Chapter 33: Darts Out

[G]

"I...I have comitted crimes that are unbecoming of an artist. Plainly put, I, um...plagiarized work... I-I...tainted this—this country's art world...and even the 'Sayuri'! H-How could I...I possibly...apologize to—to everyone for...for what I've done... Aah..."

"And that was from the urgent apology conference by Madarame that took place a moment ago," the newscaster said before going on to give details about Madarame's crimes and how the police were dealing with him.

Akechi knew he shouldn't be smiling, a source of funding for the organization has been cut off after all, but hearing the charge of child abuse alongside plagiarism and fraud... Well, it was just one of many revenues, and one that had been having trouble until now, so it wasn't a huge loss.

It, as well as the newscaster's words, also confirmed that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had changed Madarame's heart.

Now he knew it took around a week for a confession to be made, give or take a couple of days. It also meant that his suspicion that Akira would be busy today and thus not in Leblanc was very probable. She was likely with her brother and the other thieves to make sure their target truly had a change of heart. Though the reminder made Akechi sigh with exasperated amusement.

He was going to be very busy again, all because of her and her team.

But that just made it all the more prudent to make the most of his free day and relax.

A few solo pool games sounded like a good alternative to spending time with Akira...

{R}

Ren smiled as everyone grew excited over the news, sharing their hopes for the future as well as making plans to achieve it, though that was mostly Aki talking about now being able to focus on making gadgets and weapons now.

He smile left though when he spotted some police officers heading their way.

Ren put up a neutral expression and said, as quietly as he could,

"Guys."

Yusuke and Aki immediately turned serious and looked to him, silently asking what happened, while Ryuji and Ann were confused for a moment. Ren glanced over to the officers who were slowly coming their way.

"Huh? Do you know them?" Ann said.

"You moron! Those're attendance officers!" Ryuji said as he stood up from his seat on the floor.

"That's why you should act like they aren't, Ryuji," he said, his peripheral focused on them.

"What? Why?! They could suspect us!"

"He means actin' normal!" Aki said.

"Shh," Ren said, now turning to the officers who noticed their brief squabble.

"Hello there. May I speak with you for a moment?" the officer with sunglasses said.

And, unfortunately, Ann was the first to answer.

"Ah yes! How can we help you...?" she said, smile too wide and her saccharine cadence all over the place.

Ren nearly grimaced at the display.

Mona was less generous. "That monotous tone never fails to send a chill down my smile..."

Ouch. He shared a flat look with Aki. You know it's bad if even Mona's huge crush can't filter it...

They were lucky the sunglasses cop didn't seem to notice.

"What are you doing here? Are you friends?"

And then it was Aki who was quick to answer.

"What? We look like somethin' else to you?"

Ren's heart jumped.

The policeman was not pleased. "What was that?"

"She's just asking because she wanted to clarify that were just discussing our plans for the day," he said, before anyone else could blow their cover.

To his little sister's credit, she did flinch and looked sheepish over what she did.

"Y-Yeah, exactly that," Ann said in an unfortunately poor attempt to back him up.

He appreciated it, yes, but he was already panicked because of both her and Aki.

Thank goodness the policeman was convinced.

"Hmm...well all right. But make sure you go before it gets too late, all right? There have been some odd happenings lately, and that news on that artist has caused quite a stir," the cop said, supposedly concerned.

Still, Ren said, tone polite, "Thank you, sir. We promise to be careful."

With that, the officers were satisfied and left, leaving them sighing collectively in relief.

And the first thing Ann did was glower at Aki and say, "Hey! Don't go making stuff up like that on the spot! I totally panicked 'cause of you."

"Exactly my thoughts," he said.

Aki flinched again. "Sorry... I just got mad that they probably thought we were trouble 'cause of me..."

"Ah yes... Masks are a motif of high school delinquents..." Yusuke said.

That made both him and Ann soften in understanding, but still...

"Try to be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, I got it..."

"Indeed. We need to be more cautious than ever before," Mona said. "I mean, look at us! Right after the second mission, victims from the our two operations are meeting up."

Ann frowned. "Wait, you mean people might be listening to us...?"

"Of course they're listenin'. That's why we gotta be careful, right Big Bro?"

Ren shared the blonde's expression and nodded. "Exactly." It wasn't like they knew the identity of "Black Mask" after all.

For all they knew, they could be watching them right now.

"Eh, it'll be fine. Look around. We're the only people worryin' about it."

"I guess you have a point..."

"Seriously. You tryin' to jinx things?"

"What?! Of course not!"

"Then stop saying stuff like that! That's askin' for trouble!"

Ren sighed. If he wanted to take sides, he would've taken Aki's since he would prefer to be safer than sorry, but that wasn't important right now.

"That's enough you two... We're making scene..."

Both flinched and grew sheepish at that.

Then he said, to divert their attention, "Though since we're talking about safety, did you do any better in getting info on the 'black mask', Yusuke?"

"Well..."

As he expected, they didn't get any new leads from Madarame, only insider confirmation on what the police were going to do with him. Also expected, Yusuke will be moving out of the shack and into Kosei High's dormitories, free of charge thanks to his scholarship.

"A scholarship?! Wait, you're that good?!"

"I ain't surprised. He got his mom's talents and she made the 'Sayuri' after all."

"Although Ann's house would do as well."

"... Wait what?!"

Ryuji smirked. "You know, you could ask her to model for you whenever you wanted!"

Ren and Aki stared, faces flat.

"Really?" they said.

"You moron!"

"Indeed Ryuji! To suggest something so appaling..." Mona said.

Yusuke just tilted his head. "Appaling?" he said. "Oh, yes, I would have to pay a rent if I decided to lodge with her..."

Everyone sweatdropped and grimaced at that.

"Geez, he can be oblivious when he wants to..." Aki said.

Agreed. Ren still wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Probably both.

They went back to planning after that. For the time being, they would lay low while searching for their next big target, limiting to Mementos visits to once a week until one was found. Thus they went their seperate ways, Yusuke and Ann went by themselves while Ryuji for some reason tagged along with him and Aki. Not long after they split though, there was a message in the group chat.

Yusuke: That reminds me, you have my gratitude.

Ryuji: What're you being polite for all of sudden?

Yusuke: I truly am grateful to all of you for making me come to my senses.

He smiled.

Ren: Anytime. You're our friend after all.

Akira: Yeah! Don't worry about it.

Yusuke: Still, I wish to return the favor someday.

Ryuji: Hey it's fine man. Like they said, you're one of us now. We'll be counting on you, okay?

Ann: And if anything comes up, we won't hesitate to lend a hand.

Yusuke: Thank you.

Yusuke: Well then, see you.

Ryuji chuckled and grinned. "He didn't have to go through all that trouble to thank us. He's such an honest guy."

Aki laughed. "Yeah seriously... He's almost as bad as you Big Bro with being all formal."

Ren mock gasped. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He and his little sister shared a laugh at the obviously poor attempt at innocence.

"Anyways, you guys got free time?"

They stopped and turned to him with inquistive looks.

It turned out Ryuji had gotten free tickets to a darts lounge. Mona was understandably hesitant, citing their "laying low" plan, but the blond managed to convince him. Aki was hesitant, but because she was deciding between trying out darts and hanging out with Akechi.

"Where's this darts lounge anyway?" she said.

"Oh, it's in Kichijoji, so we gotta take the train first."

Ren and Aki's stared.

"Kichijoji?"

"Yeah. Somethin' wrong with that...?"

"Wrong? Hell no! It's great! I could get ideas for making weapons..."

"I could maybe see if they have antique hats...like a top hat."

"Maybe there's an antique store with that sorta stuff," Aki said.

"Oh that would be even better...I could get clothes on top of that..."

"Uh, guys? I don't mind checkin' out shops on the way but...we're goin for darts..."

He and his little sister were startled. He chuckled sheepishly.

"Ah yes. Right. It wouldn't be good to get distracted."

Aki though turned thoughtful. "Hmm...darts huh? I wonder if we can load different ammos for our guns..."

"Uh..."

"Come on, let's go," he said before Aki could get lost in weapon brainstorming. "Do you mind leading Ryuji?"

"Oh sure! No problem."

The line wasn't too hard to find. Soon enough they arrived at Kichijoji's famous Sunset Road, as lively and shop filled as they heard. He immediately noticed there were a couple of stores he wanted to go into, but not only did they have a destination already in mind...

"Mona, is there someone following us?" he said, keeping an eye on Ryuji who was a couple of meters ahead of him and Aki.

"You noticed huh?"

"Well it's not like she's doing a very good job about it," Aki said, also looking forward and not acting as if she noticed.

Indeed. It just took one side glance to see Niijima following them, head supposedly in a manga...that was upside-down.

"That is true..."

"Should we try losin' her?"

Ren gave it a moment of thought. "No. Ryuji might accidentally let her know that we know."

"Yeah...probably..."

"What?! So we'll just let her tail us?!"

Ren fought his snicker at the unintentional pun and said, "Unless you want to distract her, but I don't want her to know you're in my bag."

Mona grumbled. "Fine..."

Luckily for them, when they arrived at the darts lounge, Penguin Sniper, Niijima elected to stay outside of it, likely because they would more easily notice her inside. Unfortunately for her, they already knew she was keeping an eye on them and Ren already had an idea to make sure she lost them when they would leave.

The lounge itself was smaller than he thought it would be, but there was still plenty of space for a bar, a couple of tables, the darts area, and two pool tables, all without being crowded. Ren was about to follow Ryuji along with Aki while the blond showed his ticket to an attendant, but his sister was startled, stared at one of the pool tables, and said,

"Akechi?"

Wait what?

"Akechi? What's he doing here?" Mona said from within his bag.

After he shushed him, Ren turned to see that, yes, Aki's friend, Akechi, was holding a cue stick and looking as surprised as he and Aki were.

"Akira?" the brunett said.

His little sister laughed. "Yeah it's me. Didn't think I'd run into you here," she said, making her way to him. "You play pool?"

"Ah, yes. It's a hobby of mine. Do you play as well?"

Aki shook her head. "Nah." She thumbed at Ryuji. "I'm just here 'cause my friend got a free ticket for the darts game."

Interest sparked in Akechi's eyes. "Oh? A free darts game?"

Aki laughed again. "Lemme guess, you play that too?"

Ren noted that, though Akechi's smile became smaller, his eyes shone as he said, "Yes. Though admittedly, not as often as pool."

Aki had an epiphany. Ren had a guess on what that was.

"Hey, how 'bout you play with us then?"

The brunett flinched and stared in shock. "Excuse me?"

"Wait, Akira. I don't think that's such a good i—nyah!"

Ren jostled the bag as subtly as he could.

However, it seemed that while the rest of the patrons didn't notice as Aki went to ask Ryuji if they could add another person, Akechi looked shocked.

"Morgana...?" he said in disbelief.

Ren just internally sighed before he signalled to him to keep quiet about it, saying as an excuse,

"Aki really likes cats, so we bring him along often."

Before Akechi could say more, Ryuji answered his sister's question with,

"Huh? One more? What you mean?"

"My friend Akechi's here."

"Eh?"

Ryuji turned around to see the brunett who still seemed a bit unsure from Aki's enthusiasm, if how plastered his smile looked was any indication.

"So? What do you say, Akechi?" his sister said.

Ren couldn't help but smile in amusement. "Aki. He could just want to still play pool."

He knew his sister was pouting behind her mask. "Hmmm... Then I'll just play pool with him."

"What?! But we're here to play darts!"

"Then you guys play! I wanna play with Akechi since he's here."

"Come on...you're ditchin' us, for real?"

He gave Ryuji a pointed look. "Like you did on 'maidwatch'?"

"H-Hey! I said I was sorry already!"

Any talk of who's playing what was halted though as Akechi said,

"I don't mind. I would be happy to join you all. Just let me put these away and such."

Aki fist pumped. "Woo!" she said. "Hey, since you know darts, mind teachin' us?"

Once again, Akechi was surprised, and once again, that pleasant smile was replaced with a smaller but genuine one.

"Not at all. I would be honored."

"Oh u-uh, I already know how to play, just so you know," Ryuji said quickly.

"I highly doubt that," Mona said.

Ryuji glared at him but Akechi replied before the faux-blond could do anything.

"Oh really? Then I guess that makes my job easier then."

To his curiosity, the bartender was also smiling at the exchange before helping them with the darts lounge. With ticket used, equipment set, and brief instructions done, Akechi asked,

"Before I explain the rules for this specific game of darts, do you want to play in teams of two or solo?"

"We can do teams?!" Aki said, her grin clear now that her mask was off. "I wanna do teams!"

"I don't mind. That sounds fun," Ryuji said, also grinning.

"I'd like teams as well," he said.

"How we gonna pick though?"

"Well...turn order is usually picked by throwing darts and whoever's dart is closest to the bullseye, the center of the board, will go first, and the next closest the second, and so on and so forth," Akechi said. "Or we can pick amongst ourselves."

"I vote picking! And I call dibs on Akechi!"

Ren glowered at her, though not quite seriously. "You're just picking him because you know you'll win if you do."

Aki snickered. "Of course not."

"Hey! That's no fair!" Ryuji said.

"I say Ryuji teams up with Akechi so we team up, Aki."

"Wait what? How's that fair?" Aki said, legitimately glowering.

"Because I don't think Ryuji will do well."

"Oh come on! Give me some credit! I meant it when I said I knew how to play!"

Akechi covered his mouth, but Ren already saw his slight smirk before he did. "Then if that's the case, how about you teach Amamiya-kun and I teach Akira?"

"Deal!"

"Deal."

"Oh stop complaining. It'll be good as a team building exercise!" Mona said.

The faux-blond glared at the not-cat as Ren and Aki laughed at their antics while Akechi attempted to conceal his chuckle, but he noticed it.

In the end, they did end up going with Akechi's suggestion, him paired with Aki and Ren with Ryuji, for the first round. With that, Akechi explained the rules of "01", the specific one they played that time being "301", and they started to play, Mona commenting as lowly as he could all the while. Unsurprisingly, with Akechi's experience and Aki's Third Eye, they were able to bring down the points of three hundred and one exactly, his sister "baton passing", as Mona put it, when they switched places.

The second round, Ren and Aki paired up, thus Ryuji was stuck with Akechi. With both of them with Third Eye, they won that one, to the faux-blond's—and the brunett's concealed—annoyance, which wasn't helped by the fact that Mona couldn't help but snipe at him.

The third one, the tie breaker, he himself was paired with Akechi. That one he won with the detective, to Aki's absolute frustration. Mona tried to cheer her up by encouraging her, but all that did was bother her, feeling patronized from his half-scolding, half-praising words, and Ren had to stop Aki from more obviously reacting to the not-cat's comments.

All the while, it was rather interesting to watch the detective. He would admit part of the reason why he was observing him discretely was because he was worried for his sister. But the more he saw the great contrast between the pleasant but plastered smile Akechi had when he talked to him or Ryuji opposed to his small but genuine one whenever he spoke to Aki—or any time he focused on her really—the less he worried about the fact that Aki was friends with a detective, even if he was in high school just like them.

It certainly helped that it was fun to watch Aki fired up and want to beat Akechi in darts, all the while the brunett tried, and failed, to calm her.

"Heh. Y'know, I was worried about this guy," Ryuji said softly, both of them watching the..."exchange" between his sister and the brunett. "But he ain't so bad."

Ren chuckled. "Indeed."

"I agree. With his knowledge, we have a new team building exercise for us. But we should still be careful around him, of course."

Ren nodded. "Of course." Unfortunately, he had to say, "All right, that's enough Aki. We should get going now. We have dinner to do."

His sister was startled before she deflated. "Aw man, yeah, I forgot... Damn it."

Ren laughed but he made note of how to change the execution of his plan should Niijima still be out there, as now there was Akechi as a new factor.

[G]

Almost as if fate was making fun of him—as it was wont to do—a while after he began his second solo nine ball game, Akira of all people arrived at Sniper Penguin, alongside Amamiya-kun and their mutual bright blond friend. And in typical Akira fashion, she invited him to play darts with them. If he hadn't accepted, she would've joined him in pool.

To say the least, doing darts with them was...an interesting experience.

He could tell Akira and her brother were doing some kind of technique to assist them, that flash of gold in their eyes and their aim much too good for beginners tipping him off. Not to mention that, despite doing much better than he had anticipated, Not to mention that, despite doing much better than he had anticipated, Sakamoto-san wasn't exactly that helpful as a teammate, his shots all over the place, some thrown with consideration and some not, thus it wasn't easy for him to make up for them. All of that was infuriating.

Yet despite that, he...had fun, dare he say.

It was at the very least amusing to team up with each of them once, and the one time that Akira was paired with Sakamoto-san, her team lost and she made quite the fuss about it, much the same way she declared to make his coffee just perfect for him. Especially since Akira had been eager to pick him when they were first pairing up. She was obviously smart enough to know he was the best among them and thus her best chance at winning the game.

And he was able to easily pick up the temperaments of Sakamoto-san, Amamiya-kun, and even their cat, Morgana, along with their relationships with Akira.

The blond's volume and passion rivalled Akira's at times, as he butted heads with the girl over their shared loss, blunt honesty meeting more blunt honesty. The curly haired boy seemed a quiet doppelganger of her that was a push-over, not speaking much, if at all, during the three rounds they played, as he allowed himself and Sakamoto-san to be swept up in Akira's whim to play darts with Akechi. The one who spoke the most though was the cat, even though he should've kept quiet so they wouldn't get caught. While the cat thought highly of both Akira and Amamiya-kun, he had also chided them for any mistake in their performance, assuming he wasn't ribbing Sakamoto-san for his more frequent shortcomings, which was the source of most of the cat's commentary during the matches.

But it was time for them to part ways, to Akira's clear dissapointment, as it was beginning to turn into evening. So they all left the lounge together. However, just as they passed the threshold, Akechi noticed both Amamiya-kun and Akira's gaze sweep the area around them, as if on the lookout. Intrigued, he followed suit and noticed another unexpected but familiar face.

Niijima-san?

Well, not exactly "face" as she was "covering" it with...an upside-down manga, not seeming to notice them just yet, her back turned to them. It was very hard to withhold his chuckle at seeing such a poor attempt at stealth. But still, it begged the question of why she was here... Though he remembered that she went to Shujin Academy like the Amamiya siblings and thus it was reasonable for them to know her, he didn't understand why would she be tailing them. Unless...

...she either believed in the rumors around them about their criminal pasts and stalked them out of "concern"...

...or she was suspecting the siblings to be part of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Akechi fought to keep his smile from becoming a grimace.

Well, that wouldn't do. If anyone should reveal them, it should be him, not some goody-two-shoes with no spine. Besides, he was the detective. Should the time come, it would be very appropriate for him to "chase" after them.

It'll be amazing to go after Akira...I bet she'd put up a great fight.

And Akira-chan could end up in danger should she be chased by anyone other than us.

But for now, though he suspected the siblings may have had a plan with how they had looked out for Niijima-san, Akechi said,

"Well, this is good-bye. I'll see you later, Akira?"

The curly haired girl grinned before she put on her mask. "You bet you will. Bye Akechi! Have a good night."

The blond, Sakamoto-san, also grinned as he waved. "See you around, Akechi."

Amamiya-kun smiled. "Good-bye Akechi."

And he was the first one to turn...only to "notice" and "run into" Niijima-san.

"Oh, Niijima-san? What a surprise."

"A-Akechi-kun?" she said, like a deer in headlights. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I was relaxing. I do have my hobbies, you know," he said in his best pleasant, polite tone. "What about you?"

"Uh, well...I was on an errand," she said. "But I had to go here to do it, and I'm not used to this area, so it's taken a while to do."

Not bad. She used a version of the truth, from what he could tell. If he wanted to keep up being polite, he would have to end it there, but that was all the time he needed.

"Ah, I see. Then I shall be going now. I wouldn't want to keep you from it. Good-bye Niijima-san," he said and left.

But not before discretely checking back to see her frustration upon spotting Sakamoto-san, but without Akira and Amamiya-kun along with him.

Akechi smirked and walked away with his head held high.

Serves you right for not keeping your eye on them.

"But then Ichiryusai Madarame, a man renowned not only in the art world of Japan but around the globe, received a calling card, as well as had many posted all over his art exhibit. Just a week later, he confessed to plagiarism, murder and more. More people joined the Phan-Site and made requests, and more people noticed their activities, including one Goro Akechi.

Author's Notes: The road you see when you arrive in Kichijoji is just called the Shopping District in the game, but as far as I could tell, the specific "district" they used is called Sun Road in real life. And considering that one of the tracks in Persona 5 is called Sunset Bridge, and that track is one of my favorites, well...I couldn't help but mention it.

Also I learned there's a difference between pool and billiard tables, the latter bigger than the former by a couple of feet both in length and width. Would Ren know the difference? No. But I just wanted to know if there was a difference anyway. Akechi would know the difference, so there's that too.