Persona 5 belongs to Atlus

(1) This is a fictional work, elements of the original work can be altered for better compatibility with this story.

(2) This story contains yaoi / shounen-ai. If you don't like it, press (x) at the top of the page to exit.

(3) English is not my first language.

(4) Set before deadline on Nijima's Palace

I hope you enjoy!


Akechi Goro went up the stairs and entered the small room. Kusuru Akira was sitting on the bed, flipping through a magazine. The boy looked at him and smiled, putting the magazine aside.

"Has it changed again?" Akechi looked around, but just ignored the question and walked around the room. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet and when he pulled out a chair to sit down, it made an unnaturally loud sound.

Kusuru stared at the boy sitting in front of him. The gaze was so intense and penetrating that the young detective felt as if his soul was being searched. He was the one who was used to giving this invasive look to others. Receiving left him very exposed and uncomfortable.

"Isn't Morgana here today?"

"He's with the girls, something like going to the shop and stuff."

"Oh, so you share custody?"

"Morgana is his own master, he can run his life however he wants." Akechi knew the truth about Morgana, but for all intents and purposes, he was still a cat. It was how people saw him, and it wasn't something that could be ignored so easily. "Although, not all of us are that lucky, right?" Akechi was no longer sure if they were talking about the cat, despite the words sounding harsh to his ears, Akira continued to stare and smile. "And what are we playing today?" The student abruptly changed the topic.

"Whatever you want, I always win." Akechi said confidently. "I remember you saying you've been playing shogi lately."

"Hm… yes. Do you want to play?" Akechi nodded and Akira went to one of the shelves and took an old and worn shogi board and mounted it on the mattress. When the pieces were aligned, he made his first move and faced Akechi.

"I was hoping you would teach me."

"Oh, the great detective prince doesn't know anything, surprisingly."

"Don't call me that, it's shameful." Akechi blushed.

"That's your nickname, isn't it? Besides, it suits you perfectly." Akira smiled wide and warmly, as if sunlight had invaded the entire room.

"Do you think?"

"Of course, you're a detective, which is kind of logical, but you're also handsome and interesting and charming, which suits a prince very well. Furthermore…" Akira was excessively happy and smiling, speaking out loud, as Morgana or Ryuji normally did. That didn't fit at all with the stoic and laconic air that boy possessed.

"Stop it" Akechi shouted the words furiously, as the board and shogi pieces flew across the floor. Kurusu stopped talking and stared. "This is not you."

"Of course not, but isn't it always like that?" The boy adjusted his glasses on his face and the silly, bright smile disappeared from his face.

"I'm tired of these lies."

"Your lies," Akira stressed. "You can choose between listening to the truth or listening to what is convenient for you, we know what you always choose… I don't know why you come here if it makes you so unhappy."

"Do you think you make me unhappy?" Akechi stared at Akira, the words came out in an almost inaudible mumble, he could barely control the anger he felt inside him.

"And are you happy when you win every game we play? Or are you happy when you hear all our conversations and you already know the answers? Or are you happy when I say I love you, even if it's a lie?"

"That's enough," Akechi roared. His movements were so quick and desperate that he only realized when he heard the bed creak. His hands were around Akira's neck, who made no move to defend himself. No matter how much strength he put into the grip, the other remained immobile.

"See?" Kurusu said calmly. "Coming here just makes you unhappy." And he slowly reached out, wiping away a tear that ran down the detective's face. "I know you want to hear that I love you, that everything is going to be okay and that we will be together forever." The thumb that dried the tear made a circular movement, caressing the cheek. "I know you just want to be understood and loved. But when I know the truth, all you will receive will be hate, from me and the others. No cooperative games for us. It's like shogi, you chose one on one, I'm just playing by the rules. At the end…"

"I know the ending" Akechi covered the boy's mouth, stopping him from continuing. "I know how it all ends, but here, at least here, I want a different ending, I want you."

Akira ran his finger across Akechi's trembling lips. It was an intimate and delicate contact, which little by little disarmed the detective's barriers. Every touch of the cold finger against his hot lips caused a shiver, Akechi wanted more than that, he wanted his lips in passionate kisses, more intense touches, he wanted Akira completely.

And it was always like that, caresses, kisses, sweet words whispered in the ear. Always inside your little world full of his childish, foolish desires. He had imagined himself a great ally of justice, the tragic hero of his own story, perhaps castles and dragons, and a helpless maiden to validate his hero fantasy. But in the end, it was just the life of a normal teenager, a teenager who at the end of the afternoon has fun playing with a friend, a teenager who is loved and cherished by someone.

Kurusu ran his hand over the boy's face, towards his ear and tangled his fingers in his light hair. He gently pulled Akechi towards him, until their foreheads touched. For a second, when their lips met, the young detective felt happy, as he had only felt happy in a few moments in his life. As if his existence finally had value and meaning. How he wished they had met before or under different circumstances, everything would be so different.

Akechi walked away, got up from the bed and straightened his clothes.

"You're right, I'm unhappy here" He was everywhere. It was his fate as the unwanted child.

"So you're not coming back?" Akira sat on the bed, adjusting his glasses, his expression was unreadable.

"I did not say that." Akechi faced the attic again. It had changed since the last time, it always changed, but they weren't details he held on to. "When it's all over, this will be the only place I'll have you."

"And is that what you want?" It wasn't, but Akechi had no choice. As Kurusu had pointed out, they were playing against each other and in the end, one of them would be defeated. Akira would be defeated, and defeat meant much more than losing in some stupid arcade or shogi match.

"That's all I'll have left."

"A lie, like all the others."

But Akechi didn't respond. Slowly, the walls began to crumble and Akira stared at him, still in an indecipherable way. Akechi found himself in front of Le Blanc, dazed and uncertain.

The closed sign was hanging on the door. He took out his cell phone and sent a message to Kurusu, asking to meet him in Shibuya, that there was an urgent matter he needed to take care of. Akira responded a few seconds later, agreeing to the meeting.

There was nothing urgent, however. It was just an excuse to see the teenager, talk to him, pretend they were good friends. A lie, but his whole life had been a lie, everything he did or said was a lie. So why didn't he keep a few more, if at least a few of them, for a few minutes, made him feel alive?


N/T: Despite the long discussion about whether or not Akechi could have a palace (since he has a Persona), I like to imagine that he would.

Thank you for reading.

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