The Phantom Thieves of New Game+
a collection of Persona 5 one-shots
Chapter Fourteen
"Pancakes"
"So, should we go for our usual post-Palace meal?" Yusuke asked, absently framing a random couple as they made their way from the courthouse. It had been another successful day infiltrating Sae's Palace, due in no part to Akira having ran it a half-dozen times now. He admitted to himself that they had no need to take so long to do it, knowing that the only delay was Sae accepting they had a right to be inside the courtroom in order to proceed. However, he also couldn't deny that there may just be a hint to winning the prosecutor's heart on a romantic level hidden away inside her Palace.
He could dream and hope, at least.
"Oh, I know!" Ann said, getting their attention. "There's a new place I found that does gourmet pancakes!"
"Seriously?" Ryuji asked, looking at her. "I have no idea how the hell you manage to stay so thin."
"Screw you, Ryuji!" she snapped, stomping her foot at him. "I just have a high metabolism."
"And that's not going to last you forever." he said, looking her up and down. "I mean, yeah, right now you have a killer bod' and all, but all that sugar and sweets crap you keep eating are going to come back to bite you one day when you wake up fat."
"Do I need to separate you two...again?" Makoto asked with a tired voice before their argument could really break out. They both looked at her with no small amount of fear as she turned to look at Ann. "While he may lack tact, Ryuji has a point, Ann. Just because you have a high metabolism now does not mean you can eat whatever you want without repercussions. And as for you, Ryuji." she continued, turning to face him. "I understand that you are only saying these things because you care for her wellbeing, but you also don't have much room to talk. Your usual diet isn't that much more well balanced than hers."
"Yeah, well-"
"Did I give you permission to speak?" Makoto snapped, her voice giving off a deadly vibe. Based on how quickly both Ryuji and Ann paled, Akira figured she was giving him the infamous "Nijima Glare" that he had been subject to during his third time through when he dated Makoto, as well as being subjected to Sae's every single time through.
"No, Queen." Ryuji said, standing at attention.
"I'm sure you were going to say something along the lines of how your constant physical activates and workouts allow you to eat ramen on an almost daily basis." she continued, going back to her normal voice. "Going by the logic you base your diet on, can not the same be said for now? We constantly use more energy than a normal human ever would. Speaking honestly, even I've found myself cheating on my usual diet more and more often as the enemies and the Palaces get harder to deal with. Going out for pancakes right now isn't going to cause any harm."
"And Ryuji once again shows that his proper place will always be under a strong woman's thumb." Futaba muttered, getting Akira to have to bite back a laugh.
"Well, let's go get some pancakes, then." Akira said, getting the group to nod their heads in agreement. As they made their way, he noticed Akechi walk up next to him.
"Are they always like that?" he asked, nodding toward the group walking in front of them.
"Sometimes." he replied, giving an easy smile. "This is one of their better days."
"I...see..." he trailed, off, looking at him.
"So Akechi-kun, I'm sure you're going to love this place." Ann said, turning to look back at him. "They even have a set named in your honor."
"Is that so." he said, his usual fake smile on his face. "In that case, I'd be remised to not order it and try it out, if it was named in my honor."
Hidden from Akechi's view, Akira let a small smirk spread across his face. He knew how much the fake detective hated sweets, and pancakes in general. He knew that he only ate at those places because his fan-girls seemed to believe he loved them, and he always was an attention whore.
Telling the rest of the Phantom Thieves the truth about Akechi's hatred of pancakes, thus convincing them to always go get them after a mission while the murderer was with them, was one of the best decisions he had ever made.