Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stumbling upon the Phantom Thieves in Mementos is a chance encounter that has less probability of happening than getting struck by lightening while being attacked by a shark. At least, it should have had such a low probability. But unfortunately, no matter how improbable it should have been, Akechi finds himself hiding in the shadows of a bonelike structure in the wall of the gruesome tunnels and watching as the Thieves fight. It is quite the surprise when the cat looking thing turns into a car, and Akechi can't help but feel a pinch of jealousy. His job would be so much easier if he could drive through the maze-like tunnels instead of going on foot. Hell, that Nijima girl's persona is a damn motorcycle. Why couldn't he have something like that? It would certainly help him in every situation in Mementos. It would especially help him now, as he watches with exasperation as the cat-car speeds off with Joker at the wheel.

The thought makes him seethe with rage. That guy has everything, doesn't he? He has a bunch of friends, apparently good grades, lives with Sojiro, and gets to drive the cat-car. Akechi has none of that, besides the good grades. What do grades matter anyways? He is hardly ever actually in school because he can study the material and pass the tests, so the faculty don't say anything. Just having the "beloved detective prince Goro Akechi" in their student roster is enough to make the administration happy. Sickening.

As Akechi watches the cat-car swerve around and slam into another shadow, he sighs and moves to a closer bone-pillar to the fight. He does have to admit; their team composition and fluidity when working with each other is very attractive. It's too bad that they'll fall apart and die when Shido is through with them; when Akechi is through with them. He shudders involuntarily. It's cold in Mementos, but it isn't the reason for his discomfort. Akechi turns slowly to look behind himself down the tunnel, away from the battle. It seems there is a shadow bumbling along in its hideous form. The black masked boy ignores the battle to go take it out and leave. It's a risky move, but the Thieves seem very occupied extorting money out of the confused shadow in front of them. Besides, he's tired of watching the idiots train and make money, like fighting shadows is a game. To be fair, he enjoys fighting as well, but it's more therapeutic for him than it is fun. There is only a small thrill of sneaking up behind the shadow and impaling his sword through the center of it. The thing shakes and falls apart in globs, growing again into separate beings. Akechi looks behind him down the hall and can still hear the Thieves fighting. He has time. He can take these enemies on, easy.

He doesn't expect to get hit with despair. He doesn't have any items to stop it, either, and even if he did, he doesn't feel like stopping it anyway. The despair claws at him and shreds apart his already dwindling sanity until he's on the ground and struggling to breathe. But why should he even bother trying to breathe? If every breath hurts him, why struggle? Giving up just is such a tempting offer... no more Shido, no more mental shutdowns, no more public image. Goro Akechi would just sink away into the memories of the public until he disappeared from there too. Yes, that sounds nice. His chest aches and the rest of him fares no better as the shadows that afflicted him continue to beat him up. He wishes they would just go away, he just wants to die in peace now. It's all he wants, won't have to suffer any more. Yes... just close his eyes... and...

Like a slap in the face, it stops. The chest pain, the suffocating thoughts, all of it. His despair is suddenly cured, and he looks up at the red gloved hand extended in front of him and discovers why.

"Joker, should you really get so close?"

"He's wearing a black mask...!"

"Could he be the one Kaneshiro and Madarame mentioned?"

"Joker, get back!"

Akechi looks up with wide eyes as Joker refuses to move despite his friends' pleas. The masked Thief smiles softly and keeps his hand outstretched.

"Are you okay?" He says, sounding genuinely concerned. It isn't right. It can't be right. This isn't right! I can't let him see my face! Get away!

"NO!!!" Akechi yells and smacks the hand away, scrambling up on his own and holding his hand over his mask to keep it on and covered. If he was ever glad for the full facial coverage his black mask gives him, he is thankful now. He just hopes it's enough. Akechi stumbles backwards, less agile than usual, and gets his foot caught on one of the tracks. He falls backwards, where he tries to scrabble further away. "Stay back!"

"Dude, calm down, we ain't gonna hurt you." The one with the skull mask says with an exasperated tone.

"We can't be sure of that, though. If this truly is The Black Masked intruder, we should be prepared for battle." The artist boy speaks next, then grunts as Nijima smacks him to shut him up.

"Fox!" She scolds warningly, fixing him with a dark glare. Akechi still can't move backwards fast enough. He could have explained himself away if he was wearing his Robin Hood persona outfit, but the bright red and white weren't optimal for sneaking and spying. Thus, he is stuck still trying to hide his identity and move as quickly away from the concerned and wary looking group. To make matters worse, they've heard of him somehow. He's truly landed himself in a huge pile of shit this time. Joker is too close to him too quickly, standing over him menacingly. Akechi shakes his head vehemently as he leans down and reaches for him again.

"No! Don't look at me!" He panics, pulling out his light sword and slashing at the outstretched hand. Joker jumps backwards swiftly to avoid getting hurt and Akechi can take the moment to get to his feet again. The other Thieves have taken a more aggressive stance now, prepared to fight. Akechi knows he could normally take them easily, but after his despair, he barely has enough energy to summon his persona. So, he turns tail and sprints away from the other teenagers.

Akechi feels relief flood his system when he sees the platform to take him up to the next level of Mementos. It isn't much, but it means he's one step closer to getting out and avoiding devastating conflict. Unfortunately, just as he thinks this, the rumble of an engine rapidly grows closer from behind him. A blue flash whizzes past him and blocks the tunnel ahead of him. Nijima stares him down with a deadly glare and revs the engine. Once again, Akechi wishes he could have a rideable persona. It even just a regular bike would be nice. Cursing, he turns around to flee the opposite direction, but by that time, the other Thieves had caught up to him.

"Dammit-!" He swears, tightening his fist around his weapon. He knows he doesn't have the energy to fight all of them; trying that would be foolish suicide. He's strong and he knows it, but he also knows his limits. This situation far surpasses his limits, so basically he's fucked.

"Why'd'you keep runnin', huh?" The blond, "Skull," asks aggressively. Perhaps he is just asking a question, but the barbed wire bat with nails protruding from it takes the hospitality out of the image.

"I'm clearly at a disadvantage, wouldn't you run?" Akechi responds. He realizes his mistake a little too late as Joker's eyes flicker with recognition. He shouldn't have spoken; of course he would recognize Akechi's voice.

"Calm down." Joker commands. It pisses Akechi off. How dare he talk to me like one of his loyal lackeys?!

"Stay away from me, don't take a step closer!" Akechi points his light sword at the slowly approaching enemy as he backs himself into the wall. With Nijima behind him, the only place to go was to the side, after all. His back collides with the uncomfortably soft wall of Mementos and he shudders involuntarily. "Stay the fuck back." He warns again, though he is fully aware of how he probably looks more like a snarling, cornered dog than anything intimidating.

"Just calm down, we aren't going to hurt you. That is, unless you keep attacking." Joker sounds diplomatic, like he would actually be willing to compromise. Akechi lowers his sword just enough to fool him into stepping closer before he swings at him again. Before Akechi even has time to move again, he cries out in pain as his wrist is grabbed and twisted behind himself and his body is slammed up against the wall.

"Try something else, I dare you." Nijima tightens her grip on his wrist and snarls low in his ear. He tries to look behind him to see her instead of the wall, but his stupid mask blocks his peripheral with his head smashed against the wall like this.

"Let. Go." He commands, holding back his wince when she pushes his arm further out of place. He can feel it dislocating slowly; all it would take is one extra ounce of force to cause serious damage to the limb.

"Queen," Joker warns, but Nijima does not let up. Akechi clenches his teeth tightly in a snarl as his struggles minimally. He could barely move in her firm grip, after all. However, when he feels his mask start to be removed, he doubles his efforts of escape, gritting his teeth against the pain in his arm. The mask is lifted and Akechi meets the grey eyes of none other than Joker himself. The surprise in the other boy's face doesn't taste as sweet as it would have if he could have planned this. Still, Akechi forces a sneer, a mockery of his TV smiles.

"We seem to meet each other in the most unexpected places, don't we?" Akechi enjoys Joker's stunned expression as much as he can regardless. And what a lovely expression it is.

"...Akechi?" He mutters in disbelief. Even Nijima loosens her grip on his arm. Akechi forces one of his "pleasant" chuckles.

"It seems I've made a bit of a blunder."

"A bit, yeah." Joker nods slowly.

"So what do you say we both walk away from this, forget this ever happened, and never speak of it again?"

"I don't see that working out."

"Ah." Akechi shrugs to the best of his ability, moving only the tiny bit Nijima allows him to. "It was worth a try."

"You're the black mask, aren't you." Joker states with confidence. Akechi's smile wilts purposefully into a more accused look.

"I mean, I was wearing a black mask, but how should I know if I'm the person you're looking fo-aahk!" His response is choked off as Nijima shoves him into the wall forcefully. He can actually hear his arm creaking under the pressure.

"Don't play dumb, Akechi. You're better than that." He's never heard the younger Nijima sound so volatile before; he totally had her pegged wrong in the past.

"You're right, I am better than this." He allows his face to fall into an exhausted anger. "I am better than careless mistakes like this. Shouldn't even fucking be here." He sighs. "But let go of this black mask notion you have. Would you attack anyone with a black mask and accuse them? That one has a black mask on too. The short one. Would you attack him?" He nods his head to where he thinks the other Thieves are. It takes a second for their dull heads to figure it out.

"Huh, me??" A boyish voice exclaims. "This is just my face!" This makes Akechi's eyebrows draw together in confusion.

"What?" He can't resist questioning it. The little cat looking thing isn't a person in a costume?

"Yeah, I've always been like this since I- hey wait a minute, don't change the subject!" The cat yelps. Akechi groans and rolls his eyes. "You're the one under questioning here! What are you doing here, Goro Akechi?!"

"I could ask you all the same. To think I'd find this weird other world and end up getting caught by the Phantom Thieves; the very people I've wanted to catch. To think it'd be you..." he acts surprised, but truthfully he already knew from the very beginning there was something special about Akira Kurusu. Really, it was too fitting that he would end up being the leader of the ones he swore to apprehend.

"Looks like your plan crapped out on ya, huh?" Skull is all too happy to jeer.

"How the tables have turned, I believe." The artist, Fox, apparently, agrees.

"Never mind that! What are you doing here?!" The girl who wears the red latex cat suit pipes up accusingly next. Akechi groans, taking his time to get his words precise before speaking.

"I first discovered this place not too long ago. Hm, perhaps two months ago? This... strange app appeared on my phone, and it brought me here. I nearly died when I first bumped into a shadow, but I remember telling myself that I couldn't let myself die without even knowing where I was, and I received a persona." Akechi shifts a bit, the ache in his arm becoming more of an annoyance than a pain at this point. "Um, can you let me go? You can take my weapons. This is just very uncomfortable to stand like this."

"Not a chance in hell." Nijima replies automatically, once again pressing him harder into the wall.

"Queen, let him go." Both Akechi and "Queen" look at Joker stunned.

"You can't be ser-" Nijima starts, but silences herself when Joker holds up a hand.

"We'll still be cautious, don't worry. I just want to be able to look him in the eyes and talk for a bit." To Akechi's continued surprise, Nijima eases backwards until he's free. His gun and sword are removed from his grasp before he regains his space. Grimacing, he stretches his arm and winces at the the crackling sounds it makes as he rolls his shoulder.

"Ouch. You really do have a firm grip, Nijima-san. I'm glad to see the younger sister of Sae-san isn't as much of a pushover as I originally thought. I suppose I owe you an apology for that." Akechi looks at her fully, taking in the spiked brass knuckles she holds clenched tightly and ready to attack. She glares back at him, stance firm and defensive. "I'm surprised at myself, honestly. I should have known you had a rebellious heart inside of your proper good girl exterior. It's such a common theme among sheltered girls." Nijima doesn't respond. Instead, Joker calls his attention again.

"Akechi," he commands full eye contact with just the one word. Akechi can feel the grey of the Phantom Thief's eyes slicing into the red of his own like a sharp knife through fresh fruit. "Tell me the truth. What are you doing here? How long have you been following us?" Akechi has to break the eye contact for a moment to glance over at Skull as the thug boy moves in his peripheral. Truthfully, Skull moving is just an excuse. That eye contact is already bothering him.

"I told you, I've only discovered this place a short while ago. I was afraid so I never came back until today. I admit, I was following you today, though. I saw you all in the station and decided to see what you were up to. You all are very suspicious, after all." Akechi starts his explanation, easily fabricating a new truth to tell the others.

"You're the suspicious one!" Skull shouts out, startling Akechi a little. He isn't proud of the surprised hop-step he did as a reaction to it, but it would help his cover as a totally innocent individual.

"Shut up, let him talk!" Red catgirl smacks Skull in the chest sternly, glaring at her friend. Skull sulks and rolls his eyes, grumbling something that gets him hit again.

"Um, well, I saw you all at the station and was watching you as you pulled out your phone and suddenly disappeared. Really, you should be more careful where you do that sort of thing. Anyone could see it if they bothered looking." The Thieves fidget embarrassedly at having gotten caught so easily and called out on it too. Really, Akechi is surprised there weren't more reports of teenagers randomly disappearing or appearing in public.

"So after you saw us use the app, you used yours too and followed us this whole time?" Joker tilts his head and narrows his eyes carefully. Akechi can't help but feel like that gaze was reaching through him.

"Exactly. It took me a few minutes to find you after entering, but I was impressed by your fighting skills. I was watching you fight when I noticed a shadow lurking a distance behind me. It was in the path I would need to take to exit this place, so I thought I would handle fighting it and then go back to the real world. I was thinking I'd come back a later date and practice fighting here before coming up with a plan to catch you all." Akechi laughs deprecatingly. "It seems my plan backfired and I got hit with some sort of spell that threw me into despair so great I could hardly move. This is a dangerous place, isn't it?"

"Very dangerous. Coming in here on your own is a bad idea. Don't do it anymore." Joker reprimands him sternly, but not angrily. It throws Akechi off a bit.

"You afraid that I'll cause trouble without your watchful guidance?" He lightly teases, though he wouldn't be surprised if that is the true reason. Joker firmly shakes his head no.

"I'm worried that you'll come in again by yourself and get yourself killed. I don't want that." He glances around to the other Thieves. "None of us want that." The varying responses are both amusing and disheartening to Akechi. The artist seems not to have any reaction, Nijima reluctantly agrees, the cat thing just narrows his eyes distrustfully, and Skull looks unsure. The only one who really seems to readily agree with their leader is Catsuit girl, who tightens her fists close to her chest in a cheesy determined anime girl pose.

"Yeah! None of us want any senseless deaths, right guys?" She probes the others, shoving an elbow into Skull's side. He glares at her and smacks her away.

"Ouch, geez! Quit jabbing me! What the hell?" He then huffs and slouches forward, digging one toe into the floor. "But yeah, I agree. It'd leave a pretty shitty taste in my mouth if you went and got killed over something stupid like that. Somethin' we coulda prevented."

"Don't sound so compassionate, Skull!" The cat creature sarcastically quips at the slouching teen. It amuses Akechi slightly, considering the cat thing was the one showing the most outward disdain towards him. The cat thing then turns to look at Akechi with seriousness in his comically large eyes. "I was here alone a lot before I met these guys, so I'm a special case. But even I know how dangerous it is and how easy accidents can happen. I avoid coming alone as much as possible."

"Didn't you just come into Mementos alone the other day while Joker and I were in the park?" The artist thinks out loud and flustered the creature.

"That doesn't prove anything! The point is, it's dangerous, so seriously don't come alone."

"And don't tell anyone about this place, got it?" Nijima speaks up now in a cold voice. "We don't know what the reason for it's being is, or why we can enter, but the more people know of its existence, the riskier it becomes to the public."

"I have to agree with you there. I have no plans of telling anyone, I can promise you that." Akechi lies with a forced amused smile. He's already been doing Shido's dirty work here for years, so it's kind of late for him to keep it a secret from everyone.

"Yeah, it wouldn't make sense for you to want just anyone here. Didn't you express concern in your interviews about changes of hearts?" Joker idly twirls Akechi's ray gun on his fingers, the motion smooth and dexterous.

"It's true. I've been worried about the incidents and how they were perpetrated. The idea of someone controlling a mind is understandably vile, even if it is to get a criminal to confess." A few cries of disagreement fly up from the surrounding Thieves, but Akechi continues heedlessly. "I remember when we first met, you said with such conviction that the Phantom Thieves only target criminals. I thought: how could you be so sure. At the time I thought perhaps you were a blind believer, but now it makes sense. Of course you would trust your own sense of morality and justice is right."

"Right! And it's not just Joker that believes in the Phantom Thieves, in ourselves, but we each trust each other completely. We only go after targets that are agreed upon unanimously. That way we can all be sure that we only help people in need of it." Catsuit girl nods animatedly. It's cute to see someone so trusting of others. Cute in a disturbing kind of way.

"So that's how it is. Who is your current target? The hacktivist group Medjed has declared war on you, after all. How are you going to deal with that?"

"We don't gotta tell you anything!" Skull shouts defensively to which Akechi raises his hands up in mock surrender.

"Slow down, I was just asking. No need to get so violent. Unless... there is something you don't want me to know about?" His red eyes scan the others, all looking too unsure of themselves to say anything. All except for Joker. Akechi tilts his head in his direction curiously.

"We don't have a target yet right now. Not a big one, anyway. We come to Mementos, this place here where we are, to take out smaller targets." Joker answers slowly as if considering his words before speaking. "These people we change the hearts of are smaller, less influential people on a large scale, but their crimes are terrible nonetheless. This way we can save people who's voices aren't heard in popular media."

"Why are you telling him this?!" Nijima whisper yells to Joker. Akechi wonders the same thing. Why is he filling Akechi in like this? The answer shocks him.

"Because I'm about to invite him to join us." Joker's words stun Akechi into total silence. Join the Phantom Thieves? The group of self-righteous idiots who are the most likely to ruin all of his plans? He wants to annihilate them. The last thing he wants to do is to join them.

"Dude, what?! What are you thinking?" Skull bursts out as loud as ever.

"You must be joking!" The artist breathlessly adds with a hand over his chest. The other Thieves all open their mouths to argue but Joker bushes them with a wave of his arm.

"I'm serious. I think he should join us. We would work well as a team, didn't you say that to me?" Joker smiles smugly at Akechi as he says this. It flusters the detective further and continues his silence, so Joker continues filling that silence. "But honestly, I believe it would be best if he work with us, instead of him going off and doing things on his own. Firstly, I don't want him to get wrapped up in something, and secondly, it would be problematic if we ended up against each other. So, I figure we should invite him. What do you say?" He turns to the still frozen Akechi with a welcoming look. The detective just blinks at him a couple times before shaking his head.

"That- no, that's not a good idea. I'd just bring your group down." Akechi surprises himself with the honesty he feels saying that. It was supposed to be an excuse to not join them, but he actually feels it once he says it out loud. He saw their teamwork earlier; he knows how well they were running. He would just get in the way.

"No way, man! You're tougher than that. I'm sure you could keep up with us." Skull encourages him to his own further surprise. Did he somehow slip into another world entirely where the Thieves don't hate him? Akechi can think of nothing that would explain why he would be welcomed into the team like this.

"It would allow us to keep an eye on you as well. After all, you've been against us this entire time. Having you with us keeps you from spying on us." The artist explains out loud, seemingly not realizing how what he said is the actual only truth behind why they would want him along. After all, that bullshit reasoning about wanting to keep Akechi safe was so laughably fake.

But, when the Thieves all start agreeing even with that reason, and giving more examples of why it would be good to have him tag along, Akechi finds himself surrounded by a group of people that want him without wanting to just use him. They were giving reasons like "I always see you alone," and "if you have a persona, then you're like us, a misfit," and "strength in numbers." They mention his status with the police and investigations, and they mention with more importance his media popularity (or unpopularity at the moment, since the people have been riled up about Kaneshiro and how the justice system failed there). With the onslaught of arguments as to why he should join them, Akechi even started considering it. He could rework it into his plan to take them out, use his membership to gain even further intel and powers. It takes him a moment to realize that the others have quieted down and seem to be waiting for a response. Akechi glances back and forth between hopeful eyes and the pressure builds with each brief look.

"Ah, can I think about this?" Akechi asks with a faked embarrassed smile. At his side, just a couple steps away, Joker smiles softly at him and steals away all of Akechi's thoughts.

"Of course you can. You should give us all your number and chat id when we return to the real world. We have to keep in touch somehow, right?" Joker pauses, then jolts like he just remembered something important. "Oh, and I would like to have you nearby tonight. I'm sure you understand, we can't trust you yet. Even if your answer is no and that you want nothing to do with this, I still would like to keep an eye on you."

"What do you mean, keep me nearby?" Akechi narrows his eyes and tries not to feel too distressed. If Joker is suggesting what he thinks he's suggesting, it would be very bad for him. There's no way he would be able to talk to Shido if he needs to with the Phantom Thief hanging over his shoulder. He might as well shoot him self if it came to that, save someone else the trouble of assassinating him.

"Sleepover. It'll be fun." Joker smiles like he's casually inviting a friend, not taking a possible enemy hostage. Akechi immediately declines with a firm shake of his head.

"No. I refuse. I am far too busy to spend frivolous time 'hanging out'."

"Okay, then I'll come with you. You do whatever jobs you have to do, and I'll just tag along. Won't even know I'm there."

"That's not possible!" Akechi almost cringes at the strange crack in his voice. Is he really allowing himself to get worked up over this? What a strange day. "There are confidentiality issues. I work in law enforcement, you know. I can't just let some... random person follow me around!"

"What about a random cat?" Joker suggests with a smartass smirk. The boyish cat-creature-thing groans.

"That won't work either." Akechi shakes his head. he isn't sure what that plan would have been exactly, but he doesn't care enough to find out that he won't decline it immediately. His anxiety is starting to increase; if he can't get away from Phantom Thief custody, he's going to have some big problems with Shido. Grimacing, Akechi curses himself for being so stupid to get himself caught.

"You're making it really difficult for me to supervise you." Joker shakes his head and sighs as if he were really expecting Akechi to come willingly.

"That would be my idea, yes." Akechi fixes his rival with a blank stare. "This may come as a surprise to you, but I don't like being watched."

"Your always bein' on tv contradicts that." Skull grumbles. Akechi doesn't comment.

"Okay, how about this. Just for tonight then? Then tomorrow you can go about your usual business and check in during the day every few hours." Joker's suggestion earns a few sceptical eyebrow raises from his friends, but they don't say anything. Akechi thinks over this option. It is better than being followed everywhere, and isn't all that different than checking in with Shido to reassure him that everything is going smoothly. But then again, he will still have to check in with Shido, which he cannot risk doing around the Thieves. Still, this seems to be the most favorable option, so Akechi begrudgingly nods. Joker absolutely grins, smug as ever.
"Perfect! Well then, I think we've done enough for this Mementos trip to be over. Let's head back up. Mona?" He turns to look at the cat thing, who nods and jumps into the air, landing as a large vehicle. Seeing it up close is even stranger than from a distance.

"That's incredible..." Akechi admits quietly. Mona hears him and rumbles with pride.

"You bet I am! Won't find a swankier ride even in the best of car shows!"

"Oh stuff it, cat, you don't even have air conditioning." Skull complains as he is already climbing aboard.

"At least I have something to provide to the team, you useless ape!" The car's retort is delivered not so kindly, and Akechi can still hear Skull from the interior.

"Oh you wanna go?"

The two bicker and the artist, Fox, just sighs and climbs in as well, followed by an equally disgruntled catgirl. Nijima gets in shotgun, leaving Akechi standing outside with Joker. He looks over to the leader with hesitation, and Joker just smiles at him before climbing in the driver's side. Akechi sighs and climbs aboard the vehicle as well, sitting down on the weirdly warm seat next to the catgirl. She smiles oddly at him, in a friendly yet wary way. Akechi looks away from her to favor the window without a word. He has a feeling the days to come will be more exhausting than usual.

Chapter Text

Within the first few minutes of being with the Phantom Thieves, Akechi is already discovering things he never would have guessed. For example: Akira Kurusu is a terrible driver.

Well, not so much terrible as he is reckless. Swerving violently around shadows, flooring the pedal to slam into chained walls to make them open, and creeping so slowly around corners that you'd have to wonder if the car is moving at all before he stomps on the pedal to ambush an enemy. It's after a particularly violent swerve throws Akechi off balance in his seat that the blonde girl touches his shoulder.

"It takes some getting used to." she says sympathetically. Akechi laughs lightheartedly before a queasy feeling has him instinctively covering his mouth. The girl looks even more sympathetic. Akechi just lowers his eyes to the floor, intent on ignoring everyone and their disgusting pity.

When they finally reach the entrance of Mementos again, Akechi is feeling quite ill. He has to wonder to himself if it is just because of the ride or if it is also his nerves from getting caught. His heart sinks further when he realizes he can't just go home after this. For better or worse, though he would say it is most definitely worse, Akechi is a prisoner to the Phantom Thieves. The thought alone could make him want to throw up, so pairing it with his already unsettled state is not comfortable. Apparently it is clear that he feels unwell, because when they appear back in reality, Skull of all people gives him a concerned look.

"Dude, you good? You're looking pretty pale." He comments, stepping too close for Akechi's comfort. The queasy detective resists the urge to take a step back.

"Of course, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all. That trip really took quite a lot out of me." Akechi flashes one of his winningest smiles, but the punk is unaffected. If anything, he looks even more concerned, furrowing his tiny eyebrows as he stares at Akechi.

"Okay man, but you should get some rest. Akira'll take care of you, right?" Skull turns to the leader who is knelt down to let a cat climb in his bag. He looks up over the rim of his glasses before smirking and standing up straight. He adjusts the glasses with one hand and sticks the other in his pocket.

"I'm a good host. Right, Yusuke?" Akira looks over at the painter.

"You are very hospitable indeed." Yusuke agrees with a soft smile. "Though your couch is rather uncomfortable, I confess." Akira's expression sinks into minor disappointment. "What would have been more hospitable would have been if you offered me your bed." Akira's disappointment turns into an exasperated eye roll and a sigh. Akechi takes note of the somewhat smug smirk on the artist's face, as well as the glare Akira gives him for the smirk. He sighs inwardly, bracing himself for more foolishness of this sort to come. He is already tired of the friendly dynamics in the group, he just can't wait to be part of those interactions.

"Regardless, I think we are all pretty tired. We should meet again after school tomorrow to discuss this." Nijima speaks up and tucks a bit of hair behind her ear. Akechi's heart sinks at the mention of school, and it looks like he is not the only one negatively affected by this reminder. The two blondes sigh in unison and disappointment. Akira lifts a hand to his chin thoughtfully just as the cat he allowed into his bag a minute ago pops out and rests on his shoulder.

"You'll have to come up with a pretty good reason for a sleepover on a school night or the Chief'll never agree to let Akechi stay." The cat says.

Wait. The cat says? Akechi blinks once, eyes widening in stunned silence as he processes this. That voice definitely seemed to come from the cat, but that just couldn't be right!

"Um, Kurusu? Did your cat just...?" Akechi starts, confusion evident on his face. The blond delinquent boy laughs and slaps Akechi on the back goodnaturadely. Akechi refuses to believe he jolted in response to the sudden touch.

"Oh yeah, you've only seen Morgana in the Metaverse! Yeah, he's a talking cat. But only if you've been to the Metaverse or something. I dunno how that works, but normal people just hear meowin'." He explains.

"It has something to do with cognition." Nijima begins to explain. "If you hear him in the Metaverse, then you know he can talk, so then you can hear him in the regular world too. I think..." She sounds a little less confident at the end, but the explanation is actually helpful to Akechi. He nods slowly in vague understanding.

"Yeah, it's something like that. But don't let my looks fool you, I'm actually human! Just because I look like a cat and sound like a cat to others doesn't mean I am one." Morgana the cat adds onto the explanation. At his side, the one codenamed Skull scoffs and rolls his eyes. Akira looks a little unsure, but is obviously trying not to. He probably doesn't believe that the cat is human, but is trying to be supportive. Akechi knows it's not his place to interfere, but he thinks it would be better not to feed into the false fantasy and give the cat fake hope. He keeps his mouth shut for the moment, though.

The group splits off after a brief goodbye and agreement to meet again tomorrow, and Akechi follows next to Akira as they make their way from the subway to Yongen Jaya. The walk is quiet for the most part, only Morgana commenting on something overheard occasionally. Some fruit drink or something, Akechi doesn't find it important. What he does find notable is that other people really don't seem to hear Morgana talking, and as they got off the train, he swears he hears a little kid say something about hearing a kitty cat.

"Hey." Akira's voice startles Akechi from his thoughts. The detective turns to look him in the eyes with a small, polite smile. The leader barely lifts the corners of his lips. "We need a story, something to tell my guardian so he'll let you stay."

"I suppose I can't tell him that you're kidnapping me to keep me under surveillance?" Akechi teases, embarrassingly gratified by the amused look that spreads on the other's face.

"That won't fly, no. I'm thinking, you need a place to stay for the night because you recently had your appartment key stolen and are uncomfortable staying there until the lock is changed. You live in an apartment right?"

"Yes. You think that will work?" Akechi tilts his head curiously. It is a decently good lie, he admits, though it is not without it's faults. It will probably be good enough for this situation, and it's not like Akechi cares if it doesn't work. In fact, sabotaging the idea might be in his best interest. If Akira's guardian refuses, then Akechi can escape.

"It's not like we have much option. Just be cool, both of you, and it'll be fine!" Morgana pipes up confidently. The confidence makes Akechi feel less hopeful about weaseling out of this situation.

It isn't long before they reach a small cafe hidden in a backstreet. Akechi looks at it with a raised eyebrow. This is really where Akira lives, huh?

"Leblanc, hmm. Sae-san has mentioned this place to me before. She says that the coffee is very good." Akechi finds himself saying. Akira gives him a look that is almost proud.

"Yeah. Sojiro really does make the best coffee. I'm learning the ropes, actually. I can make you a cup tomorrow morning if you want." There is something in the honesty of Akira's words that makes Akechi feel an unusual warmth and he finds himself smiling softly and nodding.

"That sounds lovely." He responds. Akira looks pleased, in an almost innocent and pure way, and Akechi kind of hates how it makes his chest flutter. The bells above the entry door jingle as the two enter. The man behind the counter glances up only breifly before greeting Akira with a gruff "ah, you're back." When Akechi follows afterwards and stands awkwardly next to the other boy, only then does the man look up. He raises an eyebrow, suspiciously appraising Akechi where he stands.

"...what's this?" He asks, keeping his look of distrust. "Did that woman send you to harass me in her stead now?" Akechi's heart sinks a little. So, he is already unwelcome. The man recognizes him as Sae's coworker, he might as well give up now.

"No sir, he's here because, uh..." Akira speaks up in Akechi's defense, but seems to waver under pressure. Morgana quietly spurrs him on from the bag. It seems not to do much for the quiet boy, so Akechi puts on his TV face and smiles at the man.

"I am sorry for the actions of my coworker, I assure you I am not here to ask about anything. I simply need some help. See, I seem to have misplaced my apartment key, and I cannot get replacement lock until tomorrow. Considering my popularity, I'm concerned about someone getting in. Kurusu-kun has kindly offered me a place to stay for the night, if that would be alright with you?" Akechi's winning attitude seems to do the trick, or maybe Sojiro is just apathetic, and the man turns to Akira with a sigh.

"Another stray, huh? Why is it that you keep bringing others in when this isn't even your place?" The words hold no malice, and Akira grins in response. "Just don't mess anything up. You know the rules, if you screw up, I won't hesitate-"

"-won't hesitate to kick me out, I know." Akira cuts the man off, flapping a dismissive hand at him. Sojiro huffs at the rudeness, but it almost looks fond. "Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"Yeah, yeah. And make sure you're up for school tomorrow! I don't want to hear anything about you being late again!" Sojiro warns, but Akira is already heading up the stairs in the back of the store. Akechi gives the man his own thanks with a bow before following after the other. Akechi feels relieved that the plan worked without a hitch, which is weird because he had been banking on it going south so he could get away. He forgot about that in the moment, it seems.

Akechi eyes the room at the top of the stairs judgmentally. It's dingy, that's for sure. It actually amuses him to think that the leader of the Phantom Thieves lives in a place like this. As he looks around, he eventually catches the eye of Akira. Or, more specifically, catches the glint of his glasses. He has to wonder how he does that. Does he just know how to stand so that the lighting glares off the lens? Still, even without seeing his eyes, Akechi can tell that Akira is displeased by the downturn of his lips in a frown.

"You look like you want to say something." Akechi comments before the other has a chance to open his mouth. It is satisfying to see the way Akira's frown grows. Instead of saying anything, Akira instead turns away and starts digging through boxes near the stairs for something. Akechi shrugs off the blatant ignoring and looks around the room some more. The shelf against the wall is barren except for one display bowl of ramen in the center. To the right of that is a healthy looking plant and some bags of plant food leaning against the pot. Looking further on that side, there is a colorful stuffed character, something that looks like it was won from an amusement park game. Even Akechi has to admit that this particular slice of room indicates Akira's softer self. It's cute, as loathe as Akechi is to admit it. Caring for a plant enough to buy expensive plant food and proudly displaying a childish stuffed animal; it's cute.

To the left of the shelving is a bed, or more accurately, a mattress sitting on top of plastic crates. It's kind of a sad sight, so he instead follows the back wall it is leaned up against to look at a work desk. It is clean, but covered in little scratches. He wonders if he would be able to investigate the table at a later time. Moving on from that, he comes across the couch. It is most certainly a pathetic seat, and downright insulting as a bed. Akechi curls his upper lip in distaste and turns to Akira, who now has his arms full of bedding and clothes.

"I hope you will not expect me to sleep on this mockery of comfort." Akechi says, gesturing to the couch. Akira snorts with amusement and sets the heap of things in his arms on the couch.

"Mockery of comfort?" He repeats jovially. "You could just say it looks shitty. I like how you always find a way to say things wordier than necessary." The remark is strange. Akechi honestly can't tell if Akira meant it as a sarcastic joke or if he thought he was giving Akechi a genuine complement. Either way, the comment pisses the detective off a bit.

"And I thought you'd be a bit less crass, but perhaps you've been too influenced by your blond friend." Akechi retorts. He knows it isn't a very witty comeback, but he doesn't expect it would make Akira laugh. He has a soft laugh, a gentle chuckle sort of laugh. The sound is... regrettably pleasing.

"Ryuji? Yeah, you might have a point. He swears so much I think I got desensitized to it." Akira shrugs and starts laying a futon out on the floor with a blanket and clothes. Akechi raises an eyebrow at this; he thought Akira didn't have a futon since he made Yusuke sleep on the couch. Was he treating Akechi special, or did he just recently get a futon after his artist friend's stay? Akira didn't strike him as the type to give extra special treatment to any one of his friends, and he certainly didn't think Akira would give Akechi of all people special treatment. A moment later, Akira proves him wrong by stretching and then gesturing to his bed. "I'll let you take my bed for tonight, and I can sleep on the floor." Akechi's eyes widen at the offer, dumbfounded.

"Is there a reason for this ah, preferential treatment?" Akechi hesitates to ask. Akira laughs and rubs the back of his neck, swinging his head side to side.

"Actually, yeah. If I'm on the floor in the way of the stairs, it'll be harder for you to sneak out unnoticed by me or Morgana." His response actually makes Akechi feel more at ease. It would just be weird if Akira wanted him to sleep in his bed for no reason. This is at least logical.

"I see why you are the leader. That's very vigilant of you." Akechi looks from the bed to the futon and back to the bed. With the way Akira spread the futon on the floor, it would indeed be difficult to tiptoe around the squeaky attic without waking him up. He has to respect Akira a bit more for thinking of it. "I'd be happy to take the bed, thank you." Akira grins in response, then hands over a neatly folded pile of clothes.

"Here. Figure you don't want to sleep in a button down and dress pants. You can borrow my clothes for the night." Akira fixes Akechi with a look that is almost... excited, in a way. It is a bit unnerving, and a lot confusing. Instead of questioning it, Akechi just thanks Akira and follows his instructions to the bathroom to change.

Akechi finds that the younger boy's clothes are a bit tighter fitting than he expected. He didn't realize how slim Akira is, it seems. Akechi has no need for the drawstring on the pants, as they are already tight enough to stay up fine. The shirt fits okay, but is still the slightest but uncomfortable. Akechi concludes that his discomfort likely stems from the fact that he's wearing someone else's clothes. Borrowing them for a sleepover. The concept is astounding.

He returns upstairs to find Akira sitting cross legged on his futon and staring at his phone. Akechi finds it hard not to look at the boy's collar bone in his v-neck shirt. He's worn turtlenecks and higher collared shirts all the times Akechi has seen him. That little extra inch of skin is new. He shakes his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind as Akira looks up. Akechi sees his grey eyes flicker up and down his body and he shuffles a little under the gaze until Akira makes eye contact again.

"So you didn't run off, good." Akira comments before putting his phone down and standing up. He gestures awkwardly to the bed to indicate Akechi should get in it. The detective has felt out of place a lot in his life, but the sheer unfamiliarity and strangeness of the situation sits heavily on him. A sleepover. Crazy.

"I'll admit it didn't actually occur to me that I had a chance to escape." It is only a partial lie. He doesn't want Akira to be any more suspicious of him than he already is, and running away would not help his case. However, acting incompetent might, as much as it pains Akechi to do so. He walks over to the bed, ignoring Akira's raised eyebrow, and sits down.

"Thought you'd be craftier than that, detective, being the second coming of the detective prince and all." He shrugs with a sigh, shaking his head. "Whatever. I'm gonna turn the lights off now. You good?" He asks, gesturing to the ceiling light illuminating the room. Akechi climbs into the bed and gives his consent to lights out, and with a click, the room is plunged into darkness broken only by the dim light through the window. Akechi watches Akira's silhouette shuffle around until he settles on the floor.

In the silence, Akechi stares into the darkness. He moves to situate himself more comfortably, and the accompanying squeak of the mattress just further nails home that it'll be near impossible to move silently out of this attic. He closes his eyes and breathes out through his nose in an audible sigh, trying to will himself into sleep. For some reason, he finds his heart is beating faster than usual. It makes him feel shaky, and he's glad that he's laying down. It would be beyond embarrassing should anyone see his unreasonable nervousness. Goro Akechi fights monsters, dammit! He's an assassin! A silly little thing like sleeping in the same room as someone else should not give him this amount of anxiety.

He turns his head further into his pillow and breathes deeply to try and calm himself enough to sleep. This has the opposite effect. It's only natural that Akira's pillow should smell like Akira, but realizing that while resting one's face on it is different than just simply knowing it. It's not like Akechi knows what Akira smells like up close, (though now he imagines he might) it's just that the scent is so undeniably "Akira" that it's hard to deny it is anything but his. It is very uncomfortable, knowing this and having to deal with it, but what really makes it worse is that it isn't... bad. It's a warm, nurturing kind of smell, almost. Herbs and coffee, as well as a very human scent. Akechi realizes that he is probably a little bit creepy for thinking this, but nobody has to know. Nobody has to ever know that he enjoys it so much that he nuzzles his face into the pillow and eventually drifts off with thoughts of warm arms and soft, frizzy hair.

Chapter Text

Akechi wakes sharply to the sound of his cellphone ringing. He groans in frustration and rolls over to grab for it. He was just in the middle of a really nice dream, too. He hardly ever gets those. Though now that he is waking up enough to look at the caller ID, the dream is quickly forgotten. After his eyes adjust to the brightness, all comforts of sleep are shot down by cold dread as he reads the number. He was told very specifically that he was not to save this number in his phone contacts. Therefore, Akechi has the digits memorized. He allows the phone to ring once more out of spite before answering.

"Hello?" He speaks softly and stands up, the floorboards and bed creaking. Morgana complains loudly about being disturbed and Akira rolls over in his futon and pulls the blanket up over his head with a groan. Akechi gestures to the phone, then points down, as a signal for the cat that he isn't running or something. Morgana narrows his eyes but nods. Akechi can almost guarantee that the cat will be eavesdropping.

"Where are you? Did I hear a cat?" Shido asks without any sort of greeting or politeness. Akechi shakes his head, though nobody could see it.

"I think it must be a cat outside. I have my window open. Is there a reason for this phone call?" Akechi tries to sound as cordial as possible, gritting his teeth against every urge to point out the time and that he would like to sleep.

"Yes. I'm sure you realize that you did not check in with me at 11pm. You understand the importance of being on time?" The question sounds more threatening than a question should sound. Akechi swallows, wishing he could just go back to sleep.

"My apologies, sir. I was busy with school work and must have fallen asleep. I did not mean to let time slip by." Akechi listens to the phone crackle as Shido sighs tiredly.

"Try not to let it happen again. I need you sharp." He says. Akechi frowns at the choice of words. Sharp, like a tool. Like a weapon.

"Are you worried?" Akechi responds. Don't sound so hopeful. "I promise I have everything under control."

"You better. I can't afford any slip ups, we are truly in the home stretch now. Once those Phantom Thieves are taken care of, nothing will be able to stop me." Shido laughs in a low, dark chuckle. Akechi rolls his eyes. How can this man be so excessively villainous at 2 in the morning?

"Indeed. If that is every-" Akechi is cut off by the familiar sound of being hung up on. It never ceases to make his eyelid twitch. Does that man ever end a conversation with a farewell? Akechi sighs, closes his phone, and returns to the darkness of the cafe. He didn't really appreciate the vision of the cafe at night after closing hours earlier because of his phone call, but now Akechi can enjoy the gentle silence of the comforting place. Shadows cast throughout the room from the dim street light from the windows. It looks strange like this, almost like it is an entirely different place. Different, yet familiar in the same breath.

Akechi lets himself sink into the booth seat he's standing next to with a sigh, resting his head on the table. Even LeBlanc's calming atmosphere can't really ease the stress gained from that one phone call. If Shido found out he got caught by the Phantom Thieves, Akechi would have no choice but to drop everything and go into hiding. Either that or wait for the assassin to take him out. Akechi is strong in the Metaverse, but in the real world, there would be nothing he could do if, say, the Cleaner found him. Akechi grips his fist into his hair a little harder, leaning on his elbows and heavily digging them into the table. He tries to take a deep, calming breath, but the squeak of floorboards behind him sends a jolt through him that makes him tense all his muscles and whip around to look backwards towards the stairs. At the bottom step, Akira is frozen, wide eyed and guilty looking, like a kid caught with one hand in the cookie jar. Akechi can't help it; it makes him laugh. He laughs, loud and sudden and nothing like his practiced charming TV chuckle.

"Where you attempting to sneak up on me, Kurusu?" Akechi asks as he covers his mouth to control his sudden laughter. Akira visibly relaxes and stands normally, floorboards creaking as he shifts his weight and rubs the back of his neck.

"No, I just wanted to see if everything was okay." He clearly lies. Akechi knows a Sneaky Pose when he sees one, and Akira was a perfect rendition of something right out of an old cartoon. The detective shakes his head, sighing as his laughter dies off.

"Well, I'm sorry for waking you." He says to be polite. Really, he is only sorry that now he has to think something up to tell Akira why he was getting a phone call at 2 am.

"Don't worry about it. Morgana's pretty pissed, though." He yawns. "Is everything okay, though?" Despite his previous yawn, he sounds convincingly concerned.

"Yes, no need to worry. Something came up within a case I'm working on."

"Must have been something important if they called at 2 am." Akira comments, looking unconvinced. Akechi cringes internally; he should have known that his usual "detective work" excuse wouldn't work on Akira Kurusu. He forces a laugh, shaking his head.

"Not necessarily. The law force works so late sometimes that time becomes nothing to them. I myself am guilty of not realizing the time when reporting something on occasion." It isn't a complete lie, at least. He has indeed made some phone calls at very absurd hours for any normal person, and not even time means anything of importance to Shido and his plans. If he needs something done fifteen minutes ago, you had better learn to time travel. At the very least, his excuse seems to satisfy Akira, who releases another large yawn.

"Mm-kay. Do you need to go in, or...?" Akira leaves the question open ended. Akechi could say that he does need to go to work and possibly escape this surveillance, but the thought of getting dressed and going back out instead of returning to the warm bed upstairs is so unpleasant.

"No, thankfully, I am not needed immediately." Akechi responds as he stands up from the booth. "Now am I correct to assume that you wish to return to bed?" He gives Akira a sly little smile as he walks towards him and the stairs.

"Yes please." The other boy says with utmost seriousness, drawing another small chuckle from Akechi. Really, the detective is starting to be concerned about how much he's been laughing. It isn't hard to force them at all. He must be letting himself get too comfortable. In an attempt to distance himself, he swerves right before he reaches the stairs and opens the bathroom door.

"Then go to it." Akechi speaks as coldly as he can muster, without sounding too aggressive. His tone ends up being an emotionless, matter-of-fact statement, like he is answering a question from the teacher in class. He shuts the door to the bathroom before he sees Akira's reaction, and waits until he hears footsteps going back up the stairs to sigh in relief.

He leaves the light off, leaning against the door in the total darkness. He can just barely make out the sink and the toilet, but that is mostly because he already knows where to look where they are. He steps towards the sink with his arms outstretched. When his hands find the faucet, Akechi turns it on and lets the cold water pool in his hands until it spills over and through his fingers. In the darkness, it almost feels as if the water is his only connection to the world. He quickly pulls his hands apart and the water cupped in them splashes into the sink loudly. He then finds the hand towel by flapping his hand around where it should be, effectively dripping water everywhere until he finds it. When he goes to throw out the paper towel, he isn't sure if he misses the trash can in the darkness or not. Shrugging, he leaves the bathroom without a care.

Akechi expected Akira to be asleep already when he gets upstairs, so it kind of scares the shit out of him to see his host sitting straight up on the floor and staring at him with those wide, almost owlish eyes. Akechi places a hand over his chest, grips the stair railing tightly, and slowly releases the air he sucked in quickly in his surprise.

"Goodness, don't do that!" He says, far too shaken sounding to hold onto his dignity. Akira tilts his head questioningly.

"But I'm not doing anything?" He makes a fair point, and Akechi presses his lips together tightly and moves quickly past and to the bed against the wall. He sits down, adjusting the blanket and pillow before turning to look at the other. Akira is still staring at him.

"...I thought you would have fallen back asleep by now." Akechi says slowly, like he's talking to a volatile being. He isn't sure why he feels so nervous, but he really doesn't like it. Akira's eyes are kind of like a cat's when they stare off into the distance at nothing, but in their gaze you can tell that it is something there only they can see. Having that gaze fixed on himself is incredibly unnerving.

"He should be!" Morgana's high pitched voice ruins the atmosphere like a grating godsend. Akechi feels like this will likely be the only time he feels so thankful to hear the cat's voice. "You both should be! You two have school tomorrow, remember?" Akira groans and slumps down into his pillow, grumbling something Akechi can't understand.

"That's my job!" Morgana replies, having heard Akira just fine. They are right next to each other after all. "You should focus on keeping a low profile in school, and not be passing out in the middle of class!" Akira grumbles something again, quieter. "That's because I'm a cat! I can sleep anywhere I want any time I want!"

"I thought you said you weren't a cat, though?" Akechi says, unable to keep himself from pointing out the contradiction. Morgana looks startled, like he had forgotten Akechi was even in the room. He sputters a little, fur fluffing up a bit more when Akira's shoulders shake, clearly muffling laughter in the pillow now. The cat's ears flatten against his head and he puffs out his chest defiantly.

"Fine! If you're going to be like that, then you can watch him yourself! I don't care if you sleep or not!" Morgana huffs, then walks down the stairs and out of sight. Akira even lifts his head up a bit, amused surprise written on his face.

"Wow," he says, "he's never given me permission to stay up late before." Akechi raises an eyebrow at this, but says nothing. The cat seriously dictates when the Leader of the Phantom Thieves has to go to bed? Instead, he chooses to comment on a different issue with the cat's statement.

"I hope you don't really plan on watching me sleep." Akechi gives his host a sort of pitying look. "That would be a bit too creepy even for you." Akira sits up quickly and puts a hand on his chest with an offended gasp. It's over the top and dramatic and it makes Akechi wonder how the Phantom Thief has enough energy to act at this hour. Still, it makes Akechi smile, (god damn him) and soon enough, Akira is smiling too. Akechi clears his throat and quickly turns back to the bed. "Now, stop fooling around and get your rest. There will plenty of time to live up to your codename tomorrow." Akira chuckles softly and Akechi can hear him shuffle around until he's comfortable.

"Goodnight, sweet prince." Akira mumbles a minute later. Akechi feels his face heat up despite knowing it's just a dumb reference. It's probably just because of sleep deprivation, making his mind think weird things.

"Go to sleep." Akechi groans back, making his exasperation clear. He hears something that sounds like a breathy laugh from the floor, but it could have been a sigh. After that, it's quiet again, and it isn't long until they both return to sleep.

Chapter Text

Akechi is never happy to hear his alarm, but today he is feeling especially reluctant to obey it. He could sleep for the rest of the day if he was allowed. Hell, he could sleep for the rest of forever. This thought reminds him of Mementos and the reason why he was caught. Despair. He hadn't been hit with that ailment before. He almost died. He wanted to die. If it weren't for the Phantom Thieves, he really would have-

Akechi refuses to think about this subject any further. He can absolutely under no circumstances allow himself to feel a sense of obligation to the Thieves for saving his life. Instead, he forces himself to sit up and open his eyes. The first thing he notices after turning off the annoying blaring of his alarm is that Morgana and Akira seem to be quite frustrated.

"What? It's that time already?" The cat blinks sleepily up at Akechi and his phone. Akira just groans and shoves his face into his pillow. His usual mess of a bedhead is even more frizzy than usual. With an uncomfortable dismay, Akechi realizes that his own hair probably looks less than television ready. He self consciously pats it down as he double checks the time.

"It is 6:00 am." He reads to the cat and the boy trying very hard to return to sleep on the floor. After his announcement, though, Akira's head shoots up with a look of disbelief.

"School doesn't start until 8:30!" The pure betrayal in his tone feels a little too satisfying for Akechi. The detective shrugs and shakes his head pitilessly and Akira shoves his face back into his pillow.

"Why would you set an alarm so early?!" Morgana yowls as if he's in pain. The sadistic side of Akechi wants to grin, but he keeps his face blank.

"Don't you take the time to get ready before school?" Akechi asks before snapping his fingers in realization. "Oh, but of course you don't. I doubt you even own a hairbrush." He can't help teasing sometimes. It is just too enjoyable, especially when it makes Akira roll over just enough to fix Akechi with a steady glare.

"We don't take two whole hours!" Morgana stomps his paw angrily, and okay, Akechi has to admit that was pretty cute. "What do you even do that takes you that long?!" Less cute, now that the cat's voice is reaching ear splitting levels of screechy.

"Well, I prefer to shower in the morning and take the time to make myself presentable. It takes effort to uphold my image, you know." Akechi elects to ignore Akira rolling his eyes. "I also tend to work on whatever assignment I have to finish. Don't tell my teachers, but I find there are real benefits to allowing oneself to finish things last minute. It saves me time in the evenings when I may be busy doing something else, and actually saves me sleep as I do not stay up all night trying to finish it while exhausted from the day. It is also often that I must attend morning talk shows. Truthfully, I prefer doing homework over- hm?"

Akechi only now notices, but it seems like Akira has stopped listening. In fact, both he and Morgana have fallen back asleep. With a sigh, Akechi rolls his eyes and stands before approaching the body on the floor.

"Kurusu?" He waits a moment, but there is no response from either sleeping body. "Kurusu, I'm going across the street to shower." Still, no response. Oh well, it's not Akechi's fault they don't hear him, so he can't be blamed when they wake up and don't know where he is. With a shrug, the detective collects his clothes from the night before and softly creeps downstairs into the silent cafe. He is thankful that Boss has not opened up yet, as Akechi would very much regret being seen by anyone in Kurusu's clothes.

He praises whatever diety(ies) that may or may not exist that the bath house is open this early, and because it is early, the bath is empty. Akechi is highly against the idea of stewing in hot water with other people and their filthy selves. But, since the place is empty, and it is so early, the warm water does look very inviting. He considers the option at length as he undresses, and by the time he is finished, he has decided to take at least a short dip. The water is not too hot when he sticks his hand in, so he steps in and sinks down with ease before turning the faucet just a little to add more heat to the water. With a sigh, Akechi closes his eyes and leans back against the side of the tub. He assures himself repeatedly that it is clean, and that he should not be focusing on the fact that other people have sat and relaxed in this same spot that he has. Regrettably, he doesn't last long in the bath before he has to get out and go to the showers at the other end of the room. It is much easier to feel clean when only his feet touch the floor and the rest of him is under consistently running water.

In no time at all, Akechi has dried himself off, redressed, and exited the bath house. As he walks back across the street to LeBlanc, he winces as he brushes his fingers through his knotty hair and wishes he had an actual brush with him. The remaining wetness in his hair drips down onto his shoulders, too, and in the heat of the early summer morning, it makes him feel muggy. Maybe he would have been better off without a shower at all, he wonders. When he gets back upstairs, he finds Akira and Morgana still asleep in the same position he left them in. At this point it's around 6:45, and Akechi can't tolerate the two of them snoring peacefully while he has to sit around for another hour trapped in their room. He supposes he could go downstairs and make himself coffee, but he isn't sure if Sojiro would be happy with him using his things without permission. Akira, however, he could make some coffee. With that, the decision is made.

"Hey. Wake up." Akechi says, heartlessly digging the toe of his shoe into the sleeping boy's back. When there is no imediate response, Akechi kicks him again. "Kurusu."

"Don't kick me," the half asleep voice comes muffled through the pillow, "it's rude."

"Perhaps I don't feel like being polite." Akechi states, poking him again with his foot. And then, just for good measure, he adds: "You are the one who wanted me here, after all."

Akira lifts his head the slightest bit to shoot Akechi with a glare so intense it could burn a hole through a thin paper. The detective smiles pleasantly down at him and kicks him again.

"Why are you like this?" Akira groans again, burying his face in the pillow. It makes Akechi laugh, thinking if only he knew what I could really be like.

"I want coffee. You said you would make some for me, didn't you?" Akechi smiles innocently and waits while Akira takes his time sitting up. He makes a huge fuss out of it, groaning and sighing and stretching like it physically pains him to move. Meanwhile, Morgana whines and rolls off his side before digging his way under the blanket.

"I trust you to handle this, Akira. Wake me when it's time to leave." The cat grumbles. Akira responds with something about how honored he is before fixing Akechi with a glare and silent order to follow him downstairs.

"I really appreciate you doing this for me." Akechi tries to sound apologetic, but it seems kind of mocking. It's just as well anyway, he isn't really sorry after all. Akira notices, because of course he does, and glares at him again. Akechi smiles wider. "You're going to give yourself wrinkles around your eyes, glaring so much. It's no wonder rumors about you being dangerous are so popular." Akira actually turns to face away with what might actually be a hurt frown. With the Thief refusing to look at him, Akechi allows himself to grin. "I'm sure you could scare someone stiff with just that look. Pass them in the hall, dare them to say anything without speaking to them at all."

Instead of rising to the bait like Akechi expects, Akira turns to him with his own fake smile. Of course, by that point Akechi had control over his grin so that he didn't look like he was enjoying antagonizing Akira too much. But this look on his rival's face is completely unexpected. Akechi is sure that the surprise shows in his own face as a small amount of satisfaction fills Akira's smirk.

"I didn't think you could be so callous. What would the reaction be to you talking like that on screen?" Akira's smirk grows in direct correlation with Akechi's eyes widening. It's hard for the detective to believe that he got called out on his rudeness immediately. He at least wanted Akira to reel from the remarks for a while. This turn around is... strangely satisfying. Akechi smiles again, a little more honest but still mostly plastered.

"So you won't lose your composure over some heckling. That's good. It wouldn't be fitting for the leader of the Phantom Thieves to be a pushover." Akechi takes a seat at the counter as Akira continues to go behind it and gather the necessary things for making coffee. "In my line of work, I can't let myself be effected by meaningless rumors. Believe me, I know I have fans and haters alike. It seems the haters have been getting louder lately, but not overwhelming." Akira remains silent as he prepares the coffee, so Akechi decides to fill the silence with more talking. "If I were to help you, to join the Phantom Thieves, would I be betraying myself? I can't really just let you go, after all. I did make a promise to the public and myself to apprehend you. What would you do if I refuse?"

"I'd have to convince you." Akira responds without missing a beat. Interested, Akechi leans forward across the counter. The barista avoids eye contact to focus on the coffee, so for once Akechi feels like he has a bit of an upper hand.

"And what if I can't be convinced?" Barely a second passes before Akira looks up and meets Akechi's eyes with something that freezes the latter's very bones into stillness. Akechi has heard the phrase "captivating gaze" before, but never had he thought it could be so intense. Nor did he think it would be something he would experience himself. Of course, Akira Kurusu would take him by surprise once again.

"I can make it look like an accident." Akira's dark words and his unbreakable stare honestly send a shiver down the flabbergasted detective's spine and set a strange fog into his head.

"... what?" Akechi breathes the word out in complete disbelief that Akira would threaten him. Even more unbelievable, is that it works on him. The words are genuinely threatening, and for a moment, Akechi thinks he is in real danger because of the frizzy haired high schooler in front of him. But then, the fear fades into confusion as Akira breaks into light-hearted laughter.

"I'm teasing!" The barista continues on the coffee like nothing just happened, like he merely told a simple joke, like he didn't just threaten to kill the guy he's making the coffee for. Akechi isn't sure if he can believe that Akira was really joking. Still, he forces a smile on his own face and joins in the laughter.

"Ha ha, of course. You have assured me that the Phantom Thieves don't kill people. Besides, no matter how accidental you make it look, it would be very suspicious if the celebrity known for opposing you winds up dead." Akechi reminds him, just in case. He can't be too careful; Akira might really want to plan on disposing of him should he refuse to comply. Though, a feeling in his gut tells Akechi that Akira really isn't that kind of person.

"Exactly. Hey, how do you take your coffee?" The shift in tone from serious to so casual is a little dizzying, but Akechi can't complain. It keeps him on his toes, and for once he finds himself actually enjoying a conversation with someone his age.

"Just give me a bit of milk. Something to keep it from being completely black, but not too sweetened."

"Got it, not too bitter. You seem like the kind of guy to prefer sweets." Akira comments, catching Akechi a little off guard.

"Ah, yes, I suppose I'm guilty of having a bit of a sweet tooth. I like my coffee to offset that when I have a sweet dessert. Like something salty with a milkshake. Surprisingly a pleasant combination."

"Yeah? I'll have to try it." Akira starts pouring coffee into two mugs and Akechi can't resist letting the soothing smell relax him.

"Your living conditions are not favorable, but I admit to being envious of your living above a cafe. Do you ever get tired of this smell?" Akira shakes his head as he stirs the coffee and cream to make a swirl until it all blends together in a lighter, smoother brown.

"Never." He slides Akechi his cup before walking around the counter to sit beside him with his own cup. "Be careful, it's hot."

Akechi barely heeds the warning and tries to cool it off quickly so he can drink it, and it course ends up burning his upper lip. He gives Akira a dirty look for the barista's amused snort. He is careful when trying to sip it again, and still burns his tongue a little, but he can handle a little heat. He ignores the way Akira stares at him pityingly. When the coffee finally cools enough to drink and actually taste, he savors the warm flavor even as it burns the inside of his mouth.

"This is good, Kurusu." Akechi keeps his eyes closed and regrettably misses the pleased look on Akira's face.

"You think so? I was a little worried I talked myself up too much."

"There is of course room for improvement." Akechi adds. "With more practice you could be very good." Akira grunts and probably rolls his eyes, but Akechi doesn't bother looking at him to be sure. He knows his comment is condescending. It's why he made it.

"Is it good enough to earn a spot in your food blog?" Akira asks so casually Akechi nearly thinks nothing of it. When he does realize the actual meaning of the words, his eyes fly open and he turns to look at the smirking boy next to him. "Don't look so surprised, Akechi. You're famous enough that it's easy to find information on you, food blogs not withstanding." Akechi knows this, of course he knows, but he still finds it somewhat embarrassing. It doesn't help when Akira grins wider and tells him, "I didn't know how poetic you could get when describing food. Are you going to describe my coffee like that for me?"

"No. I will not consider saying any poetic praises about your coffee." Akechi manages to politely decline.

"Is it because I found your blog, teased you for it, and now you want to be spiteful?"

"That just about summarizes it, yes." Akechi takes a dainty sip and savors it for a moment. "But, I admit, I really enjoy this. It seems your coffee and your company have captured a place in my heart." Akira tries to hide his pleased grin behind his own cup, but Akechi can still see it. He decides to be nice and not mention it, this time.

"I'm glad you like it. I should try to make you curry some time. Sojiro is teaching me that, too." Akira frowns thoughtfully. "I always make it too spicy, though."

"I'm sure it's delicious." Akechi assures him. Truthfully, he isn't sure of that at all. In fact, if it's spicy, he's sure he won't like it very much. He elects not to mention this either; he's been mean enough for a morning. At least for now.

"I've been told it's an acquired taste." Akira nods solemnly. Akechi can definitely believe that. Acquired taste is just a nice way of saying it's not very good. None of Akira's goody goody friends would tell him upfront that his food is anything less than mediocre. At least his coffee is honestly good.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get better with practice." Akechi offers his support, as superficial as it is. "By the way, I've been wondering... how did you start the Phantom Thieves?" Akechi takes the jump and just goes for the question that has really been on his mind. "Perhaps if I know more about your background, I'll be more inclined to join. Am I correct in assuming that the teacher at your school was your first target? I've been very curious as to how this all could come to be."

"Are you sure? It's a bit of a long story." Akira looks somewhat nervous, almost. Or perhaps just hesitant. Akechi smiles and takes a drink from his mug.

"We have all morning."

Akira sighs reluctantly, but then begins his story. He explains how he was transferred to Shujin, though he doesn't fully clarify why, and how his first day went. Akechi decides to save his questions for the end and lets Akira continue without stopping him for an explanation on his probation specifics. Besides, Akechi is honestly interested in the way Akira discovered the Metaverse. Apparently, he and Ryuji were the first two to enter, and they did so by accident somehow. Akira describes how they were captured and sentenced to execution, then he describes his awakening as a result of wanting to save Ryuji.

"He was the first person to talk to me that didn't make me feel unwanted since I came here. He didn't even know my name and he told me to leave him behind and just run. But, even if he didn't do those things, I couldn't have left him to die. As much as everyone told me to stay out of it, to be a bystander, I couldn't. Then, Arsene spoke to me and granted me power. I don't think I've ever felt so... alive." As Akira talks, Akechi nods empathetically. He definitely understands the idea of finally feeling alive. When he received his powers, he felt like he could finally be strong like he always wanted. Loki gave him that confidence, and the ability to manipulate others. It was such euphoria to discover he could control the mental state of anyone. Generic shadows and human shadows alike were under his power.

Of course, telling Akira any of this would be like giving a grenade to a pyromaniac. There's no possible outcome that won't blow up in his face from doing that.

"We found Morgana in another cell shortly after escaping ours and locking Kamoshida in behind us, and he helped us get out. We come back to the real world, and half the day has passed. Honestly, it's pretty incredible how Ryuji and I didn't get severe punishments for that. But the real world Kamoshida had no knowledge of anything that happened in his palace. Also, as if seeing his cognitive form wasn't enough to convince me of his corruption, he was a total asshole in the real world too. He... assaulted a girl, Ann's best friend, Shiho. She tried to commit suicide. She is recovering now, thank God, but at the time it happened it was pretty scary. Honestly, if it weren't for the existence of the Metaverse..." Akira trails off for a moment and takes a long drink of his coffee. The pause is long enough that Akechi nearly asks him to continue, but the grim expression on Akira's face keeps him quiet. "If it weren't for the Metaverse, I would have been expelled, and with my record, I'd be jailed. Akechi, I'll be honest, if it weren't for the option to change his heart, I think I might have killed him."

Akechi's eyes widen at this new bit of information. He knew that Kamoshida was a garbage heap of a person, but he never really thought about it beyond the casual anger of hearing about it. Being in law enforcement, he has seen many cases of abuse and all manner of dastardly things. He's never really empathised with them, though. It was as if they were merely stories, even if he did see the victims and evidence. But this, seeing how Akira's fingers tense around his mug and his eyes narrow into pensive slits, makes Akechi realize the gravity of what a situation like that can do to a person. It's not as if Akechi isn't aware of how it feels to be abused, (hell, do you have a couple hours to spare?) but when it isn't his own specific situation, it hasn't felt personal before.

"I... can't really imagine that. You killing someone, I mean." Akechi hesitantly comments, hoping his expression looks as sympathetic as he can make it. A grim smirk quirks the corner of Akira's lips for all of a second before he goes totally stoic again.

"Before then, neither could I. Thought I was a pacifist, actually. Suppose my thrill in fighting shadows disproves that." He laughs humorlessly. "What the hell, why am I even telling you this?"

"Perhaps my presence is as disarming to you as your presence is to me." Akechi shrugs and sips his coffee to feign carelessness, but internally he feels almost... hopeful. "Or perhaps you are just tired."

"That must be it. The second thing. I'm definitely too tired." Akira casts a snarky side-eye to the other as he says this, and Akechi can't stop himself from smiling back.

"I wonder why you could be so tired?" He says, just to be a shit-head. Akira looks a little bit amused even as he rolls his eyes.

"Surely it couldn't be because somebody had to get up at dumbass-o-clock and force me to make coffee."

"Who would do such a thing?" Akechi snickers as he responds, smile feeling a little more natural than he would like to feel. Akira smiles more as well, and truthfully it's good that at that time, Sojiro unlocks the front door and enters. The chimes ring and Akechi is very thankful he won't have to think about the smile on the face next to him for any longer.

"Good morning, Sakura-san." Akechi greets with a wave of his hand. The man grumbles a good morning back to him and sets about his usual business.

When the coffee cups are empty, Akira takes the responsibility of cleaning them. While he is away at the sink, Sakura gives Akechi a curious look. Honestly, the detective doesn't know how to respond. Does he say something? Smile? Ignore it? His saving grace is that it doesn't take long for Sakura to start talking. At least Akechi knows how to deal with talking.

"Did you brush your hair yet this morning? You don't look as pulled together as normal." So Sakura-san noticed. Akechi knew he looked a mess! He must make a disgruntled face because next thing he knows is that Sakura is laughing at him and pulling something from his pocket. He is seconds away from getting angry before he sees that it's just a simple comb. Somehow, that makes it click that the man isn't laughing at him to be mean, but in a friendlier way.
"A gentleman can't be caught with his hair a mess. Let me fix it."

Before Akechi can think of how to respond, Sakura is coming around the bar to stand behind him with the comb. Then the comb is in his hair and Akechi jolts at the first pull.

"Sheesh, sit still, would you? I can't get these knots out if you keep squirming around." Sakura's admonishment makes Akechi's face heat up and causes Akira to laugh from where he's doing the dishes, which just makes Akechi's face heat up more. "Hey, I wouldn't be laughing. Unless you want to be next, frizzy head." Sakura points the comb at Akira's back and the boy's shoulders hunch up to his ears. Now it's Akechi's turn to laugh.

"I don't think I could picture Kurusu with straight hair." He admits, decidedly not flinching the next time Sakura pulls the comb through his hair.

"I don't think it's possible to straighten that hair out. He had better be straightening up his act this year, though!" Sakura points the comb at Akira's back again, and Akira's shoulders go back up to his ears in embarrassment again. He had just relaxed, too. Akechi can't help but feel delighted by that.

Akira finishes with the dishes soon enough and goes back upstairs to presumably get dressed for school. By the time he returns downstairs, Akechi's hair is almost entirely brushed out. Sojiro grimaces as he leaves the bangs in Akechi's face.

"There. All tidy again. Though I'm telling you, the ladies love a guy who's face they can actually see. Long bangs like that will just cover you up." Sakura seems frustrated.

"I assure you, my hair is stylish-" off to the side, Akira snorts with amusement, "- enough for the ladies, as well as my many fans. I think they would be surprised if I started slicking my hair back out of my face."

"Well, I suppose I have been out of the teenage scene for a while. It could be true that this," he holds a clump of hair appraisingly, "is what is in style nowadays."

"Everyone I've talked to thinks it looks dumb." Akira casually mentions as he leans against the counter.

"Who's said that?" Akechi reacts in exactly the way Akira hoped he would, with offense. "It doesn't look dumb. Specifically who said that it looks dumb?"

"Yknow, just people I've talked to." Akira shrugs.

"That isn't anyone specific. Your claim holds no merit."

"Okay, I think Ryuji said verbatim that your hair looks dumb."

"Oh, well if Ryuji thinks-"

"I didn't think you'd get so worked up over this." Akira grins like he's won, and regrettably, Akechi can't deny that he has the upper hand.

"I'm not getting worked up, I'm just trying to keep generalizations separate from the facts."

"The facts being that your hair looks dumb."

"I wouldn't talk about dumb hair, Frizzy." A new voice joins the conversation from the stairs. Morgana sleepily pads over. Akira gasps, wounded.

"My own cat, betraying me?"

"The cat's got a better sense of style than you do, kid." Sakura agrees, and for a moment, Akechi wonders if the man knows and can hear Morgana.

"I am not a cat!" Morgana meows angrily. Akechi's worries that Sakura can hear him are put to rest as the older man responds.

"See? He isn't afraid to agree." Sakura didn't hear him, otherwise he would have responded differently. While it isn't what Morgana said, the cat does agree, though. "Anyway, shouldn't you head to school by now?" A quick glance at the clock shows that it is still a but early to leave, but the suggestion was not subtle. Sakura wanted them out, so the polite thing to do would be to go. Akechi stands up and bows to express his gratitude.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay the night here."

"Yeah, it's no problem. Hope your lock gets fixed soon." Sakura waves his hand dismissively. Nodding silently in response, Akechi turns to go back upstairs to get his things together. He then follows Akira out the door and to the station, where they take the same line until they have to part ways. Finally out of sight of Akira, Akechi lets himself breathe out a sigh of relief. His day at school is no doubt going to be as boring as ever and afterwards he will be meeting with the Phantom Thieves to discuss his situation. He has to wonder if there's a way for him to get out of doing all of that, but alas, he can't just avoid the responsibilities. He got himself foolishly caught up in this, so now he has to accept it.

A female classmate greets him as he gets to his school, and he responds with something equally as pointless as whatever she said. It's easy to let himself go on autopilot to respond pleasantly to people he doesn't care about. He just hopes the day goes quickly. Yet on the other hand, he hopes the end of the day never comes. Someone compliments his hair, and Akechi makes a brief note to thank Sakura-san for his assistance later. Or maybe he won't. It would be unnecessary, after all. Besides, all he did was brush it. It's not like that's anything special. Though, it was kind of weird, now that Akechi thinks about it. Well, if that's Sakura-san's way of appreciating customers, then it's no wonder why Sae says he has such loyal customers. Maybe Akechi will just have to return on his own sometime to actually buy a coffee from the owner himself. Planning for that is much nicer than planning for after school. At the very start of the day with roll call, Akechi vows to not stress about after school, and just focus on school work.

Chapter Text

Akechi can't focus on school work at all. All he can think about is what he's going to say to get the Phantom Thieves off his back. He knows there's no way that Kurusu's going to accept Akechi's denial, but he won't let himself submit to the thief either. The both of them will have to settle for a compromise somehow. Akechi considers inviting them all into the Metaverse and taking them on all at once to kill all six birds with one stone, but it's too risky of a plan. Without proper preparations, he would be out matched, and he could never live with himself should the merry band of thieves defeat him. They wouldn't kill him, no that would be too easy for him. They would "show him mercy" and make him suffer for his errors. They would likely try and force him into some "redemption arc" like that's even an option for him. No, he can't risk it. Not now. He needs to save that for an absolute last ditch effort.

Akechi's next thought is of running away. Avoiding the thieves at all costs and hoping they'll leave him alone. It's not like they can kill his shadow and throw him into a mental shutdown. Still, the plan is risky. These foolish high schoolers have managed to avoid detection thus far somehow, so who's to say they wouldn't somehow be able to catch him in hiding? Akechi couldn't just abandon his TV presence either, not when he's so popular. That has nothing to do with his ego, either. The fawning masses give him no joy. No, he needs their recognition to be able to voice his concerns about the Phantom Thieves to them. He's too important to the plan of destroying them.

Since fight and flight were both out, Akechi moves onto another option: actual compromise. This would be the most likely solution to succeed, but it's also the solution Akechi hates the most. He wouldn't join them, of course not, but in order to get out of joining them, he'd have to bargain something. However, what could he give them that they would allow him to go? What would they even be able to do to him to make him keep quiet? He supposes he could just promise his silence on their identities in return for leaving him alone, but he doubts they would ever actually leave him alone. The thought makes his grip tighten on his pencil as he mindlessly takes notes on whatever the teacher is saying. He prides himself on his ability to multitask, but that's not on the forefront of his mind. No, Akechi is currently seething at the idea of being overpowered by a group of incompetent teenagers when he's done and seen things they wouldn't even dream of. He's more important than they will ever be. He has the power of the law on his side, has the support and trust of the most evil man he has ever known to exist, he can't be taken down by some God damn toddlers parading around like superheroes! The thought that it would even be a possibility to be defeated by those urchins makes his blood boil.

And then he snaps his pencil in half.

The people sitting near him jump at the sudden loud crack, and he gives them an apologetic smile before pulling out a second pencil and ignoring their continued stares. Eventually they get bored and go back to their own business. Thus, Akechi's external note taking and internal plotting resumes.

He could offer the Thieves protection from law enforcement. Of course, he wouldn't really just let them go, but he would be able to keep people from looking at them suspiciously for a while. Besides, he can always just go back on his word and catch them when the time comes. It's a decent idea, but not great. If offering them a false sense of security is his best, then he might as well give up.

Akechi considers trading targets for his freedom. He certainly knows plenty of people who would deserve a change of heart, but then again, that goes directly against his own morals. Of course, two years ago it was against his morals to kill someone by destroying their mind, and now he's doing it on call, but he still hates the idea of brainwashing. Honestly, it's a bit of a terrifying thought. Growing up, all he could rely on was that his thoughts were his own. His feelings and ideas were under his control, even if nothing else was. He learned to hide his emotions early on, and it comforted him to know that no one could ever see into his mind. Of course, the Metaverse had to just rip that security away too, but at least he has his personas. The Phantom Thieves wouldn't be able to steal his heart if he doesn't have a shadow, right? Still, he couldn't turn a blind eye on what the Thieves are doing, much less assist them in doing it. If they changed their target's hearts so completely, are the targets even the same people afterwards? A person's desires are what make them who they are, and if that is taken away, then who do they become?

Akechi prefers killing them. It's easier to understand and leaves no questions. Dead is dead, and that's all there is to it. There is no question of who the person is now, the person is dead. It's impossible to take someone evil and turn them good while keeping them the same person throughout. It's essentially killing the evil person and replacing them with an identical good person. Akechi can nearly garuntee that someone evil would rather die than lose who they are. After all, he himself would.

Before he even knows it, the final bell is ringing for the end of the day, and he has no solid plan. With a sigh, Akechi gets up from his seat and takes his time gathering his things and leaving the building. Maybe if he drags his feet enough, the Phantom Thieves will just get impatient and forget about him. Of course, it's too wishful thinking. When the detective enters LeBlanc, he's met with the eyes of the Phantom Thieves as well as the owner of the cafe. It's a little bit awkward having everyone staring at him, but he can deal with it. After all, he should be used to it being in front of live studio audiences. Then again, the studio audiences don't have otherworldly powers and information on you that could destroy your life.

"I hope I'm not late, I tried to get here as soon as possible." Akechi lies with an apologetic smile. Maybe he should have tried harder to not show up.

"No, you're good." Akira responds, standing up and turning to the stairs, nodding his head towards them in a "follow me" gesture. Like trained dogs, the other Thieves get up and follow him.

"Try not to make too much noise up there, you hear? I'm running a business, not a day care." The owner calls after the group as they head up. Ann pauses a moment at the bottom of the stairs to flash him a bright smile.

"We'll try to keep it down, thanks for letting us hang out here, Boss!"

Akechi can barely stop his eyes from rolling. If she were any more of a suck-up, it would be X rated. Sakura scoffs at her and waves his hand dismissively to tell her to go, but Akechi is sure he's secretly pleased. At the top of the stairs, Akira and Ryuji are already moving a table into the middle of the floor next to the sofa and dragging other chairs over to it. Everyone takes their seats quickly, leaving Akechi to sit at the head of the table, because of course they would put him there. He considers jokingly suggesting they cuff him to the chair and shine a bright lamp in his face while they're at it, but the chance of them actually doing it is a disturbing possibility. He just sits down and waits for the interrogation to start.

"So," Akira starts tentatively from his seat on the left side of the table from Akechi, "have you thought about my offer?"

"Of course I have." Akechi responds politely without adding ",dumbass" to the end of it.

"And?"

And I would rather die than take orders from you, you lowlife scum. Akechi does not say. Instead, he smiles his classic smile and shakes his head sadly.

"I must decline. I will not join you." Predictably, Akira isn't pleased with this response, though the other team members seem to have varying opinions on the matter as well.

"See, I told you he wouldn't cooperate! Now what are we gonna do?" In the seat left of Akira, Ryuji smacks the leader on the arm and whines far too loudly.

"Shh! Shut up, Ryuji!" Directly across from the blond is the other blonde on the couch against the wall, and she leans forward on the table angrily. "You're making us look unprofessional!"

"Oh yeah?" Ryuji counters, now also leaning on the table to get up in Ann's face as well. "I don't see you acting very professional either."

"That's cuz you pissed me off with your whining!"

"Please." Makoto cuts off their argument with a sigh, grabbing Ann's shoulder to pull her back down to the couch. "Can we get through one meeting without squabbling like children?" Akechi is honestly surprised when both of the arguing blondes sit down and apologize saying "yes ma'am" and "sorry Makoto." He makes note to not underestimate the younger Nijima anymore. It seems she's really gotten in control of herself, and others.

"Thank you." Akira nods at Makoto before turning back to Akechi with a stern look. "Why won't you join us?" He asks, as if the answer isn't obvious.

"Because I oppose you. I swore to apprehend you; I can't turn around and join the criminals I swore to catch." Akechi refrains from adding a "duh" to the end of his answer out of basic politeness.

"Why do you oppose us?" Across the table, the usually quiet artist asks. Akechi gets the sense that he's really asking "why can't you stop opposing us?"

"It's fairly simple, I should think. I don't believe in your sense of justice. I've said as much in many interviews, I'm sure you've seen at least one or two."

"What is wrong with our sense of justice?" Akira asks with a somewhat dark look on his face.

"I believe I've explained this before as well. I don't agree with your methods. Forcibly changing someone's heart is a criminal act. While I do believe your intentions are in the right place, I cannot agree with mind control." A few sounds of denial circle the table, but Akechi continues on over top of them. "There is nothing more precious to a person than their mind. By taking their heart, you're taking an important part of that person away from them."

"Well if that part is making 'em an abusive piece of shit, then they don't deserve it anyway!" Ryuji slams his hand down onto the table angrily, standing up. Akira reaches up to attempt to calm him, but the blond pushes his hand away. "No, no I won't shut up." Ryuji points an accusing finger at Akechi ."So you're saying we were wrong to make Kamoshida confess? That we were wrong to save all the students who were livin' every day in fear cuz of him? You're saying that we should have let Madarame continue to get away with using his students like tools? Should have just let him continue using Yusuke like a tool?" At the mention of this, the artist himself looks away, seeming uncomfortable. "And Kaneshiro, huh? Catching a freaking crimelord was wrong, is that what you're saying?!"

Putting his hands up in surrender to try and calm the raging Ryuji, Akechi slowly tries to explain himself. "No, that isn't what I mean-" but he can't continue as Ryuji cuts him off.

"I don't care what you mean by it. What you said is that leaving these shitty adults to continue doing whatever the hell they want is the right thing to do, because taking away what makes 'em evil is 'bad.' Tch, 'the most important part of a person'. As if they ever cared about the important parts of other people! As far as I care, they took enough important parts from others to deserve getting theirs taken away too." Ryuji sits back down, though it's more like he slams himself back into his seat. "If you think it's wrong to save people, you should get the hell away from us."

The room is filled with an uncomfortable silence, save for a consistent squeaking that takes Akechi a moment to realize is Ryuji anxiously bouncing his leg on the floor. Akira shifts his arm under the table and then even that noise stops. It's a blessing when the cat jumps up on the table.

"I'd word it better than that, but Ryuji is right. We only ever target the distorted hearts of rotten people, not just anyone who has done a bad thing. And even when we do target the smaller people, it doesn't change their entire being. In a way, we are stopping them from losing their selves in their distorted desires."

"Uh huh!" Ann leans on the table with a finger raised to explain. "We help everyone involved! Like there was this girl who was being totally creepy and stalking this guy and posting really freaky stuff online, but we changed her heart and now she's actually talking to him!"

Akechi nods slowly, thinking about how to respond. He considers being honest for all of a second before he plasters his TV smile on his face.

"Oh, well that is certainly an improvement." He says, ignoring the suspicious eyes Akira is giving him. He tones down the smile to a more serious expression. "I still don't think changing someone's internal workings to achieve results is quite right, though."
Hypocrite.

"How come not?!" Ryuji throws his arms up in the air and Akira, of course, leans smoothly out of hitting range. "You said yourself it helped 'em both! How is that not a good thing?"

"I just find the idea of invading someone's thoughts and changing their desires to be rather brutal. Sorry if I don't agree with forcing oneself into another person without their consent." If there's any one good thing about this meeting, it's the scandalized looks that cross the Thieves' faces.

"D-dude! Don't word it like that!" The vulgar boy is ironically the one with the reddest face.

"He has rather accurately described what it is we do, though." Kitagawa the ever-stoic makes Sakamoto's face go even redder.

"No he didn't! Besides, it ain't always against their will." Ryuji is quickly cut off by sharp looks from everyone around the table. Interesting. Akechi quirks an eyebrow and leans forward.

"Oh? You mean you've been asked by someone to change their own heart? That seems improbable. Who would do something like that? After all, if they know what they want is wrong, then what is keeping them from stopping themselves?" Akechi folds his hands on top of the table and smiles at the now nervous teens surrounding him. They all glance around at each other for a moment, and then inevitably rest their questioning gazes on their all-knowing leader.

Akira pushes up his glasses and sighs. Akechi can see how deep in thought the boy is, and it's strangely appealing to see him thinking so hard about something. It's reassuring to see him take his time to make a decision, to see him when he doesn't know right away what to do. It only lasts for a minute, though.

"If you could see how we work and what we do, would you reconsider joining? We can prove our justice to you." Akira offers this like it's something enticing that Akechi would actually want. He's already seen how the Thieves work and what they do, but Akira doesn't know that. He thinks he's actually offering something when really he's setting himself up for disappointment.

"And if you cannot prove yourselves?" Akechi leans closer to Akira, mirroring his confidence and keeping unbreaking eye contact. Akira tilts his chin up and holds strong.

"If we cannot prove that we are just in what we do, you may choose to leave and continue trying to get substantial evidence on us." Akira's offer surprises everyone in the room. Even Akechi is left speechless for a moment. This is basically handing Akechi exactly what he wants. This boy must be an idiot.

"Joker, you can't be serious! He already knows who we all are! We don't even know if he already has evidence against us! If we just let him go, it would be a matter of a few days at most until we are all apprehended!" The cat stomps up to Akira with his tail flicking anxiously. Akira keeps his expression neutral even as the rest of the Thieves agree with Morgana.

"You don't seem to have much faith in your justice if you don't believe you can convince me. I may be stubborn but I'm not unreasonable." Akechi is actually finding himself enjoying this, if only for the fearful expressions these annoying brats keep making.

"W-we got plenty of faith! And like hell you're not unreasonable! You won't even try to understand us, I bet!" Ryuji jabs a finger at Akechi, who is starting to have had enough of this particular boy and his loud voice.

"Really? Name one instance where I was unreasonable." Akechi crosses his arms and leans back in his seat smugly. He knows for a fact that he keeps himself appearing open minded.

"Uh, like how you think changing shitty hearts is a bad thing even if it helps people!"

"Just because I have an opposing opinion from you does not mean I haven't considered both sides. It just means that I decided that your side is wrong." Akechi smiles in the most pleasantly smug way he can, and that sure seems to tick off the blond.

"You little shit-!" Ryuji stands up quickly and rears his fist back like he's about to leap across the table and tackle the detective. Akechi braces himself for the attack, already calculating how best to outmaneuver the first punch. But it never comes. Instead, the ever-heroic Akira steps up to grab his friend by the arms and sit him back down.

"Calm down." He orders in a soft voice. Unwillingly, Akechi actually finds himself relaxing his muscles that were tense like a bow about to shoot just a moment ago. Akira wasn't even talking to him, what the hell, why is he the one that calmed down?

"We won't get anywhere if we fight like this." Nijima follows up immediately, like she is merely continuing what Akira was already saying. "Ryuji, attacking someone is a really bad way to convince them you are just, you know." Ryuji mumbles something, likely an apology, and sulks.

"Indeed, Nijima-san here is right. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that your cause is of pure intentions when you act so volatile." Akechi keeps his smile from expanding into a cruel grin. "Perhaps you are dangerous, if this is how you always react over disagreements." This earns Akechi a look of anger and hurt from the blond, and that expression alone is almost enough to make the meeting worth it on it's own. Hell, if he's lucky, he might even get the idiot to cry.

"Akechi." Akira's hard voice crushes the detective's amusement immediately. Instead of finding his anger amusing, he finds Akira's anger intimidating. The smile drops off of the detective's face instantly. Akira doesn't say more, but the fierce look in his eyes keeps Akechi silent and frozen. Instead, Nijima follows up but Akechi can barely understand her when he's trapped in eyes like burning charcoal.

"Do not antagonize someone and then convict them of getting mad. It's a cheap tactic used to make the opposition look unreasonable." She chides. Akechi doesn't even blink, trapped in this staring contest with Akira.

"I wasn't gonna hit ya, anyway." Ryuji grumbles. Akechi isn't convinced, but he isn't in a position to say anything at the moment. No, he is still lost in eyes the color of stone.

"We're going to take him into the palace, today." Akira says to the other Thieves without breaking eye contact with Akechi. Confused, Akechi blinks, and the staring contest is forgotten as Akira turns back to his friends. They are all protesting rather vehemently, or at least strongly questioning their leader, but as Akira puts his hand up to silence them, they sit back down. Akechi wonders if the Phantom Thieves are made up of a bunch of pushovers, or if Akira's commands are just that powerful. Calmed, the group speaks one at a time instead of trying to get everything out all at once.

"Are you sure that's the best idea? We don't know if he's-" Nijima glances towards Akechi and lowers her voice; a meaningless gesture since he is still sitting right there and can hear her clearly. "-safe to bring into a palace."

"He'll be perfectly safe. If the shadows turn out to be too much for him to handle, we can leave. We'll just have to take it slow." Akira explains, though the concern on Nijima's face does not go away.

"That isn't really what I meant..." She glances at Akechi again, which is really starting to get on his nerves. He's sitting right next to her dammit, why is she looking at him like he's across the room?! He plasters his best passive aggressive "polite" smile and leans forward into the conversation.

"I understand. You don't trust me, correct? I don't blame you. After all, trust is something that must be earned." He feels glares pointed at him, but he does not meet any of them, acting as if he doesn't even notice the obvious disdain.

"That is why I want him to come with us. So we can all learn to trust each other." Akira explains, as calm as ever.

"But is bringing him into a palace really a good idea? He doesn't know much about Mementos, but if he knows how to get into a palace-" Morgana starts, but Akechi can't say he likes being told what he does or doesn't know.

"I know enough about 'Mementos' to realize that it is the collective unconscious of the general public, that it is flooded with monsters, and that it is a world based on cognition." Akechi sounds a bit too terse for his own liking, so he tries to lighten it with another smile and a lighter tone. "I am certainly open to learning more, though."

"If Mementos is the collective unconscious, then a palace is a single unconscious of one person. It is there that we steal the distorted desires of whomever the palace ruler is. That is how a change of heart occurs." Akira explains to Akechi despite the protests from the cat on the table. "The reason the person becomes so drastic is because of those twisted desires in their heart. Not everyone has a palace. Only those with a desire distorted enough can have one. Through Mementos, we can take the desires before they become too distorted."

"Yeah, so it isn't brain washing!" Sakamoto leans forward onto the table again. Akechi already misses the silence. "It's more like... like removing a tumor or somethin'."

"Think of it like medicines prescribed for mental illnesses. If the 'mind altering' drug does not change a person from who they are, then neither does a change of heart. We are simply removing the bad part of someone." Kitagawa inserts himself into the conversation once again with a strangely convincing argument.

"What if someone is all bad?" Akechi asks, intent on holding his ground.

"Nobody is all bad." Akira says suddenly from right next to him. Akechi turns to find the other facing him entirely with a serious expression that demands no argument. Akechi swallows anxiously, the gaze seeming to slice right through him.

"You don't know that." Akechi replies.

"I know it." Akira doesn't budge and his gaze holds firmer.

"Why do you think someone can be all bad?" The dumb blonde girl asks with a look of pity. God, he hates pity.

"Well, when you're in my line of work, you tend to see the most awful sides of people. Besides, can you think of one redeeming quality of your teacher, Kamoshida?" Akechi's question leaves the girl in silence. The corner of his lips twitches into an almost smirk, but he manages to remain looking serious. "He's nothing but regret and apologies now, you know. No cares, no wants, no personality at all. Just repentance. So tell me, without the bad part of him, who is he, really?"

"Akechi-kun, that's not-" Makoto starts, looking concerned for her friend. However, Ann cuts her off with a determined hand wave.

"No, it's fine. Let me handle this." She says, like she's gearing up for a battle. Perhaps, in a way, she really is. "Kamoshida is a piece of shit and I'll never forgive him, that's true. I hate that you're trying to make me defend him. I'm not going to. He doesn't deserve defence. Was he ever a good person? Was he ever 'not all bad?' I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. After what he did, I want him to suffer as a husk of a human. I don't care if everything he cared about was taken from him. I don't care about his well being. If he's living a life of pure pain and repentance, if the man who drove my best friend to suicide is gone and he feels nothing but shame forever more, I say good. Riddance."

"Ann, holy shit..." Ryuji breathes out in a mixture of terror and awe. The room is silent for a moment afterwards. In that silence, Ann holds her look of determination and fire, and Akechi finds himself respecting her a little more.

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I'll admit, I don't know what I was expecting. I never thought you would be so... Vicious." Akechi smiles pleasantly. "Perhaps your justice has some merit. Perhaps." He turns his smile to the leader's conveniently empty expression. "I'll accept your offer to see you all in action, and if I can verify your justice is true, I'll consider joining."

Akira's blank face splits into a grin like Akechi just agreed to not only join them, but to also support them on live television and give them all 10,000¥.

"You won't regret it. Is everyone able to go in now?" Akira stands up, wasting no time. The others get up as well, seemingly all prepared to head into the Metaverse. However, none of them look particularly excited about it.

"We are going to Futaba's palace, correct?" The artist contemplates, staring at the bag he brought with him. "I should leave my sketchbook behind, shouldn't I."

"Sorry Fox, you can draw the pyramid another time. I don't think it's going anywhere soon." Akira responds, tapping a couple times on his phone. A voice announces that it's beginning navigation. As the world warps around them, Akechi wonders where he's heard that name before.

Futaba... It's so familiar but he can't quite grasp it. Who is Futaba?

He would contemplate it further if entering the palace didn't feel like getting smothered suddenly. His body felt incredibly heavy, and hot. Very, very hot, and getting hotter by the second.

"Ugh!" Panther groans, fanning herself uselessly. "I'll never get used to this freaking heat."

"Yes, I suggest going inside." The younger Nijima, (Queen, was it?), pulls at the scarf around her neck. Akechi quickly figures out why he feels so weighted down; he is wearing his black outfit. With a helmet and tight belts, it doesn't make for the most breathable, light suit.

The rest of the Phantom Thieves agree with the plan of going inside, and Akechi is inclined to join them. He hasn't even been here for long and he feels like he's melting. He also feels the stares of the others as they walk to the entrance. He wishes his outfit could look just a bit less villainous; wearing it in front of them all makes him feel like he's carrying a big sign that says "hi, I'm a murderer!" on it.

The cool air of the pyramid immediately makes Akechi feel three times lighter. His suit still clings and drags around his body, but at least there is a nice, cool air reaching his face. Everyone takes a moment to breathe in the air before turning on him. Akechi notices that he is completely surrounded.

When the hell did that happen?

"Okay, first off, what is up with that outfit, dude?" Skull breaks the silence first. "You look like some kinda- uh, scary bondage knight." That... is definitely not what Akechi was expecting to hear. He hasn't really come across any mirrors in the Metaverse, so he doesn't know how he looks exactly, but with the helmet and belts, he can't disagree.

"I guess that's what he imagines rebellion to look like." Fox is tapping his chin with unhidden interest. Akechi is used to having many eyes on him, but knowing everyone in the room is looking at him and judging him so blatantly is a little nerve wracking.

"Is he into that kind of thing?" Joker wonders outloud.

"Can we move on?" Akechi groans. He is used to criticism, so a few teenagers judging his subconscious fashion shouldn't be getting to him like this. But, he's never received criticism for his self in the Metaverse before, so perhaps that's why it feels different. His "true self" is being seen and judged. At least, it would be if he were showing his true self. An edgy outfit doesn't reveal his innermost feelings and thoughts; nobody has ever seen his true self, and nobody ever will know his true self. Not even himself.

"We need to give him a codename though, right?" Skull sounds all too excited about this. Akechi takes a subtle step away from the loud, blond boy.

"But he hasn't joined us yet, Skull." The cat thing condescendingly reminds the other. Akechi is almost thankful for Morgana here. Almost. Skull continues talking regardless.

"Well yeah, but he's still in the palace right? We shouldn't go saying his name all the time in here, right?" Skull suggests, glancing around at everyone else to get their agreement on it. Begrudgingly, Akechi admits Skull has a point. Even if he isn't a teammate, he is still here with them. They'll need to call him something while he's here. "He's got all those stripes and belts, so... how about calling him... Zebra?"

"What does a zebra have to do with belts?" Panther shares Akechi's look of distaste for the name. Perhaps she isn't so bad. "Why don't we call him something that relates to his job. Like Ace! Since he's the Ace Detective and all, right?" Nevermind, he retracts his previous thought. She is the worst.

"I'd rather not be called that, thanks." He grimaces, just trying to imagine them yelling "Ace" at him.

"Aw, you could match my playing card theme, though. Ace and Joker." The leader's smile looks poisonous.

"I'd really rather not be called that, in that case." Akechi takes some pride in Joker's disappointed frown, as overly theatrical as it is.

"His mask looks somewhat like a beak, does it not?" Queen wonders outloud, tapping her chin. Fox glances to her and then back to the detective in question.

"Do you think? I find the helm to look almost dragon-like." He steps too close for comfort and runs his gloved hand smoothly along the curve of the top. Akechi jerks his head away and gives the eccentric a glare. Fox is entirely unperturbed.

"It is kind of bird-like, maybe? With the dark colors and cape it reminds me of a raven or something." Mona hops or skips, however the little abomination walks, around Akechi's feet, looking up with those disturbingly large eyes.

"Hm, believe it or not, I actually prefer crows to ravens, though many presume ravens to be the more elegant of black birds." Akechi thinks out loud, slowly forming an idea of a possible name. "I believe much of the appeal of ravens comes from Poe's writing."

"You know Poe?" Fox looks up with interest. "The dark emotion in his writing always intrigued me as well. Maybe your codename could allude to him or his works?"

"What, so we'd call him Poe then?" Skull tilts his head and frowns. "That doesn't sound very cool."

"Actually," Akechi decides, pride seeping into his voice, "I was thinking of the name "Karasu" as a possibility."

"Uh, no." Panther once again destroys Akechi's hopes and respect for her. "Let's go with something other than Japanese! Why not Crow?"

Akechi sighs deeply, but tries not to let his disappointment show. After all, if they all thought the name he came up with was lame, he would need to agree. Maybe he could pass it off as a joke?

"Crow, hm? I suppose that's suitable." He concedes. The group cheers. He idly imagines shooting them.

"Alright! Then you'll be Crow!" Skull slaps him on the back suddenly, hard enough to make him stumble. Akechi really hopes this does not become a regular occurrence, or else he might actually find himself shooting them.

"Now that this very important matter has been dealt with, may I get an explanation on where we are?"

"Oh right," Joker stands up straight from where he was slouching before, "you haven't been in a palace before, have you?" For a frightening moment, Akechi forgets what his lie was. He really should have thought it out more. However, he can remember that he did say he was only ever in Mementos.

"A palace? Not to sound ignorant, but this is an Egyptian pyramid, not a palace." He glances around the room with a wry smirk. "Though I don't recall there being any accounts of green flashes of ASCII symbols in tombs whenever I read about them."

"Well, don't think "palace" as in a "big fancy castle" palace. Think of it as a "mind palace" if that helps." The cat explains, kicking up sand and that strange purple material that sticks to one's feet in the Metaverse whenever he hops in place. Really, with all the bouncing around, he should be more compared to a bunny or something, and less designed like a cat. But who is he to say anything. Akechi isn't a designer, he's hardly even a detective.

"So, a palace is a person's cognition of the world, and not necessarily a literal palace." Akechi maybe overdoes the thoughtful tone he uses, or Joker is just always looking at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. How would Joker be able to tell he's lying about not knowing this anyway?

"Yes! That's it. The first palace I tackled with these guys was a castle, but the second was a museum."

"The third was a bank." Queen adds on, and Fox follows her up to say,

"And now we find ourselves in a tomb."

"Interesting." Akechi can say that honestly. It is interesting, or at least it would be if he didn't already know this. More details from the Thieves themselves are helpful, though.
"What is the reason for this infiltration, then?" Akechi continues on to ask. "Your first target was Kamoshida, that is self explanatory why you would target him. I assume Kitag- Fox, I mean, was the catalyst for targeting Madarame. I cannot begin to figure out how you discovered Junya Kaneshiro, but his crimes were undeniable. So, after these three criminals, who is this "Futaba"?"

"Futaba is our target because she asked us to change her heart." Joker explains. Akechi doesn't comprehend.

"What? Who would want their heart to be changed? Furthermore, if they wanted to change themselves, why can they not do it on their own?" Akechi questions, thought he doesn't expect how the Thieves glance uncomfortably around at each other as if to ask who would explain it. Joker, of course, opens his mouth again to speak, but is cut off by a haunting voice.

"The other me wants to rid herself of the guilt she feels." A young girl in Pharaoh-like clothing floats down from thin air. He long orange hair flows around her and her round glasses reflect the light to hide her eyes. Immediately Akechi can recognize her as a shadow, but he still can't quite figure out who.

"Guilt? What would a young girl feel so guilty for?" Akechi steps towards the apparition. She doesn't move but the distance between them stays the same.

"The guilt of murder." The word coming from that small voice makes Akechi shudder. Murder. The Shadow Futaba knows the next question on his mind already. "The murder of my mother."

The structure of the pyramid seems to shudder and shake as something outside screeches. Everyone looks up at the debris falling around them worriedly, but it stops within moments with no real damage done to the room. Akechi, meanwhile, is reeling. Mother? He thinks, mother's murder?

Unfamiliar voices begin to echo around them, accusing, harsh, and hateful. Shadow Futaba falls to her knees and covers her ears, but Akechi imagines it does nothing at all to cover the noise.

"Dammit, not this shit again-!" Skull complains loudly.

It's your fault!
You killed her!
Murderer!
Stay away from me!
Die!

Akechi doesn't realize he's shaking until a red gloved hand lands on his shoulder.

"This is why we're here." Joker explains softly. He then removes his hand and steps back without saying another word.

"There's one more of you now. Why?" The shadow speaks again in her numb, emotionless voice.

"He's just here to help us for now." Queen is the one to tackle the question. Akechi almost snorts. Help them. Right. As if he'll be anything other than useless here.

"There was no agreement on a "plus one"." Shadow Futaba says again, an inkling of panic in her tone. "The request she sent was for the Phantom Thieves, not the Phantom Thieves and their guest."

"He might be joining us, so it isn't like he is a random stranger." Queen seems a little uncomfortable. She is trying to form an argument against an opposition she doesn't understand, after all, who wouldn't be uneasy?

For a moment, the shadow seems as if she is contemplating something, but then she shakes her head and rises to her feet. Then, she rises up and off the ground without a word. Skull repeats his earlier complaint just before the walls start to quickly move in to crush them on either side.

"God dammit, not again!"

There are exits, but the walls moved too fast and blocked the stairs, so they would all have to climb the sarcophagi towards the farther wall to get out. The stairs leading back out of the pyramid were also out of the question as they fell away into a dark abyss, leaving a hole far too big to jump over in front of the exit.

"Persona!" Joker, ever so quick thinking, summons some sort of huge, faceless demon to slow the walls with force. Everyone else quickly catches on and assists him in pushing the walls back. Even with five personas (Queen's motorcycle wasn't the right kind of force for this and Akechi doesn't want to show them Loki, or Robin Hood for that matter), the walls continue inward, though significantly slower.

"While they hold the walls back, everyone climb that sarcophagus to get out!" Akechi can't bring himself to summon either of his personas, but that doesn't mean he can't take charge. Nobody argues, though with less concentration on the walls, the personas holding them grow weaker. It's cute to see the heart guys attached to Ann's Carmen trying their best to push back the wall too. They manage to be strong enough to allow for everyone to get out as Crow and Joker usher them towards the exit. Just as Crow starts to follow Joker up the sarcophagus, he is baffled by the red gloved hand reaching out towards him.

"Crow, come on!" Joker orders with- what is that look? Is that.. concern? Akechi would find it hilarious if he wasn't moments away from getting crushed. So, he takes his hand and pulls himself up the rest of the way just as the others recall their persona and he narrowly misses getting his foot smashed between the walls as they crash together. Akechi breathes a sigh of relief and turns to look at the others. His eyes inevitably land on Joker. He wants to strangle him for what he just did. Akechi could have escaped fine on his own, but no, Mr Good Boy had to go make him look like some sort of invalid by helping him.

"Is everyone okay?" Joker asks, though it's strange how he doesn't look up towards them as he says it. Instead, he has his head bowed and back turned to the others as he examines his arm. Akechi is in the right position to see how the fabric is torn around the wrist and forearm, and to see red color outside of his glove. Belatedly, he realizes that's his fault. Well, moreso his suit's fault. Of course his stupid claws had to go and rip open Joker's jacket and cut his arm.

"Yeah, we're all okay... Are you?" Queen hesitantly asks, a look of worry shared between them all. Joker shakes his arm out and pulls the sleeve down in an attempt to make the rips less noticeable before turning around.

"I'm fine, so is Crow. We should go to the safe room; we can explain everything to him there." Joker glances back at the clawed individual as he mentions him as if to ask if that idea was okay. Akechi nods to answer the not-question. In agreement, they all start towards the stairs leading up further into the tomb, blocked only by a gap that is easy enough to jump over using the remaining bits of the former floor as stepping stones. Joker holds the door for everyone once they reach the safe room, and as Akechi passes him, he can see the cut on Joker's arm under the ripped fabric still bleeding lightly. He withholds a self satisfied smirk and just goes into the room.

That's what you get, he thinks silently, that's what you get for trying to help me.

Joker enters after him and stands in front of the table in the center of the room as everyone gathers around it. Nobody else seems to notice how he favors leaning on his left arm while keeping the right one shoved in his pocket. Akechi's arm sympathetically stings while his fingers itch to dig deep into something and tear it apart.

"So. Our target is a girl named Futaba Sakura..." and so begins what is sure to be a long conversation. Especially when Akechi realizes where he's heard that name before.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

"Futaba Sakura?" Akechi can't stop himself from blurting out. "That's Wakaba Ishiki's-" He cuts himself off by covering his mouth in a look of surprise. Really, he is more anxious than surprised, though he definitely did not expect the victim of one of his actions to be someone he was supposed to be helping. It was so much easier when Futaba Ishiki was a faceless little kid that was taken in by family members.

"Wait what? You know her?" Ann exclaims, sharing a look of surprise with everyone else on the team.

"Ah, somewhat. I don't know her personally, but I have heard about her mother's case..." Akechi glances around the room to see if anyone had a look of clarity or at least suspicion on their faces. Unless they were all good at acting, which Akechi highly doubts, then none of them connected any dots yet. They all remained looking confused.

"Her case?" Yusuke asks. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I haven't heard much, to be honest. Everything I know is from hearing it from Sae-san. She has been in charge of locating Ishiki's research. She has mentioned to me that Futaba was adopted by Sojiro Sakura, but since then she hasn't gotten any new information. Sakura-san is very protective, it seems." Akechi finds it hard to maintain eye contact with any one person for more than a couple seconds, leading his eyes to shift from person to person.

"Yeah, Boss is a good guy, he wouldn't just hand shit over if he doesn't want to." Ryuji crosses his arms and sets his jaw challengingly.

"So it would seem, yes. It's been a great deal of stress on Sae-san. I'm sure she's spoken to you of this, Queen?" Akechi tilts his head in Makoto's direction, but she avoids his gaze.

"She has mentioned she's been stressed, yes, but she hasn't mentioned to me why." She looks hesitant to disclose this information, but Akechi can't be sure why. He's not 100% on sibling relationships, but he would think it'd be normal to keep some information from your little sister. Logically, Queen shouldn't look so put off. He concludes that it's that Nijima brand of nosiness she shares with her sister.

"Why does she want Futaba's mom's research so bad anyway?" Morgana narrows his huge eyes suspiciously. Akechi has to wonder if they know it's about cognitive psience or anything. He decides the easiest way out is to feign ignorance.

"I don't know, actually. It's all very hush-hush. I may be a hero in the eyes of the public, but to the adults I work with, I'm still nothing but a child." This part is true, somewhat. At least the scowl on his face is entirely honest. Akechi doesn't look to see anyone else's expression. "They wouldn't tell me something top secret."

"Psh, you ain't so much of a hero to the public these days, though. Isn't your popularity plummeting, Crow?" Ryuji is obviously trying to get under Akechi's skin, and it somewhat does. A look of confusion crosses Akechi's face as he meets the eyes behind the skull shaped mask. Ryuji is clearly enjoying this, which pisses off Akechi more, and allowing himself to feel angry about the provocation makes him even more angry. Luckily, he's well practiced in hiding emotions.

"That's what you took from that? You focused in on popularity? You really are jealous, aren't you?" The comeback has Ryuji recoiling like he got gut-punched.

"What? No! Jealous of you? Why the hell would I ever be jealous of you?" The blond fires back quicker than Akechi expects, though it isn't the most powerful comeback. "I certainly don't want to be you. Even if everyone hates the Phantom Thieves, I still got these guys." He gestures to his uncomfortable looking friends and teammates. "Without your fame, what do you have?"

Akechi was mistaken; Ryuji can fire back stronger than he thought. The hopefully rhetorical question peirces through Akechi's head and bounces around in his skull asking him over and over. What do you have?

He knows the answer. He knows everyone here knows the answer. At least Joker has an idea of the answer, considering how Akechi keeps telling him more information than he means to share whenever he talks to him.

"This is not what we are here for. Can we get back to the discussion? Futaba is waiting for us." Queen is the one to break the stiffness of the air in the room. Akechi won't admit it, but he is quite thankful for that.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking!" The monster cat hops up on to the table as if his presence would bring order to the court, metaphorically. "We should get back on track. The treasure is up the stairs but with all those walls it's hard to tell how long it will take to get up there. If we want to save Futaba and defeat Medjed, we need to do this as quickly as possible."

"Are Futaba and Medjed linked somehow?" Akechi interjects. He has been wondering what they were going to do about the faceless online threat.

"We think so. She told us that if we steal her heart, she'll help us take care of Medjed." Queen explains after waiting for a nod of approval from Joker to disclose this information.

"She has been making it very difficult to succeed in this, though. She seems to want to stop us at every turn, yet expects us to get past it. It's very... frustrating." The artist speaks up with a small amount of annoyance in his expression.

Skull elbows him and grins. "Oh, like you weren't a pain in the ass with opening up to us. You threw up walls effing everywhere."

Fox winces a little, but manages to keep his poise. "I've apologized for that already. Besides, this is different. I never asked you to save me, was very much against it, in fact. And I didn't have a palace."

"Can we stay on task, please?" Queen cuts off all chances of continuing that conversation with an authoritative voice. Akechi is honestly impressed; he still thinks of her as Sae's annoying self-righteous little sister. Now she's still annoying, but in charge. It takes effort not to laugh at how Skull backs up immediately and says "yes ma'am." Fox doesn't do that, he just nods his head to show he will cooperate. That somehow makes it funnier, though, to see the tough guy reverted to an obedient boy next to the entirely unchanged prettyboy next to him. A glance at Joker confirms that he finds it amusing too, if the smirk on his face has any significance.

"How about we start with you telling us everything you know." Queen says to Akechi. He knew this would happen sooner or later, but it's still a huge lie he's going to have to keep up with.

"Well, I know that Futaba's father is unknown, so Ishiki raised her as a single parent. Wakaba Ishiki was a scientist who studied something that isn't talked about. One day, she threw herself in front of a car and died from the impact. She had written a suicide note, but I never read it myself. That's about all I know." At least some of it was true. Even Wakaba's shadow wouldn't tell him who the father was, she does study something that isn't talked about, although Akechi knows it's cognitive research, he was told she threw herself in front of a car, and there was a fabricated suicide note he had never read.

"Yes, that is about as much as we have gathered as well." Makoto replies, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, we haven't gotten very far in this place yet thanks to Shadow Futaba." Skull grumbles. "We barely made any progress at all!"

"How do you mean?" Akechi is honestly curious about this since he is used to finding ways to bypass the obstacles and avoid dungeon crawling as much as possible to get to the shadow. "Progress" for the Thieves is something he is curious about.

"We originally came in and nearly reached the treasure in our first time in here," Fox starts explaining with a look of distaste. "But we were forced out by a huge ball rolling down the stairs. Then we were tasked with retrieving a stolen scroll. That led us across the desert to a barren town in which we ran around in the brutal heat after a bandit."

"And then, you'd think we'd have it easier, right? Wrong! The scroll was a map which is pretty cool I guess but then we got dropped into a huge effing sand pit where we all almost drowned! In sand! And then it took for-e-ver to get back up to the surface! And after all that, we're still right where we started! We haven't made any progress!" Skull finishes the story for his teammate, who looks a bit disgruntled at being interrupted.

"Do you want to continue forward with us? It's much more fun than they're making it sound." Joker grins excitedly. He looks entirely different than he did just that morning. He looks like his body is lighter; he looks a thousand times more confident. Akechi wishes he could fake confidence like that.

"That's rather masochistic of you, Joker. Isn't it?" Akechi says in a subtly flirtatious tone. Though, maybe it isn't as subtle as he wanted, because the other Thieves are giving him a weird look. They don't matter, though, because Akechi only cares about Joker's reaction, and Joker-

"Only in some cases." And Joker winks. Fuck. It wasn't even a subtle wink, either, he fucking leaned into it like he was trying to make it as obvious as possible. Did he do it on purpose? Is he mocking me?!

Akechi doesn't get to even begin to form what he wants to say because Panther, beautiful savior Panther, sighs and walks for the door.

"Ugh, come on already! We've got this all figured out now, right? Futaba-chan is counting on us, we can't just sit around here and chat all day!" Everyone else seems to agree to that, and Joker gives it the okay as well, holding the door for everyone like a gentleman. Akechi waits until everyone else exits the room and then he heads to the door. He was half expecting Joker to drop it on him, but he only patiently waits for Akechi to go through too. Of course he would, he's trying to look polite, like basic human decency is something that should be impressive.

Yet, Akechi knows first hand that sadly, basic human decency is rare to see.

"So, let's first get Crow a shadow to fight!" Joker states excitedly, his glee clear on his face as everyone does a double take.

"Excuse me?" Akechi blinks.
Already?! It's so soon!

"Are you sure he's ready? I mean, the shadows here are pretty strong..." Queen points out.

"I'm sure he'll be fine!" Joker flaps his hand dismissively. "If it ends up being too much for him, I've got plenty of res' items and recarm on one of my personas. So even if he gets knocked out it'll be fine."

Akechi doesn't like the sound of that, but he isn't scared or anything. He knows he can take on the shadows easily. As long as they don't inflict despair.

"Don't tell me you're a sadist, too." It's supposed to be a joke. But then Joker is smirking with a small shrug, and the wink makes a reappearance. Akechi's chest seizes up for a second and he can't respond.

"Tch, geez, dude. C'mon." Skull gives joker a scolding look, then rolls his eyes when Joker winks at him too. At least the focus is off Akechi now.

It doesn't stay off for long. The group go back outside and across the sand to a door leading down. It's wonderfully air conditioned inside, and they all breathe a sigh of relief before continuing downwards. They near up on a shadow dressed like what you might imagine an Egyptian mummy guard to look like. Then, eyes are all back on Akechi.

"You want me to go right now?" he asks, just to clarify. Joker nods and someone (probably Skull) slaps his back and tells him to "go for it". So, Akechi starts towards the shadow before Queens hand grips his shoulder to hold him back.

"Wait, Joker, are you sure sending him in alone is a good idea?" She sounds... concerned, which doesn't make much sense.

Akechi gently pushes her hand off his shoulder and smiles at her.
"I am perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you."

"But the shadows here are strong even for us, I don't think-" she is shushed by a red gloved finger on her mouth.

"Shh, let's see what he's got." Joker grins directly at Akechi while he says that. All Akechi can do is swallow and nod. He won't disappoint them, he can't, but he has to hold himself back from his true skill enough that they don't get suspicious.

He sneaks carefully behind the shadow, having been studying it's movements for a brief moment. He's seen Joker rip the masks off the shadow, but Akechi has found that straight up attacking them seems to have a similar effect. He supposed he'll try the Phantom Thief's way so he doesn't look like a psychopath, gutting the mummy dude or slicing his head off. Akechi can't jump on the shoulders of the shadow like Joker, because fuck, who does that? He can however grab it by the chin from behind and bend it backwards until the mask rips and snaps away from the goop underneath. The shadow shudders and it turns into a floating dog creature. Anubis.

"It nullifies bless and curse skills! Be careful!" Queen shouts from afar. Akechi easily dodges an attack from Anubis and sighs.

"Seriously? That's all I have!" He grumbles, reaching up to pull the mask part of his helmet off with a snap. For a second he wonders what they'll think of his persona; nobody's seen him before, after all. It's a bit nerve wracking to show a bunch of other people the manifestation of your inner ambition for justice.

"Come, Robin Hood!" He calls, worries forgotten as the air around him shifts and his body feels less heavy. As he commands Robin Hood to attack with Megaton Raid, the thrill of fighting reawakens in him and a grin spreads across his face. He knows he's being watched, but it doesn't make him feel any less free. Even when he gets hit, and he gets hit hard a couple times, hard enough to worry that Joker will think he needs help and jump in, he still feels exhilarated.

When the enemy finally falls, he lets that feeling of victory sink in. Queen was right in that it was a hard enemy, but he handled it with ease. Akechi takes a moment to turn his almost certainly maniacal looking grin into something more pleasant before he turns around to see the Thieves' reaction.

Akechi wasn't expecting that all of them would be dumbfounded, but their jaws are all dropped like he just completed an impossible task. Worry strikes him when he wonders if maybe he showed off too much, and now they know he's too strong to be new to this.

"So? What's my score?" Akechi asks, ever humble and polite. The Thieves blink slowly at him for a minute before their expressions start to change into something more suspicious. Oh no.

"Dude, how did you-" Skull lifts a finger to point at him.

"How did I what?" Akechi tilts his head curiously, heart starting to thud in his ears.

"You uh, might want to look down." Panther says cautiously like Akechi would possibly explode if she spoke too quickly. He heeds her words and looks down at himself and notices a distinct lack of the black, uncomfortable suit on his body. Instead, it is white and red that meets his eyes.

"My... clothes changed?" Akechi asks quietly as he looks over himself to confirm that he is definitely in his alternate outfit, the one his mind created with Robin Hood.

"Where the hell did that get up come from?!" Skull exclaims.

"I don't know," Akechi lies, "I have no idea how this happened." He looks confusedly down at himself and examines the clothes. When he looks up again, they are still looking at him with distrustful expressions.

"You have no idea?" Joker questions, narrowing his eyes.

Akechi averts his own eyes from the contact.
"I'm still very new to this, but I suppose this doesn't normally happen?" He asks, fiddling with a tassel on his shoulder.

"No, we usually only transform into our Thief outfits when we are viewed as threats by the palace ruler." Fox puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Our costumes have never changed before, though."

"Hm, this is strange. I was thinking that my suit didn't match my persona very well. Do you think that could be the reason it changed?"

"Maybe, but I've never seen that happen before." Mona circles Akechi to observe him from all sides.

"Well, I like this one better than that weird black one." Panther says.

"This one looks kind of dorky." Joker comments in his monotone voice. Akechi takes full offence.

"Yeah, what's up with this whole prince lookin' thing anyway?" Skull starts wandering too close to look at him, which brings everyone else closer so they can all investigate this new outfit.

"That mask looks very impractical." Queen looks at Akechi with pity.

"It's better than that helmet though!" Panther points out.

"Crow, you must be lying to us." Joker comments from Akechi's right side, catching the detective by surprise.

"Hah, what? Why do you say that?" Akechi tries to keep his voice from shaking.

Joker points at the nose of Akechi's red mask.
"Long nose, like Pinocchio. Gets longer when he lies."

Akechi laughs like the allusion is very amusing, when internally he is seething with anger at his momentary panic. He's not sure if he's angrier at Joker for making him panic or at himself for panicking.

"Well, let's hope this mask doesn't grow any longer." Akechi responds with an amused smile.

"It would be seriously impractical if it got any longer." Joker agrees, nodding.

"Okay whatEVER. We're all in agreement that Crow has a dumb looking mask now. Can we move on?" Skull says as he taps his foot impatiently on the ground. Akechi feels the need to defend his dumb mask, even if he is kind of in agreement. Instead, he smiles friendly at Skull.

"Oh of course, I suppose you're getting antsy. Have to take out that aggresion and stress in a morally acceptable way, after all. I agree, I'd prefer we move on before Skull starts attacking innocent detectives rather than shadows."

Skull clenches his hands into tight fists and plants his feet like he's ready to throw down.
"Innocent detective, huh? Yeah right."

For a moment Akechi thinks he's actually going to attack, but then he never does. Skull just stands there like he's waiting for Akechi to throw the first punch. Instead of doing that, Akechi looks incredulously at the blond, silently daring him to try. Neither of them have much time to do anything else as Panther interrupts with a long exasperated sigh.

"Enough with this already! You do realize you look like a couple of cats fluffing up to look intimidating. It's not working, you just look like dorks. So can we move on?"

"I second Panther." Queen adds. "I am also curious about that powerful looking shadow down and past those pillars."

At the mention of that shadow, the others seem to finally agree on something. They head down the stairs to the bottom, and like Queen said, just past some significant looking pillars is a shadow. It's honestly kind of creepy looking, and Akechi can feel the powerful energy it is giving off.

"I want Crow, Mona, and Queen with me to fight this one." Joker announces in front of the entrance to the room the shadow is in.

"What?" Mona looks bewildered, and Akechi can perfectly understand that.

"Yes, what?" Akechi repeats the cat monster thing and looks just as bewildered.

"You heard me." Joker's tone makes it clear that argument isn't an option here. "I want Crow to work with the team this time. He fights fine alone, so the next step is seeing him fight with others backing him up." Joker looks at Akechi pointedly as he talks about him.

Akechi nods his response.
"I can do this. I won't let you down."

Joker grins.
"I'm sure you won't." Then Joker turns with a wave of his hand for his team to follow. He runs straight up to the shadow to confront it and holds a meaningless conversation that essentially ends in "you shall not pass, now die." Typical.

Akechi stands ready to fight at Joker's signal. The blob of shadow goop reforms into a sarcophagus that looks formidably sturdy. Akechi already guesses that physical attacks won't be much use here. He hopes that maybe bless or curse attacks would be it's weakness so he can knock it down and take it out. That would definitely make him look cooler, he's sure of it. He's feeling confident about this fight, ready to show off even if it isn't weak to his skills. He can still fight with everything (not everything) he has, and gain respect that way. Akechi is ready when a hand peeks out of the sarcophagus. He's ready when the hand flicks towards him. He braces himself and is ready for whatever attack it is.

He wasn't ready at all.

"What the fuck?" He wants to say.
"Squeak!" he says instead.

The other Phantom Thieves look huge, and Joker's delighted grin just confirms that any chance of respectability Akechi had with these people has just been smashed. How could be keep his dignity when he's just been turned into a rodent. A fat little garbage dwelling rat that can't do or say anything. Joker's laughing at him now, and if it weren't for his inability to summon his persona right now, Akechi might have tried to kill him for it.

"Squeak!!!" Akechi yells adamantly at Joker to stop laughing, that this is serious, that it's not funny. He should have expected that it would make Joker laugh even more.

"Oh my god he's so mad, look at his mad little mouse face. That's adorable, I love this shadow." While distracted by Akechi being a little rat, Joker gets hit with an attack that knocks him off his feet. He slams into the ground hard enough that Akechi feels the impact ripple through the sand all the way to his little body.
"Ugh, never mind, I hate this shadow."

"You should be more serious about this, Joker!" Mona admonishes from the other side of the leader as he heals him. "I don't want us to all die because you were busy laughing your butt off at something stupid." Akechi respects Morgana a little bit more.

Joker agrees to behave and eventually, after far too long, Akechi returns to his human self. He gets a few hits on the shadow until they figure out that wind is the shadow's weakness. Between Joker and Mona knocking it down every time it got back up, the battle didn't last much longer. Akechi will admit that jumping into an all out attack is kind of fun. He also hates the way that Joker looks so cocky as he takes down the shadow and fixes his gloves. That damn smirk is the worst. Especially terrible how Akechi can't stop picturing it.

"Well, that was degrading." Akechi says cheerfully after everyone joins up again in the space where the shadow used to be. He's sure they all know that he's smiling to hide how pissed he is, but they're kind enough to not mention it.

"It wasn't too bad, really." Morgana reassures him at the same time Joker says

"You even had a tiny little mask."

There is a moment where Akechi has to collect himself before gritting his teeth into a light-hearted smile.

"I hope we don't encounter another shadow like that." He laughs and rubs the back of his neck like he's only a little embarrassed.

"Agreed, that was tough. But once we figured out the weakness the fight was pretty easy." Joker commented before gesturing everyone to follow him as he walked towards the back of the room. "We can move forward now. Hopefully we can make some real headway this time."

The Thieves and Akechi all follow Joker up the sarcophagi to scale the wall and go further into the pyramid. As they're looking around, Fox hums softly to himself before speaking.

"You could say that Crow was pretty rattled by the experience." He says.

Nobody replies.

"I said-"

"We heard what you said, dude." Skull cuts him off before he could make further bad puns. Akechi never pegged the artist as someone with any sort of sense of humor. He really is learning more about these people by being with them. That could be useful, if they start to trust him and let their guard down around him. Akechi's starting to think that maybe this set up won't be detrimental to his mission. It's not what he planned on, but he can still make it work. He can say he thinks of himself as an expert on dealing with unfortunate circumstances. He only has his entire life of experiencing unfortunate circumstances behind him to add to his credibility.

The pyramid is full of tedious puzzles and riddles, all of which Akechi figures out quickly. He doesn't get to show off his puzzle solving skills, though, because Joker figures them out just a bit faster. Because of course he does. Cocky bastard.

The wall puzzle is easy to solve too, but it's a little hard to look at when it's finished. Once the image on the wall is put together properly, the meaning becomes clear. Men in suits read a note to a crying Shadow Futaba. The note explicitly states that she was the reason for her mother's suicide. Maternity neurosis? What bullshit.

The room shakes as the wall fades away like it was never real. An opening into the main hall of stairs is conveniently in front of them now.

"So that's what happened." Akechi mutters.

"But that's a fuckin' sick thing to do to a kid if that's really how it went down." Skull grits out, the angriest Akechi's ever heard him sound.

"Yes. It is." Akechi glares at the empty space where the wall used to be. No wonder Futaba blames herself, if that's what she was told. If Akechi had known that the plan was to put an innocent child to blame-

honestly, he still would have done it. He doesn't feel great about it, but he knows he still would have gone through with the mental shutdown without hesitation. It's what had to be done to get closer to Shido. It's just a shame that there was so much collateral damage.

"Crow, you okay?" Akira's concerned voice breaks Akechi out of the daze he didn't even know he was in.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He smiles politely, but it doesn't seem to fool Joker at all. Really, he should have known better than to try that on him. Akechi trades the smile for a more tired frown. "I didn't know that's what the letter said. It's really quite awful."

"Yeah. We're heading back to the safe room to rest up before continuing, but we can come back another day if you don't feel up to it." The concern in Joker's eyes is as confusing as it is infuriating.

"I really am okay to keep going. Why would you think I'm not?" Akechi doesn't miss the somewhat guilty look on Joker's face.

"It's not that I think you're, well, never mind." He mumbles, definitely not fitting into his persona (hah) of Joker in the moment. He just looks like Akira in a costume. It passes quickly though, and soon he is directing the group onwards.

It turns out there is another safe room up the stairs by the next wall blocking their progression. Across from the room looks to be more of the tunnels and corridors of the pyramid. Their rest in the safe room is quiet; nobody really feels much like bantering. Akechi appreciates the quiet, but it is a little weird to watch everyone just discuss plans on moving forward without interrupting each other. He does catch Joker glancing at him every so often with that same inexplicable concerned look on his face. It's frankly making Akechi uneasy. The only thing Akechi could think of as a reason for so much concern is that Joker is suspicious of him now.

It's a relief to continue moving forward, and knocking down shadows nearly makes Akechi forget about the concern. Skull even cheers him on at one point when Akechi is the one to initiate an all out attack. It feels so good, he lets himself break into a little dance afterwards. Nobody says anything about the move he busted, and he hopes it stays that way. It seems there is a silent agreement that nobody mentions the poses each person does after an all out attack, so he hopes his dance move is in the clear.

The fun doesn't last, of course. The Thieves come up to another wall puzzle that makes Akechi feel vaguely sick to his stomach when it's all pieced together.

"It happened right in front of her..." Akechi breathes out the realization. It's like this palace is the biggest guilt trap Akechi could have run into.

"Oh, you didn't know that part?" Queen looks at him with similar concern to Joker. He shakes his head slowly, eyebrows wrinkling together as he thinks about it.

This one is entirely on himself. If he had known they were together, maybe he could have timed it differently. But how could he have known? The mental shutdown doesn't happen immediately, so there's no way he would have been able to know what she was doing three days after he killed her shadow. Hell, if she hadn't jumped into the street, maybe she would have survived the shutdown. But that's wishful thinking, and entirely useless thinking, considering it's done already and he can't change that.

"Alright, how about we call it for today? We've made a ton of progress compared to last time we were here." Joker asks everyone, even though he doesn't need to ask. Akechi is sure that if he wanted, they would do anything he said. Thinking about it reminds him of what one of his foster "dads" once said a long time ago. If your friends all jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?

It's meant to say that you shouldn't follow blindly, but Akechi responded at the time "First I'll need friends to be able to do that."
He wasn't with that family for very long. They didn't appreciate his "obstinate tendencies". That was when he was far younger, before he learned that to get what you want, you have to give what they want, even if it's a lie.

"Tired already, Joker?" Akechi has to tease him because nobody else will. They all just agree and head for the exit.

"Yeah." Joker replies. The honesty in the response throws Akechi off. He was expecting (hoping for) something more banter-y, or maybe a deflection. Really, he is the fool here, he should have expected that someone like him wouldn't get riled up over nothing.

They transition into the real world, an unmoving motion that makes Akechi feel a little dizzy every time, but it passes quickly. Beside him, Akira is back in his regular uniform. He looks... smaller when he isn't in the Metaverse. No, that's not necessarily true, he is surely the same size. He just looks smaller somehow. Akechi wonders if he looks smaller too, outside of the Metaverse. He subconsciously stands up straighter.

Nearby, Ann stretches her arms back over her head, which requires her to bend back and push her chest outward. It's distracting, Akechi will admit to that. But it isn't nearly as distracting as that weird face Sakamoto is making while staring obviously. She sighs as she lets go and relaxes her arms, looking content until she notices Ryuji. Her face isn't one of anger like Akechi would expect, though, merely annoyance. She starts going off on Ryuji, calling him creepy and what not while Ryuji says all the wrong things you say to a woman yelling at you. Akira must have seen the look of distaste on Akechi's face because he pats him on the back and starts chuckling.

"Don't worry about those two, that's just their thing." Akira reassures him, as if Akechi was worried. That's laughable.

"Their 'thing' seems a little..." Ann is now hitting Ryuji with her bag as he tries to duck and run. Makoto sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose while Yusuke just stands there and watches it all play out. Akechi doesn't finish his statement; the scene says it all. Akira understands what he means, though, and laughs.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, guys!" Akira redirects his attention to the others, giving Akechi a moment to try and analyze why Akira had chosen to stand next to him, a few steps away from the group, instead of stand with his friends. Something like anxiety starts to crawl up his throat when he thinks about those concerned glances Joker kept giving him in the Metaverse. He knows something. Akechi's mind supplies. He's keeping watch over you.

But, Akira isn't paying any attention to him right now; he's not keeping very good watch, if he even was in the first place.

The last of the goodbyes are dished out as the friends separate, and Akechi is sure to wave politely when they leave. As the last person rounds the corner and is out of sight, Akechi tries to ignore the way Akira is still there, blatantly staring at him. He fails in trying to ignore it, and meets Akira's eyes.

"So? What do you think?" Akira asks gently, but the anticipation in his posture and face give him away. Just because it's hilarious to see Akira so expectant, Akechi decides to play dumb.

"Think about what?" He even tilts his head to the side a little, something a newscaster once said made him look cute, but Akira is unwavering in his excitement.

"About the Thieves. Joining us. What do you think?" Screw the head tilt, newscaster lady, the hopeful, innocent look on Akira's face is far cuter. Akechi can't help but think that it's just another mask, but he can appreciate it anyway.

"Well, I still don't think it's justified to play around in people's minds, and I still find the entire idea disturbing..." Akechi pauses, collecting his thoughts.

"But?" Akira looks so hopeful that it takes longer than it should to think of what to say. Only about a half second longer, but still.

"But," Akechi repeats and smirks at the other. "Someone has to keep an eye on all of you. I don't want you going off and doing something I don't know about. You know how frustrating it was to not know what the elusive Thieves were up to in the beginning? I can't let this source of intel go, now that I have it."

"So you'll do it? You'll be a Phantom Thief?" Akira asks the question Akechi didn't want to answer. Following the Thieves around is one thing, but being one... that would be problematic. Yet, he can't resist the idea of getting information on the target freely and from the target itself, and being there to see it all. The potential of this opportunity to infiltrate the Thieves is boundless.

"If you will have me." Akechi replies non-committally. Akira holds out his hand to shake, but Akechi's eyes are fixed on his face. God, that grin. A perfect blend of cocky arrogance and simple happiness, all mixed into the big smile on Akira's face. Thinking of blends has him thinking of coffee, and now that he mentions it, he is kind of thirsty...

"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Crow. We're pleased to have you." Akira says as Akechi finally takes his hand and gives him a firm shake before pulling away.

"Oh, the pleasure is mine, leader." Akechi smiles externally but gags internally. "Leader." Ugh. Just shoot me. "I hope to exceed your expectations."

"I'm sure you will." Akira smiles reassuringly. If Akechi had any fears about his ability to contribute, that smile would have hushed them. "Hey, I bet you'd be great even if you were a little mouse permanently." His smile turns into something far from comforting.

"Oh, can we just forget about that?" Akechi groans, already tired of this joke.

"I'm just glad you're back to normal. If you were stuck as a mouse, I'd have to get you a cage and a little wheel to run on, and I'd have to find a way to keep Morgana from trying to eat you-" .

"Hey!" Morgana interrupts, popping his head out of the bag on Akira's shoulder. "I would never even consider eating a dirty mouse! I only tolerate the finest of cuisine." The cat sticks his nose into the air proudly.

"Really, because I'm pretty sure I saw you eat a spider off the floor the other night while you thought I was asleep." Akira smirks at the cat over his shoulder. Somehow, the cat's face looks embarrassed.

"Y-you must have been dreaming that! I would never-! Let's just go home already, it's late and you need to get your full night's sleep!" Morgana's voice gets even higher when he's flustered, and Akechi is glad to be leaving soon so he won't have to put up with it. He doesn't know how Akira stands it.

"Yeah yeah, let's go to bed." Akira agrees with the cat dismissively before looking at Akechi again. "Hey, give me your number. I'll add you to the group chat before I go to sleep though, so you can stay updated."

Akechi nods and pulls out his phone.
"Sounds good. Now, if I lose sleep because my phone keeps dinging with notifications from this group, I'll firmly blame you for it."

"That's fair." Akira shrugs. They trade numbers and return their phones to their pockets. "Well, go home, get some sleep, maybe say hi to the group first. I'll see you later."

"Yes, be seeing you." Akechi nods quickly and waves as Akira walks away, finally leaving him to himself. Akechi breathes out a big sigh before heading off towards his route home.

Imagining the dark apartment waiting for him and the phone call he knows he's going to make when he gets there drains his energy almost more than the Metaverse does. By the time he's at his building, he's barely dragging his feet. He can't let himself take so long, he has responsibilities, but the more he thinks about dialing Shido's number, the less he wants to get home.

Inevitably, he gets through his front door and turns on the light in his barren apartment. It makes the room physically brighter but it doesn't brighten the place whatsoever. He gets himself settled somewhat, at least comfortable and sitting down before dialing the number he knows by heart. It rings twice before the voice that Akechi despises that he knows so well answers.

"What is it?" Shido asks roughly and with slight annoyance. He always sounds annoyed, even if he's pleased.

"I'm simply reporting in tonight, sir." Akechi responds, digging the nails of his free hand into his leg as the other grips the phone tightly to his ear.

"And? Do you have anything of importance to report?" Shido sighs, irritation already obvious in his voice.

"Potentially."

"... Potentially?" Shido repeats incredulously. "What are you up to?"

"Don't be concerned, I have it under control. I simply cannot say yet for sure if my plan will be as successful as I hope it will be. I have a feeling you will be pleased by the end result, though." Akechi smiles at nothing to attempt making his voice more confident.

"Well, turn that feeling into a fact. Don't make me regret using you, do you understand me?"
using

"Yes sir. I will not fail." Akechi holds his determination until he hears the phone click without a farewell, then he breathes out in one long gust of air.

using you

It doesn't mean anything. He knows that's what Shido thinks. That's what he wants Shido to think. He wants Shido to think that Akechi is under his control, that Akechi is his tool. He wants Shido to trust him, and that means letting Shido think he owns him.

don't make me regret using you

Akechi takes a deep breath in... and then startles when his phone buzzes frantically next to him. His heart races, thinking Shido is calling him back, or something else related to the Metaverse is happening, but then he picks it up and sees a screen full of messages from unknown numbers.

Akira Kurusu
This is a new group chat including Akechi now.

555-3353
so he joined???!

555-2759
damn really?
thats unexpected

Akira Kurusu
Everyone let him know who you are.

555-5841
This is Yusuke Kitagawa.
Welcome to the team.

555-3353
welcome to the team Akechi!
oh this is Ann btw

555-2759
this is Ryuji

555-8901
This is Makoto Nijima.
What changed your mind?

Akechi considers his responses for a second and adds their names into his contacts before typing out his reply.

You
I suppose your methods intrigue me. Besides, someone has to make sure you all stay in check.

Ryuji Sakamoto
ugh self righteous as ever

Yusuke Kitagawa
I look forward to working with you.
Maybe we can progress more quickly with your aid.

Ann Takamaki
it will definitely help to have someone so strong on the team!

You
Thank you for your support, I won't let you down.

Yusuke Kitagawa
You will not. Already it is quite stimulating to watch you in battle.

Ryuji Sakamoto
man how many time do I gotta tell ya?
phrasing!

Akechi raises an eyebrow at the frivolous conversation, but can't help the smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth. So idiotic. He thinks before getting up. He makes himself something to eat before going to bed, reading the other's childish replies back and forth until he falls asleep. At the very least, their stupidity took his mind off of Shido for the night. That is a surprising feat in and of itself.