"But... Didn't we have a bond?"
School goes on as usual, and the mischievous group has gathered in the student council room. Even though Makoto forbids them since it will rise rumors, they still do whatever they want. Haru, the last one to enter the room, sighs as she sits beside the leader. The others are curious as to what troubles her. Yusuke, being a gentleman as he is, inquire Haru of her wellbeing.
"I failed to get him in." Haru said bitterly, "He refused me."
Ryuji spatted on his drink, shocked. "What the hell?! You thirst for him that much?!"
Before he could speak nonsense any further, Ann slapped him on the head. "No, you pervert! She was talking about Yu!"
Yusuke pondered, "Well, he is a solo man of mystery. I wonder how he gets his power."
Morgana jumped onto the table they had gathered around, leaving the bag fell off the ground for Akira's to clean up after. "It doesn't matter how. He's powerful to help us! He's kind too! And something tells me that he's used to this kind of stuff. Maybe you guys can get an advice or two from him."
"But, we have you." Makoto uttered and let out a smile.
"Sure, but... He's more experienced. After all, I'm just a baby if I were to follow human ages." Morgana said after he rubbed his face.
Ann curiously questioned him, "Now that you mention it, how old exactly are you?"
Before the feline could answer, the blonde boy cut him off. "We're here not to have some pointless chit chats, aren't we? We're here because you wanted to discuss on how to get this guy onboard!"
Everyone shares their experience in approaching him, trying to recruit him as the new member of the Phantom Thieves. They all have their unique way of pulling him in, but none of them work. Ann tries to use her charm, Makoto tries to use her power, and Haru tries to use their bond. It is to be predicted that the boys will be a much more failure if the girls already failed, unless he swings that way is what they thought. Well, obviously they are wrong. Ryuji has played his part as the friendly, chatty guy to befriend him, at least for starters. He has also tried to act as if he swings away from the straight line, but that also did not work. Yusuke takes part in this too, though he was too blunt about it which made it even worst. Morgana has gone to talk about it with him privately, but it ended with Yu returning him back to Le Blanc. All of them let out a sigh, echoing across the room.
"What will make him join us? None of it convinces him." Ann exclaimed.
"Maybe he needs some kind of distraction. Someone he has gotten to know might do the trick." Yusuke suggested.
"What's the difference? He just gonna push them away too." Ryuji leaned back, giving up on this recruiting task.
Makoto gasped, "No... That's actually a good idea. A friend of his can be a good choice. Perhaps he's more convinced by a friend's word than strangers. We can try to have his friend persuade him to join, of course we'll help."
Ann pondered, "But, who is his closest friend? He seems to befriend just about anybody."
As Akira raises his head above from below the table, finished packing back his fallen things into his bag, the members set their eyes on him. Upon realizing this, the leader of the team feels uncomfortable by their sudden glaring. Before he can inquires them about it, they speak up first. Ann exclaims that they have decided to have Joker give a try. After all, Yu seems to have interest in him as remarked by Makoto. Recalling what he had told her before subtly(?), the curly haired boy understands what must be done. Even so, his motivation to actually committed to it has gone. He feels depress as he stares down to the table. His heart does not seek him ever since he says those words, he feels hurt. He leaves the room quietly, not before Morgana leaps into his bag, as he ignores the others calling to him.
"What has gotten into that guy?" Ryuji wondered as he scratched his head in confusion.
The boy is walking to the gate by himself, ready to leave school and help Sojiro at his cafe. At least by doing so, his mind would not be too preoccupied on this matter. He does not want to linger on it too long, it is unhealthy. It drags him down when he is on mission in Mementos or a Palace. As he steps towards the exit, a voice he longed to hear calls out his name from afar. He turns back out of instinct to see Yu is running after him. The grey hair boy catches his breath for a moment. After calming himself down, he offers Akira a thing.
"It's been a while since we last hang out. Let's go!" He said, full of enthusiasm.
Forcing out a smile, Akira accepts it. Not because he wants to, it is because it is what the team would have wanted. He is doing this for their sake, in their favor, just like before.
Akira and Yu, with Morgana in the bag, are going places to places on their outing. They stopped at the arcade to let off their stress on games, going to the park to breathe in some fresh air, and strolling along the street be one with the busy crowd. They are hanging out like any friends would, and how he never imagined they would. He did wished to hang out together with the bowl-cut hair boy, but not like this. Not something ordinary like this, it is just like with everybody else. He wants his meeting, their time, to be special. Just like when they are hanging out at his apartment, sharing their persona fusion experience and coping up with their velvet room's attendants. They always ended up talking about something even if it ends up into a strategy consultation. This bond they have is nothing in the ordinary either. In the end, the boy before him ends up doing all the work and without realizing it, his dissatisfaction is showing on his facade.
"There's something on your face," Yu exclaimed as he reached out the others face.
Suddenly, Yu flicks Akira forehead as he finished his sentence. It surprises him, it is not a playful flick. He rubs his forehead to ease the pain while having Yu snickers at his reaction. It angers the black hair boy a bit, but seeing him smile rather than his usual solemn face makes his heart soothe in the second. He carves a small smile in the instance, and goes back to worrying about his duty. He still needs to play his part as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He needs to somehow make his teammates' wish come true, it is the least he can do. Observing Akira's serious face as he is thinking by himself, Yu admonished him. Even that flick has not being able to get his mind away from what he was thinking. Yu thought he will try to enjoy their outing more, especially being with him. He thought he could cheer him up. Thank goodness he respond immediately, his soul is still with him after all.
"Want to go back to my place?" Yu offered.
Letting out an assured smile, Akira nods in sign of accepting his offer. After buying cups of coffee and delight treats from a cafe, they make way to Yu's apartment. Akira's sloppy way of drinking the coffee makes his lips full of foam. Yu cannot help but laugh at his carelessness. As the curly hair boy vent out his anger, the other takes out his handkerchief and wipes it off for him.
Akira, being as clueless as he always been beside him, ends up staring deep into Yu's eyes. The boy inquires of his action as he awkwardly puts away his handkerchief, asking if he does something that offends him to have him glaring. Joker tries to explain the truth on this misunderstanding but somehow, his tongue seems to be tied. He cannot utter clearly and stuttered along the way. Even so, Yu stops him from talking further. He puts a reassure smile, because he knows this person before him would not despise him, he is a precious junior to him, a friend. Surely, they will understand someday.
When they entered the unit, Akira sits on the couch as Yu invited him to. The grey hair boy joins him later as he keeps away his things first, maybe to gain his composure on facing Akira. He is a senior and he needs to act like it. The boy is worried, he wants to be a place of confiding for him. There is something going on in his mind and he wants him to be free of it. He does not like the frown he puts often and hiding it behind a fake smile. This behavior hits too close to home. Yu then sits beside him which is unusual since he has always sit facing him. He starts the conversation when he sees how oddly stuttering Akira is to begin talking.
"You seems like you want to let something off your chest," Yu asked calmly, "Is it about your teammates?"
Akira smile bitterly, "I want to ask you to join us. After all, I don't want to disappoint them."
"What makes you think you would?" Yu asked firmly.
"You know... Back then, I've always been following orders. I've never made my own choice, not even from my parents. Everything has always been decided to me. I already know what to do, because there's always a guide. I don't make mistakes and there's no hassles or problems because, everyone expects me to be perfect." Akira clasped his hand together, "When I got here, I'm... Free. I can do what I want, say what I want, and be with who I want to be. Though there are circumstances, some of them I can still abide. When I got into court, I was scared. It's because I've done something I shouldn't have. I've disappointed everyone. But if I didn't make that mistake... I guess... Being transferred here after that probation isn't so bad. Because... I got to meet you. I got to meet them and become a part of something big, the Phantom Thieves. That's why, I want you to be a part of it. Participate in this events of my life, our lives. Why don't you become a Phantom Thief?"
Yu let out a reassuring smile, "It must be tough, but you've done well. Although, if you want me to join that much, you can ask me anytime here. You've got my number too, right? You don't have to be so formal."
"But... You act like we don't know each other." Akira's voice trailed off, somewhat disappointed by his leisured answer.
Yu let out a small laugh as he held the boy's shoulder firmly, "I don't mind if it's you, but you were approaching me with your teammates. They don't know me like you do."
Suddenly, Mona's head popped out of the bag. "Hey! Don't forget about me!"
Yu rolled his eyes, amused. "And Mona. It'll be awkward, don't you think? And you'll have a hard time to explain to them too on how we met. I want to avoid that."
This makes Akira's heart skip a beat, he feels flustered. The boy before him cares this much, he takes his feelings into consideration in every aspect of his life, except the threatening part in their first meeting. He even willing to listen to all of his back story and the likes. The journey of each relationship is important, just like theirs. He feels blessed to meet with such a guy in such a road of fate. He lets out a smile, the most sincere smile he can give. After all, his heart is filled with adrenaline that he cannot hold himself from carving out one. Yu ends up copying his facade too. They end their day by having a microwaved meal together from Yu's daily stock of food.
"I guess it's fine, just like this. As long as I get to be with him."
Author's note: Sorry to say this folks but... I'll be going on hiatus for a few weeks... Or maybe months, who knows when will my idea to write will come. I need to binge watching P5 anime too. I'm way left behind. -_-" I'm gonna be busy during my sem break for some stuff. I'm already busy for finals so yeah, I hope you guys can understand. But I'll upload whenever I can. Hope you guys have a nice day! :D