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.

33. Special Feelings

A/n (2020/09/15): sorry, yet another huge delay... Royal has been taking up most of my free time. I've cleared the main story and am reaching the end of the third semester. I like it so far!

A reader asked me if I'll add third semester stuff to this fic too, and I still don't know (the plot there sounds really interesting, though). Who else wants third semester content in this fic? Depending on the response, I might consider it more! But if I decide to add it in, Akira will have to grind those two new Confidants fast :P .

On to the fic... like usual, after a long delay comes an even longer chapter! And I broke the chapter length record again. More than 28k words... at this point, I don't doubt I'll end up publishing a 30k words chapter one of these days...

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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 33: Special Feelings

A text message from Sakamoto came during class again. Akechi waited for the teacher to leave between one class and the next to reply.

"Hey, Akechi. It took a while but I found another jewelry store. We can go there after school!"

"I'm busy today. I have important things to do." Akechi intended to head to Mementos and interrogate the Shadow he had found out about.

"You mean Akira's gift isn't important?"

"That's not what I meant!" Akechi typed quickly.

"Haha, just kidding. I know you're a busy guy. When you have some free time, tell me and we'll go check the store out, mkay?"

"Alright. The teacher is coming. I'll contact you another time."

That class went by, and the chimes rang to indicate the start of lunch break. The students began leaving the classroom, and some of their comments reached Akechi's ears.

"Um, isn't Akechi acting kinda different lately?" A boy asked.

"Looks the same to me." Another one answered dismissively.

"Really? I think sometimes he looks kinda gloomy, and it feels off."

"It must be because his popularity's really low." The second boy was dismissive again. "That's what he gets for opposing the Phantom Thieves."

"Hmm... yeah, could be it..." The first boy didn't sound convinced, but left it at that anyway.

His classmates' gossip didn't matter, though. Even though Akechi would have lunch alone like always, it would be the lunch Akira had prepared for him, a nice change of pace from the usual cafeteria food.

---

Akira stared solemnly at the downtrodden figure of Ms. Kawakami standing before her. Ms. Kawakami had summoned Akira to the student guidance room, and had seemed the happiest ever when Akira arrived at the room. Ms. Kawakami said she had done just as Akira and Akechi had advised and called the Takases to tell her she would get the issue behind her, continue following her dreams and stop paying them. Unfortunately, right after she had told this to Akira, the Takases just had to show up at the school to blackmail her again, and Ms. Kawakami was back to square one... as Akira had feared, it wasn't that easy and Ms. Kawakami didn't manage to talk it through.

"No, it's no use... I can't do anything to get out of this. If only a miracle could happen... do you think... maybe, um, the Phantom Thieves..." A shard of hope glimmered in Ms. Kawakami's gaze for a split second, but it disappeared and she shook her head. "No, never mind. What am I even saying?"

"What are their first names?"

"Huh?"

"The Takases' first names." Akira clarified.

"Toshio-san and Hiromi-san. There's no way I'd ever forget those names. I've been seeing them every time I need to transfer money to their bank accounts... no, wait. Why do you want to know?" She asked quickly, a bit alarmed. "You aren't thinking of doing anything to them, are you?"

"Just what you said. Ask for the Phantom Thieves help! Wasn't this what you wanted to happen?"

Ms. Kawakami startled. "Huh? But..."

"Making a request is anonymous and costs nothing. So, why not try? The worst that can happen is nothing. Or it might actually work, who knows..."

"You mean, to treat this like a little game and post on the forum to see if something happens, as a way to vent about the situation?" Ms. Kawakami chuckled. "Akira-chan, thank you for trying to cheer me up. Okay, maybe I'll feel better if I do it."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "You'll do it yourself?"

"Yes."

"Oh, alrighty then! Just remember to write those two's full names. Good luck with your request!"

That was a good outcome. Akira had already been planning to handle requests at Mementos this afternoon anyway, and having Ms. Kawakami's request coming now would be perfect.

The chimes rang and lunch break started. Akira ran into Mishima on the way to the courtyard.

"Hey, Kurusu. It was Ms. Kawakami calling you, right? You aren't in trouble, are you?"

"Don't worry. I'm not in trouble. Everything's fine. How about you? How's it going?"

Mishima was excited, seemingly glad she had asked. "You need to hear this! Futaba-chan really made me a bot to ease moderation of the Phansite! I've been using it for a while now, and it really works wonders. She even told me she can apply some patches to tighten the website's security and prevent fraudulent votes and comments. She's amazing!"

"Yeah, what else did you expect?" Akira lowered her voice. "She's the one who took those hackers down, after all."

Mishima's eyes bulged. "What!? Is that for real?"

"Yup."

"Whoa... you guys are really awesome!" He inched a bit closer. "Have you found the next big target yet?"

"Yeah. Two, actually. Still need to plan out some stuff and decide who'll be first, though."

"Not one, but two at once? That'll be double the excitement! I can't wait to see what you guys will do."

Mishima's comment lit an imaginary lightbulb above Akira's head. Instead of going for any of the two targets first, what if they could aim for both at once? Akira would have to discuss it with everyone.

She met up with her friends and started having her lunch.

"Huh? Won't you buy the yakisoba bread?" Ryuji asked.

"Not today." Her expression softened at the thought that Akechi would also be having his portion of that lunch right now.

They began eating, except Ann. Ryuji noticed her staring out into space. "Ann, what's up?"

"Um, I was thinking about what Akechi-kun said. I mean, I ran into him yesterday and..." Ann told them what had happened.

"So, he has admitted to having solved the mental illnesses cases wrong." Makoto went through the new information Ann had brought. "If he said they made him solve the cases in a way no one would suspect their involvement, it means he knows something. Even if not everything, he certainly knows more than most people, as no one knows who was involved."

"Those corrupt adults are forcing him to keep quiet and threatening him. This is the reason why he can't quit..." Ann added. "We began talking about this kind of abusive adults, I ended up telling him what happened to Shiho, and... Akechi-kun said he tried to kill himself when he was a child. He said he ran into traffic... and the foster family only scolded him and didn't worry about him at all..."

Akira gasped. It was the event she had seen in the visions about his past. From the visions, he seemed to have been around 10 or 11 years old when that happened, meaning it was around 2009... and Akira's eyes grew wide. He must have caught the Apathy Syndrome around that time too! And even after the Apathy Syndrome, the foster family still didn't care about him.

The others also gasped in horror.

"For real...?" Ryuji uttered.

"I think all the abuse from those horrible adults is hitting him harder than we had imagined." Ann spoke again. "He said he thinks things would've been better if he had died that time... I'm worried that he can't handle all the pressure and might still be thinking of..."

"I found him crying when he stayed the night at my place." Makoto told them. "Could this issue be one of the reasons? I tried to comfort him, but there wasn't much I could do."

"He looks sad from time to time, but I could never have imagined the problem might be that deep..." Haru commented.

"Yeah, it sure doesn't show on his face." Ryuji gritted his teeth. "If he hides stuff this well, isn't it bad? If no one notices what's going on with him and no one does anything..."

"He never had anyone supporting him his whole life, right?" Ann said with a shaky voice. "Maybe he hasn't even realized he can ask for help to begin with... or maybe he thinks no one will help him..."

Worse than that, even if he didn't try to kill himself, he already seemed sure that he would die soon because of the probable death penalty.

"Also, he had hinted he may be unable to come to the culture festival next year." Makoto pointed out. "What if he's planning to do something stupid before that?"

"Oh no!" Haru exclaimed.

"We can't let him!" Ryuji said determinedly. "We need to have a serious talk with him about this stuff."

Ann nodded. "I told him to talk to any of us if he begins having that kind of thought. We probably should take the initiative instead, though. I'll text Yusuke and Futaba to let them in on this."

"We need to take the organization down as soon as possible," Haru said. "If those abusive adults are really connected to the evil organization, they should leave Akechi-kun alone after we dismantle their group."

Everyone nodded.

"We still need to decide whether to target the mastermind or the SIU director first." Makoto reminded them.

"I have a plan, but I want to discuss it with Crow too," Akira said. "I was thinking of going to Mementos today and handling the requests that are piled up. I'll contact you guys once I'm ready."

"I only hope Crow will come," Haru said.

"If he doesn't, we'll have to leave the plan for another day. Let's believe he'll come, though!" Akira would make sure of it. He was worried about Ms. Kawakami. If she were to call him and tell him about the new request, it was very likely that he would come to help.

"We still need to ask him about that stuff, though." Ryuji spoke. "You know, about Akechi and the shutdown cases..."

That would make him uncomfortable and scared for sure.

Morgana seemed to have thought the same thing. "Isn't Lady Ann's report enough confirmation already, though? We wanted to know if Akechi was aware he had solved the cases wrong, and if those guys were related to the organization. Now we know."

"We should gather as much intel as possible to avoid causing more problems inadvertently." Makoto argued. "We have learned the lesson, and should not repeat the same mistake. Crow knows what goes on in the organization better than anyone. He is the only one we can ask for more details."

"He got so angry when we asked about Akechi-kun, though." Haru made a pained face. "It's sad to hear him say such harsh words. Akechi-kun is suffering so much as it is. Why did Crow have to get so angry?"

"It's true that Akechi-kun cheated and solved the cases wrong, but 'half-assed detective?' That's too much..." Ann said. "Akechi-kun has regretted what he did and is trying to make up for it. He doesn't deserve that kind of treatment..."

Morgana heaved a sigh, and from his face, Akira could tell the supernatural kitty had reached the conclusion of how hard Akechi was being on himself.

"Should we try to change Crow's mind?" Haru asked.

"I think we should leave that part to Akira." Morgana suggested. "She knows Akechi better than anyone. If there's someone who can give the most convincing arguments, it has to be her!"

This decision seemed to satisfy Makoto. "You have a point. At first, we didn't like Akechi-kun much, either, and only got to know him better thanks to her insistence. Akira, we will be counting on you for this."

Akechi was being too hard on himself and too resigned at his whole situation, and Akira was determined to tame his heart no matter what.

"Alright, leave it to me!" She declared with a grin.

As if on cue, her cellphone rang, and it was Akechi calling!

"Whoa. Excuse me, important call incoming!" She traded a glance with her friends. Looks like it's already time to start the operation! Akira thought as she scurried off to get the call.

Once she was at a distance she could talk to him in private, she picked the call up. "Hello, Akechi-kun?"

"Hi, Akira. Uh, I just wanted to thank you for the lunch. It was delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it!"

---

And Akechi realized he had nothing else to say. He shuffled awkwardly with his phone. "Err, that was all... what am I doing? Sorry, I kind of called you on a whim... perhaps a text message would've been enough. I hope I haven't interrupted anything..." The fact that she had taken a while to pick up may mean she might have been in the middle of something important.

"Hey, do you read thoughts or what? I was actually thinking of calling you, and you just saved me the 'trouble.'" Once again, Akira gave him an unexpected response. "I have news." She lowered her voice. "Ms. Kawakami talked to me, and said she told the Takases she'll stop paying them, and that she'll continue teaching and following her dreams. But they were none too happy about that and came all the way to the school to threaten her!"

Akechi worried immediately. As he feared, from the way that couple seemed deranged, it was very unlikely that Ms. Kawakami could solve her problem just by talking things trough.

"I had the feeling that it wouldn't be that easy... but y-you weren't there when they came to threaten her, were you?"

"Um, I was." Akira quickly added, "I'm fine. But Ms. Kawakami is not. They mean to cause a scandal and fire her by suing her and saying she's a sex worker, because they assumed that'd be the only way she could've gotten all that money!"

That didn't sound good, and Akechi was horrified for a second. "Her part-time work doesn't involve that, does it?"

"No, it doesn't." Akira answered, to Akechi's relief. "She's been working as a maid. The guys give her pervy looks, but that's as far as it goes. The problem is that the company she works for does have a branch related to that stuff, and this might be used to complicate her situation."

"That sounds bad."

"Yeah. But you know what? Ms. Kawakami said she'll make a request to the Phantom Thieves!"

"Huh?" Akechi hadn't seen that one coming. He thought Akira might want to do it, but hadn't imagined the initiative would come from Ms. Kawakami herself.

"Well, detective, since you had asked me to keep you informed about this issue, I've said it. Oh, and I've talked to Hifumi the other day, too. I didn't bring up the spiky topic, but I found out some things. Hifumi told me she had an ugly fight with her mom, because her mom's aggressively forcing her to become an idol instead of a shogi player. Her mom said she was behind the choice of who'd be Hifumi's opponents in those matches. This got me thinking. What if the matches are being set-up like you suspected, and her mom, out of all people, is behind it?"

"Hmm. That would be terrible."

"Yeah. The atmosphere was already tense between Hifumi and her mom before. Now, it's even worse, and if these suspicions turn out to be true... I don't even want to think about it. I wish I could do something to help Hifumi. So, I volunteered to at least make a request to the Phantom Thieves to change her mom's heart."

"Sounds like the Phantom Thieves will be quite busy..."

"Yeah, sounds like it. This is all I wanted to say. Bye for now, detective. See you around!"

All of this could only mean one thing: they would definitely meet up in Mementos today.

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

After classes, Akechi went home to drop his study materials and change into his casual clothes.

His phone rang. It was Sakamoto, who for some reason decided to make a call instead of sending another text message.

"Yo, Akechi. I know you said you'd be busy, but can you talk right now?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Uh, I heard from Ann about... some dark stuff. That you tried suicide when you were little. I got worried thinking that you still may be thinking of... you know, trying again..."

"Oh." Akechi had forgotten that telling something to one of the Phantom Thieves was basically the same as telling them all. Of course Takamaki-san would tell the others... "Don't worry. It's different now. I have no intention of doing anything stupid like that."

This didn't convince Sakamoto, though. "Be honest with me, man. Ann said you think things would've been better if you had died that time..."

So, she had told them that too... Akechi was really letting his guilt get the better of him and losing control of his words around the Phantom Thieves, wasn't he?

Akechi bit his lip as he tried to formulate a justification. "Uh, no need to take it so seriously. You know, sometimes we aren't in the best of moods and end up saying extreme things..."

"You know this answer doesn't make things any better, right? You've just admitted you weren't well." And Sakamoto saw right through his excuse. "So, what's up? Why did you say those things?"

Great. Now Akechi's speech techniques were failing on other people besides Akira, too.

Akechi sighed. "Uh, because I realized all I've ever managed to do in my life was burden others and make their lives worse."

"What? That's totally not true! You might've been unlucky with the foster families and all, but you can't just assume you make everyone's lives worse! Uh, okay, you really pissed me off at first. You kept looking at us in that mocking and condescending way that made it unbearable to stand near you."

That hurt, but it was the truth. "Thanks for your honesty, Sakamoto-kun. I had a very wrong first impression of you as well. I suppose we are even... you're actually nice, considerate, and can be quite mature too."

Sakamoto laughed awkwardly. "It's kinda embarrassing to hear this from you, out of all people. Even the others from the group don't give me much credit most of the time! But y'know? You're quite nice too! I bet someone who's never seen you wouldn't believe if I were to say you were a jerk! Good thing that Akira kept insisting on having us hang around you, 'cause I got to know that different side of you. I can say you defly didn't make my life worse, and am sure Akira and the others'd agree!"

Until they found out the truth, that is. Akira would probably be devastated, Futaba would probably hate him, and the others might go back to despising him.

Sakamoto kept talking. "Akechi, you said those things 'cause you think you don't have a place to belong, yeah? I don't know lots of things, but I sure know how that feels. Even though it was rough, I can say I've managed to find a place to belong. I believe you can find yours too. Just don't give up. I'm not good at much, but if there's anything I can do for you, tell me, alright?"

Akechi was unable to suppress a smile at the peculiar Phantom Thief way of warm words. "Thanks. Sakamoto-kun, you're a good friend."

"You really mean it?"

"Yes, I do. You're the kind of friend I wished I had for most of my life."

"Whoa. Then, better late than never, right? It feels nice to hear you say that, though! After this, I guess I'll have to give my best so I don't disappoint, huh?"

Sakamoto's excitement and willingness to help were touching. The Chariot Confidant ranked up, and Akechi dreaded the moment the truth would get out and the bond would break.

Sakamoto's voice pulled him out of the Tarot card vision. "Okay, I said what I had to say. Actually, today I'll be busy too. I'll have to hang up."

"Thanks for calling, Sakamoto-kun. Maybe we could talk again over ramen one of these days..."

"Sure thing! Now, though, both of us have stuff to do, right? Let's give our best!"

The call was over. Akechi took a look at the Phansite, and indeed there was a request that could only be about Ms. Kawakami's case. With that confirmation, he went to Mementos. Akechi had meant to look for the police officer's Shadow to interrogate about Akira's false charges, but it was already the time he usually met up with the Phantom Thieves. Sure enough, when he entered Mementos, the Phantom Thieves were waiting.

"Yes!" Joker grinned when Crow arrived. "I was hoping you'd come, and you did! We have to discuss what to do about the mastermind and the SIU director."

Crow nodded. "Yes, it's about time we discussed that."

Joker spoke again. "Remember when I suggested choosing a third option? I had an idea. Instead of choosing one of them to target first, how about we target both of them at once?"

"Both at once?" Crow prompted her to elaborate.

"Yeah, like, we split into two groups, and each group handles one Palace. What do you think?"

"Hmm. This plan sounds interesting." Crow took a few seconds to consider Joker's suggestion. "I think it would be hard to make it work, though. With only a few people, neither group will have backup members to split the workload. And considering the complexity of both Palaces' traps, what if one of the groups don't have the members with the required abilities to deactivate the traps? For example, let's suppose both Palaces have security systems that must be hacked into, like the rigging machines in Minerva's Palace. How would the group without Oracle go about handling them?"

"Oh, you raise good points." Queen complimented him. "It amazes me how you were able to identify all these drawbacks after analyzing the plan for only a few seconds."

"Don't you know the ins and outs of those Palaces?" Panther asked.

"Not really. I think I've already said this, but not even I know everything about the mastermind's Palace."

"It seems we might have to handle the Palaces normally," Queen said. "Still, I think we should secure the route to both treasures before changing anyone's heart. This way, we will be ready to quickly change the second target's heart in case something happens."

Joker nodded in approval. "Okay, not the two targets at once, but close enough! I like it!"

"Joker's plan is indeed interesting, though." Fox spoke. "We may not be able to split the group to tackle different Palaces simultaneously, but we are able to communicate inside the same Palace. Perhaps we could split into two groups to handle different parts of the same Palace, if we find ourselves pressed for time."

"Hmm. Then, if either group needs backup, they can ask for the other group's help easily." Mona concluded.

"What to do about leadership, though?" Panther raised a question. "Joker can lead one of the groups like usual, right? But who'll lead the other one? That'd be impossible to me."

"T-to m-me too!" Oracle stuttered.

"Um, I am not cut out for it, either." Noir spoke timidly.

"I'd totally suck at it too," Skull added.

"I believe we should leave leadership to one of our seniors." Fox suggested.

"Like, the oldest of us?" Panther asked for clarification.

"That would be Minerva." Crow spoke without thinking. "She is busy most of the time, though."

"Hey, wait." Skull raised a hand. "Minerva's an adult, but isn't that much older than us, right? And you're saying you're even younger than her? How old are you, anyway!?"

"Oh. That was a rather perceptive comment coming from you, Skull." Fox quipped. "This reminds me that we still do not know Crow's age."

"Now that you mention it..." Queen stared at Crow in bewilderment.

Crow froze. The Phantom Thieves might figure him out if they were to find out his age. Skull had to be the one to realize that slip, out of all people... what now?

"Come to think of it, isn't our group amazing?" Joker spoke up. "We have a fifteen year old genius hacker, a teenage talented painter, a young and skilled prosecutor, and of course our amazing secret agent. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!"

"All of us have our specialties, independent of age." Queen concluded.

"Joker's our leader, but isn't the oldest of us, either," Oracle said. "That age thing suggestion was so nonsense, Inari!"

To Crow's relief, the age subject seemed to be over.

"I think Queen should lead the other group." He suggested. "She is a good strategist, and is fit to coordinate the group."

Queen startled. "Me!? Um, I wouldn't mind... I think you'd do a better job, though."

That absurd comment caught Crow off guard. "Me!?"

"You seem fit to lead big operations like our next ones..." Queen argued.

He vehemently shook his head. "No, no, no... where did you even get that idea from? You guys know all too well how terrible I am at working in a group! Making me the leader would be a recipe for disaster."

"I don't think so." Mona chimed in. "That day when I fulfilled that request with you, you were basically the leader and you did just fine. Besides, I believe the two of you wild cards should be the ones leading the groups. Only you two know the specifics of your constantly changing Personas and skills selection, and can coordinate the other members in battle more effectively."

Even though that was actually a valid point, Crow didn't think it was enough. "But the second group's leader should be someone who everyone really trusts, for one..."

"Of course," Mona said. "Do you think we'd consider to make you a leader if we didn't trust you? It was Queen who made the suggestion, too. She wouldn't just trust anyone, you know. Isn't this enough proof?"

"Not everyone is vouching for that, though." Crow argued.

"I am," Noir said.

"Me too!" Followed by Panther.

"It would certainly be interesting to have Crow as one of our leaders." Fox added his opinion.

"Hell yeah!" Skull agreed.

"I'm down for that too." Joker nodded approvingly. "Crow, I can tell you have what it takes to be a leader. You're responsible, reliable, and would strive to keep us safe. C'mon, it's just us you're dealing with. You know us well enough, and our group is well-aligned. You don't even need to worry about members trying to pull the rug from under each other like what happens a lot in business environments. So, this is actually easy mode."

"Is this another unanimous decision?" Crow made a face. "First driving, then navigating, and now this!? You guys keep using the unanimous decision rule to force me to do things against my will. I'm tired of this. I can never make my opinion count!"

"Huh?!" Panther snapped. "You're always the only one who insists on going against our decisions. It feels like you keep making up excuses on purpose!"

"See? We're clashing again!" Crow replied with narrowed eyes. "If I were to lead the group, arguments like this one would surely happen all the time! It would be a disaster! In the end, you'd just keep wishing Joker were the one leading the group instead. I can't replace Joker."

"Huh? No one can replace anyone." Joker herself responded. "And of course your opinion counts. I think you're confusing things, though... we have a unanimous decision rule, not a majority votes rule. In the unanimous decision rule, if after in depth discussion, someone doesn't agree on something, we can't go through with the decision, period. No one's forcing you to follow the majority's choice. In all those times, you agreed to follow our decision of your own will."

"Then, this time, I refuse," he said firmly.

Joker held his gaze for a few seconds, then gave in. "Okay. If this is your final decision, there's nothing we can do about it."

"What a pity, but if we cannot reach a unanimous decision..." Fox lamented.

"Bummer." Oracle murmured. "I wanted to see Crow as a leader..."

Even she was vouching to have him as a leader! How come?

Queen sighed. "Alright, if no one has any better ideas, I will be in charge of the second group. Any objections?"

Everyone accepted her decision.

"Okay, okay, this talk's over." Joker waved her hands. "Now, on to today's plan. We have a lot of requests to handle. Crow, would you lend us a hand?"

"Only if you drive."

"Got it. Let's go." Surprisingly, Joker didn't protest, probably to avoid starting another conflict with him.

Crow took the passenger seat and heaved a sigh. He had clashed with the Phantom Thieves again. It would probably be best to stay quiet and avoid more clashes.

Along the trip, he paid attention to Joker's driving. Even though she wasn't having much success in avoiding the shaking, he could tell that she was trying her best.

"There! The target!" Mona alerted everyone.

The Phantom Thieves entered the Shadow's territory and unboarded Mona's vehicle form. In the distance, stood the Shadows of the two people who had come to threaten Ms. Kawakami at the hospital.

"They are using their child's death as an excuse to extort the innocent and honest teacher. This is despicable." Fox summarized the issue.

"I could never have imagined that Ms. Kawakami was a victim of extortion!" Panther commented. "We need to help her!"

"Let's put an end to this." Joker spoke determinedly and stepped forward, with all the others following suit.

They approached the Shadows.

"You came here to laugh at us, didn't you!?" The female Shadow snapped accusingly.

Skull rolled his eyes. "The hell're you talking about? We have no reasons to laugh!"

"We only have reasons to be angry!" Joker cut right to the chase. "Why are you extorting Ms. Kawakami?!"

"Ah, Taiki isn't here to provide us money, and we decided to make her do it instead." The casual way in which the male Shadow answered was disgusting.

"Taiki?" Panther was clueless for a second until it clicked. "You mean your son?"

"You speak of him as though you didn't even care about him and only thought about the money!" Joker said exactly what Crow was thinking.

"That's right." The female Shadow admitted with no shame whatsoever. "He wasn't even our real son to begin with."

"What?" Crow couldn't contain himself. "Why did you take him in, then!?"

"To make him pay, of course." The male Shadow spoke. "It's humiliating to be mocked by the rich. His late parents were super rich, unlike us. They had probably looked down on us a lot and laughed at our lower status too!"

The female Shadow added, "After they died, we took their kid in and had him work hard so that he would see how it feels to be poor!"

"Probably?" Crow spat. "You mean you aren't even sure if they really looked down on you or not! You had their son suffer out of spite for something you don't even know if it's true!"

"They must have looked down on us!" The male insisted. "Everyone does! This is the reason why we need to appear classy!"

Crow's suspicions were confirmed. Those two had totally senseless reasons to extort people, and weren't in need of financial support at all.

"Maintaining classy appearances hasn't been easy, though. Fashion clothes, perfumes, stylish haircuts, so much to pay and not enough money..." The female Shadow lamented. "When Taiki was alive, we got some money from the foster care program. Now, we don't even have access to that anymore..."

"What... did you say!?" That was the last straw. That statement hit too close to home, and rage bubbled inside Crow. He remembered too well that some of the foster families had only accepted to take him in to receive the money from the foster care program, which they used for everything besides caring for him. "You took the kid in because of stupid stuff like that!?"

"Stupid? You have no idea what we felt when higher class people looked down on us!" The female Shadow shot back.

"It's you two who have no idea!" Crow's voice rose dangerously and wavered as he responded. "I bet you have never stopped to think how he suffered! How he felt at the loss of his parents, and at being treated like trash!"

The Phantom Thieves got scared at Crow's outburst, and only Mona managed to muster courage to intervene. "H-hey, that's enough. They're completely distorted. It's no use talking to them!"

Crow knew, of course. But he couldn't contain himself. He had wanted to say something like this to some of those foster families from his past. But he didn't because he hadn't been in a position to, and these feelings had remained bottled up ever since.

"It's okay." Joker directed an encouraging look at Crow. "Say everything. Let it all out!"

Crow took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, it's enough. I'm done arguing. I can't stand to hear any more of this nonsense. Joker, give us the green light already so that we can beat the crap out of them!"

"Uh, o-okay." Joker recovered from her stupor. "Guys, let's do this!"

"We are also tired of your little group!" The female Shadow said, then transformed into Titania.

"Maybe if you guys die, we can blame Kawakami-san for it too and charge some extra..." The male Shadow transformed into Oberon.

Despite their apparent confidence, those Shadows proved to be very weak for the Phantom Thieves' current level, and the battle ended quickly.. The Shadows fell to the ground, humiliated.

"No, and now you'll laugh at us..." The female Shadow cowered.

"No one is laughing," Joker said. "Maybe not even those people you had blindly assumed they were."

"... Yes, It must've been our trauma from that day we won a voucher for a fancy restaurant." The male Shadow admitted. "The upper class customers laughed at us when we didn't know what we were doing and failed to follow the etiquette... and since then, we just began assuming that richer people would mock us." The male Shadow had a pensive expression for a moment. "Come to think of it, Taiki's parents were good people. Maybe they actually hadn't laughed at us, after all. Taiki was a good boy, too. What we did to him was totally unwarranted..."

"What we did to Ms. Kawakami was also horrible. We should make amends and make it up to her in some way..."

"You indeed should," Panther said firmly.

"We will apologize to her and call her debts off." The male Shadow declared.

"We'll also try to give her the money back... though it will take a while because we've already spent much of it... maybe we could begin by selling those fancy clothes we bought or something..."

"Good." Joker nodded in approval. "It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as it's done."

The female Shadow heaved a sigh. "I had been so lost in this class thing that I had even forgotten how much I love Toshio. I used to feel happy just by being with him. But then, we got the disappointing news that I can't have children. Maybe we should, um, adopt another child, and act like proper parents this time. This might be our way to make it up to Taiki..."

The two Shadows disappeared and left their treasure.

"Ms. Kawakami should be okay from now on." Joker smiled in relief, then turned to Crow. "And it looks like your outburst from earlier had an effect."

Crow hadn't expected that effect. Hopefully it would mean one less unhappy child in the foster care system.

Panther spoke up. "I was about to snap when they mentioned the foster care stuff, but Crow's outburst took the cake."

"You mean the pancake," Mona said.

"... Pancake?" everyone seemed confused, but Oracle voiced it first.

Joker released a burst of laughter. "Yeah, nothing beats delicious pancakes!"

No one shared Joker's excitement, as though they had no idea what she was talking about. Crow was curious, but decided not to ask about it. It must be an inside joke or something.

"What do you mean?" Queen confirmed she was also clueless. "What do pancakes have to do with anything?"

Joker smirked mischievously. "It's an important clue to a big mystery. Whoever figures it out gets a cookie!"

Skull blinked. "A cookie? Not a pancake?"

Joker cocked her head to the side. "Hmm, yeah, that probably makes more sense... maybe I should look into some different pancake recipes. Right, Crow?"

"Huh?!" Crow startled at having suddenly been included in that strange conversation. "Why are you asking me? I have nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, yes, you do. You're the one who started it." Mona responded with a smirk. "The pancakes thing started because of something you said."

"You're making no sense! I never said anything about pancakes!"

"You did, once. And once was enough." Mona insisted.

Joker shrugged. "Technically, Mona was the one who started it, but whatever."

Oracle was still confused. "Is this pancakes thing some kind of meme or what?"

Noir chuckled. "I have no clue what Joker and Mona-chan are talking about, but now having some pancakes sounds like a nice idea."

"Same here," Fox said. "I certainly wouldn't say no to some good pancakes."

"Looks like we'll need pancakes on the menu for our next celebration..." Mona said. "Joker, be sure to really look into special pancake recipes, got it?"

"Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?" Joker said in mock annoyance. "Celebrations, plural, probably. Once everyone gets what we're talking about, I bet having pancakes will become a Phantom Thieves tradition, and we'll want them every time! Before we can celebrate anything, though, we need to finish our job. We still have pending requests. Let's get a move on!"

The Phantom Thieves were filing out of the Shadow's territory.

"What was this all about? I really don't get it..." Crow grumbled and began following the others.

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

The next target was the mother of the popular shogi player Hifumi Togo, who had been setting up all her daughter's matches.

"Hifumi is my daughter." The Shadow hollered. "She's mine, and I'll do with her as I see fit! As my daughter, she has the obligation to serve me and get fame for me!"

"Hifumi isn't an object!" Joker shouted. "She's a person, not a tool for you to use! Don't you care about her happiness at all? She wants to be a shogi player, not an idol!"

"Of course I want her to be happy. But the truth is, she is more fit to be an idol than to be a shogi player. She may think she's been winning her shogi matches through her skill, but if not for what I'm doing for her, she wouldn't be where she is. I hired private investigators, and even criminals to find out her opponents' weaknesses. I sold impactful articles to the media, and also paid money so that people who criticized her would shut up. Thanks to me, a career with fame and glory awaits her! She should be grateful!"

Joker's eyes were wide in shock. "We had suspected the matches were manipulated, but this is too much!"

"Grateful, you say?" Crow couldn't keep quiet, and almost spat. "You don't understand anything, do you? Strategy game players have their pride. You are hurting her opponents' pride by forcing them to throw the matches. And if your daughter finds out her victories are fake, her pride will take a painful hit. She will be devastated... instead of being grateful, she might become really upset at you. Is this what you want!?"

"No! No, of course not!" The Shadow looked horrified for a second, but regained her composure. "Throughout all my life, I had never managed to get the fame I wanted. But Hifumi has the opportunity that I didn't have! Now, my chance has finally come, and I won't waste it! As long as she doesn't find out the truth, it will be fine... I won't let the truth come out!" The Shadow transformed into Lilim. "Hifumi will never find out that her matches have been fixed, and will live happily in fame and glory forever!"

They battled. The Shadow was no match for the Phantom Thieves and fell to Robin Hood's Kougaon skill boosted by a baton pass from Joker.

"No, no, no!" Back to her normal form, the Shadow was desperate. "Please, don't tell Hifumi. Please! She must not know the truth!"

"Oh yes, she must," Joker said sternly.

"We won't tell her, though." Crow added. "You should do it yourself, if you really care about her happiness."

"That's right." Joker agreed. "Have an honest talk with her and make up for what you've done. You have to rebuild your relationship with her before it's too late."

The Shadow looked downward, conflicted and in shame. "When Hifumi began winning competitions in grade school and getting praised as a genius girl, I felt so proud and began thinking that I could use her to get the fame I could never have. I never imagined that this could make her unhappy, though. I had always wanted fame, and thought it was only natural for anyone to feel the same. I could never understand why she might not want it. In the end, I turned out to be a terrible mother. Hifumi, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." In tears, the Shadow disappeared in a bright light.

"These two requests were wrapped up beautifully." Fox commented.

"Yeah. Let's keep this pace!" Joker replied excitedly. "On to the next one!"

And the third target was the mother of a skilled gamer from the Akihabara arcade.

The Shadow glared at the group. "So, you're the thieves my Shinya keeps talking about. You're being a bad influence on him!"

"You're the one being a bad influence!" Joker countered. "What do you think you're doing, fighting everyone wherever you go? I've heard you even tried to leave a restaurant without paying, and still yelled at the manager! You're basically being a bully! If it keeps this way, you'll turn your son into a bully too."

Crow didn't know the whole story, but this was sounding like a horrible influence indeed.

"It's hard to raise my son all by myself!" The Shadow complained. "No one will help a single mother. Shinya and I have no safety net. If we fall, there's no one to catch us. If I lose, it's the end. This is why I can't lose! This is why I need to be strong!"

Even though Crow didn't know the whole situation, he had known all too well how it felt to be raised by a single mother with no support from anyone. His mother's fall to despair was what threw him into the hell that his whole life had been. He surely wouldn't want something similar to happen to the child in question.

"Without you, he'd be left in this world alone, and who knows what might happen to him! " Crow suddenly joined the argument. "You wouldn't want him to become a bully, or even worse, a criminal. And this is exactly the reason you need to be a better influence on him! You need to be strong for him, but being overbearing and using brute force isn't the way to do it. It's not physical strength that you need. It's emotional strength."

"That's right!" Joker agreed. "Now we'll show you that losing isn't always the end. Actually, it may be a new beginning. The beginning of a new step in your life!"

Even though the Shadow was able to put up a better fight than the previous two ones, the Phantom Thieves managed to triumph over her rather quickly.

"No... I lost! It's the end... I don't have anything left..."

"Of course you have. You have Shinya." Joker reminded her.

"Shinya..." The Shadow straightened her posture. "Yes, I have Shinya..."

"He was worried about you. He really loves you." Joker smiled gently. "He almost became obsessed with strength and winning like you, but he managed to realize it was wrong on his own. Now that you've also realized your mistake, I'm sure you can see him through different eyes. You'll be proud to see how strong he's become!"

Crow stared at the Shadow with a solemn expression. "You two still have each other. Be sure to take good care of him."

The Shadow vanished in a bright light, and the request was over.

"Shinya-kun is the elementary schooler boy who's been teaching you those gun techniques, right?" Panther asked.

"Yup." Joker confirmed.

Crow couldn't hold his curiosity. "You've been learning gun techniques? From an elementary schooler?"

"He's teaching me how to play an online shooter game called Gun About. It's very cool that the same techniques from the game work in the Metaverse!"

"Hmm. You sure have interesting approaches to hone your thievery techniques..." Crow's stare became blank. "That kid's strong, huh? If only I had been as strong as him..."

"Crow..." Joker uttered his code name.

Crow tsk'ed. "What's with all those parents, anyway? This includes Okumura, and even Oracle's friend's parents from the other day. They either treat their kids like trash and view them as just a way to make money, or use their kids as though they were tools, or set a terrible example. This... isn't supposed to be normal, is it?"

"Of course it isn't normal," Queen said matter of factly.

"How 'bout yours?" Skull asked.

Crow made a face and gritted his teeth.

"From the way all these targets' behaviors affected him, he must have serious family issues as well." Fox deduced.

Noir looked at Crow. "Is that it?"

Their prying was irritating him. "It's none of your concern."

Skull grinned in triumph. "Sounds like enough confirmation to me."

This only managed to irritate Crow even more. The more they pried, the more he ran the risk of having hints of his real identity slip.

"I've had enough. I'll leave."

"No!" Joker's desperate shout took him by surprise. "Crow, sorry that today's requests were all like that."

"Why are you apologizing?" Crow asked irritably. "They were what they were, and we had to do what we had to do."

"They made you feel bad! I hadn't imagined they'd affect you this much. I'm sorry."

"The requests are over and everyone involved will be happy, so whatever." Crow was about to pull out a Goho-m when a hand landed softly on his right shoulder. Crow jumped slightly at the unexpected touch, and as he instinctively glanced behind to see who it was, he found himself staring into the face of their navigator.

"Stay more..." She spoke shyly.

"... O-Oracle?" Crow stuttered in bewilderment.

Oracle only stared at him apprehensively and didn't say anything. Her hand remained on his shoulder as the Phantom Thieves left the Shadow's territory and walked back to the tracks. Most of the others got in the Mona car, but instead of doing the same, Oracle lightly pushed him towards the door to the back seat. "Get in." She muttered.

"A-at the back?" Crow glanced at the passenger seat where he had sat previously.

"You want to be near Joker that much?" Mona asked mockingly.

"That's not it!" Crow shot back, then added awkwardly. "Uh, changing seats wasn't part of my plans. That's all..."

"A change of seats should be a nice change of pace," Queen said. "I'll take the passenger seat. I might as well try to give you some driving tips, Joker."

"Awesome." Joker approved the idea.

"As long as Queen isn't driving..." Skull mumbled.

Queen took the passenger seat. Only Crow and Oracle were still out of the car. He waited for her to get in, but she didn't move.

"You first." Oracle lightly pushed him again. "Far from the door, so that you won't run away..."

Still bewildered, Crow finally entered the car and took his new spot. Oracle sat to his right and blocked the door.

"Hi!" To his left, Noir flashed a friendly smile.

"Welcome to the back seat," Panther said cheerfully.

Crow glanced at them to acknowledge their greeting, but didn't say a word.

Oracle was nervous, and Crow tried to put some distance between them to make her less uncomfortable, but there wasn't much room.

The Phantom Thieves began talking among themselves, but Oracle and Crow remained in an uncomfortable silence. Oracle navigated normally whenever they entered battles, but once back in the car, she only kept throwing nervous glances at Crow without saying anything.

They finished a battle and returned to the car. Crow kept trying to put some distance between him and Oracle because of how uncomfortable she seemed. What was his surprise when she shifted closer and glued to him. Still, the two remained in an awkward silence until another battle forced the group back into action.

The Phantom Thieves held a Legion Shadow at gunpoint. Crow was attempting to get it as a Persona, however...

"Alright, let's talk. Depending on how it goes, I might lend you my strength." The Shadow began. "So, there's this girl I like, but I don't know how to confess to her! What do you think I should do?"

"Huh?!" Crow narrowed his eyes. "Why even Shadows have to bring this kind of things up!?"

Joker stepped forward and threw him a daring look. "Won't you answer? Then, I will."

This took Crow off guard. "W-what do you think you're doing?"

"Since it looks like you'd rather give up on the negotiation, I'll take over." She turned to the Shadow. "The talk's with me now. So, what was the problem, again?"

The Shadow spoke. "I want to confess to a girl. The problem is that we're always arguing, and she might think I dislike her."

"If you think there's a misunderstanding, you should clear it up. Don't think about it too much and just tell her your feelings outright. It can't get any simpler than that!"

Crow waved his gun frantically. "Hey, wait! Joker, how dare you hijack the negotiation like that? I'm not done yet! I never said anything about giving up!"

She smirked. "I don't think you have what it takes to advise the poor Shadow."

"Is that so? You aren't doing any better! What kind of advice was that? 'Tell her outright?' 'It can't get any simpler?' It might be simple to you, since you're so comfortable just blurting your feelings out. To other people, though, it's a whole different story!"

The Shadow laughed heartily. "You two have a nice dynamic! I like that! I wonder if I can have the same kind of dynamic with the girl I mentio-wait, I remember now! I'm a part of the Sea of Souls. Hey, thief lady, don't take me wrong, but since he asked for my power first, I'll help him. Good luck to you two, though! I am thou, and thou art I!" The Shadow disappeared into light and Crow's mask absorbed it.

Joker nonchalantly swept a lock of hair aside. "Welp, I guess you won."

They returned to the car and soon reached the platform.

The last negotiation was still bothering Crow, and he couldn't hold himself. "That Shadow... 'good luck to you two?' What did he mean by that?! He couldn't have thought there's... err, something between us, right? That'd be an outrageous misunderstanding!"

"Don't mind what those Shadows say." Skull advised. "Their talks're so weird!"

"Although it is true that Joker and Crow have an interesting dynamic." Fox commented.

Mona nodded knowingly. "It's not just because they're both wild cards, either. There's something else. And I must say, this dynamic'd be very hard to beat!"

Noir smiled at said wild cards. "I'm not sure how to put this, but I think I can see why the Shadow might mistake them for a couple."

"What?" Crow took a step back.

Noir spoke again. "Wasn't it heartwarming to see them hugging each other the other day?"

"That's...!" Crow's face flushed behind his mask, and he quickly tried to justify himself. "That was only because she said it was her condition to prove we are back on good terms..." He noticed Joker had a small sheepish smile. She was probably flustered too. Crow gestured in panic. "Now stop this nonsense talk! C-can't you guys see that Joker is also uncomfortable?!"

"Their personalities complement each other nicely." Fox completely ignored Crow's arguments.

"Stop it at once!" Crow kept gesturing desperately. "Are you guys out of your minds or what!? It definitely doesn't look like we, uh... Joker, say something too!"

"Um..." Joker fidgeted a bit, an unusual action for her. "H-hey, Crow..." She took a step closer to him. "May I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure." He had no idea what she was getting at with that sudden question, but he hoped she would change to a less awkward subject.

However, this wasn't what happened. Rather, the subject became worse. "Let's suppose that I come to you one day and say that I've fallen in love with you. What would you do?"

"Huh!?" Crow felt his face burning behind his mask. He suspected it was flushing to the strongest shade of red, too. "Wh-what kind of question is that!?"

"A hypothetical question, of course. I just wanted to know what you'd do in that kind of situation. Care to answer?"

What an embarrassing question. She had asked it in front of everyone, no less. To make things even more awkward, it was a very specific question as well. She hadn't asked about what if "someone" were to confess to him, but what if "she" - Joker, Akira - were to confess to him...

"Well, uh..." Crow tried his best to recompose himself. "This is meaningless to even think about. That situation is impossible to happen. No way that you'd fall in love with someone as bad as me to begin with."

"I see..." Joker muttered with a contemplative expression. "So, this is what you think..."

"Yes. Probably not a suitable answer to your question, but you asked for my input, and I gave it."

"Yeah, that answered it. Your input was useful. Thanks! I'll have to disagree on one thing, though. You're not a bad person at all."

Crow's eyes grew slightly in surprise. "Wh-what are you saying? Of course I am!"

"I don't believe it." Joker looked him defiantly in the eye. "If you really want to convince me, I dare you to prove it, right here and now."

"Huh!?" Crow could only gape, speechless at that absurd dare.

"So, what are you going to do? Will you try punching me on the face or something? C'mon. You're still envious of me, aren't you?" She provoked him.

"Joker!" Queen gasped in shock. "What if he actually does it!?"

"I'm okay." Joker answered firmly. "We aren't that far in strength anymore. I feel confident enough to withstand a couple punches if I need to."

Fox also disliked her idea. "Even so... Joker, this is stupid."

"Indeed." Crow agreed in exasperation. "Sometimes I wonder whether she's really brave or downright stupid. Yes, I still envy her, and yes, it still frustrates me." He took a deep breath. "I'm not going to punch her, though. I have to admit, if I were still consumed by hate and the desire for revenge, I might actually have done that, or... maybe even worse..." Horror filled his gaze at the memory of the nightmare where he had almost killed her. "but I realize that she deserves all the privileges she has. I might have deserved them at a certain point in the past, but after all the wrong things I did, I lost the right to have anything good in my life. Taking my frustration out on her won't solve anything, and will only make me regret later."

Joker's eyes glinted, and a wide smile of approval blossomed on her face. "See what I mean? You aren't a bad person, Crow. If you were, you wouldn't hesitate to crush anyone who got in your way with no remorse, and wouldn't be saying these things."

"That's right." Noir agreed with Joker. "Bad people have no morals, no principles. You had said so yourself, remember?"

"You clearly have morals and principles, and are following them strictly."" Queen added to Noir's argument.

"Maybe a bit too strictly, even," Mona said.

Crow couldn't believe what he was hearing. Were the Phantom Thieves really saying he was a good person? Didn't they hate him? That sounded too good to be true...

"I... I'm not a bad person? You guys really think so?" He uttered weakly.

"That's what we're saying, duh." Skull responded.

Crow hesitantly looked at Oracle, who had been next to him since the time they were in the car.

Oracle flashed a timid smile. "You're kind. Um, and cool too."

Crow's mouth hung open for a few seconds. "But I, I... you know, the mental shutdowns and..."

Joker was the one to answer. "To make it clear, once and for all. I don't doubt you were a bad person before, and don't doubt you may have beaten me or done even worse, as painful as it is to think about. You're nothing like that anymore, though."

"Ever since you approached us at Okumura's Palace, you have always been good and honest with us," Fox said.

"Yeah." "Joker spoke again. We know you aren't the kind of person that'd cause mental shutdowns and breakdowns now. Actually, that horrible part of you that caused the mental illnesses doesn't even exist anymore, does it?"

"Well..." Crow's mind blanked out. He was totally unsure how to respond.

Joker wasn't done yet. "Besides, we had made a promise, remember? You promised to me that you'd never use that power again, and I believe you'll keep your promise. Like Fox said, you've always been honest with us, and I'm sure that I can trust your word."

"We only wish you'd open up to us a bit more..." Panther lamented. "We still know practically nothing about you."

Noir spoke hesitantly. "Can't we... become friends?"

"F-friends...?" He echoed weakly.

"Would that be okay?" Panther asked.

Crow's heart began beating faster. He was still having a hard time believing what he was hearing. It was too good to be true, and he felt he didn't deserve that much kindness. Guilt spoke louder, and he shook his head.

"No..." Even though Noir was wearing a mask, pain was apparent on her face. "Why?"

"It's wrong..." Crow spoke in a low voice, with shame dripping from his words.

"... Wrong?" Panther echoed. "What are you talking about?"

"C'mon, you're fond of us too." Joker argued. "You wouldn't protect us this much if you weren't!"

"I..."

"You'd actually like to open up and let us in, wouldn't you?" Mona pressed. "Just do it. Be a bit more honest with yourself. Follow your feelings!"

Consumed by guilt, Crow was having trouble to even speak. "I admit, I feel happy to hear all your warm words... Honestly, though, after all the bad things I did, I don't think I even have the right to become friends with you guys..."

"Huh? What's this 'bout having the right?" Skull sounded confused. "Err, dude, I've never heard that that's how it works..."

"Me neither." Fox agreed.

"Friendship should come naturally, right?" Joker said. "I don't know if you need to have the right to become friends with us or not, or if being friends with you is wrong or not. What I know is that you stealthily snuck your way into our hearts, and earned a special place in them before we even realized it. To me, that's as natural as it can get. From the way we're always talking about you, I'm pretty sure that, deep down, all of us actually think of you as a friend already, even though no one has actually said it."

Crow was speechless. As the Phantom Thieves descended the stairs to the next floor, he followed them absentmindedly.

He was back to his new spot in the Mona car, lost in a flurry of thoughts. Oracle stared at him hesitantly as though she wanted to say something. After several tense seconds, she finally did and snapped him back to focus. "Crow? Uh... so, how w-was the burger?"

"Huh?" That question caught him totally off guard, and it took him a couple of seconds to make sense of it.

"Burger?" Noir joined the conversation.

"Bought one later," Oracle said shyly. "Joker and I gave it to him." She turned her focus back to Crow. "Um, was i-it... good?"

Crow's gaze became distant, then he nodded.

"... Really?"

"It was great." He finally managed to speak.

A radiant smile unexpectedly took over Oracle's face. "You liked it... you really liked it!"

"You talk as though you had been the one who made the burger." Mona remarked.

"I can't cook. So, all I can do is buy a pre-made burger." Oracle admitted in shame.

"Wasn't Joker who paid for it, though?" Fox asked with no tact at all.

Oracle made a hurt face. "Sh-shut up, Inari!"

"Now now. The intention is what counts, right?" Panther tried to fix the situation.

Oracle's shyness returned. "Um, you seem to always be having it rough. Did the burger brighten your day, at least a little?"

Crow nodded again.

"Yay! Then, it worked!" She exclaimed excitedly, then her voice lowered, back to timid mode. "... I wish you had come to Big Bang with us, though... it's so sad you're never with us in our celebrations and stuff..."

"You totally have to come to our next celebration!" Skull said decisively.

"I'll make sure you'll come, even if I have to drag you out of the Metaverse." Joker threatened.

"Speaking of celebrations, what will we do for our next one?" Panther asked. "It'll be after the mastermind and the SIU director. It'll be very important!"

"Hold on." Mona interjected. "It'll be a big achievement and all, but I don't think we should go all-out on that celebration just yet. We should save the best of the best for after we've managed to save him."

Everyone became serious all of a sudden.

Crow was clueless, though. He had no idea what they were talking about. "... Save? ... Who?"

"You, of course." Mona answered in a serious tone.

Queen hesitated. "Um, you know, there is the possibility of a death sentence..."

A wave of feelings stunned Crow once more. "Wait, you can't be thinking of..."

"Yes, we intend to fight for your freedom." Fox confirmed.

"What? ... How? what do you intend to do!?"

"We do not know yet." Fox admitted. "Even though Minerva is building a case in your favor, we fear it may not be enough."

"Hey. How can we save you?" Skull sounded frustrated. "I'm not smart, and can't come up with any ideas no matter how much I think. You're way smarter than me and know how all this stuff works way better than us. So, all I can do is ask. What can we do to save you?"

"... Nothing." Crow answered resignedly. "There's nothing that can be done. I've gone too far and don't deserve to be saved. You and Minerva are wasting your time."

Skull didn't like that response. "Hey! You can't just give up before even trying!"

"There's no point to even try. I did what no one should, and all that's left for me is to be punished for it. "Justice will be served, and that's all that matters."

Crow almost failed to maintain his balance when the Mona car rammed into a group of Shadows and suddenly ejected everyone. As an attempt to keep a composed facade, Crow glared at the two Decarabias that dared interrupt their trip.

"Justice!?" Joker gripped her knife and angrily thrust it into the star-shaped Shadow that had nothing to do with their problems. "You and your twisted sense of justice. This isn't justice to me! You're doing the right thing now. You should get another chance!"

"It isn't 'my' sense of justice!" Crow took his sword and did the same to the other Decarabia in front of them. "The law that counts is the one on paper, and it has no way to account for things like disembodied entities or consequences of heart changes. Since the number of victims is what counts the most, they may very well look at it only and that's that."

The battle was already over. Queen, who had also been on the front line, didn't even get a chance to do anything.

"If my father were alive, I wonder how he would deal with criminals who had changes of heart." She spoke solemnly. "He was an understanding and just man."

Mona was optimistic. "Crow, maybe there's someone like that in the law field that may look into your case. Having you die won't bring the shutdown victims back. It won't solve anything! Honestly, I believe you'd be much more useful to society by being alive, and I hope your case's judges will think the same way. Don't just throw the towel like this!"

"Stop harboring false hopes! They'll only cause disappointment later. Trying to save me is pointless. Just forget about it and give up!"

Mona scoffed. "Who are you telling to give up? Sorry, but we don't know what that means. The verb 'to give up' isn't part of the Phantom Thieves' dictionary."

Crow gritted his teeth. With no warning, he grabbed and threw Mona onto the tracks.

On reflex, Mona turned into his vehicle form. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"This was because you're being annoyingly stubborn!"

"Look who's talking!"

Crow glared daggers at the "bus," and was sure Mona would be doing the same if he weren't in his vehicle form.

"You only gave me more power by doing that, you know. As a car, I'm bigger and stronger! I can even run you over if I want to!"

"Do it, then. Do it if you dare!" Crow provoked defiantly.

"Wait!" Panther gasped in horror.

"You asked for it. Fine, let's settle the score! You'll be the one surrendering to us. If I win, you'll have to accept our help."

"Hey, stop it, you two..." Panther tried to intervene.

"Bring it on!" Crow activated the wheels on his boots.

"Guys, hop in!" This was the last thing Crow heard Mona say as he dashed out of the Phantom Thieves' sights.

---

As everyone scrambled into the car, a wave of panic struck Joker with a realization. "Uh, wait, I'll be the one driving, though... right?"

"You can do it." Mona assured her. "Remember, it's for his sake."

Mona had a point. They had to do this for Akechi. Joker did her best to push the nervousness to the background and nodded as determinedly as she could manage. "... Okay. I'll give my best."

She started the engines and the Monamobile shot through the tracks. To their luck, the floor's layout was rather cooperative and not many Shadows stood in their way.

"There he is!" Fox pointed out. "He is nearing the platform!"

"Perfect," Mona said. "Exactly as planned!"

"Mona, you don't really intend to run him over, do you?" Panther sounded apprehensive.

"Don't worry, Panther. Once the time's right, I'll eject everyone and untransform. Then, Joker, you'll have to throw me towards him."

"Throw you? Uh, okay."

They were approaching Crow.

"Now!" Mona gave the cue.

---

At the platform, Crow allowed himself to stop for a second and glance behind. The Mona car was still a considerable distance away. Crow flashed a triumphant smirk. He had won.

Or, so he had thought. Crow had turned toward the stairs and was about to resume his course.

"Now!" He heard Mona shout, then the sound of the car untransforming.

"Go!" Joker let out a battle cry.

And the next second, something hit Crow on the back. "Gah!" With a surprised gasp, Crow lost his balance and almost faceplanted on the ground.

"Crow, it's your loss." Mona revealed to be what had hit him, and was now laying on top of him and speaking into his ear.

"... This was cheating..."

"Not really. There were actually no clear rules to begin with. And hey, Joker put her best efforts in driving because it was for you. Give her some credit, will you?"

"For... me?" Crow remained lying on the ground for a few seconds, until Mona finally climbed off his back.

Crow slowly stood up. As his gaze floated over to the Phantom Thieves, Joker greeted him with a supportive smile.

"You guys are beyond my comprehension." He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Why do you all insist on being so nice to me? I really don't understand... ever since I approached your group at Okumura's Palace, we have clashed a lot. I had thought you guys hated me, and were only putting up with me because I'm key to taking down the organization. So, I kept my distance. I gave no reasons for any of you to want to get closer to me. Yet, now you're saying I'm a good person and even that we should be friends. I didn't do anything to deserve so much kindness!"

"Of course you did." Mona spoke firmly. "You've been working with us for a while now. And when you aren't with us, you're going to lengths to keep those evil guys away from us, and even risking your life to protect us."

"If this is 'nothing' to you, I wonder how much your 'something' amounts to." Fox added. "This goes to show how big your heart is."

Noir looked at him with admiration. "If not for your help, I would still be suffering because of my father and that arranged marriage, and the Okumura Foods employees would still be subject to slave labor. My father might not even be alive right now."

"And the SIU might be after us." Queen reminded him. "Perhaps we would even have been captured at this point. My sister may have gone to their side as well. You saved us, and also saved her. You helped us change her heart, and had her recover her justice that she had forgotten along the way."

"I used to think heroes that do everything in the shadows were lame," Skull said. "But now I can see that's not true. The way you keep acting behind the scenes to protect us is very cool, y'know? I'd prefer if you'd openly talk more to us about what you've been doing, but it's cool anyway."

"I-I might not be here." Oracle spoke timidly. "'Cause you know, collapsing Palaces..."

"All of us are very grateful for what you've been doing," Joker said. "And of course you gave us reasons to think so well of you. We got to know you better, and you proved how kind, reliable and amazing you are. You've earned our trust, respect and admiration."

"You're very special, you know that?" It was Mona again. "For one, you've made a 180 and triumphed over your heart's distortion on your own. Not just anyone manages to do that. This shows that you have a very strong will. You aren't a wild card for nothing!"

Crow vehemently shook his head, embarrassed at all those exaggerated compliments. "No, you're wrong. I didn't change my heart on my own. The thing is, I met... someone. This person was very nice to me, even though she had absolutely no reason to, as we had barely known each other. No games of interests, no ulterior motives. Just pure and unconditional kindness..." Crow's expression became dreamy. "Before that, I can't remember when was the last time someone had been genuinely nice to me. It made me realize that kind people actually exist, and that I couldn't continue on the path I was heading. I realized that what the organization gave me wasn't what I wanted, and that my stupid revenge plan wouldn't give me what I wanted, either..."

"Ah, such a moving story," Fox said.

"So, this was it." Understanding crossed Mona's eyes.

"Yes." Crow nodded, glad that his explanation had worked. "If not for that chance meeting, I'd still probably..."

But Mona interrupted him, and showed that the argument didn't work at all. "You realize that it isn't normal for evil people to change their hearts just because someone was nice to them, right? You're surrounded by bad people in the organization and know very well that it usually doesn't work like that! It's more likely that they would only take advantage of others' good will. You only had all those realizations because your will and the good undistorted part of your heart spoke louder. You're really something else! This is the reason why we believe you deserve a second chance. You're young, too. You still should have a whole life ahead of you!"

"Mona, you know his age?" Skull asked.

And the age subject was back...

"Younger than Minerva." Oracle reminded him.

Thankfully, Skull just shrugged and didn't press it. "Oh, right. So, any idea of something we can do to save you? Even if it's complicated and has very small chances of working, we'll try!"

"Crow." Mona continued. "How about you give in to your feelings for once? You actually want to live, don't you? You actually want to believe you can continue living, don't you!?"

"The person you mentioned is that special someone you're going to lengths to help, right?" Panther deduced. "Now you've found the right path, and we want to help you get a second chance so you can walk this new path alongside her!"

Crow had the urge to argue back like usual whenever someone began saying such things, but words failed him, and his mouth merely hung open.

Mona smirked. "So, you won't deny that you like her this time, huh?"

"I, uh, well..." Crow quickly tried to justify himself, but arguments still failed to form in his head.

"C'mon. Let's believe that something can be done..." Joker's voice wavered. She let out a sniffle, and Crow noticed tears escaping from her mask.

Mona added, "Yes, the first step to making something happen is to believe that it's possible. If we outright discard things as though they're totally impossible and do nothing, we might fail to do even the things that are actually possible."

"We should do everything we can, so that we'll have no regrets," Queen said. "Yes, it is a very difficult endeavor and the likelihood of failure is very high. But who knows? We might succeed as well. If we try and fail, it will be very sad, but at least we'll know we did everything we could. On the other hand, if we fail because we didn't even try, we will regret it for sure."

Crow let out a weak chuckle. "Minerva also said something along those lines. You two are rather alike..."

Queen smiled. "I admire my sister a lot, and for the longest time, I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to become like her. So, your words sound like a huge compliment. Thank you."

"Argh. You all are so stubborn, though!" Crow snapped with frustration. "This is one of the reasons I say it's wrong for us to be friends... whatever you do, if you get involved too deep, you may end up getting in trouble with the law too!"

"Don't worry." Queen tried to assure him. "We will be sure to do everything within the law."

Crow met Joker's pleading gaze. He believed he shouldn't give in and risk feeding false hopes, but the fact that Joker was crying made it harder for him.

"No matter what anyone says, we won't give up." Determination broke through Joker's tears. "We are the Phantom Thieves. We fight for those who suffered injustice, and you're one of them. If we manage to save you, your life may still be hard... you may get labeled, and society may look down on you. Even so, we'll be here for you. I... uh, we... won't abandon you."

"That's right." Mona nodded. "Like I said before, as long as you're with us, you'll have a place."

The Phantom Thieves' support was overwhelming. Everything froze, and the Fool Confidant ranked up.

Crow was confused, overwhelmed by that shower of warm feelings that his guilt insisted he didn't deserve. He had never imagined this could happen, and he didn't know what to do.

"I'm at a loss..." Crow admitted in a weak voice. "I'm having a hard time to believe anything right now. Honestly, it's hard for me to even believe you guys are really saying all of this to me. After all the wrong things I did, you guys simply go and accept me so easily, just like that? It feels too good to be true."

"It's all true." Noir assured him.

"We are not just accepting you for no reason." Fox argued. "As Joker said, you have earned our respect."

Crow's heart was racing. He felt his composure might shatter and he might begin crying a river in front of the Phantom Thieves at any moment.

Before that could happen, he pulled out a Goho-m. "I'll leave. I need some time alone to sort out my thoughts..." Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, Crow used the Goho-m and left.

---

Joker had felt touched when Crow talked about how her influence had somehow changed his heart. Only, she had no idea what she had done that impacted him so much. All she knew was that she couldn't hold her tears.

Still crying, Joker stared at the spot Crow had occupied until a few seconds ago. Just before he used the Goho-m, he had looked like he was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown. If he had stood there one more second, Joker wouldn't have resisted the urge and would have pulled him into a hug in front of everyone.

Skull was the first person to speak. "This whole time, he had been thinking we hated him? I couldn't have imagined that..."

Oracle's gaze fell in disappointment. "He ran away again. Placing him far from the door didn't work..."

Joker was relieved, and her tears were now tears of joy. "But this time, we've managed to get our feelings across for sure!"

"His heart is totally consumed by guilt, though." Fox observed. "Should we really leave him unattended?"

Panther agreed with Fox. "Yeah, shouldn't we try to go after him?"

"Let's give him some time to take it all in," Mona said.

Joker's shoulders fell in resignation. "We should just let him cool off for now. I trust his heart. He'll follow his feelings eventually." This was what she said, even though she actually would have preferred to be near him and comfort him herself.

---

The Goho-m took Crow back to the entrance. But instead of leaving Mementos, Crow used his app to teleport to the last end area available. Once alone there, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Why? How could this happen? How...?" He muttered in a strained voice, and the tears he had been trying to conceal escaped out of his eyes.

"What is the matter? They clearly accept you, both outside and inside the Metaverse." Came the voice at the back of his mind, from his Robin Hood side.

"Wasn't the fear of rejection your biggest reason to hide your identity from them?" The Loki side added. "I bet you could even reveal your identity to them now, and it would be fine."

At that thought, the fear that the Phantom Thieves' acceptance of him was merely a dream fully came to the surface. Still with tears rolling out of his eyes, Crow shook his head frantically.

"You say you are hiding your identity to protect them, but you know it's a half-excuse." Robin Hood insisted.

Followed by the Loki side. "You have always wanted people to accept you. You were scared that the Phantom Thieves might reject you. Now you know they won't. They accept you for who you are, despite all your past mistakes. You should be glad you managed to meet such kind and understanding people. Tell them the truth already and get this over with! One less problem to worry about!"

Crow didn't respond. He was in panic. The guilt and all the other emotions mixed inside him into a mess, and he didn't know what he was feeling anymore. He was confused, lost between rejecting all the warm feelings because his guilt told him he didn't deserve them, or selfishly accepting them and enjoying all the attention he had always wanted during his whole life. Unsure how to react, he just stood there absentmindedly and allowed the tears to come out and his body to shake.

Eventually, his tears stopped coming out and he felt a bit calmer. Crow raised his head and took a deep breath. His Personas might be right, it was indeed all real, and it would be okay to tell the truth to the Phantom Thieves. Or maybe it was all a dream, and he could just make the most of it before waking up to the harsh reality.

With that thought, he teleported back to the entrance, then walked in slow steps to his exit spot.

Outside of Mementos, Akechi realized it was getting dark. He decided to take a walk around Shibuya and try to cool off a bit before heading home.

"Akechi-kun?" To his shock, a familiar voice called out to him, and he realized he would rather not run into any of the Phantom Thieves right now, but it was too late. The girl who had been siting to his left in the car was coming towards him.

"Haru."

She smiled kindly. "We have run into each other on the street again."

"... Yes." He nodded awkwardly.

"Are you here to do some shopping?"

"No, I'm just taking a walk around."

"Ah. Since I was nearby, I decided to check the fertilizers at the flower shop. I have bought a few to do some experiments. Now I'm waiting for my ride home."

Akechi stared at Haru for a few seconds. She looked normal as though nothing had happened, and he once again wondered whether the fact that she had been sitting to his left in the car and that the Phantom Thieves had said all those things was just a dream.

"Akechi-kun, you seem a bit down. Are you okay?"

And there came one of the Phantom Thieves trying to cheer him up again. It would be way harder to deal with this kind of questions now that there wasn't a mask covering most of his face. Akechi considered attempting a smile, but he knew it would look fake.

"Do I look that bad?" He asked instead.

Haru nodded. "Did something bad happen?"

"Uh-uh." Akechi slowly shook his head. "I'm a bit tired. That must be it..."

"Then I suggest you take a good rest, and have something warm. Nothing like some comfort food or beverage going down your system after a full day!"

Akechi wasn't in the mood to heat or drink anything, much less to cook. "Thanks for the suggestion," he said anyway.

A limousine stopped right in front of them and interrupted the warm moment. Haru's ride had arrived. When the limousine's door opened for Haru to get in, Akechi almost took a step back when he realized the driver was none other than President Okumura himself!

Okumura also looked taken aback at the sight of Akechi. "O-oh, A-Akechi-kun? Good evening."

"Uh, good evening, Okumura-san." Akechi managed a cordial greeting.

Despite the formalities, Okumura stared at him warily, and he could only stare back, unsure where that interaction was going.

"F-Father?"

Okumura turned his head to face Haru. "I heard from the chauffeur that he had agreed to pick you up. Since I had just been at a meeting nearby, I told him I would pick you up myself. Get in."

---

Haru got in the car and took the passenger seat.

Her father hesitated and looked at Akechi again. "I see that you have approached Haru. I know you are investigating the commotion involving my company. However, Haru is not well versed in the details, and may not have the answers you might be after."

Haru was about to say that she had been the one to approach Akechi rather than the other way around, but the detective spoke first.

"I was just passing by, and have run into her merely by chance. I have no intention of interrogating her at all, nor of asking about your company. My investigation's focus is the Phantom Thieves."

Her father relaxed a bit, but was still wary. "I see. I'm hoping you can do something about the Phantom Thieves. My reputation was destroyed because of their noise. Just when I was about to ascend into politics, too."

Haru felt chills at hearing her father say that.

"More like the general public's noise, actually." Akechi corrected him. "There's still no news indicating the Phantom Thieves' movements. I'll find them, though. I'll get to the bottom of this, for sure!"

"I hope you'll find what you are looking for. Good luck with your investigation."

"Thank you. Have a nice day."

Haru wanted to say goodbye to Akechi, but the tense atmosphere made her give up.

Her father drove away. After a tense silence, Haru spoke up. "Father, do you still plan on getting into politics?"

"Well..." He hesitated. "After everything that happened, it may not be a good idea anymore... but I don't want others to know that I have changed my mind."

"Oh." Haru was glad her father was acting according to the agreement with his Shadow in the Metaverse, and hiding the fact that his heart had changed.

"Haru, he really didn't ask you any strange questions, did he?"

"Huh? You mean Akechi-kun? No, he did not. He just said that he was taking a walk around, and I commented that I had bought some fertilizers for my garden. It was really just small talk." The fact that Akechi looked a bit down bothered her, though. If only the tension between Akechi and her father weren't that awkward, Haru would have asked her father to drive her and Akechi to a restaurant so that the detective could have some warm comfort food.

"Hmm." Her father was serious. "Haru, be careful. That boy is dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Interviews aside, Haru found Akechi so kind...

"Akechi is a sad case. While he is the same age as you, he has already fallen to the temptation of fame and power. While he may be helping the police with good causes too, he got involved with some dangerous people, and may do anything to get fame and privileges. It is sad to think how he is only a kid, and is already walking the same path I was headed..."

Those words hurt.

A sigh from her father snapped her back to attention. "Though if the Phantom Thieves really exist, I hope he'll find them."

"Y-you hope he'll catch them?" Haru asked shakily.

"No. I hope they'll catch him."

"Huh?" Haru jumped at the unexpected response.

"At first, I had thought the Phantom Thieves didn't exist, and were merely being used as a device to destroy my reputation. But after I realized my mistakes and what really mattered to me, I began wondering whether the Phantom Thieves actually did something to open my eyes. If so, then perhaps they could also do something about him. Akechi is still a kid, and should have his whole life ahead of him. I have no idea how he ended up there in the middle of those corrupt people, but that is not the place a kid should be at."

Later, at home, Haru couldn't stop thinking about what her father had said regarding Akechi.

"... He got involved with some dangerous people, and may do anything to get fame and privileges."

Even though her friends had told her how Akechi used to be a jerk before, Haru only had had the chance to know him in person when the others started inviting him for their hang-outs, and he had been so nice. Haru definitely wouldn't take the detective for the kind of person her father had described. However...

"My investigation's focus is the Phantom Thieves." Akechi's words to her father replayed in her mind. "I'll find them, though. I'll get to the bottom of this, for sure!"

At that moment, Akechi had had a serious expression, and used an aggressive tone like in his interviews. He had been acting completely different from the downcast boy she had been trying to comfort earlier. What if that was Akechi's true nature?

A shard of doubt began sprouting in Haru's heart. Akechi had said that fame didn't matter anymore, but what if that was a lie? What if Makoto's suspicions were right and Akechi was planning to sell them out in the end if he were to find out they were the Phantom Thieves? Haru didn't want to believe it could be the case, but the thought kept nagging at her.

---

After parting ways with Haru, Akechi kept wandering around absentmindedly, lost in thought.

"Actually, that horrible part of you that caused the mental illnesses doesn't even exist anymore, does it?" Joker's words replayed in Akechi's head.

That horrible part of him was mostly his Loki side, but even that side had been changing a lot. Once again, Akechi recalled how Robin Hood and Loki had scolded him earlier. It was strange how those two Personas seemed to be agreeing with each other more and more as of late. It was as though the different characteristics that separated them were disappearing, and they were starting to merge into one. Akira might be right, and that horrible part of him might be gone by now.

"Akira..." Her name involuntarily escaped his mouth.

Only then, Akechi realized he had unboarded a train at the Yongen-Jaya station. Leblanc would be just a short walk away. He wasn't even sure why he had come there, but maybe he could follow Haru's suggestion of having some warm drink. A cup of coffee might help finish his day.

When he approached the cafe, the sign still showed as "open." However, he heard shouts from inside. Worry immediately kicked in. Akechi forgot everything else and threw caution to the wind.

He stepped into the cafe, and found a scared Futaba, an angry Akira and Sakura-san, and a man that could only be causing them trouble.

Akechi decided to speak up and interrupt whatever was happening. "Good evening. The cafe is still open, right?"

"Oh, y-yeah." Sakura-san uttered in surprise.

The man tsk'ed with a shrug, turned away and left without a word.

"Akechi... kun...?" Akira's expression was hard to read, but she seemed to be in shock.

"What's going on?" Morgana came from upstairs. "What's all this noise about?" He balked. "... Akechi!?"

"Akechi!" In tears, Futaba ran to Akechi and leaned into him. "Uncle tried to hurt me and th-threatened Akira and Sojiro and..."

Akechi held Futaba on reflex. "H-hey! Hold on... what?"

"That man just now was Futaba's uncle. You know, the one you got credit information of." Sakura-san explained. "He tried to hit Futaba, and Akira stood in front of her to protect her. Then, he pretended to have fallen as though Akira had hit him. He threatened to go to court and take Futaba's custody from me with the argument that she shouldn't live here because I'm sheltering a dangerous delinquent."

Akechi made an indignant expression. Just when he had thought today he already had had enough of adults that mistreated children...

"Boss, I'm sorry!" Akira apologized desperately.

Sakura-san sighed. "Akira, you did nothing wrong."

"But because of my criminal record, you may get in trouble...!"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Akechi gritted his teeth. "If only I had arrived one minute earlier... no, even half of a minute earlier..."

Sakura-san threw him a serious look. "Shouldn't you stay out of trouble, too?"

On further thought, Sakura-san was right. It would be bad if Shido happened to find out that Akechi was getting involved in trouble related to Wakaba Isshiki's family.

Futaba was still clinging to Akechi.

"I-I might not be here. 'Cause you know, collapsing Palaces..." The recollection of her earlier words in the Metaverse warmed Akechi's heart, and he finally allowed himself to smile fondly at her and hold her comfortingly.

"So, what coffee blend will you be having this time?" Sakura-san asked.

"Huh?" Akechi hadn't thought of it yet. Unsure what to say, he blurted out an automatic response. "Um, the same as always."

"Hmm?" Sakura-san raised an eyebrow. "You've been having different blends more often than not, though."

"Whoa. Is he really okay?" Morgana expressed his concern in a near whisper.

Akechi chuckled awkwardly and tried to fix his stupid response. "Err, I mean, I'm usually having whatever blend you recommend. It should be the case today too. This was why I said, same as always."

"Ah, I see." Sakura-san looked a bit worried, but apparently let it slide. "I'll get your coffee ready in a few."

"I'll help out." Akira volunteered and accompanied Sakura-san to the back.

A couple of minutes passed. Futaba wasn't crying anymore. Akechi let go of her, and she slowly leaned away from him.

"Futaba-chan, are you feeling better?"

"I think I'm okay now." She stared him in the face. "You look a bit out of it, though... did the TV staff bother you again? Tell me their names and I'll spread their embarrassing info on the net."

Akechi's eyes widened in panic. "No, don't do that!"

Futaba giggled and ruffled his hair. "I'm kidding! Just trying to improve the mood a little..."

"This way you're only scaring him more." Morgana scolded her.

Futaba ignored Morgana and continued talking to Akechi. "You hugged me to comfort me. Now it's my turn." She pulled him into a hug and began petting his head.

Sakura-san brought the coffee, with Akira trailing behind him.

"Here's your coffee." Sakura-san placed the cup on the counter.

"Thank you." Akechi broke free from Futaba's embrace and sat on the stool at the counter.

Futaba followed him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder from behind.

Sakura-san seemed amused at the sight of Futaba clinging to Akechi. "You really like him, don't you?"

"She does, as do us all," Akira said with a smile.

"So she says." Sakura-san threw Akechi a knowing look.

At the recollection of his interaction with the Phantom Thieves earlier, Akechi felt like crying again, but did his best to push the tears back and focus on his coffee.

The coffee proved to be quite comforting. He placed the empty mug back on the counter. "Thanks for the coffee, Sakura-san. It was great. I'll head home now."

Futaba broke the half hug and ruffled his hair again. "Yeah, lil' big bro, be sure to go straight home, got it? No wandering into shady places late at night."

Akechi laughed. "Of course."

"We'll be off as well." Sakura-san announced. "Let's go, Futaba."

Futaba walked over to Akira with a determined expression. "Akira, I'll contact you later."

She had spoken in a low voice, but Akechi was able to hear her. She was definitely scheming something, and Akechi could bet it was about her uncle. In fact, it screamed Phantom Thieves...

"Bye!" Akira greeted the three of them.

Akechi left with the Sakuras and was about to part ways with them.

Sakura-san turned to him. "About the thing with Futaba's uncle. No need to worry about us, alright? We have that credit information you got for us. If we use that, he can't win against us in court. Akira's grades are good and there are no reports of issues involving her, either. She'll be fine."

Akechi nodded, though he was still unsatisfied and wished he could do more. "I hope everything will turn out well."

"They will. Have a good night."

They parted ways. Akechi was about to enter the train station when a text message arrived on his phone. It was from Sakura-san. "One day down. Don't forget the deadline, got it?"

Great. Now Sakura-san would keep nagging him about the deadline to tell Akira everything...

"Yes, I haven't forgotten." Akechi texted back.

From their interaction earlier at the Metaverse, maybe telling her wouldn't go that bad... the thought of doing it still made Akechi nervous, though.

---

Akira was worried. Like she had feared, Akechi wasn't well.

"I didn't expect Akechi to come here." Morgana commented. "Either way, I'm worried."

"Me too. I bet he's going to skip dinner. He'll only get worse if he doesn't take proper care of himself." Decisively, Akira swept her phone out of her pocket and called Akechi.

---

"Hello, Akira?" Akechi picked the call.

"Akechi-kun, where are you now?"

"I've just arrived at the train station."

"Please, come back to Leblanc. I need you here."

Akechi felt bad immediately. Akira had clearly been affected by the trouble with Futaba's uncle, and Akechi hadn't so much so as tried to comfort her! Considering she was specifically requesting his presence now, though, at least it meant he could do something for her.

"Got it. I'll be there soon." He turned behind and hurried out of the train station.

As Akechi practically stormed into Leblanc, he saw Akira with a disturbed expression that didn't belong on her face. She was standing near the door, likely waiting for him.

"Akechi-kun!" Her face lit up and softened the disturbed expression a little.

"Akira, I'm sorry for taking so long to solve your false charges case. If only I had managed to solve it already, that man couldn't use the criminal record to threaten you..."

From a chair, Morgana stared at him seriously. "Akechi, we're glad that you care this much, but you have to stop thinking you need to take everything into your own hands!"

"You're doing what you can, Akechi-kun. Let's think positive, and believe things will work out somehow." How could she be so positive and talk as though she were trying to comfort him? He was supposed to be the one comforting her...

Akechi balled his hands. "It's frustrating, though. I can't do anything for you when it most counts..."

"Of course you can. You can be here with me."

"That's all?"

"It's more than enough. Um, so, would you stay the night today too?"

"Huh? But... today I didn't come prepared. I don't have my uniform and school materials with me..."

"Please..." Akira gave him that pleading look that was hard to resist.

Just being there felt like too little, but come to think of it, if he happened to get a death sentence, he wouldn't even be able to be near her anymore.

Akechi gave in. "Okay. Since it's all I can do..."

"Thanks!" Akira's cheered-up expression was worth to see.

"Well, then I'll go to the bathhouse. I'll be back soon."

"I'll prepare dinner while you're away." She flashed a small grin. "You made me dinner yesterday. Now it's my turn!"

Akechi shook his head. "Oh, no, don't worry about cooking for me. I don't want anything."

"Anything? Like, anything at all?"

"Uh-huh. I'm not hungry."

Akira frowned. "I knew it. You're thinking of skipping dinner, aren't you!? And I bet you haven't had anything since lunch break."

"Err..." He awkwardly looked away from her. "You got that right... but I had a rough day. I don't feel like eating anything."

"That's more the reason you need a good meal. If you had a rough day and used up all your energy, you have to replenish it! This isn't the first time, either. That day I visited you at your place, you'd have skipped dinner, right after one of those horrible meetings, too. You'll get sick if you keep spending more energy than what you have."

She had a point. Currently, there was nothing more tiring than Metaverse trips and Shido's horrible meetings.

Akechi sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Just don't worry about making anything fancy."

He went to the bathhouse, and the bath helped him relax a little.

When he returned to Leblanc, dinner was on the table. The food was fried beef with vegetables, a bit of rice and a salad.

"Oh..." Akechi stared at the food. "I told you not to prepare anything special! You didn't need to go to all that trouble."

"I didn't, though. The hardest part was picking up the beef at the supermarket. As the meat was already sliced, the rest was rather easy. Nothing fancy, as you can see."

"Certainly much more appealing than my soup..."

"We aren't competing, you know." Akira sighed tiredly. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't in the mood to cook, either. But since you're here, I felt motivated to do it. See? You're helping me cheer up and be more productive. Now stop complaining and eat if you don't want my effort to go to waste."

Akechi had no words to respond to that. He obediently sat at the table and took a bite of his food. It proved to be more flavorful than he had expected. When he realized it, he was taking another bite. Then another, then another...

Morgana was watching from the neighbor chair. "Oh, it looks delicious! I want some too!"

"Okay, Morgana, I got you covered." Akira was quick to get some food from the pot for Morgana before Akechi had the chance to give all his food out just to empty his plate faster.

Akira also got some food for herself, and the three of them savored their dinner peacefully. Akechi temporarily forgot his problems, and all that mattered at the moment were the flavors of a comforting dinner at the cafe's calm atmosphere, in the company of those two Phantom Thieves that were so dear to him.

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

After dinner, they were at the attic watching a movie while they waited for the food to digest.

"What? That... counts as a love confession?" Akechi asked after one of the male characters had poured his feelings out to the female protagonist, once she had discovered her boyfriend had been cheating on her.

"I think so." Akira responded.

"Huh? Really? He didn't even say... those words..."

"Of course it counts as a confession!" Morgana spoke from his position on Akechi's lap. "He had been lending her a hand behind the scenes ever since. It's obvious that he likes her. He doesn't even need to say it!"

It still didn't convince Akechi, though. "But after that speech, they just went and got together like it was the most natural thing in the world. Is it supposed to be easy like that? How can they really be sure they feel the same way towards each other?"

"I'm not sure..." Akira didn't have a satisfactory answer to that question, either.

They continued watching the movie, and the characters eventually said those three words at the end.

As the credits rolled, Akechi still wasn't convinced that that was the way romance was supposed to work.

"I really don't understand this kind of feelings." He admitted in defeat. "To me, it sounds like people keep forcefully twisting things and misinterpreting them as romance."

"Are you saying the movie writer didn't know what he was doing?" Akira shot back.

"I don't know. I'm just saying the movie wasn't convincing to me."

"Hmm. But it was a nice ending, wasn't it? It was touching, and the magic words were the cherry on the cake. I don't understand much about romance, either. But with the way this movie ended, I came to a conclusion. I think the magic words are supposed to sound special, and won't have effect if used at the wrong time. I believe they need to have impact, you know? Like the Phantom Thieves' calling cards."

Morgana nodded. "I like that analogy."

Akechi heaved a frustrated sigh. "I really don't understand..."

Morgana whispered to Akechi. "You've been saying lots of touching things to her lately too, you know. Now you only need to figure out when to use the 'magic words' to top them off!"

Akechi gritted his teeth as he did his best to keep from snapping and responding to Morgana.

Akira's phone beeped. "Sorry, guys, excuse me for a bit."

---

A message from Ryuji had arrived on the Phantom Thieves chat group. Akira went downstairs to respond.

"You guys awake? I'm still worried about Crow and can't sleep."

"You can sleep at peace. He's fine." Akira quickly replied without thinking.

"How do you know?" Only when Ryuji asked that, Akira realized she should have written differently. Now, it was too late.

She would have to find a way around it. Reveal some things, but not too much. She still wanted to let their dear secret agent reveal his identity to everyone himself.

"Actually, I basically managed to get hold of him a bit earlier, and convinced him to come to Leblanc."

"For real!?" She could hear Ryuji shouting the message aloud. "You found him?!"

"Is this true?" Makoto joined in. "How is he?"

"He's being as stubborn as ever. He didn't want to eat anything, and I had to persuade him. We were watching a random movie to relax a little, and he kept saying he doesn't get the romance stuff. Now he's resting at the attic."

"It is rather amusing to imagine our serious secret agent having a hard time to grasp a scene from a movie..." Yusuke commented.

"Amusing indeed." Akira smiled as she sent the message.

"It sounds like you are having fun, Akira-chan." Haru noted, and Akira realized she got a bit carried away.

"I guess it's because I'm relieved that he's nearby where we can keep an eye on him, and we don't need to worry about leaving him unattended anymore."

"Yeah, it's great news." Ryuji agreed. "Thanks, Akira. Now I think I can get to sleep. Fill us in the details later, mkay?"

Akira had a wide smile as she put her phone away. The truth was that she was glad to talk to her friends about her fun moments with Akechi. At first, she hadn't been sure of what her feelings towards him meant, but the more she got to know him, the more she came to like him, until he had become more precious to her than she could have imagined. Was this love? Probably. But was it romantic? She wasn't sure, since she had no idea what romantic love was supposed to feel like, or how romantic love was different from familial love. To make things even more confusing, if they were to get together and build a family, he would become a family member too. So, where was the boundary? If only he would agree to date her, she could try to figure this out with him.

"This is meaningless to even think about." He had said at the Metaverse when she asked what he would do if she were to say she was in love with him. "That situation is impossible to happen. No way that you'd fall in love with someone as bad as me to begin with."

His answer explained it all clearly. As Akira had suspected, this had to be the reason why Akechi had refused to start a relationship with her. He must have believed that, if she were to find out the truth about how horrible his past mistakes were, she would dislike him. But apparently, what he had thought was impossible was happening. Now Akira knew what he had done, and didn't think any less of him. In fact, she admired him even more, thanks to how he managed to turn the tables. She would have to let him know of this, and that she might be, in fact, falling in love. But she recalled how he insisted on hiding his identity even after she caught him blurting out her code name in his sleep. The same would likely happen if she were to attempt to unmask him now. Maybe she should actually talk to him about the romance subject in the Metaverse to better get her point across.

---

"Aaaaah!" Futaba stormed out of her bedroom and ran to the living room. "Sojiro, Sojiro!"

Sojiro was sitting on the sofa and watching TV. "What is it, Futaba?"

"Akira said Crow's at Leblanc!" Futaba fidgeted restlessly. "Aaah... it's at times like these that I wish I were still wiretapping Leblanc..."

"Huh!?" Sojiro rolled his eyes at her. "Futaba, there's this thing that people appreciate a lot. It's called privacy. Just give him a break and leave him alone, will you?"

"But I'm curious to know what's going on! He had a hard time at the Metaverse today, and we got worried."

"Akira's there with him. He'll be fine."

"Awww." Futaba made a sad face. "Okay, I'll contain myself... I'm too nervous to actually go there and see him anyway..."

---

Akechi was still seated on the sofa with Morgana on his lap. At the thought of revealing his Metaverse identity, a hint of fear nagged at him again. The fear of Akira and Morgana reacting negatively to the truth...

Morgana stared into Akechi's face. "You look nervous. Have you finally decided to confess to Akira? She likes you a lot, and you know that." Morgana rubbed his head against Akechi's chest supportively. "Akechi, you can do it."

Akira returned. "Awww, Morgana, you aren't this caring when you're with me. This way, I'll get jealous." She giggled. "I'm kidding. I get how you feel. I'm very fond of Akechi-kun too."

"See? It'll be fine." Morgana whispered before jumping from Akechi's lap onto the sofa.

Akechi hesitantly stood up. "Um, Akira."

"What is it?"

"Uh, there's... something I need to tell you." Akechi balked. He recalled the trouble with Futaba's uncle, and suddenly wasn't sure whether telling Akira about his identity right now was still a good idea. It would be yet another thing to add to the shocking events of the day. In the end, he shook his head. "Uh, but a lot happened today. It's probably best to leave this for another time..."

"What are you doing!?" Morgana whispered animatedly from the sofa. "Don't freak out now. Get your act together, Akechi!"

Akira also wasn't about to give up. "C'mon, say it. What is it about?"

"It's a-about me... about us..." By "us," he had meant them as the Phantom Thieves, but his sentence definitely sounded wrong. "I mean no, it's not what you're thinking!"

"I'm not thinking anything. I'm just waiting for you to say it."

That out-of-the-box response caught Akechi off guard. He couldn't formulate a proper explanation before, and it was even worse now. Akira kept staring at him and waiting for him to continue, but he failed to say anything. Words scrambled into a mess in his head and refused to make their way out of his mouth. Now he understood what Futaba must feel whenever she tries to talk to someone and freezes up.

"You don't even need to choose words so much!" Morgana kept encouraging him. "It's a good time. Just say those three words to settle things! They'll speak for themselves!"

It was annoying how Morgana was only making things worse. The romance thing wasn't what Akechi had meant to talk about!

"I'll sleep downstairs and give you two some privacy. Have fun, you guys." Morgana jumped from the sofa and snuck out of the attic.

Akira's gaze briefly floated to the retreating figure of Morgana before focusing back on Akechi. "... So?"

Akechi heaved a frustrated sigh. "No, never mind. Let's just leave this for another day..." He noticed that something seemed a bit off. "Um, Akira, is everything okay?"

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You look a bit pensive."

"Oh, just thinking about some stuff."

He took a step towards Akira and looked at her more closely. He noticed her eyes were a bit red.

"You... cried...?" It was a half question, half statement.

"Just a little."

He recalled she had cried at the Metaverse, when the Phantom Thieves were trying to make him believe he could be spared from capital punishment. Had it been just that instance at the Metaverse, though, or had she also cried after Futaba's uncle's threats?

Determination flared in Akechi's gaze. "Akira. You might be getting tired of hearing me repeat this and show no results, but I'll solve your false charges case no matter what."

Her mouth curved up into a wide smile. "I believe in you. Your words about this deeply touch my heart every single time."

Akechi couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks. I might not be as good a detective as my reputation makes I seem, but I'll make sure to solve at least this case right. I won't let anyone use that stupid criminal record against you ever again."

Akechi had the sudden urge to protect her, to comfort her. His body moved on autopilot and pulled Akira into a hug. His head inched forward, until their faces touched. He tentatively rubbed his cheek against hers a couple of times. Her cheek was so delicate and soft, and touching it brought a comforting sensation to his heart. Akechi had the urge to touch it more and more, so that this comforting feeling wouldn't end. He considered touching it with his hand, but his hands were busy holding her. All he could do was continue having their cheeks touch, for lack of a better idea. He closed his eyes and let the touch massage both his face and his heart. Eventually, Akechi got lost in all the fluffiness to the point he wasn't mindful of his actions anymore.

His lips brushed against hers. Her lips were as delicate and soft as her cheek, and soon Akechi was entranced by them too. He brushed his lips against hers a few more times, but it felt like there was more that he could do. The tip of his tongue left the confines of his mouth and curiously poked at Akira's lips, and sure enough, that brought him more fluffy feelings.

Still, it seemed he could find more if he were to search. Akechi's detective instincts urged him to explore deeper. He felt as though he would find the answer to an intriguing mystery if he were to do so. As if in a daze, Akechi simply allowed his instincts to guide him. He pressed his lips against hers, in a long, caring kiss. A wave of indescribable sensations washed over his whole body and made his heart race. Akechi had no idea what those sensations were, but they felt good, and made him want to experience them more.

However, that strange hypnotizing spell broke when he heard a gasp from Akira. With a jolt and a loud thump from his heart, Akechi abruptly backed away from her and opened his eyes, only to see an expression of utter shock on Akira's face. She was blushing profusely, with her eyes shut, and her mouth hanging open.

The situation finally sank in for Akechi, and he got horrified to realize what he had done, how far he had gone. He felt his face hot, and his heart was beating uncontrollably fast. In fact, Akechi felt as though his heart might explode out of his chest at any moment.

"Ah! I'm s-sorry!" Akechi blurted out in panic. "Akira, a-are you okay?"

Akira seemed to be in a catatonic state, and all she did was heave a sigh.

Akechi was getting worried. "Oh no. What have I done!? A-Akira...?"

---

Akira had closed her eyes and relaxed in Akechi's comforting, protective hold. His caring gestures massaged both her face and her heart. They were so soothing. The moment he shyly licked her lips was so adorable, too. Then, it came. His sweetest and most caring kiss ever, spontaneous and decisive, totally different from those timid good night kisses he usually gave her. He had kissed her in the mouth, too. She definitely hadn't seen that one coming, nor the warm feelings that exploded inside her heart. She felt dazed, and everything seemed to have frozen for a moment, when there was only Akechi, her, and the explosion of fluffy feelings.

Akira wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she eventually began becoming aware of the scenery around her, and was finally able to start reasoning again. What were those feelings? Those didn't sound like anything she would feel in the company of just anyone. She had known that people who were in love with someone would experience special feelings, but she had no way to know what those feelings were supposed to be like. Could these fluffy feelings be the answer? Was this the difference between family or friend love and romantic love? Did this really mean she liked Akechi in a romantic way?

Still under the effects of the fluff, Akira's eyes were open but unfocused. Akechi had backed away from her and was saying something, but she couldn't hear his words.

"Akira...?" He spoke again, in a shaky and timid voice. "Uh, I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry."

"... Huh?" She finally snapped back to focus and could take a better look at the detective. His face was red and his eyes were full of... shame? Fear? Akira couldn't tell what it was. "Sorry. What did you say? I didn't catch that."

"Uh..." He gaped at her, taken aback for some reason. "Then n-never mind. Just fo-forget about it..."

"What?"

He turned away and tried to hide his furious blush. "I'll sleep on the sofa. Good night."

"Akechi... kun?" She slowly uttered in confusion. Had he disliked what had happened, or... what?

Akechi didn't respond. He only retreated to the sofa and lay there.

"... Akechi-kun?" Akira called out to him again, but he said nothing.

He had shrunk in his position on the sofa and was looking away from her.

What did this mean? Akira had come to the conclusion that she liked him romantically, but could it be that he didn't feel the same way towards her? It was clear that he liked her a lot, but maybe he was already sure he only liked her as a friend?

Either way, it didn't seem like he was willing to talk to her right now, and Akira decided to give him a break.

---

Saturday, November 5

Akechi wished last night's incident were just a dream, but it wasn't. The fact that he woke up on the sofa meant he had slept there because of what had happened. The kiss from last night kept resurfacing in his mind. He still couldn't understand what had gotten into him that time. A kiss in the mouth, seriously? Akechi still couldn't believe what he had done. How could he have lost control like that? What he had done wasn't just a good night kiss, no matter how one looked at it. Even though Akira had previously asked him out, they weren't dating. He had crossed the boundaries and invaded off-limits territory. From the shocked expression on Akira's face, she hadn't liked what happened, either.

He slowly got up from the sofa and did his best to leave the attic without waking Akira up. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what to say to her if they were to talk right now.

Akechi arrived downstairs. A glance revealed that the store's key was on the counter, just like last time. He unlocked the door and carefully placed the key back on the counter, but unfortunately, the chimes rang when he opened the door and woke Morgana up. Akechi cursed internally. He had totally forgotten about the chimes...

"Hmm? Akechi?"

Akechi tried to ignore the supernatural cat and leave through the door, but Morgana jumped from the chair he had been sleeping on and clung to the detective's leg.

"Akechi, where are you going?!"

Akechi tried to pry Morgana off of him. "I need to go. I have to get my school materials."

"It's too early for that! It's still dark outside! Akira would agree with me that you should rest more."

At the mention of Akira, Akechi bit his lip.

Morgana noticed it. "Did you have an argument with Akira or something?"

"I really need to go." Akechi finally managed to free himself from Morgana and hurriedly left through the door.

"Hey!" Morgana shouted, but Akechi was already running through the Yongen-Jaya streets.

---

When Akira woke up at the usual time, she couldn't find Akechi anywhere.

"Akechi used the key on the counter and left early." Morgana informed her. "Sorry, Akira. I couldn't stop him. He said he needed to get his school materials, but it sounded like an excuse. Did something happen between you two?"

"Well..." Akira blushed as she told everything to Morgana.

"He kissed you? For real!?"

"Yeah... we got caught up in the moment, and it happened. But then he looked flustered and horrified and panicked as though he had done something wrong. Then he chose to sleep on the sofa and totally refused to talk to me. Now I'm not sure if he didn't mean to kiss me at all, or if he was just confused because of how sudden everything was..."

"Did you feel anything different?"

"I did... I felt things that I don't even know how to explain. I've never felt anything like that before." The closest thing to that she had felt had been in the last dream about the child Akechi. But again, it had been a dream, and the feelings from last night were much more intense. It was her first kiss, and marked a very special moment for her.

"Hmm. That experience must've been a first for him too. No wonder he'd get confused! And that was right after our talk to him in Mementos, too."

Those words cheered Akira up, and she smiled. "You have a point... he isn't even used to having friends yet. This new experience must've been quite the shock to him!" She thought of calling him or sending him a message, but decided against it in the end. "I don't think he's even recovered from the talk in Mementos yet. I'll give him some time to cool off, and then I'll talk to him."

Even if it turned out that Akechi really didn't like her romantically, Akira concluded that this wouldn't change her feelings, and she had to let him know. The more she thought about it, the more she became sure that her feelings were worth of those three magic words. She would need to look for an opportune moment to say them. After all, they needed to have impact, like the Phantom Thieves' calling cards.

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

Later, Akira and the other Shujin Phantom Thieves gathered on lunch break.

"So, how's Crow doing?" Ryuji asked.

"He's gone. He left really early."

"Oh..." Ryuji inched his head in Akira's direction. "So, what kinda person is he?"

Ann joined in. "Yeah, I was wondering about that too."

"He's exactly as we know him." Akira answered simply.

"Err, I mean his looks and all." Ryuji clarified.

Of course Akira had understood what he had meant, but she still wanted Akechi to reveal his secret identity himself. She regretted having written on the chat that Crow had been at Leblanc. Now her friends would keep asking for details.

"Um... he's handsome."

Ryuji's eyes widened slightly. "For real!? Cool, smart, has a big heart, can use many Personas, and handsome too? Isn't he like the perfect role model? He could get everything he wanted without turning to that evil organization, right?"

Akira nodded. "I also don't get it. He has everything going for him, and could easily have gotten everything he wanted. But he goes and says he's envious of me. To begin with, I'm not the smartest person or anything..."

"Perhaps, this is what he thinks." Makoto chimed in. "He may be thinking you're much more successful than him and get things much easier than him. In theory, his characteristics tick all the boxes of someone successful in life, but practice is a whole different beast, and still, everything has somehow gone wrong for him. That must be the reason he resorted to the organization and ended up in his current situation, with a probable death sentence looming over his head. Meanwhile, you have done nothing wrong and can live freely. This must be making him even more envious. Did he mention the envy issue while he was at Leblanc?"

Akira shook her head. "No, he didn't."

"Did he open up a little?" Haru asked. "Did he say anything interesting about himself?"

"Not really... he didn't talk much other than when we were arguing about dinner and the movie. It was fun having him around, though."

"It's still sad that he had been thinking we hated him." Ann lamented. "Now that he knows we don't, I hope he's willing to open up to us."

"We should invite him to hang out sometime!" Ryuji suggested. "He sure needs a distraction!"

Morgana nodded from inside Akira's bag. "Let's suggest that to him next time."

---

Haru was still bothered by what her father had said about Akechi the previous day. It would be risky if what her father had said was true. Yet, she felt the need to talk to Akechi in person. So much for being careful... but she wanted to trust Akechi, and to prove to herself that she could do that.

Since Haru didn't have Akechi's contact information, she had to rely on Akira. As lunch break ended and everyone was going to their respective classrooms, she approached Akira to talk in private.

"Akira-chan, could you do me a favor? I need Akechi-kun's phone number. I ran into him on the street yesterday and the atmosphere became awkward when my father came to pick my up. I would like to talk to Akechi-kun in person and apologize. Could you give me his number so I can arrange that?"

"Oh, sure!" Akira did as asked and sent Haru the number.

"Thank you, Akira-chan."

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

After classes, Haru called Akechi.

"Hello." He picked up the call in a neutral tone, likely because it was an unknown number and he didn't know who to expect.

"Hello, Akechi-kun. It is Haru speaking. Akira-chan gave me your number."

"Oh. You know? I actually considered taking you up on your offer to get some food ingredients the other day, but gave up because I realized I didn't have your number."

Haru relaxed a bit and allowed herself to laugh lightly. That was definitely the nice Akechi she knew, and not someone who would do anything for fame. "Yes, we should have traded contact information when I made that offer. That detail completely slipped my mind."

"How is Akira doing? She isn't... a bit down or anything, is she?"

"She is well. Um, she had a glint in her eyes and seemed excited as she talked, now that I think about it."

"I-is that so?" Akechi sounded surprised.

"Yes. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"Uh, it's nothing. I'm just checking..." He said awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I was wondering if we could meet up. Is there anywhere that is easy for you? I will just check the rooftop garden and leave."

"I've just left my school as well. I can drop by Shujin, no problem."

"Oh, that would be nice. It is set, then. See you soon."

Akechi arrived a few minutes later, and Haru came to meet up with him by the gate. His gaze was a bit distant as though he had a lot on his mind, but otherwise he looked perfectly normal. Haru couldn't detect any hint of ulterior motives... not that she was a specialist in identifying that kind of thing, though. They snuck into the rooftop from the back.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about?"

"Akechi-kun, I would like to apologize for the uncomfortable moment yesterday."

"Ah. You mean about Mr. Okumura..."

"I noticed how surprised you got when my father came to pick me up. I am sorry for keeping quiet about my last name. I have been trying to keep a low profile because of all the commotion involving Okumura Foods."

"I understand your reason. I sure hadn't expected to run into the president himself. I had already known about you, though."

"Y-you had?" Haru wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed at her assumption's stupidity or to be wary of him. She chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, of course. You are a detective and have investigated the company's issue, after all. Of course you would have known..." She added hastily. "Um, the mood became awkward yesterday and I couldn't even say goodbye to you."

"Did you call me here just so you could say goodbye?"

"Huh?"

Akechi laughed amusedly. "Sorry. Akira's unusual responses may be rubbing off on me. Anyway, you didn't call me here just to apologize, right?"

"Huh... why do you think that?"

"If you just wanted to apologize, you could very well have done so on the phone. But you wanted to talk to me in person, and I assumed there's another reason. There was also your reaction when I asked if you had another reason..."

Haru was getting on edge. Akechi was sharp. She realized she couldn't hide anything from him, and decided to go straight to the point. "A-Akechi-kun. My father said something that bothered me. Um, he told me that you'd do anything to get fame and privileges." Fear reflected in her gaze as she asked, "Is this... true?"

Akechi's eyes grew a bit wide, and his mouth hung slightly open for a few seconds. "He... said that...?"

"Yes, and I would like you to clear this doubt. Is it true?" She repeated the question.

He could have quickly blurted out a no in his defense, but he didn't. Instead, Akechi strangely hesitated, and averted his gaze in shame like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

---

Fear consumed Akechi when he realized Haru had caught him.

"Can't we... become friends?" He recalled her asking that in the Metaverse the previous day.

Akechi still thought he had no right to be friends with the Phantom Thieves, even though he appreciated the friendship very much. They had directed all those kind words at him yesterday, and theoretically it would be safe to tell them the truth. But something seemed wrong with his Empress Confidant bond right now, and this left him even more uneasy. Was Haru starting to distrust him? Did this mean it actually wasn't safe, after all?

Akechi wanted to lie, just so he could stretch their time as friends for a bit longer. He had lied a lot in the past, and lying once more should be easy. However, it was not. Lying would give her more reasons to distrust him and for their bond to break.

He had the urge to run away, but he knew there was no escape.

"Wh-what if it's true? ... What will you do?" He asked hesitantly.

"So, it is really true... isn't it?" Haru spoke apprehensively.

She had already come to the conclusion it was true. Denying was out of the question now. Akechi had really been caught between a rock and a hard place. There was no option other than to be honest and admit to everything. He braced himself, then nodded.

Sure enough, Haru looked hurt and disappointed. "Ann-chan said that you admitted to have solved the mental shutdown cases wrong. Did you do that in exchange for privileges? Not because they threatened you?"

Akechi gasped. Of course Takamaki-san would have told the others about that day...

"It was because of both things." He admitted in defeat.

---

On one hand, Haru was horrified to confirm that what her father had said was true. On the other hand, she couldn't avoid letting her heart soften because Akechi was still looking like a little child that had misbehaved and was bracing for a reprimand.

"Why did you start resorting to TV?"

Akechi was stubbornly silent for a moment, but started speaking eventually, still avoiding eye contact with her. "The foster families viewed me as a burden, no matter how well I behaved or how hard I worked for my grades. I came to think that if I were to become famous, someone would finally accept me. I was getting desperate, and when I got the opportunity, I jumped head first into it without thinking twice."

"So, this is why you let those people use you?"

Akechi nodded.

"But when you began on TV, you didn't know those people were trouble, right?"

"Worst of all, I had known. I didn't know the extent of their danger, but I knew they were shady."

Haru looked at him incredulously. She had had no idea the issue was so serious. She had thought Akechi had unwittingly fallen victim to the corrupt people's unethical demands. But the truth was that he had willingly associated with them!

"Why did you agree to associate with people like them?!" Haru asked in a trembling voice.

"Uh, you see. I had never been able to achieve anything good by doing everything right. But whenever I did what they wanted, they gave me privileges, and I thought that things were turning around for me, that it was finally time for me to shine and have everything I had never had... so, I continued on that path, thinking that I had found the way meant for me. That sensation of glory went above my head, and as long as I got what I wanted, I'd do anything. Even if that meant I'd have to do something wrong or harm others, I didn't care. No one ever cared about me. Why should I care about others? Why should I keep following the rules if society would despise me no matter what I did anyway? This was what I thought. No one else, nothing else mattered anymore. All I wanted was glory, even if short-lived, if only to say my life with all that suffering hadn't been in vain."

Such distorted views! Haru thought, horrified. But Akira-chan had said she had checked the Metaverse app and he didn't have a palace. How can this be? If his views are this distorted, he should have one! But if he really doesn't, how can we even remove this distortion from his heart?

How could he have become like that? What was with those foster families that didn't give him attention when he most needed it? Why hadn't anyone been there to accept him so that he wouldn't have done any of those things in the first place?

"Akechi-kun..." Haru muttered, with a pained expression.

"Haru, I'm sorry. It was you who asked about this. I admit I wasn't willing to say all of this, but once I had started, it all came out. So, there, I said it. Whatever image you had of me must have shattered right now, but it's as your father said. All this is true. Goro Akechi isn't a decent person at all. I deserve every bit of criticism the public throws at me, and then some. I'll understand if you... begin hating me, too."

She didn't hate him. On the contrary. She wanted him to change those ways and find the right path, because they were friends, she cared about him and wished he would have good things in his life.

Haru closed her eyes for a few seconds and took deep breaths to try to focus. A bit calmer, she opened her eyes, only to meet Akechi's resigned expression and his pleading gaze. It was as though the kid that misbehaved were saying, "I'm sorry about what I did but please just don't hate me," and this softened her heart again. As Haru stared into his shame-filled eyes, she recalled how Akechi kept using past tense when talking about his desire for glory. Then, it clicked. All those things were in the past. If no one and nothing else still mattered to him, he wouldn't be acting like he was now. This could only mean one thing: what she wished had already happened, and his views weren't distorted anymore! His heart had already changed. Therefore, he couldn't have a Palace! But how did his heart change? The Phantom Thieves hadn't targeted him.

Either way, Akechi had changed for better. Haru felt that he was being honest with her, and her earlier doubt disappeared.

Haru gave him a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Akechi-kun. I don't hate you."

"You... don't?"

Akechi was really acting like a little child desperate for attention. It made Haru giggle. "Of course I don't. For as long as I have known you, you have been a good, humble and nice person. At one point, you may have been the way you have just described, but you definitely aren't like that anymore. If you were, you wouldn't be ashamed of the things you have just told me, or of having closed the mental shutdown cases incorrectly. It is okay to make mistakes. As the proverb says, to err is human. But you managed to get out of that mindset you described. I think you have found the right path now."

Puzzled, Akechi remained silent for a moment, then a contemplative expression replaced his puzzlement. "Thanks for your kind words, Haru. 'To err is human. To forgive, divine,' is it?" He quoted the full proverb. "Some mistakes definitely aren't okay to make. Even so, it seems that you... all of you are able to forgive them somehow. That would be impossible to me. There are two people I can't forgive."

"... Who?" Haru couldn't help but ask.

He hesitated as though he wanted to take that last sentence back, but answered in the end. "One of them is... uh, my father."

"Your father?" That was news to Haru. "I have heard that your mother's name is in your documents, but your father's is nowhere to be found. Perhaps, do you know who he is?"

Akechi nodded. "I wish I didn't know, but he was all my mother talked about besides the books she read... I don't think I can forgive him even if he has a change of heart."

"Why? What did he do?"

"He filled my mother's head with empty promises, then vanished and abandoned her when she got pregnant. She was sick when he finally reappeared. He refused to help pay for her treatment, and refused to acknowledge me as his son because he didn't want an illegitimate child. He's basically the reason why my mother died, and the reason why I got thrown into foster home hell."

"That is terrible..." Haru's heart tightened. "You said there are two people you can't forgive, though. Who is the other one?"

"It's myself. Accept, yes, but not forgive." He narrowed his eyes and balled his hands. "I endured everything and waited for many years for someone to appear and save me. Why couldn't I have waited just a bit more? Why did I have to go through with that stupid idea of looking for 'him?'"

"'Him?' Do you mean your father? Are you saying you were able to find him?"

"Exactly. The moment I was old enough to be on my own, I made the terrible mistake of going look for him." Akechi let out a resigned laugh. "Now I wish my mediocre detective skills weren't enough to find him... unfortunately, they were... and that's the one meeting that should've never happened."

"Why is that? What happened?"

Akechi's mouth opened and closed a few times without producing sound, as though he were having a hard time choosing his words. Eventually, he spoke. "Everything went downhill from there. He has contacts, and that was where I got introduced to the TV staff and all those corrupt people. If I hadn't found him, I probably wouldn't have run into any of them."

Haru gaped at the implication. Akechi's father had ties to the evil organization!

Shame seemed to take over Akechi again. "Why was I even born? If I hadn't been born, I wouldn't have burdened my mother, nor all those foster families, and none of those things would've happened..."

Haru's eyes widened in shock. "Akechi-kun, don't say that! We are glad to have met you. If you hadn't been born, we wouldn't have met. You wouldn't have met Akira-chan..."

"That would have been for the best."

"What?" That cold response worried Haru. She recalled what Ann had told them. What if Akechi were having suicidal thoughts right now!?

"Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to have met all of you too, but... um, how do I put this? To me, it was worth it, selfishly speaking. But I don't know if it was worth it in the grand scheme of things... I'm sure this world would have been a better place without me."

Haru couldn't contain herself, and when she realized it, she had tackled Akechi into a hug and almost made him lose his balance. "What are you saying!? No, Akechi-kun! Ann-chan told us about your suicide attempt. Please, don't try that ever again!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Akechi spoke up, with a weak and trembling voice. "Uh... is everyone going to bring that up now? Some of you already did."

"We are worried about you. Of course we are going to bring it up! You may have been an undesired child... Your father and the foster families may not have cared about you, but we care! You are very important to all of us. We are glad to have found you in time to do something for you, and definitely aren't going to simply let you go and die!"

---

Those words came with such conviction that, for a moment, Akechi was really tempted to believe that the Phantom Thieves would be able to protect him from a death sentence. However, that was too much wishful thinking, and reason still prevailed in the end. Even so, Haru's words and gesture had comforted him, in that way only the Phantom Thieves could, and the unease about his Confidant bond was also going away.

"Thanks. All of you are very important to me too. I had nothing, but you were the only people that ever accepted me and gave me a place to belong. Honestly, I didn't want any of you to know about the things I've just told you or the wrong cases. I was scared you'd hate me and I'd lose it all again..."

"We wouldn't hate you. If you were still doing those things, maybe. But you have realized your mistake and have turned the page. It may still be hard to deal with all those realizations and try to figure what to do. But you have our support now. It is not too late. I am sure you can still achieve great things moving forward. So, don't throw everything away now, please."

Then, this really wasn't a dream. The Phantom Thieves were willing to support him both outside and inside the Metaverse. Still, Akechi felt nervous about just revealing the whole truth outright.

"I never said anything about giving up." Akechi patted Haru's shoulder assuringly before breaking the hug and flashing a weak smile. "Don't worry. I don't intend to do anything stupid. I've done too many of them already. I still think I shouldn't have been born, but it is what it is. 'When life gives you lemons,' I guess." He quoted another saying. "I was born, and I'm here now. For as long as I'm here, I'll do what I can."

Haru's face lit up. "I'm relieved to hear you say that. You may not realize it, but you are very strong, Akechi-kun."

Akechi shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. It is amazing how you have managed to break free from that previous line of thought. It shouldn't have been easy, especially since you had no one around to help pull you out of it. How were you able to change like that? Um, I mean, did something specific happen to lead you to start realizing things?"

"Phantom Thieves magic, I'd say."

"The... Phantom Thieves?" Haru blinked in confusion. "You think the Phantom Thieves stole your heart?"

"No, I'm sure of it."

---

Haru was puzzled. They had done nothing to him. "Huh? Why do you say that? Have you felt anything different?"

"Uh-huh. Too many things to count."

"How can you be sure it was them?"

"How can you be sure it wasn't?" He seemed to be returning to his sharp and mischievous detective self.

"... I..." Haru got on edge. She had known Akechi had suspected her friends of being the Phantom Thieves. Was he trying to make her slip her tongue? "I didn't say it wasn't them. I... I just wanted to hear your reasoning..."

Akechi hesitated again and broke his mischievous detective image. "I have never been through such a roller coaster of feelings until recently. If not their doing, who else's could it be?"

"Well..." Haru was unsure how to argue. Akechi was mistaken. The Phantom Thieves hadn't targeted him!

"I'll tell you my theory, then. It seems I was misunderstanding some things about the Phantom Thieves. I was so scared that I failed to realize some important things, but now, I believe I have a better understanding of their methods. "

"... What did you find out?" Haru was curious whether he had actually figured out anything about the Metaverse.

Akechi seemed to choose his words for a few seconds. "From what I understand, they attack using weapons with an apparently infinite ammunition of warm and comforting feelings. These are overwhelming and impossible to resist. When you realize it, you are at their mercy doing everything they want. Your heart is already in the palm of their hands, being squeezed, reshaped and stuffed with warm feelings until it's overloaded and totally unrecognizable. I take it that this can be considered a way to change a heart, since it becomes completely different from how it used to be."

"Huh?" That had nothing to do with the cognitive world. Or with... anything at all. What was he even talking about? "Um, I'm not sure if it really works like that..."

Akechi released a hearty laugh. "At least, this was how it was for me. I don't know how it is for others."

"Hmm." Haru didn't think that was it. If Akechi really believed this was how they changed hearts, he was way off. "I actually don't understand much of your explanation, but I do believe the Phantom Thieves are kind individuals willing to help those in need. You know, like the heroes of justice from anime! I used to admire this kind of anime, and am glad similar heroes also exist in real life."

"I guess so. To be honest, I had actually given up hope in this world already. But then, the Phantom Thieves magic started happening, and I thought, if such kind people really exist in this world, then I might as well support them. This was basically how I started to rethink about what I had been doing."

Haru still thought Akechi's theory was completely off, but if thinking like that had inspired him to change for better, then she would leave it at that. Also, she couldn't help but think what he had just said sounded familiar...

"Then, you support the Phantom Thieves now?"

Akechi nodded. "Not that I'll say this on TV, though. Or at least, not yet."

Haru was happy to have that confirmation. "Then, why don't you ask them for help with your current problems? I know you had said it's not a good idea to randomly change hearts of people from the TV staff, but perhaps they can help in some other way. Oh, why don't you ask them to change your father's heart?"

Akechi startled with a gasp.

Haru added. "If you explain what happened, I am sure they will understand. You could reach them through the Phansite. Either post a request, or send a message through the contact form if you don't want it public."

"Uh, well, actually, I have already made this request."

"Huh? Is that so?" He had already made that request? Had they somehow missed it on the Phansite?

"Yes. I believe I haven't explained the whole story properly, though..." He began nodding and talking to himself nervously. "That's it. I should do just that... it should be fine, probably..."

"... Akechi-kun?" Something seemed off, and Haru called out in concern.

"Oh, um..." He disguised his nervousness by checking his phone. "Ah, this time already? I think I should be going."

"Um, okay. Thank you for coming, and sorry for taking your time."

"Aren't you also leaving?"

"I will stay here for a little bit more."

Akechi blinked. "Huh? You have no appointments today?"

"No. Since I'm free, I decided I will just be tending to the vegetables."

"O-okay..." Akechi thought for a bit. After a deep breath, he spoke. "Then, this is goodbye for now. See you around, Noir."

It took a few seconds for that last bit to register in Haru's head, mostly because it didn't feel wrong at all to hear him address her like that.

"Huh?!" When Haru gasped at the realization that something was off, Akechi wasn't there anymore.

He had known her code name. The only people that were supposed to know it were the other seven Phantom Thieves... no, eight... this could only mean one thing.

"Crow..." Haru murmured, frozen on the spot.

The implications fully sank in. Akechi was Crow. This also explained why Akira had looked so excited while she told them she had spent time with Crow in Leblanc. It could only mean Akira had figured his identity too! And could the special someone he kept mentioning actually be Akira!?

No, more importantly, Akechi being Crow meant that the dishonest things those corrupt people forced him to do went way beyond presenting a fake image on TV and making him solve the cases wrong. They had gone as far as to have him cause the mental shutdowns himself, and he had been so lost in the distortion in his heart that he did it. This was the reason he was so angry at himself, and had even called himself an "half-assed detective" in the Metaverse the other day.

It was sad to think that her father had benefited greatly from the mental illnesses as well. But now, both her father's and Akechi's hearts had changed, and both of them were doing what they could to walk on the right path. In Akechi's case, it was really amazing, especially since he had had no one to help open his eyes and pull him out of the distortion. But now, it was different. Now Akechi had the Phantom Thieves.

A message came on her phone and startled her. It was from Akechi.

"I'm still not sure how to deal with my biggest problem, but for as long as I'm here, you guys may count on me, too."

"Thank you, Crow." She replied. He had addressed her by her code name, and she would do the same. This way, he would see that both of them were on the same page now.

Father, don't worry. The Phantom Thieves have already gotten hold of him. Haru thought with a smile, and tears starting to form in her eyes. Akechi was doing a lot to support them, and they would do whatever they could to support him as well. Haru only hoped they could really save him, though.

---

Akechi held his breath as he hurriedly left the rooftop. It had taken him all his courage to drop the bomb in the form of Haru's code name, and he had no courage left to wait and see her reaction. When he was exiting Shujin, a Tarot Card vision startled him and indicated the Empress Confidant had ranked up. As there were no more unsettling feelings coming from his Confidant bond, he could only assume it was because Haru was fully aware of his identity now, and fortunately, she was still trusting him. That was a relief, and he finally released the breath he had been holding.

A bit calmer, he sent her a message. Soon enough, he got her response confirming that she still trusted him. With that interaction, he felt a little bit more secure to reveal his identity to the other Phantom Thieves. Just a little bit, though.

He took a train and unboarded at the Shibuya station.

"Akechi-kun!" Makoto quickened her pace to catch up to him. She was holding a book. "It looks like we were on the same train. What a coincidence!"

"Indeed." Both of them were likely coming from Shujin, too.

"But this timing is perfect. There is something I would like to ask you about."

"What is it?"

Makoto shuffled awkwardly with the book she had been holding. "I was reading this book on the train. Um, well, it's actually a romance book." Akechi didn't like the sound of that. "There was a scene where the two main characters felt physically attracted to each other. Since I have no experience with this kind of thing, I can't even imagine how that is supposed to feel like. Do you have any idea?"

"Me?" Akechi deadpanned. "Why do you have to ask me? I already said I understand the subject as little as you."

Makoto gestured to make a point. "But you see, you are the only person I know who has had any sort of experience with girls. I mean, you used to have many female fans before. Have you felt anything different when near them?"

Akechi shook his head without thinking twice. In his celebrity days, he used to have many girls swooning over him, but he had never felt anything different towards any of them.

"What about... us? For example, Futaba..." Makoto asked awkwardly.

Come to think of it, he had had all of the female Phantom Thieves do comforting gestures to him already. Futaba was so affectionate towards him, Makoto had comforted him herself, Sae-san had also been so kind to him, and both Takamaki-san and Haru had hugged him. Besides the warm comfort he believed he didn't deserve, he hadn't felt anything different.

Akechi slowly shook his head again.

"What about when you are near Akira?"

"A-Akira? Uh..." He had thought he had gotten rid of the memory of last night's event, but Makoto's question made it resurface full force.

"What do you feel when you are with her?" It was no longer a question of whether he felt anything near Akira. Makoto was already assuming he did.

"Wh-what makes you assume I feel anything different near her?"

"Your expression changed when I asked about her. You are even blushing a bit."

Akechi realized he might really be blushing. He had been trying to keep his composure, but apparently it wasn't working. He wished he could hide his face with a mask right now, but this wasn't the Metaverse, and he had to give up.

"Well... When I'm near Akira, some... strange things happen. Sometimes she does the simplest things like merely taking my hand, and I get dazed as though I were struck by a spell..." Akechi's expression became dreamy as he recalled his moments with Akira, and he didn't know what he was saying anymore. "I don't understand. Even though she hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, it feels so comforting that I get tempted to forget my problems, my mistakes, and everything else..."

"Hmm..." Makoto listened with interest.

"Somehow, these simple moments feel so special, and I don't want them to end. Deep down, I get scared that she might start hating me, and that these moments won't happen ever again..."

"You think she might start hating you?" Makoto asked as though his statement had made no sense at all. "Why do you think that?"

"Uh, I feel that if she learns more about me, she might start disliking me, just like those families when they learned about my whole situation..."

"What are you talking about? She isn't anything like those insensitive adults. She really cares about you, and I think knowing you better would make her care even more, not less. Even at the time when we didn't trust you much, Akira kept insisting on having us hang out with you so we could get to know you better. The more we got to understand you, the more we got to care, too. We definitely wouldn't start hating you, and I'm sure she wouldn't, either."

Akechi spaced out. He recalled his last interaction with the Phantom Thieves at the Metaverse.

"And of course you gave us reasons to think so well of you," Joker herself had said. "We got to know you better, and you proved how kind, reliable and amazing you are. You've earned our trust, respect and admiration."

"Y-you may be right..." Akechi admitted to Makoto.

Makoto chuckled. "It is interesting that you really seem to feel special things towards Akira, and are afraid of losing her. Such things happen in romance books a lot."

Akechi gasped in puzzlement. "Wait... does this mean that... I have romantic feelings for her?"

"Isn't that so? Apparently, your feelings for her are special enough to be considered that."

Akechi could only gape at that conclusion that hit him like a bucket of cold water. "Then, I, I, I..."

"Akechi-kun, you had told me you couldn't help me study romance, but this conversation was quite enlightening. You should talk to Akira about this."

Akechi felt really insecure. That realization was already overwhelming enough, and it wasn't the only problem. There was his identity, his situation...

"It'll be okay. It's Akira we're talking about. She will understand." Makoto spoke gently like an older sister would.

"I-I suppose..."

Makoto nodded in approval. "I will be rooting for you. Tell me how it went later, okay? I would like to use this opportunity to learn more about real romance rather than just reading books."

Makoto was oddly enthusiastic about the issue, and it was clear that she wasn't just wanting to learn more about romance, but was wishing him good as well. A Tarot Card once again invaded his vision, and the Priestess Confidant ranked up.

"Ah!" Akechi snapped out of the Tarot card vision with a start. "A lot happened yesterday and I didn't get any work done on the investigation about Akira's false charges. Just when I found a big lead, too... I really have to catch up. I need to be going!" And Akechi dashed away.

---

"A-Akechi-kun?" Makoto called out in confusion when she realized Akechi had stormed off in a strange direction. "Wait, where are you going? The exit isn't that way!"

But he didn't listen and disappeared from her sight.

Makoto hurriedly headed in the same direction.

"Akechi-kun?" She looked left and right, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Where did he go?"

She was a bit worried. Was Akechi so panicked at the romance realization that he didn't know what he was doing anymore and ran to a random direction?

Well, he should realize he came to the wrong way if he runs into a wall, she thought.

Still, it was strange. He had run to a direction where there was nothing, and it wouldn't be this easy to lose him from sight because that corner wasn't even crowded. Where had the detective prince disappeared off to?

Huh? Disappeared? Makoto startled at the thought. The Phantom Thieves could "disappear" there because the Shibuya station was their entry to Mementos. Akechi wasn't a Phantom Thief, though... they hadn't even taken him to the Metaverse yet! Makoto shook her head. No, I must be reading too much into this...

---

It had taken a while, but at last, Crow was able to locate the Shadow of one of the police officers that had detained Akira.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" The Shadow feigned ignorance.

"Don't play dumb. I know you were at the scene that night, and the way the case was handled was unique enough that I doubt you would have forgotten about it. Why was the case handled that way? Who was that man? Answer me, now!"

"... I'm not telling you!" In panic, the Shadow transformed into Red Rider and attacked right away.

Surprised, Crow jumped back just in time to avoid a Rising Slash attack. Out of all the Shadows he had interrogated so far, this officer's Shadow had been the only one that reacted that way. The others merely talked and didn't fight.

"Stop! I have no intention to fight you!" Crow tried to argue, but the Shadow seemed to have gone berserk and began attacking left and right frantically.

Crow didn't want to fight unnecessarily, but apparently, there was no other choice. He managed to paralyze the Shadow with a Stun Gun item, then hit the weakness with Robin Hood's Kougaon a few times.

Eventually, the Shadow was totally incapacitated and stopped fighting back. "Alright, alright!" He spoke, back to his human form. "Yes, I was there in the night of the incident, and yes, I admit it. I was one of the officers that detained that girl. I didn't want to do that. But I had no other choice!"

"Did that man force you?" Crow asked, now that the Shadow seemed willing to talk.

"Pretty much."

"Who is he, anyway?"

"I won't tell you. It's no use!"

"What do you mean?"

"Give up on looking into that incident. It's for your own good. That man is dangerous. Whoever crosses his path is eliminated!" With no more words, the Shadow vanished into light and gave Crow no time to respond.

"Hey! Wait!" Crow called out, but it was already too late. All he could do was spit a frustrated curse. He had lost his only lead to solving that case. What now?

Crow began pacing back and forth inside the Shadow's territory as he went over what he knew. The culprit was dangerous, eliminated whoever crossed his way, and was powerful enough to have the police omit his name from that case, and also to arrange such an unfair ruling. A chilling thought invaded Crow's mind. That authority abuse sounded suspiciously like something a certain conspiracy mastermind would do.

No, no, no. It can't be. It'd be too messed-up to be true... Crow thought in disbelief. But the harder he tried to dismiss that thought, the more unsettling it became. Wait, Shido happened to have left Tokyo right around the date of the incident. But he couldn't have gone to Akira's hometown, out of all places... could he? No, this has to be a coincidence! It can't be possible! It can't be!

Crow left the Shadow's territory and used a Goho-m to teleport back to the entrance. The moment he arrived there, though, he saw something that definitely snapped him out of his stupor. Joker and Oracle teleported away with the app, right before his eyes.

"Akira, I'll contact you later." Worry kicked in immediately at the recollection of Futaba talking in a low voice to Akira.

Thanks to that interaction, he had suspected Futaba would call upon the Phantom Thieves to deal with her uncle, but since Haru had confirmed she wouldn't be coming with them to Mementos, he had thought the Phantom Thieves wouldn't do anything about the issue today. But Joker and Oracle were in Mementos, and no one else was with them.

"Don't tell me they intend to face the uncle's Shadow alone!"

Worried, Crow tried to think where to find them. Since not even Mona was there, they had no means of transportation and couldn't go very far. Crow teleported to the lowest end area the app allowed him to, but they weren't there. Crow gritted his teeth, and teleported to the rest area. No sign of them, either. He wouldn't give up, though. He would teleport to the rest areas and end areas one by one until he could find a sign that the girls were nearby.

At a higher end area, he found a Shadow's territory, and his suspicions were confirmed. The two could only be in there! Crow didn't think twice and barged into the Shadow's territory.

---

Joker had tried different spells, but hadn't managed to find the Shadow's weakness. Even though the Shadow had the form of a Girimehkala, request targets didn't always have the same weaknesses as the normal Shadows, and he unfortunately wasn't weak to bless spells like normal Girimehkalas were.

And then, the Shadow used a nasty tactic. While Joker was recovering from one of his attacks, he dashed away and advanced towards Oracle.

"Oracle!" Joker called out worriedly at hearing Oracle gasp.

"One step closer and she'll get hurt!" The Shadow threatened. "No, scratch that." He directed his anger at Oracle. "You're in my way! The inheritance money is mine!"

Joker was horrified. She hadn't even moved, but the Shadow charged at Oracle anyway! Joker wouldn't manage to do anything in time, and Oracle could only recoil and shut her eyes in fright.

"Persona!"

"Gyaaaah!" The Shadow yelped in surprise as he got thrown several feet backward by his own attack, reflected by a Tetrakarn barrier that had appeared in front of Oracle.

Joker gasped in relief at the realization that the Tetrakarn spell had come from Loki.

Oracle opened her eyes and also realized what had happened. "C-Crow?" She muttered weakly. "Why... are you here?"

Crow came to meet her, placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her out of harm's way. "Oracle, are you okay?"

Oracle nodded.

"Thanks, Crow!" Joker said. "So, physical attacks actually work, huh? I was wary of testing since normal Girimehkalas repel them and I was on my own... anyway, that's Oracle's abusive uncle who's been causing us trouble! Would you please help us change his heart?"

The Shadow recovered and growled. "How dare you! Why does everyone have to get in my way! The inheritance money is mine! I'm Wakaba's brother! No way that this girl, who is the result of one careless night, should have more right to have the inheritance than me!"

"Money!" Crow exploded. "Is that all you care about!? Don't you even care about her at all?! She's your family!"

"Family?" The Shadow scoffed. "I've never asked for a niece! I don't need one! All I need is the money!"

Crow balled his fists in rage. Oracle was scared and hid behind him.

"Crow, please, calm down!" Joker pleaded desperately. "Arguing is no use. He's totally distorted!"

"I know!" Crow snapped, then realized it and tried to regain his cool. "I know, but..."

"Let's just finish this battle, change his heart and get this over with, okay?"

Crow eventually nodded. "Fine. Oracle, stay back!"

Both Joker and Crow summoned their Personas and attacked the Shadow.

"Why does everyone have to get in my way! Aaaaah!" The Shadow cried in frustration while the attacks hit him. Once defeated, he got back to his human form and fell to a sitting position on the ground.

"What were you thinking?" Crow snapped at Joker and Oracle. "I spotted both of you teleporting alone! I had to teleport to half a dozen areas to find you! Why didn't you call the others?!"

"Oracle's suffered a lot in her uncle's hands and isn't comfortable giving the details to everyone." Joker tried to justify their decision.

"The details don't matter. Just hearing 'abusive uncle' is already enough to me, and should have been to the others as well!"

Joker had to admit that Crow was right...

"Um, but when you came, I... I felt so happy." Oracle's words definitely broke Crow's composure.

Before Crow had time to respond, the Shadow heaved a sigh. "I guess this isn't going to work, after all..." All eyes turned to him. "My relatives used to give a lot of attention to Wakaba because of how smart she was, but they didn't pay any mind to me. That is, until I won a huge amount of money from gambling, then they finally started looking at me. But when the money was gone, their attention on me was gone too. This was why I continued gambling, in hope of hitting the jackpot so that my relatives would look at me again. This led me to spend all I had and make huge debts, and mistreat Futaba because I didn't have enough money to care for her. Wakaba, I'm sorry. Futaba, I'm sorry... I'll turn myself in and admit to the abuse."

Crow heaved an exasperated sigh. "Just yet another gambling addict. This is pathetic... now your relatives will probably look at you, but for bad reasons."

The Shadow hung his head in shame.

"U-Uncle!" Oracle shakily stepped forward before the Shadow could vanish. "Um, you had said I'm a result of a careless night... do you, um, know who my real dad is?"

"Ah, yes. Wakaba had talked to me when she found out she was pregnant... there was a man who had been curious about her research and had approached her. One night, they went to a party, got drunk, and... well..."

"Do you know... his name?" Oracle asked.

"It's Shido."

That name rung bells in Joker's head, but the realization didn't hit her quite yet.

Crow, however, was utterly shocked. "... What?! You... you don't mean..."

"Shido?" Oracle asked cluelessly.

"Yes. Masayoshi Shido. A politician. He's been showing up on TV a lot recently. Looking for him probably isn't a good idea, though. From what Wakaba told me later, he's kind of shady."

The Shadow disappeared while the three Phantom Thieves stood still processing the information.

Crow was the one who spoke up first, with balled hands. "Shido? How dare he!"

Oracle looked timidly at him. "... You know who that is?"

Crow nodded. "'Kind of shady' is a compliment to him. Masayoshi Shido is the mastermind himself!"

---

A/n: I debated a lot on whether I'd do it or not. I know some people will like it, others won't. But in the end I couldn't resist and did it... they're real siblings now! ... In this fic at least. :D

And the two wild cards kissed! Or rather, Akechi (the one who keeps denying the romance) kissed her. Actually, I have a confession to make. This was the first romantic kiss scene that I've ever written. So, I hope I have done well.

Akechi's Confidant rank ups this chapter:

- Chariot 7

- Fool 9

- Empress 6

- Priestess 9

The next chapter will be the moment everyone has been waiting for. The big reveal! I assure you, it'll be worth all the wait. Until then, "warefell!"