Wings of Rebellion

by aiyumi

Contains major spoilers. Sequel to "Unfiltered." Akechi has had enough. So, he... tries to be a better person. Can he mislead the Conspiracy, and prevent the Phantom Thieves from falling into the trap? He isn't sure, but this is his last chance to do something right for once, and he has no intention of wasting it. His mind is set. This is his resolve. Crow's wings of rebellion.

29. Weird Coincidences

A/n (2020/01/03): everyone, happy New Year!

First, a bit of good news (at least to me). Some of you may remember that I mentioned how my mother got sick at the beginning of 2019. We had to endure nine months that felt very long, but her treatment is finally over! Woohoo! Well, there are other health problems to take care of, but let's take one step at a time... at least we're starting 2020 better in regards to health than in 2019 :P .

And now, back to the subject of this fic. I had a lot of trouble with some scenes that I wasn't sure whether to put in chapter 29 or 30, and basically had to write much of both chapters at the same time to see where the scenes fit best. The downside to this was this more than two month delay since the last update... but on the bright side, a good chunk of chapter 30 is already done, and the next update shouldn't take too long.

Persona 5 Royal came out in Japan on October 31, 2019. Some people asked whether I've seen the new content by now. I'm trying to avoid Royal spoilers until the English version comes out and I can play the game for myself. So, no, I haven't seen the new content (I only know what was in the trailers and pre-release material) and don't intend to see it yet. Until then, new characters from Royal that were in the trailers may end up making a cameo in this fic, and that's about it. Also, it appears that Royal expanded on Akechi's backstory. I had many details of his past for this fic planned for a while, and don't intend to change it to conform to canon (sorry to the "purists" out there :P ).

And I know some people are already angry because the Phantom Thieves haven't figured Crow's identity out yet. We're getting there, though. Rest assured that the big revelation chapter will warm your hearts!

Lastly, to the reader who asked me about the female Akira's hair. It's exactly the same as the male protagonist's. And thank you so much for creating a TV Tropes page for this fic! I love it! Here's the link for anyone wanting to access it (copy and remove spaces):

bit. ly / 2Zhsnhs

Enough talking. Let's get to the chapter!

---

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 29: Weird Coincidences

Thursday, October 27

After school, Akira assembled the Phantom Thieves in the attic.

"Hey." Ryuji began. "I know we concluded that we can't help Akechi even with the Metaverse, but I was thinking... all of us got more confident in ourselves after we awakened our Personas, right? I think this'd be good for him too."

"I thought the same thing," Ann said.

"I agree." Yusuke joined in. "He has been going through a difficult situation, and getting a Persona could give him more strength to push forward."

Akira smiled. Apparently, all of them had thought the same thing! "I think so too! Actually, yesterday I asked him straight what his real opinion on the Phantom Thieves was, and..."

The group was as surprised as her when she told them Akechi's response.

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "Scared? Of us?"

"Yeah, and it really showed on his face. He wasn't kidding..."

"But come to think of it, it's the same for us." Morgana reasoned. "This whole time, we've been scared of what he might do if he were to find out we are the Phantom Thieves."

"In the end, both he and we were afraid of each other the whole time..." Yusuke summarized.

"Isn't it safe to reveal ourselves to him, then?" Haru spoke. "If he is afraid of us, then he might not be intending to do anything to us, after all. Also, we are his friends. He might relax if he learns that the Phantom Thieves are us!"

"Should we take him along when we target the mastermind?" Ann asked.

"I wouldn't want to force him if he doesn't want to." Akira gave her opinion.

"We'll need all the help we can get for the big mission, but you're right." Morgana agreed with her. "We could at least have him see the Metaverse and awaken a Persona to feel his inner power. After learning our methods, he's the one to decide if he wants to come along or not."

Ryuji caught a frown on Makoto's face. "Makoto, don't tell me you still think he's acting or something!"

"Um, that is not it... what about Crow, though?"

Everyone tensed.

"He said quite harsh things towards Akechi the other day." Morgana voiced what everyone must have thought.

"And he wasn't kidding when he mentioned serious work to expose the truth. I got to take a peek at his files' contents, and it was incredible. The notes are very well-structured, and describe in detail what the organization did to circumvent laws and commit crime. It would be very difficult to find all those things out. I would say what he did is spy work level! It makes me wonder who on Earth we are dealing with..."

"Whoa. Now, that's scary..." Ryuji commented while most others wore a shocked expression. "But pretty cool too!"

Akira's respect and admiration for Crow grew, much like in her dream when she witnessed his chess skills.

"Aaaaah..." Futaba shut her eyes tightly as though she were scared. "He's too awesome... will a Jack Frost plush really be a good gift for him? What if he thinks it's lame?"

Akira laughed. "If you manage to get your feelings across, I think anything you give him will be a good gift."

"Um... but what if I don't manage? Aaah, what should I do!?"

"We're getting off-topic." Morgana put them back on track. "We were talking about Akechi. What should we do about him?"

"And Crow." Ann added. "If we take Akechi-kun to the Metaverse and the mood gets awkward, then he'll have valid reasons to be scared."

"Um, it may be hard in the beginning, but maybe we can fix the mood if we talk it through," was what Akira said, but would it really be that simple? Akira wasn't sure how to put it, but it was already awkward trying to imagine both Akechi and Crow together. Something didn't match, like a puzzle with the pieces at the wrong places. It was weird.

"So, we go and tell him we're the Phantom Thieves, just like that?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah, I think it should be fine." Akira took out her phone. "I'll call him and see if we can meet up."

"R-right now!?" Ann jumped.

"Everyone's already here, so..."

Akira called Akechi's number, but the phone rang, rang, rang, and no one picked up. She tried again, and the same thing happened.

"He must be busy. Let's wait a little and try again later."

"We still have some pending requests." Morgana spoke. "Let's go over them while we wait."

They discussed the requests, then Akira tried calling Akechi again, with the same result as before.

Akira sighed in disappointment. "Welp, let's leave this for another time, then. Let's just go to Mementos for today."

---

He was indeed busy, already in the Metaverse. At the same time as usual, he entered Mementos and waited for the Phantom Thieves. Since they didn't come, he gave up and began looking for the Shadow of another person from Akira's hometown. Aimless searching was no use, and the normal Shadows he held up weren't being helpful at all.

Crow went to the nearest rest area and teleported back to the entrance. He heaved a frustrated sigh as he began considering what to do next.

"Having a hard time, huh?" A familiar irritated voice surprised him. A glance to his right revealed the twins standing a few feet away. Not to mention there was a slight shift in the environment, similar to the times Elizabeth activated the special protection.

"We had agreed to do something useful to you, and it appears that you could use a hint," Justine said. "One of the Shadows you seek is on the fourth floor of the third area."

"Hmm, third area..." Crow echoed. The third area starting from the top would be Chemdah.

"We have no idea if the Shadow has the information you want, though." Caroline warned. "We may give you the hints, but the rest is for you to find out, detective."

"Thank you."

"Please, do not forget your part of the deal." Justine reminded him. "Hopefully you will not disappoint us this time."

With this, the twins simply vanished, and left Crow alone to his thoughts.

He headed to the fourth floor of Chemdah, and the Shadow was indeed there.

Crow explained the situation. "The incident happened in your neighborhood. Didn't you hear anything from the commotion?"

"No. I always work until very late at night. I'm pretty sure I wasn't home at the time you're talking about."

"Hmm. Do you know anyone who might have heard anything? Perhaps someone who lives with you..."

"I live with my wife. She always leaves the TV on very loud, though, and I doubt she'd have heard anything from outside unless the noise were loud enough to overpower the TV."

Crow asked for the wife's name just in case. However, after leaving the Shadow's territory, he input the woman's name into the Metaverse nav, but it turned out she didn't have a Shadow. Interrogating her was out of the question.

Crow managed to find another Shadow that happened to be in the same floor, but this one also didn't know anything. He wandered the near floors for a while. Unable to find any other Shadow, Crow gave up for the day.

Coincidentally, when he teleported to the rest area, he ran into the Phantom Thieves.

"You all are here..."

"We've just finished a request." Joker told him.

"I gave up on waiting and was doing other things. It's good that I ran into you here, though, because I have something important to say. It's about our next target."

"The mastermind?" Panther asked.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Now that Minerva is on the case, some things have changed. She needs superior permission to investigate some points, which she can't get because her boss is deeply involved with the organization. In other words, we may need to also target the SIU director."

"You mean we have to target the SIU director before the mastermind?" Joker asked for clarification.

"Before or after? This is the question. The problem is that, in either case, the one who we leave for last has enough power to screw us over. The director is one of the top organization members, and has the whole SIU on the palm of his hands. He is the potential member who might take the organization over if 'something' such as a change of heart were to happen to the mastermind. If we target the mastermind first like we had originally planned, and the SIU director suspects any of us to be involved, he may decide to send the SIU after us. This wasn't very likely before because he had no way to find out who may have had a hand in it... other than me, of course, but now there's the risk of him noticing that Minerva is looking into the organization. I'm sure that she'll take care to be inconspicuous, but her involvement with the case is a new variable that we must take into account, and we have to assess the risks accordingly."

"I see your point." Queen agreed. "Although I am also sure she will be very careful, her boss finding out she is looking into things she 'shouldn't' is still a risk which we cannot ignore. What about the other option? What may happen if we target the director first?"

"Then, who knows what the mastermind might do. For sure, he won't like that I not only failed to cause a mental shutdown on Okumura, but also failed to stop the Phantom Thieves from changing the heart of such an important organization member as the SIU director. If he gives me more breakdown or shutdown orders and I keep 'failing' to carry them out, he will begin suspecting me. He might suspect that I have a hand in the SIU director's change of heart and that I'm betraying the organization."

"Basically, even if they can't identify us, whoever we leave for last may suspect you." Fox concluded. "You will be at huge risk either way."

"Worst case scenario, I'd say I acted alone and take the blame so that you guys can fly under their radar. I'd use that stupid revenge plan as justification. Hopefully they'd buy into it and lower their guard, and then it'd be you guys' chance to change their heart. Though obviously, you'd have to do that without me."

---

Crow hadn't said it explicitly, but it was clear that the worst case scenario meant the organization would get rid of him. Joker felt a pain in her heart just from the thought.

She couldn't contain herself. "Don't say things like that. We have to believe that this won't happen!"

"We need to be prepared for whatever, and that's my backup plan." The way Crow talked about the possibility of him dying as though it were so trivial was even more sad.

"In the end, aren't the two options basically the same thing?" Skull said.

"There has to be one that's better." Crow answered. "One where the worst things are less likely to happen. We'll have to weigh the two options very carefully to find out which one it is."

"What about that sneaky one in test questions? None of those. Or rather, something else entirely!" Joker suggested with a small smirk.

Crow turned his head in her direction curiously. "Which would be?"

The smirk vanished from Joker's face. "I don't know. I just thought that maybe we should think outside the box and look for a good option that's neither of the two."

"Just when I thought you had come up with an ingenious idea..." Crow sighed in disappointment. "A third option may be something to consider, though."

Mona spoke up. "Either way, we have to wait for Minerva's investigation to advance before targeting anyone else, don't we? This means we have plenty of time to think."

"Yeah, we don't need to decide right away." Joker agreed. "Let's just go home for now, and slowly think about our next target another time."

They left the Metaverse, except for Crow.

At the Shibuya station, the Phantom Thieves were about to part ways when Akira's phone rang. Could it be Akechi returning her missed calls? Akira picked up the call without even checking who was calling. "Hello?"

It wasn't him, but the call was equally as important.

"Hello, Akira-chan. It is me, Sae Niijima."

"Niijima-san! How is it going?"

"Everything is fine. I was thinking of having some Leblanc coffee after work, and was wondering whether we could talk in person. Could you try to gather the others as well?"

"The others happen to be here with me. Just a sec. I'll check with them." Akira confirmed with the others whether they could wait, then spoke into the phone. "Yeah, all set. We'll wait for you at Leblanc."

"Thank you. I will see you soon."

Back at Leblanc, Akira explained to Sojiro that Niijima-san would be coming over and the Phantom Thieves would be having a meeting.

"Alright. If the meeting drags, you guys will need dinner. I'll prepare the curry as fast as possible and leave."

Akira raised a hand. "No need to rush, Boss. You can listen too. You're one of our very important allies! And I'm sure we'll be talking about those bad guys and stuff you'd want to know."

"Very important allies? I can't do much, but if you say so..."

... ... ... ... ...

Once Niijima-san had arrived, Sojiro locked the cafe and flipped the sign to "closed" as the group occupied the tables.

"Okay, Niijima-san." Akira spoke. "What do you want to talk to us about?"

"I would like to know more about the Phantom Thieves to make sure I am on the same page as everyone else here. How did you find out about that world? How did it all start? Please, tell me everything from the beginning."

Akira explained about the strange app that appeared on her phone the day she arrived at Tokyo, which she tried to delete several times but kept coming back. She talked about how she met Ryuji and he accidentally triggered the keywords that transported both of them to Kamoshida's Palace, how they got lost trying to get out of there, and how she ended up arriving late to school right in her first day of classes...

"Ah, so this was the reason why you arrived late!" Ann exclaimed. "I had thought it was weird, since I had seen you at the train station at the right time."

"So, the fact that you got lost actually wasn't an excuse?" Sojiro raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Who would have thought..."

Sojiro set plates of curry on the table in front of everyone, and the narrative went on. Ryuji, Morgana and Ann gave their input as they talked about how they targeted Kamoshida, then the Mementos request that eventually led to Madarame.

Niijima-san said, "I have talked to various of these said request targets during my investigations, including Mr. Nakanohara, the first of these targets mentioned in the Phansite. Through him, I found out that he was the reason you decided to target Madarame. Or rather, saving Kitagawa-kun was the reason." Niijima-san looked at Yusuke. "Kitagawa-kun, Mr. Nakanohara looked relieved and proud to see the news about your win at the art competition. He told me he will try to get back into painting, and see if Madarame confesses having ruined his reputation. Perhaps you should talk to Mr. Nakanohara. I am sure he would be glad. I can give you his contact information if you would like."

Yusuke was surprised. "Oh, yes, I would like that. Thank you."

Niijima-san gave the phone number to Yusuke, then got back on track. Once the Phantom Thieves finished narrating their adventures in Madarame's Palace, Niijima-san asked, "The next big target after Madarame was Kaneshiro. What made you decide to target him?"

Makoto shuffled on her chair. "Um, that was practically my fault. I found out that some of Kaneshiro's victims were students at Shujin. This was right at the time I wanted to find out whether the Phantom Thieves were really just or not, and I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I hadn't expected I would become a Phantom Thief myself, though."

Ryuji chimed in. "She recorded us talking about Phantom Thieves stuff, then was all like, change the mafia boss' heart in two weeks or I'll report you to the police!"

"We didn't even know the man's name, and wasted almost the whole two weeks trying in vain to get info," Akira said.

Ryuji added. "Then, Makoto threw caution outta the window."

Niijima-san was shocked to hear that, in order to find out Kaneshiro's location, Makoto had recklessly gotten one of the mafia members to take her there, and this had resulted in a 3 million yen debt. Thankfully, it was called off.

They got to the subject of the fake Medged.

It was Sojiro's turn to be shocked. "What? Futaba found you guys through wiretapping Leblanc, then contacted you through hacking and demanded you to change her heart?"

"She did a number on us too." Akira told him. "She contacted us using a code name, and said she'd take Medged down if we managed to change the heart of someone named Futaba Sakura. It was pretty hard to find any info about her! We tried asking in the neighborhood, but since she didn't leave home, no one even knew she existed..."

"Ah. So, this was the reason you suddenly began asking about Futaba." Sojiro connected the dots. "But wait, you mean it was Futaba who defeated that Medged thing?"

"Yeah, through hacking, after we changed her heart." Akira confirmed.

And Sojiro got overwhelmed when Futaba told him that she was actually the true Medged, and that it was the alias she had used while she scoured private databases and tried in vain to find her mother's research files.

Sojiro put a hand to his head. "This is too much for me to take in. But... how do I put it? If you can already do all of this at this age, no doubt you'll be as incredible as Wakaba, perhaps even more..."

Futaba giggled, full of herself.

After describing their adventures in Futaba's Palace, they got to the part about Okumura.

"You had told me you have actually changed President Okumura's heart," Niijima-san said. "Then, those measures to restore Okumura Foods' reputation have actually resulted from a change of heart..."

"Yes. He also rescinded the contract for the marriage he had forced me into!" Haru said happily. "And now he is preparing my food every day, exactly the way he used to do when I was little!"

"This is great to hear." Niijima-san smiled, touched.

"We totally threw the media off!" Futaba spoke enthusiastically. "Since we didn't send a calling card, no one knows we actually caused the change of heart!"

---

"This was Crow's plan, was it not?" Sae recalled.

"It was." Morgana confirmed.

This was the perfect opportunity to find out what the Phantom Thieves thought of their eleventh hour informant.

"What do you all think of him?"

It was Makoto who answered. "At first, we didn't trust him much. He approached us out of nowhere and told us about the evil organization, and how they had manipulated the rankings on the Phansite to set us up, that the organization was planning to cause a mental shutdown on President Okumura, blame us for it, and send the SIU after us. It was strange that he would just come out and tell us all that, and we were wary of him for a while."

"You mean you were wary." Ryuji retorted. "Even after we took Okumura's treasure and all, you didn't quite trust the guy!"

"Um, well, I felt intimidated. To be honest, I still do." Makoto confessed. "Crow is too smart. I can't keep up with his reasoning, and couldn't tell what his real intentions were. After taking a peek at the files he gave us, I'm even more shocked. The quality of his work is really amazing. Now I'm unsure whether to fear him or to admire him. There is one thing that always gets me, though. He can be quite unstable sometimes."

"whenever we discuss the bad stuff he did, he has an emotional crisis and looks like he's going to break." Akira elaborated on the last point, with pain in her gaze. "He's burning with guilt, and it looks so painful..."

Sae could perfectly understand what they meant. She had just witnessed that during her visit to him the previous day. She had assured him that she wouldn't reveal his identity to them, as she believed he should do so himself. However, it was important to bring some specific points up in order to find out what the Phantom Thieves really thought of him.

"I see... I have witnessed that as well."

"Witnessed?" Kitagawa echoed. "How?"

"Sis!" Makoto gasped. "Crow refuses to reveal his identity to us. But now I've remembered something. During the battle at your Palace, your Shadow said that she had always viewed him as an obstacle, or something along those lines. It sounded like she knew exactly who he was... or rather, it sounded like you knew. Sis, do you...?"

"I do." Sae hesitated, but confirmed nonetheless. "He approached me during my investigation. He had known I was looking into the mental breakdowns and shutdowns, and that I had been following the wrong line of thought, the one implying that the Phantom Thieves might be responsible for the mental illnesses, which was also the hypothesis the police and the SIU director were following." She revealed that he had been the one who had her personally talk to some of the Phansite request targets. "And I must say, his detailed list of possible targets to interrogate was really impressive."

"He's never told us that he had talked to you," Akira said.

"Is that so?" Sae sighed. She thought he really should have told them.

"Yeah. When was it that he talked to you?" Akira asked.

"He talked to me during my days off, actually. He had known I had been eagerly waiting for the 'big work,' and began trying to convince me that it was bad business. But you know how obsessed with a promotion I was, and wasn't willing to listen. He panicked and blurted everything out. How he was actually the one behind the mental shutdowns and not the Phantom Thieves, how my workplace is full of corrupt people, how he infiltrated the Phantom Thieves to help you all avoid the corrupt organization's trap involving President Okumura, how far-fetched the cognitive world is..."

"Crow confessed everything to you, too!" Sakamoto was incredulous. "For real? He's never told us any of this..."

Makoto was also puzzled. "He tends to go and act on his own without consulting us first... it happened way more often in the beginning, when he seemed not to have any idea how to work in a group. Still, this is serious! He should have informed us!"

"It was sad to see him breaking down when he told me everything. He was quite desperate, as though he didn't know what else to do." Sae spoke with sympathy. "But I realize if he hadn't done that, I might have embraced that big job, which would probably involve putting the blame for the mental illnesses on the Phantom Thieves. I ended up choosing to believe his confessions, but I demanded that he took me to the Metaverse. No way I would believe his descriptions of the Metaverse unless I saw it with my own eyes."

"H-he took you to the Metaverse!?" Morgana stuttered.

"He did, reluctantly. However, the casino had been under maintenance, and Shadows didn't let us enter. As he defeated them, they dropped a coin, and I asked to keep it as proof that the Metaverse was real."

It clicked in Akira's head. "Ah, the last coin we used when we lowered the bridge... so, this is where that coin had come from! And why Crow seemed to know about it..."

"That's right. I confirmed that the Metaverse is real, and had the results of my investigation. There was one more thing that led me to trust him, though. As I went around talking to the Phantom Thieves' smaller targets, I noticed how all those people had a distinct look in their eyes. The look of people who were ashamed of their past mistakes but had matured and were willing to change for better. He had this same look in his eyes, and I was sure his heart had changed as well, without him needing to tell me. This touched me and made me want to trust him. I guess he managed to touch my heart even without the cognitive world, and even before you all changed my heart..."

Everyone present seemed touched as well. A solemn silence followed, until Ann broke it with the one million yen question. "Um, but Niijima-san, who is he, exactly?"

Sae stared seriously at the group and took a moment to start speaking. "I had posed this same question to him in regards to the Phantom Thieves, but he refused to tell me anything. He said he wouldn't tell it even to me, because he didn't want to betray the group's trust. He trusted me with everything he disclosed to me. I guess I shouldn't betray his trust, either." Though she intended to push for him to reveal his identity himself...

"Disappointing, but cool at the same time." Futaba muttered.

Sae looked at Futaba hesitantly. "Futaba-chan, what do you think of Crow? After all, he is the person who..."

"Saved us." Futaba smiled. "If not for his help, we'd be running away from the SIU right now."

"I came to the same conclusion as you, ms. prosecutor." Sakura-san joined the conversation. "Futaba spoke so well of him, how his heart has really changed, how he's helping these guys so much, how he deserves a second chance. She said he's grown so much that even Wakaba may have forgiven him. So, how could I not?"

Sae smiled at Sakura-san's warm words. "Then, you are saying both of you forgive him?"

"Yeah. I asked Futaba to tell him directly, but she's not managed it yet."

"Even after my heart changed, it's been so hard for me to break out of my shell. I admire how Crow's so much better at dealing with hard stuff..." Said admiration was written on Futaba's face as she spoke. "He's strong and can face all his mistakes with his head high. I mean, he breaks down when talking about his mistakes and all, but if I were in his place and had serious stuff to regret like having killed people, I think I'd be paralyzed with despair and depression... Crow's working so hard and trying to change for better. I wish I were strong like him, to have an easier time facing problems. There's so much I want to tell him, but when I decide to talk about this stuff, I don't know where to start and freeze up. I'm worried my words can't convey my feelings. I'm trying to get a gift to give him to help with that, but this has been hard too..."

Sae looked gently at Futaba. "Just tell it to him exactly the way you told me now, and I am sure you will get the message across. In fact, he still does not seem to be convinced that you all fully trust him. All of you should tell him your opinions of him and how much you trust him. He has no allies inside that organization, and can't trust anyone. He has to deal with those people practically every day and pretend nothing is happening so that they don't suspect him. He has been taking so many risks and standing in the crossfire all by himself."

Sakamoto spat a curse. "'Cause he never tells us what he's doing behind the scenes, I hadn't thought much of it, but this is bad!"

"You never think much of anything." Morgana quipped.

"Shut up!"

Morgana ignored Sakamoto's response. "But you're right. Since he always comes to the Metaverse and acts as though nothing is happening, it's hard to imagine how much trouble he must be in!"

"Yes. Now I feel even worse for having distrusted him..." Makoto admitted.

"How brave of him to face this situation so determinedly..." Kitagawa spoke respectfully.

"He has been helping us so much," Haru said. "But he refuses to let us get closer and offer him help with things outside of the Metaverse. Niijima-san, isn't there anything concrete we can do to help him?"

"I will try to build a case in his favor." Sae revealed.

"You will, really!?" Akira exclaimed excitedly. "I have to admit we were unsure how to ask you to do that. This is awesome!"

"While I can't guaranty success, I will do my best. Now I know how it is like to have a distorted heart and take extreme measures with no regard for the consequences, and think I understand him a bit better. I can't just do nothing and leave him to be sentenced to death." She heaved a sigh. "As for all of you, give him moral support to keep him strong emotionally. Even though it might seem he is standing strong on the outside, he must be breaking on the inside. He really needs supportive people nearby."

Akira had a hurt expression. "I had thought Crow could tell that now we trust him more, and that we care about him. Maybe he couldn't?"

"Give him moral support... that's all? Nothing else we can do!?" Sakamoto's voice rose.

Sae nodded firmly. "You shouldn't do anything that could draw the organization's attention to you. The current situation is already complicated enough as it is. Take good care of yourselves, and of him as well. Talk more to him, assure him that he has your trust and support. This is the best you can do. Once he is sure that he has your support, he should feel comfortable enough to open up more."

The Phantom Thieves wore stubborn expressions, unwilling to accept it was all they could do.

Sakura-san heaved a sigh. "You guys should be glad that you can at least give him moral support. I'm the one who can do the least here."

"Boss..." Akira uttered, touched.

"We should go to Mementos tomorrow and talk to Crow." Morgana suggested.

Everyone silently nodded in agreement.

"Sakura-san, thank you for the dinner. It is about time we go home. Makoto, let's go."

Makoto stood up with a sad face and joined Sae. The others followed suit.

---

The other Phantom Thieves had left. It was only Akira, Morgana and the Sakuras in Leblanc.

"What a huge mess he got himself into, huh? From all this talk, it's really sounding like he's a secret agent." Sojiro stared at Akira with an aggravated expression. "Akira..." He seemed about to say something, but trailed off.

"What is it, Boss?"

Sojiro took a deep breath. "It's nothing. Let's just hope that ms. prosecutor can save him from the death sentence."

Akira nodded solemnly.

Sojiro and Futaba went home. As soon as Akira stepped into the attic, her phone rang. This time, it was Akechi!

"Hi, Akechi-kun! I tried to call you earlier, but you didn't pick up."

"I saw that I had some missed calls from you. What did you want to talk about?"

Akira had been hoping he would return her calls in time for them to head to the Metaverse, and now was a bit too late. "Um, it was because everyone was here, and I thought I'd call you over too, but never mind..."

"Sorry. I was busy."

"It's okay. Other opportunities will come! You're still up for hanging out with me in the weekend, right?"

"Um, yes. As long as nothing urgent comes up..."

"Alright. I hope to see you then! For now, rest well. Good night!"

---

Friday, October 28

In the afternoon, Akechi arrived back from school. He changed out of his uniform and went to Elizabeth's apartment.

"Oh, Akechi-san. I have just prepared the cake using the carrots Haru-san had provided me. Please, come in!" She used her food as an excuse so that Akechi would have a reason to enter the apartment.

Akechi followed her inside. He sat down at the table, and Elizabeth remained standing. All outside sounds disappeared as she cast the protection.

"Um, Elizabeth, you said you can interpret cards, right?"

"Yes. Perhaps, would you like me to read your fortune?"

"Please, would you?" Akechi wasn't one to believe in that kind of thing. But again, this was Elizabeth...

Elizabeth pulled out a deck of Tarot cards so quickly that Akechi couldn't tell where she had kept them. She shuffled the cards and fiddled with them for a bit. "Oh, how intriguing. This is not how the cards read last time I checked. The cards indicate that surprising things will happen in the near future."

That didn't mean much to Akechi, though. "Hmm, is this good or bad?"

"It is not clear." She raised one of the cards. "Do you see this one here? This is the Fool, an unpredictable card which indicates unexpected developments. This is the Arcana that symbolizes the wild cards, who are equally unpredictable. Now with two of them working together, what may happen is anyone's guess. Wouldn't you agree, my fellow wild card?"

"I don't know. I only hope it's something good." Akechi stared blankly in silence for a moment. "Elizabeth, do you think fate can be changed?"

"Of course it can! Otherwise, this world would have ended a long time ago."

"This world?" Akechi thought it was an exaggeration.

"Yes. Its existence has been threatened quite a number of times. This world is not perfect by any means, but as you see, it is still standing. Or rather, spinning. It is all thanks to determined and strong-willed people, mostly influenced by wild cards."

Akechi found himself smiling at a fond recollection. "Akira certainly does believe that fate can change. I asked her once... she also said that the Phantom Thieves' main goal is to encourage people by making them believe seemingly impossible things are actually possible. To her, anything seems possible. It's a wonder."

"Do you not feel tempted to also believe that it is possible?"

"I... would like to..." Akechi admitted.

"Then, harbor this belief in your heart. The first step to change fate is to believe it can be changed. And the wild cards usually do. This is the reason why they act how they act, and result in dragging others with them into their beliefs. Perhaps this has something to do with the surprising development the Fool card hinted at?"

Akechi had no response to that. He chose to change the subject instead. "Um, I've been wondering about one thing. I noticed you seemed to have had a private talk with Takeba-san at the festival, when both of you seemed to have spaced out."

"Good observation. Yes, I have traded a few words with her. I have merely told her not to worry about the recent strange incidents, as there are very skilled Persona users handling them. In other words, you and the Phantom Thieves."

Akechi's suspicions were confirmed. "Then, it's as I thought. She is a Persona user!"

"Indeed. She is a member of the group that averted a huge crisis and changed this world's fate around six years ago. Her group cannot access the Shadow dimension at the moment, just as I also cannot. They had been worried that these strange mental illness incidents might have to do with Personas and Shadows. This is the reason I assured her that everything is going well."

"Now that you mention it, how did people access the Shadows' dimension years ago?"

"There was a hidden 25th hour in the day, in which only Persona users were able to remain conscious. It was known as the Dark Hour, a eerie time when Shadows were rampant."

Akechi thought back on around six years ago, but he hadn't noticed anything unusual. He really didn't have Persona powers at the time, then.

"Elizabeth, you had told me you're also a Persona user. Did you also fight Shadows during that hour?"

"No. My job was to assist the wild card with fusing his Personas, in a similar manner I am assisting you right now. Speaking of which, I have another recipe for you. I would like you to create another Persona. It should be a good idea to improve your group skills. As such, this time's recipe is Dionysus with Mediarama, which is a group healing spell. Dionysus learns Amrita Shower which cures the whole group from status effects, as well as Maragidyne which will be useful to you since your main Persona is stuck at Maragion for some reason. To get Dionysus with Mediarama, you will need Principality who learns Mediarama, and Baphomet. To get Baphomet, you may fuse Valkyrie and Scathach, and for Principality, you may fuse Nue and High Pixie. I believe you should be able to find all required ingredients in Mementos. If not, you may ask me for their recipes."

"Valkyrie and Scathach, Nue and High Pixie. Okay, thank you. I'll try to find them."

With the instructions over, Elizabeth broke the protection, and they had a piece of the carrot cake. Akechi couldn't help but think there was something invigorating about it...

Then, Akechi left for Mementos, to look for both the Persona ingredients as well as the Shadows to interrogate about Akira's false charges case. But when he arrived, he found the Phantom Thieves waiting for him.

---

Joker hoped they could talk to Crow, and was glad when he appeared.

"Um, Crow, we would like to talk..." Queen spoke hesitantly. "My sister said that you had told her everything even before we changed her heart. About the organization, the bad things you did, the trap... and you even brought her to the Metaverse!"

"Yes." Crow confirmed.

"You never told us you had talked to her!" Skull exploded, and started the conversation in the wrong way. "Hell, you never tell us what you've been doing to mislead those guys. Why don't you tell us anything!? We're a group, man! You've always gotta tell us what's going on so that everyone's on the same page!"

Crow was taken aback at the sudden scolding.

"Skull!" Joker raised a hand in alarm. This definitely wasn't the way she wanted to start the conversation. They needed to show to Crow that they supported him, not yell at him! "Skull, stop! This isn't how we should go about it!" Joker looked apologetically at her fellow wild card. "Crow, sorry about that..."

---

Crow was on edge. Joker's apology did nothing to mitigate the issue. Despite his good teamwork alongside the Phantom Thieves so far, he was sure they still didn't trust him completely, and the way this conversation started was proof of that. He had done something that displeased them, and now they would corner him about it. Crow needed to give a honest response. The last thing he would want was to have their trust severed right when they needed to take the next big step to put an end to the organization.

"... Okay, perhaps I should've told you guys about my talks with her. But so much had been happening, I had too many things to think about at once, and telling you completely slipped my mind."

"Not 'perhaps.' You should have." Queen corrected. Unlike Skull, she spoke calmly, but this didn't put Crow at ease. Queen was one of the Phantom Thieves who least trusted him. "Disclosing everything to her was dangerous. Why didn't you wait until after we had changed her heart?"

"I didn't intend to disclose everything, but one thing happened after another, until I saw no other exit." Crow justified himself.

"What do you mean?" Queen prompted him to elaborate.

"Ideally, we should've changed her heart before her work resumed so that she wouldn't accept the 'big job' her boss had teased about, but the Palace just had to go into maintenance at the time we most needed to explore it... since there was no way to influence her cognition from the Metaverse, I concluded the only way would be to do it from outside. So, I decided I'd try to at least steer her in the right direction, and convince her that the teased 'big job' was trouble. Convincing her was proving to be hard, and I ended up blurting everything out in an act of desperation."

"There was the coin thing too," Panther said. "You had used that last coin to lower the bridge, and we had no idea what was going on. You hadn't told us about that, either."

"I hadn't thought we'd need that coin for anything, and couldn't have imagined that this detail would become important..."

"It is good that things worked out in the end, but what you did was risky." Fox restated.

"I know!" Crow exploded. "You guys don't need to keep repeating this! But what else could I have done?!"

"You had never mentioned you were thinking about influencing her cognition from outside the Metaverse." Queen pointed out. "You should have talked to us so that we could devise a plan together."

"Yeah, unanimous decision, remember?!" Skull emphasized.

Crow made a face behind his mask. "You guys keep complaining that I act without consulting you first, but if I were to reveal more details about the organization and the mastermind, I'm sure you'd act without consulting me, and would try to butt in without thinking and without knowing anything! You'd do it with the belief that you're helping, but you'd only be making things worse!"

"Then, explain everything to us clearly so that we understand what we can and what we can't do!" Panther's voice also rose.

Crow gritted his teeth. The situation wasn't good. They were starting to argue. If this were to continue, he would get on bad terms with them.

---

Joker didn't like where that interaction was going, and could tell Crow was as uncomfortable as she was. Their ever so cool and serious secret agent was now looking like a little child being scolded, and Joker inevitably recalled the adults yelling at his child self for unfair reasons in the visions of his past. Even now he must be sick of people yelling at him, and this definitely wasn't what the Phantom Thieves should be doing!

"Alright, alright! No fighting!" She waved. "Things worked out, and what was done was done. Crow, next time you have a plan, just don't forget to tell us, okay?"

"... Fine. I'll keep it in mind." Crow replied dryly. He still looked like a little child after being scolded, and Joker had to resist the urge to pull him into a hug.

"Let's continue exploring the new Mementos area and put this argument behind us." Joker suggested, and the others agreed. "Crow, could you drive?"

Even though Crow didn't seem too sure about coming with them, he nodded without a word, maybe to avoid more conflict.

Joker was glad Crow agreed to come along, because this meant he would spend more time with them. She hoped they could undo the awkward mood and say the supportive words they had meant to say to him.

They entered battles, and the group released the tension little by little. In the car, the Phantom Thieves began talking about their normal lives, but Crow made no comments.

Joker tried to spark conversation. "Crow, there's something I've been wondering about. Our code names are mostly obvious, inspired by our appearances, but what about yours?"

Everyone interrupted their conversation to pay attention to him.

Joker began prying. "The other day, my teacher brought up some crow facts in class. She said crows are smart, cunning, and experts at avoiding traps. This sure applies to you." Crow couldn't hold a chuckle. "Oh, and your outfit is black, too. But were these the actual reasons behind your code name?"

"You could say that."

"So, basically, you view yourself as someone smart?" Displeasure was evident in Queen's voice. "Well, not that you aren't, but saying that about yourself is a bit... arrogant."

Crow let out a bitter chuckle. "I used to think I was smart. After I got this power and it went above my head, I began thinking I could get away with doing whatever! I was such an idiot!" On impulse, he caused the car to halt violently and startled everyone.

"Hey! Don't break on us now, please." Joker placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Crow promptly took a deep breath and tried to recover his composure. "Sorry..."

"It's okay, Crow. Don't be so hard on yourself. It won't solve anything. You've realized what you did wrong, and you aren't like that anymore. Lesson learned. Now, just make good use of what you learned and move on. It's no use staying trapped in the past."

"Hmph. Easy for you to say!" Crow's tone was bitter. "I doubt you've ever gone through anything similar. As such, you aren't restrained by your past. Your heart is free, the opposite of mine. This is the main reason why I envy you, Joker."

Not only Joker, but everyone else gasped at his harsh words.

"Ah! Crow!" Joker exclaimed as Crow suddenly opened the door, jumped out of the car, activated the wheels on his boots and dashed away.

Joker hastily took control of the Monamobile and tried to follow Crow. They were unable to avoid running into a Shadow. By the time they managed to run away from it, Crow was already out of sight.

"His signal's still nearby." Oracle informed them. "Oh wait, looks like he's stopped moving. He's still on this floor."

"Maybe we should let him cool off for a while," was Mona's suggestion, to which everyone agreed.

---

No, no, no... this definitely wasn't going well! Crow couldn't think straight, and said everything he shouldn't have to the Phantom Thieves' faces. If he were to stay there with them, more stupid things would likely leave his mouth. With that conclusion, he ran away from them.

On the tracks, Crow skated as fast as he could. He didn't even care to see if the Phantom Thieves were following him or not. He zipped past some normal Shadows on the way, and only stopped once he was on the platform heading to the lower floor.

For a minute or so, Crow took deep breaths and tried to calm down. He needed to set things right in some way, apologize to the Phantom Thieves, do something... he closed his eyes and tried to decide what to do.

"Crow! You okay?" It was Joker's voice, and the indication that the Phantom Thieves had caught up to him. She sounded hurt and apprehensive.

Crow slowly opened his eyes and risked looking at the leader of the Phantom Thieves. "Joker. I said too much... I'm sorry."

Joker had pain in her gaze, but a faint smile on her lips. "You've just said the truth, though. It's true that you envy me. I don't like that you feel that way, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Um, Crow?" Queen stepped forward. "I shouldn't have made that comment and called you arrogant. I am sorry."

"That was also the truth..." Crow uttered, avoiding eye contact.

"But you aren't like that now, and that comment was unwarranted." Queen shuffled nervously. "Um, actually, there is more I should apologize for. I kept being suspicious of you, and failed to realize how hard you have been working to earn our trust. I was being cautious, unsure of your real intentions, worried that you may be planning to sell us out in the end, and was scared the whole time. But you have always kept true to your word, and have been helping us out so much. You even trusted me with those extremely important files. You have more than proven yourself to us. It was just me who had failed to realize it. Crow, I am sorry for having been so paranoid."

A wave of warmth washed over Crow's heart at the unexpected level of trust he felt from Queen, and the Priestess Confidant ranked up. Queen was one of the Phantom Thieves who least trusted him, and it was satisfying to know that he had finally managed to earn her trust.

Crow exhaled in relief. "Thank you. This is good to hear. The way you distrusted me has always bothered me, though I can't blame you for thinking that way. Actually..." Guilt gnawed at him again, and there was one thing he felt the need to tell them. "I must say this. If my heart were still in the wrong place, your suspicions would've turned out to be correct."

"You're saying...!" Panther gasped.

"Yes." Crow lowered his gaze as he admitted. "A few months back, when the organization was setting up the trap, I had indeed been planning to..." His face contorted in disgust behind his mask. "To do what Queen said. Once the trap had worked and the mastermind had sent the SIU after the Phantom Thieves, I was supposed to blackmail you guys into accompanying me into someone's Palace, with the argument that changing the person's heart would be the best chance for the Phantom Thieves to escape the SIU... only to bring police forces into the Metaverse and catch everyone in the act."

All the Phantom Thieves were shocked.

"... Blackmail us?" Oracle uttered shakily. "This is movie level stuff..."

"And bring police forces into the Metaverse!?" Panther exclaimed. "You can do that!?"

"Are there Persona users in the police?!" Skull asked.

"Don't be stupid!" Mona was quick to retort. "Of course that's not it! He must've meant to activate the app with the cops in range, like how Panther ended up in the Metaverse for the first time!"

"That's right." Crow confirmed. "Anyway, it's a nasty story... it was at the time I had been planning that when I came up with the code name 'Crow.' I had gathered from listening in to snippets of your conversations that you addressed each other by code names, and I figured I'd also need one if I were to infiltrate the group."

"When did you start spying on us?" Joker's tone wasn't accusatory, only curious.

"The first time I had seen your gang was during the Madarame incident. I had randomly dropped by Madarame's Palace and noticed that the security systems had been tampered with. I found it strange and continued onward to see what was going on, and there you were."

"Wow, that's way back." Joker commented. "Come to think of it, it was Madarame's Shadow who first told us that there was a black-masked Persona user around."

"Why did you go to Madarame's Palace?" Panther asked.

"Because I used to check the organizations' connections' Palaces from time to time."

"The organization's connections!" Fox gasped. "Wait, you are implying that Madarame..."

"Had ties to the organization? Yes, of course. How do you think he could sell so many fake paintings so easily? The organization had been facilitating it and covering his actions up in exchange for part of the money."

"How could this be!?" Fox covered his mask with his hands in shock.

"The organization has many ties, including even the mafia. And after Madarame, you just had to go and target Kaneshiro..."

"Even Kaneshiro was linked to them!?" It was Queen's turn to be shocked.

"Yes. Kaneshiro was also one of the big sources of money, helping gather funds for the mastermind's ambitions. Once they found out you had targeted two of their big connections in a row, it was inevitable that they'd set their eyes on you. And this was why the fake Medged happened."

Joker's voice came out in a near whisper. "Then, we had been going after the organization's connections one after another unknowingly?"

"As I had thought... you really did all of that without knowing anything!" Crow heaved a sigh. "When I came to warn you about the trap, this was why I said you had no idea of the trouble you were getting into!"

Noir spoke shakily. "Facilitation of fake paintings sales, connections to hackers and the mafia, corruption of the police... how can bad people be so resourceful?"

"Because they don't play by the rules." Crow answered. "Good people have morals, laws, protocols to be followed to a T. On the other hand, bad people have none of that. They have no morals, no principles, no regard for others' lives. They will do whatever they want, anytime they want, in a game of interests they will continue as long as it's advantageous to them. As soon as it's no longer advantageous, they'll simply jump out and may even eliminate people who were their allies, if said people get in the way, and sometimes even if they don't..."

"But we're resourceful too." Mona smirked smugly. "After all, we managed to steal their secret weapon. That is, you, Crow. You were the one doing their dirty work in the Metaverse, which means the biggest threat to us inside the Metaverse would've been you. You were way stronger than us when we met, too! None of this is a problem anymore, because now you're on our side!"

"Yeah, this is amazing!" Panther spoke excitedly. "Not sure if we really 'stole' him, though. Crow came to us of his own will. We didn't do anything..."

"Mona has a point, but don't underestimate the organization." Crow warned. "I'm the only person in there who knows the Phantom Thieves' specifics, and I won't let anyone else know. That being said, though, the organization is still powerful, and things can still go wrong. I'll do what I can to keep them far, but what I can do from outside is limited. You guys need to do your part too. Don't do anything that can draw their attention to you, in the Metaverse or otherwise. Because if you do and they find you guys out, I won't be able to protect you anymore."

"We understand." Joker threw him a look of admiration, and Crow could imagine the bright expression behind her mask. "Thank you so much, Crow. I'm so grateful! I mean, we all are."

Crow was flabergasted. He was the one grateful to Joker for having changed his life. He should be the one thanking her, not the other way around.

Joker continued. "I know it'll be hard to keep misleading those people until Minerva finishes doing her thing, but we believe you can do it. If there's anything we can do for you..."

"Perhaps something you want and that we can get for you..." Noir suggested.

"Noir is rich, you know." Skull smirked mischievously. "If you need something, maybe she can get it!"

Noir made an awkward face. "Err, I didn't meant it like that, but yes, if there's something from outside the Metaverse that you need, tell me."

"Hmm? So, if I were to say I need a top-of-the-line car, would you get one for me?"

"Huh?" Noir startled slightly. "I-I could see about it..." She stuttered.

Amused at her reaction, Crow was unable to contain a loud, spontaneous burst of laughter. "I'm kidding. You're too gullible, Noir. You should be more careful."

"Uh, I know..." Noir shuffled awkwardly. "Since Father's connections were mostly based on interests, I actually have trouble to tell who I can and who I cannot trust. I trust you, though."

"Thank you. That's what matters to me." Crow realized that the Phantom Thieves were staring at him as though he had grown two heads. He narrowed his eyes at them. "What?"

"For real?" Skull spoke up. "You, joking around?"

"Sorry," Panther said. "It surprised us, since you're always so serious..."

Crow was in such a great mood because the Phantom Thieves seemed to be trusting him more, and he was even joking around. But when they pointed it out, he became self-conscious.

"Interesting. People have different sides, and this side of him does not surface often." Fox mused. "The last time was after that all-out attack where he-"

"Stop!" Crow interrupted, with his voice exploding as his face flushed behind his mask. "Don't make me remember that embarrassing event!"

"C'mon!" Joker tried to encourage him. "What's the problem? Relax and just be yourself! There's nothing wrong about that."

Only, there was. Whenever he did something unusual, the Phantom Thieves made fun of him, and he felt humiliated just like back in the days the bullies used to mock him.

Crow shrugged. "Never mind. Just forget it!"

"He's already back to normal." Oracle mumbled. "What a shame..."

Noir intervened. "Um, we were saying that you should tell us if you need something..." She seemingly noticed his discomfort and resumed the previous subject. "I'll do whatever I can to help! And the others will too, I'm sure."

Crow was grateful for Noir's support, and sincere trust too. A Tarot card appeared to indicate that the Empress Confidant had ranked up.

"I'm just trying to do what needs to be done. You guys don't need to feel obligated to do anything for me in return."

"You have been supporting us all this time," Fox said. "We merely want you to know that you also have our support."

"Um, 'one for all, all for one,' was it?" Panther chuckled at her attempt to quote "The Three Musketeers." "Doesn't it sound cool?"

"It's funny." Oracle mumbled. "The Three Musketeers were actually four. And here, the eight Phantom Thieves are actually nine..."

Crow was able to hear her comment and a chuckle escaped his mouth. "You guys' words are already enough to me. I apologize for my slips that may have hindered our teamwork. I will be sure to do my part and keep the unanimous decision rule in mind from now on."

Crow felt more connected to the group. Finally, he had earned the Phantom Thieves' trust. As if to reassure him, a Tarot card invaded his vision to inform him that the Fool Confidant ranked up.

The eight Phantom Thieves that were actually nine went downstairs and came out at the second rest area.

"Perfect!" Oracle exclaimed. "New shortcut get! I'm tired."

"Let's call it a day and resume the exploration from here next time." Mona suggested.

"You all may go," Crow said. "I still haven't done what I came here to do."

"Farming for items again?" Mona asked.

"Looking for some Personas. I won't even battle unless anything interesting shows up." Crow quickly added before the Phantom Thieves had a chance to offer him help.

"Alright. Good luck with the Personas," Joker said. "See you another day!"

---

Akira and her friends came out of the Metaverse. Too bad that Crow had refused to come along. After their last talk, she had been half-expecting him to also leave the Metaverse and reveal himself to them.

Haru was the first one to speak. "It went well, didn't it?"

"I think so." Akira replied. "Crow seemed glad to know that we trust him."

"We have so much fun when we're all together, and get so confident about fighting Shadows that sometimes we forget how dangerous the Metaverse is..." Ann commented.

"Yeah..." Akira had to admit. "And it's always Crow who reminds us. First at that time in Okumura's Palace, and then now."

"And he really seems to care about us." Haru spoke in wonder.

Akira nodded. "He keeps trying to appear tough, but he can't hide what a kind person he is."

"He seems to be quite modest as well." Makoto noted. "He didn't ask for anything when we offered to get him something."

"We could give him something anyway." Ann suggested. "What do you guys think he'd like?"

"And now everyone's suddenly facing the same dilemma as me..." Futaba spoke.

"I bet he'd like some ramen!" Ryuji chimed in. "I mean, who wouldn't like that? Oh, but the ramen'd get all dull and soggy before we get to the Metaverse..."

"It may be a good idea to bring him food, though," Makoto said.

"Yes, it would." Morgana agreed. "He's been going through so much. Is he even eating properly?"

"I wonder if he likes curry..." Futaba said.

Yusuke nodded. "Some curry full of vegetables would no doubt do his health some good. Akira, we'll leave that up to you!"

"Huh?" Akira jumped at the sudden mission. "Oh, right!" The task fully sank in. "Come to think of it, homemade food takes time and effort, and should express our support better than bought food. I hope he'll like my curry..."

"Yeah. Bought food can also be a nice treat, though. What if each one of us brings something different to him each day?" Ann suggested. "I'd gladly get him some crepes."

"If only he'd reveal his identity to us already, we could take him to have some ramen." Ryuji lamented.

"And some sushi too." Morgana added.

---

Saturday, October 29

The previous day's interaction left Akechi in a good mood. Thankfully, the Phantom Thieves were trusting him more now. Of course, this meant that they were trusting him as a team member, who would help them put an end to the organization. It didn't mean that they forgave his wrongdoings, as what he did was unforgivable. Still, having their trust meant that they may have an easier time working together. That alone was a relief in itself, and one less annoying problem to worry about.

When lunch break started, he got a message from Akira asking if they could hang out after school. Akechi was at an impasse. On one hand, guilt nagged at him for continuing to hang out with Akira, and on the other hand, her invitation was hard to resist.

Akechi was playing a mobile shogi game while he waited for the lunch break to end and tried to decide on a response to Akira. However, his match was interrupted by a cursed call from Shido, summoning him to a meeting. The idea of hanging out with Akira sounded even more inviting now, as Akechi was sure he would need some relaxation time more than ever after Shido's meeting. It would have to wait a bit, though.

"Sorry, Akira." He wrote. "A meeting has come up. We'll have to leave the hangout for tomorrow."

... ... ... ... ...

After school, Akechi joined other organization members at the building where Shido's office was located. He put his celebrity mask on and let the Loki side take over.

The meeting was exclusive to those involved more deeply with the conspiracy. They were there to celebrate that elections were finally in the horizon and Shido had garnered a lot of support. The little celebration would be at one of the rooms in the building because Shido didn't want any outsiders to hear anything. It would be useless, though, because like always, Akechi had managed to bring his hidden recording device undetected. As soon as he realized no one was looking, he turned his recording device on. He would catch every single syllable leaving Shido's mouth.

"They called for early elections, just as I had planned. Only two months, and I will be the newest Prime Minister! It is all thanks to your 'hard work,' Akechi."

"Thank you." Akechi had to pretend he had liked the praise.

Akechi was the only teenager in that room. Everyone else took turns filling their glasses with wine from a bottle. First Shido, then the SIU director, then the others.

"It's one of those, eh?" The SIU director swirled the wine in his glass. "It is a wonder how that little village in the middle of nowhere can produce wines this good."

"Good, and cheap too. The people there are so poor and dumb that they have no idea how to price their work, and will take whatever measly payment you decide to throw at them." Shido spoke as though taking advantage of the workers' innocence were the best deal he had ever made. "These are one of the best wines I've ever tried. Even beat the imports for me. It's about the only good thing at that place, though."

Of course this had to be about the people from Grape Village, Akechi's hometown. Even though no one there used to like him, Akechi felt a knot in his stomach at hearing Shido talk about them so despicably. Shido had not only ruined Akechi and his mother's lives, but still dared continue taking advantage of the village's workers for all these years to get their wines.

To add to the mockery feeling, Shido spoke in an unusually casual tone as he motioned to an empty glass, then to the bottle. "Hey, Akechi. How about a glass, huh?"

Akechi startled, and shook his head politely. "No thanks. I can't! "

"Oh, yes, you're still underage." Shido stated as though he had forgotten that detail. "But why don't we just make an exception for this occasion? We aren't holding this event publicly for a reason, or two. No outsiders will know."

"No thanks. I will pass." Akechi was firm.

Shido seemed oddly amused rather than annoyed. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to how these 'forbidden drinks' taste like?"

"I have decided to wait until they aren't forbidden to me anymore." Akechi flashed one of his polite celebrity smiles. It was ironic how the organization had trained him to behave in public, and now he was using the same techniques he learned against them. "It's one of my smaller life goals, so to speak. I'm sure the drinks will taste much better with the fulfillment of having reached the milestone!"

"Oh, c'mon. You're the one who does all the 'hard work' for us, and yet you worry about underage drinking?" One of the men laughed. "You're weirdly serious about stuff sometimes, aren't you?"

"The 'hard work' doesn't leave traces. But outside the cognitive world, I'd rather be safe than sorry." Akechi argued.

"Ah well." The SIU director waved it off. "Then someone just get him a juice or something. We can't just leave our young star out of the show, now can we?"

Akechi wasn't a star. Akira was. He chose to ignore that comment, though.

One of the men went over to the table with the ordered food and drinks, and brought a small bottle of something non-alcoholic. As Akechi thanked the man and filled his own glass, his paranoia kicked in, and he hoped the organization hadn't found a reason to get rid of him by means of a poisoned drink. After all, the meeting was private for a reason, or two...

"To a highly successful election campaign!" Shido lifted his glass.

"Cheers!" Everyone clinked their glasses together.

Afterwards, Akechi endured the generally unethical talk that followed, and responded whenever someone asked him something. He looked just like a polite and well-behaved child in the middle of those less than well-behaved men. In fact, that was his usual behavior at that kind of meetings. So far, Akechi had only let a bit of his dark side show while discussing the organization's crazy schemes, but not even Shido had seen the worst of his dark side yet.

The meeting dragged for around an hour, and turned out to be more tiring than Akechi had expected. Now that his heart was in the right place, he felt disgusted at every unethical stuff he heard, unlike before when his only thought was his revenge plan and he couldn't care less about other people. The only good thing Akechi could get out of that meeting was that his hidden microphone was recording the whole incriminating and unethical conversation.

The meeting ended. Thankfully, no new nasty orders had come up, and no poisoned drinks. As everyone was filing out of the room, Akechi also stood up to leave.

"Akechi." Shido stopped him in his tracks.

"Yes, sir." Akechi responded obediently and apprehensively waited for Shido's next words.

Shido remained silent until everyone had left and he was alone with Akechi in the room. "Speaking of your life goals, I have heard that you got top grades in the latest exam again." This proved that Shido was indeed paying attention to Akechi's grades, and it was a good thing that Akechi had done his best to keep his academic results consistent so as not to raise suspicion.

"Yes." Akechi nodded and did his best to put up a proud expression.

"You realize you don't need to push yourself so hard, right? My organization can back you up and place you in any college you want."

Akechi forced a smile. "Thank you for the offer, sir, but my studies are something I would rather handle on my own. While it feels good to receive privileges, I take pride in my academic performance." Akechi lied. His academic performance meant nothing to him at this point.

"If you say so. As long as it doesn't get in the way of your 'work.' We wouldn't have gotten to where we are without you. Once I become Prime Minister, you will get an appropriate reward. I'm counting on you to keep up the 'good work.'" Once again, the emphasis on how Shido was "counting on Akechi."

"Thank you, sir." Akechi nodded firmly, and mimicked his own excited look he used to display whenever he got Shido's praise in the past.

Shido had a glint of satisfaction in his gaze, as though he were proud that things were going his way. Or rather, that he believed his manipulation of Akechi was going his way. It was only now that Akechi got to notice this detail. While his head and heart had been in the wrong place, Akechi had failed to notice anything between the lines of his interactions with Shido. He had believed that Shido was trusting him blindly and that the revenge plan was getting closer to coming to fruition, and hadn't realized that Shido was actually the one with the upper hand and might have even been planning to get rid of him. But now, it was the opposite. Akechi was becoming more and more aware of the little details, and it was Shido's turn to believe everything was going his way while Akechi had the upper hand. With this new level of awareness, the Devil Confidant ranked up.

Shido finally released Akechi from that meeting's torture. A neutral expression remained on the detective's face as he left the building. Akechi would rather be safe than sorry, and kept discreetly checking whether anyone was following him, as was already part of his routine. Thankfully, he didn't see anyone following him.

It was only when he closed the door to his apartment that he allowed himself to relax. With a smirk, Akechi retrieved his latest recording from his hidden device.

"They called for early elections, just as I had planned. Only two months, and I will be the newest Prime Minister!" This first line already incriminated Shido for planning the chaos and causing elections to come earlier than they should.

Akechi turned the recording off and transferred it to an encrypted USB stick he kept tucked away inside the cardboard box with his belongings. This way, he wouldn't lose his recordings even if he were to lose his recorder, or even if the organization happened to suspect him and manage to confiscate the device.

With that out of the way, Akechi could finally take a rest. He was so tired that he just took a quick shower to relax a bit and didn't even bother with dinner. After the shower, Akechi collapsed on his futon and quickly fell asleep.

---

Akira left Morgana at Leblanc, intent on talking to Crow in private. As Crow had said he was looking for new Personas, he must be struggling to keep his spells selection balanced. She wanted to ask if she could do anything for him since the twins refused to help him with his Personas, and also use the opportunity to squeeze in the subject of the visions she had had of his past. She headed to Mementos at the usual time and waited. However, he didn't show up.

She didn't lose hope, though. She used the app and teleported to a few rest areas, with the thought that she might run into him at a rest area like on one of the previous days. It didn't happen, though. Too bad. Just when she had thought she had found an opportunity to talk to him in private... well, back to Leblanc it was.

"How was it?" Morgana asked when she entered the attic.

"He didn't show up..." Akira sighed in disappointment.

"You're out of luck today, aren't you? Crow didn't go to Mementos, Akechi is at a meeting..."

A worrisome thought struck Akira. "Wait, that meeting doesn't sound good! Akechi-kun had said that the TV staff has shady connections, and that if we target anyone from there, our targets may even die. He knows that there's corruption in the police, too. We know that the police and the SIU are involved with the evil organization. What if the people Akechi-kun works for are involved with the organization too?!"

Morgana's eyes widened. "You have a point! Then he would be in big trouble!"

Akira quickly retrieved her phone and texted her theory to the others.

"It is possible." Came Makoto's reply. "For one, the police station Akechi-kun goes to is right next to the court house, where the SIU director works."

"It makes sense." Yusuke wrote.

"Then, he is in more danger than we had thought?" Haru seemed worried.

"Oh no, my lil' big bro..." Futaba sent a sad emoji.

"Inside the Metaverse is dangerous. Outside is also Dangerous... what should we do?" Ann asked.

"If his problems are indeed related to the same organization we are going after, then won't changing the mastermind's heart mostly solve the issue?" Yusuke gave his conclusion.

Hope returned to Akira's expression. "You're right! We'd be helping him if we change the mastermind's heart, which we'd be already going to do anyway!"

"Wow. This is a weird coincidence, but isn't it neat?" Ryuji wrote.

"It is as though everything is falling into the right place!" Haru sent an enthusiastic message.

"Is it really the right place, though?" Ann didn't share their enthusiasm. "It was also a weird coincidence that we kept targeting the organization members without knowing it. Isn't it kinda eerie?"

"Yeah, a bit." Akira had to agree. "But I'm confident that things will work out. We gotta make sure we can use these weird coincidences in our favor!"

Morgana also read the messages. "Our best bet is to avoid drawing attention like Crow said. We should be as sneaky as possible, in true Phantom Thieves style!"

Akira relayed Morgana's words to the group, and the chat ended.

Despite her optimism and hope, Akira was still worried about Akechi.

Sojiro appeared at the stairs. "Akira, I'll go home. Make sure to lock the door."

"Okay, Boss."

Sojiro left.

After a shower, Akira prepared a quick dinner using leftover curry ingredients. She gave some food to Morgana, had a bit of the improvised dinner herself, and packed another portion into a takeout box.

"I'm still worried about Akechi-kun! Morgana, you know where he lives. How can I get there? I want to check up on him!"

Morgana told her which train station to unboard at, and how to get to the building where Akechi lived.

"Alright, I'll be off. Akechi-kun must be tired after the meeting, and may need some help. I don't know at what time I'll be back."

"Be careful out there. Enjoy your alone time with Akechi!"

---

Akechi startled awake when the doorbell rang. He found it strange that the doorman hadn't called, but since he was fully awake, he decided to get up. What was his surprise when he opened the door, and came face to face with the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

"Hello!" Akira greeted him with a bright smile on her face and a grocery bag on her hand.

"A-Aki-ra...!?" Her name left his mouth in gasps, and his surprised expression must have been comical and embarrassing. "H-how did you?"

"Find out where you live? I have my methods." She smirked mysteriously.

The situation reminded Akechi too much of his dream where the child Akira somehow found out the foster home's location and came to visit him through the window.

He blinked a few times. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

Akira laughed. "No, it's not. You look like you've just rolled out of bed, though. Sorry if I disturbed your sleep."

"It's fine." He let her in, closed the door and turned the lights on.

Akira glanced around. "It's really a small place."

"It's enough to study, eat and sleep."

"Yeah, as you know, I've been living in an attic for six months now. I get what you mean."

"Still, I wonder why the doorman didn't call me to tell you were coming."

"Oh, it's because I ran into Elizabeth by coincidence. She was actually the one who brought me to the building, and I entered with her!" That explained it.

"I see. And to what do I owe your visit?"

"I wanted to see you... and bring you dinner!" Akira took out a lunch box and a pair of chopsticks from the grocery bag. "I figured you'd be worn out after the meeting and not in the mood to cook."

Akechi was lost for words. It was impressive how Akira figured out exactly what he needed. It really seemed like another dream.

"Uh, thanks." Akechi managed to utter as he accepted the lunch box.

Akira chuckled at his puzzlement. "It's nothing special. Just some leftovers mixed together."

"It is. You brought it all the way here. And having Leblanc-grade dinner wasn't in my plans. Actually, I had given up on having dinner today..."

Akira gave him a disapproving look. "Not good! You have to eat properly. Even more so to recover your energy after a tiring day." Her gaze softened, and she smiled. "This is why I'm here, though. You had said that the people you work for have shady connections. When you wrote that you'd go to a meeting, I got worried. How was it at the meeting?"

"In one word, horrible. I've reached my daily quota of listening to unethical stuff today..."

"Whoa, sounds tough... what kind of stuff was it?" She just had to ask for details...

"Things like a shady deal with the TV station, to broadcast false advertising that will benefit certain companies... at least they didn't have me take part in that..."

"Ugh..." Akira grimaced. "Are the meetings usually that way?"

"Uh-huh."

This worried her even more. "You don't talk much about what goes on in your work."

"It's not one of my favorite subjects."

"Yeah, but sometimes you have to talk about the stuff that's bothering you. It won't do you any good to have it all bottled up! I'm here to listen. You can tell me."

They sat on the futon on the ground, and Akechi began eating his food.

"C'mon, Akechi-kun." Akira wasn't willing to leave him be. "Tell me. What else happened?"

Akechi sighed in defeat. He would have to tell her something and hope she would be satisfied. "The adults were drinking wine, and... well, they tried to make me engage in underage drinking, and I refused. But out of all options possible, it just had to be a wine from Grape Village..."

"Grape Village?"

"My hometown." He clarified, and made a displeased face. "Someone said the only good thing about the village is the cheap wines, which are cheap because the workers are too dumb to determine the wine's price."

"Ugh, that's nasty! You've never told me about your hometown, though. What kind of place was it?"

"It's a poor village in the middle of nowhere, and the only notable thing in there are their grapes and wines." Akechi gritted his teeth. "The whole village disliked both my mother and me. After my mother died, I resented them. If they disliked me so much, why didn't they just leave me be? Why did they have to get me out of..." Akechi stopped abruptly. He was rambling, and saying more than he should.

Of course, Akira caught that. "Huh? Get you out? What do you mean?"

"No, never mind." Akechi heaved a sigh and quickly tried to shake the subject off. "It's different now. I couldn't care less about the village when the social services took me out of there. But today, when I heard those insults, I felt bad for the villagers. When I realized it, I had begun wondering... how is everyone doing? Are the same people still there? Have their lives gotten any better? For the first time, I've entertained the thought of going back there to check how things are." Akechi nodded firmly at his decision. Before turning himself in, he would need to visit the village. "Even if they still dislike me, or even if they don't recognize me at all... I feel I need to step in there, at least one more time..."

Akira smiled. "Do you believe you'll feel better if you go there?"

Akechi nodded while he chewed on his food.

Her expression became serious. You know what I think'd make you feel better too? Letting stuff out of your system. I had thought you were opening up to me, but I can tell you still have a lot bottled up. There's serious stuff you aren't telling me, like the thing you said earlier, that the villagers got you out of somewhere... what's that about? Why don't you talk about it even to me?"

Akechi didn't like where that was going. Trying to help him overcome those bad memories was useless. They would change Shido's heart and Akechi would most likely die soon anyway.

"There are some things you don't need to know."

"I want to know!" Akira insisted. "Akechi-kun, even if it's really painful, you can tell me. The more depressing things you tell me, the more I want to stuff your heart with good feelings, until the bad feelings can't withstand so much good and run away."

Only Akira would have said such a thing, and it was impossible not to laugh at that. Akechi had to cover his mouth with his hand to avoid spilling his food. He swallowed a mouthfull and then burst laughing.

Akira smiled comfortingly. "So? I'm ready. Bring it on!"

Akechi stopped laughing and lowered his gaze. "I'd rather not think about these things right now. If... if I ever manage to muster enough courage, I may talk," he said that, but of course he intended to stall forever.

"Okay. Whenever you're ready, I'll be all ears."

Akechi finished his food and crossed the curtain that separated the bathroom from the rest of the apartment. While he brushed his teeth, he half wished Akira would go home and stop prying into his most difficult subjects.

As he reappeared at the "living room" area, Akira let out a gasp. "Oh no! I forgot to watch the match!"

"A match?"

Akira realized she had voiced her thoughts aloud. "Oh yeah. You've heard of Hifumi Togo, right?"

"Yes, I've heard of her. The high school girl who plays shogi. Months ago, at the time she began getting popular, the TV staff considered having her and me appear on some show, you know, like that interview with Takamaki-san. They only brought the idea up once, though, and didn't carry it through. Are you her fan?"

"I'm her student! She's teaching me shogi!"

"What!?" Akechi jumped. "Y-you mean you're learning shogi!? F-for real...?"

Akira blinked in confusion. "Yeah. Why? Is it that weird?"

"Yes, I mean no... uh, I mean..." Akechi tripped on his words and closed his eyes tightly in frustration. This wasn't what he had meant to say at all!

Akira laughed at his reaction. "I know that shogi isn't for everyone, and that I may not be smart enough to master this kind of stuff, but it's cool to try learning it."

"Um..." For a few seconds, all Akechi could do was gape at Akira in bewilderment. "Sorry. This wasn't what I meant! I know that y-you aren't everyone, and that you like to try different things. What is really weird, though, is that I had a dream where you said that you play shogi!"

"Wow! Really?" Akira perked up. "You mean last night?"

"No, it wasn't last night. I don't remember exactly when it was. It really came out of nowhere, though. I mean, shogi, out of all things? Dreams usually don't make much sense anyway, and I thought it was just something random..."

Akira stared at him in wonder. "Maybe your dreams are really precognitive! Or give hints about stuff."

"I don't know, but this doesn't seem normal..." The thought that the Phantom Thieves and the Metaverse might be involved briefly crossed Akechi's mind. "Wait, you had said that the Phantom Thieves might take my nightmares away. Could they have done something to me?"

Akira laughed. "You know I was kidding, right? You're really scared of the Phantom Thieves, aren't you? I didn't make any request for them to take your nightmares. If you also didn't, then no one did, and they have no way to know about this."

Except, she was one of them and knew about it. A realization struck Akechi. The cute dreams had started right on the night after the twins fight! He recalled the way Akira had stopped him from using the berserk power on himself by summoning her Persona and clashing with Loki. Soon after that, both of them had gotten thrown backwards in pain and fainted. What exactly had happened that time?

"Akira. That time-" Akechi stopped himself. This wasn't the Metaverse. He would blow his cover if he were to bring that subject up!

"Huh? What time?"

Akechi shook his head. "No, never mind..."

Had Akira done something to him, or did the twins had something to do with those dreams? Could the dreams have anything to do with that incident, or was the fact they had started exactly on that night just coincidence?

Another one... first, the Phantom Thieves unknowingly targeting the organization's connections, and now these dreams. Was it all really just coincidence? It was eerie...

"Akechi-kun?"

Akechi snapped to focus. "Ah! Sorry. I was just thinking, there are some things that seem like coincidence, but are too perfect to be mere coincidence. It's a bit scary..."

"But the dreams aren't bad, are they?" She thought he was still talking about the dreams, and he would leave it at that. "Then, don't worry! Make the most of them, and make sure to pay attention to your dreams. Maybe they can tell you something important!"

Akira seemed totally clueless about the dream thing, though. Was Akechi reading into it too much? In the end, he choose to just accept her suggestion of paying attention to his dreams.

"Sounds like a good idea." If anything, those dreams might give him a hint of what jewel he should give her, who knows?

"Back to shogi." Akira resumed their previous talk. "Do you like shogi?"

"It's something I'm interested in, but I actually haven't played it much. Recently I've begun playing a mobile shogi game, and that's about it. I used to enjoy watching shogi matches on TV, though."

"Oh, then you're learning too! Would you watch Hifumi's shogi match with me? She asked me to watch it and give my opinion the next time I see her."

They sat back on the futon. Akechi placed his laptop on the only chair in his apartment, and accessed the match's online video from the laptop so that both of them could watch it on a bigger screen rather than on their phones. Their gazes were glued to the screen as the match unfolded.

The audience let out a surprised gasp when Togo-san's demeanor did a 180, and she completely changed from the shy girl to the confident queen of her shogi pieces kingdom. However, her confidence alone wasn't proving to give her enough advantage over her opponent. Togo-san struggled considerably, but suddenly turned the tables and won. However, the turn of events that led to her victory were rather strange...

"She won. I'm glad." Akira spoke once the video was over.

"Hmm..." To Akechi, though, that match's climax was rather strange. "Akira, were you able to follow the match?"

"Well, not for the most part. It's a whole different level!" This was a bit disappointing. It meant that Akira wasn't very skilled at the game yet. "What about you?"

"I believe so."

---

Akira was amazed. She had thought Akechi was still starting out just like her. But if he had managed to understand most of what happened in the match, it meant he was very skilled at the game already! "Wow. Really? You understood everything that happened in the match? Cool!"

"Haven't you noticed anything odd?"

Akira shook her head cluelessly.

Akechi rewound the video and showed Akira the suspect moves. "Togo-san's opponent gave her a very glaring opening. From the way she was struggling to keep up, she wouldn't have won if not for this mistake."

"Her opponent got cocky and underestimated her?"

"I'm not sure. The thing is, watching this video made me remember something. At the time the production brought up the idea of having Togo-san and me appear on a TV show, I had watched a video of one of her matches to see who I'd be dealing with. I didn't pay it much mind at the time, but I thought something didn't seem right. And the same kind of thing happened in that match too. At the moments where Togo-san got cornered, as it seems, she only managed to turn the tables because her opponent made very basic mistakes."

"Her opponents probably get very nervous. It happens. What with her explosive player personality and all..."

Still unconvinced, Akechi chose a different video and they proceeded to watch it. The glaring problems Akechi had talked about happened several times in the same match. He paused the video at the crucial moments and explained to Akira what opportunities Hifumi had missed, and how her opponent had created glaring openings that put the match in her favor. It was as though the opponent was trying to make sure Hifumi wouldn't lose. This wasn't sounding good, and Akira was having a hard time to swallow it.

"Could you see it now? It doesn't feel like just luck. To be honest, it feels more as though her opponents lost the matches on purpose."

Lost for words, Akira nodded slightly, with a shocked expression. Hifumi couldn't be cheating! ... Could she?

"I know you don't want to believe this. After all, she's your shogi teacher, someone who you respect. I'm sorry for asking, and I don't mean any offense to your shogi teacher, but what's her stance on the game's rules? Do you think she would be one to cheat?"

"Definitely not!" Akira was quick to step up to Hifumi's defense. "She's strict about the rules, and I'm sure she wouldn't admit cheating."

"Good. I wouldn't have expected less of the person who's teaching you," Akechi said with relief. "And this narrows down the possibilities. If she's not behind this, then it might mean her matches have been set up."

Akira's mouth hung up for a moment. "Her matches... might've been set up? But why?"

"Someone may be expecting to gain something from her popularity's growth."

"Like, the production staff? In the same way the TV staff's using you?"

"It may be something like that. Do you think she knows what's going on?"

"I'm not sure. Come to think of it, she doesn't like the notion of becoming popular. All she wants is to play shogi, but her mother insists that she needs to become an idol. And now I remember she told me that her opponents don't like her very much. I had thought it was because they disliked that she's getting fame as an idol instead of a traditional shogi player, as though this were demoralizing shogi or something like that... but maybe they dislike her because they're being forced to throw the matches?"

"It might be it. Or rather, it might be both. Being forced to throw the match just so that the opponent becomes famous, for her looks and not for her skills, must feel humiliating..."

Akira heaved a sigh. "I'm kinda scared to ask her if she knows what's going on and maybe step on her toes. But if it turns out she believes she's been winning through her skills and doesn't even know that the matches are being set up, then it'd be humiliating to her. And if it really turns out someone's using her, I'll have to ask her to ask for the Phantom Thieves' help! So, be on the lookout, detective. Maybe you can find something about them this time!"

Akechi rolled his eyes in exasperation at Akira's sudden change of mood. "You're way too excited about this all of a sudden..."

Akira giggled. "I'm optimistic that things will work out! And it's thanks to you, Akechi-kun. If you hadn't spelled the matches out to me, I wouldn't have noticed this weird stuff is going on! It was amazing! I had thought you were just starting out like me, but you're way better than me! How did you learn shogi? Did someone teach you?"

Akechi shook his head. "I learned it mostly by studying the rules and watching matches on TV. I used to be good at chess, though. Chess knowledge definitely helped."

"... Oh my god!"

---

Akira's exclamation made Akechi remember that he had talked about chess to Morgana as Crow. Could Morgana have told this to her!?

As it turned out, Akira's next sentence didn't hint at that. However... "I've finally found someone that can play chess!"

"Don't tell me you can play it too."

"No, I can't. I just know that it's a strategy board game kinda like shogi. Now that I can play some shogi, I'm a bit curious about chess too, but I didn't know of anyone that could play it. To think you could! So, can you teach me?"

Akira was staring at him with wonder and excitement, the same way as her child self did in his dream when she asked him to teach her chess. Akechi was lost for words, even more convinced that those dreams weren't normal. Come to think of it, they had gone out to have crepes right after he had had that first dream about the child Akira taking him to a crepes shop, then there was the yakisoba bread, and now shogi and chess... their circumstances in reality were different, but the dreams were definitely giving him hints... they couldn't be mere coincidence!

"... Is this a no?" Akira asked, a bit apprehensive.

"Um, sorry. Uh, I mean..." Akechi gesticulated nervously. "Not that I don't want to. I'd gladly teach you, really. But... um, we don't have a board and the pieces..." He managed to explain.

"Awww, too bad." Akira deflated. "I'll see about getting a board one of these days, then. Will you teach me if I manage to get the required stuff?"

Akechi nodded.

"Deal!" Cheerfulness returned to Akira's expression. "Now, what time is it?" She checked the time on her phone. "Whoa! It's past 11 P.M.! I have to go home."

Akechi's eyes widened in alarm. Now, having Akira leave was feeling like a horrible idea. "No, Akira. If you wander the streets this late and something bad happens to you..."

"Nothing will happen. Both your building and Leblanc are close to the train station." She tried to assure him.

"No, I'd rather you don't take that risk."

She shrugged. "Well, if you don't mind letting me stay the night here... I wouldn't say no to spending more time with you."

It was a relief that Akira would be safe, but Then, Akechi got embarrassed. "Uh, yes, but now I realize I don't have another futon or anything, and, um..."

"We'll have to share the futon." Akira stated matter of factly, not embarrassed in the slightest.

Akechi blushed. "Um, y-yes."

Akira let out a giggle. "This reminds me of the last day at the hotel."

Akechi got even more embarrassed at the recollection of that day, when he woke up on the same bed as Akira. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. "That was an accident!"

"If only all accidents were so adorable... to think you were uncomfortable to even share a room! Nothing wrong with what happened, and now we're way closer than we were back then."

Akechi dreaded that, after finding out the truth about his identity and his past actions, Akira might regret having shared the hotel room, let alone the bed that last day, and the futon at his home...

Akira inadvertently shifted closer to him and hugged him from behind. Both her embrace and the kiss she placed on the back of his head had so much affection... and Akechi felt like crying because it was too much more than he deserved. His heart was beating fast and painfully at the thought of how much affection Akira was wasting on him. He thought about his mother. How she had completely fallen in love for a man that wasn't the way she had imagined. How she wasted her love on Shido, only to end with a broken heart and fall into despair. Akechi didn't want the same to happen to Akira... he felt chills at a disturbing thought that surfaced. What if this was what the twins had meant when they said he would lead Akira to ruin?

"Akechi-kun? What's wrong?"

Akechi realized he would need to respond, and a "nothing" wouldn't do. He avoided eye contact with Akira as he spoke. "I... I was thinking about my mother..."

"Oh yeah, you had said she used to give you good night kisses..." Akira said innocently.

"Uh... that too."

Akira stroked his hair. "Do you miss her?"

"... Uh-huh." Akechi made a weak affirmative sound.

"If you miss her, it means you spent good moments with her, right?"

Akechi nodded. "Life was hard back then, but there were very nice moments too."

"I know you don't want to tell me about the bad stuff, but would you tell me about the good moments?"

His thoughts were threatening to get depressing. It was probably a good idea to change his focus to the nice moments. Still sitting on the futon with Akira holding him, Akechi began talking.

"I lived with my mother in a wooden shack. We enjoyed watching movies on a small old black and white TV set that she had found in the trash in the neighbor town where the villagers sold their wines." Akechi's gaze became distant. "More than movies, though, we enjoyed books. My mother was one of the few villagers that could read. She loved books, and always told me stories, like Kogoro Akechi's, and..." He managed to stop in time before Robin Hood's name could leave his mouth. If he were to mention Robin Hood, Akira would catch the hint for sure. "... uh, whatever other stories she happened to have read. She had begun teaching me how to read and write."

"That's nice! Does this mean you were already studious from the time you were little?"

"You could say that. I was eager to learn how to read, so that I could get access to all those amazing worlds she kept telling me about."

"Do you actually remember what happened in the stories she told you?"

Akechi took some time to think, and began describing whatever he remembered from the Kogoro Akechi stories. Eventually, the tiredness from that day got the better of him, and his eyelids began getting heavy.

"Okay, I'll turn the lights off." Akira volunteered.

"No, I will. But not yet. I'm not sleepy." He lied. The truth was that he felt very comfortable in Akira's hold while lost in his good memories. To him, at that moment, there was only Akira, him, and his memories from the time his heart was pure and his mother still lived. No Conspiracy, no mental shutdowns, no guilt, no one else and nothing else to worry about. Akechi only wished the comforting moment would last forever. He knew it was impossible, and the best he could do was stay awake. If he were to fall asleep, the magical moment would end.

From the way Akira chuckled, she didn't seem convinced, but went along with it anyway. "Alright. Let's continue talking, then."

"... Sometimes we'd want to enjoy something different, and began inventing new stories ourselves. There was one where Kogoro Akechi had to investigate an abandoned house..." Akechi continued narrating the stories, until it got to a point where he wasn't minding his words anymore, and didn't even realize what he was saying. "Then there was one where Robin Hood was involved in the same case Kogoro Akechi was looking into. They were at odds with each other at first, but once Kogoro found out both of them were fighting for the same cause, they ended up working to solve the case together."

---

"Wow, really?" Akira perked up. Robin Hood, Akechi, working together? That sounded interesting in so many levels. Could any of it reflect in the Metaverse in some way?

"Our imagination really went all-out on that story... at some point, Robin's bow broke, and he had to learn how to use a pistol. Yes... I just so happened to have had a toy pistol at the time, so that was what I suggested..." Akechi had a calm expression and a fond smile. "That was my favorite story among the ones my mother and I came up with. Still, I had forgotten about it completely... how could I? What a shame... but you asked about the stories, and I remember it now. Akira, thank you..."

Akechi relaxed completely, and sleep overtook him as he leaned backwards into Akira.

It was a wonder how the detective had so many different sides. One moment, he was displaying his smartness and amazing shogi skills, and the next, he was narrating bedtime stories, refusing to go to sleep like a little child, and being all adorable in general. Akira admired both of those sides, and wondered whether there was still more to him that she had yet to see. And she realized that perhaps, there was.

"I'm not a saint like you make me out to be." Akechi had said on the day she had asked him out. "I lied a lot. To the public, to my fans, and above all, to myself..."

Lied about what? She had thought he had been referring to his celebrity side, the false image he presented to the public. Was that all, though? Was that subject supposed to distress him that much? Akira knew there were things Akechi wasn't telling her. What else might he be hiding? They were good friends, and were so close. Why couldn't he talk about those things even to her?

Either way, the thought that Akechi might have done something wrong didn't make her like him any less. Everyone made mistakes, after all, and Akira could tell he had learned from his mistakes and was trying to change for better. This was yet another thing that she admired in him.

She let Akechi rest while leaning into her for a few more minutes. Akira was on the verge of falling asleep herself, and decided it was time to get in the futon.

"Alright, time to go to bed." She whispered.

"Hmhmm." Akechi mumbled, but didn't open his eyes.

Akira tried to make Akechi go into the futon, but he was being stubborn.

"Akechi-kun..."

"The lights." He spoke weakly. "I'll turn them off."

"You're basically sleeptalking."

"'m not." He insisted in a totally unconvincing way, like a stubborn little child. He tried to get up, but it seemed like too much effort, and he plopped back down to a sitting position in defeat.

Akira chuckled at yet more hotel flashbacks, where Akechi had been as difficult. "I'll turn the lights off for you. The next time I sleep over, you do it, okay?"

Akechi merely grunted, and didn't move from his position.

Akira stood up and turned the lights off. She returned to the futon and helped the groggy detective in. This time, he didn't complain.

"I wish you good dreams, my precious detective friend."

Akira whispered, and placed a soft kiss on Akechi's face. He was too tired to react, and Akira choose to simply get in the futon and lie down next to him.

... ... ... ... ...

X:X:X:X:X

As Akira fell asleep, Arsène appeared in her dream and guided her to the light portal. She came out near that house from her visions. When she was about to knock on the half-open window, she noticed the child Crow lying in his futon, flailing and gasping. Worried, Akira opened the window all the way and got in without asking for permission.

"Are you okay?!" Akira hurried over to him and crouched down.

He didn't respond. His eyes were wide in fear, and he wailed in agony.

"What're you feeling? Does anywhere hurt?" Akira asked, but got no response.

He began coughing as though he were suffocating, and this made Akira's heart compress.

She put a hand on his forehead, but he didn't seem to have a fever. Akira was beginning to panic, unsure what to do.

"I can't hear the TV! Shut up, brat!" A male voice shouted from outside the room.

Akira couldn't take that. Anger bubbled inside her, and she threw caution to the wind. She didn't care what might happen if she were found out. Those adults needed to have a piece of her mind. "Can't you see that he's feeling sick!?" Akira shouted towards the door. "Weren't you supposed to have been caring for him!" She tried to open the door and confront the man face to face, but it was locked.

"It's always like this..." The boy began murmuring between labored breaths. "Why did I have to survive? If only I had died that time, I wouldn't be burdening anyone now..."

Akira couldn't tell what event he was talking about. Survive? And "that time" when? The implications were sad, though.

"Don't say that!" Akira hurried back to him. "Welp, forget those people. Looks like they won't care anyway. But I care. I'm here. I'm here for you, my cute little prince."

"Don't call me that..." He protested weakly.

"Alright, my little chess knight." She managed to hold his hands in hers. "Calm down. It'll be okay." And she did the first thing that came to mind. She inched her head closer to his and placed a comforting kiss on his cheek.

Her reward was a dreamy smile blooming on his face. He relaxed at last, and entered a peaceful sleep. Akira sat on the ground and remained there petting his head.

What can I do to comfort you in reality too? Tell me, she thought.

Her thoughts got no response, and all she could do was continue what she was doing.

He eventually woke up. "Ugh..." He groaned, and groggily sat up.

"Are you okay? Does anywhere hurt?" Akira repeated her previous questions.

"I'm fine." He slowly answered. "It was just a nightmare... it happens sometimes." He blinked. "Ugh, but this is still a dream. Why did I have to have nightmares inside a dream? This is so stupid..."

Akira found it funny that he was talking as though he were aware they were in a dream. "I'm glad I managed to make the dream a bit better... I mean, I did, right?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Anyway, I have good news!" Akira announced. "You remember our deal about getting you out of this house, right? I had an idea. I figured we'd need more allies, preferably adults. So, I told my parents about you!"

"... You did?" He was surprised.

"Yeah. They're glad I made a new friend."

His gaze became distant and he seemed about to doze off, but he blinked and made an effort to remain alert. "Um, you had said that you get along with your parents. Tell me more about them."

"Both of them are busy with work, but my mom comes home a bit after I get back from school, and my dad only comes home at night. I usually wait to tell them what happened in my day at dinnertime, when both of them are home. On their days off, we either hang out somewhere together, or stay home watching TV if we aren't in the mood to go out."

"When you hang out, where do you like to go?"

"We usually take a walk around and stop somewhere to grab a bite, like that crepes store I took you to. Sometimes we compete at the arcade. We buy something, like for example a chocolate bar, and whoever gets a higher score at the arcade gets to have the chocolate. And my mom loves collecting those small prizes from crane machines! That reminds me, I have to get something from the Akihabara crane machine to give her!"

"Huh? ... Akihabara?"

Akira laughed sheepishly as she realized she was mixing the dream with reality. "Ah, never mind! You should hang out with us someday. It'll be really fun!"

"The adults don't let me go anywhere." He argued. "I'm only allowed to go to school and back."

"Hmm. Say, isn't there some day the adults here'll be away for long? Maybe we could sneak out to my place or something! Stealthily, in true Phantom Thieves fashion."

"I'm not sure about doing this..."

"If the adults from here complain, then my parents and I negotiate. My parents are adults too, and should have a say in the matter. This is the reason I decided to turn to them to begin with! If you find out a day when the adults will be away, let me know."

He seemed apprehensive, but also a bit hopeful. In the end, he gave in and nodded. However, he still looked tired and about to fall asleep. "Ugh, I think I still need some sleep..."

"Okay." Akira remained sitting on the rug next to his futon. "You'd better rest."

He looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry that I can't keep you company. You came all the way here..."

"It's fine. I'll keep you company, then."

"Huh? I thought you'd leave."

"You're sending me away?"

He shook his head. "N-no... but isn't it boring to stay here doing nothing?"

"If I leave now, I'll keep worrying about you the whole time."

"I-if you insist..." He smiled sheepishly, and lay back in his futon. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Akira wasn't sure how many minutes had passed. Eventually, she began feeling drowsy too.

I guess taking a short nap won't be a problem, she thought, and lay on her back next to the child Crow on the futon.

Her eyes closed, and as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the boy shifting closer, and then felt his gentle touch as he leaned into her. He rested his head on her shoulder, with his face a mere inch away from hers.

"... Akira." He whispered into her ear.

"What is it?"

"I think I still owe you this..." He caringly hugged her and placed an affectionate kiss on her face.

That level of sweetness overwhelmed her. Akira was paralyzed by all the fluffiness, and couldn't even feel the futon and the ground beneath her anymore. She felt as though she were floating in the clouds. Her eyelids gradually became heavier until they closed completely, and she fell asleep.

X:X:X:X:X

Sunday, October 30

Or rather, she woke up. Akira groaned awake but remained with her eyes closed, still under the effects of the fluff. That dream had been so cute. She wondered whether their ever so serious and cold secret agent was as affectionate to those he cared about in reality. No, was there actually anyone he deeply cared about to begin with?

"It's easier to say what I don't hate. I don't hate you guys. That's about it." Those words indicated that he hated practically everyone and everything. It was too sad. "Despite the envy, I couldn't bring myself to dislike you even if I wanted to," he had told her, and this indicated that he had at least some fondness towards her.

However, this didn't necessarily mean that he cared deeply about her. Even though Crow had treated her gently after the twins battle, it was hard to imagine that he would go as far as to spontaneously kiss her on the face like in the dream. Still, the feelings that the dream's fluff had evoked had been real, and Akira was still a bit dazed. She could feel his caring hold and the gentle warmth even now...

"Huh?" Akira finally came back to full focus, and gasped at the realization of where she was. Akechi was sharing a futon with her at his small apartment. She was lying on her back, the same position she had fallen asleep in last night. Akechi, on the other hand, was no longer in his initial position. Rather, he was hugging her with his head resting on her shoulder, exactly the same way the child Crow had hugged her in the dream!

---

A/n: cliffhanger!

"How did you find out about that world? How did it all start? Please, tell me everything from the beginning."

Thus, Sae did this fic's version of her "interrogation," with all Phantom Thieves present, and without Akira being drugged! :P

In the game, after Ann became a Phantom Thief, I wish the protagonist had explained to her the reason for his lateness on that first day of classes...

More Persona recipes from Elizabeth! The recipes were tested, by the way. You may follow them if you wish.

The sleepy and unfiltered Akechi is back, and so are the fluffy dreams!

But how will Akira react at the realization that Akechi is hugging her? What will Akechi do? Suspense! To be continued in chapter 30...

Akechi's Confidant rank ups in this chapter:

- Priestess 7

- Empress 4

Fool 8

Devil 8