Chapter 8: Face of a Killer

(Velvet Room)

"So, let me get my head around this," Akira said slowly. "I'm dead, but I can still exist here because of my soul being unable to rest?"

Lavenza nodded, a solemn expression on her face. "You may have died, but there was someone responsible. He had one of his men act as a drunk driver to kill you, and succeeded. However, something unexpected occurred. That man was killed by someone masquerading as your father."

"My… father?" That didn't make sense. Akira's father, Ichiro Kurusu, was a fairly average man. He had no political influence, nor did he own a major company. Why would someone impersonate him?

Lavenza, as if she could read his thoughts, answered immediately. "The man you see as your father is not your biological parent. You were born into a different family, with a different name. Have you ever questioned the origin of your persona?"

"Arsene? No, why?"

"Arsene Lupin. Gentleman burglar and master of disguise. And he so happens to be your great-grandfather."

"What?!"

"Now, this may be a bit of a shock, and I understand if you need a moment to process this, but for you to finally rest, you must first know who your killer is."

Akira tried to think of who would have anything against him. Akechi was nothing more than a corpse drifting aimlessly through whatever remained of Shido's palace, Shido himself, along with both Konoe and Owada, was in prison, and Ichinose had reformed, so who could it have been?

"You truly don't know?"

"No. There are a lot of people that want me dead, but all of them are either dead themselves or behind bars."

"Alright, this could be an issue."

"What do you mean?"

"If you can't think of who may have killed you, there might be another explanation. One much more unfortunate explanation."

That got Akira's attention. "What is it?"

Lavenza sighed deeply, bowing her head. "It's always horrible when this happens…" she looked back at him. "One or more of your friends have a very strong desire for you to still be alive."

"So, because someone in the real world wants me to still be alive, and can't move on from their grief, I'm basically stuck in limbo like this?"

"More or less. Now, do you have any idea who that person may be?"

Akira winced. "I can think of a lot of people who fit THAT bill…"

(Safe House, Next Morning)

Futaba was enjoying the bacon and eggs Lupin had made for breakfast. "So, how did Goemon know that I was in trouble?"

"I figured Niijima would spill about your identity as the 'hacker of justice', as you put it, so I sent Goemon over to help out."

"Hey!" A boyish, high-pitched voice yelled. "I helped too!"

Everyone looked over to the hall, where a small black cat approached the group, but something was off…

"Mona?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh, there you are, little guy," Lupin said to the cat.

"Hold it, what happened to your leg?"

Sure enough, Morgana was mostly okay, but his front right leg was gone.

Lupin winced. "Yeah, I was driving near where the accident occurred and saw him dragging himself around, blood gushing out of a decapitation wound. My guess is it caught on something inside the car, and the force of the impact tore it off. Anyway, I took him here, patched him up, and just let him do his thing. He went out to look around, and hasn't come back until now."

"Well, at least he's alive," Ryuji said. "Wish I could say the same for his owner…"

"Anyway," Futaba interrupted. "We need to tell you something, Lupin."

"That you guys used to be part of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"

"Wha- how did you know?!"

"Do ya really think I wouldn't recognize my own son on live TV? As for the rest of you, I wasn't certain until we met in person. Each of you match the silhouette of one of the members. And for Futaba, it was easy for me to decrypt her disguised voice once I heard the real one. I'm a veteran thief, remember?"

"O-oh. Anyway, there are these powers we have, special abilities that helped us to change the hearts of our targets, and they manifest as unique entities, known as personas. Akira's persona was, well, Lupin the First."

"So… you're saying that Akira's true identity as my son was showing through a bit."

"Yeah, pretty much."

Lupin blinked, before simply saying, "Huh, well ain't that interesting."

"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would."

"Kid, I've killed a demigod who cloned himself and other deceased humans living in the middle of nowhere with a nuclear stockpile. What you just told me is just another Tuesday to me."

"What matters is we're all caught up to speed," Morgana interrupted. "Now, we know that Makoto has betrayed us and the police are likely coming here right now!"

Goemon simply listened to the cat, and as he spoke, the samurai translated it to Lupin.

"Wait," Morgana said. "You can understand me, Goemon?"

"A lot of meditation can do plenty of things for you, and this is one of them." He spoke directly to Morgana to prove his point.

The rest of the group just sighed at the scene.

(?)

"Ichiro!"

"Yes?!" The man was startled by the sudden noise.

"How is it coming along?" The voice asked.

"Just fine. A few adjustments and this car will be complete for you to use."

"Excellent. Now, remember our deal. Because you killed one of my men, you are my prisoner. However, if you do this little project for me, I'll let you go. Just remember what will happen if this fails."

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck, Ichiro," the voice began to fade. "You'll need it."

Outside, a man in a business suit walked out of the warehouse where Ichiro had been working. He wore sunglasses over his dark eyes and silver hair, an aura of superiority surrounding him. And his name was Takeharu Yamakawa, a very rich religious zealot, planning on the deaths of all who he deems unworthy of life. That Kurusu boy looked disturbingly similar to the leader of those Phantom Thieves from a few years back, and it was almost hilarious how easy it was to get rid of him.

"Make sure to kill that man after he's finished," he said to his guard. We can't let someone like him out and about."

They drove off, leaving for his private estate. "I'll cleanse this world of evil. It's my mission, after all."

(Former Sakura Residence)

Jigen had finished packing up. It was a miracle the cops hadn't found him yet, and hopefully he could get out of the country before they did. Dressed in his usual suit, fedora pulled over his eyes, he ran to his car and drove towards the airport.

(Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department)

"Ahhh!" Makoto suddenly let out a scream in frustration.

Zenigata looked over to her. "Your plan didn't work, huh?"

She slumped onto the desk, fatigue finally setting in. "No…"

"Don't feel too bad. It was airtight, and probably would've worked on any other criminal."

"…"

The inspector shrugged, and glanced at the newspaper Makoto had been reading.

"Inspector Zenigata and Daughter of Akihiko Niijima Outfoxed by Lupin III. Yeah, I'd say that about covers it."

Makoto just groaned in response.

"I should just leave her be…"