Chapter 19: First Step to Trust

(A)

Akira hummed, taking notes from her textbook, doing her best to summarize the information she needed for the exam but also making sure it was comprehensive enough that she was prepared for any kind of question about the subject. Once in a while, she would stretch then pet Mona, who napped by her side on the bed, his tail swishing against her leg in a somewhat ticklish yet calming manner. During one of these note taking breaks, her phone on the bed buzzed and she opened to see a message from her brother.

Ren: I'm done talking with our publicist.

Akira snickered at her brother's nickname for Mishima.

Rem: I'm going to go shopping for groceries and see if I can land a part-time job.

Akira: K Big Bro. Should I cook lunch then?

Ren: If that's okay with you.

Akira: Sure. See ya at noon.

Ren: See you.

Akira put her phone down and did another stretch before she leaned against the wall and pet Mona again. The not-cat definitely purred in content. As tempting as it was to point that out, she didn't feel like breaking the peaceful mood and the good study streak she's been going on today. The quiet, however, was broken, but this one wasn't unwelcome.

"Hey kid," Sakura-san said from the bottom of the stairs. "Your friend's here."

There was only one person it could be.

Akira jumped from her bed, making Mona squeal from surprise, and rushed downstairs with a smile.

As she thought, it was none other than Akechi.

"Hey Akechi!" she said.

But then she frowned.

The brunett returned her expression with a more tired one as he said, "Hello Amamiya-san."

Then he took a sip of his coffee.

She sat beside him. "You okay? You look beat."

He chuckled slightly as he put his cup down. "Yes I am. I've been especially busy these past few days."

"Really? Geez. Guess your break won't be long then?"

"Aha ha, your guess is correct. I'm just here for some coffee before going back to work."

"Aw man... I was thinkin' of messagin' you since I uh..." Akira chuckled, embarrassed and ashamed. "...kinda forgot to after we traded numbers."

His smile turned more pleasant. "It's fine. I assumed you were busy."

"Heh, yeah, you can say that again." A lot happened the past week.

It turned quiet then, the conversation dying down. Well at least until Mona jumped into her lap. She was startled until she saw it was him and he said,

"Who's this?"

"Oh right. Akechi, this is my friend, Morgana, but I just call him Mona. Mona, this is my friend, Akechi."

The baffled look on the brunett's face soon composed itself into an inquisitive one; one that, for her, did little to mask his worry.

"You have a cat? I didn't think you would have one, considering your condition."

"I am not a cat!"

Akira ignored him and petted his head to "shut him up" as she smirked. "He's hypoallergenic. Plus he takes a bath everyday so I don't have to worry about saliva or dander."

"I...see..."

"Don't talk about me like I'm unhygienic!"

Now a bit of annoyance seeped into his expression. "He seems quite noisy. Is that normal for him? I can't imagine you getting much rest if it is..."

Akira laughed and ruffled Mona's head. "No, it isn't. He's just happy to meet you," she said.

Mona grumbled but said no more, which was a good choice. She would've taken advantage of his lack of comprehension with non-Persona users.

"So...is it safe to assume that you and your brother weren't expelled?"

Oh right. She forgot she didn't tell him.

She grinned. "Yeah. The teacher who wanted to expel us decided not to after he...confessed...to his crimes..."

But her words left her as she recalled Akechi's occupation and the event that occured at Shujin.

She saw Akechi's smile look strained, much too wide to be his usual, and he said, "So the teacher that threatened to expel you was Kamoshida?"

"Yeah..." she said, thinking on how much she could say.

"I thought so... When I heard his case was given to some of the officers in my department, I suspected he might be the one that threatened you and your brother."

"You guessed right there, detective."

There was a flash of pride before his too wide smile shrunk into a concerned frown.

"I understand this might be hard but...do you mind telling me about the incident? I would like to know what happened."

Akira hesitated. On one hand...

"Be careful what you say, Akira," Mona said. "Niijima-san is already onto us. We should try to keep it to just her."

...her not-cat friend was right, she should be careful, even more so since Akechi was a detective, not that Mona knew it wasn't just a nickname she had for him.

But on the other hand...he would get suspicious of her not telling him. Even more so since she had already told him of her worries of expulsion. And not only that...

Akira observed him again. His expression seemed genuine and upon poking into her connection, much like that brief moment with Ren, she could feel an emotion that wasn't her own. This time it was concern.

...she wanted to tell him.

So she smiled, pet Mona's head to reassure him, and said, "I don't mind. I can tell you."

And she did. Of course, the version she told was the one she and her brother gave to their parents when they called after Kamoshida confessed, a compromise between the truth she wanted to give and hiding it for their safety. This one merely painted them being bystanders powerless to do anything about Suzui's suicide attempt and Kamoshida's threat of expulsion. By the end of it, she noticed Akechi's expression turned neutral, not unlike her brother when he hid his emotions, and that he was gripping his half-finished cup a little harder than he should.

"Were there any other strange things that happened before the confession?"

"Besides the calling cards?" Akira hummed in thought. "I guess maybe that Kamoshida stopped coming to school after they were put up, at least until he popped up to confess at the school assembly."

"I see..." he said. Then he noticed his coffee and downed it in one gulp. "Thank you for telling me." A frown broke his countenance once again. "And I'm sorry I couldn't do anything."

Akira couldn't help but smile warmly despite the topic. "It's fine. Just talking to you is more than enough for me."

Unexpectedly, Akechi looked stunned, almost as if she said something shocking. Akira frowned in worry.

"You all right, Akechi?" she said, confused.

Did she really say something unusual?

They were startled when an alarm rang and the brunett took out his phone to stop it.

Akira could guess what it was for. "Break's over, huh?"

"Yes. I should be going. I still have a lot of work to do."

Akechi stood up and prepared to do so, but she said,

"Wait a sec!"

She put Mona down, dashed to her room to snatch from their snack pile on the table near the stairs. Just as fast, she ran back down and held out a piece of chocolate before him.

"Don't forget this," she said with a smirk.

The boy laughed, brief but joyful, before he gave a small and warm smile.

"Perish the thought," he said as he received it.

"See you later, Akechi."

"To you as well, Amamiya-san."

And he finally left.

As soon as he did, Mona had to ruin the mood to say,

"I thought I told you to be careful!"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine."

"But you just gave him plenty of reasons for him to suspect you as a Phantom Thief."

"He would've been worried."

Mona grumbled and prepared to say more, but Sakura-san came to her unintentional rescue and said,

"Are you...talking to the cat?"

Akira smirked and said, "Yup. You'd be surprised how easy it is to understand your pet."

As she hoped and expected, Sakura-san looked at her like she was crazy before he shook his head.

"Never mind... Are you still studying? If you aren't, mind if you could help?"

"Oh right. I was on break too."

And she ran into her room to avoid Sakura-san ordering her to help out with the café. It was for a very good reason.

She didn't want to fail her exams after all.

{R}

Ren ruminated on what Aki and Mona told him about yesterday. He was still a bit uneasy about his sister telling her friend, Akechi, about what happened. After all, Niijima was suspecting them, if not outright assumed it was them and was merely trying to find evidence about their identities as the Phantom Thieves. They didn't need another person tailing them, especially one who was a detective. But seeing Aki defend Akechi much the same way she would defend him or their friends, on top of clarifying what Mona told him about what actually happened, he knew that she trusted him enough that she considered him a friend. And Aki was anything but stupid. So, despite his slight paranoia, he decided to trust her judgement. She wouldn't compromise their secret identities.

Ren pulled himself out of his thoughts when heard groaning and grumbling and turned alongside his sister to see Ann distressed.

"Is something wrong?" he said, worried.

"I'd ask if you got allergies but you don't look like it."

The twin-tailed blonde was startled, as if she hadn't realized they were there. "Oh uh...maybe? I do feel kind of dazed and everything feels weird."

"Yeah I was right, not allergies."

Ren agreed with a hum. They were both used to the typical symptoms of an allergic response and he didn't see Ann showing any.

"Oh." Ann turned somber, if not outright depressed, as she said, "Well, uh...I guess that makes sense..."

"Ann...?" Ren said, hoping to prompt her into explaining.

Thankfully she did, and he didn't like it.

"Well...I've been having this feeling that...someone's been watching me..."

Ren felt Mona tense in his bag.

He tried to keep his annoyance off his face. He would deal with him later.

"When?"

"Oh, uh, at the station, but..."

He heard the faint sigh of relief from Mona.

Well it seemed in this case it was someone else watching her.

He would still deal with Mona later.

"...maybe it's just I can't shake off the feeling of infiltrating a Palace, you know?" But she wasn't very convincing as she said with no conviction, "So it must be my imagination..."

"Well I could always ask for help if someone's really stalkin' you."

Ren suspected his sister had thought of Akechi when she said that.

Ann shook her head though and said, "It's fine. I really think it's just my imagination...we have exams tomorrow and everything after all."

Ren wasn't fully convinced, but at that point, their train came up and they boarded it before it could leave. In it, Ann ended up a few meters away from them, so Ren was able to speak with Aki without worrying about her hearing them.

"I'm worried," he said.

"Yeah me too," his sister said. "You got a plan?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"But...?"

"I was originally going to call everyone so we can talk about a request from our publicist."

"Didn't we say we'd focus on exams?"

"Yes, but..."

"Come on. It'd be better if you go stick with Ann. I'll go study with Ryuji."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It'd be a better idea if a guy stays near her. Should ward off most people. But if not..."

"We'll deal with it if it happens."

"Yeah. So we good?"

"Mmhmm."

So with that set, Ren was prepared to spend time with her but then...she turned to him in her seat, eyes clouded and face stormy, still rattled like that morning, about to ask something. But then she hesitated and stopped, saying it was nothing. Not liking to see her so depressed, a planned formed in his mind. After handing Mona off to Aki, he made a quick trip to Yon-Germain in Shibuya. Then when he came back and went up to the tired Ann, he said,

"Here. For you."

Ann stared at him, then the wrapped melon pan in his hand, then at him again.

"Huh? Me?"

"Is there another Ann Takamaki in this room?"

As he hoped, she giggled at his words. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome," he said with a smile.

She dug into the offered treat, her own smile returning. But Ren knew it wasn't quite enough, her expression still having a hint of somberness. As such, he waited a bit before he said,

"Will you tell me what you wanted to ask me now?"

The girl was shocked as she held the pan mid-bite. "Uh...well..." She glanced away and put it down. "I...don't want to bother you or anything..."

"You're not a bother," he said, hoping she could tell he meant it. "You can tell me."

Ann looked back, observing him. Ren waited, letting her collect her thoughts.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I want to help you, if I can."

She smiled, touched. "Okay..." Then she said, "Can we go to the diner?"

"Sure."

And they did. There, Ann told him Suzui said sorry to her in her most recent hospital visit, about not mentioning any of the things Kamoshida did to her, and that Ann also apologized, saying she shared equal blame for everything, that she should have been there for her best friend. Ren's heart ached over what happened, still wishing he had acted sooner, but that was soothed upon seeing Ann's peaceful expression.

"Are you feeling better now?" he said.

He smiled a little when Ann gave a large and bright one as she said,

"Mmhmm! I finally got to tell her everything I couldn't say to her before."

It left both of them though as the blonde turned somber again and mulled over her actions, how she had put up with Kamoshida's "advances" for Suzui's sake, when logically he wouldn't have done anything unless he was stupid enough to ruin his team's chances at success. In other words, as the girl herself put it, she didn't believe in her best friend's abilities.

"Maybe you're right," he said, because in that way it was true.

If Ann did believe Suzui was as good as she thought she was, she shouldn't have worried about her losing her spot.

But that made Ann say, "I knew it... I was so stupid... All of this happened because I was so weak..."

And his heart ached again at seeing her in such a state.

So he said, in hopes of comforting her, "Even if it's true, that doesn't change the fact that you did it because you cared about her."

Once more, the natural blonde was surprised before she cheered up, to his relief, her smile and eyes having lost the dull sheen from her depressed cloud.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

It was silent for a while but Ren did nothing to break it, just waited in attention as Ann turned contemplative once again. This time though, it wasn't as long as she soon said,

"Do you remember the last time we talked like this?"

"With my little sister in Big Bang Burger?" he said to be sure.

She nodded. "I felt so alone then... Scared even. But because you were there, both of you, I decided not to go. I was little surprised at how pushy you and Akira were about it...but I know now you just wanted to help." She smiled again. "Thanks."

"I just couldn't ignore you," he said. "Neither can Aki."

The girl giggled. "You're so kind, Ren," she said, almost like she was speaking aloud.

Or rather Ren hoped she was because he couldn't help but twirl his hair in a bit of embarrassment. He has been told that before, particularly by Mama and elderly women who saw him take care of his sister, but he's still not quite used to being complimented for that, not when they made it a big deal to be kind when Ren thought it really shouldn't be. Kindness shouldn't be so odd to see. Kindness shouldn't be rare.

Thankfully, his embarrassment faded as Ann went on to tell him she wanted to strengthen her heart, to become unaffected by baseless words like the ones thrown around at school, so that she could use that power to help people. She wanted to save others just like they did when they stole Kamoshida's heart.

"I think that's a good idea."

"Thanks," she said. "Though honestly...I don't even know what 'strong' is... But I'm going to find an answer. I promise."

So of course he said, "Let's find it together."

Because when Ren thought of strong, he thought of Mama, who took care of Aki despite society being stacked against her, or Dad, who fought tooth and nail to lessen the severity of their sentence, or Aki, who would always find a way to work around her condition to do what she wanted. In fact, he also thought of Ryuji and Ann herself, both of them so passionate and energetic in their own ways despite the suffering they endured. He, on the other hand, was too indecisive, too cautious, and too much of a tease at times that he ended up hurting others instead of delighting them.

So he wanted to become stronger too, because though he had an image on what strength was, he didn't know how to become that.

Of course Ann was surprised he offered to assist. "Huh? Really...?"

"Yes. I already said I can't ignore you, didn't I?"

She stared a bit longer before she said, "Thanks! I feel a bit stronger already."

She giggled at her own words and Ren couldn't help but join her with a chuckle.

"I guess that doesn't really count, huh?"

"As long as you feel like you're stronger, I think it does."

"Anyways...I'll be relying on you. Let's train our hearts together and make them super strong!"

"It's a deal."

If they figured it out and actually affected their Personas' power, they could do it with the rest of the team too, not only to be stronger in the Metaverse, but in real life too.

And then she said, "How about this: I won't get any refills on any fountain drinks!"

And Ren did his best to keep his face neutral as he sweatdropped.

That most definitely did not count as "strong", but he didn't want to burst her bubble at that moment.

Despite that, Ann inferred his true thoughts as she said, bewildered,

"Is that not right...?"

So in the end he outright told her that, no, resisting free drinks likely didn't make her or her Persona stronger.

(A)

Ren sighed for nth time again and Akira also sighed as she rolled her eyes with an amused grin.

"Stop worryin', Big Bro. It's a good plan. We'll get that stalker soon."

"No, it's not that, it's..."

Oh. "The request?"

"Yeah..."

"Come on. Really?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly. "Sorry. I just wish we could do it sooner."

"I know." That was all the more reason to think of a way to distract him from that.

"Hey, wanna do another study session with everyone?"

"Hmm...sure. I wouldn't mind."

And then, out of all the people in the world...

"I see you're taking school seriously."

...Niijima walked up to them as they waited for their train.

Aki frowned behind her mask while her brother put up a figurative one as he said,

"Is something odd about that?"

"No. Not at all. If anything, I'm glad for it," she said, her pleasant tone sounding anything but to Akira.

Still Ren said, "We try our best."

Niijima was quiet for a moment. "You're also pretty close to Takamaki-san if you're going to school together." Then she said, "Especially you, even though you just transferred... I guess you two really click."

Ren scowled. "We're friends."

"I see... You looked a lot closer than that yesterday morning."

"Oh yeah? So what?" Akira couldn't help but say with annoyance.

"I heard she was a victim of Kamoshida, but was that all there was to it...?" she said, implications rampant.

Snap.

"Oh yeah?" She glared. "Like what? Dealin' with bullyin'? Or dealing with Kamoshida tryin' to get in her pants while you just let him you bi—"

"Aki."

A hand on her shoulder stilled her and cooled the temper she only then noticed had risen, Niijima looking unsettled. Akira tutted under her breath, guilty for her urge to punch Niijima but not for ranting at her. Thankfully, Ren didn't ask her to apologize. Instead, he let the silence hang, keeping up a blank gaze at the brunette. The girl in question soon composed herself into the same steel veneer she had when they first met.

"Either way...closer inspection should clear everything up," she said, seemingly unaffected. "Goodbye."

And she left, presumably so that they wouldn't board in the same part of the train.

Akira grumbled. "Geez, why is she lookin' into us now? Is she the school's dog or somethin'?"

"That's entirely possible," Ren said. "A teacher keeping an eye on a student outside of classes won't look good after Kamoshida."

She grumbled again. "Great..."

"We'll just have to lay low..."

"I know..."

But she still wished they didn't, even if it was to be expected with what they did and their connections to Kamoshida. Ann on the recieving end of his unwanted advances, Ryuji getting his leg ruined by the man and them having their reputations destroyed before they even stepped foot on school grounds. It still ticked Akira off she was looking into them like that. Oh the faculty or police she could understand, but a fellow student wanting to rat out the Phantom Thieves just reeked of someone motivated by a selfish goal, like wanting to gain the school's favor or be known as the one to catch them. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised that Niijima was doing just that of her own free will and not because of the faculty asking her to—

"Amamiya-san?"

Akira jerked in her seat, but once her vision focused she saw a familiar red head in front of her, startled from her reaction.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you."

Akira shook her stupor away then said, "Heh, it's fine. Just lost in thought is all."

"I see." Then she turned hesitant, looking as if she wanted to say something.

"Something wrong?"

"Actually...I was wondering if something happened with you," she said. "You looked like you weren't paying attention to class at all and I know you always do so I got worried."

Akira blinked. "Oh." That was why.

She giggled.

The red haired girl frowned in confusion. "Is something funny?"

"Nah not really," she said with a smile. "I'm just kinda glad you're worried." Then, bitterly under her breath, "Unlike most people here..."

Now the girl frowned because she was upset as she said, "I might not know you very well, but I know you're a kind person, so I couldn't help but worry..."

Akira just laughed in disbelieving joy again. "Well, I'm feeling better now, thanks."

"If you say so... But are you sure you'll be fine with exams?"

Well since she mentioned it... "Then how 'bout we study together with my big brother and our friends?"

"Huh?"

"You got notes, right? Then let's study 'em together with my friends. We've been doin' that for the past few days."

"O-Oh no, I can't...I don't want to intrude."

"No way! I'm sure they'd be fine. Here, I'll ask 'em."

Akira took out her phone and messaged the chat, asking if she could bring a classmate to their study group. As she thought, they were fine with it since they trusted she wouldn't bring anyone mean. Akira grinned and said,

"See? I told you. They said yes."

"Uh...well...I..."

"Come on, what's it gonna take? I want you to come."

The redhead was shocked for a moment before she smiled and said, "Okay. I'll come along."

"Good! Let's go."

The two left their classroom and met up with Ren and their friends at the school gate. It was only then when she was introducing them to the girl that she realized...

"Uh...actually, I forgot to ask, what's your name?" she said, sheepish.

Akira ignored her brother's snicker as the girl turned frantic and said, "Oh I'm sorry so for not introducing myself! My name is Kasumi Yoshizawa." She bowed, polite but much too quick. "It's nice to meet you, Amamiya-senpai, Sakamoto-senpai, Takamaki-senpai."

"Hey, it's fine, Yoshizawa," Akira said, chuckling at their shared embarrassment. "I forgot to ask too."

"Yeah. No harm done," Ryuji said.

"Mmhmm. It's nice to meet you, Yoshizawa," Ann said with a smile.

"Good to see you again, Yoshizawa-san," her brother said with a smaller one.

With that, they finally left for the diner. On their way, Ryuji and Yoshizawa, after some coaxing from her and her brother, ended up talking quite a lot out of all of them, thanks to their shared interest in athletics. Thought it actually ended up mostly being about what kinds of food they took for their diet. The fact that Ryuji knew so much caught everyone off guard. Of course the faux-blond protested about their impressions and they all shared a laugh at his reaction, which they had plenty more of with Yoshizawa now included in the "complaints department" against her and her brother's lack of studying issues. But by the end of it, Yoshizawa thanked them for letting her study with them and they were all relatively confident about passing the exams, at minimum.

"Me and Big Bro are definitely going to score high though," she said, grinning.

"Oh come on! Stop rubbin' it in!"

Author's Notes: I headcanon that Ryuji is actually pretty knowledgeable about foods and relatively health conscious thanks to being a runner. I also headcanon he'd be a pretty good and healthy cook should he give a try/learn.