Chapter 27: Chasing Tails
{R}
In the middle of Ms. Kawakami's lesson in the afternoon, she stopped to call out on all the students who shared the same essays, warning them that stealing someone's ideas was still as much of a crime as stealing anything else. Ren kept his face still but was amused at the appropriate timing and the shame for the few students that felt guilty for what they did.
The woman sighed. "It's annoying dealing with copyright these days..."
This he let a snort pass through.
Oh he certainly knew about that.
And, to his surprise, Ms. Kawakami said, "Speaking of copyright. You know about the Arsène Lupin series by Maurice Leblanc?"
And he perked up and stood straight in his seat, ditching his lax demeanor as he listened more attentively.
"Leblanc once had another famous character appear in one of his Lupin stories." Seeming to have noticed his change, she said to him, "Do you know which author he borrowed from?"
"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes," he said, quick and easy. "Leblanc used Holmes in 'Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late'."
His teacher showed astonishment at his answer before her countenance turned, dare he say, bemused, a slight upturned corner of her lip hinting at a smile.
"Oh, do you like the Lupin series?"
An embarrassed smile slipped his demeanor but nothing more. "Yes actually."
"I see..." she said and then, catching him off guard, that joy was gone and her lethargy returned. "Amamiya-kun is correct. The answer is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes."
Then she went on to talk about Lupin, Holmes and their two authors as a way to discuss more about the name change employed by Leblanc for his later stories, the icon status of both the gentleman thief and the great detective, and the difference between plagiarism and homages. The irony of Leblanc's misdeed being mentioned did not escape Ren. Leblanc, someone who created something dear to his heart, comitted the same crime Madarame made an entire career out of.
But like what he had told Ann just days before, he wouldn't let that ruin the enjoyment he took from his works.
More importantly though, all the while Ms. Kawakami spoke, Ren pondered about the brief moment of life she showed, almost as if she was happy to show a bit of excitement during her lesson, until it was time to focus on their trip to Mementos, deciding to store the morsel for possible future use, whatever that may be. The others went ahead while he and Aki gathered the last pieces of intel they needed before they met with them and Yusuke at HQ to confirm their target. Once done, the artist grew curious as they went back into the subway and activated the Nav.
"So this is Mementos..." Fox said, eyeing the twisted manifestation of the tunnels they went through everyday.
"Pretty creepy huh?" Skull said as he received his shotgun from Rogue before she gave the next gun to the next person.
"Hmm... The red that seems to tint the entire area...and the tendrils that grasp it... And the contrast of light and dark... It's perfect for a pencil sketch."
"And...he's gone," his sister said, the last person to need their gun.
That wouldn't do. "Fox. Please focus."
"Ah yes. My apologies."
Joker waved his hand to dismiss it. "It's fine. You'll have plenty of time to look at Mementos while we're driving. But first, we should explain it to you. As well as hopefully introduce a friend of ours."
"A friend?"
They gave yet another crash course for Fox and a description of Jose, who grew curious once again and anticipated meeting the little explorer. But that flew out the window when Mona transformed into the Monamobile.
"You can transform?" Fox said, shocked.
"Indeed I can," the now not-cat-bus said.
"Heh heh. Cool huh?" Rogue said.
Joker chuckled before he said, "Rogue calls this form the Monamobile."
"Ah! I see..."
And then he proceeded to finger frame him from various angles, all the while commenting on how intriguing his design was, incorporating both feline and automobile features into "one harmonious form", as he put it. Rogue laughed and Joker chuckled. Panther was unsure what to feel and Skull was definitely exasperated. Mona, however, preened at the appraisal.
"Oh? So you do want to paint me then?"
His sister had a look of epiphany. "Better idea. How about we have Fox paint on you, Mona?"
"What?!"
"Hmm...a fascinating proposal..."
"Oh no you don't! What will happen to my fur if you do that?! It could end up painted the same in real life!"
Rogue deflated. Fox as well. "Oh..."
Now Panther joined her fellow "blond" in his exasperation while Joker chuckled again. As amusing as this all was though...
"Shall we go? The less time we spend in Mementos, the more time we can spend in the Palace tomorrow," he said, heading for shotgun. "We can try and think up ways to decorate Mona while we're driving."
Rogue perked up with excitement. "Wait really?!"
Mona tensed in shock. "What really?!"
"Oh come on, it'll be great!" his sister said as she took her driver's seat. "I was thinking we could put the logo of our group on you."
"You have a logo?" Fox said, following the others into the rear seat.
"Of course we have a logo! Any good team has to have a logo!"
"It looked terrible though..."
"Hey! I did my best! If we get Fox to draw it, I'm sure it'll look awesome!"
"Hmm...well I certainly wouldn't mind doing so..."
This was the topic for a while as they descended into the depths, Joker helping Rogue to make sure she didn't run into any Shadows. Though, to their surprise, it was much easier to do so than before when they seemed to run away when they got close. Mona explained it was because they could sense their power, like how they could do the same with Shadows. As such, it was smooth sailing as they moved through each floor to reach their target, Yashimori Sakoda, with only having to explain about the stamps to Fox before Mona explained the newly discovered "rest areas", which acted much like safe rooms, and thus acted as check points.
As soon as the Shadow spotted them, he sneered and said,
"Huh? Well if isn't the Phantom Thieves...you guys really gonna go after me?"
Rogue and Skull didn't take it kindly, throwing insults back and forth with the bully before he got ticked off and...
Joker tensed.
...turned into an evil looking Jack Frost.
"Panther! On your guard!"
"Got it!"
As he thought, the evil Jack Frost liked using ice magic. Unfortunately, it didn't have the normal weakness of the little winter fairy. So they resorted to whaling against the Shadow while it complained about the fact it was losing. At least until Joker noticed that Fox, with his eye for art and his speed and precision, often struck critical points that allowed them All-Out Attacks. So he switched their tactics to support Fox and increase his chances to strike true. Thus it wasn't long before he fell to the last of many All-Out Attacks and reformed into his human form.
"I'm not a loser..." he said, shakily getting up. "I'm strong, I'm strong... I am strong, aren't I?"
Joker scoffed. "No you're not. And since you're not..." He crouched in front of him and sneered. "...looks like we have to eat you now, don't we?"
"You were the one that said it's a 'dog-eat-dog' world after all," Rogue said, Joker imagining her savage grin.
Skull cracked his knuckles, having the same grin. "Yeah. When I'm done with you, not even your bones'll be left."
"N-No...! Please don't eat me! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" the boy said.
He cowered away but Joker grabbed the front of his shirt, opened his mouth...
...and said, "Not fun when you're the one losing, is it?"
"Huh?"
Joker let him go, backing him stumble on his back.
"We were kidding. We're the Phantom Thieves of Heart. We only steal distorted hearts."
"And now that we got yours...you don't gotta say sorry to us. Go apologize to who you really need to apologize to!"
"And don't half-ass it like you did right now, got it?"
"Right..."
With that, the Shadow faded into light and left a small Treasure, this time an...evil looking crystal that seemed to be made of black snow.
"So this is what happens when you cause a change of heart?" Fox said, interrupting his examination.
"Yes. They often change into a more powerful form to defend their Treasure," Mona said.
"So we gotta beat the crap out of 'em so they'll give their Treasure," Skull said.
Rogue added, "Though we've only done this three times so far, this one included."
Fox was confused. "Only three? Truly?"
"Well...we haven't exactly gotten too many requests that are actually serious," Panther said.
"Uh huh. Like, a whole lot of the Phan-Site's got your usual internet complaints."
"The Phan-Site...? Wait...do you mean that forum that is known to be a haven for fans of the Phantom Thieves? You own the site?"
"Technically nah. A friend of ours just made it for us before becoming our publicist..."
Fox was awed. "You truly are an organization."
Joker and Rogue laughed.
"Not a big one, but yes," he said. "We are taking this very seriously."
The artist contemplated. "So...does that mean Madarame will also transform when we take the Treasure?"
Silence.
A part of Joker almost wanted to deny it, if only for the sake of Fox's heart which likely kept on breaking as they delved deeper and deeper into his "father's" heart.
But that wouldn't be good either.
So, to compromise with himself, he said, "Yes, there's a good chance. But if we can escape before he can catch up to us, we might not need to fight him, right Mona?"
The non-feline was startled but thankfully recovered and said, "That is true."
But that did nothing to lift Fox's mood as he turned downcast.
So of course Joker joined in his sister and their fire specialist's efforts to not have him dwell on it.
"How about we try finding Jose?" Panther said. "You did want to introduce Fox to him, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I did, and I want to trade our flowers."
"Hey, speaking of them, what you think of 'em, Fox? Think they'd be nice inspiration for pieces?"
The artist looked astonished and was silent as he stared at them, each of them giving a comforting smile, Rogue even pulling her mask down just to show it, and Skull and Mona joining in quiet reassurance. After a few more moments of shock, Fox chuckled with relief and disbelief.
He took a deep breath and said to Rogue, "Well..."
They ended up talking a bit about the appeal of flowers in general, and not just the ones they have been collecting in Mementos, while they decided to see how deep they could go so that they could just teleport to the next area should they open it. Rogue wasn't necessarily a fan of flowers like some girls were, but didn't dislike them either. Fox was of similar neutrality to the more common flowers known, like lillies and roses.
Joker pouted. "Oh come on. What's wrong with roses? They don't come in just red you know."
"They don't?" Skull said.
"You only know that 'cause you're a romantic and a gentleman," Rogue said, accusing with amusement.
He held his hands up in surrender. "Guilty as charged."
"I'm sure you'll love that part-time flower arrangement job then."
"If I got it. I still haven't even been interviewed yet."
"Huh? You wanted to work in a flower shop?" Skull stared at him like he was insane.
"And what's wrong with that?" he said, doing his best to keep neutral even when he felt somewhat offended at his friend's look.
"Well I think it's cool," Panther said. "Hey...does that mean you know about flower meanings?"
He smirked. "Uh huh."
"Oh you do?" Fox said. "I have heard about flower language but I haven't looked into it before since I haven't painted any before."
"You should learn it, Fox. You can put even more subtle meaning into your paintings if you do."
"You're just saying that 'cause you wanna spread chivalry."
Joker was about retort but just as they went to the next floor, a familiar honk stopped them, and Jose briefly congratulated before driving off.
Quiet.
"Was that Jose?"
"Hold tight everyone!"
Everyone yelped as Rogue raced after the buggy just like last time. But unlike last time, it was much shorter as Jose parked not too far from when he passed them.
"Oh hello," Jose said when they disembarked from the Monamobile.
"So you are Jose...?" Fox said as he tilted his head this way and that.
"Hmm? You know my name? But I don't know you...how do you know my name?"
He and Rogue giggled while Panther and Skull groaned in background from the much too fast ride to here.
"He knows 'cause we told him, Jose. He's a new friend of ours."
"Oh. Nice to meet you. My name is Jose. Though you already know that."
"A pleasure to meet you as well. You may call me Fox," their new recruit said with a slight bow.
For a second, Rogue was disappointed that Fox didn't seem to react overtly to the little explorer's appearance...
...but then he said, "The cute proportions... The color scheme... The child-like appearance... You look almost like...a mascot."
"A mascot? There's a specific look for a mascot?" Mona said of all people.
And Rogue bellowed. "That's what you are Mona," she said, smug.
"I am not a mascot!"
"Then you'd prefer a cat?"
"I am not a cat either!"
Fox turned towards him with a confused tilt. "But you look like a perfectly designed cat mascot."
And it just exploded as Mona complained at him, then Rogue defended Fox, and then Skull complained to Mona about his denial. That made Mona say something insulting to the lightning specialist that their ice artist agreed with and Skull protested the claim...until Rogue agreed with both Fox and Mona.
"Whose side are you on?!"
Rogue smirked, pulling her mask down. "Mine."
And it went on once again, this time with Fox pointedly staying out of it as he finger framed a curious and confused Jose.
Panther sighed beside him. "Are you going to do anything?"
"Maybe."
"Ugh...you're just as bad as them..."
He held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I just want Fox to get used to this. This won't be the first time we annoy each other."
Joker thought he had managed to convince her but...
...she threw a flat look his way. "You're just letting them do this because it's funny to watch them argue while Fox is ignoring them."
"Okay maybe a little, but my point still stands."
Panther sighed in exasperation while he chuckled.
"Okay okay I'll break it up. That Reaper thing Mona mentioned will come at this rate."
But before that...he tapped on Fox's shoulder, who turned to him curiously.
"You all right?"
"Yes I am fine," he said, unsure.
"I mean with this," Joker said, gesturing to the still half-bantering, half-arguing commotion behind them. "I know it can be a little crazy."
"Ah..." Fox smiled then faced him. "I did mean what I said when I gained Goemon. It heartens me to see you like this, comfortable to be yourselves around me...and comfortable with me being who I am."
Joker smiled back, both touched and heartbroken over the thought that Fox was likely left alone for how eccentric he came off as.
He knew the feeling.
"I'm glad you feel that way...because I meant it when I said 'Welcome aboard'."
Then he went to drag Skull out of the "argument" which actually died down with him out of the picture, his sister eventually apologizing for the teasing, even though she would very much do it again. Skull grumbled at the action but just accepted Panther chastising him for riling up Mona when that was annoying. Then they finally used Jose's services, with Fox sketching him in his sketchbook, which led to another, much more peaceful, conversation.
(A)
The inner sanctum was mostly how Rogue expected. The control room they found, which coincidentally was right in front of the safe room, didn't do much, the lasers caging the Treasure not turning off. What they could do thought was turn off the lights for a few moments before they were rerouted to a backup and open up shutters that likely would've blocked them from infiltrating further.
Though a guard coming in tried to stop that.
They managed to get rid of it before it could call more origami dogs and other Shadows, quickly figuring out its susceptibility to electricity. After that, it was the usual routine as they tried to secure an infiltration route, fighting Shadows they couldn't avoid and looking for chests in every nook and cranny, though they didn't find many of the former. At least until past another safe room they found. There they spotted a strong guard protecting the last Will Seed.
There was no way to sneak up to it, so of course it threatened them before it changed into a...doll? She forgot what they were specifically called but she recognized the shape and the "goggle eyes". It looked harmless like that.
Its eyes started to glow and a high pitched sound got steadily louder.
Rogue recognized it.
"Shit!"
"Everyone guard!"
It exploded and they were thrown back, thudding against the walls with grunts and groans, but they were fine and so was the doll. Rogue cursed her train of thought. She just had to think, even if it was just a moment, that it would be easy. That was just tempting fate with a sweet.
"Mona! Healer duty!"
"Got it!"
They were careful now with the timing of their attacks. But luckily for them, just like the last guardian of the final Will Seed they faced, it was prone to falling asleep, so it become much easier to deal with it once they knew that. It was even more so once they found out it was weak to wind. However, when it was low on health, Rogue yelped and shook her head, some strange pink light blinding her for a second.
"The hell was—"
She tensed.
Then she blocked.
"I shall make you pay for your crimes!"
"Fox?! What the hell you doin'?!" Skull said.
Mona answered. "Careful! Fox has been brainwashed!"
"What?!"
Crap.
Rogue met each of Fox's brainwashed strikes, but the more she did, the more she knew he was going to be too fast for her stamina to keep up with. But she would have to—pink—hold—flash—on...so that she could find an opening in her enemy. And she did. A pattern she found and in that split second windup, she struck. Her opponent screamed but she followed with a double hit on the head. That made him stagger and she would've pressed her advantage when a guy in a black tailcoat attacked her.
His strikes with his dagger were a lot slower than the swordsman but he was much lighter on his feet than him, moving like he was prancing around while he either parried or dodged her attacks. It was hard to predict his movement. She growled. This wouldn't do. If that was the case, then she would make him move how she wanted. She struck with one dagger, he dodged as she hoped. So she feinted with her next slash, now hitting her opponent with her other dagger...who took the hit and put something on her forehead.
She reared her arms, ready to—hit—the...
Rogue stared.
"Big Bro...?"
Her brother sighed.
What just happened?
She had no time to process what she had done as the doll was on the offensive again. But with it so low on health, it was soon gone. Only then did it dawn on her what she did.
"I...attacked you didn't I...?" she said, downcast and staring at her feet.
"It's not your fault," Joker said to her. "And that's the same for you."
No doubt that was Fox he was referring to. Even if she hadn't been attacked by him, his sad demeanor was more than enough of an indicator for what happened.
"I must still apologize. I could've..."
"It's fine. That's the first time any of us has seen that move before. Right?"
The others nodded. She did too, but...she still didn't like the feeling of what she did.
Especially since she hit her brother.
"Hey."
She looked up at him. "It's okay. I'm fine. See?" He opened his arms. "Nothing to worry about. Just means we should make sure we have Personas that can heal this status effect so that we don't have to get close to the affected one."
That was true but...
Rogue felt him pull off her hood just to ruffle her hair.
"Hey!"
"I know you hate that you hit me and I'm glad you do. But that's all the more reason to make up for it, right?"
Rogue paused. Then smiled. "Yeah. That's right. Thanks Big Bro."
He smiled back. "Always."
Then he went to Fox, who was still morose over what happened, no doubt to cheer him up. Since he was busy with that, she helped with Panther, Mona and Skull on opening the door and getting the Will Seed.
And so, the Palace's crystal skull formed and detour done, they were back to infiltrating, Fox using his grapple hook for the first time. It wasn't too long until they found another control room, this one having a ladder to the scaffolding and pipes in the ceiling above the Treasure, where they had a clear view of it. Only one thing: they had no way to get down...or at least it seemed like it.
"Hmm...perhaps we could use that?" Fox said, pointing up.
They did and there they saw a hook on a wire rope.
"Okay that's just asking us to steal," she said.
Joker chuckled. "I think it's just coincidence. It was probably just used to move art pieces around."
"Point still stands."
"Exactly. We can most definitely use it to steal the Treasure," Mona said.
"Uh, how?" Skull said.
She and her brother shared a look, having a good guess as to what Mona was planning, before facing their phantom thief senpai.
"We'll use everything at our disposal. Isn't that right Mona?"
Then the three of them laid out the strategy to the others and assigned the roles. With that, their infiltration plan was set. Now all that's left was the calling card. That, however, was put on hold, because it was getting late and they needed to get home and rest. A clear head to make the final decision was for the best. But Rogue knew it was because Joker wanted to give Fox some time to come to terms with what they're doing, just in case any doubts have formed.
Before they left though, Justine informed them of a new service and...showed them the electric chair.
Well that's certainly not morbid, she thought, not amused. They're really going all out on the prison aesthetic huh?
But then Caroline said, "This ritual lets you sacrifice a Persona and transmutate them into high-level items."
And she froze.
Items?
Wait...
"Does that mean we can make weapons from Personas?"
"Yes, indeed," Justine said.
"OH YEAH! THAT'S SO AWESOME!"
She jumped around, unable to stay still. If they had a bunch of mythical beasts and heroes and such, then that meant...
Rogue was startled from her thoughts as Caroline banged on her cell door, annoyed, and said,
"As long as you have the material that can let you transmutate it into a weapon."
"Ah. Gotcha."
Because that made sense. That's like trying to make a spoon into a gun. Both still had metal in them. Now all she had to do was figure out what material she had to use and how she would get it...
Before she could try out the electric chair though, her brother said,
"Thank you for the new service. We'll be going now. It'll be late if we don't."
She groaned and sighed. Damn it. But she would follow with him. She would have plenty of time to experiment tomorrow after all, all of them preparing for their fight and the calling card.
[G]
Akechi sat against the seat, trying to ignore his urge to slump against it in relief that he was finally done with his regular "check up" on the bigger associates of the organization. He had an image to uphold after all. Now he had the free time to go to the café to relax, and if he was lucky, he could see Amamiya-san again. She hadn't texted him at all since they last met nearly two weeks ago. But considering his encounter a couple of days after that... He suspected she was busy with Madarame's Palace, helping her brother and friends through it.
A part of him knew he should stop them. They were, after all, interfering with the organization by aiming for one of their members and changing his heart like Kamoshida. It would be best to get rid of threats before they became proper thorns. However...that was mostly squashed by that fact that his job description was to be an untraceable hitman, killing key figures and causing disasters with unknown methods, then cover-up the incidents with his appointed position. He wasn't supposed to be a bodyguard to all the members of the organization that formed Palaces.
So he would leave Madarame to his fate. If the reports on Kamoshida were to be believed, it should be a cathartic sight to see him confess.
The train announced its stop at Yongen-jaya Station.
Akechi got out with ease, not many exiting the train despite it being Saturday. He was grateful for that. It all the more meant that Leblanc would be another safe hav—comfortable place to rest and recuperate.
"Ngyaaaaaah!"
Akechi stilled his steps.
Is that...?
"Oof!"
He backpedaled and looked down to see that, as he guessed, the black cat, Morgana, had rammed into his leg.
"Huh? Akechi?!" the cat said, beginning to back off.
But then another voice said, "Snowball! Where are you?!"
And the cat tensed. "Oh no. I've got to get—"
The cat yelped as Akechi scooped him into a cradle just as a rather disheveled and deranged girl arrived—not that he would ever say that aloud—who turned befuddled upon seeing him.
"Huh? Snowball?"
"Ah, it seems you found my cat, miss. Thank you very much," he said, politely bowing.
"Oh...that's...your cat..."
"I'm not a cat..." he heard Morgana mumble but otherwise stayed still in his arms.
Akechi put on his most pleasant smile. "Yes it is. Again, thank you. But if you'll excuse me, I should be going. I need to check if he's well."
He bowed again and finally passed the girl by. He glanced over his shoulder to see her staring at him dumbfounded. Akechi almost scoffed at her behavior...
...if Morgana hadn't said, "Ugh... Of all the people it had to be Akechi..."
And he stopped himself from both scoffing and frowning, keeping up his persona.
Of course the cat wouldn't li—
"But he did help me...and is holding me securely...it wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to not say thanks somehow."
It was only years of practice that let him not flinch in surprise from Morgana purring and rubbing against his chest. He briefly wondered why Morgana couldn't just say his "thanks" outright until he remembered that he wasn't supposed to understand his speech. So that meant he had to act accordingly.
So he decided, for just a moment, to show his surprise, using it to his advantage, before he said,
"You're welcome, Morgana." He smiled, small and unconsciously. "Now let's get you back to Amamiya-san."
The cat smiled at him, as best as a feline could at the very least, before settling in his arms. Unforutnately, Akechi had to jostle him a little as he opened the door to Leblanc and said,
"Hello. Is Amamiya-san here?"
"Oh it's you. The detective boy," the owner said. "Yeah. She's upstairs with her brother. Give me a second."
"Eh?" Akechi said before he could catch himself. "No wait, you don't..."
"Hey kid! Your chocolate friend's here," Sakura-san said from the base of the stairs.
Chocolate friend...?
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's just grand! Chocolate boy... Heh heh heh...
Oh this is embarassing...
Thankfully he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a commotion, the owner back at the counter just as a smiling Amamiya-san popped out from the stairs.
"Akechi! You're here!" she said. Then she frowned. "Huh? Mona?"
"I found him on my way here," he said. "He was being chased by a girl so I picked him up before he could be taken."
"Huh? Chased?"
"Well..."
He suspected Morgana would tell the full story later, but nonetheless he told her his part in the events up to that moment. When he was done, Amamiya-san smiled even wider, if that was possible.
"Really? Thanks Akechi. You're a lifesaver."
"I don't mind, I'm glad I could help," he said, startling himself at how genuine he was.
"Heh. Well still, thanks," she said. Then she smirked. "Hope the guy didn't cause you trouble while you brought him here."
"What are you implying? I was the perfect picture of a gentleman," Morgana said with a huff.
"He didn't," Akechi said to the girl, holding back his own smirk. "I think he was glad I helped considering he purred after I picked him up."
"Grk!"
The girl with glasses shot an even smugger look at Morgana.
"See? I told you he'd like you," Amamiya-san said, looking back at him.
Morgana harrumphed. "That's because he treats me with respect."
Akechi...wasn't so sure how to take that, nor Amamiya-san chuckling at the cat's attitude. So when Sakura-san said to him,
"Do you want anything?"
He welcomed the distraction. "Ah. I'd like some coffee please. The same one as last time."
"All right. Kid?"
"On it!"
Akechi couldn't help but chuckle at Amamiya-san's enthusiasm. She truly was determined to make a coffee that was perfect for him. Though now that it was calm and he only had to wait, his amusement left him as he glanced at the stairs that led to the second floor. He was curious as to what she and her brother were doing and if it had anything to do with changing Madarame's heart. He was tempted to ask but...
Amamiya-san chuckled with a sheepish expression. "I uh...just realized I haven't texted you in forever..."
Akechi chuckled in amusement. "And I have already said many times it is fine. I know you would talk when you could."
...he was here to relax. He wouldn't bother with that for now. He had other chances should he feel he needed it.
Amamiya-san frowned. "Still. I like talkin' to you. But I know you can't always come here and you're busy and stuff...so I'll try textin' more often."
"If you insist."
Loki chuckled. Not that you'd mind.
Robin hummed. Well I certainly don't.
And so he and Amamiya-san ended up talking about what she had been discussing with her brother—which he noted was about weapons, framed with explaining her preferences—until it segued into commenting about a game show that was showing on Leblanc's TV, with him chuckling at her quips and her laughing at his. Eventually, he finished his coffee and, as per usual, was given a chocolate as he left. Though she said as she did so,
"Oh right. I'm gonna hang out with my friends tomorrow so...I'm probably not gonna be here until late in the afternoon or evening."
Ah... "I'll keep that in mind."
Akechi wondered. Considering they had cleared the first building of the Palace when he first saw them, Amamiya-san discussing weapons with her brother and it had been a week since then...
Could they perhaps be stealing Madarame's heart tomorrow?