Chapter Text
“RYUJI!!” Joker screamed. Heat bathed the ragtag group as the large cruise ship they had been on mere moments ago exploded. The tiny dinghy rocked back and forth as Fox and Queen grabbed their leader, practically pinning the raven haired boy down in an attempt to stop him from leaping off the lifeboat. The red-gloved teen fought against them, wet tears streaking his white mask.
Oracle stared in horror at the spot where Skull had just been dangling mere moments ago. It was empty. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. Joker’s eyes widened as he saw Mona fiddling with the phone, struggling to use it with his small hands. “Mona, no! W-we need to look for R-Ryuji!” He choked out, trying to reach for the black and white figure. Mona looked back, and shook his head. Joker stopped struggling, his eyes wide as he stared at the quickly sinking ship. “He made it out… H-he has to have made it out…” He muttered to himself over and over again.
The thieves’ vision flashed black and red, and when they opened their eyes again, they were on dry land. Akira collapsed against the nearby wall, hugging his knees against his chest, still muttering to himself. Haru hugged Makoto, leaning against each other for support as they walked away from the group. Futaba collapsed to her knees, and Ann pulled the smaller girl to her feet. “Let’s… Let’s get home…” She suggested quietly, and the redhead nodded, still sobbing loudly. Yusuke followed them, his eyes downcast, a somber expression darkening his face.
Morgana curled around Akira’s shoulders, closing his bright blue eyes as Akira lowered his head, closing his stormy gray eyes. Soon enough, even the street lights went out. The two just sat there, eyes closed.
----
pi pi pi
Morgana was awakened by a high pitched ringing noise. He opened one eye, staring groggily at the offending object. It was Akira’s phone. Morgana blinked blearily, looking at the scenery around them. It was light out. The two had been sitting there for the entire night. Occasionally someone would pass and give the two a pitying look.
The ringing of the phone would not stop. “Hey, your phone’s ringing”, Morgana mewed loudly, nudging Akira. The mess of curly black hair moved, and Morgana finally got a clear look at his face. The whites of his eyes were tinged with red, and there were drooping, dark bags under his eyes. Tears streaked his pale face, and there were large red blotches where he had rested his head against his arms.
Akira gave Morgana a vacant stare, his grey-black eyes, so normally filled with fire, were empty. He looked, at last, at his phone, though it had stopped ringing. After looking at it wistfully for a long time, he returned his head to it’s former position, remaining motionless. Morgana sighed, and tapped at the phone. After a couple tries, resulting from the fact that paws aren’t very good for opening phones, Morgana managed to get it unlocked, where he proceeded to sent a text to the rest of the Thieves.
>is mona
>akira not good
>at diet building help
>not prank
----
Morgana looked up once again as their friends approached. The dark mess of curls did not move, however, not even as Ann lay her hand on his head. Makoto patted the boy on his shoulder, looking at him with a mixture of concern and fear in her eyes. Haru grabbed his hand and, with the help of Yusuke, hauled the disheveled kid to his feet. He swayed a bit, leaning up against the brick wall, his head still tilted downwards.
“I… I called Sojiro-san. He said he would be here in a bit to pick Akira up…” Ann sighed, speaking more to Morgana than to Akira. The group clustered together, a silence hanging between them. Morgana nodded silently, looking up at Akira, an unreadable expression on his face.
----
Futaba was the only one who looked up as Sojiro approached. The middle-aged man sighed, walking towards the group of teens. “Alright, where’s the kid?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Akira looked up, his shoulders tensed. “...kid…” Sojiro sighed again, looking the boy up and down. He pulled Akira into a brief hug, then, putting a hand on his back, led the grieving kid back to his car. Morgana trailed after them, then stopped, thinking better of it, and turned back, jumping into Ann’s arms.
Akira was silent the whole ride back. Sojiro looked back in the mirror every few minutes to check on how he was doing. The raven-haired teen looked worse than he had earlier. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, and dark circles hung under his eyes. His skin was pale and sickly, and bruises and burns covered it.
The only indication that the ravenette was even alive was the steady rise and fall of his shoulders, which was a little quick for Sojiro’s liking. The traffic was slow, as to be expected this far into the city, and nearing election day no less. “Hey kiddo, you doing okay?” Sojiro asked, looking back at Akira. The boy made no indication that he had heard the question, his normally twinkling gray eyes dull and vacant as he stared ahead.
Sojiro sighed. He had no idea what had happened to his ward, and he knew that questioning him would only make things worse. He returned his mind to the road, making idle conversation about things like the weather and such. Akira never responded.
----
Soon enough, they arrived at Leblanc. Sojiro debated whether or not to let Akira stay in his house for the night, but eventually decided against it. There was nowhere to put the kid, after all. Akira staggered up the stairs, almost falling backwards several times, and when he got up to the attic, he collapsed onto the bed. Sojiro sighed, leaving the kid to sleep.
----
It was a bleak April morning. A harsh rain poured down from the gray, dark clouds. He had forgotten to bring an umbrella, and his uniform was quickly soaked as he emerged from the station. He looked around for any shelter, and quickly dashed under the awning of a small shop. He decided to wait there for a bit, maybe the weather would clear up.
As he waited, someone passed him, and leaned up against the wall, a few feet away. They pulled down their hood to reveal beautiful platinum blonde hair. Akira gave a small smile, and waved. The girl nodded back, then resumed staring out at the passing vehicles.
As the two waited in silence, a white sedan pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down to reveal a man with curly black hair. He looked at the girl. “Morning!” The man called, “Want me to give you a ride to school? You’re gonna be late.” The girl looked around, seeming unsure, before she nodded, and opened the car door. As the girl got in the car, the man turned to Akira. “You want a lift too?” Akira shook his head and waved nervously. The two drove off, and Akira couldn’t help but notice the solemn expression on the girl’s face.
As he leaned back up against the wall, Akira heard the pounding of footsteps, and a yellow blur ran into view, skidding to a halt whilst looking at the car slowly pulling away. “Damnit! Screw that pervy teacher…” The boy growled, his hands balled up into tight fists. Akira couldn’t help but stare at the boy’s unnatural hair color.
“Pervy teacher…?” Akira mumbled, tilting his head. The boy turned around, noticing Akira standing there. “Huh?” He said, then stepped closer to Akira. “...What do you want?” He growled, putting his hands in his pockets, “You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?” Akira blinked a few times at the unfamiliar name, looking over the vulgar boy’s outfit. He wore a bright yellow graphic tee, with what looked to be the Shujin blazer over it.
"Kamoshida?” Akira inquired, wondering who the boy was talking about. The blond looked at Akira with confusion in his gaze. “Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida.” Akira thought back to the man with the large chin, while the boy continued, “He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is-the king of a castle? Don’t you agree?” At Akira’s puzzled stare, the boy hesitated, “...Wait. You don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You’re from Shujin, right?”
Akira thought for a second, before shrugging, “I think so…” The boy took his hands out of his pockets and crossed them, “What…? No other high school’s got a uniform like this.” The blond looked over the raven haired boy, “...Huh, a second-year eh? We’re in the same grade then… Never seen you before though.” The boy hesitated for a moment, before seemingly coming to an epiphany. “Oh, you a transfer student?” Akira nodded. “Then no wonder you don’t know him…” He shoved his hands back into his pockets, “This rain ain’t too bad. We should hurry up, or we’ll be late.”
The blond turned, looking towards the school route, when, suddenly, he brought a hand up to his head, grunting in pain. Akira mirrored his movement as he was struck with a feeling of lightheadedness. “Uuugh, my head hurts...:” The vulgar boy groaned, “Dammit… I wanna go home…” Akira was inclined to agree with him. The lightheaded feeling subsided. As the boy walked away, the scene went black.
----
Akira awoke from the dream, soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. He brought his knees up to his chest, and cried into his pillow, his sobs hoarse and broken. His voice echoed around the small attic, as he cried until he could cry no more. He couldn’t sleep, his eyes darting around the room. It seemed as though his scars and bruises hurt even more than the day before.
----
The bell above the door dinged when the small group, consisting of Ann, Makoto, and Haru. Morgana sat on Ann’s shoulders, his tail stuck out so as to balance himself. As the three sat at the bar, looking tiredly up at Sojiro, the cat leapt to the floor, slowly making his way over to the stairs and up into the attic. “...How is Akira-kun…?”, Haru asked hesitantly, breaking the awkward silence that had formed.
Sojiro sighed, “I haven’t checked on him since yesterday… but when I left he… wasn’t doing too well.”, He said, grabbing a coffee mug and polishing it with a rag. The four people sat in silence. Makoto had her arm around Haru, who leaned into the brunette’s side. Ann fiddled with her fingers, staring down at the polished surface of the bar.
Morgana slowly padded down the stairs, his shoulders slumped and his tail drooping. He leapt up onto the counter, and sat down next to Makoto. He sighed, his face downcast. “...I saw him…”, He mewed, with Ann translating for Sojiro. “It doesn’t look like he’s slept since… the incident… He wouldn't even look at me, much less talk...”
Sojiro’s eyebrows shot up, “What even happened to you kids?”, He asked, his gaze flicking between the 4 figures in front of him. The Thieves looked between themselves, unsure of where to start. “I… It was supposed to be a normal infiltration… Locate the treasure, send the calling card, and steal it…”, Haru began, her voice cracking. Makoto followed up, seeing the distress in the smaller girl’s eyes. “When… we were making our escape… someone had to m-make a run for a lifeboat…”, She trailed off, staring down at the polished countertop.
Ann picked up where Makoto left off. “R-Ryuji volunteered… and he… he managed to lower the lifeboat b-but…” She choked back a sob, lowering her face to rest on her arms.
Sojiro heard what went unspoken. “I understand… But he never had this reaction to anything else like this, not even when that Akechi kid…” He trailed off, looking between the 4 Thieves. Morgana piped up, with Ann translating for Sojiro’s sake. “That’s… That’s because Akira and Ryuji were dating…”, He mewed. Makoto and Haru looked at Morgana in surprise, having not known this beforehand. Sojiro merely nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.
“That… explains a lot”, He stated simply, tapping his fingers on the hard surface. He remembered how the two had seemed the closest of the group, always having an arm slung around each other. When he pointed that out to Akira, the ravenette merely muttered something and scurried upstairs to his room.
Sojiro put down the coffee mug he had been polishing for a suspiciously long amount of time. “Alright. I’ll take care of Akira, you guys need to stay away from here, remember?” The 3 girls looked like they wanted to protest, but Sojiro held up a hand. “I’ll worry about the kid. You guys can’t be caught, too. Now go on, get outta here.” The girls looked between each other, before nodding quietly. “...Thank you for taking care of him, Boss.” Ann said as she pulled open the door.
Sojiro watched them go, before looking back towards the stairs to the attic. Easier said than done…
----
Akira watched the two figured walk off, extending a hand down to help Ryuji. “Man, why’s they hafta keep hitting…”, He groaned, taking the hand offered and pulling himself up. “You saw that, right? That was some serious violence!” Akira gave Ryuji a small smile, before responding. “Things turned out for the best.”
Ryuji scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking at the grass, “Naw, man. I’ve been takin’ good care of this face, and look what ended up happenin’ to it.” He pouted, before his face lit up with a smile, “Either way, they’re prolly feelin’ way better now. I think they’re gonna be just fine together.” He said, before rubbing the back of his neck. “...Thanks.”
Akira felt his face heat up. “A-All I did was watch…”, He trailed off, smiling at the blonde. Ryuji closed his eyes, and sighed. “You’re tellin’ me. You just sat around while I got my ass beat…”, He sighed again, before looking back up at Akira. “For real though… you were a big help. You were pushin’ me to be cool that whole time. It’s… kinda like I was doin’ a sprint… and you were runnin’ next to me.”
Akira tilted his head, and impish grin crossing his face. “But I was just standing here…”, He said, chuckling slightly. Ryuji swatted his arm. “That ain’t what I meant, and you know it!”, He said, though he laughed along with Akira.
“...Are you thinking of going back…?” Akira muttered awkwardly, looking away from the foux blond. “What? I could never leave you guys!”, Ryuji exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair, “You make me feel free...” Akira’s face burned a bright red, and he looked away. “Wh-what do you mean?”, He asked, adjusting his glasses so that they hid his expression.
Ryuji sighed. “C’mon, man. You know I’m not smart, don’t ask me things like this… Y’know what I’m talking about, right?”, Ryuji asked hesitantly, scuffing his shoe on the ground. Akira stepped forward, his hands fidgeting behind his back.
Suddenly, Akira reached forward, and cupped his hand around Ryuji’s cheek. His eyes met the blonde’s, and he hesitated. Finding his resolve, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Ryuji’s. After a few seconds, he stepped back, looking down at his feet. A few seconds passed, before he felt arms encircle him, and drag him closer, a warm body pressing against his own. “Heh… yeah, y’know what I’m talkin’ about, don’t you…” Ryuji whispered. The two adolescents stared at each other, and the scene faded to black.
----
The mood at Leblanc was somber. The small cafe was closed for the day, both for the Phantom Thieves to use, and to give Sojiro a break to process everything that had happened. All of the Thieves sat in their usual spots, with the exception of 2 vacancies. Each of the thieves kept shooting furtive glances at the stairs, and they tried not to think of how quiet it was.
Futaba was typing away at her computer, the glare in her glasses obscuring the expression on her face. Yusuke was deep in thought, tapping his fingers on the shiny wood. Ann pet Morgana, almost mindlessly, and for once the creature didn’t seem to mind. Makoto and Haru were whispering amongst themselves, seemingly for reassurance. Sojiro was in the back, washing dishes, almost cathartically.
All of a sudden, they were startled out of their trances by a high pitched robotic voice.
“Candidate Found.”
Futaba looked up, a pained expression crossing her face as she held out her phone to the other thieves. The screen was red, with an eyeball design in the middle of it. 2 words were typed into the search engine.
Akira Kurusu
Looks of disbelief and horror crossed the Thieves’ faces as they realized what this meant. Akira had a palace.