Catch-22; The Pancakes

By: M14Mouse

Summary: Did someone say something about pancakes?

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

Ren wasn't going to lie…but he thought that the tv station would be more exciting.

It turned out that it was very…boring.

He and Ryuji had to fight off their yawns. The host was trying to keep them somewhat entertained but it was so boring. It didn't help that some creepy camera assistant hit on Ann and made them work.

One thing for sure…he did not want to work in a tv station ever again.

Then came…Akechi.

"He heard me!" Morgana shouted.

"Shh…keep down. And I know."

"So, we have two suspects now."

"I really don't think that Sensei is the man in the black mask."

"You can't be sure! He is sneaky and…"

He sighed and shifted the bag on his back. Morgana hasn't quite let go of the fact that Sensei told him off.

Morgana also didn't like that Sensei noticed something about their fight in Mementos either. He took off before Sensei could say anything.

He did wonder what he was about to say to Morgana.

"….and thinks that he knows it all."

"You know…he did say that he didn't know everything."

"Well….I still don't trust him."

He shook his head.

"I am thinking after the whole tv station thing is over. We called a group meeting to talk about Akechi."

"Good idea. Now, let's talk about dinner."

"You just ate dinner."

"I threw it up!"

He sighed.

Some days…

-P4P5P4-

The mood after the tv program was somber. Ryuji looked like all of the energy was drained from his body. He could see the hard lines on Ann's face. Morgana was strangely quiet as well.

"It kinda seems like what he was saying might be right…" Ann said as she stopped for a moment.

"He made it sound like we're the baddies. I don't like it." Ryuji added.

"But that stuff about the police…Do you think it's for real?"

"He can say whatever he wants. The justice of it all is something we can decide for ourselves," Morgana said.

"Oh sorry, I gotta take a leak. Can you guys wait here? I'll be right back?" Ryuji said.

"Oh my god…I'm going to keep going, ok?" Ann said before she turned around and left.

"Oh, it's you…!" Akechi called out.

He turned to see Akechi walking toward him.

"I'm glad that I found you. I wanted to thank you in person. To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis…," Akechi said.

….? What in the world is he talking about?

"Haha…my apologies. What I mean is that our discussion is quite meaningful. Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they simply do as the adults say. I feel like our discussions could be quite fruitful. Would you mind talking with me again?"

"Fine by me," He said.

"AKECHI!" A familiar voice shouted out.

He twisted around to see Sensei waving and walking toward them. He glanced over to see Akechi's face brighten up slightly.

"Narukami," Akechi said with a wave.

"I was glad that I was able to catch you before you left. The train was running a little bit behind. I was worried that I would miss you," Sensei said.

"I told you that you didn't have to come."

"Ahh…that conversation again. I believe that I ended it with pancakes."

Akechi laughed softly.

"Oh, hello, Ren. Came to watch the tv show?" Sensei asked.

"Social studies field trip," He mumbled.

"Ahh…I don't miss those. Although in college, they turn them into educational experiences."

Akechi looked from him to Sensei.

"Do you know each other?" Akechi asked.

"I am his tutor…well…more like his group tutor. Ann's parents hired me since she was having trouble with English. I found Ann works best in a group environment. So…group tutoring," Sensei said smoothly.

Wow…he said that off the top of his head.

He wasn't going to lie…that was impressive.

"And you talk about me being busy. Hmmm…" Akechi said thoughtfully. Akechi rubbed his chin with a slight smile on his face.

"You caught me red handed," Sensei said with a laugh.

"Hey, man…thanks for…uhhh," Ryuji said as he ran toward them and then stopped. He looked to him, then Akechi and then Sensei. He had this confused expression on his face. He was right there with him.

"Hello…uh…"

Sensei smiled.

"Hello, Ryuji. Akechi and I are about to have some pancakes. You two are welcome to come along. The bill is on me."

"Uhh…." Ryuji said as he looked at him.

"Sure, why not? Especially if you are paying…." He said.

"I don't turn down free food," Ryuji added.

"You don't have to do that," Akechi said.

"I remember you paid for our sushi trip. Besides, I can pay for this one," Sensei said.

"You are too good of a friend."

"Well, that is settled. Let's get moving, huh?"

He nodded as they started walking toward the exit.

It was strange. He saw people trying to approach Akechi then stop in their tracks. Sensei would smile at them and wave. The poor people couldn't help but wave back when he did. Sensei was totally preventing any fans from approaching Akechi.

Akechi didn't seem to notice…if he did, he didn't say anything.

Can we be like him when we grow up?

He almost agreed with Hua-Po beside the fact that Akechi was their possible man in the black mask.

"Can those two be more boring? I thought that those two were talking about something exciting instead of that…!" Ryjui said.

"I know but I don't think that Akechi wants to talk about his cases all day," He said.

"I know but man…cooking!"

They filed into the Pancake Palace and got a seat near the back where Sensei and Akechi continued to talk about cooking.

"Pasta isn't that hard, especially Gyudon," Sensei said in amusement.

"Apparently, for me, I turned it into a mess," Akechi said with a laugh.

"When you have a day off, I am going to teach you how to cook something easy. Perhaps, a stir fry?"

"You can try, my friend. I will always be a prisoner to convenience store meals."

"Man, me too, especially the one down from the arcade. It has the best Fried Karaage," Ryuji added.

"Really? I find the best Bento sets at the convenience store in the subway," Akechi added.

"I passed that every day…I didn't know that. Have you tried the Egg Sandwich at…"

He felt like he fell into an alternate universe as he listened to Ryuji and Akechi talk about convenience store meals even after they ordered and the food was set at their table. He glanced over at Sensei, who looked amused as he ate his pancakes.

Morgana was busy mumbling about stupid idiots.

"You know, I make pretty good curry and he talks about Mochifuwa Pancake like it is the best thing ever. I guess that I am just making curry for Ann and Yusuke now," He said to Sensei.

"The same…I guess that I am making lasagna for myself now. Of course, I could make it for you and the others. Have you tried lasagna before?" Sensei said with a grin.

He almost laughed at Ryuji and Akechi's horrified expressions. He watched as Sensei covered his mouth with his hand…probably to stop laughing.

"Dude, you wouldn't…"

"Yu…."

"I don't believe I have. What is it?" He said….trying to keep a straight face.

"It is an Italian dish but there are different varieties to the dish. I like to play around with it. Akechi and my other friend, Teddie like it more with a lot of cheese. A few of my other friends like the meatier version. A few like it with more vegetables. Now…if I was making arroz con leche…."

"That sounds delicious."

It really did.

"No, it doesn't…it probably tastes like shoes," Morgana mumbled.

"It is! I am quite fond of those little rolls as well…what are they called again?" Akechi said.

"Swiss Rolls but I don't like to make them as sweet as the American version," Sensei said.

"Man…I know! Sensei and Ren should totally cook for us! It will be great. You should totally come too, Akechi," Ryuji said in excitement.

"I…I….," Akechi said in shock.

"I like how we aren't even asked to cook," Sensei said with a smile.

"I know. We could say no."

"We could. Imagine if we left them to cook."

"It would be terrible."

"Truly…but…I suppose that I could use that as a reward if you do well on your exams,"

"Aww…man," Ryuji said.

"I think that it is a good reward," He said.

You two are trolling these boys so badly. I am almost proud of you.

He wasn't going to stick his tongue at Cu Chulainn…but he thought about it.

Ryuji's phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket.

"Man…I got to go…but this was fun. We have to do it again," Ryuji said as he got up from the booth.

"Yes, this was enjoyable," Akechi said.

Ryuji waved as he left. Sensei got up from his place.

"I'm going to pay and go to the bathroom," Sensei said as he left to head to the bathroom.

Akechi looked over at him.

"I enjoyed today. It was insightful," Akechi said.

"I expect you have a list of new meals to try," He said.

Akechi laughed.

"Yes, I do. I look forward to more insight from you and the others," He said.

It hit him like the others.

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh

Thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Justice persona.

I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom

And new powers.

Akechi's phone rang too. He sighed as he took it out of his pocket and looked at it.

"Duty calls. I do tell Yu that I had to leave. Of course, I will text him the message as well," Akechi said as he got up to leave.

"Of course," He said with a nod. He watched as Akechi left. Few minutes later, Sensei returned.

"I see everyone left," Sensei said.

"Yes, Akechi and Ryuji received calls and had to leave."

"I suppose that I should take the hint to get going."

"I suppose so but I do have a question."

"What do I need to work on in school?

He really hoped that Sensei got the hint. Unlike Ryuji, he had some sense.

Sensei took a seat and stared at him for a moment.

"You are hesitant. It is brief but I catch it every time."

He jolted for a moment. He didn't think anyone would notice.

"He isn't hesitant at all! I don't know what you are talking about," Morgana said in the bag.

Interesting. He is right.

I know.

"Why do you say that?"

"At first, I thought that it was just how you work. Different schools have different ways, of course."

In other words, different persona users have different powers and different ways to use those powers.

"But the more that I watch, the more I see it. I am not sure if you are unsure of yourself…or your pe…choices that you have on hand. I plan to work on your confidence in and outside of school."

He felt it in his head again…Two in one day….

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh

Thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the World persona.

I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom

And new powers.

"…it begins," Sensei said.

He jolted out of his thoughts and stared at Sensei, who had a small smile on his face.

"Sensei?"

"Sorry…I said that we should begin soon. So, we have time before exams."

Sensei's smile grew…like he knew what just happened.

Sensei reminds him a lot of Igor.

He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

End of the Pancakes

A/N: After playing Royal, it still bothers me about Persona 5 is the relationship between Akechi and the Persona 5 crew. I can almost say that PQ2 did a better job than the game itself. It did add some more moments but still…So, as a writer, I decided to do something about it. Yes, at this point, some events will change. I also didn't know that fact in Persona 4: Golden. The more you know…Anyway, thank you for the reviews, kudo, the favorites…you guys are awesome! Read and review if you wish.