Yes, I know this came out late. For some reason, I couldn't upload it yesterday since was acting up on my end. Sorry!

Christmas, Day 7: White Christmas

"And so, we conclude today's news segment with a look at Tokyo. Snow is just still piling up and, for the first time in years, it might break the new record for 'feet of snow in Tokyo'! Anyways, moving on-"

Futaba shut off the TV and began fiddling with her hair in boredom. She looked around the familiar scene at Leblanc, in which, no offense to Sojiro, there was none. Each booth was cleaned thoroughly, and the smell of coffee and curry mingled in the air. If it hadn't been for the fact that Akira was out finding a gift that she had asked for only a few minutes ago, she would probably be at home, typing away at the computer or finishing schoolwork. Either way, she was bored.

Still fiddling with her hair, Futaba set her head on the table, tucked in between her arms. She stared at her hand as it twirled the orange strands around. Futaba began to dream about this year's Christmas, along with what had transpired the previous year.

"I've been with your long enough to know when you're not telling me things... Goodnight..."

Futaba looked down at her feet, walking home reluctantly. At one point, she tried to turn back, but seeing as she was already in front of her home, she walked into her room and sat on her bed, thinking. If Akira needed some time alone, then she would give it. It hadn't escaped her mind that the issue might not be something Akira could control, but he should have trusted her enough to at least tell her what the issue was.

She scrolled through a few separate websites, finding only a few notable things. One, the question on the Phandom's website had peaked at 100% a few hours earlier, though it currently sat at a perfect 50% at that point in time. Two, a few incriminating pieces of evidence against the Phantom Thieves seemingly disappeared from the internet, such as the calling card found in the principal's office. Three, she could not find word of Akechi's supposed death anymore nor of Satanael and Yaldabaoth's showdown.

After an hour of surfing the internet, Futaba quickly turned off her phone and changed clothes, falling asleep in her bed before she even knew it. The next morning, she headed to Leblanc early, ready to surprise Akira with an apology and her new findings. She sat on the stool, waiting for Sojiro to arrive or for Akira to walk down the stairs; she didn't want to disturb is "beauty sleep".

Lost in thought and preparing what she was going to say, Futaba was shaken from her thoughts by the ringing doorbell. She jumped off of the stool and hugged Sojiro, only noticing the melancholy, defeated atmosphere when Makoto also entered the café, sitting down in a nearby booth dejectedly. Futaba turned her head to look up at her adoptive father's creased face. "What's wrong, Sojiro?"

Makoto looked at Futaba in surprise. "Have you not gone upstairs?"

Futaba responded by shaking her head. "No, why would I? I'm gonna surprise him when he comes down!"

Sojiro sighed, setting Futaba down on one stool and sitting down on the one next to her. "Look, he isn't going to come down. Not today, not tomorrow-" Sojiro sighed again. "Not for a long, long while."

"What?" Futaba asked, worried. "What do you mean?"

As Sojiro opened his mouth, Makoto cut him off. "I'll explain. Akira turned himself in."

Futaba gasped. She could still remember the shock she had felt, along with the chill that went down her spine as she spoke a question she already knew the answer to. "Why?"

"According to Sae, it was both to make sure Shido got what he deserved, and to make sure that the rest of the Phantom Thieves- in other words, us- didn't get placed into juvenile hall alongside him. He took a, if not the, bullet for the team."

The rest of the day consisted of telling the other members what Akira had done and of planning ahead for what they would do in the upcoming months to get Akira released. Despite this being a turning point for the Phantom Thieves and the first time they had been without a leader, all Futaba could feel was betrayal, sadness, and understanding. She felt betrayed by his secretiveness, sad from the fact that she would be without her 'key item' for an undetermined amount of time, and understanding as to why Akira would hide this from her; she knew that she would have tried to talk him out of it, something that would have only made him feel more guilty. And so began the longest few months of her life, at least since the Phantom Thieves and Akira had truly changed her life.

This year, Akira had outdone himself. As an apology for the previous year, he had developed an elaborate date, or a 'schedule', as he called it. The first part was taking her on a walk around the city and neighboring districts. Despite the consistent snowfall, he made sure that they got enough cover from it to enjoy the icy outdoors before he pulled her into the subway. The two spent a good few hours exploring the winter wonderland, visiting places such as the Meiji Shrine and Inokashira Park. Even as they went back to Leblanc for the second part, the snow kept falling in light sheets, sprinkling the icy streets.

At Leblanc, Akira quickly got to work preparing a small feast; in other words, his best curry and coffee. In the middle of their dinner, Akira pulled out a box from his bag. Futaba had looked at it in surprise, as Akira had probably spent more money than she herself owned during the trip around Tokyo.

"It's fine, it's fine! Really! You've already given me enough!" she had said, attempting to push it away. Akira leaned over, kissed her on the forehead, and pushed the box into her hand. She blushed from the kiss before finally complying and opening the box. In it was a pair of headphones, with the same colors as the one she had given Akira a year ago, but in alternate spots. He pulled out said headphones, wrapping them around his neck in the same manner that she usually did.

"We're matching now, see?" he said, eating another spoonful of curry. "If people don't believe that we were dating, this should help prove them wrong, right?"

Futaba laughed. "Akira, you absolute sap! You could've done something else- anything else, really- and you still manage to find the best gift for me! How do you do it?"

Akira gave her a cocky grin. "Trade secret. I'll tell you if you tell me how you're so smart."

Futaba smirked. "And I'll tell you how I'm so smart if you tell me how you can do all those fancy tricks in the Metaverse."

The two continued to banter on for quite some time. Eventually, Akira picked up the empty silverware and began to wash it as Futaba waited. Once he was finished, he sat down next to Futaba. "Is there anything that you really, really want?" he asked innocently.

"What? No! You've already given me all I wanted, and more!"

"How about the GTX 40103, with sleek new Intel processors, a cooling system..."

Akira began to rattle off facts about the latest pieces of technology as though it were a commercial, causing Futaba to start laughing. After she calmed down, she spoke again. "Surprise me, I guess. But nothing too expensive!"

Akira chuckled. "Alright. Just sit tight, and I'll be back in an hour."

Only a few minutes after the doorbell jingled behind him, Futaba had turned on the television, watching the news until they announced even more snow. From here, our story loops back to the beginning, and thus, continues onwards.

The doorbell jingled once more as Akira stepped into Leblanc. As he expected, Futaba had fallen asleep on the counter, so he set his bags upstairs and quickly changed his clothes. He walked back down the stairs and lifted Futaba from her stool, swiftly walking up to the attic and placing her on his mattress. Yawning, Akira quickly ran back down, locking the door and turning off all of the lights. He turned on the café's security system- ironic, considering that was his original purpose here- and walked back up into the attic. There, he covered Futaba with his blanket, whispering, "Sweet dreams, Oracle," and sitting down on the couch. He scrolled through some messages on his phone before laying it on his mini-workshop to charge. He spread himself out on the couch, putting his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Futaba woke up the next morning to a sight she hadn't seen for a few months now; the attic's roof. She sat up and grabbed her head, panicking while she tried to recall what had happened the previous day. "So, yesterday was the 25th, right? Then, did we do the thing? Or did I fall asleep? Argh, I can't remember..."

After fretting for a few minutes, a light, spicy-sweet smell wafted into the room. Curious and hungry, she jumped off of the bed, only to be called down a moment later. "Futaba! Breakfast!"

She stumbled down the steps, nearly tripping on the last, before jumping into a booth. "Akira! I hunger!"

Akira laughed as he carried multiple plates to the booths, setting them down in different locations. "You just got down here; are you really that hungry?"

"I always hunger, Akira!" Futaba responded in between bites. Pointing at the other plates of curry, she asked, "What are all these for?"

"Ryuji, Haru, Yusuke, Ann, and Makoto are all coming over today."

"Why didn't they come yesterday, then?"

Akira shrugged. "Some of them were out doing... things last night. From what I can tell, a few of them did it."

Futaba giggled. "And how do you know this?"

"They sent-"

As Akira began to talk about the messages he had received the previous night, the other members of the Phantom Thieves burst in, each holding a small bag of supplies. Ryuji carried in a bag of store-bought ingredients with Haru, who brought in her own specially-grown plants. Ann gave Futaba a few unreleased issues of a tech magazine Futaba had been interested in a while back, and, alongside her, Makoto arrived with a few books for the small bookshelf present on the café's counter. Yusuke brought in a few small paintings, claiming that "The walls are too bare for my taste. There may be beauty in simplicity, but there is also beauty if complexity and intricacy," before hanging them up at the spots he deemed would be the best to "bring out their true beauty".

Each of the ex-Phantom Thieves took a seat, scattering themselves across Leblanc. Eventually, Akira was washing the dishes, listening in as the other chattered about their evening. As he finished up the dishes, someone, namely Futaba, was tugging at his sleeve, having crept up to Akira without him noticing. "What do you need, Futaba?" he asked, pulling off his gloves and drying his hands on the nearby towel.

The orange-haired girl glanced at their friends, before whispering into his ear. "Outside."

Before he could protest, Futaba had grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. Akira gave an apologetic glance at the others as the door closed behind him. "So, what do you need me for?" he asked, turning his head back around.

"So, are going to tell them today?" Futaba responded. "I mean, it'd be the perfect time and all..."

Akira looked surprised by the question before softening his face. "You can tell them whenever you want. I don't really care, as long as you're the one happy about it."

Futaba glanced back into Leblanc, watching as their friends chattered away, oblivious of the scene outside. "What's the bet that Ryuji's gonna be the last to notice, and Ann the first?"

Akira grinned. "How about Yusuke the first, and Makoto the last?"

"Inari? No way! He'd probably think we're siblings more than, you know, lovers."

"We're betting, aren't we? Yusuke's my pick."

"And what if one of us wins?" Futaba asked, smirking.

Akira gave it a moments thought. "The winner can tell the other person to do one thing."

"Deal."

The two re-entered Leblanc, forgetting for a moment that they were holding hands. Even though Futaba pulled away within seconds, the rest of the ex-Phantom Thieves had already noticed.

As they sat down, Yusuke was the first to speak up. "I see that the two lovebirds are finally showing us a feather of their love!"

"Finally...?" Futaba said, pointing out Yusuke's choice of wording. "Inari, how long have you know?"

"Since last Christmas, of course! How could anyone have missed your subtle stares at him since we first met you, or that you were one of the first people here the day he turned himself in?"

The others nodded in agreement, with the exception of Makoto. "Really?" she gasped. "I thought those stares were because she looked to him as an adoptive brother, and that she was here because she lived with Boss!"

As Yusuke and Makoto bickered over the "signs of love", Akira took a look at Futaba, who was refusing to look at him. As the others began to join the argument between Yusuke and Makoto, Akira whispered to Futaba. "I guess I've won."

Futaba began to feel herself blushing. "What are you gonna make me do, then?"

Akira gave it a moment's thought. "If I go missing, then come look for me, alright?"

"That's... an odd request," Futaba said, tilting her head. "But of course I will!"

Akira nodded his head in response, wrapping one of his arms around her. Quite suddenly, she stood up from her seat, yelling at Inari. "What do you mean I only kept track of his stats, Inari? I did it for all of you, too!"

Akira sat back, allowing himself to take a breather as he watched the argument progress further. He would step in, but this sort of interaction hadn't happened in a while. There weren't even any other customers who would be bothered by their loud noises. Joker smiled. He still had a few months before he had to go back home, an inevitable deadline he was not looking forward to.

"Akira? AKIRA!"

Futaba dropped her phone, rushing to open her laptop. She surfed through the web, and, within minutes, she found what she was looking for: a headline that she would remember for months to come.

"Subway With 413 Passengers Gone Missing! A Phenomenon, or a Scandal?"

She opened the website, quickly scanning the list of names of the people who had boarded the subway before its disappearance. Each moment filled her with dread, finally culminating once she had found what she had hoped would not be there.

The 246th name on the list: Akira Kurusu.