Chapter 30: Catch Up
(A)
Akira and Ren groaned as they plopped face first onto their respective futons, muscles sore and complaining all over. She was thankful they managed to reach their room at all, what with how heavy and tight her body felt, especially her core muscles. It was almost as bad as a stomach ache...
An exasperated sigh. "Seriously you two..." Mona said as he popped out of his bag. " I know I told you to get better at being thieves, but that doesn't mean pushing yourselves too much."
"Blame Aki," her brother said with a cheeky tone.
"I thought I could handle it okay?! I've been getting better in the Metaverse so I thought it'd show at least a little bit the real world..."
It was rather annoying, both her lack of progress in her physical abilities improving in real life and her assumption that it would correlate with her progress in the Metaverse. Giving it more thought though, if it was true, then she would be more superhuman in both strength and durability at this point, yet she wasn't.
"At least we did pretty well against those two, eh?" Ren said, Akira easily imaging his warm and proud smile.
Akira grinned against her pillow.
"Yeah, we did, huh?" she said.
And getting Yoshizawa as a Confidant on top of that.
Though that reminded her... "Uh, though...who won exactly?"
"Between the last two? That would be Yoshizawa," Mona said. "Though Ryuji did come pretty close."
"Heh heh, I'd expect no less from our team's former runner."
"My thoughts exactly," Ren said, equally pleased...
...at least until their stomachs grumbled.
Akira groaned again. "Right. Dinner..."
She began to push herself off her bed when she squealed at a sudden weight on her back.
"Aki?!"
"What the hell?!"
"Oh no you don't!" Mona said.
Akira swerved her head to see the not-cat had jumped on her back.
"You need to rest. Both of you."
"But how are we supposed to have dinner if both of us rest?" Ren pointed out.
"Don't worry. I have a plan. Stay right here. And make sure to be lying on your faces!"
They frowned as the not-cat then descended the stairs. It wasn't until the sounds of steps echoed from the staircase did they realize why he said that and they quickly resumed their initial positions on their beds.
"Geez...what in the world did they do?" Sakura-san said and sighed. "All right little guy. I'll get you dinner..." A pause. "And make some for these two punks while I'm at it."
They waited until his steps faded before they peaked at where he would've been.
"We should thank him when he comes back."
"Yeah, definitely. If we're still not tired by then."
Her brother laughed and she followed suit.
Thankfully for both of them, when he returned with their meals, though their bodies were still sore, it wasn't heavy or tight enough that they couldn't stand up to take the plates from Sakura-san and thank him for the curry dinner. So that meant when they were done with their meal, Ren was rested enough to bring all the utensiles downstairs and she was up for some relaxation.
In this case, with Yoshizawa giving her number to her as a reminder, she pulled up WIRE and contacted a friend.
Akira: Hey Akechi. How've you been? I'M DEAD TIRED. I hope you aren't.
She was about to go and send a message to her gymnastic friend, when she was startled by her notifications.
"Huh."
Akechi had replied.
Akechi: If you can message me, then surely you're not dead.
She laughed. With a smile, she texted back.
Akira: Ok you got me there. BUT STILL I'm pretty sure I got my point across.
Akechi: What could you have possibly done to warrant such a hyperbole?
Akira: Exercised my ass off, that's what. Now I'm sore all over.
Akira: Well a little better since I can talk to you. BUT STILL.
Akechi: I'm assuming you attempted a new exercise, not realizing your limit?
Akira: Score for the detective! Cause yup.
Though she realized something.
Akira: But seriously though, how about you? You good?
Akechi: Yes I'm well. Nothing more than usual.
She frowned.
Akira: Gettin overworked again?
Akechi: Nothing of the sort.
Akira: SURE. And I got 20/20 vision.
There was a pause in conversation as Akechi took a little longer than usual to reply. Akira liked to think she made him laugh. She smiled at the thought.
Akechi: Touché.
Akechi: Very well. Yes, I'm tired from my work as a detective, but my workload is not any more than usual. Besides, it's something I'm used to.
Akira: Still, you should rest.
Akira: If you wanna go with logic, it's better to take a break for your health, so you can be more productive.
Another pause, but this time Akira frowned and wondered. Was he debating on actually listen to her? Before she gave that more thought, she got her answer.
Akechi: Then how about you tell me how your outing with your friends went?
Oh. Well, she didn't mind, but there was no chance of her telling him the whole truth, so she would take a part of it. That would be relatively simple considering Akechi didn't know all the times she and her friends interacted with each and what they did.
Akira: Okay. Yesterday we...
Somehow, talking about paintings and such led to them to talking about what little they knew of art history, which wasn't much, and then that led to just international and national history, which they knew more of. At least until she had to get ready for bed.
Akira sighed.
Akira: Hey sorry but I'm gonna go hit the hay now.
Akira: Good night Akechi.
Akechi: Good night, Amamiya-san.
It was a good night and a reinvigorating sleep. Though whether it was because of Akechi's evening parting or because of her previous exhaustion remained to be seen, it didn't matter. What mattered was she was bright and chipper next morning and an idea came to mind when she, her brother and friends were having lunch together, eyeing the bottlecaps on the drinks Ann and Ryuji bought.
"Hey, mind givin' me the bottles?"
"Huh?"
"Oh! Sure."
And that's what she did for a bit after classes ended, after telling her brother her plan of course so he wouldn't worry. By consequence, he told her he was going to gather info on Mona's would be "cat-napper" in Yongen-jaya for their planned venture into Mementos that weekend, then would stop by Takemi's clinic. That added another thing on her own list as Ren wanted her to be examined, but first things first, she tied the small plastic bag of bottle caps and headed for the rooftop, hoping the one she was looking for would be there.
Akira smiled.
"Hey Senpai!"
"Oh, Amamiya-chan! What are you doing here?"
She walked up to her and held out the bag. "Here."
Haru-senpai was confused until she took it, then she turned surprise.
"Oh! You didn't have to Amamiya-chan. The caps we got yesterday were more than enough..."
"Maybe. But it couldn't hurt to have more right? Besides..." Akira pulled down her mask just to show her smile. "It's the least I could do for you." For being nice, she left unsaid, along with her suspicions of her being relatively friendless.
"Thank you," Haru-senpai said. "I wish I could give you something in return..."
"Hey no problem. I'm fine with no reward. You're usin' 'em for a good cause after all. So you better be ready for more! I'm gonna give you 'em whenever I can get plenty. Hopefully next time I can get as much as we did in the cleanup."
"What?! T-That really isn't necessary Amamiya-chan..."
"But I wanna, and you ain't gonna stop me," she said, smile now cheeky.
"Then..." Haru-senpai paused a moment. "...at least let me give you something in retuen when do, because I want to give it to you and..." She somehow gave a sweet and smug smile. "...you won't stop me."
Akira stared. Then she laughed. "All right, all right, Senpai. You got a deal."
I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Empress Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.
{R}
Ren sighed. A woman by the name of Ryoko Aino in an apartment had been nabbing a massive amount of cats, half of them strays, half of them owned by residents in Yongen, and all of them were noisy and shedding a lot more than they should. That certainly wasn't healthy, for both the woman and the cats, not to mentioned the worried owners. A part of him wished they could deal with it now, but they had already settled on Saturday for various reasons, including a good few day break from Metaverse work and catching up with other things.
"Thinkin' 'bout Suzui?"
Ren flinched as his guilt spiked from the abrupt reminder before he buried his confusion as he said,
"No. What made you think that?"
Aki stared. "Oh." Then she turned pensive. "I don't know... That examination with Takemi earlier and that girl that got that weird virus... It just made think about how we haven't seen Suzui since...you know..."
Ren tried, and failed, to get the image of Suzui's close to mangled limbs out of his mind.
Then his sister fixed him with a serious look. "And that you still haven't seen her."
"And why would I want to see her?"
Now her expression was irritated. "I know you wanna go. You always get that look when Ann tells us she's visiting her."
"What look?"
"You know. The one you make every time you wanna do somethin' but stop yourself."
Ren scowled. "I don't have a look when I think that."
Aki smirked. "Yes you do. And I ain't tellin' you what it looks like," she said as she moved about the room.
He rolled his eyes and lay back down on his futon. "But of course. Can't give up an edge over me," he said, equal parts amused and annoyed at his sister's assessment.
Aki giggled for a moment but returned to her somber tone. "Come on, Big Bro, what's stoppin' you?"
Ren huffed and frowned. "Well why don't you want to go?"
"'Cause I know she'll be fine. What 'bout you? I know you're worried 'bout her and wanna see for yourself."
Ren stayed silent, all of his reasons dying on his tongue, as he mulled over Aki's words, only giving a brief acknowledgement of his sister informing him she would be assisting Yoshida-san tonight.
(A)
Akira sighed as she resisted the urge to plop on her bed, not wanting to accidentally wake her brother who has long since fallen asleep.
"So how did it go with Yoshida-san?" Mona said in a whisper as he curled beside her.
Well I formed the Sun Confidant with him, she wished she could say, but with Ren in slumber, she would have to leave that out.
"I'm officially under his wing now," she said as she got her sheets ready. "And well...learned a lot about him."
"Learned about what?"
"That he used to do bad stuff when he was a Diet member, which is why people call him 'No Good Tora'." Specifically he slacked off, embezzled, and acted inappropriately and got kicked off because of that, but she didn't feel like mentioning them to Mona.
Especially when he said, "What?!"
"Shh."
"Er sorry...but can you blame me? Do you really want to learn speech techniques from him?"
That was a reasonable point. And if it had been anyone else, she would be a lot more cautious about it but...
"Perhaps, one day, I will believe in myself...again."
"Yeah. I wouldn't have it any other way actually."
...she had felt his gratitude after the Confidant formed, however tentative the connection was. He had learned his lesson and strived to be better. That wasn't something many former corrupt politicians could attest to.
"Okay...if you say so, I'll trust you. But first sign of trouble..."
She grinned and lied down. "Yeah yeah I know. I'll tell you or Big Bro if that happens."
Though speaking of "trouble", if only in the non-feline's eyes, there was one more thing Akira wanted to do before hitting the hay, holding out her phone.
Akira: Hey Akechi, how's your day?
"Akira... I thought you were going to go to sleep."
"I will. Just one last thing. Promise."
"Ten minutes."
Akira rolled her eyes, amused, but could work with that time.
Hopefully.
Akechi: It was fine.
Akira: That's it?
Akechi: Nothing of note happened.
Akira: Aw come on, you're a dectective. I know you can't give me details on ongoing cases, but I'm sure you have a finished case or two that's interesting.
Akechi: And it is also late. I assume you are about to go to bed?
Of course he could guess that. Not that it was hard to get to that conclusion.
Akira: Yeah you got that right but I wanna talk to you. You're not always free and when you are, sometimes I'm busy so I'll take any chance I'll get.
To her surprise, the detective paused. She almost would've thought he logged out but flowing ellipsis showed he was taking a while. She wondered why. Perhaps he was trying to come up with another topic? What she sent wasn't exactly "easy to reply to" material. But then he replied.
Akechi: Well I believe I will have some free time tomorrow. Will you be free as well by then?
And she perked up and smiled as she typed with enthusiasm.
Akira: Hell yeah I am! So we can actually hang out tomorrow?
Akechi: Yes.
Akira: When and where do you wanna meet?
There was another pause, but this time it was easy to assume the reason why: he was deciding on the particulars.
Akechi: Would touring around Jinbocho do?
She smirked.
Akira: Really? You gotta ask?
Akechi: I shall take that as a yes then. Shall we meet in front of the Buchiko as soon as school is over fine with you?
Akira: Yeah it's good. So see you tomorrow then?
Akechi: See you tomorrow.
Akira: Okay. Good night Akechi.
Akechi: Good night Amamiya-san.
{R}
"Oh yeah that reminds me. I'm gonna hang out with a friend this afternoon so if you guys wanna hang with me, you're gonna have to wait."
"Wait what? You got a friend besides us?" Ryuji said in shock.
Aki glared. "Ryuji. Words."
"Oh don't be so hard. He's just surprised," Ren said, amused.
"Well he could've said it better..."
"How can I possibly say it any better?!"
"Well you made it sound like Akira doesn't have any friends besides us," Ann said.
"Eh, um...I just thought it'd be that way since I don't have any besides you guys."
They all stilled. Ren was equal parts saddened and touched at his words.
But then of course Mona had to say, "Wow Ryuji. I guess even you can be serious when you want to be."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Ren, with a little help from Ann, broke it up before it turned into a fight again and lunch was resumed. As usual, he was the last one to finish his meal, Ryuji going off to grab a drink while Aki and Ann returned to their classes ahead of him, Mona "escorting" the latter because of course he was. Just as he finished packing his bento though...
"Hey! There you are!"
Ren startled and turned to Ryuji.
"What is it?" he said, a little vexed at his shouting.
"I need your help with something..."
His irritation was replaced with worry. "What do you need me to do?"
But then Ryuji said, "I found this flyer stuffed in my mailbox this morning."
And his aggravation returned twofold as he glowered at the flyer he was handed, the paper familiar somehow.
"Housekeeping Service! It says that a cute maid will do anything for you!"
He lifted his head just to give a deadpan, "Really?"
"A maid, dude! A maid! Who'll do anything for us! Right? Right...?!"
"And what do you want me to do?"
Because he certainly wasn't interested in modern maids. He knew their uniforms weren't historically accurate. He would only be interested in the "genuine" maid "outfits".
"You're a guy, right? You know what I mean!"
"No I don't."
"Let's give it a try! Yeah?! Yeah?! We can use this free room in my complex. The guy just moved out and the landlord doesn't care so the key's just behind the mailbox. The place is all set so..."
"Ryuji..."
Before he could even attempt to change his mind, Mishima caught them and...wanted in, for "research" purposes, which Ren wouldn't put pass him considering the flyer was shady—a maid that would do anything just screamed red flags—but he also wouldn't be surprised if half his reason for jumping in was the same as Ryuji's whole reason. This emboldened the faux-blond and now he was all the more enthusiastic to put his "plan" into action.
Ren sighed.
Considering Mishima's worry was a legitimate one and that there was little stopping Ryuji when he was like this...
"Very well. I'll help you."
...he'll at least minimize any possible damage.
"Sweet!"
And thus Operation Maidwatch was a go for the night. The naming of the mission was probably the only bright side to the whole situation.
He didn't even realize how put off he was by it until it was already afternoon and Ann said,
"Hey, you okay Ren?"
And it dawned on him that he didn't pay attention to anything for afternoon class.
Ren groaned and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
"Damn you Ryuji..." he said under his breath.
"Ren...?"
He jerked up and said, "I-I'm fine." He coughed as he regained his composure. "Just thinking."
"Really...?"
He smiled, hoping it was reassuring. "Really. It's nothing big. Just annoyed at Ryuji."
The blonde rolled her eyes knowingly. "What did he do this time?"
Ren chuckled. "Don't worry. Nothing much." Yet.
Ann wasn't entirely convinced yet still said, "Okay then...I gotta go. I'm gonna go see Shiho. See you tomorrow."
Then she stood up. Ren stared at her as she walked towards the exit, Aki's words last night echoing in his mind.
"... I know you're worried 'bout her and wanna see for yourself."
"Will you continue to deny your earnest and pure desire, milord?"
Ren took a deep breath then said,
"Ann?"
The blonde halted and turned back with surprise. "Yeah?"
"Can I...come along...?"
Her surprise turned into shock and Ren would've apologized...had she not smiled so wide and said,
"Sure. Come on."
Ren relaxed. "Okay," he said as he stood.
"Then I'll be taking my leave then," Mona said and steathily exited out the window.
Ren wished he stayed, but even on the low chance that the hospital would accept pets, he knew his honor as a gentleman meant a lot to him, so he wouldn't have come anyway. Though the thought gave him an idea.
"Do you mind if we could make a stop on our way there?" Ren said as he made his way to her side. "It will be quick, I promise."
"Huh? Oh sure."
For the third time in a row, Ren had surprised Ann when he led them to the flower shop in the Shibuya underground, asking for a bouquet of lillies and irises, the florist of the shop also surprised from the look on her face but if she wanted to say anything, she kept it to herself.
"You're getting flowers for Shiho?" Ann said.
He twirled his hair as he said, a bit embarrassed, "Yes...is it too much...?"
"Hmm...maybe a little..." She smiled with warmth and comfort. "But it's so you..I like it."
"What? You think I'm overdramatic?" he said with a grimace, equal parts offended and touched.
"No! I mean yes! I mean...you go over the top on things because you care a lot...whether it's overthinking or being overdramatic. So I don't think it's too much that you're getting flowers. You picked them because you know what they mean, right?"
Ren felt touched that she remembered that he knew flower language. "Wishing someone to get well, more or less, for both of the flowers."
If it was even possible, Ann's smile turned even more warm and comforting. "See? I told you. You go over the top because you care. I know Shiho will like it. I know I do."
Ren couldn't help but stare. What could he say to that? Well, actually, there was something he could say.
He smiled and bowed and said, "I'm glad you think that."
With the Ann seal of approval, whatever anxieties he had felt small and inconsequential, knowing that she didn't think him intruding or presumptuous at all.
"Shiho! I'm here! I brought a friend over too," she said when they arrived, opening the door with a smile.
"Ann!" Suzui said, smiling back before turning inquisitive. "Oh. Is this...?"
"Here, let me introduce you. Shiho, this is—"
"Ren Amamiya?"
Ann startled. "Huh? How'd you—"
Suzui smirked, small and vulnerable but a smirk all the same. "I could easily guess. You talk about him all the time after all."
Ren couldn't help but share her expression as he turned it towards a flushed Ann and said,
"Oh?"
"I don't talk about him all the time!"
"Aw...so you don't talk about me at all then?"
"No! I mean yes! I mean—ugh. You know what I mean..."
"No I don't."
Ann groaned and covered her face.
"I could tell you what she meant," Suzui said, tone teasing as well.
"No!" she said, then gasped and covered her mouth, shocked at her volume.
At least until Ren and Suzui laughed, making their mutual friend grumble.
"You two are the worst..."
"Sorry sorry, but it's hard not to tease you," he said.
"Exactly what I was thinking."
"Anyways! You're introduced, so give Shiho her flowers."
Ren chuckled at her obvious attempt to redirect. But he decided to show mercy to the poor girl and followed her suggestion.
"Here," he said as he placed them gently on the nightstand. "A 'get well' gift."
"Flowers huh? And it doesn't look random either..." Suzui said, eyeing them inquisitively before her smirk reemerged. "You're right Ann. He really is a gentleman."
"Shiho!"
Unable to resist playing along, he bowed with a smile. "I'm pleased to be of service, milady."
"Ren! Don't encourage her!"
"But it is behoove of me as a gentlemen to be courteous to a lady."
"Wouldn't that include me too?!"
"Then what is it you wish, milady?"
Once again Ann groaned in exasperation and once again he and Suzui laughed over her reaction. After a bit though, Ren settled his mirth and put a hand on her shoulder.
"My sincerest apologies for causing you distress, Ann. Is there any way I could atone for that?"
"If you're really sorry, you'd stop talking like a 'gentleman' right now..." Ann said, pouty.
Ren froze. "Oh." He chuckled sheepishly. "Apologies—er, sorry. It just slipped me."
"Of course it did..."
Their attention was turned to a chuckling Suzui before she said,
"Okay okay, we'll stop. But still...you did pick these kinds of flowers for a reason, right?"
He relented on his teasing on Ann to explain his reasons for the specific kind of bouquet, for real this time. After confirming that he and Suzui were finished with joshing her, Ann joined in on the conversation, easily steering it away from flowers as well as sustaining it for a very long time over many topics, half of which just had him listening to them and adding to the topics he could drop his own words in while the other half involved much jokes and teasings of a certain blonde as a certain mutual friend told "fun"—keyword: embarrassing—stories of when they were younger.
[G]
He was an idiot.
You think? Loki quipped.
He had an infinite amount of better things to do, and here he was, waiting for someone in order to...hang out.
I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Robin Hood soothed.
Or attempted to rather. Yeah, might as well use the chance to get her trust since we're at it so we can use her later.
Loki!
Akechi hummed in contemplation.
Well it was true...if his suspicions were right, they had just finished stealing Madarame's heart and, in about a week, he was likely going to confess. It was clear they were going to continue being the Phantom Thieves of Hearts after their first escapade with Kamoshida. If he gained the trust of Amamiya-san now, should any opportunity arise to use the vigilante group to his advantage, he could easily utilize them through her. And if not to his advantage, then he could easily get rid—
"Gah!"
—he grabbed his captor and pivoted to retaliate, but froze upon seeing the identity.
"Akira...?"
The girl in question briefly looked surprised before turning sheepish. "Eh heh heh...should've thought better of surprisin' a detective...sorry," she said as she held her free hand up in surrender.
Akechi was jolted out of his stupor and let go of her other hand that had held onto his shoulder.
"No, I should apologize, it's—" improper to attack someone who meant no harm, was what he meant to say, as he was the Detective Prince. He could only imagine the scandal.
But then Amamiya-san said, Akechi easily imagining her grinning behind her mask, "Hey it's fine! I had it comin' for tryin' to jumpscare you. And you stopped yourself. So no harm done."
Of course.
Akechi wasn't sure if he should be glad or annoyed...
You SHOULD be annoyed! How dare she sneak up on us like that and brush it off like it's nothing...
You should be glad. Akira-chan seems very kind and forgiving to let something like that pass.
...apologetic. He shall settle on that.
"Still, I feel sorry for nearly hitting you..." he said, ignoring how genuine that felt.
It was only because it would've tarnished his image if he, the Detective Prince, hit her for something so trivial.
"Hey I already said it's fine." Then all of a sudden a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. "But since you insist...you're paying for the first book I want."
Equivalent exchange. That was something he understood and could work with.
He put up his trained smile and said, "Very well then. Shall we?"
"Yeah! Let's go!" she said as they walked side-by-side and in step with each other. "I've always wanted to see Jinbocho!"
"It's your first time here?"
He was surprised. He had thought she would have already visited by now. Though on further thought, it made sense. She had her "job" to worry about.
"Yeah. Didn't get the chance to visit yet. What about you?"
"I'll admit it's my first time in Jinbocho as well, but I'm sure I can easily guide us, if you'll allow me."
"Lead the way then, Akechi."
And he did, utilizing his knowledge of trends to bring her to the more popular, and admittedly tourist filled, bookstores, while using his observational skills for the more obscure ones, which was good as he just happened upon a more quiet antique bookstore, its interior design befitting of its wares, aged but well maintained, with many physical copies of overseas classics as well as native ones. Amamiya-san looked as if she had walked into a candy shop instead when they entered and quickly began to browse through the inventory, Akechi following suit, though much more cursory than her. He had been contemplating on asking if she understood English when all of sudden she said,
"Woah! I didn't think I'd ever see an actual copy!"
Akechi, curious, walked over to the girl to see what was it she exclaimed excitement over and he froze at what he saw.
The Ballads of Robin Hood.
He knew of it. Of course he did. It was an anthology that had all of Robin Hood's ballads. It was an anthology that was rather old because of when these ballads were popular. And it was an anthology that he still had, but a lot more worn and weathered than the one in Amamiya-san's hands. To think he would find another physical copy here...
Akechi was pulled from his daze when the curly haired girl spoke.
"But wait...I don't know if I can read it..." she said.
He was confused for a moment until the receptionist said,
"What do you mean?"
And Amamiya-san said, "Oh uh...you see, I got asthma so if it's not good for me if a book's old and not taken care of."
Ah yes. He had forgotten that for a moment.
"Ah...don't worry. Open it for yourself," the receptionist said.
Amamiya-san was skeptical for a moment, but only for a moment as she did as suggested and they both saw that the book was just as well maintained as the store. Though the pages were yellow and it had that coffee-like smell only old books could have, it was otherwise fine. Amamiya-san's eyes lit up.
"Sweet!" she said then turned to him. "Ready to pay, Akechi?"
Pushing aside his tumultuous thoughts, Akechi smiled and said, "Of course. We have a deal."
For a brief moment, Akechi thought the shine in her gaze diminished, but he didn't get the chance to dwell on it as she turned and quickly made her way to the receptionist. By the time he paid for her newest book and saw her face, the brightness had returned. With that, they left the shop and walked around Jinbocho a bit more. But no more purchases were made, Amamiya-san just eyeing the books and maybe scanning a page or two, not that he minded. As dusk drew closer and closer however, Akechi felt a bit of frustration mounting over...
Oh...it's almost over... Akira-chan will have to go home soon. We will need to escort her way back.
Fuck that shit. Let's just hang with Akira more. How about a dinner?
...the lack of opportunities besides that one purchase of a book to further gain her trust.
"Akechi? Did you wish you changed your mind?"
He jolted from being caught off guard and, rather stupidly, just said, "What?"
"I mean, you started lookin' like you weren't enjoying yourself the longer it went on," she said with a concerned look. "If you didn't like it, you could've just told me, you know. I won't mind."
Akechi stood in a stupor for yet another moment before he composed himself, reminders of his reputation as Detective Prince and his training for that role assisting in that endeavor, and said,
"Not at all, I..." He trailed off.
Excuse, excuse, excuse...but not a lie for he knew Amamiya-san was much too smart for that. Then he'll use his hope of purchasing more books for her as his reason.
But what tumbled from his lips unfiltered was, "...I'm merely not used to outings like this."
Shit. That wasn't what he wanted.
He ignored his annoyance at his slip as Amamiya-san tilted her head.
"You mean just spending time together?"
Oh well. He would have to work with it.
"Yes."
His blood boiled for a moment. He could've sworn he saw pity in her eyes but whatever that was turned into determination as she said,
"Then let's try something else next time, like...arcades or something."
"Ah...well if we do then you'll have to teach me. I have never been to an arcade."
Amamiya-san froze.
"What."
"It is just as I said."
"Okay we're definitely goin' to an arcade next time! Oh, uh, well, if you don't mind."
"I don't see why not," he said, because he saw no reason to refuse another chance to gain her trust.
Akechi imagined her grinning behind her mask. "All right then! I'll tell you the next time I'm free, yeah?"
He nodded. "And for me as well."
Then, just as sudden as the conversarion began, Amamiya-san said,
"Oh and I don't mind if you call me Akira."
"Huh?" he said, stunned for the second time.
The curly haired girl pulled her mask down just to show off her cheeky grin.
"You went back to callin' me 'Amamiya-san' after you nearly pounded me. Just wanted to let you know I don't mind if you feel like callin' me by my first name." Her grin turned bright and warm. "All my friends call me that after all."
Akechi...wasn't sure how to take that, the shocked silence of Loki and Robin Hood adding to the whole thing. So, he went with habit and said,
"Very well...Akira."
Because that would please her.
And it did, her smile that much wider.
What wasn't habit was sharing her expression, if much more subdued but no less genuine, and feeling gratified for pleasing her.
(A)
"And then after that, he walked with me until we were in front of Leblanc," Akira said as she put the finishing touches on the lockpick.
"Hmm, quite the gentleman..." Mona said.
Akira laughed. "I know right?" But I wouldn't have it any other way.
However... Akira's movements slowed. ...she wondered about his admittance of not spending time with others often, if at all. True, he was busy so it would be hard to make time, but the way he said it made it sound like...she was his only friend. The thought alone saddened her. It was even worse realizing it was the truth, his loneliness beating against her heart when he spoke of being unused to simply spending time in other people's company.
Akira shook her head at the reminder.
That was exactly why she was going to make sure they had fun next time, specifically him.
Though speaking of gentlemen...
She said to Mona, "Did Big Bro say when he'd be back?"
"No, he didn't say. He only said that we don't need to wait up for him."
Akira hummed. That certainly wasn't suspicious...not. But then again he was seeing Mishima. Perhaps their publicist had a new idea for publicity that he needed assistance for or his approval on. And considering he could get very talkative when he wanted to, Akira suspected it would be for a while.
Though she had a nagging feeling that something was going to happen.
Author's notes: Fun fact: this chapter was the first time I actually combined it with another.
As far as I know, there is no book called "The Ballads of Robin Hood". But there is a collection called "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads", which is an anthology of several volumes, "cut up" into ten parts. Part five of that has most, if not all, of Robin Hood's ballads. And since Persona 5 has books based on the Personas and the stories they came from, I decided I would do the same, hence "The Ballads of Robin Hood".