Escaping the confines of the temple was harder than the three leaders originally thought. The place was a maze of jail cells, most of them empty. The only way they could even track where they had been was through Akira's third eye, and even that was limited. There were cultists and Shadows around every corner, so progress was slow.

Akira leaned out from a wall, scanning a wider hallway lined with shackles. He hated it here, it reminded him of the old Velvet Room, where he was chained to his own heart. The energy rubbed him the wrong way, constantly making him feel on edge. It was worse than the first two temples, and at least in those he felt like he could breathe.

"Akira."

At a gentle nudge from Minato, Akira's attention snapped back to the hallway. He had gotten distracted and overlooked a figure laying limp and chained to the middle of the hallway floor. After a moment of staring with the third eye open, he decided that they weren't a threat. He slunk forward, nodding at the others to follow.

The person in the hallway was wearing a standard prisoner outfit. The shackles on their wrists seemed to melt into the floor, and there was a ball and chain around their right foot. As Akira stepped closer, he felt worry and concern starting to spark through him. Something's wrong. Even so, he felt himself moving closer towards the figure, desiring to help them.

"Akira, wait."

Yu's composed voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned back around to see the gray haired boy glaring at the prisoner. Akira felt his heart drop as he turned back. He recognized why he felt close to them. The messy black hair, the tattered outfit, the sharply curving jawline, all of it screamed his name. This was what he looked like in the Velvet Room last year. And now that he was close, he could hear the muffled sobs that wracked this figure's body.

"I don't know how you managed to miss this, but that's a Shadow." Yu's voice was dripping with...well, Akira wasn't sure what all was in there, but it wasn't anything good. His arms shook as he whipped his dagger from the fold of his coat. If it's a Shadow, then we have to kill it.

"I'm nothing but a prisoner."

Akira stopped again. His own voice called out as the Shadow leaned over backwards, its bright yellow eyes glimmering. It had tear stained cheeks as well as cuts and bruises from the restraints. It spoke again, sending Akira into a deeper panic.

"I'm shackled down to fate, a prisoner of destiny. I'm supposed to be jailed. I'm nothing but a criminal."

"No...No I'm not." Akira wasn't sure what had led to him saying this. His voice trembled as the Shadow stood up, the chains in the floor pulling up as if being pulled from sand. The sobs turned into cackles.

"You think everyone is chained down like you!" No! I don't feel that way! "And anyone who isn't is just better than you!" There was a sharp clink as Akira's knife hit the floor before he put his hands over his ears. It didn't do anything to block out the Shadow's scalding words. "You drag everyone around like they're dogs, all because you think they can't change! Even those two! You think they'll never change!"

"No! I swear, I don't think that!" Akira turned to Yu and Minato in desperation. "This isn't m-"

"Stop."

Yu's voice penetrated his panic. Akira blinked a few times at the gray haired boy, noticing how those light gray eyes were soft for once. Minato looked soft as well, less indifferent and more friendly. Almost.

"While I don't think that's your real Shadow, it's fashioned after you. That's you. You need to accept it."

"But it's not! I don't think that way."

Minato stepped forward towards Akira and rested his hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. I wouldn't expect us to change right away either, I mean we just stopped trying to kill each other half an hour ago." Akira felt the tension leave him, his panic melting away as Yu walked over as well.

"I've dealt with the worst sides of people. Something you learn is that people are more than just bad or good." Yu smiled softly, and Akira felt better at once. "You're still a skilled fighter and acrobat, and the best leader the Thieves could ever hope for. Just because you feel like you and everyone else can't change doesn't make you a bad person."

"We're their leaders. They trust us no matter what, Akira. It's all we can do to lead them in the best way we can." Minato gave a tiny smile, something that look both out of place and perfect on him. Akira wiped his face and turned back to look at the Shadow.

"Yeah. You're me. I feel tied down because of everything that happened last year, and like I can't escape doing stuff like this." He locked eyes with the Shadow, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. "But it doesn't matter. The Phantom Thieves will always follow me, no matter what, and I'm proud to be their leader!" He lifted the chains around the Shadow's wrists into his hands. In a fluid moment, he broke them apart with a twist, and the Shadow vanished. Akira let out the breath he had apparently been holding.

"We need to get home."

He picked his dagger off the floor and continued to walk with the other two leaders, but it seemed as if the layout of the prison had changed. Akira was about to gripe about how it felt like they were going in circles when he stumbled upon another wide hallway. There was a figure standing in the middle, and now that he knew what he was looking for, he could see how it was Shadow-like.

"There's another Shadow-"

Minato had swept past him, as if moving against his own will. Akira reached for him, but the blue haired boy was already deep into the hallway. Cursing under his breath, he and Yu followed Minato inside, stopping when they saw the Shadow.

It was humanoid, but that's as far as the similarities went. It seemed to be split in half, one side looking rather familiar with the long blue bangs and uninterested expression. The Gekkoukan uniform was recognizable, as well as the headphones that hung from its neck. The other side was more terrifying, a white mask over an empty head. Four coffins stretched from a chain on its back, and more of those chains wrapped around the Shadow. It spoke in two voices, one being Minato's and the other being like that snarling Persona he barely showed.

"You don't know who you really are." Minato stiffened, wrapping his arms around himself. "Are you even human at this point? You've been harboring death for so long, how do you know you won't kill anyone?" The boy let out a soft wail, glancing back at the other leaders with fear. "Are you a human, or are you a god?"

"Don't listen to it! It's just...It's just saying lies about me!"

"Don't kid yourself! You know how you really feel, how easily you know you could kill them! All you have to do is let him out and they're gone, they're all gone!" Minato wailed again, desperately trying to get the Shadow to stop. Akira could see his white knuckles from here, digging into his jacket.

"That's not true! I'd never let him out!"

"Minato!" Akira and Yu both cried out at the same time. They ran to him, flanking the boy on either side. Akira bent down, bringing his face close. "Minato, listen. I know you hate us, and frankly that's fine. But I know you wouldn't actually kill us, or any of your teammates for that matter."

"You have those thoughts and that's ok. This...death, or whatever that's a part of you, that's all it is. A part. We all have pieces and parts." Yu gently rested his hand on Minato's head, and thankfully the boy batted it away. He seemed to be better.

Minato shoved the other leaders away from him, recovering from his panic. He stared down the Shadow, though his gaze was rather soft. "I am both. I am Minato Arisato, and I am Death. But I will never, never let death escape again!"

The Shadow vanished, leaving Minato to slump his shoulders again in his normal posture. He looked back at Akira and Yu. There was something warm in his eyes now, even if the rest of him didn't show it. He could kill all of us right now, but I trust him. I trust he wouldn't do that.

They continued on their way, and once again, Akira was sure that the layout of the place had changed. Yu had been quiet after dealing with Minato's Shadow, up until they reached another hallway. The soft sobs that rang out sounded rather familiar, but Akira couldn't understand why. The Shadow in this corridor was a child, kneeling on the floor and crying.

"Is that…"

"Me."

Yu stepped forward rather stiffly. Akira could hear the tension in his breath, but he approached the Shadow anyway. He and Minato followed behind, watching carefully as the gray haired boy knelt beside the weeping child.

"Everyone is going to leave me if I don't grow up." Yu carefully turned the child so that it was facing him. The gray hair was the same then as it was now, carefully cut and styled the exact same way. The soft features had only gotten sharper as he got older, resulting in the powerful, composed Yu they knew. His voice was even the same, just deeper and sadder.

"That's not true. Your friends love you, no matter what. No one will leave you." Akira watched as tears started to drip down Yu's face. "You don't need to grow up at all. And it was horrible of your parents to insist that you did." He pulled the Shadow into a hug before it dissolved, then stood up. He stared at Akira and Minato for a moment before wiping his face. "I...I always thought that I needed to be the adult in my life. My own parent. Being childish was a crime."

"The Investigation Team still thinks you're the best, and honestly, you're the only one I'd pick to lead those crazies." Akira smirked. "I don't care if you're an adult or a child. You're Yu."

"And really, being ourselves is all that matters."