The group chat was lively as ever, and Akira always got a kick from it. Even the busy Makoto and Haru would pop in every now and then. It was times like these that he wished Morgana had a phone so he could join in.

Akira was about to put his phone away before a separate message appeared. "Oh, it's Shiho."

Morgana, who was on his chair watching his messages from above, leaped off his chair and landed on the ground, not even making a sound. "I'm still looking into who found out about her."

Akira looked at the cat on his bed. "I think I might have to step in."

"Nah, just leave it to me. I think I have a lead."

"Oh?"

"I'll tell you more later, don't you have a text to respond to?"

He was right. Akira returned his attention to his phone.

Shiho: Akira, are you awake?

Akira: Yeah.

Shiho: Can you meet me on the school roof after school tomorrow?

Akira: Sure.

Shiho: Thank you!

The conversation ended and Akira was left puzzled. The school roof? Why? "Morgana." Morgana's ears perked up. "I'm counting on you to get to the bottom of this."

"Heh. Who do you think I am? I told you, I have a lead." Akira nodded, and began preparing for tomorrow.

He was the first one on the roof. If he closed his eyes, he could picture himself and Haru on Shūjin's roof, taking care of the plants. But this roof was empty, nothing around but a small bench.

"I'm sorry for making you wait." He turned around to see Shiho jog towards him. "They should be here soon."

"Who?"

Again, the door opened behind them. Two male students, taller than Shiho but no taller than Akira, walked towards them. "Kurusu's here? I guess that makes sense, all things considered." Akira looked between Shiho and the two male students, quickly piecing two and two together.

"Why did you do this?" Akira was the one who started the conversation. He took a step forward, and the students took a step back.

"We just…I mean, the Phantom Thieves."

Not expecting that, simultaneously Akira and Shiho's head tilted to the side in confusion. "Huh?"

"Last year, they were so big. So of course we wanted to get in on the craze."

The other student spoke up. "We managed to get connections to Shūjin through that online forum and we managed to piece two and two together."

"Apparently a girl tried to kill herself right before the Phantom Thieves' debuted."

"That kind of stuff they didn't share on the news, and then we had Suzui-san transfer that same year with a limp. Someone must have overheard us talking and…"

"We're sorry Suzui-san!" The two bowed deeply, making Akira take a step back. He turned to Shiho to see how she was faring.

Shiho was stunned and was looking back at him for advice on how to proceed. Akira looked back at the students, then back at Shiho and nodded. This was Shiho's decision.

"Um, it's all right. You didn't know."

"We feel really bad!"

Akira wasn't surprised at how someone might have overheard them, with how loud they were.

"I'm glad you admitted it, at least…" Akira could see the confusion on her face. She was probably expecting a more antagonistic person responsible. And so was he if he was being honest.

After they left, Shiho took a seat on the bench, releasing a heavy sigh. She looked up at Akira and smiled wryly. "That went a lot better than I expected."

Akira sat down next to her. "How'd you figure out it was them?"

"They've been giving me weird looks, different from the rest of the class. They reminded me of Mishima-kun." Shiho looked down at her feet. "I asked you to come… just in case things turned south."

"I'm glad you did."

Shiho flashed a smile. "Me too…You know what Ann told me soon after… the incident? That she wanted to be like you and Ryuji. Mostly you. Where she can take in rumours and insults in stride, not caring what anyone else thinks."

Akira remembered Ann saying something similar to him. "I remember that."

Shiho nodded. "We're very similar, you and me, don't you think? Our past is back to haunt us here after we moved on. I wish to take it in stride as well."

"I think you're doing a good job."

"I'm kind of surprised how much this isn't bothering me. Maybe it's because of you being here. I don't know what I'd do without you, honestly."

"You have Ann."

"I miss her… but talking on the phone isn't enough. I need someone here with me, physically." She tugged his sleeve. "I'm actually trying to get used to physical interactions again. With males specifically. A pat on the back, high fives, hugs, all of it's hard to do without thinking about… That's part of my whole 'moving on' spiel."

"I think you're making good progress."

"I'd like to think so. Ann keeps telling me how strong I am…but without her, I'm nothing. I can barely touch you without thinking of him. Ann had it just as bad but she managed to face it all."

"It's all because of you. You know that."

"…Yeah. It's weird to think that I encourage her, when she's always been the one to encourage me. Knowing her, she probably kept telling you how amazing I am, right?"

"She wasn't wrong."

And for the first time, Akira was able to witness Shiho blush.

"I'll be relying on you then."

"That's fine by me." The two sat in silence for a while longer.

"Do you mind if… I… give you a hug?" As soon as she said it, her head dipped. "Geez, I'm pathetic."

"Not at all." Akira spread his arms slightly, letting Shiho be the one to take the step if she was ready. "Think of me as Buchimaru-kun or something."

Shiho giggled. "That's a name I haven't heard in ages."

She moved quickly, as if to just get it over with. But once her arms were wrapped around his torso, she didn't seem to move. "You smell like coffee…"

"It's my known trait."

"To smell like coffee?" She kept her head against his chest as she giggled. "Um, you can…can you…"

Akira didn't need her to say more. He wrapped his own arms around her, giving her a gentle squeeze. He could feel her stiffen before relaxing, before stiffening again.

When they released, he was greeted by a beaming Shiho. "That helped a lot more than I thought. Your hugs remind me of Ann's recent hugs… Or maybe she learned how to hug from you?"

"Maybe."

"Thank you for today. I'll see you."

Shiho left, leaving Akira alone on the roof. He was about to follow when a sudden black blur jumped down in front of him.

"Finally!"

"Morgana…were you watching us!?"

The panic was clear in the cat's eyes. "Not on purpose! I had to let you know about something but then you ended up taking forever and I had a nice nap and when I woke up you were still talking!"

Akira sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "What's up?"

"Okay, I think I found out the person who spread those rumours about Shiho."

"Not the two guys?"

"No, they actually have nothing to do with the rumours."

Akira was now intrigued. "Then who?"

"Some girl. Apparently, she went to the same middle school as Shiho."

"She must have one heck of a grudge…"

"It might go beyond a grudge. You should look into it."

"What's her name?"

"Chouko."

Extra: Will

Shiho started to slow down by her house and when she arrived, she stopped and put her hands on her knees, catching her breath.

"I still have a way to go before I recover my stamina…" She looked up to see a water bottle extended towards her. She graciously accepted it and began downing it at once. When she finished half of it, she closed it and smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Akira said, downing his own bottle himself. He was a lot more fit than she expected at first, before realizing this was Akira she was jogging with.

She decided to sit down at the fence surrounding her house. "Thank you for joining me. Sometimes it gets lonely jogging by yourself early in the morning."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Probably right before the semester started, so not very long. As you can see, I'm still not at my prime."

"You'll get it back. I'll ask Ryuji for some tips as well."

"That would be great." Shiho unzipped the top part of her tracksuit just below her neck, letting the breeze hit her skin. "Did you ever run before?"

He nodded, rolling his neck before he elaborated. "Ryuji and I would run laps. He was really demanding."

"I can only imagine." Imagining Akira, of all people, getting orders from Sakamoto was difficult. But then again, there was a time when Sakamoto was reliable. Maybe Akira helped bring that back in him. "I had an enjoyable time. Would you mind joining me again?"

"Just say the word."

Shiho shot him a smile before closing her eyes to recover her stamina. After a few minutes, Akira spoke. "How do you feel about another lap?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." She was about to stand up, but Akira's hand was already extended to her. She stared at it for a second longer than she'd have liked before grabbing it. With ease, he managed to pull her up. She zipped up her tracksuit and began psyching herself up. "All right. Let's go!"

Halfway through the second lap, they took a small detour to a small café. They took a seat in the outdoor food court. "I'm sorry again."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. You can pay me back whenever."

Shiho nodded, but wasn't entirely satisfied. She had managed to forget her wallet at home, leaving Akira to pay for their drinks. "I think the last time I've been to a café was back in first year in Tokyo."

"Wow, that's a long time." Shiho could see how he thought that. She was sure living at a café for a year would make living without going to a café weird.

"I didn't really miss it, since it was so long ago. But I do like how quaint they can be."

"Café Leblanc." Shiho blinked. "That's the café I lived at in Tokyo. Not much customers, quiet, and became our hangout spot. I'd love to show it to you."

"Leblanc… I mean, yes, of course, I'd be delighted to!"

"Speaking of which, you've lived in Tokyo before. If there's any place you want to show me, I wouldn't mind."

Shiho began wracking her brain and spoke to try and stall. "Um, I don't think there's anywhere that I've been that you've haven't at this point. Oh, have you visited the shrines?"

"Just the Meiji Shrine."

"Then maybe I can take you to some other shrines. Though some are really far…"

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I hope so. It'd be nice to add my own touch to your experiences in Tokyo."