Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

…

…?

What time is it…?

...

My phone isn’t charged…

…

…Is that rain…?

…Sounds nice…

…Just going to listen…

…Don’t want… to think anymore…

…

The cycle repeats. The young man shifts in his bed, turning to face his barren, cobweb-infested room. He remains nestled beneath his blanket, relaxed and closed eyes hidden behind his black bangs. The sound of the heavy rain outside does nothing to awaken him, the accompanying thunder sounding so far away as to not even cause so much as a stir…

A white butterfly on the floor takes flight, knowing what needs to be done before it is truly too late…

Monday, July 31st, 20XX

One particular young man in a white shirt and tie stands on the crowded subway, staring out the window as the people chatter. The weather’s been poor today, and while there are still some people still out and about, there are also less than there would have been on a sunnier day. A blessing for the young man, who is just glad to have a small amount of breathing room.

He’s silent, staring off into the distance as the chatter and whispers blend into the background, washing away as he gets lost in his thoughts. He shifts as he pulls out his cell phone, looking through a group IM. Old messages from multiple names line the screen, including Yoshizawa, Sakamoto, Kitagawa, Takamaki, and the man himself, Akechi.

No new messages… It’s been about a week since the chat has been active with most of the chat being about the approaching summer break. Truth be told, Akechi has been half-tempted to toss a message towards the group… but everyone has been busy dealing with their lives, and he also has his own things to attend to.

“Next stop, Yongen-Jaya,” the automated voice of the train drones, “Next stop, Yongen-Jaya.”

[Only a few more minutes left until my stop. The cafe shouldn’t be too busy today, but given how popular it’s been lately…]

Akechi stops there, a pensive look on his face. He’s happy for the success of a friend’s family’s business, of course… but it’s always so inconvenient visiting when they have a good amount of customers. The others hardly hang out there anymore, and it was one of the most consistent meeting places for them.

Of course, there’s also the fact that they’ve all been quite busy as of late…

[Nijima-san, Okumura-san, and I graduated at the same time. It’s only natural that they would still have some business to attend to. Really, I should be more focused, myself.]

And yet, here he is. Instead of focusing on his post-graduation business, he’s instead returning to a singular cafe… Though, he does have his reasons for going.

His neutral expression shifts to a much clearer frown.

Oh yes, this is more than just a friendly visit. All of his visits as of late have been. Nobody knows it, but his reasons for visiting are actually quite selfish as far as he’s concerned. It’s not just for the sake of seeing how a friend is doing, but rather…

[...I still haven’t found it.]

He flips through his phone, opening another group IM from around the time of their graduation. A stranger had taken their picture, and… well, at first it was fine, it was a happy occasion. Soon enough though, when Akechi saw the full picture for the first time, something just felt wrong. It was almost as though there was just a little too much free space between Morgana and Ryuji… As though an entire part of the picture isn’t there.

Every time since then, he can’t shake the sense that something— or someone is missing. That was only the first time though. This feeling has carried on through the months, only growing stronger as time passes.

However, before Akechi can continue to linger on it, a voice rings through the air and snaps him out of his deep thinking.

“The next stop is Yongen-Jaya, this is Yongen-Jaya.”

Oh, it seems he’s arrived already. With a quick straightening of his tie, he turns to leave the train. As he steps into the station, he knows exactly where to go from here.

The automated voice rings throughout the train once more.

“Please watch your step!”

The day itself is dim and gray, as rain pelts from the clouded skies. The passersby among Yongen-Jaya hurry along, each ducking under various balconies, or heading for the trains out of the area. Slowly the number of people dwindle, making their way to their destinations, all while the pattering of rain spatters across the sidewalks and paths.

Akechi hasn’t ducked under the comfort of a balcony, instead preparing a handy black umbrella at his side. He then walks along under the loud, pouring rain, unbothered by it. In fact, he isn’t reacting at all to the rain, all while his steps splash through the reflective puddles on the ground.

“...”

He shifts a bit of brown hair out of his face as he steps forward, drawn towards his destination. His red eyes zoning in on his right, intently keeping an eye for the cafe he’s heading for once again. 

It begins to creep into sight, the well-loved Leblanc of Yongen-Jaya. Their coffee is rather good, something even Akechi himself must agree with. Their curry… well, it’s certainly popular. To the normal cafe-goer, this would be reason enough to go to Leblanc without a care. For Akechi, however…

If only he could pinpoint why. Why is he constantly drawn back to this place… There’s no sound reason he can think of that brings him during his free time, only a vague sense that he needs to be there because someone or something is missing. Which would be understandable if something were even missing to begin with.

As far as he can tell, everything is perfectly in place. His freelancing has been going quite well, he’s not suffering financially, he’s been in relatively good health… Perhaps his friends have been busy with their own lives and they haven’t really spent time as a group since graduation, but he’s also been quite preoccupied, so…

What is it? What draws him back to that coffee shop?

[...Who or what am I looking for?]

Whatever the reason, he’s going to figure it out this time. He’s tried gathering information at Leblanc many times, but there’s never been much to go off of. How can you gather answers when you don’t even have clear questions to ask? The best he could do was broad, sweeping questions and invitations for the staff to tell him about recent events, but to ask questions aimlessly is fruitless.

No, he needs to find the source of this feeling… and the feeling always drives him back to Leblanc. To go off of a mere gut feeling could be considered naive, but Akechi isn’t one to dismiss it. This investigation has no other leads, and he needs to take anything he can get if he wants to get to the bottom of what’s making him feel this way.

He finally reaches the door of Leblanc, lowering his umbrella as he reaches for the doorknob. With a small jingle of the bell, he enters the cafe.

He’s made up his mind. He’s not leaving here without some kind of clue or epiphany. 

The warm atmosphere is a welcome thing, unlike the humidity outside. It’s a modest shop with a wooden interior, something that doesn’t seem to be changing even with the hustle and bustle of new customers. 

Thankfully the cafe is quiet right now with only a couple sitting in one of the booths. Akechi can't help but be relieved he's gotten a good sense of timing for Leblanc’s customers.

It doesn’t even take five seconds for the barista, the one and only Sojiro Sakura, to smile knowingly at Akechi.

“Back again, eh? Figured you might be visiting around this time.”

Akechi places his umbrella to the side, and puts on his ever polite smile. He simply chuckles after hearing Sojiro, turning to face him as he steps away from the entryway.

“Excellent deduction. I suppose I have become something of a regular, haven’t I?”

Sojiro rubs the back of his balding head, still keeping up a grin.

“I have to keep track of everyone. Besides, you’re friends with Futaba and Morgana, of course I’m keeping an eye on you. So, you want your usual?”

Akechi raises a hand, moving up to the counter properly to respond, but as he does, someone opens the door with a bell’s jingle. A girl with long orange hair, a black school jacket, and a red and black plaid skirt. Her voice echoes through the store just as her foot hits the ground.

“Summer break has started! Sojiro, you know what this means! Curry!”

This leads the older man to turn to the girl with a sigh, shaking his head.

“The first thing you do when you get home for summer break is demand curry… and besides, wouldn’t you rather have your mother’s instead?”

Akechi notes that this is quite normal for the duo, and that nearly every visit seems to have the girl gushing over Sojiro or her mother's curry with glee.  The girl walks inside as a white butterfly follows her in, and she speaks up once more. She seems to have a lot of energy behind her words, clearly knowing what she wants.

“You know Mom’s at work! Besides, your curry is—”

Akechi doesn’t even register whatever the girl says next. The instant he locks eyes with the butterfly, his head pulses, nearly leading him to tip over from the sudden, heavy feeling. Every pulse aches, edging closer to a migraine rather than a simple headache. The world fades away as he sees the butterfly hover just a bit closer. It flutters across his vision, and his eyes struggle to follow it.

[...What… is this…?]

It's a struggle to even keep his eyes open as he is. It’s quite possibly the worst he’s ever experienced, as he can’t remember a single headache or illness that makes him feel like this. 

Suddenly, the butterfly speaks.

…You are held captive.

This is truly an unjust game.

A prisoner sealed to a future beyond your ch oosing .

A young girl’s voice, one refined but gentle, echoes through his mind, even through the pain. It’s the only thing he can focus on besides keeping his eyes locked onto that intricate butterfly. In fact, it almost soothes the accursed, pulsating headache.

[...‘A game’…? ‘Prisoner’...?]

He tries to linger on the words, if only to make sense of what is happening. All the while he stands still, simply listening as the voice continues.

I believed your chances of winning were none.

This was a miscalculation.

The world is not yet without a sliver of possibility.

None of it makes sense to Akechi, even as he tries to shake his head, or do anything to make the feeling of shifting fog in his mind go away.

[...? A miscalculation…? What is she—]

The butterfly continues fluttering around him, sparkles of light falling gently from her wings as she grows slightly dimmer.

If my voice is reaching you, there may still yet be choices before you.

I beg you… Please overcome this terrible end… Save this world…

And…

…Save the Trickster…

[...Trickster….?]

The butterfly finally begins to fly away from Akechi, going further and further. The room is slowly beginning to make sense once more, and it seems to be going towards….

…The attic…?

“...Akechi? Helloooo, Akechi? Are you buffering or something?”

The second thing that makes sense to Akechi after the pathway to the attic is the girl from earlier standing in front of him, holding a blue and yellow headset in her hand.

“Earth to Akechi! Did you hear me?”

This is what finally brings Akechi back to reality with a blink, as he quickly gains a polite smile once more. He doesn’t have a single clue what she had just been talking about. He doesn’t have much time to sort it out either… Headset, Futaba was probably doing hacking and/or programming, and she seems to be holding a lot of energy… Chances are she managed to start some kind of programming up or she salvaged some piece of tech.

“Yes, I’ve been listening. Exactly did you get it working, anyhow?”

Futaba raises a brow, lifting up the headset again.

“Oh, well that’s easy! See, the VR headset’s still pretty new, but after looking over its–”

As Futaba continues going on about the headset, Akechi finds himself struggling to follow along, still suffering from a minor headache after that strange vision from before.

“...”

He finds himself having to resist the urge to try to shake away the headache, knowing full well that it won’t truly help. His best attempts at staying focused still lead back to that butterfly and the attic, both standing out far too much to shake them from his mind. Truth be told, he’s almost convinced it was a hallucination. It was just so surreal…

All the while Futaba shares her technical knowhow and expertise with her device… At least until she notices the semi-glazed look in Akechi’s eye. She frowns, looking Akechi straight in the eye.

“...Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

Akechi simply waves a hand, keeping up that same old smile without a hint of visible concern.

“I think I may just need a moment to refresh. If you’ll excuse me for a moment….”

Without another word, he walks past Futaba, and towards the back of the store. Near the staircase leading upstairs to the attic is the restroom. It’s a small, rather cramped space, but it’s just what he needs right now. He steps in, closes the door, and hangs over the sink.

[...If I were to stay out there for much longer, then there would only be more engagement. I need to regain my focus…]

Akechi lifts his head, and looks into the bathroom mirror with a deep breath. Seeing his own reflection helps ground him. His eyes sharpen a bit, now being able to sort through Leblanc by location..

[....Leblanc isn’t a very large cafe. This is the only private place to linger… but sooner or later someone else will need in here.]

He straightens himself up as he stares at his own reflection. His eyes begin to narrow more. The butterfly flashes through his mind again, and how it flew towards the attic.

[....The attic….?]

How strange… Nobody ever goes up to the attic. He’s never seen anyone step foot up those stairs. It would be a good, quiet place in theory, but…

[...No. There’s surely nothing up there worth anything. It’s most likely filled with a useless assortment of things…]

As soon as the thought stops, he freezes in place, his eyes widening as he stares into his own eyes.

[...Wait…]

He quickly regains his composure as the epiphany strikes. Not once in these several months has Akechi so much as acknowledged the attic upstairs. This is unusual in and of itself, but what makes this even stranger…

[...How on Earth could I immediately write this away as merely ‘filled with useless things’? No, I would never. So why did I…?]

His eyes sharpen as he shifts his attention back to the stairway…. That's all that remains unchecked in Leblanc. Perhaps this butterfly really is trying to lead him somewhere, if it brought his attention to the attic when he was unable to acknowledge it himself…

He absolutely must make it up there unseen.

With a deep breath, Akechi slowly opens the bathroom door, and peeks his head out to double check Futaba’s position. She’s sitting at the counter, chatting with Sojiro about some lighthearted matter. Akechi smiles as he takes his chance.

With quiet steps, he goes upstairs.

The first thing to greet Akechi upon reaching the last step of the stairs is a face full of thick dust hovering in the air. He can’t resist raising an elbow to his face, coughing into it as he takes the time to regain himself.

After a moment, he opens his eyes once more, and takes in the sight of where the white butterfly has led him. It is truly a sorry sight. The most barren, pathetic excuse for a bedroom he has ever laid eyes on. All of the wooden floor and the walls are completely covered in dust, as well as the shelves, the old boxes of junk, and the old work bench tucked away in the back corner of the room.

In fact, the only thing not completely covered is the bed, which seems to have a large, human-sized lump beneath the single blanket on it. There’s only a few seconds spent as Akechi pulls out a pair of black gloves, and slips them firmly on.

Akechi’s eyes trail the room, taking in the giant cobwebs that exist on the shelves, reflecting months— or even years of neglect. He steps a bit closer to it, reaching a gloved hand to trail across a bit of the dust sitting on the shelves, just to see for certain how thick it is…. And indeed, his finger leaves a trail much darker and sharper than the softer, nearly gray dust around it.

His eyes narrow, turning near the back of the room once more. The white butterfly from before hovers near the middle of the room, before slowly drifting towards the window next to the bed, and landing on the windowsill. It stops, resting its wings there for the moment.

With a small look of acknowledgement, Akechi steps just a bit closer, though as he goes, his eyes trail down near the floor around the bed. Said eyes narrow as he looks more closely, realizing that the floor is also covered in a layer of dust. After a second he turns, looking back from where he came…

“...”

And just as he suspected, the only signs of disturbed dust are the traces of his own steps. Something that hardly makes sense unless no one goes up here or….

He turns back to the bed, and finally steps up next to the figure in the bed. It doesn’t take long to see the hidden, blanketed figure breathing. Akechi does note that he seems to be breathing rather deeply, as though in a particularly deep, deep sleep.

“...Something’s amiss.”

If Akechi were to ignore the fact that Sojiro has never mentioned this person before, then if this figure is alive, then surely they would have gotten up and about, kicking up the dust around their bed. Even if they never fiddled with another thing in this room, there wouldn’t be nearly as much of a neatly spread layer of dust throughout the floor of the room.

This means…

[...This person hasn’t moved from their bed in a very long time.]

An unbelievably long time at that. Akechi shakes his head, trying to envision just how long this person has been in this bed, sleeping their life away as the dust gathers around them… How are they not dead yet? Frankly, it’s a miracle they’re alive at all.

The butterfly flaps its wings once more, slowly shifting to look towards the figure’s head, which is under the blanket as well.

Help him…

The young girl’s voice echoes through Akechi’s mind once more, giving him pause. Again, he’s hearing things…!

He can’t help but frown, the voice being something of a discomfort.

If he handles this, will the voice stop? Will the feeling that something is wrong stop? He shouldn’t indulge in what could be a hallucination, but he feels his fist tighten as he begins reaching his other hand towards the blanket.

[The truth… The answers I need… What is missing…?! If it means solving it, then I’ll…!]

Just like that he grabs the blanket, and yanks it off of the person’s head, only to reveal what looks to be another young man of around his age. He seems a bit pale, wearing simple black and dull green loungewear, all while his messy black hair tries to hide his closed eyes.

Akechi actually freezes when he sees him, his eyes widening. His mouth opens, as if to speak, but not a word escapes as he tries to process the young man before him. He simply drops the blanket from his hand, and lowers his arm back to his side as he does his best to regain his composure, closing his agape mouth.

[...He looks… familiar…?]

He shakes his head, his eyes closing as he tries to dig through his memory. Through all of his past, he can’t recall a single instance of meeting someone like this, and yet…

He opens his eyes, shifting his attention to the strange butterfly once more as it begins to rise into the air again, only to land on the sleeping young man’s head. He doesn’t respond, completely unaware of it.

Akechi’s eyes trail, looking at the young man’s face once more. Again, something seems to be missing… And like a crack of thunder, an indiscernible voice rushes through Akechi’s head forcefully. An image of a young man with black hair and glasses appears before his eyes… and just as quickly as it appears, it fades. Akechi snaps back to reality with his hands to his head, his eyes widening as a headache only pounds harder.

It takes a moment, but Akechi stands once more, looking towards the sleeping young man again.

“I remember now…”

He looks down at the sleeping person with a neutral, almost distant look. The butterfly remains still, almost anticipating what he may say.

“...Ren Amamiya. A second year Shujin Academy student. We… knew each other. How did I…?”

He sounds almost confused as he says that, shaking his head as though shaking away fog. After a moment he releases a deep breath, and grows a more steeled expression as he begins to grab Ren’s shoulder.

“Amamiya-san.”

With a firm, but not too rough shake, Akechi tries to wake Ren up. Unfortunately, he remains silent and firmly asleep. This only causes Akechi to grow more firm with his shaking, and speak up once more.

“Wake up.”

Speaking louder and more firmly this time, he tries a more forceful shake. The butterfly rises into the air once more, this time plopping onto Akechi’s head, seemingly watching as he attempts to awaken Ren. Alas, there’s no sign of a stir, and Ren remains asleep. Akechi’s eyes narrow with a firm frown.

[No signs of stirring…]

And again, not a single word from the sleeping Ren, who is far too deeply asleep to even begin to respond. That’s all it takes for Akechi to give it everything he has, starting to shake him even more.

“Amamiya-san, wake up!”

It takes several seconds, but finally, Ren seems to stir. His eyes slowly open, his eyelids reaching halfway as he stares directly at Akechi for a couple of seconds.

“...? Akechi…?”

Akechi hears him, and quickly pulls him up to look directly into his eyes. His eyes intently lock onto Ren’s as he holds Ren’s arm. Ren stares into his, though he blinks wearily as he does.

“Amamiya-san, I need you to listen to me. Tell me what’s going on, you’ve been missing for months, and I need to know what’s happening…!”

Ren’s eyelids grow heavier as he stares at Akechi.

“...I…”

…And before he can even finish, his eyes are shut, and he goes limp as he mumbles something incomprehensible. Akechi lays him back down on the bed, frowning again as he thinks about the lack of answers. He still has yet to react to the butterfly on his head.

[Whatever this state is, it resembles an extreme form of narcolepsy, or even a form of coma. He can’t stay awake…]

He then speaks aloud, knowing full well that the strangely intelligent butterfly is still there, listening.

“...This is what you were worried about. That Amamiya-san is in this state.”

The butterfly silently remains on his head, simply sitting there, listening. There’s a moment of silence as Akechi lifts a hand above his head, allowing the butterfly to shift onto his finger. He once again lowers it, staring directly at the white, intricately patterned butterfly with a level expression.

“Well. I have no reason to believe you’re just a figment of my imagination now. You’ve provided your evidence, and have my attention.”

Akechi shifts his eyes back to Ren as he considers what to do now that one question has been answered. It’s only one question out of many new ones…

“You want my assistance in helping Amamiya-san… I’m sure you know it’ll be quite difficult, bordering on improbable, given I hardly remember him myself.”

He averts his gaze from the sleeping Ren once more, instead focusing on the boxes stashed on the other shelf that’s across the room. He zones in on a duffle bag sitting beside them that is not unlike the ones he’s seen some of the Shujin Academy students carry.

With a focused expression, he walks toward the bag, pulling it out as another large helping of dust hits him straight in the face– an inevitability given the room’s state. After a brief cough, his eyes shift to the butterfly’s once more.

“But I wouldn’t be much of a detective if I were to write this off as impossible, would I? No, it’s simply a matter of digging deeper. There’s much more to this story.”

He closes an eye… is that a wink? Before long he gets to business, unzipping the duffel bag, and beginning to pull out the contents one by one. The butterfly remains silent, again flying into the air. This time it lands onto Akechi’s shoulder.

“Let’s see… Hmm?”

A pair of glasses are the first thing spotted. They seem to match the ones from the vision Akechi had before… Quite unusual to have them in the duffle bag. Then there’s the normal school equipment. Nothing unusual in that regard, but he makes sure not to overlook them all the same. There’s also some knick knacks… perhaps personal objects?

Last, but certainly not least, is a phone charger. A spare charger for on the go is a good idea for anyone frequently traveling around. Whether it be all across Tokyo or beyond, it seems like Ren took care of his phone’s battery.

As Akechi reaches the bottom of the bag, he pauses, before quickly rising to his feet with the charger in hand. The phone must be somewhere around here… So once more, a look around the room grants the answer, as Akechi steps next to Ren’s bed and sees a black spot peeking out from underneath the blanket. He carefully grabs it, and looks it over…

Indeed, it is a cell phone. Even in bed, Ren had it… Was he expecting a call from someone, or something else…? Akechi taps the phone’s screen a couple of times, but it never lights up… He can’t help but frown… until it shifts to another confident look.

[But with this charger, this is easily solved.]

He stashes the phone and charger away, and begins making his way towards the stairs once more. He’ll be able to charge it and look over its contents at home.

[I’ve gathered everything I can for the moment. I need to go back downstairs before anyone notices I’ve been gone for sometime…]

He gives the dusty room and its sole inhabitant one last, quiet, unreadable look before turning back to the stairs and walking down.

The butterfly disappears from his shoulder in silence, and Akechi knows it full well. They’ll be meeting again soon, and next time, he has the sense their conversation will be less one-sided.

Chapter Text

The very second Akechi returns from the attic, it’s almost as though he was never gone. Futaba is still speaking with Sojiro. Akechi very nearly begins to reconsider having left the attic when he did, but he realizes quickly that it seems as though Futaba and Sojiro still haven’t noticed him…

His eyes trail over towards them, and some part of him wants to mingle and assure them he’s quite all right after the headache from earlier… but he needs to go. So instead, he quickly steps to the counter, and places the money for his coffee down.

“I’m very sorry, but I forgot some important business I need to attend to. This is enough, correct?”

It should be, given how many times he’s visited Leblanc over the last few months. He hasn’t forgotten the price, it’s more just a precaution.

Futaba looks over at Akechi with a raised brow, still fiddling with the blue headset she was showing him earlier.

“Huh? Leaving already? But you didn’t even drink your coffee.” She can’t help but voice her surprise, and even Sojiro looks a bit baffled by the sudden announcement of departure.

Akechi smiles at them with that ever polite smile, this time with a hint of regret. Ah, it would be nice to sit and enjoy the coffee with fond company, but he really does need to look into this…

“I know. Wasting Boss’s coffee is never my intent, but I—”

This is when Sojiro cuts in, shuffling through some things behind the counter.

“Hmm, so you need it to-go.”

He pulls out a disposable cup and plastic lid, starting to prepare the coffee there instead. He gets a confident look on his face as he continues.

“Be glad I started dealing with take out, otherwise you’d be out of luck.”

Akechi blinks. Was… that always the case? He stares blankly at Sojiro as he handles the coffee. It isn’t until he hears Futaba again that he snaps out of his thoughts, looking back at her.

“Buffering again. I’m starting to wonder if you might need to lighten that schedule of yours? You’ve been pretty busy lately with all those cases lately.”

As Akechi looks at her, he can’t help but notice that she actually looks a bit more concerned. It’s almost more foreign than he realized, and he shakes his head as he raises a hand.

“No, I’m fine. I’ve found myself with a fair amount of free time recently, it’s just…”

…Honestly, what is it? That he’s been feeling out of sorts? That he kept thinking something was missing without knowing how to talk to anyone about it? He doesn’t say that, of course. He just continues with that polite smile of his.

“I’ve been distracted by my mother. Now that I’ve graduated, she’s trying to make up for ‘lost time’, as she’s been calling it.”

That’s a lie, at least partly. She hasn’t been why he’s been busy as of late, but she has been eager to spend more time with him now that the cases he had are dealt with.

It’s around this point that Sojiro sets the cup on the counter in front of Akechi.

“Here you go. Go deal with whatever business you have going on.” It’s not quite as gruff as you’d expect from him when he says it. Akechi then picks up the cup with a smile and a nod.

“Thank you. I’ll come by again sometime soon… and next time you won’t have to worry about me leaving so suddenly.”

And with that, he hurries out with haste in his step.

Futaba watches with a small, quiet blink… before going back to fiddling with the headset.

Monday, July 31st, 20XX

Akechi’s other errands don’t prove eventful for him, for better or for worse. The rainfall certainly doesn’t make his life any easier, but everything else passes by in what feels like such a short time. Even the visit to Leblanc and the investigation there feel strangely far away, almost as though things feel eerily in place for the first time in a long while. He knows that it isn’t true, and that something is very, very wrong with the world around him– as well as himself.

After a handful of hours pass, he returns to his apartment. All too familiar to him with its rather small size and modest spread of furniture as he slips his shoes off at the entrance. There’s not a soul to be found inside the small entryway or living room besides himself, which is to be expected. He doesn’t really invite people to his home, and thankfully the paparazzi have to work to make it up to the higher floors of the building.

Akechi finally rises to standing, and walks on through the living room to reach his bedroom. Again, it’s rather simple, considering he never bothered with decoration or the most expensive furniture. Even as a detective, he needs to consider his finances as a student living alone.

The first thing he does upon sitting at the somewhat cluttered desk at the side of his room is set his briefcase in the available opening on the desk. It doesn’t even take a minute to get it open, grabbing the black phone and charger from within. He gives them both one last look before leaning over, and plugging the charger into the outlet just behind the back of the desk, and ensuring the phone is connected to it.

Akechi eyes the phone before placing it down for the moment, and then switches his attention to his laptop, which is taking up a fair amount of space on the desk.

[It’ll only be a short while, and then everything on that phone will be revealed. Until then…]

After moving his briefcase to his side, he adjusts his laptop, and opens it. The screen lights up, and with a rather quick entering of his password, he’s able to pull up his browser. He spends a handful of seconds staring at the cursor on the search bar, watching it blinking once, twice, three times… before finally sorting his thoughts, and typing up his first search. He tries multiple variations of the concept of missing persons, each with varying degrees of information, even including them having been entirely forgotten…

Not a single thing of relevance appears during any of the searches… In fact, there simply are no missing people. Every result is related to a novel, television series, video game, or some other sort of fictional tale. 

Akechi leans back in his seat for a moment, thinking to himself with a finger near his mouth.

[Nothing out of the ordinary… Is Amamiya-san’s case unique, then?]

The idea of any traces of such things happening being scrubbed crosses his mind, but to apply it on such a wide scale would be ridiculous… that is, with normal cases, at least. This case is peculiar in that there seems to be a more… mystic cause.

After all, any chance of it being a mundane case faded when that butterfly led him to an area he practically forgot existed, and showed him a young man that should have died from hunger and thirst long ago.

He can’t help but stop for a moment, thinking about it. Why would a person go missing though? Isn’t that unheard of? For a person to suddenly go missing is almost pure fantasy–

And then his thoughts screech to a halt, his eyes staring at the screen as something tries to compute. He places a hand to his head as the world grows faintly blurry around him.

“...Fantasy…? No, that’s not right…”

For someone to go missing, it’s not a fictional concept as a whole… Is it? There’s… past records of people going missing here, too. Yes, it’s just… maybe he’s a bit tired from today, that’s all.

Akechi shakes his head, trying to snap out of his stupor. He lowers his hand, and takes a deep breath as he tries to regain his composure.

[Focus… Now is not the time.]

He attempts to shift away from the fact it was a disappearance, thinking once again on the circumstances of the case… Perhaps it’s less the disappearance itself that needs to be considered and more the erasure of Ren Amamiya that needs to be considered.

For them to be erased from the world is more outlandish, but clearly it has happened. At the same time though, every single result in the search relates to some fanbase going on about the events of some fanciful story.

He stares blankly at the screen as something in his mind stutters. Something’s contradicting, something’s not right, and yet… it’s natural…? A dull throbbing begins overtaking his thoughts, and he shakes his head.

No, not again… He has more important things to focus on. He needs to focus on Ren.

With the search providing absolutely no new information (Or did it?), Akechi turns his head to look at the phone once again. After all of that searching, Ren’s phone should be charged enough to function properly. He wastes no time grabbing it, readying to deal with a lockscreen when… it just lets him inside the phone with no trouble.

His eyes widen a bit, and he blinks.

[That can’t be right… No lockscreen…?]

That’s odd… Very odd. Either Ren never bothered to enter a pin number, or…

…Or perhaps he was let into the phone? Could it have been that butterfly’s doing? He turns his head around, looking to see around the room, searching for any sign of that same white butterfly from earlier… but there’s nothing. He’s the only one present in his room, alone with this suspiciously unlocked phone.

“...”

He turns back to the phone, frowning at it all the while. There’s a reason it opened, he knows there is… but for now he needs to get the answers he’s looking for. He tucks this little oddity away in the back of his mind, and instead decides to get to the bottom of this.

Now that what should have been the most difficult part is finished, it’s time to start looking over the phone’s contents… which Akechi starts with what he sees, that being the assorted apps on the front of the home page. Akechi doesn’t make it very far before he spots the first intriguing bit of information about Ren Amamiya.

His phone has a particular app towards the bottom, one with the shape of an eye staring right back at Akechi. His eyes widen as he nearly clicks on the app without thinking. Sure, it looks a little different than his previous experiences with it, but that icon is all too familiar all the same.

“The Meta-Nav…? How could it…”

He shakes his head, quickly regaining his composure, and staring deeply at the app. So he knows Ren and Ren had access to the Meta-Nav… This raises questions. Was he an unexpected ally like Kasumi was? Perhaps an enemy with a similar power…? On top of that, the Meta-Nav should have disappeared. Why is it here?

There’s a pause as Akechi takes a quiet breath.

[...No, asking those questions now isn’t helpful. The only thing confirmed is that he has access to the Metaverse. That’s all.]

He’ll gather more facts as he goes, and begin theorizing after he’s finished. For now he clicks on the Meta-Nav, and begins searching through Ren’s history. Akechi hums to himself, starting from the top, and looking down.

The first Palace’s Ruler is unknown, something that Akechi lingers on.

[...This should be an impossibility… You need a full name in order to enter a Palace, and yet…]

To make matters worse, not even the keywords or location are known. They’re all blanked out. A glitch? Could the Meta-Nav glitch in the first place? Akechi knows better than to dismiss it, but decides to scroll down the rest of the list.

Next is Shido’s Palace. Another name that causes Akechi to pause. This time he shakes his head, rereading the name once, and even twice. The name is one he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves have dealt with, but for some reason his grip on the phone tightens when he sees it. He can’t help but feel his jaw tighten as his eyes zone in on it…

…But in an instant, it all vanishes. The growing fire in his chest is promptly shoved to the side, as though doused in cool water. Now he simply stares at it with a hint of curiosity.

He doesn’t allow himself to linger on that odd feeling, if he remembers it at all. His eyes stay on the name displayed on the bright phone screen, nearly glazing over.

[...Amamiya-san was there, according to this…]

He can’t deny it happened. The Meta-Nav has Shido’s name right here in front of him, and it’s hard to believe it would be capable of sharing entirely false information. Akechi frowns as he stares at the name even harder, practically glaring into it.

Pressure rises in his chest once more as he grits his teeth, quickly sliding to the next entry in Ren’s Meta-Nav history. This leads to yet another familiar name…

Nijima.

Wait, what? Why would she have a Palace? He doesn’t have the slightest idea what would lead Sae Nijima to have a distortion like that. It only leaves him with questions, causing him to once again flip to the next name in the Meta-Nav’s history.

Okumura…? Wait, Haru’s father?

This causes Akechi to raise a brow, eyeing the name carefully. Haru’s father is a good man, running Okumura Foods with a good, level head and respect for his employees. Why would he have a Palace…?

Flip.

Futaba Sakura. At first this name strikes Akechi as odd. After all, the Futaba he knows is Futaba Isshiki… but it doesn’t take long for him to think of Sojiro Sakura in relation to her. He may as well be her father, after all… Once more, another person that shouldn't have a Palace.

Akechi’s brows furrow as things begin making just a little more sense.

[...It’s clear he’s been to many Palaces, including ones that make no sense in regard to the people the Phantom Thieves have met. Could this be an alternate history…? No…]

An alternate reality makes no sense. After all, he vaguely remembers Ren Amamiya existing in his own life. They played pool once, he can discern that much. On top of that, it would contradict with the story presented by the butterfly… Her desire to ‘save’ him. All evidence seems to point to Ren Amamiya belonging to this reality, which means…

Akechi’s eyes widen a bit as an idea strikes him.

[...An altered reality?]

He continues flipping through the various names in the app’s history, each one either a Palace he knows or someone that shouldn’t conceivably have one. All the while his stomach twists, and he feels his eyelid twitch slightly.

[...I need to look elsewhere.]

He exits the app, immediately going over to Ren’s contacts… and just as Akechi figures, all of the Phantom Thieves’ names are present. His eyes narrow a bit as he considers it.

[He knows more than just myself. He knows all of the Phantom Thieves… He could have very well been a member.]

…When did he join? Akechi finds himself pondering on the potential timeline… All of the evidence would point towards him being there from the very start, especially after looking at all of Ren’s Meta-Nav history. It’s entirely possible that he was there alongside Akechi, Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann when they established the Phantom Thieves as a true team.

He quietly stares at the familiar names in the list of contacts, musing on this possibility… but immediately screeches to a halt when he spots a familiar name.

‘Yoshizawa’.

He knows a girl named Kasumi Yoshizawa. She’s a second year Shujin Academy student, an honor student with high expectations placed upon her by the school in question. He knows that full well, given their time spent together with him helping her with her gymnastics training. He’s still quite thankful for the lessons, seeing as it increased his stamina quite a good amount.

So yes, he’s quite familiar with Kasumi Yoshizawa… but that’s not the name he sees here. All he sees is the name ‘Yoshizawa’ with a void space beside it.

[...No, wait a moment…]

He stares at the void space with squinted eyes, and sees that it shifts oh so slightly. It’s not blank, it’s just his own perception blocking out the name… If he didn’t already know about the changes to this reality, then he would have surely assumed it was his mind playing tricks on him. Thankfully, he knows better than that.

In fact, speaking to Kasumi seems like an excellent idea. A strange effect on his perception— no, his cognition is all too suspicious to leave alone. He leans back in his seat slightly, quietly closing his eyes as he considers it more.

It’s not that he doesn’t trust Kasumi. Of course not, she’s been nothing but helpful during their limited time working together as Persona users… but it’s very clear that there’s something here, and Akechi knows better than to leave any sort of lead alone.

So he pulls out his own phone from his pocket, sifting through his IM groups and private messages. There’s a brief moment when he considers sending a message to the entire chat for the Phantom Thieves, but to do so suddenly with no evidence would be a mistake. It’s not to say he doesn’t trust them, but they would most likely believe he’s overworked, and suggest he get some rest.

He needs palpable proof before presenting them with the idea that their entire memories— potentially their whole lives have been toyed with.

As he thinks that to himself, he stops, mouth opening slightly with a realization.

Whole lives altered… and it wouldn’t only be them, but himself as well… If one person, a location, and potentially multiple Palaces are missing from their memories, who’s to say that there isn’t more? Just what has been forgotten or changed?

His stomach coils into knots at the thought, and the world tilts slightly. Akechi clenches his jaw as he grows more pale, and closes his eyes as he tries to regain his equilibrium. Leaning his head forward once more, he places his head in his free hand.

[...No. Clearly if I were more severely altered, I wouldn’t have been able to realize something is wrong in the first place. There’s no time to falter because of ‘what ifs’.]

A moment later he opens his eyes once more, staring at Kasumi’s name on his own phone… which has also become a blank void, a clear sign his eyes were failing to process the information in front of him.

With a quiet sigh, he presses her name, and begins typing a message.

-Yoshizawa, are you available tomorrow? There’s something I need to speak with you about.-

There’s a few moments of silence afterward, and Akechi’s hands tense as he holds the phone. He knows it’s fruitless to stare at the phone’s screen, that her response will not come any faster if he glowers at it with all he has. Unfortunately, he still finds himself waiting on it… all while a sense of nausea lingers in his stomach.

It isn’t long before he finally gets a response. They’re good to go. Tomorrow will be the day he seeks out Yoshizawa, and sees just what she has to say.

For now though? Now he needs to get some sleep. Today has been quite draining, and he needs to be awake early to meet with Kasumi. With a quiet last look at Ren’s phone, he sets it down on the desk, and readies himself for bed.