The stage was set for the epic showdown between the Phantom Thieves of Heart vs Takuto Maruki. Ren Amamiya made the decision to go against the reality Maruki had crafted, choosing instead to face the true reality. This naturally pleased his rival and temporary ally, Goro Akechi. The very same man was on his way to his typical hangout spot as he checked his phone and went over the group message once more as a reminder.

"Tonight… tonight it will all end". Akechi thought with a solemn look on his face. "My time in this twisted, fake reality will finally come to a close. And then… and then what? What even is there left for me? I…"

Akechi stopped in his walking, looking up to the sky as rain started coming down. Everything felt so real, even down to the water pelting away at his skin. But the Detective Prince couldn't shake away this feeling of emptiness that was inside him. No matter how much he tried to get his mind off of it, he couldn't forget that his very existence may just be a fabrication by Maruki. Shaking his head and scoffing, he hurried to the Jazz Jin. But once he went inside and headed to his usual table, he was met with a familiar sight.

"Why am I not even surprised that I would find you here?" Akechi said with an unamused look and tone. On the other side of his table was none other than Ren Amamiya. The black haired teen leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, nodding.

"I could say the same about you." Ren stated, prompting an eye roll from his rival.

"Don't play dumb, Amamiya." Akechi said as he sat in his seat and glared at the leader of the phantom thieves. "You came here because you knew I would be here. There is no coincidence to our meeting." Akechi stated, prompting Ren to smile a bit.

"True but I guess that's also a good summary of how this all started between us, huh?" Ren said, making Akechi nod and even smirked.

"Indeed. I suppose that with everything that has happened, it's preposterous to conclude that it was sheer coincidence with all of our meetings." Akechi noted. "Perhaps everything has played out exactly as it should have… how we met, how we've battled each other, and how we even have to join forces…" Akechi trailed off, looking to be deep in thought about the past.

"You hate it, don't you?" Ren asked, knocking Akechi out of his deep thinking as he looked at Ren in surprise. "You hate feeling as though this has all been predetermined, that you haven't made the decisions that led up to this point of our relationship." Ren clarified, prompting Akechi to laugh softly and close his eyes.

"Haha… you truly are something else." Akechi said. "Even when I successfully hid myself away from the whole world, when I had everyone convinced at what kind of person I was… you always saw through it. You could see the kind of person I truly am. How utterly irritating. But I suppose that's also what makes you so fascinating all the same." Akechi stated as the jazz club owner came down to take their orders. Once he left, the two boys were alone once again as Akechi narrowed his eyes at the black haired teen. "You aren't having second thoughts on what needs to be done, correct?" He asked in a calm tone.

"No. I know this needs to be done." Ren stated, prompting a nod from his temporary ally, "I knew what needed to be done the moment we came to this world. The mission of the Phantom Thieves is to reform society and I won't lose sight of that goal, no matter what sort of reality Dr. Maruki creates for us." Ren explained, earning a chuckle from Akechi as he crossed one of his legs and leaned in, resting his chin on a palm.

"You realize what you're ultimately trying to achieve could be perceived as selfish, yes? Throwing away a perfect reality where no one has to suffer. I'd imagine it wouldn't be seen as popular for your group." Akechi pointed out. But Ren simply smiled back at him.

"I think you of all people should know that I'm no stranger to not being accepted for my decisions by society." Ren said. "But this needs to be done. Whether it's morally correct or not, I don't want all of the work that's been done to just be thrown away. Society has the potential to change and I truly believe that." Ren explained. He then had a solemn look on his face as he scanned his companion. But he said nothing as Akechi was quick to deduce what the young man was thinking about.

"There's no use dwelling on what will happen to me once this is all said and done… So don't." Akechi explained as he looked over to the jazz singer who came on stage and started to perform. "Why waste your energy on that anyway? We're not friends."

"We're rivals." Ren stated as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a glove. He then brought that glove to the table, making Akechi's eyes widen as he looked back to face Ren.

"You… you still kept that?" Akechi asked in bewilderment, earning a nod from Ren. "Why?" Was all Akechi could ask.

"We made a promise and I'm not going to go back on that." Ren stated as the owner of the jazz club came by and gave the two boys their drinks. Ren looked at his glass as he sported a serious look on his face, an expression Akechi saw often on the young man during missions. "Maybe we aren't friends but truth be told, I think we're something more complex than friends. I… can't quite explain what kind of bond that is. But I know that we have a sort of bond that I can't just ignore. Regardless of everything that has happened between us, I want to see you again in our reality." Ren explained.

"Are you an idiot?" Akechi rhetorically asked, aggression in his tone as he made sure not to get loud enough to draw in any unwanted attention. "I tried to get your little group destroyed and I attempted to murder you. Not to mention the murders I've already caused. Despite all that, you still want to hold onto some inconsequential promise?"

"It's not inconsequential." Ren fired back, glaring at the man as he gripped his glass harder.

"I told you how much I hated you, how I couldn't stand your very existence… how the idea of losing to you makes me absolutely disgusted!" Akechi said as he suddenly rose to his feet, slamming his hands down onto the table as a few nearby customers looked in shock. But Akechi paid them all no mind, for all he could think about right now was the very man right in front of him. "So why… why do you keep that promise?" Akechi asked, a hint of desperation in his tone as he truly looked confused.

"Because we're rivals." Ren stated once again, looking more calm and composed now compared to Akechi as the grip on his drink weakened and his expression softened. "We're the same in that I can't stand the idea of losing to you too, Akechi. Maybe what I'm hoping for is impossible, maybe back in our reality, you're really…" Ren trailed off briefly before shaking his head, determination written on his face. "Even still, I'm going to hold onto hope. I want to believe we'll meet again. You want to know why I believe that?" Ren asked, prompting Akechi to smirk.

"Tch, humor me because right now, the only reason that I can think of is that you're a fool." Akechi said.

"Because you're Goro Akechi and you aren't going down until you prove that you're better than me." Ren explained as he finished his drink and stood up from the table. Akechi looked at him in shock as his mouth was slightly agaped.

"You…" Akechi started to say but words failed to come to him as he could only further think about what Ren had said. Ren simply smiled at him in response.

"I'll see you later tonight for the mission. Don't be late." Ren explained as he grabbed the glove on the table and stuffed it back into his pocket "Gotta hold onto this until our next battle, yeah?" Ren said as he nodded to Akechi and left the young man alone at the table.

"Ren Amamiya… I truly can't stand you." Akechi thought as sat back in his chair and got lost in his thoughts. "But I also can't deny that you're making sense… I can't just die until I prove to you, everyone else, and myself that I'm better than you. My story does not end here. I'll show you… I will. In that way, I suppose you really are a valuable person in my life. Ridiculous… but also an undeniable fact of our bond."

Akechi would later depart from the jazz club, filled with conviction that this would not be the final time he would be at this club.

"Was that…?"

Ren muttered to himself as the train started to move. Soon, he would be home. His journey had finally come to an end and his days as a Phantom Thief might just be behind him. But he couldn't shake the feeling of recognizing Akechi out in the crowd. Morgana started to stir a bit in his sleep as Ren looked down at him on his lap and smiled. He patted him gently on the head, causing him to purr and sleep peacefully once more.

"Even after everything, there's still one last thing I need to resolve." Ren thought as he pulled out his phone and searched for Akechi's number. "I doubt he'll respond even if he's still alive… but still." Ren then proceeded to send Akechi a text message before shutting his phone off and lowering the cover to his window.

"I'll be waiting for you because I haven't forgotten our promise. The promise we made as rivals." Was the text message that was shared between the unbreakable bond of these two boys.