Wings of Rebellion
Written by Aiyumi
Disclaimer: Persona and all related characters are property of Atlus. Any trademarks that may be referenced in this fan fiction are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.
Chapter 21: Wild Dreams
Somehow, the Star Confidant was on rank 8 now. Crow hadn't been expecting that rank-up at all. He wasn't sure what Joker thought of his justification attempt, but at least it looked like he had managed to comfort her a little, which was a relief. She had relaxed in his arms and fallen into a peaceful sleep, thankfully the opposite from the state she had been unconscious in earlier. A bit calmer, Crow also relaxed and the tears eventually stopped coming out.
While Crow waited for her to wake up, he caught himself stroking her hair and considering removing his gloves to better feel the touch... but in the end, he decided against it.
"Hmmm, this isn't fair..." Joker mumbled, and Crow promptly stopped what he was doing. He considered backing away and letting her have her space. But then, she added, "I should be the one comforting you..."
"... H-huh?" Crow's eyes slightly widened in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I felt the pain in your heart," she said in a near whisper. "It was so sad and depressing and..." Before Crow had a chance to even think, Joker had enveloped her arms around his waist.
Joker held him tightly, but soon dozed off again. Her hold on him slackened a bit, but she didn't let go. For a couple of minutes, they just remained there kneeling on the ground and holding each other. Crow was stunned the whole time, unsure what to do or think.
Joker eventually stirred awake, and slowly broke the hug.
"Joker, are you alright?"
She nodded. "I feel much better now. Thanks, Crow."
"You shouldn't thank me. I almost screwed your heart!"
"My heart is intact. Now the question is, have I managed to remove any of the hatred from your heart at all? Do you hate stuff any less now?"
Crow allowed himself to chuckle at the strange question before stopping to think for a moment. "I don't know..." He admitted, in a low voice.
Joker also chuckled. "It isn't that easy, huh? Either way, I'm glad that I managed to stop you from using that power on yourself."
Crow heaved a sigh in shame. "I was focusing so much on the fact that I couldn't do a thing against those twins, anger got the better of me, and when I realized it, I was thinking only about myself again. I thought I had improved, but I see that I'm as weak as ever..."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. That may happen to anyone. And you were alone. One person alone can only do so much. This is the reason why you need someone to keep you in check once in a while, and the reason why we'll be going with you to the mastermind's Palace, remember?"
Crow only stared, unsure what to say. He only snapped out of his stupor when Joker began standing up, much to his alarm. He got worried wondering whether Joker was recovered enough to get up. He found himself jumping to his feet and offering her a hand to help her up. She accepted the help, and gave him a grateful smile in return.
Crow squeezed her hand that he had been holding, and spoke firmly as he looked her in the eye. "Let's make a deal. I promise I won't use this power ever again, neither on myself or anyone at all. You also have to promise that you won't recklessly dive in like this ever again. Got it?"
"Hmm. Well, if you won't use that power, I won't need to do this again, right?" Joker winked, almost back to her normal self. "Alright, deal."
Joker firmly squeezed his hand back, and...
... ... ... Nothing happened.
Really strange. Joker was pretty sure their Confidant bond should start now. The mood called for it. More trust in each other, and a deal. Her Confidants usually started when she made a deal with someone. Why not now? What was missing?
While Joker spaced out wondering about the issue, Crow released her hand. He retrieved the plastic bag from the ground and passed it over to Joker. "The twins left this. They say it's a consolation prize."
"Hmm?" Joker blinked her thoughts away and accepted the bag Crow was handing her. She was awed at the high level revival and recovery items inside. "Wow! I guess we should split the items among us. It was both of us fighting, after all."
Crow shrugged. "I don't care about the prize. I didn't come here for that. Just split it among all the Phantom Thieves so that everyone has items to use in emergencies or something."
"Well, that works." Joker grinned at him. "But 'all the Phantom Thieves' includes you too. Don't forget this."
"Uh, whatever." Crow pocketed the half a dozen of small flasks Joker gave him.
"Um, anyway, what time is it?" Joker changed the subject.
"I don't know. Nothing on the phone works in the Metaverse except for the Nav."
"Oh yeah, there was that... I'll check. I'll be right back!" Joker ran to her entry point and teleported out of the Metaverse, checked the time on her phone, then entered the Metaverse again. "Almost 7. It's actually not that late! ... Ugh..." Joker closed her eyes and brought a hand to her head.
"Hey, be careful!" Crow hurried over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "The twins cast Diarahan on both of us before they left. But are you sure you're well enough to be running around like that?"
She threw him a sheepish smile. "I just got a bit dizzy. Looks like I'm not back to 100% yet. Running is no go, but just standing and walking should be fine. I believe I'm okay enough to go home. It's just a short train ride away."
Crow looked at her with concern. "Maybe you should ask someone to come pick you up just in case."
Joker was disappointed that he didn't offer to accompany her. "I'm fine by myself." She decided to add, "I wouldn't mind if you'd come with me, though."
Crow quickly shook his head in panic. "I can't. I still have things to do. I need to give an excuse to the mastermind!"
"At this time? Can't you just wait until tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is too close to the deadline. If I report too close to the deadline he gave me, he might suspect I had something to do with the outcome. Besides, this fight worn me out, and I'll have less pretending to do if I appear there like this."
Joker was amused. "You're taking advantage of this?"
"It's a, 'When life gives you lemons,' thing, I guess. I intend to say I'm worn out from escaping Okumura's Palace. I should be more convincing if I don't need to pretend to be tired."
"Ingenious!" Joker burst laughing. "See? You can be quite positive too!"
Crow scoffed. "I guess this is what I get for being near the leader of the Phantom Thieves for too long. Not that I'm complaining..."
"Then, how about you just walk me home and spend some more time with me? This way I can pass a bit more positivity to you before you begin your important mission."
"No. It's quite enough."
"Oh, come on. It's just a short train ride to Yongen..."
He shook his head insistently.
"Awww, okay..." She gave up. "One last thing then. "Crow, thanks for looking after me while I was out."
"I put you through so much pain. Looking after you was all that I could do to try to make up for it."
Joker smiled it off. "You know? There may be a lot of sadness and pain in your heart, but there are many gentle and warm feelings too. I felt them when you hugged me. I didn't know you cared about me so much!"
"Despite the envy, I couldn't bring myself to dislike you even if I wanted to," Crow said, seemingly without thinking. "I'll be off. Take care. I'll see you on Thursday at Niijima's Palace."
Joker was amazed. He even knew the trial would be on Thursday without her needing to tell him! If only he would accompany her to Leblanc, but oh well...
Despite not having agreed to walk Akira home, Akechi was worried, of course. When he left Mementos, he felt more tired than while he was inside it. Akira had felt dizzy when she pushed herself and ran out of the Metaverse earlier. She was obviously not in her best yet. Akechi decided he would follow her from a distance, just to make sure she got to Leblanc safely. If he got caught, he would pretend they had run into each other by chance and that he had actually meant to have coffee at Leblanc.
Out of his Mementos entry spot, he discreetly followed her. He took the same train as her, but got in from a faraway door. They unboarded at the Yongen-Jaya station, and he followed her from afar until he could see that she had arrived at Leblanc. He sighed in relief and was about to turn behind...
... But then, he got caught, though not by Akira.
"My lil' big bro!" Futaba's voice sounded from behind and startled him.
"Ah! Fu-Futaba-chan..."
She approached, apparently happy to see him. "If you're here, it can only mean you're going to Leblanc, right? Let's go together!"
With no other choice, Akechi agreed and walked with Futaba to Leblanc.
"Good evening." Akechi greeted. Only Sakura-san and Morgana were there.
"Oh, hey." Sakura-san responded.
"You don't look very well," Morgana said. "Are you okay?"
"You look exhausted." Sakura-san practically rephrased.
"Does it look that bad?"
"Yeah, it does."
"Uh, yes... today's been rough. I'd like a cup of coffee to recharge, please. No preference. Whatever blend you recommend is fine."
"Alright."
Futaba stopped Sakura-san as he was going to the back. "Sojiro, dinner ready yet?"
"No. It's not even seven yet. It's too early for dinner."
"But I hunger!" Futaba whined.
Sakura-san heaved a sigh. "Alright. I'll make dinner early. Akira looked tired. She could use some food too." He turned to Akechi. "Akira's just left for the bathhouse. If you had gotten here half of a minute earlier, you'd have seen her."
"Oh, is that so?" Akechi tried to sound neutral.
"You could wait for her, then all of us could have dinner together!" Futaba blurted out in excitement. "And then you could watch some Featherman with me."
Akechi flashed a sad smile. "Sorry. I can't stay. My day isn't over yet."
"You mean... you still have work?"
Akechi nodded. "This is why I need the coffee."
Sakura-san stared at him with a serious expression. "I see. I'll get your coffee."
Akechi sat down at a table to take a break while he waited.
Futaba stepped closer to him with a whiny face. "Can't you cancel whatever it is and take the night off?"
"No."
"But we still have so many episodes to watch..."
When Akechi realized it, his hand was reaching out and stroking his unofficial little sister's hair. "I'm sorry. We'll watch them all eventually, okay? Hopefully before-" He balked at the realization that he had almost said too much.
"Before what?" Futaba just had to ask...
Before he turned himself in. He couldn't say that, though. Akechi quickly racked his brain to find something else to complete the sentence with. "Uh, before the year ends, maybe..."
Futaba said nothing, though she still looked disappointed. Akechi closed his eyes tiredly and tried to relax. Then, he felt Futaba's hand stroking his hair back. That gesture was so endearing, but so painful at the same time because of his guilt.
Sakura-san returned. "Here's your coffee."
"Huh?" When Akechi opened his eyes and looked at the table, there was also a generous sandwich beside the coffee cup. It seemed to contain cheese, chicken and lettuce, at least. "This is..."
"To help you recharge. If you can't wait until dinner, then at least have this. And if you don't have time to eat it here, then have it on the way or something."
Why did both Sakuras had to be so nice to him? He didn't deserve it!
"Th-thank you..." Akechi's voice came out shyly. He was about to say that Sakura-san didn't need to go to all that trouble, but the sight and smell of the food in front of him stimulated his hunger. "Um, I guess I'll follow your suggestion..."
Akechi took a few bites of his sandwich as he drank his coffee in huge gulps, then stood up and packed the remainder of the sandwich to eat on his way to Shido's office.
"Sakura-san, thank you once again." He placed 1,000 yen on the counter. "I have to go now. Bye!"
"Hey! You didn't need to-" Sakura-san began protesting about the money, but Akechi didn't turn back and stormed out of the cafe.
While Akira took a medicated bath at the bathhouse, she couldn't stop thinking about Crow. Despite the hard battle and the depressing visions from his heart, what prevailed was the thought of how enjoyable it had been to spend time with him.
"I don't hate you guys. That's about it." He had said once. "Despite the envy, I couldn't bring myself to dislike you even if I wanted to," had been his words today, just before they parted ways.
He couldn't dislike her even if he wanted to. Meaning, he didn't want to. Meaning, he didn't dislike her. In fact, it was the opposite of that. He liked her.
The only people he didn't hate were the Phantom Thieves, and now, he liked her. For someone who had hated everyone and everything, having one person he liked was a nice improvement, and Akira was glad for that.
The whole thing with the twins worn them out, and in the end, the defeat meant that the twins wouldn't help Crow with his Personas, which was disappointing. Now, Crow must be as tired as her, if not more. A medicated bath would do him well too. That moment when she tried to convince him to walk her home, maybe she should have informed him about the existence of a bathhouse in Yongen and given him an extra reason to come... but it hadn't so much so as crossed her mind.
"Hey, Akira, you're late!" Was Futaba's greeting upon her return to Leblanc. "Like, three minutes late. Akechi was here and left around three minutes ago!"
"Akechi-kun?" Akira's face lit up in surprise.
"He was in a hurry, though," Sojiro said. "He swallowed a cup of coffee and stormed off."
"He looked tired." Morgana noted. "He must've had a busy day."
"I asked him to join us for dinner and then watch Featherman with me. I thought it could help him relax. It was the only thing that came to my mind." Futaba bit her lip in frustration. "But he said he couldn't stay... I wish I could do something else to make him feel better."
"All I could do was wipe up a sandwich quickly." Sojiro lamented. "He didn't even agree to wait a few minutes to see you..."
"Ah well, I'll talk to him another time then."
Minutes later, dinner was ready, and they were eating. It wasn't long until Akira began worrying about Crow again.
"Akira, What's wrong?" Morgana asked.
"Crow had said today he'd have to give an excuse to the mastermind about Okumura's case. I hope it's worked out..."
"Okumura's case?" Sojiro reminded them that he was a little out of the loop.
"Yeah." Akira answered. "Crow needed to justify why Okumura didn't suffer a mental shutdown. He'd have to be convincing enough so that the mastermind doesn't suspect something's going on."
"He'd need to do that? ... Today?" Sojiro's expression aggravated, and he heaved a sigh. "Such a huge responsibility, isn't it? I mean, you guys can only go about your everyday lives at peace because he's stalling and holding the bad guys at bay behind the scenes, right? From what Futaba told me, you guys'd have fallen into a really nasty trap and may even have the SIU after you if not for him..."
Crow's earlier words rang in Akira's mind. "So, I decided to just deal with it and protect you and the other Phantom Thieves to make sure you'll have your futures."
Futaba smiled with admiration. Yeah... if not for Crow, the Phantom Thieves might be done for... no idea what he's doing to fool the bad guys, but it's so cool!"
Akira couldn't agree more. The fact that he silently protected them behind the scenes was even cooler. He didn't go into detail and didn't boast about what he was doing. This meant he wasn't after their recognition. Although, they should probably show him more recognition. They had been taking their everyday lives for granted, without fully realizing that their days might not be as peaceful if not for Crow's efforts.
"I hope the excuse has worked." Akira voiced her worry.
"Let's place our faith in him," Morgana said. "It's all we can do."
Unfortunately, there was nothing else that could be done.
Before going to bed, Akira briefly glanced at her cellphone. She wished she had Crow's phone number to call him or send him a message. She wondered how he was doing. Had he managed to give the excuse to the mastermind? Was he safe and sound at home?
She recalled the events from that afternoon once again. The way they talked and comforted each other, the way Crow had looked after her and held her so caringly... all of that even made her forget that he was the one responsible for the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. But his heart had changed. The person she knew now should be his true self, free from the distortion that had led him to do those horrible things.
Akira recalled what he had said on another day.
"Aside from the mastermind, who I've always hated, I wouldn't dare cause harm to anyone, not even those who caused me harm. I wasn't brave enough for that. All I did was bow down and accept everything."
The visions she had had confirmed what he had said, or perhaps it was the other way around. Currently, his heart seemed to be as pure as that of the little child in those visions.
"And you have one more thing that I can't have. A future."
This also made her remember what the voice from the blue butterfly had told her. "Unfortunately, thanks to his past actions, the path to his future is currently closed. There does not seem to be any exit for him, unless a miracle happens."
Crow deserved happiness, and a future too. Akira wished there were a way to make a miracle happen, a way to steal his future back...
Akechi looked worse for wear when he arrived at Shido's office. But of course, Shido couldn't care less about his well being.
"What do you want?" Shido didn't seem to be in a good mood. "This'd better be important. It's rather late already."
"Uh, sorry. Y-yes, this is important. I came here after leaving the Metaverse..." Akechi shuffled, half nervous and half pretending. "I have... unfortunate news."
As expected, Shido directed a displeased look at Akechi, and silently commanded him to explain himself.
"Just when I thought I was nearing the end of Okumura's Palace, I heard his Shadow's voice complaining about the Phantom Thieves' rumors, then he fled in a ship and activated the Palace's self-destruct mechanism... and the bad news. I had to do an hasty retreat, and now the Palace is gone. I can't access it anymore..."
"Were the Phantom Thieves there?"
"I don't know. I had enough trouble trying to escape myself... this is why I'm in this state..." Recalling the moment he saved Futaba from the collapsing Palace elicited a genuine panicked expression, and saved Akechi from having to pretend.
Shido heaved an irritated sigh. "You took too long. You should've reached the Shadow at least one day earlier! You had assured me you would be able to carry out the job in a timely manner!"
Well, it was easy to say such things after the fact. Akechi shouldn't let that remark out, though.
"I apologize..." Akechi lowered his gaze. "No one could have predicted that the Shadow would trip us up..."
Shido frowned in thought, and Akechi held his breath. "As much as I'd prefer to have you eliminate the Phantom Thieves personally, this wouldn't have an impact on the public, as no one would know what happened if you use the Metaverse. Ruining the Phantom Thieves' image and having the public turn against them is an important part of my election campaign."
"How should we proceed, then?" Akechi tried to pry and get an idea of what Shido had in mind.
"I will contact you once I have another strategy. And once I do, be sure not to take so much time to act. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Akechi responded as firmly as he could manage.
"You may go now." The words Shido used were polite and permissive, but they sounded more like an order for Akechi to leave the office, and the boy didn't need to be told twice.
Akechi only allowed himself to relax once he was inside the cubicle he called home. He took a quick shower, and didn't even bother with dinner. He was glad to at least have had Sakura-san's sandwich. Akechi collapsed in his futon, exhausted. Unfortunately, he didn't have a peaceful sleep.
X:X:X:X:X
Akechi found himself sitting at a table at a snack bar. The TV was on.
"On to the next report." The woman on the TV announced. "Another mental shutdown incident has happened last night." Only the keywords "mental shutdown" were already enough to cause chills on Akechi, but it got worse. "The victim was a female high school student." A photo appeared on the screen. The girl had wide but unseeing eyes, and a horrified expression. Akechi's expression nearly mimicked hers, as he recognized the girl in the picture immediately.
"Akira... no..."
The reporter was still speaking. "Her vital signs are low and she remains unresponsive in the hospital. Akira Kurusu, 16 years old, is a student at Shujin Academy and..."
None of the other customers paid any mind to the news report nor to Akechi's reaction, and continued chatting and laughing as though nothing were happening.
"This... can't be..." If anything, it should have been a psychotic breakdown, not a mental shutdown!
He had even followed her to Leblanc to make sure she was okay. Why did this have to happen?
"Maybe you were meant to lead her to ruin, after all..." Caroline's words rang in Akechi's head.
"No..." Akechi repeated, devastated. He felt frustrated and helpless for being unable to do anything, the same way he had felt during the twins fight. "It's my fault... Akira... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Akechi began crying and sobbing inside the snack bar, and not even then the customers left the comfort of their mundane lives to regard him...
X:X:X:X:X
Akechi awoke with a start. His heart hammered loudly in his chest, and his mind buzzed with panicked thoughts. Even though he realized that the horrible event had just been a nightmare, Akechi wasn't any calmer, and probably wouldn't be until he made sure...
Still half asleep and half in panic, Akechi retrieved his cellphone without a second thought. The full realization of what he was doing only hit him at the fifth ring. His finger desperately went for the icon to cancel the call, but then, Akira picked up, much to his shock.
The phone rang in the middle of the night. Akira groggily glanced at the screen in the darkness, but became fully alert once she saw the caller's name.
"Hello? A-Akechi-kun?!"
A couple of silent seconds, then... "A-A-Akira..." The detective stuttered at the other end. "I-it's you..."
"Uh, yeah, you called my number." She stated matter of factly.
"Y-yes, but..." He sounded bewildered. "Wait, no, what time is it?" A short pause, followed by a gasp. "Oh no... Sorry, Akira, I'm sorry. I... I..."
His soft and timid apologies sounded so cute to her ears. She couldn't help but be concerned, though.
"Akechi-kun, are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine. I just..." He took a deep breath. "Sorry. I had a nightmare where something bad happened to you. I had known it was just a dream, still, when I realized what I was doing, the phone was already ringing and..." He trailed off. Another sigh. "Sorry, Akira. I awoke you in the middle of the night. I'll scold my sleepy self for this."
Akira felt touched. Not to mention that recalling sleepy Akechi at the hotel brought a smile to her face. "Awww, don't do that. Your sleepy self is such a sweetheart, and doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. You know? I think you should let that self take over more often..."
"Uh, u-um..." Akechi sounded as embarrassed as Futaba had been at the beginning when she used to hide behind Akira at the smallest interaction. "Sorry for bothering you. I just hope you won't lose sleep after this..."
Akira smiled, even though Akechi wouldn't be able to see it. "It was no bother at all. I'm happy that you remembered about me, even if it was thanks to a nightmare." Akira wished she could give him a good night kiss. "I hope you'll sleep well too. Boss and Futaba told me that you dropped by Leblanc and looked very tired. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is okay."
"That's good. Then, take a well-deserved rest. Sleep well, and no more nightmares. Hmm, actually, you haven't made a request to the Phantom Thieves yet, have you? Maybe you should ask them to take your nightmares away!" She joked.
Akechi let out a satisfying burst of laughter. "That's... pushing it a bit."
"I'm not so sure." Akira continued in a playful tone. "Can't they steal hearts? They may be able to steal dreams, too, for all we know."
"Well, if they come for me, maybe I can find out one thing or two about them." Akechi played along. "Seriously, though. Akira, I hope you won't have nightmares, either. I'll hang up now and let you have your sleep. Good night."
Inside a hidden dimensional pocket, the twins were talking among themselves.
"It appears that the Inmate is perfectly fine." Justine noted.
"How dare she scare us like that!" Caroline growled. "We worried so much for nothing!"
"What about the other wild card, though? Perhaps we should... assist him as well..."
"Only if they had won the battle. They lost." Caroline spoke as though she couldn't care less.
The same wasn't true for Justine, and she stared at her twin sadly. "Um, but... he clearly has as much potential as our Inmate, and he needs assistance. Isn't our duty to... to...?" Justine blanked out and trailed off.
"Our duty is only to assist our Inmate. Our master has not given us any order regarding the other wild card. Thus, it's none of our business! Stop with nonsense and let's return to the Velvet Room!"
Justine said nothing, and only stared ahead with a conflicted expression.
"What's gotten into you, Justine!?"
Justine gasped as a wave of dizziness hit her. She tried to hold onto Caroline for support, but then Caroline also got dizzy, and both of them fell to the ground. Justine remained holding Caroline, and their eyes remained closed until the dizziness went away.
"Ugh, what's with this annoying dizziness?!" Caroline stood up and grumbled in irritation. "It's been happening so much lately!"
"It seems to last longer every time, too..." Justine also got up, then spoke hesitantly. "Um, Caroline? What are we... to each other, again?"
"Huh? What a stupid question. Of course we are-" Caroline suddenly drew a blank. Her mouth just hung open for a moment, until she shook her head. "... Wh-what does it matter!? All that matters is that we have to continue carrying out our duties, as though nothing had been happening, r-right? Let's just forget the other wild card. He's not our responsibility. We don't know anything, nothing happened, nothing at all...!"
"... Yes." Justine ended up nodding in agreement. "By the way, our Inmate never ceases to amaze us. With her tease about the Phantom Thieves taking his dreams, now he will think that his dreams can be stolen. To think she would go as far as to give him an advance notice before going to raid his heart..."
X:X:X:X:X
Akira fell asleep easily. In her dream, she was in darkness again. She was considering what to do when Arsène suddenly came out and floated in front of her. In a daze, she followed her Persona through the darkness until she found a portal of light. As she crossed it, the light from the portal enveloped her surroundings and the darkness disappeared.
When Akira came to her senses, she was back to her elementary school days, when she wore a white sailor uniform, and still didn't wear glasses. She was running, excited to go to the crepes store, and bumped into the boy from her visions. Luckily, neither of them fell. Another good thing was that Akira realized they could finally interact, unlike during those foggy scenes from earlier.
"Sorry!" She apologized with worry. "Are you okay?"
He only nodded, and barely looked at her, as though he expected her to just go away.
Akira's vision was perfectly clear this time. At last, she could see his visual traits that the foggy images from the memories earlier hadn't let her. However, this was unfortunately a dream, and everything in it was most likely a creation of her own mind and may not accurately represent reality. Even so, she was glad to be able to see him clearly and interact with him.
The boy looked miserable. If not for the clothes that composed his uniform, he would have looked like a poor kid from the street. His hair was unkempt and a bit longer than necessary, as though no one had cared to give him a haircut for months. One thing that stood out, though, was that his hair was a familiar shade of brown which Akira couldn't place... but again, this sight was just a dream anyway.
He was about to walk away, but Akira stopped him. "Wait!"
He froze, apprehensive. "W-what is it?"
"Do you like crepes?"
"Huh?" The question out of the blue confused him. "What?"
"Crepes. I was going to have some at the crepes shop. I can't decide between a sweet crepe or a savory one..."
"I... I think I've never had crepes." He admitted shyly.
"For real!? You're missing out! Then, come with me, and let's have some together!"
"H-huh? You want me to come with you, j-just like that? Why?"
"Why not? You look sad. I think some crepes may cheer you up! And if you've never had crepes, even better. Something new to try out!"
He looked curious, but still resisted. "I can't. I used up all my lunch money..."
"No problem. It's on me!"
"What?!" He shook his head in panic. "You shouldn't do that!"
Akira had to come up with an argument. "But I want to make it up for having bumped into you."
"That was nothing."
"I want to do it, though!"
Despite his insistence, he was almost giving in. "... But... won't you get in trouble if you spend your money like that?"
Akira waved it off. "Nah. It's my allowance. I can spend it on whatever I want. I haven't wanted many things lately, and I got to save up. But now I want to have some crepes, and want you to try some too. So, leave it to me!" Akira paused. "Um, their crepes are really big and have a lot of filling, though. I still can't decide between sweet or savory, and having both is a bit much. Say, how about we split the crepes in two and have half of each kind?"
"Hmph. In the end, you just wanted someone to have half of the crepes so that you can have both, wasn't it?" Because Crow wouldn't be Crow without being a little bitter.
"Of course not! I just thought it'd work out perfectly for both of us. And I want you to know how crepes taste like!"
He was a bit wary, but followed her to the crepes shop anyway. Akira ordered one of each of her two favorite crepes.
While they waited for their treats to arrive, Akira swept one lock of hair out of the boy's eyes. "Don't these locks of hair get in the way?"
"A bit..."
"You need a haircut, seriously."
He frowned. "You're so nosy." He sounded annoyed, like his grown-up self sounded sometimes.
"I'm just saying you'd look much more cute with tidy hair!"
"Much more... err, what are you talking about!?" He got embarrassed.
"I'm saying you're cute." She answered bluntly.
"... You're making fun of me, aren't you?!" He was starting to blush. "N-no one'd say something like that..."
"I'm serious. About you being cute, and about your hair."
"No one'd cut it for me."
"Hmm... okay, I'll think up a way to help you." She saw that their crepes were arriving. "Later, though. For now, let's enjoy our crepes!"
X:X:X:X:X
Wednesday, October 12
A fond smile was plastered on Akira's face when she awoke. That dream had been so cute. In the end, Akira wasn't sure if she would ever find out exactly how their skilled secret agent looked like as a kid, but the vision of his memories showed her how shy he had been, and the way he looked after her yesterday showed her how kind his heart currently was. The image of the boy in her dream may be just her cognition of him, but Akira concluded she couldn't "unsee" it anymore, and that she would continue associating their cold secret agent and the sad lonely boy, as contrasting as their personalities were.
Akechi awoke at his usual time in the morning. He opened the small fridge to gather whatever leftovers for breakfast, only to realize the fridge was empty, much to his dismay. He hadn't had dinner last night, and would have to also skip breakfast. With a sigh, he decided he would just go to school a bit early and buy something at the canteen.
At the train station, he ran into Makoto. Apparently, the student council president was going to school a bit earlier than normal too.
"Good morning." She greeted him.
"Good morning." He responded tiredly. "Are you usually this early?"
"No, not usually. But today I have a student council matter to attend to before classes."
Akechi nodded to himself. "I see. It's what I thought..."
"What about you, Akechi-kun?"
"I'm earlier than usual today."
"Is it some special errand, too?" She just had to ask about his reason.
"No, not at all..." Akechi shuffled, embarrassed to admit his less than noble reason. He didn't intend to elaborate, but Makoto had caught his embarrassment and was looking at him curiously now. "I, uh, had forgotten that the fridge was empty, and now I'll have to buy something at school for breakfast..."
"Oh." Makoto's curiosity turned into concern. "My sister and I help each other at home. You live on your own, yes? It must be tough to deal with all the chores by yourself."
"Yes, situations like today's happen sometimes..." Akechi quickly changed to a less embarrassing subject. "Speaking of your sister, how has she been after the one week break?"
Makoto became uncertain all of a sudden. "She has been better than before, but she seems rather impatient lately... still nothing about that possible big job. Um, have you heard anything that might hint at it?"
"No, I haven't." And Akechi was glad for that.
"Hmm... okay, let's see what'll happen. We should be going. Bye, Akechi-kun. Have a nice day."
Akira sat in class and tried to pay attention. One distraction was that Ms. Kawakami was yawning frequently, and the students were starting to throw weird looks at her.
"What are you looking at? I could barely sleep tonight, thanks to the crows making noise in the neighborhood! Crows are smart and cunning birds, and kind of scary. All of this makes them very annoying too! They always find ways around the traps you put up to keep them away..."
And the other distraction was that Ms. Kawakami had to talk about crows, out of all things...
"Crows, huh?" Morgana whispered from under Akira's desk. "Our Crow sure is smart, and an expert at avoiding traps too. Can this be the reason for his code name?"
"Hmm." Akira hummed in response. It was possible.
"Kurusu-san?" Ms. Kawakami called Akira to attention, and pointed at the letters on the blackboard. "Look at those two kanji. The one for 'bird' and the one for 'crow.' The kanji for 'bird' has a line that the one for 'crow' does not. Do you know what this line is supposed to represent?"
"Um, an eye?"
"Correct!" Ms. Kawakami declared.
"Crows may be quite fierce." Morgana gave his input. "It's said that if you lock eyes with a crow, you're asking for trouble! Crows have good eyesight, too. I suppose our Crow doesn't wear glasses outside the Metaverse."
Akira agreed with Morgana's reasoning, but soon got lost in thought again. Their Crow was fierce and may be quite unstable at times, but when he was with her yesterday, he had been so caring and gentle...
Crow... She thought. She hoped he had recovered from yesterday's craziness. He had not only gotten worn out, but had also panicked and cried while she was unconscious. How Akira wished she could contact him to ask how he was doing...
Later, when Akechi was leaving school, he got a phone call from work, much to his annoyance, and he had to go to the TV studio. The production staff put him through a reevaluation test, to see if he was still applying the celebrity techniques properly. It had been a while since they had last done that. In fact, this was his first time taking that test after his "change of heart." Akechi did his best to act the same way as before and do everything as they had taught him, but this time he could fully feel how annoying his celebrity self's forced actions were.
"Great as always, Akechi-kun," The woman testing him said after the test.
"Thank you for the compliment, but I owe this result to my instructors." He smiled and threw flattery words, just as the techniques required. The test was theoretically over, but he shouldn't lower his guard. "Do you remember what an underwhelming nobody I was in the beginning? It's a wonder that they managed to successfully train someone like me. It goes to show how good instructors they are!"
"Oh, I remember! You were too normal and didn't stand out." Which now Akechi actually thought was a good thing. "Look at you now. Such a charismatic figure! The public may be criticizing you a lot right now, but they won't resist your charm once they turn against the Phantom Thieves! Like magic, everyone who previously bashed you will keep talking about how you had been right all along about the Phantom Thieves actions, how smart you are and how good you look! You'll become more popular than you ever thought possible! I'm sure you'll be the role model to many people!" Which now Akechi thought was a horrible prospect.
Akechi's celebrity self let out a forced laugh. "Thank you. I can't wait to see how all of this will unfold." It was technically true.
Akechi felt horrible as he left the TV studio. Those often manipulative communication techniques were really annoying. On the other hand, Akechi had to admit that they weren't useless. Much to the contrary, they were quite useful, since he could integrate them into his own plans and use them against Shido's own people. If Akechi hadn't learned these techniques, he wasn't sure how well he would have been able to stall and fool the organization to buy time for the Phantom Thieves. At least this thought made Akechi feel a bit less horrible.
When Akechi arrived home and checked his cellphone, there was a message from Akira.
"Hey, Akechi-kun. During lunch break, Makoto told me about your fridge management issues. Then, I began discussing shopping for supplies with her and the other guys, and all of us decided to go shopping together! Wanna join us? Going around to buy supplies might feel like a chore if you go alone, but it should be fun with everyone around!"
"And this reminded me that I had completely forgotten about buying supplies. Looks like I really have 'fridge management issues...'" Akechi admitted in his reply. "I have the rest of the day free. I guess I'll be joining you then." After the craziness yesterday and the annoying tests today, Akechi wasn't really in the mood to go out. But he had to stock his fridge, and he also wanted to see how Akira was doing. He was still worried that the psychotic breakdown from yesterday might have affected her in some way.
With that decided, Akechi dropped his annoying celebrity mask, changed into his old casual clothes, and returned to his underwhelming nobody self.
As he was about to leave the apartment, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, a woman he had never seen before was at the other side. She wore a violet dress, and seemed to be in the early 20s at most. Akechi became a bit wary. Shouldn't the doorman have called to inform him that someone was coming?
"Good afternoon. Is this detective Akechi's agency?"
Akechi blinked. What an odd way to put it. "Uh, this is where I live. This place can barely be called home, much less an agency... you are?"
"I am your newest neighbor. I have just moved here this morning." She pointed behind, at the open door across from his. The door to an apartment Akechi was sure had been unoccupied before. The fact that she had moved there might be true. This also explained why the doorman hadn't called. "I have heard from nearby residents that you have assisted them in solving a few cases."
She must be talking about Mrs. Takano and the man that asked for his help the other day. "W-well, yes, I have."
"I was hoping you could help me as well. Would you be so kind as to listen to my issue?"
Akechi reluctantly nodded.
"The issue is, my little sister has gone missing. I have heard that you located Takano-san's son. I was hoping you could help locate my sister as well..." She looked at him expectantly.
"Gone missing? As in... wandered off?"
"As in, disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Akechi had an unsettling feeling about the situation. "Um, I was able to find Takano-kun, but he hadn't exactly gone missing, and couldn't have wandered very far. Is your sister from around here?"
"Hmm, not really."
"Since you've just moved here, I suspected as much..." Akechi's unsettling feeling was confirmed. As much as he would have liked to do something, he couldn't leave the area without permission from his work. " Um, sorry, but I can't help you. I believe you should turn to the police for this."
"I do not trust the police to handle this case."
"Huh? Y-you chose to trust me rather than the police?"
"Yes."
"But I'm just a high school student!" Akechi argued.
"I trust your skills! Besides, my sister is your fan! She would be very happy if you helped save her!"
Akechi may have way more haters than fans now, but that couldn't be considered a valid argument. Either way, the cases those people from his neighborhood got for him were becoming more and more weird.
"This is not how you should go about a serious situation such as this one... I can get you in contact with the police if you want, but it's all I can do."
She shook her head. "No, this will not do. I would like your help specifically..."
"I can't help you, I'm afraid. I can't leave the area and conduct investigations unofficially. If you really want me working in this case, then the only way would be to contact the police and hope they'll assign me to the case."
"Hmm. This sounds complicated..." Her brows furrowed. "If there is no other way, I might have to resort to doing just that..."
She couldn't be serious... or maybe she could. She was acting as though she had no one else to turn to. But Akechi would rather not let her follow that convoluted plan. Even though he couldn't help her the way she wanted, he felt he should at least lead her in the right direction.
"Sorry, I have to be away for a while." Akechi told her. "Can we continue this talk once I come back?"
"It is fine. I will give the matter some more thought until then. Once you return, you know where to find me." She pointed behind at the open apartment door.
... ... ... ... ...
Akechi met up with Akira at a supermarket in Shibuya, and the whole gang was there. Well, except for Kitagawa.
"Hello, Akechi-kun." Makoto greeted him. "We met again."
"Uh, yes..."
"You look a bit tired." Takamaki-san noted. "Is it because of school? Work?"
"Everything..." Akechi answered with a sigh. "I've just come back from the TV studio. I wasn't in the mood for shopping, but my fridge is empty, and procrastinating isn't an option. I couldn't even have breakfast today..."
"It sounds rough living on your own. You can't even ask someone to buy stuff for you..." Sakamoto commented.
"My lil' big bro..." Futaba made a disapproving face. "You aren't eating right, are you? Sojiro'd be angry to know this..."
Akechi's heart tightened at the recollection of Sakura-san saying he could have taken him in. Sakura-san would regret having said that if he were to find out what Akechi had done...
"Akira-chan also looks a bit tired." Haru observed, and Akechi used this as an opportunity to regard Akira properly.
"Yesterday was a busy day..." Judging from Akira's hesitation, she hadn't told the others about the twins battle, then. Most importantly, at first glance, she seemed normal.
"Ugh, that Inari... how much longer is he gonna make us wait?" Futaba was getting impatient.
As if on cue, Kitagawa arrived. Something wasn't right, though. He was walking slowly and awkwardly.
"Inari, you're late!" Futaba yelled at him, with no hint of concern at all.
"Yusuke, what happened?" Akira asked.
"Ah, I apologize. I had a rough day at the workshop yesterday, and my body is still sore."
"Workshop?" Akechi wondered what activities at an art workshop might cause those adverse effects.
"Yes. A car services workshop. It is where I work part-time."
"Huh?" Akechi was confused. "But why a car workshop? I thought you'd choose to work with something related to art..."
"I was desperately in need of money, and took the first job that appeared in front of me."
Talk about desperation. This still didn't sound right, though.
"Yusuke, you should get a more fitting job..." Takamaki-san seemed to have the same thoughts as Akechi.
Akechi recalled something. "Ah, I think I've seen a flier at the Shibuya mall about a part-time job offer at the flower shop."
Akira chimed in. "Yeah, sometimes I do some work there too. The shop owner has us combine different flowers to make bouquets that customers ask for special occasions. We need to consider colors and sizes and flowers symbolism and stuff. It'd definitely fit you better, Yusuke!"
Haru nodded. "Yes, it would! The input you gave me for the garden at the school was invaluable. I am sure you would do great at the flower shop!"
"Hmm." Akechi hummed in approval. "As I thought. This job definitely sounds much more fitting to you, Kitagawa-kun."
Kitagawa considered the idea. "It sounds like an easier job as well. I will look into it. Thank you for pointing it out, Akechi."
Akechi felt Kitagawa's gratitude, and the Emperor Confidant ranked up.
They proceeded to retrieve shopping baskets to gather their supplies, then began walking around the store.
"Futaba-chan, you need to buy something too?" Akechi had thought either Sakura-san or Akira would buy things for her.
Futaba nodded. "When I told Sojiro that we'd go shopping, he asked me to get some stuff."
A displeased grunt came from the supernatural creature inside Akira's bag when Akira took a can of cat food from a shelf.
"Hey, quiet there!" Sakamoto called Morgana out.
Morgana completely ignored Sakamoto, and pocked his head out of the bag. "No, Akira, not that canned cat food again..."
The person who responded to his protest wasn't Akira, though. "You are tired of that brand, Mona-chan?" Haru retrieved a super expensive pack of cat food from the shelf. "I will buy something special for you then."
"Huh!" Morgana's eyes widened in shock at the expensive pack of cat food. "Haru, y-you don't need to..."
Akechi suspected Morgana had reacted that way because of the price, and not because he was eager to taste that cat food. Haru, however, didn't seem to have reached the same conclusion. She looked at the feline and flashed an innocent smile. "Consider it a present from me."
Morgana muttered an awkward "thanks" and submerged back into the bag shyly. It seemed he was feeling bad to refuse Haru's offer, and chose to just accept it in the end.
"You know what?" Akechi spoke up. "It's strange that neither of you think it's strange to bring a cat into a supermarket..."
"I'm not a cat!" Came the inevitable and muffled protest from inside the bag.
"Shut up..." Sakamoto whispered, then spoke to Akechi normally. "Yeah, it's weird, but we're used to it by now. Akira takes him everywhere!"
"Akechi-kun, you spent a day looking after Morgana and know how well-behaved he is." Akira justified herself.
"This isn't the problem. If the staff catches you, you... uh, we may be kicked out of the store!"
"Don't worry. We won't be caught! We're good at stealth." Akira didn't seem the least bit concerned.
Akechi heaved a sigh and lowered his head in exasperation.
"For sure, this is not normal... but well, Akira is just being Akira..." Makoto seemed to be trying to come to terms with it as well.
On further thought, Akechi was glad that Akira was just being herself. This meant that the psychotic breakdown from yesterday hadn't messed her mind up like his nightmare made him fear.
"I have been wondering." Kitagawa spoke up. "Haru, why did you decide to come shopping? You are not in charge of such tasks at home, are you?"
"I am not. But when Akira-chan suggested we all could come shopping together, I had the idea of preparing something special for Father. He is the one always cooking for me lately, and I thought I would cook something for him for once."
This got Akechi thinking. Haru seemed to be living a peaceful life with her father now. But once that mess was over, what would happen to Okumura once he gave his testimony? Even though ordering psychotic breakdowns and a couple of mental shutdowns was less serious than actually causing them, this didn't change the fact that Okumura had committed crimes and harmed the fast food industry. But now, Okumura was just a normal businessman and a caring father, and Akechi wished Haru would continue to have a happy family life.
Akechi focused back on the conversation, and recalled Sakamoto's suggestion of cooking for someone else. Akira's face immediately popped up in his mind, and he had to turn away from the others and direct his attention to the eggs tray he was placing in his basket, in an attempt to hide a blush that was threatening to appear on his face.
"Akechi-kun." Takamaki-san addressed him, but it was a different subject entirely, and Akechi was glad for that. "You said you were at the TV studio earlier. Was it another interview?"
"Well, sort of." He blinked and recomposed himself. "I had to take a test of my... 'celebrity techniques.' It was an interview of sorts, where the interviewer paid attention to my actions the whole time, to see if I'm applying the techniques properly."
His response piqued Akira's curiosity. "What kind of techniques are these? We've talked about your celebrity image quite a few times, but I don't think you've ever explained about these said 'techniques.'"
"Oh, I guess I haven't. They include, for example, offering friendly smiles and flattery words at opportune moments, saying what people will likely want to hear, usually what's politically-correct. Also, using big words and then explaining the meanings in a way that's easy to understand. This gives the impression of a smart person who's modest and willing to share knowledge. Things like that..."
"The problem is figuring out when to use what technique, right? You must need to think very quickly!" Akira observed.
"Choosing the techniques is kind of like chess." Akechi replied. "I have to try to predict the person's next 'movements.' If I say X, the person may react with A, but if I say Y, they may react with B, and so on. I have to choose my actions accordingly."
Futaba made a scared face. "It'd be impossible for me! 'Cause when it comes to talking to people, everything scrambles in my head and I can't think straight!"
"As simple as the techniques may sound, not just anyone can apply them effectively..." Kitagawa concluded.
"I think it'd be useful to me for modeling, interviews and stuff, but it'd be hard for me too!" Takamaki-san said. "Akechi-kun, can you guess the reactions right most of the time?"
"In formal situations like interviews, it's easier because people's reactions are more predictable, as they tend to act more polite, say and expect politically-correct stuff. When my guesses are wrong, I have to improvise."
"Wow, that means even more quick thinking! You're amazing to manage all that!" If Akira's eyes weren't glinting with admiration, Akechi would have felt as though she were mocking him. She was the person who could ruin his techniques and break his composure most easily, after all.
"These techniques are not only useful in your TV career, but also in your detective career." Makoto observed. "You can use them during your investigations, to lower people's guard enough so that they give you intel, for example."
"Oh, yes, there's that too."
"Come to think of it, it's cool that you work as a detective at such a young age," Haru said. "Besides working for the police, do you also investigate private cases?"
"Actually, I didn't, but some people from the neighborhood have been asking for my help lately..." He told them about Mrs. Takano, and the other man that asked for his help the other day. "I told him his issue wasn't something that required help from a detective, but he insisted, and I ended up helping anyway... he even gave me a payment as reward even though I hadn't done anything spectacular..."
"You should feel glad that people are relying on you," Kitagawa said.
"I do. I'm glad to know I helped them solve their problems, but I just think they had better people to turn to..." Akechi sighed. "Today, a woman moved in to the apartment across from mine, and it seems like she's heard Takano-san's story too. She said she wants me to help find her little sister who's gone missing!"
"Whoa!" Sakamoto exclaimed. "Sounds serious! Dude, you've gotta help her!"
"I considered it, but her sister isn't even from around here. I don't have permission from work to leave, and can't investigate. I suggested she should turn to the police, but she said she doesn't trust the police, and wants me to help! I'll have to talk to her again later and convince her to give up on that idea."
They wrapped up their shopping. Akira and her friends ended up in line at a cashier far away from Akechi.
"Did all of you find what you were looking for?" Makoto asked.
"I didn't!" Futaba whined.
Yusuke looked at her. "What were you after?"
"I dunno..." Futaba spoke in a timid voice. "I just know I'd be sure when i found it..."
"I see. You were looking for inspiration!" Yusuke concluded knowingly.
"No, Inari. This is not it!" Futaba sighed in exasperation, and her voice went back to timid again. "I guess supermarkets aren't good places to look for gifts..." She must be talking about the gift she was planning to give to Crow. "I guess I'll have to look for something interesting somewhere else..."
"Anyways!" Ryuji began. "Akechi told us about those techniques. With all those tricks, wouldn't he do great at negotiating with Shadows?!"
"Keep it down, Ryuji!" Ann chided him.
"Good observation, though." Morgana complimented Ryuji for once. "He's really promising!"
"Great idea." Akira agreed. "I don't like talking to Shadows much because it's so hard to please them. Having Akechi-kun around would help a lot!"
Futaba's hands shook in excitement. "I can't wait for the time he joins. It'll be so amazing!"
It would be great. From their set-ups' results, it was obvious that Akechi fit in the group quite well, to the point it felt as though he had been part of it for a while already. But as much as Akira wanted Akechi to join them in the Metaverse, there was a weird feeling for some reason, as though she were missing something important. It was odd. She hadn't had that weird feeling before.
They eventually paid for their purchases and regrouped with Akechi.
"Wanna carry Morgana for a bit? We're safe from being kicked out now." Akira asked outside the supermarket.
"Okay." Akechi simply agreed, and Akira helped put her bag on his back.
"How about we have some crepes?" Ann suggested, and everyone agreed.
On the way to the crepes store, Akira began thinking about Crow again. She wondered whether she would have seen Crow if she had headed to Mementos at the usual time instead of going to the supermarket. But again, when they parted ways, he had said he would see her again on Thursday.
However, Akira still wanted to know how he was doing, and whether the excuse to the mastermind had worked. She had so many questions. Was Crow okay after that? Did he get home alright? What kind of place was his home? Did anyone live with him? Did he like crepes?
No, this last question was totally not weird. Not at all! Because there was nothing indicating that secret agents couldn't like crepes... if Phantom Thieves could, then why couldn't their secret agent, right?
Okay, Akira had to admit that she was thinking weird things... but she believed the little boy from her visions would have enjoyed some crepes. In fact, the recollection of the fluffy dream from last night where she had given him crepes made her smile. Sadly, the dream ended before they could actually dig into the crepes, but she would just assume he liked them. Maybe, the real grown-up Crow might enjoy them too.
Akechi followed the Phantom Thieves to the crepes store. They had to wait to place their orders because a group of middle school girls in sailor uniforms was ahead of them. For some reason, the sight of sailor uniforms brought him the feeling that he was forgetting something...
The girls left, and Sakamoto noticed Akechi staring blankly at the spot they had stood previously. "Hmm? Could it be that girls in sailor uniforms are your type?"
Akechi stopped staring immediately. "Uh, no, not really."
Haru spoke. "It's been a while since I've last seen girls wearing sailor uniforms."
"Just for the record, I wore a sailor uniform in elementary school!" Akira revealed.
Akechi froze, but no one seemed to have noticed it. A memory was slowly coming to the surface. Last night, right after he had finished the phone call to Akira and fallen asleep, he had a dream... in it, he was a child. Someone bumped into him. It was child Akira in a sailor uniform...
"Oh! Akira-chan must have looked very cute!" Were Haru's next words.
"Right, Akechi?" Futaba whispered in his ear.
"H-huh?" Akechi startled, but managed to be quiet enough and just whisper back. "Why are you asking me?"
"'Cause you like her, duh." Futaba whispered with a mischievous grin. "She'll be happy to hear you compliment her."
Akechi chose to ignore the comment and refused to do as suggested... but the cute image of the little Akira in a white sailor uniform refused to leave his mind.
"The path is clear. Let us place our orders already." Kitagawa stepped forward.
"Akechi." Now it was Morgana whispering. "Time to show off your charming detective skills! In this kind of situation, you should be courteous and offer to pay for Akira's crepes! It's obvious. You should know what to do. Use your techniques!"
How annoying. What was with those Phantom Thieves trying to hook him with Akira!?
Akechi turned his head behind as best as he could and whispered back. "I'll give you a piece of the crepe if you stay quiet."
This seemed to have caught Morgana by surprise. "Uh... th-this is not it! Come on, Akechi, you're smarter than that."
Akechi sighed and closed his eyes in exasperation, only for the dream's remaining images to surface at once. The little Akira had invited him to have crepes with him, offered to pay for his serving despite his insistence to refuse, and of course she noticed the precarious state of his hair because no one from the foster homes cared enough to at least give it a little cut. And Akira being Akira, of course she had to point it out. Now Akechi didn't have this problem anymore because the production staff had a hairdresser work on his hair, but previously, especially in the beginning, the foster families would rarely care, and he usually received proper haircuts only when the social services noticed how he had been mistreated and sometimes cut his hair before transferring him to another family. His looks during the first years of foster home hell were anything but presentable. No wonder that bullies would set their eyes on him as soon as he arrived at a new school.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for?" Came Morgana's disappointed whispers. "You missed your chance. Akira's already paid for her crepe... actually, only you haven't placed an order yet!"
For the sake of being quick, Akechi ordered a chocolate crepe because it was the first one that came to mind.
Akechi couldn't stop thinking about last night's dream while he waited for his order. Unfamiliar street and crepes store aside, the dream had been oddly detailed and realistic. Akira acted exactly the way she would have in reality. Akechi didn't doubt the events may have played out exactly that way if he and Akira were to have met when they were half of a dozen years younger. Too bad it hadn't happened in reality. If it had, Akechi would have had happier moments in his life, wouldn't have so much so as considered that stupid revenge plan, and wouldn't be in his current predicament right now.
"Oooooh! This place's crepes're the biggest!" Sakamoto's excited statement made Akechi realize that some of the Phantom Thieves had already gotten their crepes.
"Big and with so much filling!" Takamaki-san added. "It's always so hard to choose what flavor to pick..."
"Um, their crepes are really big and have a lot of filling, though." Akira's words from the dream replayed in Akechi's mind.
Akechi also received his own crepe, and it was indeed quite generous.
Sakamoto looked at him. "Hey, what's up? What's with the low excitement?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing is up."
Sakamoto rolled his eyes. "'Course something's up! Okay, we've never seen you really excited about anything," And Akechi had a flashback of the very embarrassing incident where he ended up doing some poses after the All-Out Attack, and only realized what he had done when the Phantom Thieves burst laughing at him. Then, the remaining of Sakamoto's sentence came. "But how come Akira's excitement's so low too?"
"... What?" Akechi's gaze darted towards Akira, who was definitely quieter than usual. Indeed, that was odd.
"What is wrong with you two? Both of you have been spacing out for a while now." Makoto pointed out.
"I was just lost in thought." Akechi got defensive. "Why do you say it as though our reasons for being distracted were related? I have no idea what might be on her mind."
Makoto suddenly became hesitant. "I-I never said it's related... I just thought it was strange that both of you would begin spacing out practically at the same time."
Akira smiled assuringly. "I'm fine. Just got lost in thoughts too. Good thoughts! So, don't worry."
"Then, that's okay..." Akechi put an end to the discussion.
Akechi's thoughts hadn't been bad, either, if only a bit depressing because the dream couldn't come true. If anything, now he could enjoy the crepes that the dream didn't let him.
Neither he or Akira had touched their respective crepes yet.
"Since you missed the chance to pay for her crepe, then you could offer to trade half of your crepe with her! That'd be romantic too." Came Morgana's sudden suggestion.
"Say, how about we split the crepes in two and have half of each kind?" Then, came the dream's flashback... and Akechi had to look away to try to hide his blush.
"Hey, don't freak out now!"
"Akechi-kun?" Akira noticed that something was off. "What happened?"
"Uh, nothing. Err, just... could you take Morgana back? He refuses to stay quiet..."
"Hey, I'm just offering romantic advice..." Morgana protested in a quiet voice. "Fine, if you can't take hints, then I guess I'll have Akira take the initiative instead..." This caused chills on Akechi.
Akira agreed to take her bag with Morgana back.
"Now!" Morgana whispered in her ear as soon as she reached her free hand out and took the bag back from Akechi. "Offer to trade half of your crepe with him! It's about time you guys do something romantic!"
"H-huh?" Akira froze and blushed. Doing that is romantic? Oh my god... She thought in panic. She and Crow had traded half of their crepes in the dream... or rather, it was what they had meant to do, though the dream ended before they got the chance to carry it through. Well, they were kids in the dream, but still, it would be awkward if that were to happen now...
Either way, Akira had already asked Akechi out. Maybe she should suggest to split their crepes. It could be an indirect way to remind him that she was still waiting for his definitive response.
But Akira looked around and dropped the idea. Her friends were there. As much as the others were distracted talking among themselves, it would be better to trade crepe halves with Akechi another time, preferably when they were alone.
Akira and Akechi began eating their crepes in silence.
Akira eventually spoke up and tried to dispel the awkward mood. "You got a chocolate crepe? Same as me!" In the end, if both their crepes were the same kind, it wouldn't have made sense to trade halves, after all. "Akechi-kun, do you have crepes often?"
"Not really. Only sometimes at restaurants. To tell you the truth, before Takamaki-san recommended me the chocolate crepes, I had only tried savory crepes."
"Oh. There was a crepes store near my school when I was a child. I tried many different flavors there! I can recommend you a few more." She lowered her voice, but her next words came out shakier than she had expected. "W-we should come here again o-one of these days... only the two of us..."
Akechi's eyes widened slightly. Eventually, hesitantly, he nodded.
... ... ... ... ...
Minutes later, they were at the train station, in the process of saying their goodbyes.
"Everyone, thanks for today," Akechi said. "Akira was right when she messaged me saying that having everyone around while shopping wouldn't be boring. I had a good time."
"Us too!" Takamaki-san spoke for all of them. "You should hang out with us again!"
Akechi felt good. That outing had made his day. As an indication that their bond had grown, the Fool Confidant ranked up, outside of the Metaverse for the first time.
Except for Akira and Futaba, the others went their separate ways.
"Akechi-kun?" Akira addressed him. "I know you have a grocery bag to carry and all, but would you come to Leblanc for a bit? I'd like if we could talk some more."
Akechi was about to refuse, but Futaba threw them a knowing smirk. "Hmm, you need some more time to yourselves, eh? Alright, I'll leave you two be and Goho-m."
In the end, Akechi agreed to spend a bit more time with Akira.
Once they arrived at Yongen-Jaya, Futaba went home, just as she had said she would.
Leblanc was empty. Not even Sakura-san was there. The TV was off. Morgana ran upstairs, and left Akira as Akechi's only company.
Akechi set his grocery bag on a table and began talking. "Akira, you didn't have trouble to sleep last night, after... the phone call, did you?"
"Uh, no, not at all. Actually, I slept pretty well. Since I was worn-out yesterday, it was very easy!"
Akechi let out a bitter chuckle. "You say it as though being worn-out were a good thing..."
"Well, it at least made me get the most out of my rest time! And I had a sweet fluffy dream after that!" Akira looked excited like a little kid talking about something good that happened at school. "You didn't have more nightmares later, did you?"
"No, much to the contrary. I had a nice dream." The dream's recollection brought an involuntary smile to his lips, and a light blush to his cheeks. His dreams about his childhood were always bad, and the one last night was a pleasant surprise.
"If you have more nightmares, you may call me again, okay? ... Um, it doesn't need to be because of nightmares, though. If you have good dreams and want to talk about them, too, or if you're feeling lonely or just can't sleep... just call me anytime you want, really. I know you must be very lonely at home. If you want to talk about anything, I'm all ears."
Even though last night's dream couldn't come true, if there was one thing that was true both in the dream and in reality, it was Akira's overwhelming kindness towards him. As nice as this was, Akechi feared that it could morph into an equally strong hate if she were to figure out what a terrible person he was, that he was Crow...
When he realized it, Akira had taken a step closer to him and was spreading her arms. She pulled him into a hug, and Akechi tensed. Their hug from yesterday at the entrance of Mementos was too vivid in his mind. Except for the fact that she was the one holding him this time around, the comforting feeling the hug evoked was the same. She inched her head closer to his face, and Akechi closed his eyes in embarrassment. He suspected he was blushing, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Since I wasn't there to comfort you in person last night, I'll have to do this now. Better late than never, right?" Akira spoke into his ear, then Akechi felt her lips touching his right cheek caringly.
It was a critical hit, and Akechi's heart skipped a beat. He still had his eyes closed in embarrassment, sure that his blush was very noticeable now. However, just when he thought it was over...
"And this one's for tonight." Akira went and kissed his left cheek as well.
It was too much affection for Akechi to handle. He was sure Akira was awaiting his response, but he was stunned. His heart was beating fast. He couldn't get rid of the annoying blush, let alone bring himself to move and return the gesture.
Eventually, Akechi regained his speech. However, of all things he could have said, what ended up leaving his mouth was, "... Do I have to do it twice too?"
Akira's amused laugh filled his ears. "No, but I wouldn't mind if you did."
Akechi took a few deep breaths to try to calm down. When he finally reopened his eyes, he found himself looking straight into Akira's face. Her gaze glinted with expectation behind her glasses, and a fond smile was beginning to form. Soon, Akechi found himself also smiling, but in relief and wonder.
It was hard to believe that at this exact time yesterday, they had been fighting those weird twins, casting magical barriers, freezing, unfreezing, taking powerful blasts of fire, ice, electricity and wind to the face. And then there was that psychotic breakdown on Akira that made Akechi fear the worst. In the end, they lost the battle, failed to prove themselves to the twins like the blue butterfly supposedly wanted, and the twins wouldn't help him get better Personas... not that he had been counting on it, but still. Akechi really shouldn't have accepted that challenge. Tat whole thing with the twins had been a total waste of time and energy.
At least, now Akechi was perfectly sure he hadn't screwed Akira's heart. The cute leader of the Phantom Thieves was perfectly okay, and was acting normally as though all the craziness from yesterday had never happened. This was the image of Akira he wanted to preserve in his memory forever.
This conclusion made Akechi want to do a caring gesture. At last, he tentatively draped his arms around Akira's waist and returned the hug. He inched forward, and kissed her face caringly. Before he had time to change his mind, Akechi repeated the gesture for the other side of her face as well. Akira's eyes half-closed, and her cheeks became a light shade of pink. Her expression was so endearing that Akechi almost felt bad for showing his affection, because the thought of what might happen if she were to find out his identity as Crow refused to stop nagging at him.
The sound of the chimes made them jump, and they quickly broke the hug and backed away from each other.
Sakura-san entered the shop. "Oh, you two were here?"
"W-welcome back, Boss." Akira blurted out.
"Hmm?" Sakura-san's eyebrows rose. "Did I interrupt something?"
"No, I was about to leave," Akechi said as firmly as he could manage.
"Hey, was everything okay yesterday? Was that last-minute sandwich enough?"
"Yes, thank you. You didn't need to go to all that trouble."
Sakura-san ignored Akechi's polite response. "At least you seem to be doing better today. Try not to push yourself too much, though. Since you're on your own, there's no one nearby to help you if you collapse."
Sakura-san's concern was overwhelming.
To add to that, the last sentence alarmed Akira too. "Collapse!? Was it that bad?!"
"Uh, no, it wasn't!" Akechi responded quickly. "I wouldn't let it get to that point..." He attempted an assuring smile.
"Fine then." Sakura-san directed him a knowing look. "And as you can see, we'll be worried sick if something serious happens to you. Akira, Futaba, and I bet even the cat'd worry. Just don't forget this, and be sure to take proper care of yourself, alright?"
Akechi was sure that he didn't deserve that level of concern, but Sakura-san was right. Akechi had always wished people would rely on him, and it was happening now. Even though the Phantom Thieves weren't aware of it, they were depending on him to do what had to be done. Akechi needed to take proper care of himself and stand strong, not only for his own sake, but for theirs as well.
"Yes, I understand." He replied to Sakura-san.
The cafe owner nodded in approval. "Good, firm response."
Akechi retrieved his grocery bag from the table. "I'll be going now."
"Take care." Sakura-san responded.
"See you tomorrow?" Akira said.
Tomorrow would be the day they would meet up at Sae-san's Palace. Akechi nodded without thinking, then walked out of the shop.
A/n: sorry for the length, but the fluff wouldn't stop coming!
Akira opened her way to peer into Akechi's heart after the twins battle, and is messing with his dreams now, though she hasn't realized it yet (she thinks it was just a normal dream). More will come later, and she may learn one thing or two that she still hadn't known about her poor detective friend's past. Not only that, but with these dreams, I can sort of write some little fluffy events about Akira and Akechi as kids, without needing to write a side fanfic :P . Though sometimes some nonsense might happen because it's a dream.