Summary: Moments in the life of two former Phantom Thieves and a detective. ShuAkeKita.
Note: Basically an AU where all the PT are girls and Akechi is a detective a la Kudou Shinichi, stalked by the Shinigami and all.
Warnings: Genderbent, Murders, What Are Even Police Investigations, Akechi Is The Avatar Of Death ;3, Akechi Be Chilling And People Be Dropping Dead, Akira Has Three Moods: 1. Blank 2. Deviously Playful 3. Angry, Nude Modeling Mentioned Courtesy Of Your Resident Artist, Akechi Be Blushing, Alternating POVs, Whatever Is The Deal With Shadow Akechi, How Much Are You Gonna Hate Me For The Ending?
Disclaimer: Don't own P5.
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Mitsuki breathed out deeply as she blinked away sleep. With Akira pressed up against her front and Fuyumi pressed up against her back while stretching their arms out to grasp onto each other as well as Mitsuki, whom they sandwiched between them, she was quite warm, and as such had to fight off the temptation of slipping back to sleep.
She huffed and nudged both of her girlfriends, "Come on, you have things to do today, don't you? Stop lazing around in bed. And stop tempting me to sleep in, I have work, too."
Akira let out a whine and snuggled closer to Mitsuki, "Dun wanna," She slurred.
Mitsuki huffed again, this time in amusement, and carded her fingers in Akira's hair, marveling at the softness of the mess of long wavy hair Akira always sported, and wondering, not for the first time during the years she'd been involved in a relationship with the other two, how the devious woman managed to magically keep it free of knots and tangles despite keeping it down most of the time.
From Mitsuki's other side, Fuyumi stirred and untangled herself from the other two to hover over them, carefully observing them, and Mitsuki turned her attention towards Fuyumi, drinking in the sight of her long blue hair, draped over her shoulder in a braid, bangs framing the left side of her face, and her intense gray eyes staring back at them.
Fuyumi hummed and reached over to the night stand on the side she'd been sleeping on that night and dragged the sketch book she'd left on top of it towards her alongside with a pencil; she opened the sketchbook to an empty page and started sketching.
"Do you have to sketch us every day?" Mitsuki asked, even though she already knew the answer to the question.
"You two are too enchanting not to," Fuyumi murmured, "Besides, you don't see Akira in this position often."
Mitsuki moved her eyes from Fuyumi to Akira and had to agree.
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"Let's go to the place with the pancake!" Morgana exclaimed from her perch on Akira's shoulder.
Ann cocked her head to the side in confusion before she realized what Morgana was referring to, "You mean Dome Town?"
Ryuko snorted, "Well, it's not like they'll let a cat like you on the rides."
As Morgana bristled and readied herself to get into a fight with Ryuko, footsteps sounded around the corner and Morgana hurried back into Akira's bag, just in time for a man to round the corner, "Excuse me, young ladies." He coughed, clearly embarrassed, "But I could have sworn I heard someone mention delicious pancakes?"
"Um." Ann looked at Akira, then back at the man, "Pancakes?"
"Ah, yes." The man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Excuse my intrusion…"
"Pancakes?" A soft voice wondered as a girl walked to stand next to the man, she looked around their age, "You're clearly overworking yourself if you started hearing things. Especially given how if someone did say something about pancakes and I heard it, I'd be the first one rushing towards the source." She turned to look around the corridor in curiosity, as if searching for something.
"We were talking about Dome Town, I didn't say anything about…" Ann trailed off and Ryuko shrugged. And Akira? Akira had never been more aware of Morgana's weight on her shoulder. At least she kept track of the conversation and remembered just who exactly mentioned pancakes. Judging by the paw Morgana pressed incessantly into her side, she noticed it as well.
The teenage girl sighed, "I guess I'm no better, after all, I thought I heard a cat."
"A cat?" Ann giggled, the pitch of her voice and stretch of her lips giving her away. Ryuko threw her arm around Akira's shoulder, "You mean this cat?" Thank you, Ryuko.
Now, it was time for Akira to improvise, so she turned her head, looked at the unknown girl straight in the eye and said, "Like, nya~"
The girl looked shocked for a moment before she chuckled softly, "How cute. Apologies for the interruption." She turned to the man next to her, "Let's go, detective, maybe if we get back home with time to spare we could make some pancakes for dinner."
The two turned and walked off, the man, a detective, chuckling, "I can't believe you infected me with your love for pancakes."
The group didn't hear what the girl said in response as the two moved farther away from them and deeper into the station.
"We need to talk," Akira murmured, "We'll go to the hideout after this, there is something that we must discuss."
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The next day, the students returned to the again to the TV station for their field trip. None of them could have expected what would happen during the talk show.
As the hostess of the talk show walked between the students to pick someone to ask about their opinion in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts while the host and two guests, the two strangers from yesterday- detective Edogawa and high school detective Akechi- waited, Akira's eyes met the hostess' and dread shot down her spine.
"You there, the one with the glasses," The hostess called out and walked over to Akira, fake media smile plastered to her face, "What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?"
Akira took a second to ponder the question under the heavy scrutiny of her fellow students. As she opened her mouth to answer with something like 'they do more than the police', a shrill scream rang out from backstage, "He's dead!"
From her place, Akira could see Akechi's eyes almost glow with an intense light right before she bolted from her seat and towards the direction of the scream.
Edogawa snapped out of his shock a moment later and called out to the students, "Don't Move! Stay right where you are! Don't let anyone enter or leave this area!" He directed the last command towards he security guards standing at the doors of the studio before he headed towards the same direction as Akechi earlier.
Akira clutched at the straps of her bag with one hand while subtly smoothing the side of the bag with the other, pressing up against Morgana's side and non-verbally telling her to stay put.
Akira looked to her side and saw Ryuko's and Ann's pale faces peer back at her, as worried and wary as she was.
.
A murder.
Someone committed a murder in the studio a group of students was present in alongside two detectives.
Ann looked sick as she pressed up close against Ryuko who wasn't faring much better.
Meanwhile, Akira felt queasy for different reasons. Sure, the murder that happened was horrifying, but Akira hadn't seen the actual crime scene or the body, and as such didn't have any images to twist her stomach into knots. Oh no- it was all due to the possibility of the students being searched or looked into. Or both.
She had a cat in her bag and an assault charge on her record, if the police had any reason to suspect that a student was responsible. She'd be the first thrown under the bus. She almost growled in rage; out of everything, she didn't think she could take another false charge, let alone a murder on her record because of the fucking incompetent, corrupt police-!
She forcibly calmed herself down, trying to rationalize what the best way to act to avoid drawing too much suspicion towards her would be. She let her shoulders drop into a relaxed position and loosened her grip on her bag. There was no way out aside from keeping herself in the clear.
Was she jumping to conclusions? Not with her prior experiences, she thought as she observed the police officers keeping the students from getting into the crime scene while other officers were going to and fro with evidence bags and files.
At the center of it all was Akechi Mitsuki, analyzing the place with sharp eyes as she questioned the police officers about the gathered evidence.
Then an inspector called for the student's attention, "Attention, all students! If you'd all line up, we'd like to ask you all some questions as well."
Akira pressed her lips into a thin line before she smoothed the expression on her face.
The police set up a corner for the questioning, it contained a small table and a couple of chairs, the inspector sat on one with an officer standing next to him; Akechi hung off to the side.
The first ones to be questioned were the staff.
Akira didn't hear much of the questions asked and their answers, but she definitely heard the wailing of the talk show hostess, who sobbed loudly at the brutal and inhumane murder.
After the staff were done, the students' turn came and Akira was the first to be questioned, more out of the fact that everyone else was hesitating and Ryuko looked ready to storm over towards the police inspector all by herself.
"You're Kurusu Akira. Ah, I see…" The inspector looked up from what looked to be Akira's file to observe her, "I believe we should give a call to your parole officer, we might require his presence.
Akira bit her tongue, careful to not let her irritation show; Sojiro, for all his rough demeanor with her, was a good man and didn't deserve to be dragged into someone else's mess just because they decided to commit murder in her vicinity.
"Parole officer?" Akechi repeated inquisitively.
The officer standing next to the inspector frowned at Akira, "Kurusu Akira is in Tokyo under probation." The hard edge in the officer's tone and her narrowed eyes showed exactly what she thought of her presence at the scene of the crime.
Akechi narrowed her eyes at the officer, "Officer Yamato. Please do keep an open mind while working on cases. Rushing and accusing the 'convenient' person would do you no good; it doesn't matter whether you're right or wrong."
The officer was outright scowling when she bit out, "And I suppose I should listen to you, Tantei-chan, because you're clearly the authority on how to investigate crime scenes?"
"Quiet, the both of you," The inspector interjected firmly before turning to the side where the hostess, who had apparently overheard the conversation was staring at Akira in shock, "Is there something the matter?"
"Y… yes." The hostess let her eyes drop to the ground, pain drawn clearly on her face, "It's about Akihiko. He…" She sucked in a sharp breath, "He had… relations with a high school student." The atmosphere grew quiet as the people who heard what the hostess said digested the information, "He told me that she kept… incriminating evidence of their time together and was using it to blackmail him. He told me she said, his reputation would be ruined if it got out that he was involved with a student with a criminal record."
Akira could see exactly what conclusion could, and would, be drawn from what the hostess just said and she wanted nothing more than to tear the hostess to shreds; Akira could feel Morgana nearly moving inside the bag, clearly just as agitated as her, and Akira calmed her down by gently pressing her hands to the bag, disguising the action as an apparently unconscious and natural movement.
"How. Freaking. Convenient." Officer Yamato spat out, turning her scowl to the hostess.
Akechi hummed, "Terribly so." She looked thoughtful as she cradled her chin with her thumb and index fingers.
"Well," The inspector spoke, turning everyone's attention back to him; he was staring at Akira and she almost jolted in shock when she realized the inspector had kept his eyes on her during the hostess' interjection, "Let's get back on track, shall we? Kurusu-san, your bag if you would."
Akira almost hesitated before she placed her bag on the table.
The inspector smiled kindly at her and reached towards the bag, his eyebrows shooting up as he pulled it towards him, no doubt from noticing that it was heavier than he expected.
The inspector unzipped the bag and his eyebrows arched even higher, "Oh my…"
Officer Yamato's lips dipped down at the corners and she looked inside the bag as well.
"Well damn." The officer dropped a fist on her hip, looking unimpressed, "You fail at being a delinquent, girlie."
Akechi approached as well and observed the bag, "This is… interesting." She turned to Akira as she whispered, "So, I did hear one yesterday." she raised her voice as she asked, "Do you take it with you in your bag everywhere?"
Akira heard the students near her murmur as she nodded, "You think she keeps a gun with her?"
"Maybe they found a knife?"
"You think Kurusu really takes her cat with her everywhere?"
"Come out, Morgana," Akira murmured and Morgana responded, hopping out of the bag amidst shocked whispers and walking towards Akira before then plopping herself down on Akira's lap.
"She's shy," Akira said, knowing Morgana let it slide only because it helped Akira's image in such a situation.
The inspector recovered from the surprise quickly and returned to searching the bag. Akira was glad she didn't have anything suspicious or incriminating on her, like lockpicks, model weapons, Takemi's medicine, or, heaven forbid, calling cards. In fact, the only Metaverse items she had on her were band aids, snacks, and-
"A thermos?" Akechi asked as she took the aforementioned thermos from the inspector with her gloved hands before she carefully unscrewed its lid, letting the distinct aroma of coffee waft out.
Akechi sniffed it once before Yamato extricated it carefully from her hands, and then both officer and inspector congregated around the thermos.
Great, Akira thought snidely, don't tell me the murderer used fucking coffee to kill the victim som-
Her thought process halted as Akechi swiftly and smoothly invaded her personal space to almost bury her face in Akira's neck and sniff it.
Akira vaguely registered Morgana yowling in shock at the action.
"You smell of coffee." Akira heard Akechi say, looking like the last few seconds didn't even happen, "And something else. Curry? It's faint and I can't make it out properly so I'm not sure."
Akira inhaled, fighting down the faint blush that crawled up her neck. She hadn't expected the detective's boldness; that move was something she'd expect out of Joker, not a soft looking detective.
She suppressed wild grin; her curiosity was piqued and the detective better prepare herself for a phantom thief sneaking into her life.
"Excuse me, Kurusu-san," The inspector started, pulling Akira's attention towards him, "Where did you get this coffee?"
Akira stared back at him for a moment, trying to figure out if it counted as confirmation that coffee was involved in the murder, "I made it. My guardian owns a café. I help him out and he teaches me how to make coffee."
The inspector and officer shared a Look.
"C'mere for a sec." The officer tugged a pensive Akechi close and whispered in her ear.
Akechi's eyes opened wide and a spectacular blush illuminated her cheeks, "What?! You can't just ask me to do something like that! I just met her!"
The officer stared at Akechi with an unimpressed look.
How cute, Akira thought as she resisted the urge to flirt outrageously with the detective, so sniffing people's necks was totally okay for a first meeting?
The questioning then returned to a normal flow as the inspector showed her pictures of people and asked her if she recognized any of them (she recognized none), asking her about her whereabouts on specific times and what she was doing (working part-time jobs), and asking her what she did during the time she spent at the TV station (hang out with friends).
She was quickly let go afterwards, with her bag and its contents intact.
(Color her impressed, this was the most peaceful police experience she had all year- and the year was only half over.)
Akira was being hugged to death and back by Ann when Akechi called out to her, "Kurusu-chan! A moment if you would?" As Akechi approached them, Ann tightened her hold on Akira- a fact Akira didn't think possible with how tight Ann already held her- and Ryuko growled.
"What do you want?"
Akechi raised her hands, "There is no need for hostility. I simply want to ask Kurusu-chan about her guardian's café."
"What about it?" Ann's voice was hard.
"It's simply that the aroma of the coffee you have on you was quite intoxicating and I want to try it out. I'm on a hunt looking for good cafes and still haven't found one where I can relax and have a good cup of coffee. So… I merely want the address."
Akira pondered the detective for a moment, "It's café Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya. And you guessed right about the curry."
"Oh? Well, excuse my interruption." Akechi turned to walk away but then paused before looking at them from over her shoulder, "Thank you for your cooperation, Kurusu-chan. We won't be keeping you for long, the investigation is as good as done and the murderer is about to enjoy being on the receiving end of a pair of handcuffs." A grin stretched on Akechi's face, a sharp and dangerous thing, eyes almost glowing; and then she continued on her way.
Akira was charmed.
Just like Akechi said, the murderer was unveiled only a few minutes later.
It was the talk show hostess and Akechi tore into her alibi with sharp-edged words, laying down the murder scheme, the motive, and the flaws in clear details before verbally eviscerating the murderer for her feeble attempt at framing an innocent.
Akira didn't blame the hostess for breaking down in tears and sobbing out a confession.
That was Kurusu Akira's first time seeing the Detective Prince, Akechi Mitsuki, in action. Needless to say, it made quite the impression.
Morgana poked her head out of the bag and poked a paw into Akira's side, "I know that look. Akira, no!"
"Akira, yes."
"She's a detective, Akira."
"All the better."
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Fuyumi returned her phone to her pocket after she sent a message to her leader, telling her where she could find Fuyumi in case she needed her for anything, and then settled herself to people watch at her usual spot in Shibuya's underpass.
Her eyes sharpened as she took in the details of the passersby; a woman bursting with excitement, a scorned lover, a concerned sister, a-
Her eyes landed on a high school girl, with brown hair tied at her nape and trailing down to the spot between her shoulder blades, bangs framing her face with its soft features, and almost hiding her nearly red brown eyes.
Fuyumi's fingers itched for her sketchbook. There was- something about the girl, a hidden aura, a presence that peeked from underneath her soft edges.
As Fuyumi fumbled with her bag, a scream rang out and her head snapped up just in time to see the girl she'd been observing gain an otherworldly look in her eyes before she shot off in the direction of the scream.
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Fuyumi frowned at the police officer standing in front of her and blocking her view of the interesting girl, who appeared to be a detective investigating the murder that just happened in the underpass.
She almost tightened her grip on her sketchbook; she just wanted to capture the visage of the detective on paper! It wasn't like she was going to interfere with the investigation!
"Excuse me, miss." The officer standing in front of her sounded annoyed, "This is a crime scene and we can't let you get any closer."
"What seems to be the problem?" The detective Fuyumi had her eyes on approached them herself, her eyes, sharp and piercing, moving between them.
"Akechi-kun," The officer started, and Fuyumi's interest increased; detective Akechi? The one Akira, Ann, Ryuko and Morgana had told her about? "This miss refuses to keep her distance from the crime scene."
"Akechi-san," Fuyumi said, turning her attention towards Akechi, completely ignoring the officer, "My name is Kitagawa Fuyumi." Fuyumi bowed her head.
"Kitagawa Fuyumi?" Akechi frowned, "I think I heard your name before. Oh! I remember now-!" Akechi bit her lip, cutting herself off before she continued. She cleared her throat, "Kitagawa-chan, is there any reason why you're so interested in the investigation?"
"Interested in the investigation?" Fuyumi parroted, confused, "I'm not. I simply wanted to observe you, and ask if you would consider modeling for me."
Whatever Akechi had been expecting, it definitely what Fuyumi just said, as her eyes widened in response, "Modeling?"
"For a painting," Fuyumi clarified before she lifted her sketchbook, "Or at least a simple sketch."
"I…" Akechi looked thrown off balance and she looked between where the crime scene was behind her, "Let me think about it. But, can I ask you something, Kitagawa-chan?"
"Go ahead."
"What were you doing in the underpass during the hour before the crime happened and the scream rang out?"
"I was people watching."
"Oh?"
"It's for my art." Fuyumi ducked her head, "I've been in a slump for some time now, and while I found inspiring models," All thanks to the Phantom Thieves, "I still need to search for more inspiration."
"I see." Akechi looked thoughtful, "Well, if that is the case, could you please step further away from the crime scene? It's best if you keep away to avoid suspicion as I don't think you are connected to the murder."
Fuyumi furrowed her eyebrows, "Alright. But, may I at least watch you while you work?"
Akechi hesitated for a moment, "I don't think what I do would interest you…"
"Humor me."
Akechi sighed, "Alright. As long as you do it from a distance."
Fuyumi nodded and retreated to a corner, not paying attention to the heated discussion happening between the officer and Akechi.
Contrary to what Akechi believed, Fuyumi found it more interesting to watch her work than simply people watching.
There was an intensity to Akechi, something hidden under her skin, sealed within her bones, begging to be let out to devastate, to take retribution from those who thought they could commit sacrilegious crimes against the sanctity of life, like an angry deity of justice seeing a sacred line crossed and bringing down their sword in divine punishment; and Akechi was in control of it, keeping it close to her heart, only letting it leave impressions through her purposeful stride, piercing eyes, and commanding tone.
It was akin to watching Joker, that quick flash of the sharp edge of a knife, the bang of a bullet leaving a gun, the flutter of a long, dark coat, the brilliant glow of blood red gloves, the echoes of a voice calling forth Personas.
The thought brought the Metaverse to Fuyumi's mind and inspiration ignited within her, driving her to open her sketchbook and grab a pencil, guiding her fingers to sketch the outline of a figure before coaxing her thoughts to pour into the page; images of various Personas and Shadows lent themselves to the cloak draped over the figure, the feathery wings curling over the shoulders, the sword grasped within one fist, the scales perfectly balanced behind them, the writhing mass of darkness at their feet, and the glow of holy light around their head-
"Fuyumi?" A hand touched her lightly on her shoulders and she blinked, rising from the haze of her thoughts to look around her and see both Akira and Akechi staring at her in worry.
"Akira, Akechi-san…"
"I called out to you but you didn't respond to me," Akechi said, "You seemed quite focused and I didn't want to disturb you. And then Kurusu-chan arrived."
Fuyumi turned from Akechi to Akira, who was searching Fuyumi's face intently.
Fuyumi closed her sketchbook and stowed it in her bag before she returned her attention to the two standing in front of her.
The two looked striking as a pair, their outer appearance and presence making her regret putting her sketch book away.
"Akechi-san."
"Hmm?"
"I hope you give serious thoughts to my request."
"Your request? The modeling?"
Akira briefly touched her lips in thought before she turned to Akechi, clearly interested in her response.
"Yes," Fuyumi said, "I just realized you'd be a great choice to model alongside Akira, you complement each other very well."
Akechi was looking from Akira to Fuyumi and back again when Fuyumi remembered to point out an important detail, "Oh, would you be alright nude-modeling?"
Akira smothered a Joker-like grin while Akechi's jaw dropped, her eyes widened and her cheeks glowed a brilliant red, "N-nude modeling?!" She hissed, covering her mouth with a hand.
Fuyumi cocked her head to the side, "Was that a no?"
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Mitsuki couldn't find enough free time to visit the café owned by Kurusu's guardian until a couple of months later due to not only the murder cases she'd get involved in on regular basis, but also due to the police department loaning her assistant to Niijima Sae, the prosecutor working on the mental shutdown cases.
And so, it was one day at the end of August that Mitsuki finally found the time to visit Leblanc.
Leblanc was a small café that Mitsuki could have easily bypassed had she not been paying attention. From that fact, and considering how Leblanc seemed tucked away from the world, Mitsuki concluded that it probably didn't see much traffic aside from some regulars, which suited Mitsuki just fine.
A bell hung above the door chimed as Mitsuki entered, and the man behind the counter turned to her, "Welcome."
A girl with long orange hair and a pair of glasses (Isshiki Futaba, now Sakura Futaba, Isshiki Wakaba's daughter, she noted) who was sitting at one of the seats hopped off of it and rushed around the counter to hide behind Kurusu, "Akechi-san." A familiar voice greeted her from one of the booths- it was Kitagawa Fuyumi.
"Kitagawa-chan, Kurusu-chan," Mitsuki greeted them before she sat at one of the stools in front of the counter, nodding her head at the one who must have been Sakura Sojiro.
"What brings you to our neck of the woods, detective?" Kurusu said, a teasing lilt to her voice, and Mitsuki smiled.
"I've been seduced by the tantalizing aroma of coffee."
Kitagawa hummed as she sat on the seat on Mitsuki's left, "A great choice."
"What will it be?" Sakura asked.
"I'll have what you recommend."
"The house blend it is, then."
"Right away, Boss." As Kurusu went about preparing Mitsuki's cup, Futaba darted around the counter and hid behind Kitagawa. Mitsuki let her be, if Futaba wasn't comfortable around her, then she wasn't about to push her.
"Have you given my proposal any thought?" Kitagawa asked.
Mitsuki took a moment to wonder about what she meant with 'proposal' before she remembered and her cheeks colored red.
She cleared her throat, "I'm… still thinking about it."
Kitagawa didn't look annoyed by the rebuttal, merely humming and returning to her own cup of coffee. Mitsuki could hear Futaba hiss at Kitagawa, "Inari! What did you mean by proposal?"
Mitsuki's attention was pulled away from the duo by the sound of a cup being placed in front f her and the delicious aroma of coffee wafting to her nose.
"Here." Kurusu whispered as she leaned forward across the counter, and Mitsuki couldn't help but catch a whiff of the scents of coffee and curry clinging to her, stronger this time than it had been two months prior.
"You still smell of coffee and curry," Mitsuki murmured before she realized what she just said and bashfully ducked her head, "Ah, that came out wrong. I apologize."
"Apology accepted." Kurusu looked amused, but her eyes pierced right through Mitsuki, and she knew what Kurusu was about to do next would doubtlessly embarrass her.
And she wasn't wrong.
"At least this time you didn't sniff my neck directly."
Silence.
"What?!" The red in Mitsuki's cheeks intensified, "When did-? But I never-!"
Kurusu blinked at her slowly, "But Akechi-san, remember the investigation at the TV station? You did sniff my neck. You just didn't notice it at the time."
Mitsuki buried her face in her hands and groaned.
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"I'm glad you could come, Akechi-san." Akira shamelessly almost pressed herself against Akechi's side. With Fuyumi at her back, the two would keep Akechi company for the day.
"Indeed," Fuyumi agreed, "With your work, it's rare that we get to spend some time together."
Akechi blushed prettily and tugged at her bangs in embarrassment- and oh, that was Akira's tic. Akira grew breathless and forcibly pushed down the urge to kiss Akechi senseless.
Fuyumi fleetingly pressed a hand to her elbow, letting her know that Fuyumi noticed as well.
"What's… what's that look for?" Akechi asked, looking slightly apprehensive.
Akira allowed herself a smirk, "I was just thinking about how cute you looked."
Akechi's blush intensified, and Fuyumi pressed her fingers lightly against Akira's shoulder, "Don't tease her so much, Akira. We need her functioning for our date today."
"D-date?!" Akechi's eyes widened, "Since when?!"
Akira and Fuyumi shared a look and Akira asked Akechi, hiding her disappointment, "You didn't hear that part when we asked you to come with us?"
Akechi averted her eyes, "My apologies."
"It's alright if you don't want to continue like this. We could always rejoin the others." Fuyumi said.
"It's… it's okay." Akechi sent them a small smile, "I don't mind. It's a date."
Akira's and Fuyumi's features brightened.
"I know it's just Shujin's Culture Festival, "Akira said, "But it's good to start small, isn't it?"
"Come on then, let's go."
.
Unfortunately for Akira, she couldn't account for one of the visitors murdering another. And it wasn't like she or Fuyumi could stop Akechi, the only detective available, from investigating the crime.
(And where was the other detective in the vicinity? Busy blackmailing the Phantom Thieves. Akira and Fuyumi didn't even get to stay with Akechi.)
"That… was a downer." Akechi smiled weakly at them, "My apologies, I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright," Akira interrupted her, "It wasn't your fault."
"You're a detective," Fuyumi added, "You were simply doing your job."
Akechi's smile turned sad and Akira reached for her face to press a kiss to her cheeks.
"We'll make up for it another day. How about we just go back to Leblanc and I'll make you some coffee and curry?"
.
.
.
Fuyumi put her bag to the side and spread her school books and notebooks on the table in front of her.
She was seated at the table Akira had set up in Leblanc's attic, waiting for Akechi's arrival for their planned 'study date'.
Akira was downstairs, preparing coffee for all three of them, and so Fuyumi took the chance to sigh forlornly and look around the attic in melancholy.
She didn't need to look at her phone to or a calendar to check the date. It was the 16th of November, and their plan for Niijima Sae's Palace was set to launch in a few days.
Fuyumi was dreading that day, the mere thought of it turning her body numb.
Their plan was risky and it put Akira in grave danger. In fact, if an unforeseen factor intruded, their plan could end up getting Akira killed. Fuyumi had no illusion as to why Akira called for a study date just for the three of them, and it warmed her as much as it tore at her that Akira wanted to spend some alone time with both Fuyumi and Akechi before she walked with her own two feet into the lion's den.
Akechi didn't know; it didn't matter whether she suspected their group of being the Phantom Thieves of Hearts or not, she had no way of knowing what they were planning to do next.
(If something went wrong, Fuyumi was delegated the task of telling Akechi the truth. It made Fuyumi wish even more that nothing would go wrong with the plan.)
She snapped out of her thoughts and smoothed her expression when she heard the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs accompanied with quiet chatter. The first to appear at the stairs was Akira, somehow balancing three steaming cups of coffee in her hands, and behind her was Akechi, with a soft smile adorning her face.
The sight felt like a punch to Fuyumi's gut.
"Kitagawa-chan," Akechi greeted her, still with the same soft smile stretching her lips.
"Akechi-san." Fuyumi inclined her head and gestured to the seat next to her, "Please, come sit here."
Akechi didn't even hesitate in complying and it made Fuyumi's heart stutter in her chest.
After Akira put the cups down on the table, she turned to get a chair, but Fuyumi wasn't having any of it.
"Akira," She called out and beckoned her close. Akira quirked an eyebrow, but still walked over to Fuyumi, who grabbed her around the waist and tugged her to maneuver into the seat between her and Akechi before sliding closer to her, almost sandwiching her in the middle.
Akechi looked amused but she as well pressed herself closer to Akira, who muffled an amused laugh.
"Before we begin, Kitagawa-chan, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
"Hm?"
Akechi clasped her hands together in front of her and stared at them as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world (a statement Fuyumi was in agreement with), her cheeks coloring a faint shade of pink, "I was thinking, since you and Akira are already on first name basis, and so are both Akira and myself, I thought… would it be alright with you if I called you Fuyumi?"
Fuyumi blinked, ignoring the heat climbing up her neck, "Of course."
Akechi's smile widened and she turned o look at Fuyumi, "Well then, please call me Mitsuki, Fuyumi."
Fuyumi chuckled, "Mitsuki," She said, testing the name on her tongue and receiving a pleasing reaction from Mitsuki as the pink tinge to her cheeks darkened.
"I'm the luckiest girl on earth," Akira murmured from her seat between them, the look in her eyes indecipherable, "I have the most gorgeous girlfriends in the world."
Fuyumi let out a breathy laugh, "I can say the same thing."
Mitsuki bashfully ducked her head, "And I agree with that."
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.
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The pen fell from Mitsuki's hand to the floor with a clatter, and she numbly scrambled to pick it up, her body going hot and cold as she heard the news about the leader of the Phantom Thieves committing suicide while in custody.
The announcer on the screen continued on, talking about the leader, "-a high school student-" The screen shut off and Mitsuki turned to see officer Yamato holding the remote with a grumpy expression on her face.
"Great," She groused, "Just… fucking great. Now we have teenagers in interrogation rooms somehow overpowering a fucking guard, stealing his gun and then shooting him before committing suicide? Fucking hell. And you!" Yamato turned to Mitsuki, "What the fuck is wrong with you, girlie? Snap out of it, we have a crime scene on our hands." Yamato clasped a hand on Mitsuki's shoulder and pulled her along, leaving the offices and heading in the direction of the crime scene, "What the ever loving fuck happened to you, miss speedster? I thought I'd find you already racing to the crime scene."
After the two were out of earshot of any of the other officers, Yamato leaned close to hiss in her ear, "Listen here, ouji. We need you with your wits about you. I heard from keibu that there is pressure from the higher ups to close the case without looking into it, but he managed to wrangle them to accept letting the department do an investigation for the sake of appearances." What Yamato said pushed Mitsuki's brain into overdrive, and her teeth clenched at the reminder of the corruption festering in the police force; she had to fight down a sneer- if the higher ups were pushing to pass it off as suicide…
She squared her shoulders as she walked with purpose, heading to the interrogation rooms, next to her and matching her pace was Yamato with a satisfied gleam in her eyes, "Now this is more like it."
"Well then, keiji, shall we?"
"We shall."
.
The area around the crime scene was surprisingly devoid of personnel, even the door to the interrogation room wasn't taped.
The atmosphere in the room weighed down on her as she entered, the malice combined with triumphant, smug glee permeated the room thickly enough that Mitsuki could taste it at the back of her tongue.
The first thing that grabbed her attention was the look of blood and tape indicating the position of the two corpses that were supposed to have been found in the room, "Did they clean up and hide the corpses?" Or had they switched rooms?
"Nope," Yamato almost sang out, her eyes sharp as she leafed through the file in her hands, "Fun fact no. #1: after Niijima Sae left the place, and both before and after the crime scene was discovered, no one came around. While the homicide-suicide was reported, there is no record of who discovered the bodies.
"Fun fact no. #2: no one even touched the place before our team came to do a preliminary investigation. No sign of the corpses, blood, or any attempt to hide away the evidence. Look here." Yamato handed Mitsuki a group of photos, which she looked through, a scowl forming on her forehead when she saw the photos of syringes discarded on the ground.
"These were taken in this room?"
"Oh, yeah."
"That means this is the correct interrogation room and no one lied about the place at least," Mitsuki murmured to herself, "Continue, officer."
"Fun fact no. #3: the guard who was posted here around the time of the crime is actually still alive. Keibu is getting his testimony as we speak.
"Fun fact no. #4: there is no body in the morgue yet there is already a death certificate issued. And boy would the name on it piss you off."
Yamato was right; the name did piss her off.
"You know what, keiji? I think the best way to respond to this bullshit is by faking another death certificate to counter the one already issued. It's time I dirtied my hands, too."
Yamato's grin showed off way too may teeth, "I'll call our coroner."
"And I need to have a talk with Sae-san."
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Akira sagged against Fuyumi's side for a moment before she stood straight on her own. The fight against Shido's Shadow had been grueling and Akira couldn't wait to get back to Leblanc.
Fuyumi wrapped a comforting arm around Akira's shoulders, "You should go rest," She murmured into Akira's ear, "And then tomorrow we'll met up again and go have a long, overdue talk with Mitsuki about this. She deserves to know."
Akira nodded, "We'll meet up tomorrow at Leblanc?"
"Yes." Fuyumi pressed a kiss to Akira's head before retracting her arm and turning to go on her way to Kosei's dorms.
Futaba and Morgana took the chance to attach themselves to Akira, "Come on! Let's go!" Futaba urged her, "Sojiro has curry waiting for us and I hunger!"
"Alright, alright." Akira chuckled as she pulled Futaba with her to head to Leblanc, Morgana contentedly curled up inside her bag.
.
The sight that met them made their hearts stop in their chests.
"S-Sojiro?" Futaba called out, her wide eyes surveying the mess in the café, "Sojiro!"
Akira had half a mind to turn around and go- go where?
Her body turned cold, she didn't know where to even begin looking.
The door to Leblanc opened and both Akira and Futaba whirled around to see Sojiro enter. Accompanied by Mitsuki.
Sojiro grumbled when he saw the mess, "Did they have to go this far?"
Mitsuki sighed, "It's rather tasteless."
"Sojiro!" Futaba flung herself at Sojiro, who blinked in shock as he grabbed her.
"Akira," Mitsuki whispered as she strode towards Akira before she grabbed her from the front of her clothes and pulled her into a messy kiss, "Don't you dare do something like this again," Mitsuki hissed, her face within an inch of Akira's. Akira had to admit: the angry look on Mitsuki's face was hot as hell.
"Yeah, Fuyumi had a similar reaction."
Mitsuki sighed and slumped against Akira, "You're going to be the death of me someday."
"Let's just hope that day would be far, far away." Akira brought her hand to card through Mitsuki's bangs, "I'm greedy and I want your company for more to come."
Mitsuki chuckled lowly before she pulled away slightly to get her phone out, "I need to talk to Fuyumi."
Akira pressed a kiss to Mitsuki's cheek, "You should. She'd been worried about why you haven't contacted her during these past couple of weeks."
Mitsuki poked her gently in the side, almost causing her to wince, "And you should go rest, I heard from Sae-san what they did to you."
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.
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"I'll go with you," Was what Mitsuki said to the Thieves after they decided to descend into the Depths of Mementos to steal the collective Treasure of the entire public.
Fuyumi pressed her lips together and frowned, "Mitsuki-"
"I know I can't accompany you all the way, but please, at least let me go with you to the station?" Mitsuki looked at them with a stubborn set to her jaw.
"Alright," Akira said, "But only to the station."
And so, Mitsuki accompanied them to Shibuya's train station, sending them all off with a 'good luck' before she turned around and left.
It was minutes later that Akira finally pulled up the MetaNav on her phone and activated it.
The Thieves all gave a collective sigh of relief when they were assured that Mitsuki had been too far to pull in accidentally with them.
"Let's go."
.
Fox had never entertained the idea of meeting Mitsuki's Shadow self, let alone meet her in the Depths of Mementos.
A part of her felt that it should have been a natural thought- everyone had their own Shadows, after all, but it never crossed her mind before.
And yet here the Phantom Thieves were, standing face to face with Shadow Mitsuki.
"I've been expecting you," Shadow Mitsuki said. And Fox found it intriguing how Shadow Mitsuki didn't act differently from Mitsuki.
"You… have?" Noir asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Shadow Mitsuki nodded, "My conscious self is aware of it, so it is only natural that I am as well."
"That makes sense," Queen said, "But, why are you here?"
"To guide you to where you're headed," Shadow Mitsuki replied, "You're looking for the Treasure hidden in Mementos' core. I can take you there."
"You can?" Panther blinked in shock.
"Yes. I've been exploring this place for a couple of years now, so I know my way around. In fact…" Shadow Mitsuki trailed off and looked at Mona, "It won't be my first time guiding someone. Even though it would be my first time guiding someone going inside instead of guiding them out."
Mona's eyes widened, "I… I remember you… We've met here. I…" Mona pressed a paw to his head.
"Don't rush it," Shadow Mitsuki sad, "The memories will come back on their own. And now, shall we?"
.
Shadow Mitsuki guided them like promised, even though she declined continuing the last leg of the journey.
"Whatever the Treasure is, I don't like it, and I'd rather not spend any time in its presence more than I have to. Take care in there." With that said, she pointed them towards the path that led to the Treasure.
Fox clenched her fist around the handle of her katana; it was their final heist, their last Treasure. Whatever came afterward, they would be prepared for it.
.
They… were not prepared for it.
Fuyumi stared blankly ahead of her where she stood in Shibuya along with the rest of the thieves, who were staring around them, uncomprehending.
"You're back!" Mitsuki's voice reached them and they turned to see her hurry towards them, "How did- I take it didn't go as planned…"
Akira pressed her lips together in frustration.
"I don't get it," Makoto said, "Just what did the Grail do? Was it… Was it useless? Is there something else we should have done?"
That was when Futaba cried out in pain, clutching her head as she hunched over.
"Futaba-chan?" Ann called out before she cried out in pain as well.
The rest of the Thieves seemed to be struck with the same piercing headache, and Fuyumi raised a trembling hand to her forehead, tears gathering in her eyes from the pain. She could hear the rest of the Thieves' pained and strained voices, among them was Mitsuki's panicked voice.
"What's… what's going on? Should I call for a med-" Mitsuki inhaled sharply then, cutting herself off, "Oh my god! Sakura-chan!"
Fuyumi turned her head to look in Futaba's direction and fear gripped her heart and squeezed it tightly.
Futaba was… Futaba was disappearing, her body fading out of existence until she was no more.
Horror spread among the Thieves at the sight, magnified by seeing parts of their bodies fading out as well.
Fuyumi could barely focus on what was happening as she stared blankly at her arms, or rather, the faint images of her arms.
"Fuyumi! Stay with me!" Mitsuki's terrified voice snapped her out of her daze and she looked at her.
The terror-stricken look on Mitsuki's face sent a jolt through her body, "Mitsu-!"
With a snap, Fuyumi's awareness vanished.
"FUYU-!"
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End
Sorrynotsorry :D