There is a pain in his chest when he wakes next, something he knows to be a brand of the MetaVerse made real. The aches come in every form. Nerves burn and bubbling skins throbs, his muscles ache underneath as well, though from exertion and not entirely as a result of his own failure. Discomfort almost distracts him from the fact that his vision is back to normal, but even that is a mark of that place. There's a throb underneath his eyes that makes him wonder how far into the night the power had remained active, tinting every dream blue.

When the attic starts filling with rings and chimes, Morgana huffs and presses deeper against him as if trying to fight off time itself. Akira can't say that he disagrees with the sentiment either, though the cat was pushing against his bladder and makes getting out of bed worth it. Gravy and tuna are able to convince the other boy, who crawls along the dusty floor in the laziest manner possible. Leaving a snail trail of clean floorboards in his wake, Morgana smears his breakfast across his chin and Akira sneaks downstairs into the bathroom to make himself presentable. He washes away nightmares and salves the stretch above his heart, making his roommate sneeze when he climbs back upstairs.

Morgana is insistent on offering reminders of his presence as Akira tugs on his shoes and suspenders, ensuring that he is not forgotten twice in a row. One day of rest had seemingly been enough for him and Akira wishes that he could say the same, especially when he buckles under the cat's weight and nearly trips down the stairs. Sakura-san doesn't stop him for breakfast and Akira doesn't remind him, ducking out of the café's door with his head down. He keeps it that way until he's walking through Shujin's gates and taking his seat behind Takamaki.

Her presence surprises him, which is probably a rude thought, since she was on time just as often as Akira was.

"Hm." Takamaki mumbles, though Akira can't tell if the noise is intention or not.

Kawakami steps into the room before Akira can make any distinctions on the matter. Hair tied up and skirt wrinkled, she embodies a stress that makes his chest hurt in fear that he may be the cause. The teacher's gaze flicks over the room, processing through his peers before locking onto him. Her feet follow after her stare and she swoops into the row of desks that he shares with Takamaki, her long, blue skirt billows out like wings.

"Kurusu-kun, did you make you make a decision on your social studies trip?" Akira ducks his head, still not having seen this list.

"Oh he said he really wants to go to the TV station, Kawakami-sensei." Takamaki interjects. She leans back onto Akira's desk, edging into Kawakami's field of vision with a bright smile.

Had Takamaki always been so bold? Akira doesn't know for certain, but likes to think this is how she and Suzui would be around each other. Nearby, smiling, and helping each other. Though Akira doesn't have any inclination towards the TV station anymore than the factory that Mishima is speaking passionately about to the girl that sits behind him, he still feels grateful for Takamaki all the same.

"Okay." She scrawls something on the clipboard in her hands, "That's my group this year. We'll be leaving for the station after the next bell rings. Will you two pair up while I go talk the other classes?"

"Got it!" Takamaki chirps. Reaching over, she grabs onto Akira's hand, which makes him shudder benignly.

"Please don't cause any trouble." Kawakami says this to both of them, but Akira gets the impression that the words are only meant for him. "I'll try to be back before the bell rings, but if I can't, just line up by the gate and I'll find you both."

Neither he nor Takamaki get a chance to respond before Kawakami is stalking towards the door, subtle murmurs flow from her lips but Akira can't hear any of the words over the roar of the classroom. Other second-year teachers flow in after Kawakami-sensei leaves, speaking to various groups of students and always stopping in front of Akira's desk.

"He's in Kawakami's group." Takamaki says to all of them, sometimes speaking up before they can even reach his desk and kicking up a guilty gratitude in Akira when she scoffs at Ushimaru-sensei's retreating back.

With all of the students accounted for, the number of teachers coming through the door dwindles and halts, and without any supervision, the static of laughing students grows to a crescendo. Akira likes to think that not all of the laughter is directed towards him, but he catches more than a few stares as he sits in silence. Whispers pick up with his name on them and the rumors about him reignite, taking on new lives. He hears one about him belonging to a cult of vampires and that's why his mouth never opens, lest he succumb to his urges.

The thought is as mortifying as it is ridiculous. It makes his face warm and the thrum of danger thrums under his skin in a loud staccato, but makes Takamaki shake with concealed snickers and snorts.

Other rumors are more grounded in reality, spreading news about the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and making connections between their two targets. These Akira pays attention to, if only for to see if they'd given themselves away by targeting someone of Madarame's status. One boy murmurs about how the Phantom Thieves must be affiliated with Shujin Academy since Kamoshida had been their first case, but is quickly shot down with false evidence about teachers from other schools exposing their dark secrets and that the only reason Kamoshida's confession was released was due to his prior fame and the severity of his crimes. Thankfully, the boy seems to believe this and even Akira wonders if that last part might be true.

Kawakami doesn't show up when the bell rings, but Takamaki doesn't seem too surprised by this and easily leads them both down to the gate where their teacher is speaking to a group of students. Akira only recognizes one of them. His teammate and sometimes friend stands out among the crowd, edged out of the semicircle that had formed around Kawakami-sensei. It is distressing to see, as Akira knows that he's played some part in Ryuji's ostracization by leeching off the blond's strength and kindness, but part of him is glad that the other boy would be there to help bridge the gap between him and Takamaki. A dam, if things became any more awkward between them.

"Hey." Takamaki whispers. She stalks up to their teammate, only as subtle as being foreign and beautiful can allow, and Akira follows after her. He knows it is unwise for the three of them to be seen together, even if they'd managed to fulfill their mission, there were still suspicions about them.

"'Sup." Ryuji mumbles back, eyeing Takamaki and then doing the same to Akira.

His friend smiles at him and Akira isn't sure what it means.

"Remember, second years, we're taking the blue-rapid line to Minato! If anyone gets lost, stay with your buddy and head towards the TBS building." Kawakami holds up a green card that is identical to the one in his bag, "The school is paying the fare for us to get there, but it's your responsibility to get yourselves home. Lastly, just because we're away from campus doesn't mean you can misbehave, you're all representing our school today, so don't do anything embarrassing, please."

About twenty students separates their group from Kawakami as the teacher marches her way towards the station. She waves a flag with Shujin Academy's logo on it, but it never reaches over her shoulders, making it impossible to see except for in the reflection of the windowed storefronts that they pass.

"TV station, huh?" Takamaki asks, only speaking up when her words would be covered by the movement of the train. "Why'd you pick that?"

Ryuji frowns, "Well, it was either this or get stuck somewhere more lame, plus nobody in my class picked it, so I don't have a buddy."

Only after his admission that Akira notices that nobody had chosen to sit by Ryuji, nobody from their year had checked up on him either.

"Hm." Takamaki murmurs. "That must suck, I've been getting mostly the same treatment. Except for a few of the other girls, everyone still believes those stupid rumors about me."

"Yeah well, the rumors about me aren't rumors." Ryuji bristles. He opens his mouth to say more but no words come out and his jaw clicks shut.

"Sorry." Takamaki offers, "You still have us, though. Even if we're still in hiding."

"I guess." Huffing, Ryuji wilts, "Just fuckin' sucks that everyone treats me like trash still, but it's not like they're wrong, but they treat me like they should've treated him."

There's a pressure in Akira's chest, the kind of structure that is built up from confusion and inability. He had only seen the other boy like this once or twice, raw and exposed. Like a live wire, his thoughts flail around and those that are nearby are potential victims to the brunt of harsh memories. Whenever Kamoshida's name pops into Akira's head, there's always the reminder of that hidden room, seeing the terrors of man. Not only for Ryuji to compare himself to Kamoshida, but to be right with his assessment, makes Akira feel sick.

In what world is the victim treated worse than the wrongdoer?

The rest of the ride to Minato is steeped in silence. Takamaki seems close to tears and Akira cannot wrap his head around his friend's suffering enough to tell Ryuji anything he doesn't already know. More than anything, Akira wonders how his friend had ended up like this, how he continues to fail his teammates one incident after another.

Morgana, who'd been silent since they'd left LeBlanc, continues to stare out the window at Akira's back. The other boy is silent and his expression is unreadable.

The TBS building is another of the massive structure that Tokyo has, a sky piercing pyramid of sapphire tinted glass. There's a sign in front, tiny in comparison to the behemoth building behind it, but catches Akira's attention and throws him back in time. It's nothing like Kamoshida's palace, has no darkened sky or the crunch of marching, metal guards, but the longer that Akira stares at it, nothing like the one in front of Kamoshida's castle, the more identical it appears. The MetaVerse's pressure pushes at his skin in patches and squeezes at his exposed throat and hands, growing stronger the more Akira convinces himself that the feelings are not real.

Inside is better, a confirmation that the only shadows are ones that lie on the ground in static shapes. There are chandeliers, but they are modern, made of glass and silver, with electric fittings rather than melting candles. The floors are smooth, made of plain tile and nowhere near gold. A gallery of paintings takes up one wall, but they are plain portraits. None of them are landscapes and none of them are faces of the damned. If Akira puts his hands against them, he would remain where he is and feel nothing but glass underneath his fingers.

Differences between the MetaVerse and real world keep Akira from running, but he still jumps when Ryuji bumps their shoulders together.

"You okay, dude?" His friend asks, "Sorry if I freaked you out before I was just…"

Ryuji's explanation dies down but Akira nods anyways. There is no reason for him to feel like his insides are trying to escape his skin, especially when the boy beside him is the one truly hurting.

The silence is picked up by a woman of middling age. Her hair is unnaturally neat, as is the rest of her appearance, from the sheen on her eyeglasses down to the straps on her shoes. She speaks cheerfully and professionally, but the words are lilted with an accent that Akira doesn't recognize.

"You all must be from Shujin Academy! Welcome to the Tokyo Broadcasting Station! My name is Ishida Himari, and I will be showing all of you around today!"

When she bows, it is perfect and makes Akira feel bad for slouching as often as he does. Ryuji huffs but is pushed into a bow by Takamaki, who folds the lowest despite the unpleasant look on her face.

"Let us get started!" Ishida says, polishing off nonexistent flaws from her outfit, she begins walking backwards through the lobby and leads them through a set of double doors that reveals a room that is about as large as Madarame's largest gallery. Though it is only half as bright as the palace had been, the artificial lighting being shot across the room from every angle still makes Akira squint.

"This is a TV studio!" Ishida explains, "This is where television is filmed! Television can either be filmed live or recorded for later use!"

Her explanations are longwinded and incessantly energetic despite the number of groans and yawns that spill out of their group. Akira tries to maintain interest, to manifest a shred of the energy that Ishida has but finds himself yawning along with the others within a few minutes. He hadn't watched much television, recorded or otherwise, and finds himself lulled into a daze as their guide describes the processes behind product-placements. Ishida, somehow, grows even more excitable when her speech turns to the process of editing the television broadcasts.

Morgana sneaks himself through the gap in Akira's bag, "…How long does this go on for?"

"Hopefully not much longer." Takamaki whispers into her shoulder.

The excitability of Ishida's speech withers as a man pushes his way through the crowd. Akira is taken by surprise when the man's shoulder collides with his and it is only due to Ryuji catching him that he does not crush Morgana. His friend helps him to his feet and yells at the man pushing through a crowd of highschoolers to approach Ishida.

Akira barely notices either of these things, barely a buzzing in his awareness. What he is aware of is how much his heart hurts and how his fingers are angled in a way they shouldn't be. For all that he is being held up by his friend, Akira is ready to strike.

It's terrifying.

Resetting his hands, Akira rebalances himself with Ryuji's help and grabs at his heart. Through his uniform, the burn is nothing more than a rigid bump, a seam that needs to be smoothed out. The pressure stings but it is the only thing keeping Akira from giving himself away, so he presses down harder, willing away instincts that belonged to Joker and not to him.

"You okay?" Ryuji asks again, his voice transformed in a moment from where he'd just been yelling profanities. "Oh shit! He hit you there?"

Akira forces himself tall, a facsimile of Ishida's grace, but even like this he is not as tall as his friend. Tentatively, he releases the grip on his chest and tries to ease whatever expression had given him away, refusing to set anything off that would get them noticed.

Akira had probably been in the way anyways.

"Stupid fucker." Ryuji growls, but is kept on a short leash by Kawakami's glare.

"O-okay students!" Ishida exclaims, breaking composure for only a moment as the man that had pierced through their group all but towers over her. "How about some hands-on experience! Maybe if some of you perform exceptionally well, TBS will extend an occupational recruitment! Only after you graduate, of course!"

Ishida laughs at what Akira assumes is a joke, but nobody else does much more than sigh, Kawakami included.

"I could take a few of you young ladies with me!" A man says, lifting an arm up to identify himself. A few of their classmates disperse, taken away by a swarm of employees that Ishida had summoned, revealing the man that spoken up. Like Ishida, his hair is neatly styled, though he is dressed fairly casually in comparison.

His gaze narrows in on Takamaki almost instantly, "What about you, girlie? You wanna be on TV someday?"

"Excuse me?" The blonde replies, taking a step back as the man inches forward.

"I mean, you've got a slammin' bod', I could totally see you on a drama one day." The man explains, "Here, take my card! I'll take your call day or night."

Taking the card, Takamaki does not read it, nor does she pocket it after the man leaves. Instead, it flutters to the ground like a leaf and is hidden away underneath her shoe.

"Obvious what he was after." Ryuji seethes, the emotion from before, which Akira had mistakenly thought to have died down, reemerges as vicious as ever. "Stupid fucking adults, man, can't they care about anything but themselves? We should yank all their hearts out, damnit."

Morgana shushes him, "We're supposed to be lying low, remember!"

Kawakami materializes with a sigh, "I understand that this might be boring, but just go along with it and don't cause any trouble, okay?"

Shifting to hide Morgana from view, Akira nods and catches the others doing the same.

"We've got three more over here, Ishida-san!" Kawakami calls out, pointing towards their group. They'd somehow avoided being recruited despite the number of workers at Ishida's command.

"Hmm!" Ishida acknowledges. "You boys look strong! Why don't you work together with as being AC men! AC workers work together with directors to ensure that everything runs smoothly! They make sure that the cables connected to the cameras don't become too unruly!"

Takamaki flinches when Ishida turns to her, "Oh! Aren't you a beautiful young lady! Why don't you join me as my personal assistant today!"

"R-right…" Takamaki agrees, "It'll be a pleasure working with you, Ishida-san…"

Ishida smiles and that, too, is perfect, "Oh! You're just the sweetest! I assure you, the pleasure is all mine!"

Takamaki is dragged away by their cheerful guide, leaving him alone with Morgana and Ryuji, who are assigned to ensure that two cables do not cross under any circumstances.

The order, at first, is anxiety-inducing, leaving Akira fearful for what might happen, but neither his cable nor Ryuji's moves an inch after hours of watching them. Their time is mostly spent in silence, but his friend occasionally shares what he is thinking or complains about their assigned task. Morgana doesn't budge from where is curled against Akira's ribs, which are sore, but nowhere near as much as the other side.

Akira doesn't respond much to the things that Ryuji says, unaware of the TV shows that he brings up, even more oblivious to the actresses he finds most attractive, but he listens attentively. He learns that Ryuji's mom rents DVDs sometimes, mostly historical romances and sometimes they watch them together when their schedules align. Akira also learns that Ryuji prefers manga to television, though he sometimes goes to the movies when something cool comes out.

"The new Cake Night is supposed to be coming out soon." Ryuji says, leading the way to where lunch is supposed to be held. "You should watch it together!"

"Ooh!" Morgana hoots. "I haven't been to a theater in forever!"

Akira, who's never been to one, finds this interesting, if only because it serves as another remind of Morgana's humanity. The other boy rarely spoke of anything but the present, which suits Akira fine as it helps him avoid revealing his past or thinking about what their future is likely to look like.

Lunch is plain but looks expensive, large trays and silver platters. Most of Akira's is fed to Morgana, which is about as monotonous as watching an unmoving cable, but keeps the cat from kicking at Akira's ribs. Ryuji talks with food in his mouth and his chopsticks sometimes fling food onto the table, but his friend is growing to be a familiar presence. The blond moves on from TV and movies, instead explaining the plot of the most recent manga that he's reading. Like this, Ryuji is vibrant, not in the way that Ishida had been, but in the infectious kind of way that makes Akira warm by proximity.

After they are fed, the work grows more demanding. It's not really a fair comparison, as before they'd been practically statues, now Akira is finding himself having to constantly chase after cables and twist them apart before they can braid together. They get yelled at a few times, either for being inexperienced or in the way, Akira doesn't get the opportunity to determine what he's being barked at for before whoever had been yelling scurries off onto one of the sets or behind a camera. Takamaki and Ishida walk past a few times, always in a rush that only leaves time for awkward waves between them. Even while running, Ishida's form remains unblemished, but Takamaki looks dead on her feet and stumbles over several cables each time she passes. It disrupts the flow of the other students who'd been stuck on cable duty, but their glares turn soft when they land on the two women.

Akira is envious only for as long as it takes for their classmates—and some of the TBS employees—to comment on their appearances. Knowing that he'd wanted to crawl under his desk at being compared to a vampire just that morning, he doubts he would last an hour in either of their shoes.

Traffic in the station slows down as the afternoon wears on and Akira stops having to crouch down to prevent the cables from clumping together. Eventually, they're dismissed and only a few of them are asked to help roll up the cables.

Neither he nor Ryuji are chosen.

Not too upset with this, Akira follows after his friend and waits outside of the men's room for him. A minute later, his friend returns with a frown.

"Taking a piss didn't even make me feel better." Ryuji sighs and leans against the wall. "This shit fuckin' sucks. I mean, ain't we supposed to be guests around here? Then they ask us to do their jobs for them?"

Akira shrugs, only finding it strange after Ryuji had mentioned it.

"Ann said she'd find us in a minute." Sighing again, Ryuji taps at his phone. "At least we ain't the only ones having a shitty time."

Takamaki shows up a few minutes later and all but falls against the wall beside Ryuji when she rounds the corner they're lingering at.

"Everything okay, Lady Ann?" Morgana greets. He crawls onto Akira's shoulder and stares at their teammate with droopy eyes.

"Ishida-san is way too intense." Ann groans, "All of the guys were being creeps but she just kept smiling until they went away."

Ryuji shudders, "Sounds like a horror movie. Why'd you even pick this place anyways?"

"Well, I've been on TV a few times, so I thought it would be interesting and I was kinda hoping I could get a sneak peek of the remake for Another World. Adachi Yumi is supposed to be in it…" Takamaki admits, which makes Ryuji snort. "Besides, you know what's nearby?"

Akira glances at Takamaki and finds her smiling as she nudges against Ryuji's shoulder repeatedly.

"Quit doin' that." Ryuji complains, nudging her back. "And lemme guess, shopping?"

"I saw something nearby!" Morgana exclaims, "It looked like a huge, delicious pancake! We should go there."

"Uh." Takamaki starts, but Ryuji is quick to interject, interpreting Morgana's words.

"Oh! You gotta mean Dome Town, the big part on top is a baseball stadium, but all around it is an amusement park."

"That's right in the middle of a business-type area, but they have a lot of intense rides there too." Takamaki elaborates. "I read somewhere that they rank pretty highly for street foods as well, but we should probably save those for after the rides."

"Hardcore, huh?" Morgana sniffs, "We definitely have to go! I'll show you all just how courageous I am."

Takamaki crosses her arms, "Scary rides don't really prove any kind of courage though."

"It's not like cats can ride roller coasters anyways." Ryuji adds.

Morgana kneads at Akira's shoulder, "Really?"

"I mean, you could probably sneak in with the bag, but you'd totally puke if you did that." Smirking, Ryuji pushes away from the wall. "We should head down there, I'm kinda feeling it now."

"Agreed!" Takamaki says smiling as well.

Akira tugs at a piece of hair hanging over his glasses. Part of him wants to say something about how they should be laying low and avoiding attention, but his teammates are smiling for the first time in what feels like years. Even Morgana, who's disappointed about not being able to ride anything, seems excited at the prospect.

A boy stops in the hallway that they're lurking in. His hair is long, much longer than Akira's own, and hangs onto the lapels of a professional looking blazer. There's some kind of school insignia on it and, only judging from its intricacy, Akira assumes it belongs to a prestigious school that he's probably never heard of before. The other parts of his appearance are intricate as well, silver collar stays that match the silver case in his hand and leather gloves that match his shoes. Altogether, it seems like the kind of outfit that Kitagawa would wear if he'd had a different life, sophisticated but not inelegant.

"Excuse me, are you students of Shujin Academy?" The boy says, voice pleasant but not in an unusual way. "I couldn't help but recognize your uniforms."

"Yep." Ryuji confirms, "Didja want something?"

"I just happened to be passing by, so it seemed polite to greet you all, especially since your class will be sitting in on tomorrow's recording." The brown-haired boy shrugs and smiles, "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Akechi Goro, it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Do you work here or something?" Ryuji asks.

"Work here? No, I've been asked to speak on Everyone's Gathered tomorrow afternoon." Akechi answers, surprising Akira.

"You some kind of celebrity then?" Ryuji guesses, making Akechi-san shrug slightly.

"Nothing so prominent, I assure you. I've only made a few appearances before."

The newcomer checks his phone and frowns, "I really was only passing by, I'm meant to finish some last preparations before tomorrow. You're all going to have cake then? I'm a little envious, I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Cake?" Ryuji blinks, "What're you talkin' about?"

Akechi-san's hair falls into his eyes as his head tilts, "Am I mistaken? I thought I'd heard someone talking about delicious pancakes…"

Before anyone can muster a reply, Akechi steps away, "I must really be going!"

Akira's blood runs cold and it takes him a while to figure out why. He glances at Morgana, who's face is nigh unreadable in his cat form, and starts to think he might be mistaken.

Ryuji leads the way to Dome Town and Akira spends the journey there trying to replay the scene over in his head again. Takamaki had mentioned street food, but never a specific kind and Ryuji had spoken about rollercoasters and shopping. Morgana is the only one to have mentioned pancakes, but Akira still isn't certain and regrets not having thought to use his Thief Vision on Akechi-san sooner. Not that he'd be certain what he'd be looking for, the power Igor had given him revealed his bonds with others and Akira had never met Akechi-san before and confirming that wasn't worth the risk of the power sticking again.

"Any rides sticking out to you, Akira-kun?" Takamaki closes in on Akira's free side and pets at Morgana's ears.

Akira looks up and finds that they'd entered into Dome Town without him noticing, most likely due to Ryuji's unerring presence at his other side.

"I'll stay with Morgana." Akira answers slowly. He's never been anywhere like this place, which had a strong smell that made him think he wouldn't need to be latched into a device to start throwing up.

"Ryuji?" Takamaki leans over and prods at the blond's stomach. "Any suggestions?"

"L-ladies first?" Ryuji offers. His voice cracks and Akira wonders how often his might have done the same.

"How about…" His teammate—his classmate scans the busy area and doesn't seem upset by what she sees in the slightest, "The Extreme Spinning Hurricane then?"

"Sounds good." Ryuji leads the way into a short line and takes Takamaki with him. They're far enough away that Akira can see their mouths moving, but can't hear anything they're saying.

Akira settles on a nearby bench and watches his teammates—his classmates as the reach the front of the line and turn into a blur of motion. He covers his nose against the scent of fried foods and occasionally glances towards the boy beside him, hoping that Morgana would say something. Instead, Akira picks out the whoops of his friend and Takamaki's shrieks as they are whipped around by clicking gears and gravity.

Ryuji's hair is a mess of spikes when Akira meets them at the exit gate and Takamaki's is no better, a wavy cloud of yellow hair that she fails to tame.

"That was awesome!" Takamaki cackles, already pulling Ryuji into another line.

Their joy is a soft warmth in Akira's heart. It grows with every bout of laughter and comment about their messy appearances and fades to embers as the sun starts to retreat and the park nears closing.

"T-that's my last one." Ryuji grabs at his gut, "I don't think I can take another."

"On to food!" Cheering, Takamaki starts to drag Ryuji off again but the blond drops out of her grasp with a groan.

"I need a minute." He whines.

Takamaki giggles, "Weren't you the one going on about wanting to come here and showing off your bravery or whatever?"

"That was him!" Ryuji shoves a finger in Akira's direction, "Damn cat chickened out—Kittened out or whatever!"

That makes Takamaki laugh even harder, to the point that she's bending over like the boy beside her.

"Well, we can check out the food tomorrow, we have to come back anyways." Takamaki says. Her words come out with a wheeze, but her smile refuses to falter.

Their retreat is swift and Ryuji back away first, just remembering a promise he had made to his mother that leaves Akira alone with Takamaki. Her pace is sedate but he doesn't move much faster, so they walk shoulder to shoulder with Morgana between them. A silence follows them, but Akira finds that it is not as awkward as their previous ones.

Her texts spill into his thoughts, about them being friends and how that the blame wasn't solely on him. Takamaki's words follow through the same route, roars of Akira's cruelty and brutality.

They had been justified.

Akira thinks they still are.

But Takamaki is willing to give him a second chance, so Akira will take it to better himself.

"Shiho's doing better." Takamaki gulps. "T-they um, took off the cast on her leg. She hasn't woke up yet, but she's looking better… Her mom though, she um, she said she was planning on transferring Shiho to another school when she wakes up."

Akira tries not to focus on the words as he listens to his teammate—to his friend.

When, not if.

It's not optimism that she has, Takamaki is assured in Suzui's recover. Save for the moment he had awoken to Arsene, it is a conviction that Akira has never felt. Remembering their confrontation with Kamoshida, Akira decides that he likes that about her.

Takamaki sniffs, "I mean… that's not a bad thing, but sometimes I think she'll wake up when we're in a palace and she won't be there when I come to visit. And it's not like I can just choose between what we're doing and sitting beside her."

Akira nods, mostly getting what she's saying.

"Shiho wouldn't want that and neither do I." Takamaki's fists clench and Akira half-expects for piths of fire to kick off from her knuckles. "She's gonna be totally jealous when she wakes up and finds out I'm ripped though."

Takamaki's attempt at humor drives her to tears and she weeps silently as they walk, trusting in Akira to guide her until she regains her composure.

"That's probably not even true." She rasps.

Akira isn't sure what to say. Takamaki had memories of Suzui, but Akira only had nightmares of the girl, could only see how the world had twisted her. He feels bad for her and tries not to pity her, but fears what will become of her when she wakes, especially if Takamaki is not there to help her.

Once again, he considers letting Takamaki off the hook, offering her as much distance away from them—from him—as possible, but knows that wouldn't take it.

"God. I feel like I'm always crying around you. It's getting kind of embarrassing." His classmate wipes at her face and sighs. "Still, I'm glad to have you around. Talking about this stuff with Ryuji usually just results in us screaming at each other and Yusuke is nice, but he just doesn't get it sometimes."

Akira is surprised that her description of Kitagawa is not something she also applies to him, but continues letting her speak her mind while he mulls over her words. Another surprise comes in the form of a hug, which makes Akira realize that it something that he should have offered when she had begun to cry.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Takamaki says quietly.

Morgana calls out after, "Hey! Where's my hug? Lady Ann!?"

Takamaki disappears into the crowd or onto a train and Akira starts heading back to Yongen Jaya. It's getting late and he has no business left in Shibuya. The train carries him to darkened streets and the levity of the day carries him back to the café.

For all that they had broken the rules of their disengagement, nothing had gone wrong, which felt like a rare occurrence.

Sakura-san is missing when Akira keys himself into the café, the lights off and the coffee machines quieted. That feeling of contentment, of freedom from the stress of being a phantom thief and a criminal, ebbs away slowly as he settles in for the night. Akira doesn't fight its departure, but finds himself yearning in its absence. It is a new feeling, one that he cannot name by the time he re-enters the TBS building with Morgana in tow. Ryuji is on his left side and Takamaki is on the blond's other end, where she nudges at him and pokes at his face, apparently finding amusement in Ryuji's halfhearted attempts at keeping her at bay.

Like the day before, Ishida-san is waiting for them in the station's lobby and, after checking the gallery of pictures and the chandeliers, Akira focuses his attention on her well-kept form. Even her skirt barely budges as she retreats backwards into the room from the day before and Akira is certain that TV people have a magic of their own, the kind that the MetaVerse couldn't explain.

"Today you all will be serving as the live audience for Everyone's Gathered!" Ishida gestures to a set that Akira finds reminiscent of Madarame's palace. There are fake walls painted yellow, nowhere near the blinding gold of the artist's heart, with different patterns, flashing lights, and artistic stylings that threaten a headache.

It can't be a very popular show.

Ishida directs them into rows of plain looking chairs and points towards a small monitor hanging from the ceiling. "The screen above is an audience prompter! It directs how audience members should react and will flash with different commands, such as laugher, clapping, and sounds of awe! Given how amazing our hosts are, I doubt you'll need to use it, but if you get lost, feel free to follow along with the screen!"

Dodging a camera as it rolls by, Ishida smiles wide and raises a hand into the air. "The wait should only be about ten minutes and since your field trip will conclude after the show, are there any questions that you students have about working at TBS?"

Glancing across the audience filled with his classmates, Akira finds that nobody has raised their hand.

Ishida fidgets.

Kawakami clears her throat.

"U-um! I have a question, Ishida-san." Takamaki jumps to her feet. "How does—I mean, television seems to be a dying industry in the America, do you think that that trend will come here in the near future?"

"Excellent question, Takamaki-chan! I expect nothing less from my assistant!" Ishida praises, "According to our research, the death of television seems to be a uniquely American phenomena, as views have remained steady in Japan for the past few decades!"

"R-right." Takamaki croaks, "I- I mean, thank you for answering my question, Ishida-san!"

"Oh!" Ishida-san hops in place, "That looks like all the time we have for today! I hope you all enjoy the show and that you all consider careers at TBS someday!"

"Thank god." Takamaki whispers.

"Thank you for your service, Ishida-san." Kawakami offers with a bow, a sentiment that is quickly echoed by the other Shujin students a moment later with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Ishida retreats and two equally sophisticated looking adults step onto the stage, killing off the subtle chatter of the set workers and students almost instantly.

"Welcome back to Everyone's Gathered!" A female host says and the screen above them flashes, sending a wave of applause across the audience. "Today's news begins with a new viral phenomenon features a housecat from Osaka!"

"Aren't you from Osaka, Aoki-san?" Her co-host chuckles boisterously. His frame is tall and thin and has glasses that Akira suspects are as fake as his own.

Aoki-san giggles, "That's right, Taketa-san! The housecat's owner, Maeda-san, has recently found out that her cat has been stashing money away from her! While cleaning up around the cat's playhouse, Maeda-san noticed a large stack of bills!"

"Wow!" Taketa-san laughs again, "I wonder where that cat found a job!"

Aoki-san laughs as well, "But that's not even the strange part, Taketa-san, it turns out that Mittens has been receiving donations by the local school children. After putting a camera inside of her house, Maeda-san caught a number of students sticking their allowance through a gap in Maeda-san's window where Mittens was waiting to collect it!"

"Wow! If I were Maeda-san, I would start charging Mittens rent!" Taketa-san smacks his knee and the monitor lights up again, ordering them to laugh.

Akira stares at it in confusion and listens as the people around them start to do so.

"Kill me now." Sakamoto groans quietly. The blond sinks low in his seat as if he were melting. Akira wishes that he could do the same but is fairly certain that Kawakami's glare would turn into a reprimand if he tried as much.

"Let's roll some of the footage and then Everyone's Gathered will return after a short break with a surprise guest!" Aoki-san cheers and the monitor flashes again, eliciting another round of applause before the studio dims slightly.

"Regret." Takamaki sighs from Ryuji's other side, "Regret is what I feel."

"At least we get to chow down after this." Ryuji says optimistically. He grabs onto Akira's leg, "What should we eat first? That reminds me, we still haven't celebrated!"

"I've been thinking about that." Takamaki smiles, "We can talk about it later, though."

"And we're back!" The monitor flashes again and Akira finds himself clapping along this time.

"Welcome back to Everyone's Gathered." Aoki-san gestures to one side of the stage, "Now let's gather our surprise guest!"

"I'm sure it's not that much of a surprise, he's pretty popular after all!" Taketa-san muses as the boy from yesterday, Akechi, steps onto the headache-inducing set.

The cheers are thunderous and occur without the monitor prompting them, everyone in the audience claps and whoops for the brown-haired boy as he advances toward the two hosts.

Akechi-san is dressed the same as he had been the day before, with his school blazer buttoned neatly and his trousers free of wrinkles. His smile is small, but he looks joyful enough as he takes a seat across from the two hosts.

"That's right!" Aoki-san confirms, "The guest we've gathered for our meet-and-greet is none other than the high school detective, Akechi Goro! After his last appearance was so well-received, we've decided to gather him back up for a follow-up!"

Detective? Akira swallows. Being involved with the police wasn't the impression that Akechi had given off, though Akira hadn't given anything more than the boy's words any significant thought.

Ryuji taps on his knee and whispers, "It's the guy from yesterday."

Nodding, Akira turns back to the stage and squints. "Hello there."

"Now, Akechi-san." Aoki-san says dramatically. "We've been told there's a case that you've been working on at the moment. Care to share, detective?

"Oooh." Taketa-san emits, stirring his classmates into copying him.

"Ah yes." Akechi-san straightens up. "That would be the scandal involving the master artist, Madarame Ichiryusai."

"Of course!" Taketa-san cries out. "All of this phantom thief excitement has caught your attention too! Akechi-kun, what do you think of these justice-oriented Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"

Akira's heart leaps into his throat and stays there. He stares at Akechi-san as the detective's face twists into another subtle smirk.

"If they are truly heroes of justice, then I sincerely hope they exist."

"Oh?" Aoki-san comments, "Then you believe that they do exist then?"

"I may not seem like the type, but I sometimes wish that Santa Claus actually existed." Akechi-san answers, "Although, if he did, I'd have to arrest him for breaking and entering."

Swoons of laughter erupt and the monitor above them orders them silent after it continues for too long.

Akechi-san crosses his arms, "Hypothetically speaking though, if these Phantom Thieves of Hearts are a real organization, I believe they should be tried in a court of law."

The silence is deafening. As much as Akira feels uncomfortable with the rumors, nothing bad about their group was mentioned at Shujin Academy. While it was mostly disbelief at their existence or legitimacy, there were still sighs of relief when they were brought up.

If they hadn't targeted Kamoshida, Akira's certain that that wouldn't be the case.

Taketa-san swallows loudly, "That's quite the statement, Akechi-kun. Are they committing actual crimes? Some people say that they are actually helping their victims abandon their previous ways."

Victims. Akira frowns and tries to remember any of the shadows from Mementos that they'd stopped, but only Nakanohara comes to mind and Akira doubts that he'd speak up about what he'd been doing. It also raises the questions of how much the faceless shadows they faced in Mementos remember about them. Without a palace, sending a calling card wasn't necessary, so there was no real-world evidence that the Phantom Thieves had done anything to them.

"What Madarame Ichiryusai did was an unforgivable crime." Akechi-san admits, "However, the Phantom Thieves are taking the law into their own hands by judging him. Forcefully changing a person's heart? That is far from justice."

"You have a point." Taketa-san chuckles, "I suppose this group is calling themselves the Phantom Thieves after all."

The flashing monitor is met with more silence.

"I have to say though, I would be quite embarrassed if it turns out that these Phantom Thieves of Hearts don't exist at all." The detective taps at his chin, "If that were the case, I'm sure it would make an interesting school project."

Aoki-san giggles, "Now then, why don't we try asking some students the same as age as Akechi-san about these so-called Phantom Thieves?"

Taking to her feet, a camera follows after Aoki-san as she weaves through the audience and through what Akira considers to be an act of divine will, she ends up pointing a microphone towards the only person who cannot answer her question.

"Let's try asking this student here!" Aoki-san announces, "Assuming the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were real, what are your thoughts on the matter?"

Akira wants to wave her off but is preoccupied with ensuring that Morgana cannot be seen by the camera, which involves shifting his bag towards his left side and almost shoving it into Ryuji's lap. His chest aches, but Akira maintains his composure.

It fails though, when Ryuji leans in close, squishing Morgana against Akira's heart and making it burn with blistering vengeance.

"He uh, can't talk—sign language and all that, but uh, right now, it looks like those so-called Phantom Thieves are doing more than the cops. I mean, whose to say that they were ever gonna catch Madarame to begin with?"

Taketa-san snickers, "Oh! A contrasting opinion from a peer, and a strong one at that! Any rebuttal to that, Akechi-kun?"

Akechi-san's smile falters for a moment, "Indeed, but it is intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement of their existence. I'll ask this then, if the person beside you suddenly changed completely, would you assume it is the work of the Phantom Thieves?"

"Nah." Ryuji says quickly, "The Phantom Thieves only target criminals."

"Hm." Akechi-san hums quietly, barely audible over the bone-deep thrum of Akira's aching heart. "I see, but how can you be so certain? So far, they've only targeted people that have not had any sort of criminal record. In fact, the only indication of their crimes were rumors and hearsay, that is, until Kamoshida Suguru and Madarame Ichiryusai suddenly confessed to them after receiving a calling card from this organization."

Ryuji's jaw clenches and Akira can hear the squeal of his teeth.

"What is more important than whether the Phantom Thieves' actions are good or not is the method of they go about changing the hearts of their victims. If an ability truly existed, it could be used for more than extracting confessions, perhaps they could even orchestrate crimes to as well."

Morgana's warnings come to mind, about what might happen if they pushed too hard with a shadow. The fear of causing a mental shutdown makes Akira's skin crawl, he hadn't even considered that they might be able to further distort a heart, didn't think it was a possibility.

It probably isn't, but Akira wants to question Morgana on it.

"If a method truly existed, then the Phantom Thieves cannot simply be ignored. Their existence would prove to be nothing but a threat to our everyday lives." Akechi-san crosses his arms, "To be honest, I've already started working alongside the police to resolve this matter."

Akira ducks into his seat and tries to suppress the tremble of the threat at hand. He should have known that the police would be onto them the moment they went after a significant target. He might not have known who Madarame was before meeting him, but with his influence, the artist could have them all locked away forever if he ever remembered their faces.

"What a reveal!" Taketa-san cheers, "And a great way to end today's program!"

The lights around the set fade slightly but the image remains unbearable to look at, even as the crew starts rushing around to clear up wires and equipment.

Takamaki sighs loudly, "Did it… kinda seem like he had a point? A-and that stuff about the police, do you think he was being serious?"

They're ushered away by a frantic looking employee who doesn't look much older than any of them and Ryuji leads the way to a corner of the room.

"That asshole made it sound like we're the bad guys, what a prick…" Ryuji huffs, "And I was totally right too. The police weren't gonna do nothing about Madarame or Kamoshida anyways."

"I'm not saying you're wrong but…" Takamaki trails off. She appears deep in thought for a moment, but doesn't resume when the expression fades away.

"Whatever." Ryuji scoffs, "I'm gonna take a piss then we can head for Dome Town again, yeah? Then you can tell us what you were thinking about earlier."

"Actually." Takamaki says, grabbing onto the blond's arm before he can escape. "I think I'm gonna head home early. My aunt is supposed to be coming to town over the weekend and her Japanese is terrible."

"Alright then, guess I'll head home too." Ryuji groans. He turns to Akira, "You gonna get home okay?"

Akira nods and his teammates—his friends retreat from the TV station. They have frowns on their faces that he cannot do anything about and a tension in their shoulders that should only exist in the MetaVerse.

More than anything, Akira hates that they now think like him. That they must fear every siren and uniform, that their nightmares are more than just the nightmares of an alternate reality or embarrassing memories.

Akira wonders if the ruin that Igor had warned about was none other than Akira himself. What other force could ruin someone so quickly? He had poisoned their reputations and it had spread into their freedom.

How long would it be before he became fatal?

"Oh, I was hoping to speak with you." Akechi-san greets. The detective steps over with a smile, "Well, I was hoping to extend my gratitude towards your friend. Few people are willing to so willing to speak their minds so freely around me. It's quite refreshing. You know, Hegel once said that that advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis."

Akira nods. He's familiar with the words, that to sustain synthesis requires a creative force and a force that mediates the first. Akira is almost glad Ryuji is not here to receive Akechi's thanks himself, for the burden of the police should fall on the leader's shoulders. Even if he is not much of one, he will do what he can.

"Is it true then?" Akechi-san asks, catching Akira off guard. He worries for a moment that he had missed something the other boy had said but the detective continues on quickly, "You use sign language to communicate? JSL that is?"

Once more, Akira nods. This time it is a slow motion, not that it would stall the police much if his teammates were to flee the premises, but he is deliberate in a way that a leader might be. At the moment he feels like prey within a lion's den but cannot tell if Akechi-san is the type to play with his food before he pounces.

Akechi's fingers close around his chin, obscuring his neck in shadow, "I mentioned before that I work quite closely with the police, but I also work independently as a detective, so their resources aren't always available to me. I believe that giving a voice to the voiceless would be quite a useful resource to have. That said, if your opinions on the Phantom Thieves are anything like your friends, then keeping you around would be doubly worthwhile."

Akechi clears his throat and a bashful tint spreads along his nose. "What I mean to say is that I would like for you to teach me and that having a peer to exchange ideas with would be mutually beneficial, perhaps we could keep in contact?"

Instincts that should not exist stir underneath Akira's skin and the desire to run makes his heart hammer against his insides, pleading for him to listen.

"Keep thy enemies close." Arsene argues and Phoenix coos when what Akira interprets as an agreement.

Agreeing, Akechi-san is quick to exchange numbers and only then asks his name.

"Kurusu Akira." Akira types out, all but signing his own confession and feeling sick when the detective's fingers wrap around his phone.

"Well, Kurusu-san, though I am older than you, I won't have you call me senpai." Akechi-san smiles softly, "After all, it is you who will be teaching me."

The detective pockets his phone and turns away, "Though, I'm sure I could teach you a thing or two in return. I shall text you when I'm available, Kurusu-kun."

Akira waits until he makes it to the men's room before he ruins the nearest bin with whatever is left of his breakfast from several days ago. It's mostly burning bile and clear acid that comes out, he's sure that there's at least some blood in there as well from how much everything hurts as he heaves over the brim. None of his guilt or fear or worry comes out, leaving his mind racing as he sinks to the floor, finally empty.

Morgana doesn't say anything until they're almost back to LeBlanc and Akira jumps in his seat, having forgotten that the other boy had seen everything.

"That guy seemed like trouble." Akira couldn't agree more until the other boy continues, "But if he is as well connected as he says he is, then keeping him close wouldn't be a bad idea."

His phone lights up and messages from his teammates light up the screen, half shaded by Morgana's looming presence. They update Kitagawa on the situation and express their anger at the detective in rapid-fire texts, though the latter is mostly Ryuji, who creates a wall of text laden with insults and defenses of their actions. Kitagawa's approach is to agree, but revises Ryuji's curses into eloquent phrases. Though it is more hesitant, Takamaki voices her agreement too, but spends most of her time correcting Ryuji's spelling.

Akira does not contribute much of anything at all, nor does he share about his confrontation with Akechi-san and is almost relieved when Mishima messages him as well, having apparently seen the broadcast while on his way home.

"I'm furious! How could Akechi say stuff like that about the phantom thieves? As the admin for the site, I can't keep quiet about this injustice. Justice is with the phantom thieves!"

The words make Akira feel ill. Mishima's website had drifted to the background of Akira's worries and had no idea what would happen if the police decided to look into it.

Not in a position to offer advice or tell the other boy what to do, Akira closes the message without responding and returns to LeBlanc.

"Saw you on TV today." Sakura-san says as Akira attempts to sneak by. "Could have at least given this place a shoutout."

The man's laugh tells Akira that he's not being serious, at least he pretty sure of that, it was hard to tell with his caretaker-slash-parole-officer most of the time.

Akira waits for a moment, hoping to be dismissed.

"Hey uh," Sakura-san clears his throat, "That uh, blond kid. He's your friend?"

Akira rewinds through his day, skipping past the parts with Akechi-san, and nods hesitantly, assuming that he's referring to Ryuji, who'd spoken up for him during the conference.

"Looked like a brat." The older man nods slowly, "But he's keeping you out of trouble?"

Feeling sick, Akira forces another nod. His agreeance isn't technically a lie, Akira was the one pushing them into trouble most of the time, even if his friend went along with it.

"Okay then." Sakura-san waves him off with a cigarette.

Akira retreats into the attic and finds that it's early enough that the sunlight shows up on the walls in bright splotches rather than on the floor. It's probably the brightest that Akira has seen the space in a while. Innocuous as it is, the new perspective is overwhelming and prevents him from going about what he'd normally do after school. Rather than climbing into bed with his homework or crawling under the covers in general, Akira stands in the center of the dusty room and wrings his hands.

Handwringing turns into nail-picking. That turns into quiet snapping and bouncing on his toes. All of it devolves quickly into crouching low and tugging at pieces of his hair. Toes burning and scalp tingling, Akira tries to sort through the growing list of problems and finds that the number is overwhelming.

Being alone with them is paralyzing.

Eventually, Akira busies himself with cleaning the attic while Morgana watches silently as he sweeps up thick lines of dust and dead leaves. When they had spared the plant, it had already seen better days. Now it seemed as if it were on the verge of disintegrating completely, a problem that is not rectified with a single glass of water or following his roommate's suggestion of tussling the soil around, but the cat seems satisfied with the results, almost as if he could see something that Akira could not.

Other than dusting and sweeping, cleaning his temporary living space doesn't offer much of a distraction. None of the shadows in the room had shifted and the bustle of the café below was strong enough that Akira is cautious about stepping near the stairs. Besides Ryuji, Sakura-san hadn't mentioned anything else about the broadcast, but that he knows about it at all is concerning and Akira's not sure how much he'll be able to hide from the older man if he were to ask about Akechi-san or the Phantom Thieves.

It's not through Sakura-san that Akira's fears seep into reality. The entire country seems to have watched Ryuji and Akechi-san argue on live television and everyone seemed to have an opinion that they felt like voicing. Some still argue about their existence to begin with, but most of the things Akira overhears ignore that Akechi-san had still been skeptical about that fact. Mishima's website reflects the majority of what is actually discussed.

Are the Phantom Thieves just?

It comes in form of an internet poll and Akira's thumb hovers either option, genuinely unsure. He had mostly come to terms that what they did was a good thing, the Phantom Thieves had stopped wicked men who had become untouchable, that was something Ryuji agreed with him on as well. Akechi-san had a point as well, one that spoke to Akira's fears, though that made it no less valid. Their methodology required precision and focus, like surgeons, they used calling cards and their personas as scalpels to cut away only the sickness, but they were still capable of mistakes.

If Morgana hadn't warned them about the consequences, Takamaki might have killed Kamoshida or brought him to the brink and left the man to hang there, his desires stripped away completely. The same risk had applied between Kitagawa and Madarame, and between any of them and the shadows in Mementos.

Any mistakes in the MetaVerse would prove Akechi-san right and give credence to the public and the police that they were a danger, a threat to Japan or the whole world. If that were the case, could Akira truly say that what they were doing was not only right, but also just. If another group had walked into that palace or another person discovered the MetaNav, would Akira trust them so blindly?

Akira wants to say yes, knowing that nobody in their group would do something like that, but the squeeze around his heart answers far more honestly.

Even the teachers at Shujin have things to say about the Phantom Thieves. Though most of them are negative and disparaging, Akira still listens, hoping to find something to believe in.

Ryuji, of course, has his own opinion on the matter and drags Akira towards a shaded courtyard, claiming that the roof was too hot to enjoy lunch on.

"That stupid bastard." The blond snarls. He punches at a vending machine, which rattles Akira as much as it does the drinks inside. "Why doesn't he do anything about it? If someone else coulda helped them, we wouldn't be doin' shit as the Phantom Thieves anyways!"

"Not so loud, stupid." Takamaki hisses, appearing from nowhere and immediately pestering Ryuji with gentle smacks to his head and jabs at his stomach.

Ryuji smacks back at her, "What the hell does it matter anyways? Everyone's talkin' about it, so wouldn't it be more suspicious if we didn't?"

"That's a good point, Ryuji. I'm surprised." Morgana rouses from underneath Akira's shoulder with a yawn.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you stupid catboy." Ryuji argues, too preoccupied with deflecting Takamaki to look in their direction.

"Anyways." Morgana says simply, "Now that we know that the police are involved, we can't be so laid back anymore."

Takamaki pauses in her assault on their teammate and looks as if she's been suddenly drained, she glances around quickly and purses her lips.

"We'll… be okay if we continue this though, right? I mean it's not like they know our methods.

"It's not like the cops can scare us off from being Phantom Thieves." Ryuji answers firmly.

Takamaki's expression doesn't change, "There's still a lot we don't know, though. Like what about that black mask guy Madarame mentioned? Or if we mess up?"

Akira doesn't have an answer to that and apparently neither does Ryuji, though they are both saved from answering by the sharp click of a camera coming from nearby.

"W-what the hell?" Ryuji twists around. Akira peers around the blond and feels his heart drop towards the floor.

The student council president looks the same as Akira remembers her. She is not overly tall, yet stares down at them over the bridge of her nose. Her uniform is worn neatly, though nowhere near pristine as Ishida-san or Akechi-san.

"You three just seemed to be having so much fun." She says in a strange tone. "I'm a little jealous."

Ryuji snorts, "You here to snoop some more? Bad enough that you're followin' kids after school, now you gotta interrupt our lunch too?"

"What makes you think I'm here to do that?" She replies, "That's an awfully suspicious viewpoint you hold, Sakamoto-kun, one might think you may actually be hiding something."

To this, Ryuji says nothing and the brown-haired girl shifts, raising a hand over her chest.

"My ears are always open to the troubles of my peers, you know."

"You're really that hungry for a letter of recommendation?" Takamaki scoffs, "Of course you are. Nobody would take on your job if they weren't."

The student council president glares and Akira's heart sinks impossibly lower. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Glaring back, Takamaki hisses out. "You're the president, right? Then wouldn't you have known about Kamoshida? What he was doing to… everyone."

The girl swallows loudly, "Of course not! He truly was a good teacher until that day…"

"He was never a good teacher, but you'll always take the teacher's side though, right?" Takamaki persists, "That's what a good president does, right?"

"What about you then?" The other girl bites back, "What did you do for your friend? You were much closer to her than I was, so how did you help Suzui Shiho?"

"Do not say her name." Takamaki yells. Her fists clench into the hem of her skirt and Akira half expects it to spontaneously combust. "What right do you have? You didn't even know her!"

Ryuji steps between the two, cutting off the admonishment that's stirring on the president's lips, "Since those Phantom Thieves are actually helping people, I'd root for 'em, no questions asked. They are more dependable than some people around here."

The student council president staggers, but recovers quickly and walks away.

"Just… make sure to return to your classes on time."

A thunderclap breaks up the silence left behind by her departure, followed by another as Takamaki rears back and punches a nearby table. She screams with her lips sealed shut, twisting the sound into a growl that does nothing to dampen her rage as she laments.

"I hate her!" Takamaki shrieks when her guard finally breaks. The words spill out rough and jagged, a combustion of pain that makes Akira's chest ache. "God, she's so…!"

As quickly as the words had come to her, Takamaki reverts back to wordless screams. Each comes out shrill and sharp, and cut into Akira's flesh as if the suffering were his own. He had barely even known Suzui, yet cries the same tears as his friend and shares in her loss as if it were his own.

As much as Akira wants to beg her to stop, he doesn't move to silence her outburst.

"Do you think she has a palace?" Takamaki rasps, voice as rough as gravel and asphalt and deadlier than any shadow.

Already shaking from her violence, Akira's not afraid to admit that he feels genuine terror when he looks upon his friend. It is the same feeling as when Takamaki had awoken to her persona, the experience of staring into a volcano and an event horizon wrapped into a single person.

What did I do to them? Akira asks himself as he waits for the endless storm to find a moment of calm.

She turns to Akira, eyes blazing with ephemeral flames. "Forget what I said before. I take it all back, I'm doing this until the end."

Akira shudders. Through his fear, he once again envies Takamaki's conviction.

"Hell yeah." Ryuji agrees darkly. "If this ship's going down, we're taking every shitty adult down with us."