Chapter 2

"I could never hate you"

"So how'd it go?" Akira asks as he stands behind the counter, brewing a cup of coffee.

Akechi stares out at the blank space, not saying a word. Finally, he leans back in his chair and shrugs.

"It wasn't bad, at least by what I feared would happen."

"What? What did you think Haru would do?"

Akechi paused for a moment, recollecting his thoughts

In Akechi's mind

Haru looked disgruntled, so Akechi decided to turn away. Then, out of nowhere, he felt Haru's arms around him.

"Haru-san! Wh-what are you doing?"

"Shh… just wait."

It was quite embarrassing at first, but the show of affection was a nice change of pace. That is, until.

"Ugh! Wha-"

"ULTIMATE OKUMURA GERMAN SUPLEX!"

End

"Let's… not talk about. Anyways, I have no idea. I mean, I was able to apologize to her, but she didn't respond. At least, I don't think she did."

Akira paused his work and set the hot pot of water down on the table.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe she did say something and you just didn't notice."

Akechi thought about it some more before sighing and leaning his head on the table.

"Oh, I don't know. It's too early in the morning for this stuff anyways."

"You said it. Here's your coffee."

Akechi gladly accepted the warm cup and sipped it. Yep, this was definitely the way to start his morning. Now if only Sojiro could teach him to brew this… He continued to sip the drink while Akira cleaned some dishes. The door could be heard opening, and Akechi turned to come face-to-face with them.

"Welcome to LeBlanc, how may I- oh"

Haru and Makoto had just walked in, but Haru had stopped midway when her gaze stopped on the former detective. Not wanting to be put in this situation, Akechi quickly left some money next to his unfinished coffee and left the shop. Haru tried to stop him but he was already through the door. Sighing, she took a seat at the bar table with Makoto in tow.

"The usual?" Akira asked.

They nodded and Akira proceeded to get two more mugs. Haru just stared at the half-finished cup of coffee while she waited.

"What's on your mind, Haru?" Akira suddenly asked, interrupting whatever she was thinking inside her head.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. I spaced out for a second."

Akira gave her an uneasy look, but decided to leave it. Besides, Makoto had it covered.

"Did something happen between you and Akechi?"

"Yeah. I don't know why I'm hung up on it though."

Makoto leaned her head on her arm as if beckoning Haru to continue.

"Just the other day, he apologized to me about everything that he did before. It seems he was really guilty for everything and decided he had to apologize straight to me."

"Then I don't really see the problem here. You're already past your father, accepting that something like this would happen to him sooner or later."

Haru let herself rest on the table.

"I know, but for some reason it still bothers me!"

She pressed the tips of her index fingers to the sides of her head; whether it be from trying to think about her predicament or contacting aliens, neither of the two could tell. After some time, Haru gave up and laid back on the table pouting.

"Ah, it's been a while since I've seen Haru do that," Makoto said, taking in the rare scenery of a frustrated yet cute Haru.

"I should probably take a picture of this and send it to Futaba. Maybe she'll make an emoticon of it," Akira said as he poured them their coffee.

Then, his phone buzzed and he took it out.

"Done and done," said the text, complete with a pouty Haru face emoji taken from right that instant.

"Futaba, did you stay up all night playing video games again?" Akira asked nonspecifically.

Knowing Futaba, she still had some hidden cameras stowed in unknown nooks and crannies.

"Maaaaaybe. But there's nothing you can do to stop me!" her voice buzzed from the two-way radio near the corner of the bar.

Akira rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you have time to play Street Fighter, you have time to get rid of the bugs in the cafe."

"Not a chance. You can't do anything to make me!"

"Very well then," he said as he turned his phone to airplane mode.

"Hey Makoto, you ever notice how close Futaba and Yusuke are getting?"

A smile curved onto Makoto's face and she played along.

"Why yes. How odd, isn't it?"

"In FACT, I found a little something on her phone."

"Oh? That's interesting. How did you ever get in it?"

"Well, I may have been practicing hacking for excursion purposes in the past. But what would you expect me to find in her drafts folder for her texts?"

Akira opened his phone and showed pictures of non-sent drafts from Futaba's phone. Strangely enough, they were all meant to be sent to Yusuke.

"Oh my! If it isn't bundles of texts to our dear friend Yusuke! Even more, are those… love letters?!"

"How did you get into my phone?! Dammit, get off of airplane mode NOW!"

Akira and Makoto continued to read the texts out loud while Futaba's wails of agony could be heard. Haru watched the sadistic couple tease their younger sister, vowing to herself to never(repeat, NEVER) get on their bad side.

"I need to go now, so have fun you two," Haru said.

After leaving some money on the table, the sounds of Makoto and Akira jeering Futaba became distant. The cold Tokyo air blew in her face; sure, there was no snow, but it was mid-November and just enough to make her shiver. She gave herself a mental reminder to pack hand warmers when she went to school. For now, however, she had an appointment with Ann over a very important topic.

After another 10 minutes, Haru arrived at the determined meeting spot. Ann had been waiting at the cafe, sipping her tea until she noticed her fluffy-haired friend approach. Standing up, she quickly opened her arms for a hug.

"Haru! I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?"

Haru returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

"I've been fine. College has been pretty tough on my schedule so I'm sorry I couldn't meet earlier."

Ann waved her hand as if brushing it aside.

"Well then, let's get going! Those crepes aren't going to eat themselves!"

Haru smiled. She hadn't gone out with her sweets buddy in a good long while, so this excursion was bound to have at least five crepe places. They took a seat back at the cafe and ordered two crepes. As they waited, they began to chat on how things were going in their lives; the usual topics such as school, mutual friends, and interesting places was more than enough to keep the flame of conversation going.

"So, what was the big problem that you wanted to talk to me about?" Haru asked.

Ann clapped and took out her phone.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot."

Scrolling through, Ann found a post and showed it to Haru. It was a picture of her with a boy and a girl making a heart symbol with their hands.

The Fluffy Cupid strikes again! Another successful confession!

Haru suddenly dead-panned at the sight of the picture. Sure enough, leave it to Ann to figure out anything about her friends on social media.

"Sooo, what else have you been up to at school?"

Haru sighed and sipped the tea.

"It was only one time that I helped my friend confess to a boy they liked. Then, it happened again. I stopped keeping count after 5."

Ann applauded her friend at her terrific feat.

"Do you ever turn down requests, though?"

Haru shook her head.

"I can't say no to them. After being turned down by Akira, I want to give everyone a fighting chance at their crush. But, I wish they'd stop treating me like an urban legend."

They paused for a moment before Haru noticed Ann fidgeting. Her eyes narrowed at the blonde who quickly sat up straight.

"You wouldn't happen to be-"

"Oh hey! Our crepes are here!"

The waiter placed down the two crepes on the table in front of them. Ann rubbed her hands together.

"Well! Let's dig in!"

Ann took a knife and fork in hand, preparing to dig in until Haru suddenly picked up her plate.

"Wh- Haru!"

Haru just gave her a sweet smile back as she held the plate away from her.

"So, who is it?"

Ann gave a defeated look and leaned on the table.

"Okay, okay, it's- HYAH!"

Making a last effort attempt to grab the plate, Ann lunged forward. Unfortunately for her, Haru had seen this coming and moved the plate yet again. This went on for a few minutes before Ann sat back down, clearly exhausted.

"Haru *huff* please just give me the crepe… I can't survive without it… "

"All I'm asking for is a name," Haru replied back, the smile still plastered on her face.

Ann sighed.

"Makoto really has rubbed off on you for the past year, hasn't she?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I was like this since the beginning."

Ann quickly took the opportunity to swipe Haru's plate from under her nose and snuck a bite.

"Ah, that hit the spot."

Haru frowned, but admitted defeat and put Ann's crepe down in front of her. Taking a knife and fork, she cut herself a piece of the heavenly treat.

"Okay, you may have dodged the topic now, but you know that I'm not gonna stop until I find out."

Ann shook her head.

"I just wanted some advice from my friend. Who I like doesn't have to get involved in this conversation."

Haru narrowed her eyes once again, but continued to eat.

"Well then, it's up to me to figure it out, isn't it?"

"You can try, but I doubt you'll find out."

Haru thought for a moment.

"It definitely has to be someone we knew from last year. Not Akira though, you told the feelings were mutual between you two.

"Knowing you, it would be someone who sees you as a very close companion; would help you in a moment's notice. He's one of the Phantom Thieves, right?"

Ann suddenly looked more tense. Sweat could be seen on her forehead. Haru secretly smiled, knowing that she had her friend in a corner.

"You probably met him early on that year. You never noticed him before, but the Metaverse really helped bring out his character. Vigilant, brave, and willing to do anything for his friends. We can rule out Yusuke; from what I heard, he tried to make a nude painting of you before."

Ann's cheeks glowed red, but she shook it off. Now, Haru leaned closer.

"Ann… you're in live with… Mona-chan, aren't you?"

Ann's eyes popped wide open.

"What?! No! Of course not! I love Ryuji-"

She slapped her hands to her mouth and hid her face by landing it on the table. Haru, however, just smiled like normal.

"Ah, sorry. I meant to say Ryuji, but I just slipped. He's a really lucky boy to have you love him."

Ann, however, was writhing in embarrassment, refusing to look up.

"Just please end my misery… "

"Aw, don't be like that Ann-chan! Let's continue talking about Ryuji-kun and his good points," Haru said while patting her head.

At the mere mention of Ryuji, Ann blushed even more furiously.

"Stop! Okay, fine, I give up! Please stop teasing me about it!"

Finally finished with her fun, Haru went back to her crepe. Ann recovered as well, but began being more cautious with her words.

"Ann-chan, how long have you felt like this?"

Ann twirled a lock of her hair as she answered.

"I don't know when it started, it just built over time. I mean, one time he took a hit for me when we were in Mementos and ended up getting knocked out."

Haru nodded, remembering that grim day.

Flashback

"Panther! Watch out!"

The Reaper aimed one of its long-barreled revolvers at her, but she couldn't move at all. Complete fear had taken hold of her. She closed her eyes, as if resigning herself to fate until she felt someone push her away.

*BANG*

"AUGH!"

She was on the ground when she opened her eyes. A black-clad boy with bleach-blonde hair and a skull mask was next to her, holding his side and writhing in pain.

"Ryuji? RYUJI!"

Flashback End

"Thank goodness Akira and the others were able to finish it off before his condition got worse," Haru said.

Ann nodded. They had taken Ryuji to Doctor Takemi's office right after. Good news was that Ryuji was going to be alright. The bad news was that he would be out of commission for a week; that meant having to explain things to his mother and appeasing a very pissed off punk doctor giving him refuge for several days. Ann had been the one to visit him the most frequently, so how had nobody noticed a thing? Haru shook off those thoughts and gave Ann a more reassuring smile.

"You really care about him don't you?"

Ann stayed silent before sighing.

"Just, please tell me what I should do, Haru. You know how he is; he could be a real numbskull at times and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take it seriously."

"That's true; you and Ryuji are pretty close that he might think you're just pulling his leg."

"I know, right? Jeez, I knew it was going to be impossible."

Haru thought for a moment.

"But Ryuji's always pulled through at the most crucial moment, especially for his friends. Remember at Shido's Palace?"

"How could I forget? I felt like beating the crap out of him when he walked up out of nowhere."

They chuckled, but quickly went back on topic.

"If you're completely honest with him, I'm sure he'll see that you're being serious."

Ann looked down at her empty plate, feeling unsure about it.

"Are you sure about it? What if he doesn't understand?"

Haru sighed, tired that her friend would seriously doubt Ryuji that much. Then, a slight inspiration struck her.

"Well then, how about you set the mood a little bit?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, go somewhere isolated, but it means a lot to both of you. When you talk to him, don't act flirty like you usually are; just act serious but not too serious. Then, gather up your courage, and tell him how you feel."

"But what if he rejects me?"

Haru gave her a smile.

"Then when you confess to him, don't think of any possibilities. Just think of what you're going to say and not care about what happens. Immerse yourself in the experience and make the most of it. Even if he doesn't forgive you-"

"Wait, forgive me? For what?"

Haru then caught herself and blushed slightly.

"Uh, I-I mean accept your confession! Even if he doesn't accept your confession, know that you can't force him to love you and he at least understands your feelings for him."

Ann nodded and stood up.

"Okay! I guess that's what I'll do! Look out Ryuji! I'll give you the best confession the world has ever seen!"

She sat back down, then suddenly cracked the smile of a devil's advocate.

"So, what were you talking about?"

Haru turned away, trying not to make eye-contact, but she could still feel Ann's piercing glaze on her neck.

"Well, it's not love. The other day, Akechi-kun apologized to me about what he did last year."

Suddenly, Ann stopped smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I assumed. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

They stayed silent for a while before Haru spoke.

"No, if I don't face this, then I never will."

She looked up and continued talking.

"When he apologized, I don't know what I felt. I'm glad he apologized formally, but it didn't seem like I needed it. I mean, I know that he meant every part of it, but knowing that he was so guilty about this all this time, I didn't think that he'd be happy even if I did say I would accept his apology."

Ann crossed her arms and digested all the information Haru told her.

"Yeah, to be honest, I don't think that Akechi would be satisfied either. I mean, you may forgive him, but that doesn't change the past. Akechi isn't one to let go of the past and he'd probably still feel guilty whenever he talks to you. This really is quite the predicament you've landed in."

Then, Haru's phone rang. She picked it up and checked the ID.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ann-chan. I have to take this."

Ann smiled and waved at her.

"Go on! I'll just think over everything again."

Haru nodded in thanks and stood to the side.

"Hello? Are you alright Futaba-chan?"

Deep breathing could be heard from the other side of the line.

"Please Haru. I need you to help me. Akira shared the photos of my messages with Makoto and she now has them on her phone. I need you to get her to delete the photos."

Haru looked confused.

"Um, Futaba-chan you know I can't do anything, right?"

"*sigh*, I know. You were my only hope after all. I can't do anything since they turned off the connection from their phones, and knowing Akira, he probably has a bunch of flash drives filled with the stuff. Oh well, later."

Futaba was about to hang up before Haru stopped her.

"Oh, wait. Hold on, could I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure. Shoot."

"How did you feel about Akechi-kun when you found out he survived?"

A slight pause was imminent from the other side until Futaba spoke.

"I mean, to be honest, I felt relieved. I know that he was responsible for my mom, but when I saw him sacrificing himself for us, I knew that I could never bring myself to hate him."

Haru vaguely remembered herself muttering those same words to herself a few days prior.

"Why not? I mean, you suffered a lot because your mother wasn't there for you anymore. Why didn't you hate him even a little bit?"

"Because… he was all alone. He had nobody to turn to when he was in a bad situation, he never had any friends, he was just like me. He was just afraid of being alone, and when he had a second chance, I didn't want to hurt him."

Haru thought to herself. Of course! Even if she had accepted his apology, Akechi would still be afraid that whatever bond they had was long gone. Coming to a decision, Haru steeled herself for her plan.

"Okay, thanks Futaba-chan. I think I know what to do now!"

"Huh? What did you need to do? Ah well, whatever. I'll hang up now. Bye"

"Hold on. I might not be able to talk Mako-chan into deleting the pictures, but maybe with a little leverage… "

"Leverage?"

"Futaba-chan. Do you know what blackmail is?" Haru asked sweetly.

"Of course I do. The thing is, I don't have anything on either of them!"

"Well, what if I told you I have some rather… embarrassing photos of Akira when he was a child?"

"... go on."

"Give me a second."

Haru searched through her photos before finding one and sending it to the orange-haired hacker.

"What's this?" Futaba asked as she looked at the photo.

Three

Two

One

"Oh… my… GOD! How did you find this?!"

Haru chuckled.

"Well, when we went to drop Akira off at his home last year, he didn't have the opportunity to hide all the photo albums in time. I'm just lucky I found this specific picture."

But Futaba didn't hear any of it.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you so much Haru! I really owe you one! Bye!"

Haru smiled as she hung up and went back to join Ann.

"All finished?" Ann asked.

Haru nodded.

"Great, so I've been brainstorming ideas for the time being and I've narrowed it down to five different plans"

"Don't worry, I think I can handle it myself now."

Ann dead-panned for a moment before coming back to her senses.

"What? But I spent so much time on brainstorming too."

Haru sighed and stood up.

"I guess it can't be helped then. How about the next few desserts are on me?"

And with that, Ann was sprung out of her depression. Haru lamented happily about her plans.

"Now, I can finally set things right."

The next week…

"Wait, Makoto, please, don't do this!"

"Too late. After seeing you like that, how can I resist?"

"I'll do anything, just please don't make me do that!"

"Oh you're doing this whether you like it or not. It's time that I turned the tables and indulged myself with you. *slurp* For the time being, you're aaaaaall mine."

"Wait… no… No! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Futaba was watching in the corner, holding up her phone to record the entire thing.

"Heh heh. This'll be a hit with everyone else."

At the end, Akira was crying on the floor wearing a Buchimaru onesie.

"Futaba… you liar… you told me you wouldn't tell… "

Futaba stretched.

"That was just my insurance that you would delete everything. You dug your own grave when you shared with Makoto."

Makoto looked like she was on cloud nine.

"She told me what she had and agreed to trade the picture and a rare adult-sized onesie for me deleting everything. How could I refuse?" Makoto said while showing him the picture of a toddler Akira in a Buchimaru onesie.

Akira continued to cry while Morgana licked his paw.

"Some fearless leader," he chuckled while he leapt off the table to go downstairs.

Futaba followed along to see Sojiro behind the counter.

"Sojiro! I have defeated the demon lord! Give me a nourishing recovery meal!"

Sojiro sighed but smiled and took out a plate of curry. Futaba was about to dig in before Sojiro pulled out his phone.

"Futaba. Could you explain to me what this is?"

Futaba looked up to once again see the cursed images of her youth.

"WHAAAT?! How do you have these?!"

Sojiro pushed up his glasses.

"Akira gave them to me a little while ago. Said something about there being an opportune moment to strike."

Futaba passed out on the table while Akira crawled down the stairs.

"Hah, that's what you get for defying the leader of the Phantom Thieves!"

"Who wooks so adowable in his cute wittle onesie," Makoto lamented, having gone smitten at the sight of her boyfriend in a costume from her childhood memories.

Immediately, Akira fell into a state of despair once again.

*ding-a-ling*

"Hm? What's going on here?" Akechi asked.

He had made it a habit to read the situation of the room, but seeing Akira in a panda costume half passed-out on the ground, Futaba laying on the counter with her soul seeping out of her mouth and Makoto having visible hearts sprouting from her eyes, Akechi got the feeling he didn't want to know.

"Akechi… bro… help me… " Akira wheezed, struggling to move.

Akechi sighed and walked towards his friend until he heard a slight cracking noise.

"Hm?"

He looked up and saw Makoto smiling at him. In her hand, she held a coffee mug.

"Ooookay?"

He took another step and heard the crack again. Akechi looked up and saw Makoto in the exact same position, smiling at him. This time, however, the mug had a large crack down the middle.

"... I'll just… take a seat over there," he said, pointing towards the counter.

Makoto nodded.

"Good."

She then put the mug down and picked up a sobbing Akira, dragging him back into the attic. Akechi pulled a chair and sat down.

"Okay, I think that's enough to shorten my lifespan by a few years."

*ding-a-ling*

Akechi turned to the door to see Haru walk in. She looked straight at him as if expecting him to be there. Sighing, he stood up.

"Sorry Sojiro-san. I'll come by another time."

He was about to step out the door but a voice stopped him.

"Wait a moment, Akechi-kun."

Akechi stopped dead in his tracks. He could sense Haru turn around, his heart pounding with every step.

"Ah! Sorry, Haru-san, but I've got something really important I need to do today. Sorry."

He stepped out of LeBlanc and ran as fast as he could. After a few minutes, he turned around. Not seeing anyone, he allowed himself to stop and take a breather.

"Man, I'm out of shape… "

"... -kun"

"Hm?"

Akechi thought he heard something, but shook his head and continued on his way.

"... kechi-kun"

Okay, now he definitely heard something. He turned around to see a large dust cloud beginning to form. At the foot of it was a fluffy-haired, pink-clad girl.

"Akechi-kun!"

"Oh for the love of Sataniel!"

Akechi started to run, but he already ran out of stamina, thus couldn't keep a good distance between them.

"Akechi-kun!"

"Nononononono!"

Akechi gave it his all in his running, feeling his energy seep away from him. But all attempts were futile in the face of a determined Haru.

"AKECHI-KUUUUUUUN!"

*SMACK*

Not looking where she was going, Haru accidentally tripped and ran smack dab into Akechi, sending them both to the ground. Haru landed on top of him after everything had settled down, gasping for breath.

"Haru-san… please-"

"Wait! You have to hear what I say!"

Akechi took this moment to catch his breath. After a while, Haru continued.

"When you apologized to me, I had told you that I could never bring myself to hate you. I didn't know why, but now I know."

Akechi looked up at her. She had been hiding her face before, but now, he could clearly see the tears coming down her face.

"I talked to Futaba, and realized that you were still hurting on the inside. That you thought you would be left alone again. I realized that I was like that too, and I found out why I couldn't hate you."

"Haru-san… "

"Please don't interrupt!" she yelled back at him.

"I wanted to tell you that I know it hurts being alone. So I want to tell you to not worry about it! I won't let you be alone, so don't act like I hate you!"

They stayed silent for a while before Akechi broke a smile.

"Haru-san. Thank you. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that you'll be there for me… "

Haru smiled and wiped her tears.

"Thank you, Akechi-kun. Let's be good friends from now on. And what did you want to say?"

Akechi nervously smiled as Haru was kneeling on top of him.

"Haru?"

He reached up to wipe the tears off her face. At that moment, Haru felt her face blushing. What was this? She didn't know why she was feeling like this or why something about Akechi seemed so much more… lighter? Then, he spoke.

"I think you broke some of my ribs."

"... "

"... "

"... I'm sorry… "

"... apology accepted."

Aaaaaaaand we are BACK! Welcome everyone to the second chapter! This was something I was looking forward to for ages! Just gonna let you guys know that I plan to make this a 5-10 chapter story so strap yourselves in; we'll be done before you know it. So, where will everything go later on? Well, now we'll get into the nitty-gritty of the romance. I know the tag says hurt/comfort and romance, but from this point on, it'll be more of a romantic comedy so I'll change it soon if I can. Anyways, please give your full support for this story; I greatly appreciate any and all feedback you can give to me. Also, apologies for the super long chapter. Just in case you don't read my P:OLP story, my update schedule will be P:OLP, Getting Along, then Part-time Lovers in that order, so don't expect anything for a while, alright? Okay! Seeya!