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That was the third time Morgana tried to point something out that wasn't in the real world. Even if he always backtracked, it was pretty helpful. Akira looked toward the house Morgana was attempting to talk about, and sure enough there was a small house on the street that wasn't there under normal circumstances. You know, not so perfect ones. Reading the nameplate on the gate, it read...
Akechi .
"Oh, that's ... Akechi's house. We should go visit him, shouldn't we? We haven't seen him in a while, after all."
It was worth a try. Morgana made it pretty obvious that it was possible to remember their original reality, if not just bits and pieces. Akechi would most likely be one of the quickest to remember. After all, their lives are very different here. Morgana went from cat to human, and Akechi went from dead to alive. All he needed was a little push in the right direction, and his memories would probably fall into place.
Upon ringing the doorbell, a familiar voice shouted out from beyond the door. Not the familiar voice the pair were expecting though. It was higher. Well, in a world like this who knows what Akechi would sound like. Would he use his airy, pleasant "ace detective" voice? Or would he sound completely different? But regardless of what register Akechi takes on in this world, this voice didn't belong to him. It belonged to a certain phanboy.
The door opened, revealing the Phantom Thieves self-proclaimed PR manager, Mishima Yuuki. "Oh! Hi, Kurusu-kun! Hi Morgana! I haven't seen you two in a while, whats up?"
"I-. It's good to see you too...? I'm here to talk to Akechi."
"Akechi's a bit busy right now but um.. just wait a second. I'll get him for you."
Trying his hardest to not let the confusion show on his face, Akira nodded and Mishima shut the door again.
Akira could hear Morgana mumbling behind him. "Mishima and Akechi are...living together here? I...didn't even think they knew each other..."
That was also on Akira's mind. Along with the question of who's idea of a perfect reality included Mishima and Akechi living together. He wasn't able to dwell on this for long though, as the door opened back up to Akechi standing at the door way.
"Akechi." Akira said, relieved. He was really trying to fight back the urge to sound overly happy, but it was hard. The last time Akira heard from Akechi, he was sacrificing himself for the Phantom Thieves. Seeing him alive standing in front of him now so casually (regardless of the cold glare he was getting), made Akira very happy. Now, to get serious. It was time to gauge Akechi's awareness of the situation.
"Hello. What do you need?"
"...We probably shouldn't...talk about it here-" Akira started.
"Its about this world, isn't it?" Akechi interrupted. "I don't want to talk about this right now. You should come back later."
"What? We should talk about this as soon as possible. I don't have the time to sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting on you, and you're my only hope right now."
"Yes, you can actually. Just wish for more time to twiddle your thumbs. You'll be fine."
At that, Akira found that Akechi was only presenting him with more questions rather than any sort of answers.
Just as Akechi was just about to grab the doorknob, presumably to shut the door in Akira's face, Akira heard an indistinct shout from inside the house. Probably Mishima again. What was with that? Akechi grimaced for a second, before saying "...Yuuki asked if you wanted to join us for dinner." His voice was...unfeeling to say the least. His tone conveyed that he didn't care what Akira said in response to this proposition. His face told another story. Something along the lines of "Tell him you're busy or I'll shoot you again."
Akira was able to take a hint. Picking up on social clues is how he made so many close friends while rarely talking to anyone but Morgana. In this case though, he was more than happy to feign ignorance.
"That sounds great." he said, loud enough that he knew Mishima would hear him.
Akechi's distaste was now apparent in his voice. "....We'll talk about it after dinner. That good enough for you?"
Akira nodded. He wasn't trying to piss Akechi off, but the sooner he could talk to someone who knew about the truth of this world, the better. His own teammates had no memories of their original reality, and sitting around waiting was the one thing Akira was pretty bad at.
Akechi stepped out of the way of the doorway, letting Akira into the house. It wasn't decorated amazingly, but it felt lived in. Cozy. Like it's been here for a lot longer than it actually has.
"Just make yourself at home, Kurusu-kun. I'm almost done over here!" Mishima called from the kitchen.
Akira looked inquisitively at Akechi.
"...Was your wish to have Mishima as a housewife?" he teased.
"And what of it?" Akechi retorted harshly.
"Nothing," Akira put his hands up in mock surrender. "Long as your happy."
"I am. I'm not going to make some grand declaration of how this world is the better version, because for some people it's probably not. But right now I'm probably as happy as I can be."
"You sure dont seem very happy.." Akira muttered under his breath. Akechi didn't respond, other than a small eye twitch.
"Didn't agree to wait until after dinner for this?" Akechi huffed.
Akira was extremely inclined to say "You brought it up...", but he held his tongue.
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After a pretty awkward dinner with Mishima and Akechi, Akira learned that in this reality Akechi worked a regular office job and Mishima worked from home. Coding or something. He wasn't paying that much attention. In this reality the two were dating and living together. That was all fine and dandy, but Akira was more curious about how they knew each other in the first place. If the Akechi and Mishima from the true reality felt like this about each other ...well that couldn't be a good thing, could it?
Akechi and Akira had decided to take their conversation outside, while Mishima and Morgana talked inside.
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"You want to get out of this reality, yes?" Akechi spoke almost dejectedly, like he already knew that this wasn't the reality they should stay in. And since Akira was here and shared that sentiment, he probably knew this reality wouldn't last, either.
"Of course." Akira replied, determined. "Theres even a palace, and a palace ruler. We can get out of this place."
The two made eye contact, and Akechi looked away first, jaw clenched.
"...You don't want to, do you?" spoke Akira, silently hoping Akechi would deny it. But he didn't.
Akechi sighed. "I...No. I can't really say I do."
Akira felt his expression morph into some sort of disbelief, or maybe disappointment. Akechi sighed.
"What, is that so unbelievable? There's no we about it. Sure, we can fight together but in the end only one of us is getting out of this alive. But honestly? I don't really care about that part. This house, my job, my life , I couldn't give less of a shit about any of it. All I care about is the fact that in this reality Shido's already arrested and I have nothing to do with it, or him. Because of that, I can just live with Yuuki in peace. Do you really expect me to risk my life fighting just to get rid of that?
"... How do you even know Mishima?" was all Akira could think to say.
"Don't sound so worried, I didn't coerce him into betraying you or something." Ah. Sometimes, it felt like Akechi could read his mind. Or maybe Akira wasn't as good at hiding his emotions as he thought. "We met in LeBlanc, actually. I have your absence at that time to thank for all this."
"Right. Well... is that your final answer? You're sure?"
"..Yes. Even if any part of me wanted to help you, I wouldn't be able to put my all into fighting for the 'true' reality. Not when I'd constantly be thinking about what I'd be leaving behind." Akechi paused and let out a small sigh. "You're planning to end this reality's existence, correct?"
"I can't accept this reality. I'd feel bad if I didn't at least try."
"I figured. I won't try to stop you, I've learned my lesson by now. But I can't commit myself to your cause."
Akira hummed in acknowledgment. A silence stretched between the two, but as Akechi opened his mouth to say something, Akira reached into his back pocket. He fished out Akechi's glove and handed it back to him.
"What, is this your last line of defense or something? I'm not changing my mind."
"No, no. I just... thought it seemed like a good time to give it back.
Akechi stared at Akira, glove tightly clutched in his hand. "...Well, alright. Goodbye, Akira."
"....Yeah. Let me get Morgana." Akira intoned, pointedly ignoring the dull ache in his chest.
Akechi nodded. Akira opened the door again and saw Morgana and Mishima laughing about something on the couch. He walked up to the two and tapped Morgana's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go."
"Oh, you're leaving? Bye then, it was nice seeing you!" chirped Mishima.
"Same here, we'll see you around."
A tiny part of Akira hoped that wouldn't be for a while, though.
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As Akira walked back to LeBlanc, he didn't think about much. He wondered how it was that in a perfect reality, he felt so alone.
Akira could practically feel Morgana staring into the back of his head. Finally, he spoke up. "Hey, are you okay? What did you even talk about with Akechi?"
"It's not important. I'm fine."
"...I won't push it. But just know we all have your back, okay?"
Akira sighed and smiled to himself. "Thanks, Mona."
"Yeah. Any time."