Tuesday, 6/28

"Do you think her fetish is because of her superiority complex, or the superiority complex is because of the fetish?"

"Ryuji, what the fuck?"

Ren had just gotten out of class and had been on his way to Chouno's room when Ryuji caught up to him to deliver his burning question.

"Ya know, I was just thinking and shit during class. What if she-"

"Ryuji, I'd spend less time psychologically analyzing Chouno and more time thinking about how the fuck we survive this afternoon," Ren strongly recommended.

"Okay… so if you weren't thinking about her fetish, then did you come up with an escape plan?" Ryuji asked, challenging Ren to see if the GRAVY leader followed his own advice.

"...No."

"Eh. All good. At least we die together," Ryuji joked.

Good point. If I really wanted to, I could just skip this and go to a session with Maruki. But I won't. Not going to leave Ryuji hanging. Yeah, he got himself into this shit without me asking, but I'd feel terrible for leaving him with that woman. No telling what she would do if left alone with Ryuji. Hell, no telling what she'll do with the both of us there.

"So be it," Ren said as he continued walking.

They reached Chouno's room. Ryuji hesitated to enter, likely wanting to psych himself up before being tortured. Ren, on the other hand, went straight in. At this point, he just wanted to get the day over with. Delaying the inevitable would only make Ren more frightened of the demon within the classroom.

Ren walked into the classroom, seeing Chouno at the front writing phrases on the blackboard.

"Good afternoon, Amamiya-kun. Please take a seat," she said, not even looking back to make sure if it was him.

As Ren approached one of the desks in the front of the room, he heard the door open and close as Ryuji walked in.

"Good afternoon, Ryuji. Please take a seat," Chouno said, a lot more interest in her voice than when she had welcomed Ren.

No honorific? Uh-oh. Now's the time to leave. If only my entire future wasn't riding on me attending detention with some psycho.

Ren sat down, with Ryuji nervously doing the same next to him. Once they were completely settled, Chouno finally turned around.

"I'm afraid we must address what happened yesterday," Chouno said dramatically, waving her hands around like she was some stage actor.

I'd rather we not do that.

"I must apologize for what happened yesterday. It was and still is absolutely unforgivable. I am sorry for failing you," Chouno said, genuine apologeticness plastered across her face.

Oh… well, that's interesting. Not sure what to do right now. Do I speak or just let Chouno talk?

"It's okay, Chouno-sensei," Ryuji energetically said.

"To put it simply, I shouldn't have allowed Amamiya-kun to interrupt our time together, Ryuji," Chouno said, still apologetic, though be taken much less seriously by Ren now that her true intentions were revealed.

Goddammit. I will not stand for this.

"Uh… what?" Ryuji was just as surprised as Ren was.

"But before that can happen, we must study the English lexicon!" Chouno emphatically declared, her arms waving around more than ever.

Fuck Shujin Academy.

Ren looked at the clock.

Finally! Freedom!

Instead of standing up and attempting to leave the classroom as quickly as possible, Ren did the opposite. He slowly stood up, his brain fried from the hours of excessively boring language practice. He was sure Ryuji was even worse because the poor guy wasn't even checking the clock anymore. He was leaning back in his chair, staring up at the words Chouno was explaining on the blackboard. He seemed to be completely zoned out.

Upon seeing Ren stand up, Chouno took initiative.

"Excuse me, Amamiya-kun. The clock doesn't dismiss you; I do," she said boldly as if the statement won every single teacher vs. student argument about leaving class.

Easily the dumbest shit I've heard. If the clock doesn't dismiss me, why does the schedule say to move to the next class at a certain time? And why is my detention scheduled for exactly two hours? And why is there a bell signaling when to leave class? Chouno, with all due respect, fuck off.

"I do not agree, Chouno-sensei," Ren said, making sure to have perfect grammar in the hope of not triggering Chouno again. "I was told to only attend detention for two hours every day until the end of the semester. It has been two hours."

"Fine. Leave," Chouno said with exaggerated dismissiveness. "Just make sure that you leave alone. He can stay behind."

Chouno pointed at Ryuji, the currently apathetic teenager not reacting in the slightest.

"What? No!" Ren protested. "His two hours are up!"

"Please? Can I just have him for the afternoon?" Chouno pleaded, her begging eyes full of hope as Ren scoffed in disgust.

"No. Go away. We're leaving," Ren said, standing next to Ryuji's desk and repeatedly tapping him on the shoulder.

"No, he's staying. He's mine!" Chouno growled, slowly and intensely stepping towards the boys from the blackboard.

Ren tapped Ryuji's shoulder faster and faster, failing to trigger a response. Knowing that Chouno was near, Ren needed a fast solution. With his mind blanking on good ideas, one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea came to Ren.

"Woah! Risette's gonna bare it all!" he yelled through the classroom, his hands cupped around his mouth even though it was pointless.

"Wha- where?!" Ryuji was brought back to earth by the mention of an idol. He blinked a few times, horror dawning on his face when he realized where he was and when he saw who was approaching. "Shit!"

Ryuji jumped out of his seat, accidentally pushing Ren away. Ren stumbled backward, but a desk stopped his fall. Recomposing himself, Ren began rushing to leave the room. Ryuji was following behind.

"NO! HE'S MINE!" Chouno wailed at the two GRAVY members as they quickly left the classroom.

Once outside, they repeated the same escape that they had used the previous day, ending up in the bathroom once again.

"Dude…" Ren panted, out of breath with his hands on his knees. "I can't do this every... fucking... day…"

"We won't," Ryuji said, his tone letting Ren know that a joke was incoming. "We'll have Yuriko for at least a few days. So it's not every day."

Wow. Great deduction, Sherlock. Absolutely stunning.

"Okay, thanks. But we still gotta deal with that shit most days," Ren said as he regained his breath. "I talked to Makoto, but she didn't sound hopeful. What if… what if we just have to tough it out?"

"Nope. No effing way. We can't. It's been two effing days, now look at us!" Ryuji yelled, throwing his hands in the air and looking around the moderately clean Shujin bathroom that they were in. "We're hiding in an effing bathroom after we ran away from a damn rotten adult because we ended up in detention for shitty reasons!"

"You talking about how you got pelted with chalk because you thought that detention would be a fun time?" Ren joked.

"No," Ryuji said, unamused by Ren's joke. "I'm talking about winding up in detention because someone beat up a volleyball player because that someone told one too many jokes about effing the volleyball player's mom!"

That was… oddly accurate? He's not technically wrong.

"You're right. We've been in detention because I seduced someone's mom and wanted to show off in front of the school," Ren sarcastically agreed.

"Thank you! Aight, c'mon, let's get outta here," Ryuji said before he began to walk out of the bathroom.

"Right behind you."

Wednesday, 6/29

Makoto was on her way to the student council room to eat her lunch when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Most texts she received at this time of day came from one person, so she didn't have to do any guesswork before taking her phone out of her pocket to examine the message.

Yuriko Kuramoto:

-Lunch?

Makoto Niijima:

-Sure. Does the student council room work?

Yuriko Kuramoto:

-Peace and quiet. I love it. Meet you there in a few.

Makoto put her phone away and walked into the student council room. Figuring that she could get some work done while waiting for Yuriko, Makoto decided that she would do what she could to fulfill Ren's request. It wouldn't take long, and Makoto wanted to get it out of the way.

Makoto grabbed one of the blank report sheets that the student council always had in supply. The report sheets would suffice for literally anything that the student council needed to deliver to the principal or member of the faculty. It could be about a class change for a student or a complaint about a teacher.

Makoto began writing out the basic information that Ren had given her, leaving out Ryuji's name. If he had wanted to be named, he likely would've told Makoto what had happened himself.

"Natsuko Chouno attempted to utilize a member of the student body to fulfill her own sexual desires. This behavior should not be tolerated at Shujin Academy, nor should the people who perpetrate it. I recommend that Natsuko Chouno be asked to step down from her position and leave Shujin Academy." Yes, that should work as a summary, Makoto thought to herself as she wrote those exact words, along with extra information that was required for reports to be taken seriously.

Just as Makoto was almost finished up with the report, the door to the student council room opened. Makoto looked up from the report to see Yuriko stepping in, closing the door behind her before giving a kind smile to Makoto. Makoto returned the look as Yuriko sat down across the table.

"What's that?" Yuriko asked, nodding to the report paper on Makoto's side of the table.

"Oh, it's-"

Yuriko didn't wait. She hopped out of her seat and leaned over the table, turning the paper towards her so she could read it. Makoto would've been annoyed if she wasn't planning on telling Yuriko. At least now that Yuriko was reading it for herself it gave Makoto time to prepare answers for the questions that were obviously going to be asked. After a few more seconds of reading, Yuriko flipped the paper towards Makoto and sat back down.

"Chouno's sexually harassing people? Damn, that is not what I expected to learn when I had lunch with you," she said, getting her lunch out of her bag. The way she spoke about the topic so casually felt strange to Makoto.

"Apparently, yes, she is. I am just as surprised as you. I just learned about it the other night," Makoto replied, trying not to inappropriately laugh as she remembered her text conversation with Ren.

"I mean, this is really, really surprising. Like, I haven't even heard students talking about this," Yuriko said. "Makoto, how'd ya hear about this?"

"Er… Ren," Makoto said a little embarrassedly, knowing that Ren and Yuriko's relationship was already on thin ice. Or maybe the ice had already cracked open and Makoto shouldn't worry about making things worse.

"Ren, huh?" Yuriko mused, an idea forming in her head for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Maybe I can help him out."

"You'd do that? I'll be honest, I don't think he's very fond of you."

"That's the point," Yuriko said excitedly. "This is my redemption. You gotta bring em down so that lifting them up will feel that much better."

"That's actually a neat idea, Yuriko. I'm sure that he'll appreciate you doing something about Chouno. Although, I'm not sure your initial harshness was-"

"And then you crush them to bring them to a new low point!" Yuriko said, playfully laughing like an evil genius before laughing. "Don't get your hopes up, Makoto. I still got too many insults for your boyfriend to go to waste. For example-"

"Okay, hold on. If you tell me this before you actually do it, and I don't tell Ren, does that make me complicit?"

"Yeah, but it's funny, so who cares? Anyway-"

"Yuriko, I'm not sure about this."

"Okay, okay, fine. How 'bout a teaser? Just so you can get a hint of the material I've been working on?"

Makoto sighed.

"Go ahead."

"Ren looks like he eats at Stubway."

...Is there anything else? No punchline? Do I tell Yuriko that the insult is bad? Or is it good that it's bad because Ren's feelings won't get hurt? Makoto asked herself, contemplating what her reaction to the painfully bad insult should be.

"Meh," was all that Makoto ended up saying.

"Like I said, just a teaser. I got much better stuff, but I'll save it for later," Yuriko said, her determination to make fun of Ren Amamiya not deterred by Makoto's reaction.

"Okay, but don't be too harsh, please?" Makoto asked. "I'd prefer that you guys don't end up in an argument."

"Relax, Makoto. I wouldn't risk you and your boyfriend breaking up. I'd add just a little tension," Yuriko playfully said.

"Very funny."

"The first part was serious. If you really don't want me to, I'll leave Ren alone," Yuriko offered. She was serious, even if a little disappointed.

"Well… maybe you can insult him a little," Makoto said out of feeling guilty for disappointing Yuriko. Maybe Yuriko's words would be a good learning opportunity for Ren. "But not too much."

"Got it," Yuriko said.

From there, the two ate their lunch together. After that, they spent their remaining free minutes just hanging out and talking.

Ren arrived at Leblanc after yet another day of detention. This one wasn't nearly as nightmarish as the last two. Chouno had been tired as well, presumably from watching Ryuji sleep the night before, so she hadn't gotten too aggressive with Ryuji. Ren and Ryuji also made sure to steer clear of any words or phrases that had set Chouno off the previous days, so that might've helped as well. All in all, Ren had more energy for Leblanc that evening than he thought he would have.

Sojiro looked up from behind the counter.

"Evening," he said, sipping some coffee before he set down his newspaper. "Take a seat at the counter. Leave your apron alone for now."

Ren didn't question the orders physically or verbally, but he did mentally.

That's odd. I'm gonna guess that this is either a special request, or I'm getting fired. That'd be a bummer. I like working here. It's easy, Sojiro is cool, and I'm getting better at making coffee. Oh, and money is cool, too.

Ren took a seat at the counter.

"Do you remember the extra work I was telling you about?" Sojiro asked. When Ren nodded he continued. "I've been going back and forth on this, but I really do think that you could help. I'll pay you extra, but you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"What am I even going to be doing? Something about a girl?" Ren replied, trying to remember what Sojiro had mentioned.

"Yeah, pretty much… but… agh, it's easier if I just show you," Sojiro said as he stood up behind the counter and began walking around. "C'mon."

Ren shrugged and got off the stool, following Sojiro out of Leblanc.

"Lock it behind you. Closing early can't hurt anyone," Sojiro ordered.

Ren did as was told, locking the door before following his boss. They exited the narrow path that held Leblanc to a street that they followed for a bit. Once they reached several houses, Sojiro veered from the street and went to the furthest house. He unlocked the gate, let Ren in, and then opened the front door. They both entered.

"So, uh… this your place?" Ren awkwardly asked.

"No more questions or you're fired," Sojiro gruffly replied.

Ren just nodded, attempting to take in the sights of the house despite the darkness. Sojiro flicked a light switch that illuminating a long hallway with several doors on either side, the closest one being opened by Sojiro to reveal a staircase. The older man began going up, and Ren followed behind. Once at the top, they walked down another hallway to the end, which showcased a door Ren would expect from an edgy pre-teen.

It had a private property sign centered on the door, along with caution tape plastered across the door. Ren thought that he now knew exactly why Sojiro had requested his help: he needed Ren to babysit his daughter. What else could it be?

It can't be that bad. At least I'll be getting paid, and the daughter can't be that much of a pain, right?

Once they reached the door, Sojiro stopped.

"Futaba? There's someone here to meet you," Sojiro said calmly, rapping his knuckles on the door a few times. "Futaba?"

After a few more knocks, Ren began to doubt if there was anyone actually behind the door.

"Er… you sure there's anyone in there? It's dead silent," Ren said quietly. He didn't want his words to be heard by the person on the other side if they were actually there.

Sojiro nodded, replying in a frustrated whisper, "Shes' there… agh, I should've done more explaining before we came over here."

Ren felt a little bad for Sojiro. He was obviously upset with how things were going, though Ren wasn't sure why.

Futaba could be sleeping, she could be gone, or maybe she just has headphones on. I don't get what the big deal is, but there's no way I'm going to say that. Sojiro seems a little too upset for me to just disregard this.

"Try introducing yourself," Sojiro said, his quiet suggestion cutting into the silence that the hallway had.

Fuck it. Why not?

"Hello?" Ren said, raising his voice to a level that he knew would be heard through the door. "I'm Ren Amamiya. Nice to meet you… Sakura-san?"

Ren wasn't sure whether to use the girl's first name or not. He didn't actually know that she shared a last name with Sojiro or anything about her, but it was a fair assumption to make. It was better than Ren going straight to a first name basis and getting scolded for it by Sojiro.

There was no response from the other side of the door. Sighing, Sojiro turned away from the door.

"We'll try again another day. C'mon, I'll-" Ren's ringer went off, interrupting Sojiro and creating an unnecessary commotion.

Shit! Horrible timing, horrible fucking timing. Dammit, Ren. Learn to silence your phone.

Ren took his phone out of his pocket, quickly glancing at the text message that he received while he silenced the phone.

Unknown number:

-Hi.

Wait a minute…

Ren turned the phone to Sojiro, who responded by squinting his eyes to see the bright screen. Once he read the message, a smirk formed on his face and he backed away from Ren and the phone.

"Hah. She does that sometimes," he said.

"Oh… so… Futaba, what's up?" Ren asked the door.

A few seconds, but there was a response.

Unknown number:

-The ceiling.

"Funny…" Ren said awkwardly. He had absolutely zero clues about what to say or do. He looked up to Sojiro for instruction on anything, but the older man just gave a reassuring nod for Ren to keep talking. "Uh… do you not like me or something? Cause with the door it's kinda-"

Ren had stopped as soon as he saw Sojiro shaking his head in disapproval. Just as Ren was about to attempt another conversation starter, his phone buzzed again.

Unknown number:

-Nah ur cool.

"Oh… cool… so how'd you get my number?" Ren asked.

Instead of another text message, Sojiro answered this one.

"She's good with computers and stuff, you know? Understands coding and all that. I can barely wrap my head around some of the stuff that she's able to do."

"Oh…" Ren said. Sure, it was interesting, but Ren had no clue what he was supposed to be doing. He was literally walked to the end of the hallway and told to speak. "Sojiro, I'm gonna be honest, what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Talking about whatever kids your age talk about," Sojiro said as if it was obvious.

"Okay, but why?" Ren asked in a whisper.

"Well… fine, we'll call it a night," Sojiro settled. "Futaba? Ren'll be back on Friday. You can text him earlier than that if you want, okay?"

No response from Futaba. Sojiro just grunted and began walking down the hall. Ren looked at the door a few more times, trying to figure out what kind of person was behind it, but no longer having even a remote idea after his first interaction with Futaba. Ren followed Sojiro and the two left the house. Stopping outside the front door, Sojiro handed Ren the cash he was owed for the night, despite not working much time that evening, or working at all.

"Here. I'd tell you to go… but there's some stuff I should explain."

I've been waiting for this.

"Futaba isn't my daughter," Sojiro shakily admitted. As he spoke to Ren, he peered back into the house as if he was making sure Futaba wasn't watching. "I knew her mother years ago. When she… when she killed herself years ago in front of Futaba, she went from relative to relative, none of them actually caring about her. Eventually, she got to me, but…"

That's awful, especially what her mom did. The girl is probably fucked up for life because of that. No wonder she wasn't talking. And then transferring parents and guardians is fucked, too. Jesus. How the hell did Sojiro think I could help? Every time I speak I make things worse.

"Too much trauma?" Ren guessed. He was finally beginning to piece it together.

"Exactly. She just stays in her room all day doing stuff on her computer. She eats the food I bring her, and will occasionally ask for water or something, but never actually speaks to me," Sojiro said. He sounded disappointed in himself. Ren was sure that perceived failure in fatherhood would be incredibly destructive for any decent man. "Psychologists, therapists, anyone who said they could help failed. I just figured that… maybe someone her age would be a better fit."

What am I supposed to say to that?

"Uh… I'm down to give helping her a shot. I dunno how good I'll be but-"

"You'll be great as long as you believe, Ren. Learn that lesson now while you still can."

Good lesson.

Ren was turning to leave after saying goodbye, he thought of something.

"Hey, Sojiro? You don't have to pay me extra for helping with Futaba."

"What? But-"

"I'll feel like an unqualified dipshit that you're wasting money on, and it'll mean that I'm talking to Futaba for the wrong reasons. Can't expect much with money as the motive," Ren reasoned.

Sojiro was initially taken aback by Ren's request but ultimately shrugged it off.

"It's up to you, kid. If you change your mind, be sure to tell me."

"Gotcha. See you Friday, Sojiro."

"Bye, kid."

Thursday, 6/30

Pitiful, he thought as he walked into Shujin Academy.

He strode through the now dormant halls, eyeing the closed classroom doors as he walked past. He knew several people that went to this school, but that didn't change what he thought of it. It was home to imbeciles, inferiority, and one particular person that he had taken an interest in. Actually, make that two people.

He continued walking, checking his wristwatch to make sure he wasn't late to his scheduled appointment. He had called in a few days prior, requesting a meeting as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the person he planned on meeting wasn't available soon enough outside of school hours.

He was almost at his destination. Meeting during school hours would surely be fine, seeing as the students were all occupied with exam preparation and such.

Rounding the corner of the practice building, he saw his goal. Quickening his stride slightly, he reached the door to the nurse's office in no time, knocking with a catchy rhythm.

A few seconds later, the door opened. There stood Takuto Maruki, the very counselor himself.

"Ah, you must be Goro Akechi," Maruki said with a bow that Akechi returned.

"And you must be Maruki-san," Akechi said in his perfected, trained, polite voice. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"The same could be said for me," Maruki said with a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "It's not every day that a national celebrity requests a personal meeting with you."

Akechi laughed.

"Well, I'd heard of you from a mutual acquaintance and had a few questions about the recent events here at Shujin. May I come in?"

"Be my guest," Maruki said as he moved out of the doorway and gestured for Akechi to enter.

The detective strode into the room, taking a few seconds to observe the simple surroundings before taking a seat on the couch. Maruki sat in the chair that was diagonal to the couch. He reached to the coffee table and pushed a bowl of candies toward Akechi.

"I must decline. Sugar messes up my routine," Akechi said, his favorite figurative mask on his face.

"Totally fine," Maruki said. "So, Akechi-kun, what brings you here?"

Akechi took a deep breath before beginning his explanation.

"As I'm sure you've heard, the death of Junya Kaneshiro has made waves in many places. One of the most interesting is here, Shujin Academy," Akechi said before he focused in on Maruki with an imposing stare. "Are you aware of Kaneshiro's ties to this school?"

"Yes," Maruki said, unaffected by Akechi's attempt to cause him to slip up. "We are aware. The involved students have all admitted involvement."

"Oh? Shujin is a school of honest students?" Akechi observed Maruki even more. Every muscle twitch, every blink, every dilation of his pupils would not go unnoticed to the detective.

"Sure. Guilt is a difficult thing to handle for a teenager, or anyone, really," Maruki reasoned as he analyzed Akechi in return.

Very, very difficult, Akechi thought to himself.

"True. Do you think I'd be able to speak with Takata-kun? According to several officers who were at the precinct that day, Kaneshiro repeated the name among, a few others."

That was a lie. Akechi had learned of Takata instead of randomly guessing, but not through the means that he described. Akechi remembered how he had actually gotten the name like it was just hours prior.

Monday, 6/13

Akechi pulled the trigger immediately after the despicable fly began running from him. The bullet hit the fly in the back of his left knee, prompting a scream as he fell to the ground clutching his leg. The suitcase that he had been carrying dropped down, resting on the floor a few feet from the fly. Akechi slowly approached the pitiful creature.

"Answer my question," Akechi said as he spat on the writhing figure that was now beneath him. "Ren Amamiya. What do you know?"

Amamiya was the one who suggested Kaneshiro, so it was natural to believe there had to be some connection there. Akechi just wanted to learn a little more about the person he was already so intrigued with.

"Just some fucking- GAGH!" Kaneshiro squealed as Akechi stepped on his injured knee, pressing it hard into the floor of the bank. "Just a fucking kid! Some guy who chased after a girl who was brought to me!"

"Ah ah ah, you forgot a few details," Akechi said as he shot Kaneshiro's other knee. Through screams, Akechi spoke again. "Care to elaborate?"

"Niijima… some bitch at Shujin! The prosecutor's sister! Kid named Takata brought her to me!"

Niijima. Makoto Niijima. Akechi had known the girl for a few years now, often seeing her at academic events. She was smart, but she never did as well as Akechi. Maybe he had manipulated the scores a bit, but she didn't know that. What she also didn't know was that Akechi thought her a bit attractive, but even Akechi wouldn't admit that to himself. Makoto was a pawn to be used against her sister. If she was ever going to graduate from that delegation, then she would be a pawn against Amamiya.

Amamiya was a strange one. He had no connections to the metaverse, yet Akechi still found him interesting. The teenager drew troubled individuals to him as if he was a temple. Within two months since arriving in Tokyo, he had started trouble with Japan's premier artist and name-dropped an unheard of mafia boss to Akechi. All this, even though the game had literally been rigged against Amamiya ever since that one evening a few months ago.

Akechi would've been angry in the moment at the thoughts of Amamiya if there wasn't fun to be had. He looked at the agonized fly that lay beneath him, the shadow of Junya Kaneshiro, and ground his foot into the same knee as before.

"Thank you, Kaneshiro-san. You have served well," Akechi said as he stepped off of the knee, prompting a whimper, and crouched down in front of Kaneshiro's shadow's face to speak eye-to-eye. "But your work isn't done yet."

"W-what?!" The fly seemed to be doing something similar to crying. It was hard to tell with those damn bug eyes.

"You will go to the police. Admit your crimes. Say nothing of us. Then face judgment," Akechi calmly instructed. This was his favorite part; giving people hope was what he loved the most.

"Th-that's it?" Kaneshiro's shadow asked through deep, pained breaths. Despite the suffering it was undergoing, it sounded optimistic. It even sounded hopeful that it could escape with its life.

Actually, giving shadow's hope was only a fraction of his favorite part. Closing the curtains was Akechi's real favorite.

"That is it, Kaneshiro-san," Akechi said as he raised the gun to Kaneshiro's shadow's forehead.

"NO! PLEASE!" it begged.

Another correction: this was Akechi's favorite part. Hearing them begging was like going on a rollercoaster, the thrill of the situation sending adrenaline through Akechi's body.

With a deep, savoring breath, Akechi smiled and pulled the trigger. Kaneshiro's head flopped forward onto the ground, the bullet hole in the back of it serving as a decent reward for Akechi's time.

Unfortunately, that couldn't be kept as the actual reward. Akechi had treasure to collect. With a sigh, Akechi stood up from the bloodied floor and walked over to the suitcase. As he picked it up, he felt the ground beneath him begin to shake. Knowing it was time to leave, Akechi began his escape.

Thursday, 6/30

"Unfortunately, Takata-kun is in a fragile state," Maruki said. "Speak to him if you wish, but I must ask that you be careful."

"But of course. I would find no pleasure in further traumatizing him," Akechi said. "May I ask how he admitted his crimes?"

Akechi hated that he had to ask in the first place. Normally, a quick trip to the metaverse and an interrogation would yield the results that he needed, but there was one problem: Akechi was unable to find Takata in the metaverse. He didn't have a palace, and the dark corridors of Mementos revealed nothing either. Either Akechi was an incompetent fool or something special was happening. Akechi was betting his dignity on the latter.

"Akechi-kun, why do you ask?"

"Takata is the enigma in the Kaneshiro case. Perhaps understanding him will allow me to better understand the case overall."

"I see… well, I can tell you that Takata directly admitted his crimes to me after an incident involving Amamiya that left Takata injured. He seemed to have a change of heart," Maruki said as if his suggestion was more important than it seemed.

Akechi didn't like that suggestion. A change of heart wasn't possible. It couldn't be. Who would have pulled it off? Amamiya didn't have the physical prowess to get through a palace, even with a persona. Was it Niijima? No, the girl would cower in situations like that. So then who could it be?

Could someone else be using the metaverse? The only people who know are the people I'm involved with. I don't think they'd test me… but it's worth looking into, Akechi thought.

"Did that help, Akechi-kun?" Maruki asked.

"Hm?" Akechi was pulled out of his thoughts, before getting sucked right back in.

What if it was Maruki? The awkward counselor act isn't exactly difficult to pull off. Could he be hiding something? No, that's not possible. I would've known if he was going into Mementos. Unless he's more powerful than me… Akechi immediately dismissed the idea. It was pointless to even consider such a thing.

"It did help, Maruki-san. I believe that that is everything," Akechi said as he stood up, flattening the creases on his pants as he did so.

"I hope I helped." Maruki stayed sitting.

"You did. If I have any more questions, I will reach out," Akechi said before a final bow towards Maruki. "Goodbye."

Akechi left the nurse's office. While the meeting didn't bring new insight, it did help Akechi rule out a possibility: Maruki influenced Takata to confess through special means. That didn't stand any chance of being true because, well, Maruki would have to be more powerful than Akechi. Manipulating someone's shadow without entering the metaverse would be a godlike power that Akechi couldn't fathom anyone having. It was safe to say that Maruki truly was a humble counselor who had been on the receiving end of an unexpected confession from Takata.

Nothing more.

A/N: The game never explains how long it takes for killing someone's shadow to have an effect in the real world. Finishing Okumura's palace as quickly as possible results in his shadow dying, but the real Okumura taking 20 days to finally die. I compromised and decided to just have the shadow killed a day before. Not unreasonable, but still unexplained. Thanks for reading.