THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER THE EVENTS OF PERSONA 5 ROYAL. SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

I don't own Persona or any title related to it. All of that belongs to Atlus and you should go and support the official release.

Just then, everyone heard the bell to Leblanc chime and the door open.

Emerging through the door was an older man with his hair slicked-back. As the door to the cafe closed the man adjusted the black business suit he was wearing, adjusting his white spotted red tie with the white gloves on his hands. Giving a quick glance around the room, the man bowed politely, "I apologize for the interruption, an associate of mine told me to come to this cafe for a party."

"Akira right?" Sojiro asked.

"Yes," The man slipped his hand inside his suit and pulled out the red invitation. "I was told to show this invitation to Mr. Sakura when I arrived."

The cafe owner smiled, "That would be me. I'm Sojiro Sakura. Akira's guardian and I own this cafe. And everyone calls me Boss."

"Alright. Allow me to introduce myself to everyone." Now the man turned to face the majority of the group, "My name is Toranosuke Yoshida. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Yoshida smiled as he focused on the teenagers in the middle of the cafe. "Allow me to also ask upfront, you youngsters are the Phantom Thieves correct?"

Ryuji grinned as he leaned back in his seat, "That's us. Name's Ryuji Sakamoto."

"Ann Takamaki"

"Yusuke Kitagawa."

"Futaba Sakura."

"Makoto Nijima."

"Haru Okumura."

Yoshida smiled and gave another bow, "It's nice to meet you. I would like to personally give my thanks for all the hard work you've done against Shido. So young and yet you've all become revolutionaries. So inspiring." The thieves smiled, amused at being called revolutionaries. "What about you two," Yoshida asked looking over at Hifumi and Mishima. "Are the two of you Thieves as well?"

"No no no Yoshida-san," Mishima waved his hand dismissively. "We're not members of the team. My name is Yuuki Mishima and I run the Phan-site. It's nice to meet you."

"Hifumi Togo. I'm Akira's Shogi Teacher. Hifumi is just fine."

"I see. You're not member's, but rather collaborators. You would be similar to me in that case." Yoshida chuckled a little and turned to the booth by the door. "Would I be correct in assuming that you three are the same?"

"Yeah. My name is Sadayo Kawakami. I'm Akira's homeroom teacher."

"Tae Takemi. The Phantom Thieve's Doctor and medical Supplier."

"Chihaya Mifune but please call me Chihaya. I'm a fortune teller who's helped out Akira. It's nice to meet you Yoshida-san."

"The pleasure is all mine Chihaya-san and the same goes to everyone. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Yoshida gave a polite bow again along with a smile.

The creek of a wooden door caught the attention of everyone in the room and Ohya emerged from the bathroom with a smile on her face. "Sorry about that, but duty calls" she said scratching her head. "Oh someone new. Nice to meet ya. Name's Ichiko Ohya, ace reporter extraordinaire."

Yoshida smiled at the reporter, not bothered by her overly friendly tone, "It's nice to meet you Ohya-san. My name is Toranosuke Yoshida."

There was a beat in Ohya's response but her eyes widened upon hearing the man's name, "Wait, Toranosuke Yoshida. As in the Politician, 'No-Good' Tora."

Eyes went to the politician who fidgeted at Ohya's use of an apparent nickname. "You're a politician," asked Ryuji, a small amount of aggression in his voice. The rest of the Thieves shared looks with each other. Ann and Haru shared unsure looks, Yusuke and Futaba looked back and forth at each other, and Makoto sent a mild glare at the politician.

"Y-yes," Yoshida nodded as he recovered his composure. "I was able to be elected this past election despite the massive influence of Shido's party."

"You guys have nothing to worry about," The smile hadn't left the reporter's face. "Yoshida-san here isn't involved with Shido's group of assholes. He's actually not a half bad politician,"

Ohya's words did manage to loosen the expressions of the Thieves a little. "Right," Makoto sighed a breath of relief, but was still hesitant. "Sorry Yoshida-san if we seemed a little hostile."

"It is no problem Nijima-san. Considering all that's happened between you all and Shido. To that end, allow me to thank you personally for that. I dread to think of the state of this country if Shido had been able to remain as prime minister. Thank you," Yoshida bowed again.

"You needn't worry Yoshida-san," Yusuke smiled. "We simply did what was right."

All the other thieves nodded at the artist's words and they returned a smile to Yoshida. "That being said Yoshida-san," Kawakami added from the booth. "Can you tell us how you meet Akira?"

"I gotta hear this," laughed Ohya. "I never would have thought that our little revolutionary would know a politician."

"Also, what's up with that nickname Ohya used," Futaba placed her hand on her chin. "'No-Good Tora'. What's the deal with that?"

"Alright. I suppose I should tell you all my story, but first," Yoshida turned to look over Sojiro. "Boss, could I get a cup of Coffee? I've heard good things from Akira."

"Sure. Any preference."

"No, whatever you recommend."

"Coming right up. Have a seat." Sojiro motioned to the stool and Yoshida took the opportunity to sit down while Ohya moved to sit next Mishima, who shifted at the proximity of the reporter.

With everyone in their spots, Yoshida cleared his throat, "Alright, I suppose I should start from the beginning. About twenty years ago, I used to be a member of the National Diet. I rose to my position with the rise of the 'Kuramoto Children'. A group backed by powerful Diet members." Yoshida shook his head while letting out a defeated sigh, "I was a young man back then. Inexperienced in both life and in politics. My earnest behavior back then caused me to be part of three major scandals, which people referred to as No-Good Tora's Three Strikes."

"What could you have done to earn such a reputation," Kawakami asked. "You don't seem like that bad of a person Yoshida-san."

The politician chuckled, "Thank you Kawakami-san, but as I said I was young and foolish. The first strike was being caught missing a legislative meeting to take a personal vacation. My second strike was when I was accused of embezzling a large sum of money from the party. Finally, I called a voter an idiot at an open forum, which led to a scandal."

"Wait, that second strike," Makoto crossed her arms and looked at the politician, a skeptical look on his face. "You said 'accused', was there any proof of your embezzling."

"You have quite the sharp mind Nijima-san." Yoshida's complement managed to get a smile from Makoto and he shook his head. "You are correct. I was only accused, not convicted. There was no evidence to support nor refute the claim, but the political world is a rough road to travel. So I was falsely accused and the people took it as if I had committed the crime."

Ann looked down into her coffee, "Just like Akira." The thieves simply looked down towards the floor. "We're sorry Yoshida-san," apologized the model.

Yusuke nodded his head, "Our hostility towards you was unjustified."

Yoshida chuckled, "There's no need to apologize. After all the struggles you all have faced, I would be shocked if you weren't cautious."

"But man, Twenty years…" Ryuji placed his arms behind his head. "That's a long time to deal with that shit."

"I won't deny that there were moments when I found myself lost along the path I was taking, but I'm grateful I made those mistakes. I would not have met Akira had that not been the case."

"Right, forgot about that. How did you meet Akira Yoshida-san?" Mishima asked.

"Ah right, let's get back on track." Yoshida cleared his throat. "Our first unofficial meeting was around the beginning of May I believe. I decided to grab a bite to eat at the beef bowl shop in Shibuya, that's when I first met Akira." The politician shook his head in disapproval, "He was tasked with such a large amount of work all by himself. Anyway, we exchanged a few words and I left without much fuss."

"And let me guess, Akira came up to you later asking for something," Takemi said with a coy smile.

Everyone laughed at the doctor's words and Yoshida smiled, "You are correct Dr. Takemi. The next day I was giving a speech outside of Shibuya Station when I noticed Akira listening to my speech. Of course I recognized him from the day prior and was surprised to see someone so young take a liking to my speech. We discussed it a bit and he offered to help me with my speech." A sigh escaped the politicians lips, "The speech didn't go as I would have hoped, but Akira still seemed pleased to hear my words."

Sojiro set down his coffee cup, "What do you mean 'didn't go you hoped'?"

"Because of my past failures, few people made their voices heard. Calling me a washed-up politician during my speech."

"So they were heckling you?" Chihaya gathered.

Yoshida nodded, "Yes, but regardless of how the speech went Akira showed his interest in my technique. The next time we spoke he asked if I could teach him about giving speeches. Even when I told him about my past, he was insistent."

"You have done an excellent job at such Yoshida-san," Yusuke smiled.

Futaba bounced in her seat, "Totally. I swear that guy always knows just what to say and how to say it. It's like cheating."

"I agree," Hifumi took a sip of her coffee and smiled into the black liquid. "Whenever I found myself at a crossroad, Akira would also manage to point me in the right direction with just a few words. He was like my compass."

"He's such a young cocky brat, but he's so mature for his age. He really cares about his friends," Kawakami smiled.

Ohya laughed and everyone else smiled, appreciating the times Akira had lent an ear to each of them. "Thank you," Smiled the politician. "I'm happy to hear that my teachings have helped the lives of my fellow citizens better. That is what a politician should strive for." Another chuckle escaped his lips, "While my relationship with Akira at first was nothing more than mentor and mentee, I would often seek his advice on a few personal matters."

"Is this about the article about your embezzlement charges," Ohya placed her elbow on the table and her head in her hand. "A coworker of mine wrote that article."

"Yes, it somewhat involves that," Yoshida scratched the back of his head. "A few times while I was giving a few speeches, two colleagues of mine came to speak with me on separate occasions. Akira was present when I went to meet with each of them, per my request."

"Sorry if this may be rude Yoshida, but what good is a highschool kid in political dealings," Ohya asked.

"True, but Akira was a valuable asset to have by my side when considering everything. You see the two colleagues I mentioned were Matsushida and Benzo, two members of the political party I was a part of. Benzo is Kuramoto's grandson. To make a long story short, he made me an offer. He asked for me to rejoin the party and act as a uniter for the Kuramoto group."

"Uniter?" Chihaya placed her finger on her chin.

"Benzo informed me that the group was planning a political realignment. Things could go wrong if the realignment does go wrong, so he wanted to recruit me in order to help bring unity to the party."

Sojiro nodded his head, "Makes sense. What about this other guy, Matsushida?"

"Matsushida and I were elected around the same time with the Kuramoto Children. He made me an offer as well, Dropout of the election and become his right hand-man, and I would get my revenge on Mr. Kuramoto. Since it was him who was embezzling funds from the party."

Takemi stared into her coffee, "So you Boss messed up and tossed the blame on you. Must have been hard to hear."

"It was quite a shock to hear, but it ultimately didn't matter," Yoshida turned to give the doctor a smile. "It was 20 years ago, so the police couldn't do anything. Any action I took against him would have been for purely superficial reasons. So I declined his offer."

"And this 'Benzo' guy, did you accept his offer instead," asked Futaba.

Yoshida shook his head, "No. His group shares different views than I. If I were to join him, that would mean throwing away everything I value as a politician. So I declined his offer as well."

"Hey but the story of the embezzlement still broke out," Ohya commented. "What's up with that?"

"I believe that was all Matsushida's doing," Yoshida answered. "After I declined his offer, he accepted my response and still published the story anyway. He went as far as to mention that I didn't want the true culprit to be named."

Ann smiled, "Sounds like this Matsushida guy really came through for you."

A smile formed as Yoshida set down his coffee, "Indeed. Had it not been for his help, I surely wouldn't have been elected this past election. Even despite Shido's influence. Thank you all again for that."

"Ain't no thing," smiled Futaba.

"We were simply doing what is right," Haru smiled.

Yoshida gave a firm nod, "Regardless, I will do everything in my power to right the wrongs Shido's group has caused. That's how I intend to pay back Akira for all his help."

A shine was present in the politician's eye as he clenched his fist, "If I were to take an honest evaluation of myself before I met Akira, I believe part of me was still… how should I say this… disturbed. When someone called me 'No-Good Tora', I would freeze up. Perhaps part of me still hadn't fully come to terms with what happened. But Akira, a young man half as old but just as wise, showed me such labels do not define the person I can aspire to be." Yoshida stood up from his seat and clenched his fist. "Rather than a chain to bind me, my past failures have become the foundation on which my ascetics are founded. I told Akira once that a philosophy is the most important thing to have and thanks to him I can start to share my philosophy with the world. Never give up until your voice is heard! Those are the words I will choose to carry on my back. Because that is what I aspire to do."

Silence filled the room and Yoshida just realized that he had gone on a speech. Before he opened his mouth to apologize, everyone clapped their hands.

"Nice speech," Takemi said with a small smile.

"Totally nailed it," Ohya cheered.

Hifumi nodded her head, "Such inspiring words. Like a general's call to arms."

"I may actually consider voting if your name is on the balet," remarked Sojiro.

Kawakami nodded, "Right? I'm sure you'll do great Yoshida-san."

"Thank you all," Yoshida said as he nervously scratched the back of his. "I apologize for going off on a little speech."

Makoto smiled, "It's no trouble Yoshida-san. It sounds like Akira helped you out a lot."

"More than I can ever hope to repay. I was devastated to find out he had turned himself in, so I put all my effort into helping him in any way I could. I gave several speeches outside of the Diet Building on how he had been wrongly imprisoned. After all he's done for me, I simply could not allow that young man's future to be thrown away."

"I'm sure Akira appreciates all the work you did," Sojiro smiled.

"I'm sure of that," Yoshida glanced around the room before smiling.

"Man this is getting so interesting," Ohya placed her arms behind his head. "Akira's friend group sure is interesting. We got a bunch of rebellious highschool kids, a grumpy cafe owner, a highschool teacher, a formally disgraced doctor, a surprisingly accurate fortune teller, an ace reporter and now a politician." The self proclaimed ace reporter laughed, "next thing you know some yakuza thug is going to come through the door."

Just then, everyone heard the bell to Leblanc chime and the door open.

A tall man with a lollipop in his mouth stepped through the door, his hair covered by a grey cap that was close to his hair color. The yellow ear defenders were quite the contrast to the rest of the man's outfit, which included a black turtleneck, blue jeans, black boots and a grey coat with a red peace sign seemingly painted on it. The man turned his head, looking over the room and giving everyone a good look at the gecko tattoo on the left side of his neck. "Hey," he said in a gruff voice.

Sojiro lifted his eyebrow and asked, "Are you here for the party?"

The man nodded his head and reached into his coat to pull out the red invite, "Akira asked me to be here. Know where he is?"

"He's still out grabbing stuff for the party," replied Yoshida. "I suspect he will be here soon." The politician stood up from his chair, "But first let's get through introductions. My name is Toranosuke Yoshida. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Name's Doctor Tae Takemi," waved the doctor.

"Ichiko Ohya. Ace reporter."

"Chihaya Mifune. I'm a fortune teller and please call me Chihaya."

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami, Akira's Teacher at Shujin."

"Hifumi Togo. Me and Akira played Shogi together. Call me Hifumi"

"I-I'm Yuuki Mishima," The teen said nervously. "I run the Phantom Thief Website."

Sojiro crossed his arms, "Name's Sojiro Sakura. I run this place and was the kid's guardian while he was here. You drink Coffee?"

"Black, whatever blend you like."

Sojiro went to brew the coffee and the man turned to the group around the middle table, "I take it you guys in the middle are the group itself," Iwai asked.

Ryuji nodded his head, "Yeah, that's us. Ryuji Sakamoto."

"Yusuke Kitagawa."

"Ann Takamaki."

"I'm Haru Okumura."

"Makoto Nijima."

"Futaba Sakura. This might sound weird, but have we met before. You seem way familiar, but I can't place my finger on it."

The man took the stick out of his mouth and dropped it into the trashcan by the door, "Yeah, it was at Nakano right."

The hacker's eyes lit up, "Oh yeah. Now I remember. You're Akira's Boss right?"

Before the man could answer Futaba's question, eyes went to her and Sojrio asked, "You've met this guy Futaba?"

"Yeah. I asked Akira to come with me one day to Nakano to grab a new figure and we happened to bump into…" Futaba trailed off before she realised something, "I'm sorry, but I never even learned your name."

"No worries kid," the man shrugged off Futaba's apology. "Name's Munehisa Iwai. I run a shop called Untouchable in Shibuya and I sold Akira all the weapons the Phantom Thieves use. Like she said, we bumped into each other when she was with the kid. I had some business to take care of so our meeting was quick."

"It's nice to meet you for real Iwai-san," smiled the orange hacker.

Iwai nodded his head and pulled out his phone to check the time, paying little mind to the chat of the rest of the room.

Ohya chuckled a little from her seat, "Oh so you're a businessman. Damn, that's no fun. And here I thought you were a yakuza or something."

Iwai immediately looked up from his phone. Sending a piercing glare towards Ohya, "What did you say?"

The tone of the room immediately changed. Everyone seemed surprised as Iwai stared down the reporter, who simply sipped her coffee. Ohya just shrugged, "Oh it's nothing."

"That's not what I heard," Iwai grabbed the ridge of his nose with his finger. "I should have expected this. Alright…" sighed the man. "What did Akira tell you?"

Eyebrows went up, Ohya in particular seemed to take an interest in the train of thought Iwai seemed to follow. "What do you mean Iwai," she asked with interest.

"About my time in the clan," he answered. "I told that kid not to say a word."

Silence swept through the room immediately. Everyone was either looking at Iwai or Ohya. The reporter seemed to have a genuine look of surprise on her face. A few seconds passed and the silence continued until Ohya burst out laughing, confusing Iwai.

"Um Iwai-san," Ann raised her hand to get the man's attention. "Akira never told us about your past. We have no clue what you're talking about."

Now it was Iwai's turn to be surprised, "What? He didn't say anything."

"No," Takemi answered. "But you just did."

It took a second for Iwai to register the doctor's words and once he did, a huge sigh escaped his lips.

While everyone looked at eachother, unsure what to do, Yoshida stepped over to Iwai-san, "Come on everyone. Let's not draw hasty conclusions. I'm sure there's more to Iwai-san's story than we know. Let's hear him out."

Looks were exchanged and, surprising everyone, Futaba nodded her head, "I-I agree with Yoshida-san."

Again, everyone seemed to exchange looks with each other. It took a second but everyone nodded. Yoshida and Futaba let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, let's take a seat shall we." Iwai nodded and took a seat at the stool Yoshida had previously occupied, while the former politician sat down across from Mishima and Ohya, who had calmed down from her laughter.

Sojiro placed a cup of coffee in front of the man, eyeing him cautiously, "here."

"Thanks," Iwai took a sip of the black nectar and let out a breath. "Alright, Let me clear up something first ," Iwai said, directing a scowl towards Ohya who simply sipped her glass. "I'm former yakuza. I left the clan a long time ago for reasons, so don't go getting the wrong impression of the kid for getting involved with a guy like me."

Everyone seemed to relax a little and Iwai's words but Takemi asked, "Why did you leave? I may not know much about the way the yakuza works, but I've heard leaving the group you're a part of is a big deal. What made you give it all up?"

Iwai looked over the cafe as eyes turned to him. Taking a sip of his coffee, he let out a sigh, "Fine… I don't want you to have the wrong impression of me or Akira so I'll talk. But none of this leaves these walls. Understand?"

Makoto nodded her head, "We understand Iwai-san. You kept Akira's secret about him being a Phantom Thief so it's only fair we do the same. We promise."

A sigh escaped Iwai's lips as he saw everyone nod their head at Makoto's words, "You better." The man took one last sip of his coffee and stared into the black liquid. "It was about ten years ago. Back when I was working with the Hashiba clan, a crazy lady came around our office. She must have been some drug addict looking for her next fix. She had her baby with her and was offering to sell it for money."

Haru gasped, "Sell the baby?!"

"That's awful," Ann shook her head.

"It gets worse. Everyone told her no and when she got around to asking me, she sat the baby down then ran off."

"She abandoned her child," Hifumi stared down into her coffee.

Ryuji growled a little, "Just hearing about this pisses me off."

"What happened next Iwai-san," Chihaya asked, obviously saddened to hear about the baby.

"Honestly, I don't know why but I decided to take the baby in and raise him as my son." Iwai sighed. "I left the clan not too long after that and opened my shop in Shibuya to try and make an honest living."

"Aww," Takemi smiled. "So under the tough guy act you have a soft spot for kids huh."

The former Yakuza glared at the doctor, "Can it, punk rock."

The doctor simply smiled at Iwai and Sojrio stepped in, "So you took the kid in and raised him huh," The cafe owner eyed the man, not with the caution from before but with understanding. "You knew you just couldn't stand by and do nothing right. Not when a kid was on the line."

"Sojiro…" Futaba smiled at her guardian.

Iwai looked back and forth between the two. "Who knows? I'll spare you my life story but I know how hard your past can stick with you. Especially your parents."

"Yeah, I get that. Whether you like it or not, people are going to judge you for who your parents are." Ryuji nodded his head while Ann placed her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Iwai-san," Hifumi raised her hand. "I apologize if this is rude to ask, but how old is your son?"

"His name's Kaoru and he's about your age," answered Iwai. "He's actually going to be attending Shujin this next year."

Kawakami smiled and bowed her head, "I look forward to teaching him."

"Does he know everything you told us," Yoshida asked. "About your past as a Yakuza?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he does. I told him around November." The man sighed as he scratched his head, "I wouldn't have considered telling him if not for Akira sticking his nose into my business."

"Yeah, let's get back to that," Ohya happily sat up in her seat. "How'd Akira get mixed up with a tough guy like you anyway."

Iwai directed a glare towards Ohya and said, "It wasn't my choice to get that damned kid involved, believe me it's just…"

"Akira stuck his nose into your business didn't he," Kawakami placed her head in her hands.

Iwai looked side-long at Kawakami, "You too huh."

Takemi chuckled after taking a sip of her coffee, "You have no idea."

The former Yakuza took another sip of his coffee, "Whatever. Anyway, the first time the kid came into my shop was around the beginning of April when he and blonde came in looking for weapons." Iwai pointed with his thumb at Ryuji.

"And you were such an ass about it too," grumbled the boy.

"I can't waste my time with customers who don't know their stuff, kid. You're lucky Akira was with you or I wouldn't have given you so much of my attention. He actually knew what he was doing."

Chihaya raised her hand, "Pardon my Iwai-san, but may I ask you a question." Everyone turned to look at the fortune teller. "You said you sold Akira weapons, were these weapons…"

"They weren't real," Iwai interrupted. "The shop I run just sells replicas. Model guns for collectors and stuff like that."

This did manage to raise a few eyebrows, Sojiro's included, "So you guys were running around doing your work with fake weapons?!"

Eyes went to the group and Makoto answered nervously, "It's complicated, but know that your weapons have been a major help Iwai-san."

"Yeah," nodded Ann. "They look so real, it made it really easy for us to do what we do."

Iwai did manage to smile, "They better look real. My shop won't be around much longer if my product is crap."

Yoshida smiled, "Such pride in your work. We should get back to the story. I assume this wasn't the first time Akira came to your shop."

"No," replied the man. "About a month later, Akira came by looking to sell me some stuff. By coincidence, some detectives who were sniffing around for evidence came by my shop and I had Akira help me out. Had him smuggle out a highly customized model for me. If the detective's found it would have led to trouble, so I gave it to the kid and said to bring it back to me later." Iwai snickered, "Walked right past the cops. Kid's pretty unassuming at first glance."

"Major understatement there," chuckled Takemi followed by a few others.

The man took another sip of his glass before folding his arms, "Yeah, but little I knew the kid actually had some guts. Next time he came in, he told me he wanted the 'special menu'. Weapons like the one I had him smuggle. So we made a deal, he helped me with some stuff on the side, then he got access to the 'special menu' at a good price."

Sojiro eyed the man curiously, "I hope you weren't making him do anything too dangerous."

Iwai waved his hand dismissively, "I made it sound worse than what it was at first. All he really did was help out around the shop and gather information."

"Would this information pertain to the one named 'Tsuda'," Yusuke asked. "The one who's heart we changed."

"Who?" Ohya, along with almost everyone turned to Iwai.

"Yeah," sighed the man. "Short version, my sworn brother back when I was in the clan, Tsuda, messed up a deal with the Chinese mafia. Guns for 100 million yen, but Tsuda got stiffed on the guns. So to cover his mistake, he threatened me into making a bunch of high class models. Even threatened Kaoru and the kid's life." Iwai turned to the Phantom Thieves, "So thanks for stepping in when you did."

"Don't worry Iwai-san," Makoto nodded her head. "Glad to know it didn't get worse."

"Oh it did," Iwai said, staring into his cup. "Later, I got a call from Masa, Tsuda's underling. He took Kaoru and was holding him at knife point."

Iwai didn't even flinch as he heard everyone gasp at what he was saying. "Akira was with me when I got the call and we rushed to where Kaoru and Masa were. Masa threatened me to keep making the models so he could take the fame for saving Tsuda's deal, since he had told the boss Tsuda messed up. Said that he would tell Kaoru about me being a Yakuza and his mom."

"That must have been a very stressful situation Iwai-san," Hifumi did her best to smile at the man.

"Did anything happen?" Kawakami asked nervously. "You said Akira was with you right."

"Yeah, Akira just said straight to my face that I needed to man up and tell Kaoru the truth. So I did… And Kaoru surprised me. Said he didn't care about my past as a yakuza or about his mom. Turns out he was more mature than I thought," chuckled Iwai.

Ohya smiled, "must be a father-son thing."

This did manage to get Iwai to crack a small smile, "Maybe so, after I told Kaoru the truth Tsuda came out of nowhere and took Masa and turned him over to the cops."

"So Tsuda-san came to help you," Haru asked.

"Yeah and he sounded like the sworn brother I knew from back then too," Iwai chuckled with a half smile. "Got to admit, it was nice."

Chihaya clapped her hands and smiled widely, "I'm glad to hear nobody got hurt Iwai-san. It sounds like you and your son got a lot closer because of what happened."

"I was just putting my own baggage on Kaoru. I was given all kinds of shit growing up for my parents and I didn't want him to turn out the way I did. As much as I hate to admit it, Akira was right. If I had grown a pair sooner, Kaoru wouldn't have been in danger."

Iwai turned to face the group and a shine appeared in his eye, "Since I'm telling the truth, I was just using Akira as a pawn to get Tsuda. There was supposed to be nothing more to it than that, but things worked out the way they did. Now he's Kaoru's bro. The reason Kaoru wants to go to Shujin is to be like him."

Mishima chuckled, "Sounds like you've taken a liking to Akira just as much as your son has Iwai-san."

"Well I owe him a lot, that's for sure and I ain't one to be indebted to someone. That's why I used my connections with the clan to make sure he wouldn't be touched while he was in juvenile hall. Honestly that kid caused me a lot of trouble."

"You're not the only one Iwai-san," Takemi smiled at the former yakuza. "It's just that Akira's the good kind of troublemaker."

The room filled with a mixture of chuckles and nodds an Iwai smiled, "Don't doubt that." He picked up his coffee cup and downed the rest of it before standing up, "Mind if I get a refill Boss, I'm going to use the restroom over ther to text Kaoru I'm going to be home later."

"Sure. Take your time." Iwai nodded and walked to the bathroom, Closing the door behind him.

"Despite his rough exterior, Iwai-san seems like a good guy," Kawakami nodded.

Futaba nodded her head, "Totally, I was a little scared when he said he was a former yakuza, but he seems totally cool."

"I guess the saying, 'don't judge a book by it's cover' applies in this situation," Yusuke added.

Haru chuckled, "True. But the same could be said about all of us."

Ann opened her mouth to add something, but the ding of a phone caught everyone's attention. Sojiro pulled out his phone and cracked a smile, "I just got a text from the kid, he said he's got the last of the stuff for the party. Says he'll be here soon."

The faces of everyone in the room lit up at this news. Ohya laughed, "About time."

"Guess I should start getting the curry ready then," Sojiro went over to the fridge to prepare the ingredients for a large batch of curry.

"I wonder what he had to grab for the party," Mishima folded his arms. "Must have been important for him to take so long."

"We'll find out soon enough Mishima-kun," Haru smiled. "More importantly, I get the feeling a few more of Akira's Confidants are still showing up."

Yoshida laughed a bit, "This is already quite a group we have here. Make you wonder who else could possibly come through that door."

Just then, everyone heard the bell to Leblanc chime and the door open.

Authors Notes:

I'm so sorry this Chapter took so long. I really struggled with Iwai's part and it took me so long just to have it run out the way I wanted it to. Let's jump right into it.

Yoshida's part was interesting to write because he's a politician. Since everything that happened with Shido, I kind of figured the group would be on edge once they heard that Yoshida was a politician. But a combination of Ohya's words, Yoshida's attitude and similarity to Akira, for being falsely charged of a crime, would help relieve any feelings the group may have towards him. Overall, his part was fun and interesting to write.

Iwai's part was a struggle. It was by far the HARDEST thing I've ever had to write. Originally, I had it where Iwai was kind of fuzzy with the details about what he did. It worked, but ultimately it didn't mesh with what I was going for with this story.

The main thing for this story is for everyone, all the confidants, to connect with each other on an honest level. To see how similar they are to each other and to form bonds for when Akira leaves for home. Having Iwai be fuzzy about the details of his time with Akira would have just left me unsatisfied, especially since he has such a good connection to Ryuji, Sojiro and Futaba.

But that led me to the problem of how to introduce that fact to the group. It took some thought but I went with Ohya's joke about it then having Iwai drop the bomb on accident. Personally, I'm much happier with this version than the fuzzy one.

Lastly, I didn't have Kaoru join Iwai for the same reason I didn't have Lala-chan. I have a thing planned for the Finale and having Kaoru would just muddy things a bit. Trust me it's better this way.

Before I go, I would like to set a date for this story's completion. I would like to have it done by the end of the year. Setting a date really helped me get focused back when I was working on "Discovered Secret" so this should help.

See you all next time :)