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There are a lot of things that Morgana knew and didn’t know.
Like, he knew something when Akira made a deal of some private time.
There are times when a teenager wants to be alone, and Mona knew and respected him to do the best he could to relax. In exchange for a plate of sushi, he would leave Akira alone to his private business until dinner time. He trusts his human companion to know himself and not to get some dubious things when he’s out of sight. He’s been living under his breath enough to know that Akira is a good kid that stays clear from temptation, and yet he repressed his own desire for the sake of others. Akira’s a proper teen with needs and activities that Morgana doesn’t need to understand.
So, they made the deal and left him to take a walk around Yongen Jaya on such days. He usually went out because it was always such nice days.
While he himself comes from the unknown, he likes to get to know a lot of human things, and thanks to his skillful art of communication, he made a web of connection that is yongen-jaya, alternating between strays, pets and some home owner that likes to gossip. He had quite a great deal of information surrounding the block.
Of course, as the great phantom thieves, he needs a lot of info to keep their operation running. There are a lot of unknown things without information. One must be able to quickly adapt to new changes and live their lives, after all. Thanks to the info he got from the others, he knew where to get the cheapest groceries, how to get the old lady to give him some food and more importantly, how to get mementos target keywords. All daily lives, within his paw.
But then something piqued his interest.
An unfamiliar form perching by Leblanc’s rooftop. Morgana squinted closer and almost popped his eyes out.
It’s big, probably a size bigger than Morgana, and shrouded in darkness. It’s nothing unusual if he didn't have literal chill running down his spine. Like, he could feel something dangerous emitting from the figures that’s a few steps too close to where home is. His other feline friends also fear whatever that is and stays away from certain points, hissing and staying on their guards from afar. This smells like bad news. Morgana can’t let that literal nightmare get close to Akira!
The non-cat then lunged for the bottom of the cafe, still open and no one was alarmed by the thing. Mona slipped in along with a customer and made his way upstairs. He just hoped his human companion was okay or at least knew of the dark presence looming above him.
“Akira!” he called. His voice bounced off empty walls.
The feline jumped to a platform that took him up to the roof and watched with wide eyes. Oh, he wishes this is a dream. This figure was close to a ghost, phantom like body, with his almost transparent look, and the cloud of shadow obscuring every part that could identify the thing. Morgana hissed and lunged toward it.
“HEY! Stop there! What are you?!!” While he believes that shadow is a product of mementos and human desire, it’s no mistake that mythical beings exist and with the folklore of Japanese people, it’s no strange if one can whisk a human away into somewhere he can’t comprehend.
The shadow though, didn’t give any answer and stood there like a statue.
The shadow runs past him, nothing between it and walls as it tries to jump back to the platform and run inside Leblanc. Akira and Boss!
“Wait up!”
Morgana tries to give it a chase, but just like its appearance, the shadow disappears into thin air, leaving the trail of tiny mess in its wake. Morgana huffed and looked around. That thing is such a weird creature, he just hopes he didn’t run into something bad. After looking around the room, there’s a bunch of activities going around, like a book and laptop open, a game console plugged into the TV, and there’s a pause on the screen. Akira was here, and he’s doing stuff here, but somehow he’s gone.
‘That’s weird. He told me he’s going to be home all day?’ Morgana questions himself as he makes himself downstairs to a familiar cafe.
The cafe is rather quiet, despite having a customer go in, but he got his answer as soon as he arrived. Just a few steps in and Boss was there, his usual kind face filled with anger as he banged the washroom hard enough to boom.
“WATCH YOUR MANNER, KID!! I had customers here!” Morgana feels himself jump and tremble at Boss’s wrath.
A meek voice followed out. “S-Sorry, boss...” Akira, in a slightly bad voice, replied. He sounds like he’s dying in the tiny washroom. “I, hgn, I’m feeling sick, so I had to go.”
“Yeah, but slamming on the door isn’t the way.” He huffed, the sign of anger gone. Sojiro’s always the stric one, but he does grow soft spots for him and Akira. With a softer tone, the old man repeated. “You sounded bad. Don’t get yourself sick. Do you need anything?”
“N-No…? I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Akira said, the toilet flushes. “Sorry to worry you, boss.”
Akira comes out from the toilet looking a little pale, but still smiles the best he can. After Sojiro checked him one more time and reminded them both where the medicine box was, he locked the cafe and left the teen some leftover curry for dinner. The two share glances.
“You heard the boss, take care of yourself, Akira. But you need to tell me if you’re feeling sick.” Morgana perched on Akira’s shoulder, feeling his paw overheat. “Do you need to rest some more?”
“Huh? No, I swear I’m fine, just a bad stomach ache.” Akira said. “Thanks for worrying about me.”
Morgana frowned and watched his friend for a good time, but he gave up at the staring contest and sighed. “You’re not very convincing, but eat some medicine too, for safety.”
Akira nodded and took some dinner. Mona wanted to tell Akira about the strange creature before, but he decided not to when his friend's health was at stake. Maybe next time he could catch the shadow and have a better story to share.
-----
A few days later, he told Akira of his encounter. He laughed it off, saying that because it’s probably a mistake from panic, but he was convinced that he did see something that day, something looming and dangerous, totally not from this world. It resembles that of shadows from mementos if they were able to manifest in the real world.
But that can’t be, right? They never saw a shadow outside the metaverse. He knew his eyes wouldn't be deceived, but Akira was weirdly defensive about the topic that Morgana felt like he’s losing the arguments and dropped the stupid topic altogether. Yet, the other felines agreed with him and witnessed the shadow just gone upon entering the attic. Morgana ponders around and gathers up some info regarding the mysterious shadow, but no one has ever seen it again since that day like it never existed in the first place.
He wasn’t the one to give up thought, so Morgana decided that expanding his search area might be a good idea. He loved to explore new areas, but still, his homebase being in Yongen limits his movement so that in the time of emergencies, he can be summoned quickly to the hideout. He did go to several uncharted areas, but it is always for the phantom thieves business, so no, he never really went to explore outside Yongen for himself. After begging Akira for quite some time, he permitted him to go.
Morgana felt pretty confident, he is by nature– a human that can adapt to any situation when needed–, but even the most expert in their craft couldn’t get rid of their tiny anxiety somewhere in the worst case scenario. Even if he’s a cat (right now), there’s no telling what could’ve happened in his trip. He needed to be cautious and stay alert on a foreign turf.
Taking the different route, he arrived at the next block over. There isn’t much difference between here and Yongen-Jaya, The neighborhood looked bleak, a bunch of houses and a mini market. The street left not a lot of impact. Morgana browsed around until he stopped at a park, a big open space with an iron structure and giant pipes lining by the side. It’s rare to see the scenery, where everything in Yongen felt like it was cramped to each other, but he stared at the monument(?) in awe and entered the park, missing the do not enter sign just at the edge.
He steps carefully toward the beam of steel, making his way toward a high ground for a better view of the surrounding neighborhood, which is not a hard quest since the steels were uniformly placed for a building. However, judging by the color and rust, it felt like it was quite old, tattered by weather. He was about to step into a rusted part of the steel when something jumped behind him.
“You don’t want to step there. It’s about to fall.”
He looked back, and saw a lone figure of a feline.
It’s a size bigger than himself, making the intimidating shadow. Its fur, lustful of nicely-trimmed black and is filled nicely with fat. The quicksilver slit eyes are framed by two circular white making it look smaller than it seemed, but sharp as a hunter. The stance ready to attack at the moment's hesitation, yet didn’t let its weakness out, such a powerful aura that it’s so strong that even him was taken back.The meaty legs walking along the lines until they stopped before Morgana and the cat, smirked?
It reminds him of–
“Have you been listening? Get off. It’s dangerous.” The cat scooted closer, forcing him to go back and jump down another beam, the cat followed. “It’s rare for someone to play here. Strays in this area usually don’t get close here, ya know? Someone’s got hurt real bad because the pipe fell before and it became off-limit. Anyway, you’re new here? Move in? A stray?”
“Um, an adventure? I’m from the next block, Yongen-Jaya. Actually, it’s my first time here.”
The cat scoffed. “Lucky you, You could’ve gotten hurt without me. People’s been abandoning this unfinished building for a long time. You’re?”
“I’m Morgana, and I’m not a stray, nor a cat!” Mona yelled. “What I do here isn’t your business!”
“Well, there’s nothing worth watching here, just houses and this building.” The cat purred, smelling in greeting and swinging its tail. “This area was only lively by noon, everyone went somewhere. There’s some occasional trash truck but it doesn’t matter. If you’re planning to relax and sun naps, I can recommend a good place, though.”
Morgana snickered. “Nice, but I’m good. I want to map out this area first, no matter how boring it is.”
“Well, I can guide you then. Nice to meet you, little cat.”
“I’m not a-! Ah, but what’s your name?”
The cat looked back in surprise. “Me? I don’t have one. Just call me whatever you want.”
Morgana pondered, looking from tip to toe. Black, with white spots. Well, he’s one too, but he didn’t know how to name others. He can see the raccoon in this cat, but it would be rude to call him that. The cat sat patiently to be named, but Mona ended with a good one. “I got it! Kuro. How’s Kuro sound?”
“Great.” Kuro smirked. “Let’s get you going on the block tour, then.”
----
After a while, they got along pretty well. Mona found that he frequented Kuro in his free time, rather than wandering aimlessly in Yongen Jaya.
Kuro is a quick thinking, funny and rather odd stray cat.
He lives on the street, yet he likes to groom his fur on a regular basis. He lived as a stray, yet he got manners and rarely fought, he usually just gave it away and because of that, he was respected by the strays in the area. Anywhere convenient is his house, rather it be someone's backyard, or under pieces of junk he was okay calling it home. (Although, he never once asked Morgana to stay at Leblanc). He eats almost everything, not at all a picky eater, unless the food is badly damaged. He’s an overall nice guy,
but he seemed to keep his past a bit too tight to himself, where he snapped and almost injured Morgana for persistently asking him about his stories. They decided to put the event behind them, but not forgotten.
Theories started forming in Morgana’s mind. It could be that he’s thrown away by his owners, but Kuro never mentions an owner figure in his life. He never talks about where he comes from nor where he wants to go. Living life day to day, with no clear intention ahead.
Morgana learned a lot of things from Kuro. the terrain area, places to hide and never seen shortcuts, he opened up a whole new perspective of his little knowledge on Yongen Jaya and the surrounding block. It was a different kind of experience than watching from the back of Akira’s shoulder. He counted the holes and pathways connecting various alleyways. One time they managed to enroute the next block all the way to Leblanc in mere minutes. He shares his food and experiences, his time spent journeying between blocks, lonely nights under some trashs and Mona sharing his own stash of knowledge, showing the cat places where he can make his temporary home in Yongen. After a nudge, Kuro gives in and moves into the block.
They began meeting more often, perched on Leblanc’s roof, skygazing. They both have agreement and disagreement ( sushi is always the best, mona grunts. There’s no way he’ll get distracted with measly dried fish Kuro brought, and it’s not as great as any convenience store sushi ever did, Mona thought as he finished nibbling on Kuro’s dried fish. ), they have their own faults. Sometimes Kuro also helped in gathering information, mementos regarded or not, but it’s a big help. Sometimes Mona feels Kuro is a little weirder than your usual behaving cat, his presence to be comfortable and a safe place, despite putting up barriers with new people, he warmed up to Kuro like he got a new big brother. They had fun, they got angry together, and they watched clouds together. He’s not too talkative and rather more interested in Morgana’s stories and often skygazing until his eyes burn.
“What's so fun watching clouds? I don’t get it.” Mona pouted, Kuro looked at him and smiled upward.
“Clouds are all kinds and forms, but at their core they’re all the same. They can change because they’re unique and have their own purpose. Isn’t that nice?” Kuro stared at the orange sky, a tiny rueful smile forming as well. “Sometimes, I wish I could be as free as clouds.”
Mona stared at the cat for a long time. The cat that stands next to him looks so lonely and cold. “I still don’t get it.”
Kuro said nothing and smiled, but they dropped the conversation there.
They played around a lot, people started to recognize them upon seeing their furs, making them somewhat famous. They scratched a stack of newspapers, one time they followed an officer, playing the innocent little cats until they bit lightly on his ankle. They raid unattended trash with the other strays until Yongen upgrade their cleaning service, another time they visit the old lady by the edge of yongen that likes to give them food. They would fight for a bigger piece of free meat, and run around the street like they’re little kids. And sometimes they stop by Leblanc to play with Akira, but the teen was always somewhere else and they ended up doing something else.
At first, he thought it could be a coincidence, but then he started to suspect that something must have been going on.
There’s no way a high school kid would need to go outside that much, alone and without him, of all people that he trusted the most.
“I don’t get it.” Mona grumbled. “It’s weird.”
“Well, don’t think about it too much,” Kuro said. “We’ll meet him one day.”
Well, Kuro got his point, it’s not like they were going anywhere and there would be a thousand more chances for them to meet yet, he can get rid of the anxious feelings in him. Maybe because the phantom thieves have kicked off farther than before that he can help but feel tense.
“Yeah, you’re right. I just hope he didn’t get roped into something nasty and didn’t tell me. It’s like he got the god of misfortune following him.” and it’s true with the amount of karma he faced and the guy that started as a probation student suddenly has to work to be a phantom thief.
“You worrywart, he’ll be fine!” Kuro hummed and looked at his face, a smirk decorating his face. “Maybe you need some time to relax? It’s a nice day today. It’s finally time to show you the sacred place.”
“Huh, what is that?”
“You’ll see.” Kuro winked and jumped to a block fence. “Follow me.”
They went through a narrow alleyway, jumping from fences to platforms. The route itself wasn’t that hard, the bigger cat being considerate and picked a nice way. Mona follows the black cat closely, seemingly drawn in by something in Kuro and the way he moved with grace. The way he jumped and his tail swung reminds him of a very familiar, fluttering cape and the reflex of a certain thief he always followed, but then Akira has always been compared to a cat before so he might have seen the shadow in Kuro.
Now that he thinks again, It’s been a few days since he properly spent a day with Akira. He might get sentimental and miss him, maybe he’ll invite him to relax with a plate of luxury sushi and cocktails in that jazz music club.
“Alright, we’re here.” Kuro announced. “Welcome to my heaven~”
Mona jumped out of the opening and laid his eyes on the construction site where they first met, and he looked at Kuro with skeptical eyes. “The dangerous lot? Your heaven?”
“Not on the dangerous part. Joykiller~” Kuro laughed and smacked him lightly. “This lot got a lot of nice sunbeams by the afternoon. You’ll love it.”
Morgana looked around with skeptic eyes. The place does look like it’s going to collapse any moment, he gulped and followed the bigger cat toward the back, and lo and behold, giant pipes lining and stacking in rust. Kuro jumped toward the pipe and made a home in one of the holes, right by the sunbeam warming over it. The cat popped back up and waved his paw. “What are you waiting for there? Come on.”
He looked over toward the fat cat, back to the far building, and to Kuro again, curling comfortably.
“Well, it does look inviting...” Mona shrugged.
He jumped toward the farther pipe, but the feeling isn’t the same as Kuro’s. It’s cold unlike the warm heavens over there. He pouted and went to search for a better spot, but the best of places was occupied by that overweight cat and his masses. He went to Kuro again and tried to nudge him to give him some space, but neither wanted to give in. In a short time they fought and Kuro came out as the winner and exiled Morgana to the cold spot of lining pipes.
“That’s not fair! He’s bigger than me! And heavier too! Ugh.”
Morgana hears the black cat cackle boomed from his hard-earned spot. “Tough luck, buddy!”
“You’ll see.” Morgana grumbled. He decided to settle at the back and when the universe decided to be on his side when the cloud covered Kuro’s spot and shifted the sunlight toward Morgana’s spot, the betrayed look on Kuro’s face was priceless as he stared at Morgana claiming his throne with a cocky face. “Tough~ luck~ Buddy~! Have fun in that cold cylinder!”
But Kuro wasn’t satisfied. He made his way toward Morgana and tried to nudge him away for another battle royale, but Mona had a strong stand this time that they weren’t giving in any minutes. Deciding that it would be a useless fight, Kuro settled himself on top of Mona, pressing the smaller cat to the pipe, much to Morgana’s dismay.
“Get off of me!” Mona yowled. “Cowards!”
However, the effort didn’t affect the other cat much, only nudging him a bit. “Hggn, but it’s the only way we can share this warmth, or you had a better, civil idea?”
“I don’t know, how about- you get off of me?!”
After a few compromises, they settled with Kuro on the bottom, and Mona draped above him. The combined warmth of the sun and Kuro’s body heat felt like the world’s most luxurious blanket. Soft, warm and fluffy, It’s a bit hot, but Mona found himself lulled to sleep, along with the gentle rhythm of Kuro’s breath as he snuggled closer toward a crook of his neck. Morgana sniffed.
It smells familiar, the kind he hates when it’s too much.
He slept thinking Kuro might have worn perfume, somehow.
----
When he woke up, the sun had set far into the horizon. The warm sunbeams faded and cold began to seep into the pipes. Mona jerked and almost punched Kuro in the face. “Oh no! It’s this late already!!”
Woken by the push, Kuro yawned and licked his paw. “What’s the rush…? Slow down and enjoy life~”
“Akira! I haven’t told him I’ll be this late! He’ll worry about me!”
The black cat purred. “Akira? Oh he’ll be fine.”
“No, no. He needs me to remind him to eat dinner and clean himself up! What will he do without me there?!”
Kuro rolled his eyes and followed Morgana. “Come on, he’s an adult human, and he’s a big boy! He surely didn’t need that much supervision, right?” The cat scoffed. “He's surely going to get that convenience store discount food again for dinner tonight.”
“But,” Morgana paused. He does talk about Akira a lot, Kuro might as well as him about the teenage boy, but Kuro never met Akira, and nor did he supposed to know anything about facts he just spewed. He talked like he knew.. “How would you know that?”
“You told me before, right? So, I might think that might be it.”
Morgana catched the shift on his look, the way Kuro looked like he’s ready to run the moment Mona looked away. “No, I don’t think so.”
The blact cat took a step back as Mona did forward, inching closer to a wall but then Kuro jumped and ran along the tall wall without looking back. Mona tries to follow him, but again kuro disappears like smoke and leaves him behind with all this mystery.
“Kuro…” Morgana knew, he isn’t that dumb.
He knew something’s up with Kuro and Akira.
But, he didn’t know anything about the other cat, nor did he know about Akira when he wasn't looking.
But then, it was too much of a coincidence that Kuro knew a lot of Morgana despite meeting for the first time.
Morgana walked home, his head forming plans and scenarios all while keeping his two best friends at mind.
-------
After the incident, Kuro rarely showed up in the neighborhood. The sun hardly ever came out as it’s entering the rainy season, and Morgana too was feeling a little gloomy. Akira, who got the story the night the non-cat came back looking lifeless, put his book down for a while and looked at him. “Mona, are you feeling good?”
“No,” the feline said. “I wonder if I…overstep some stuff or something.”
Akira sighed and rolled his body toward where Morgana was laying and reached his cheeks. “Hey, Kuro won’t hate you, you’re just that adorable, who’s gonna hate that?”
“I know I’m fabulous.” He smacked the hands away. “Thanks Akira, but I really don’t feel like it right now.”
Akira hummed and continued his book, but his eyes kept wandering at the feline currently lying down on his lap. It’s a rare day where they can rest and relax, but seeing Mona so down put a damper on Akira’s own mood. The teen watched his friend’s tail waving in displeasure all while grumbling to himself. Akira closed the book he was reading and got up.“You know what? Let’s take a walk,” Akira said. “It’s better than moping around, and maybe we’ll run to Kuro at some point.”
“I wish meeting you and him would be that easy...but, let’s go, I’m getting tired of watching the dust too.” Morgana chuckled. The non-cat jumped inside Akira’s bag, sitting in a comfortable position he knew and waited to be picked up, but the teen picked him up instead and settled him in his holds.
The non-cat looked up in surprise. “It’s a short walk, and this is much nicer.”
“But last time you said I’m heavy and your hand got tired?”
“Look, it was after the buffet, and I’m tired after running around, okay?” Akira snuggled Morgana’s soft head as he grabbed his wallet and umbrella.
—----------
They locked the empty cafe and started walking in a direction, the cool breeze and pitter-patter of gentle rain managed to release the tension in the non-cat. Even though the night is dark, the street lights were illuminated well for them to have their night walk. The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful serenity leaving the two in their own bubble.
Morgana laid toward Akira’s chest as he watched the empty road and Akira hummed a jazz song, the melody soft enough to lull him to slumber. Mona knows that Akira got nowhere in particular to go to, but he insisted on walking around risking himself getting the cold, even though he couldn’t stand cold either. Mona stared at the quicksilver eyes. “Why do you risk yourself to take me out?”
“Hmm,” the teen paused his song. “I don’t know? I also want to take a walk in the rain. It’s nice, don’t you agree? And Today’s clouds are in great shape too.”
“Great how? It’s cold, and it’s dark, you can’t see a thing! Even Boss closed early because no one was coming!”
“Well, that too, but at least it wasn’t a violent storm, and Boss got to spend some time with Futaba.” Akira said. “I got to walk around with you too, so it’s a good thing~”
“Besides, rain has this mysterious power to calm people down, you know? The smell, the sound, the ambience. It’s nice to sit close to the rain, you can feel the harmony in everything going on.” The teen tapped his available fingers on his umbrella. “Like, near a big, metal pipe, or something.”
“Metal pipes, like the one people use to make houses?” Morgana gasped. “You’re weird sometimes.”
“Duh, It’s my childhood, okay? And it’s a nice, tiny bubble of your moment.” the teen smiled. It’s the most Mona seen of him smiling and talking so openly. “It also made a great sun nap spot.”
Morgana hummed, he glanced up to meet quicksilver eyes after a moment of silence. “Yeah, I can agree with you on that.”
—-
After buying some midnight snack, the two returned because Akira got school tomorrow and a mementos request to tackle down, but Morgana felt like he wouldn't be getting a wink of sleep with all these thoughts clouding his mind. Sensing the vague distress signal, Akira once again scooted closer to the feline.
“Hey, are you okay? Do you need anything?” his voice wrapped with worries.
“Huh? Oh, Uh– No, I’m fine, thanks. Actually the walk’s really helped, so don’t worry about me!” Morgana smiled. At this rate, he’ll worry Akira too much. “Actually, can I ask you something weird?”
The teen laid back. “Hit it away.”
It took some time and encouragement to start talking, but he really needed to consider his word here. “Well, uh...” Morgana looked at his paws. “D-Do you believe in creatures? Mythical being?”
“...Yeah, to a certain point.”
The non-cat nodded as well. “Me too. And I think you told me once about the monster- Um, being...that can transform themself? The shifter?”
“Shapeshifter, why? Are you curious, mr. professor?” Akira snickered, but Morgana got a feeling that it wasn’t as genuine as it usually was.
“Kinda, remember about the black shadow I told you about?”
“The one you mentioned before?”
“Yeah.” Morgana took a deep breath and looked at Akira heads on. “I think I know who it is.”
Akira hummed but in actuality, they both were frozen, keeping eyes on each other for a long time, and the atmosphere was thick enough to cut. It’s a battle of tension where the two refused to back down, however the silence might have backed Morgana’s theory in his mind. He watched the silverquick eyes piercing him, like a shadow ready to be finished and his body reflectively firing off the panic button. Akira noticed it and flashed a smile to calm him down.
“Calm down, Mona. What’s wrong? I’m not gonna attack you or anything.” He rubbed Morgana’s back in a comforting motion, but Akira applied a little bit too much pressure that it’s enough to hurt. “Why do you get so wary? Who could be that shapeshifter?”
“R-Right, Right, er…” He gulped. “It might be someone I knew. You know when TV says it’s always right under your nose? I think…I think it’s you.”
.
.
For a moment, the rain filled the void in the cafe, and Morgana’s glad that it appease the think tension in the room because, for a moment he might saw Akira’s eyes went dark with bloodlust–
.
.
But then, he laughed.
“That’s funny! You watched too much TV, Mona.” The teen continued laughing, wiping the tears coming out of his eyes. “Do you see for yourself? Or maybe you have any kind of proof?”
“I don’t have yet, but-”
“Then you’re not sure yet. You know that phantom thieves can’t chase a target without solid proof?” He sighed. “Jeez, I was hurt for a moment there. I might have thought my own kin doubted me.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry for that.” Morgana looked down. He was sure, but it might have been at his fault.
“It’s okay, Mona. At least it’s off your chest now.”
“Y-Yeah.” the feline smiled, at least he was wrong. He can feel the weight lifting itself off his heart.
“It would be fun, though,” Akira said as he moved under the cover. “Shapeshifters would make a great thief. Do you think if I’m one, I can slip in through locked doors?”
Morgana followed, jumping onto his chest. “If that’s the case, t-then I’ll have you help me snatch some treasure!”
“And then we’ll have a mountain of fortune to upgrade our bed! What a great plan!” They both laughed it out, sharing the possibility and bonding through what Morgana likes to call imagination of the day, before they got tired eventually and went to sleep.
Morgana should’ve been happy. His friend isn’t what he thought, and it all has been a miscommunication. Yet, he can’t stop forming conspiration in his head, not when he saw a glance of tiny scar on his shoulder. It could be a funny, one-in-a-million chance of coincidence if Akira happened to have the same scar as Kuro did when Morgana’s the one at fault for causing it.
But, if it wasn’t the same scar, Akira shouldn't have put any effort to hide it with his foundation, or whatever it is.
And the way the teen was so defensive about the topic, Morgana was reassured that Akira knew something, that his friend might be something he didn’t know yet.
Akira...must have some sort of relation to Kuro.
He got up from his sleeping spot, scooted closer and snuggled against his neck. The non-cat watched the soft feature of Akira’s face, tranquil in peace and heaving up and down in rhythm. The cat sighed and tried to get some sleep.
Today’s perfume was a bit strong, so Morgana kinda hated it, but he’ll stay close.
----
He had a plan.
He will caught Kuro back to his home, he’ll see if his hunch correct because it’s weird that the cat was always conveniently showed up near Leblanc anyway, Mona always thought that he placed his nest near the cafe, but if the theory is right then, it’ll blow it all away.
It’s a nice day, not too hot, not a single rain cloud in sight. He asked Akira some time because he wanted to play with Kuro, and usually the cat showed up about an hour or two after Morgana went on his venture. He sat by Leblanc’s rooftop and watched the blue sky, waiting for his target to arrive.
A voice in his mind told him that Kuro won’t come anymore, and it’s not like Morgana can check up on the cat, he had in thought to give it up and try to apologize the next time he sees him. As expected, the fat black cat showed up with a dried fish and they talked about their last incident.
Kuro said a stray shouldn’t be too picky about their life, and that he was fine, even happy that Mona still wanted to talk to him. He let it all in the past and talked like nothing happened between the both of them. He shared the dried fish and they went to play as per usual. For a moment, Morgana forgot about the thing driving his mind mad and enjoyed his time without a worry in the world, yet it wasn’t until Kuro smiled back at him that he remembered his mission. The blact cat has this weird aura that can make you feel safe, at ease and that is why he’s even more cautious.
They were sky watching until Kuro called it off, because it’s about to rain, and there’s nothing fun when your fur gets stuck with mud and they have to rub along walls. Morgana swore the weather wouldn’t change when it was so nice outside, but they waited and the wind shifted, forming big clouds and rumbles, like Kuro had summoned the rain.
“Well, I don’t think your human friend would like to sleep with a muddy cat. We’ll see each other again next time, okay?” The feline snickered and pat Morgana’s on his head. “Take care~”
“You too!” He waved back until the figure disappeared, and breathed out.
Alright, time to initiate the plan .
He let Kuro go, but not far from his sight, using covers from all over the places, Morgana managed to follow Kuro without getting noticed, but he felt the black cat notice his pursuit as he went round and round, never really stopping anywhere. Time went by and the sky darkened, the unique smell of moist air washed over the cat. After several minutes of playing-catch, Kuro bolted away into a corner, as fast as his fatty body could carry him.
Mona tried to chase him, but as soon as he turned the corner, there was no more Kuro anywhere. He lost him.
He tried to look at the nook and shadows of his possible hiding place, but the bigger cat was smarter than he thought, and his search came to a fruitless end. The rumble got even closer and Morgana rawred. He was so close, his plan almost worked! He can’t help but feel bitter after failing. Morgana sighed in defeat.
“Maybe if I discuss it with Akira, we can catch him next time.” Morgana grumbled. “Well, I need to go home anyway, He’ll worry about me.”
Morgana jumped to a platform and snuck into a hidden alleyway leading to a secret opening to Leblanc. He found out that the big hole under Akira’s milk crate made a convenient secret door for when he needed to rush home. The hole was big enough for him to squeeze in, and small enough to not cause a big problem for the attic resident. He could go from behind the street into the attic within minutes. The only downside was all the dust catching to his fur.
By the time the thunder echoed through the neighborhood, Morgana had arrived and squeezed into Leblanc’s attic, where it seemed that Akira wasn’t in his room for the moment. He could tell from the gust of wind that the windows weren’t all shut, because leaves were getting in and it became even colder. He wondered where the teen might’ve gone as he tried to wiggle past certain boxes and made his way underneath the edge of the bed.
But then, he heard a thud. He might have thought it could be Akira, finally home from wherever he is, but no one was climbing up the stairs. Morgana gulped and heard the thud once more, this time coming from above him. Maybe he’s wrong and Akira’s been in the attic this whole time?
The milk crates creaked, the sound of weight a little too quiet for a human.
His mind was a mush of mysteries, as his brain tried to make the connection he tried to deny so hard.
Suddenly he heard a tune, humming a pop song. Yeah, that one song Akira hummed to him the other day. When Morgana crawled closer, the thing landed on the floor, four paws of a familiar black cat landed in front of him, still singing in vigor.
Kuro in...Leblanc...?
“It’ll rain soon, but where's Mona? I swear he's been behind me before...” Kuro whispered to himself, walking a bee line around the attic. “hmm...I’ll just go search for him if it does rain.”
Kuro jumped above the bed and a moment a thunder struck, he saw the cat silhouette turned into something monstrous, growing bigger, thinner and oozing something, darkness. Mona pressed his ears close to his head, body trembling and eyes wide, watching the shadow break down into the shape he was well acquainted with. Kuro above him changed into another silhouette, with a mop of hair and the body of a human.
Morgana felt his heart stop for a moment. Everything froze as he watched his friend (?) moving back toward the window.He heard nothing. He felt hot and cold, sweat running down his body, and the impulse to run, don’t look back, just run–
Before he knew it, he jumped out of the crates into an open space, his tail curled between his legs as he turned around slowly, breathing became harder and paws trembling.
With a thunder strike, Akira(?) looked back and his eyes widened, if the smoke of shadow and glowing eyes go even wider.
Oh no.
They both froze, smoke coming dancing wildly around the half formed face of his beloved Akira and another half, creepy monster wide and not normal.
Akira(?) looked back at him and his eyes went wide- both human and the slit cat-like eye one-, his (human) face looked at him in fear, shame as if Morgana was the being out-of-this-world, pale and fear filling his iris. “H-Huh?! What the– WHAT ARE YOU?!”
The shock managed to wake Akira(?) up and he tried to cover up his other side with his hand, shifting out of sight, body trembling while keeping distance with the non-cat, but the shadow on the other side was rampaging, eating up Akira as his eyes filled with fresh tears, his breath ragged and teeth clattering. “Y-You didn’t see anything.”
“AKIRA-”
“NO! You don’t see anything weird in me!” Akira yelled, the tears fell as he trashed around, covering himself with more of the aggressive shadow. Morgana wanted to think he’s in a state of shock at the revelation, but the sight of Akira crying and suffering was enough to awaken his senses. Suddenly, the fear was all replaced with worry for his friend’s safety. “DON’T COME CLOSER!”
Mona gasped, wanting to launch toward his friend. “Calm down! Y-you’ll hurt yourself!”
“NO! You’re wrong! I’m n-not weird! I’m NOT A MONSTER!” his ragged, distorted voice exclaimed.
Morgana leaped, but before he could catch him, Akira sprinted downstairs and in the distance, Mona heard the cafe door slam shut and Sojiro yelling. Mona catched up to see the situation, only to see boss looking dumb founded at the door, and shaking on his boots. “What the hell is That?! Is that the kid?!”
Morgana meowed. “B-Boss! This is a misunderstanding!”
“H-huh?! C-Calm down, cat! I don’t understand what you’re saying! Jeez, it’s like a hurricane went by here… Where the heck is the kid going anyway?” Sojiro sighed. Morgana take a look at the dark outside and jumped out, leaving Boss behind. “H-Hey! Cat! Come back!”
Morgana ran, following the slight scent he could smell. Akira isn’t far yet, and he could catch up to him. Everything makes sense in his head, the mysteries he’s been looking for was right underneath him, he’s been right all along. Akira is something, Kuro is something,
They both were the same thing.
Yet the victory left a bitter taste, the trauma etched in his eyes were enough to freeze Morgana for years. He never wanted that outcome, he never wanted Akira to be hurt. He just wanted to know the answer, but he pried it away by force and had to be such a cruel friend to him. Even in their worst fight, Akira would never do things that would hurt him. He’ll open his heart and hear Morgana no matter what.
But in his case, all he did was make Akira cry.
Oh, he made Akira cry.
He felt like trash now.
He ran around Yongen to find Akira, but he wasn’t anywhere, not even with the help of his other friend he couldn’t find him. At least he’s away from prying eyes, but he also somewhere Morgana couldn’t reach and apologies to him. He wasn’t one to give up, so he widened his search and went to the next block.
Morgana watched the sky, gray and sad, the clouds were big and black, rain poured hard as if the universe were crying of this unfortunate turn of event. What’s Akira doing now? After venturing a lot deeper, and all his fur sticking to his body, Morgana realized that he might be in the abandoned building. When the cat entered the lot, he peeked through numerous pipes lining the ground until he spotted a shadow sitting in one on the far back. It was rather calm, trying to make itself smaller.
“Akira?” The feline peeked inside, Akira sitting inside, letting the rain pooled around his nook. The shadow seemed to have calmed down and settled on a faceless look, only eyes remained, watching the other from reflection on the ground. “I-I’m sorry for earlier, I would never have thought! So-”
“Go away, get as far as you can from me.” The ragged voice breathed, it sounded defeated. “...Or I’ll eat you up.”
“No, you wouldn’t. You cried and bought me luxurious sushi when you accidentally slapped me in your sleep before, and it was an accident!” Morgana chuckled and leaned closer. “You’re bad at this whole scary monster thing...”
He sighed. “What do you want…?”
“Get you home,” Morgana said. “and a bath. Wouldn’t want you to be sick.”
“I’ll kill you if you come closer. Don’t you dare, I’ll do it.”
Morgana began to see a pattern in his defense, he can’t truly see Akira in a bad light anymore as he tried to squeeze in when a gust of wind blew and literally froze him. “Agh! It’s cold up here! Can I join you there?”
“NO!” Akira yelled back. “Go away Mona! To Ann, or Futaba, ANYWHERE but here!”
“Why?”
“Are you blind? Or do you decide to see what’s convenient to you? I’m a MONSTER, Mona. The Akira you’ve seen this whole time? It’s just a pretty face on a liar’s body.I’ve been lying to you! This is who I truly am. Ugly, scary and-”
Akira stopped there, but Mona feels like he knew the rest of his sentence. He understood what his friend meant, but he needed Akira to know something. Without waiting for an answer, Morgana gritted his teeth and jumped down toward the mass of shadow. Akira freaked out and scooted his phantom shadow to not touch the non cat. “W-WHAT are you doing?! GET OUT!”
He wasn’t yielding and touched the nearest shadow with his paw. It felt like nothing, but somehow the non cat could feel the vibration coming out from the shadow.
“Are you cold?” Morgana asked.
“No. Now, get out.”
“But,” Morgana sneezed. He scooted closer toward the shadow, which was surprisingly warm. “What will you do if I get out of here?”
“...”
After basking in silence and the tune harmony of the rain, Akira sneezed.
“See? You’re cold! Let’s hurry home, yeah?” He tugged at the damp clothes. As much as the pipe could shade them from the rain, it is still an open space and Akira has been taking all the showers and cold wind in the head. A mythical creature or not, he still could get sick. “Please, we still need you here, how about the phantom thieves? How about your promise with me?”
He shook his head. “Everyone will be fine without me, We got Oracle, Queen and you. Phantom thieves wouldn’t fall without me. You... don’t truly need me.”
“I don’t get you! Why do you push me away! I want to be here with you!” Morgana yowled and jumped toward him, settling on his lap. “But you pushed me out because, what? You think I’m going to be weird out of you? You think I’m scared of you?!”
Akira seemed stunned and unfurled his clenched hand. Morgana continued as he stared at the wavering silver eyes with compassion of his own. “I have never seen something so warm and kind as you!”
Still the teen found it hard to believe, and shook his head but unconsciously sought the warmth. “...No, that was my human persona, of course you’ll love ‘Akira’. I like it too. Everyone loved ‘Akira Kurusu’. The kind, strong, dependable leader of the phantom thieves of heart. It's an awesome, fever dream-like life.”
“But Akira is you.” Morgana said. “You’re the only one who can be Akira.”
“...What?”
“Does it really matter if you’re a human, or Kuro, or anything else? You’re Akira Kurusu! It doesn't matter because forms don't accurately reflect who they are inside.” Morgana looked him in the eyes, in all seriousness he saw the creature that was Akira. “You told me that.” He ended with a smile.
Finding the lighter mood, The feline jumped out, greeted by the sky clearing up and invited his friend outside. “Look, I’m a cat now, but you believed in me when I said I’m a human. You fight with me to reach that truth!” He said proudly. “You accepted me, so let me accept who you truly are.”
Akira bit his lip and squinted his eyes. “Monster lived to hurt others, and you might be my next victim. I might be lying to you this whole time.”
“Nah, I know you better than that. I can even bet my sushi on it!” Morgana snickered. He sounded so sure that it put shame on Akira’s pride. “You helped people like it’s your nature, and how that kind of a person would hurt others? You’re the most humane monster I’ve seen. Besides, you can’t make that claim because you never hurted me willingly either.”
“...you don’t know that.” he barely whispered.
“I don’t, but I trust you.”
The shadow stared at the feline for a moment, the light came back to his quicksilver eyes. “You...trust me? A monster...like me?”
“No, you’re not a monster. You’re Akira Kurusu, the cool shapeshifter that happened to have this super cool power to shapeshift.” He ended with a light tone. “...right?”
The teen wanted to say something, but he was too taken aback by the kindness in Mona’s heart. He frowned but smiled, ever so slightly smirking. “...sus.” His voice quacked. “You don’t know what you just said.”
The feline snickered back. “I’ll take my chance and take that step, ‘Kira.”
---
They waited for the rain, but decided since it wasn’t stopping, they should return before the day turned even darker. The two climbed out of the pipe, Akira as his full human form, which was full of dirt and light bruises here and there. He burst out without shoes or anything else, and now they had to walk home looking like they'd been robbed somewhere.
Luckily, there weren’t many people to avoid and there won’t be any new rumors about him.
“I just hoped,” Akira gulped, the horror forming in his mind. “Sojiro-san won’t ask questions.”
“Er, you might want to think of an excuse now.” Morgana peered from his back. From up close, Akira did look tired, but something feels different from the teen now, that smile in his face felt more natural. “Do you feel a little better now? I, uh, sorry for approaching you like that.”
“It’s okay, You don’t know, and you must be surprised too. I should’ve been thankful.” He smiled and patted Morgana. “Since when did you-?”
“I think since the beginning,” The feline said. “When I saw Kuro, it reminded me of Joker, so it might be, you know. And you were never there when Kuro visited you! I was getting angry for no reason.”
“Sorry for hiding it,” Akira looked to the side, he stopped for a bit. “At first ‘Kuro’ was an existence to supervise your adventure, but I ended up having fun myself....”
“That’s a great thing! We should go sun napping again sometime! There’s a lot of stuff we haven’t done yet.” He agreed and nodded.“But, let’s get some bath first and rest up, today’s been a lot.”
And as in cue, another wind blasted on the road, prompting them to continue their journey home. After using their tricks and hidden passageway (after Akira transformed into Kuro again, of course) they made it back to Leblanc safely, with no angry middle aged man waiting for any explanation and still a mess they left it in. The two feline looked at each other and exhaled in relieved.
They waited for each other to do something, but Morgana insisted that he stayed to see the transformation process. Kuro didn’t agree until some persuasion, but he gave in and he began transforming the fastest he could.
Others said it's pure horror, Yusuke might have said that it’s art, but the way Kuro turned into gloop of shadow and his literal body breaking down to turn into something else were fascinating. Mona watched as the shadows collected themselves and formed into a familiar mop of hair, his face being the last reformed back for delicate details. Akira sucked in air and huffed, having his hand support him on the floor. The transformation sequence looked like it really tired the teen out, but the whole time, his quicksilver eyes only saw Morgana and faces he might make.
He was so ready for Morgana to freak out, but he’s surprisingly calm like it’s nothing much. Maybe it’s him being careful, but after several memories of tragedy regarding his abilities, he hated it, the root of his own self, and he started to believe that everyone hated him for it too.
They went to the bath house and cleaned out the dirt, got some warm milk before going back to Leblanc, and the whole time his heart had been beating loudly, preparing the rejection and disgusted look that never came. As he dried his hair, Akira’s mind was tingling to ask.
“...Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah~?” Morgana purred.
For a moment Akira thought back, his hand stopped combing through Morgana’s clean fur, making the feline look up to the teen.
“Why aren’t you scared? When you see me…? Not to compliment, But I have a terrifying look and an even terrifying process of shifting. I scared an adult so hard he passed out on me once.” Akira said.
“Um, Maybe because I know it’s you? I know you wouldn’t hurt me, so I feel safe around you.” Morgana kneaded his paws on Akira’s thighs, he knew there’s no deception in his words.
It made him go warm on the inside, to know his friend trusted him wholly. “Hmm, really? I’m honored.”
“You should be, because it’s true.” The feline beamed and jumped to the mattress. “Besides, the transformation isn’t that bad, it’s cool! But maybe you shouldn’t strain yourself on transforming so much, are you okay?”
“I’m good, only get tired when I need to do it fast, but otherwise fine.” Akira smiled, he took another glance at the roof, back to Morgana, and down to the sheet. “Um, so, about the others...”
“I won’t tell them, it’s our secret until you’re ready. Whenever you feel comfortable.” the feline reassured him.
Akira nodded in silent thanks and went to cover himself with a blanket on the cold night. He can feel the feline snuggled close to his face, but not suffocating him. For a night he felt at ease and might have teared up a bit for the huge amount of relief of sharing the things weighing him down. There would be no drastic change, or distrust; only their usual days waiting ahead from him.
Akira sniffed and Morgana shifted himself closer, his paw above his head. “It’s been a lot today but, hey, uh, when you decided it’s time,” Morgana whispered. “I’ll be there with you.”
He nodded again, this time burying himself to the comfort of fluffy fur. “Thanks.”