He couldn't believe Aki had gotten involved in something so stupidly dangerous. Or maybe it was the opposite. It was so believable, in fact, that the knowledge itself was tangible enough to cause mental whiplash.
Phantom Thieves. Stealing hearts. What kind of idiot would believe that?
The name, the goal - all of it was naive as hell and scarcely worth the effort. He would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all if Mitsuru, who he'd always thought to be sensible, didn't also proclaim her utmost confidence in their mission. She even managed to rope in a group of second-years from Gekkoukan.
A slender girl with a naginata and a jagged mask collaged from various pieces of mirrored glass confidently introduced herself as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He had no idea what to make of this person from day one.
Her entire outfit seemed to reflect what paltry amount of light had managed to pour into the Metaverse. The polished silver armor looked more like it belonged in some American fashion show than anything suited for battle. The scandalously minuscule amount of fabric could have been for the sake of mobility, but it was difficult to say.
Not that her outfit even mattered, when it was her deep red eyes that captured his attention from the start. Behind all of that dazzling silver, they looked like fire.
"Another enemy down! That looked like it hurt, Jack."
Shinjiro rolled the handle of his axe over the back of his hand, righting its position in his grip. He only gave something resembling a shrug in response to the praise and tugged the studded black face mask he wore further up the bridge of his nose.
He was never sure how to deal with such enthusiastic praise, and he still wasn't used to his new name. Aki looked so damn smug when he said only lumberjacks would use an axe to fight. It caught on with the rest of the team straight away.
If she liked it, he'd live.
"Hey, Kagami."
Auburn hair whipped around her face like an open flame when she turned around. Even with half of her face covered, he could see the quizzical look in her eyes from a distance. Minako walked backward as they spoke, determined as always to be making constant forward progress.
They'd been traversing the backstage area of a large concert venue at least once a week since it popped up unexpectedly on the Nav. The extra fighting on top of their usual machinations as Phantom Thieves was exhausting, but it was a special favor. Keeping this new Palace a secret was high on their priority list.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Shouldn't we give it a rest for today?" He gave her an appraising look, hoisting the axe over his shoulder and letting the weight help stretch a stiff muscle in his back. She didn't look tired, but then again, she never did. "It ain't safe with just the two of us."
She bit the inside of her cheek and looked somewhere off to the side. It was a very 'you have a point but I'm not about to say so' expression. He was getting better at reading her as the months dragged on.
"Akihiko-senpai was right," Minako shot back. The petulance in her voice was half-hearted. "You worry too much. Like an old man."
"He was also right when he called me a pessimist. I can't help it, alright?" At least she finally stopped walking backwards. He took the opportunity to close the remaining distance between them. "And don't you mean 'Orion'? If there's a way to opt out of the code names now, I want in."
They were less than a foot away from each other now, prompting her to flash a mischievous smile that sharply contrasted his scowl. Even when Minako lost, she found a way to win.
"No can do, Jack. Let's go a little further, okay? I want to figure out what's going on here before the others notice anything's wrong."
It was too late for that, but he didn't have it in him to tell her.
"Fine. Just stay behind me for a while." He relaxed his stance with a small huff as he moved past her. Their path was slowly becoming more distorted. It wouldn't be long before they tracked down the concert hall's main stage; and its star performer.
"I'm not lettin' you die in your own damn Palace."
"What do you think she's like?"
Minako wore a pensive expression, clouded by steam from the large bowl of ramen in front of her. It wasn't the kind of face someone usually made when eating their favorite food. It was strange to look at.
"Your shadow?" He didn't have to guess, and it seemed like a waste of time to gently breach the topic by asking twenty questions first. She clearly wanted to talk about it, so they'd talk. "If she's anything like you, she'll probably be a big pain in the ass."
She elbowed his ribs. It was playful, but still aggressive enough that his forearm dangerously nudged his own bowl of ramen. Some of the broth splashed onto the sleeve of his coat, but he figured he sort of deserved it.
"I'm being serious! If I can't figure out why I ended up with a Palace, how will we know what she wants?" Minako let out a sigh, already seeming discouraged by her own train of thought. "If I think of the city as a concert hall, does that mean I'm… performing for everyone?"
Shinjiro nudged the soft boiled egg in his bowl with his chopsticks. He kept quiet for a moment.
"What do you think?" He asked, knowing it wasn't the most profound or helpful response. "It's fine if you are, y'know. Having teammates means you don't gotta carry the weight of being the leader alone. We can take some pressure off, if you need it."
She kept quiet for a lot longer. It gave them time to eat, at least, and he wasn't in any rush. Minako went through intense bouts of chattiness and prolonged silence every so often. If that was how she sorted out things in her head, that was fine.
It was dark by the time they got back to the dorm. When they parted ways at the stairs, she smiled at him. It looked real, as far as he could tell.
He should have told the others.
They were supposed to be a team, but he was too weak to do the right thing just because Minako made him promise to keep quiet. It was his fault that things ended up like this.
A crowd that could have easily filled the Tokyo Dome twice over let out a deafening roar. From the stage he could only see their vague outlines and a sea of swaying pink glowsticks. For fake people, they sure as hell made a lot of noise.
Several burly shadows dressed like security guards spotted them at the last moment, pulling them on stage for judgement. There was one on each of his arms, keeping them in a vice-like grip that told him they weren't afraid to break a bone or two if necessary.
Minako was being dragged along by a single guard; the same one that had beaten her viciously over the head with a colossal night stick. Even through the blinding stage lights, he could clearly see a line of blood that went as far down as her jawline.
A calm, cool voice blared over the sound system. Even if the noise wasn't enough to keep Minako fully conscious, the announcement that the main act was about to begin probably would have done it. Thick clouds of purple smoke rolled across the stage, blanketing the entire surface within a matter of seconds. The lights all dimmed one by one, and the crowd was chanting someone's name. The longer the chant went, the more desperate and crazed they sounded. As the last light went out, the crowd fell silent all at once.
A single spotlight lit up several yards in front of them with a loud 'bang', where the figure of a young woman appeared out of thin air. She raised both hands above her head, waving to the fans who'd just had their wish granted.
It was another Minako, styled from head-to-toe like a real life idol.
Her hair was tied up in two wild buns, adorned with half a dozen small, clip-on bows that looked like they were made of black leather. Her outfit was a jumble of ripped fishnet and red plaid, like a young girl's image of what a true punk rock rebel looked like. Her eyes were a sickly shade of yellow with no life behind them.
No amount of makeup could hide it. As energetic as she was, this Minako was dead.
The shadow ignored her two prisoners, meticulously blowing kisses to the audience and striking poses as cameras flashed from all directions.
"Helloooo, everyone!"
The simple greeting was met with yet more screams of delight. Shinjiro risked a glance over at the real Minako, but she clearly couldn't tear her eyes away from her other self. The distress in her expression made his stomach twist.
"I'm so sorry, but it looks like my body guards found party crashers sneaking around backstage! Awww, I'm so embarrassed I could cry!" The shadow mimicked Minako's signature pout perfectly, prompting the crowd to roar once again. "Maybe… I should punish them myself? Wouldn't that be a nice treat for you all?"
The shadow turned to face them, a pointer finger lifted thoughtfully to her deep plum lips. Shinjiro noticed her nails were all either painted black or red, in no particular pattern. He wasn't sure why that stood out to him.
"Look at this! Familiar faces, too!" She shuffled her weight back and forth between both feet, very much carrying herself the same way the real Minako did when she was excited. "One very familiar face. I can't believe the other me could look so boring !"
"Shut the hell up." Shinjiro cut in, surprising even himself a little bit. His voice was too hoarse to sound particularly threatening, but all he needed to do was draw her attention. "If you're supposed to be Minako, you should be smart enough to know you're a fake."
The shadow looked at him, and her smile only seemed to grow. It was malicious and cruel; nothing like he'd ever seen on the real Minako. The crowd had once again gone completely silent.
"I'd looove to see you make me shut up," she replied sweetly, and rather definitively. The guards holding onto his arms each adjusted their grip at once, eliciting a sharp, pained groan from deep inside his chest. An airy giggle broke the tense quiet, and the shadow shook her head. "Aw, please don't hurt him too bad! He won't be any fun if he passes out, so lighten up!"
The guards backed off, leaving Shinjiro to take several relieved gasps of air.
"You're so stupid, Shinjiro-san." When he looked up, that dead yellow gaze was hovering inches away from his face. The shadow roughly took hold of his chin, each of her nails pressing unapologetically into his flesh. She was cold. "Sooo devoted. Tough on the outside, but sweet and kind deep down! What girl wouldn't fall for an act like that?"
"Leave him alone!"
The real Minako struggled against the guard holding her, still dazed but determined to act all the same. She steeled herself, throwing her weight forward in an attempt to get closer to her other self. The guard allowed it, but didn't make it easy for her.
"We're not here to fight! I just want to know why…" She faltered for a moment, desperate and angry. "Why did I end up like this? What did I do wrong? I want to go back to normal!"
The other Minako sighed, throwing a mocking smirk toward Shinjiro.
"Such a mean little girl! If she's normal, why can't I be normal?" The shadow brought her other hand toward his face, pushing her thumb against his bottom lip. She kept moving closer, and even her softened expression looked predatory. Like she was hungry and expected to be fed. "She wishes everyone loved her unconditionally, but that's reality here! Sounds like plain old jealousy to me, Shinjiro-san."
"Jealous of what? You're a walking corpse, so clearly you don't have much going for you." He had to twist away from her hand to speak, but her grip tightened and pulled him back. Her eyes were wide with an unhinged excitement, like he'd said something to make her very happy.
"Ahaha, are you stupid ? If I'm dead, it's only because she made me this way! What kind of thing would make a teenage girl think of herself like that?" The shadow looked at Minako, then back to Shinjiro. She tilted her head, allowing them both time to ruminate on what she was implying. "Why don't you ask her? Maybe she'll tell you, maybe she won't! We'll see if you're important enough to know the truth!"
His heart sank, and he suddenly felt very sick. Whatever her other self was talking about, it was clear from one look at Minako that she'd struck a nerve. The leader of the Phantom Thieves was pale and visibly anxious. Her shoulders trembled, mouth agape, but no words came out.
The shadow finally stepped away, a thick, dark mist licking her skin like implausibly cold flames. Her shoulders were also trembling, but from excitement rather than fear. She was ready to fill the silence left by her other self.
"You know, don't you? They can't love you, because you're going to be the reason they all die." The shadow reeled back as she spoke, finding it nearly impossible to stifle her laughter. "Death lives inside you! It doesn't matter how many people you save. They're still going to die, and it eats you up inside that you're only delaying the inevitable!"
Minako was doubled over, face deliberately pointed toward the ground, as if trying to protect herself from the claims being hurled at her. She could only seem to gently shake her head, silent sobs wracking her entire frame. The guard's grip was the only thing keeping her upright in her current state. Shinjiro couldn't seem to move or speak in her defense.
"You played along and manipulated everyone around you, even though you should have stayed away. You were so excited to have friends to adore and rely on you that you never even considered telling them you're a walking cataclysm! At least I have the guts to use people without bothering to feel guilty about it!"
The shadow continued her vicious tirade, voice echoing in the cacophonous stadium. As her last syllables rang through the still air, it became apparent that the crowd had vanished. Shinjiro stumbled forward several steps, turning to see nothing behind him. The bodyguards were gone too.
"Minako..?"
He had no idea what to say. What could he say to make a situation like this better? He knew about carrying a heavy burden and what that could do to a person. She put so much time and effort into saving people, but still felt convinced that she would eventually bring about their deaths somehow. All of that stress could pull someone in enough directions that they would break eventually, and no one even noticed that she was struggling.
"You're right… I did everything wrong."
Minako removed her mask, a stripe of still-wet blood painting the side of her face. Her expression was achingly painful, but she still managed to smile. She was still standing, even though her knees were shaking. "I didn't know how to tell anyone I was scared when they were all placing their trust in me. I wanted them to only see my good parts, so I could ignore the… things inside me that shouldn't be there."
The shadow looked absolutely floored. Taking a deep breath, Minako stepped carefully over to her other self.
"S-So what..? Even if you tell them, it won't change anything!" The shadow took a defensive step backward, alarmed by the sudden approach. "They won't understand! The Fall will be our fault, so… what's going to stop them from blaming us?"
"They might for a while, and that's okay. Even if they hate me, I'll never stop trying to protect them." She hesitated in her approach for a moment. After considering it for what felt like several endless moments, Minako caught her shadow in a tight embrace. It looked terrified, but didn't fight back.
"I'm sorry I let you get so scared that you had to get stuck in a place like this. It'll be okay from now on, I promise."
"I hope you meant all those things you said. The Phantom Thieves wouldn't survive if it turned out you're secretly just as big a pessimist as I am."
Shinjiro only saw a flash of a smile before one of the pillows from his bed collided with his face. It was nice to have any amount of privacy for once. He didn't have to worry about anyone else seeing her do stupid things that made him smile.
"Of course I meant it! If I didn't, my Palace wouldn't have disappeared," Minako shot back. Tired, but sharp as ever, she made herself at home on the edge of his mattress. "Also, can't you ask me if I'm okay like a normal person? If you tease me too much, I might stop bringing you along on secret missions."
He kicked his weaponized pillow across the room, giving a mostly indifferent shrug before sitting down beside her.
"I resent that. Don't forget, I can still send you back to your room if I think you're gonna be a pain in the ass all night." Right on cue, Minako pursed her lips but didn't argue the point. He still had some reservations about what she hoped to accomplish by arguing her way into his company, but it was hopeless now. "...C'mere."
He frowned, moving an arm around her shoulders to pull her snug against his chest. Her own slender arms wrapped around his middle, and he ran his fingers through her loose curls. It was freshly washed and bandaged, thanks to the nasty hit she'd taken in the Palace. Not bad enough to warrant a hospital visit, which was a relief. He wouldn't have been able to hold her like this if they were surrounded by busybody nurses.
"...Hm?"
Minako pulled away enough to look up at him, seeming to await the response to something he didn't hear her say while his mind wandered. She let out a small scoff in response to his confusion, gaze darting sheepishly to the other side of the room before returning to him.
"I said… 'Kiss me'," she admitted, a light pink blush creeping across the bridge of her nose. Repeating it must have been harder than saying it the first time. "I thought you might never do it if I didn't ask, so..."
She seemed prepared to search for further justification, but he didn't need to hear it. Shinjiro dipped his head down to gladly catch her lips with his own, more than prepared to fulfill her request. Yeah, a large part of him still felt bad about it. He was a dropout that thought about dying too much when they first met. She was a good influence and he still always managed to make a mess of things, but this felt right.
Things usually didn't feel 'right' in any sense of the word when it came to him.
Her lips were soft, but not shy. Minako's palms pressed against his chest, grabbing fistfulls of his shirt as each of them savored the moment. It was a sloppier than he would have liked for a first kiss, but his hands felt shaky with anticipation. As if they'd been waiting for this opportunity for months now, which was the truth.
There was movement near the edge of the mattress. Before he even had time to wonder what was happening, Shinjiro had been swiftly knocked onto his back. His lips were free and there was a weight on his chest.
When he opened his eyes again, Minako had already buried her face snug into the crook of his neck. Her smaller frame was draped completely over his own, and she let out a frustrated groan against his skin. He tried to ignore how good that little bit of vibration felt. He didn't want to get distracted again.
"...You okay?" He asked, and Minako responded with a quick series of nods. Good. He didn't think anything went wrong, but it didn't hurt to check.
"Sorry, I'm exhausted." Her arms were wrapped around him, so he let them stay there. After everything they dealt with, he couldn't really complain about not getting to kiss her more. "I didn't realize how tired I was until now, but… This feels really nice too. You're warm."
"No complaints here," he assured her. One hand traveled back to her tumbling locks of hair, which he absentmindedly neatened by combing his fingers through. He didn't think it would be so long when she let it down, and it was fascinating him. "...And it's still alright if you wanna head back to your room and go to sleep."
Minako shifted her weight slightly, letting out a short laugh that he could tell was accompanied by a wide, playful smile. If only to show him how useless that suggestion was, she pressed her lips against a soft part of his neck for just a few seconds. He felt his muscles go slightly rigid, and his face was definitely warmer than it was a moment ago.
"F-Fine, alright, I won't bring it up again." He slipped his hands between them, catching Minako's shoulders and easing them both back up into a seated position. Her lips were still curled and dripping with self-satisfaction, and she didn't seem to mind casually straddling his lap. "Sometimes I remember why they made you the leader. You're relentless, huh?"
"Am I? I wonder…" She trailed off, glancing downward and suddenly seeming very interested in her nails. They were a cheerful shade of pink at the moment. He liked the color. "You always said you joined the Phantom Thieves to keep an eye on Akihiko-senpai. I think... I only wanted to feel useful."
Shinjiro swallowed. As if he didn't already broadcast his discomfort loud and clear at all times, moments like this didn't help.
"It was a convenient excuse, if I'm being honest." He was painfully aware that Minako was looking at him again. Her mere gaze could literally burn holes in his skin and he probably still wouldn't complain. "There was another good reason for me to stick around. I won't bore you with the details."
God, he was so bad with the 'words' part of this. A few minutes ago they were a tangled mass of limbs and heavy breathing, but an outright confession was too much for his poor heart right now. It was ridiculous and he hated it.
"Don't tell me… it happened the day we met?" Minako leaned in a little closer, and her magnetic gaze drew him right back in. Even after everything that happened, she clearly hadn't lost the ability to look very pleased with herself for minutes at a time. "If I stole your heart that fast, maybe I'm not such a bad leader after all."
Maybe her positivity finally started rubbing off on him at that very moment. He couldn't remember ever feeling so certain that things would turn out alright in the end. If she thought so, he could probably believe it too.