A Reason to Forgive

"Akira-kun? Sojiro-san said you were up here? I wanted to discuss the Medjed situation with you and..." Makoto Niijima came to a stop as she found the Phantom Thieves' leader sound asleep on his bed. He was cocooned in his blanket, his mouth opened as drool dripped onto his pillow. Morgana was nowhere to be found as he snored quietly. "Oh! I'm so sorry," she apologized, only to mentally kick herself.

Right. He's asleep... Should... should I wake him? Makoto approached the slumbering boy with hesitant, delicate footsteps. It's Sunday. He's probably been working all week. He should be resting... Her footsteps came to a pause, not because she chose to let the young man sleep, but because of the distinct sound of paper crushed under her foot.

"Huh?" Makoto looked down at her foot to find a crumpled piece of paper under her heel. In fact, there were several balls of bent paper laying sporadically around Akira's bed. The young girl reached down to pick the paper up, looking it over for a moment in focused curiosity. There was writing on the paper, hand written, by the looks of it. Part of her told Makoto to respect Akira's privacy. Another part of her wondered what these papers were exactly...

Personal notes? Study sheets? Or perhaps even letters to his family back home? Maybe I'll just take a quick look, just to satiate my curiosity... It was meant to simply be a peek, that was what she promised herself. She unfolded the letter with slow, meticulous fingers, but the very first line of the letter shocked her.

It was indeed a letter, but it wasn't meant for Akira's parents. The letter was marked for Junya Kaneshiro.

'Dear Junya Kaneshiro... You and I met prior to your arrest, but I wish to explain that I harbor no ill will. This world hurt you, I bet, and I know how easy it is to just be anger. Anger is always easy, but...' The letter ended there. She dropped it to the ground and glanced at another crumpled ball of paper. There was only a moment of hesitation as she dashed towards it to read the letter.

'Dear Ichiryusai Madarame... We never really met one another, but I know your story. I know the sins you've commented, but I've come to tell you that it doesn't matter anymore. You're better than you think you are. I know one of your...'

'Dear Suguru Kamoshida... I forgive you. I was never your student, but I forgive you. I'm sorry things came to this. I'm sor...' They're all incomplete...?

"Good morning, Niijima-senpai." Makoto's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as a voice called out to her. "Can I ask why you're reading the letters I wrote, senpai?"

"Akira-kun!" Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, mouth open as she was caught red-handed. Akira sat on his bed, his blankets still wrapped around his body. Despite the situation, his lips were curled into a smile and his eyes sparkled with a glimmer of mirth. "T-this isn't what it looks like!"

"I'm sorry, Niijima-senpai, but you are a terrible liar." Akira lifted his foot up from the bed to stand up, only for the fabric to prove incapable of following his plan. Akira struggled the blanket for a moment, before crying out in terror as he rolled off the bed. He hit the ground with a quiet crash as he mourned the loss of his dignity. "Um... C-could you come help me?"

Makoto blinked, almost in denial to the sight that she saw. Joker, Akira, her leader, was struggling to escape a blanket on the floor.

"What is this thing made of?! Titanium?! Grrr...!"

"H-here. Let me help you up."

"Much appreciated..." After a moment of struggling, Makoto finally unwrapped the boy from his prison of fabric and helped him stand. "Thanks, Makoto-senpai. You're the best," he smiled, giving her a thumbs up, but she didn't respond. She just stared at him with increasingly scarlet cheeks. "Is something wrong, senpai? Your cheeks are all red and-"

"Y-you don't have a shirt on!"


Makoto waited by the stairs, eyes closed as she tried to cool her face. She could hear the young man rummage through his storage box and pull a shirt over his head. The distinct sound of his pants being zipped echoed in her head. She tried very hard not to think about that sound, but it was not easy. She had seen her friend, and leader, Akira Kasuru with only boxers on. She had seen his surprisingly toned and muscular frame...

His arms looked ready to burst with raw power. His lean, firm abs. Even his pecs... Makoto groaned, rubbing her face as Akira poked at her shoulder from behind.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just begging getting kind of warm lately and I made this nice bed for Morgana that she sleeps in, so I don't really have to worry about him seeing or anything..."

"Maybe you shouldn't sleep under so many blankets?" suggested the older woman. She had yet to face him, even as she stood up.

"But I like blankets. They make me feel safe. Like a cocoon around a caterpillar before he turns into a beautiful butterfly," he dreamed.

"R-right." Makoto slowly turned her head to Akira and was relieved to find his toned body was covered by grey sweatpants and a black shirt. He had his synonymous grin on his face, soft and cheerful, almost child-like. Despite it and the previous 'incident' her mind was still plagued by curiosity. "Um... A-about the letters?"

"Oh." His smile faltered for a moment, but only a moment. "I was planning on sending a letter to Kanashiro and the others."

"With what purpose? Are you hoping to acquire more information off of them?"

He was obviously hesitant to give her the real answer. His silver eyes drifted away from her crimson orbs. He slouched, hiding his hands in his pockets as he mumbled excuses. Makoto stared at the young man with bewilderment. Since meeting Akira, the young man seemed perfectly able to express himself. His every smile seemed genuine, and he made no effort to stem his love of Tokyo, despite the context for his residing here. Yet now he seemed unable to articulate the words.

Did it fall to her to help him explain? She had never been very talented in the subject of gentle conversation. Her position or her temper was typically enough to coerce an answer from her peers, but she did not want to rely on either for this conversation. Akira was more than a fellow student, he was her friend...

"Um... W-whatever it is, I promise I'll try to understand..."

"You can't tell the others. Please," he whimpered.

He sounds so scared... Why? "I understand. I promise," she nodded. I have no idea what I'm promising to! What if I've made a terrible mistake? What if-

"I was scared they felt lonely. I just wanted them to know they're not alone."

"What?"

Makoto tried not to sound so outraged by the idea, but her anger still tainted her voice. "W-why does that matter? I apologize, Akira-kun, but I simply don't understand your reasoning."

"They're people. I know they did bad things, but that doesn't stop that fact," he sighed. Akira walked away from her and picked up one of the fallen letters. He read the content to himself, before speaking again. "Do you know how low child molesters are in the prison hierarchy? Kamoshida abused children and forced himself on teenage girls... I doubt most other criminals appreciate that."

The letter fell from his fingers, gently falling to the ground like a leaf caught in a gentle breeze. He looked at Makoto's feet as he muttered, "And Madarame even cried on live TV. Kanoshiro pleaded for forgiveness..."

"But they only did that because we forced their hearts to change. They didn't have a genuine change of heart, Akira-kun..."

"But still!" He finally met her crimson eyes as he walked closer to her. "I can't get them out of my head! They wanted to repent! Yet has anyone accepted their apology? They're alone in cells, and even if they deserve to be forgotten, no one deserves to feel like they're alone!"

She had never seen the young man so passionate. He almost sounded angry, but it wasn't targeted at her or even the criminals themselves. It was aimed at himself.

"But I just don't know what to say... Why would they even want to write back? They'll probably see the name and tear the letter apart right then and there!" he sighed. "Ryuji lost everything because of Kamoshida. Ann nearly lost her friend and... worst to him. If they heard I was trying to help him feel better, I... They probably wouldn't forgive me..."

"Then why reach for them in the first place?" she wondered, inching closer to the raven-haired boy.

"Because you can't ask me to turn my back on Ryuji or Ann. You can't ask me to turn my back on anyone..." Those words were the key the brunette girl needed to see a new side of Akira.

When she had first met the young man, she had thought of him as little more than delinquent. Her teachers and peers warned about the dangerous criminal that was attending their prestigious school. 'He had attacked an innocent man,' her peers told her, 'he forced himself on an innocent women,' her teachers warned. After meeting him and working alongside him, she had believed him to be a simple, kindhearted clown.

The truth was nowhere near as simple.

"I like to think deep down we're all good inside. Circumstance just lead us to evil. I know it's rather naive, but it gives me strength." He sighed once more, having lost all traces of his characteristic smile. "I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear all of this. I've just been on the end of my rope lately." His smile returned to his face, but she could see the strain in it. The slight quiver in the edges as he forced it to stand on his face.

How many times had he forced a smile for the others, she wondered.

"Please, let me help."

"Huh?"

Makoto reached down and picked up the fallen paper, holding it out to him. "I... I don't have a lot of experience offering emotional comfort, but I have had to write plenty of essays and letters in my life. Perhaps I can offer a fresh perspective?" Her voice lacked her usual confidence, and her eyes fell to the floor and walls. Her fingers twitched as she waited for an answer, even as the moment stretched out to eternity.

"I-" He sounded shocked. Her eyes glanced at him and she was relieved to find his smile was far more natural on his face. "I'd... I'd like that. Thank you, Niijima-senpai."

"Excellent. That's good," she nodded. "B-by the way, you can just call me Makoto, Akira-kun."

"Okay, Makoto." His hand caught hers and he gently pulled her towards his desk. "Come on! Let's do this, partner!"

"R-right!" she agreed, her rosy flush returning tenfold on her face.

END

(Looks at what I wrote) This isn't funny. (Frowns) I ever tell you guys how much I hate the fact that I can only put two genres for my stories? A lot of my stories are romance, humor, and drama based. Hrm... Maybe I'll change the genres later.

For now, enjoy another chapter! Starring Makoto! The best girl, if you ask Zanmat0.

Next chapter will probably star Haru and the MC. We'll see where this silly story leads after that.