Akechi started the spring semester as essentially a transfer student in his own school. The principal was aware of his legal problems and didn't want to let him come back at all. However, Sae-san brought Akechi in on Saturday and nearly rattled the roof off with the force of her arguments. It was entertaining to watch; her skills had been honed in the courtroom and a mid-level bureaucrat like a school principal had no such experience.
When she was done, the principal turned to Akechi, looking like he'd just been through a tornado, and asked Akechi to make a statement on his own behalf. Perhaps hoping he'd screw it up and give the principal a reason to deny the request.
Akechi stood, straightened his tie, bowed, and said, "Sir, I've been at the top of my class every year I've spent here. Both years, I earned a scholarship without the help of any tutors or special classes. I even held down a job at the same time. I can guarantee you I'll be a model student. I'd even take my classes virtually, if that would make things easier."
The principal thought about that for a moment, frowning. It was tempting, but…. "Virtually? No, I don't think so. You'll come here every day. No more special treatment. In fact, I'll be expecting more out of you than the other students. Do you understand?"
"Of course, sir." Akechi bowed.
"Is that acceptable to you, Niijima-san?"
"Perfectly."
As they left, the principal called out, "Just remember - if the pressure is too much, that can't be considered my problem. I won't tolerate complaining."
"Well, he's made his feelings clear," said Akechi. "He'd like me to drop out and stop causing problems."
"I suspect some of those problems will come at his instigation, too," said Sae. "I know Makoto's principal made life hard for her at times. Tell me if you have any problems, I'll be here to help."
"Hah. Amamiya-kun finished out his year at Shujin with the same kind of pressure. I won't lose to him."
Sae grinned mischievously. "Hmm, you or Amamiya...that's a toughie. I'd give...25-to-1 against."
"What! I'm appalled. We're far more evenly matched than that."
She shrugged. "I'll shorten the odds if there's a good reason."
They'd reached the school entrance. She waved and left him there, annoyed. Twenty-five to one? Twenty-five to one?!
He was almost late to class. No more cutting. He hurried to the stairs, only to find that in the passing time crush, some girl was moving like a snail. He sighed, taking tiny steps behind her. This wasn't a great start. Suddenly, her bag crashed to the floor and everything spilled out. In the past, that would have set him off. But this was the new Goro Akechi, the best Goro Akechi. Twenty-five to one against Amamiya, puh-lease.
He muscled over and blocked the staircase to keep the other students from trampling the girl and her things. Grumbling, some of the other students turned back and some tried to sneak around, but he stopped the worst of the damage. The bell rang, the last few stragglers made it through and the stairs cleared out. Akechi scooped up the girl's things quickly and efficiently. He was late, but he didn't have to be that late.
When he turned to hand over her papers, though, he found that she was sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry, but...are you all right?" he asked gently.
"Oh, I just...just leave that there. I'm fine."
Amamiya would never let this go, he thought. That busybody idiot.
He set her things to the side and sat down next to her. "I don't think I know you - are you new?"
She nodded miserably. "My name's Shiho Suzui. I'm a second-year."
"Goro Akechi. Third."
"Oh, an upperclassman. And here I thought I couldn't embarrass myself any more."
Akechi chuckled. "It's fine. May I ask why you were having so much trouble on the stairs?"
She took a deep breath and took her head out of her hands. Akechi handed her a handkerchief, which she took gratefully.
"I...had an accident last year. I've been working so hard, but my strength still isn't back to where it used to be."
"Ah, I see. It so happens I spent some time in the hospital this year, too."
"Really? You seem pretty healthy," she said in surprise, dabbing at her eyes.
"I also had an accident, but not as serious as yours, it seems."
"They told me I should use a cane or a wheelchair, but I didn't want to...so I made an even bigger scene."
"Tell you what, why don't I carry your things for you? Would that make it easier?"
"O-oh, I can't impose that much…"
"Just for now. It's the least I can do."
Shouldering her backpack, he held out his arm for her to take on the stairs. Still hesitant, she took it and leaned on him all the way up the stairs. He escorted her to her classroom, handed over her backpack, and said goodbye.
His teacher didn't say anything when he finally got to class, but afterwards he was treated to a dressing-down that lasted so long he was late to his next class. All the teachers seemed to be on high alert; things they would have let slide last year had become misdemeanors. He looked out the window; the sky was dark, a storm brewing.
At the end of the day, Akechi couldn't quite bring himself to go straight home. Feeling anxious, he dragged his feet, missed his train, and ended up getting back to Sae's apartment two hours late.
When he got there, rain was beating against the windows and Sae was on the phone. She held it away from her ear and he could hear a raised voice from the other end. He prepared himself. Every place he'd ever lived, a call like this would be followed by either a beating or a berating, or both.
Finally, she set the phone down. "Welcome home. Are you okay?" she asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded. Okay? What kind of crazy trap is this, anyway?
"It's five o'clock and you're sopping wet. I'm asking if you're doing all right," she repeated evenly. "Nothing happened to you after school?"
"I...missed my train and got caught in the storm."
"Ah, I see. Do you want to take a bath before dinner?"
A bath? A bath?! "What about that phone call?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. Let's talk about it after dinner. Go get changed and I'll make something warm to eat."
After warming up in the tub, Akechi felt much better. He couldn't quite shake the anxious feeling that Sae was angry, but rationally he knew it wasn't true. Had she acted angry, even for a minute? No. As promised, she'd even made some hot tea and miso soup to go along with the meal.
"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier," he mumbled into his soup. "I...I can't really explain it."
"You thought I'd be angry?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Shido would have been angry," she said. "I suppose you expected a fight."
He nodded again.
"It's understandable. A strong personality like that...you got to know his moods, learned how to anticipate what he wanted. I'm not him, though."
"I know that." He sighed, feeling stupid. Why had he been so upset earlier? Now it seemed completely irrational.
"I know you know, but sometimes it helps to hear it," said Sae kindly. "Setting that aside, what happened during school today?"
He explained about Suzui, about how she'd made him late to begin with and it wound up causing him trouble throughout the day. "And this is why I don't butt into other people's business," he finished. "I don't know how Amamiya got away with it, to be honest."
"You really want to know how he did it?" she asked, setting her chopsticks down.
"Yeah, I do. What's so special about him?"
"He always bet on others, even when the chips were down. They rose to his expectations."
Akechi thought that over, but he didn't know what she meant. If he was just going to get in trouble for helping Suzui, that didn't seem like it was good for anybody. Anyway, what could she possibly do for him?
He shook his head. "I don't get it."
"I have an idea. I think I can finagle things so that the tardies from today are removed and you don't have to worry about it in the future. You're going to have to work at it...but it isn't a punishment. It's an opportunity for growth."
"When you put it that way, how can I say no?" he sighed.
She smiled and picked up her phone.
"Principal…? Yes, this is Sae Niijima. Yes, I certainly did hear about what happened today. You have a disabled girl on campus. Doesn't she have an aide to help her get around? Yes, I'm sure that would be expensive. Oh, you suggested she use a wheelchair. Mmhm. And how is she supposed to get that up the stairs? Because I didn't see any kind of elevator or lift when I was there. Mmhm. I have a friend over in Urban Development, I could get an inspector in to take a look…."
Akechi raised his eyebrows at that. Sae winked at him.
"Oh, you'd rather not go through a full inspection," she continued. "How about this, then: Akechi will carry Suzui's things and you will give both of them all the time they need to get to their classes. You can consider it a service to the school. Yes, a service. It would be fine if you wanted to pay him instead. No? Service is fine? Then you'll remove the tardies from his record, naturally. Mmhm. Good. It's settled, then."
On Monday morning, Akechi got to school early and waited near the front doors. Suzui arrived and gave him a subtle smile, not wanting to embarrass him. He smiled back and held out his hand. She objected again, but when he insisted she allowed him to take her bookbag. He waited for her outside each of her classes, carrying her bag and showing her the best routes through the large campus. It was a hassle, but it was also a bit gratifying to have someone to show around.
At the end of the day, as they walked towards the school entrance, Suzui said, "I heard about what happened yesterday. Isn't this just going to get you in trouble again?"
"Not at all. Things have been arranged so we both have enough time to get to class. Assuming you don't mind, of course, I'm happy to help."
"Really? Wow. Even my parents couldn't get them to agree to that. I got the feeling…" she trailed off, self-conscious. "No, never mind."
He turned the charm up, putting on the most innocent look he could summon. "If you're uncomfortable, I can call things off. I don't want to be a bother."
As expected, she melted instantly. "Oh, no. Actually, things were a lot easier with your help today. I'd be grateful if you kept doing it."
He smiled radiantly. "Then we have a mutually beneficial arrangement. No need to worry."
Elsewhere, another Akechi was laid out full-length on an examination table, leaking blood everywhere.
"Sorry about the table, Doc," said Akechi. "And the floor. And your clothes." He wasn't really sorry. Mostly, he was just trying not to pass out. Talking was difficult at the moment, but the pain kept him awake.
"Don't worry about it. That's what the coat's for. What the heck did you encounter out there, anyway?" said Maruki, cleaning off the blood and wrapping a wound with gauze.
"Nothing I haven't faced before, but...I can't summon my Persona anymore, so I was stuck with just a…a cheap plastic sword and a toy ray gun."
"I see. You've been surviving here with all these shadows just by your wits, huh?"
"What choice do I have?" Akechi let his eyes drift shut, exhausted.
They were silent for a moment as Maruki concentrated on bandaging. Unlike his doppelganger in the waking world, this Akechi remembered what Maruki had done in January and was still angry about it. Nevertheless, he had a feeling the doctor would help him if he asked, and he didn't have any other options. So here he was.
"Hey...you don't have anything to eat, do you?" said Akechi, opening one eye. The other one was rapidly swelling shut.
Maruki brightened. "Do I have snacks! Of course! Do you prefer sweet or salty?"
"Salty. Well, anything. Whatever. Bring them over."
Maruki rummaged around in one of the cabinets underneath his bank of spy monitors and brought over an armful of crinkly packages.
"Should've thought of this right away," mumbled Akechi, opening a bag of chips and dumping the entire thing straight into his mouth. "Do you have any Umaibo?"
Maruki held out a fistful of brightly-colored sticks with a cartoon cat grinning from the wrappers.
"Of course you have Umaibo." Feeling better already thanks to the chips, Akechi grabbed a random selection.
"Ew, is that shrimp mayonnaise? I can't believe I bought that," said Maruki, picking through the remainders.
"Trade you for an apple pie."
They swapped and Maruki happily ate the crunchy pie-flavored snack, washing it down with a juice box. As they ate, Maruki watched curiously while Akechi's wounds patched themselves up. The swelled eye shrank back down and the ugly bruising underneath disappeared.
"How does that work, I wonder?" Maruki said, poking at a tear in Akechi's suit. "I mean, snacks are love, but I didn't expect them to literally heal your wounds."
"It's just a Metaverse thing. Don't overthink it."
"Mm. That's like asking the tide not to come in," said Maruki.
After cramming down more junk food, Akechi stood up and prodded around his sore spots to see if any were still bleeding, but he seemed more or less shipshape again.
"There's a bed and bath through there, if you want to clean up or take a nap," said Maruki, pointing to another door.
Akechi took a look through the door. Like the lab, the rooms inside were spacious, clean and bright, and fully stocked with anything a human could want. There was a comfortable-looking white bed. A gleaming bathtub. A cabinet with fresh towels, robes, and soap. A white noise machine playing nature sounds. There was even a W.C.
Taking this all in, Akechi said, "Okay, I have to know. Why do you have a toilet?"
Maruki blinked at him. "I don't think I understand the question."
"Do you ever use it?"
"Now that you mention it, no. You don't need a toilet here." Maruki laughed. "I guess I just expected to find one, so there it was. This place is so fascinating."
"How much time are you spending in the Metaverse, anyway? You've been here every time I came to see you. And this lab…it looks just like your palace. But it isn't, is it? It doesn't look like this from the outside."
Maruki shrugged, but was unable to answer because he was loudly crunching another snack.
"Hmm. Well, it's nothing to me. As long as you aren't doing that brainwashing crap again, I don't need to kick your ass again."
Akechi turned to leave, shaking his head.
"Wait - take a few for the road," said Maruki, bundling up more snacks neatly in a wrapping cloth. "And if you ever need a rest, feel free to come back."
"They just caught me off-guard. It won't happen again," said Akechi, but he accepted the package anyway.
That's a bit of progress, thought Maruki, making some notes in his notebook.