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Kurusu Akira lived a happy childhood. He had everything a little boy like him could’ve ever wanted: a loving family, with a mother and father that doted on him and made him curry, supported his dreams and taught him kindness and honesty. They’d play super fun games with him too! Like the one where they’d turn out all the lights and live by candlelight, or the one where they’d huddle together (like penguins!) for warmth. Akira liked penguins, they were black and white and stylish! And they loved to cuddle too, and cuddling is the best thing ever. Obviously. Sometimes his friends would tease him about how he never had the latest toys, or how he couldn’t keep up with Featherman (he didn’t have a TV, it’s not like it was his fault!). But every day after school his mom would meet him at the gate, and she’d swing their hands as they walked home, and every day his dad would welcome them back, and every day, even in the dead of winter, Akira knew that as long as his parents were there he’d never get cold.
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Kurusu Akira lived a happy childhood. When he turned eight years old his parents bought him a giant cake covered in chocolate! He’d never had one of those before. His dad said that he’d gotten a new job with a very important man, and that since he was going to be getting more money than usual they could celebrate a lot for Akira’s birthday! And they were right! Akira hadn’t seen a TV that wasn’t behind a glass screen before, and it was so cool! His favourite Featherman was Red Hawk, of course. The dashing hero, come to save the day. A shining, what was the word? Pa-ra-gon? Paragon of justice! He really loved Featherman, but every day after school his mom would meet him at the gate, and she’d bundle him into the car and sing along with the radio as they drove home, and every day they’d welcome his dad back when he came back late from work, and every day, even as the flowers bloomed around them, Akira knew that his parents were the bravest, most beautiful heroes out there.
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Kurusu Akira lived a happy childhood. His parents weren’t around as much now that they’d all moved into the city, but that was fine! He was ten years old, a big boy now, and he knew that Mom and Dad were very important people. He’d watched a lot of Featherman, so he knew what “balls” and “events” and “high society” was, and apparently that was what his parents were doing now. He was really proud of them! They always left him home whenever they went out, which made sense, because he was an “energetic, rambunctious child.” But those were still good things, right? He was pretty sure they were, because Mom would always praise him for having so much energy when he was younger. But he also knew that being polite and quiet were also good things, and he really wanted to go to one of those fancy parties where they dressed up like penguins, so he started practicing super hard so his parents would be proud. And they were! They said that they really should’ve taught him to do this earlier, and maybe if they could teach him proper manners they could show him off to the other families at the next celebration! So Akira always stood up straight (even when he’d rather be slouching), and learned to compensate for how the corner of his mouth would twitch up when he smiled (because smirking is rude and bad, even when he didn’t mean to), and stayed quiet and attentive and memorised all the pleasantries, and he realised, suddenly, that a while ago his parents stopped praising him at some point, and he really missed that, but whenever he got something right they’d tell him what a good child he is! So he decided, right there, that even when it was hard he’d do his very best to be a perfect son, and then everyone would be happy. And it was hard, but every day after school the family driver would meet him at the gate, and he’d sit straight in his seat and clasp his hands together as they drove home, and every day he’d welcome his parents back home when they returned late from whatever event they were attending, and every day, even as the leaves fell from the trees, Akira knew that as long as he was good his parents would never abandon him.
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Kurusu Akira lived a happy childhood. Right? Honestly, he wasn’t so sure about that anymore. He’d perfected the art of being a quiet, smart, attentive, polite, handsome, perfect 13-year-old, but despite it all, his parents never paid much attention to him once the novelty of him learning something new wore off. But then! But then his father said that his boss needed a “good kid who can follow orders” to help him with their science project, and that Akira’s father volunteered him. A good kid who can follow orders? That’s him! A good kid! So, of course, he said yes. It’s not like he really had a choice, but it still felt nice to pretend that he was important, that his decisions mattered. So his father finally took him to the top-secret lab that he was never allowed to hear about (just like in Featherman! Exciting, if he was the sort of child who still watched that stuff, which he wasn’t, of course not! No way. Not at all. Nope). But it was so cool! There were people in white coats everywhere, and giant tubes, and big fancy words that Akira wished he understood, like “cognitive psience” and “Mementos,” and it was so wonderfully fascinating that he almost lost his cool, but he couldn’t do that if he wanted to be the good kid they wanted for their project. So Akira stayed quiet and good, and said “yes” to all the right things and signed on all the right lines and answered all the questions in the ways that Dr. Isshiki expected him to, and then, all of a sudden, his parents were gone and he was alone. And that was okay, because he was making them proud, but every day after the lessons the white coats gave him, Dr. Isshiki would meet him at the door and press her hand to the small of his back as they walked to the testing facilities, and every day he’d settle into the fancy chair and watch the viewing room for his parents who never appeared, and then one day, as he sat quietly in the empty, sterile room that was a perfect 22 degrees Celsius, Akira realised that his parents were never coming back for him.
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Akira’s childhood died when he turned 15 and God visited him in a dream. God told him that true bonds are a lie and relationships are tools to be used. God told him that he was a Trickster, a Wild Card, destined for great things. God told Akira to harness his power, and fight for his justice. Akira had no proof to refute God’s words, not anymore. So every day he smiled at all the right times, and every day he did as he was told, and the day he was released from all his scientific trials, he opened the door to his house and his parents smiled at him and said “Thanks to you, we’re finally rich and famous. We’re so proud of you, son.” But Akira no longer believed in their words. God had shown him that fame corrupts and ambition is a sin, but Akira was no stranger to sin, not anymore. Not after he had put his gun to Dr. Isshiki’s head, barrel to the skull of the researcher corrupted by power, at the behest of the mindless government agents, following the politicians who were greedy for riches, a chain of worthless pride from bottom to top. Not after he pulled the trigger and felt nothing but a cold sense of certainty that this was who he was meant to be. No longer did he have any need for false praise and false sympathies, only the unflinching belief that those in power deserve death. So when he heard that his parents got their start with Shido Masayoshi? Well, he knew exactly who he was aiming for this time.
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“Hello, is this Shido Masayoshi-san? My name is Amamiya Ren, and I have a proposal you might be interested in. Do you recall the cognitive psience experiments conducted by one Dr. Isshiki Wakaba a few years ago? What I’m talking about? Oh, I’m afraid I’m just an amateur detective who happened to stumble upon her disappearance. A lucky coincidence, really! Well, I happen to know a thing or two about the cognitive world, and, just between the two of us, I’m rather handy with a gun, too. Oh, what I want out of this? Well, it’s a bit embarrassing… and it might seem a little shallow… But I’ve just always wanted to be rich and famous, you know? And I think you might be able to help me there. Really? Thank you! Yes, of course. Thank you so much, Shido-san, tomorrow’s fine. I promise I won’t let you down.”