Woot! Made it on time, this time! :D So, we will fast-forward a bit in this chapter, even if I have to admit it was extremely fun writing about Akechi's awakening and first Palace :) But if I wrote more about it, I would never finish this :D
Also, I "stole" some lines from the game in this chapter (and a bit in the following ones too), which I find a bit boring and yet necessary. Please, bear with me ;)

Aaand, last but not least, once again a big fat THANK YOU to all of you who fav/follow and write something nice to me. It really motivates me a lot when I read your kind words, so please feel free to let me know what you think!
Enjoy! :D

P.S. Most of you have probably realized, but this is a reupload after Daemon of Wrath noticed how I had messed up the TV station scene by reversing it. This is why I need a beta reader xD And since I am a perfectionist, I fixed it and am posting this again. I apologize for the inconvenience ;)

Akechi would be lying if he admitted not being even slightly worried when a new week started. He kept vigilant and eyed the people around him with suspicion until he finally got to cross the school gates: everything seemed normal, with the students chatting happily before the start of the lessons, and others simply looking tired. He proceeded directly to his classroom, occasionally smiling at students waving at him, and took his usual seat by the window. He was supposed to have social studies on second period and he had no idea what to expect and whether to believe what Igor had told him: could it really be true that the person in reality had no idea about having a Palace, or what happened inside their very heart? And what had Igor meant by "consequences"?

Akechi sighed as his classmates made their entrance shortly before the start of their English class, and observed the other pupils complaining and whose biggest concern seemed to be wondering why they were supposed to learn a foreign language they would rarely use since they lived in Japan. If only he were born so lucky as to have a proper family that loved him, he wouldn't be in that problematic situation in the first place. Sometimes he still thought about Ikeda's last words, about how his mother couldn't love him enough to stay around and had taken the easy way out instead. Could that be true? Was he a cursed child undeserving of love?

He was so lost in thought that hadn't even realized the English teacher had made her entrance, and was now talking about the importance of constantly studying after classes to allow the brain to store information more easily.

"…now, today we will be learning how to introduce yourselves to a native speaker in a casual way. It is important to remember that, unlike the Japanese, Western people are normally not as formal and…"

Akechi looked outside the window and watched the sky darkening: the heat wave was officially over, and thunderstorms were in the forecast. Black clouds were gathering up as a light rain began pouring from the sky, tapping against the windows.

His mother had killed herself because she couldn't love him enough. His father had abandoned the family before he was even born, because he couldn't feel affection for his son. All the foster families he'd had were quick to send him straight back to the orphanage only because he hadn't been ready to open up just yet, and familiarize with his new surroundings. Why were adults so superficial and ignorant about kids' needs and feelings? And why was he the one suffering for their carelessness?

But he did have his powers, didn't he? He had Robin and Loki by his side, and he could easily access their Palaces to get his revenge. Oh, he couldn't wait for the day he would find Masayoshi Shido's distortion and eradicate it. Because his father had to have one. Ikeda had sort of confirmed it, hadn't he?

"…Akechi-kun, are you listening?"

Akechi jerked slightly as he returned to the present, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"Uh?" he looked around, realizing the teacher had asked him a question he never heard. "I am sorry, Aoki-sensei. I… am not feeling very well."

"I can see that" the teacher nodded solemnly "Maybe you should visit the infirmary. Would you like me to escort you there?"

"Oh no, I think I can do it myself. Thank you, Aoki-sensei" he replied politely with a bow of his head as he stood up and left the classroom. Once outside, though, he went straight for the courtyard in need of fresh air. He stood in the porch to protect himself from the rain and crossed his arms as he thought of what to do in case the police ever showed up.

"Akechi-kun! Shouldn't you be in class?"

Akechi turned to his right and saw Tamiko approaching him with a smile. The girl always seemed to show up in the worst possible moments…

"Tamiko-chan" he greeted her "I was not feeling very well and needed some fresh air. What about you?"

"Uhm, well apparently Ikeda-sensei called in sick today. Our class got canceled" she explained.

"Is it so?" Akechi muttered as his mind began to race: he had called in sick, which had to mean he was still alive. And yet, unwell if he couldn't make it to school. Was it because of what had happened in his Palace?

"Uhm, Akechi-kun?" she asked with an uncertain voice but when his eyes met hers, she shook her head with a small smile. "Nevermind."

Ikeda didn't show up for the rest of the week, and all of his classes had been canceled and students encouraged to fill the gap by studying in the library. Akechi, however, seemed to be one of the very few who actually used the room to get some homework done, while the others were simply speculating what could possibly be keeping Ikeda-sensei away for so long.

"Maybe he's got a terrible flu!"

"He's come to school with high fever and flue before, so this is definitely strange!"

"It's the first time he's been away for so long!"

Akechi was just about to solve a math problem when a student burst into the room, looking pale and agitated. "Guys, you've got to see this!"

With that, he ran as quickly as possible out of the room, yelling to whomever was nearby to "come and see".

Everyone in the library fell silent for a second, exchanging questioning looks, before standing up and rushing outside to see what was happening. Akechi got just as curious and left his math problem unfinished to follow the mass of students all the way to the school gates, where Ikeda was standing surrounded by both scholars and colleagues. The principal was in front of him, trying to talk to him but the large teacher didn't seem to be listening.

Akechi's heart was beating fast with expectation, not knowing what would happen next: would the teacher reveal what had happened in the Palace? According to Igor, Ikeda was not aware of it, was he? But could he really trust the mysterious man in the Velvet Room?

"I… I…" Ikeda stammered, his lips shaking with each word he managed to enunciate. "I am so sorry…"

He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes widened with fear and shock before rolling back in his head, painting the cavities white. A black, viscous liquid ran down his cheeks from his eyes as well as from the sides of his mouth and everyone took several steps back, screaming at the horrifying sight.

The social studies teacher only had time to bring a hand to his chest before falling to his knees and lying flat in the grass, motionless.

"Someone call an ambulance!" the principal bellowed as he knelt beside Ikeda, checking his pulse. "This can't be…"

"Everyone, return to your classes immediately!" some teachers were shouting, pushing the students back inside. Most of them seemed too shocked to move and only a few of them listened to the teachers' instructions and followed them back inside the school building. The remaining teachers were kneeling down by Ikeda to check up on him, a grave look on their faces. One was shaking his head.

Akechi was at a loss for words, his eyes fixed on the teacher's body lying face-down in a black pool staining the green grass. So that was what Igor had meant by "consequences".

"Akechi-kun..."

He turned to see Tamiko once more, a dead serious expression on her face. She signaled for him to follow her inside and, with one last look at the teacher's corpse, he complied. The girl, however, led him to an empty classroom on the first floor and made sure no one was around before speaking.

"What did you do, Akechi-kun?" she asked with a hint of what sounded like betrayal in her voice.

"What do you mean?" he raised a brow at her.

"Ikeda-sensei. I highly doubt it is only a coincidence that he becomes sick and drops dead days after I told you all about his dirty secrets" she continued gravely.

"Are you accusing me of killing a teacher?" Akechi retorted trying to sound as outraged as possible. "To me, it looked like a heart attack. A gruesome one."

Tamiko shook her head a few times. "He said he was sorry… Akechi-kun, I believe he was confessing his crimes, but didn't get to finish."

"Yeah…"

"Please, promise me that you… you really don't have anything to do with all this" she said more softly.

"You know me" he lied in the sweetest tone he could muster "I promise."

[2 years later]

"And now for today's news: Minister for Transport confirmed his resignation yesterday evening after the umpteenth train accident that caused the death of 32 commuters, as well as severe injuries to other metro-users."

Akechi was calmly sipping his coffee from a black mug, listening to the news on TV in the same old café he went to before school.

"Crazy stuff, eh Akechi-kun?" the barista was shaking his head, his eyes focused on the screen behind the counter as he washed the used cups. "What do these people do with our tax money, anyway?"

Akechi didn't reply anything, merely placing the mug back on the wooden counter and nodded.

"Another mystery has struck Japan after Olympic medalist Suguru Kamoshida, and former PE teacher at Shujin Academy, confessed abusing his students multiple times over the years. A calling card, signed by a group named the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, had been previously sent to Mr. Kamoshida to warn him about his imminent change of heart. Police are currently investigating."

Akechi's attention was finally piqued upon hearing the news. A change of heart?

"That's bullshit!" the barista laughed "Stealing someone's heart, as if that was possible, eh Akechi-kun?"

"Right. Well, thanks for the coffee. I have to go" the brown-haired boy stood up and grabbed his suitcase, which sported a large "A" letter on the surface.

Once outside, his phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"What is this story about these Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"

Masayoshi Shido never bothered to show some politeness whenever he called him for a request. Sure, the first time the reddish-eyed boy had knocked on his door, well-mannered and charming, he had let him in and listened to what he had to say. And he had even smiled once or twice when the kid had told him all about his powers and what he was capable to do. At first, he thought the kid needed psychological help, but soon had to take it all back when the boy, Goro Akechi, had proved multiple times that he could, indeed, eliminate his enemies by accessing some sort of alternative world called Metaverse, which would end their life in reality too. And without leaving traces behind either. The teenager was his source of power and wealth, but Shido was no fool: the Akechi kid had never really explained exactly why he was willing to get his hands dirty for him. He never asked for money or some special favors, merely allowing him to occasionally appear on TV and promote his image as a genius detective who speculated about the mysterious deaths and psychotic breakdowns afflicting Japan. This way, Akechi had told him, people could never suspect that they were involved if they pretended to be working with the police on the case, and he could always leave false evidence behind to put them on the wrong track.

The kid was smart, too smart for someone his age, and dangerous, what with the powers he possessed. Shido would never really admit it, but he was deeply afraid of him especially because he never got to know what the boy really wanted from him. And because he had already seen those reddish eyes before, back when he was much younger…

"I do not know" Akechi replied "I have never heard of them myself before today. I will get to work as soon as school is over. I am pretty sure Sae-san has got more news for us."

"Do you really need to go to school, today?" Akechi heard Shido's exasperated voice from the other side of the line "We have more important matters to attend to."

"My education is important, too. Besides, these Phantom Thieves of Hearts might simply be a scam. Or maybe we are worrying too much about them. No one said they can access the Metaverse, either."

"Umph, fine. But go and investigate no matter what. A group of thieves of hearts is the last thing I need right now!"

With that, Shido hung up. Akechi sighed loudly and stared at his phone. Part of him just wanted to get into Shido's Palace –where he had already been multiple times before to explore and find answers- and get rid of his father. But another part of him, patient and yet lethal, told him to wait a little bit longer, to gain Shido's trust and help him get to the top before taking him down with his very hands. And then make him spill all of his secrets, and admit all of his crimes. And then kill him.

Well, he was not too far away from his goal, he had to admit. After all, he had mastered his powers quite fast, and learned all that there was to learn about the alternative world called Metaverse, as well as humans' distorted desires. His fighting skills had improved exponentially since his first Palace two years before, and both Robin and Loki had maxed out their abilities. Sometimes, he didn't even need to give them orders: they were so much part of each other that he could command them almost telepathically.

But right now, something more urgent had gotten in the way: he needed to investigate these so-called Phantom Thieves. Could it only be a misunderstanding or a coincidence? Could he be simply overreacting? But even Shido had called him straight away, which meant this new group did seem to be a threat. Furthermore, the news said that this Kamoshida guy had confessed abusing students, which was exactly what his own targets did before succumbing in real life. And didn't Igor mention the existence of other Persona-users? Why had he never met them in the Metaverse, then?

"They must be new" Akechi considered before smirking. "Well, this is going to be fun."

During his three years of experience as a Persona-user, as well as hitman for a powerful politician, Goro Akechi had never failed to accomplish a mission. However, he was growing quite frustrated because of the Phantom Thieves. They were not very popular yet, if only among students, but the method they'd used to make Suguru Kamoshida confess was exceptionally similar to the one he was used to, with a sole exception: Kamoshida never had a psychotic breakdown, and neither did he die. How could that be possible? All of his targets had either lost their minds or had a heart attack. The way these Phantom Thieves dealt with the targets was a real mystery for him, and he hated not being able to solve one. Could it really have been only a coincidence? Maybe the Phantom Thieves weren't Persona-users in the first place…

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find enough answers, and even asking Sae Niijima, one of the best Prosecutors in Tokyo, proved to be fruitless.

The perfect opportunity came unexpectedly one evening after school, when Shido called him to discuss about a famous artist named Madarame, who was to open an exhibit in Tokyo the following day.

"I cannot even recount all the times that bastard has begged for money and never returned it. He has chosen the wrong person to try and fool. Find out if he has a Palace and make him understand what a grave mistake he has made."

"I will get to work straight away, Shido-san" Akechi reassured.

"You'd better, kid" was Shido's sole reply before hanging up.

Akechi didn't even bother to get angry at his rudeness, but decided to research about Madarame to try and discover if he had a Palace.

An old man living in a shabby shack where he took in orphans with artistic talent to teach them all he knew, and supporting their education. Sounded too good to be true. Akechi had enough experience to tell when someone was fishy, and this Madarame was indeed.

It was extremely easy for him to access Madarame's Palace: he knew his name already, and he had found his address online. All that remained was his distortion. But really, what other place would an artist pick if not a museum? In a blink of an eye, Akechi was standing outside a shiny and luxurious one, guards patrolling the entire perimeter as people stood in line to buy a ticket.

"Well then" he smirked "Time to meet the star."

Just as he had thought, Madarame turned out to be a fool obsessed with money and popularity, and his sober life spent in a shack with orphans was nothing but a façade to impress the audience.

The old man had tried to stop him by sending a storm of guards his way, but Akechi had easily taken care of them thanks to Loki. So funny how Madarame's fear of an intruder had allowed said intruder to change his outfit and be able to summon his Personas. By considering him a threat, he basically guaranteed him an easy victory because he could now call forth his Personas. The old bastard had managed to run away as he fought the guards, but Akechi knew he had no place to hide. That he would eventually find him.

He was currently exploring the upper floors when he heard a guard shouting to another that there were intruders in the Palace. At first, he thought it was referring to him, but why use the plural form then? Besides, Madarame had already alerted the entire place about his presence, so getting so worked up all of a sudden sounded a bit suspicious. The two guards rushed outside and downstairs, and Akechi decided to follow them to see what had caught their attention.

Hiding in the dark corners of the Palace and moving silently, he finally reached the bottom floors, where five figures were currently fighting against a group of Shadows. Akechi frowned as he observed the intruders fight: they didn't seem to be particularly strong –or better, they had potential but were no match for him- but it did shock him when they all summoned a Persona each.

"Alright, Joker! Show them what you've got!" a boyish voice spoke first, sounding extremely pleased. At his words, a boy wearing a long, black coat and red gloves smirked and commanded his Persona to finish the enemies off.

"Ah! Piece of cake!" Another boy, wearing a skull mask and dressed like a punk, exclaimed happily.

"Say, Mona. Are we close to the Treasure now?" a girl, obviously the only one in the team, wearing a red cat-suit and with wavy blond hair asked the shortest member of the team, the one with a boyish voice. Goodness, that thing wasn't even a human, was it?!

"Not at all" it said, its large blue eyes looking up at the girl in the red suit "But we're definitely making progress, what with Fox joining us at the last minute."

"Glad to be of service" the boy with blue hair and wearing a fox mask spoke next in a soothing tone. The only one who hadn't said a word yet was the boy with the dark coat, who silently observed his teammates discussing while stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"A girl, three boys and a monster cat" Akechi whispered as he memorized what they looked like "These must be the famous Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

Should he confront them? After all, both Robin and Loki could take down those five noobs with ease, but at the same time that group made him extremely curious: they were Persona-users just like him, though they still needed to go a long way before they could even try and scratch him.

Proceeding through the Palace could be dangerous, because chances were he could run into them, and then he would be forced to fight them and kill them. And for some reason, he really didn't want to. He needed to know who they were first, and how they had acquired their powers. Besides, he was getting bored with the small targets provided by Shido, and these guys could turn out to be fun to fight against with a little bit of training.

With a smirk and one last look at their masked faces, Akechi turned to leave the room and, finally, the Palace itself.

"…We don't spend much time in this area so, why don't we relax and check out some shops beforehand?"

Akechi's attention was caught when he heard a familiar voice from around the corner, just as he was on his way back home from the TV station after yet another appearance to discuss about the Phantom Thieves on live TV. He made sure they couldn't spot him as he hid behind a wall and listened to their conversation. Those guys… they looked extremely familiar…

"Oh, I know a place! I wanna go to that huge pancake-looking place we passed on the way here!" a boyish voice spoke next, sounding all excited "It looked delicious! What was that?"

"Akechi-kun, do you have a moment?"

Someone right behind him asked and Akechi lost track of the group of friends' conversation as the director asked him if he could attend another interview the following day at the same time.

"Sure, it shouldn't be a problem" he answered politely, though all he wanted was to get rid of the damn guy so he could go back to eavesdropping. When the director finally left, Akechi turned to continue observing.

The dark haired boy had a cat in his bag. And the cat… talked? Wait a minute, hadn't he seen a strange cat with big blue eyes talking to the girl in the red suit in Madarame's Palace? No doubt those were the famous Phantom Thieves…

"…I think I'll pass on the puke rides" the boyish voice said flatly, and Akechi decided to make his entrance, looking as casual as possible.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice your uniforms. Are you students of Shujin Academy?" he asked.

The three friends all turned to look at him, the blond guy answering first, quite rudely. "Yeah, Whaddya want?"

"I happened to be passing by, so it seemed polite to greet you. We'll be filming together, after all" he explained with a small smile. "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Goro Akechi."

The blond girl and the frizzy-haired boy seemed to recognize him as the famous teen detective, but the punk-looking one didn't look that impressed. "What, you a celebrity or som'ing?"

Akechi's phone buzzed as he received a message from Shido. "Nice job on that TV show today. Come ASAP, I have another target for you."

"My apologies, I truly was just passing by. I must be going now. There's a briefing for tomorrow's recording that I have to attend. So, you're going to go have cake now? I missed lunch today, so I'm quite hungry myself" he forced a happy smile on his face as he asked the question.

The three Shujin students exchanged a confused look –or was that alarm he saw in their eyes?- and the punk one answered with another question. "Huh? Cake…? What're you talkin' about?"

"Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes…" Akechi went on the defensive, widening his eyes. "No matter. Well, see you tomorrow!"

Had he said something wrong? Why had they looked like he'd just revealed something he was not supposed to say? They were talking about a pancake place, weren't they? The damn director guy had interrupted him and he had probably missed an important part of the conversation. But no matter, Shido had a new job for him and he needed to hurry if he wanted to finish it as well as the essay he was supposed to deliver on Saturday for his biology class…

"Can never be easy, can it?" he sighed loudly before jumping on the bus to Shido's office.

He knew he was going to regret accepting yet another offer to be the special guest for tonight's show. Even though teachers were kind and understanding, allowing him to skip some classes to work, his pile of homework was getting dangerously high, and he would soon need to pull an all-nighter if he hoped to keep up with the program and finish his exams with a brilliant score. Sometimes he surprised himself too, what with being so busy with his last year at high school as well as his job as a teen detective AND a celebrity loved by the public, and his life as a hitman during the night.

The stress levels were quite high, but Akechi simply loved being the popular detective everyone praised and admired. The fact that girls followed him to say hi or ask for an autograph could be challenging sometimes, but he enjoyed that part too.

"Akechi-kun, whenever you are ready…" one of the stage coordinators told him kindly before disappearing behind the curtains that separated the backstage from the main stage.

Akechi could hear the excited chattering from the audience, already sat in the studio, and was reminded that some students were on a trip field to learn about show production.

With one last look at his own reflection in the mirror, he made his entrance, waving at the applauding crowd and smiling broadly at the girls in the first row that screamed his name.

"Thank you for taking the time to join us today, Akechi-kun. Your popularity is stunning" the host welcomed him with a big smile.

"Even I've found it to be quite a surprise" he replied shyly "It is a bit embarrassing though…"

"Moving along, we've been told there's a new case on your mind right now. Care to share, detective?" the other host, a woman, asked him.

"Ah, yes. That would be the scandal involving the master artist Madarame" he answered.

"Ah-ha! So you've heard of the Phantom Thieves too, haven't you Akechi-kun? Let me ask you, what do you think about them?" the male host interrupted enthusiastically. He hadn't meant to be rude, but Akechi still found irritating whenever people intervened before he was done talking. However, for the sake of his public image, he remained calm and polite.

"If they truly are heroes of justice, I sincerely hope they exist" he replied cheerfully, earning a surprised look from both the hosts and the audience. "But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real…I believe they should be tried in a court of law."

His statement came so unexpected that the entire audience actually gasped. "That's quite the statement. Are they committing crimes?" the host asked in a serious tone.

"Well, they are indeed taking the law into their own hands and forcefully judging people's heart. That is far from justice" he explained his point of view with resolution.

"You have a point. Amazing as always, Akechi-kun! I could listen to you for days! You have the most radiant charisma!" the host praised again and he smiled shyly.

"Now then" the female host continued "Let's try asking some students the same age as Akechi-kun about the Phantom Thieves!"

She stood about and began scanning the students' faces, intentionally ignoring the fan girls in the first row. She stopped somewhere in the middle, where a boy with glasses and frizzy hair was staring back at her calmly. Akechi observed as the host asked him about his opinion and passed him the microphone so that everyone could hear. What a funny coincidence…

"They are justice itself" the boy answered without showing a single trace of embarrassment. The audience gasped lightly.

"You say it with such firmness" Akechi stated "It's rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement. In that case, there's one more question I'd like to ask. If someone close to you, for example you friend next to you… If his heart suddenly changed, wouldn't you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?"

"They only target criminals" the boy replied confidently.

"Is that so?" Akechi smiled slightly "How can you be so sure?"

There was a short pause, before he continued. "Anyway, whether the Thieves' actions are good or not, I feel there is a more important issue at hand: the matter of how they change people's hearts. If they honestly possess that ability, it could be used for more than extracting confessions. It could be that what seems ordinary crimes are actually being perpetrated by these methods…"

"You know, you're absolutely right!" the host agreed, impressed.

"Please, don't misunderstand. This is all purely hypothetical. However, the existence of the Phantom Thieves would be nothing but a threat to our everyday lives" he clarified "Rest assured, though. I am already working alongside the police to help sort out this matter."

People applauded and cheered upon hearing his words -his lies - but he kept smiling politely at all of them as his interview came to an end with the spot break.

"You were amazing, Akechi-kun!"

"Please, could you sign this picture too? It's for my sis!"

"Do you have a girlfriend, Akechi-kun?"

He was instantly bombed with requests from the girls in the audience, but his eyes automatically fell on three teenagers heading for the exit: the boy with glasses and frizzy hair, a blond one looking like a punk and a girl with long, blond hair…

"I am so sorry, but I really need to go!" he excused himself and walked fast towards the three friends.

When he finally made it through the crowd, he discovered the boy with glasses was the only one left, but that would do, too.

"Oh, it's you!" he exclaimed as he approached him. The boy gave him a questioning look and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Just like that Persona-user in Madarame's Palace...

"I just wanted to thank you for the interesting debate we had earlier. Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did. I feel like our discussions could prove quite fruitful. Would you mind talking with me again?"

The frizzy-haired boy simply stared at him for a few seconds, his gaze so incredibly intense, and then nodded.

"Thank you! I look forward to seeing you again" Akechi smiled and turned to head back to the backstage.

"Simply amazing, Akechi-kun! It is always a pleasure to have you as a guest! Look at the share we got during our live broadcast!" the director was exclaiming excitedly, showing him the stats for today's show.

Akechi smiled broadly, his façade dropping shortly after the crew around him had left to let him freshen up. If only they knew he was an impostor. He possessed no real investigative skills, and all of his assumptions were all based on the careful plans Shido made. If only they knewhe, the hero of justice, was behind all the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns afflicting Japan, as well as many of the murders of influential people that Shido wanted to get rid of, they wouldn't look at him like that. So adoringly…

But that boy, whom he was pretty sure was the guy in the dark coat he had seen in Madarame's Palace, wasn't afraid to speak up, or even contradict him.

Now, after reporting back to Shido what he had discovered about the Phantom Thieves since Madarame's Palace, his father had decided that they could prove to be useful by blaming the Phantom Thieves for all the mysterious crimes that Akechi was carrying out, and therefore forbade him from getting rid of them. As if he was going to do it anyway. Those guys made him exceptionally curious, particularly the whole "stealing hearts" part: how did they get the target to confess deliberately without killing them or driving them mad?

Then there was the "Treasure" part, too: the girl in the red suit had asked the monster cat about a Treasure hidden inside the Palace. In all his years of exploring the Metaverse, he had never run into a Treasure. Could that be the secret to their method?

No, he definitely needed to know more. He would occasionally approach the guys in real life, putting on his charming façade and would even go as far as befriending them in order to find out. There was no need to inform Shido…

Has anyone else noticed how Madarame reveals to the PT's that a black-masked guy was in his Palace, but the game itself never explained what business Goro had in there? He most likely had already heard about the Phantom Thieves by then, and yet couldn't have known their identities before. So I had to come up with this little ploy with Madarame owing Shido tons of money, and with the latter wanting Akechi to fix it for him. A bit weak, but couldn't come up with anything else :/

The same with the conversation Goro overhears about the whole pancake thing. He can definitely hear Morgana talking about a "pancake-looking place", but doesn't that imply he also hears Ryuji specify it's an amusement park? So how could he make such a stupid mistake as to believe they were going to eat cake? Ugh, these small details just kill me, so I tried to fix it by including the conversation with the director at the last second x)