Day after day, Akira and Sumire waited for any sign of Kamoshida's supposed change of heart. Whether they were hanging out with Ryuji, Ann, or anyone else Akira happened to befriend, neither of them could get that idea of freedom off of their mind.
Those thoughts had only gotten worse once it was announced that Kamoshida would be out of school until "further notice". Just what was that man planning?
Worst of all, while Kamoshida was out, nobody had even brought up Akira and Ryuji's expulsion deadline. Had the former king called it off, or was there something more sinister afoot? Only time could tell according to Morgana, but that time never brought much hope.
But a good thing that time did was allow the three of them to bond. It allowed them to figure out a system by which the three of them could communicate without drawing suspicion.
The warming, yet still cold air of the first night of May rushed into Leblanc once Akira opened the door. He had just come back from a recent "check-up" to see Sojiro turn his head to look at him.
"Hey, kid."
"Hey, Boss." Akira greeted, continuing to walk as he looked at Sojiro.
Feeling a small rubbing jolt on his leg as he climbed the stairs, Akira waited until his belly was on his bed to check the group chat.
Ryuji:
-Guys, no matter what happens tomorrow, I just want to say I had a lot of fun back at that castle.
Ann:
-"Fun" isn't the word I'd use.
Akira:
-It was an interesting experience at least.
"I wouldn't have learned a lot about my existence had we not gone there."
Akira tilted his head to the side to see Sumire with her elbows on his bed with her legs floating above the floor.
"Go to your couch." He playfully fake-pushed her away, resulting in Sumire faking a response, and her hands landed on the floor and her torso rotated, flipping through the wall with a perfect cartwheel. Akira covered his mouth in shock before Sumire came back in.
"Just joking around!"
Akira turned back to his phone. "You jerk…" He told her in a playful way.
Akira:
-By the way, what's your take on Kamoshida's break? Think it's a good sign?
Ryuji:
-It's gotta be. It happened the day after the castle got deleted.
Ann:
-Wasn't the day after we did that a weekend?
Akira:
-I checked the calendar. Yup.
Ryuji:
-Okay, announced the next SCHOOL day after deleting the castle!
-Also if he died we def would've known by now.
Ann:
-Fair point. Just making sure.
Akira:
-Speaking of us not killing him, any updates on Shiho?
Ann:
-Nothing different from last time.
-Can we drop this, please please?
Akira:
-Sure. Don't have to tell us twice.
Ann:
-Sorry
Ryuji:
-Yeah, I'm calling it for the night, too.
Akira:
-If you need anything, just talk to us, alright?
Ann:
-I know, don't worry. Night, guys.
Akira:
Good night, Ann.
Ryuji:
-Night.
Turning off his phone, Akria looked at Morgana, who was lying down in the kitty bed next to Akira's, using his paws as a makeshift pillow, as he started to speak.
"It'll work. We did everything we could've done."
There was silence after that, the city sounds of trains and the odd pedistrian causing anything resembling noise. At least, not until the quadruped spoke again.
"You believe me, right?" His high, but soft voice asked.
"It's easier to believe than anything else that's happened, that's for sure." Akira said, his eyes closed, but his voice was as active as ever.
"Okay… just asking." A slow purring sound filled the room shortly after.
So Akira laid still, expecting sleep to come to him soon. Time passed like any other waking moment, so his mind decided to take a walk. But it didn't take long before his desired hope of continuing his honest school life quickly started to fade.
He hadn't lied to Morgana, but he danced around the answer.
"Sumire?"
"Hm?" A muffled voice perked.
"Are you still awake?"
"Yeah…" That was the sound of a girl who didn't want to think about it too much.
"Hypothetically, if it didn't work, and I was sent to jail…" His voice trailed off before he could continue, the sound of sirens echoing in his mind.
"Akira." Her voice started to groggle. "Please… don't think about it too much. I want it to work."
"Me too, but…"
"Just… trust him, okay?" Was Sumire like this because she was tired, or because she didn't want to think about it?
Soon, actual tiredness blessed Akira with its appearance, leaving him to ponder asone more line from Sumire made its way to his ears.
"We'll think about it when that happens. Let's stay calm for tonight."
Akira did just that. "Good night, Sumire…"
"Sweet dreams, Akira."
Getting off at the last station, Akira walked slowly on his way to school, not even noticing how slow he was until multiple students passed him by.
"Hurry up, you're gonna be late!" Morgana told him, shaking the bag.
"Right, right."
"Don't worry, we'll meet up with Ann and Ryuji soon." Sumire reassured him, putting a hand above his shoulder.
"I know…" Akira murmured with his head low.
First period didn't even finish when a sudden assembly was called. Akira flinched when the bell rang, but if the entire school was coming, that meant Ryuji and Ann would be there. So he got out with his supernatural companions and walked with his class to the gymnasium.
Fortunately, the two blonds among the sea of black and brown hair signified to Akira that two of them were right next to each other, and he comfortably slotted himself between them.
"Is this about the CC?" Akira asked in the chorus of murmuring.
"Nah, I think it's about…" Ryuji looked away, then glanced at Akira with his hand next to his mouth. "You know…" he whispered.
"It's a PSA about Shiho." Ann finished for him. "They do this every time an incident like that happens." She dragged her foot along the ground in place.
The principal made his way onto the microphone, and sure enough, he began talking about the events that had occurred the day Ann joined their team. Akira had already drowned out whatever he was saying, the man's words becoming a blur to him.
"You can sit this one out, Sumire…" He mumbled during a segment about school spirit or whatever.
"Want me to see what they have for lunch?"
"Sure…" Akira's eyelids started to lower and rise. If he could sleep standing up, he probably would. Sumire promptly floated through the walls to explore.
The hardest part about being able to go through walls was that you forgot the normal route to go anywhere. "A left, then a right" was merely a suggestion if you could just go forward without consequence. As she was searching for wherever the cafeteria was, there was a man in front of her. The same white shirt, the same curly hair, the same broad shoulders. No way it could've been him. But the way he walked was… different. He was slouching, and while Sumire couldn't make it out from behind, the speed of said walk felt like a good sign. But the important part was warning Akira, and subsequently the others about his presence. Following his path, Sumire quickly learned where the man was headed.
The exact room the assembly was being held in.
"Akira, Akira!" Sumire called as she floated back through the walls.
"Huh?" Akira didn't even remember how long the assembly had been going on for. Five minutes? Ten, three? Why was Sumire even gone again?
"I… I saw him!" She started panting.
"Saw who?" His eyes began to open faster, his mind alert to the room he was in.
As if on cue, the doors flung open, like someone at a wedding coming to yell "I object!". The principal stopped talking, the murmuring came to a halt, and anything else that made noise was now completely silent.
There was Kamoshida. Standing in front of the doors. With the most heartbroken look on his face.
"I… have been reborn." He muttered, his voice getting louder as he made his way to the stage, moving a surprised principle out of the way to take the stand.
Sumire blinked twice. "Yeah. It worked."
Did the stunned look on every student's face indicate the fear in their souls whenever they saw him? Was it surprise after Kamoshida had been absent for so long? Was it the fact that nobody normally says that?
The things he said like "I will confess everything I've done" felt like he was being controlled by some sort of truth serum, which in all honesty, they might as well have given him.
"Verbally assaulting students…"
"And?" Sumire tapped her foot with a hint of both smugness and impatience.
"Physically abusing my team…"
"And?"
"Sexually harassing female students…"
"And?"
"…the reason why a student under my care tried to kill herself…"
"That'll do."
Sumire couldn't help but crack a satisfied smile. Looking to her side, she could see Akira doing the same. Ryuji also had a smug grin, but Ann was definitely holding it in.
"Don't make it look too obvious it was you!" Morgana whispered. Despite his words, Akira's could still easily be seen beaming with joy on the inside, especially when Kamoshida said he would rescind any threats that he made. The guy was crying like he was in a soap opera!
The whole thing felt genuine, but those students in the crowd who spent weeks slogging through the version of the school in another dimension knew the real reason why it took him until now to say all of that.
Everything culminated in Kamoshida telling everyone he was going to do what he made Shiho do.
Ann may not have been Ms. Fire Magic McGee in the real world, but it was never the inferno on the outside that caused her anger.
"No! You know better than that! You know there's something worse!"
"Ann… you're blowing cover." Ryuji whispered through nervously gritted teeth.
Ann pushed him to the side. "Not now, Ryuji. This is personal." She grumbled through gritted teeth.
"She's right…" Kamoshida continued for her. "I did more to her than any of the other girls."
So jail for him it was then.
Akira held his hand up facing Sumire, and she swung her hand for a high five. Giggles were had between the two as her hand swung past his.
Judging from the responses to the recent events, it seemed like every student was connecting the dots. The Phantom Thieves, their team, their efforts, the blood and tears they sweat, was being recognized by Akira's peers. Something that could last a little longer now that Kamoshida's telenovela caused the assembly to go into the period that would've followed, and went into the short amount of time between classes.
As students piled out, Ann walked over to the wall and sat down, sinking to the floor like a stone.
"Sorry, I just… need a minute to take this all in…"
Ryuji followed shortly after. "You and me both…" he said as he plopped to the ground.
It was only natural for Akira and Sumire to be the last ones, joining the two students sitting against the wall of the gym.
Ryuji leaned forward to look at the bag that held Morgana.
"So… we kinda just brainwashed him into sayin' all that stuff, right?"
"A bit of an oversimplification of the whole thing, but I guess so." Morgana answered.
"Okay, so don't get me wrong, I'm really happy we did this, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could go back…" Ryuji's head went back into the wall, arms crossed on his lap. "But isn't brainwashing usually a bad thing?"
"Would you rather we didn't?" Sumire pouted, doing the same.
"Yeah, you're right, I was just makin' sure." Ryuji answered after the relay.
"Takamaki-san! Takamaki-san!" A voice called with rapid footsteps approaching them. Upon seeing the familiar mound of blue hair, Akira immediately turned his head in the other direction.
"First off, I just wanna say I am SO sorry for not saying anything about this earlier." Yuuki apologized faster than anyone had talked before. "The rumors were getting out of control and I was so caught up in what he was doing to me that I didn't even think about what you were going through and there's probably a ton of other people who want to apologize on my beha-"
"Yuuki, Yuuki!" Ann stood up, putting her hands in front of the volleyball player to cut her off. "It's okay, I get it. We were all pretty quiet about this. The point is, it's over."
"I guess I got to possess someone after all!" Sumire cheered, the light in her eyes as bright as what Morgana could see. As the two of them continued their apologies, Sumire's mind drifted over to the clock on the gym wall.
"Oh crap! We're late for next period!" She poked her finger through Akira's back, whose head was pointed towards the ceiling.
Shivering at the feeling of something enter through his back, Akira seemed to snap to attention once he realized what it was. "Oh, right!" He said, looking at something that Sumire was pointing at. "Guys, we're gonna be late."
Yuuki looked at the same clock Sumire did. "Right, sorry, gotta go, I'll make it up to you eventually!" Akira wiped his brow once Yuuki had left.
"Thanks." Ann said to Akira. "I needed an excuse to end that."
"Well, all's well that ends well I guess." Ryuji said as he got up. "See you on the roof after class, yeah?
"I'm telling Shiho about this first." Ann said, getting up and walking with more force than she normally did. "She deserves it."
Akira was already on his way out the door when he turned to wave at Ann. "Right, see you later, Ann!"
During that period's lesson, he leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and stretched for a job well done.
It felt nice to be the popular kid, even if know one knew about it.
"You still got that medal?" Ryuji asked once he and Akira's troupe got to the roof.
"Yup." He went digging around in his bag for their prize and proof of victory, pulling it out to show to his friend.
Ryuji gave a thumbs up in response. "Nice."
He was about to set it on the table, but Sumire stopped him, "Don't just leave it out in the open in case someone comes here!"
"Right, right." Akira said, hastily putting the medal away.
"I still can't believe that actually happened." Ryuji continued, kicking his feet up into the air, "I genuinely thought he was gonna die."
"Well now we know that all we need to do is just not kill the shadow!" Morgana smiled as most as his feline features would allow.
"We're lucky he slipped up with that whole 'I won't be alive to see your victory" shtick." Sumire doing an impression of Shadow Kamoshida. "If he really wanted to die after confessing, he could've just let us kill him right then and there."
"It was his last chance to get away…" Akira mumbled.
"Be sure to thank Ann for that later." Sumire reminded him.
"I will, I will." He scoffed as he pondered, a hand to his chin.
Just then, the roof door swung open, and out came Ann, panting as she slowed down in front of the boys (and girl).
"Sorry I'm late. Hospital security would not let up." she huffed, catching her breath as everyone turned to face her.
"It's cool." Ryuji waved it off, planting his feet as he turned to face her. "How's… Shiho, by the way?"
Silence filled the area for longer than it should've before Ann answered.
"Well… she finally woke up yesterday." There was a pause before Ann lifted her head, face coming up to look at her friends. And her smile, while small, made Sumire breathe a sigh of relief.
"What did she say?" Ryuji asked on the edge of his seat.
"She…" Ann plopped down on the cold concrete beneath her. "Apologized like everyone else did. I told her it was all his fault." Despite confirming everything, there were still a few tears in her eyes. "But… she's going to transfer schools once she's out of the hospital."
Ryuji shifted to the back of his chair. "Damn… I never really talked to her much, but I'm gonna miss her."
"She's not moving far. It's still in Tokyo." It sounded like everyone had the same reaction as Ann.
"The sparing thing?" Sumire asked, turning to look at Akira.
"Oh, right," Akira's head perked up. "Ann, thanks for uh… not killing Kamoshida back there."
"You're welcome for that. We absolutely despise the guy, but having blood on my hands… didn't feel right."
"That's our Lady Ann!" Morgana smiled with his fangs poking out.
Sumire floated in front of Morgana and stared at him. "Morgana."
"Oh man." Ryuji thought out loud. "Could you imagine how Shiho would've reacted if we actually killed him?"
"I don't wanna think about it."
"Fair, fair. Anyway… what now?
All eyes were on Morgana for whatever he was going to do once he got this far. "Sell the treasure, blow the money at a fancy restaurant, and gorge ourselves silly." It was interesting how a cat came up with that. "Or at least that's what I wanted to do if I ever finished a palace."
"How were you going to do that if Akira didn't adopt you?"
"I dunno, I'd find a way." Morgana's head turned towards Ryuji like an owl. "What are you on your phone for?"
Without looking up, Ryuji answered, "Looking up the price of this medal online… wait, only thirty thousand? Really?"
"Ryuji, you still owe me some money a few years back, so I'm picking the place." Ann said immediately.
"Oh thank god I was looking for an excuse for forever." Ryuji sighed in relief, putting his phone away. "I was hoping you'd forget."
"You what?!"
Sumire couldn't stop giggling at their bickering, getting a look from the other two. "Sorry, sorry, I just love these two."
"As long as they have ramen, I'm down."
"I'll… look up the menu." Ann whipped out her phone. "Also, can we do this on Children's Day? I'm kinda busy the rest of Golden Week."
"Sure, and we know where to sell the medal." Morgana confirmed.
"Are you sure he won't get suspicious of this?" Sumire worriedly pleaded.
"That guy'll buy anything." Akira said in response to both Morgana and Sumire. He was mindlessly scrolling through his texts until he realized. "Wait actually no that's a good point we straight up stole this."
Even as a phantom thief, the 'thief' part must've slipped his mind.
"Don't worry, we just duplicated it." Morgana jumped off of the chair he was sitting in to stretch before he got ready to go. "The original isn't stolen at all."
Sumire was deep in thought even when everyone left, causing Akira to need to wait for her.
"That raises so many questions I don't want the answers to…"
Akira's head was down when he was walking home again. Once they were off the train, Sumire's feet started to skip into a float.
"Anything on your mind?" Sumire raised, floating ahead of Akira to keep his eyes on her.
"Nothing… I just think I'm gonna miss Shiho more than Ryuji."
"Really?" Morgana reacted, "I've never even met Shiho, so I don't know what she's like."
"She was the first student who was actually nice to me." Akira grumbled, thinking of the other students. "I want to thank her for that when I see her again."
Sumire raised her hand. "I was there at the time, I can verify. She was so sweet to us…"
"Oh yeah, you were." Akira's head came back up.
"Well any friend of Lady Ann is a friend of mine." Morgana sighed.
"Oh yeah Sumire hates it when you do that." Akira quickly quipped when he noticed Sumire's pouty look.
"Come on, you two…" Morgana sunk his head below the zipper pocket. "I can dream, can't I?"
In the week leading up to the dinner party, the news about Kamoshida's arrest kept coming and coming. While Morgana had asked earlier if Akira was ready to quote; "Revolutionize your school's history as we know it", he didn't quite anticipate this much attention. Still, no matter how much Sojiro tried to ask, he only waved it off as him being confused about it since he was new.
The building was taller than the surrounding ones in the area. Sumire lost count after ten or so floors. With shiny black metal lining the sides of the building.
"We don't belong here." Sumire commented, frozen in the air. "At all."
Akira pulled out his phone and opened the group chat with Ryuji and Ann in it.
"Akira? They're right there." Sumire pointed in front of Akira as he was typing "Where are y-". Looking up from his phone, the blonds were right there waving at him.
"Oh." And he ran over to them, Morgana grunting and wincing as the bag he was in shook. Akira held his hand out for a high five, only to lower it when he saw Ryuji holding his fist out for a fist bump, which Akira accepted. Ann, however, did go with Akira's earlier gesture.
"I haven't seen a single teenager walk in there!" Ryuji exclaimed. "I'm surprised we were even able to make a reservation.
"I have my ways." Ann replied cheekily, darting her eyes to the side.
"So, you ready to feast?" Morgana coughed after recuperating from Akira's run.
Ann pumped a fist. "I picked a buffet for a reason."
Morgana shook the bag, making Akira almost lose his balance. "Awesome."
With surprisingly no suspicion for their age or anything, they headed inside and took the elevator. Upon arriving at the dining hall, the room practically spelled out "expensive place that no high school student should have access to". The brown, carpeted floor with diamond patterns were spotless, and there were golden trimmings on everything from the tables to the lamps. Fortunately for Morgana, some of the tables had couches instead of the normal wooden chairs, which Akira immediately requested they have once they got to the receptionist, and round one of their victory lap began.
Morgana informed Akira to not take too much at the first go, since it would likely make him pass out before he could even go for a second helping, so a simple fish dinner with a cantaloupe side would suffice for now. Of course, the fish was also for Morgana, and Akira knew they'd have to visit the seafood bar more than once.
During their first five minute stomach rest before going again, Ann, who had been the first to finish that one, was thus the first to talk.
"So we might get some… visitors at school soon."
"Visitors?" Ryuji, the second to, (Akira was a slow eater) asked.
"Apparently this whole incident got big enough to get the police involved."
"Damn it!" Ryuji slammed his fist on the table, making the plates around him hop as if to flinch with Morgana. "We're gonna be outed for sure with all those rumors!" He slumped back in his seat and pulled out his phone. "It's not all bad, though. We got a lot of fans from it." He pushed his phone in Akira's face, and Sumire started in awe at the bright colors and big fancy letters. "They even made a little website for , eh?" Sumire read. The link was filled to the brim with thank you messages from various students' online usernames towards the Phantom Thieves. The group she was a part of.
"Anyway, who's ready for round two?" Ryuji interrupted her thoughts. "Oh crap!" The empty plates shook as he accidentally banged his elbow against the table, pausing with a hand on his booth. "Someone's gotta stay to make sure no one takes anything."
Akira raised his hand. "I got it."
"What do you want?" Ann called as she left.
"Surprise me!" Then as soon as Ryuji and Ann were out of sight, he told his roommates, "I'll be honest I only did that because I'm terrible at choosing from large menus at restaurants sometimes." He scratched behind his ear and his eyes checked to see if the others were at the buffet. "Usually I just get ramen."
"I can help with that!" Morgana chimed in.
"Me too!" Sumire yelled, bouncing off the booth. "Especially now that I know how it feels!"
Akira raised an eyebrow to that. When he told Morgana what she said, he too stared at his version of the ghost.
"How it feels?" Morgana repeated. "I thought you couldn't eat."
"Oh, um…" As Sumire thought about how to explain such a phenomenon, she adjusted her glasses, another of such things for a ghost. "I guess the best way to describe it is… whenever Akira eats, I don't feel the taste of it, but still feel the… goodness of the food?" She could only shrug after that explanation.
"What about every other time I ate?" Akira interrogated.
Sumire began to count Akira's previous meal variety on her fingers. "I dunno, I guess we've just gone numb to the constant curry, rice, and bread."
"Does that man know how to make anything else?" Akira chuckled.
Morgana crouched down to think, and sprung like a Jack-in-the-box with an: "I got it!" (thank goodness restaurants were fairly conversational places)
"Remember how you told me that you can feel the damage Akira takes from shadows?"
"Remember when you stubbed your toe on the bottom of the bed?" Sumire crossed her arms to put her face in front of Akira's. "It happens in the real world too."
"Yeah, that too." Morgana agreed. "What's likely happening is that there's some sort of link between your individual cognitions. You share pain, emotional satisfaction, and who knows what else?"
Akira put a hand to his head to think. "Oh my god we finally have an explanation for this stuff." When he took his hand off his head, he picked up his bag and stared at Morgana. "Thank you so much for this."
"No problem?" The mammal took a step back.
Ryuji and Ann eventually came back with multiple plates for Akira, Morgana, and they guessed Sumire too. Ryuji got some meat dishes that Akira happily scarfed down to the bone, throwing away the chunky parts for Morgana.
Ryuji swallowed his current bite of chicken leg to tell Akira, "Those are the best parts! What are you doing?"
"I just never liked 'em. Even as a kid." Akira answered as Morgana took the piece.
Akira waited until after that was done to eat the sweet desserts that Ann got for him. But before he finished up the meat, he did catch Ann stealing a strawberry from his cake slice.
"What? Don't judge me!" Akira was able to translate from Ann's muffled chewing.
Ryuji turned his head away from the group, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Calories."
Ann swallowed the strawberry and got up from her seat with a miffed jolt. "I'm sorry, I just walked up the stairs of an entire castle multiple times last month! I think I can afford to cheat today!"
"Well you are the fire girl. They don't call it burning calories for nothing!" Ryuji taunted as he pushed a plate towards Akira. "By the way, Mona, I got you some beans."
Morgana looked up at the bowl above him. "Beans?"
"Beans." Akira repeated.
"Beans." Sumire continued.
"Beans." Ann cheekily rounded out the group by pushing more beans towards the bowl Ryuji gave him.
"Okay, what is it with you all and beans?!" Morgana said, reluctantly taking a spoonful Akira fed him.
"There was a lot there." Ann said as her hand went for another strawberry, but Akira saw her in time and she quickly pulled it back to her lap.
Round three. The final course. It was Akira's turn, but with her newly discovered taste ability, Sumire was eager to see how different foods affected her, bouncing from stand to stand.
"Catfish, no, swordfish! A chocolate, vanilla, AND caramel fountain?!"
Akira could only imagine what a ghost on a sugar rush would be like.
"Get some whipped cream for me!" And Morgana was into it too.
"How is that ham so big?!"
"Remember, fatty, but not too fatty!"
"Get. As. Much. Rice. As. Possible."
"Fried specifically!"
"Oh hey salad."
As Sumire and Morgana kept making their requests, Akira had to frantically keep up with it all, nearly dropping some of the food in the process, needing to slow down just to keep things balanced.
But when he finally set that loaded plate down on the table with a loud clink, he was ready to chow down.
"Woah…" Ryuji stared at the food mountain Akira had created. "How'd you get so much on there?"
"It was his idea." Akira huffed. He immediately began scarfing down the crispy rice Morgana suggested. The crunch felt like just the right balance of hard and soft. With flavor that put to shame anyway who called rice 'bland'.
"If you don't finish that, can I have some?" Ryuji and Ann asked in unison. "Jinx!" They did so again.
"Well, thanks to some people…" Akira said, turning his head to Sumire, then Morgana. "I might need the help."
Akira swore he heard Ryuji mumble "Plural?"
"Guess this our third round then." Ann declared after swallowing the last of her second round cake.
It took a lot of effort, each of them splitting their portions evenly from each other, knowing each other's food strengths and weaknesses. The plates piled up, the bowls stacked on top of each other, and a couple trips to refill their glasses of water later, they were done.
"Your belt must feel multiple sizes too small." Sumire guessed as Akira laid back to recover from his near-food coma experience.
"I don't have a belt… but I've had bigger meals in my life."
"We EARNED this…" Ryuji was spread lying down across his booth, likely the closest to a coma.
Ann, cheery as when she started, foolishly went, "I'm getting fourths!"
"AFTER my bathroom break!" Ryuji butted in, already standing up.
"Can you take me too?" Morgana groaned.
"Fine, but if you miss your aim again I'm not letting you use a public restroom ever again."
"Deal."
"You know that feeling you get after vomiting where the taste in your mouth is really gross, but the rest of your body feels so good getting all of that out of you?" Ryuji rambled as he stumbled out of the bathroom.
"Never say anything that gross ever again." Morgana too rocked within his fabric container.
Waiting at the elevator, upon it opening, Akira and Ryuji barely managed to squeeze by a rushing group of businessmen and their bald leader. Squished like the sardines that surprisingly weren't a part of their dining experience, Ryuji uncomfortably shuffled around to try to get some arm room.
"Babies." The bald man mumbled.
Akira felt Ryuji's jacket push into him, and afterward him saying, "Hey, what gives?"
"It's not worth it." The leader towered over Akira and Ryuji, the former just barely making it to his nose. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we don't have to deal with them."
Looking at him, by some unknown instinct, Akira said the first thing that came to mind upon seeing him.
"Do I know you from somewhere?"
The distinguished man didn't answer as the elevator door opened and they all piled out.
Seeing his hands in his pockets, Akira had to deal with Ryuji's constant mumbling of swears.
Making their way back to their table, Ryuji put his head down on an empty plate as Ann went to go get her final round of desserts, coming back, she started to ramble about a story she had about a woman blaming Ann for making her drop her plate, only making Ryuji groan even more.
Akira exhaled with discontent as Ann finished up, "It's too bad our wrap party has to end so soon."
"Does it need to be our wrap party?" Ryuji remarked as his head lifted off of the plate, the bump near his table indicating crossed legs.
Akira leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean, we're essentially superheroes now, right?" he began, "Why would we just stop after our first crime-fighting?"
"It was pretty fun…" Akira's voice trailed off.
Ryuji's eyes lit up as something must've sparked within him. "That's what I'm saying, man! There's gotta be other palaces out there! Other people getting abused! Other people who could use a change of heart! So why don't we take up the superhero team business?"
"I'm listening…" Ann leaned forward.
Ryuji continued, putting his arm around Akira. "I can see it now… people will be talking about the legendary Phantom Thieves all over the city! Worldwide news articles about our adventures! Children looking up to us as their personal heroes! Fans talking about who their favorite member is! Doesn't that sound fun?"
"…I'm into it." Sumire nodded.
"That was one of my childhood dreams…" Ann seconded.
"Not like anyone else will ever have this kind of power." Akira shrugged smugly. "Besides, you'll need a good leader."
"Can we do that thing teams usually do when they form with the hand chant thing?" Ryuji begged.
Akira already held his hand forward. "Sure."
Ann walked over to where the boys were, and placed her hand on top of Akira and Ryuji's, along with Morgana's paw, and even Sumire's gauzy hand.
"Three, two, one, diamotilefiphantothiehope!" Awkward giggles went throughout the newly christened team.
"Agh, our first team huddle and I totally forgot to agree on what to say." Ryuji groaned.
Ann, who still had her hand up, said, "We'll get used to it."
"I will say though." Morgana interrupted, "Whoever we go after next, I want the decision to be unanimous. If one of us doesn't want to do it, none of us will." Sumire came to the corner of his vision, and Morgana told her, "Yes, even you."
"Good idea." Ann lowered her hand and combed through her bangs with it. "I don't think I could handle the pressure if I didn't feel comfortable with one."
"Hey, team picture for our founding?" Ryuji wiggled his phone in his hand. "I wanna remember this."
"I see no objections." Morgana stuck his head out of the bag just enough to get into frame. All of them posed once Ryuji turned off the flash. Hearing the clicking noise, they knew it was done, and got up to leave the buffet.
"I'll send it to you guys later, ok?" Ryuji said once he began to part ways. "See ya!"
"That'd be great." Sumire happily skipped off, with Akira following suit.
Sumire flopped her back onto Akira's bed and gave a happy sigh. "That was so much fun."
"I finally got to establish a team!" Morgana too jumped right next to Sumire. Akira sat down on the couch, Sumire's normal sleeping spot, and checked his phone for any messages from his friends.
Ryuji:
-I cant wait to see what we do next! Im already coming up with ideas
Ann:
-I'm still trying to figure out who would be obsessed with us enough to make an entire website for us.
Akira:
-Probably a group effort from the volleyball students.
Ryuji:
-Why does the poll ask people if they believe we exist?
-And at 6 percent?
Akira:
-Hey, a new record!
Ryuji:
-Why would people even use this site if they don't believe in us? What are we, Santa Claus?
Ann:
-You were the one talking about kids looking up to us.
-Also, I can't wait either.
Akira:
-That makes 3 of us.
"You having fun over there?" Akira heard Morgana's voice from across the room. We need to make sure the Phantom Thieves is a name we can hang out hats on!
Sumire was quick to butt into that. "I don't wear a hat, you don't wear a hat, Akira doesn't wear a hat. None of us wear hats!"
"Ryuji sent us the pics!" Akira yipped, dashing to his bed with the rest of his roommates.
"Let me see! Let me see!" Sumire pleaded, shooting her body up.
"Okay, okay. Gimme a second." Akira turned the phone to Sumire the picture he had saved.
Everyone was there. Ryuji in the corner with his arm outstretched to hold the phone, Ann with a bit of cake left on her teeth, Morgana smiling directly towards the center with his big blue eyes, Akira looking the happiest he'd been in months…
And… a completely empty spot behind Akira.
Sumire's feet lifted off of the ground while her head drooped downwards, her glasses almost falling off of her nose.
"Right… I should've figured that would happen." Seeing Sumire dim, Morgana curled up next to the ghost.
"I was having so much fun hanging out with the others that I guess I just… forgot…" There was another very human thing Sumire was able to make that they found out that day. Tears.
"My life is over, isn't it?"
"Sumire…" Akira placed his hand on hers, just as he always had. "You're a good person."
"I'm not even a person anymore…" The tears began to stick to her glasses, making them drip as they fell off.
Akira placed his hand behind her back as he took a few seconds to figure out what to say. "Do you remember why I came up with our communication system?"
Slower, the tears went. "So you didn't have to pause every time I wanted to tell Morgana something?"
"So you could be included. Ghost or not, you're still someone to me."
Sumire took her glasses off and wiped the water from her face. She gave a sniffle and choked up, finally calming down with small breaths. "I know. Thanks for making me feel alive for once, Akira."
Akira looked at Sumire with a new understanding. "No problem, Sumi."
Warmth filled Sumire's heart once more. The satisfaction of knowing Akira was treating her like any other person filled her with rebellion.
CONFIDANT
Sumire
ARCANA - Charity
RANK 2
"I know how you feel, Sumire." Morgana added once the fire calmed down. "We both desire to be treated like a human being."
"You got that right." Sumire gave a little chuckle.
"And if our desires are aligned… I don't know how, but I want to get you to that desire almost… no, just as much as mine."
Sumire lightly imitated patting Morgana on the head. "You're a good kid, Morgana."
"Sumire called you a kid." Akira relayed.
"I am not!" Morgana got up. "I'm just as mature as you two!"
"Yeah you keep telling yourself that." Sumire grinned, then yawned. "I think I'll call it a night a little early. You can keep doing what you want."
Akira recounted any nighttime routines he had picked up in the empty days before the confession. "I'll probably do some last minute clean-up at the cafe, then maybe study. Then I'll get to bed."
"Fine by me. See you tomorrow, Akira."
Watching Akira and Morgana go downstairs, Sumire felt her eyes droop slowly, lying herself down on Akira's bed. She placed her glasses onto the windowsill next to her. With only her own breathing to keep her company alongside the sounds of the city, sleep eventually took the little ghost to dream.
It looked like Akira was the one getting the couch tonight.
