'Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT!' Akechi thought furiously as he left the interview, struggling to keep his convivial mask on just in case anyone would suddenly walk around the corner.
'Phantom Thieves, that's all everyone is talking about. Some wild bounty hunter crew that likes making dramatic gestures on who their next opponents will be. How disgusting.'
He sped walk to his dressing room, closed the door gently behind him before looking at the mirror and letting his mask drop. His gentle smile quickly turns into an ugly sneer as he remember the crowd cheers for the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Heart. He thinks about the talk host's questions slowly becoming condescending, as though somehow the amount of work he was doing was inferior compared to the Phantom Thieves.
Oh how he curses their existence!
It wouldn't be a problem normally, they are helping with the rampant shadows and wild monsters that ravage the cities and islands. However, the problem is when they would occasionally target Persona wielders who would take advantage of their Personas' aura and control the people around them. Since the police have a hard time accumulating evidence of this sort of behavior due to everyone keeping their Persona hidden in public, a group of vigilantes rising up to the challenge and fighting back isn't really a huge surprise. The real problem is that the public are slowly changing their negative opinions of the thieves and the term "steal your heart" is starting to become a popular saying amongst the young. Somehow the population got it through their heads that going outside the law is the better option now.
He clenches his fists, his nails digger deep into the palm of his skin, in frustration as he thought of the Phantom Thieves being hailed as heroes as this rate.
'Calm down, don't let these nobodies get to you. Just stick to the plan. ' He mentally thought, trying to release his anger.
As he took a few deep breaths and unclenches his fists, his face slowly turns sickly pale as he recalled something.
'Did...I really say that I was going to take down the notorious shadow Ca Ong….?'