Author's Note: So apparently this chapter was posted without the actual ending for some reason. Weird because it did on AO3. So if you're seeing this reuploaded, you know why. If you've already read this chapter, scroll down to the bottom to see the actual ending.
11/23/17 – Wednesday
They had his Palace. They had even seen him personally in Station Square. A detestable sort whose venom and ire could be smelled even on his breath. None of the Phantom Thieves were fans of him, even factoring out his hand in all of this. But none of them knew what Akira knew. The true depths the man had sunk to. They could only speculate.
All the Phantom Thieves had gathered in Leblanc once more, joined by Sojiro and Sae yet again. They all knew the general information that Akira did from the past couple days of research. Running for Prime Minister and part of the Diet. Standard bits of information. Sae herself had weighed in on information that correlated with his suspect, such as him profiting off the misfortune and slander to have fallen the current administration after the various psychotic breakdowns. As well as the reveal that during her investigation, she had uncovered government research into the breakdowns. Hence why she had arrived on his doorstep during the summer. Futaba had still been listening in on Akechi's phone when she heard him namedrop Shido. So now they were all on the same page. But not fully. Akira was still biding his time before he made the reveal.
"So you were right…" The others fixated on Sojiro, who was staring at Akira somberly. "You were right about everything, it seems. I was just too stubborn to face it." Akira merely delivered a grave nod. Finally, he was coming clean. Just in time to help land the death knell to Shido's upcoming reign.
"What do you mean?" Ann asked. Sojiro ran his hand through his hair, a hefty sigh escaping him. Time to reopen some old wounds. Not his first choice but he could no longer stick his head in the sand and pretend everything was fine.
"Masayoshi Shido. Had his start at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, formed the nationalist Unified Future Party, and had personal ties to Kunikazu Okumura. Okumura had wanted to move into politics as the Administrator of Food Safety but Shido felt he was muscling in on his territory, hence why he had him killed off. He also had a bureaucrat involved with a slush fund whose connections to him were uncovered by a journalist named Kayo Muramaki. The journalist had a mental shutdown, and the politician died later on. All evidence I had pulled from my own personal sources that correlates with what we've seen here and how he operates. And I'd stake money on it that he was responsible for killing Futaba's mom and the SIU Director."
A hushed cold silence fell over the room at Akira's information dumping. The look in his silver eyes was lethal. They had little in the way of physical evidence save for testimony, but based on what they had seen and heard, it only made sense. The SIU Director's death had gone largely unnoticed by many, ruled off as a stroke. But given Sae's close proximity to him, it was very obviously not a coincidence.
"And Sojiro knew him."
Futaba stared at him in stunned silence. Shido having killed her mom? What a bold claim. Not that she didn't believe him, but it was stunning to think that she'd actually find him. And he was the one behind this all. And he even had a close connection to her father.
"I didn't want to believe it," Sojiro forced himself to say. "There was no way somebody could be that far gone. But I can't deny it now." A weary sigh of defeat left the old man as his past had finally caught up with him. "Yes. I knew Shido. Not directly but I had been forced to cooperate with him a couple times. Most of what I know is based on the connections I had from my previous job. But from when I had been forced to work with him, I could tell he was a prick from the start. Enormous ego, needed to be in control of everything, looked down at everyone else, and cut corners. Anybody who reprimanded or crossed him, they were pulled. He can't sit still until he crushes whoever opposes him, no matter how trivial. He's always been that way." He paused, trading his coffee for a sip of his flask. The stiffness of the drink helped calm his nerves. "I had always thought that the one who crushed Wakaba's research and confiscated her materials was probably him. From the moment Wakaba died… I had a hunch he was involved. But there wasn't anything I could do, so I chose to protect Futaba and went into hiding."
"Why didn't you say that sooner!?" Futaba asked.
"You guys would've definitely gone after him if I had. He would've just killed all of you, no doubt. That's what he usually does to people in his way. The trail of bodies and testimonies. It all speaks for himself that Shido isn't afraid to get his hands dirty." Akira scoffed with great disdain.
"You mean have other people get their hands dirty," he sneered. "The bastard couldn't be bothered to do anything himself. Just a snake who bites others when their backs are turned."
"You have no idea," Sojiro said darkly, trailing off as he got lost in yesteryear. "That man's full of ambition to rise in the world. He only thinks of the weak as stepping stools for his success."
"Oh, I'm well aware…"
"I would never have imagined all of this was connected…" Sae said to herself in disbelief. "The mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, Shido, and even the Phantom Thieves' actions…" This was the case of the century right here. Greater than anything she had ever worked on. Her father would definitely have been proud of her.
"Way back when, Shido kept saying he was going to be prime minister one day. Nobody believed him though…" Perhaps things would've been different had Sojiro taken a stand. Maybe all of this would be different. Or maybe he'd just have been another name on the list. But the old man brushed off the hypotheticals. The time was now to make things right.
"What's going to happen to this country if Shido becomes prime minister?" Ann asked. Knowing that he had sanctioned Akira's torture and drugging instilled immense fear within the blonde. "What about the world…?"
"Not a damn thing," Akira growled. "We're gonna tear everything he's built down around his ears. And if Akechi gets in my way, I'll beat him to an inch of his life! Nothing will stop me from getting to Shido! Not after all we've been through. What I've been through." The drink in his hand nearly shattered from how hard he clenched. Everyone around him delivered a look of shock. Akira could be wicked when he needed to be, but this felt like something else entirely.
"I know this is personal to you now with Futaba, Haru, and Akechi. But don't lose your head over this," Sojiro warned with great care. "That's just what Shido wants."
"It's more than that. He's not just a murderer, a liar, or a conman. He's the guy who ruined my life." It had grown further quiet with his words, Akira peering out at them with burning silver eyes. Like balls of fire, ready to burst the store into flames. "You remember that one guy who got me expelled?" And that was when it hit them in full force. Each and every one of their faces went white hot in shock at this revelation. Hearts nearly seizing up in their chests. But Akira remained as calm as ever. Seething silently with deadly intent. Ready to strike back at the snakes who had bitten him.
"He's the jerk you told us about before!?" Ryuji exclaimed. "The same guy!? For real!? Seriously!?"
"He's the guy who set you up…" Ann clenched her fist in anger. With every detail fresh in her mind could she remember the story he had divulged inside the Big Bang Burger. Turning the woman against him, getting him expelled, the fights with his parents. All to spite one teenager. "That… rat fucking bastard!"
"You're sure… aren't you?" Haru breathed, holding a hand to her chest. No question. Not a trace of doubt lingered in Akira's eyes. Only pure malice.
"Shido's the one who ruined your life…" Morgana whispered to himself. He could hardly believe it. Nearly every night had Akira made some sort of comment about his expulsion, about how his future had been stolen from him. It tortured their leader endlessly. To think it would go this far up the grapevine.
"Holy shit… I don't believe it…" Ryuji never doubted Akira's word. Even with all they had seen, it was hard for the blond to process. As though reality was crumbling around them.
"What kind of fate brought you two back together?" Yusuke asked indignantly. If this was a trick orchestrated by the gods or whatever force in the universe was active, he bore no amusement from it.
"Talk about a destined connection…" Makoto muttered to herself. There couldn't be another explanation for it. Not after all they had seen. Fate or something greater was bringing them together. It only made the student council president even more nervous for what awaited them.
"God… what the hell's going on here?" Sojiro grumbled to himself.
"Shido was already a politician then, yet he sued a student and ruined his future?" Sae had known from years of working on the force that most politicians were dirty in some way. The woman had always been wary of Shido. Even though she had never met him, the vibes he gave off through his televised speeches made her feel something slither on her skin. But the true extent of who he was, she could never have believed it. Destroying a minor's future for his own self-service, even ordering a hit inside a police station to kill him, her, and the other teens as well. When the Phantom Thieves caught him, she was going to throw every single book at him in her collection. Bury him so deep that even his ghost will be serving a sentence.
"What a piece of shit!" Ryuji growled, winding up his arm. "What a damn clown! "Children are the future," my ass! What he's sayin' and doin' are completely different! Just like effin' Kamoshida." As they all ranted and raved together about the injustice thrown onto their leader, Ann was struck with a sudden spark of realization.
"Wait! Now that we found out who did it, can't something be done about Akira's record!?" The lot of them all turned to their resident law expert. But Sae could only offer a defeated shake of her head.
"Once the courts have made a judgment, overturning that decision will be difficult. It'd barely be possible even if proof of innocence is presented and Shido admits to his crimes." Akira merely sighed and leaned his cheek on his hand, shaking his head slowly. He had a feeling she'd offer such a response, but there had been that little part of him that wanted to hear the opposite. That it was still possible to turn his life around and take back what was his. For the longest time, he himself had thought such feelings of optimism for his future were a pipedream. He shouldn't have been as disappointed as he was. Though there was a difference between telling himself that and hearing it told to him from someone else. This was a road he was destined to walk all alone, it seemed. While his friends had some direction in where they were heading in their lives, he would be aimless. Demoralizing and a bit frightening. But if he had no future, neither would Shido.
Ann looked at him with great sympathy. The knowledge that her man's future was robbed from him no matter what broke her heart. It also steeled her resolve to drag Shido off his pedestal by his ankles. A sentiment they all no doubt shared. Each and every one of them bore looks of fierce determination and an embittered resolve. Nothing would stop them from finishing this, no matter what.
"Someone like him needs to be punished as soon as possible!" Haru rallied.
"Of course!" Ann agreed. It would take the movement of both heaven and earth to stop her now.
"He will be a worthy opponent," Yusuke stated with steely-eyed focus.
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji boasted with a wicked grin.
"Time for revenge!" Futaba added.
Revenge.
There it was. The thing that dangled so tantalizingly close in front of Akira. It made his fingers twitch, that was how close in lingered. Like he could just reach out and snatch it. Wrap his fingers around it like it was Shido's neck. Not just dethrone and humiliate him in front of all the world. More than that. Almost dangerously so. But there was the problem.
"Stewing over it won't get anywhere. We have to do this. But a mere change of heart is too lenient a sentence for such an abominable criminal."
Makoto's words of reason helped soothe the fire that raged in Akira's soul. He couldn't afford to hyperfixate on something like revenge. It was just a neat side bonus. Not their main goal. It couldn't be. But what he wouldn't give to make Shido suffer like he had. This had to be above him and what he wanted. This had to be for the greater good, not his own self-gratification. He wasn't sure how much he trusted himself with it. If just the smallest taste of revenge would set him over and have him forsake his values just for his own desires.
Because Shido was making it harder and harder to toe that line.
11/30/17 – Wednesday
Akira definitely wasted no time in giving chase to Shido. Once they had discovered his Palace, he put every ounce of his team's strength into clearing the enormous cruise ship over the past several days. A method with which to steer the country's future. Only fitting the ship would be as large as it was, in match with Shido's massive ego. But this boat was headed for rough waters, and Akira was the iceberg ready to sink it. Barely sleeping a wink and training while they were at school to remain in peak physical condition. Keeping himself refined for when he would obliterate Shido with his bare hands. His physical stature hadn't been the only thing that had been tense.
Despite the warm climate within the Palace, the other Phantom Thieves had felt a coldness permeate around them. Silent as the night did Akira lead them deeper and deeper inside. Absent were the usual quips and hearty jests to keep them calm and collected. Even Ann was unable to garner any sort of emotion out of him. Not a smile to be cracked or a wandering eye in her direction. All business, focused like a bloodhound on hunting Shido's treasure. His typical methods of combat were more cutthroat than usual. Shadows that once would've been spared when they begged for mercy were now beaten to a pulp and left to limp away. Many more were dropped like flies with his itchy trigger finger. More ruthless than any one of them could've thought possible.
"I'm gettin' worried, man," Ryuji muttered under his breath to the others as they walked down the ship engine room. The Cleaner had certainly been cleaned up, that was for sure. None of them had ever seen someone been pistol-whipped before until then. No one questioned Akira's bravery or hard-headedness. But nobody expected him to beat the Yakuza agent square in the mouth with it. At least he didn't shoot him. "He's more intense than he's ever been…"
"We're tantalizingly close," Yusuke whispered in response. "I can hardly blame him, especially after the Cleaner threatened to tear open our insides." If there was one way to get under Akira's skin, it was to threaten his friends. The Cleaner had gotten clean under, but Akira ripped him out by the root and stomped on him.
"I hate to see how Shido will fare," Makoto commented. She was the hardest hitting of the mall, and even she caught herself wincing from his ferocity. The student council president was feeling sympathy for shadows, of all things. They had no problem dealing with them before. But this was different. Akira nearly monopolized the battlefield whenever combat popped off. Slicing to ribbons, dumping entire clips. The others could barely get a hit in edgewise.
Akira walked far behind the rest of them, trenchcoat flowing somehow in the nonexistent breeze. His hands were in his coat pockets, but he was still trained on the desert eagle holstered within. Each foot hit the metallic floor like concrete from how heavy his steps were. Silent and unresponsive, answering questions only when relevant to the task at hand. Cold and deadly calculating like a predator on the hunt. It was unnerving to see, as though a stranger had taken over leadership. Asking about what he did to pass the time while they were in school, plans for the holidays, even lunch after hitting the Palace were all met with the frigid quiet. Shido's downfall dominated his mind as did anyone who stood in their way.
"Uh… Joker?"
Ann grew concerned when she saw him come to an abrupt halt. The mask obscured his eyes in shadow which only made him more difficult to read. And a lot more intimidating looking. He bore no response to her query. Instead, standing still and staring out behind him through his peripheral.
For the last couple of days, the ship had an uneasy feeling about it. A tickling at the back of their necks that made their hair stand up. It felt like they were being watched. Most of them had dismissed it as nerves, merely jitters set upon them on the eve of battle with Shido. But not Akira. Akira had sensed something was amiss. Another rat had stowed away with them on this boat. Very faintly could he detect it from the corner of his eye, in the shadows. A faint scuffling in the background, a soft isolated footstep, even the distant click of a gun.
"I was wondering when you were gonna show up," he called out. The others stared at him in utter confusion. But he met none of their gazes. Instead, he was staring up towards the top at an isolated shadowy platform. Looking at something. They all crowded close by and stared with him, but none of them could see what he saw. Yet they all felt it. That familiar creeping feeling that slithered up their spine and tickled their hairs. The fearful feeling only escalated when a faint low cackle emanated out from the shadow.
A figure in white had pounced onto the ground before them, staring out through a red-beaked mask. A saber hilted at his side. The young lad strode toward them with ease and confidence, halting only when Akira drew his gun. Aimed right for his head, finger resting on the side as instilled within him by Iwai.
At last, they had come to meet Goro Akechi again.
"Long time no see," he said.
"Not long enough," Akira growled coldly. He could've gone his entire life without meeting him again. The traitorous rat. The backstabbing snake. But a large part of him had wanted to meet him. To settle the score, to put him in his place. This time, he would feel no remorse for his actions. The other Phantom Thieves stood behind Akira, poised for battle and weapons at the ready.
"You…!?" Ryuji exclaimed in surprise.
"Why's he here…!?" Futaba stammered. Akechi sized them all up and scoffed. The others were of no concern for him. Merely distractions. It was Akira that was his true prey.
"Hmph… I'm impressed that you managed to deceive me. It seems I underestimated your abilities. You truly are interesting. Quiet, yet possessing the courage and determination to take action." For a brief second, Akechi glanced aside to ponder all that had led them to this path. All the twisting turns, the lies and truths told, the bonds broken and forged. "Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals…" In his words, there was something more subdued. Even sad. It hadn't gone unnoticed by the others. "…Or perhaps even friends."
"You gave up that opportunity the moment you stabbed me in the back," he growled. His display of ire earned a wicked grin of contempt from the detective.
"I believe I had shot you in the face if we're being accurate."
"Then perhaps I should return the favor." This was no banter. It was a full-on threat. Gone was any sort of charm, wit, or even agitation Akira usually had when he debated with Akechi. What he spoke was absolute malice, contempt, bitterness, and loathing. Akechi felt his eye twitch at his words. It was more fun to see him banter and bicker with him. Live up to his namesake as Joker. Even the creative foul-mouthed insults were more desirable than such calculating coldness. It irritated Akechi. And yet, it also kicked something up in him. An amusement at seeing his jaded bitterness. His betrayal having rotted a hole in his heart.
"Ahahahaha! How wonderful! You don't allow yourself to be enslaved by such things as human relations or past selves. And so, your heart is always free." Freedom. Such a filthy word to the detective. Envious of the hope it gave others while it only left him cold. "The exact opposite of mine. To be honest, I'm envious. I wonder why we couldn't have met a few years earlier, Akira…"
"What, so you could stab me in the back then too? If you think your little "woe is me" sob story is gonna work on me after all we've been through, you must be outta your goddamn mind." Though the others seemed to feel a bit more sympathy and remorse at how things turned out.
"Akechi…" Ann said softly. Even with her distrust of him initially, he hadn't been unpleasant. He was nice and charming. Fit right in their little group. The detective in question couldn't help but scoff at her show of concern.
"He's right. It's no use talking in hypotheticals. That didn't happen in reality. This is the fate we have made for ourselves-"
"You made this fate. Not us. You have no one else to blame but yourself for this path." Akechi felt himself somewhat bare his teeth at Akira for his comment. A notion that seemed to net him some joy. The detective hadn't meant for his ire to slip through. Something he had managed to pick up from Akira by osmosis.
"Akechi! Why are you cooperating with someone like Shido!?" Makoto pleaded. "Don't you see what this Palace looks like!? His true nature is-"
"Don't waste your breath," Akira interrupted. His gun never once lowering or shifting aim. Akechi remained dead center in his sights. "He doesn't care about the people he steps on. They're all just means to an end. Even Shido. This dickless wonder right here is just in it for himself. Here to earn a slice of the pie himself." His seething words earned another amused cackle from the detective.
"He's absolutely right. I don't care for Shido, or this country. His politics or who he ruins. Or you, for that matter. All this is to make Masayoshi Shido… my father… acknowledge me. Then exact revenge on him."
A stunned silence settled in over the group. They all felt as though they had been shot clean through the heart. His words cut a hole right through them, and it seemed everything they had known came falling out. The world turned upside-down in the blink of an eye.
"Shido is your father…!?" Yusuke exclaimed in shock. Akechi brushed off his surprise and narrowed his eyes at Akira. Who somehow managed to remain unflinching in all this. Never once, his gun leaving its appointed target. It was starting to really make his skin itch to see him so unresponsive. He wanted to knock the wind out of him.
"Remember I said before, how my mother had been in a relationship with some good-for-nothing man?" Akira could never make himself forget. It was the backstory that had suckered him in. He had seen Akechi as just another lost misplaced soul like they all were. Like he was. "So I'm his bastard child. My very existence is nothing but a scandal. My mother's life turned for the worst after she had me… and died. I was a cursed child for her too."
"That's horrible…" For all he had done, Ann couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. To be alone all his life and shoulder the belief everything was his fault. Still did Akechi brush off the concern. Too swept up in his inner boiling turmoil to accept such pity.
"I resented him, but he was already a high-ranking official by then. A kid like me could do nothing." Slowly did the melancholic bitter look on his face turn to a sinister grin, followed by a shaky cackle. "But that's when it happened! That's when I learned about the cognitive world!" He spread his arms out and stared up to the ceiling as though beckoning an angel. Eyes widened and manic while he beheld the realm of no logic all around them. Someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance! I couldn't contain my laughter!" His tone slowly rose in energy and instability, greatly unnerving the already on-edge Phantom Thieves.
Akira's eye quivered in irritation at hearing him rattle off all this. To hear him be so far gone as to deny accountability.
"That's your excuse? Your backstory? You were mad at the world and decided to use these powers gifted to you to make others miserable? To ruin their lives?!"
"Who cares?" Akechi spat in defiance of Akira's lecturing. "My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. All I did was remove their evil from society. How is that any different from the Phantom Thieves?"
"We're not murderers!" Ann yelled, fists clenched.
"So what!?" Now Akechi had become completely unhinged, staring back at all the faces lined up to bury him. Faces he once called allies before casting them to the side in favor of his succession. "Masayoshi Shido is finally within my grasp!" The deranged detective clenched his fist as though he were strangely the very man right before his eyes. "Once he reaches the apex of his power and acknowledges me, I'm going to whisper in his ear…" He could visualize it right there in all its glory. See the color drain from his face as he at last – after all these years – is forced to face what he had left behind. It fed the already roaring fire in Akechi's soul. "I will tell him the truth of who I really am! And that's when I – an utter disgrace to the world – will rule over him. I will prevail!"
The Phantom Thieves were unsure of what to think. Pity, disgust, fear, sympathy, sorrow, anger. Each of them fluctuated back and forth on all of these. But not Akira. He had made his mind up the second Futaba had played him the clip.
"What a warped thought," Yusuke head, tilting his head down. He couldn't even bear to look the detective in the eye. As though his macabre lunacy would somehow be transplanted into his very soul. "It's almost pitiable." This only served to further enrage the detective, who now held his hands out at his sides with gnarled fingers.
"In just a few weeks, my plan would have come to fruition! But no, you just had to interfere! I can still take it back though. I'll just need to kill you all."
"Hmph, we won't get killed for something like that," Morgana scoffed defiantly. "You talk big, but you're just really nothing more than a little kid throwing a temper tantrum!"
"Don't lecture me, you piece of shit!" Akechi spat, now fuming in place. "I need not hear such talk from a cat! You're just a pet, not even good enough to be real!"
"He's more a man than you'll ever be." Morgana stared up at Akira and nodded, touched by his words even in the thick tension they waded in.
"I am going to personally thrust Masayoshi Shido into a living hell. So Joker… rest easy and die."
"I don't think so." The click of the hammer echoed in the metallic hall they occupied, an almost ear-piercing sound did it emanate. "There's not a layer of Hell deep enough for either of you. So I'll personally dig one and drag you both into it, kicking and screaming if need be. But as for you… this is where the story ends." Akechi couldn't help but lean his head back and chuckle with amusement. That soft little mocking chuckle had haunted Akira since they had met in the studio. And soon, he wouldn't have to hear it ever again.
"You're going to shoot me?"
"Why shouldn't I? I'd say I'd put you down like a dog, but that's insulting to dogs. They have loyalty." This only made Akechi laugh even more. He was loving all the salt Akira was fizzling in. Almost addicting in how far he could twist the knife.
"It's not your style. Not very "honorable." Not the Phantom Thief way." The way he sneered his words and threw what they stood for back into Akira's face made him want to vomit.
"You were never a Phantom Thief, remember?"
"But I've held up my end of the code." Akira narrowed a solitary eye at him searchingly. But still kept his gun trained right on the detective's head. Slowly was he letting his trigger discipline falter. Never had he killed a man before. But whatever stood before him, it wasn't a man. At least not anymore. "I've been watching you for a couple of days now. Watching you all slowly progress through. I could've killed you at any time I wanted, but I refused. I wanted our reunion to be… extra special."
"You sure sound confident, but don't go pressin' your luck." Ryuji wound up his swinging arm, ready to plant his baseball bat right between the eyes for a home run. Or maybe in the groin to pop his fly. "We already know all your tricks from back when you were workin' with us." Akechi nearly choked from the laughter that kicked up.
"Joker… how could you be so successful while having such an idiot as your partner?"
"You watch your fucking mouth, or I'll tear out your teeth – one at a time – and make you eat them!" Haru and Makoto felt their stomachs sink at his words. His lethal tone and hissing words were not to be taken lightly. Knowing how much things had spiraled out of control, he just might.
"You ain't got nothin' else to hide!" Ryuji pressed. "Quit bluffin'!"
"It's no bluff." The others save for Akira turned to meet Makoto, sporting worried looks. "If he truly is behind the mental shutdowns, he's likely only shown us a fraction of his strength." Once again, Akechi was forced to laugh. They all were truly amusing in their own ways. He hadn't given Makoto enough credit. She truly was Sae's sister.
"I'll tell you all about my true power… while you die. You can take that knowledge with you to the grave."
His words made their blood run cold. This would be their most intense fight yet. Do or die, kill or be killed. But nothing remained as cold as Akira's stare. There would be no mercy or sympathy garnered from him. The only thing he regretted was not bringing his pliers. Guess Akechi would keep his teeth. But Akira would find other ways to make him hurt like he hurt them.
Even now, Akechi was full of surprises. The notorious black masked murderer had been Tokyo's most beloved hero, driving others mad by using his Wild Card ability. The power of Loki – the Trickster god – had been his secret ace in the hole. In his rage, he had forsaken all grace and nuance in favor of pure unbridled rage just to try and kill them. Even unhinging himself, driving him mad to eviscerate them completely in a last-ditch effort to avoid failure. To avoid failing Shido but more importantly himself.
I'll kill you…
You're all gonna die…!
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
The others' pleas and attempts at reason were all for naught. Friendship, vengeance. All were beneath him. What he wanted now more than ever was to wipe that smug look off Akira's face. To tear him apart and show him he wasn't better or more special than he was. That he didn't deserve his power or friends. He had spent years carefully crafting himself as the perfect pretty boy for the masses. Tokyo's favorite teenage star. Sabotaging others and taking credit for busting their foul crimes just to be the golden boy. Then some exiled criminal had everything he had always wanted in the blink of an eye and robbed him of his ill-gotten spotlight. Had all the things he wanted and deserved.
Teammates!? Friends!? To hell with that!
Why am I inferior to you…!?
How does someone like you have things I don't!?
How can such a worthless piece of trash be more special than me!?
All his words, his insults and diatribes. They now stung like lashes against his skin as he fell to his knees. Defeated, exhausted, humiliated. Loki's power faded away. He could sense his magic being drained. The Wild Card within him stirred no more. Abandoning him like Shido did. And like the Phantom Thieves would soon.
"Damn you… J-Joker…"
The detective leaned on his elbows as he tried to hold his battered body aloft. But the Phantom Thieves had borne him no quarter. Akira had finished him with the planting of his knee into his chest. Barely a breath resided in him as he wheezed. On the ground to his left was the pistol he used. Gifted to him by none other than Akira as a present. To welcome him into the Phantom Thieves and to better equip him for combat. Scattered around it were pieces of glass from his visor. Akechi weakly reached out for the pistol, fingers gnarled and trembling as his body fought him every step of the way. Barely a hair's breadth away and he could still keep up the fight. But opportunity was robbed from him once again when Akira planted his boot on his forearm, pinning it down against the metal floor.
"You've spread your wings for the last time, Crow."
His voice was low and gritty. Dry without a drop of moisture to it. The detective looked up to face him, but his eyes were obscured by the shadow of his mask. Such a simple detail that unnerved him as he was laid out on the floor in defeat. Not being able to see his eyes. To see the man behind the mask. It was like he wasn't human. The others slowly gathered around him with their weapons in hand. Ready for any other foul tricks he might pull.
"You ready to call it quits?" Ryuji asked. He was eager for a brawl as much as the next guy, but there was no honor in this. The blond had pleaded for him to see himself as his own person, not what Shido defined him as. Even when he had been shut out, Ryuji still wanted them to walk away from this not as enemies. To focus on the real threat that had pitted them against one another to begin with.
"I know… I've had enough." The admittance didn't make the defeat any more palatable. But it did seem to take a bit of the weight off his chest. To let go and surrender control for once. He'd fare much better under their mercy than Shido's. Akira still stood on his arm unflinching. His eyes still obscured by shadow, but he could feel the gaze of contempt and disapproval upon him. Of pure loathing. Yet he forced himself to look despite wanting to avert his eyes. "…You're so lucky. Lucky to be surrounded… by teammates who acknowledge you. And once Shido confesses his crimes, you'll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were just charades. My fame and trust will vanish…" A solitary sob slipped out, mixed in with a pitiful laugh.
"I see…" Morgana pondered his chin with his paw. "So you were turning people psychotic, then solving the cases yourself. And you did that by joining forces with Shido." He nodded, another laugh springing forward. This time, of self-contempt.
"You could've stood by us." Akechi felt his heart stop at hearing Akira's words. To hear him speak. He looked up once more but found his eyes obscured by the shadows. "But you spat in my face for your selfish interests." Akechi's head drifted down, hanging in defeat and shame. This had been of his own devices. Of his own plan and volition. To go through with this plan to end Shido even if it meant sacrificing everything else he might've gained. It shouldn't have stung this badly. It was only logical this would happen were he caught. Yet the pain still stung. He hadn't expected to be caught. But they were just so much better than he was. Akira was better. "Get up."
His eyes opened in surprise at his words. The Phantom Thieves backed away to give him space, and Akira took his foot off his arm. But not before kicking the gun aside. Even in his display of mercy, he wasn't blind. Akechi could hardly blame him of expecting underhanded trickery out of him even when he was down.
"I said, get up!"
Slowly, the detective rose to his feet. His stance wobbly from how battered his form was. Akira pulled the helmet from off his head and threw it against the wall without even looking. The visor shattered into pieces from the impact, and the shards scattered to the floor. All while Akira remained staring Akechi down. His eyes were now visible, no longer obscured by the shadow of his mask. Though the look they had in them was not much better than not being able to see them.
"I suppose… this will be the time for the rousing speech the others told me about, huh?" he jested weakly with a chuckle. "I could… surely use one of those." But there was none. Akira merely stood in silence, staring at the man he had defeated. Slowly did he turn around as if to walk away. To leave Akechi behind while they went after the Treasure. Nobody had expected the swift spin around and the resulting fist that flew into his cheek.
POW!
With a loud smack had Akira punched Akechi square in the face. The others looked on in shock and surprise as Akechi's head swiftly turned to the right, blood and spit flying out of his mouth. It was an incredibly solid blow. Akira had landed it like he was a champion boxer. Despite sporting the strongest arms among them, Makoto winced at the resulting impact.
"Ack!" Akechi cried out as he cupped his face. "My nose!" Blood leaked down past his mouth while he clutched his broken nose, writhing in pain. Akira didn't stop there, as he grabbed the detective by the throat and dragged him over to the wall before slamming him into it. And he let himself fly loose with another swing at the face. Then one on the opposite side. Followed by an uppercut into the stomach, then a follow-up with the knee before it descended to his crotch. Finally slamming him against the wall once more, the detective weakly sliding to the ground.
Akechi clutched his ribs in pain while Akira stood over him. Nothing was broken, but his whole body screamed as though he was on fire. There was a lot more Akira could do and wanted to do. So much more. But despite his anger, he allowed himself to feel restraint. Stay his hand before he went too far. Even as big a traitorous bastard Akechi was, Akira was not without his mercy.
"Holy shit…" Ryuji's mouth hung slightly agape at the sheer display of force and brutality before him. Never had he seen Akira so angry or worked up before. Even the shadows they had fought inside the Palace were given more levity. Ann cupped her mouth in shock while Futaba clutched her nose. Vicariously could she feel the pain at seeing Akechi's busted nose. It made her stomach turn uneasily.
Akechi's left eye could barely open. Only a small sliver of light peered through it to allow him to know it was still working. Akira had left him a nasty black shiner.
"Hurts, don't it?" he huffed with a sneer. "I'll be sure to leave your dad a matching one. I trusted you…" It was a soft growl, but its subdued nature didn't make the venom in the back of Akira's throat difficult to detect. They all knew what was coming. And nobody but Akira seemed ready for it. "I took you at my side as a brother-in-arms. I saw the Phantom Thieves as like family. I saw you as family!" Saying that felt like a hot knife being prodded into Akira's chest. His fist trembled as he resisted wailing on the fallen detective. "I was suckered in like everyone else on TV! I made the mistake of trusting you, feeling sorry for you! I was a fool." He spat on the ground next to Akechi before wiping his mouth. "But you threw that all away! You threw us away like we were trash! You killed Haru's dad! You tried to kill Makoto's sister! You tried to kill me! You were gonna kill all the others too! Would you have killed Sojiro too?"
Futaba felt her breath hang in her throat at the question. Sojiro and Shido had known each other, and they all knew he was her foster father. It wasn't too out of the question to consider. The otaku just hoped that Akechi wouldn't have stooped to such depravity. Even if she hadn't trusted him, some part of him had to hold a shred of decency.
"Huh?! Would you?!"
No answer. Akechi pursed his lips and forced himself to face Akira, trembling as he did so. In truth, he would have if the mission had demanded it for whatever reason. All part of his quest for vengeance. But he dared not answer that question now.
"No answer, huh? Oh, that's right. Guess Shido would've made that decision, not you. Because that's all you are. Just a puppet on a string, and you blame everyone else for when things go wrong for you." He planted his foot firmly in the detective's stomach to keep him pinned. Not that the detective planned on going anywhere. Akira had robbed him of his will to keep going, let alone fight. "You were given extraordinary powers thousands of others would've killed to have. You had the power to make a real difference in the world. To save people! To be the hero you always wanted to be instead of just a worm! Because that's what all that was important to you! Yourself and what you wanted! You're no different from Shido." He scoffed and craned his head upwards to more effectively stare down at the detective. "You could've stopped all of this. You could've protected them!" He held his hand out towards the others, who merely watched in stunned silence. "Where were you when they needed you?! You wanted to be the hero so bad, and you could've at any minute! You turned a blind eye to all their suffering when you knew they had Palaces! You could've even helped us help you! We both wanted Shido to fall, and we could've taken him together!"
Akechi nearly choked. His mind went blank at the thought. Of both of them standing side by side to defeat his father, to grant him the justice he long sought. As friends. Even brothers. His already crumbling heart began to fracture.
"But you threw that all away for your selfish interests! You broke people and then discarded them like a little kid playing with his toys! Used them and let them die! And then you try and comfort yourself by saying it's not your fault.! It's everyone else's fault, society's fault! You think you're the only one who hurts? The only one who bleeds?! We all bleed! You're not special! I could've been like you, just let anger and spite consume me. Fuck over the world for my own self-benefit. But I didn't! Because that's not what you do! You help people and don't sacrifice their well-being just because you're a selfish entitled little dick! You do the right thing and think about someone else in this world besides your own damn self!"
The silence that set in after his yelling was more deafening than the noise itself. Akechi slowly felt his chest caving in and the air leaving him. Like he had just been punched yet again. But Akira hadn't laid a hand on him. Slowly, the detective felt himself winding down, the walls he had erected crumbling. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nowhere to turn to.
"Well, you made one thing perfectly clear…" Akira's voice had fallen. It was now quiet, softer and more subdued. That made it so much worse somehow. "You're not a Phantom Thief. You're not my friend. You said it yourself. And I'm sure as hell not yours. And after this is all over, I never wanna see you again!"
"…What happens… t-to me now…?" A question Akechi had been dreading now after the whole tirade. The vicious and unabashed thrashing of his character. Everything he was, everything he stood for.
"That's not my problem anymore, now is it?" Akira coldly rebuked lifting his boot up. Akechi's chest ached with such immense pain, far surpassing the blows Akira had administered to him. This was worse than anything he could've imagined. It already stung to know that Shido cared nothing for him. But to know that he had made something wonderful only to destroy it by his own hand. Why, it was absolutely devastating.
"You should get rid of me… if you don't want me getting in your way." Akechi knew he wouldn't. Even as angry as he was, he knew Akira wasn't capable of such cruelty. Shido perhaps. But not Akira. His friend. Or rather, he was. He had thrown that away long ago without a second thought. He just wanted to see what he would say. See how far he had fallen in his anger. Initially, he had wanted to drag him down with him. Make him see the world through his eyes. Now he prayed against it.
Akira's eyes trailed off as they descended down Akechi's body. The weakened detective had not an ounce of strength to give chase. Maybe not enough to leave the Palace and limp home. This was far more severe than any beating shadows had given him. Though, that didn't stop Akira's wandering eyes and mind. Slowly did he narrow his eyes at Akechi's knee, pinning his ankle with his boot. From beneath the trenchcoat did he draw his pistol. One shot from the desert eagle would be enough to shatter his kneecap entirely. It was tempting. So tempting to pull the trigger. But he just couldn't force himself to. He may have deserved his beating, but this was too far. Cruel and unusual torture.
The Phantom Thieves felt fear jolt through their hearts as he withdrew the gun. Akira had been angry in the past but never this unhinged. Panic spread among them as they exchanged worried glances. None of them could allow this to happen. It was wrong. For all that Akechi did, to kick him when he was down felt unnecessarily cruel. But nobody felt they could step in. Akira was fast on the draw. He might fire one off if they approached. One managed to step up.
"Joker, stop!" His eyes took hold of a single pink glove gripping his forearm, guiding his aim away from Akechi. None other than Ann. If any of them had to act as his moral compass, it would definitely be her. After all, she knew him inside and out. Perhaps better than he did at times. "Just let him go. There's no need for this. It's over." She met his gaze with equaled intensity. To match his anger and seething, she bore concern and worry. The blonde couldn't allow him to cross that line. Even if – God forbid – she had to fight him. "Please…"
Akira inhaled sharply through his nose, jaw locked as he read her. He relented and withdrew his gun, holstering it back beneath his coat. A weary sigh escaped, and he nodded graciously at her. Now he had known he had made the right decision. She had been his foundation to keep him solid once again. That he wasn't going crazy from his second-guessing and that this truly was the right thing to do. So consumed by his increasing desire for revenge against Shido, it was growing harder to see what was right anymore.
For a brief moment, she saw the smile return to his face. It was a small one but full of gratitude. The blonde bit her bottom lip and returned his smile. It calmed her heart to know there was still a kind heart in there after all that had occurred.
Akechi looked back and forth between the both of them with his good eye. Coconut and coffee with strawberry. And she had the boldness to halt his hand while the others hesitated. They were always in close proximity together when meetings were called. Even in the Metaverse did she linger closer than others at his side.
So it wasn't a coincidence…
And love now too. Another thing he didn't have. A small comfort but it was at least a mystery he had uncovered. To live up to his namesake as a detective. Akechi merely sat there, slumped up against the wall while Akira and Ann stood over him. No fight or drive left in him. Satisfied, Akira turned, trenchcoat whipping behind him.
"Let's go. We got a calling card to prepare." As Ann watched him depart, her attention was turned back to Akechi. A weak and pitiful battered mess leaning against the wall. Everything had been so hard to watch after Akechi had been defeated in combat. Even harder now to try and clean up.
"…What do we do about him?" she asked.
"Leave him." Ann was struck by how abrupt and cold his answer was. Not even bothering to look back as he parted the other Phantom Thieves. Unblinking and staring forward with his hands in his pockets.
"Wait, J-Joker," Makoto stammered, glancing swiftly back and forth between the two boys. "We can't just leave him-"
"We can and we will. He would've done the same to us."
"Come now, Joker," Yusuke bargained. "Surely you can see that he's a lost soul in need of-"
"Have you all lost your shit?!" He stopped and turned to face them, arms extended in disbelief while he pointed out individuals. "He killed your father, he tried to kill your sister! And he tried to kill me! Am I supposed to shrug this all off?! Pretend like it's okay and just go about my business like it's the most natural thing in the world?! Trust him and let my guard down again? Do I need to be interrogated and nearly assassinated again to prove my point?!"
The others were at a standstill while Akira walked away. Not since the Okumura case had they been so conflicted. Akira wasn't wrong in that Akechi had used his powers for ill gain, disenfranchising many innocent people by lying to them, betraying them, and threatening to kill his so-called friends. As well as being within his rights not to trust him. But he had been a victim like they all were. Exploited by the rotten adult Shido. No one to help guide him, to be there for him and act as a moral compass. All alone in this big world with no one to turn to. They could all remember those feelings vividly.
"Go…" The others turned back to face him. Akechi's head slumped down, the boy too weak to hold himself up. "Just go. Leave me behind like everyone else. It's what I deserve. In the end… I couldn't be special…" He had been broken. Defeated. Crushed absolutely.
"You don't really hate Joker, do you?" Slowly, he lifted his head up to face the cat. Morgana met his eyes with his solemn orbs. "That smile before we fought. The regret in your voice. Isn't that how you really felt?" The cat had really seen right through him. Akechi had thought he had buried that. For a brief moment, he felt relief to see Akira still alive. Which was swiftly supplanted by fear of failure, then anger of setback. Then jealousy at those around him rallying to save him.
"It's far too late for that now," he breathed as he tried to get to his feet. But he lacked the strength to hold himself up and just fell to his knees. They all looked down at him with sorrow, pity, and regret.
"You know… sometimes I think about that fake Medjed that you guys made up…" Akechi managed to crane his head over to face Futaba. Even with her huge goggles, he could feel the sorrowful emotion she wore on her face. "That was the worst trap… but if not for that, I don't think I'd be here right now." She paused to collect her breath only to clam up upon feeling all the eyes upon her. Stage fright began to set in. "Uhhh, basically… it doesn't matter where you start over!"
Akechi felt his strength wither for a moment, forcing him to lean on his hands for support. Makoto and Yusuke leaned by his side and placed their hands upon his shoulders for support. Their touch felt strange. Alien. Something he hadn't recognized in years. Perhaps ever. And it was coming from those he had set out to kill.
"…You all are truly beyond my comprehension." He had to admit that he was truly stumped. "But why? Why extend me this kindness?"
"You may not think so, but dude, you're more than special…" Ryuji's kindness towards him caught Akechi off-guard. Even more so with Makoto's two cents.
"It pains me to admit… but your wit and strength far exceeds ours. We only defeated you by teaming up. I was honestly… envious of your natural ability. It was frustrating to see how much my sister trusted you." Her insecurity and paranoia had made Makoto feel she was being replaced by her own family.
"I have no intention of forgiving you for what you did to my father, but… I sympathize with you. I wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at the adults who took from you…" Of all people to be understanding, Akechi hadn't expected it from Haru. All this sympathy, being surrounded by those who understood or wanted to understand. It was too much. Through the small tears forming, he could see through his good eye that Akira remained unphased. Still walking away with no slowing of pace.
"Joker, wait!" Ann pleaded as she gave chase. Ryuji brought up the rear behind her.
"It's no use," Akechi interrupted, slumped forward on his knees. "It's true, it's all true! I used all of you to gain vengeance on Shido and was planning on killing you after he became Prime Minister! I lied to you, I used all of you!" His gaze remained fixed on Akira, who still continued his trek even as Ryuji and Ann hassled him. "When I first met you in the TV station, I wanted to be your friend because I thought you were interesting! Then when you yelled at me at the train station, I thought I had ruined things! But you tried to make amends, and I was so happy! Happy to have one friend I could spend time with and talk to! To feel less alone! Though when I discovered your identity, I tried to choke out that friendship! Keep dwelling on when you yelled at me to motivate myself to betray you, out of spite! But I couldn't! You accepted me into your group, stood by my side, and even hung out with me! All of you!" He struggled to say more as a sob choked out of him, his whole body trembling from the mix of pain and anguish he was enduring. He couldn't hold it back anymore. All this turmoil and pain he had stifled within. "You gave me a place to belong and made me feel welcome! I even wanted to help Morgana become human like you asked! I had a home and friends, and I gave all of that up! Because I'm selfish and a liar, a low traitorous human being! And I ruined everything for all of you, and my misery and loneliness are all my fault!"
With that, he couldn't stomach any more. He leaned his head back and allowed the sorrow to wash right out of him. Manic sobs left Akechi's vessel as he cried an ocean of tears. The others stood by him, heartbroken at seeing him collapse. Even Akira was forced to stop in his tracks. At the foot of the stairs, staring straight up them. Ready to go, he could leave at any second. But his legs refused to move. He thought he was beyond such sob stories, such appeals to his empathy. Akechi had long since embittered him towards any goodwill he could possibly feel. Then he heard the sobbing. Like the cries of a lost child. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was crying. Never failed to move him emotionally. Always tore at his heart to see someone else be moved to tears. Just witnessing the act made him feel shame, as though he was humiliating the other person by witnessing their weakness. He himself hated crying. Very rarely would he let himself cry. His pride refused out of fear of embarrassment.
"Joker… he needs us…" Ann took hold of his arm pleadingly. Begging him with her eyes not to walk away.
"Come on, man," Ryuji reasoned. "We're not so different. We can't turn our back on him." To turn a blind eye to others' suffering for his own self-satisfaction. Akira himself had almost come to that limit. Back in April when he first arrived and saw Ann being carted away by Kamoshida. Ryuji had pressed and probed to find out more about Akira while the two stood in the rain. For the longest time had Akira fought with himself to just shut the both of them out. Leave them to whatever problems they had with Kamoshida and look after his own. "Shido wronged him for all his life. I know what it's like not to have a dad around. We gotta be that family for him now."
The others had come to gather around him, each giving him a look begging him to reconsider. To not let the world harden his heart. The thing that had united all of them. His unshaking uncompromising care for others.
"I know you're angry, and you have every right to be. But he's a victim in all this too." Akira said nothing while Makoto attempted to reach out to him. Not tuning her out but not listening either. "Shido had wronged him long before you. He's owed justice more than all of us."
"Even in his ill-gotten state, there is still decency within," Yusuke added. "You can hear it in his words how truly apologetic he is. Like all of us, he had desires for a better life. But when he gained the powerful to fulfill that desire, he only used it for his own self-benefit. There was no one like us to guide him. No one like you. He excelled at everything over us, yet that was the one thing he lacked."
"He never had what we did," Haru implored. "People in his life to help guide him. To be his moral compass and be there for him. Friends or a family."
"The Phantom Thieves are a family," Morgana offered. "The only place I can belong. Same with him. Can we really turn him away after all he's been through?" The cat's ears folded while he stared up at his leader.
"I may not trust him, but we're all that's left," Futaba proceeded. "You guys aren't so different. He had the same power as you, Joker. To use multiple Personas, but because he went through life alone, the power he awakened was fueled by lies and hate." Any sort of hesitation she once felt when speaking was now gone. Trying to turn him around was top priority. "Some people just think that was enough. That part, I totally get." One by one did they continue until his eyes fell upon Ann. Who only stared back at him with her beautiful blue irises, wrought with pain and heartache.
"You can't let anger and your grudges control you. You almost did right there before I stopped you." The blonde wasn't quite sure if he would take the shot. Even as embittered as he was by what Shido had done and Akechi's betrayal, he would never cross that line. That part she had to believe. But she had to make him see the line. Keep him in line like he did for all of them. "Akechi isn't so different from all of us. Angry at the world, lost, afraid, and lonely teenagers not sure of what to do. We all were like that. But we're here now. Here with you, because of you. You saved us. Can't you help save him too?" Gently did she extend a hand to cup his cheek. To feel the warmth that still had to be there, not snuffed out by the cold bitterness Shido had thrust upon him. "You don't have to forgive him. But do the right thing. You're kind and brave, willing to do what's right no matter what." There was still a person under there. Had to be.
On all sides did Akira find opposition. While Akechi continued to wail in despair behind them. They all turned to watch the broken husk of a human being, who was thoroughly convinced he was going to be left behind. Forgotten and discarded to collect dust like Shido had done to him. Akira had never heard a human being cry so hard and so long in his life. It was already hard enough to watch as it was currently. Within did he still feel that boiling anger. That righteous indignation caused by betrayal. It made him feel strong, drove him forward. Akechi had caused him so much trouble and pain. He hadn't been lying about his pain. In the brief time since he joined them, the two had become Phantom Thieves. Akira had even been about to shut down the wiretapping on his phone. It stung immensely worse than Morgana walking out on them.
But all of his friends' words rang true. Even with his estranged relationship with his parents, they still had provided comfort and love. Instilled within him values. Akechi had no such guidance. No friends, family, or Velvet Room of his own. Igor would never have guided him on such a path of malcontent, Akira was quite sure of that. His life destroyed by Shido before it even had a chance to begin. But did that make it okay? Did it justify all the wrongs that had been done? Not at all.
This was absolutely maddening. Akira himself knew the world wasn't a simplistic black and white dichotomy. Near everything was grey to some degree and would leave him conflicted. But he had never expected this. To be pushed to the edge by anger but also be held back by sympathy. How could he be sure this was even the truth? And not just another ruse put in place at Shido's behest? Akira wanted to hold onto his anger. To let it drive him forward until he pummeled Shido into dust. Yet he couldn't make himself move. Not with Akechi there in need of his help. He closed his eyes to let out a heavy sigh. And heavily against his embittered judgment did he approach the detective. Sighs of relief and soft words of encouragement followed him.
Akechi had been completely oblivious to their conversation, having cried his eyes out. The only noise he could hear was his own sobs. His body ached from how hard he had fallen into despair. Worse than any wound Akira had inflicted on him. But the pain swiftly began to subside as did his sobs. Vision restored itself to his eye, and the blood leaking from his nose ceased. As he touched it, he could feel it be returned back to its prior state. Skadi floated behind Akira, mirroring his motions. They held a hand out towards Akechi to heal his wounds. The Persona dissipated after the job was completed, but Akira's hand remained. Stretched out for the detective to take.
"…We've got work to do."
Akechi could hardly believe what he was hearing. Was this some sort of trick? It had to be. Someone like him – after all he had done – was unbecoming of such treatment. But the look in Akira's eye showed no malice. Wariness, slight distrust. To be expected, of course. But also sympathy. Even regret. Tears began to reform in the detective's weary eyes. This time of relief. His heart aching for different reasons this time. He had completely forgone Akira's hand in order to fully embrace him.
"I'm sorry!" he yelled, holding Akira tight as the tears fell harder. Sobs choking out though not as violently as before. "I'm so sorry!" He chanted over and over while hugging his leader. This felt like a dream. A second chance at life after his path of malcontent. It didn't seem real. Reluctantly did Akira feel himself deepen the embrace. He still wanted to be angry. To feel good to be right about someone else being in the wrong. But he couldn't help himself but feel good to have him back. He reluctantly allowed it to sink in and let himself enjoy it.
"I knew you could do it, Joker. I'm so proud of you…" His eyes crept over to see Ann at their side, beaming at him with a relieved smile. Sometimes she wondered what the world would be like if Akira lacked his heart of gold. It would definitely have been a much bleaker place.
"Never doubted you for a minute, big guy," Ryuji added, delivering a firm pat to his shoulder. They all heaped their praises of relief on him, and slowly did he feel the ice around his heart dissipate. Though his gust still twisted with uncertainty at going through with this. There was so much to unpack and not a lot of time to do it.
"I can't forgive you," he stated. Betrayal and murder. Things he couldn't allow himself to forgive. Morgana may have walked out on them all, but what Akechi had done could not even compare. But Shido had broken him alongside many others. Manipulated him like a marionette. It didn't make his decisions right, but he was still someone in need. And the Phantom Thieves had a code. To victims and to each other.
"I know. I don't expect you to…" It would've been foolhardy to believe things would heal so swiftly. But he was given another chance at life even if he didn't deserve it. "I swear to you that I will do whatever it takes to prove myself. I will give anything to make it up to you all."
"Then help us." Akechi forced himself to break the embrace and face Akira head on. The gaze he was given had changed. Not of malice or contempt. But firmness and determination, mixed with uncertainty. He still doubted him to some extent. Not that Akechi could blame him. He was already risking a lot to take him back into the fold. The detective could think of several ways to reinstate his plan and take them down. But he wouldn't. Never again. He'd rather die on his feet than stand on their corpses. "It'll be a start."
"All right, let's go back and get that callin' card ready!" Ryuji rallied. "We're gonna take Shido down." At last. The vengeance he had long since sought. Only now he could obtain it the right way. By standing with his friends, not standing on top of them. There was so much he had to make good on. Defeat Shido, spread the truth about all his misdeeds to the public, and help in their quest to make Morgana human. Clear the Phantom Thieves' good name even if it cost him his own. His reputation, his good standing. It had all been ill-gotten. What he would do after discarding it was beyond him. But it would be worth casting aside to do the right thing. What he always should've done. "Akechi…?"
He blinked and saw them all staring back at him. He had been so wrapped up in imagining a better future for him and all his friends that he had fallen behind. They'd never get to the calling card with him daydreaming. But something wasn't right. Instead of expressions of relief and comfort, they now sported shock and surprise. What's more is that he felt his hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Like something was lingering behind him. Something that instilled a sense of dread deep within the pit of his stomach. Sure enough, his fears were founded as Akechi turned to face none other than… himself.
"Another one!?" Yusuke exclaimed in shock. Two of the detective standing side by side. The other one looked near identical save for a different outfit. While Akechi sported his blackened outfit, the new Akechi wore the traditional school uniform. But there was something else. Minor little details easily missed to the untrained eye. Something unnerved them about this other Akechi. Then it hit Yusuke right on the nose. "Wait, is he…"
"That's… Shido's cognitive version of Akechi!" At Morgana's words did they begin to see it. The little things that had slipped past them stepped into the light in full. The shadow beneath the new Akechi seemed to slither ever so slightly. Like it was alive. And the eyes. So cold and lacking the shimmer of life in them. A doll's eyes. Then the cold laugh that slipped through his thin lips. Even Akechi's real laugh didn't make Akira's skin crawl.
"I'll deal with the rest of you later," he uttered. Not a drop of emotion in his voice. It was like someone was reading lines and he a mere ventriloquist dummy. As Akira reached for his gun, his movements were halted by the quick draw of the cognitive Akechi. One step ahead of him as he drew a pistol on the true Akechi. Both Akira and Akechi recognized the gun immediately. A SIG-Sauer P230. The very same gun he had shot the cognitive Akira with. None of them dared move an inch with the gun pointed straight at Akechi's head. No trigger discipline at all. And his robotically stiff but swift motion could vastly outpace them. Akira growled through his teeth and being cornered yet again. By some puppet. "Captain Shido's orders… He has no need for losers."
"Captain Shido?" Ryuji growled. Akira nearly gagged on the words. It only made sense. Shido already had a massive ego as it was, and his Palace was a giant cruise ship after all. But to hear him actually refer to himself as the captain. He'd find it laughable were the air not so tense.
"Well… this just moves the plan up a little. He was going to get rid of you after the election anyway.
"What…!?" The anger Akechi thought had left his system was starting to resurge. How foolish did he find it not to have seen this coming. Shido had ordered him to bump off everyone else involved in their little conspiracy. Kobayakawa, Okumura, Niijima, the SIU Director, and the Phantom Thieves.
"Did you truly believe you'd be spared after all the murders you undertook?" the cognitive Akechi asked. Even with his monotone voice, his words cut deep with their mockery. Then it slowly began to slip in. The doppelganger was developing a tone as he monologued Shido's plans. Evolving the traits to hold disdain and mock him right before their very eyes. Just his luck. "Don't tell me… Were you actually feeling good about having someone rely on you for once? Oh by the way, the captain says it's time you receive retribution for causing the mental shutdowns."
"The hell, man!?" Ryuji shouted. "That bastard's the one who put him up to it!" Pin the blame on the very one he ordered and then fall back on plausible deniability when he was gone. Shido was damn smart, Akira had to give him that. It only made his jaw clench harder in anger. How could someone be so morally bankrupt? Exploit children, use assassinations and terrorism to advance himself, even kill his own son. His thoughts were interrupted by a chilling chuckle. From none other than Akechi himself. The real Akechi.
"I see… I was wondering how he'd protect himself if I used my power to tear through his Palace. Turns out you're how." He spat the blood that had pooled in his mouth from earlier onto the ground in disdain. "How ironic. So he's making a puppet kill me. Sounds like something he'd do."
"That's right. I'll do anything. But look at yourself… you're the true puppet." As they watched the two stand off, their blood ran cold at the cognitive Akechi's face. His tone retained that emotionless roboticism, but his eyes. The irises had now retracted and were barely the size of dimes. A psychotic and demented look, even worse than when Akechi had awakened Loki against them. Like a feral animal. "You wanted to be acknowledged, didn't you? To be loved? You've been nothing but a puppet form the very beginning."
The truth is that this little game of yours was rigged from the start.
How little did Akechi truly understand the words he had used to mock the fake Akira. He had been right all along. He had been the dog on the leash. Had everything been part of Shido's plan? He wouldn't be surprised if Shido was the one who awakened his Persona to begin with somehow.
"You little…!" Ryuji growled.
"This is what Shido thinks of Akechi-kun," Makoto managed to breathe. His own flesh and blood to be disposed of like trash. "Even after making him help with the murders…!? It's… it's too horrible!" She herself was on the verge of tears. To be seen as a burden by family. The two of them weren't so different. No wonder Akechi had become so attached to Sae.
"It's still not too late!" Haru reasoned, attempting to reach out to Akechi's shadow. Akira had shown her that they could be negotiated with, even join their side to become Personas in his arsenal. "We can change his heart together! Even if he's your father… No, because he's your father!" With her words did the doppelganger turn to stare them down. His face now twisted into a hideous grimace, teeth bared at the ready.
"What's all this nagging about…?" the cognitive Akechi asked, tone still cold and lifeless as winter. "Want me to take care of you first?" From his shadow did other dark beings that had dwelled within Shido's Palace emerge. Closing in on Akechi. The detective stood all by his lonesome, surrounding on each side while his friends were held at bay. Akira's mind went to work fast to try and counter their predicament. Akechi would be hard-pressed to fend off the shadows in his weakened state. They could take care of them, but they couldn't outrun a bullet. One false move and the gun would either pierce Akechi or them. "You know what? I'll let someone volunteer to take his place. Who knows, you might delay his death."
"Dammit," he growled beneath his breath. Gloating and playing games now too. The doppelganger encompassed everything he thought about Akechi initially. He should've saved the beating for this Akechi instead.
"You guys are all about doing things for others, aren't you?" the cognitive Akechi taunted with his manic hyena smile. "Oh, that's just the same as me. I'm going to take all the blame for our captain. I'll die for him too." He turned to his counterpart, delivering a cold lifeless stare. "Here, I'll give you one last chance." The shadow at the cognitive Akechi's side slid the gun over to him. "Shoot them." Outclassed by both sides. The man he had served under and the team he had betrayed. All he could do was laugh. A cold mirthless laugh of contempt.
"I was such a fool," he mused. Slowly did he take up the gun and aim it. Right at Akira. They all exclaimed in shock at his turn around. To have reached out to him only to see him fall back into his old ways. At least that was what Akira thought before he took notice of the wink. He narrowed an eye at the detective, curious as to what he had planned. The cognitive Akechi remained blissfully unaware of their nonverbal exchange while he monologued.
"Yes… That's the you our captain wishes to see."
"Oh, don't misunderstand. You're the one who's going to disappear!" In the blink of an eye, Akechi had spun around and taken the shot. Faster than any of them could've processed. The detective was quick on the draw. Possibly even quicker than Akira. But unfortunately, so was his cognitive self. Who had fallen to his knees, clutching at his bleeding side. Akechi's legs buckled underneath him as he forced himself to stand. The bullet had found its mark in his ribs.
"Akechi!" the others yelled out.
"Crow!"
His moniker. His nickname. It had come from none other than Akira. Akechi felt the sting from that sear hotter than the bullet wound. But it was a good feeling. As his mind raced from the resulting pain, Akechi had come to a major realization. Once they changed Shido's heart, he would confess to his crimes. All of them. Everyone and anyone involved would be outed, names dragged through the mud, and arrested. Including him. Even if the team could forgive him, he would be locked away in jail. Life imprisonment if he was lucky. Death penalty at his worst. Either way, the Crow would be a caged bird. But not if he had a say in it. His mind worked at its fastest to get them out, keep his freedom, and take down this shadowy doppelganger. He had memorized the ship's layout. Knew Shido's Palace better than even Shido did. And he knew just what to aim for.
BANG!
The bullet had whizzed past Akira and hit its destined target on the far wall behind them all. The emergency bulkhead switch. Sparks leapt from it as the bullet shattered the electronics, a loud alarm and automated voice signaling his success.
The watertight bulkhead door has been closed. All personnel within the partition wall, evacuate at once.
Akira and the others looked around desperately to try and find out what Akechi had just done. The alarm blaring in the metallic halls was near deafening. Before they could determine what was truly at work, the partition wall in question shot up right before them. It rose higher and higher until it touched the ceiling, leaving the Phantom Thieves and Akechi separated on opposite sides.
"Whoa, what is this!?" Futaba exclaimed in confusion. Akira and Ryuji raced for the metallic wall.
"Akechi!" Ryuji shouted as he banged on the metal wall. Akira pawed at the wall with his hands, trying to find some sort of hatch or shutter to get through. Akechi wouldn't last long if left to his own devices. He withdrew his karambit knife and stabbed the wall, but it just flew from his hand onto the floor. "Joker, what do we do?!"
"I… I…" His mind raced fast as lightning to find a way to get them out of this corner they had been backed into. Both boys summoned their Personas and assaulted the wall with magic and physical attacks. But it refused to budge. Even with the entire team laying into the metal structure, it still held solid. Akira could feel the time slipping through his fingers like sand. It would take far too long to navigate their way around the wall. "Maybe I can have Arsene fly up and tear the wall down-"
"Hurry up and go!" Even muffled from behind the metallic wall, Akechi's words rang clear as day. None of them could believe what they were hearing.
"You fool!" Yusuke countered as he tried to thrust his katana through the metal. The blade nearly snapped in two from his efforts, but the wall held its ground. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"
"The real fools… are you guys," he managed between breaths. The pain seared through his body as the blood leaked out of his side. "You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago…" Upon the ground did he spit his own blood. In defiance of his cognitive self and Shido. "You would have all perished… if you tried to face these with me weighing you down…" It became increasingly harder to breathe. Perhaps his cognitive self had pierced a lung. He was a damn good shot. Just like the real thing. Akechi had to admit he felt a twisted sense of pride in knowing Shido felt so highly about his shooting skills.
"Akechi-kun!" Makoto cried out, still laying into the wall with her fists. It was like chiseling away at a mountain with a fork. Akira turned around and stared at Futaba with a manic frantic look.
"Oracle! Get him out of there!" he growled between gritted teeth. The leader pointed towards the sky and materialized Arsene from behind him.
"I'm trying!" The girl was fast at work on her holographic display trying to get a lock onto Akechi from behind the wall. His vitals were dripping fast, heart rate unsteady. If she worked fast enough, she might be able to port him out of there. Shift him either back to the entrance or out of the Metaverse completely. Either one was better than letting him die.
"Let's make a deal… okay? You won't say no, will you?" Arsene tugged with all his might at the metal wall, but even with his magical strength, the wall held. Akira felt himself hiss through his teeth at Akechi's tone. There was a sense of playfulness there through the pain. Levity.
"Why at a time like this…!?" Yusuke pressed. They all felt their strength and magic starting to dwindle from trying to tear the wall down. Futaba was on the verge of pulling her hair out as she tried to lock onto Akechi's signal. But something about the wall was interfering with it. Magical in nature, it had to be. Another of Shido's ploys.
"Change Shido's heart… in my stead," he croaked out. The boy had backed himself up against the metal wall to be close to them. One last time. Slowly did his cognitive self creep toward him, faring hardly any better than he was. "End his crimes…"
"You're coming with us to finish the job!" Akira shouted, pounding his fist on the metal. "That's an order! You hear me?!" Akechi couldn't help but laugh. Even after all that had occurred, Akira was trying to save him. How wishy-washy. The throws of hormones and emotion. This had been what he wanted. To be part of something, to have people want him there.
"Please, Akira." The detective leaned his head back against the wall, looking back at them even though he couldn't see the others through it. But he could feel them there. "Don't beg. It's unbecoming of you." He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I told you I would do whatever it took to prove myself. And I meant it."
No… Akira's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He felt sharp searing pain through his heart, his skin grow cold and pale. Not like this. Not this way…
"You bastard!" the cognitive Akechi sneered as he finally mustered the strength to raise his gun. Barely able to stand on his feet. Even shadows bled. He could see a little something in those doll-like eyes. Frustration, anger, even fear.
"Now you know what it's like to be alive," the detective taunted at his doppelganger. And to himself. "So, my final enemy is a puppet version of myself…" He had been fighting with himself on what to do since he discovered Akira was a Phantom Thief. Now he was literally fighting himself. He had to laugh. "Not bad."
"Akechi-kun!" Haru shouted, close to tears.
"Isn't there some way to get this open, Mona?" Ann asked. The cat himself had disappeared. From behind them did the sudden revving of an engine spring up. They all scattered as Morgana came barreling towards the wall. The car slammed into the wall and was promptly bounced off it like he was a rubber ball. Now they were just being taunted by the Palace. This Palace and the cruelty of fate.
"Dammit, Crow!" Akira shouted as he tried to crowbar the karambit under the wall. It looked close to splintering in his grip. "There's gotta be some sort of switch or hatch to get this open! We are not leaving you behind-"
"Akira…" His voice was barely a step above a whisper's as he spoke. "I've lived my whole life trying to please others. Dancing on a string as a servant for Shido in all this. I killed people, even tried to kill you. Betrayed all of you. Just so I can try to make him fall. When I lived for myself, I had always lived for selfish reasons. Fame, acknowledgment. I cared little that what I did was wrong." Akechi gently laid his hand against the wall behind him. "Just this once. Let me live my life as a free man. Not a puppet, not destroying lives to get what I want. Just for once, let me do the right thing… for the first and last time."
Two gunshots. In succession of one another. Then silence.
Akira couldn't breathe. His knees threatened to give out as he leaned against the wall.
"His signal is… gone…"
Futaba's words felt like he had been stabbed through the back with a hot knife. All she could sense were the lackey shadows. Ann held a hand to her mouth in shock and disbelief. Feeling tears well up in her eyes at having to behold one of their own – even if he had betrayed them – die before them while they remained helpless to stop it. Akira had fallen to his knees as his whole body shook. He felt immensely sick, as though he might vomit right on the spot. Ryuji attempted to reach out to him but was swatted away. He growled at them not to touch him. Their leader was fuming. At his wit's end at being cornered once again. To have another death on his hands. Failure. As much as he wanted to shut down, Morgana wouldn't let him. The cat demanded they get on their feet and push on through. Secure the Treasure and get the calling card. There would be time to mourn Akechi later.
As the others rushed off to finish things, Akechi felt the life leave his body. His vision grew dark and hazy as he sat against the wall, alone. In its weakened state, his cognitive doppelganger had proven to be a clumsy shot. He could count the seconds of life he had left. And they were slipping right through his open palm. The strength to grasp them, to try and hold on just wasn't there.
It wasn't how he had envisioned it. Not exactly. He was still alone. All by himself as he had expected. But it was a good day to die. He could go to his grave knowing for once in his life, he did the right thing. As a free man. There was no way he could allow himself to be caged. To be jailed and sealed away from the world. Though he deserved his punishment for his wrongdoings, it was something he could not abide by. For too long had he spent living his life for others' approval, to make himself feel good. Now he would live his life for himself even if he had nothing else to live.
As the light finally faded and Akechi passed, for the first time could he feel like a free man. That he felt like a good man.
"DAMMIT!"
Akira slammed his fist into the support beam upstairs. Things just kept getting worse all the time. He was positively fuming, steam practically emanating from his pores. Frustration, anger, and pain dragged his heart down to the pits of his stomach. The rest of the team had departed, dismissed after the somber briefing. He was deadset on it. Tomorrow. No exceptions. No obligations. No excuses. Shido had to go down as soon as possible. Today had been the breaking point for Akira. The point where he could no longer hold himself back.
"We'll get him," Morgana assured him, the cat curled up on his desk. "Shido will rue the day he ever brought his evil to Tokyo." Akira couldn't bring himself to face him. He leaned against the support beam and groaned through his teeth. His glasses were placed on the nightstand by his bed, allowing him to lean on his forearm. His head was screaming in pain as he clenched back the tears of frustration in his eyes.
"We lost another one," he said, grit low and dry at the back of his throat. "Somebody else died on our watch. Akechi had done… so much wrong. So much to me. He deserved to atone in some way, but… not like that! Not shot down like some dog! By his own damn father!" Even with his pain, he couldn't excuse the betrayal. Maybe later on in life he could come to terms with it. But not now. Which only made him feel worse about Akechi's death. Perhaps if he had the capacity to forgive all that quicker, he'd still be here. Not feeling he had to sacrifice himself. Akira had never hated a single human being more in all his life than Shido. The man was pure evil. Despicably irredeemably foul.
"You did the right thing at the end." Morgana hated seeing Akira like this. Lost, plagued by doubt, blaming himself. But this wasn't something he could just shout him down on like after the Reaper incident. This cut way deeper than anything else. "You did everything you could to try and save him. You gave him a chance to be more than what Shido made him into. What he made himself into by being so lost and alone."
"It wasn't good enough." Akira slammed his head against the support beam. Making himself hurt like Akechi had hurt.
"It was good enough for him."
"He deserved better."
"We all do. But we have to take what's given to us and try to make it better. You taught me that, Akira." Akira opened his eyes and weakly turned to face the cat. "Even after Shido destroyed your life, you didn't give up. You could've easily turned a blind eye to everyone's suffering. But you helped out all those people. Ann, Ryuji, Shiho, even me. With nothing you wanted in return but just to see them happy." The cat lowered his ears and peered up at his best friend with sad blue eyes. "You're a good person, Akira. And our hero. You don't deserve to put yourself through this torment."
His words touched him. And also caused him to recoil. Their friendship was a close one, a brotherhood. Staying late into the night to discuss things, wax philosophical, talk about the world. They told each other nearly everything. But his kindness was something Akira felt he didn't deserve right now. He needed that pain, that righteous indignation to power on through with his decision to drag Shido down. Let himself be anger and vengeance incarnate. For Akechi, for everyone he ever stepped on, for himself.
"You should get some sleep," he dismissed before heading over to the workbench.
"What about you?" Morgana asked curiously as he curled up on the bed.
"Gonna make some tools. Keep my mind occupied. I'm too stir-crazy to sleep now." It made sense to the cat. Akira was quite the anxious person. And rather footloose as well, pacing whenever his mind wandered or when he became entrenched in a serious in-depth conversation.
"Just don't stay up too late. Like you said, we're making this happen tomorrow." Akira merely nodded at him. Futaba was fiercely determined to make it happen. Yusuke had suggested they take a couple days to rehearse or write scripts but now was not the time. Shido needed to fall here and now. "We'll change his heart and bring him to justice. I swear it."
Justice. That's what this was all about. What it was supposed to be anyway. A fair system of equal treatment for all. But men like Shido cared nothing for equality. Someone like Shido had no remorse or morality. He was a parasite there to bleed his victim dry until he was satisfied. Then have them rot from the inside out via some disease he had implanted. A hideous disgusting creature under the guise of a man. Shido wasn't human. He was the closest thing to a monster that walked the earth. And were they able to change his heart, he would sit in a cushy jail cell for the rest of his life. Taken care of by taxpayer dollars while his victims have to struggle with the burden thrust upon them by his abuse. And Akechi would be forgotten by everyone, left to rot. Where was the justice in that? The fairness? The equality?
Akira peered back over his shoulder while he fiddled with his tools. Morgana had curled up on his pillow. It had been such an eventful day so it didn't surprise Akira that he had passed out so swiftly. He turned his attention back to his desk and to the drawer at the side. His thoughts darkened when he opened it, revealing the desert eagle he used in combat. And a huge manila folder with tons of newspaper clippings, printed documents, the tape recorder, and a picture of Shido. The sheer malice with which he stared at the picture felt strong enough to burn a hole in it.
"…There's not going to be a change of heart," he growled beneath his breath.
Haru. Her father. Akechi. Sae. Sojiro. Futaba. Her mother. Kayo. The woman he had defended. All the people whose lives were ruined by his political interference and those that were injured from his using of Akechi to cause that subway incident. The lies covered, the injustices allowed. Government and law played with like a cheap toy only they were all the ones who were being broken. Scuffed up, dirtied, stepped on, chewed up, spat out.
He cocked the pistol in his hand. The word Arsene still engraved plain as day on the side. His silver eyes fell to a dangerous shade as Shido's smug joyless face took center stage in his irises. To hell with justice. This was all for revenge now. To completely and utterly break the plague upon Japan. If Shido wanted to change the world and send a message for all to see, then he certainly would. He would deliver it to the masses personally. No evil would be tolerated, and it would be punished to the highest degree. Ruthlessly and without remorse or mercy. Without hesitation. By his own hand would he do the deed, and absolutely no one would stop him. He had stayed his hand and forced himself to toe the line for long enough. It clearly hadn't been enough. Now Shido would feel his great vengeance and furious anger firsthand.
Tomorrow, Masayoshi Shido was going to die.
