CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains references to self harm, parental abuse and suicide ideation. While not graphic, this content still may be difficult or upsetting to read, so please take breaks or skip sections as needed. Stay safe.


10/21 – Friday
After School
Odaiba, Shadow Response Unit Headquarters

Yu ran a hand back through his hair. "Okay, look, we're kinda going in circles here. Way I see it, we're just orbiting the same lynchpin: Akechi's trustworthiness." He leaned back slightly, half-staring at the ceiling. "Miss Okumura made a good point on that the other day. I don't necessarily agree with her conclusion, but me and Naoto both think that she's gotten the closest to convincing us. Still, she's voting for Akechi's plan, and so are we."

"Aigis," Ken cut in, their android friend perking up at her name. "You're still keeping track of everyone's vote, right?"

"We haven't called a conclusive vote–" Mitsuru protested, before cutting herself off. "My apologies. I understand your intent, I don't wish to cause unnecessary arguments." And she nodded to Aigis, as if giving the woman permission.

Aigis nodded back; maybe she was waiting for that. "Naoto, Kanji, Yu and the Phantom Thieves are in favor of going along with Akechi's plan. Mitsuru, Yukari, Kikuno, Junpei and Koromaru Junior are against the idea, and wish him to stick to the options originally provided to him by the SRU." Ren still found it utterly bizarre that Junior had voiced her own vote through Aigis, but it was yet another punch he was having to roll with. "All others have abstained from voting."

Those 'all others' were the tough part. Ren twisted a lock of hair between two fingers. Mitsuru probably wouldn't change her mind, and he was guessing her wife would continue to take her side. Yukari too, most likely. Junpei and Junior might come around, but...it wasn't really necessary for them to. All the Thieves needed was a 14 vote majority. And they were currently stuck at 12.

"There's gotta be a compromise here somewhere," Junpei said, giving a hopeful glance towards Yu and Mitsuru in turn. "Maybe some sort of system we could get the guy to agree to? Like...I dunno, what's a nice word for blackmail?" Ren had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping.

"If you think that'll work on ol' Kech," Sho said with a little smirk. "You really haven't been paying attention." He hadn't even looked up from his idle motion, a single playing card – the Jack of Clubs – positioned to balance on one corner, his finger on the opposite corner. Sho flicked the card, and it spun round and round and round. "He wants to help the Thieves, but he refused an option that lets him do that safely. So that tells me he probably can't stand the idea of us having control over him."

"Or he's waiting for an opportunity to tell Shido about us," Junpei retorted.

"What would he gain from that?" Sho asked, before Ren's fury could boil out of his own mouth. "According to Naoto, he's already got Shido's favor and pulled the wool over his eyes, all that. Unless you're just assuming he's lied about literally everything." He flicked the card again, sending it into yet another spin. "We've confirmed his story about his mom through that reporter chick, and I seriously doubt he's tripping over himself to buddy up to the guy who left him in foster care." Ren sent a silent pulse of gratitude to the man for fielding Junpei so calmly.

"The only way that Akechi double crosses us," Kanji said, tone firm, "is if he panics, or thinks that we'll take away his freedom or something." He adjusted his shirt, as if the formal buttons stressed him out in some capacity. Notably, he wasn't wearing the glasses Ren had seen on him the first time they met. Contacts, maybe? "He's bargaining for his...auto-something or other."

"Autonomy?" Rise offered.

"Yeah, that," Kanji said, a little too quick, giving her a grateful smile. "Don't forget, the kid handed himself over, and all his info checks out so far. He's trying to do the right thing, he's just desperate to make his own decisions."

"The question is, can we trust him with making those decisions?" Ken asked.

Yu smacked his hand on the table, sending a flinch into Ren. "Exactly! See, that's what I'm talking about! That's our fucking lynchpin." He seemed to catch himself, dropping his enthusiasm down a few notches. "We've talked in circles for almost two fucking weeks, and we have no idea how close Shido is to doing something stupid or drastic. We can't afford to cover old ground, we need to make a decision already."

"So call a mandatory vote," Kikuno said. Her tone was even, and oddly cold.

Yu didn't say another word. He closed his mouth, jaw tense, set, firm. Almost angry.

"No one wants to make that call," the woman continued, her gaze wandering across the other SRU members. When it fell on Ren, he felt a chill caress his spine. "Because no one wants to accept responsibility for making the incorrect decision. None of us want to ask for the vote that might send Goro Akechi to his death." She took a little breath. "Myself included." A little spark of what might have been honest vulnerability through that frigid facade.

Aigis nodded solemnly. "There are too many variables," she said. "We have no active insight on Masayoshi Shido's intentions." She paused, as if thinking, a little breath of steam escaping her. "The Shadow Response Unit is not prepared to fight the Japanese government."

"We've got an escape plan," Yosuke offered. "I mean, that whole evacuation thing. If Shido comes knocking, we skedaddle."

"Yeah, one escape plan," Yukari shot back. "Flushing the whole facility and fleeing to your dad's basement in Inaba is gonna work exactly once." She threw a glance towards Ren. "And that's not accounting for the Phantom Thieves."

"Have you seen Junes' basement?" Yosuke said. Junes? The fucking department store!? "That place is big enough for thirty, easy. Plus, bulk disaster stockpile. Food isn't an issue." And, almost as an afterthought: "and they can get into Mementos way easier than us anyway! So long as we keep the MEER open for them, they can follow us through."

Ren's breath leapt to his tongue. "Shido wouldn't target us." All eyes turned towards him. "I mean, maybe he'd try and arrest us or something. But we've got family here, friends." A shudder wove its way through his tone, and he swallowed it hard. "Shido already knows about a bunch of our associates. Akechi told him about all the people we've had contact with, and if we just vanish?" Ren grit his teeth. "He'd kill them. Worse, maybe."

"Your portal doohickey doesn't work remotely?" Sho asked. Almost idle, like a genuine curiosity, as if the grim silence in the rest of the room hadn't reached him.

Ren shook his head, but Morgana was the one who answered from his perch standing on Ren's legs, paws up on the table. "The Meta-Nav works on a proximity basis, anyone nearby gets dragged in whether we like it or not. But that means we'd have to be right next to the people we were trying to take with us." He sighed, wilting slightly. "I'm the only Thief who can go in and out of the Metaverse freely, and I can't bring anyone with me."

"No kidding," Sho said, leaning forward, clearly invested. He spun the card again, perfectly in time to Morgana's uncomfortable squirm. "So you're not just like Koromaru or Junior or something, you're actually–"

"Later," Mitsuru said, firmly. "We're focused on Akechi right now." She took a little breath, adjusting her hair. "And Aigis is correct. The SRU is focused on solving Metaversal threats, not protecting ourselves from the real world or any dangers within it." She leaned back to rap her knuckles against the nearby wall. "This building is a private business; it's guarded from most scrutiny, but not from the Japanese authorities. We'd need to declare sovereignty for anything close to that immunity."

"And that'd be a hell of a way to draw attention to ourselves," Ken mumbled. "Pretty sure Shido would just declare war on us then." He chuckled nervously, an almost involuntary thing that made Ren shudder. "Wonder if he respects the Geneva Conventions."

"Considering the shit he already does to Japanese citizens?" Rise scoffed. "Not likely."

Ren forced his attention away from the conversation, Kikuno's words playing on repeat in his head. No one wanted to make that call. He unlocked his phone with one hand.

Ren
Does everyone still agree with our earlier decision?
If you've got any reservations, now is the time to voice them

Ryuji
yep
i'm still on board, 100%

Yusuke
As am I.

Haru
I've expressed my reservations, but I still believe that Akechi's plan is the correct decision.

Ann
Ditto.

Makoto
?

Kasumi
Mhm! :)

Futaba
Last chance, huh?

Ren
We can always adjust course at any time
But if we want to throw any big curveballs towards the SRU, it's probably gotta be now
At least, if we want their help on those curveballs

Futaba
Okay.
Ugh.

Kasumi
Are you okay, Futaba? :\

Futaba
I'll be okay. Just still not sure all the way.
But it's the best idea we've got.
So, no curveballs.
Let's get that asshole out of there.

A smile jumped to Ren's lips. Alright. He pocketed his phone, returning his focus to the meeting.

"Can we please talk about the whole trust thing?" Yu asked, almost a whine.

"There's still more–" Yukari began.

"How many of you have actually met with Akechi?" Ren asked. The room fell silent.

"Uh," Kanji said, then cleared his throat. "I've brought him food a couple of times."

"Talked to him in the hallway," Ken added.

"He told me to fuck off," Sho chirped, a confusing note of pride behind his words.

"Cause we've all met with him," Ren said. "Every single Thief, we've all spoken with him; gotten to know him, at least a little. And not one of us has changed our minds." He focused his gaze vaguely on the others in the meeting, pushing as much intensity out as he could manage.

"I don't know if we have time for a bunch of tea-and-icebreakers," Rise said.

"Then give him a chance to make his case," Ren replied, quick and firm. "I'm with Yu here, we don't have time to talk in circles." And he threw as much of a glance towards Kikuno as he could manage, though he still couldn't meet the woman's careful gaze. "You said no one wanted to make the call? Fine. I'll make it." He cracked his neck. "I'm calling the vote. Akechi shares his points, then everyone makes their decision. No more debating."

Silence again. Ren could hear his own heart pounding in his ears, filling up the quiet space. They could all probably smell the furious anxiety on him, despite Morgana purring away on his lap.

"You said you trusted us the same as an Operative, right?" Ren asked, focusing on Mitsuru. A preemptive retort, an unspoken challenge. 'Put your money where your mouth is.' "So, I should get the right to make that call, same as Yu or anybody else. If Akechi dies, if I fuck up and fail, I accept responsibility." He swallowed hard. Despite the intensity of his tone, his hands still shuddered beneath the table. "It'd be my fault anyway if that happens. So if no one else wants to step up to the plate, I'll just keep on swinging."

Mitsuru nodded, slowly. The silence stretched. What felt like an eternity, as if Oxymoron had stopped time again or something. "Very well," she said. "The Thieves are not Operatives, but I will accept your demand nonetheless. You are indeed correct, I trust you and your friends the same as anyone else here. So, if the Thieves are asking us to make a decision, we will make one." She stood, placing a hand on the table. "I would like to ask for a twenty-four hour grace period first, though. Especially if you wish to include the rest of the Thieves; it would most likely be difficult for them all to rush over here."

Ren nodded. "Yeah. That works for me." And giving Akechi a bit of time to mentally brace himself was probably another upside.

"Tomorrow, then," Mitsuru said. "All SRU members will be required to participate." She sent a long glance across the room. "Whatever the decision may be, tomorrow we will execute it." The word rang in Ren's ears long after Mitsuru's voice faded. Execute. Execute. Execute.

And he prayed the foreboding feeling in his gut was only his own anxiety.


"One last game, then," Akechi said, quietly. The bags under his eyes were practically luggage at this point. "Before I am...placed on trial." His tired eyes focused on the chess board, shaky hands somehow managing to align each piece in its proper place.

"You just need to convince two more people," Ren said. "The Thieves aren't changing their minds, and neither are Naoto, Yu or Kanji. Another two votes, and we have a majority."

"You seem to be treating this as a zero sum game," Akechi said idly. "A competition you can win."

"I'm trying to get you out of here," Ren replied, giving the detective a little glare. "It's your plan in the first place, I'm just doing what I can to get them to agree to it."

"Agree to it?" Akechi said, the briefest snap to his words. "Or agree with you?" He brought the white king down onto the board with a resonant click, and then grabbed the pawn in front of it, advancing it two spaces. Enough room for both his queen and bishop to move freely.

"Both?" Ren forced his focus to the board. "It's your plan, not mine. I agreed because I think you're right. Is that what you want me to say?" The best option was to free his own queen, to try and cut off Akechi's aggression before he could shove Ren onto the defensive. His fingers hovered over his own king's pawn. No, that didn't feel right. Maybe it was just instinct talking, but playing desperate had only ever let Akechi sink his teeth into Ren's metaphorical neck. Play smart. Akechi's queen was dangerous. But his bishop was more vulnerable. Maybe Ren could make use of his knights somehow, or even use his own queen to–

"I'd say the pawn is the strongest piece on the board, myself. The king is overblown, some bloated ego with a lot of supposed importance, who gets to end the game when he dies, because he deems himself the most important. Despite all that, the king is no stronger than a pawn. Weaker, even."

"It seems you and I are not so lucky as to be pawns. For all your talk of how you hate the king, you've happily embraced its role yourself, haven't you?"

Ren's gaze fell on Akechi's pawns. Two bishops and a queen. If Akechi moved his queen's pawn forward, he could open up three dangerous pieces at once. Knowing the Prince, he'd probably opt for that, try and end the game quick. And if he picked off Ren's knights, then he'd stick the Thief in zugzwang, right? Any move would screw him. But a blitz left him vulnerable.

Open up one avenue. Give him only a single point of ingress. Peel open the center of the board. Akechi always thought three moves ahead, so Ren forced himself to think four. And he shifted the pawn in front of his queenside bishop forward two spaces.

Akechi raised his eyebrows. "Sicilian, is it?" he mumbled. The quickest of toothless glares. "I see you've been studying."

"Nope," Ren replied. "Just following my gut."

Akechi scoffed, and hopped his kingside knight over and towards the center.

Pawn takes pawn. Knight takes pawn. Bishop pins knight. Ren couldn't help but smirk. How far could this go? He shifted his king's pawn up a single space. A perfect avenue for his queen, and a little alley for her bishop to sneak out.

Without a word, Akechi moved his queen's pawn two spaces up.

"Pawn takes pawn," Ren said. Click.

"Knight takes pawn," Akechi replied. Click.

Black kingside knight towards center. White queenside knight towards center. Black kingside bishop forward to pin queenmost knight.

Akechi stiffened. "You..." He stared down at the board. "What the fuck."

Ren couldn't help the little involuntary chuckle that slipped out of him. He leaned back, stretching his arms out to either side. An odd knot of tension started to unwind in him. "Your move, Akechi."

"So it is," the detective mumbled. "So it is."


"Checkmate." The statement slipped off Ren's tongue quicker than anything. "I mean, it is, right?" He could barely keep his excitement in long enough to double and triple check the board.

"Yes," Akechi said, the word leaving him strained.

"Nice!" Morgana exclaimed, poking his head out of his bag to admire the board. "You're really getting better!" Ren chose not to point out the slight air of surprise in the feline's tone.

"Indeed." Akechi leaned back, adjusting his sleeves, breath seeming somewhat labored. "I suppose this means you've finally surpassed me, then."

"One victory doesn't mean that," Ren protested, scooping up the pieces and returning them to the little velvet bag Sojiro had provided him. "You've still won all our other games. And, besides, you're pretty distracted right now. So I kinda had an unfair advantage."

"Then why are you grinning?" Akechi snapped.

Ren shrugged. "Cause it feels good to win." He gave Akechi a long look, trying to look for the cracks in the Prince's bitterness, the little bits of honesty through that vicious mask. "Isn't that why you do it all the time?"

Akechi didn't answer. Merely sat back, his expression stoic.

Ren sighed, continuing to pick up the scattered pieces. His fingers curled around the king, and he paused. A little inspiration wormed its way across his brain. "Hey, Akechi. Catch." And he tossed the king underhanded towards him.

Despite the detective's fatigue, he still snatched the piece out of the air, gazing down at it with an expression halfway to amusement. "Asking me to play black next time?" he offered, waving the dark king towards Ren.

"Oh," Ren said, realizing he'd chucked the wrong king, trying to correct course. "No, I mean, like, I always play black, so if you hold onto it...I mean, I won't play with anyone else, you know?" At Akechi's silent raised eyebrow, he backtracked his breath. "We're rivals, right? You like kicking my ass, and I wanna get better enough to kick yours."

He nodded towards the piece. "You're not at your best right now. So you can hang on to my king until you are." Focus flickered behind his eyes, seeming to sharpen his focus. "Pick the time and place, when you're ready to prove you're better than me. Or," he offered a little smirk, "to let me prove to you that you're not. Mark my words, I'll fight you fair and square. And I'm gonna win." Or, try, at least. But he felt a little more like the bravado fit the moment, for whatever reason.

Akechi blinked. He stared back down at the king, something more...important in his expression. A solemnity, maybe. "I see." He tossed it up into the air, as if testing its weight. "Alright." An odd little spark of life in those exhausted irises. "You've got yourself a deal, Ren."

"Akechi needs something else to motivate him. Another goal, or ideal, that can provide him a reason to actually focus on thriving rather than survival."

Maybe a single chess match wasn't that much of a reason to live for. But it was definitely a start.


10/22 – Saturday
After School
Odaiba, Shadow Response Unit Headquarters

Ryuji kicked a nothing-ball across the cafeteria the Thieves were using as a makeshift meeting place. "So, he holding up okay?"

Ren just offered a shrug. "I mean, okay is kinda relative at this point. But, uh..." He twisted a strand of hair around one finger. "I don't know if he's slept for more than a couple hours since he got here."

"Humans can survive on four hours of sleep a day, technically," Makoto noted. "Maybe he's been skirting by on that."

Yusuke threw a raised eyebrow across the table. "How in the world do you know that offhand?"

"Makie knows a lot of random facts," Haru chirped, before Makoto could answer.

"That," Makoto agreed with a sheepish smile, "and, well, in first year I stayed up all night studying and was too caffeinated to sleep the next evening so I thought I was going to die, had a panic attack, looked up how long humans can live without sleep and then passed out at my computer." Ren couldn't stifle his snort fast enough, and the young woman rolled her eyes. "As if you're a paragon of healthy sleep schedules, Mister 'I'll Just Text The Group Chat At Four-AM So I Don't Forget.'"

"She's got you there," Futaba chimed in, smirking at her brother.

"Don't start," he replied with a little chuckle.

"What?" Futaba threw up her arms in an exaggeration of legitimate insult. "Come on, I get plenty of sleep! I just get it at weird times, that's all."

"Oh, did I just miss teasing Taba hour?" Ann's voice, the blonde following it right behind, with Kasumi rushing to keep up.

"Nope, got here just in time," Ryuji said, waving to the young women. "Yo, yo."

"Yo-yo?" Kasumi asked, sparing only a moment of confusion for the jock before turning to Ann. "Why would you want to tea-tease Futaba though? She's really lovely and you two get along well, right?"

"Yep," Ann said, hopping up onto the cafeteria table next to Futaba, who let out a tiny squeak in retort. "But it's fun. She's cute when she gets all flustered and sheepish and stuff." Ren was surprised his sister's brain didn't just melt out her ears at that statement, and she definitely looked incredibly...flattered was maybe the wrong word. She was grinning in the weirdest way.

"That's rude though," Kasumi protested, though she looked like she was holding back a smile.

"I don't really mind that much!" Futaba said, her voice wobbly and strained, jumping octaves across every word. "I mean I'm not that much I'm not I don't mind! So, uh, yeah!" She shook her hands at nothing very quickly.

"See?" Ann said, seeming to barely manage to get the word out between giggles. "Adorable."

"Mhm," Kasumi agreed – and maybe it was wishful thinking for Futaba's sake – but her smile seemed a lot more dreamy than mirthful.

"Excuse me." Another's voice, and Ren pivoted in his chair to see Mitsuru, seeming to tower above the table. "By a head count, unless Morgana happens to be absent, all the Thieves are accounted for, yes?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled a cell out of her pocket and flick-unlocked it, before beginning to type something slow and precise. "We were waiting on Labrys – she had a software inspection, if I'm not misremembering – but she arrived a few minutes ago. With that, we're all assembled." She lowered her phone, nodding to Ren. "I assume you wish to escort Akechi to the meeting?"

Ren's lips pursed before he could manage a response, dread sticking to the roof of his mouth. "Yeah," he replied. He slipped out of his chair, the other Thieves standing out of the corners of his periphery. Ren forced his gaze away from the woman. "See you guys at the meeting?"

"See you there," Ann said, throwing up a wave. For whatever reason, her smile seemed a little more pointed than usual. Sort of a 'I've got this.' Telling him not to worry, maybe.

Ryuji cleared his throat. "Hey." The word clearly directed towards Mitsuru, his focus entirely on the SRU Director. "You, uh..." Ryuji shifted in place. "Look, just, don't be too hard on the guy, okay? He's been through some serious shit."

Mitsuru blinked at him a few times before giving a saccharine smile. "I had no intent of making things difficult for Ren at all, I promise you. In fact," and she threw a glance towards Ren, "if there was anything I could do–"

"I'm not talking about Ren," Ryuji snapped. "I mean, yeah, obviously, not like I want you to make shit tough for him. I'm talking about Akechi." He glared at the woman. "I get it, okay? I get what he's done, I get you can't just let him off with nothing. But...fuck, just don't make him regret trusting us, okay?" A sharp breath escaped the blond. "Last thing he needs is another adult telling him what to do."

"I'll keep that in mind," Mitsuru replied. And maybe the hastiness of her words was meant to be dismissive, but her tone didn't seem it. It was...honestly really hard to tell, with her. It always was. And with that, she turned towards the cafeteria entrance and started to walk.

It took Ren the entire elevator ride down to work up the guts to say another word. "So, I heard from Naoto that you wanted to put Akechi on suicide watch."

Mitsuru didn't respond right away, and her expression remained stoic. "Yes. He talked me out of the idea, though." She met his gaze for a moment, then focused on the elevator doors as they slid open. "I assume you have an opinion on the matter."

"Assume I–" A bubble of bitter laughter momentarily drowned out his words. "Yes!?" Ren almost flinched at his own intensity. "I'm against it. If that's not obvious."

"It is," she said. The two of them began to walk again, Mitsuru taking the labyrinthian hallways with confidant familiarity and Ren just doing his best to keep pace. "As I said, though, it won't be happening."

"It never should have come up in the first place," Ren replied, forcing a firmness into his words that he hoped would disguise how much he hated talking about this. "It never should have been an option. If you'd listened to Naoto – or me, I guess – from the start, then you would know it's a bad fucking idea."

"I'll consider all necessary options when it comes to ensuring the safety, let alone the survival, of anyone I have any amount of power to save," Mitsuru said, the words flowing out of her with articulate elegance. She sent a small frown his way. "I'm honestly a little surprised. Naoto made it clear that my plan would cause more harm than good; and I believe him, you don't need to convince me of that. But I...well, you said yourself that you wouldn't allow Akechi to die. I'd think you'd understand where I'm coming from."

"I don't care where you're coming from," Ren snapped. "Because even if I thought Akechi was, like, an active danger to himself or something, I still wouldn't opt for taking away his autonomy, because I know enough about him and enough about that to know that it would fucking kill him." He forced his gaze towards her, and it felt like holding his hand under boiling water. "Naoto is working with Akechi, but you're treating it like he's some fucking supervisor on a project or something, like you're the boss and you still have final say. He knows what he's doing, and...fuck, to be honest, you don't! Not when it comes to Akechi." Ren allowed his focus to wander again, returning to staring at his own feet. "I get you're scared of wanting something bad to happen that you could fix. Like, wanting to keep..." He couldn't quite form the words he felt to be true. Even if he was right, it just wasn't his place to say.

"Wanting to keep history from repeating itself?" Mitsuru offered. An unfitting softness to her tone, laced through with melancholy.

Ren just nodded.

"Hm." And Mitsuru left it at that, for what felt like minutes. "You're not wrong. In fact, I would say you're quite correct." She brought her hands in front of her gut, rhythmically tapping the fingers of one across the back of another. "The year Shinjiro passed was also the year I lost my father, and a dear friend of mine. It's not a memory fondly recalled. In fact, I know for a fact that I am still haunted by guilt over surviving through that year when others I loved did not. And there is...little I fear above losing even a single person the way I lost them."

"You blame yourself for it," Ren said. It should have been a question, but it wasn't.

"I do," Mitsuru said. "And recognizing that blame is ill-placed has done very little to dissuade it." She offered a small, almost pained smile. "I promise you though, I don't spend so long deliberating decisions like these out of some desire to have the final say. I just...I need to be sure. I need to know that I'm not making another decision that will lead to someone's death."

Ren could relate. Of course he could. How many times had he wavered in his command of the Thieves out of dread, out of terror? How many times had he latched onto a desperate sense of control to the detriment of himself and his friends?

The click of a spoon against the inside of Ann's coffee cup. Ryuji's hands on his shoulders, staring at him through rain-soaked hair. Morgana's purr radiating through his shoulder blade and across his spine, like Nirvana ringing through every single cell of his body.

"That's why you need Naoto," he said. "And me. And the rest of the SRU." He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, feeling a very real purr echoing up through the fabric. "Because you can't always make the right decision. You'll drive yourself crazy if you try. So, sometimes, you just have to..." He gestured at nothing.

"To trust them, and take a step back," Mitsuru finished. "Yes. I promise you, I'm well aware." She glanced over her shoulder slightly, with a little knowing smile. "Knowing that doesn't always mean we can do the right thing. But it is at least the first step towards trying."

The sound of conversation reached them before they reached Akechi's room. Naoto's voice, echoing out through the hallway. "–can expect the same sympathy, but I doubt she'll understand–"

"Then make her understand," the second Prince's voice rang out. "That's what you're here for, isn't it?" Despite the harshness of his words, Akechi's voice seemed...frail. As if the breath would shatter at the slightest touch.

Ren glanced towards Mitsuru, catching a frown on her face before she hurried her step, slipping out in front of him and making it to the door first. She froze in front of the open frame, staring into the room, her expression settling from surprise into anger. "Naoto," she said, with all the calm frigidity of a comet. "Explain."

Ren hurried to match, his heart already climbing its way up into his throat. And when he finally reached her side, his anxious gaze traced the entire room in an instant.

The cooler was lying open on the table. A puddle of water had formed beneath it, dripping off the side onto the floor. Naoto was directly in front of the bed, probably having taken that position to talk to Akechi, but had now turned around to face the doorway. And Akechi...he was even more pale than usual, practically collapsed back on his bed. Even from feet away, Ren could see his breathing was labored, heavy and forced. His right sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, and that scarred skin was additionally covered in a vivid crimson flush, the skin bright and irritated and both swollen and covered in welts.

"There's nothing to explain," Naoto said, his tone firm. "Beyond that the importance of today has produced an untenable amount of anxiety." He threw a quick glance over his shoulder, which Akechi returned with a glare. "You've been handling it remarkably well, considering."

"Goodie," the boy replied, his speech slightly slurred.

"I don't know that I can trust your definitions of 'well,'" Mitsuru snapped. She gestured sharply to the cooler on the table, sending Ren into a flinch. "Sleep deprivation, starvation and now he's...what, giving himself hypothermia?" The cooler. The ice. Ren felt his gut drop out.

"Chilblains," Naoto replied. "It's painful, but not a long term health risk."

"I'm not bleeding all over these rags you've stuck me in," the detective added, tone dry through the shuddering of his voice. "I'd assumed you'd be happy."

Mitsuru twitched. "I'm not," she replied, her voice cold. And her gaze focused once more on Naoto. "I gave you free reign over this situation because you assured me you were uniquely qualified to keep Akechi from harming himself or others. And I return to find you have encouraged his self-destructive habits?"

"Harm mitigation is not a panacea." Naoto remained firm, unyielding, unwavering. "I recognize Akechi has a number of habits and proclivities which are harmful to him in the long term." His gaze narrowed. "In case you aren't aware, prohibiting those negative behaviors does a remarkable job of accomplishing absolutely nothing beyond keeping up the appearance of recovery. Which could be reached just as well with a talented makeup artist, some painkillers and a few dozen shots of caffeine."

"And encouraging them accomplishes what, exactly?" Mitsuru retorted. "You seem quite satisfied with simply limiting Akechi's behavior to the safest road towards self-annihilation." Her brow furrowed, glaring at Naoto. "I'm guessing his newest habit is your idea. Self-harm without a long term risk, as you said." She scoffed. "I don't know why you'd ever think I would allow that, let alone accept it."

Something clicked into place inside Ren. Like a bone stuck in his throat had snapped in half. "Using ice was my idea," he said. Staring at the woman, focusing his intensity on her. He couldn't find it in himself to fill his voice with anything more than righteous stoicism, though anger still pulsed its way through his throat. "It's something my therapist recommended to me, to help with my own habits." Ren's hands tightened around the strap of his bag. "Scars don't fade just because you stop picking at them. And being forced to stop doesn't mean those feelings go away. Trauma doesn't work like that."

"Self-harm is a symptom of ongoing issues, not a cause," Naoto added, and Ren glanced over to see what might have been a grateful glint in his eye. "If you're looking for Akechi, or anyone, to walk out of here boasting anywhere close to a full recovery, then we're going to need a lot longer than a week and far more accommodations than a cooler and a windowless underground room."

"I'm not asking for you to fix him," Mitsuru protested. Her stoicism seemed...less, maybe. That anger melting away into something more simple, more careful. "I'm well aware that recovery can be an arduous process. I'm not asking for you to do the impossible. Just..." She let out a sharp sigh. "There has to be some other way of going about his stay here that doesn't require habitual self-mutilation."

"For fuck's sake," Akechi rasped. "You're more insufferable than Amamiya. At least he gives me the benefit of the doubt that I'm not actively trying to murder myself." The boy reached up for the overhang where the wall pivoted inwards to make room for the bed, using his other arm to shove himself closer, dragging his way up to an unsteady seated position. "I have no plans of dying before Shido, and furthermore I require the continued use of my mental and physical faculties in order to bring...him...down."

Spitting out each word, clearly struggling but forcing his way forward. "My methods of doing so have kept me alive and functional so far. So regardless of your opinion on my trustworthiness or my actions, please be assured that a little ice will not kill me." He raised a shaky arm, glaring across the room with glazed-over eyes and an intensity that could bore a hole in the metal behind Mitsuru. "In case you haven't noticed, I have fostered a few far more damaging habits over the past few years. And yet, I'm very much alive."

An involuntary bark of a laugh, hoarse and awful. "Wherever I end up being sentenced to, I will accept Shirogane's continued assistance, and acquiesce to whatever check-ups he requires to ensure I am not doing anything moronic." The word lilted, mocking. "But with whatever agency you still allow me, Kirijo, let me make this clear: kindly reign in your messiah complex when it comes to addressing my ongoing health."

Mitsuru didn't say a word. She let the silence stretch, her expression even and contemplative. Maybe weighing her options. Maybe evaluating her own harshness. Maybe simply finding some way to justify it all to herself. Ren's breath stalled in his throat, waiting for her to say something, anything.

"Do you want to live?" she asked. Akechi tensed, and Ren felt his own throat start to constrict. "You're angry at me for not trusting you, and I'll accept that criticism. But so far as your stay here, I have only seen you wish for death. So before I can accede, I need to understand that you are making...any active attempt towards recovery. Please, just show me that you are trying, that you want to live, and I will gladly grant you complete autonomy in that process."

Naoto let out a long, frustrated breath. He didn't say a word, but he clearly wanted to. Whatever was on his mind, he probably couldn't articulate it.

Akechi was silent as well. Shaking ever so slightly, wavering. "I have nothing to give you but my word," he spat. "I promise you, I don't enjoy being seen as a time bomb. I have a debt to pay to Kasumi – and Amamiya as well, I suppose – and I need to see my father pay for his crimes. Past that, I don't much care." His eyes met Ren's for a long few seconds. "My new allies insist on keeping me alive. Their methods are...odious, but I don't think they'll even allow me to drop out of my own life, should I wish that."

And he returned his gaze to Mitsuru, a sharpness returning to him. As if he had blunted himself, held back from harming Ren. The thought sent an odd stillness into his ribcage. "If you want some documentation, throw me at a fucking shrink. Otherwise, put all that money where your mouth is, Kirijo. You said you trusted Ren." His eyes narrowed. "So why don't you trust him to keep me from killing myself, hm?"

Mitsuru blinked. Ren bit his lip. He could feel Morgana squirming in his bag. Even Naoto seemed to be waiting, tense, like an animal seconds from either running or throwing itself at the nearest threat. "Your word," she repeated. "Hm." Mitsuru let a silent second roll by. "Your word is more than enough, Akechi." And with that, she gave a quick, respectful nod to Naoto. "I apologize. Thank you for your patience."

The detective returned the gesture, the tension leaving his posture. And he turned back to Akechi. "I've got a spare cane around here somewhere," he said. His voice was quiet, even. The informal serenity that tended to come with familiarity. "If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, I could go grab it."

Akechi just shrugged, hefting himself up farther, shifting his legs off the side of the bed. "If you must," he said dryly. "You'd be depriving our two messiahs from the opportunity to carry me there." A jerk of his head towards Mitsuru and Ren, and an involuntary little giggle before all mirth dropped from him. "Just go already. I'll manage."

Naoto nodded. He stood for a second longer, as if there was something he was waiting on. Himself, maybe. "You will indeed," he said. "You will."


Akechi had refused Mitsuru's offer of assistance and instead latched onto Ren's arm to keep himself steady as they walked, which probably should have been a compliment except the entire limb was now threatening to lose all circulation. He'd also threatened to...well, not really to do anything in particular, just sort of demanded Ren not to say anything stupid on pain of something vague and terrible. Ren didn't so much fear the vague and terrible consequences as much as he didn't want to make things any more awkward than they already felt, so he kept his mouth shut.

Akechi, however, seemed to have no such desire. "I'm surprised you surrendered your plan to smother me so easily," he said, his words swimming in dry bitterness. "What, couldn't find a straitjacket in my size?" A bubble of manic laughter slipped out between his breaths.

Mitsuru didn't answer. She just kept walking, one foot in front of the other.

"And now you're giving me the cold shoulder," Akechi lilted. A little half-snarl in his tone. "You're a sorer loser than me."

"Akechi–" Ren warned.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds me, yes, yes," he interrupted. Akechi rolled his head at an odd angle, like an attempt to crack his neck had dragged his entire body into a tilt. "Don't get me wrong, Miss Kirijo, I'm endlessly grateful for your hospitality. I've always wanted to spend two weeks in a fucking bunker–" He cut himself with another involuntary shudder of a laugh. Ren could feel it echo through the both of them, the Prince's knees threatening to buckle at the tremor. Ren tightened his grip, gritting his teeth slightly at the effort of hefting a half-limp body.

"As soon as our decision today is made, whatever that might be," Mitsuru said. "I will personally make sure we have a plan in place to house you somewhere more accommodating to your needs." She threw a glance their way, then back forward. "I did not intend nor expect for you to stay in that room for longer than a few days. I apologize for my part in extending our process past where any of us had originally planned."

"Hm," Akechi said, a dry lilting hum. "I suppose that makes it all better then. Simply stick me in a room with a view and expect this all to work itself out."

"Or let you return to whatever housing Shido granted you," she said. The words sent a frigid stillness into Akechi. "In fact, I believe that's the most likely outcome of today's meeting, unless you decide to advocate against your own plan."

"I suppose you're betting on that, then," he snapped.

"She's not betting on anything." Morgana's muffled voice, and the cat squirmed his way out of his bag. "She just doesn't want to watch you die. How is that so hard to understand?" Ren didn't need to see him to know his hackles were raised, and he was probably glaring at the detective.

Mitsuru hummed something to herself. Like a thought compressed into a single breath. "The resources of the SRU are at your disposal," she said, a little firmness to her tone. "We have two dozen trained Persona-users, an avenue into Mementos, access to the Palaces should the Thieves allow, sizable financial backing and multiple allies across Japan who would be willing to do anything from lie on your behalf to smuggle you out of the country."

She sent another look towards them, but this one seemed...softer, somewhat. "You could have asked us to go to war with Japan, and we would have done so. You could have asked us to stake our reputation on protecting and supporting you while you publicized his crimes, and we would have done so. You could have asked us to change his heart for you, and we would have gladly done so."

She shook her head, a frown twitching at the corner of her mouth. "But you are asking us instead to sit back and cross our fingers and hope that Shido doesn't harm you too drastically, and that you will make it out of this single-minded revenge plot anywhere close to stability. You are asking us to allow you to return to a situation that was killing you, and to hold back anything past the barest minimum of support and surveillance."

"And yet the Thieves you trust so completely have taken my side," Akechi said, his tone tense, strained. "If I recall, they have all willingly voted for my plan over any of yours." He barked out a little nervous laugh. "Though, maybe you're simply indulging some need to save everyone to meet, as if you're the only person in the world who could." He rolled his eyes. "It's pathetic, really. Are you honestly so desperate to fix some broken kid," spitting out the word, "that you'll start second guessing those same people you proclaim to believe in?"

"I believe in you too," Mitsuru said. And the softness of her words sent a little ache into Ren's spine. "There has been no moment in this process that I did not believe in you."

Akechi, for once, didn't seem to have a reply. And Ren was right there with him.

Mitsuru let out a long breath. "You remind me of an old friend, Akechi." Her voice was quiet, melancholy. "It took me a while to make the connection, I just realized it a few days ago. But the two of you are very alike." The tiniest of smiles ghosted her lips. "I think you would have gotten along well."

"Another disaster-in-process, then?" The detective's dry reply seemed far more strained than usual, as if exhaustion had caught up with him.

"A little," she chuckled, her tone seeming the farthest thing from offense. "He was quiet, morbid. Obsessed with the concept of death, I think, with its inevitability. And yet, even as he accepted entropy as some natural conclusion, he still kept pushing forward, looking for his purpose, clinging to those moments that kept him going." A laugh escaped her. "He was the most optimistic nihilist I've ever met." And something quiet seemed to catch on her tongue. "He saved my life. He saved all of our lives."

"And you aim to repay your debt, I assume," Akechi said.

"Somewhat," Mitsuru agreed. "But more than that, I..." She smiled, a little mirthful thing. "I want to be like him. I've wanted that for a long while. Or at the very least, when I finally see him again, I want him to be proud of me." Her posture seemed to straighten, some odd focus weaving its way into every step. "He was braver than anyone I've ever met. As well as the most capable leader SEES ever had."

Wait, the leader of SEES? Unless there was someone else Ren hadn't heard about, that would have been...Arisato, right? But 'he,' and not 'they.' Maybe...had Shinjiro been a leader at some point?

"Despite how little he cared for his own safety, he wouldn't hesitate to protect his allies. And he didn't let that nihilism stop him from striving to be better, every single time I saw him." Mitsuru closed her eyes. Chasing a memory, maybe. "When I met him, he was alone. All the more resilient for it, but he hadn't trusted a single person who hadn't used that trust against him."

"You've been hurt before, haven't you? Seems a good reason to be afraid. But that fear doesn't rule you. You chose your fate, Trickster."

A golden voice in the back of his head. An echo of something familiar, something precious.

"I...expected quite little of him at first, honestly," Mitsuru continued. "I was worried he might become dead weight." Another little laugh. "He outpaced me in the span of two months. And he wasn't just our leader, he was our friend. Kind, gentle. More vulnerable than most people I've met. And not a moment of that was easy for him. He simply...refused to accept dissatisfaction. When he felt something was wrong, he corrected it, no matter how much of a challenge it was."

She opened her eyes, an odd smile dancing across her expression. "Despite that nihilism, he never gave up. Even when everyone else...even when I had given up, he hadn't." She returned her gaze to Akechi, who still seemed utterly lost for words. "I've been pushing you because I believe in you. Because I know firsthand that even the best of us can want to take the easy way out." Her smile was drenched in both kindness and melancholy. "And until you outpace me yourself, Akechi, I'm going to keep on pushing you. So that one day, you won't need me to."


The meeting room was fuller than Ren had ever seen it. Nine Thieves, himself included. Yu, Naoto and their six allies. The eight former members of SEES. Labrys. Sho Minazuki. And Akechi, sitting at the farthest end of the long amalgamated table, a solid five feet between him and both Naoto and Kasumi at either side.

"You have the floor, Akechi," Mitsuru said. The room had previously carried their voices, but now seemed to swallow them, muffling her words somewhat over the dozen-foot distance.

"Thank you." His reply was quiet, maybe automatic. He shifted upwards in his chair, adjusting his posture. And then he took a long glance around the room, getting a good look at all of them through dark eyes that almost seemed to have sunk into his skull. "I assume you're all well enough acquainted with my crimes, and the plan I desire to enact." Akechi said, his voice raised, clear and articulate despite the fatigue threaded through every breath.

He paused, taking another glance around the room, clearly waiting for any objection. "Good. Then I can cut to the chase." He interlocked his fingers, hands on the table. "The Thieves require an estimate of two months before they feel ready to act against Shido. They have not felt the need to share their reasons with me, but I can guess they aim to prepare some method by which Shido's confession may have the most impact." He looked towards Ren. "Am I wrong?"

Ren bit the inside of his cheek. Their plan wasn't exactly a secret by any means, but it didn't at all feel like his place to tell. Maybe he could just confirm the bare minimum, or–

"You're correct," Makoto said, and her voice almost made Ren jump. "We aim to change the heart of a corrupt prosecutor," Akechi raised an eyebrow, no doubt connecting the dots, "who could use their influence to make sure that Shido isn't immediately absolved of his crimes." She sent a little glance towards Ren, and whatever she might have meant by it was lost on him. "There's not much point making him confess if that confession is just written off by his allies as campaign stress, or something similar. He needs to be held accountable for his crimes, and given a chance to sell out his collaborators so that they may similarly face justice."

"Very well thought-out," Akechi said, his voice smooth. An unspoken smugness to his tone. Yeah, he definitely knew. But at the very least, he didn't seem eager to jump on that one important piece of vagueness. "And I agree completely. Shido may be my personal target, but it stands he is a particularly vile symptom of a far more widespread disease."

His lips twitched into a slight smirk, maybe involuntarily. "But Shido will not be satisfied with simply sitting back and letting the Thieves do as they please, especially knowing that his pet project," a little giggle slipping out of him, "has gone missing. May I remind you all that we are dealing with a self-appointed tyrant who has more control issues than common sense."

He unlinked his hands, tapping the fingers of one hand against the table. "From what I have heard so far, there are two schools of opinion acting contrary to the plan I have offered. The first is predicated on my trustworthiness, or lack thereof." Ren could almost hear Yu perk up from across the table. "For those who simply feel that I am untrustworthy for their own instinctive reasons, I will accept that. And for those who require additional proof..."

He trailed off. Maybe thinking, maybe...something else. "I won't provide it." A blunt honesty, the detective's tone dipping into harshness. "None of you have any reason to trust me. I've spent my whole life lying, I'm a professional liar at this point. Anything I say to you could be...is for the sake of my own selfish desires." He sent a vague glare out into the room, eyes rapidly focusing and unfocusing. "You'd be an idiot to believe me should I tell you the sky was blue before you had a chance to check."

Kasumi shifted in place, frowning, looking like she might squirm out of her chair just to make it to her best friend's side. Like something about this was unbearable for her. Ren was tempted to tell off the detective for shooting himself in the foot, even if just because it made Kasumi worry, but he kept his mouth shut.

"And for the other school of opinion, those who are concerned with my well-being?" Akechi continued, his words fully eclipsed in bitterness. "May I remind you all that I am an assassin who has caused more harm to innocent people than you could possibly imagine." His gaze flicked towards...towards Futaba. It was sort of a vague glance, but Ren knew. He knew immediately.

Futaba herself didn't react. Her face was a mask of artificial stoicism. Maybe she was trying to be strong. Maybe it was for Ren.

"My health, my life, is of far less importance than the debt of suffering I have accumulated." Akechi dragged his fingernails across the smooth table, both hands shuddering. "So, with all that in mind, I'm asking you to send me back to my father. I'm asking you to let me protect you all from him." His voice shook. A spark of what might have been genuine vulnerability. In that moment, he was frail. In that moment, he was a child a second away from collapsing. "That is the only way I can even begin to work off that debt. If I ever hope to sleep at night again, that restitution cannot go unpaid. Do you think I could ever do anything close to that recompense from witness fucking protection!?"

Despite the intensity behind every word, his voice was strained to the point of breaking, splintering over itself, slurred at its edges. Akechi lowered his head. His breath was shallow, and hoarse. "There are people about to risk their lives to bring my father to his knees." And he glanced up again, his eyes wide and full. Bright with both life and fury. "Do you think I could ever live with the shame if I wasn't one of them?"

Silence. No one said a word. It almost felt like no one dared to. Like the seconds were glass, and a single breath would shatter them.

Akechi slumped back against his chair. "I cede the floor," he rasped.

Ren felt the familiar words leap to his tongue before his mind could catch up. "All in favor?"

Twenty hands raised. Ren. Morgana. Ryuji. Haru. Yusuke. Ann. Futaba. Makoto. Kasumi. Yu. Naoto. Kanji. Yosuke. Chie. Yukiko. Aigis. Ken. Akihiko. Sho.

And Mitsuru. "The motion is passed," she said, lowering her hand. "The Shadow Response Unit will comply with Akechi's plan as presented, with no further objections." She nodded across the table to the Prince. "We can discuss further logistics tonight. The SRU's expertise and resources are at your disposal."

Akechi didn't say a word. And maybe it was just Ren projecting, but the detective had never once looked so solemn in his own victory.


I don't think I could thank Jane enough for this chapter. Nearly every scene was adapted from ideas she came up with about a year ago, when we were originally sketching out our plan for the Akechi arc. Those snippet speeches and scenes were beyond inspiring, and I hope that I have done them all justice – pun entirely intended.

The Akechi arc is officially complete! Starting next chapter, things are going to calm down in a major way, returning to the normal mix of confidants and mild plot advancements. We've gotta check up on a bunch of friends who have taken a relative backseat, and Ren definitely needs some downtime from all that crazy stress. In case it isn't clear, Akechi still has a ways to go before he reaches the end of his own confidant, but that'll come in time. We're probably hovering around Justice 5 or 6 right now, but it's hard to say. Either way, we're not on the verge of any breakthroughs for him. But we are, however, right on the verge of...

The Niijima Arc. Hope you're all looking forward to that, cause I definitely am.