Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Kamoshida Arc

• Akira arrives in Kichijoji, gets street clothes and a backpack from the thrift store, gives his phone to the cell phone repair shop and gets told to come back tomorrow.
• Walks around and talks with Arséne for a while before noticing that people gradually stop seeing and hearing him, starts panicking again when he starts becoming transparent and someone walks through him.
• Arséne manages to convince Akira to return to the Metaverse where Akira returns to normal (not transparent anymore), they come to the realization that Akira can only stay in the real world for a limited amount of time, they spend the night on a bench in the Metaverse.
• Wakes up, checks the phone repair store and gets told his phone is toast, nothing could be recovered, Akira sells it for scrap. He goes back to Shibuya Station to look for students matching the uniform Akira woke up in and sees several. He follows them  to Shujin. 
• Akira returns to the Metaverse through a puddle in the alleyway to scope out the school and finds the Palace instead. Arséne explains what Palaces are, and advises Akira to be cautious of the Ruler both in and out of the Metaverse. Akira decides to explore the Palace out of curiosity. Finds the girl volleyball team’s cognitions and is disgusted by how the Ruler perceives them. He has a very minor flashback of him protecting a woman from a man trying to assault her (the night he got arrested, not that he knows that).
• Moves on from there and ends up finding the dungeons, the boy volleyball team and Morgana. Morgana is impressed by how strong and stealthy Akira is and invites Akira along on his heist of the Palace Treasure. Akira is hesitant but resolves to help when Morgana says stealing the Treasure could cause the Ruler to confess their crimes or die (Akira doesn’t really mind either way, not after what he saw).
• They exit the Palace after classes end and Akira decides to see if he has a student file and check on the volleyball team while Morgana leaves to scout out places to get supplies and weapons with both agreeing to meet up outside Shibuya Station in the Metaverse. He changes into his uniform and is mostly ignored by the students and teachers. Ryuji notices he’s never seen Akira and introduces himself. Akira, though disappointed no one knows him, lies and says he’s an online student that’s thinking about transferring in a few months but wanted to quietly check the school out before hand due to rumors. Ryuji immediately offers to give him a tour and fill him in on the rumors.
• Ryuji talks about what happened to the track team, his broken leg, how Kamoshida acts around Ann, and that the boys volleyball team is always hurt but none of the adults will act due to the prestige a gold medal Olympian brings to the school and the students feel that they can only endure it. Talking about everything frustrates Ryuji and he decides to leave to blow off some steam, leaving Akira alone. 
• Akira heads to the staff rooms to see if he can get to the student files. He passes Kamoshida’s office and hears Kamoshida about to hurt Shiho. Akira pulls the fire alarm and waits until Kamoshida leaves to go help Shiho. Shiho’s shirt is torn and she is very shaken up and asks Akira to hide her from Kamoshida, Ann, and everyone else. She doesn’t want anyone to see her like this. Akira gives her a spare shirt and leads her out of the school without anyone seeing and takes her to a secluded spot nearby. Shiho breaks down and just starts talking about everything going on and how she feels trapped with no way out and how she just wants HIM to STOP! Akira just lets her talk and holds her as she cries. When she’s done crying, she says very quietly that Kamoshida makes her want to die. 
• “One week.” “…what?” “Give me one week and I’ll make sure Kamoshida will never bother you again. Please, just wait one week.” “…I…” “Call in sick all week if you have too! Just, please, hold on for one more week! Please, life is precious.” “…alright. One week. It’s a deal.”
• And Akira just got his first deadline. 
• Akira walks Shiho home before noticing he’s fading and returns to the Metaverse to meet up with Morgana. Morgana is not happy to hear they have a deadline but understands when Akira explains Shiho’s situation. Morgana shares what he found for supplies, explaining Takemi’s clinic and Iwai’s model shop, and says Takemi might be able to help Shiho with a doctor’s note. Akira agrees to bring it up to her when he sees her next, and they go shopping.
• Akira goes to the clinic and is nervous that his readings might be unusual. They’re not and he makes a deal with Takemi to help with her drug trials in exchange for access to her medicine. He also, vaguely, brings up a friend who needs a reason to stay home for week. Takemi says she would need to talk to them first and that there better be a good reason. Iwai’s is in and out. 
• Finished with their shopping, Morgana asks to see his new home. Akira sheepishly replies that they don’t have one and have just been sleeping wherever. Morgana is appalled and asks how that happened. Akira explains his circumstances. Morgana is very sympathetic, explaining he doesn’t have his memories either and his suspicion about the bottom of Mementos and that’s why he’s going after Palace Treasures to open the way. Akira is curious if he can recover his memories at the bottom of Mementos as well. Arséne says it’s not impossible but reminds Akira, theirs and Morgan’s situations are very different. Akira and Morgana sleep in a Metaverse mattress store.
• In the morning, Akira catches Shiho before school and tells her about Takemi. Shiho is very upset he told somebody but he reassures her that all he said is that she needs an excuse to stay home for a week. What Shiho tells anybody is up to her. Shiho accepts and skips school to go to the clinic. 
• Akira and Morgana enter the Metaverse and start their infiltration. It goes similar to canon but with Arséne and Akira being so OP they breeze through any fights and they don’t have to work around school hours. They get through the Palace in a day and a half. Akira delivers the calling card by breaking into Kamoshida’s office and leaving it on his desk. Akira and Morgana steal the Treasure and then fight Kamoshida. Kamoshida gets curb stomped. They then have the post-fight conversation with Akira, in addition to telling Kamoshida to confess, commands Kamoshida to never approach Shiho or any female student inappropriately ever again.
• Kamoshida confesses before the deadline. In the aftermath, Shiho talks to Ann and introduces her to Akira. Ann is very thankful for helping Shiho and taking down Kamoshida. Ryuji comes across the three as they’re talking and figures out that Akira was the one who left the calling card. Loudly. Mishima overhears and comes over to thank Akira and ask how he did it. By this point Akira is running out of time and starts to go ghostly. Shiho, Ann, Ryuji, and Mishima notice and start freaking out. Akira says he can’t stay for much longer and that he will be back tomorrow, runs off to the the boy’s bathroom, and returns to the Metaverse, with Ryuji and Mishima following and seeing him enter the mirror. Ryuji tries to enter too but, even still rippling, the mirror doesn’t let him through. Ryuji, Shiho, Ann, and Mishima start talking about what they saw and start theorizing about what is going on with Akira, eventually landing on ghost.
• Akira comes back the next day after classes. He spills his about his amnesia, the Metaverse (keeping it vague), Morgana, and the fact he is likely dead due to the train accident caused by the mental shutdowns or psychotic breakdown incidents. Shiho, Ann, Ryuji, and Mishima are shocked but offer to help. They look up TMPD missing person and John Doe reports and the train accident casualty list and find nothing that mentions or describes Akira. Akira is very confused. Mishima comes up with the idea that Akira might not be a normal human ghost but maybe a spirit of justice formed to fight wrong doing. The others are skeptical, but Akira hesitantly mentions the flashback of him defending the woman. Mishima excitedly takes that as confirmation and runs off to start a version of the Phantom Aficionado website to help Akira serve justice. Ryuji, Ann, and Shiho ask if Mishima’s assumption is true and Akira replies it’s probably not. 
• Shiho then asks what he wants to do. Akira says his and Morgana’s memories might be at the bottom of Mementos so they have to keep targeting Palace Treasures and that even if the train accident wasn’t what killed him he wants to solve the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents. Ryuji, Ann, and Shiho acknowledge that they can’t come to the Metaverse with him but will do everything they can to help. Akira is very thankful.

Heists and Friends Arc

• Akira and Morgana begin exploring Mementos (there is no Velvet Room door), doing requests, and hanging out with their friends after school. Akira does homework and reads their notes with them so he doesn’t fall too behind, though he mostly ends up tutoring them. While doing a request they hear whispers of a Black Masked person in Mementos. They eventually come across him in front of one of the opened doors. 
• Black Mask is very surprised to see someone else in Mementos and aggressively asks what they think they’re doing here. Akira says they’re trying to reach the bottom (leaving out why they want to get there) and that they think the Metaverse has something to do with the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents, and if Black Mask knows anything about them. Black Mask denies it and claims he comes to Mementos to earn money and blow off some steam. Akira then offers to team up with them for a bit, against Morgana’s wishes. Black Mask agrees for the next floor and is reluctantly impressed by how strong Akira is. Finishing up they return to the entrance, where Black Mask asks how long they have had the app. Akira is confused, what app? Black Mask then asks how they get into the Metaverse then. Akira says through reflective surfaces. Black Mask goes quiet, thinking deeply, before saying he has some business to take care of and going their separate ways.
• Akira and Morgana continue their way through Palace heists and Mementos and making friends in Tokyo. Yuskue asks Akira to be his model and Akira helps him come to terms after Madarame’s confession. Akira sneaks in to the Shujin cleanup to hang out with his friends and meets Kasumi/Sumire. (Kasumi/Sumire does end up in Maruki’s Palace and awakens but still decides to not become a Phantom Thief) Makoto is introduced to Akira for help taking down Kaneshiro. Futaba hacks the Phantom Aficionado website to make a deal for help in exchange for helping with Medjed. Haru makes friends with Makoto and is brought to Akira for help with her father and fiancé. Maruki sees Akira around the school waiting for his friends in disguise and starts having sessions with him. Operation Maid Watch still happens but the empty apartment stays empty so Akira squats in the Metaverse version and calls Kawakami to the real version for tutoring. Akira also meets and befriends his other confidants. They all eventually realize that Akira is something supernatural. 
• At some point Akira has a flashback of the train accident and confirms that he was killed on the train. He also has garbled dreams that he can never remember when he wakes up. Most are filled with a repetitive noise he doesn’t recognize.
• Akira and Black Mask, who consents to being called Crow, continue occasionally teaming up in Mementos and, eventually, having hang outs (dates) in the Metaverse. They get closer, opening up to each other about Crow’s past (with hints of human experimentation) and issues with his employer and Akira’s amnesia and ongoing existential crisis. Akira tells Crow that he thinks the train accident is the reason for his situation. Crow is very quiet for the rest of their date hang out.
• In the background, Akira is slowly gaining infamy of the urban legend type. It gets to the point where some people start making small shrines with offerings to him, much to his increasing discomfort. But free food is food he doesn’t need a five finger discount for.

Betrayal Arc

• Okumura’s Treasure is stolen and he dies on screen. Akira is blamed. When Akira next sees Crow, he offers to help. Crow reveals to Akira that he is Detective Prince Goro Aketchi and that his co-worker Sae Nijima has developed tunnel vision in her pursuit of the case and is making a mistake by trying to make the facts fit to one person. If they steal her Treasure she might realize that and try to find the actual culprit to the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents. Akira agrees.
• They steal the Treasure and Akira is ambushed and arrested, with Morgana escaping. He is rushed through to interrogation, not even being formally processed, where he is beat up until Sae arrives to begin her interview. Akira stalls and stalls and stalls for hours. And he begins to fade. Akira doesn’t know what will happen when he fades completely but it has got to be better than being stuck there after being betrayed by Akechi. Akira is gone by the time Akechi shows up. (Akira never told Akechi about the fading. With them hanging out in the Metaverse he never needed to.)
• All Akira sees is darkness and all he hears is a repetitive and annoying noise. The chain around his arm is freezing cold. He feels really weak and tired and falls asleep not long after. Akira wakes back up at the entrance to Mementos to Caroline and Justine standing over him. They try to bring him to the Velvet Room but Akira defeats them. The three of them talk, with Akira trying to understand who they are and what the Velvet Room is. Caroline and Justine say what the Velvet Room should be and what responsibilities their master should be handling but they admit that they have some doubts and that something feels wrong. Arséne thinks that there might be something going on in the Velvet Room that might connect to their situation and the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents. Akira leaves the Metaverse to check in with his friends and try to find Morgana.
• Akira finds Morgana with Ann and Shiho, who are overjoyed that he’s ‘alive’. Morgana had followed Akechi in the real world to find out why he betrayed Akira and overheard Akechi and his employer’s call. They figure out that his employer is the mastermind behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents with Akechi working as his hitman. As Morgana, Ann, and Shiho begin bringing his other friends in on this and planning on how to figure out who Akechi’s employer is, Akira decides to go behind everyone’s back and confront Akechi directly.
• Akira sneaks out and goes to Mementos. Akechi is waiting. He is furious, demanding to know how Akira escaped. Akira admits that he starts fading away if he spends too long in the real world. Akechi starts ranting and they fight and beat each other up pretty good but Akira just barely wins. Akira reaches out to Akechi and Akechi is about to go off again, but then Akira confesses that he didn’t know what would happen if he faded completely and assumed that he would be gone for good. Akira says that he didn’t want Akechi to be the one to kill him because he knows the Akechi already regrets causing his first death. This stops Akechi cold and he just kind of deflates. The two of them stay collapsed on the ground and Akechi just starts talking about his plan, about the revenge he wants on his father, about his lack of interest in surviving his revenge, about it starting off with people the world could do without and then innocents started getting hurt. The train accident was the tipping point. The driver was supposed to be working on a slower less populated train but there was a last minute schedule change that he didn’t know about. So many innocent people died and if he stopped then they would have died for nothing, so he has to keep going. Akira asks Akechi to let him help and Akechi laughs and says he doesn’t want a change of heart but for Shido to die. Akira agrees. Akechi looks at him in disbelief. Akira explains that when he started there has no guarantee of a change of heart and that Kamoshida could have died just as easily. Akira and Morgana didn’t really care so long as Shiho was safe and they could move further into Mementos. But as time went on, Akira decided he liked his targets admitting their crimes and suffering from the guilt of their own actions for the rest of their lives. Akechi starts laughing and says he completely misjudged Akira’s motivations and agrees that a change of heart might be just what Shido deserves after all. Akechi quietly admits that he’s glad they met even if it had to be like this. Akira agrees and kisses Akechi.
• Akira and Akechi return to his friends to fill them in. None of his friends are happy with him or Akechi, but reluctantly let them and Morgana go off to Shido’s Palace. They make it through the Palace, with Shido’s Cognitive Akechi as the most difficult fight, for psychological reasons, and defeat Shido similarly to canon.

Yaldabaoth Arc

• Like in canon, the change of heart takes place in Shido but the public doesn’t respond. Everyone is baffled and concerned. When Morgana brings up the plan to steal Mementos’s treasure, Akira and Akechi realize what that could mean for Morgana and Akira. Akechi waits until they’re in private to confront Akira and Morgana about it. Morgana says that he doesn’t know what will happen to himself and Akira but believes that humanity needs to have its treasure stolen. Akechi turns to Akira to try and convince them not to do this. Akira admits that he has felt like he has lived on borrowed time since he first woke up and knowing when it will end is a relief, but that he is sorry that the two of them got so little time. Akechi gives up but demands to be there when everything goes down. For the rest of the day Akira goes around to all of his confidants and asks them to meet him tomorrow afternoon in Shibuya.
• Depths of Mementos and the first Holy Grail fight goes similarly to canon. Akira, Akechi, and Morgana appear in the real world and the rest of Akira’s confidants (except for Maruki) show up. Then they all start fading. Akira wakes up in the Velvet Room to a very frustrated ‘Igor.’ ‘Igor’ says that when he started this game that he never expected Akira to be so unruly, but now that the game is done he has no need for a Trickster anymore. ‘Igor’ calls for Caroline and Justine to execute Akira. The twins reject his command and voice their suspicions that ‘Igor’ does not belong in the Velvet Room. ‘Igor’ gives up on the charade and leaves. The real Igor is left in his place. Igor comes around and explains that that Velvet Room had been attacked and taken over by the imposter. Igor guides Akira through fusing Caroline and Justine into Lavenza and then sends Akira to collect all of his confidants. With everyone gathered Igor tells them that the imposter has combined Mementos with the real world and that it needs to be undone. As they’re leaving Igor says that he has something he needs to tell Akira but that it will have to wait until later.
• Second Grail and God of Control fights happen like canon, except when everyone’s believes in Akira, they believe that he is a spirit that has attained godhood. In the aftermath, Akira and Morgana stand together and say their goodbyes to everyone. Everything starts to crack and Akira and Morgana are separated from Akechi and Akira’s confidants. Maruki runs up to Akira and Morgana and Akira explains what happened and that it was likely that he and Morgana will no longer be part of the world. Maruki refuses to accept that and claims since Akira is a god and has claimed the other god’s power he could use that power to change reality into a utopia. Akira denies it but Maruki claims that his Persona can sense the god’s power in Akira. Akira refuses to use it and Maruki uses his Persona to stab Akira through the chest. Everyone starts screaming and Akira passes out.

Maruki Arc

• Akira wakes up in the Eden portion of Maruki’s palace feeling very weakened ,very confused and unable to call any of his Personas. Maruki comes, apologizes, and explains that he was aware that Akira was connected to the Metaverse from the beginning (having seen him enter a mirror in Shujin) but was unaware that Akira’s existence depended on it. Maruki explains that, through his Actualization plan and merging the Metaverse with the real world, Akira can live the rest of the life he never got with his friends in his world. Akira puts together that Maruki would be robbing humanity of its free will with his plan and refuses to stand by. Maruki is disappointed but says he will try convincing Akira another day. Akira firmly states that he is leaving. Maruki is unconcerned as he leaves and says that Akira is welcome to try but that he’ll have a hard time drained of power. 
• Before Akira gets up, he hears groaning from a nearby bush. Morgana is there, coming to, and still at full power. Akira explains what happened and Morgana is infuriated. The two of them start looking around for an exit. The door to the stairway down is open but everything is heavily guarded. They struggle sneaking through the palace until they find some vents with fresh air though they’re too small for Akira. Morgana is reluctant to leave but Akira convinces him to get out and get help from Akechi and his friends.
• Morgana makes it back to the real world and finds that the confidants have been ensnared by Maruki’s world. Only Akechi is aware of the truth of Christmas Eve but was unable to find Maruki’s palace. The two attempt to fight their way through but are overwhelmed by enemies. The two of them decide they need help and try to wake up Akira’s confidants only managing to snap the canon thieves plus Shiho and Kasumi/Sumire out of it and all of them start to make a plan to rescue Akira.   
• Akira, meanwhile, has been caught by the Shadows and is returned to the Eden area where Maruki is waiting. Maruki tries again to convince Akira of his utopia, by using what Akira saw in his palace as evidence of his good actions. Akira is, instead, disturbed, having found the tape where he brainwashes Sumire into believing she is Kasumi. Maruki claims she is happier like that. Akira is enraged, shouting that he took advantage of Sumire’s grief to experiment with his theory.  Maruki laments that Akira is still against his plan and decides to let Akira go back to the real world since he’s so determined. Akira is wary that Maruki would let him go so easily but doesn’t bring it up in case Maruki changes his mind. Maruki escorts Akira to the entrance of the palace and tells Akira that he’ll be there for a bit if he has any questions. Akira leaves the palace and immediately notices that he is translucent and intangible even though he only just entered the real world. Akira returns to confront Maruki. Maruki says he made a few tweaks to Akira while he was unconscious, and that Akira will now fade in just a few minutes and that no one will be able to perceive him at all. Akira is shocked and questions that if Maruki keeps offering him a second chance, why would he do this. Maruki admits that the power he stole from Akira is resisting him and he needs Akira’s blessing or death to truly make it his and that he is unable to merge the real world and the Metaverse completely together until then. Akira says he’ll never do that and Maruki shrugs and tells Akira that he’ll stay in the palace forever while Maruki influences the real world with what power he does have. Maruki goes back inside and Akira looks outside the palace before following.
• The thieves are met by Levenza at the entrance of Maruki’s palace who says that she will assist the thieves in awakening their Personas. She then attacks and taunts the unawakened thieves and forces them to awaken or be injured. Once everyone is awakened, she apologizes for her harsh treatment and returns to the Velvet Room. Everyone is exhausted and agrees that they will return the next day. 
• The thieves make their way through Maruki’s palace, the new Mementos area, and the rest of the palace over the next few days. They manage to find Akira in one of the safe rooms, but are horrified to learn what Maruki has done. Akira helps them make it to the Eden garden, before they all return to a safe room to strategize. Akira says he can’t deliver it because he can’t tell anyone else when he has. Akechi says that he’ll do it but that Akira will have to tell Maruki that he wants to meet and will be at Jazz Jin. 
• Akechi is at Jazz Jin when Maruki shows up and the two head outside. Maruki tries to convince Akechi that he’s doing this for everyone, including Akira. That so many people are happier like this and that Akechi can be too if they can persuade Akira to surrender his power. Akechi laughs and asks why he would care about other people’s happiness if it means that they would all be puppets to Maruki. Maruki points out that Akira is alive here and dead in the previous world. Akechi punches Maruki. Akechi says that he knows Akira is dead and that he’s the one who killed him but Akira would never be truly alive in Maruki’s world. Akechi throws the calling card at Maruki and stalks off. 
• Akira, Akechi, and the thieves meet Maruki in the treasure room. Maruki greets them and invites them to steal his treasure, only that there is no treasure in the room and there never has been. The thieves are confused, Morgana can’t smell any treasure like normal and suggests that Maruki, as a cognitive psientist and Persona user, might have hidden it. Akira realizes something and calls for everyone to leave. Maruki is surprised and asks if he’s given up. Akira denies that and says that they already have Maruki’s treasure. Akira is the treasure. Akira is Maruki’s proof of concept, his source of knowledge, and power. Akira is the one Maruki used to enact his plan on a massive scale and the key to making it both global and permanent. Akira also points out that, at one point, they were friends and that Maruki cares about him and doesn’t want him to die. After all, why else would Maruki try so hard to convince Akira to join him when he could have the same result by killing him. Akira leaving the palace and fading will mean that the thieves have stolen Maruki’s treasure. 
• Maruki is distressed by this realization and attacks the thieves. They defeat Maruki and start leaving as the palace crumbles. Maruki goes through his second awakening and catches them. The fight goes like canon and Akira confronts Maruki on the bridge. They fight until Maruki is done and starts crying. Maruki admits that he doesn’t want to lose Akira. Akira guides Maruki to a safer spot and leaves, fading as he goes. 
• Akira wakes up in darkness like last time with the same repetitive noise. Only this time when he opens his eyes, he is in the hospital with the repetitive noise turning out to be a heart monitor. The doctors inform him that he has been in a coma since the train accident. Akira is baffled and concerned that Maruki may have succeeded in spite of being defeated, but due to muscle atrophy, can’t leave the hospital yet and decides to play along until he can find out. That night he dreams of the Velvet Room where Igor explains what happened. Yaldy arranged it so that Akira would be killed or injured enough that he wouldn’t be able to interfere with his plans. Akira’s soul was separated from his body by accident, due to his life threatening injuries and close proximity to Mementos, and arrived in the Metaverse. Yaldy had every intention of returning Akira’s soul to his injured body in order to keep him out of the Metaverse but because Akira escaped with a chain from the Velvet Room wrapped around his arm, Akira was able to move in and out of the Metaverse at will. Akira fading was his soul attempting to rejoin his body but the chain tied him to the Metaverse and returned him to Mementos. The amnesia was caused by the accident but Akira should recover his memory as he goes about his life. Akira is overwhelmed that he is alive and gets the chance to be with Akechi and his friends. Levenza comforts Akira that he should have a very longer future now. Igor and Levenza say their goodbyes, but Akira asks about Morgana. Igor just chuckles.
• Akira wakes up in the hospital with Morgana sleeping on top of him. Now that he knows that he is alive and this is real, Akira calls Akechi. Akechi is shocked and relieved that Akira is alive and agrees to come to the hospital to see him. Akira and Morgana relax back and talk about the future.

Other Notes

• A Persona’s base level is scaled to the opponents their wielder is facing at the time. Akira awoke to Arséne ‘fighting’ against the twins. Arséne is a monster in this story, like level 80 or higher. His move set is closer to Raoul’s though. 
• Akira doesn’t have access to the Velvet Room amenities so he has to get all his extra Personas through negotiations or by maxing out a confidant (I wanted Akira to have an alternate way to get his strongest Personas). Arséne is the one to manage Akira’s Personas for him. Akira can only have a few battle ready at the forefront of his mind and then he can have a limited number dormant at the back of his mind. If he exceeds his limit then he starts having migraines until he ‘deletes’ the excess. He uses skill cards a lot.
• Morgana sees nothing odd about Akira traveling to the Metaverse through mirrors. In canon, he only became aware of the MetaNav when he met Akira and Ryuji. Morgana certainly doesn’t need a phone, much less an app, to move between worlds. Akira and Morgana definitely make at least one joke about Akechi’s MetaNav app. (“Need to open up a way into a supernatural sub-dimension? There’s an app for that!”)
• Sojiro never saw a picture of the kid he was going to host for a year and when Akira didn’t arrive that day, assumed he ran away, told his parents he never showed up, filed a police report, and didn’t think of it again (A cop was lazy/sloppy and the report was never entered into the system and the hard copy was misfiled and buried). Akira has only ever been introduced to him as ‘Akira’. Besides, why would the kid who ran away show up right in front of the person he ran away from and act like they’re just some guy. You would expect that there would be some emotional response or a crack in a poker face, but, nothing. Of course, amnesia can be helpful for playing it cool. 
• Since Akira has always known Aketchi in his ‘Black Mask’ form/attitude there is no need for the ‘Detective Prince’ costume.
• Canon’s Interrogation Room plan had more holes than Swiss cheese. But they at least had a plan and an idea that Akechi would betray them. Due to the fact that Akira and Akechi have exclusively met up in the Metaverse, this Akira doesn’t get a “pancake” clue. They have also grown closer compared to canon, with Akechi being the only human Akira knows who can enter the Metaverse, which creates a stronger sense of connection. Akira trusted Akechi. He never saw the betrayal coming.
• Akira’s decision to completely fade in the Interrogation Room was definitely influenced by the drugs clouding his mind, his feelings of betrayal, helplessness, hopelessness, his fear of being trapped, and probably some undiagnosed PTSD from the last time he got arrested. Akira just wanted OUT one way or another. Had he been more clear headed he never would have even considered it.
• My bringing all the confidants into the mess that is 12/24 is purely down to the fact that Morgana deserves more people to talk to.
• My understanding of how Maruki got the power to pull off his plan is that the canon thieves beat Yaldy, the god’s power was split between them, they decided to trust adults to do the right things for society and the world, the adult they trusted most was Maruki, and Maruki then immediately decided only he knew what was best for everyone. In here, due to Tokyo deifying Akira, he has his own power in addition to what he took from Yaldy. He hasn’t had time to think about everything that just happened that day, is a little in denial that he has the power of a god tucked under his chest, and is facing an uncertain existence with the impending destruction of the Metaverse. Akira is a little off balance right now and the power hasn’t settled. Maruki, by complete accident, has the perfect window to attack Akira and steal that power.
• Maruki does not know that Akira fading means he will return to Mementos. He really does believe that Akira will be permanently gone. The only way Maruki could justify attacking Akira on 12/24 was that Akira was already fading and if Maruki had the god’s power he could save him. Akira is frantically telling everyone to keep their mouths shut over comms during their and Maruki’s confrontation. Ann is holding her hand over Ryuji’s mouth.
• I think Maruki does love Akira. Not in a romantic way but maybe in the way you love a religion or work you’re passionate about. Akira became Maruki’s muse for his work and this leads to Maruki developing an obsession with Akira as a symbol of his work and faith of cognitive psience. Akira being deified and defeating a god did not help. It goes without saying that none of this is healthy. 
• The Velvet Room has a unique existence. It can exist in both the real world and the Metaverse. Only contractors can see the entrance, but residents can be seen by anyone after leaving. Some creative liberties means that the chain wrapped around Akira carries some of those properties and extends them to Akira. Akira, who has no knowledge of how things normally work, takes this a trait intrinsic to his state.