta text you," Kanji said, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously even though Naoto couldn't see.

"I know, I know," Naoto said. "I'm teasing. How have things been on your end?"

"Well, we're crashing at that one cop's place, the dude I keep mentioning," Kanji said. "That's been a whole mess of its own. It kinda reminds me of Dojima and Nanako."

"A single father trying to raise a child on his own, huh?"

"Yep. Even the part where the mom was killed in a hit-and-run is kinda similar." "What are the odds?"

"Right?" Kanji chuckled a bit, draping his free arm over the back of the couch. "Anyway. Where should I start? Want me to tell ya about the less important social stuff or get right to business?"

"Let's get the business out of the way first. Though I would be interested to hear how Jou-kun has been holding up."

"Alright, business first then." Kanji launched into a rundown of the Phantom Thieves' activities, explaining how changing hearts works, what the Jails were and how they worked, and how the Monarchs' method of changing hearts differed from the Phantom Thieves'.

"Hm," Naoto said after a moment's pause. "The way the Phantom Thieves operate sounds... incredibly familiar."

"Yeah," Kanji said. "The way we've been handlin' Jails is a lot like how we used to deal with our Shadows, just without the kidnapping or the actual person facing 'em."

"But that's not how they used to operate?"

"According to them, they usually changed people's hearts by just stealing their 'Treasure.'"

"In a method similar to the way these Monarchs steal Desires?"

"Not exactly?" Kanji scratched his head. "I mean, the way they described it sounded less like they were reaching into people's chests and stealing 'em. From the sound of it, the only differences are that they didn't really try to talk down the Shadows, they'd just beat 'em up if they got in the way and make off with the Treasure."

"Ah, I see," Naoto said. "That being said, are you investigating another Jail at the moment?"

"Not right now, no," Kanji said. "We're actually on our way to Okinawa to investigate a lead about EMMA."

"EMMA?" Naoto said.

"Yeah, it's this new app—"

"With an artificial intelligence that adapts to your needs," Naoto interrupted. "Yes, I'm familiar with it. What does that app have to do with the Jails?"

"Oh, I thought I mentioned this? EMMA is how we're able to access 'em."

Naoto fell silent for a moment, making Kanji worry that the call had dropped.

"You still there?"

"Yes," Naoto replied. "I'm just... how can you tell if a place is a Jail?"

"Uh... EMMA should say something about it, I think?" Kanji scratched his head. "Like, you enter the friend keyword and EMMA will be like 'navigating to the Jail' or whatever."

"Could you go over the process of entering a Jail for me?"

"Well, if someone has a Jail then it's as simple as enterin' their name and keyword into EMMA, like you would if you were trying to friend 'em. Then EMMA will take you to their Jail instead of completing the friend request."

"And would I be correct in assuming that not every attempted friend request will result in appearing in a Jail?"

"Yeah..." Kanji frowned slightly, suspecting that Naoto was getting at something. "Something up, Naoto? ...Have you found a Jail already without recognizing it?"

"I think we have," Naoto said. "Kirijo-san came across it by chance a few weeks ago, and has been attempting to explore it since."

"No shit," Kanji remarked. "How much progress have you made?"

"Not much, unfortunately." Naoto let out a heavy sigh. "The place is too heavily defended for us to navigate. Yamagishi-san has mapped a good portion of it, but Kirijo-san has been hesitant about going too far in without a larger team."

"Who do you have so far?"

"Her, Aigis-san, Yamagishi-san, and myself."

"Oh."

"Everyone else we've contacted has been too busy with their own lives."

Kanji leaned back, gaze drifting towards the ceiling as he considered. Should he volunteer the Phantom Thieves, or...

"Something on your mind, Kanji?"

"I was just thinking."

"Yes?"

"Would Kirijo-san be willing to go in with a team of teenagers?"

"Are you volunteering the services of the Phantom Thieves?"

"I mean, I'd ask 'em first—" Kanji paused, blinking at the ceiling, and frowned. "Wait. I never said they were the Phantom Thieves."

"I already suspected as much due to the police reports I've seen," Naoto explained. "Admittedly, the only one I knew for sure was Jou, since that's who most of those reports revolved around."

"Of course," Kanji grumbled, running a hand down his face. "Izzat why you sent me to look after him, then? 'Cause you knew he was a Phantom Thief?"

"Yes. And..." Naoto hesitated. "And because I wanted someone to make sure he was alright."

"Because the police are on his ass, and he's already been falsely accused once."

"...Yes."

Kanji sighed and shut his eyes. "Yeah, I getcha. It's been kinda lucky that the one cop who's openly approached 'em has actually been sorta on their side. Well... I guess more than sorta, since he's letting us stay the night."

"You've mentioned there being about eleven people sharing the RV, including you, right?" Naoto remarked. "I imagine that must be rather cramped at night. I'm guessing you'll all appreciate having some space to spread out for once."

"Oh man, actually, funny you should say that." Kanji sat up and glanced around. He couldn't see Zenkichi around, and the kids sounded like they were still in Akane's room. "Can we move on to the trip stuff? I got some weird stories to share."

"Before we do, I want to make one request."

"Yeah?"

"Call me if you find anything in Okinawa. I'd like to be kept in the loop."

"Got it." Kanji nodded firmly, even though Naoto couldn't see the motion. "Okay, so apparently Jou keeps getting these magic items dropped on him..."