2026-02-03: Alibaba Appears
- Log: 2026-02-03 Alibaba Appears
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Futaba Sakura, Morgana (NPCed by Ren Amamiya)
- Where: Shujin Academy, Tokyo
- OOC Date: February 03, 2026
- IC Date: Thursday, September 20, 2012
- Summary: While at school, Ren receives a strange text from the mysterious Alibaba, who knows they're a Phantom Thief--and has a request for them. They even offer a token of good will by demonstrating what they already know about Daichi Furudate and implying they can find the final keyword for them. Unfortunately, Alibaba never gets around to saying whose heart they're requesting the Phantom Thieves change, which will make getting unanimous consent difficult...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's a typical morning for Ren Amamiya. They wake up early to exercise in their attic room under Morgana's watchful eye; then they brew a cup of coffee to enjoy as they cool down. Making rice balls for breakfast is a recent addition to their routine--they still love the curry that Sojiro makes, but they want to cook more, and cooking for themself before Sojiro arrives is a good way to sneak in the practice. Continual effort is how you improve.
"So how did things go with Tsubasa last night? You were looking for a missing girl, right?" Morgana asks over his own tuna onigiri.
"It's complicated," Ren replies, a salmon onigiri in hand. They think they've gotten better at seasoning the rice; it's tastier than before. "The short version is, we found where she is, but we can't get to her yet. We'll be working with Akabane-san and several others to save her."
"That does sound complicated. Let me know if you need help, all right?"
"Will do." Bite, chew chew chew chew, swallow. "Tsubasa's made some progress on Furudate's keywords, by the way. They figured out his distortion, but they're having trouble pinning down the location. I suggested they open it up to the team, see if anyone has any suggestions, but..."
"But?"
"Then their dad showed up," Ren says grimly. "Long story short there, he has a Palace too, just like I thought."
Morgana hisses at that. "That's rough... What'd Tsubasa say?"
"Nothing. I checked after I left their place. I don't plan on telling them."
"I suppose that's for the best..." Morgana says, but he sounds dubious. "Did you figure out his keywords, or did you just check his name?"
"Just his name. But here's the thing: he was just promoted to vice-president of Kimpara Electronics, a company that's doing a lot of research lately into smartphones." Ren pauses a bit. "If that's as bad as it sounds, then I don't know that we'll be able to spare Tsubasa's feelings forever."
"Hrrmm... That does sound suspicious," Morgana agrees. "But let's take things one thing at a time. We've got a lot of members, but our ability to scan data is still pretty limited, so we should hold off on trying to take on multiple Palaces at once. For now, we still need to figure out the last of Furudate's keywords."
"Yeah... True. I don't want to stretch us too thin either." Ren pops the last of their rice ball in their mouth and washes it down with the last of their coffee. "All right, when you're done, let's head out."
"Right!"
A moment later, Morgana has boarded Ren's school bag, which Ren shoulders before heading out the door in time for Sojiro to arrive to open shop.
~ * ~
But that's just the prologue.
~ * ~
During class, Ren's smartphone buzzes with their text notification. It's one of Kawakami's classes, so they feel comfortable in discreetly checking it during the lecture; they know and trust she'll pretend not to see. Morgana, lounging inside their desk where only they'll be able to see, pokes his nose forward in curiosity, and Ren tilts their phone so he can see too.
Except--
<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.
IN THE MORNING, 14 HOURS AFTER AWAKENING
A girl sees the waveforms on her audio tracker for a certain set of equipment begin to move, and shifts the audio channel into her headphones, deactivating a 180bpm dance remix which she hadn't even been listening to.
This she does listen to.
Things clink and clank. The familiar sound of the water boiler. Liquid pouring. The kitty's being chatty, and Ren's talking back. Found out where she is? For a moment Futaba sits upright but-- no. No, they have no idea I'm here. There's 27 million or so people in the greater Tokyo area, Futaba assures herself. Even before considering personal identity, that is a floor minimum of over thirteen million girls and women.
She is nevertheless relieved when Akabane gets mentioned. So definitely not her.
Her lip quirks up for a moment. So they did make some headway. But the location...
Her shoulders slump.
She listens to the rest.
'just like i thought. (beat, beat) nothing.' What a dramatic person, Futaba thinks, not unfondly. She taps some keywords into a text file but then they're heading out.
I wonder why I don't hear the cat during the day. Maybe he just sleeps, or goes outside, Futaba muses.
FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, FUTABA PREPARES HERSELF.
Then she realizes she didn't make an icon.
THAT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR.
Yeah, thinks Futaba. That'll work. I like it.
A FEW MINUTES LATER...
bzz.
bzz.
A few seconds pass.
bzz.
As Ren turns the phone to where Morgana can see...
The icon is an eyeless cat with goblin's teeth. Side profile.
> Nice to meet you.
> I am the one they call Alibaba.
> I want to ask you something.
Futaba's heart races as she hesitates in the virtual environment of a simulated phone running through a direct IP link. Isolated box, VPN, she already has the erase-and-destroy script queued up in a terminal window... unentered, but ready. She made sure it worked three times before she made the attempt.
> You're a phantom thief, aren't you?
Her pulse quickens. She can hear it. too heavy, Futaba thinks in a panic, oh no oh no oh no oh no quick quick what what
> Can you really steal hearts?
Futaba pants shallowly and settles back in her seat. Sweat runs down the back of her neck but the feeling of fumbling everything just before the goal fades. Now the ball's in Ren's court. What will they say?
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren frowns at the icon. They've never seen it before. That tracks, given that this person's intro text is a greeting and an introduction, but who is this, and why are they texting them?
Alibaba does not waste time in telling them why. Ren's eyes shoot wide, and they and Morgana share alarmed looks.
"Who is this?" Morgana whispers, echoing Ren's thoughts. "This can't be a prank text, can it? Not if they know that..."
Again: echoing Ren's thoughts. They stare back at the sequence of texts, blood roaring in their ears. This is not something they can afford to ignore, just as they can't afford to comment aloud about it. Why did this person have to text them during class?
There's an obvious first question. Maybe too obvious, but it still needs to be asked, if they and Morgana both independently thought of it.
Their thumb rapidly works the touch-keys:
> Who is this?
<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.
"I JUST SAID," Futaba half-shouts.
She freezes after.
The sound doesn't get that far. Her room has a lot of baffles. Organic materials. The curtains. The all important sound-baffling bags of empty bottles. The shapeless mound of clothing in a random-access array that doesn't smell too bad.
There is silence.
Futaba's hand is shaking when she reaches up, but a couple of deep breaths calms her down.
Keep going, she resolves.
> There is someone whose heart I would like you to steal.
> But, I'm not asking you for charity.
> Let's make a deal. You wish to know about DAICHI FURUDATE
> Correct?
After that Futaba brings her hand up and palms her face for a moment. uggggghhhhhh, she thinks, her eyes actually crinkling as that hot helpless burning-kettle feeling washes over.
But.
But, that wasn't bad, Futaba thinks.
They just have to take the bait, and that was it. She chews on her lower lip. "okay," she stage-whispers to herself. "quiet voices. be chill. ice cold. we're in the path now. light as a feather."
Say more. No, Futaba tells herself. *don't be desperate*
But I am desperate, she thinks. Well, she continues, PRETEND. She pulls her legs up, leaning against her own thighs. That's comfier.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Alibaba" ignores their question. Well, Ren supposes to a certain mindset, they gave a name and that's good enough. It doesn't matter that Ren doesn't know this Alibaba from a hole in the ground. Or a rock blocking a cave, as it were.
The question burns all the same. Not only does this Alibaba know they're a phantom thief, they know their next target. Daichi Furudate-- Ren and Morgana share another alarmed glance.
"No playing dumb at this point. They know too much," Morgana whispers.
Ren has to agree. They glance quickly around the classroom--Kawakami's not looking in their direction, and everyone else is watching her write something on the chalkboard. Coast is clear to continue.
> What do you know?
<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.
A response. Are they at lunch?
A skeletal clicking in a dark room.
> I know many things.
Futaba exhales.
> Furudate is an industrious man.
> His crimes are not worn on his sleeve.
> As you well know.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
> I will give you a token of my earnest, and then we will discuss terms.
Not bad, Futaba tells herself, despite a tremor on the back of her pale hand.
> Furudate has been making moves into the Yongenjaya district.
> This much, you could doubtless see yourself.
> What may not have been clear was the role of KENTA NAKAJIMA
(The all capital letters comes from a precise rendering of the appropriate kanji of names. Futaba has them in a text file, too.)
> A former district politician, jailed for embezzlement.
> Since Nakajima's departure, Furudate's been stepping up the pace.
> Seeking to acquire land.
> Based on the established model of his business...
> His aim is redevelopment.
> Tearing down what already exists.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
> Do you believe in my skills?
Futaba abruptly turns around to look over her shoulder.
Nobody's there. Another exhalation. She turns around and leans over to open up the refrigerator, shifting one leg to the side to counterbalance the weight (as she had discovered, to her dismay, a month ago - she COULD just get up, but, on the other hand, no, she could not get up at all) and fish out a juice with two wriggling fingers and a waiting thumb. Turn... pull... and...
grip!
Futaba nudges the fridge shut with the heel of her palm and brings it up to open and guzzle. Her free arm wraps around her knees. The legs of a professional woman reflect in the refrigerator's glass door.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
They are not at lunch. Futaba would have no way to know this for sure, even if it's around lunchtime, and Ren is not the type to volunteer information about themself--especially to someone who already knows some very crucial, secret things about them.
But Alibaba does make good on offering something in return for their request. This doesn't mean The Phantoms will take their request, but Ren decides to take this token of their good will in the spirit it's probably intended. (In the spirit they hope it's intended.)
The information about Furudate is straightforward. But then Alibaba mentions Kenta Nakajima--the politician that Tsubasa once interned for, and who got jailed for embezzlement after their psychotic breakdown and forced arson. Their eyes narrow. It's interesting information, but nothing on the actual location of Furudate's Palace--which is no doubt the point. This is their way of proving they know their stuff and can deliver on the part The Phantoms actually need.
Do they believe in their skills? They kind of have to, at this point. Ren would be willing to ignore them--the team could probably figure out the last keyword on their own if they have to--but the fact that this person knows who they are is an implicit threat, far more effective that this info-sharing. What that part establishes is that this is someone Ren can negotiate with.
> Yes.
> But so you know, even if we discuss terms, I can't accept any request you have immediately.
> We have a rule of discussing those and agreeing unanimously before we take them on. If even one of us is against it, we don't do it.
> If you're OK with that, let's talk.
It's more than Ren would really like to share about The Phantoms, but at least this way they get to control some of the flow of information instead of being fully on the backfoot. They and Morgana wait with tension for a response.
<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.
Yes.
Futaba feels something huge and irrational surge up her spine. It's a sensation she has not felt in over a year and she is not the best emotion-namer in the world to begin with. It takes her breath away.
But then Ren elaborates.
With more information, though Futaba does not see it right now.
A delay.
Her hand clenches for a moment. Sheer frustration.
An elaboration.
It's not stalling.
Futaba exhales. Inhales.
She listens. The hum of the air conditioner, of the refrigerator, of the fans of her PC, of the electronic screens. That's what it is. She adjusts her big glasses, wrinkles her nose for a moment, and begins typing.
> Is that your policy?
> ( ...... )
Something else about what Ren wrote stands out. 'Let's talk.' Ren's just going to be across the street. They're really not that far at all. Could I just... go and... and...
Her hand curls into a tight fist.
They're there. She can hear them. She's there again. It's not dark, it's bright, solemn, they're all there the people she barely knows except for the one who's *missing* and who is *gone* and now they're opening up the paper and one of them is starting to read and --
The typing icon goes blank for a few seconds.
Then it resumes.
> Very well.
> But don't delay.
> Once you have made the determination, matters will progress.
> The necessary tool has already been prepared.
> Look forward to it.
The next response will return an error message.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren gives Alibaba time to consider their policy. That part gets a simple Yes in response, at least. Then there is the ... of a response in progress.
It goes a very long time. Long enough that Ren slips their phone inside their desk and makes a pretense of paying attention to class while they wait. (They want to pay attention, but until this is resolved, they simply can't. Their thoughts keep going back to their phone, fingers keep itching to pick it up and check for a new message.)
Morgana pokes them softly when one arrives. Ren furrows their brows.
> Can you tell me more about your request first?
But the message never goes through. It gets an error message: UNDELIVERABLE.
Well.
That's extremely annoying, but they've got news for the team now. They set their phone down, turned so Morgana can read at his leisure, and resolve to inform the group chat during lunch.
========================== The Phantoms ==========================
Message: 12/13 Author: Ren Amamiya Tue Feb 03 2026 Strange Request (IC)
Someone named Alibaba texted me out of the blue today. They knew I'm one of the Phantom Thieves and that Furudate is our next target. They're offering information on him in exchange for us taking on a request of theirs.
They made it clear they know a lot about us and about Furudate and Nakajima, so they can probably follow through. I told them about our rule on unanimous agreement, which they did acknowledge, and tried to get details on the request, but my texts suddenly couldn't be delivered, so I don't know whose heart they want changed or why.
Right now, Tsubasa's figured out Furudate's distortion but not his location. They said they've been having trouble figuring that one out. Do we want to try to figure that among ourselves, or do we want to hear this Alibaba out, no matter how shady they are?