Chapter Text
"I hope you remembered our promise. If you did, you know where to find me. - Joker"
Goro Akechi is not having a great day. Let's run through the day's events. Last thing I remember was stopping that madman with aims on divinity. I resign myself to oblivion. I have to trust my own destiny to the hands of those… imbeciles. And their infuriating leader. And then I wake up. I begin to expect I'm in some form of afterlife, but fuck if I didn't realize what kind of hell I deserved. I'm back. And what's more… It's April. The start of my living hell. All over again. AND THEN THIS? "How did you even find my address, Joker? … Every time I underestimate you, you surprise me. It pisses me off."
He sighs and composes himself. "Getting furious and storming off is not going to help. If I am back in April, I have an image to maintain. I should be careful going forward, I have no idea how capable Joker is at this point. After all, the Phantom Thieves weren't on my radar until after April in the first place. This could be a trap, for all I know. Granted, knowing what I know, I'm still Shido's goddamn lapdog at this point, so at the very least, I should be safe from the authorities, and I'm sure they know that. Let's call this… an investigation. I should at least attempt to brush off my skills anyway."
After a long bike ride to Leblanc, he steps through the door. The cafe's proprietor, Sojiro Sakura, greets Akechi, and he responds with feigned cheer. "Afternoon, sir." He sits at the counter and smiles at Sojiro. "I'll just have whatever you recommend, sir."
Sojiro nods and fixes Akechi's drink, as a familiar face walks down the stairs. A familiar face, sure, but in different attire than Akechi's used to seeing. "Well, this is interesting." Akechi sips his coffee, as the figure sits down next to him.
"I'll ask you not to make a scene, Akechi, I will explain… later." The young lady clears her throat, and Akechi smiles with barely restrained rage bleeding through.
"Why would I raise a scene? Have you ever known me to do so?" Akechi grins, daring his interlocutor to make a move.
Sojiro steps in to bail them out. "Oh? You already know someone here? Well, nice to see you're making friends. Just don't… do anything stupid, ok?"
The young lady nods at Sojiro, as Akechi finishes his coffee. "I'll be taking your young charge here for a stroll, sir, if that's ok. Here's the money for my coffee." He leaves the money on the counter, and the pair walk out. "So, is it Ren or Akira today?"
She blushes, and looks away. "...Sojiro knows me as Akira Kurusu still, yes. It would make things… less complicated to refer to me as such around him. But…"
Akechi nods. "Understood. As much as it pains me to do you any favors, Amamiya, I am not so craven as to potentially risk you being thrown out. I… do still owe you, after all."
Ren nods, sighing. "So, you got my note."
Akechi rests against a wall. "I did. From a few minor interactions I've had, it appears that we may be the only people to remember anything. Have you met with the other Phantoms yet?"
Ren sighs and shakes her head. "No… I haven't met them yet in the timeline, after all. Today was the day I moved into Leblanc."
Akechi blinks. Fascinating… So she's alone, vulnerable, and potentially no one remembers her at all. But more interesting… "...Why today of all days to be brought back, then? Surely if there's a Metaverse reason, wouldn't it make sense that we'd be brought back to the day you first entered the Metaverse? Or even the day I first did so?"
Ren looks up, contemplating. "Honestly, I have no idea. I have no idea if there even is a Metaverse related reason. Why would there be? Just because it's the weirdest thing we know, doesn't necessarily have to be related. Either way, you and I both know that's not why I called you here."
"You want to fulfill the promise." Ren nods, and Akechi continues. "Well… First, I must say, although I'm sure you realize it pains me to say this… Thank you for following through with the plan."
Ren sighs. "I'm not even sure if I did. After breaking out of Maruki's dream… I woke up on day 1 in Tokyo. I'm just worried we're somehow… still in his distorted reality."
Akechi frowns. "I was worried about that myself. That's the last thing I remember too, after all. But at this point in the timeline, Maruki didn't have a Persona or a Metaverse presence, right?"
Ren shakes her head. "Not to the best of my knowledge. He shouldn't have had any idea of Mementos, either. And the Phantom Thieves don't exist yet, so the most he'd know about is… well, your intervention."
Akechi glowers at Ren, before composing himself and smiling. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, dear Ren. I'm just your average high-schooler."
Ren rolls her eyes. "Don't give me that BS, Pancake Boy."
Akechi clenches his fists. "I will overlook that, once. I shan't make such a costly mistake again this time."
Ren sighs. "That's what I wanted to talk about. This time."
Akechi rolls his eyes and leans back. "You want me to join your little band of merry men and women, don't you?"
Ren nods. "...This time you can get your revenge personally. You could have friends-"
"Friends?" Akechi scoffs and shakes his head. "You don't get it, Ren, you never did. This never was about a group of plucky kids saving a wayward soul from destruction. This was a tale of someone hoist by his own hubris, and the consequences therein. Grow up, Ren."
She sighs. "But it is, Akechi. Without my friends, I easily could have been just like you. And… without them now, I'm worried I will still. But… At the very least, we could start with being rivals again, instead of enemies."
Akechi grimaces at the thought of considering Ren an equal, but pushes it down. Pride will be his downfall if he lets it, again. "...Rivals, then." He offers a handshake with his right hand.
Ren shakes her head. "No, if we're doing this, we're doing this the way we started." She offers her left hand.
Akechi blinks, unsure of how to respond. He takes her left hand and shakes. A small voice whispers in the back of his mind. Today, you take the first step in your rehabilitation. Through this, you shall gain the ultimate secrets of rebellion… He furrows his brow and shakes his head. Maybe I am finally going insane.
Ren headtilts and looks at him. "You ok, Akechi?"
Akechi shakes his head. "I don't need your pity, Ren- Ahem. I'm fine." He smiles at her, masking his disdain.
Ren scoffs. "You know, you don't have to be an asshole. I know we're not exactly… friends, as you keep saying, but not everyone's out to get you, I swear. Sometimes, someone just wants to help."
Akechi sighs. "...Sometimes I wish I could believe that, Ren." He sits down on a railing. "...So, what's the plan?"
Ren blinks. "What do you mean?"
Akechi groans. "What's the plan, Ren? If I'm going to be working with you, we should be as transparent as possible. No more of this you calling the shots, and the rest of us meekly doing what you say. That's my condition. We're in this together, or we're not."
Ren nods. "I had no intention of leaving you in the dark, Akechi."
He clears his throat and smiles. "Then we shall have no problems going forward. I reiterate then. What's our plan to get to the bottom of this?"
Ren grimaces. "...Still working on one."
Akechi blinks. "...Wait, seriously? You asked me here and don't even have a plan?"
Ren looks incredulously at him. "What do you expect me to say, Akechi? What's the plan for strange time bullshit? Are you serious?"
Akechi sighs. "...You know what, yes, I apologize for thinking this would be anything more than a waste of my time."
Ren grabs his shoulder as he goes to walk away. "I'm not done with you, Akechi. I'm tired of this passive aggressive bullshit. I demand a bit more respect from someone who attempted to kill me on at least 3 separate attempts and failed. But I don't exactly see you coming up with any ideas, oh great Master Detective. I'm going to need you to pull your own weight, if you want to be included in the plans."
Akechi stops, a bit stunned. This is not the Ren he remembers. "...You're more talkative this time around, Ren."
Ren blinks. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Akechi shakes his head. "...No matter. I suppose you're right, I didn't exactly have a plan coming here either. I suppose our first step, though, is figuring out the timeline divergence. Us knowing our previous steps after all, will inevitably have knockon effects, it's best to figure out what we can, as soon as possible. You should work on talking to your friends, see if anyone else remembers anything. I'll look into Maruki."
Ren nods. "That sounds like a solid start. I'll be counting on you, Akechi."
Akechi grits his teeth. "Unfortunately, I will be too. Shall we meet here in a week?"
Ren nods again. "That sounds like a plan. Shall we exchange numbers again, just in case?"
Akechi shakes his head. "No need, I have yours memorized."
Ren grins, leaning in. "Oh, really? I feel flattered~"
Akechi turns away, frowning. "That's not what I mean. I don't exactly have a lot of contacts, so I memorize all of them. Just in case."
Ren slides her hands in her pockets and smirks. "Whatever you say, Akechi. Send me a text later, so I have yours, then."
Akechi resents the unspoken words left there. Of course she never memorized mine. Mine wasn't important enough, and she had far more contacts to learn. But he smiles and nods. "But of course, leader."
Ren walks off, back to Leblanc, as Akechi gets back on his bike. That woman infuriates me. And I'm still left with an informational disadvantage. I hate this. I hate everything about this. I hate her. And yet, if I want to know why I'm here… I need her.
Fuck.
Getting back to his empty apartment, he's startled to receive a call from Shido. "I trust this is not a bad time."
Akechi grits his teeth as he responds. "No, of course not."
"There's a job to do."
Akechi nods. "Of course. Today's target?"
Shido can barely restrain his sadistic glee over the phone. He reveals the name of a certain train conductor. "With a little push, we can get the Minister of Transportation to resign. You understand what's necessary, yes?"
Akechi steels himself, as he suddenly begins to feel regret, an emotion up til now foreign to him. "Yes. Whatever we need to do to make sure you're running this country, sir."
As he hangs up, he texts Ren. " ...We have a problem. ...And I need your help to navigate this, as much as I hate to admit."
Ren reads the text messages and grimaces. It's not that she suddenly believed that Akechi would just… stop doing Metaverse crimes, or forgot that he was the true culprit. But… she was kind of hoping… " Our goal is to not invoke suspicion from your higher ups, while minimizing impact on innocents, can we agree on this?"
Akechi grits his teeth as he reads the text. " I suppose that's an adept assessment, yes. Any ideas?"
"You just have to affect the conductor, yes? Is there a way to cause a disturbance that would satisfy your… boss without causing an accident?"
Akechi ponders this. It's difficult to really determine what a victim of a psychotic breakdown will really do once in their fugue state, but he figures it shouldn't be too difficult to plant a particular seed. "I'll see what I can do. Either way… I would avoid this line, tomorrow."
Ren sighs and nods. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for. Best of luck, Akechi. I'll take the appropriate precautions."
Akechi grimaces as he puts down the phone, hesitating to go into the Metaverse.
...Why is it different now? Is it because I finally realize how Shido sees me? ...Or is it because of her? Goddamn that woman, she pisses me off so much. ...But I do need her. It's in my best interest to keep things reigned in for now.
He stretches out as he preps what he needs for a trip to Mementos.