Chapter Text
“Alright, initial infiltration successful!” Ryuji exclaimed as he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves faded back into reality from Shido’s palace.
“Not so loud, dingus.” Ann hissed, side-eyeing the blonde.
“Shit! Sorry….” he muttered apologetically.
A few chuckles arose from the group, eventually subsiding as each of them said their goodbyes for the day and began heading their separate ways. Despite the short amount of time they spent in the palace, everyone seemed more exhausted and eager to go home than usual. Perhaps it was the leftover stress from the overly-risky and honestly stupid plan they had just recently pulled off. Akira seemed to zone out and stay even quieter than usual. He didn’t really talk much in the first place, but now he was practically mute aside from the occasional one-word responses he’d mutter when asked a question. Sometimes one of the Thieves would say something to him and he wouldn’t realize they said anything until several seconds after. The worst thing was, only a handful of the Thieves really noticed this as being off. It seemed as though some of them still hadn’t taken into account the negative impact the plan could have had on Joker.
“Mona, would you care to stay at my house for tonight?” Haru inquired in her usual, overly formal manor.
“For sure! Akira, would-” Morgana enthusiastically meowed, glancing up at him.
He looked tired. Really tired. After a few seconds, Akira tilted his head down slightly and muttered, “...kay.” The raven stared blankly at the sidewalk. Morgana shot him a concerned look, Haru furrowing her brow in worry. The cat had been occasionally staying with Haru to comfort her. After all, she was still recovering from her father’s death and now lived alone. The girl greatly appreciated his company, having stayed with her quite a few times before. Akira never did mind this, Morgana had stayed at Futaba’s place quite a few times as well, so he had been used to his cat not being there all the time. But today, it just seemed as though….
“Well, if you’re okay with it, then… I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mona meowed, standing in front of the girl to let her pick him up.
Everyone else had left at that point, and as Haru walked away with Morgana, Akira slowly began to walk home.
As he walked, he thought. He thought about Sae’s palace. He thought about the interrogation room. He thought about… Akechi. Akechi, Akechi, Akechi. The name clinked around in his head like a DVD screensaver, eventually hitting the corner as the memories of that day began to clear and become less fuzzy. The thing was, he could see through the eyes of his cognitive double, and looking up at Akechi, he was stone-faced, clearly forced. Despite his cold expression, his eyes told a different story. The reds and browns swirled around in his eye, glossed over by held back tears. Though he wasn’t able to see or hear anything as soon as his cognitive double was shot, he could’ve sworn he heard a quiet choking sound, then nothing.
He heard a faint sound trailing behind him. He stopped. The sound stopped too. He must be hearing his own footsteps. He began walking again. There was the sound. It was more rapid than his own walking pace. He stopped again. There was someone behind him. He stood still for a moment before whipping around to see what his pursuer was. A figure, just about the same height as him, stood illuminated by a singular streetlight. Akira took a step back. The figure slowly walked towards him. The raven froze the moment he was able to make out defining details. Just above shoulder-length hair, a single black glove, and particularly long legs. The figure appeared surprised to see Akira, who wasn’t even trying to run away. One would have expected him to be on the other side of the city before the man who “killed” him took even a step closer, but he stayed exactly where he was.
“...You’re alive.” Akechi muttered, deadpan. Akira just nodded. Goro’s eyes narrowed.
“Why aren’t you running away?” The dark haired boy just stared at him with glazed eyes.
“Why aren’t you scared?!” His words shook slightly. Akira wasn’t scared, because he knew something the other boy didn’t.
Finally speaking a whole sentence for the first time in days, Akira tilted his head up straight and said: “I’m glad to see you again.”
Akechi looked almost disgusted, because... him? Of all people?
“...Are you fucking insane?”
Without hesitating, Akira flatly stated: “I know you didn't want to.”
Goro stared at him as though he’d seen a ghost. Maybe, to him, he did. The raven took a step forward. Akechi blinked.
Bursting almost into a sprint, Akira crashed into Akechi’s chest. He tried to pull him off, but he just held on tighter. Akira was yelling now.
“So why!? Why did you do it!?” he sobbed, he had completely lost his composure.
“God, would you get off of me!?” Akechi snapped, and Akira gradually loosened his grip and stood back up. He gazed, eyes now flowing with silvers and dark gray-blues.
After staring at the ground, lost in thought, Goro looked up firmly and said: “Fine. I’ll tell you everything.”
Akira wasn’t sure what caused him to suddenly snap into this decision, but… he couldn’t argue.
And that’s what he did. Right there, in the middle of the sidewalk, he explained everything. Who Shido was. Who he was. His plan to take out Shido. And…
Akira was shocked, needless to say, but…
A newfound anger boiled inside of him. Not at Akechi, but... at everyone else. Shido. What an absolutely disgusting excuse for a father he was, and he had screwed over not only Akira’s life, but his own son’s…! The other Phantom Thieves. If they hadn’t made him go through with that stupid plan, this wouldn’t have happened! They could have gotten through to Akechi instead, but nooo, Makoto kept insisting that it was the only way they would have succeeded. But you know what Makoto? NO! He could have gotten to Goro before any of this, he could have… he could have….
“I’m not returning to LeBlanc tonight.”
“Pardon?”
Thank fuck Futaba was already asleep.
“Let me stay with you.”
The swirl of silver in Akira’s eyes turned to flame as his freshly kindled rage took foothold in the front of his mind.
“Okay…?” Akechi said, bewildered.
I can’t stay with them anymore. They don’t care. I did so much for them, and for what?
Akechi gestured for the dark haired boy to follow him, and they walked together in the direction of his apartment. Akira shut his phone off.
“Why me?” Akira looked up at Akechi.
“Why would you choose to stay with me, out of everyone?”
The raven let out a long, drawn out sigh. Goro exhaled sharply. As much as he hated to admit it, he liked Akira a lot. Once before, he had proposed the offer of the two of them working together, but just as he had expected, the offer was declined.
“I can’t just abandon my friends….” The boy had said, a dejected look on his face.
Perhaps he had gone back on his claim? But what about his precious “friends” that he cared so dearly for? It all made no sense.
The door clicked open and Akechi led Akira into the plain, sparsely decorated room. The white overhead light flicked on, making the rest of the apartment visible. The kitchen to the left of the entrance was exceedingly clean, likely only having been used a few times. On the other side of the room was the door to what he assumed was his bedroom. Hanging up his coat, Akechi turned to face him.
“Get comfortable, I’m going to go change into different clothes.” he groaned, clearly exhausted.
He paused.
“Oh right, you don’t have anything to sleep in. I’ll grab you something.”
This prospect made Akira’s heart flutter. Goro had mentioned swapping clothes before, but… not just wearing his clothes, but sleeping in them? He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it. Akechi returned to the room holding a small stack of clothes.
“Hopefully these fit fine…” he muttered, handing the stack to the dark haired boy. Akira quietly sighed, giving the chestnut-haired boy a warm smile as he took the clothes. Goro’s cheeks tinged pink for a second before he shook himself and sputtered,
“God, you look like you haven’t slept in days, get some rest.”
Akira couldn’t sleep. He just laid there, staring into the dark. He soaked in the scent of the clothes, thinking about Goro.
… The door had been left slightly open.
Quietly, he slid his body off of the couch, walking over to the door. When he neared the door, he heard faint sobbing coming from the other side. He peered into the room. Akechi was trembling, crying softly in his sleep.
“N-no….. Not again… not again.. I can’t…” he kept repeating.
Was he having a nightmare…?
Akira crept into the room, eventually standing above Goro’s bed. He was shaking hard, tears streaming down his face as his breaths became more and more rapid. Feeling obligated to help, the raven laid down next to him, reaching a hand out to stroke his cheek. He twitched. Akira slid forward to wrap his arms around Akechi’s shaking body, pressing his chest against the other’s face and burying his nose in his chestnut hair. He reached a hand up to gently stroke the back of his head. Goro’s breathing began to steady, his body stopped shaking, and his crying gradually subsided. And man, Akira wished he could stay just like this forever. The other boy’s body was so warm against his, and his hair smelled so nice, like… cinnamon? Akechi’s gentle breathing was like a lullaby, easing him peacefully to sleep.
[Phantom Thieves GC] - 7:35 AM
Futaba - Akira never came home last night, I have no idea where he is.
Ryuji - What the…
Makoto - That’s worrying. This has never happened before, correct?
Futaba - Yeah, and his phone is completely shut off. I can’t use the bug to find out where he is.
Ann - Did you hear anything before he shut his phone off?
Futaba - No, I was already fast asleep as soon as I got home. Plus, he could have turned it off before I even made it back.
Haru - I’m really worried, especially considering how he was acting last night.
Makoto - Well, the phantom thieves can’t operate without a leader.
Ryuji - Who the hell could possibly replace Joker?
Ann - I think Makoto would make a good leader!
Makoto - Is that so?
Makoto - Are there any objections to me replacing Joker for the time being?
Haru - I don’t think so.
Ryuji - Nah.
Makoto - Well, I guess it’s settled.