Ren walks toward the café, equal parts relieved and exhausted. The Phantom Thieves had just fulfilled their task of turning Shido's heart, an evil politician with a long history of injustice. Morgana is asleep in his tote bag and Ren isn't far off from passing out himself.
As he rounds the corner by the shop, Ren is shocked by the person he sees at the door. Goro Akechi is leaning against the wall, hunched over slightly in pain. He's grasping his left arm tightly. Akechi looks up at hearing the footsteps, his eyes sunken behind the mess of bangs. Small cuts are visible on his cheeks and chin.
"Akechi?" Ren asks. He hustles over to him, Morgana stirring in the bag as its shaken.
Ren inspects him for a second before unlocking the door to the shop. He has a million questions but dealing with the injuries is the priority. He puts an arm around Akechi and guides him inside. Akechi grimaces as they move.
"I thought you were dead."
The diner is only illuminated by the moon through the windows. Ren fumbles for the light switch at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Tch… I probably should be," he responds weakly.
By this time, Morgana is awake, popping his head out to inquire what's going on. His eyes go wide at seeing Akechi, eliciting the same reaction Ren had a few moments before.
They move slowly up the stairs to the attic. Akechi tries not to rely heavily on Ren for support but can't help being practically dragged. The journey to get to the café was grueling and stole the last of his strength. Despite their caution, each step draws out a small gasp from the injured boy.
Ren takes him over to the bed and helps him sit down at the edge. Then, he crouches in front of him, so that Akechi doesn't have to lift his head too much to speak. Morgana hops out of the bag that was placed on the bed and sits nearby.
"What happened?" Ren inquires. "The last thing we heard on the other side of the wall was the gunshot."
Akechi takes a breath, preparing the energy to speak. "Yes, we… certainly shot each other," he speaks between small grunts of pain, "My aim was better than his and I ran. The lesser ones chased me for a while. Managed to find… a place they couldn't get to. I've been hiding in the palace up until now. I couldn't make it to the entrance with all the guards on alert."
Morgana and Ren exchange looks as they listen.
"I assumed my only chance of escape was if you all managed to steal the treasure," a cough, "When the palace started crumbling on itself, I booked it to the exit and came straight here. I can't risk going to the hospital."
Ren nods. While they were busy sending the calling card and battling Shido, Akechi had been clinging to life nearby. "Are you bleeding?"
"I'm not sure." Akechi goes to unbutton his jacket but struggles bending the arm he's been gripping.
"Let me." Ren reaches for the coat and starts to undo the buttons. He helps Akechi shrug the jacket off so they can see the wounds better.
Ren's eyes widen at the damage. Large scrapes, bruises, and welts are evident on his arms and that's only what's visible. Ren wonders how many of the injuries they themselves had inflicted.
"Morgana, do know anything about wounds from the cognitive world?" Ren asks.
The cat is perched at the corner of the bed wagging his tail agitatedly, trying to think if he's ever dealt with someone in such a serious condition. "I can't say I've seen it this bad before. Sure, we feel and show the physical effects of being in the palace, but maybe we've just never been beat up this severely." Akechi smiles to himself underneath his hair at the comment. He thinks of all the failures leading him to this moment. To be in the worst condition they'd ever seen.
"None of our wounds have ever been this obvious," Morgana finishes.
Ren thinks for a moment. He touches a hand gently to Akechi's knee and speaks up to him. "I know someone who can help. I'll be right back," Ren says and takes off down the stairs.
Akechi would prefer not to be here. Not alone with Morgana. Not in Ren's room. Not in this café. Not receiving aid and certainly not receiving pity. It all reminds him of how incredibly useless he feels right now. But as he implied to Ren, and meant truthfully, he had nowhere else to turn.
Going to the hospital would get his name put on a record. He would be recognized. People would talk. There were several outcomes Akechi could think of and he wanted no part in any of them.
If Shido uses his name in the confession, he'd likely be arrested. If others in the crime network want him killed for knowing too much, he risks being offed. Even just the thought of his fans seeing him in this condition, or their reactions should his depravity come to light, was too much to take on. Since extending an offer of a truce, Ren was the only person that Akechi might be able to rely on.
It must have been ten minutes before the door to the shop swings open again. Akechi, with his head hung low, was on the verge of sleep. Morgana had said some positive nothings to him about how "everything would be okay." He had ignored it, spending the time instead drifting in and out of consciousness.
The clicking of heels on the stairs gets Akechi to lift his head. Crossing the room toward him, with Ren in tail, is a beautiful, punk woman in a white lab coat.
"This is Akechi," Ren states. He grabs the chair from the desk and places it in front of Akechi for the doctor to sit in. She sits down and leans over her knees in his direction.
"Hello, Akechi. I'm Dr. Takemi. I have a clinic right around the corner."
"Nice to meet you."
"He told me that you suffered many injuries in the palace. I don't quite understand how it all works, but you Phantom Thieves sure do get yourselves in trouble a lot."
I'm not a Phantom Thief. Takemi continues to talk about how she is going to examine him for injuries. During this, Akechi shoots Ren a look of confusion. Ren meets his gaze with a blank face. After a couple seconds, Ren shifts his focus to the wall perpendicular the bed.
"Could you please give us some privacy, Ren?" Takemi asks.
Ren nods. "I'm gonna' run down the street, I'll be back." He waves Morgana to follow him. Takemi turns to focus on her patient.
Morgana and Ren arrive at Sojiro's house several minutes later. They ring the doorbell. Futaba answers fully dressed in pajamas. She's wiping sleep from her eye.
"Sojiro isn't home and I'm trying to rest. How are you guys not crashed right now?"
They enter the house, bypassing her and heading to her room. "Futaba, can you turn on the microphone in the diner?" Morgana requests.
She follows them. "Umm yeah, but what's going on guys?"
They push open the door to her room and Futaba crosses to her computer. The microphone activates. There's the faint murmuring of Takemi. Ren didn't think that Akechi was attempting anything sinister, but he didn't feel right leaving Takemi alone. At least with the microphone on he can hear if anything is out of the ordinary. No one knows the mic is there outside of their inner circle.
"Akechi is alive and he's in the café right now," Morgana explains.
"What?!"
"He was right outside the door when we showed up. He's got all kinds of injuries, so Ren got Takemi to take a look."
Futaba inquires for further details and Morgana repeats what Akechi had told them. She crouches in the chair, thinking.
"So, what are you gonna' do, Ren?" She asks, looking somewhat uneasy.
"That's what I wanted to consult you about," Ren replies.
"You want my opinion?"
"Akechi has hurt you the most personally, Futaba, outside Haru. I don't want to keep someone around that's going to make you uncomfortable."
Futaba smiles at his concern. "Look, I'm not the guy's biggest fan by any means. I know he was the one that pulled the trigger on my mom, but he wasn't the one that gave the order," she twirls a strand of hair in her fingers, "And while I'm furious, I meant what I said in the palace to him. It doesn't matter where you start over as long as you commit to starting over."
Morgana's eyes sparkle. "How profound, Futaba." She gives him a devilish grin and pulls the cat into her lap despite his protests.
"It's ultimately up to you, leader. But if you came here for my blessing then you have it. I trust your decisions, even if the guy has been a total scumbag."
Ren ruffles a hand through his hair. The level of trust they have in me… So many of the decisions made thus far have been so black and white to him. Changing the hearts of adults who used their authority to knowingly abuse others. Helping Futaba out of her psychosis. Akechi is an entire curveball by comparison.
Ren can't get the image out of his mind of a neglected child whose life was set up to be exploited. But then again, were any of these adults they had changed the hearts of once children who had been disregarded? If Akechi had been left unchecked, would it have ended with Shido or continued with something else?
His thoughts circle back around. Isn't the point of the Phantom Thieves to help people at all points in life? Does giving up on someone in need because of their crimes go against the message? Does everybody deserve do-overs or is it really case by case? He's getting a headache.
Persona users can't have palaces. There's no easy way to go in and determine if Akechi is trustworthy. There are too many speculations at play. Ren decides to see it through for now if only to get answers.
"Thank you for your trust. Do you think you could keep Morgana here for a little while?"
"Excuse me?!" Morgana directs at Ren. "I can't leave you alone with that psychopath."
"Out of all of us he seems to confide in me the most. The less pressure he's under, hopefully the more I can understand what he's thinking."
The cat grunts, "You have a point."
"Alright, this is going to have to come off too, if you don't mind," Takemi says to Akechi. She helps him remove all but his undergarments and lays the blanket over his lap. She asks him specific questions about what he feels and what causes the pain.
The basics go first, checking vitals. Temperature. Not running a fever.
"How do you know Ren?" It's small talk, but he's curious to know how others view him. Surely, Ren can't be as flawless as he lets on.
She smiles, now checking his blood pressure. "He wanders into my clinic one day inquiring about medicine. I couldn't figure out what his motive was. Some teenage kid into experimental drugs or something. He told me he wasn't feeling well, but he seemed fine. I offered him something basic if he agreed to help me out with testing a new medication. To my surprise he agreed."
"That's gutsy."
"Hmm hm yes. He took the first dose and fell unconscious right away. Merely a side effect. I wouldn't have given something truly dangerous. But that's essentially how our relationship formed. He was my guinea pig and I gave him meds in exchange."
Akechi ponders the integrity of this relationship. It didn't sound incredibly lawful. Takemi checks his pulse then inspects his injured arm.
"But the real part of the story is how he saved my career," Takemi says. Akechi perks up.
"The whole reason I opened the clinic is because I was accused of a medical error. There was a little girl who needed experimental treatments to help cure her condition. Another doctor in the hospital treated her with something I hadn't approved of. She ended up dying and I was labeled at fault."
"Oh my…"
She examines the rest of his body. She finds bruises all over, but they're especially concentrated on his torso
"That doctor came into my clinic one day when Ren was there. He threatened me for continuing to practice medicine and intended to further damage my reputation if I didn't stop. I felt so defeated, I was going to close up shop for good. What was I doing as a doctor if I couldn't save anyone?
"Then Ren shows up one day and everything was miraculously resolved. The little girl hadn't actually died. She had merely switched hospitals. The doctor was jealous and had covered it up to ruin me. He confessed to the public about his actions. My reputation had been cleared and my treatments had helped her all along. It was bizarre. That's when I understood who Ren was and why he had been trying to get medicine from me in the first place."
Takemi sits back in her chair, satisfied with the exam. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much."
"Oh, no, I was the one who asked. Ren is truly admirable," he manages a smile.
"He is."
Akechi's stomach sinks. He wishes he could attribute it to any of the other numerous agonies in his body, but he knows this one to be guilt. Another person, another instance of Ren being selfless and loved for it. Further evidence condemning him for his mistakes. Ren is the contradiction in human form to all of them. Akechi wants it to be anyone else whose doorstep he landed on.
"I'm very surprised by the condition of your body, it's—"
Ren appears at the top of the stairs. Akechi hadn't even noticed him come in. Morgana isn't with him.
"Oh, you're back. I was just about to explain to Akechi what I thought. Do you have a shirt and shorts he could wear or something? He should avoid anything tight fitting."
Ren silently moves to the shelves where he keeps all his clothes. He pulls out a gray t-shirt and gym shorts then hands them off to Akechi. Akechi feels a little embarrassed being half naked in front of him. He feels even more embarrassed wearing his clothing but isn't in the position to object.
"Your wounds are very interesting. You described a much higher level of pain and discomfort than is evident here. And even just looking at it, I was concerned you would have some internal bleeding. But these are all very shallow cuts, bruises, discolorations… As for your arm, I think you have a mild elbow sprain. Although, you are incredibly dehydrated."
"So, he's okay?" Ren asks.
"Yes, I believe so. These are all issues that should resolve themselves. Of course, no strenuous activity. Limit the usage of your arm, use ice, prop it up. I've already bandaged all the cuts so keep up with changing those until the wounds heal. And here is some medicine for the pain." She reaches down into her bag and produces a pill bottle. She places it in Akechi's hands.
"If anything changes, I'm nearby."
"Thank you so much," Akechi bows his head. Ren reciprocates his statement.
"Of course," she stands up and moves the chair back to its original position, "I'm going to go finish closing since I got dragged away from it. Get some rest, you two." Takemi waves, heading down the stairs and exiting the shop. The bell on the door rings and then everything is silent.
Ren goes back over to the shelves, fiddling with the folded sheets on them. He places some on the couch, along with a couple pillows.
"Why did you tell her I was a Phantom Thief?" Akechi breaks the silence.
"I didn't want her to know who you were," Ren says as he chucks a pillow into Akechi's arms. He manages to catch it but is frazzled by the act.
"Elevate your arm. You can take the bed." He's spreading the sheets over the couch.
Akechi opens his mouth to protest but is cut off by Ren saying, "Let me get you some water so you can take the pills," before hopping off down the stairs. He places the pillow to the side, utterly confused. He's feeling weird and uncomfortable by Ren's intent to… take care of him?
Ren returns with the water, handing it off. He finalizes the makeshift bed with a blanket and turns out the light. Akechi watches him do all of this with a furrowed brow. He really means to let me stay here.
He had fully planned to hobble back to his own home out of pride, regardless of how dreadful it would be. Just seeking this place out for medical treatment was more than he deserved and more attention from Ren than he wanted. But at this point, it would be more effort to make a scene than to just go to sleep. Ren for whatever reason didn't mind and Akechi really had been struggling to stay awake.
"Goodnight," Ren mutters from the couch.
Akechi grimaces to himself as he goes to lie down on his back. His head hurts, he feels sick all over. He pulls the blanket over him, hoping the pain meds kick in while he's asleep. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he's out.