Author's Note:
Hi everyone! I'm back with another Akira/Ann story! I'm also back to a more "teen" friendly story after writing "The Matchmaker." This story idea has been something I thought up on after my 2nd playthrough of the game. I wondered if it was possibly to connect it somehow and reward people who really stick with their romance partners in both games. When I started actually, I couldn't NOT pick Ann again. I just loved her character. I left seeing the other confidant romances online.
Lastly, with regards to what's next, ever since "The Matchmaker", I've been trying to figure out what to write next. I felt I should write about Haru because I believe her character deserves a nice story as well after how I portrayed her. Since I also wrote about Makoto, my 2nd "love" in P5, I already have a story prepared for Yukiko of P4 who was my 2nd "love" of that game. Lastly, I'm still working on continuing Fools and Lovers! Anyway! Enjoy the story!
Akira had a long day. He was finally free from his sentence at Juvenile Hall. Through the help of his friends, he was vindicated from the false accusations. He was able to see the people who have become irreplaceable to his eyes. He even got calls from his parents. He barely heard from them in the last year but ever since his friends were helping him prove his innocence, they've been able to keep in touch. All this time, they too have been working hard in saving him and making sure that true justice prevailed. Akira's heart soared to his limit this afternoon. He was finally a free man, albeit with a few guidelines. His heart was also full after seeing the love of his life, Ann. He kept replaying everyone's faces as soon as he entered. Each of them had their own personal quirk, smile, and greet. All of them though, he knew, were delighted to see him. Seeing a room full of people excitedly awaiting your arrival is definitely something to be cheerful about. However, the person's face he saw last in that room, belonged to the one who kept his heart. She was also the first one he met as well. It was Ann. Her face said it all. Pure joy. She spoke up first among them.
"Hey there." A beautiful smile appearing on her face.
That was the first thing said as he entered. It was a simple greeting but it held a lot of weight for Akira. It felt like a warm welcome after what felt like a very cold night away. Not to mention the fact that Morgana came back from the "dead" as well, everything seemed to be right with the world.
"Hi, everyone."
Akira can't help but be grateful for the people who've entered into his life. It truly was a splendid day. Now it was late in the evening. Only Morgana remained with him in LeBlanc. He was back in his old room on the 2nd floor of LeBlanc. He's enjoying the large space, and also the soft feeling of his bed. He continues to stare at the ceiling as a thought springs to mind.
"Hmm…Isn't tomorrow…?" Akira slowly says.
*Ring Ring*
Akira's phone rings in his pocket. He checks to see who it is. A smile comes from his face. The message is from none other than his lovely girlfriend, Ann. She was asking if they could meet up tomorrow. Akira gladly replies with a yes. "That's right…it's Valentine's Day." Akira says. He himself is excited to finally have some alone time with Ann.
"You never change, do you?" says Morgana.
Akira just smiles from the comment. He has to get ready for tomorrow though because he'll be helping out in the store from now till he heads back to his hometown.
"Gah!"
Without warning, Akira feels a striking pain in his head. It felt like a mixture of a migraine and a slight dizzy spell.
"Woah! Are you alright partner?" asks Morgana worriedly.
Luckily for Akira, the sudden pain soon passes. It was like it was never there in the first place.
"How strange" he thought.
"I'm…I'm fine. Must have had a long day."
"Hmm…Well. You've been through a lot. You definitely need to head to bed early."
This was one of the few times that Akira agreed with the cat with going to bed early. He really must have felt tired.
Akira then drifts off into sleep. As he drifts into blackness, he then sees a dream which felt quite similar to his times in the velvet room. No words were said. He was however greeted with flashes of images of his year in Tokyo. Sometimes, he'd be greeted with events he feels he's never experienced. It was all confusing and familiar at the same time. After what felt like hours and hours of time, someone finally spoke up. It sounded like the voice of Lavenza.
"You have done it. You have done everything we asked and more. For going through a harrowing trial such as this twice, we shall offer you a gift."
Akira wakes up with a bit of a shock. He was panting.
"What was that dream?" Akira thought. It was still early. Morgana hasn't woken up. He decides that he'd rather not go back to sleep. He stands up from his bed to get ready. After going through his morning rituals, he goes back to his room to collect the things he needed for the day. He approaches his desk to get them. He however was distracted from something which was out of place. It was a box. It had a yellow lid with a brown bottom. It was tied with a red ribbon. He recalls not receiving this yesterday nor did he bring it with him. It looked brand new to him and at the same time, strangely familiar. Curious on it's contents, he decides to open it. It was none other than chocolates. It looked handmade. Some of them looked a bit misshapen, but mostly, they looked quite delicious. He gives one a taste.
"Mmm. Delicious."
"Whoever made this definitely had a thing for sweets." Akira thought. He smiles. He thinks that someone must have snuck in a gift for him while he wasn't looking yesterday. "Was it possibly a Valentine's chocolate?" he ponders on this thought. Even though his heart was already taken, if it was from someone else, he would have at least wanted to thank the person for the effort.
The day went on without a hitch. LeBlanc was full of couples today. Akira and Sojiro had their hands full with working for their customers. Akira was glad to be working again, and all these customers were a way for him to refresh his skills in coffee making. Night arrives and Sojiro remarks.
"Oh right, today's Valentine's Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here. Don't you have anything exciting happening? I mean you've been here nearly a whole year."
"Haha. Oh Sojiro. You sound like a cool uncle wondering about his nephew's love life." Akira thought. He definitely had a bond with this wise man.
"Y'know, when I was young, hoo boy…"
*Ring*
Before Sojiro could finish, the door to LeBlanc opens. In comes the girl he's been waiting for. Ann was in an outfit he's seen before. It was stylish and definitely matched her personality. She smiles and greets everyone.
"Hi there!"
Both Sojiro and Akira draw their attention towards her and her bright personality. Akira instinctively starts moving towards her. He stops halfway through the store.
"Do you have a minute?" asks Ann.
Sojiro does a quick sweep of the both of them. He smiles and gets the picture.
"Ohh… You should've just told me." He pauses for a bit before he continues.
"Here. I'll leave the store to you." He then heads for the exit.
"Enjoy yourselves."
"Haha. Sojiro, you really are a cool man. Thanks." Akira thought.
Morgana himself slowly exits with a sigh as he looks at both Akira and Ann.
It was at this moment that Akira realises that he was nervous. He finally has alone time with Ann. There was so much to say. So much to catch up on. He didn't know where to start. But sometimes, when the awaited moment comes, no words come out. He was truly captivated once again by the girl in front of him. He was truly in love. Akira was not alone. Ann herself was nervous. Ever since their last night together during Christmas Eve, she longed to see him again. Now that he was here in front of her, she was having trouble deciding what to say next. They were truly fools in love.
"Good evening." Ann finally spoke.
"Have a seat." Akira replied immediately.
"Thanks." Ann felt relieved as she replied. "Don't be too nervous, Ann." she thought.
As they both took a seat, they relaxed and were contemplating on what to say next.
"It's been a while since we've had some alone time together." Ann says.
Akira agreed and nods.
"Yeah…I'm kinda nervous." He just spoke truthfully. He had nothing anymore to hide from Ann. Nor did he want to hide anything from her either.
"You mean now? That's kinda cute." Ann giggles. She feels like the tension was slowly going away. Akira was just like her. Nervous. They really were in sync sometimes. Feeling like the timing was right, she decides to bring out her gift.
"Oh yeah. This is for you."
Akira looks at the gift and is delighted. "Ann really is sweet." he thinks.
"Isn't it heavy? I filled it with love." Ann jokingly says.
Akira looks at the box again then suddenly feels a bit of Deja vu.
"Haven't I…?" Akira thinks.
"Gah!"
Once again, Akira gets a sharp pain in his head. It was more painful this time. He held onto his head. Ann stands up and goes straight beside him.
"Akira! What's wrong?! What happened?" Ann asks worriedly. She was holding his shoulders, and checking his head and face to see if there was something wrong.
"I…I don't know." It's just…I feel kind of weird."
Ann was thinking about how relieved she was in seeing Akira after so long. She didn't even think of the possibility that Akira would be hurting like this when he came back. "What happened?"
"Let me…just rest for a moment….Just…don't leave. Please."
Ann seeing that Akira needed him now, definitely agreed. She had no plans to leave at all tonight. Now she was for sure, staying put.
"Of course…"
Akira doesn't speak for a while. He looks at Ann whose face seemed like she was on the verge of tears. He however starts to feel a bit better. Feeling like he needed to lighten the mood, he speaks up a little.
"Not your ideal Valentine's Date, huh?" Akira snickers a little. He shows his trademark smile.
Ann herself slowly smiles in return. "If he has enough energy to be cocky, maybe…it's not too bad." she thinks.
"Sorry, Ann. Let me just…relax for a moment….I'm really glad you're here."
"No…there's nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad too. I'm happy were spending time together again."
Ann then gestures to her box of chocolates.
"Here, maybe you haven't eaten properly yet? Some sugar might do good for you."
Ann starts to unwrap her gift. Akira has a moment of enlightenment. "That box." he thinks.
He sees the contents and finds similar looking chocolate to what he had this morning. In fact, it looked identical. He decides to ask.
"Ann. When you dropped by here yesterday, did you perhaps leave chocolates for me as well?"
"No? Why do you ask? Did you get chocolates yesterday too? Another admirer?" Ann teased but she was a bit curious. She was starting to feel a little jealous. She however shooed the thought away. She had faith in Akira so she talked calmly.
"Haha. I don't know. Could be friends chocolate? Besides…you know my heart belongs to you." he said.
Ann heard what needed to be said. "He really did know how to relieve a girl's heart." she thought.
"My heart belongs to you too." Ann smiles and giggles.
"Going back… it seems that someone left chocolate for me. Did I mishear you a while ago? Did you buy these…or did you make them?"
"I made these. It took me a while to perfect the flavour, but I think it worked out alright."
Akira starts to think.
"Can I have a bite?"
"Of course! These are for you, silly."
He grabs a chocolate. It was the exact shape and size as the one he got a while ago. He was getting confused. He takes a bite.
"Tastes delicious, sweetie." Akira says.
"Thanks! I worked hard." Ann smiles. She however sees that Akira had a worried face.
"Is there a problem?"
"That's the thing. It's really delicious! But strange thing is… the chocolates I had yesterday were in fact equally delicious too. In fact, almost the exact same flavour!"
"What…what are you trying to say, Akira? Are you comparing my chocolate to this other person's? Are you saying mine aren't special? I love you and today is Valentine's Day…but I will be a bit upset if you start comparing my hard work to other people…especially for today." Ann pouts.
Akira realizes what he said and sees his mistake.
"No! No sweetie. Of course not. I just…"
Akira stands up and decides to take action.
"Come up with me."
"Uhm…excuse me?" Ann starts to blush.
"Come on. I have to show you something."
"I… I came here ready for anything…but aren't we taking things too fast?" Ann was starting to mumble a little.
"I get it. You like my chocolates and if this your way of showing your commitment, I am happy, but why not…you know…build it up first?" says Ann in a shy tone.
Akira grabs Ann by the arm and they go upstairs to his room. Ann squeaks a little from the sudden action. Akira is holding Ann's box of chocolates in the other hand as well.
They head upstairs and stop in front of his work table.
"Ann. This is what I wanted to show you."
"What do you want me to see?" Ann now is a bit more composed. She realises that Akira had a serious face. She looks towards the table and sees none other than an already unwrapped box of chocolates. She then sees what Akira was reacting about. It was identical to hers.
"That's…That looks exactly like my box of chocolates. The packaging is identical. How strange." Ann says.
"Look inside, Ann." Akira gestures and opens the box. He shows her the remaining chocolates inside the box which were still in the exact same slots as a while ago. Ann gasps. All the shapes were the same.
"But…that's impossible!" How do they look EXACTLY the same!" Ann is starting to get worried.
"I know right? That's why I asked if you bought them." Akira and Ann were now thinking how could this possibly happen.
"Wait! There's one last thing. Underneath the chocolates is a thin sheet, hiding underneath is a small letter dedicated to you. I even signed it."
They both check the contents. What they find shocks them even more. It was Ann's letter. It said:
"My heart belongs to you. I will love you always. Ann."
On it was her signature. Both of them didn't know how to explain it. How can there be two of the exact same item?
Akira and Ann were trying to solve this mystery when suddenly, both of them felt strangely dizzy. Before long, both of them fell asleep.
Akira wakes up only to find darkness. He sees a person within. It was Lavenza.
"Hello trickster."
"What's happening? Why am I here?"
"Like I told you recently, you have done well. I am here to reward you for your hard work."
Akira was confused. I believe they have already thanked him before his hard work but something felt off.
"Which work are you talking about?"
"You really are clever. You noticed something was off right away….You see. This wasn't the first time you saved the world."
Akira was confused from her statement.
"What do you mean?"
"You see…after you beat The God of Control the first time, the world was peaceful and safe. Things would have turned out alright. However, the master and I felt that there were people's lives you could have affected for the better if you were better equipped from the start. So…we made a deal with you."
"What deal?"
"Let me…enlighten you."
Lavenza approaches Akira and taps her finger on his forehead. A shockwave of memories flowed through his mind. He then finally recalls another meeting from another time.
Akira was in the velvet room again with Lavenza and Igor. They were discussing about how things could have been different for all the people he met. He's done a good job but there could have been more done.
"Are you willing to go through the trial again, Trickster?" says Igor.
"Are you willing to save the others you were not able to due to what you lacked from the start?"
"Yes."
"Very well. We will now bless you with the gifts and knowledge you need. These will allow you to perform this task. The rest is up to you if you can manage." says Igor.
"However…you remember the consequences. Your memory of the past events must be taken from you. You will start off fresh." says Lavenza.
"Supposedly, if it's just me doing things again, I should end up saving the world, am I right?"
"Not quite…with your new gifts, things might play out different. In fact..they might end up worse."
"Are you saying…I might fail?" asked Akira.
"We…have high hopes that you won't. After all, you did it once." said Lavenza.
"What about…Ann? Does that mean… things might play out differently with her?"
"Haha. Funny how you mentioned her among all your friends. We did mention that nobody will remember including you. Yet, you asked about her once again. Are you worried that you might not actually end up with your love?" said Lavenza with a smile.
"I'm…I'm worried a little…honestly. She…means everything to me. Even if I don't end up with her…can you guarantee that she'll be alright?"
"You have to trust in yourself. Trust that you'll find each other once again. Your hearts are connected here. Including all your friends now. The connection will remain. That's the only solace I can give you. But your bond with her is special. If you truly desire one another once again, everything will be alright."
Akira then returns to the present. He sees the present Lavenza. She's smiling. He realises what this means.
"So…that means I did it."
"That is correct. You saved the world yet again. You were able to affect more people's lives this time. This is an even greater accomplishment. You have also gotten your wish. You believed in yourself and once again, you found your love."
"Ann…"
The box of chocolates Ann made appears beside Lavenza. She shows it and it floats towards Akira through the darkness.
"This symbolised the love you had for one another throughout your entire ordeal together the first time. That is also the reason why it remained. It was always there within you. In your heart. With it's guidance, it helped you remember who your heart yearned for and who her heart yearned for as well. However, it only showed itself now because it was time. Time it would combine with everything new you've garnered with one another this time."
Ann shows up in the darkness. She herself is confused with what was going on.
"Akira. What is she talking about?" asks Ann.
Another box of chocolates appears from Ann. It looked like it came from her heart. The two boxes slowly slide into one.
"Here is your gift, Trickster."
Lavenza approaches Ann. She taps her finger on her forehead. Ann then falls asleep.
"Ann?" Akira worriedly asks.
He however feels sleepy as well.
"Till we meet again…Trickster."
Akira's eyes close into the blackness.
Akira was enjoying his sleep. His memories were merging into one. He recalls the task and he recalls the things he's done twice. He suddenly is woken up by a voice.
"Akira…Akira!"
It was Ann's voice. He opens his eyes only to find himself sleeping on her lap. He felt at home at that moment. He sits up and sees Ann's wide smile."
"Did we…did you see that?"
"Yeah…" Ann replies meekly.
"How long were we out?" asks Akira.
"About 30 minutes?" Ann says as she checks her phone.
"I see…" says Akira.
"So…I know what you did for us." says Ann in a serious tone. "You were given the choice to do it all over again and you didn't even hesitate."
"You…remember everything, Ann?"
"I believe that was their gift. For me to remember everything too….You really are amazing, Akira."
The boy rubs his neck as he's a bit embarrassed.
"How could I say no to saving even more people?"
"You… chose me again. From what I can tell…it was possible that you could have fallen in love with someone else…but…you still found me."
Akira sees her face and it was full of different emotions. He himself wasn't sure on what to say. Who could he ask about a situation like this? Eventually, he felt that saying things from the heart was best.
"Ann… I believe…that the connection between you and I transcends what's NORMAL… My heart belongs to you. Past, Present, and Future. Even if I had to restart everything again…my heart will always look towards you."
"You're really… something." Ann had tears in her eyes. "Full of cheesy things to say." She pauses before she continues.
"I love you…I didn't think I could ever love you even more but now that I know everything…you're more amazing than I ever thought possible."
Ann moves toward Akira and kisses him deeply. They held each other in a sweet embrace. Ann wanted to express her deepest feelings with every touch. She loved him dearly. Akira as well treasured Ann immensely. Their hearts started beating in unison. They were exploring each other with their hands while their kisses connected. Finally, they paused. Both of their faces were red but showed they were content. They each had something to say.
"Thank you…for choosing to love me again." said Ann. Akira smiles at her statement.
"There was nobody else to choose. You're the only one for me, Ann. Thank you for accepting my love again." said Akira.
Both giggle as they continue to be within each others arms.
"So…technically this is our second Valentine's together, huh?" said Akira.
"Haha yeah…I remember how it went…" Ann whispers as she recalls what happened previously.
"Just like last time…stay with me, Ann. Now and Forever."
"I will…This time though…we can try something new." Ann giggles in the middle of kissing her true love.
It was another long night for these two lovers. Sometimes love can transcend what is humanly possible. It was in the case for these two. The result was happiness.