Life Will Change

Chapter 47: Her Name was Wakaba Isshiki

Begin

~Normal POV

Akira had led everyone to Sojiro's house. It was late in the evening, and there was every chance that Sojiro might be home by now. Everyone stared up at the house with confused looks. What did Akira mean to accomplish by bringing them here?

"This is Boss' house. I see that you're confused, so let me explain." Akira started. "Miss Alibaba made a crucial little slip up in her messages. She revealed to us that she's female. And we know that Futaba Sakura is Boss' daughter. Alibaba also confirmed that she cannot leave her residence for unspecified reasons. However, if she is truly unable to leave then how would she know if Futaba's heart was changed? Yusuke, you watched Madarame's change of heart firsthand, do you think you'd have been able to tell what was happening through messages or phone calls?"

Yusuke thought for a moment. "No, I severely doubt it... It was quite difficult to tell what happened even in person."

"Exactly." Akira continued, "And the way she insisted that we cannot meet her or Futaba? Well, shit, that must mean it'd be a problem if we saw the two of them together. Yet she's wholly against us meeting either individually? And Boss is extremely insistent that we cannot meet Futaba either, along with just about everybody else. There's only one conclusion, she has the power to check on Futaba in person; because Alibaba is Futaba."

"Then, she was asking us to steal her heart personally," Yusuke asked, frowning in concern at the house.

"Precisely..."

"Her situation must be different from all our previous targets..." Ann said, "Even if they'd been aware of the ability to be changed, they'd never have agreed to such a thing willingly. Not while their success and egos were on the line."

"You nailed it, Ann." Akira said, appreciatively. "That's exactly what I was thinking. This isn't about fame, bribery, crime, or anything we've seen before. This sounds to me like a cry for help. We won't know what we're helping with until we see inside the Palace, but we need more information first." He rang the doorbell while keeping an eye on the upstairs windows. As expected, there was no answer. And no movement in the window this time.

"Nobody's home," Ryuji said.

"Futaba is. There's no way she's not," Akira corrected.

Yusuke stepped forward and checked the gate, gently pushing it open. "It's unlocked."

"That's pretty careless of Boss," Ann commented. "I mean it's not a dangerous neighborhood but still; you don't do that in the big city."

Ryuji shrugged, walking through the gate and up to the door. "Eh, he's gettin' up there in years. You start forgetting at that age..."

"Ryuji, what are you doing!?" Makoto asked.

"Getting us inside?" Ryuji replied, nonchalantly. "The door's unlocked- and open!?"

"Get away from there, dumbass!" Ann shouted, "You're trespassing!"

"Do you guys want to meet Futaba or not," Ryuji asked, opening the door for them.

"Dude, if I get caught inside that house without permission, I'm dead!" Akira said, worriedly. "I hoped she'd be willing to invite us inside."

"Maybe she just did? She might have opened the door while we were distracted..." Ann suggested. A loud bang of thunder sounded overhead. It was going to rain tonight.

"We should get inside," Morgana said, hurriedly. "We can explain it to her when we meet."

Akira sighed. "Sorry Boss, but she wants our help..."