Archive of Our Own

It was such a beautiful day today. The skies were clear, not a single cloud in the far off distance. Akechi checked the weather report multiple times this week and confirmed that it will be sunny for the entire day today.

The weather was cold, but felt just right when he was standing underneath the sun’s warm gaze. What made the day so special was that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. He only had a few days before the flowers disappeared to go flower viewing and he wasn’t going to break the tradition now.

It was a perfect time to go flower viewing now that it was the weekend.

Akira had asked him if he was okay with everyone joining them to go visit his mother’s grave while they also looked at the sakura trees. Akechi hesitated for a second but agreed with a wide smile on his face.

The truth was, he was actually filled with anxiety when he gave his reply.

He was afraid that everyone had agreed to the idea just to be nice, but weren’t really interested. They would be looking at the flowers in a cemetery after all. It wouldn’t be as pretty compared to viewing the flowers next to a river or the Inokashira Park. He doesn’t want to bring his doubts to Akira, so he held it in as he smiled and said that he couldn’t wait. He has already brought enough trouble to Akira in the past year, it’s better to make this day go back as smoothly as possible.

Everyone was in charge of bringing something and Akechi was supposed to bring a large picnic blanket for them to sit on. The blanket wasn’t able to fit inside his suitcase so he had to bring his backpack instead. Since this will be the first time he won’t bring along his suitcase, Akechi decided to do something different.

Akechi, for the first time in a long time, chose to wear something more casual to meet up with everyone. He wore a dark plain hoodie over a long collared shirt with a pair of dark jeans.

Akechi arrived an hour early before the meeting time to clean his mother’s grave and secure a good location for the picnic.

He picked a place in the shade since it will get brighter during the afternoon. He hopes that everyone will be okay with the area as he spreads out the blanket. Akechi took a picture and gave a set of instructions on where he was through their group chat. Futaba was the first to respond and wrote that Akira and her were still in the train and will be arriving in about forty minutes. She also typed a lot of weird emojis and said that he was too early. He couldn’t help but smile at those texts.

He put away his phone and took in the scenery. It was a pretty sight, seeing all of the pink cherry blossoms slowly fluttering down. The color really stood out against the dark grey and black colors in the graveyard. Akechi hoped that the sight was pretty enough so that they could forget that they were in the graveyard and that everyone will be satisfied being here with him.

He can’t believe so much has happened within a year. They managed to arrest Shido, he made friends, and Akira found out about what he did and still managed to forgive him.

Akechi remembered how ashamed he was when his secret was revealed, but after they left Shido’s Palace, he had a chance to talk to Akira. Akira was patient while he talked and when he finally said he wasn’t upset after Akechi finished his story, it felt like all of the stress and guilt he had accumulated this past year were finally released. He cried for a long time as Akira hugged him firmly and repeated that it was okay. He was so embarrassed about the event afterwards, but he didn’t regret it. It felt good to have all his secrets out in the open. Akechi couldn’t believe that Akira didn’t even bat an eyelash when everything was revealed. He gave Akechi a chance to explain himself. While Akechi had a valid reason, he still helped in screwing over Akira’s life and reputation. And yet Akira gave him a smile and said let’s take down Shido together.

How kind can a person be?

There’s no point thinking about it. If he has to, Akechi is willing to spend the rest of his life trying to repay Akira back for his kindness.

He put those thoughts to the side as he set up the blanket and placed his backpack at the edge of it. He grabbed the incense sticks and lighter from his backpack and placed them into his hoodie before leaving the area to pick up a bucket and ladle. Akechi collected water and glanced to see how much time he had before everyone arrived.

He still has fifty minutes left. That’s good.

He walked quietly through the cemetery, staring at the few people who gathered already to visit their dead loved friends or family members.

‘It was nice.’ he thought. He was able to recognize a few of them. Every year, he would visit his mother during this season to keep their tradition alive even though she was gone. Cherry blossoms were beautiful but only lasted for a few days to a week. That means that he had a short amount of time to visit his mother while all the trees looked perfect. There were always the same people coming around the same time and he was able to recognize them by face now.

“Good morning Akechi-kun. We have such good weather today. It was unfortunate about last year. The rain appeared on the few days when the flowers were in full bloom. Were you able to visit your mom during that time at least?” One of the visitors asked.

Her name was Takahashi, Koharu. She was an elderly woman who visited her daughter’s grave every month after she died due to being burnt-out from overworking herself.

Takahashi-san didn’t find out about it until a few days later. Her daughter’s neighbors reported to the landlord that they smell a strange odor coming from her apartment. Management had to open her door just to find her lying on the floor in the middle of the living room.

Ever since then, the women would always take the time to visit her daughter’s grave. She felt guilty because she rarely came to visit her daughter back then. She was worried about being a bother or something. It all felt so foolish now that she thought about it.

Her daughter was working long hours, wanting to get promoted so she could bring her mother to the city so they could live together once again. The daughter never said she was stressed. She was always happy when they spoke over the phone so Takahashi-san didn’t think much about it and was planning on visiting her on Golden Week, but unfortunately, she passed away in February.

Takahashi told him to hold onto his friends and family close and to cherish every moment with them when they met and talked for the first time. Akechi never took it to heart because he doesn’t have any family (his uncle never really talked to him after his mother’s funeral and he refused to acknowledge Shido as part of his family) or friends. However he just smiled at her and said he will try just so she would stop talking. 

He can somewhat understand what she means now. Akechi has people that he values. That was why he didn’t want to bring up to Akira his thoughts and doubts if everyone was happy coming here today. He wants to spend more time with them and hopefully let them feel comfortable being here today even if it’s not an ideal place to hang out.

“Good morning Takahashi-san.” He greeted her as he placed the bucket of water down and gave her a polite bow.

“Yes, this weather is beautiful today.” He replied as he looked at her aged face. “I invited my friends to come here today. They wanted to come with me when I said I was going to be visiting my mother today. Last year, I went the week after the rain stopped. There were a lot less flowers, but it was still nice.”

Takahashi seemed to ignore the last two sentences. Her eyes seemed to shine in delight as she smiled gently at him. He felt confused when he saw her reaction. What did he say exactly that caused that sort of reaction?

“I’m happy for you Akechi-kun.” She said as she took his free hand and gave it a pat.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. She must have noticed because her grin grew wider as she replied.

“I was worried for you for a while now. You were always alone when you came to visit your mother. I hoped that you were able to find others that you can show them more about your past. It’s always hard to open up to others because we are always worried about making any sort of inconvenience for them. I’m glad you finally found those people now.”

Akechi flushed and willed himself not to pull his hand in embarrassment. He guessed it was pretty obvious how lonely he looked when he came here. He was surprised someone noticed and cared. He wonders if that was the reason why she would bother spending some time with him when he was here. 

“I’m very lucky.” He said as he smiled.

“Well, I don’t want to take too much of your time. This old lady needs to grab a few things. I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends Akechi-kun. You should introduce them to me someday.” She squeezed his hand before letting go and continued doing what she was doing before she saw him.

He…was pretty oblivious back then wasn’t he? He didn’t notice that he had people who worried about him and had tried to comfort him when he was down. It was the same with his neighbor too.

He thought about his nice neighbor as he walked towards his mother’s grave.

His neighbor for the past few years, Nakamura Hana, always said hi to him and asked how he was doing. She was a typical neighbor that enjoys having small talk with other people so he didn’t think much about her until one day he had an incident with his room. It was sometime last year, his heater broke down during the winter and she offered him a room in her apartment so he wouldn’t have to look for a capsule hotel last minute.

She was in her forties, married, and has a kid older than him. He just assumed that maybe she just missed her kid since he moved out to go to a university and wanted to shower someone in affection like how she did with her son. Why else would she do all of this? Who would go so far for a stranger after all?

He politely tried to decline but his stomach betrayed him at the time. She pulled him in while he was stuttering for words with a hot blush on his cheeks. Her husband joked that she managed to replace her son so quickly only within a few months. Akechi felt like he was intruding and wanted to leave, but she moved so quickly, setting up the table for three people that he didn’t even have time to open his mouth.

Akechi awkwardly shuffled to his seat as she told him once again to make himself at home. The husband just smiled at his reaction and said, “She really moves at her own pace doesn’t she?”

It felt uncomfortable. Akechi could see the adoration in the man’s eyes as he looked at his wife shuffling around in the kitchen to the dining room. He felt like he was intruding on something private and wanted to leave right away, but he didn't move. He doesn’t know what excuse he could make that would sound convincing to leave right before dinner was served.

Perhaps the department called him in for something rushed? It’s not unlikely, but there’s a high possibility that she would pack a lunch box for him which will still require a lot of effort so he chose to remain seated.

He told himself it wasn’t because he wanted to know what it would feel like to belong to a family for once. Would this have happened if Shido married his mother? His mother would be bouncing around cleaning up the house as Shido looked at her with a hint of a smile on his face. They would spend time together as a family and go see the cherry blossoms in the spring and the Christmas decorations in the winter. Maybe they would have gone to a few festivals and Shido would win him a few prizes at the festival games. And during the school festival, both of his parents would come to see him run in the marathon and cheer him on.

It sounds like a pleasant dream. He knew it was unrealistic since he knew Shido’s true colors. It didn’t stop him from dreaming for so long even after his mother died and the kids were picking on him.

Pathetic right?

He was tempted for so long to find his father and start a relationship with him. He hoped, no, prayed, that the fact of him abandoning his mother wasn’t true. It was just a mistake, he was too busy and they had to keep a long distance relationship. Anything to disapprove of the fact that he was abandoned by the two people who should value him the most in their hearts.

He kept these ideals close to his heart until he saw how Shido treated his employees. He remembers that day as clear as it was yesterday. He was in his second year of middle school and they had a field trip to the Diet building. He wandered away from their group because he knew that his father worked here. It shouldn’t be that hard to find him right? Akechi knew what he looked like because he was starting to appear more on television by going on talk shows.

He was in luck! Akechi walked in a hallway and made some random turn to see him talking to a woman. He was going to wait until they finished talking to introduce himself. However, something about this scene made him feel weary. He observed the situation a little closer. The lady looked tensed as Shido leaned forward and used his height to tower over her.

Akechi paused to observe what was going to happen next. He didn't want to jump to any kind of conclusions without any of the facts.

All of a sudden Shido raised his voice that even Akechi could hear even though he was still standing far away from them.

“I can’t believe how incompetent you are! You managed to screw up my meeting time with Sasaki! Now I have to push back my schedule to try to reschedule with him! He probably thinks negatively about me because of this!”

“I-I… I’m sorry! I for—“, she stammered, but Shido let out a snarl that immediately shut her up.

“Did I say you could talk?! You’re useless! If you weren’t recommended by Abe, I would have fired you a long time ago!” He yelled at her.

She let out a whimper as he continued to berate her.

“I-I can call him! Please let me make up my mistakes Shido-san!” She managed to choke out as she held her clipboard closer to her chest. She looked like she was about to cry as she avoided looking him in the face.

“And what? Let you mess it up again? HA! Just don’t bother coming in for the rest of the week and reflect on your mistake!” He huffed as he finally turned to walk away. He walked towards Akechi, his face still red from anger after that conversation with his secretary.

Akechi just held his head down as Shido passed by, pretending he wasn’t listening in to the conversation by pretending to look at his phone. He was shocked to witness this kind of behavior in public. He also felt bitter disappointment crawling through his veins as he processed this information.

If this was how he treated the people working under him, then there was no way he would respond kindly to a kid claiming he was Shido’s son and welcome him with open arms. It would be a huge controversy after all since Japan looks down on illegitimate children. It might be even worse for Shido since he’s a politician and they were supposed to be the ideal people that the public looks up to.

Ha ha. It was funny how much effort Akechi put into imagining Shido as a nice person. Shido was firm on his opinions on television, but he did all of those charity events and donated to the poor! That was why Akechi was convinced that he was a person who would take responsibility and take Akechi in after finding out the truth.

Akechi wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry… but not here. He could keep these feelings bottled up a little longer before he goes into the restroom.

He was about to turn around to find one before the women let out a loud sniff.

Oh right. The secretary was still there, looking at the floor as she lifted her hand to wipe the tears rushing down her face.

Akechi was torn. Should he ignore her and go on about his business? He was a stranger after all. Would she appreciate a stranger to comfort her at this time? He debated about his choices and decided to leave her alone. He turned away from her and was about to leave before a soft voice called out to him.

“…I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Akechi furrowed his eyebrows at her words. Why did she apologize for something Shido did? She might have made a mistake, but if Shido wanted to yell at her in private, surely there was an unoccupied room somewhere right?

He hesitantly walked towards her.

“It’s fine. Are you…alright?” He mentally cringed at his poor choice of words. She just got yelled at out in the open. Even though the hallway was empty, Shido’s voice was loud, there was a chance that other people might have heard it. It had to have been a humiliating experience, of course she wasn’t alright.

He was about to apologize for his poor choice of words, but she smiled weakly at him.

“Probably not. I might not even be better tomorrow, but I’m going to figure out a way to make it up to him. He’s not always like this. It’s just the stress right now since the election is coming up soon.” She smiled at him. He could tell that she was faking it, but didn’t want to call her out.

“I should stop bothering you. I hope you can convince …Shido-san was it? That you can do your job and get his approval.” He was waving her and was going to turn to leave before she called out to him.

“W-wait! Do you hang out a little bit longer? I want to apologize for the scene that you saw.” She said nervously.

‘I should meet up with my class again.’ He should have said. But instead, he replied, “sure, if it’s not a bother.”

The way her smile genuine after he accepted her offer made his chest feel warm. He was able to make someone smile with his efforts and it feels nice.

She didn’t last long working with Shido, but he knew that she chose to quit and work for someone else. They talked sometimes after he became a detective and she was able to hold her head up high again and smile like nothing can knock her down. She was one of the people he asked for help to take down Shido. It was unfortunate that even though his dream of him reuniting and living with his father was shattered, he found a new confidant.

He smiled as he thought about that secretary. Akechi politely asked the husband a few questions about his work while she placed the dishes onto the table.

The experience overall didn’t feel awkward as he thought it would be.

Nakamura-san invited him to dinner once in a while and he could never say no in time, but he never regretted it.

He’s not alone anymore is he? He had people who cared for him and he never realized it until the Phantom Thieves came along. They hung out more often compared to any of his other confidants. Through their interactions, they showed how people who are not related to each other can still be close as a family. This is the first time he went to visit his mother feeling something more than sadness, regret, and the dark desire for revenge.

He cleaned his mother’s grave. He brushed off the dried cherry blossoms and dirt and pulled out any weeds growing around the grave. After he deemed it being spotless, he reached into his hoodie’s pocket for the incense sticks and lined them neatly before lighting the tips on fire with his lighter. He lightly blew it out and placed them in front of the grave before reaching into his pocket to pull out a sakura matcha and sakura sake Kit Kat and placed them on her grave. Akechi always tries to find something sakura flavored during this time of year so his mother could try a new type of snack that they were never able to afford when she was still alive.

He stood up and pressed his hands together and prayed.

He thought about what happened since the last time he visited her.

They sent the sending card to Sae through Makoto after they found the location of her treasure. They should have suspected it, that the Black Mask was going to show himself again, but they didn’t. And Akira almost paid for it with his life.

After they decided not to take Sae’s treasure and let Makoto have one-on-one time with her sister’s Shadow, the other Phantom Thieves were checking out the area now that they weren’t fighting anymore. This will be the last time they were going to go to this Palace since Sae’s treasure won’t appear anymore.

Everyone gave a sigh of relief when they saw Sae’s Shadow finally went down. Fighting her was hard already, but then she sometimes forced them to play a game of roulette, hoping to turn the tides in her favor if they were doing well at the moment. Joker usually guessed right and they would recover some hp or sp back, but the times when he was too busy to take a guess, someone else would step in and place their bets on the number or color. No one was risky enough to bet the three to one odds other than Joker.

After they succeeded in taking Sae’s Shadow down and she transformed back to normal, they looked at the treasure and started walking towards it before a hesitant voice called out to them.

“...do we...have to take her treasure?” Crow asked.

“Huh? Wasn’t that the deal?” Skull asked as he narrowed his eyes.

“I asked to change her heart, not make her feel guilty enough that she wants to kill herself. She hasn’t done anything wrong that would warrant that sort of punishment. I believe that she can be reasoned with now that she’s not fighting us anymore. Can’t we just talk to her like the other people in Mementos?”

The Phantom Thieves looked at each other.

“It’s your call Joker.” Mona finally said. “The calling card only works once. It’s a risky move, but if you can get through to her, then we won’t need her treasure to change her heart.”

Mona sadly peeked at the treasure as he talked. He really wanted it!

“Queen, what do you think?” Joker asked while turning towards her. This was her sister after all. Queen should be the person who has the final decision on this matter.

Queen was silent the whole time while they were discussing the matter. She finally looked up when Joker directly addressed her and carefully looked at everyone’s faces, watching their reactions.

“I agree with Crow. I don’t think she’s too far gone or anything. I will take all responsibility for whatever happens next. Please give me the chance to have a private moment to talk with my sister.” Queen begged as she bowed her head at them.

“Hey, none of that here!” Skull said.

“It’s fine!” Futaba waved her hands.

“We’re a team. We will all share the same amount of responsibility Queen. I believe in you Queen. I believe you can get through to your sister.” Panther gave a gentle smile at her.

“I don’t think your relationship is unsalvageable Queen. I know deep down, she still cares for you. Both of you just need to express your feelings to each other and don’t try to bottle anything up.” Noir said.

As everyone else placed their beliefs on Queen, Crow walked towards Sae and said, “I’m sorry I failed to notice that the director piled more and more work on you.”

‘And I wanted her help to take down Shido too. I was too busy with my own investigations to notice anyone else’s problems. Some coworker I am.’ He thought in disgust.

She huffed. “It’s not your fault. I wanted to be recognized for my contributions and do everything by myself to show people my worth... I apologize for lashing out at you a while back about Sakura’s case. I hate to admit it but you were right. My desire to close cases had overwritten what was the morally correct thing to do.’

“Well we both failed at something, let’s learn from it and move forward.” Crow grinned widely as he said failed.

“Don’t get a big head just because I admitted to one mistake.” Sae barked out before breaking character and letting out a smile.

“Crow. I can take it from here.” Queen said as she approached them.

He nodded at her before saying one last thing to Sae. “I’ll see you at work on Monday then.”

As he stepped away from the Niijima sisters, he observed the scenery.

“Hey.”

Crow glanced to see Joker walking towards him. He waited patiently until Joker stood in front of him to see what he wanted.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier that you didn’t want us to steal her treasure?” Joker looked him in the eyes.

Crow fiddled with his gloves, unable to look at Joker directly in the eyes as he answered, “...I wasn’t sure how to propose such an absurd suggestion. It was a risky move after all and I didn’t want to get us to get into deeper trouble if it didn’t work out. I’m the newest member and am still learning about the Metaverse. I didn’t want to come out as demanding or anything… but I felt that going through with our original plan would make me feel guilty. She had helped me out when I started this job and I have a lot to thank her for. It’s true that she has gotten more aggressive lately, but she wasn’t an irredeemable person.She hasn’t prosecuted anyone on false charges or planted fake evidence (unlike some other people that I know of). I just want her to get better...is it foolish of me for having these thoughts?”

Joker nudged him with his elbow. “I would have listened to you if you brought it up. All of us would have. We’re teammates so believe in us more. If you have any questions or concerns, just bring it up. We’ll listen. We might not always agree with everything but we’ll at least listen to our friends.”

Teammates. There was that word again. They weren’t teammates. Not really. Just temporary allies. But friends. He hoped that he could at least be allowed to call them that. He never really hangs out with people his own age so he doesn’t know the requirements for people to become friends.

He shakily nodded. “I-I apologize. It’s not like I didn’t trust you guys, I just felt like bringing this up might be biased coming from me since I work closely with her. That’s the reason why I didn’t want to bring this up.”

Joker was silent for a while as he gazed at Crow’s face.

“...it’s hard isn’t it?”

Crow is confused. Did Joker suddenly change the topic? “Huh?”

“Asking for help. It’s hard right? You’re used to doing everything by yourself that relying on others seems like you’re just burdening others with your problems.”

 Akechi was stunned. He was correct. He nodded silently at Joker.

“I can’t blame you. I do it too.” He played with the bangs of his hair.

Akechi sometimes forgets that Joker and Akira were the same person. Joker, the cool valiant leader, who relentlessly chases after his enemies and protects his teammates from harm. Akira, the compassionate, patient individual who always lends an ear to people’s problems and helps them find themselves.

He has seen Akira taken on certain characteristics of Joker before, putting himself in front of someone to protect them from danger or the serious expression he shows when he stares down at bullies. But never has he seen Joker display any sort of weakness. It felt so weird to see how human he was. That he’s a person with faults just like everyone else. It felt relieving Crow must say.

Joker shifted until he was next to Crow as he said, “The pressure with everything, knowing the fact that we can’t fail in any of our missions or someone will get hurt otherwise, it gets to me every single time. I never told anyone that before Goro. I just pick up the phone and go help someone else out instead or go to a part-job to distract myself from the uncertainty of my actions.”

He...never knew. Akira looked so nonchalant that Akechi just assumed that everything would turn out fine. That sounds like Akira though, trying to reassure everyone while overworking himself silently in the meantime.

“How about this. Let’s both start talking about the stuff that’s bothering us and find a way to work through them together.” He grinned, not in his Joker half-smirk, half-grin, but Akira’s genuine smile.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“It’s a promise then! You can’t back out now or you have to suffer the consequences.” The smirk appears.

“...what consequences?” He hesitantly asked, afraid of the answer. That smirk only meant bad things to the person who received it and Crow was in its direct line of fire.

“Hmm now that is the question isn’t it? What should I propose?” He closed his eyes as he placed his hand to his face and pondered about the question.

He snapped his fingers as a lightbulb went off in his head. “How about don’t do it and we will never have to come up with one?”

‘Sounds like he hasn’t even thought of anything.’ Crow sweatdrop. He laughed but tried to disguise it as a cough while Joker grinned at him.

“What’s with that look Crow?” He asked as he shifted to Crow’s other side. “Looks like you—”

He was cut off by a gunshot. Joker hissed and held his side as he collapsed to the floor.

Crow was speechless.

What just happened?

“Joker?” He whispered.

It was hard to tell at first, but the floor surrounding him slowly turned a dark red which made Crow realize that he’s been shot at. Crow’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Joker’s been shot!” He shouted. “Group up and protect Sae-san’s Shadow!”

“No way! How can someone escape my scans?!” Oracle cried out. A few more gunshots were heard and Fox stood in front of her and cut the bullets aimed at her.

“Figure it out later! We need to protect ourselves right now!” Skull yelled at her.

“Goemon! Use Masukukaja!” Fox cried out.

Everyone felt the burst of agility and hurried to group together to look for their hidden opponent.

“There! By the pillar next to the entrance!” Panther cried out.

“Milady! Cast Tetrakarn!”

A shield erected itself in front of Queen who stood protectively in front of her sister.

“Johanna! Marakukaja!” Everyone’s defense rose temporarily as they placed a hand to their masks, getting ready to summon.

While the battle continued, Crow pulled and hid Joker behind a column, pulling out a life stone from his pocket. He crushed it in his hand and slowly poured the pieces directly onto Joker’s wound. Usually they would just throw the life stone to their teammates and it would break apart upon impact and effect would be almost instantaneously. However, this injury seems too severe to be using that method and he doesn’t want Joker to suffer any longer. Crow hoped that doing this way would be a more effective way in closing the wound faster since he’s putting the cure directly onto the wound. When he saw that his plan worked and the wound slowly getting smaller, he looked up and peeked his head out to see what the current situation was.

Panther used an area wide fire attack and the enemy didn’t seem to run out from behind the pillar. Crow assumes that they must have a fire resistant Persona. Well there’s a move that has proven to be successful many times already.

“Robin Hood! Show our enemies how strong your power is! Megidola!” He snarled.

Robin Hood appeared before him and aimed his bow at the pillar, it released its grip from the arrow in less than a second. When the arrow hit the pillar, a strong blast of non-elemental magic encompassed the area and he heard a cry from the enemy before they ran from their hideout spot to recover from the powerful magic spell. They also managed to finally reveal themselves to the Phantom Thieves.

The Phantom Thieves gasped.

“The Black Mask.”

“Ha ha, well this was unexpected. I didn’t want to reveal myself yet, but plans change all the time.” The person joked like he was the one who decided to show himself last minute and not because he was forced to.

“It’s because you aren’t resistant to almighty attacks! Don’t play it off like you were expecting this to happen.” Crow said as he stood up and walked out from behind the column. He didn’t dare leave Joker’s side, just in case the Black Mask had allies hidden somewhere in the room.

“So harsh, I wonder how your fans would behave when they find out the Detective Prince is just an annoying little smartass.”

He flinched at the comment but replied with a firm voice, “Who knows. I don’t need their recognition. Even when I was unpopular and everyone was against me, I never lost my drive as a detective.”

“Detective, huh? You make it sound like you do it for a noble reason on tv, but it is really?” He asked as he wore a knowing smile on his face. Crow narrowed his eyes. What was this person trying to say? Is it possible that he —?

“Don’t ignore the rest of us! Captain Kidd! Megaton Raid!” Skull barked out. His Persona appeared and flew towards the enemy on his ship. The way he shifted the ship on air was similar to how a surfer would ride the ocean waves on a surfboard.

The Persona almost managed to hit the enemy, missing by a few centimeters.

“I know when I’m outmatched. Well at least I took out your leader. You should be careful. If you don’t take this Palace’s treasure, I might just come back and shoot her Shadow later on.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Skull yelled out. He cast a strong electric attack and it barely missed.

“Enough games. Johanna! Freidyne!”

The attack blew up the entire area surrounding the enemy and dust immediately filled its place. They all watched in suspense, hands wrapped tightly around their weapons, trying to figure what the Back Mask’s next actions will be.

“He escaped.” Oracle frowned as the smoke dispersed. “I managed to get his signal though. He won’t be able to get the drop on us again.”

“Let’s leave, we’re done here.” Queen stated. She gritted her teeth as she gave one last glance at her sister before leading the group out. Crow and Skull carried Joker out of the Palace while everyone else kept on the lookout if the Black Mask was going to suddenly appear again. They trusted Oracle normally but were too shaken up by the person’s presence that they couldn’t help glancing over each other’s shoulders.

The journey was quiet with Oracle softly giving them directions on where to go next and where the enemies are.

They agreed to let their leader recover and wait to see what he wants to do next. He was unconscious when they left the Metaverse and the rest of the trip back to LeBlanc. Akechi bit his lip in worry as he and Ryuji placed Akira on his bed. Akira’s face was scrunched up in pain even though there was only a faint bruise where the bullet hit him when they took off his jacket and changed his outfit to his loungewear. Both of them were too embarrassed to change his pants. Hopefully his school uniform’s pants weren't too uncomfortable.

When Akira wakes up and his wound is still bothering him, Akechi will tell him to visit the doctor. No excuses!

Akechi was hesitant to leave LeBlanc, but Morgana told him that he should go back home and get some rest.

As he walked, all he could think was Joker getting shot and falling onto the ground. Even after he brushed his teeth and tucked himself to bed. He can’t stop the image of Joker bleeding out.

That’s when he said to screw the original plan. When Akira was attacked in Sae’s Palace, Akechi couldn't continue his original plan at this slow pace anymore. It was one thing knowing that Okumura died a few days after he got access to the Metaverse, but watching Akira get shot in front of him made his heart clench in terror. Not once, but twice Akechi was there at the scene when Akira was attacked by Shido or his people.

How can he have the will to stand and watch as Akira gets in trouble without being able to do anything again?

He can’t force his eyes shut as someone gets hurt anymore, maybe he will get more evidence and can shut him in prison for longer, but was it worth it? People were getting hurt in the process.

He was ready to sacrifice his life to bring Shido to justice, but he won’t allow Akira or any of his teammates get hurt for his goals. He refuses to be like Shido!

The Phantom Thieves were right. Helping the people right now was a better choice, Shido might get a lighter sentence since Akechi wasn’t confident he found all of Shido’s allies who worked in the Justice department. They could try to mishandle the evidence that Akechi had saved or delay the court case as much as possible. There were so many different possibilities that his allies would try to get off Shido scot-free, but if they changed his heart, at least he would take accountability for his actions and stop. He was the linchpin of the operation, without him, this organization won’t be able to survive.

He decided. It isn’t worth keeping all of this to himself anymore.

He will wait until Akira gets better though since he knows that Akira would want to jump into the Metaverse and explore Shido’s Palace as soon as possible, injured or not and there’s not a chance in hell Akechi would ever allow that.

“Argh! Who the hell is the employer of the black mask?!” Sakamoto growled as he scratched his head in frustration.

“This is quite troublesome. The longer we take our time figuring this out, the more time the black mask has to recover and attack more people in the Metaverse.” Yusuke said thoughtfully.

Akira woke up the next day and went to his doctor. Luckily, there was no internal bleeding or anything severe with his injury. However, for some reason, it still aches and rubbing on the wound doesn’t really help, but he doesn’t tell anyone that.

“Shit!” A fist hit the table. “Futaba, don’t you have anything?!”

“I-I’m trying! There’s not much to go by, I’ve only found some people who're involved, but it doesn’t look like they are in charge of this conspiracy!” Futaba squeaked as she hid behind her laptop. Ryuji’s shout made her nervous even though she knew he wouldn’t harm her, it was her first instinct because her uncle used to shout a lot too.

“Ryuji, don’t yell at her! We’re all stressed out right now! Give her time to figure this stuff out.” Ann reprimanded him as she pulled on his ear.

“Ow!” Ryuji huffed when Ann released his ear, but gave a deep long breath as he tried to calm down.

“Shit...sorry Futaba, all this sitting just makes me feel useless.” He bowed his head at her. “I want to go out there and shake down some Shadows and make them give me the information instead of just waiting around. Maybe we should look those people up and see if they are in Mementos.”

Futaba nodded as she continued typing. She could understand his frustration.

Akechi looked at the group as they tried to think about other potential solutions.

“Everyone. Can I have a moment of your time?” Akechi said suddenly. He was quiet the whole meeting and observing everyone’s actions since the beginning, trying to find the best time to talk.

Everyone straightened their backs and looked at Akechi. Futaba kept her ears open to listen to what Akechi had to say as she continued looking down at her laptop screen. Akechi ignored everyone but Akira. Akira and how he would lean to the left side more to avoid pulling on his injury from that ambush by the Black Mask. It was barely noticeable to the untrained eye.

“I may have the name of the person leading this conspiracy.” He said curtly as he only looked at Akira.

“What?” “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” “Let’s check if he has a Palace!” Multiple voices spoke up at once.

“Everyone.” Akira only had to say one word to make everyone quiet down. “Let Goro speak.”

“I’ve been chasing after him for a while. He’s been covering his tracks quite well and has gotten many higher-ups in the police department and other locations in the palm of his hands that it was hard to indict him. Fortunately I was able to confirm that he’s currently running for Prime Minister, Masayoshi, Shido. If he’s not the head of the conspiracy, he should be one of the leaders at least so we will be able to get some information from him.”

“The Prime Minister...it’s not impossible. The psychotic breakdowns have made the Minister of Transportation to resign recently. He could be replacing all the higher-ups with his people.” Makoto muttered.

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? We could have stopped him first.” Ryuji said, his eyes narrowing.

“I felt like I had it under control. I’ve been gathering evidence against him before it got destroyed by the police department. I was planning on getting Sae-san to prosecute him, but Sae-san… she was going to ruin herself and others to get promoted. I know she will regret it later on if she had been successful. She helped me so much since I’ve started this job when everyone else left me to drown. I want to help her in her time of need. Now, I fear she might get attacked by the Black Mask since her Palace still exists.” Akechi replied as he clenched his fists into his clothes. “This is my fault. I shouldn't have stopped us from taking her treasure. This whole situation has gotten worse because of that.”

He stood up to bow properly to them. “I’m sorry!”

“Akechi-kun.”

Akechi looked up at Makoto with a questioning look.

“Thank you. I wanted to tell everyone about nee-san, but I was afraid to tell them how corrupted she has become so thank you for speaking up for her.” She stood up and formally bowed to him.

“N-n-no need for thanks.” He tried to casually wave off her thanks, but his face was flushed.

“We all agreed to not steal her treasure so don’t bear this burden alone. Let’s figure what our next move is.” She smiled gently as she tugged him back to his seat.

They had to split into two groups. One stayed in Sae’s Palace just in case the Black Mask showed up again and wanted to finish the job while the other group went into Shido’s Palace. Ryuji, Morgana, and Makoto agreed to go to Sae’s Palace and everyone else went to the Diet building. Haru originally wanted to go to Sae’s Palace too since she has the Tetrakarn skill. The person can’t catch them unaware again with  a physical and gun attack, but Akechi said she might be more useful for Shido’s Palace since she has connections to high places due to her father. He has only been in there once, but there were a lot of cognitions walking around. They might need to prove that they belong on the ship, which was why Haru would need to come along and be their way in.

Their aim was to explore the whole Palace even though they only had half of the team.

Everyone nodded at the plan and set to work.

Even though this was Akechi’s second time there, the ship was still disgusting. Everything was gaudy. The people were corrupt and viewed Shido almost like a deity. Everyone was placing their trust in him. He wouldn’t be surprised if the people got on their hands and knees, kneeling and prostrating themselves when Shido walked in the room. It was disturbing and horrifying at the same time. Akechi couldn’t help but to look at this whole Palace in disgust. All he could think of as he walked down the hallways was how Shido’s heart deserved to be changed.

It was a slow process trying to find specific people and getting those stupid letter of recommendations.

Even though they ran into trouble and had to fight every single one of those people, he couldn’t help but enjoy fighting them. It felt like they were destroying the organization slowly with every person that they’ve beaten. It was unfortunate that the rest of the team members weren’t there to enjoy it.

Finally, they were on the last letter. The only place they haven't been to yet was the engine room. They encountered the Cleaner and he made a weird demand for a new tattoo design so they let Fox do his thing.

If the whole situation wasn’t so tense, Crow would’ve let out a smile seeing how passionate Fox was with the sketch. The drawing was not the style that the typical Yakuza would have, but it still looked gorgeous. Crow tightened his sword when he saw the drawing, but the Cleaner managed to surprise him.

He liked it?

He loosened his grip only to hear Fox vehemently yell no to the Cleaner's proposition about being his personal tattoo artist.

Crow sighed as he unsheathed his weapon. Looks like there was no avoiding any of these battles after all.

It didn't take too long defeating him but he could tell that Joker was getting tired. He was using a lot of his sp healing everyone since Panther or Noir don't have any skills that can heal multiple people at once. They gave most of their items to Queen, Mona, and Skull since they only have three people.

As the Cleaner was handing over the letter, Oracle whispered, "Pst! I'm getting a reading from the Black Mask. Looks like he's coming over to the engine room. Give me a moment to recover everyone's health and spirits."

Joker gave a sigh of relief as some of his energy returned.

"Let's hurry up and leave this room. Oracle, let us know the status of his location." Joker asked.

"Uhh, sure.." She took a few seconds to look at the scans. "Looks like he didn't come through the front door… there might be a secret side door that the map is missing. He's inside the room now...standing in the right corner of the room close to the exit door. Doesn't look like he's moving. Probably going to try to ambush us."

"Everyone, let's buff up and take him down. We're going to pretend that we don't see him, but let's walk slower than usual while making some small talk. In the meantime Crow will try to locate him and use debilitate. Oracle, stay close to Crow and give him a signal if the Black Mask moves. Everyone, let's try to find his elemental weakness and end the battle quickly."

They nodded.

Joker placed a hand on his mask to summon his Persona.

"Matarukaja!"

They felt their strength increased and Joker took the lead, walking in front and leading them out of the security room. He was currently using Abaddon which absorbed physical and gun attacks. The Black Mask won't get the drop on him this time.

As soon as they were out, Crow looked in the corner where Oracle pointed out earlier. If he didn’t know that the Black Mask was hiding there, he would’ve missed him. The colors of his outfit blended well with the background and darkness that Crow had a hard time finding him.

He raised his hand, pretending to brush his hair back before crying out for his Persona. “Robin Hood! Use Debilitate!”

As soon as Crow summoned, everyone split off and summoned their own Persona.

“Carmen! Agidyne!” “Goemon! Bufudyne!” “Milady! Psiodyne!” “Persona! Garudyne!”

The Black Mask shouted in pain as all of the skills hit him at once. He pulled out a gun and tried to shoot Joker, but Joker’s Persona absorbed the bullets.

“Nice try, but that’s not going to work on me again.”

The Black Mask makes a low growl before jumping off the hidden second floor and landing in front of the Phantom Thieves. Even though his face was hidden behind the visor, they could feel the weight of his glare.

“Playtime is over! Come!” As soon as he said those words, two Shadows appeared beside him.

He didn’t know that was possible. This wasn’t his Palace so how was that possible? The other Phantom Thieves looked shocked at the sight.

“Persona. Do it.” A striped Persona with long horns appeared above the Black Mask and casted something onto the Shadows. They both turned black and howled, ready to charge into battle.

“Be careful everyone! They seem to be a lot stronger now!” Oracle yelled as her Persona carried her into safety.

“Let’s go! Defense uppp!” She yelled as everyone’s defense increased.

“That girl needs to be taken down first…” The Black Mask said as he raised his gun to shoot down her Persona.

He tried to aim but her Persona was too quick, never stopping or moving in a predictable pattern. He was about to summon his Persona to use an area fire attack. ‘There was no way she would be able to dodge that,’ he thought as he smirked.

“Don’t you dare!” Noir cried out as she jumped from behind him and swung her axe with all her might.

“Shit!” He cried out as he barely dodged the attack. His gauntlet took some of the damage as he rolled into safety. “Damn you!”

“No one’s getting hurt under my watch!” Panther said as she used her whip and wrapped it around his ankle and tossed him against the wall.

Crow was impressed.

She lifted a person and threw them to the side! Don’t mess with any of the girls in the Phantom Thieves.

Fox, Joker and him worked together to take down the Shadows while Panther and Noir kept the Black Mask busy. Finally the Shadows disappeared and they joined the girls to take down the Black Mask.

“Ha...ha. Did you know, your precious team member…Crow was it? That guy is not as innocent as you might think.”

“We're not going to fall for that!” Noir cried out.

The Black Mask ignored her and carried on talking. “He was following Shido for a while you know, like a creepy little stalker I must say. His Shadow was so adorable. ‘I need to get revenge against Shido! I don’t care if I get eliminated, as long as the truth gets revealed, I’ll be satisfied!’ he said something like that I believe.”

He felt everyone’s eyes on him.

“That’s enough!” He said as he tried to attack the enemy. If the Black Mask knew that much already, then he must know about—

“But I’m not even at the best part yet!” He howled as he dodged the attack. “He saw the whole confrontation between your leader and Shido on that specific night and he didn’t even stand in to help him! He even convinced the victim not to speak out against Shido! What a great person to have on your team! He’s willing to put anyone under the bus as long as he has evidence to use against Shido!” The Black Mask laughed and laughed as Crow stopped attacking him.

Crow tensed up, unable to look at anyone in the face. He was afraid of their reactions.

It was true. Everything the Black Mask just said. It was true. Crow wasn’t the type to lie so he remained quiet as the Phantom Thieves absorbed the information. He waited for someone to say something as he clenched tightly onto his weapon.

Luckily, he didn’t wait long. Joker chose to speak up.

“If that's true, then he must have his reasons. I believe in him. For now, let’s deal with the enemy.” He stated.

Was it that easy? He managed to ease everyone’s nerves and take control of the conversation.

Crow hesitantly looked at Joker to see him nodding at him.

The upcoming conversation might not be enjoyable, but he knows that at least Joker...no, Akira, will listen to the whole story before judging him.  He doesn’t want to keep avoiding this just because his reaction might not be great, but he deserves to know the truth.

All of them worked together to take down the Black Mask. It wasn’t hard after Joker joined the fight. Finally, the Black Mask kneeled on the floor as he lost the battle. His hand shook as it barely managed to grip onto his gun.

The Phantom Thieves asked why the Black Mask chose to side with Shido and the conspiracy. Doesn’t having a Persona mean that the person chose to rebel against the unfair circumstances that was laid against them? How does all of this add up?

The Black Mask only had to say his name for Crow to understand everything. Kobayashi, Itsuki. His father, Kobayashi Yuuto, was the upcoming politician five years ago that was becoming well known at the same time as Shido. They were both trying to become members of the Diet. However, a scandal broke out a few days before the voting period for Kobayashi. Apparently he had a secret mistress while being married for the past year and he lost by a landslide. He tried to deny it, but his mistress told the newscasters everything. Where they would hang out, what places they’ve been too. It was very descriptive.

Crow heard that his wife and he later hung himself a few months, leaving behind a note apologizing to his family.

See? He was guilty after all the newscasters would say. Why else would he apologize?

Crow didn’t hear anything about their son after the scandal broke out, but he just assumed that his mother took him in.

‘So he was also in the orphanage like me.’ He thought as the Black Mask told them his story bitterly. He wanted revenge against Shido who ruined his father’s career by hiring an actor to be his father’s mistress and tore their family apart just because he wanted to win in the polls.

That could have been him. He was an angry child back then.

If he didn’t meet Shirogane, he might have been the same as the Black Mask. She helped him when he was down and had told him that being a detective was about uncovering the truth. He has to dig and dig and keep on digging to find evidence that nobody can ever dispute against. It might take a while, but the price will be worthwhile.

He kept those words close to his heart as he followed Shido, recording his every move, asking his witnesses to keep their head down until the right moment, keeping all the information in perfect detail so he could present it to a prosecutor and get Shido locked up for the rest of his life.

He admits that he wasn’t a good person, allowing people to get hurt just to use it as evidence against Shido. But he would never be able to side with Shido and do his dirty work for him. That was a line he would not cross and ultimately what sets him apart from Kobayashi.

Even though Kobayashi murdered and gave people psychotic breakdowns, he sympathized with him. Shido ruined his life too without any remorse.

“If it’s revenge then he should join us. We wouldn’t mind an extra hand. No killing though.” Crow said to the group.

Everyone agreed, but they are still missing three of their members. They also had to agree before Kobayashi joined. It has to be unanimous after all.

“You guys are fools.” The Black Mask muttered.

“Thanks.” Joker said as he was figuring out how to split up the group. The Black Mask was injured and tired. It might be better to keep him at the entrance of the Palace so he won’t get attacked by any Shadows. It seems that he could summon them, but Joker doesn’t know if he can control them. He doesn’t want to take the chance just in case something goes wrong. Having at least one person by his side would be good enough. He was thinking Crow since his Persona doesn’t have any weaknesses. Panther wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Everyone was low on sp and they still have to go back to the central hall and put all five letters of recommendations in the Main Assembly Hall door. Hopefully, that’s the last step and they will be able to secure a proper infiltration route. He was about to tell everyone his plans, but of course nothing can be simple.

The cognition of Kobayashi appeared and threatened the Black Mask to shoot the Phantom Thieves or suffer the same consequences. The cognition said that Shido had suspected that Kobayashi was trying to get close to Shido to get revenge and was planning on killing him after the election.

The Black Mask shot the cognition before closing the gate between him and the Phantom Thieves.

“I said you guys were fools...this is my punishment for being a fool for so long. Swear that you will change Shido’s heart and make him regret everything he did!”

“I swear it.” Joker said solemnly.

“...thank you.”

They could only hear gunshots before everything stopped.

“His signal is gone…” Oracle said as she stared at her screen.

They only met twice, each time with hostilities, but they managed to eventually find a common ground. If only they had met in real life, could they have prevented this from happening? If Akechi had met him and befriended him in the orphanage, would he have been able to save him?

He looked at Joker, trying to see what he wanted to do next. He could see the anguish in Joker’s eyes as he beat himself for what just happened.

“Let’s go.”

Joker led them out of the boiler room, but Crow couldn’t help but to turn once more at the gate. It really was unfortunate how this happened.

When they fought and won against Shido, Crow could feel an empty spot right next to him. He deserved to be here also to see Shido fall.

He told her what happened, how they took down Shido, and how he finally got justice for her and all of Shido’s victims. But, most importantly, he told her about the Phantom Thieves. Their loud, bold personalities and how even though everyone was different, they were still able to become friends. They were a strange group, but he thinks that she would have liked them. He also hopes that they won’t be too loud in the cemetery. He chuckles at the thought of Ann yelling at Ryuji and pulling on his ear while Makoto bowing to the rest of the visitors as an apology.

He smiled as he thought about them.

Akechi softly said that he will take them to visit her soon. He noticed that he was cutting it close and walked back. He knows that Makoto likes to be at least ten minutes early when they meet up and Haru is usually driven by her servants so she also arrives earlier compared to the rest.

He took out his phone to see if he got any new messages and saw that Makoto was already waiting in the front of the cemetery. He hurried to the entrance to greet her and waited for everyone else to join. They made some small talk while waiting and it didn’t take too long for everyone to join. It looked like Haru picked up Yusuke along the way. Akira, Futaba, and Morgana were after them and he grinned at seeing Akira pout at being the fifth person there. He’s only first when the meeting took place in LeBlanc. 

Ann came and waved at everyone as Ryuji ran from behind her and got to the entrance before her while grinning widely and pointing at her with a “Ha!”

“You know the rules! Last person has to buy snacks for the whole group!” He laughed.

“Hey! That doesn’t count! Everyone saw me first!” She huffed.

“Nah, it’s whoever gets here first, right Akira?” He casually put his arm around Akira’s shoulders.

Akira looked at both blondes before grinning and shrugging.

“Hm, it’s hard to decide” He tapped his lip thoughtfully. “Let’s make both of you buy us snacks. Yusuke! Eat to your heart’s content at the next meeting. Unlimited Jagariko!”

Yusuke, who was in the middle of drawing the cherry blossoms, looked up at the mention of his name. “Unlimited snacks?! Can I make a request? I always wanted a toukun ichigo! The soft gradient from white to red is exquisite! I need to capture it in my drawings!”

“Eh?!” Ryuji and Ann yelled in horror. Those strawberries cost around one thousand yen each! Having to pay for nine strawberries and other snacks! There was no way they would have enough even with both of them paying for it. They looked at Akira with a pleading look in their eyes as he softly laughed at their reaction.

“Oh, I know someone who owns the farm for strawberries! Can I buy them for Ann and Ryuji instead?” Haru looked at Akira.

“Hmm, then they haven’t really served their punishment for being last.” He frowned as Ann and Ryuji gasped out Haru’s name in wonder. 
 
“They could carry the boxes then.” She suggested.

“W-wait boxes? As in more than one?” Ann’s eyes popped open.

“Of course! We need to enjoy it since the season will end soon.” Haru pouted.

“A-ah…” they nodded. They didn’t want to argue against that. It was better than buying it themselves.

Everyone else laughed and enjoyed the scene. Akechi felt a light feeling in his chest as he laughed with them. They were all so cute.

They continued talking in a softer voice as Akechi led them to their picnic spot.

As they got out their items, Makoto said that Sae hasn’t heard from him in a while and he needs to give her a call. They haven’t hung out recently ever since she left the public prosecutor’s office and he put his detective job on hold to prepare for college. He only worked there because he needed access to the file room. Now that Shido is gone, there was no point in going back. He did enjoy some aspects of his job, but seeing how corrupted the cops were during his time there made him feel pessimistic about returning anytime soon.

It was great the Sae was doing well now.

They talked about random stuff as Akira and Futaba brought out the curry and coffee. Ryuji made a face until Akira threw a soda at him.

He watched everyone as they talked and laughed with each other. They were not quiet at all, but he doesn’t mind.

“I’m going to walk around. I’ll be back in a bit.” Akechi said as he brushed the crumbs of the pastry off his pants.

The Phantom Thieves smiled as they waved him off as he stood up and walked away from them. He walked a few meters away from them so that he couldn’t hear their conversation, but Ryuji’s boisterous, excited voice broke the peace. Akechi could hear Ann yelling at him, probably snatching him by the ear to shut him up. He heard a loud yelp and smiled.

Looks like he was correct.

Akechi shook his head in amusement as he continued walking.

He picked a tree that had low branches that he could almost touch the cherry blossom. Not that he would do that, but it’s nice to see the cherry blossoms close up.

It would be really nice if there was a plant he could grow in his apartment that looked similar to these flowers, he sighed at the thought. Maybe Akira would know.

"May I join you?" A voice called out from behind him.

He turned until he saw Akira in the corner of his eye and softly said, “yes” before turning back to the flowers again.

He could feel Akira’s gaze upon him, but he didn’t say anything as Akechi continued to watch the flowers.

“Thanks for letting us join your tradition Goro. Everyone’s having fun.”

With those words, the anxiety in his chest finally disappeared. He gave a sigh of relief and turned to give Akira a smile.

“Thank you. I was worried if everyone wanted to come originally, but your words really helped.”

Akira frowned and nudged him with his elbow. “What did I tell you about talking about your feelings?”

“Ha ha. It’s a work in progress.” He said nervously as he brushed his hair back.

Akira narrowed his eyes as he stared at Akechi in silence.

“Hm?”

“Close your eyes.”

Akechi blinked a few times in confusion before conceding to Akira’s request. He waited for a few minutes, trying to figure out what Akira was doing.

“Okay, you can open them now.”

As he opened his eyes, he saw small pink petals of cherry blossoms floating around him, some even lightly touching his face as it continued fluttering down.

Akira grinned as he finished pouring petals on top of Akechi. He felt his face burn a little as he was confused about Akira’s actions.

“You look cute being surrounded by cherry blossoms Goro.”

“W-w-what?! W-who says that?” Akechi choked out.

“Me. It can’t be helped if it’s true. My favorite person being surrounded by my favorite flowers.” He grinned.

“You also like Sakura blossoms?” He ignored the words favorite person at the moment, but his face flushed at those words.

“Yeah. It was recent though. I never really cared for flowers in general before moving to Tokyo.” Akira said as he played around with a petal. “It was spring when I moved here. I met Ann and Ryuji while the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. To me, these flowers represent new changes. That was one of the reasons why I really wanted to join in on your tradition. I was hoping I can change your feelings of being nostalgic while looking back on old memories, you can also enjoy the time of the present by being with your friends.”

Akechi was speechless. Akira was always thinking on how to make his life better. His chest felt so light thinking about how much effort Akira put into helping him all the time.

“...was that too much?” Akira twisted his finger around his bangs.

“Ah, no. I a-also like cherry blossoms too.” Akechi stammers. “I…don’t mind doing this again.” He murmured as he shuffled his feet.

“It’s a plan then.”

“Oh my god, just kiss already!” A voice cried from one of their friends.

“F-Futaba! W-what are you saying?!” Akira cried out as the moment was broken and sped walked back.

Akechi blushed as he brushed his hair, freeing the cherry blossoms that were stuck as he thought about Akira’s words and reactions.

‘Is it possible that he…?’ Akechi thought as he finished brushing the cherry blossoms off. ‘No, there’s no way.’