Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Author's Note: Thank you guys for the favorites and the follows! It means a lot! Also, happy Persona 5 Royal Day! Haha. As soon as I'm done with this chapter, that's literally all I'm going to play, lol.

Intro Music: Persona 5 – Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There

Chapter 2: Just Like Old Times

Everybody was reunited, just like old times. The old Phantom Thieves didn't seem to miss a beat either. They reminisced, they laughed, they caught up with each other… Everything was great, right?

That probably isn't the case, as Akira was mostly putting up an act throughout the whole reunion. It's not that he wasn't happy to see his old friends, he actually was. Though, nobody knows the real reason why he came back in the first place. Everyone assumed that he came back because of summer vacation, but it goes a whole lot deeper than that.

During Akira's sleep, if anybody were to look at his body, it looked like he was going through a nightmare. He was gritting his teeth, frantically moving around his bed which woke up Morgana. Morgana immediately jumped off the bed before he was able to get knocked out.

"AKIRA!"

"NO!"

These were the voices in his dream, looking like he was going through a traumatizing event. The nightmare wouldn't last any further, though, because Morgana would be the one to wake Akira up.

"Akira! Wake up!"

That's when Akira's eyes immediately opened and went wide, waking up in a cold sweat as he shot up from his bed. He was breathing heavily, clearly being shaken up about something. Morgana knew what that something was, but it was always shocking to see how… shaken up Akira looked.

Akira touched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily as he went through this nightmare again. Morgana looked at him with worried eyes, telling him, "I still think that you should tell the others what you're going through. We're family for a rea-"

"No, Mona. I already told you I'm not telling them." Joker replied, his tone being completely serious. Morgana looked down in defeat, clearly being confused on how to help his friend. Then, Akira's phone would vibrate, making the boy pull it out and read the texts to himself.

Ann: Good morning!

Ann: By the way, I figured out where to hang out today. How about we just take a walk around Inokashira Park?

As Akira looked at the texts, he tried to calm himself down from the nightmare he went through. "Get it together, Akira." he thought to himself, trying to focus on hanging out with Ann. Maybe that would help him relax a bit?

Akira: Good morning. Yeah, a walk around the park sounds great.

Ann: Awesome! See you at 10?

Akira: See you at 10.

After that ended, Akira got up and took a deep breath. He looked at the clock and saw that he only had a little bit of time to get ready, but that shouldn't be a problem for the leader of the old Phantom Thieves, right? He's been in worse situations before.

So, he would find the determination to get ready, putting on his casual clothes. Black jacket, white shirt, and jeans. That was his signature look, and it looks like it hasn't changed in the six months he's been gone.

Now, he had to rush out the door. Running towards the steps, he was about to exit his room until Morgana stopped him. "Hey!" Morgana yelled, making Akira break instantly.

"What?" Akira replied.

"That was Lady Ann you were texting, right?" Morgana asked, to which Akira would respond with only a nod. "Don't do anything crazy, you got that?! I'm watching you, Akira! Always watching!" exclaimed Morgana, half being serious while the other half was him trying to lighten the mood in a joking tone, even if the 'always watching' quote came off kinda creepy.

Akira, knowing Morgana's crush for Ann, couldn't help but to laugh a little. Well, at least Morgana's joke slightly worked. "I got you, Mona. Don't worry." With that, he ran down the steps, seeing Sojiro preparing some coffee for a customer.

"See ya, Sojiro!" Akira quickly said, running out the door before Sojiro even had the chance to respond.

He could only shake his head, muttering, "Kids these days… Don't even tell you good morning."

Inokashira Park

It took a minute, but Akira made it to Inokashira Park. He always did admire the beauty of this place. This was another nostalgia trip for him, given that this was the place Ann invited him to when she was trying to strengthen her heart. He smiled when he thought back to that memory, specifically when Ann willingly told him to throw insults at her face so she could work on not getting fazed by them.

There was the time he did say, "I love you," to her, which caught the blonde completely off guard and wildly made her blush. It was taken as a joke, though. Nothing wrong with a fun joke, am I right?

Orrrrrr…. Did he actually mean that?

People say some jokes do hold a small amount of truth in them.

That's when Akira brought out his phone, getting ready to text Ann until he felt somebody tap his shoulder. He turned around, wondering who this random person could be.

Coincidentally, it was Ann with a big smile on her face. "Surprise!" she exclaimed in her natural bubbly tone.

"Oh, hey! I didn't know you were-"

That's when Akira paused, looking at Ann and saw how beautiful she was. I mean, she's always beautiful, but she changed her look this time around. She was wearing a red tank top, black tights, and had heart shaped earrings in her ears. Though, the most noticeable thing about her was that she didn't have her pigtails in, instead having her platinum blonde hair down.

It was obvious that she put some work into her appearance for this little 'hang out' she was having with Akira. Not like she needed to since she was naturally pretty, but it was pretty safe to say that Akira was taking a decent look at her.

Knowing that he had to say something before everything got awkward, he quickly said, "I like your hair."

A faint blush appeared on Ann's cheeks, saying, "Thanks!" In her mind, she was fist pumping, telling herself, "Yes! He noticed!"

Yep, this was all part of her plan.

On that note, this is when Akira and Ann began to walk with each other. Feeling like she was doing well so far, Ann would be the one to initiate. "So, how does it feel being back?" she inquired.

"Feels like I never left." Akira replied with a grin. "I still remember the first time we came here, when you were getting all serious about strengthening your heart."

By the amused look on her face, Ann knew where this was going. "You mean when I told you to insult me?"

"Yep," Akira said, his grin getting bigger. "Believe it or not, you were actually doing well… Until I pulled out my trump card." Of course, he was referring to the 'I love you' quote.

Ann sighed heavily, looking down at the ground. "You just had to mention that part, huh?" she said jokingly.

"Hey, I was called Joker for a reason. I'm literally a trump card." Akira smirked, edging Ann on to debate with him.

"That was cheating and you know it! That wasn't even an insult!" she exclaimed, her cheeks becoming red yet again.

Good grief, her cheeks can't stay normal for two seconds, can they?

"I know. You were prepared for insults, but you weren't prepared to hear something positive." Akira told her, the two then stopping as Ann thought about it. He did have a point there.

"I guess… I guess I wasn't ready for it because I wasn't used to hearing positive things at the time. That was after we beat Kamoshida and all the rumors people were spreading about me were still fresh in my mind. Plus, I was still dealing with my best friend almost killing herself…" Ann trailed off, her voice and face being melancholy as she mentioned Shiho at the end.

Akira now looked like he regretted what he said, placing a hand on Ann's shoulder. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you sad. Forget that I said that."

Ann nodded. "No, you're fine. That was the old me, and I realized those events needed to happen so I could become the person I am today." She stopped, looking at Akira with a smile. "Honestly, I can't imagine how I would be if I never met you. Even after we beat Kamoshida, you inspired me to become a better person in every way imaginable, and it showed in your actions. I can't count the amount of times you were there for me. Whenever I needed anything, literally anything, you were there for me. Heck, when we didn't even know each other that well, I found myself telling you about Kamoshida because you cared so much."

Akira thought back to that day, remembering how stressed Ann was during that time. That conversation was the moment when Akira made up his mind to take down Kamoshida. Shiho trying to kill herself only gave him even more of reason to end that man's whole career.

Ann turned to the trees, the sun shining down on them. "Now, it's like I can't imagine my life without you being in it. It's only one of the reasons why it was so hard to see you go. I knew you had to go so you could be with your family again, but it didn't make it any less hard."

Hearing this, the mention of his home now made Akira lost in his own thoughts. There was a silence between the two, before Akira made himself snap out of it.

"Ann," he began, the girl turning to him. "I just want to let you know that you were a good person before we became the Phantom Thieves. Believe it or not, I think you're giving me too much credit." he told her, not yet being done. "You were sweet and caring way back then, but nobody wanted to give you a chance because they simply didn't like you. It's the same thing I went through when I was on probation."

He would give a pause.

"It's like the world was against both of us at that time, but funny enough, that's what made us click with each other. Because we were able to see eye to eye, that's why I loved, and still love talking to you. That is one of the many reasons why I missed you so much, and I'm glad that I'm back so I can talk to you again."

Oh boy, Akira was using his sweet tone. This wasn't good. Ann's cheeks were darn near crimson at this point, but for good reason. When Akira combines his kindness with his charm, that combination is a lady killer. For her, it was nice to know that he missed her as much as she missed him.

"I only wish I could repay you for everything that you've done for me. It might be impossible, but while you're here, I think that'll be my mission. We're gonna have fun all summer break, okay?!" Ann told him, her face being happy while her words were dead serious.

Truth be told, Ann's words touched Akira's heart more than she knew. It was also because of what Akira's recently gone through, which made him more emotionally charged than usual. Not knowing what to say, he came up to Ann and hugged her. It was safe to say that the blonde wasn't expecting her crush to hug her suddenly like that, but it's not like she would mind it.

It's not like this wasn't the first time they ever hugged, but… Ann couldn't put her finger on it. Something about this hug was different from the others.

"Thank you, Ann…" Akira said in a shaky voice, which immediately caught Ann's attention. She would break the hug and look at Akira face, more specifically looking into his eyes.

Something was off about him.

"Akira, are you okay?" she asked, showing worry.

Akira would try to play it off, though. "I'm fine."

Nope, that voice, that tone didn't carry the same confidence he had. Specifically, that Joker confidence, that leader confidence was lacking.

"Is there anything bothering you?" She continued to show worry for her friend. Akira now went silent, avoiding eye contact with Ann.

Now, this was definitely a surprise for Ann. Has she ever seen him this shaken up before?

"Akira…" Ann began, getting closer to him and held his hand. "I want to be there for you. I refuse to make the same mistake I made with Shiho, when I wasn't there for her when she needed me most. I don't want anything like that to happen again, so please… Tell me."

She looked into his eyes once more as Akira turned to her. However, it only lasted for a couple of seconds. Akira hated how this whole thing was going right now, how vulnerable he looked. This was not him at all. He was the person that helped everyone with their problems, it's not supposed to be the other way around.

He was the leader of the Phantom Thieves for that reason. He kept everything in order.

But what would happen if he wasn't in order?

That's when Akira escaped Ann's grip, looking away. "I'm sorry…" he told her, now taking off since he didn't want Ann to worry about him. If only he knew that him running away would only cause Ann to worry even more.

Ann tried to call out for his name, but it would prove to be futile.

"Akira! Akira!" she said, but he was already gone.

The leader has some issues, and he doesn't want anybody to know.

END OF CHAPTER 2: JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

BGM: Persona 5 – Beneath The Mask

Ann: Guys! Has anybody seen Akira?!

Ryuji: What? Is something wrong with him?

Akira: Nothing is wrong with me!

Morgana: Can you just tell everybody already?!

Next time on Don't Go Breaking My Heart!

Family

Ann: Akira, we're here for you.

Author's Note: And chapter 2 is done! Seriously, what is wrong with Akira? Haha. If you like what you read, leave a follow and a favorite. Don't forget to READ AND REVIEW! Now, I'm gonna go back to playing Persona 5 Royal, lol.