Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Saturday, 4/9
Afternoon
Shibuya

A soft chime got the girl’s attention, seated on a train that had grown steadily more crowded as the hours passed. Time spent daydreaming meant losing out on the sight of green countryside fading away before her eyes. The vertical tangle of glass and concrete past the windows now felt equal parts promising and oppressive.

No matter how unfamiliar it was, the city was far away from home. Fingers crossed, it might even be better.

“Ladies and gentleman, thank you for riding with us today,” said an announcer. “We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly…”

The density of foot traffic was more than she’d been expecting. It was nearly shoulder to shoulder getting up the stairs and out the train platform before the sidewalk opened out to Shibuya central square. Finally, there was time to breathe in the fresh-ish air and stretch as much as she was comfortable with while still mixed into a crowd. Her eyes cast around to the place where every TV show seemed to visit at least once, and felt a bit like a tourist. Pulling free her phone for information on the next interchange to take, she felt a head rush coming on.

Probably the start of another headache, she thought, rubbing at her temple with a spare hand. They’d been getting more frequent with the new medication and now and again she could swear she saw spots. Shaking her head gently, she looked back down at the screen to find that the persistent malware app had popped back up. The non-functional red and black icon hovered dead center, before being flicked into the ‘delete’ field for the third time that week.

Annoying.

It didn’t actually take that long to find the Yongen line. Only six minutes, but after the first four, it had begun to feel like the Tokyo metro had been deliberately designed to confuse her. As the doors hissed shut, she couldn’t help thinking of it as the last leg of the journey to her new life.

The backstreets of Yongen were a far cry from the skyscraper-laden hustle of Shibuya. The crowds were noticeably thinner here, nearly as sparse as they had been back at home, most of the time. Where the Shibuya sky was blocked off and hidden, needing to crane your neck just to see it, now it was all the more there, but cut through by criss-crossing wires, like a web that had been cast over all the densely packed buildings.

Unfortunately, this was as far as the phone’s directions could take her. But when she’d nervously asked for directions from an old man running a second-hand goods store, he’d been nothing but polite, and even parted with “Don’t be a stranger, young lady,” which made everything feel a little brighter.

It didn’t take long at all to find the homely cafe Sakura-san apparently owned - a tidy hole in the wall, exterior dotted by potted plants, entrance covered by a small red and white awning that read `coffee & curry - Leblanc`. Cozy, she thought. The clouds hung thick and grey, wet air whistling through the narrow streets, a ticking timer that she’d probably barely avoided. Still, the girl hung at the entrance, adjusting the strap of the duffel bag hanging at her shoulder, taking in breaths and steadying her nerves. A distant rumble of thunder helped push her inside.

A soft bell rang as she stepped through the door. There were only three booths in the cafe, an old couple already seated in one. The place had an odd familiarity to it, despite her never having been there before. It was like it’d fallen out of a portal to twenty years ago, the strong smell of coffee in the air and hanging light fixtures that made all the cool, darker colors feel just warm enough. Guess they grind their coffee fresh, the girl thought, sizing up the collection of beans and other things behind the counter.

Across the way, a middle-aged man in a pink shirt and apron sat on the customer side of the counter, elbow deep in a crossword puzzle, paying no mind to the older couple discussing the newscast playing out on the TV in the corner. The girl stood there awkwardly, not wanting to be the one to interrupt the very important nothing happening right now. Before long, the old couple got up, excusing themselves and thanking the man - ‘Boss’, they called him - and headed past her out the door.

The woman looked quizzically at her for a moment, and the girl couldn’t help wincing internally. She knew that look.

“Sheesh,” sighed the man in the apron, setting aside his newspaper. “Four hours for one cup of joe.” He stretched as he stood up, as if working a kink out of his back, and looked the girl up and down. Her outfit wasn’t anything special, at least in her opinion. Somewhat fitted jeans, a pair of well-loved sneakers, and a plain dark jacket over a white tee. Her dark, messy hair curled around her lower jaw just barely, ending an inch or two above the shoulders. A pair of large, square-ish glasses helped frame her stormy grey eyes as they moved this way and that, trying to get a read on the man as she shifted nervously from foot to foot.

“So, you’re the girl, huh?”

Breathing got easier. “I’m Akiza Kurusu. Are you Sakura-san?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” the man nodded. “I’m Sojiro Sakura. I’ll be taking care of you for the next year. Come on back, I’ll show you to your room.” Before she could respond, he’d already pivoted, heading towards a partly concealed staircase at the back of the cafe.

The attic was a dusty, cluttered place. Bare lightbulbs dangled from the ceiling, the soft shadows of cobwebs layered over in places. There was a desk piled high with junk, a rack of coffee bean sacks, and one corner was just filled by random assorted things. It was obvious, too, seeing the clouds outside, and feeling the chill that pressed through, that there was no air conditioning. Akiza, however, nodded all the same.

“It’s bigger than I’d have expected,” she remarked. Sojiro nodded, perhaps for a different reason.

“I used to use it for storage space, but it’s mostly full of junk now.” He leaned over, testing a table and drawing a line in the dust, examining his finger afterwards. “If you want to clean it out, be my guest. I’m too busy to do it myself.” After a small pause, he wiped the finger off on his apron, leaning back against the rack of coffee beans. Sojiro curled an eyebrow, and it was too soon to tell if he was trying to be casual. “I got the gist of your situation. Something about an assault? Wouldn’t have guessed you were the type.”

“I-It wasn’t like that.” Akiza corrected, setting her bag down on the long table against the railing. Her hand grabbed at her wrist, squeezing and releasing over and over as a familiar mess of emotions stirred in her chest.

“I’m sure it wasn’t.” He straightened up suddenly, looking her square in the eye. “Now listen up. I agreed to take you in as a favor to one of my customers who knows your parents. If you behave and keep your head down, your probation will be lifted. Cause any trouble, and you won’t have anywhere to go, got that?”

Akiza couldn’t hold his gaze for long. He’d seemed somewhat sympathetic before, but if there was anything kind to read between the lines with words like those, she didn’t want to risk reading something wrong. Whether Sojiro noticed her shift in demeanor or not, he kept going.

“Also,” he said, looking down for a moment before his eyes came back up, something between stern and uncertain flickering in them. “Your case worker told me about you being trans. The main thing you need to worry about this year is staying out of trouble, but the way I see it, you’re only going to be able to do that if you have support. So… if there’s a specific way I should or shouldn’t refer to you, or anything like that, let me know.”

Akiza blinked, dumbfounded. Where had that come from? Where did the hardass “don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong” energy go?

“Um, thanks,” she said, trying to just take the good fortune without worrying too much about it. “I promise not to cause any trouble for you. And, um, do you have any cleaning supplies I could borrow?”

Sojiro blinked at her. “Sheesh, look at you, all eager to go.” He gave an easier laugh, maybe to help the tension. “They’re downstairs, in the closet next to the bathroom.” And led her there, indicating all the things she’d need. Mop, broom, et cetera. “Oh, and the box with your things arrived yesterday, and so did your school uniform. They’re upstairs, in front of the couch. We’ll be going to Shujin tomorrow, so make sure you’re ready for that.”

“Right. Shujin. New high school.” Akiza sighed to herself, trying to muscle down the nebulous anxiety of starting at a new school, already weeks into the semester. “Is it near here?”

“Not quite. I’ll drive you tomorrow, but after that you’ll have to take the train. It’ll be free with your student pass, so you don’t have to worry about that.” Sojiro sighed to himself again, tapping his foot on the floor. “What a waste of my Sunday…”

Once again, Akiza was struck with a familiar pang of awkward anxiety. “W-Well, I’m going to start cleaning,” she said, desperate to break the silence. Sojiro merely nodded, heading back to stew in his crossword.

Alright. Time to get to work.

The task before her had helped to clean out thoughts along with the space, and hours later the attic had begun to resemble a place where someone might conceivably live. Akiza had dusted the whole room from top to bottom, washed the floor, and set up the bedsheets that Sojiro had provided for her (the bed, in truth, was little more than a mattress perched atop some storage crates, but it was reasonably comfortable regardless). Buried in the pile of stuff built up in the corner, she had rescued a houseplant that seemed to be holding up alright despite its apparent neglect, placing it next to one of the shelving units. The desk and shelf could be decluttered another time, she decided.

“Well, look at that. You actually got the place looking alright,” Sojiro observed from the staircase. Akiza wiped her brow, turning to look at him.

“It’s a start,” she replied with a small smile. “Thanks for letting me use your supplies. I’ll have to take some of this stuff out later this week.” She gestured to the pile of goods on the tarp. “If you tell me where you want them, I’ll move them.” Sojiro made a grumbling noise that Akiza thought sounded like an approval before turning downstairs again.

“Oh, and remember to set your alarm,” he called from the other floor. “Be outside my house at 9 AM tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, Sakura-san,” she called, quickly remembering something. “Is there a bath here I can use?”

The sounds of his footsteps stopped, and she quickly trotted down the stairs to see him stroking his small beard. “Hmm, the bath house is out of the question… You can use the one at my place, it’s just a minute’s walk from here. But only while I’m there. Go get your things and I’ll walk you over.”

Dashing back upstairs, she hastily tossed her essentials into a bag, deciding to take her own towels with her at the last second. Better not to impose on Sojiro any more.

“Good on you for bringing your own linens,” he remarked, waiting by the door. “I sure as hell won’t be doing laundry for you.” Sojiro opened the door for her out into the now much colder night-time air, locking it behind them. The pair walked in silence, passing by a few night owls still roaming the streets, and stopped at the gate to his home. Sojiro fixed her with another look.

“Wait out here for a few minutes so I can clean up, alright?”

Akiza nodded, still grateful for his generosity. As he closed the door behind him, she looked around, considering her first meeting with the man.

Sojiro seemed like a good person. He’d been willing to take her in. He’d come off as a hard-ass a few times, but she suspected it was to make sure she took him seriously. He'd even used the word trans, not any of the worse alternatives. He'd spoke with such plain confidence that she hadn't really processed the fact that he seemed to have a clear understanding of the idea. The only question was why.

A few minutes later, Sojiro opened the door again, gesturing for her to enter. The house was clean, orderly, and somewhat minimalistic. No photos, she noted. At least, not in the front hall. The unit stretched backwards some ways, with a living room just to the left of the front door. He gestured through the little sitting area at a door next to the kitchen. “That there’s the bathroom. I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t go anywhere else.”

“Y-Yes sir. Thank you, again,” she said. And she meant it. Anything was preferable to a public bath house. Sojiro responded with one of his already signature noncommittal grunts, taking his shoes off and setting himself down in front of the TV. Akiza padded quickly across the carpeted floor, shutting the bathroom door behind her and flicking on the light. The room was similarly tidy, probably the result of Sojiro’s cleaning. Really, it looked like a hotel bathroom, with the plain tile and lack of any visible personal effects.

The temperature on the water was surprisingly responsive, a welcome change from her home where the two settings were ‘scalding’ and ‘freezing’. Akiza quickly disrobed, glancing in the mirror at her reflection. She decided that she’d better shave her legs before visiting Shujin tomorrow. Her gaze lingered for only a little while before stepping into the shower. The medication was certainly working, but not as fast as she would have liked. Still, results were results, even if only gradual.

As she flicked on her hairdryer post-shower, she swore that she heard a thud from somewhere in the house, but nothing else followed it. Not wanting to waste Sojiro’s time, she hastily continued her routine, making sure to check the bathroom again for any forgotten items before opening the door.

“... and the police have still not identified the cause of these so-called ‘psychotic breakdown’ incidents. We go now to a representative from the public prosecutor’s office.” The TV served as background noise to Sojiro’s quiet flicking through a book. The sound of the door closing got his attention.

“If you’re all set, let’s get back to the store so I can lock up,” he said curtly. They, again, quietly returned to Leblanc, now with even fewer people roaming around. Akiza noted that the old man she’d spoken to earlier had closed up in the meantime. Once again at the threshold of the cafe, Sojiro unlocked the door.

“You’ll be on your own at night, so don’t do anything stupid, got it?”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you again for letting me use your shower.” She stepped into the cafe, reaching over to turn out the store lights before holding up one hand in a slight wave. “Good night, Sakura-san.”

Sojiro looked up from his phone, seemingly surprised at the little farewell. “Uh… yeah, you too. Good night, kid.” He then wordlessly locked the door behind her, leaving Akiza alone in an empty cafe.

There was a kind of wrongness that picked at the back of her brain as she stood in the silence, the uncanny you-shouldn’t-be-here feeling of being in a department store after closing. For all the opportunities that Tokyo presented, the ordeal of her arrest still lingered, and the aloneness of an empty Leblanc set her a bit more on edge than she would have liked. Breaking from her stillness, she quickly flicked off the light and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

Thoughts piled up in Akiza’s head as she set her glasses on the windowsill. She had a spacious if unconventional room, and Sojiro was kind enough to let her use a private shower. Things were going well enough for her first day in Tokyo.

On one hand, the prospect of a new high school was daunting, and on the other, it was liberating. Beginning her transition during high school had been difficult. It was inconvenient, among other things, to have to painstakingly explain to everyone she interacted with on a regular basis that she’d be using new pronouns, would be looking different, et cetera, et cetera. A new school two prefectures away with zero overlap in population was exactly what she’d been longing for: a clean break. A chance to start fresh. It’d been a shock when Shujin’s administration accepted the transfer paperwork that used her preferred name and pronouns, but it wasn’t a gift she’d question.

Truth be told, even if things weren’t ideal right now, they could certainly be worse. She was lucky that she’d been given a roof over her head at all. Her focus drifted to the patter of rain on the roof above her.

Was this really what it took to allow her to live some semblance of a life? Being framed for a crime she hadn’t committed and shipped off to a man she’d never met? Thrown under the bus to save some rich man’s reputation?

Whatever, she thought, determined not to dwell on it. I’m here now.

Joy and nerves rolled over her in a constant mix, looking with satisfaction across the now darkened room, lit only by whatever slivers of moonlight managed to peek through the clouds and the streetlights below. On the couch was her new school uniform, with knee high socks, a skirt, and a shirt that buttoned on the left side. The idea of wearing it only added to that cocktail of emotions, and she stewed in those thoughts for a while, until eventually the day’s fatigue caught up, and Akiza’s eyes drifted shut.

Things could always be worse, but tomorrow was feeling promising.

The soft notes of a piano filled her ears, and Akiza awoke in a place she’d never been.

The decently comfortable mattress of the attic had been replaced by a cold, unyielding metal cot, and as her eyes flew open, she was greeted with the sight of a cell, upholstered in fine blue. Gingerly, she sat up, trying to get a better feel for her surroundings.

Looking down at herself, she finally noticed the manacles, along with the ratty black-and-white striped prisoner’s garb she was wearing. Rationally, she knew that she should be panicking right now, but the emotion refused to show itself. Instead she merely swung to the side, setting her bare feet down on the freezing concrete, and turning to view the room outside her cell door.

Just outside the bars stood what looked to be a young girl with flowing silver hair and golden eyes, wearing a fine dress the same shade of blue as the room itself. Her smile was placid, and she tucked an aged, thick book under one arm, the pages crinkling as her smile broadened, just slightly.

Akiza’s feet shuffled across the floor until her hands gripped the bars, feeling like she was somewhere between sleeping and waking; the same odd detachment and resistance that one felt trying to run in a dream, but with all the sensations that grounded a person in the real world. Words wanted to leave her throat, but couldn’t seem to come, so she squinted into the bright light beyond the bars.

The room was circular, with empty cells filling the remainder of the walls, however, none bore the same lock that her own did. Above the room hung a set of loudspeakers, though the ever-present music in her ears didn’t seem to be coming from them. The center of the room was covered by a plush blue carpet, the same shade as the walls, inlaid with golden trimmings and designs. And at the dead-center of the room sat a desk, occupied by a man with pointed ears and a cartoonishly long nose.

The man spoke with a soft voice that carried far above the calming music. His words were high and lilting, and his voice put Akiza in mind of something like a carnival showman.

“Trickster,” he said, fixing her with a stare and extending his gloved hand. “Welcome to the Velvet Room.” Before Akiza could muster a response, or any kind of thoughts about this place or these people, he spoke again. “This realm exists between dream and reality -- mind and matter. In the near future, it is possible you will find yourself in dire need of assistance, and a ‘contract’ will present itself to grant you just that. It would seem you’ve found yourself in the midst of a very interesting game. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Igor.”

The young girl tucked one leg behind the other, pulling at the sides of her skirt to curtsy. “And I am Lavenza. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Igor. Lavenza. “... Game?” Akiza finally managed. Her voice rocked around the room, echoing in a way theirs didn’t for some reason. It felt stupid to focus on that word when so much was going on, but somehow that one jumped out the most.

Igor rolled his extended hand in a casual manner. “Sometime soon, the shape of the world will change. It is my duty to provide the assistance necessary and ensure that such a thing does not come to pass.” It wasn’t a full answer, but maybe that was as good as it would ever get. The old man’s eyes cast around the room. “The Velvet Room is a place whose appearance reflects the state of one’s heart. It is unfortunate indeed to see it take shape in such a manner. Your circumstances imprison you, and your heart manifests accordingly. However…”

Lavenza stepped forward, pulling a ring of keys from a pocket at the front of her dress. “It need not always be that way. I will be by your side in this endeavor, as a resident of this place, and a confidant to lean on, when necessary.” A slender silver key fit into the padlock at the front of the cell, and the chains that wrapped around the bars fell to the ground with a clatter, disappearing entirely. With a creak, the door opened. Akiza blinked, and found herself no longer wearing the garb of a prisoner, but instead the sweatpants and t-shirt she’d fallen asleep in, warm and comforting in the strange, chilled air of this place.

Without thinking, she walked forward, automatically looking around, free in a way that could only be described as a weight lifting off her very soul.

Lavenza walked in front, black slippers clicking against the bricks. “I look forward to working with you, Trickster.” A gloved palm slipped over her own, and instinctively Akiza took hold of the keyring in her grasp.

“It would seem the night is waning,” said Igor, drawing their eyes back to him. “We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell.”

At that moment, an alarm bell began to sound, and Akiza jumped at the noise drowning out the eerie music. She could almost feel her consciousness fading, like it was being pulled out through her feet. Lavenza smiled pleasantly, and gave a small wave with her free hand. The gesture seemed completely at odds with the feeling passing over her.

“...Until then?” It came out more as a weak question than anything, drowned out by the alarm’s noise.

Sunday, 4/10
Early Morning
Cafe Leblanc

Akiza sat bolt-upright in bed, clutching at her chest. Her shirt was drenched in sweat and her breath came in ragged, heaving gasps. The first rays of dawn were only just beginning to filter through the grime-stained windows. A quick glance at her phone indicated the time to be 5:39 AM. She let the phone fall back to the bed with a thud, rubbing her forehead for a moment before clapping her hand over her mouth as her stomach made a disconcerting sound and lurched abruptly.

Shit.

She scrambled out of bed, desperately rushing to the small bathroom downstairs, thanking any gods that listened that the cafe wasn’t open yet moments before emptying her stomach. Once the dry-heaves ended, Akiza sat still for a moment, rubbing sleep out of her eye with the heel of her hand.

The first thing she thought was that she needed to lower her dosage again.

The second thing she thought was that life in Tokyo was off to a great start.

After a few minutes of catching her breath, Akiza set about cleaning up any trace of her presence in the bathroom and vigorously brushing her teeth to get the taste of bile out of her mouth. All the while, her thoughts kept drifting back to that dream in the prison cell.

Of all the dreams in her life, each having flickered from her memory like candle flames guttering out, why had this one stuck so vividly? She could remember in detail the bizarre face of Igor, the cold metal of that keyring in her hands, and his mysterious words about the world changing shape. Akiza sat on the bed for twenty minutes, thinking on that fitful awakening before shaking her head, deciding there was no use dwelling in it. She had a routine to get through before Sojiro arrived.

Practicing her new voice was blessedly easier in the attic, where there was no danger of being overheard. Free, amateur-written guides only mostly translated from English over the internet had served her well - her register was right where she wanted it to be.

Ten minutes of stretches and leg workouts on a bare wooden floor, however, had Akiza lamenting her lack of a carpet. Note to self, she thought as she rubbed a sore spot. Buy a yoga mat. Morning exercise had become a regular routine for her, but as with the voice practice, not having to fear being discovered and asked probing questions made the process far more enjoyable.

And finally, the time came to put on her uniform and wait for Sojiro. Disrobing out of her sweat-drenched pajamas, she hastily gave herself a once-over with deodorant to mask the smell before staring at herself in the little mirror she had brought from home.

Despite the fact that she was making visible progress, despite the fact that at least 70% of people she had spoken to yesterday had addressed her as “miss” without prompting, despite the fact that the Shujin student register officially listed her as a girl, she still felt wrong. So many little details that she wanted so desperately to correct; her shoulders were too wide, her jaw too defined, her hips too narrow. But these were problems that she’d learned to squish down, to compress inside a little diamond of nitpicks somewhere in her heart that she hoped she’d one day be able to stop adding to.

She stepped to the couch, trembling fingers reaching for her clothes and the new start that they represented. Before she knew it, she found herself standing in the cafe downstairs, waiting for Sojiro, in her uniform. Fully regulation, with only the addition of a pair of small compression shorts beneath her skirt. She had hastily applied a small amount of the only makeup she owned or knew how to use: just enough concealer to hide the dark circles that permanently lived under her eyes.

Sunday, 4/10
Morning
Shujin Academy

The drive to Shujin was silent, save for Sojiro’s brief explanation of what train lines would take her to the high school. Two line changes might not be very many to a Tokyo native, but to Akiza, it seemed insane that there was more than one train in the city period.

Akiza and Sojiro’s meeting with the Shujin principal and her homeroom teacher was similarly terse; the fat, bald principal struck her as an egotistical, self-absorbed man. More than once, he had brought up the school’s reputation and the effect she would have on it.

The teacher, Kawakami, came off as exceedingly tired, of all things. While the woman’s makeup was more deftly applied, Akiza noticed the same type of concealer beneath the teacher’s eyes as she herself had used. She might have guessed that Kawakami was an exceedingly dedicated teacher, staying up late to provide extra lessons for students in need, were it not for the flat affect and disdain for her surroundings that colored her voice. Kawakami had even complained to the principal about Akiza having been added to her class in front of her, which was galling in itself.

Akiza exchanged some general pleasantries with the principal and Kawakami, promising to be on her best behavior, that she would keep her situation in mind, that she would be a model student. Saying just enough in just the right ways to get them to nod and move on.

Sojiro tapped on the steering wheel impatiently, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Akiza fidgeted in her seat next to him. The silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t relaxed either. On top of that, she was still working through the finer points of sitting while wearing a skirt. She nearly jumped when he started speaking.

“So.. how was it? The school, I mean.” His eyes remained fixed on the car in front of them as they sat unmoving on the road.

“It was… a school, I guess.” Akiza pushed some hair out of her face, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. “The building is nice. Can’t help but feel like the faculty don’t like me very much, though,” she said with a wry grin. To her shock, that got a chuckle out of Sojiro.

“Well, yeah, can you blame them? They’re taking on a student with a criminal record. I was apprehensive too, when I got asked to take you in.”

Akiza paused for a moment as the car inched forward a bit. “Why did you take me in? My school doesn’t even want me,” she asked, looking across the car at him with that same wry smile. His brow furrowed just for a moment, and he shook his head.

“I just… happened to agree to it, as a favor to one of my customers. I’ve already been paid for it, so it’s no skin off my teeth if I have to throw you out.”

The smile faded. Sojiro had gotten paid? Akiza distinctly remembered being told by her parents and her case worker that he was doing it for free. So either Sojiro was lying, or they were. Lies on top of lies and thinly-veiled contempt, all for the sake of shuffling Akiza off to somewhere else, to make her someone else’s problem. She drifted back to reality after a moment of thought, listening idly to the news on the radio.

“...and in breaking news, a subway has derailed in Shibuya station…” Sojiro sighed at the radio, speaking in weary tones.

“Another accident, huh. They keep popping up.” He nodded to her. “There was a real sad one, right before you got here. The girl was fifteen. Her parents have gotta be just…” Sojiro trailed off, looking down and pinching his nose. Akiza could tell that this was a subject that touched him in some way, and she had an inkling that it went beyond the normal sympathy response. File that information away for later, she thought.

By the time they escaped the traffic, it was time to get dinner. They settled on convenience store takeout. Sojiro paid for both of them.

Sunday, 4/10
Nighttime
Cafe Leblanc

Akiza laid in bed, staring at her student ID.

She wouldn’t be able to get her legal gender changed for years. This was a known fact.

So this ID was, in a sense, a temporary substitute. It was all there; height, weight, eye color, hair color.

Name and gender.

She pressed the little plastic card to her chest. It wasn’t legally binding. It was temporary, just for the year, like so many other things.

But it was a start. It was proof that she was right about her identity, about the feelings bouncing around in her heart, that little nagging voice in her ear.

It was proof that she was real.

She smiled softly, drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Monday, 4/11
Early Morning
Cafe Leblanc

A hot plate of curry was not what Akiza expected to see as she walked down the stairs Monday morning. Sojiro was leaning against the wall behind the counter reading a newspaper when she descended from the attic.

“Eat up,” he said, nodding to the plate. “Curry’s all I’ve got for you. Eat it quickly so you don’t miss the train.” Akiza nodded gratefully with a sleepy smile, padding over to the counter.

“Thanks, Sakura-san,” she said, picking up a spoonful. “I’m not used to having breakfast made for me, so I won’t complain too much.” Her wry grin returned to her face as she tasted the curry.

...huh.

She took another spoonful.

And another.

What the hell was up with this curry?

It was spicy, sure, like most all curry was. But beneath the spiciness, layers of complex flavors each unfolded one after the other. Sweetness and heat and savory tang.

“...This is amazing, Sakura-san. I didn’t know curry could taste like this…” Her praise was quickly cut off by another spoonful of the delicious dish. “How do you make it?” Sojiro merely matched her earlier smirk.

“That’s a secret for me to know and you to never find out, kid.” Akiza laughed brightly at that, and the two settled into a comfortable silence as she polished off the rest of the curry, as well as the accompanying coffee. It, too, was astounding; Akiza had never considered herself much of a coffee drinker, but she guessed then that she might end up changing her mind. Once she finished, she got up to wash her plate but was interrupted by Sojiro.

“I’ll take care of that. You go get ready for school.” He took the plate without waiting for a reply, turning to the sink as Akiza stood there, blinking. She watched him for a moment, a soft smile growing on her face.

He’s not so bad, she thought. She thanked him again, heading back upstairs to get ready.

Monday, 4/11
Early Morning
Aoyama

Thankfully, Akiza managed to catch all her trains in time. Sojiro’s directions had proved invaluable in navigating Shibuya’s central station. It seemed like a smooth morning, until the rain started.

She stood under an awning, looking out at the drizzle and berating herself for not bringing an umbrella. The cold breeze bit at her exposed skin, and she found herself surprised at the warmth afforded by the black tights included with the uniform. She attempted to check her phone for directions, but was met with that goddamn malware app. Before she could try to delete it yet again, her focus was gripped by the person standing in front of her and tapping her on the shoulder.

“...Are you listening to me?” asked the girl. Akiza snapped back to reality, having gotten momentarily lost in the details of the other girl’s face, all high cheekbones and pink lips and bright blue eyes. She looked over her shoulder and cursed before grabbing Akiza’s wrist and pulling her under the umbrella she carried. “Walk with me, and pretend like we’re friends. Please.” Her voice carried a note of desperation, and Akiza found herself reflexively settling into the disguise, walking with the other girl at an easy pace.

“Yeah, the trains were a nightmare today,” she said, striking up a false conversation to improve their cover. “I barely caught my last one in time. Aren’t you usually at school by now, anyway? I’m surprised to see you here.” The blonde looked surprised at how easily Akiza had slipped into the lie, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand.

“Um, y-yeah!” She laughed nervously and just slightly too loudly. Definitely not a good actress, Akiza mused. “I-I decided to walk today! Gotta keep in shape, haha…” She trailed off into an agonizing silence, walking with a tense nervousness. Her eyes followed a car passing by them until it turned off the road ahead and out of sight. The other girl let out a deep sigh, pushing her hood back with one hand and shaking her head to let her golden twintails cascade over her shoulders. She looked at Akiza with a thankful smile, and the dark-haired girl felt her heart do a flip.

Shit, she’s pretty…

“Thank you so much,” she said, noticeably calmer now. “I really didn’t want him to notice me today, and you’re wearing a Shujin uniform so I just kinda… grabbed you. Sorry about that.”

Akiza sputtered, grasping for a response.“D-don’t worry about it!” She laughed nervously, suddenly hyper-conscious of the close proximity they shared under the umbrella. “You looked like you needed help, so it’s all good.” After a moment, Akiza managed to get herself under control, returning to the more easygoing walk they had been doing seconds earlier. “I’m actually new to Shujin, so I’d, um, appreciate it if you could show me how to get there.”

Before the other girl could open her mouth, the pair heard the sound of fast footsteps impacting the wet sidewalk behind them. Another kid in a Shujin uniform; a boy this time, forgoing the white dress shirt under his jacket for a loud yellow tee-shirt, nearly the same bright yellow as his hair. Akiza briefly wondered what the odds of meeting two blondes within sixty seconds were before he caught up to them, catching his breath. The other girl’s brow furrowed again as they stopped on the sidewalk.

“What do you want, huh?” She was instantly confrontational. Probably history here, she thought. He straightened up out of his slouch, meeting her gaze with an equally surly look. He was about the same height as the other girl, which put him at about an inch shorter than Akiza.

“Hey, I was lookin’ out for you, ya know.” His voice matched hers in tone. Definitely history here. “I saw Kamoshida’s car comin’ up behind you and I didn’t want him to try anything sketchy.”

Unknown to the three of them, the black-and-red malware app on Akiza’s phone had opened during their walk, and it pinged once softly. The other girl scoffed at him.

“And exactly what business of yours is it whether Kamoshida wants to talk to me on my way to school? Last I checked, you and I weren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

The boy raked a hand through his hair, scowling. “If you didn’t mind talkin’ to him, how come you grabbed her to hide from him, huh!?” He wheeled on Akiza, pointing an accusing finger at her.

“Her”!

The other girl grabbed his attention before she could respond. “Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this.”

“Her”! And “she”!

He kicked a discarded can into an alleyway next to them, letting out a frustrated cry. “He runs Shujin like he's the king of his own effin' castle! He just gets away with whatever the hell he wants! Doesn’t that make you mad!?”

“Oh, like confronting him works any better? Just back off, you don’t know anything about this!”

The app chimed again, Akiza’s phone completely forgotten in her hand. She decided to cut in, if only for the sake of ending the shouting match.

“Hey, cut it out, both of you!” She stepped between them, voice snapping as the grip on her phone tightened. “I don’t know what your deal is, but homeroom starts in ten minutes and I’d really rather not be late on my first day, so can we please just go?” Both blondes looked at her with startled expressions. The boy turned away, jamming his hands into his pockets. The girl folded one arm across her chest, looking away as well. It was the boy who spoke up after a moment.

“...Fine. Follow me, you can get there faster through here.” He jerked his chin at the alley he had kicked the can into. Akiza let out a sigh.

“Thank you. Let’s get going.” She looked to the other girl with a questioning gaze. She shrugged, and the pair followed the boy through the alley. It was only wide enough for one person, so Akiza let the other girl lead. She spoke up after a moment, nudging Akiza. “Hey, uh, sorry about that. We were arguing in front of you and we don’t even know your name.” She gave a quiet laugh. “I’m Ann Takamaki. That’s Ryuji Sakamoto.” The boy - Ryuji, apparently - threw one hand up in a halfhearted wave.

“It’s okay, I’m not upset or anything,” Akiza clarified. “Just confused, really. I’m Akiza Kurusu. This is my first day at Shujin.” Ryuji spoke up before Ann could respond.

“Hey, I’m, uh. Sorry I yelled at ya, Ann. That wasn’t right, I know this ain’t your fault. I just… yeah.” Akiza heard Ann sigh again, just before a tiny sound caught her ear. She turned to look behind her, but only found the entrance to the alley they had come through.

“Thanks,” Ann said quietly. She stayed silent after that, right up until Akiza bumped into her back, Ann having stopped short behind Ryuji.

Above them, the sky had turned a dark red, speckled with angry pitch-black clouds. Where there should have been a school, an enormous castle stood. The three stood in stunned silence until Ryuji voiced the thought on all of their minds.

“W-where’s the school?”

That shocked the other two out of their stupors as they filed out of the alley, standing in the shadow of the castle in what looked like a courtyard. A massive wooden drawbridge crossed over a chasm where the road abruptly stopped, like it had simply been cut away. Ann took a few steps forward, looking up and around at the mammoth building. She fixed Ryuji with a confused look.

“Alright, I know you don’t have the best sense of direction, but this is way too lost, even for you. Something’s not right here,” she said, stepping closer to the drawbridge. Ryuji took a step back, looking affronted.

“H-hey, what are you lookin’ at me for!? I come through this alley to get to school every day! This has gotta be like… a movie set or somethin’ right?” He jogged to catch up with Ann, Akiza following close behind as the trio approached the drawbridge.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I was here just yesterday to fill out my transfer paperwork. I don’t know how I could have missed a giant castle in the middle of Aoyama…” Akiza took a step onto the drawbridge and, feeling it hold up under her weight, stepped up onto it fully. “Let’s go check it out. Worst case, we can ask for directions, right?” The blondes shrugged, heading up the drawbridge after her.

The trio had barely taken ten steps off the other end when they began to regret that naivete.

“Halt!” A voice from the castle ramparts cried out. “Raise the drawbridge! Princess Ann has been kidnapped!” With a grinding of chains and a great creaking noise, the drawbridge began to rise up behind them. There was a heavy ‘thunk’, like a lever had been pulled, and the gate not ten feet away came careening down, locked into place.

“Damn, what the hell!?” Ryuji jumped back.

“Wait, princess? Me?” Ann stared at the closed off exit in shock. Akiza couldn’t make out whatever Ryuji shouted after, eyes already focused on the one, two, three and counting shapes that were filling out the ramparts. Each one was clad in a full suit of armor, staring down, openly carrying a sword and shield. Something was wrong.

“Come on!” Akiza grabbed hold of Ann’s hand, and pulled her forward. She snapped back in an instant, and a moment later they were running towards the castle’s entrance.

“Shit, where are you going!?” Ryuji asked, looking back one last time before sprinting after.

“Can’t hide in an open courtyard!” came Akiza’s response. Until then, it felt like Ann had been running more on instinct, but now there was intent, following close behind. Ryuji grimaced as he sped up to close the distance. Any one of the enormous double doors would probably do, so they charged straight down the middle, pushing together to get one open enough to squeeze through.

“After them! Don’t let them escape!” One of the knights called from above.

“We just gotta--” Akiza began as they pressed into the castle proper. “... hide.”

The place was enormous.

Banners of red streamed from one side of the ceiling to the other, a massive chandelier and all its crystals twinkling low in the air, demanding her attention. At the far side was a sprawling staircase that led to the second floor, a landing halfway up, and the frankly obnoxious distance between the entrance to there was made up by black and white marble tiles that were mostly covered in red carpet anyways. It was the picture of opulence, with detail in every place, and only two exits to the left or right.

“Now what do we do?” Ryuji shouted.

From the right, the noise of metal clanking against itself started getting louder, so they made for the left, bursting past a door only to see more of the knights (each one exactly the same, moving the same way, with the same hunched back and sword) arriving from the other side, not far away. “Up the stairs!” Ann called out.

The trio bolted for the wide staircase, but only made it as far as the landing. From above descended a man in a red cloak patterned with hearts and trimmed in white fur. His black hair jutted out to both sides, golden eyes complemented by the crown atop his head. Flanked by two more knights, he jerked his chin down at them with an arrogant smirk.

“Guards! Surround and capture them!”

Ann and Ryuji’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

“Y-you’re…” began Ann.

“Kamoshida!? What the hell are you doin’ here, you bastard? What’s going on!?” Ryuji yelled up the staircase. Akiza looked around; every exit she could see was blocked off by knights, and more had advanced up the stairs, cornering them completely. This was bad.

“You little runts think you can just barge into my castle and do whatever you want, huh?” The man - Kamoshida, apparently - spoke with a voice positively dripping with condescension and smug superiority. He descended the staircase towards them in a leisurely stroll. Through the openings in his cape, Akiza caught flashes of what was underneath -- he was naked, save for a frighteningly tiny pair of pink underwear.

What the hell is up with this school?

The guard behind Akiza took her by surprise as it grabbed her arms roughly, pinning them behind her back as two more did the same with Ann and Ryuji. It was only then that Akiza realized she’d never let go of Ann’s hand.

Kamoshida stood before them looking triumphant. “Well, look who we have here,” he taunted. “The burnout track star, the pretty blonde, and some new girl.” He strode over to Ryuji, who struggled against the hold the guard had him in. “Looks like you still haven’t learned your place, Sakamoto. Trespassing and insulting the king? That right there earns you a death sentence, you useless runt.” He pulled back a fist, slugging Ryuji hard across the jaw. The boy cried out in pain, staggering from the hit as another one came in from the left.

“RYUJI!” cried Ann, struggling desperately against her captor. “Leave him alone, you piece of shit!” This is insane, Akiza thought as her mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. I have to do something. But how can I… Her thoughts were interrupted as Kamoshida laid a powerful kick into Ryuji’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the floor. He looked up at the girls, face bruised and contorted in pain.

“Y-you two… you gotta get outta here. You gotta run!”

Kamoshida merely cackled in response, placing a foot on one of Ryuji’s legs, who howled in pain.

“Ahh, I see my little reminder is still fresh. What a lovely memento of the time I crushed your dreams. That’s what you get for defying me, you useless pest!” He leaned down harder, and Ryuji punched the floor as he screamed. Akiza was on the verge of crying from confusion and sheer terror, and Ann wasn’t far behind. Nothing made sense, Ryuji was in trouble, and she suspected they were next. Her fears were confirmed as the king relented his assault on Ryuji, turning to pace towards them.

“And here we have two pretty girls come wandering into my hall,” he sneered, getting uncomfortably close to Akiza’s face. “I’ve seen Ann before, but you must be new here. Mmm, I think I’ll take you up to my playroom once I’m done with this garbage here. I’m sure you’ll look lovely in your new outfit…”

He turned to Ann as well, giving her the same horrifying appraisal. “And you, Takamaki. Have you finally come to embrace my invitations like a good girl? As expected, of course. I knew you had some obedience in you.”

Behind him, Ryuji struggled to his knees, propped up on shaking arms. He spit out a blob of blood, staining the crimson carpet a darker red. His breath was heaving and ragged.

“Get… the fuck… away from them…”

Kamoshida froze in his tracks, turning to Ryuji with an incredulous expression. “Well, if you’re that excited to be killed, we can expedite the process.” He motioned to the guards holding the girls. “They don’t go in the prison with the rest. Take them to the playroom. You, finish executing this criminal.” He jerked his chin at another guard which positioned itself above Ryuji, sword held aloft. Ann’s frantic cries continued as the guards began to drag them up the stairs, Kamoshida in close pursuit.

“Oh, just imagine all the fun we’re going to have together… You’ll both make such lovely additions to my little collection.”

Ryuji called out to Kamoshida again.

“Get back here… agh… you bastard!” He struggled to his feet, guard seemingly unresponsive as he glared with burning fury at the king. “Beatin’ me up is one thing, but if you really think I’m… g-gah… g-gonna let you hurt them, you really are stupid!”

“And what exactly gives you the right to speak to me that way, you scum!?” Kamoshida whirled on him, folding his arms and grinning wickedly at the boy.

“I’ll say whatever the hell I want! I’m done bein’ afraid of you. I’m done lettin’ you hurt people! And I’m done lettin’ you look down on me with that stupid smile on your face!”

Finally ready to set sail, are we?

Ryuji blinked, taking in a sharp gasp. When his eyes opened again, they were colored a rich gold. He clutched his head, pained gasps flying from his mouth as he stumbled to his knees again.

“H-hey,” said Ann, voice shaky. “W-what’s happening to him…?”

“I-I don’t know…” Akiza’s voice was similarly nervous. The air thrummed with energy, bright and alive and otherworldly.

It reminded her of the Velvet Room.

Ryuji’s head pounded, fingers digging into his scalp. He felt like his brain was trying to force its way out of his head through his eyes.

Cannons thunder in your heart, but have you the resolve to turn them loose on the world that cast you down?

Ryuji’s elbows hit the floor as he screamed. Nothing had ever been this painful. Not his beating just now, not even the last time he’d tried to face Kamoshida.

You have weathered countless storms alone. The time has arrived for you to become one! The wind calls to you, Ryuji Sakamoto! Will you answer it!?

“Y-yes! Yes, I’ll do it!”

We have reached an accord, then! Weigh anchor, and let fly the black flag of freedom!

Ryuji’s convulsions stopped.

He struggled to his feet again, the top portion of his face covered in an iron mask shaped like a skull. The voice that sounded from him was both his and not his.

“I am thou. Thou art I.”

Ryuji’s hands found their way to the edges of the mask, and he started to pull. He cried out in pain again, spurts of blood flying as the mask moved, culminating in a shower of red as it tore free from his face with a scream. Blue flames engulfed the landing of the staircase, and the guards were blasted back by a burst of wind. Akiza and Ann could only watch as Ryuji emerged from the fire.

“Holy shit…” Ann, now freed, stared at Ryuji.

He stood tall, suddenly wearing black leather that fit him closely, metal sides and brass knuckles gleaming in the fire. In one bright yellow glove a dented metal pipe pressed against the ground, and in his expression not a single hint of that anguish remained.

“Screw you, Kamoshida,” he declared. “Ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you hurt them while I’m alive!”

“G-Guards!” Kamoshida stepped back. “Seize him at once!”

From either side of the staircase, knights jerked into motion. From below came a stream, three on each side. Ryuji lifted the pipe in both hands, eyes to the right. “Like hell you will!” He shouted and swung hard, slamming it into the side of the leading knight’s head, sending them toppling down the stairs and onto the other two. There was hardly any clanking before the knights seemed to melt into the floor entirely.

With those three taken care of, Ryuji turned to the others, fresh on the landing. He raised the pipe overhead in an exaggerated motion and barely managed to react in time when the leading knight’s shield came up, shifting out a leg and putting all of his weight into a step-kick instead. The shield-bearer stumbled back, while the other two got into close melee with him.

Ryuji slammed aside an oncoming blade and brought his pipe up for another blow while Akiza took advantage of the chaos and grabbed at the still-stumbling knight’s wrist, yanking it forward hard and driving her elbow down on the inside of the thing’s own elbow with as much force as possible. The sound was awful, and the impact hurt just as much, but adrenaline let her ignore the pain and pick up the sword it’d dropped.

She locked eyes with Kamoshida. He stepped back again.

“What are you doing?” The golden-eyed man blustered. “Useless knights! Do whatever’s necessary, you hear me? I want them locked up, and I don’t care what condition they arrive in any more!”

Akiza lifted her sword and then plunged it into the back of the remaining knight bothering Ryuji. It, too, melted into the ground. “Seems like what you want doesn’t matter any more.”

The knights that had gathered on the second floor began to descend, and Ann moved quickly behind Akiza. Ryuji’s free hand moved to his mask. “Alright, let’s do this. CAPTAIN KIDD!”

He tore it free once again. A figure appeared behind Ryuji; a towering, skeletal pirate captain garbed in black and blue, its dark, tattered Jolly Roger cape billowing in the non-existent wind. The smell of ozone filled the air as the captain’s boat turned, a golden cannon for a hand pointed forward in the exact same pose as Ryuji’s, and from high above cracked down arcs of electricity, burning the air and striking down knight after knight.

More were coming, but that seemed to be enough for Kamoshida. The coward ran.

“Ryuji, we need to get out of here!” Ann shouted, still behind Akiza, the latter raising her blade to carefully bat aside the hopeful jabs of knights coming up the stairs.

“Get out of here?” Ryuji answered. “I’m like some kinda freakin’ superhero! You heard that bastard Kamoshida! If he’s keepin’ other people as prisoners here, or worse, then I’m bustin’ ‘em outta here. Hop on!”

At that, the boat pulled up to the side of the landing - against the railing. Surrounded as they were, it’s not like there was any other choice. Ann clambered across quickly, finding purchase on a couple of stumps that must have been masts at some point, clinging on for dear life. Ryuji moved after that, kneeling with one foot on the deck and the other along the bowsprit. Akiza, stepping back and making broad swipes to keep the knights at bay, took one look back and hopped off the side as the boat pulled away, grabbing onto the rigging with all her strength.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Akiza asked as they pulled away, grimacing as some of the knights started to shudder and convulse, melting together and… moving somewhere else?

“Hell no!” came the blunt answer. “But if this is like a castle, then they always keep prisoners below ground, right?”

Ann still looked like she didn’t know how to take all this, which was pretty fair. “Are you basing your escape plan on the manga you read?”

“No!” he answered. “Maybe?”

“Makes as much sense as anything else.” Akiza swallowed dryly as she spoke..

The halls they broke through definitely weren’t designed for this, but the boat rammed to the side just about anyone they came across, and any stragglers ducking out of the way just couldn’t keep up. It wasn’t long before they came across a bend, though, and saw where some of the knights from earlier must have been shifting off to. A massive version of the things from before filled the hall, standing menacingly in front of a heavily barred door.

“Uh, Ryuji?” Ann hazarded when they didn’t slow down.

“I’ve got this,” Ryuji answered. He kneeled a little lower and rubbed one gloved hand along the ship’s grain. “It’s like, somehow I can tell this thing ain’t just for show.”

Akiza wasn’t sure what Ryuji was planning, only that it would probably be equally as reckless and daring as her own idea. “Spin me towards them,” she offered.

“You got it,” he grinned, she could just tell, even without being able to see it. “Hold on tight!” Three fourths of the way down the hall, the boat swerved hard, port turning to face in a motion that felt very much like a car drifting to take a hairpin turn. Akiza brought up both knees, planting her feet against the side of the boat and kicked off the instant momentum turned in her favor. Pushing against everything, she brought the sword up and forward, shouting as she tucked her knees in again and braced for the impact. At speed, the sword plunged through the knight’s mask, black ichor spewing out onto the hall through its armor. With the boat catching up and the knight dissolving, she held out a hand and caught the rigging on the other side as it passed.

Ryuji pointed forward, voice louder than it’d probably ever been.

“GET WRECKED!!”

Cannon-fire echoed through the hall, and Akiza’s only regret was that it was impossible to protect her ears. The wall in front of them came down in a spray of debris and dust, movement slowing only as they took the tight stairwell down. The moment the scenery changed, and they’d come to something resembling a stop on the other side of a waterway, the boat and its captain disappeared, and the three were left reeling at the escape.

For her money, Akiza’s heart had never beat that fast before. Why had she even done that?

“Why did you do that!?” Ann shrieked, grabbing Akiza by the shoulders. “You could’ve gotten killed, like, six times in the last two minutes!” The adrenaline still pounding in Akiza’s veins made her laugh deliriously, putting her own hands on Ann’s shoulders in return.

“I don’t know! Ryuji started beating them up so I just, y’know, went for it, and now we’re here!” Ryuji cackled, throwing an arm over Akiza’s shoulder and laughing along with her.

“You were amazing! You stole that dude’s sword and then you jumped off the boat and shoved it through that other guy’s face! Man, who the hell are you!?”

Akiza only smiled and went in for a high-five in response. Ann was far less enthused by recent events.

“Can you two stop laughing for a minute so we can figure out what the hell is going on!?” She turned to Ryuji, more confused than actually upset. “What the hell happened to you up there? What was any of that!?”

“I dunno!” Ryuji’s grin was indelible. “I heard this voice in my head, and then I like, ripped my face off and I got this dope outfit and--” he paused to take a breath. “--and I’m really tired…” Seemingly spent, his legs gave out underneath him, and Ann rushed to support his other side as Akiza shouldered part of his weight. A burst of spectral blue flames engulfed him for a moment and faded away, leaving his school uniform remaining.

“Oh my god, Ryuji! Are you okay!?” Ann shouted.

Akiza reached over with a free hand, feeling his exposed neck for a pulse. “He’s not dead, just passed out. He probably just used a ton of energy all at once, and I guess his adrenaline ran out.”

Ann sputtered in response. “W-well why didn’t he drive us out of the castle!? Now we’re stuck in a dungeon that those guards saw us go down, and our superhero is taking a nap!”

Now that the adrenaline had mostly faded, they were able to take in literally anything else about their surroundings.

A canal ran straight through the middle of a steadily downward sloping path on either side, extending and breaking off towards the castle again eventually on either side. The running water was moving dangerously fast, a few empty cages either hanging over it from chains or already submerged and caught in the stream. Compared to the castle itself, there wasn’t much lighting, just a few lanterns spitting out red and purple flames.

A groan from nearby caught both of them off guard. They turned to the source of the noise, where a young man that didn’t look much older than them was hunched over on the ground.

“There’s actually more people here?” Ann whispered, more from shock than any desire to keep quiet. They set Ryuji down.

Akiza looked around for a key, or a way to open up the cell door. The beaten teen looked up and coughed once it became obvious what she was doing.

“No, don’t,” he managed. His eyes were golden, the same way she’d seen Ryuji’s momentarily, or Kamoshida’s had been the whole time. “Don’t fuck this up for me. If I stay low, the King will let me out eventually. Maybe… I’ll even get to be one of his knights too.”

“Wait, I think I know this guy. He’s on the volleyball team…” Ann spoke up. “Daiki-san?”

“Princess Ann…?” The teen’s face slowly slipped into a pained smile. “Are you here to bring me to the King? Have I done enough?”

Ann’s frown deepened. Akiza spoke up on her behalf, digging through a crate of scrap metal to look for something that might be able to wedge the door open. “She’s not--” But that was interrupted too.

“...Hey! Can anybody hear me!? I’m stuck in here!” Akiza’s attention shifted to a voice down the hall, crying out from what must have been another cell.

“... Maybe they can help?” Akiza began again. Ann let out another exasperated sigh.

“Sure, I guess. Not like we have worse options right now.”

“We’ll be back for you.” Akiza promised quickly. Daiki’s dazed, hopeful smile hurt to turn away from. Something about him definitely wasn’t right.

Carrying Ryuji with them again, the two headed across the drawbridge, towards the source of the cry. The stone walkways were slick with condensation and moss, making progress slow but steady. Along the way, they passed a few more of what must have been Shujin students in other cells, but stopped seeing any more after passing over the water. Despite being some kind of prison, mercifully there weren’t any guards around. Akiza supposed they had no reason to be posted anywhere but at the exits, waiting for them.

Akiza pressed some words into the depressing space. “Hey, so, uh…” she began, looking over Ryuji at Ann. “Sorry about back there. That was… really reckless, you’re right. I don’t really know what came over me.”

“It’s okay,” said Ann with a shake of her head and a smile. “I was pretty freaked out after that, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You did save my life after all.”

Akiza smiled back. “Day’s still young,” she said dryly. “Plenty of castle left.”

Finally, they rounded the corner where the voice seemed to be coming from. It had continued yowling the whole time they’d spent walking over.

Akiza looked into the cell and added one more item to her mental list of ‘insane things seen on the first day of school’. The cell’s occupant was a small, absurdly cartoonish cat-person-thing. A black mask covered its face, save for its bright blue eyes, with a yellow bandanna hung around its neck. The thing jumped as it spoke, fixing the girls with a wild stare.

“What the heck are you three doing!?” The cat-thing shouted. “I’ve never felt a security level this high in my life!” Akiza and Ann stared boggle-eyed at the thing.

“...Security level?” was Akiza’s reply. “Wait, back up. Who and what are you?”

“My name’s Morgana! Those guards locked me in here, and I can’t get the key! It’s right on the wall there, you’ve gotta let me out!”

Sure, all the others had been students, but… Ann seemed to share her thoughts. “Well, you don’t exactly look like a good guy, you know.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You look like some weird cat-thing. How do we know you’re not an enemy?” The thing let out a frustrated cry, banging its head against the bars.

“I’m locked up in their prison, why would I be one of them!? And I am not a cat!” Morgana groaned, looking them up and down. “... Hey, you wanna get out of here, right? I can show you a secret exit. If you let me out, I’ll take you there!” Akiza turned to Ann, looking for her opinion.

“What do you think? Do we have another choice right now?” Ann groaned.

“No, I guess not. Here, grab the key. I got him.” She shrugged Ryuji over to her, grunting as she bore his weight while Akiza freed Morgana. The thing dashed out of the cell, stretching with a happy expression.

“Ahh, freedom tastes so good!” He grinned, looking up at the two girls and the unconscious boy. “Follow me, and try to stay quiet. I’ll explain some stuff as we go.” He paced off down the hallway, Akiza taking half of Ryuji’s weight and following after him.

“So, you three are in the Metaverse. It’s a world shaped by cognition, given form by desires--”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” Ann whispered urgently. “Back up! We’re in another world?”

Akiza desperately tried to put some metaphorical feet under her. “What about the other prisoners?”

“They’re not real,” Morgana explained. “The Palace’s ruler perceives real people like his prisoners, and so they show up that way in here.”

“And this place is a Palace?” Akiza asked.

“That’s right. Palaces are formed from distorted desires, and they exist inside the Metaverse. Am I making sense yet?” “I guess,” Ann whispered. “This is a lot to take in at once, you know!”

As they huddled in the corner, Ryuji began to stir. “...Ugh, where am I…?”

Akiza urgently hushed him. Crossing the path, she’d spotted two guards in front of a door down a hall on the opposite end, having some kind of conversation. Ryuji blinked a few times, looking at Akiza and Ann with bleary eyes. “D-did we get out…?”

“No, stupid, cause you drove us into the dungeons!” Ann whispered angrily at him before calming herself down. “We’re on our way out. Can you stand?” He tested his feet, finding himself wobbly but okay, and the girls set him down gently.

“Congrats on your Persona, blondie.” Morgana quipped from below. Ryuji’s gaze swiveled down, brow wrinkling at the bizarre creature.

“Whuh-- Persona? A-and what the hell are you!?”

"A Persona is the manifestation of your heart. Your awakened will of rebellion! And my name is Morgana!"

“He knows how to get out of here, and about your powers. We’ll explain when we get out of here!” Ryuji silently blinked at Akiza as she spoke, eyebrows raised before shrugging and nodding.

“Sure, makes sense I guess. How far is the exit?”

“Not much farther,” answered Morgana. “It’s around that corner, there’s another room just ahead with a tunnel that leads to the outside. From there, we’ll be able to return to reality.”

They hid behind the crates for a minute or two, watching the guards continue their conversation. Akiza briefly wondered if these things could even have conversations before Ryuji spoke up.

“This is takin’ forever!” He whispered, frustrated and clearly antsy. “Lemme just get my Persona or whatever out and we can blast through ‘em!” Akiza was quick to talk him down.

“Ryuji, you passed out last time you did that. You're running on fumes right now. We’ve gotta…” She trailed off, finger on her chin in thought. She spied a small stone that had come loose from the walkway, finding that she could easily pick it up. “Alright, we’re gonna distract them. Once they go by, we can bolt for the exit. Sound like a plan?”

“Heh, you’re catching on pretty quick,” smirked Morgana. He turned to the other two, gesturing to Akiza. “You could learn a thing or two from her, y’know.” Ryuji sputtered, taken aback.

“H-hey, I just woke up! Gimme some slack here!” Ann made a ‘shoosh’ noise as his voice bordered on giving away their position. Akiza, meanwhile, lobbed the rock far away down the path on their side, where it clattered against the stonework, echoing through the cavern.

“What was that?” The guards at the end of the walkway turned their attention to the sound. “That could be the intruders!” They ran down the path, lowered the drawbridge, and barreled away in the opposite direction. Morgana signaled for them to move, and the sprint began.

They nearly made it.

Three quarters of the way there, the moment they’d rounded the bend and were facing the hall, Ryuji cried out and collapsed to the floor, clutching his right leg.

“Agh, c’mon, not now!” He growled as he clutched his leg, face contorted in pain. Akiza stopped short, dashing back to get him. But when she looked back at Morgana and Ann, her stomach dropped.

A great knight in crimson armor sat atop a similarly large pegasus, reins in hand, having materialized out of the floor from that black slime she’d seen them melt into earlier. This one was different, brandishing a long lance in one hand. Ann was on the back-foot, Morgana standing in front of her protectively

"Stay behind me!" He cried. "Come, Zorro!"

His own massive Persona appeared at his side in a burst of blue flame -- appearing as a barrel-chested, broad shouldered man clad in black, outrageously wide arms holding a simple rapier. With a gesture of its blade, it summoned a gust of wind to try and keep the beast away.

Another clamoring snapped her attention away, a squadron of knights rushing back after their false start, blocking the path they’d come from. Ryuji saw it too, and looked up at her with pleading eyes, Akiza already having taken him up over her shoulder.

“C’mon, forget about me, you gotta get outta here!”

“Don’t be stupid, either we all get out or none of us do!” Akiza answered.

The knights were still gaining on them, and Morgana seemed to be having trouble fending off what must have been a captain of some kind. In the moment she set Ryuji down against the wall, farther back, standing in front of him sword in hand, a half-formed thought clicked into place. Using the empty cages that were low enough to jump onto, she could probably swing across to the other side, and escape the way they’d come. But that thought was slapped down in an instant.

If it was a choice between standing up to help someone and running away, it wasn’t a choice at all.

That’s right, darling. There never has been a choice, has there?

Akiza let out a pained gasp, eyes flying wide open as she stooped over, hand catching the side of her head. A blast of air erupted from her body, stopping the oncoming knights in their tracks. Ryuji shielded his face with his arm, inching back as much as possible. Akiza’s glasses clattered to the floor as she convulsed.

I can feel your passion, your willpower. The world is stacked against you, and you have the chance to defy it.

Akiza screamed again. The pounding in her head was unceasing. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could barely think.

I…

You what? Don’t tell me all of that bravado earlier was mere masquerade. You have suffered for the convenience of others for your entire life. What is it that you desire?

I don’t know! I just… I want to be happy! I'm tired of waiting-- I want to laugh, and smile, and mean it! I want to be me!

Then take my hand, my darling, and release thy rage! Vow to me, that we might dance this delicate dance together, though thou be chained to Hell itself! Raise your blade, cry out your name, and claim the joy you seek!

Ann, Morgana, and all the knights had ceased their engagements. All eyes were on Akiza as her cries guttered out. She straightened up, now-golden eyes fixed on the throng of soldiers, face shrouded by a white domino mask. When she spoke, she spoke with power, every atom of her soul standing with her.

“I am thou. Thou art I.”

Her fingers gripped the edges of the mask, and she began to pull. The more she wanted it off, the more the pain seemed to grow as it pulled off the surface of her skin, blood staining her hands and running down her face. She tore the mask free, throwing it to the side with a wide swing of her arm. Dark hair flew up around her as blue flames engulfed her body.

“No way…” Ryuji stared in open awe at the inferno of heatless fire.

“Her too!?” Ann exclaimed, shielding her eyes from its brightness. Morgana grinned and chuckled.

“I was right. She does catch on quick.”

Akiza emerged from the pillar of fire as it faded. Her steely gray eyes fixed the knights before her in their gaze as she stood resolute in front of Ryuji. The Shujin uniform had been replaced with an elegant black silk jacket, buttoned low in the front with a wide collar and sleeves ending in white frills, and a matching white cravat around her neck. Red bows accented her waist, complementing the skirt and gloves adorning her. Tall black boots ran up to just shy of her knees, tops folding over as dark leggings encased the rest of her legs. In her right hand, the blade that had once been was no more, and in its place was a long silver sword, with a thin blade and an ornate handguard.

She flicked her hair out of her face, raising her rapier to challenge the knights. In a burst of wind a towering figure appeared behind Akiza, looking not unlike her. Long heeled boots ran up to its waist, where a dark corset accented its red arms and legs. One massive wing was cast over its shoulder, folded over like a makeshift shield. It, too, had a wide collar of white lace, and a hat with a white feather perched atop its head. One side of its face was masked by an even smile, while the other revealed a wicked grin and an eye burning with crimson flame. It brandished its rapier at the knights. Akiza called out the challenge.

“You won’t go one step further! Cut them down, Julie!”

Chapter Text

Akiza’s eyes blazed with newfound determination. Her teeth grit together as she made a sweeping motion with the rapier in her hand, cutting through the air. Behind her and to the right, just around the corner, she knew Morgana was in a heated battle with the captain in scarlet armor atop its pegasus, and could hear the clanking of metal as their weapons clashed. In front, the knights had collected themselves again.

One from in front charged recklessly, moving forward with its blade raised overhead. With speed she’d never known, Akiza planted one foot forward and dashed off the slick stone, precision and grace guiding every movement. Her rapier lifted, singing through the air as it was brought forward and back, jabbing through the knight’s exposed elbow joint and beneath its arm, spewing black ichor that pooled on the floor.

When did I learn how to do all this…? Akiza thought.

This has always been your gift, Julie answered. Speed. Precision. Grace.

My power…

The knight reeled back, while the rest of the squadron stepped forward to take its place. More swords swung in from the left, the knights’ shields covering each other infuriatingly well.

“Julie!” Her Persona answered the call, wind racing through Akiza’s ear as her other self dashed forward and caught the incoming blows with her own elongated blade. Akiza crouched, springing up and planting both feet on the unprepared knights’ shields, taking advantage of their tight formation and pivoting to stab her rapier down an opening in the right-most knight’s helmet. The thing howled, and she dug in, carving through its neck when she kicked off onto the wall.

She felt limitless. Her speed was boundless, and she only had to push. Akiza tucked her legs in and kicked off again towards another knight that had only just finished recovering and jammed her sword through its head. Together they landed hard, Akiza in a crouch while the knight clattered helplessly to the ground, dissolving soon after.

Standing, she eyed the knights who were still turning around to catch up. Akiza tightened her grip on the rapier and brought it up as a fist against her heart, blade poised skyward. She extended a finger forward in judgement.

“Ravage them!”

One of Julie’s hands planted over her own heart, other palm facing out in much the same pose, and from it poured a stream of red and white. A feeling like fingernails on a chalkboard made manifest peeled through the air in a wavy pattern that raced toward their targets. The knights shuddered and convulsed as the light penetrated their armor entirely, coming out on the other end as mist that lifted upwards before disappearing. In the blink of an eye, the knights dissolved to nothing.

Ann took the opportunity to bring Ryuji farther away from the bend, taking cover while Morgana was still being pushed back. Their ally had lost enough ground that Akiza could finally see the fight for herself. His Persona managed to bat aside a swipe from the captain’s lance, but the knight’s arm only pulled back and pushed forward again in an instant, piercing the black-clad swordsman’s chest. Morgana howled, knocked back in tandem with his Persona.

“Morgana!” Akiza shouted. Soon the two knights on the drawbridge would be charging down their side. It was impossible to leave Ryuji and Ann undefended, but there had to be some way to help, right?

“Heh, keep your eyes forward, newbie. I can handle myself.” Morgana drew himself up, wincing as he waved a cutlass taller than he was around. “Witness my resolve! ZORRO!”

Wind whipped itself into existence, a visible force tinted green that pulled hard down the hall. The pegasus’ hooves scraped against the cobblestone, unable to find purchase, while Morgana smirked, his Persona gone. The captain grunted, taking hold of the reins and pulling back. The beast rose off the ground, neighing as it reared back before slamming down again, wings as unfurled as possible in the hall.

Morgana fixed his eyes ahead, cutlass held low and steady in both paws while the enraged pegasus charged forward. And when the reins were jerked back again, prompting it to take flight, Morgana leapt in the air with it, scoring a black gash along the creature’s belly as it passed. Pained as it was, the pegasus managed to take flight regardless, beginning to swoop through the wide room.

“Man, this is not good,” Ryuji grunted, being helped up by Ann. “I’ve gotta--” He took a step forward, strain visible. There was a flash of those blue flames, there and gone again in an instant, leaving Ryuji to hiss in pain and fall back into Ann’s arms.

“Stop that! You’ve done enough,” Ann hushed him, pulling them away into the now empty hall, both still peeking around the corner to watch.

Turning ahead again, Akiza watched as more knights appeared, holding position just ahead of the drawbridge. The captain was in the process of turning through the air in order to come around for a charge. Akiza bit the bottom of her lip, brow furrowed. The small sound of Morgana’s steps plinked along until they caught up to her.

“Morgana, do you know anything that might help us here?” Akiza said quickly.

He scowled. “That knight and its pegasus are obviously just one Shadow. Any damage to either will help us get rid of it faster. And…” His eyes glowed golden for a moment. “I can tell they’re weak to lightning. You used curse magic earlier, do you know any lightning too?”

Far ahead, the pegasus had finished turning and began to pick up speed, charging through the air and angling towards them.

“No. Ryuji does, but…” she shook her head. “You don’t either?”

“Just wind,” he nodded.

The captain’s lance raised as it passed over the other two knights, and the pegasus hit the ground at full gallop, the thunderous sound bouncing off the walls. They were closing in when Akiza yelled out a command.

“Grab onto me!” To his credit, Morgana didn’t hesitate. He hopped onto her back, looping an arm around her neck to keep hold. Time seemed to slow down as she leapt off the path entirely, hanging over the raging waters beneath and barely managing to vacate the space where hooves trampled by and an angled out lance would have doubtless skewered them. Her free arm shot out to the side. “JULIE!”

With pleasure.

In a flash her Persona appeared again, both of them taking hold of each others’ arms in turn, and for the briefest of moments, they defied gravity. Julie pulled Akiza along and swung both of them around in a half-circle, tossing her and Morgana back onto the path before disappearing again. If it were possible, Akiza would have liked more time to still her heart, but there was no such thing.

“Smooth moves,” Morgana praised, dropping from her back once they landed. It would be a little while before the captain could make another pass, and she wondered if he’d fall for the same trick twice. Her eyes scanned rapidly for something to use, an advantage to press, the way she always had in fights when she was younger. The barely swinging cages in the air caught her eye, drawbridge chains not far away. Her mind reeled as she traced a route and made a decision. Akiza pointed forward, to the knights still blocking the bridge.

“I need to get to that bridge. I have an idea, but I’ll need your help. Can I count on you?”

“Of course! What kind of thief do you take me for?”

Despite everything, Akiza smiled. “We’ll have to be fast,” and sprinted ahead, Morgana hot on her tail. He called on Zorro again, and more of that green wind ripped between the knights, buffeting them to the side and breaking up their formation. Either Morgana’s cutlass was sharper than she’d thought, or he was a lot stronger than he’d let on, because somehow the blade cleaved straight through the knight on the right and its armor, leaving only wisps of black behind.

I can't believe this is real...

She didn’t have time to linger on the thought, though, instead whipping her leg forward once she’d caught up, positioned directly to the side of the thoroughly off-center knight, and put all of her weight into the motion. Boot met shield, and the knight’s feet failed to find purchase before it was sent reeling off the edge and into the raging waters beneath.

Breathing hard, Akiza broke into a run one last time, feeling the burn in her legs as every effort was beginning to catch up. Setting a foot down on the railing of the bridge, eyes on the draw-chain, she spoke again. “On my signal, I need you to give me a burst of wind that will lift me up.”

“What’s the signal?” Morgana asked, tone serious.

“You’ll know,” was all she could say before leaping off the side and taking hold of the chain, climbing the length until it felt possible to leap over to the cage. The drawbridge chains were way too tight to swing on, but at least that meant they’d provide a fair bit of resistance when she jumped off.

On the other end of the long passage, the captain had finally finished slowing down enough to start turning around.

Akiza leapt. She heard Ann and Ryuji shout. Gravity caught up in exactly the way she thought it would, and her hands grabbed at the edge of the cage. It began to swing, chain creaking as it moved, but the added grip of her gloves and newfound strength were enough to help pull herself up. Her footing at the top was uncertain-- the bars weren’t thick enough to stand on without placing her feet across two at a time, and she needed to wrap an arm around the chain to keep herself steady.

Something clicked with her, and not a moment too soon.

Cognition… I just have to think it?

She took a breath, and heard the pegasus’ charge as it started to pick up speed. It wouldn’t be long now.

Stand tall, darling. Make your challenge. Let them hear it.

The cage would rock regardless. The walls of this place weren’t hers to change. But her footing? The projection of her voice? Those were her tools. She was in control of those things.

“I won’t let you leave here alive!” The captain roared.

Akiza let go of the chain and took a measured pose, perfectly balanced. Steely grey eyes leveled themselves at the captain’s, rapier pointed out, while the Shadow leveled its own lance. As the distance closed itself, closer, closer, nearly there--

--she bent her knees and leapt into the air, directly into the beast’s path.

“NOW!”

Morgana’s wind was harsh, but shot her up quickly. Akiza twisted midair, the blade of the rapier taken into her free hand and hooked out flat in front of the knight’s chest to catch on. She jerked forward through the air as the blade dug into her palm, able to fight against the wind after a moment and kick her legs down, finding some purchase on the pegasus’ back.

The blade wasn’t enough to pierce the knight’s armor, so the Shadow took this opportunity to jerk an elbow back, heavy metal slamming into her side. Akiza hissed but grit her teeth, eyes watering, and held on.

“Julie! Bring us down!”

At once, her Persona appeared again, arms wrapped around the captain’s sides just as her own were. From one of her palms poured curses, streaming directly into the captain’s crimson armor and escaping through any number of openings. Being in such close proximity with the effect, Akiza could feel her bones rattling, unpleasant and sickening. She had no idea what it must have been doing to the Shadow itself.

The captain screamed, an incoherent, grotesque sound that began to gutter out almost as soon as it had begun. Akiza could feel the Shadow becoming less solid under her by the second, and somehow she’d failed to plan for this part. As they diverted course, zooming towards a wall, there wasn’t a single convenient cage or chain to hop off onto.

“Oh, damn,” Akiza muttered. Julie disappeared, and she tucked herself in, abandoning ship and bringing her arms and legs up in front to try and break the fall somehow. Fortunately, the moment of impact wasn’t nearly so harsh as it could have been as another gust of Morgana’s wind managed to slow her down before hitting the wall, and then catch her entirely before she hit the ground. As soon as it disappeared, Akiza fell the last few inches with an unceremonious “oof.”

A duel well fought. I commend you on your first victory of many.

Morgana came running up, panting slightly, and looked less than happy as she gingerly sat up.

“What the heck was that!?” he began, making animated gestures. “If I’d known your plan was to throw yourself over a pit twice in a row, I wouldn’t have said yes!”

“You didn’t say anything bad the first time I jumped over a pit,” she countered. “I even had you with me that time.”

“You weren’t jumping directly at a high-level Shadow the first time!” Morgana harrumphed as Ann and Ryuji rushed over to her, the boy limping slightly. Ann’s face was a blend of incredulous, furious, and excited as she stomped towards Akiza.

“I just got done telling you to stop being so reckless, and the second you get superpowers, you decide to start pulling stunts like that?” She crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently even while she offered Akiza a hand to get up.

Akiza could only shrug sheepishly, accepting the help and then slipping her rapier into the sheath on her hip. “I just… I dunno, it’s like I went on autopilot. You guys were in danger, and the only thought in my head was how I could keep you two safe. Everything else just kinda… went out the window.”

Ryuji, caught up now, nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it was like for me! It’s like, you kinda laser in one the one thing, and your body just knows how to make that happen.”

Ann sighed, appearing to grudgingly accept those answers.

“Fine, okay.” Her frown flickered, melting into a small smile. “Thanks for protecting me. We’d probably be dead if it weren’t for you two.”

“Oh, you smiled,” Ryuji said earnestly. It took Ann a moment to process the remark, a finger touching where the smile had been.

“... Oh. Yeah, I guess I did. Is that weird?” she asked.

“Nah. I just, you know, hadn’t seen it in a while.”

It felt like a moment where awkwardness should have been, but instead Ryuji was wearing a warm, sweet smile that was completely unlike all the grins he’d had before. Akiza touched one of her cheeks.

Cute…

The sound of someone clearing their throat drew everyone’s eyes down, where an incensed Morgana had his paws on his hips.

“If you three are done making eyes at each other, can we focus on getting out of this Palace?” The students all promptly looked in different directions at that, becoming intensely interested in literally anything besides meeting each others’ gazes.

Morgana huffed and set off towards the door he’d indicated before, holding out a paw at the same time. Wispy green energy coalesced around Ryuji and Akiza, completely different from the wind magic they’d seen earlier. It was a rush of energy that didn’t take away all the pain, but went a hell of a long way in making it easier to move, and stopped her minor bleeding. Ryuji stood up straighter, no longer leaning on his good leg, and rolled a shoulder as Morgana spoke again. “It’s through this way. Keep your voices down and let me take point. Black hair, you bring up the rear.”

They hurried after him, Akiza stopping briefly to pick up her miraculously unharmed glasses.

Beyond the doors was a tall, cylindrical room with a massive spiral staircase, just like the one they’d come down before arriving at the dungeons. Mercifully, it was free of Shadows. As they climbed the steps, Ryuji piped up with a question.

“Hey, how come she gets to keep her cool outfit but I lost mine and passed out?”

“Probably because of the nature of her awakening,” Morgana hazarded. “If the catalyst for yours was something like ‘I need to get them out of here,’ then it’s only natural that your burst of energy would run out as soon as that was done. But if hers were something like ‘I need to keep them safe,’ then hers will probably hold until you’re all to safety.”

“That sounds like what I was thinking, yeah,” Akiza said. “I don’t feel as powerful now as I did a few minutes ago, but still more than normal.”

After another minute of climbing, Morgana stopped them outside a great door part-way up the staircase.

“It’s through here,” he whispered. The door was pushed open ever so gently - only barely enough to allow them to look into the room beyond. It was some kind of sitting room, with a table and some chairs as the center-piece. Racks of barrels were arranged along the far wall, and there were a set of open windows above that. Compared to where they’d just been, the decor here was much more in line with the rest of the castle.

A single knight guarded the room.

“Okay, as my last ‘thank you’ for busting me out, I’m gonna teach you guys one more thing about Palaces,” whispered Morgana. He gathered the three of them into a huddle farther away from the door. “If you ambush a Shadow, it makes a lot of things about the fight easier. Unmasking them also reveals a Shadow’s true form, which can be either weaker or stronger than its masked form. For low-level grunts like these, they’ll almost always be weaker.”

He looked to Akiza. “You’re gonna take it by surprise and pull its mask off. Then we defeat its true form and you guys can leave through the windows.”

“What about you?” Ann asked. “Aren’t you coming too?”

Morgana shook his head. “My investigation of this Palace still isn’t complete. I need to stay here and fully explore the place so I can figure out how to fix it.”

“Fix it?” Ryuji piped up. “How do you fix a place like this?”

“By making it disappear. I-It’s not important, you three just need to leave before you get hurt worse than I can heal. Are you ready to do this?” He turned to Akiza, who nodded. “Good. You know what to do, so go for it.”

Akiza sidled up to the door again, peeking out into the room. Just near the door was a tall chair she could hide behind, out of the knight’s field of vision and much closer to it. With speed and guile she nudged the door open just enough to slip through, immediately grateful that the thing hadn’t squeaked when she pushed.

Like clockwork, Akiza thought. When the knight came close enough to her position, dashed forward, using the table as a footstool to get on top of the hunched Shadow’s back and grip its mask in one hand. The metal came free with minimal resistance, showering the area in the same blackness that wounding them had, evaporating as a new form took the knight’s place. A tiny pixie in a blue leotard.

“Hey, what’s the big deal!?” It cried, dashing towards Akiza. She sidestepped its charge as the door opened fully and the other three rushed in, Ryuji grabbing a poker from the nearby fireplace and brandishing it like his missing pipe. Almost humiliatingly, for all their previous ability, neither could manage to land a hit on the thing. Ryuji swung wildly, clanging against the table a few times while Akiza tried to predict where it’d go, but the pixie kept just barely getting away, firing little needles of light that stung more and more with each passing hit.

“I can’t hit this freakin’ thing!” Ryuji cried after a particularly close miss. They worked together to try and back it into a corner, only for it to fly over both their heads and, coincidentally, right next to Ann.

Ann screamed and, acting on complete instinct, clocked the pixie directly with her fist. It dropped from the air, crumpling to the floor. The other three boggled at her for a moment as she shook her hand, shrugging and grinning sheepishly.

A groaning noise from the pixie returned their attention to the matter at hand, and Akiza aimed her rapier at the Shadow, ready to strike, before it cried out.

“W-wait! Hang on, don’t kill me! Let me come with you?”

“Come with me?” she asked, furrowing her brow. “What do you--” Her question was cut off as the pixie began dissolving into bluish-white light, forming the shape of a mask just like Akiza’s own. It flew onto her face, merging with the one already there, and she felt an odd tingling sensation rush through her.

The Persona known as Pixie resided within her now, alongside Julie.

Akiza indicated that she was fine, leading Ann and Ryuji to relax, if only somewhat. Morgana, meanwhile, frowned before fixing her with an intense gaze.

“Change of plans,” he said. “I’m sticking with you guys. She has a special power, beyond that of a normal Persona user. I’ll explain later, but for now, we can get out of here.” He dashed over to the shelves beneath the window, scurrying up them as the teens followed suit.

“Hey, Ryuji, gimme a boost,” Ann said. He obliged, locking his fingers together and squatting down to let her plant a foot there before hoisting her to where she could grab the ledge and haul herself up. He coughed, turning his gaze away with a red-flushed face as he realized the position he was in once Akiza went up as well. Grabbing his arms, the girls hauled him up, and all four dropped quietly out the other side of the window. The courtyard they had come in through was mercifully unguarded, and the drawbridge had at some point been lowered. Sticking to the shadows just in case, they scurried out of the Palace and back into reality.

Monday, 4/11
Morning
Aoyama

Stumbling out into the alleyway was a strange experience. Akiza found herself looking down at her Shujin uniform, feeling both empty for not having her outfit on and also strangely full, in a sense. She could sense Julie within her, and Pixie to a lesser extent.

I am a part of you, my darling, Julie filled in. Accepting me has moved you towards a more whole state of being.

How do you mean? She dusted herself off, checking to make sure everything was still in place.

Awakening your power was but the first step of your journey. As you grow, so too will your powers. I will be with you, my dear. The dance has only just begun.

Akiza felt Julie’s presence shrink away, still with her, but dormant, ready to answer when called. A clamoring from behind made her turn around, watching Ryuji and Ann stumble over each other as they fell out of the Palace, narrowly avoiding landing in a heap in the puddle beneath them. Ryuji shook his head, working his shoulder muscles to relieve the ache.

“Man, it feels so weird to be back in the real world. How long were we in there for?”

“Looks like…” Ann scrunched up her face looking at her phone. “Six minutes? There’s no way…”

“Time moves differently in the Metaverse,” chirped a voice from below them. “Hours in there might only be minutes out here. And from what I can tell you weren’t in there all that long anyways.”

The students locked gazes before tracking their eyes slowly down to their feet.

Sitting proudly on the dry patch of concrete was a black cat with white markings and a yellow collar adorning its neck.

Akiza was the first to speak up.

“So, uh, about the whole ‘not a cat’ thing…”

“Still not a cat!” Morgana interjected, cutting her off. “This is the most convenient form I have to disguise myself with in the real world. I’m coming with you to make sure you don’t do anything reckless.” With that, he leapt up towards Akiza, grabbing onto her skirt with his claws before hauling himself up and around to her shoulder, despite her cries of protest.

“Hey, be careful with my skirt! Get your claws out of it!” Ann and Ryuji merely giggled at her plight, observing the self-satisfied kitty perched atop her shoulder.

“Hate to break it to you Morgana, but you can’t exactly come to school with us. They don’t really let cats in there.” He cocked his head at Ann's response, ears flopping slightly.

“Why not?”

Ryuji stared at him. "I-I don't know! They just don't!” Morgana merely scratched behind his ear in response.

“Sounds stupid. I’ll hide in here!” He dove into Akiza’s school bag, again to her protest before she gave up, deciding that she must be stuck with this talking cat now.

“Oh, crap!” Ann jumped, looking at her phone again. “Homeroom starts in two minutes, we gotta go!” Morgana yelped as Akiza shoved him down into the bag, zipping it almost closed and dashing down the alleyway after Ann and Ryuji.

The girls had quickly exchanged contact info with Ryuji before hurrying into Shujin, Ann having kindly offered to show Akiza the guidance office. The fact that both girls were in the same class was an added bonus that made her smile a little wider as Kawakami walked them to the classroom. The teacher had Akiza stand at the front of the room before proceedings began. Akiza, meanwhile, found her gaze focused on a boy with dark blue hair sitting near the front, face covered in bruises and bandages. He was looking down and away from everything, like he was trying his best to fade from view.

“Okay, class,” Kawakami began, voice just as uninterested as the last time they had met. “Today I’d like to introduce a transfer student, Akiza Kurusu. Please say something to the class.”

Akiza chewed the inside of her cheek, gaze flitting around the room. She hated being put on the spot like this. Briefly locking eyes with Ann helped set her at ease.

“Hi there,” she said simply, putting on her best easygoing smile. The stares of the class crawled under her skin, prickly and agitating and compounding the still-lingering stress and panic of the Palace, but Ann's presence in the corner was some small measure of comfort. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Your seat will be the empty one near the window. The people nearby her will need to share their textbooks for today.” Akiza heard a general murmur through the room as she moved to her seat, directly behind Ann.

_{“...seems quiet, but I bet she loses it when she gets mad…”}

_{“...did get arrested for assault…”}

_{“...can’t believe they put her in our class…”}

Her best efforts to tune them out were proving ineffective. Ann flashed a sympathetic smile as Akiza passed by, which she returned. It only seemed to add to the whispers, though.

_{“Wait, do those two know each other?”}

_{“Ugh, I knew Takamaki swung that way. So gross.”}

_{“Does this mean she’s cheating on Mr. Kamoshida?”}

_{“I mean, this is Takamaki…”}

Akiza grimaced. Sadly, it didn’t surprise her that the other girl attracted rumors like that. Bright blonde hair and good looks were magnets for insinuation and lies. Still, one of those whispers nagged at her.

Do people think Ann is dating Kamoshida…?

Thinking back to the palace, the king had mentioned something about her ‘finally embracing his invitations’. But, Ann had also grabbed her to use as a disguise and avoid an encounter with him.

A pit of dread settled in her stomach as she considered the nature of this ‘relationship.' What had Morgana said? Palaces were shaped by the way their rulers viewed the world? If Kamoshida was the king of his castle, and the castle represented the school, and the guards had mentioned a ‘Princess Ann’...

Akiza’s train of thought kept chugging along, arriving at conclusion after conclusion that only made her more concerned as they kept fitting into logical places. The whispers about her were only a little upsetting by comparison.

Class was the furthest thing from her mind that morning, and the lunch bell was a blessed relief. Ann turned to her immediately.

“Grab lunch with me?” Her head tilted to one side just slightly, and that same little smile graced her lips. Akiza was all too eager to accept.

“Y-yeah, thanks.” She walked with Ann, following her to a secluded part of the courtyard, out of sight from most students near some vending machines.

“Ryuji’s gonna meet with us in a bit. What do you want?” Ann asked, standing at the machine and keying in something for herself.

“Oh, no, I’ll get something myself, you don’t have to--” she was cut off as Ann passed her a bottle of fruit juice.

“It’s not much, but it’s a little bit of a thanks for earlier.” That little smile popped up again, and Akiza had the sense that it was probably being held down by something. After a moment of picking at the bag of chips she’d grabbed from the machine, Akiza spoke up.

“Hey, so… Sorry if this is a sore subject, but I couldn’t help hearing people talk when we got to class. Is something going on with you and Kamoshida?”

Ann’s whole body tensed for a moment, then loosened again. “It’s…” she sighed. “He’s been… interested in me for a while now. He always offers to drive me to school if he sees me walking. That’s why I asked you to help me hide. I hate that he makes me have to dodge around like this, and I hate the rumors. I can’t believe people think I’d actually go out with a creep like him…”

Akiza merely listened, not sure what to say, or sure if she should say anything at all.

“He’s the school’s volleyball coach, and my best friend is in a starting position on the team this semester, so I can’t really say no to him. Every time I try to push him away, he reminds me about my best friend's starting position on the volleyball team, and I just…"

Akiza's eyes darkened. "That's blackmail. Or at least coercion."

"I know," Ann murmured, hands balling up into fists. "It's fucked up and awful but… I can't let Shiho lose her starting position. It would destroy her. But…"

“You don’t like him having this power over both of you?” Akiza offered. Ann nodded, letting the tension leave her hands.

“Yeah, something like that. It makes me feel like I’m some sort of object, y’know? Everyone thinks I’m some slut because of my looks and because of Kamoshida. Shiho is the only real friend I have at this school who doesn’t see me like that.” She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. “Well, she was my only friend, I guess.” She nudged Akiza to punctuate her sentence, and the two girls shared a bashful grin as Ryuji rounded the corner.

“Sup,” he greeted, plopping himself down on the bench opposite them. “Almost had a run in with Kamoshida, but I think the coast is clear, we just gotta keep our voices down. I swear, that bastard hasn’t looked at me like that since track…” At that, there came a rustling from Akiza’s bag, and Morgana’s head popped out.

“Thank goodness, I can breathe! It’s so stuffy in here,” he complained. “So, it sounds like you two are having a rough time with this Kamoshida guy?”

“More’n just us,” Ryuji grumbled. “He makes life suck for way too many people at this school. And no matter what he does, the other teachers won’t do anything about him, just ‘cause he’s some olympic medalist.”

“He gives the school a good reputation,” Ann added. “So they don’t wanna risk driving away their bigshot athletics coach.”

“And do you have any proof you could use against him?” Morgana cocked his head. It wasn’t a sarcastic question, just a genuine inquiry. Ann sighed dejectedly.

“Nothing concrete, no. He just… implies a lot of stuff around me, and I keep having to dodge his advances.”

Ryuji, for his money, was more animated. "Nothin' that'd stick. He always comes up with ways to keep himself out of trouble. If you do somethin' he doesn't like, he makes your life hell. That's why the track team got broken up."

Morgana thought for a long moment, Akiza watching his feline face scrunch up in contemplating before he spoke again.

“... I might have an idea of how we can change that.” Ann and Ryuji’s responses were mixed; Ryuji furrowed his brow in confusion, while Ann’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “That Palace is shaped by his cognition -- the way he imagines the world, subconsciously. If he’s hurting people in the real world…”

“Then he’d be hurting the fake versions of them in the Palace,” Akiza finished. Morgana nodded proudly.

“Ohhh, like those prisoners you guys told me about! So all of them are, like, based on real people? Then if we find out who they are, we can confront ‘em about it out here and get some real dirt on him!” Ryuji’s face lit up, shark’s grin splitting his face.

“And maybe more than that,” Morgana clarified. “I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, but I’m thinking there might even be more we can do with the Palace. I’ll need to scout around the place, though.”

“I didn’t catch anyone besides Daiki-san…” she said, quietly. “So, what you’re saying is we need to go back to that castle.” Ann put her chin in her hand, thinking. After a moment, she looked up, face steeled in determination. “Let’s do it. I can’t let a chance like this pass me by.”

“Uh, are ya sure that’s a good idea?” Ryuji awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Akiza piped up as well, for the first time in a few minutes. "You’re the only one of us that can’t fight. I’d be worried about you getting hurt.”

Ann shook her head, fixing Akiza with a stern gaze.“I don’t care. I’ve been putting up with his bullshit for too long. I’m coming with you, and you can’t stop me.”

“You wouldn’t have to be entirely defenseless, though.” Morgana sat in a way Akiza was already beginning to understand meant listen to me. “The Metaverse being rooted in cognition would give us a lot of advantages. For instance, if we were to bring realistic enough fake weapons in, as long as the Shadows think they’re real, they’ll work like they are.” He butted his head against Akiza’s knee as if to indicate her. “Your rapier was as basic as they come, since your awakening just sorta cobbled it together. But if you brought in a physical object, it’d be much stronger.”

“Yoooo, could we bring in, like, fake guns?” Ryuji was leaning forward, one leg bouncing in excitement, eyes wide. “I know this airsoft place in Shibuya that sells super realistic stuff. If we had Personas and guns, we’d be unstoppable!”

“Do you know how to shoot a gun, Ryuji?” Ann folded her arms, frowning at him. He scratched his head again.

“W-well, uh, not… not specifically, no, but how hard can it be? People do it on TV all the time! A-and it’s like Morgana said, it’s all about cognition, right? So, like, as long as we act like we know what we’re doing, it’ll work!” He looked to Morgana with an almost pleading expression, like he was praying that he’d actually understood correctly. Morgana sighed, ears dropping.

“That’s… a crude explanation, but not a wrong one. If the Shadows think your gun will fire when you pull the trigger, it will. Ryuji’s idea is solid, you should go stock up so that everybody has a ranged weapon. Including Ann, so she can defend herself if need be.”

“That’s the plan, then,” Akiza decided, looking each of her companions in the eye. “Tomorrow after school, we get geared up, then head back here to investigate the castle. Time passes slower in there, so we won’t be gone too long. Any objections?” Ann and Ryuji met her gaze with firm agreement.

“No question.”

“We’re gonna take this bastard down.”

Monday, 4/11
Afternoon
Shujin Academy

The second half of the school day passed uneventfully. Morgana had taken to hiding in the storage space under her desk, curled up in the back to avoid detection. All the while, Akiza could only think about what she was getting herself into.

Between the supernatural powers she and Ryuji had shown, plus the existence of the otherworld of the Metaverse, she had to conclude that the dream she’d had that first night was no dream. Igor and Lavenza, they’d called themselves, and they sure sounded like they knew what was going on. She cursed herself for not having asked how to return to the Velvet Room, or how to contact them. Then again, she’d mostly been in shock for that entire visit.

The final bell of the day snapped her out of her contemplation. Morgana scampered back into her bag as she stood, Ann bidding her goodbye, explaining that she was going to see Shiho. Akiza didn’t begrudge her; from what she’d surmised, Shiho sounded like she was in a rough spot. Still, it hurt her a little in a way she couldn’t quite pinpoint to watch Ann walk out of the classroom without her. Before she could leave for the train station, she was stopped by Kawakami.

“Kurusu, I need to talk to you for a second.” Akiza’s mental hackles went up instantly. Did she suspect something already? They hadn’t even been late to class. Perhaps she’d caught sight of Morgana at some point?”

“Um, sure. Is something wrong, Ms. Kawakami?” Despite her internal semi-panic, her voice was moderated and even as always. Lying came almost as easily to Akiza as breathing. Kawakami sighed, looking put-upon as always.

“I saw that you were hanging around with Sakamoto at lunch. I’m warning you not to get too involved with him. He has… something of a reputation around here, and with all the rumors going around regarding your transfer, it wouldn’t be good to get caught up in even more trouble.”

Before Akiza could answer, Kawakami was already off, leaving her to stand there in confusion. Ryuji had a good head on his shoulders, even if he didn’t come across as the smartest person in the room. As she was about to round the corner and head down the stairs, she heard a familiar voice. She stopped, leaning casually against the wall and pretending to look at something on her phone.

“I do not foresee it being an issue. The potential gains from this strategy far outweigh the risks.” The principal, Akiza recognized, was walking up the stairs and facing away from her. Alongside him was a tall man, with muscular arms and a square jaw.

“But it’s already showing signs of being an issue,” said the taller man. Akiza bit the inside of her lip, frowning.

That’s the same voice as the king, she thought. This must be Kamoshida…

“I simply don’t understand why you allowed that transfer student to attend Shujin. First day, and already associating with Sakamoto. A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault cause no less?” He put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “At this rate, it’ll be pointless how much I contribute to this school.”

Akiza’s eyebrow twitched, and she mentally admonished herself for letting it get to her.

“Now, don’t be like that,” the principal fretted. “This school depends on you, Kamoshida-kun! You are our star! Still, a steady build-up behind such brilliance can only help us. Think of the goodwill that will come our way when we can report that we have successfully rehabilitated a problem child like that? Not to mention how progressive we will seem.”

She clenched her teeth together, fingernails of her free hand digging into her palm.

“Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?” Kamoshida chuckled. “Alright, I understand. I’ll continue to do my best to answer your expectations, of course.”

Akiza let out a shaky breath, forcing herself to relax as the two men parted ways. They seemed not to have noticed her.

At last, your quarry has been sighted. They make no effort to conceal their motives.

Julie’s voice in her head startled her briefly as she proceeded down the stairs. They make me sick, the both of them. All they care about is reputation. Is that all I am to them? A resource, volatile enough to cost them their credibility, but risky enough to boost their image if I behave?

It seems that way, chérie. Remember this anger. It will guide your blade when you need it.

She felt Julie fade into the background again. The presence of someone else in her head was… strange, to say the least. She felt herself growing accustomed to it already, however, as she rode the train back to Leblanc.

Chapter Text

Monday, 4/11
After School
Yongen-Jaya

Some small part of Akiza had expected getting home to somehow become just as difficult as getting to school had been, but she was thankful to be proven wrong.

Morgana, half-leaning out of Akiza’s bag with paws on her shoulder, had helped to formulate a plan to convince Sojiro to let her ‘keep’ him on the way back. Before arriving at the cafe, she set the bag down and let him hop out near Sojiro’s house.

“See you soon,” she waved, walking away.

When Akiza stepped through the door to Leblanc, Sojiro was working the grinder in the back. The smell of coffee and curry was fresh, and a few young adults had taken up the bar, talking loudly.

Sojiro had already complained openly about customers a couple times after they’d left in front of her before, so she decided not to add onto anything and just gave a short “I’m back,” and got out of the way, heading towards the stairs. For some reason that seemed to surprise the man, but he wasn’t in a position to do much more than nod anyways.

The day passed surprisingly fast. For how tired she thought she’d be, taking the cleaning step by step had given her the momentum she needed to keep going. Beneath all the clutter in her room, she’d discovered an impressively well-tooled workbench, and whatever wasn’t garbage she tucked away in the small storage area on the other side of the stairs.

Akiza let out a breath, clapping the dust of her hands and placing them on her hips with a smile. The space was finally clean, and only mostly looked like an attic. The bare bulbs hanging from the rafters would need some kind of fixture hanging on them eventually, and there wasn’t much to do in the space, but it was… nice. Working on a space, and being able to call it hers just felt… nice.

Steps sounded on the stairs, and Sojiro’s head poked up. “I’m gonna close in a sec. You need to use the shower?”

“Yes, thank you!” Akiza chirped, picking up her bag of essentials from its shelf.

“You’re in a good mood today, huh?” Sojiro commented as she followed him out the door of the cafe. “School went well then?” She smiled again, taking in a deep breath. She could almost feel Julie humming just beneath her skin, and the confidence the Persona filled her with was intoxicating.

“It did! I even made a couple friends.” She hummed. “And there’s something nice about a new beginning, even if it’s not for the best reasons.”

“Well, look at you go, making friends already,” the words seemed to automatically leave his mouth, before he spared her a glance, then turned his attention to the gate of the house. His voice dropped some. “Just, uh, make sure you don’t get mixed up in a bad crowd, alright? That’d be the last thing I need.”

“Don’t worry. They’re good people.” The statement was firm, and positive.

Altogether their exchange had been, Akiza felt, equal parts truth and lies by omission. As much as she hadn’t met Ryuji and Ann under conventional circumstances, they still had met, and she was grateful for it. On some level she had simply expected to simply ghost through her year at Shujin, making no real friends and trying to get by unnoticed.

Now she had a friend in her own class.

Even the rumors swirling around her were better than expected, focusing on her criminal record rather than the infinitely worse alternative.

Sojiro let her into the house without needing to clean up this time, and to her delight, after two days she didn’t feel the need to shave her legs.

Akiza and Morgana’s plan worked flawlessly. As they exited Sojiro’s house, Morgana had come ambling around the corner, cocking his head and playing up the ‘cutesy stray cat’ vibe as hard as possible. He’d even gone as far as to trot over to Akiza and butt his head against her shins. Sojiro had folded under exactly zero pressure, allowing Morgana to live with Akiza on the assumption that needing to care for a pet would keep her on her best behavior. There was a brief debate about who would get to name him, but Akiza thankfully won out by arguing that she would be the primary caretaker anyway.

Presently, Akiza padded up to the attic, having changed into her sleeping clothes, and set her bag on the same shelf again. Morgana had already made himself comfortable at the foot of her bed.

“Gotta say, this place isn’t exactly… glamorous. I’d have thought you were squatting in some abandoned building if I hadn’t seen the cafe downstairs.”

Akiza scoffed, sitting down on the bed and plugging her phone in to charge. “Well excuse me, your imperial majesty, for not having been sent to a five-star hotel as my probation housing.” He let out a single laugh, and Akiza was struck for the first time at how strange it was to watch a feline face emoting like a human’s. Or, really, to be talking to someone who looked like a cat at all. She had to put aside all those thoughts for now though.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it, you know.” Morgana shifted his position, sitting up to face her. “It’s got a cozy feel to it. Plus, living above a cafe? Perfect for a dashing rogue like yourself.”

“C’mon, me? A dashing rogue? Clearly I’m a daring duelist. You saw the rapier.” Akiza chuckled as she settled the comforter around her legs before sighing. “So, I have a few questions.”

“Only a few?” Morgana chirped, tilting his head.

“Maybe more. We’ll get to it.” She adjusted, bringing her knees up. “So, what made you change your mind about following me after we left the Palace? And, I guess, why me at all?" Morgana hopped down from the bed, pacing in a circle as he thought.

“... Your power is unique.” He looked up again after deciding on an answer he liked enough. “On top of having a strong Persona of your own, you can take Shadows into yourself and make them yours. People can’t normally have multiple Personas period. That, plus your combat ability makes me optimistic about being able to make progress in the Palace.”

Akiza hummed. There was probably more to Morgana than she’d be able to pick up on for a while. “You said you were investigating the Palace, right? What were you looking for, exactly?”

“Trying to confirm a theory, mostly. I think I’m onto something, but I’ll need to get a better look around when we go back. If I’m right, we might have a real opportunity to do some good.”

“Right. You said something like that earlier, too. How did you even get into the Palace in the first place though? It’s not like you… have a phone?” It felt like a stupid question before she’d even finished, but if there were other ways to get to places like that, it was probably worth asking.

“Uh, no, I don’t have a phone,” he answered. “I was already in the Metaverse, so I just found a way in there.”

“Are you from there, then? The Metaverse, I mean.”

Morgana paused, almost frowning.

“I… don’t know. Not exactly, anyways. I know I was born in the Metaverse, but I can’t remember where, or who created me.” He looked back up at her, determination in his feline eyes. “That’s why I was investigating the Metaverse. If I’m gonna find out who I am, it’s gonna be in there.”

Akiza considered everything so far. Reading a cat was different to reading a person, and she didn’t really have a good read on him yet anyways. Instinct told her he probably wasn’t lying and, so far, it all seemed pretty straight-forward, which was surprising given how easy it would have been to not say anything at all, or just make up something else that was completely believably unbelievable.

“And,” he continued. “I think we both have a better shot at getting what we want if we stick together. You wanna take down Kamoshida, and I wanna know who I am. So if you agree to shelter me, I’ll teach you how to make tools for infiltrations. Deal?”

“... Tools?” Akiza tilted her head, blindsided by the change in direction.

“Lockpicks, smoke bombs, that kind of thing. They’ll come in handy as we explore more of the Palace,” he paused, tail swishing in what was probably anticipation. “So, do we have a deal or not?”

Akiza extended a hand to the side, patting a spot at her side, which Morgana leapt to quickly. “Deal.”

He actually meowed with excitement, and eagerly placed his paw in her hand and shook.

The soft notes of a piano filled her ears, and Akiza awoke to the unearthly air of a place she barely knew.

Sitting up took effort, but it gave her time to remember everything that had been said two nights ago. For how real it felt, Akiza wondered if the Velvet Room actually existed somewhere, despite Igor’s claims. Again, there were no words until she got up, and began to step towards the open door of her cell.

“Welcome back,” Lavenza smiled softly. “You’ve had an eventful day, hm?”

“Indeed,” Igor supplied, still sitting at that desk, rolling a hand casually in her direction. Akiza wondered if he ever got up. The man leaned onto his elbows, a long finger pointed upwards. “It would seem your contract has been signed as predicted, and in return you have awoken to a rather rare power.”

“Personas, you mean?” Akiza walked into the open. The air felt different somehow out there. It was easier to think, maybe? Definitely less claustrophobic, at any rate.

“The very same,” he began. “And one more ability. It is among the most unique of gifts, available only to one such as yourself.” The man paused, and smiled without malice. “A time of considerable change is upon you, and though it is not without its dangers both mundane and magical, you are determined to manifest as the truest form of yourself. There is a truth in your heart, and it is one you know well. This potential for change, both within yourself and for others, has earned you the title of ‘Wild Card’.”

“Personas are the strength of heart,” Lavenza elaborated. “The greater the understanding is between yourself and others, the stronger your Personas will become. My task is to manifest those bonds as power - available to be assigned and used however you see fit.”

I’m a ‘Wild Card’ in this game, then… Akiza thought. “I’m not sure I understand… are you saying I’m the reason Ryuji got his own Persona? Or, is he a Wild Card too?”

Igor gestured subtly. “As you already know, the power of Persona is not unique to you. The precise workings of the heart, and more, I believe, will become clear to you in time. There are those who have been robbed of their place to belong, and in having already formed a partnership with others so similarly burdened, I have come to possess faith you will be able to arrive at your own answers.”

Such specific phrasing…

It was hard to tell where the line between what they’d be willing to answer and what they wouldn’t - or couldn’t - was. So Akiza turned her attention to a more immediate concern. She could still feel Julie within her, even here. But, she could also feel Pixie. Julie was her, in a way, she knew. Was Pixie not? The other Persona had to be, to be a part of her in the same way, didn’t it? Akiza tilted her head towards Lavenza. “What about the other Persona I have, the one I picked up in the Palace?”

Lavenza began to turn through the pages of her book. Akiza was close enough to make out diagrams, and what were probably words beside them, although they weren’t in any language she knew. “The Persona Pixie belongs to… No, there’s no need to complicate things just yet.”

She closed the book, then looked up. “Suffice to say, part of your gift as a Wild Card is the ability to understand others. From the sea of human souls, there are many who would fight by your side, and though Pixie is not your Persona, it is one of the many you are capable of housing, and will remain among the myriad you may possess at any time.”

Igor nodded once, and Akiza could feel the same distortion from before beginning to set in. “Well said. And with that, I believe our business for the night is concluded. Continue devoting yourself to your journey, and we will meet again soon enough.”

Akiza could just barely hear Lavenza over her alarm. “Until next time, Trickster.”

“...until next time.” she managed.

Tuesday, 4/12
Early Morning
Yongen-Jaya

After waking up, Akiza realized two things in sequence. The first was that she was grateful going to the Velvet Room had nothing to do with her being sick before (for as mixed a bag as that was), and that she was also grateful to not be sick at all that morning. The second was that she had once again forgotten to ask how to get back to the Velvet Room.

Cursing didn’t really change anything, since it sounded like these meetings only happened on their schedule, but still, it helped at least a little.

The whole thing mattered less after a breakfast of coffee and curry courtesy of Sojiro, which still surprised her to see, and probably would for a while to come. During breakfast, Akiza managed to scroll through a few primers on airsoft guns on her phone. From the way Ryuji had described the place, it sounded like an enthusiast shop, and she wasn’t one for being caught out not knowing what she was talking about.

Not a single piece of that forward thinking saved her, however, when she arrived at school, and managed to trip on the first stair of the school building. Akiza let out a yelp, and was halfway to the pavement before a hand caught her wrist, hoisting her back to her feet. She stumbled, shaking her head before a cheery voice piped up next to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to have grabbed you so suddenly! It’s just, you know, you had tripped and I was right there and I just sort of leaped without thinking--”

“Hey, hey, slow down! It’s okay, I think I’m supposed to be the one, apologizing--? Er, no, I mean, neither of us are supposed to be… apologizing?”

Akiza’s eyes fell onto the girl who had helped her, also dressed in the Shujin uniform. The redhead (almost cherry-colored, even) was shorter than her, surprising considering her earlier feat of strength. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail by a bright red ribbon. She jittered with nervous energy for a moment before calming down, suddenly looking far more composed than her voice let on.

“Oh, maybe, but it’s no trouble at all! You’re a Shujin student too, after all. I merely did what I could. You’re a second-year, correct?” She looked down at Akiza’s lapel, noting the little “2” pinned there. “I’m a first-year myself, and I couldn’t just let my senpai hurt herself!” It was like a never-ending combo, and Akiza felt like she may as well have still been falling.

“Ah. Well, um, thank you! I, ah, really appreciate it.”

“Of course! I need to be getting to class, so, please excuse me!” With that, the girl bowed courteously and hurried into the building.

It wasn’t until lunch-time that Akiza realized she hadn’t managed to get the cherry-haired girl’s name. She paused halfway through a bite. “...Why am I so bad at asking follow-up questions?” Ann asked what that was about, but Akiza dismissed it. It didn’t seem that important.

Tuesday, 4/12
After School
Aoyama

Akiza, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana idled near the entrance to a side street of Shibuya’s main drag to establish their plan. The students took turns changing out of their uniforms in the station to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention, and Akiza whispered thanks to any gods listening that the underground mall had gender-neutral bathrooms.

Ryuji spoke up first when they got back together. “Okay, so, the guy behind the counter is kinda rough-lookin’, and I hear he’s not super friendly to casuals. How much do we know about airsoft guns?” Morgana, half out of Akiza’s bag and leaning his front paws on her shoulder, groaned at his question.

“Seriously? We came here specifically to buy guns and you don’t even know the first thing about them!? What kind of operation do you think we’re running here?”

“Hey, easy, it’s fine.” Akiza quickly defused the situation, seeing Ryuji rise to Morgana’s comment, scratching behind Morgana's ears and earning a purr as she spoke. “I did a little bit of research this morning, so just let me talk to him. Plus, I’m good at lying in case I have to.”

Ann’s arms were crossed. “Are you sure? We can’t exactly go somewhere else if we screw up here. There’s probably not a lot of other airsoft shops in Japan that’d sell to students.”

“Remember how I covered for you yesterday morning?” Akiza’s grin was a self-satisfied curve across her face. “Trust me, I can lie.” Ann nodded, breathing deeply.

“Okay. I trust you.” She gave that little smile again, and all the smug melted off Akiza’s grin.

“Wait, what am I doing?” Morgana asked.

“Oh, right. You…” Akiza frowned. “Should probably stay in the bag. Once we’re established customers, I don’t think he’ll care about us bringing a cat around, but for now, just stay in the bag.” Morgana frowned. “Please?”

She didn’t know a feline face could look so put-upon. “Alright. But I want to be a part of things like this, alright?”

“Of course.” Akiza scratched him behind the ears some more, which continued to work surprisingly well, and then only mostly zipped up the bag.

A moment later, she pushed open the door of Untouchable.

The store’s interior was lit exactly well enough by a few fluorescent lights. Shelves were packed close together, leaving little wiggle room but giving plenty to look at, and the lack of natural light made the space feel even tighter. It wasn’t just guns that were on display, but jackets and helmets and survival kits too. Akiza wondered if making sure none of it could be looked at under good lighting helped make any sales.

Behind the counter was a surly looking man with gray hair and matching eyes that were mostly covered by the brim of his hat. Stubble crawled across his jaw, and along the side of his neck was a simple tattoo of a lizard. It almost felt right, seeing what was probably the owner of a place like this, with his boots propped up on the counter. The man kept looking at his magazine, and was either real good at pretending not to have noticed them, or genuinely hadn’t cared.

Akiza made space for the others, then spent a moment gathering herself before approaching the counter. She knocked on the glass counter/case-top once, smiled politely as the man’s eyes flicked up to her, and started her search for all the little tells.

“Hi there,” she began, tone straight-forward and just a little cheery. “We heard this store was the place to go for realistic stuff. Got any recommendations?”

The man’s brow tightened, and there was a little twitch at the corner of his lip. Somewhere between annoyed and curious, maybe?

“... Realistic, huh? You a collector? Don’t get many women comin’ into my shop.”

Akiza heard Ann shuffle behind her, and hoped she wasn’t already getting anxious.

Oh god, please just let me handle th--

“We’re enthusiasts!” Ann blurted out. “Our normal place hasn’t been getting good stuff lately, s-so, we’re looking to branch out!”

Fuck.

“What she means is,” Akiza cut in, before he could respond to Ann’s stilted acting voice. “We were told you were the best in terms of authenticity. We wanna see if we were told right.”

The owner’s gaze shifted back to her, holding for a moment before breaking into a grin. Maybe he was just eager to cut a deal, but the smile suddenly felt shockingly genuine.

“Well why didn’t you say so? I’m always glad to help out some fresh faces.” He set his magazine aside, standing up in front of them, and it was then that Akiza was struck by how tall the guy was. Easily four or five inches on her, she guessed. “We gotta lay down some ground rules before that, though. First, don’t go pointin’ em at people. Keep ‘em in a bag if you’re outside. And,” he added, shifting his gaze between the three of them. “Don’t let the fuzz catch wind of you havin’ em. Don’t need ‘em comin’ around here.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Ryuji slung his arm over Akiza’s shoulder, and despite her immense frustration at them ignoring her instructions, the friendly gesture overrode that, and pulled a begrudging smile onto her face. “We hate the cops!”

Please.

“...Right.” The owner stared at Ryuji, and she could feel his awkwardness pouring off him without even looking. He turned his gaze back to Akiza. “I’ll go get the beginner selection. You three sit tight.” As the shopkeep left into the store’s backroom, Ryuji pulled away from Akiza, nudging her with his elbow and speaking in a hushed tone.

“Nice going! You totally convinced him!”

“Yeah, you are really good at this,” added Ann. “Sorry for, uh, jumping in back there. This guy’s pretty intimidating, so I just kinda freaked…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Akiza said with an easy smile. “We got there, didn’t we?”

Almost immediately after saying that, Akiza wondered if the owner might have heard all that through a hidden camera, but it seemed to not matter at all when he actually came back with a binder full of laminated papers and a small case.

The three of them huddled around it, and he pulled the case open to reveal a replica handgun made of a dark, reflective material. He offered it handle-first to Akiza, who took it carefully in one hand. The fake firearm was heavier than it looked, and if it weren’t right in front of her, she could have easily mistaken it for a real gun.

“Is this weighted?” She asked, feeling the way it sat in her hand. Her fingers curled around the grip, index finger resting naturally away from the trigger. The man nodded.

“That’s right. Makes it feel more real. Cheap fakes are just plastic, but my stuff’s higher quality than that.”

“I can tell,” she said appreciatively, setting the gun back into its case.

“So, uh, what else you got? Besides pistols?” Ryuji looked up to the man, who opened up the binder; full of page after page of images of replicas. Her knowledge didn’t stretch very far, but to her they looked as real as any of the props she’d seen on movies and TV. Ryuji and Ann started talking to each other about their options while Akiza’s eyes drifted past the owner’s shoulder.

“... You sell slingshots?” One eyebrow quirked as she eyed the tools hanging up on the wall. He gave a single, short laugh.

“Yeah, I sell a few models. Medieval reenactors love that kinda stuff. Why, you interested?”

Akiza grinned, thinking of a certain comrade hidden her bag.

Tuesday, 4/12
Afternoon
Shujin Academy

The four of them sat atop the discarded desks on the school rooftop, shouldering their bags stuffed with replica firearms. Akiza’s pistol sat in her bag next to Morgana’s slingshot, while Ryuji and Ann had sprung for a shotgun and a submachine gun. Akiza, Ryuji, and Morgana had also picked up a new rapier, baseball bat, and saber respectively; carried in the kind of tubes couriers used, courtesy of Untouchable’s owner.

Morgana stood at their feet, eyeing them up.

“You three ready to do this? Remember, it’s your lives on the line in there. Don’t do anything reckless, follow my lead, and you’ll be okay.”

“We gotcha, don’t worry about us!” Ryuji waved it off, practically vibrating with excitement. Akiza would be lying if she denied being excited as well, and was practically itching to feel that power coursing through her again.

“I’m ready,” Ann voiced, full of determination. The fingers gripping the strap of her bag were white-knuckled. “We have to do this.”

Akiza met each of their gazes, phone in hand, and nodded once. She tapped the sole option: Castle of Lust, and the world warped around them. Ripples pulsed across her vision, and before long they were standing at the castle’s drawbridge again.

Guess we always start here, then…

Akiza sucked in a breath, grinning as the power returned, and smiled a little wider at her ‘rebel attire’. The new rapier sat comfortably in a sheath on her hip, while a holster had automatically appeared to house her handgun on the other hip.

“Man, I forgot how good this feels!” Ryuji stretched, and Akiza’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the form-fitting nature of his leathers for a moment. She shook her head, refocusing as Ann looked over her SMG.

“This thing feels even realer now…” She marveled as she hefted it in her hands, testing the aim.

“That’s because as far as the Metaverse is concerned, it is.” Morgana piped up from below, not even bothering to test his new equipment. “Be mindful of your ammo. We only come in with a set amount, and we won’t be able to restock in here.”

“So don’t fire unless you know you’re gonna land the shot,” Akiza reinforced, stretching out and getting ready. “Sounds like a plan. Are we getting in the same way we got out?”

“That’s right. Keep your wits about you. We don’t know what’s hidden in the depths of this place yet. Mm, and one more thing.” Morgana drew himself up, and regarded Ryuji in particular. “The other day, that Kamoshida guy gave you an unusual look, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he answered. “Why, s’that bad?”

“It could be. Remember, a Palace is a manifestation of the Ruler’s subconscious. If we keep causing trouble without avoiding notice, and especially if we end up in a direct confrontation the way you three did, he could start to recognize you as threats in the real world too.”

Ann frowned. “So we just have to get really good at all the stealth stuff before that happens?”

Morgana’s serious expression turned almost instantly into an excited grin. “So long as you follow my lead, you’ll be experts in no time. But even with all my tricks under your belts, there’s still something every thief should have…”

They all leaned in.

“Code names!”

“Code names?” Ryuji repeated, suddenly sharing in that excitement. “Oh, oh, I wanna be something badass! Like Crusher! Or Bulldozer!”

Ann sighed. “Can it really be a code name if it’s just what you are? We’re supposed to be, like, undercover, right?”

Akiza pointed a finger. “And Bulldozer’s way too long anyways. Er, not to bring down the enthusiasm.”

“The girls are right,” Morgana piled in. “Think of your code name as a symbol, in the same way your Persona is.”

“How about Skull? It’d make sense.” Ann pointed to the mask.

“Skull, huh?” He tested the name, nodding afterwards. “Skull. Yeah, that kicks enough ass.”

“What about you?” Akiza turned to Morgana.

“Well… what do you think it should be? Mine isn’t as important.”

“Well, it can’t be ‘cat’,” she teased. He put both paws on his hips.

“Ugh, come on, take this seriously.”

“I am being serious.”

Ryuji racked the bat along his shoulders with one hand. “How about, uh, Scarf? Or Bandana? You know, like your mask.”

Morgana huffed.“Three syllables is still too long.”

Ryuji frowned. “Then you come up with a one syllable word,” he said, pronouncing it ‘syl-able’.

“Forget it, we’ll come back to it,” Akiza defused. “We should definitely come up with one for Ann, since she doesn’t even have a mask or anything yet.”

“Oh!” She put both hands out. “I’ve been thinking about that. How about Clover?” She turned around, and pointed a painted thumb at the symbol on her hoodie.

“I like it!” Morgana chirped.

Wait, but that’s two syllables too. “Then for me… I think you can call me Joker,” her smile was wide, lips thin. “I am a Wild Card, after all.”

The others seemed to like it, but Morgana’s expression became sort of… mixed. Whatever it was disappeared quickly, though. It took a lot longer than anyone really liked to get a code name Morgana could agree with, and eventually they settled on Mona, not that she could remember exactly how they got there, just that the name wasn’t too long, and only barely related to him.

In the end, Morgana-- Mona, delivered a briefing again to get them back into the right mood. And when he took the lead, they followed with wordless glances, Clover putting up her hood in the place of a mask, and the four of them set off to begin their next infiltration.

Just like before, besides the exits and entrances, the dungeons almost weren’t guarded at all. Past a certain point, there weren’t even any Shadows guarding the doors.

“Kamoshida has no reason to believe that the prisoners already here can escape,” Mona had explained. “So why would he need to guard the place?”

Joker found herself oddly at home with the idea of holding Shadows at gunpoint. Mona had walked them through a holdup at one point, preying on a Shadow far from any possible allies. She had unmasked the thing and quickly subdued the Jack-o’-Lantern that emerged from it, pressing the muzzle of her handgun to its pumpkin head, and to her credit it only took a few seconds to banish the almost cartoonish idea of splattered pumpkin before getting serious again.

The Shadow had given up the directions to the deep dungeons easily, before being assimilated into Joker’s mask just like Pixie had.

“Yeesh, you were scary good at that,” Skull said as they pressed onwards. “You were like, stone-cold! ‘Tell us how to get further down or I’ll kill you right now’ is like, action movie shit!”

Joker flushed red, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand. “I-It was just an act. I honestly don’t know where all that came from, it just… sorta happened.”

“Well, you’re certainly good at running holdups,” chirped Mona from ahead of them. “You looked like an old pro.”

“Hey, don’t call a girl old!” Clover’s voice was indignant, but her teasing grin belied the joke. Joker smiled, both at the joke and at Clover's intention. Mona merely harrumphed and peeked around the corner before beckoning them to follow as he scampered down the hallway.

The doorway ahead of them seemed to almost wobble as Joker looked at it, becoming slightly see-through every so often. Looking straight at it filled the edges of her vision with a kind of static, and she found herself shaking her head to clear it away.

“What is this thing?” She wondered aloud as Mona pushed the door open.

“It’s a safe room! Come inside, check it out!”

True to its name, the safe room carried an almost potently relaxing atmosphere. Despite how hard she’d had to think about replacing real names with code names, it felt safe to say otherwise here. The moment they’d settled in, it was as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

Morgana’s explanation for why that was, and why the room occasionally waved over to looking like a classroom again, was brief and to the point. In short, it was a place where Shadows wouldn’t think to look, and they were free to rest.

Ann exhaled a prayer of thanks, setting her SMG down and fanning her hair out again before taking a seat. “Thank god, I SO need a break right now.” The other two mumbled an agreement while taking up seats across the table. Akiza pushed her mask up to her forehead as she glanced at Morgana.

“So, how’re we doing?”

“Not too bad,” Morgana hummed. “We’re nearly to the dungeons again, so we can head out after a few minutes of rest.”

“Ugh, I’m freakin’ starving!” Ryuji pivoted to straddle the bench, stretching his right leg out across the surface and massaging his calf. He flashed Akiza that proud grin again before digging into his pockets. “Good thing I brought snacks!” The blond flung his hands onto the table between them, placing down four slightly-squished granola bars, a packet of roasted nuts, and a crumpled pocky box. Ann quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, first question. You brought food? Second question, why this food?” Ryuji pushed his mask up his forehead, folding his arms and harrumph-ing.

“I-I brought stuff that’s good for keeping your energy up! Like, the stuff I used for track practice! That’s good, right?” He turned his eyes to Akiza, seemingly searching for some kind of agreement that she simply didn’t know how to provide. Thankfully, Morgana piped up.

“He’s right, actually.” The creature reached for one of the granola bars, trying in vain to fumble open its seal with his paws. “This is another way that cognition affects the Metaverse. Because you think this stuff helps give you energy, it does.” He devolved into growling noises then, having managed to pin the bar between his paws and attempting to rip the top off with his teeth. Akiza couldn’t help grinning. It would have been easy enough for anyone to help him, but Morgana hadn’t asked. There was probably some pride on the line.

Just like a cat… Akiza thought, grabbing one of the remaining bars and taking a bite for herself.

“... huh.” With every bite, she could feel the energy returning to her. The taste hadn’t changed at all, chocolate and salty, but somehow eating just one bar had felt as good as taking an hour-long nap. Going by the grin on his face, Ryuji was having the same experience.

“Ha! I was right! They do help!” He tossed the wrapper onto the table and folded his arms, and it was hard not to laugh a little at how triumphant he looked. Luckily, no one seemed to take offense. Ann was curiously picking at the pack of peanuts, and Morgana had finally succeeded in ripping the granola bar open, at the cost of mangling the poor thing even further.

“I’m not getting much here,” Ann remarked. “Is it just the granola bars?”

“It’s probably because you don’t have a Persona,” Morgana wiped a smudge of chocolate off the corner of his mouth while explaining. “Personas use a special kind of energy in order to use their abilities. Ryuji’s line of thinking will go a long way in keeping us prepared for anything the Metaverse can throw at us. Painkillers can even close up wounds in here, so we should stock up on some before our next mission.”

“Add it to the list,” Akiza noted, flicking over to the growing document on her phone. “Stockpile medication for extradimensional stealth missions. Man, city life is weird.”

That earned her a chuckle from others at the table.

“So, you’re from the country then?” Ann leaned her elbow on the table, catching her chin and tilting her head to one side. “What brought you to Tokyo?”

Akiza hesitated for a brief instant before she spoke.

“Yeah. I’m from a little town way out in the sticks. Like, ‘one gas station in the whole town’ little.” She wondered if her breathing was noticeable. “As for the transfer… I needed a change of scenery. Some stuff went down that it was best I got away from.”

“Is it about the rumors of you havin’ a criminal record?” Ryuji’s question was innocent. Six eyes fixed on her.

Deflect, or tell them the truth? One was definitely easier…

Do you trust them, chérie?

“...Yeah. It’s all bullshit, though.” Her gaze fixed on a knot in the wood of the table as she recounted the story. The cries for help, the intervention, the assault charge, and the false testimony. The words came easier than she ever thought they could. Ryuji and Ann looked scandalized, and the former spoke first.

“And your parents just threw you under the bus and sent you off on your own? What the hell!” He slammed his fist on the table, eliciting a yelp from Morgana and causing him to jump. “That’s such bullshit!”

“Ryuji’s right, I can’t believe they just believed the cops! Parents are supposed to stick up for their kids! Ugh…” Ann sighed, taking in a deep breath to steady herself. “Well, join the Shujin rumor mill, I guess. Sorry to have to welcome you.” The three of them shared another laugh, and Akiza felt the smile on her face reaching up to her eyes.

“Hey, misery loves company. I’d rather be here than in jail.” She managed.

Ryuji snorted, clapping her on the shoulder. “Well, we’re glad to have ya. You ain’t alone at that school as long as I’m around.”

“That goes for me, too,” Ann chirped. “We got your back, so don’t let the rumors get to you.”

Akiza’s smile widened further, and she let out another laugh.

“Thanks, guys.”

Tuesday, 4/12
Afternoon
Shujin Academy

The remainder of the expedition had been relatively uneventful. Morgana’s assumption that the deep dungeons wouldn’t be heavily guarded either was correct, and they faced minimal resistance working their way deeper in. Ryuji and Ann worked together to list off names of the captives, and Akiza dutifully took them down for later. Save one brief mishap with Ann sending out a panicked spray of her SMG at a cognitive mouse, the infiltration went off without a hitch, and by the time they emerged, it was nearly five o’clock.

“Damn, we were in there longer than I thought we’d be.” Ryuji arched his back, feeling a few satisfying pops as they debriefed on the rooftop. “So, what’s the plan now?”

“You know these students better than I do,” Akiza put forward. “I’ll send the list to the group chat so you can plan out who you want to talk to tomorrow. The volleyball rally’s taking up most of the afternoon, so we’ll have some time to look around for potential victims.”

“Some of these guys used to be on the track team, right? Ryuji, do you wanna try them?” Ann looked up from her phone at him, but he shook his head.

“Prolly not,” he said resignedly. “Most of ‘em still think of me as the guy who ruined the track team. They probably wouldn’t talk to me if I tried.”

“From what I understand, the track team breakup happened a while ago.” Morgana was perched atop the HVAC unit next to the desks, flopped over and lounging in the sun. “The abuse of the volleyball team is ongoing though, right? We should focus on them.”

“I think Morgana’s right,” Akiza said, then turned to Ann. “Do you know any of Suzui-san’s teammates? Maybe they know what’s going on.”

Ann frowned. “Not really. Plus, we didn’t see any of the girls’ volleyball team in those dungeons. It was all guys.”

Ryuji grimaced. “...D’you think it has something to do with that ‘playroom’ shit Kamoshida was talkin’ about the first time we met him?” Akiza grimaced at the memory too, and she saw Ann do the same.

“Is he assaulting the girls’ volleyball team?” Ann’s voice was barely above a whisper. The background noise of students still hanging out beneath them felt downright oppressive in that moment. Akiza’s mouth set to a hard line.

“If he is, that’s all the more reason to put a stop to his bullshit as soon as we can.” She turned to Ann, meeting her troubled gaze with her own steel. “Do you think your friend would know?”

“M-maybe,” Ann answered after a moment, unsure of the words leaving her mouth. Or maybe, just afraid of the implications if they were true. “I can try to ask her tomorrow.”

“That’s the plan, then.” Morgana hopped down onto the desk between the three of them, stretching out his legs. “Ann and Akiza investigate the girls team through Suzui, while Ryuji checks out the boys team. We reconvene after school to compare our findings and make our next move accordingly.”

Akiza’s eyes moved between her companions. Ann and Ryuji’s faces were painted with troubled expressions. Ann was fiddling with the end of her pigtail in one hand and chewing on her lip, while Ryuji stared at the desk with enough force to burn a hole through it, leg bouncing restlessly.

“Hey,” Akiza said, getting their attention again. “I know it’s tough to think about the stuff Kamoshida’s getting away with, but that’s why we have to put a stop to it. We’ll get through this, together, and make everyone’s lives at this school better. Right?” She placed one hand in the center of the desk between them, raising her eyebrows with the question. The blondes stared at her for a moment before Ryuji put his hand in.

“Yeah. For everyone this bastard ever stepped on.” Ann put her hand in soon after.

“Count me in for sure. We’re gonna get that proof and nail him to the wall.”

“We’re in agreement, then.” Morgana placed a paw atop the others’ hands, and the four of them shared confident grins, impossible to hide their excited determination.

“Let’s give him hell.” Akiza pushed her hand down, and the others followed suit, pulling theirs up and away with smiles on their faces.

Like a real team, Akiza thought.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, 4/13
Morning
Shujin Academy

Akiza’s bag felt heavier than usual on the way to school on Wednesday. And not just because of Morgana taking up residence there; the bag also held the metaphorical weight of her school-provided gym clothes.

The clothes that she would need to change into for the rally.

In the locker room.

The chime of the school bell signifying the end of morning classes jolted her out of the anxiety-fueled TV static clouding her brain.

Oh god. Oh god. I have no plan, her brain helpfully provided. Ann was here, yes, but what was Akiza supposed to say? Hey, I have a crippling fear of changing in front of strangers, let alone even entering a gendered locker room, for completely cisgender reasons, would you mind going with me?

So when Ann suggested that they go change together, Akiza could only nod dumbly, following along in her wake with zero thoughts in her head about what she’d do when they arrived.

She snapped out of that haze when a dark-haired girl she didn’t recognize crossed into view, hair pulled into a high ponytail that set her apart from the rest of the students. Ann perked up as she came into view with a warm, bright smile painting across her face. Moreso than Akiza had seen thus far, Ann looked close to truly, unabashedly happy.

“Hey, Shiho! Over here!” Ann stuck her hand up in a wave, getting the other girl’s attention. To Akiza’s eyes, she looked tired, dark circles under her eyes and seemingly sluggish movements. She seemed to perk up as well, however, upon meeting Ann’s gaze. Her little smile showed through the fatigue, and she trotted through the crowd to meet them.

“Hi, Ann.” Her voice was soft in a way Akiza couldn’t quite place. “Are you going to change for the rally?”

“Yup! We just left class,” she said, and again, Akiza couldn’t remember having heard Ann’s voice so jubilant before. “Oh, I don’t think you two have met. Shiho, this is Akiza! She’s in my class, we met on Monday.” Akiza felt her feet go a little pigeon-toed, a nervous habit that she was finding incredibly difficult to kick. She gave a little smile and a wave, and gritted her teeth in anxious fear while she watched a strange look momentarily flicker across Shiho’s brow. It was only for the briefest of seconds, though, and it vanished just as quickly.

“Oh, you must be the new transfer student, huh? I didn’t know you were in Ann’s class.” Her smile was polite, and Akiza felt the brief panic ebb away.

It’s fine, she thought. She didn’t clock you. She just knows about the rumors running around the school. That’s normal. It’s okay.

Breathe, chérie.

“Um, y-yes, that’s me.” Akiza stuttered just slightly as she found her mental balance again, straightening her feet out and relaxing her posture. “I met Ann on my first day, actually. I was running late and she offered to share her umbrella.”

“That sure sounds like her,” Shiho giggled. Ann’s cheeks flushed pink, and she pouted at Shiho’s teasing, prompting another round of light laughter. “Well, if it helps, I don’t think there’s any merit to those rumors. If you’re on a first-name basis with Ann after two days, then you can’t be as bad as the rumors say.”

It only occurred to Akiza then that she had been on a first-name basis with Ann (and Ryuji, for that matter) from very nearly their first conversation.

Crazy what saving each other from certain death will do, I guess.

“I appreciate that,” Akiza said, and meant it, letting a friendly smile grow. “It’s been nice having a friend in a new school. And from the way she talks about you, I hope we can be friends as well.”

Suzui’s grin grew wide and mischievous. “Yeah? How does she talk about me?”

“Okay, great! Let’s go change, hahaha!” Ann half-shrieked at that, pink blush turning a deeper red as she grabbed Akiza by the wrist, dragging her along down the hallway. Shiho followed in their wake, laughing conspiratorially with Akiza.

And then, before Akiza had time to get nervous again, the three of them stepped into the locker room.

Of course, it was a normal locker room. There was no rational reason for Akiza to suspect otherwise. It looked identical to the ones she was familiar with from her old school.

Just. With girls instead.

Other girls, she corrected. Other girls.

Ann and Shiho were anchors in that respect, at least. She didn’t feel nervous simply being in here. No, the nerves were stemming from the fact that she’d be expected to take her clothes off in here, in view of other people. Compression shorts only did so much.

“Hey, is there a restroom in here?” Akiza tapped Ann on the shoulder, desperately trying to construct a plan on the fly. “I’m, uh. Kinda self-conscious.” Not a lie. Not even a mistruth. Just… withholding details.

“Oh, yeah, it’s right down there, behind that door. We’ll wait for you outside, okay?” Her smile was reassuring, and Akiza nodded gratefully. Ann returned to her conversation with Shiho as Akiza turned and headed to the restroom. As she locked the door behind the mercifully single-occupant restroom, Morgana popped his head out of her bag.

“Phew! It’s so stuffy in this bag. What are we doing here?”

...Right. Sentient cat. In the bathroom while I change.

“Uh, I have to change into my gym clothes for the volleyball rally.” She kept her voice low, at risk of being overheard by someone outside. She rifled around in the bag as Morgana hopped out, shaking off the cat hair from the shirt. “Could you, um.” She blinked. “Go back in the bag?”

“Why?” Morgana’s cocked head and innocent tone left her stunned.

“Because… I have to change? And I don’t want you to look at me in my underwear??” Morgana’s face scrunched up in response as he sat on the tile floor, staring at her confusedly. Eventually, he let out a huff and trotted back to the bag, settling himself inside.

“You humans are so weird about your bodies. At least leave it a bit unzipped so I can breathe.”

Akiza rolled her eyes, obligingly leaving a small space open facing the wall.

The rally was chaotic, noisy, and distracting. Akiza puzzled through her thoughts as she sat between Ryuji and Ann, both of them standing up to cheer on Shiho. Ryuji seemed capable of being intimidating if the situation demanded it, so he’d probably be fine investigating on his own. They ended up sending Morgana with him, just to make sure he had some kind of backup in case of an emergency.

Akiza was relieved to be the one going with Ann, since Shiho was already friendly with her, among other reasons. When it came down to it, Akiza really didn’t want Ann to have to be the one to lie to Shiho. That was a burden she’d have no problem bearing.

After the rally, Akiza and Ann waited outside the gym for Shiho to finish her meeting with the rest of her team. The plan was to head somewhere private to talk, and broach the subject as gingerly as possible. Ann had informed Akiza that she’d previously raised some concern regarding Shiho’s numerous injuries, which were waved off as ‘normal, we have nationals coming up, practice is intense,’ in a tone that was woefully far from convincing.

So there they sat, tucked away in a little-used storage room. Akiza fiddled with the cap on her drink, twisting and untwisting it as Ann and Shiho chatted. Ann had smartly steered the conversation to volleyball already, so there wasn’t far to go to their intended destination.

“You did great out there, by the way,” Ann said, bumping her shoulder against the Shiho’s. Her grin got a little wider, and she ducked her head, hiding a little laugh behind her dark hair.

“She’s right.” Akiza chimed in with a smile. “You’d put the volleyball team at my old school to shame.” Shiho’s eyes flicked up to hers, and the little embers of warmth in there made Akiza’s heart ache at the thought of what she suspected this girl was going through. “Though it did hurt to see that guy get spiked in the face that hard. I hope he’s okay…” She deliberately trailed off, letting Ann swoop in.

“I saw Mishima-kun leaving the nurse’s office earlier. I think he was allowed to go home early, so he’s probably fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Akiza replied, taking a swig of her fruit juice before she continued. “I always see him covered in cuts and bruises in class. I guess practice for the boys’ team is pretty harsh.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Akiza saw Shiho deflate, appearing to retract into herself as her smile faded and more of her dark hair fell around her face as her head lowered.

There it is, Akiza thought ruefully.

“Is something wrong, Shiho?” Ann picked up on this immediately. Shiho looked up at her, eyes full of unhidden trepidation.

“N-no. Why?” Her answer was too quick, too stiff. Ann was a bad actress, but Shiho was a terrible liar of a completely different type. “I-I told you the other day, injuries are n-normal for practice. We compete in a national league. It’s normal.” Again, her answer felt fabricated, like it had been provided to her ahead of time. Plus…

“I didn’t say anything about your injuries, Shiho.”

Shiho froze.

Ann spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, and the sounds of students elsewhere in the building sounded deafening in the silence. Akiza felt a tragic kind of pride when Ann picked up on Shiho’s bad cover.

“I-I…” She sounded tiny, unsure what to do now that the provided lie had run out. Ann followed through.

“Shiho, please…” Ann’s voice was close to breaking, but she swallowed, steeled herself, and carried on. “You’re my best friend. You know you can be honest with me, right?”

“...You don’t understand.” Shiho turned again, staring down at her shoes, hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You have your modelling job and new friends and--” She hiccuped. “And all I have is volleyball. It’s all I’m good at. I n-need this.” She sniffled, face hidden behind her hair, and the sound of the first teardrop hitting her shoe felt loud enough to shatter glass.

“Shishi…” Ann reached a hand out slowly, delicately, but jerked it back when her fingertips brushed Shiho’s shoulder and the other girl whirled to face her, teeth gritted and eyes teary.

“Ann, please! It doesn’t matter what Kamoshida’s doing! Can’t you just let me have this!?”

She turned on her heel, hurrying out of the room before Ann could muster a response. Ann could only stare for a moment, before moving to follow.

“Shiho, wait! Please!”

“Just leave me alone!”

And then Ann stopped in her tracks, and Akiza let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Ann stood still for a moment, one hand still outstretched, trembling in silence, before she fell into a low crouch, hugging her legs to her chest and burying her face in her knees. Akiza hesitated, thoughts clashing over what to do, what to say to comfort her friend, before she settled on merely crouching next to Ann, placing a hand on her shoulder as the sobs started to come.

“She’s never told me to leave her alone before.” Ann’s voice returned after a minute of quiet crying, face still pressed against her knees. “We’ve always stuck together, ever since we met. But since high school started, and she got onto the team, I just…” Ann sniffled. “I feel like we’re drifting apart, and I don’t know how to stop it. And now I’m afraid I just made it even worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Akiza managed, swallowing around the awful lump in her throat. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to hate me, not her best friend. “If I hadn’t suggested that we ask her, this wouldn’t have --”

“No.” Ann cut her off, raising her head to look Akiza in the eye. “I agreed to this. We all agreed to this. I just wish it wasn’t so…” She trailed off again, leaving Akiza unsure as the little sniffles kept coming.

Ann jolted slightly as Akiza’s arms wrapped her in a stiff hug, leading Akiza to believe she’d miscalculated. But Ann leaned into her after a moment, and Akiza’s face was filled with pale golden hair.

O-oh. Okay. This is helping, then.

Her arms slackened slightly, just enough to make the embrace a bit more natural. Ann hadn’t returned the hug, but that was fine. Akiza’s hand gently stroked up and down the blonde’s arm while she got the last of the sniffles out. Ann looked up, meeting Akiza’s gaze with her crystal-blue eyes, still a bit teary, and gave a weak smile.

“Thanks. S-sorry you had to see that. We’ve never fought like that, so I kinda freaked. Sorry,” she repeated. Akiza shook her head as she withdrew her arms, helping Ann to her feet.

“Don’t be. It’s okay. Do you need a minute, or should we go look for Ryuji and Morgana?”

“No, I’m good.” She quickly dabbed at her eyes with a tissue from her bag, careful not to smudge her makeup. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”

Wednesday, 4/13
After School
Shujin Academy

Ryuji and Morgana’s attempts didn’t go much better; reactions of volleyball players suggested abuse, but none of them would confirm it or testify against Kamoshida. Stalled in their efforts, the group resolved to get something to eat together after school. Akiza promised to catch up with them at the diner in Shibuya, held up by questions from Kawakami about transfer paperwork. As she made to leave the building, however, she was stopped by a voice behind her.

“Kurusu! Can I speak with you for a moment?”

Akiza felt her blood run cold at the sound and froze mid-stride.

That’s the king’s voice…

Sure enough, she turned to see the broad shoulders and square jaw of Suguru Kamoshida, waving her down with a friendly-looking smile. Akiza had to will her muscles to un-tense as she forced herself into a more natural pose, one hand on the strap of her bag. Morgana knew better than to poke his head out at a time like this, but she couldn’t help worrying anyway.

“Oh, hello, Mr. Kamoshida.” She kept her voice matter-of-fact and even, adopting a passable smile. You have no reason to panic. There’s no way he knows what you’ve been doing.

Kamoshida came to a stop before her, placing his hands on his hips.

“I wanted to remind you, now that you’ve been at Shujin Academy for a few days, about your circumstances.” His seemingly-friendly smile was already beginning to fade into a more neutral frown. “Shujin has taken a great risk in allowing someone… such as yourself to transfer here. We pride ourselves on our image here. Whatever you might have gotten away with at your old school, it won’t be tolerated here. You understand that, right?” His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Akiza bit the inside of her lip for just a moment before she spoke.

“Yes, sir. I’m aware that I’ve been afforded a generous offer by Shujin, and I don’t intend to waste it.” Platitudes, appeasing reassurances, smile and nod.

“If that’s the case,” he continued, “then why have I heard that you’re hanging around Sakamoto?”

The grip on her bag strap tightened. “Sir?”

“My volleyball players were just telling me that Sakamoto was scaring them earlier. Trying to ask them strange questions about practice. And then I hear from Ms. Kawakami that you two have been seen together every day this week.”

“Sakamoto-kun helped me when I was lost in Aoyama on Monday,” Akiza explained. “He’s been showing me around the area since. I didn’t know he was talking to the volleyball team, though.” Furrow the brow, sound a little bit confused, sell it...

Kamoshida folded his arms across his chest. “Just remember that you don’t get any second chances at this school. One slip-up, and you’ll be out on the streets.” He turned away, but not before looking over his shoulder at her. “Shujin Academy is a place where those with aspirations come to learn. If you can’t get with the program, you’ll be gone.”

And then he was gone, and Akiza’s head started spinning. She leaned against the nearby wall, catching her breath. Somehow, she hadn’t expected a direct confrontation with the real Kamoshida to be so terrifying.

Someone… such as yourself.

She swallowed, trying to re-center herself. He was talking about her record, right? He had to be. Unless he knew. But how could he? The deal was that it would stay between her, Sojiro, and the principal. But then again, Kamoshida was clearly in the principal’s good graces, and it wouldn’t surprise her to find out that the two had spoken about her already. She’d already overheard them doing it earlier in the week.

Akiza pressed the heel of her hand to her temple; her head was starting to hurt, and everything felt so loud. Since when did other people whisper so noisily?

“Mr. Kamoshida was just talking to her…”

“Think she’s in trouble already? She’s always hanging around with Takamaki and Sakamoto…”

“...heard Sakamoto was bullying volleyball players. And did you hear about Suzui? She ran out crying after walking off with Takamaki and the transfer…”

Akiza’s eyes darted around the entryway of the school. Everything looked so sharp, like it was all in focus at the same time, like she couldn’t filter anything out. There was so much grey. Her eyes screwed shut, and she felt like she might be about to throw up.

Too much, too much…!

“Excuse me. Are you the new student in class 2-D?”

Akiza’s eyes snapped open again, and her gaze zeroed in on the student standing in front of her. Somehow, she couldn’t quite settle on any features of the other girl’s appearance; the adrenaline or whatever it was running through her was chasing her mental faculties out of her brain like a broom shoo-ing rats from a cupboard. She could discern the girl’s shape, but her entire form was cast in a bright blue light. All Akiza knew for sure was that her voice sounded… soft? She nodded dumbly in response.

“Would you like to come up to the rooftop with me? It’s quieter up there, and you look like you could use the fresh air…”

Yes, god, anything to get away from the stuffy air and the crowd and the noise. She nodded again and followed in the other girl’s wake, plodding deliberately up the flights of stairs and onto the roof. True to the other girl’s word, the space was blessedly empty. Akiza leaned against the door as it closed behind them, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing herself to take deep, even breaths. The fresh air did indeed help, and over the course of a minute or two she felt herself coming down from… whatever the fuck that was.

“How are you feeling? You look much better. Here, drink this.” A water bottle was gently pressed into her hands, and she stared at it for a moment before looking up at her savior.

The other girl was a good few inches shorter than her. Her hair fell around her face in light-brown curls, even fluffier than Akiza’s own, matched by her soft amber eyes. The girl’s brow was raised just slightly, along with the soft upturn of her lips in apparent relief at Akiza’s recovery. And just like Akiza, she was still wearing her gym uniform as well.

“B-better,” she mumbled, before catching herself. “Yeah, I’m feeling better. Thanks.” She greedily downed half the bottle of water before setting it down at her side.

“It’s no trouble at all,” the other girl said with a cheery smile. “I like to try to help when I can, and you seemed like you could use some after that conversation.”

Akiza grimaced a bit. “You saw that?”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s none of my business. But, well…” The other girl trailed off, looking down at her folded hands as she twiddled her thumbs. “Without getting too into detail, I have some experience with men like him. I just can’t stand the way he talks about the students he doesn’t like.”

Akiza blinked, surprised at the quiet firmness in the other girl’s voice. She was still looking down, brow drawn just a little bit tight, jaw set. There was something there, some past experience that she was clearly drawing on, and it troubled her.

“I really am thankful that you helped me out,” Akiza said, deciding to steer the conversation away. “I know the rumors about me get around. I think they’re saying I burned down a bridge?” She flashed a wry smile, and was relieved to see the other girl crack one too.

“Really? Last I heard, you tied your ex-boyfriend to the subway tracks.” Her grin spread wider when Akiza let out a sharp laugh.

A silence filled the space between them for a moment, then. It wasn’t awkward, thankfully, just… peaceful, she supposed. The quiet din of students on the ground below them was oddly comforting. Akiza let her eyes slip closed for a moment.

When she opened them again, she looked over to find that the other girl had taken a seat beside her, a couple feet away. Having calmed down, Akiza took a moment to really look at her, all strawberry blonde curls diligently maintained framing round, lightly-freckled cheeks. And the way the sunlight caught in her hazel eyes was--

Akiza jolted slightly. Was she staring? Oh god, she was staring wasn’t she? Belatedly, she realized the other girl had been looking at her the whole time.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stare!” The other girl squeaked as she startled, looking sharply away. “I, um… your hair is very nice.”

Akiza blinked. “Buh?”

“Well, I’ve never really liked curls much,” she began, fiddling with the hem of her sweater. “On myself, at least. But yours are very nice.”

O-oh.

“Kurusu!” she yelped, failing to come up with a response to that compliment. “Is, um, my name. Akiza Kurusu. You probably knew that already, though.”

“A proper introduction is still welcome,” she said, looking back up with a smile. A hint of pink colored her cheeks. “My name is Haru.”

“Oh, um.” Akiza stalled for a moment. “Is that your last name, or…?”

“No,” Haru clarified. “It’s my first name, but I prefer to go by it.”

“Well,” Akiza said, swallowing to re-center herself. “Please call me Akiza, then.” Haru smiled, and Akiza couldn’t help but do the same.

“Pleased to meet you then, Akiza-chan!”

Akiza-chan…!

“By the way,” Haru added. “I apologize for bringing it up, but please try not to let the rumors get to you.” She fiddled with one of her fingers slightly as she spoke. “I, ah. I know how it can be, to have everyone talking behind your back and insinuating things. The student council allows me to use this space to garden, so please feel free to come up if you need a break from everything down there.” She smiled again, warm and bright. “I could always use a hand with my beds, if you’re interested!”

Akiza couldn’t help but perk up a little more at that; the excited chirp in her voice at the mention of the flowerbeds seemed to visibly perk Haru up. And Akiza certainly wouldn’t mind more excuses to talk to her.

“That sounds great,” she answered. “Thank you.”

“Wonderful!” Haru clapped once excitedly before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a phone. “Here, let’s exchange contact info, that way I can let you know when I need a hand, or you can tell me if you want to come up here.”

As Akiza made to retrieve her phone from her bag, however, a black-furred body made itself known, planting its paws on Akiza’s shoulder.

“How much longer are you gonna make me sit in this cramped bag!?” He stared at Akiza indignantly for a moment, before her shocked expression and the soft gasp to his right made him turn his gaze.

Haru was delighted.

“Oh my goodness, what an adorable kitty!” She began to reach for Morgana, looking to Akiza. “May I…?”

Akiza’s shock morphed into a smile, both happy to let Haru go ahead and delighted at Morgana’s expense.

“Hey, don’t just let her do thaaaaaaaaaa…” Morgana’s indignance trailed off and he went slightly cross-eyed as Haru scratched him behind the ears. It only took a moment before he was purring happily, pushing his head into her hand.

“He’s so talkative!” Haru exclaimed. “Does he have a name?”

“He’s Morgana.” Akiza was simultaneously incredulous to see Morgana behaving like an honest-to-god cat and fascinated by Haru’s unabashed joy. She probably owed Morgana some sushi for this.

The two girls chatted briefly after that, mostly about Morgana and a little bit about plants before they exchanged numbers and parted ways. Akiza left the building with a little pep in her step, smiling to herself. She could have sworn she heard Julie quietly laughing, but couldn’t be sure.

Wednesday, 4/13
Evening
Cafe Leblanc

With nothing substantial learned from their efforts at school, there wasn’t much to review at the diner. Frustrated, the group had decided to go back to the Palace on Thursday, going their separate ways from there.

Akiza waved to Sojiro as she returned to Leblanc that afternoon, setting her bag (and Morgana) on the work desk. Morgana clambered out immediately, already yowling about the events on the rooftop.

“So, would you mind explaining what exactly youACK--” He yelped loudly, leaping to dodge the bra flying haphazardly across the room as Akiza flopped face-first onto the bed, muffling a groan into her pillow. Morgana trotted across the floor, up onto the bed next to Akiza’s head, irritated expression plain even on his feline face. He gently bapped the back of Akiza’s head with a paw. “Hello? Earth to Akiza?”

Akiza merely rolled over, clutching a pillow to her chest. She took a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment, before she turned to Morgana, reaching up to scratch him behind the ears. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Don’t distract me!” He batted away her hand in what must have been a supreme act of willpower (after a moment of enjoying the scritches, of course). “You sounded like you were about to pass out after you talked to Kamoshida. Are you sick?”

“Mmmm, nah. I’m not really sure what happened to me after Kamoshida. Some kind of weird panic attack?” She bit her lip, recalling the overwhelming state of having all her senses heightened like that. It wasn’t something she was eager to experience again. “Was it something to do with Kamoshida himself? Because I met his Shadow, or something?”

“Unlikely,” Morgana meowed. He paced up and down the side of her bed, deep in thought. “You didn’t really have that kind of reaction when you met him the first time, did you?” She shook her head. “Then it’s probably not that. Even if you had, effects like that shouldn’t be able to transfer from the Metaverse to reality. You might have just panicked.”

“That’s…” Akiza let out a heavy sigh, pushing up her glasses to her forehead and pinching the bridge of her nose. “That’s possible, I suppose. We should be able to dodge around him in reality, right? Do we need to face him directly?”

“We shouldn’t have to. There is one thing we may need to do in reality, but that won’t be until later, and we won’t have to directly confront him.” Morgana paused in his pacing, trotting up to Akiza’s head after a moment and butting his own against her hand. “Are you still okay with this?”

“I am.” Her answer was instant and uncompromising. “Even if I wasn’t before, after what happened today with Suzui… I am.” She reaffirmed, instead of elaborating.

“Good. In that case, we should head back into the Palace tomorrow. I’m very close to confirming my theory, and if I’m right, we won’t need to get testimonies out of students to take him down.”

“I hope so. He needs to go down as soon as possible. I can’t…” She swallowed. “I can’t let this keep going.” All of the emotional buildup from before started to come back, along with some new blame, thinking about how things had ended between Ann and Shiho. She set her glasses off to the side, and rubbed her eyes some.

Morgana stared at her pensively, tail swishing side to side. “Hey,” he piped up after a moment, hopping over to the work desk. “C’mere. I’ll show you how to make infiltration tools.”

Akiza picked her head up, brow furrowed at him for a moment, before she swung her legs off and put her glasses back on.

“Alright, so the first thing you have to know about smoke bombs is…”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 4/14
Lunchtime
Shujin Academy

Akiza was headed back to her classroom for lunch when she was stopped in her tracks.

“Kurusu! Got a minute?”

Cold dread crawled up Akiza’s spine at the sound of Kamoshida’s voice, and Morgana’s whispers from her bag were immediate.

“Remember to breathe. You’ll be okay, I’m right here and you can go to the roof if you need to.”

She couldn’t respond to him, of course, not without looking completely nuts, so she settled for giving the bag under her arm a slight squeeze of acknowledgement as she turned to face Kamoshida. A polite expression plastered itself onto her face.

“Hello, Mr. Kamoshida. Can I help you?” The words were even and natural. No weird overstimulation yet, at least.

“I just wanted to apologize for yesterday,” he began, hands on his hips. The massive man blew a stream of air out in a sigh, looking down at her with a worried brow. Akiza knew it was fake, of course, but the appearance of genuine concern shook her just a bit more. “I assumed that Sakamoto was going to rub off on you, but from what I hear of your performance in class so far, you might just rub off on him!”

Oh god, this is the most horribly forced laughter in history, Akiza thought as she managed a chuckle along with the gym teacher.

“I’ve heard you’re spending time with Takamaki as well. She’s a close friend of mine, so I know you’re keeping good company.” Akiza felt Julie seethe at that, and she wasn’t far behind.

Horrid tyrant! We will cast him from his throne and make him grovel at our feet!

“Takamaki-san’s very nice,” Akiza returned, trying to find a neutral response. “We sit next to each other in class, and we share a train line, so we get to talk a lot. She’s helping me get used to Shujin.”

Oh god, should I have said that we share a train line? What if he starts stalking us? She thought for half a millisecond before remembering, no, wait, he’s a teacher, he can just access our addresses anyways. It didn’t make her feel better.

“That’s great! I’m glad to hear you’re getting accustomed to Shujin. I was sorry to hear that your record was leaked to the students.”

My record was what?

“The faculty was meant to keep that under wraps. I doubt you’ve had much luck joining any clubs with all the rumors.”

Not all of the details were leaked, obviously, but… What? Is that how the criminal charge got out? Who did it? Why? Was it… him?

Why?

“You know,” he began, hand on his chin, eyes scanning her up and down in a manner that suggested he was more looking through her than at her, not that either was great. “You’re very tall for your age. Nice long athlete’s legs, too, and not much fat on you. With a little effort, you’d fill out a volleyball uniform perfectly.”

What--

Frozen by his gaze as she was, Akiza couldn’t step to avoid the large hand that clapped her on the shoulder, resting there like a thousand-ton weight.

“Why don’t you come by my office sometime and we can chat about what clubs you’re interested in? I can help you make a good choice. Give it some thought, okay? My door’s always open.”

In that moment Akiza couldn’t tell which was louder, the heartbeat hammering in her ears or Julie’s banshee shrieks of unbridled fury. He squeezed her shoulder, feeling to her as if he were about to shatter it, flashing a smile before releasing her and turning away. She stood there, rooted to the spot, until he left.

Kamoshida rounded the corner and Akiza blinked, stumbling out of the hallway and towards the stairs, taking in the fresh air above and willing herself not to vomit.

Haru wasn’t there, a fact that she wasn’t sure exactly how to process. It was probably for the best. Only showing up in such a haphazard state would almost certainly leave a bad impression. Still, some part of her couldn’t help wanting Haru there. Her eyes were pretty, and her voice was so easy to listen to, and--

Fuck, I can’t do this right now.

Akiza pulled out her phone and texted Ann, saying she had to take a call that would last too long, and that the blonde shouldn’t wait up for her back in the classroom.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Morgana assured, wiggling out of the bag to butt his head against Akiza’s cheek affectionately. “Try to breathe deep. You're still here. Should I go get Ann? Or Ryuji?"

She followed his guidance as best she could, soft texture of his fur providing its own kind of calming effect. Her eyes wandered to the little changes to the garden from the day prior. The fertilizer was in a different place, and some more rows had been dug. Haru had probably just been up here with some other friends.

“Not right now,” she murmured, running her hand along Morgana’s back. “I just… I need a minute. They’ve got enough going on already.”

Akiza looked upwards at the insultingly blue sky as Morgana curled up in her lap. It took the rest of the break to calm down all the way, and even then, her notes next period were uneven, betraying the small shakes she wanted to ignore.

It was fine. They’d just have to get some results this afternoon.

Thursday, 4/14
After school
Kamoshida's Palace

Joker once more tested the weight of the pistol in her off hand, leaving the day's burdens back in the real world for now.. “Alright Mona, last night you told me we were close to being able to do something to Kamoshida from here. What’s our goal?”

Mona grinned, then looked over the others, making sure they were listening. “Today, we’re going to get into the upper levels of the Palace. As we’ve been over, everything here ties back to Kamoshida’s state of mind. Distorted desires don’t just come from nowhere, though, they’re the result of a fixation. Putting those two things together, it’s my theory that the source of that fixation should be something physical here. If we can get our hands on that, then we should be able to change Kamoshida’s heart.”

Skull put his bat over one shoulder. “And then, what? We just make him fess up?”

“Basically.”

Clover’s eyes were intense. “Is that all we can do with his heart?”

Mona hummed. “Well, a Heart is something like… the source of, well, you. It’s your desires. Not just the conscious ones, but your unconscious ones too; from your biggest dreams to just breathing. Whatever we decide to do, I’m willing to help, but so far all I’ve been suggesting is the ability to steal distorted desires. With a damaged heart, it’s not likely a Ruler would survive.”

Joker tried to gauge the others’ reactions. Clover looked thoughtful at least, but Skull couldn’t seem to meet their eyes. Clover spoke: “Is that a risk, with what we’re doing? Could we end up killing Kamoshida instead?”

“It’s possible. Nothing in the Palace would want to hurt its reason for existing, so it would be up to us. Remember, this is all just theory, even if I’m confident in it.”

Again, Joker looked to the other two. They deserved the biggest say in this. “If we take away his ability to hurt people, will that be enough?”

There was a pause as Skull managed to glance up at Clover, and they shared a charged look that continued for just a moment longer than normal. Clover was the first to answer. “If he’s dead, then he’s just some gym teacher who died. Not ‘the abusive pedophile rapist gym teacher’. Nobody would ever know the truth.” Her voice gave the impression that she didn’t much care what happened after that.

“Yeah,” Skull rubbed the back of his neck. “Him kickin’ the bucket won’t get the track team back together, and it sure as hell won’t get him payin’ for what he did.”

“Then we’re in agreement for now,” Joker finished. “We’ll keep investigating.”

Mona nodded. The briefing didn’t last much longer. He elaborated that their previous point of entry had been used too many times now to guarantee that it’d still be safe. Just as she was starting to come up with another potential method of entry, though, he pulled a wrist-mounted grappling hook from his satchel, handing it over.

“Just use it, don’t think too hard,” he instructed.

A combination of her holding onto Clover while using the new grappling hook and Mona riding up with Skull on Captain Kidd’s boat got them in through a high window, where the last thing she noted before moving onto the upper floors was that this path gave them direct access to the main hall’s chandelier.

“Alright,” Joker said, filling her voice with as much confidence as she could. “From here on, there will be nothing but new territory. Let’s stay focused, and keep moving.”

The rest nodded, and they slipped into the shadows.

Joker found her readiness waning the further they made it. The decor had turned from gaudy and flashy to something much worse, the stonework of the floors becoming uneven and harder to traverse. Along the way there were statues and artworks of women without faces, focusing on the parts that Kamoshida himself no doubt did. The color of the air, the taste of it, shifted unnaturally, permeated with lavender and the smell of flowers.

Mona cited the change, and the unnatural-looking stone that shifted, giving or taking away cover, as a sign that the distortion was growing stronger. It meant they were closer to their goal, and on the right track, no matter how disgusting.

“Jack-o-Lantern!” She hissed, starting a carpet-fire that quickly got the attention of two knights patrolling between statues. Progressively, the knights with masks on had shown more variation, higher ranks, better armor. It made removing their masks a gamble, but one they had to take if they wanted to keep off the Palace’s radar and manage all the other increased dangers at the same time.

Clover nodded from across the room, on opposite cover while the two knights began stamping the fire out. Both girls dashed in and leapt on the knights’ backs, yanking free their masks in a spew of ichor.

The stunned Shadows shuffled away, a knight on horseback they’d seen a few times already and an airborne demon with a wicked grin. Skull clambered from behind his cover on one of the statues, picked the more vulnerable target, and let a couple blasts loose from his shotgun, turning the demon into scraps of black before it could do anything else. The fight didn’t last much longer, because it couldn’t afford to, but when the horse was on its knees, Joker offered the Shadow a place on the winning team. A new Persona, Berith, accepted.

The nature of their plan meant going loud in short bursts, then moving on while Shadows closed in on their previous location. It left a trail that even the elite knights couldn’t seem to figure out. Thankfully, they’d saved a lot of their energy this way, but it still meant leaving a more dangerous path behind them with every step. The trip out would be much more hazardous than their so-far smooth trip in.

Still, thinking too hard about that would only get her spirits down, so Joker grit her teeth and kept moving.

“I wish I had more than just this gun,” Clover whispered, looking put-off. Joker nodded, but kept her eyes forward as they crept along. Taking point meant she couldn’t say much. Mona made up for that with some praise from the back.

“You’ve been doing great. This wouldn’t be going anywhere near as smooth without a fourth pair of hands.”

“Yeah, come on,” Skull bumped the girl’s shoulder. “You’re kickin’ ass even without a Persona.”

“I know that,” Clover hissed. “It’s just--” Joker held up a hand for them to stop. They were too close to a door without knowing what was on the other side. “Ugh, forget it.”

It turned out that the next major hurdle in their infiltration was a locked door linked to a mechanism that repelled Joker’s attempts to pick it. Lacking other options, they turned to scouring the nearby area for the key. A lucky map find helped narrow the search down further, and soon they found themselves with only one room left to check.

“This whole area reeks,” Mona whispered. “It’s like my whole nose is full of flowers!”

“It’s getting stronger down this way too,” Clover added. She’d yanked her hoodie over to cover her nose and mouth, but it only worked so well when the air seemed suffused with cloying perfume. The hallway they moved down was nearly as opulent as the entrance hall or the church-gym they’d found earlier. Empty suits of armor lined the walls, and the door at the end stood dark and ornate against the reds and whites of the tile floor.

“I’m not sensing any Shadows in here. Still, keep your guards up.” Joker pressed her ear against the door as they came up to it, doing whatever weird Metaverse magic it was that allowed her to sense Shadows around corners and through walls. Clover wasn’t about to pretend to understand it.

Joker and Skull, as usual, were on door duty. They took up positions on opposite sides of the door, braced against it with guns drawn and at the ready. Mona paired up with Skull on the right, leaving Clover to join Joker on the left. Holding up her hand, Joker signalled the countdown.

Three, two, one… go.

The door swung open with a heave, and a torrent of perfume and pink haze billowed out down the hallway.

“Man, what the hell is this stuff!?” Skull choked out a cough as he covered his mouth with his elbow. “I can barely see!”

Joker was already a blur, stalking into the room with her gun lowered. Clover stuck close to her while Skull and Mona followed behind them.

“Still no Shadows,” Joker murmured. “Mona, think you can clear this smoke out?”

“Say no more!” Mona puffed out his chest proudly, raising his saber and producing a blast of wind that scattered the fog.

As she looked around, and as she saw the room clearly, Clover almost wished for it back.

Scattered across the floor were these pink… things, shaped like women but entirely lacking in detail, save for the gym bloomers they wore as their only pieces of clothing. They kneeled, beckoning and calling out with sing-song nonsense sounds, echoing around the room like horrific, discordant music.

“What the fuck,” she whispered, knuckles whitening as her grip on her gun tightened. “What the fuck!?”

“They must be cognitions. If they’re like the prisoners, they won’t hurt us. Try to ignore them.” Joker pushed forward, but Clover could hear the waver in her voice, could see the way her rapier trembled ever so slightly.

She’s not as fearless as she acts, Clover thought.

“This is so effed up,” Skull said. “This has gotta be what Kamoshida thinks of the girls team, right?”

“It would make sense, based on how he treats them in real life. This might be his cognition of his office.” Mona scouted ahead just a bit, peeking behind pillars and darting around the figures. Clover tried not to think about that, instead focusing on searching for the key that would let them progress.

The cognitions never stopped giggling and crooning as they combed the room. Skull and Mona stuck to one side while the girls took the other. Clover only grew more and more on edge as they did, getting increasingly agitated as she kept having to step over and around them. It wasn’t like she was surprised-- “Kamoshida is a pedophilic creep” was never really up for debate. But what struck her was how faceless the things were. Nothing more than feminine shapes in sexualized uniforms, like they were just objects with no purpose but this. Did he see every girl at Shujin like this, or only the ones that were right under his thumb? Was Clover herself one of these things in the Palace? Was Joker?

Was Shiho?

“Hey, Clover. You still with me?” Joker’s voice snapped Clover out of her spiral, and she shook her head lightly as Joker watched with a hawk-like gaze.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Clover managed a weak smile, hopefully enough to dissuade Joker’s concern. “Just a little thrown by all this. I’ll be okay--”

“Ohmygod, ew. What are you doing here!?”

A voice sounded through the room, cutting through the noise of the cognitions, and Ann felt her blood turn to ice as she turned to look.

At the far end of the room, standing irritated before some kind of bondage rack, was a vision of Ann herself. The double wore almost nothing, just a hideous set of pink leopard-print lingerie and a cat-ear headband, complete with a jeweled tiara. It scowled, pointing an accusatory finger at the four of them. “It’s like, bad enough that you gross thieves are in King Kamoshida’s castle at all, but breaking into his playroom is, like, totally unforgivable!”

“No way,” Skull murmured. “No way am I seeing this.”

Ann’s stomach churned as the Thieves closed ranks. Knights sprang from the floor, congealed Shadow-stuff manifesting on all sides and cutting off their exit.

“Protect Princess Ann! Do not let these intruders escape!” A guard clad in gold shouted from near the princess. Somehow, that thought was even more revolting than the idea that she was one of the pink things; Kamoshida knew her. Out of all the rest, he’d singled her out. In his fantasy dreamworld, she was his princess. His little plaything who spoke like a ditz and paraded around in lingerie, existing to be gawked at and toyed with like a fucking object.

Cries rang out from Joker and Skull as their attacks were rebuffed by new Shadows, winged angels clad in chainmail. Ann could only stand, frozen, feeling numb.

“Oooooh, I totally caught the bad guys! King Kamoshida is gonna be so happy!” The cognition giggled as it cheered. Ann’s jaw clenched hard enough to hurt, gun shaking in her hands. This was more than disgust that she felt-- it was pure, raw hatred.

“Shut up,” she mumbled.

The princess perked up, striding towards Ann with a comically exaggerated sway of its hips that made Ann seethe all the more. “Ooooh, it’s the me from the outside! You’ve been, like, so disrespectful to King Kamoshida, yaknow.” It leaned forward towards her, unafraid of the machine gun in her hands, hands on its hips. “You know how he is with his slaves and his toys, and you just, like, turn away and hide. You already let him do whatever he wants! So just let him go all the way already!”

“Shut up!” Ann barked at the cognition, prompting it to lean back with a look between surprise and disgust. “I only kept my head down because I didn’t want him to hurt Shiho!”

“Ohhhhhhh, right, the other one,” it chuckled. “I mean, I guess it’s a good idea to keep an ugly little thing like her around to make yourself look better--”

Ann saw red, and then her hand hurt.

She blinked and found herself with a fist held in front of her, the cognition reeling. In the dead silence, Ann heard a drop of something fall from her knuckles to the floor. One of the other Thieves mumbled something like oh fuck, barely audible above the pounding of Ann’s pulse in her ears.

The cognition held a hand to its face, covering the gash that Ann’s fist had torn in its cheek. It glared at her with one murderous eye, the other hidden behind its hand. “What makes you think you’re better than him? Better than me!?” It shrieked accusatorily at her, pointing at her with its free hand and calling out to the Shadows. “Whoever brings me that fucking skank’s head gets my recommendation to King Kamoshida!”

“Clover, get outta here!” Skull cried out from beneath an angel’s boot. “You gotta run!”

I can’t, she thought. I can’t hide from this too.

A knight stomped towards her. Without thinking, she swung her gun up, only to be disarmed by a sharp blow to the wrist. She cried out, barely enough time for her gun to clatter to the floor before she was grabbed by another knight behind her.

There was a sickening wet sound, and suddenly the princess’s face returned to its original self-satisfied mockery of Ann’s own face. It leaned coyly against a gold-clad knight, putting on an exceedingly fake pleading expression. “Would you, like, pleeeease cut their heads off, mister knight?”

That simpering fakeness in its voice made Ann want to scream. A blade approached her, hovering inches from her throat.

“Of course, Princess. Anything for you.” The knight responded, and the cognition cheered, bouncing its chest in a way that had to be deliberate.

This is fucked. This is BULLSHIT. I’m not like that!

“Can you like, make it quick? It’d be soooo gross if they, like, bled all over the rug!”

Joker and Skull and Mona struggled as best they could, but absent their weapons and unable to summon their Personas, there wasn’t much they could do. And Ann had gotten herself grabbed like an idiot. The thought that she was probably about to die wasn’t even the main thing on her mind as the guards raised their blades. No, what struck her was the cold dread of knowing that she would never see Shiho again. Would never get to see her smile or hear her voice. That she’d just disappear from her best friend’s life after that fight earlier in the week.

She’d fucked it all up.

“Are you gonna let him take her from you!?” Ann’s eyes flew open at the sound of Joker’s voice. Even on the ground, even bruised and battered, the determination in her eyes made Ann shudder.

“Suzui’s waiting for you! Your whole life is! Are you going to let yourself die here!?”

“I…” Ann stilled, cold dread giving way to burning hate once again as her face screwed up in resolve.

I won’t let him steal my fucking life anymore!

Yes, that’s it, little flame! Let your fury rise!

A sledgehammer force slammed into Ann’s skull as her eyes shot open again.

Look, córazon. Look at what that man has reduced you to! An object, a thing to be used and toyed with! Will you stand for this!?

No, she thought. Her hands clenched into fists, her teeth grit, every inch of her skin felt like it was wreathed in flame. The knight behind her dropped its sword, stumbling away and flailing its limbs now covered in burns. No, I won’t let him do this! I won’t let ANYONE do this to me! Not anymore!

“Holy shit,” she heard Skull mumble distantly.

“Come on, Clover,” Joker whispered. “You can do this.”

“We believe in you, Clover!” Mona cheered as well, fighting as best he could to wiggle his way out from under the guard pinning him.

The stage is set, mi amor. Let their voices be your fuel! Let your flames rise higher! Let all the world see you burn!

“No more,” Ann gasped. “No more getting pushed around! No more putting up with it! I am Ann fucking Takamaki and I will not let myself be controlled anymore!”

Amid the heat surrounding her, blue flames burst to life in front of her eyes. Ann reached up, taking hold of the thing that hid her face. She spoke, and her soul spoke with her.

“I am thou. Thou art I.”

She cast aside her mask, and the room was bathed in fire.

It scoured the room, bending around the Thieves to engulf the knights, burning them back down to ash. With pink gloved hands, she took hold of the whip at her belt, striking out towards their foes. Behind her, her heart stood defiant.

The Thieves rose, falling in beside her as the flames dissipated. More Shadows rose from the floor to protect the princess.

Ann flexed her fingers, fire brimming just beneath the surface. Her power felt limitless, a well of heat in need of direction. With one hand she gestured to the guards, palm outstretched.

"Carmen," she cried. "Burn them to the ground!"

Bolts of fire flew from Carmen's hands, slamming into the knights and forcing them to kneel as their armor began to melt.

"This is incredible," Mona exclaimed. "Clover, your magic is unbelievably strong!"

She didn't answer, instead swinging her arm up to lash an onrushing Angel with her whip. It cracked, and a plume of fire burst forth from the wound she'd inflicted, dissolving the Shadow into the air. In her periphery, she caught sight of the pink cognitions and the princess making for the door. With a spinning sweep of her whip, she sent a blast of fire backwards, engulfing that section of the room.

That felt good.

I could not agree more!

"Clover, behind you!"

Skull's voice grabbed her ear, and with speed she didn't know she had, she whirled back around, gripping the Incubus's face with her free hand. It struggled right up until Ann roared, gloved fingers extended into claws, piercing its skull and reducing it to charred Shadow goo as flames poured from her hand.

"Holy shit," Joker breathed. "Hey, one more!" Ann’s whip struck out, coiling around the onrushing Archangel’s arm. She raised one foot, stomping down on the whip and grinning as the Shadow came crashing to the ground. Julie’s blade tore through it cleanly.

“You thieves aren’t getting out of here alive,” said a new Shadow. Seemingly the last one in the room, Mona identified the toilet-bound thing as a Belphegor, weak to fire.

Ann grinned, raising her hand. Behind her, Carmen did the same.

She snapped her fingers, and a lance of fire struck out from Carmen, piercing the thing before it could so much as blink. It faded to ash in an instant, leaving behind a small disc that looked just right for the lock they’d been foiled by. The room was finally, blessedly quiet.

Ann looked around, not really hearing the other Thieves’ sounds of celebration. Her eye caught on something near the door and, as she walked over to it, she realized that it was the princess’s tiara, blackened with soot and half-molten into this thin, wispy silver thing.

That thing is not me, she thought, with resolution in her heart. She raised her foot, took a deep breath, and crushed the trinket beneath her heel.

You have done well, little flame. I look forward to our performance.

Carmen’s voice was soft in her ears, almost lulling her to sleep. Now that she realized, she was so… tired…

Someone caught her as she slumped over, taken by exhaustion.

Thursday, 4/14
Afternoon
Shujin Academy

Stepping out of the Metaverse felt, as ever, like a lead weight settling down on Akiza’s shoulders. The sun was already setting, coloring the sky a warm orange that felt just a smidge too close to the Palace’s blood-red sky for her liking.

“Everybody in one piece? Limbs all still attached?” She poked at her side, feeling the bruise there. Nothing felt broken, at least, but it did ache.

“My leg hurts, but, like, the normal amount,” Ryuji said with a huff of laughter. Akiza cracked a tired grin.

“I feel like I just ran ten miles,” Ann groaned, having woken from her blackout after they returned to a safe room. “I get why Ryuji passed out now.”

Akiza bit her lip in thought for a moment before she spoke again. “Ann, you okay? The cognitions were… a lot.”

Ann’s brow tightened as she straightened up. Her eyes tracked somewhere into the middle distance, resolute even through the exhaustion. “He’s gonna pay,” she said plainly after a pause. “I always knew how he saw us, but that… It’s different seeing it so plainly, I guess.”

“Do you guys wanna go, like, get something to eat?” Ryuji spoke up suddenly, drawing the others’ attention. “There’s a really good ramen place in Ogikubo, if we just wanna get our minds off shit for a bit and relax.”

“I think I’m good.” Ann stretched as she spoke, suppressing a yawn. “I’m just gonna go home and sleep. I’ll try to get in touch with Shiho, too.” She looked over them and let a fond little smile show. “Thank you guys, for everything. We’re gonna make this happen.”

“We sure are!” Morgana meowed loudly, poking his head out from Akiza’s bag. “I think one more push should get us to the Treasure.”

“Let’s try to get that done ASAP, then,” Akiza said. “We’ll figure out the next day that works later. For now, let’s just rest up.”

"Oh, by the way," Ann said. "I'm changing my codename. Clover's out, I'm Panther now." She pivoted on her heel, walking away looking tired but satisfied.

“Hey, uh, offer for food’s still open, if you wanna?” Ryuji scratched the back of his head as he spoke, looking down and away just a bit. “It ain’t far from here.”

What Akiza really wanted at the moment was to lay down and sleep for about three years. Food with Ryuji was a very close second.

Thursday, 4/14
Evening
Ogikubo

The train to Ogikubo was packed, as all trains in Tokyo seemed to be. Ryuji stood next to her, close enough to dissuade harassers but not so close that she felt crowded. The gesture wasn’t lost on Akiza. None of them spoke on the way there, memories of the castle still fresh in their minds. The restaurant that he brought them to was, blessedly, not too crowded, and they sidled into a booth near the back.

“Man, this is really startin’ to kick off, huh?” Ryuji was the one to break the silence that hung between the three of them, waving to get the server’s attention. “When Ann got her Per-- uh, her thing,” he corrected, catching a stink-eye from Morgana at his near-slip. “I really felt like we could do this.”

“Me too.” Akiza raked a hand through her hair, taking off her uniform jacket and laying it on the seat next to her.

“I’m uh, really sorry, by the way.” Ryuji awkwardly fumbled with his phone after the server left with their orders. “I wasn’t thinkin’ in there and I didn't watch your back, and--”

“It’s fine,” Akiza interjected. “You had no idea those things were gonna show up, and neither did I.” In truth, a small part of her was irked at how it had unfolded, but the rational part of her brain reminded her that there was no way they could’ve anticipated that so many powerful Shadows would appear at once.

“It ain’t fine. God, you sound like Ann.” Ryuji’s little chuckle was mirthless, and he refused to meet Akiza’s gaze. “You got hurt ‘cause I did somethin’ stupid. I’m used to messin’ up, but I can’t help kickin’ myself whenever other people get hurt ‘cause of me.”

Akiza bit her lip, thinking for just a second. “I mean, I got hurt, but it’s not like you did that, you know? And if you knew that was gonna happen, you would’ve tried something else, and maybe it would’ve been you getting hurt. Someone was gonna get hurt in there, it just… happened. He happened to all of us.”

Morgana butted his head against Akiza’s arm, looking up at her with concern. “...Do you wanna talk about what happened at lunch?” Akiza sighed, deflating slightly; there was no real reason to keep it hidden, but she still didn’t want to burden the others with more details about--

“Wait, did he do somethin’ again? Two days in a row? God, are you okay?” Ryuji was nearly leaning halfway across the table, palms flat and heartbreaking worry writ plain on his face.

“...Yeah. He, uh. Made a pass at me.” Akiza settled back in her booth seat, fiddling with one of her suspenders as she recounted the event. Morgana curled up under her hand, and the sensation of his fur under her fingers helped put her at ease. By the end, Ryuji looked as if he was about to burst into flames from anger.

“God, that son of a bitch!” His fist slammed on the table, and a hissed Ryuji! from Akiza and Morgana set him back into his seat. One leg was bouncing a mile a minute under the table, and his jaw ground harshly. “I can’t fuckin’ believe him. He’s never goddamn satisfied, is he?” The blond thankfully lowered his voice, folding his arms across his chest and staring at the table with enough force to bore a hole through it. “It ain’t enough that he’s beatin’ up the guys and doin’ that to the girls, he’s gotta prey on the new kid.”

“I know. I was kinda too shell-shocked to be mad at the time. I just felt… sick. Like, the way he was looking at me, like I a piece of meat.” Is this how Ann feels? How does she even get out of bed?

A horrid, awful part of Akiza couldn’t help but think; Are you enjoying being a girl yet?

Ryuji blew hot air, one hand gripping the glass of soda he’d ordered and looking away. “Ah, fuck…” They were focusing too hard on the wrong things here. Kamoshida had no sway here, and god damn if she was going to let him ruin her night too.

“We’ve gotta stop this,” she said, determined.

Ryuji looked back, sort of confused. “I mean, yeah, we’re not gonna stop goin’ after hi--”

“No, not that,” she planted both hands on the table. “I mean, this. Blaming ourselves. We keep acting like everything bad that happens to us is our fault, and I’m tired of it. Bad stuff just happens, and sometimes it’s nobody’s fault. Kamoshida did this to us. We didn’t.” She turned one hand over, palm up, and pushed it towards Ryuji. “And if we’re gonna do this, we have to be there for each other. All of us. I’m not gonna let anybody shoulder this alone, and I need you guys to make sure I don’t either.”

His gaze fixed on her as she spoke, brown eyes drinking in her newfound determination before flicking down to her outstretched hand. He reached out with one of his own, stopped himself for a moment, and then pushed on, laying his hand in hers and curling his fingers around it. They were warm and sort of rough.

“...Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He smiled a little, looking back up at her, and she couldn’t help but let his sweeping grin spread to her as well. Something about Ryuji’s smile was downright infectious.

For one traitorous moment, Akiza allowed herself to indulge in the thought that she wanted to kiss it off his face.

Of course, the server chose that instant to bring their ramen bowls, right as they were holding hands and smiling bashfully at each other. They pulled apart with a jolt, and it didn’t escape Akiza’s eye that Ryuji was blushing just a bit, the same as her.

Ramen, it turned out, was a great conversation starter, as they eagerly dove into their bowls and chatted about their favorite types and places to get it. Akiza, of course, snuck bits to Morgana when possible, who took them eagerly. It was nice, she thought, to have a normal conversation with this boy she considered her friend.

They talked about TV, they talked about movies, they talked about games and food and music. Anything and everything that wasn’t school or the castle.

He walked with her to the train station afterwards, bidding her goodnight as he got on a line going in the opposite direction of Yongen-Jaya. As she rode back to Leblanc, Akiza basked in the memory of his thousand-watt smile over the steaming bowls of ramen, his fumble with his chopsticks, the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed--

One hand strayed absently over her cheek, feeling the little heat rising there. Another crush to nurture from afar.

Chapter Text

Thursday, 4/14
Evening
Jiyugaoka

At this point, Ann was used to returning to a house with no lights on. The housekeeper her parents hired only came every other week, and her parents never came home unannounced. Not that they ever really came home at all these days, but that was beside the point. No, she was used to an empty house, but the oppressive vastness of it didn't usually hit her this hard.

It was a normal house for its neighborhood, Western-styled and moderately sized, three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Why on Earth this place needed a guest bedroom was beyond Ann. Not once had she seen anybody stay in it. Even on the rare occasion that Shiho slept over at her house instead of the other way around, they would both cram themselves into Ann's room.

Ann stood in the darkness of the living room when she got home, empty space and minimalist design crushing her like some deep-sea fish under the incalculable pressure of the ocean around it. Her mind foisted images of Ryuji and Akiza laughing over their ramen upon her, and she cursed herself for being too cowardly to accept Ryuji's invitation.

What are you so afraid of?

The thought swirled around in her head unpleasantly as she took her shoes off. Sure, Kamoshida made every day of her life hell, but this was something else. Ryuji and Akiza reminded her so much of herself, ostracized and mocked and stared at like curiosities. And as much as the time she spent with them was warm and kind, it was offset by a constant undercurrent of dread.

Kamoshida's confession was within reach. Since they’d decided to steal his heart, she'd told herself that once it happened, everything would go back to the way it had been before. They'd graduate, go to college, and stay friends into adulthood. Nevermind the clawing ache that rose in Ann's heart at the thought of staying "just friends" forever, that was a pipe dream that she knew better than to hope for. Point was, they'd be okay.

But Ryuji's leg would still be hurt, she reminded herself. Shiho would still carry her own scars. And Ann would still be returning to an empty house.

For the first time in a long time, Ann realized that she wanted to be anywhere but here tonight.

She grabbed for her phone as she paced through the kitchen, fiddling with the end of one of her ponytails. Shiho's number was onscreen and dialed in less than five seconds. The phone rang and rang, each repeated tone sanding away more and more of Ann's remaining optimism, until it hit voicemail.

"Shiho, it's me. Please, please call me back as soon as you get this, no matter how late it is. I need to talk to you. I… I'm sorry about what happened on Wednesday, and I'm sorry I didn't try to help sooner. Please call me."

She paced another ten minutes, and called again. It went to voicemail.

"Shiho, I know it's hard to talk about this stuff, but I want to help. I… I don't know if you're listening to these, but I want you to know that I'm gonna fix this. All of this. I-I mean it. So please, hang on just a little longer, okay?"

Ann breathed deep, and couldn't be bothered to hold back the sob that followed it.

"I care about you so much, Shiho. You mean everything to me, and I'd do anything for you. Please call me, or text me, or something. You can come over, if you want. I'm here. I…"

I love you, she didn't say.

"I'll see you soon," she said instead, and hung up.

Ann slumped against the back of the couch, sliding down to the floor as she hugged her knees and began to cry in earnest. The roaring flame that Carmen inspired had tapered into something like a candle, and the empty house was so, so cold.

It took her a minute to text the others and report that she hadn't been able to get a hold of Shiho.

Ann dragged herself through the motions of reheating some leftover takeout, too drained to cook anything. She crawled into bed still mostly-dressed, telling herself over and over that it would all work out. They'd find Shiho and save the day.

It would work. It had to.

Friday, 4/15
Early Morning
Shujin Academy

It didn't work.

They were the first to arrive at school that day, and asking students as they arrived seemed to indicate that she hadn't shown up at all that day.

"She probably stayed home," Akiza assured. The overcast weather refused to quit, gray and overcast and cold, and Akiza's words did nothing to help settle Ann, especially when Ryuji's texts came through.

Ann, desperate for any good news, sent one more round of texts to Shiho before homeroom.

Friday, 4/15
Morning
Shujin Academy

Fifteen minutes before lunch, it happened.

A boy in the front row stood up without warning, looking out the door and through the hall windows. "Hey, who's out on the roof?"

The girl next to him shouted. "She's going to jump!"

"Suzui!?" Mishima gasped.

Ann was out of her seat before Ushimaru could finish yelling, bolting into the hallway before the throng of students could jam it up. Shiho was on the roof of the practice building, standing on the precipice.

Go, Ann's mind screamed. Run! PLEASE!

Her body refused to move.

There was silence.

There was noise.

Ann's heartbeat hammered, deafening in her ears.

Shiho fell.

Akiza didn't remember rushing to the window at the sound of the word "jump."

She didn't remember the moment Suzui's feet left the ledge.

She didn't remember leaping down the stairs three at a time and rushing to the courtyard after Ann.

But she did remember Ann and Ryuji crying out Suzui's name as they laid eyes on her.

She remembered the anguish and desperation on their faces as they fought to break through the paramedics holding them back from getting to Suzui.

She remembered watching them scream themselves hoarse, pleading to see her.

She remembered seeing Suzui, seeing the way her legs were pointing, and nearly vomiting.

She remembered Ann breaking through the line and rushing to Suzui's side as she was being loaded onto a stretcher, and watching her face morph from disbelief to shock to fury as Suzui whispered something in her ear.

She remembered Ann begging the paramedics to let her go with Suzui, and the paramedics insisting than they needed an adult.

She remembered hearing Mishima mumble from behind her, saying, "This is all my fault."

She remembered Ryuji whirling on his heel to run after Mishima as Ann clutched Suzui's hand, shoulders wracked with sobs.

She remembered running after Ryuji.

And now here she stood, cornering Mishima in a storage closet with Ryuji.

"What do you know, man? What happened to Shiho!?" Ryuji's voice was desperate and rough, choking back tears with every syllable.

"I-I…"

"Mishima, please. She's our friend." Akiza fixed him with an imploring gaze, and after a moment, he relented.

"Y-yesterday," he began, wrapping his arms around his midsection. "Kamoshida told me to find her after school and send her to his office. I-I don't know what happened after that.”

Before she could react to that, rapid footfalls hammering closer drew her attention to the hall outside, and seeing Ann in a dead sprint past the door with an expression radiating pure hatred sent Akiza back to panicking.

She bolted after Ann, following in the wake she left behind. From the sounds of it, Ryuji and Mishima had started following her. It wasn’t until they approached the PE faculty office, however, that Akiza began to understand what was about to happen.

“What did you DO to her!?”

Ann’s voice was torn and ragged. Akiza entered Kamoshida’s office behind her, and could finally see the tear tracks that had run down her face. Kamoshida stopped whatever he was writing, but didn’t turn to face them.

“And what exactly is this about? I hope you have a good explanation for barging into my office like this, Takamaki-san.”

“Don’t you dare play dumb. She tried to kill herself! Do you really think you’re gonna get away with this!?”

Akiza felt the pieces click into place.

Oh, god, no…

The sound of sneakers skidding on tile broke the moment of silence that hung in the air like a carcass, Ryuji and Mishima thundering into the room behind her. Kamoshida finally looked over to the door, scowl evident on his face as he rose to his full height.

“More of you brats now? Just what evidence do you think you have against me?” Arms folded across his chest, his scowl morphed into a smirk, mirroring the arrogance of the Shadow. To Akiza’s shock, it was Mishima who spoke up.

“Suzui will testify! A-and so will I!” Mishima’s hands, clenched into fists so tight they shook, hung stiff at his sides. “After everything you put her through, put all of us through, once we come forward, so will the others!”

“Oh yeah? You and what attorney, hm? Who exactly do you think would believe such ridiculous claims?” Kamoshida was laughing at them now, goddamn him. “Besides, I wouldn’t count on testimony from her anyways. Last I heard, Principal Kobayakawa is taking it upon himself to make sure her account is accurate, the saint. Assuming she makes it, of course.”

Akiza swore she could hear Ann’s teeth grind together in fury before she spoke. “My parents will get a lawyer! You think they won’t have something to say when I tell them how friendly you’ve been with me?”

Another chuckle from Kamoshida. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell them all about this,” he sneered. “You see, Mr. and Mrs. Takamaki, Suzui-san just couldn’t perform to the team’s standards anymore, and it seems your daughter wanted to take it out on me. I’m terribly sorry that you had to come back from overseas to deal with this. We’ll be recommending counselling for Ann, she must be so distraught after what happened to Suzui. We were all so--”

“Shut the FUCK up!”

Ryuji’s hand slammed into the wall beside the door, thankfully silencing Kamoshida for the moment. Ann stood frozen while he continued. “The way you talk makes me goddamn sick, you creep! What makes you think you can just do whatever you want to fuckin’ high school kids, huh!?”

Kamoshida sighed. “Oh, Sakamoto. Do we need to have another case of ‘self-defense’?”

Akiza barely thought to put a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder before he growled, taking a step forward. True, they could probably all do something together, but it wouldn’t help. Not here anyways. At that, the giant of a man’s face split into a wicked grin.

“Ah, what a shame. Maybe it would have been your other leg this time. Not like you’re using them for anything, anyways.”

Akiza used her spare hand to slip the phone out from her bag, waggling it confidently, to Kamoshida’s refreshed annoyance. “Luckily for us, we don’t need anything like that, or Ann’s parents. I set my phone to record before we came in, and it backs up to the cloud automatically. We can just go straight to the cops.”

Somehow, the anger and exhaustion that had been cycling through nonstop since last night made it even easier to keep her poker face. The triumphant looks on Ann and Ryuji’s faces made it sting all the more that in reality, it was a total bluff. Even if she had been recording him, nothing he’d said was concrete, and Akiza wasn’t sure any of it was admissible. But it was better than nothing.

At least, she thought so, until Kamoshida started laughing again.

“Ah, right, the criminal transfer student. I’m sure the police would love to hear from a delinquent with a record. Especially with all those rumors going around, who knows what you did that got you sent here? Though, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Mishima?” He took a step forward, and Akiza fought to stand her ground as he looked over her shoulder. “After all, it was you who leaked the record to the student body.”

Akiza froze.

What…?

“Th-that’s… but-- you made me…!” Akiza heard Mishima’s shoes scuffing the floor behind her, stumbling like he was about to fall over. “You gave me no choice! Y-you said I had to, or you’d throw me off the team!”

“Did I now? I don’t remember anything like that. Even if I did, though, it doesn’t change what you’ve done. Following through would mean you buried the transfer student’s reputation just to save your own skin.” Another step forward, and Akiza couldn’t help taking a step back. “And guess what? I found something out yesterday. You left a very interesting detail out of your little leak, Mishima.”

His gaze swiveled to Akiza, and her blood turned to ice. Even her frothing anger halted, the rest of the world growing foggy and distant.

He can’t--

No--

Please--

“Your friend here has been hiding something from you,” he said, and every pair of eyes that turned to her pierced her like knives, pinning her between their gazes. Akiza felt exposed, willing her heart to start beating again, to wake up from this horrible nightmare, far away and safe where this wasn’t about to happen.

“Principal Kobayakawa shared some information with me about Kurusu here. It was supposed to be kept under wraps, apparently, but he and I are so close that I guess he couldn’t help but share.”

“Please,” she whispered, feeling tears prick at the corner of her eyes. Did she just let her voice drop? She couldn’t tell, everything was so muffled, everything but his voice--

No, no, stop, please, I’LL DO ANYTHING--

“You see, your friend Kurusu here is actually a boy.”

Glass shattered somewhere in Akiza’s heart.

“His parents apparently made a sizable donation to the school, on the condition that he be allowed to attend as a girl. I can only imagine he’s getting off to it, or something like that. I wish I’d known before I offered up the volleyball team. I’m just not into crossdressers, Kurusu. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Akiza stepped back, saved from falling by the wall behind her as her bag thudded to the floor. Something awful crawled out of the hole in her heart, black and clawing, gouging where the glass had already shattered as he turned away from them, waving a hand dismissively.

“Everyone present here will be expelled at the next board meeting.” He took his seat again, returning to his paperwork. “This is what happens when you choose to defy me. Enjoy the last three weeks of your freedom.”

Akiza turned and ran, bolted from the room as his laughter chased her down the hallway. The blackness in her heart clawed higher.

Feet hit pavement, and Akiza flew out the front door of Shujin hall and down the steps, blowing past people and not able to hear whatever was shouted at her from behind. Only raw, heart-wrenching emotion was washing over her, chasing away everything else while she ran. By the time she’d started to become aware enough of her surroundings again, she was sitting on the ground in an alleyway she didn’t recognize, hugging her legs to her chest and letting the tears flow freely.

This was the end of everything. Everything she’d hoped and dreamed about since she was told she’d be going to Tokyo, midnight prayers for a new start, for a clean slate, for the ability to live without fear. All snatched away in an instant.

Regret tasted like bile in her mouth.

Kamoshida would probably force Mishima to leak her identity to the rest of the school. Ryuji and Ann wouldn’t want anything to do with her, obviously. Morgana wouldn’t trust her with his fate, let alone even the simplest of things after that. Oh god, she’d still have to sit behind Ann in class, wouldn’t she? Stuck behind Ann, the incarnation of everything Akiza could never be, taunting her from two feet in front of her face. Akiza’s grip on her legs tightened, threatening to rip ladders into her tights.

Her tights. Her school uniform.

Crossdressing freak getting off on this delusional pervert stop it stop it STOP IT--

She couldn’t form thoughts more coherent than static, just noise and anger and despair battering the insides of her skull. She was so completely, crushingly alone and it was all her fault, all her fault because she was stupid for thinking this could work, stupid for thinking she could’ve lived like this, stupid for believing for an instant that anybody actually wanted her around, stupid to think she could’ve actually been a girl--

“--iza? Akiza? Hey, can you hear me?”

Akiza jolted as she slammed back into herself, the impact of the sudden shift back to reality disorienting like a brick to the head. She blinked the tears out of her eyes, gradually realizing that Ryuji was kneeling in front of her, hands on her shoulders and shaking her lightly. His expression was heartbreaking, all fear and concern and worry.

For me…?

“Ryu… ji?”

“Oh thank god, Akiza, hey.” Ryuji smiled weakly, and he squeezed her shoulders a little tighter. “You looked really out of it.” He withdrew his hands and adjusted his position, hissing as he stretched his leg out.

He got hurt because of me, thought part of Akiza.

He ran through the pain for me, thought another part.

“Sorry, I’m, uh… Listen, I ain’t gonna pretend I know what you’re going through right now, but when you ran off...” He bounced his good leg for a moment, looking away, before meeting her gaze. “We got worried about you.”

“Akiza!” Ann dashed towards them as she rounded the corner into the alleyway, dropping to her knees beside them. Mishima lingered by the corner Ann had emerged from. “You… you ran,” she said, voice hoarse and face stained with tears. She looked haggard, drained, and frayed. “After he said… we were worried. I… I’m sorry.”

Morgana leapt out of the bag Ann had been carrying and butted his head against Akiza’s shin, curling up against her foot and staying quiet. His eyes said plenty, anyways. Her hand found his back, and the gentle rumble of his purrs helped her find some comfort.

“You guys--” She cut herself off with a hacking cough, the sound of her old voice assaulting her eardrums like gunfire as she fought to correct it. “You guys aren’t mad?” There, properly this time.

“What? No! Why would we be?” Ryuji spoke up across from her, and she looked between him, Ann, Morgana, and Mishima, who stood back a bit, refusing to meet her gaze.

“Because I… Because I’m not…” Akiza trailed off as another hoarse cry shook her.

Just a boy pretending.

Ann and Ryuji shared a glance as Akiza pushed her glasses up onto her forehead, wiping her eyes with a free sleeve. Concealer stained her cuff, laying the dark circles under her eyes bare.

“We’re not mad, Akiza. Just… surprised, I guess? We had no idea…” Ann gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and Ryuji reached out to take the other one.

“If you wanna talk, we can, like, go somewhere that’s not an alleyway.” To Ryuji’s eternal credit, that comment actually pulled a little choked laugh from Akiza. She tightened her grips on their hands, grounding herself in the sensation of touch, as if she would sink back down without them to pull her up.

“...I know where we can go.”

Friday, 4/15
Afternoon
Cafe Leblanc

They made the train journey in near silence, Akiza refusing to let go of Ann and Ryuji’s hands except to swipe her train pass. Mishima had trailed behind them, remaining silent.

Akiza reluctantly released their hands as they approached Leblanc, and a quick peek through the windows revealed the cafe to be mercifully empty. She took a deep breath, pushing open the door. Sojiro’s gaze swept over to them, brow furrowing.

“What, did you bring your friends over…” His eyes widened as he took in her appearance, disheveled and clearly just done with crying. Akiza’s eyes were still red and puffy, and she was visibly shaking. “...Kid, what happened?”

“I…” Her voice was still hoarse, and Sojiro shook his head as he pointed to one of the empty booths.

“Go, sit. I’ll get you kids some coffee and close up.” As the students awkwardly shuffled over, Sojiro laid a hand gently on Akiza’s shoulder. It didn’t feel at all like Kamoshida’s had. Sojiro’s voice was low, dark eyes roiling with worry. “Do I need to expect anyone else?”

Akiza shook her head.

“Alright. Tell me later, okay?”

It took her a few seconds to nod, surprised to find herself actually okay with that idea.

She sidled into the booth next to Ryuji, across from Mishima and Ann, as Sojiro set four steaming cups of coffee on the table. He locked the door behind him as he left, and a weighty silence fell over the four teenagers. Akiza’s hand found Ryuji’s almost automatically, twining their fingers together. He gave her a warm look for a moment before looking away, one leg bouncing steadily. She smiled just a little as she grabbed for her mug, noting that his hand felt just as warm as the coffee.

"Did the paramedics tell you anything?" Akiza asked timidly, still looking down at the table. Something about the fact that they were comforting her right now rankled her, made her feel traitorous. Pathetic. After everything with Suzui, what right did she have to this kind of attention?

"She's not in critical condition," Ann said, heaving a sigh. "She's gonna make it, but she'll be unconscious for a few days at least."

"That's good," Akiza breathed. "I'm glad to hear." Ann nodded and Ryuji hummed, and silence descended again. Mishima was the one to break it this time.

“I’m sorry,” he said, staring intently into his cup with a pained expression. “I shouldn’t have leaked your record. I was so afraid of Kamoshida that I…”

“He made you do it,” Akiza interrupted, finding her voice. “It’s not your fault. He threatened you.”

“It is my fault, though!” Mishima’s own voice nearly cracked at the end of his exclamation, hand tightening around his cup. “I should’ve done something. I just let him push me around like… like…” He trailed off, and Ryuji piped up.

“Listen, man. Y’ain’t gotta kick yourself around like this. We all know the spot he put you in. You’re not a coward for tryin’ to keep yourself safe.” Ann and Mishima looked up, meeting Ryuji’s gaze with apologetic eyes. He shook his head and smiled lightly, nodding. Akiza spoke up next.

“You could’ve leaked the… other info about me, but you didn’t.” Akiza still found herself talking awkwardly around the truth. “That shows a lot more about you than the other stuff. That means a lot to me, Mishima.” She gave a grateful smile, and he scratched the back of his head.

“R-right. I just… well, I thought I could be okay if I just put out some of your record…” He deflected some, apparently still uncomfortable with the idea for now. That was fine. He’d figure out who to blame soon, Akiza had no doubts. “...I didn’t want you to have to deal with that too.”

“...I should probably explain that then, huh?” She bit her lip, taking a deep breath to steady herself, and another sip of coffee. Ryuji squeezed her hand, and Morgana moved from her side to curling up in her lap.

“Not if you don’t want to.” Ann cut in before Akiza could speak. She was looking marginally better than she had in the alleyway; there was a tiny bit of light in her eyes again, and while her voice was still strained and a bit quiet, she was speaking in full sentences again. She held onto her mug of coffee with both hands, like she was afraid she’d crumble without it. “Don’t feel like you have to do anything just because of what he said. It doesn’t change anything between us.”

Akiza did smile at that. It still wasn’t a full smile, but it was very real. “Thanks, but. I want to anyways. I want you to… understand, I guess.”

She let the rest come after a bit of processing.

“I… I’m trans. I didn’t realize it for a long time, until around the end of elementary school.” The words felt thick and heavy coming out of her, like she was trying to jam a square peg through a round hole. “That’s when I started to get an idea what the awful feeling I had might be. I wanted to be a Sailor Scout for Halloween, and my mom got me a Tuxedo Mask costume instead. I cried for hours, and I had no idea why. After that, I started to figure it out.”

The others looked on in silence, without a shred of judgement. She took another sip, and the warmth made it easier to keep going.

“Lots of days, I would look at myself in the mirror and feel like I’d gotten punched in the gut. I still have days like that sometimes. I didn’t have anybody that I could talk to about something like that for a long time. My parents and I weren’t close, even then, and in a backwater country town like the one I grew up in, there wasn’t exactly a therapist or anything I could turn to. I was already getting bullied for being the scrawny kid with glasses, how was I supposed to tell anybody about that?”

“God, that’s awful.” Ann’s expression was somewhere between sorrowful and furious.

“The community for… people like me isn’t very big in Japan, at least not compared to some other places. I focused really hard on learning English just so I could talk to other people like me, to find out what they did about it, what I could do to make myself feel better. I found out that there’s, like, medical treatments for this kind of thing. I couldn’t get a doctor’s approval for it without my parents finding out, so about a year ago, I started buying the medicine secondhand from the internet and doing it myself.” From the corners of her eyes, she saw the others’ faces scrunch up in concern.

“Wait, you were like, self-medicating?” Ryuji’s worry was plain to hear for a moment, before he cut himself off from saying anything more. His face screwed up in thought for a moment before he shook his head. “Sorry, nevermind. You had to.”

Akiza nodded. “It’s either that or I stop looking at myself in mirrors.” She gestured to herself. “They’re how I look like this. Girlish enough to pass with some effort. Sometimes the meds make me sick if I mess the doses up, but it’s never that bad.”

“So it’s all people figuring it out together?” Mishima spoke up, more curious than outright skeptical.

“Yeah,” she answered. “Lots of people do it, so I got some advice from the internet. I had it mostly figured out within a couple months. It’s slow going, but… I’d rather have it than not.”

There was a pause, full of quiet and laced with awkward tension. Akiza didn’t blame them. What were you supposed to say to something like this?

“So, when you moved to Tokyo… Shujin let you enroll as a girl?” Ryuji was the one to break the silence.

“Yeah. My parents found my meds and I had to come out to them right before I got arrested. They paid Shujin a bunch of money to let me come as a girl. I’d… embarrassed them before. With something stupid I’d tried to do, to deal with all this stuff I couldn’t talk about. So they gave a donation to the school to get them to accept me as a girl, in the hopes that I wouldn’t cause any more trouble for them. I’d stay out of jail and not… make them look bad.” She took another sip of coffee. God, this needs cream. “Not the most loving of parting gifts, but I’ll take it.” She smiled bitterly and the silence returned, albeit more comfortably this time, as she added some milk and sweetness to her drink.

“Thanks.” Ann said, prompting her to look back up. “For telling us, I mean. It must have been scary.” After the thoughts she’d had in the alley, Suzui’s fall, and everything Ann had said so far, Akiza didn’t expect to be able to meet her gaze. Blue eyes pierced her in a way she didn’t know how to explain, and filled her with an emotion that was unparsable and strangely raw. All she knew for sure is that, whatever it was, she preferred it vastly over the emptiness that had been there before. Ann pressed a hand across her heart. “I don’t know if I understand it all, not the way you do, but I want to be here for you.”

“Yeah, that goes for me too.” Ryuji chimed in, and Mishima echoed the sentiment. Even Morgana let out an agreeable meow, nuzzling his head against her stomach.

“You… you’re okay with it? You still want to be friends?”

“Well, duh! Of course!” Ryuji grinned, withdrawing his hand from hers and throwing his arm across her shoulders. “We got a job to do, and there’s no way we’d just drop ya like that. You’re our friend.” His expression changed on a dime, to a familiar sort of concern.

Ann nodded, and Mishima, after a pause, followed suit, allowing himself a smile too.

Your friends. My friends.

They know, and they don’t care. They still like me.

Akiza let out a sharp laugh, pulling her glasses off. Her tears started to flow, and Ryuji panicked briefly.

“Oh shit, uh, are you okay, did I do somethin’ wrong?” His arm retreated, but Akiza only started to laugh harder, leaning against him and shaking her head. He looked away again as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“No, never. I’m just…” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with a smile. “I’m just glad I met you guys.”

Friday, 4/15
Cafe Leblanc
Evening

Mishima had been the first to leave, excusing himself and leaving a few yen on the table for the coffee that he didn’t drink. Akiza and the others had discussed some more about their mission, now that they had a hard time limit of three weeks. Today had been a wash, and they decided to take Saturday off as well, to rest and recuperate from the day’s ordeals.

Sojiro, seeing how drained Akiza looked, didn’t press her yet, instead allowing her to take a much-needed shower before she returned to the attic. Morgana sat perched atop the work desk, watching as Akiza brushed her hair before bed.

“Hey.” His voice was softer than she was used to hearing. “I, um. I didn’t speak up earlier because I didn’t want any of you to respond to me in front of Mishima, but I’m in the same boat as Ann and Ryuji.” His tail swished with uncertainty, and Akiza gave a little half-smile.

“It’s okay, I got the message. It means just as much from you as it does from the others.” Akiza truly meant that; despite his feline form, Morgana was just as much a person as any of them, even with his seeming inexperience with humans. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on it earlier, to be honest.” He cocked his head at that, hopping down from the desk and trotting over to the bed.

“I don’t know how I could have,” he began. “I don’t really get how humans work in a lot of areas. Anything that might have given you away, I probably thought was normal for a human girl.”

That… was an interesting thought. Morgana not being familiar with humans was one thing, but being broadly unfamiliar with gender as a concept wasn’t something Akiza had expected. “I suppose that makes sense. All the same, thanks for not blowing my cover.” She smirked and set the brush down, pulling out her phone to text Ann.

“Of course!” Morgana said, scooching over to allow Akiza to climb into bed. “I’d never do something to jeopardize our partnership!” He practically meowed the end of that sentence, puffing up his chest in a frankly adorable manner. Akiza smiled and gave him a scratch between the ears, earning a purr as her phone chimed.

Akiza toyed with the thing, flipping the little red clip between her fingers. She set it aside for the moment, tapping out another message.

With a flick of her finger, Akiza closed the messaging app, gaze drawn back to the hair clip beside her. Something about it kept pulling at her attention. She reached over to it, opening up the front-facing camera on her phone. It was a bit awkward with one hand, not really knowing the intricacies of the thing, but after a minute of finagling she managed to get it to sit right, bangs pinned back and out of her face.

Her face, which she’d always thought of as not soft enough, too masculine, too handsome. The face that she wore glasses to conceal, even though she had perfectly good contact lenses. The face that she’d grown her bangs out to hide. And here it was, unobscured by glasses or makeup or hair.

Maybe it wasn’t quite so bad after all.

With a click, she locked her phone, setting it down and turning out the light.

Chapter Text

Saturday, 4/16
Early Morning
Cafe Leblanc

Akiza took her time descending the attic stairs. A cup of coffee and some curry waited for her on the counter, in what was becoming her usual spot. The TV was on at low volume, and Sojiro was washing dishes in the back. Carefully, she padded over and sat down. The gentle creak got Sojiro's attention, but only for a moment. Akiza felt hyper-aware of every little sound she made as she ate.

He still made breakfast this morning. He won’t be mad that he had to close up… right?

Placing her dish in the sink, Akiza spoke up, trying to keep a level tone.

“Tonight. I’ll… fill you in on everything that happened. I-is that alright?”

Sojiro looked over, and gave a brusque nod. “Alright. Don’t force yourself. Take care at school, and stay out of trouble.”

Akiza let out a breath. “I will. Thanks.”

“Hm.” And like that, he went back to work.

Stepping outside, Akiza couldn’t help holding her bag at her side and reaching over to pet Morgana. It was that simple. No trouble just because she’d shown up upset. Sojiro hadn’t even said anything about closing down early.

Morgana meowed. “You’ve gotta be going soon, right? Things will get a little easier when you meet up with the other two.”

“Yeah, they will.” A relieved little smile pricked at the corners of her mouth. “It’s a little easier with you here too.”

He butted his head against her palm. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Saturday, 4/16
Shujin Academy
Morning

Shujin wasn't much different than it had been for the past week.. There were some whispers about Akiza’s sudden run the previous day, but most were still centered around her supposed crimes, the list of which grew more outlandish by the day (arms trafficking was the new one, apparently). Plus plenty of chatter about Suzui, which turned Akiza’s stomach in a wholly unique way.

Morgana had been right, too. Things did get a little easier the moment she laid eyes on Ryuji and Ann waiting for her at the Shibuya station. The two had stuck to her like glue at every opportunity from then on, all the way through morning classes.

“Oh, you’re wearin’ your hair outta your face,” Ryuji said when he caught sight of the clip in her hair. “It looks, uh, nice. Makes your eyes stand out.”

He’d looked away quickly after, but Akiza kept a tight hold of the warmth the compliment had inspired.

Shortly before lunch, Akiza heard her phone buzz faintly from within her desk.

“It’s from Haru,” whispered Morgana, curled up alongside it. Somehow, he’d gone unnoticed by her classmates so far. Akiza scrambled for the phone as quickly as she dared without alerting the teacher, discreetly swiping it open.

Akiza felt a little grin flicker across her face.

The dismissal bell’s soft chime came soon enough. Akiza hastily crammed her notebooks and Morgana into her bag, with a thud from the former and a brief, startled yowl from the latter.

“Going somewhere?” Ann turned around at the sound of the commotion. Her face, Akiza noted, was drained, more so than it had been that morning. The spark in her eyes was dull, and Akiza’s heart ached at the sight.

“Going to see a doctor later,” Akiza explained, dropping her voice to a murmur. “I want to get us some medicine for our… stuff, to take some of the healing strain off. And there’s some things I have to take care of before the appointment.”

Ann nodded, seeming satisfied with that. “I’m going to see Shiho,” she said, and Akiza couldn’t call herself surprised. Ann went back to packing up her things, and Akiza weighed her options for a moment before sitting back down.

“Have you heard anything since yesterday?”

Ann didn’t look up. “She’s still unconscious, but she’s stable. Now I just have to wait for her to wake up.”

“That’s good,” Akiza murmured, relieved. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m-- I’m fine.” Ann answered just a little too quickly. “We’re going back in tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll text you guys the plan.” She rose from her chair, bag in hand, but stalled before she turned to leave. “I’m, y’know, around. If you need to talk about yesterday.”

Ann stopped, staring down at her desk, or maybe more like staring through it. Her hands clenched and unclenched once, and Akiza watched her suck in a breath before she turned her head up to look at her, a small smile on her face that didn’t fully reach her eyes. “I’ll let you know. Thanks.”

Akiza could only nod and bid her goodbye for the time being.

Saturday, 4/16
Shujin Academy
Lunchtime

The crowd of students milling around the halls gave Akiza a wide berth, as they so often did. The fact that there were now three students at Shujin who knew the truth of her identity made all the stares even more oppressive than usual, but she soldiered on, not wanting to keep Haru waiting. She found her alone at the place they’d agreed to meet, sitting on one end of the bench with her hands folded primly on her lap and her bento beside her. As Akiza rounded the corner, Haru turned to look, and the gentle smile that came to her face was too sweet to not reciprocate.

“Good afternoon, Akiza-chan.” Haru patted the seat next to her, and Akiza took it gratefully.

“Hi, Haru.” She placed her bag down beside her, and Morgana promptly wriggled out, shooting a legendary stink-eye at her for a moment before trotting over to Haru’s lap and making himself comfortable there.

“Well hello, little man!” Haru tittered as she scratched behind Morgana’s ears, earning some pleased purrs from the feline. She turned her attention back to Akiza then, still petting Morgana idly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t meet in our usual place. I know this place isn’t as private, but… the faculty asked me not to go up to the roof for a few days.”

Akiza didn’t have to wonder why, and by the somber look on Haru’s face, neither did she.

“I understand,” Akiza said, maybe a little too quietly. “Eating here is fine too. How have you been?”

“In a word, busy. I had several family obligations to tend to.” Haru spoke softly, almost hesitating between some words. In her periphery, Akiza noticed her picking at the hem of her skirt. “I’m sorry if this is too personal, but I heard that you ran from the building yesterday. Are you… doing okay, I suppose?”

Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to happen so soon. Seeing Haru was supposed to take her mind off the events of the previous day. “I’m… fine, I guess,” she said after a moment. She wasn't about to come out to Haru on the spot, but she hadn't exactly had time to fabricate an explanation for her very public breakdown yesterday.

Make it work, she told herself, rapidly trying to hammer the facts into something between the truth and a total lie.

“Akiza-chan?” Haru’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Akiza blinked and, seeing the concerned look on Haru’s face, scratched at the back of her neck and looked away.

“Sorry. It’s just…” she mumbled. Deep breath, she told herself, and then pressed on. “I actually know Suzui-san a bit. The girl who--” jumped fell falling falling dying-- “The girl from yesterday. Friend of friends, I guess. And when I saw what happened, I just…”

“It’s okay, Akiza-chan. You don’t need to elaborate.” Haru spoke gently but firmly, and as Akiza met her gaze again, she found Haru’s eyes soft and apologetic. “I can’t imagine what you and your friends are going through right now, but if you need someone to talk to, I’ll be there to listen.”

That thought gave Akiza pause. The last thing she wanted to do was drag Haru into this mess, but at the same time, it might be nice to have someone else to confide in. Ann and Ryuji were great, but…

Haru’s not as close to this as them, she thought. And that had a certain value to it.

“I will, thanks.” Akiza smiled weakly at Haru, already feeling drained. She reached for her bag, withdrawing her thermos and basking in the scent of the coffee as she opened the lid. The first sip was rejuvenating, warming, and it felt just a little bit like a hug. After a moment, she held the thermos out to Haru. “Want some?”

“Oh, yes! Thank you.” Haru took the thermos gratefully, and seemed to take just as much joy from the coffee as Akiza had. "It's wonderful," she said with a smile, handing the thermos back.

"You know, you're welcome to come by the cafe if you're ever in the area. It's over in Yongen." Akiza spoke up after another sip of her own. There was more to Haru, more than she could see, and she was fascinated by her in a way she couldn't quite place. There was a well-masked hurt in Haru's hazel eyes, and Akiza couldn't help but want to aid her. Even if that aid was nothing but a cup of coffee and a conversation.

Haru paused, picking at the hem of her skirt again. "I think I'd like that," she said after a moment. "I'll let you know when I'm available."

Akiza smiled back at her, and for just a second, everything was simple.

A soft ringtone chimed from Haru's bag, and a shadow of something painful flickered across her face for an instant before she retrieved her phone.

“It seems my time is up,” she said with a small, regretful smile on her face. “I’m needed at home. Please do send me the address of the cafe though, I would be delighted to come visit.”

“Oh, definitely.” Akiza reached over to pluck Morgana off Haru’s lap to let her stand, much to his chagrin.

“I can get up myself!” He whined, but quickly made himself comfortable in Akiza’s arms regardless, which brought a warmth to her chest as she rose from her seat.

Haru paused as she moved to depart, eyes somewhere in the middle distance looking out over the school courtyard. She closed her eyes for a moment, then regarded Akiza with a smile and a look that even Akiza couldn’t quite place. “Please give your friends my regards. I hope everything with Suzui-san works out.”

“I will,” she replied. “See you later.”

Haru nodded, departing without another word.

“What do you think is going on with her?” Morgana asked as he wiggled out of Akiza’s arms and back into her bag. “She seems really preoccupied.”

“Not sure,” Akiza murmured. There was so much that intrigued and puzzled her about Haru, not the least of which being that, as far as Akiza could tell, Haru was hiding just as much as she herself was. The only question was what. It clearly troubled her, but could Akiza even help? Would Haru want help?

A ping from her phone reminded her that she had an appointment to get to. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and preparing herself for this next task. Haru could wait until another day.

Saturday, 4/16
Yongen-Jaya
After School

The waiting room at the doctor’s office was… mostly normal. Of course it is, she thought. Why wouldn’t it be? It was small, only about five seats, featuring an eye-catching clock with a shattered face. The window just beneath had suffered a similar fate, cracked pane plastered over with tape and flyers. The woman behind the counter lounged disinterestedly, white coat contrasting with the black-and-teal spiderweb-patterned dress she wore. She looked up as Akiza entered, the decorative chains on her spiked necklace jingling just a bit.

“Can I help you?”

“I have an appointment,” came Akiza’s automatic reply. She gave her name, and the woman quickly checked something Akiza couldn’t see.

“Ah, right. Follow me to the exam room, we can get started right away.” She stood up from her desk, vanishing around the corner before opening the other door in the waiting room, beckoning Akiza further in. She obliged, sitting down on the exam bed as the woman lowered herself into the office chair, crossing her legs (good god, her heels!) and pulling up a clipboard.

“My name is Tae Takemi, I’ll be your doctor today. This is your first visit, so we’re gonna start with some general stuff, okay?”

Somehow, Akiza hadn’t been expecting the woman’s tone to be so even, the goth getup perhaps suggesting something more abrasive. Instead, she patiently ran Akiza through a basic physical, taking her temperature, height, weight, blood pressure, and all the other standard checks. Akiza was almost relaxed by the end, having briefly forgotten what she’d come here for, until she sat back down on the bed and Takemi reminded her.

“So, formalities are out of the way. What are you here for?” The doctor picked up her clipboard again, placing it on her lap and looking levelly at Akiza.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping, and it’s starting to affect my school performance.” The lie flowed easily. “I get these aches and pains sometimes, and it makes it hard to stay asleep. I was hoping you’d have some painkillers better than the generic stuff."

Takemi clicked her tongue, one eyebrow arched.

“That so?” She stood from her chair, moving to the door and clicking the lock shut.

Uh.

“So, what, someone in the neighborhood told you I’m sketchy, and now you want me to sell you painkillers.” Her gaze was… not harsh exactly, but certainly hard. It cut through her, somehow, leaving her feeling pinned down in the exact way she hated.

“I’m not lying,” Akiza stated. “My entrance exams will be coming up soon, and I can’t afford to do poorly.”

“I’m not as dumb as I look, you know. All I get these days are patients with ulterior motives.” She set her mouth into a hard line for a moment, then sighed, looking down. “...Fine. I’ll prescribe you some painkillers. But nothing heavy-duty. Don’t need kids getting hooked on painkillers because of me.”

Akiza breathed a silent sigh of relief. Having reliable access to medicine would take so much healing strain off Morgana and Ann. Even if everything else failed today, at least she’d secured that.

Meanwhile, her other reason for visiting sat like a stone in her throat.

Say it, you idiot!

“There’s something else,” she blurted, the impending threat of honesty stripping back the confidence of her earlier lie. Takemi arched her eyebrow imperiously again, a silent question.

Breathe.

“I… I need an estrogen prescription. And testosterone blockers.”

Something in Takemi’s gaze softened just slightly, and the doctor leaned back in her chair.

“Alright. We can get that going today, if you’re feeling up for having some blood drawn.” Akiza nodded fervently, almost breathless, as Takemi took some more notes down. “Who was your prior endocrinologist?”

Ah, Akiza thought. Fuck.

“I, um.” Her voice came out raspy, painful in how she felt it threaten to dip back into its old register. She cleared her throat, trying to re-wrangle her vocal cords. Doctors were supposed to be non-judgmental, right? Self-medding wasn’t illegal, just frowned upon. “I-I didn’t have one. I was, um. Doing it myself.”

Takemi’s eyebrows perked just slightly, in surprise this time, and Akiza felt her stomach drop. The doctor must have seen it on her face, because she quickly spoke up. “Hey, relax. You’re not the first kid who’s ever done this kind of stuff on your own.” Her lips tilted into a small smile as she held her pen up, tapping it gently against her own collarbone.

Akiza’s brain spun in circles. “You-?” She choked off her own question, but Takemi understood, nodding.

“Yeah. Nine years HRT, two years post-op. Not that I make a habit of sharing my history around, but…” She shrugged. “I know how hard it is to feel like you’re the only one.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Akiza realized Takemi was right. Some irrational part of her had been made to feel like she was the only person in the universe to ever be trans and lonely. “I’m sorry, I just-- You’re the first I’ve met in real life. Or at least, the first one I knew about.”

Takemi stood with a smile, this one a bit softer than her previous wry smirks, pulling a basket of tools down from a high shelf. “People like us have a hard time finding a place to belong. All the more important that we stick together whenever we find each other. Tell me about your dosing while I get the blood draw ready.”

Akiza rattled off her regimen, long since committed to memory, already shedding her uniform jacket and rolling up her sleeve. She’d made an effort to keep her dosage reasonable, soberly resisting the urge to give herself as much of the stuff as she could handle. Not that she hadn’t often had to remind herself not to.

They chatted a bit more as Takemi drew her blood, about transition goals and side effects. Akiza had done her research thoroughly, of course, but having an actual professional to bounce questions off of made all the difference. Especially with someone she could be comfortable with.

“So, um,” she asked after a moment, drawing her sleeve back down. “When should I come back for the results?”

“Just wait here for a few minutes.” Takemi drew back a curtain at the end of the room, revealing a bench of equipment Akiza didn’t recognize. “I can do it right now.”

Akiza didn’t presume to be a medical professional, of course, but the equipment in this room alone looked excessive for a general practitioner. External labs usually handled blood tests and things of that nature, right? So what was all this equipment for?

Takemi spoke up, leaning against a cabinet while one of the machines did something to her blood. “Another thing. You can fix sleep habits and hormones with pills, but not much else. How’s your support network? You out to anyone?”

“A couple friends, and my guardian.” Akiza folded her hands in her lap, feeling the reality of that statement sink in for what must have been the tenth time at that point. They know, and they’re still here. “They’re good, I trust them. New to the whole ‘trans’ thing, but supportive.” She paused for a second, smile tilting her lips. “Does my cat count?”

Takemi chuckled, turning back to the table. “I’ll allow it. Good to hear you’ve got people in your corner.” Akiza’s fingers lightly brushed the hair clip holding her bangs over.

“Yeah,” she said with a warmer smile. “It is.”

Saturday, 4/16
Yongen-Jaya
Evening

The stream of hot water shut off with a click. Akiza fumbled for the towel on the sink and started to blow dry her hair. As she fluffed her dark curls, she glanced at the closed door to the bathroom over and over again.

Beyond that door sat Sojiro, and having to truly confront what had happened yesterday. The events replayed themselves in her mind unprompted, the image of Suzui falling and the horror of Kamoshida exposing her having carved themselves into her brain by now.

Oh, shit, wait a second.

She couldn’t tell him the whole truth. Sojiro knowing that Kamoshida was planning to expel her would destroy her probation. It wouldn’t come to that, of course-- or, rather, hopefully, but altering the story would definitely make things easier. The thought stung, and dug at her chest in a way that was getting irritating as it continued to occur. Lying to people used to be a lot easier before she’d moved to Tokyo. It was a weird feeling, but… she could worry about that later.

As expected, Sojiro was reading something in his usual chair. He glanced up as Akiza emerged from the bathroom, seeming surprised for a second before shaking his head. Every part of her fidgeting posture made it clear now was the time to talk. With a creaking sort of motion, he set aside the book and gestured to the chair next to him. “Take a seat, kid.”

The other, older looking chair was surprisingly plush. It felt well-worn, and didn’t look like much of the other furniture.

Okay. Deep breath… Relax. Think about how you want to phrase it.

“I… okay, I should start from the beginning of the day.” She scratched behind her head, pulling her glasses off. Without the clip on, her bangs fell down a bit. “Ann, the girl who came to Leblanc with me yesterday… We were worried about one of her friends. We were looking for her on Friday morning, but couldn’t find her. Then, she… she jumped off the roof.”

Sojiro’s brow furrowed deeply at that. The old man looked as though he was about to speak up, but instead cleared his throat and nodded for her to continue.

“It turned out that she was…” Fuck, the word was thorny and painful in her throat. “One of the athletes had forced himself onto her.”

Sojiro gritted his teeth, one foot tapping, as if he was barely holding back whatever he wanted to say.

“Ann went to confront her friend’s attacker, and Ryuji-- the blond boy-- and I found out from the blue-haired boy, Mishima, who it was, so we ran after her. It turned out that… the attacker - he knew about me. He told them…” Keep it together. He already knows. He’s got you. She let out a breath, steadying herself. “He told them I’m trans. I p-panicked, and ran, and they came to find me, and we came to Leblanc to talk about it.” Akiza leaned back, sinking into the cushion behind her, letting the weight start to lift off her shoulders.

The man next to her broke his gaze, looking down at his shoes for the moment and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, kid,” he said after a long moment. “Can’t imagine what that’s like. How’re you holding up?”

“Honestly? Pretty good, all things considered.” Some part of Akiza still couldn’t believe everything that had unfolded, and especially not that it had ended the way it did. “I explained everything to them after you left, and they’re supportive. The athlete can’t get in trouble, the school is protecting him because he boosts their prestige.”

“Kid’s probably from money. Pisses me off, hearin’ about people getting away with awful things like that.” He sighed wearily, settling back into his chair. “That’s just how it goes, sometimes.”

Akiza bit her lip, thinking, Not this time. Not for long. “Ann’s friend is alive, she’s still in the hospital. Still unconscious, but she’s stable. So, yeah.” She blew out a sigh. “It’s been a weird first week.”

He cleared his throat, nudging his glasses back up to the top of his nose. “Thanks for letting me know. You need to stop sticking your nose into this, though.” His gaze had turned a little harder, but without too much iron behind it. The same sense of stern-but-maybe-friendly that she’d gotten when they’d first met. “You should be thinking about your record first and foremost. The last thing you need is these ‘supportive friends’ getting you in trouble.”

Just deal with it. Soon this’ll all be over.

“I understand. I’ll be careful.” He nodded again, and there was a moment of silence between them. It stretched out while Akiza felt herself sinking into the old plush chair, just the background hum of the evening news and nothing else. It felt like… something she’d forgotten. Working up the courage, Akiza spoke again.

“Hey, uh, could I ask a favor?”

“What do you need?” Sojiro’s reply was immediate, and it made Akiza’s heart swell.

“I was wondering if… if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you teach me how to make coffee? Like, good coffee?” She sat up a bit, Haru fresh on her mind. Sojiro blinked owlishly at her for a moment, before humming. The old man stroked his beard, and cracked a sly grin.

“Hmm, maybe. I could use a hand around the cafe, anyways. If you’re gonna freeload, might as well be useful.” The slightly-playful tone told Akiza all she needed to know.

“Thanks.” After a little longer, she stood up, making her way towards the door. Instead of following her, however, Sojiro merely stood up, tossing something to Akiza. She caught it deftly in one hand, was shocked to see a single key.

“You can lock up behind yourself. I’m getting too old to wait for you to come back every night. Gimme a holler if you need anything, okay?”

Akiza felt the weight of the key in her hand, what it represented, before she pocketed it and nodded. “I will.”

“Welcome back, Trickster.”

Lavenza’s voice pulled Akiza’s eyes open, rising to wake on the stiff cot in her cell. Piano notes swam languidly through the air as she swung her feet onto the floor. Idly, Akiza noted that it wasn’t as hard to move this time. With the door already open, she padded out into the central room.

“Hi, Lavenza.” Akiza gave a small wave and a small smile, and the girl curtsied in return. “Hey, if I went to sleep with socks on, would they show up here? The floor’s way too cold for bare feet.”

Lavenza’s head tilted some, golden eyes gaining a small twinkle. “It’s very likely. This place is, to some extent, based on your cognition. If you made a note of having worn something to sleep, it would almost surely follow. It’s certainly an easier solution than changing the floor.”

A thought ambushed Akiza. “Oh, right. This place is based off my heart, isn’t it? Does that make this like… my Palace?”

The shorter girl hummed. “Only insofar as it reflects your mental state. It’s especially uncommon for someone who has already awoken to their Persona to have a Palace.”

But not impossible?

“In any case,” Igor lilted from his seat at the desk, redirecting them. “I wish to commend you, Trickster, for allowing others into your heart. It is not always a simple a thing to be both true to oneself and nonetheless received. In exchange, the connection between this realm and your own has been allowed to grow as well.”

“How do you mean?” Akiza asked.

Lavenza opened her book. The old pages moved quickly, her eyes glowing while she scanned through. “To abbreviate, you, and only you, will be able to see me waiting at the gate to the Velvet Room in certain locations. For now this will be limited to spaces in the Metaverse, but in time I’m certain we will be able to meet elsewhere too.”

As soon as she’d finished, the pages came to a stop on a familiar picture. “That’s Pixie, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is,” the silver-haired girl gave a proud smile. Igor picked up, making a rolling hand gesture.

“Anyone who allows themselves to become close with another, inevitably, has their development shaped. It is an impossible thing to avoid, but in the end, when embraced, allows us to overcome adversities we could not alone. As greater challenges emerge, you will find this to be true no matter what reality you occupy.”

“Previously,” Lavenza continued. “I avoided complicating matters unnecessarily. Now, I may inform you that all Personas belong to an Arcana, not dissimilar to the ones you or I might have used for telling fortunes. The Persona Pixie belongs to the Lovers Arcana, which is presently occupied for you by Ann Takamaki. Similarly, the Persona Agathion belongs to the Chariot Arcana, occupied for you by Ryuji Sakamoto. Are you still following?”

“I’m… pretty sure.” Akiza hazarded. “So if that’s like the other stuff you’ve been saying, then the closer we get, the stronger Personas with that Arcana will be for me?”

The other girl looked pleased with herself. “Correct. It is a great deal of information to keep track of, though, so if you ever have any questions -- or wish to know more about a Persona -- you need only ask me and I will tell you all that I can.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Igor raised a finger, getting her attention again. “Additionally, allow me to shed some light on a matter. Among Tricksters such as yourself, it is possible to take on a state of heightened awareness known as the Third Eye. While the common uses of such an ability are to better seek out comrades or hidden valuables, it would seem this has recently caused you some misfortune.”

Recently caused…? “Oh, was that what happened when everything went gray?”

“Correct. Fortunately, this ability can be trained like any other. Do take care.”

Oh, so that wasn’t even a Normal Panic Attack. Is that going to happen every time…?

“Any advice on that?” She asked hopefully.

“None you would find very helpful, I’m afraid.”

“Hm.”

Igor’s smile was basically unchanging, but he offered a palm, fingers upturned as something like a conciliation. “With that, I believe our business is concluded for the night.” Akiza waited for the alarm that would signal the end, and tried to concentrate. “... However, due to the increased strength of our connection, you may now be allowed within the Velvet Room at any time. Exit at your leisure.”

“So, I’m not about to be ambushed by any loud noises in a minute?” Akiza pressed.

The mysterious man simply shook his head with a chuckle. “Lavenza, whenever the Trickster agrees, you may show her our facilities.”

Lavenza’s heels clicked against the stone as she moved to Akiza’s other side, facing Igor, then her in turn. “Of course. Would you be willing to learn a little more tonight?”

You know what? He didn’t say no, did he?

Akiza smiled again. “Sure. May as well get it all in now.”

Lavenza turned one last time, and Akiza wondered if she’d be guided through any of the other still-closed doors - only to be surprised when, with a snap of Lavenza’s fingers, multiple guillotines suddenly appeared across an empty stretch of space. Fusion, as it would turn out, “took on an interesting form” in here. The sudden force of the blades descending wasn’t exactly an ‘ambush’ of sound, but it did make her jump anyways, even with the warning. For her money, Akiza had never seen a little girl so excited about guillotines before. They didn’t make anything together, but the demonstration gave a very vivid picture anyways.

This is just my life now, isn’t it?

Before leaving, Akiza took some time to go over everything in her head. Would the connection between their realms be a good thing for everyone, or just her? Igor came off like someone in control, but she’d dealt with her fair share of people who could lie about having it all under wraps.

She was one of them herself.

“Good luck on your mission.” Lavenza bid farewell with a wave.

“Thanks. You too.”

Lavenza gave a short laugh. “That’s a bit redundant here, actually.”

“Still, though.”

… Being close with others, huh?

That the place still looked like a prison hadn’t escaped her. What it would take to make it look like something else was an intimidating prospect. What did it mean to be free, in a place like this? Akiza laid back down on the cot, and closed her eyes.

Hm. Well, at least it’s my weird life.

And don’t let anyone else say otherwise, chérie.

Akiza snorted. In just a few days, it for sure won’t be Kamoshida’s.

And with that, she drifted quickly to a second sleep. In the morning, the team would meet and plan their final operation in the Palace. A grand, life-risking whirlwind heist.

See you soon, you bastard.

Chapter Text

Sunday, 4/17
Inokashira Park
Morning

“Alright, how are we doing this?” Ann asked.

Ryuji had suggested they meet at Inokashira park in order to make sure they weren’t overheard, and his plan seemed to have paid off. He’d taken them off the beaten trail, to a small pond with a dirt running path curling around part of its perimeter. Presently, Morgana was pacing back and forth on a low stone wall by the bench.

“We need a plan,” he mused. “We can assume the Treasure is in the room behind the throne. And once he realizes the Treasure is threatened, he’ll become incredibly powerful and try to get it back. It’s likely that he’ll even transform into some kind of monster that reflects his cognition. And now that you all have Personas, we won't have the advantage of the power boost that an awakening gives."

“So, we gotta get the crown away from him without gettin’ into a fight.” Ryuji’s leg bounced as he shoved another handful of jagariko into his mouth. “Can Akiza use the grappling hook and just grab it from outside?"

Akiza shook her head, cradling the warmth of her coffee thermos in her lap. “The hook, like, digs into things. We can’t afford to damage the crown, that might screw up the whole plan. So, I’ve been thinking about a different idea.” Unbidden, Akiza felt her mouth curl into a sly smile, lacing her fingers together in front of her face. “One where we use his castle against him.”

Ann and Ryuji leaned forward, brows raised.

Okay, this might be a LITTLE fun, she thought as she stood up. Julie’s laughter in her mind echoed the sentiment. “Let’s go hit up Untouchable. We’re gonna need walkie-talkies. We’ll do a quick scouting trip today to confirm the location of the Treasure, avoid combat whenever possible, and get ready to do this tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow?” Ryuji asked as they began making their way out of the park. “If everything's where it’s gotta be, why can’t we do it today?”

“We have to send a calling card,” she explained. “Morgana told me about it last night. The Treasure won’t be a physical object unless the real Kamoshida gets told that his desires can be stolen.”

“Can we make it say other stuff? Make him scared?” Ann leaned over to Akiza, glint of excitement in her eye.

“Absolutely,” Morgana answered. “He better be scared of what’s coming.”

Monday, 4/18
Shujin Academy
Morning

Akiza and Ann leaned against the far wall, watching the growing pack of students crowd around the noticeboard currently plastered in red and black. The chaos had begun the moment the school doors opened, halls full of confused whispers and speculations.

Ann glanced sidelong at Akiza, a little grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” she remarked, as if she herself wasn’t coursing with anticipation for the bastard himself to lay his eyes on their work. Akiza merely lifted her thermos, hiding a wicked grin behind her coffee. Her eye caught on a shock of blond hair pushing through the crowd, and quickly found herself joined by Ryuji, who was nearly vibrating with energy.

“Pretty good, huh?” His proud grin was like a bolt of lightning to Akiza’s heart, and she found herself thinking no, stop, you're busy. Focus. “It all went super smooth. Now we just gotta wait for--”

“What’s going on here?” Kamoshida’s voice cut across the murmur of the assembled crowd, who parted like the sea to allow him through. Akiza had to bite down on her lip to keep the smile down, watching Kamoshida’s face morph from confusion to shock to outright fury as his eyes scanned one copy of the many pinned to the notice board.

SIR SIGURU KAMOSHIDA, THE UTTER BASTARD OF LUST:

FOR TOO LONG, YOU HAVE USED YOUR REPUTATION TO INFLICT YOURSELF ON THE BLAMELESS.

INNOCENT CHILDREN SUFFER AT THE HAND OF A VILE TYRANT WHO SEEKS ONLY TO FULFIL HIS OWN TWISTED DESIRES.

THUS, WE WILL MAKE YOU CONFESS YOUR CRIMES WITH YOUR OWN MOUTH

WE WILL TAKE YOUR DISTORTED DESIRES WITHOUT FAIL.

SIGNED,

THE PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEART

“Wha… Who is responsible for this!?” His angry gaze swept across the assembled students, all of whom attempted to disappear as fast as they could. “Was it you? Was it you!?” He turned again, and presently stormed over to the trio. “This was you three, wasn’t it? What exactly is this supposed to mean?”

Akiza lowered the thermos, her face the picture of manufactured innocence. “I have no idea, sir.” She spoke in calm, measured tones; fearless, limitless. “We just arrived at school a minute ago.”

She watched the teeth grind in Kamoshida’s head as he straightened up, regaining some measure of composure.

“Fine,” he spat. “Not like it matters anyway. You’ll be expelled soon enough.” The massive man turned on his heel promptly, storming off down the hall.

Vindication. Nervousness. Confidence. Righteous anger. Fear. Boiling together in her gut, threatening to spill out at the slightest touch. Her anger burned, her anger chilled, her anger sparked like lightning and coalesced into a dark, burning curse in her heart, as if she could hold up her hand and see Julie’s claws in plain sight. Akiza looked to her left, then her right, then into her bag, and saw Kidd and Carmen and Zorro burning behind the eyes of her fellow thieves. She took a steadying breath, fighting the grin down.

“Keep your heads down today. We’ll see you at lunch, Ryuji. After school, we make this happen.” The nods from the others were grave, trusting, joyful, and anxious all at once.

The girls and Ryuji parted ways as they headed to homeroom.

Monday, 4/18
Kamoshida's Palace
After School

“Joker in position, sound off. Over.” Click.

“Panther’s ready, over.” Click.

“Mona in position, over!” Click.

“Skull’s ready.” Click. “Uh, over.” Click.

Skull breathed. Being alone in the Palace was… freaky. Yeah, “freaky” was the word. Especially so close to that scumbag Kamoshida’s Shadow.

“Everyone’s in position. Stick to the plan, don’t take any stupid risks, and we got this. Skull, count us off and go. Over.” Joker’s voice played just barely loud enough for him to hear it with the walkie-talkie pressed up against his ear. Skull knew his route cold. All I gotta do is make noise and go fast, he thought. He could handle that.

“Right,” he whispered into the walkie. Breathe. “Skull goin’ loud in five, four, three, two… one. Over.” He pocketed the thing, hoisted his new spiked bat onto his shoulder, and stepped out into the light of the King’s throne room.

“HEY! Kamo-shithead! You gonna sit there all day while we steal your shit, or what!?” His voice thundered out across the grand hallway and a dozen knights all turned to face him at once. The taunting smile on his own face was so, so real, especially when he watched Kamoshida’s face screw up like he’d just been force-fed a lemon, spitting with fury.

“YOU! I knew you little thieves weren’t done here yet-- this is my castle! Guards! Kill him! Kill him, kill him, kill him!” The air seemed to almost bend, shadows leaking from the walls around the furious King while knight after knight clattered to the floor, a veritable horde starting to amble forward before sprinting. Skull spent just enough time to verify Kamoshida himself was in that throng, then pivoted back and started bolting down the stairs. Despite everything, he couldn’t get the smile off his face.

From her place on the balcony, Panther slipped out of the Treasure room, crown in hand. Free of the guards thanks to Skull's distraction, she lashed her whip around the chandelier above and swung forward, sailing through the air over the Shadow's head. The wind pulled at her hair, and with a flick of her wrist, the whip uncoiled, returning to her side. The Shadow roared as she dashed out the main door of the throne room.

"Get back here with my crown, you bitch!" Panther felt his hatred burn through the air, refusing to look back at the massive monster taking shape. Mona was right, she thought. Now I just have to outrun it.

She set off down a maze of twisting corridors, moving as fast as possible. “Corners are your friends,” Joker had said. “When he’s that size, he won’t be able to take corners as well as the rest of us. We’ll use that to our advantage.” With the Treasure in hand, naturally her route was the most mazelike of them all. The hallway leading to the cathedral-gym was almost in sight though, so Panther pulled out her walkie and opened the channel.

Mona lay in the rafters above, feeling rather impressed. The setup was thorough, and quite impressive. After blasting wind down a hall to keep the Shadows chasing Skull in place, it was easy for Captain Kidd to turn and cave the roof in behind them. Now Skull was tucked behind Kamoshida’s massive statue while he waited. The walkie crackled on his hip.

“Get ready boys, we’ve got the target hot on our heels!” Click.

“Roger, Panther! You can count on us!”

With a flourish, Mona planted his sword into the wood and called upon Zorro, channeling power. He threw a sign down to Skull to get ready as well, and the blond backed away to the stained glass windows, bringing Kidd to standby. From the archway on their left came Panther, running straight for the exit opposite them leading to the main entrance. The sound of cursing taunts came pouring out from behind her, and it wouldn’t be long now. The Ruler’s twisted energy made his fur stand on end.

Roaring in defiance, the Shadow crashed through the archway in a cloud of rubble, crunching and slicing into the pews while he searched for his targets. There was nothing in the castle he valued, save for himself, so the next step felt only fitting.

“SKULL, NOW!”

“Alright, let’s get it!!”

Cannonfire erupted from Kidd’s guns, crushing the enormous statue’s feet to dust. With some effort, Mona pressed heavy winds to the effigy’s back, shoving it forward. Gravity did most of the work, bringing the whole thing down hard. The Shadow brought up its hands immediately, shielding its head while the stone crumbled on impact, already brittle from Skull’s offensive, scattering dust and grit.

Zorro vanished into spectral flame while Mona leapt down from the rafters, landing with all the practiced grace of a thief on Kidd’s waiting boat below. Skull hooked one leg into the rigging, and together they sailed off, waiting just long enough for the King’s daze to end and see which direction they’d headed. Shutting off their previous route didn’t leave much room for leading the King around, but with any luck, Joker and Panther would've completed their own prep by now. Below, Skull pumped his fist.

“Damn, that ruled! We’ve got this in the bag!”

Mona hummed. “Don’t get cocky just yet. There’s still one more step.”

“Oh come on, you got to look cool as hell! Would it kill ya to get just a little hype?”

He fought down the grin. Being on a team just felt good. “It could.”

“Ahhh, whatever. There’s no way we’re failin’ now, so I’ll just have to be hype enough for both of us!”

The thing behind them screamed all through the halls, unable to catch up until they wanted it to, Skull making his own jabs to keep the King on task. When the route ran dry, they’d arrived back in the main entrance, but made no attempts to exit through the grand doors.

“YOU RUNTS THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE? I AM THE KING OF THIS CASTLE, AND MY RULE IS ABSOLUTE!"

Mona hopped off and got a wink from Skull while they broke apart, dividing the Ruler’s attention. Having to stick so close to it now was more than dangerous, but they had to keep the Shadow in place. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to for much longer.

Above, Joker wiped sweat from her brow, channeling a steady stream of that other energy into her Persona. Jack-o-Lantern’s flames continued to burn and scorch against the twisted metal keeping the chandelier in place while Mona and Skull fought below. Panther, one hand still holding the crown, was making a similar effort with Carmen on the other side. Joker huffed. Heat was pouring off the chain by now, light catching in all the crystals hanging around them.

Below, she could hear the sounds of the Shadow’s metal implements scraping against the tile, grinding up stone and barely shaking the massive chandelier they were poised on.

“Alright, Panther, go. I’ve got it from here.”

Panther’s crystal-blue eyes flickered over, lip caught between her teeth. After a moment, she nodded, putting her mask back on and passing the crown to Joker. “Careful.” And she slung down via her whip, end coiled around the far banister. She joined the fight, doing everything to keep Kamoshida in place.

Come on, come on! Joker urged, giving the chain as much as Jack-o-Lantern could provide. The chain was warping, straining around a single link, groaning while it swayed.

Almost…

Fire, wind, and lightning pelted against the Shadow’s raw skin. Trying to bat the others aside through it all, he began to scream. “I’LL EXECUTE YOU ALL! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, DO YOU HEAR ME!? I OWN EVERYTHING HERE! ANYTHING I WANT, ANYTHING I SEE, IT’S ALL MINE TO--”

The sound of squealing metal cut him off. The thing glanced up, just in time to see Joker kicking off the chandelier, casting aside her mask dramatically with one arm. She called upon her soul with a resounding “Julie!"

Her Persona appeared in a burst of blue fire, rapier lashing out to swipe cleanly through the heat-warped chain.

The chandelier, in all its wrought-gold glory, fell directly onto the Shadow’s back, pinning him down.

Its impact sounded with a deafening crash as Joker’s blurred form tumbled over backwards once, twice, grappling hook firing upwards to anchor and slow her fall. The shattered remains of the chandelier’s crystals arced through the air, tiny constellations drawn across the room as they fell to the floor below. The Shadow’s head hit the floor with a thunk, its awful tongue caught underneath its body, and its utensils clanging to the floor.

“...Did we do it?” Joker looked over to the others watching Panther and Skull’s masks coalesce again as they approached her. Panther was in the lead, Skull trying not to be too obvious in how he was favoring his good leg. On her other side, Kamoshida’s Shadow had reverted to its human-like state.

“It looks like it.” Mona hopped up to Joker’s shoulder, examining the crown in her hand. “The Shadow hasn’t dissipated, which means it wasn’t destroyed. That should mean his psyche is intact.”

“So, he ain’t gonna die?” Skull eyed the downed shadow warily, like he was expecting it to spring back to life and crush them to death. Joker couldn’t exactly fault him; holding the crown didn’t make the air of the Palace any less oppressive. She watched her companion’s jaw set. “So as long as we don’t touch him, he stays alive. I gotcha.” He glanced over to Joker, eyes half-hidden by the angle of his steel mask. Joker nodded, and Skull stepped forward.

“Wake up, you dumb bastard!” Skull’s pipe thudded heavily into the tile in front of the prone Shadow’s head, jerking it out of unconsciousness. The Shadow groaned, lifting its head up as much as it could while half-trapped under the chandelier as Skull spoke up again, mockery dripping off his every word. “Not so scary without your crown, huh?”

“My… my crown,” the Shadow mumbled. It gazed up at Joker, one hand grasping fruitlessly for the Treasure in her arms. “My crown, I need my crown! I’m nothing without--”

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Skull slammed his bat down on the tile floor again, crunching it beneath the weapon and silencing the Shadow with a yelp. “I ain’t smart. I ain’t good at much. Track was… It was all I had. It was somethin’ I was finally gonna do for my ma. She was proud of me, goddamnit! And you took that away!”

Something was quaking in Skull’s voice as he admonished the Shadow, and as Joker watched his free hand fall to his side, fist clenched and shaking, it only took one lurch of his shoulders for her to put two and two together.

“I lived with that for so long, lettin’ myself think it was my fault. But it never was. It was always you. And I can’t ever get that back now--” He cut himself off with a hiccup, and at that moment, Joker’s heart tore in half. She handed the crown to Mona, who hopped down as she crossed to Skull in a single stride, turning him to wrap her arms around him. He responded almost on instinct, dropping his bat with a thunk and grabbing tightly to the back of her jacket.

“It’s okay, Ryuji.” Joker’s voice was low and even, bearing the shuddering of Skull’s hiccuped sobs. “You’re okay.” He didn’t respond, burying his face in the crook of her neck, cool metal of his mask tap-tapping against her collarbone. She didn’t mind.

Panther just about growled, cracking her whip against the floor to get the Shadow’s attention. The Shadow jumped, looking as if it would try to scramble away if not for the chandelier.

“How does it feel,” she asked. “How does it feel to be powerless, just hoping that someone bigger than you will ignore you today?” Joker couldn’t help but feel sympathetic; had she been forced to endure so much torment from Kamoshida, she’d be screaming right now as well. As awful as being outed was… it was a one-time occurrence. Skull and Panther had been under his heel for a year now.

The Shadow continued snivelling on the ground. “I-I was just… just being rewarded for the good work I was doing with the volleyball team! I deserved that, I--”

“God, shut up!” Another crack of the whip, another yelp, and Panther stalked closer, crouching down, speaking quietly but with no less venom, voice ice-cold.

“When Mona told us you might die, I barely blinked. After everything you did to me, to the other girls, to Shiho--” She cut herself off, stealing a glance at the cognition that stood silently, watching everything unfold. “You would have deserved it. But you deserve worse. So when you get back to your real self, you’re gonna confess everything. Understand me?”

The Shadow’s eyes widened in fear at first, nearly trembling before Panther, and the rush it sent down her spine was something she’d have to consider later. Carmen certainly approved, anyway. After a moment, the specter of Kamoshida shifted to a more placid, almost contented face. “I understand,” he said, with a voice like he’d made peace with everything. As he spoke, a soft white light began to envelop his body, travelling out from the center of his chest. “I’ll go back to my real self, and I’ll… I’ll…”

A massive rumbling above their heads tore Panther’s gaze away, and when she looked back, the Shadow was gone, evaporated into white lights.

“That was different from how they disappear when they die,” Mona piped up. “We have to wait and see, now.” Joker and Skull separated behind him, masks pushed up to their foreheads and tear tracks running down their cheeks. Both of them were smiling softly, and Panther couldn’t help but match their expressions.

“We,” Mona stated with the measured tone of someone trying not to cause a panic as he handed Joker the crown, “should probably get out of here before the Palace disintegrates.”

A half-second of pause, and then--

“What do you MEAN, ‘disintegrates’!?” Skull’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

When Mona opened his mouth to answer, one of the ceiling beams groaned and cracked. Another chandelier hit the floor.

“It goes away without a Ruler to support it!” Mona cried. “Now let’s go!”

Ann scrambled to her feet as Morgana began scampering towards the door.

In a chorus of sprinting, screaming, and flailing limbs, the newly-minted thieves bolted for the exit, the castle collapsing behind them.

Monday, 4/18
Aoyama
After School

Emerging from the Metaverse after such an ordeal felt to Akiza like running into a wall of honey at a dead sprint. The real world had none of the lightness, the effortlessness of motion that the Metaverse conferred. Maybe it was just exhaustion dropping onto her like an anvil, saturating her bones and leaving her sitting against an alleyway wall, boneless and breathless, Morgana strewn haphazardly across her lap. Ann and Ryuji seemed to be in similar shape; seated across the narrow alley from her, Ryuji had stretched his right leg out as flat as it would go, with Ann slumped against his shoulder, both breathing like they’d just run ten kilometers.

(They’d probably only run, like, three hundred meters… Hard to tell in the castle, but it sure felt like more.)

“We…” Ryuji was the first to speak up. “We lived! We didn’t… hah… die!” Ann gave a weak cheer and limply raised one fist, and Akiza couldn’t help but chuckle. Gradually, she became aware of the phone currently in a death grip in her left hand, looking down at it as the weird app-- the Meta-Nav, as Igor had called it, pinged softly.

“Thank you for your hard work,” it said in the same automated-sounding voice it always used. She watched the sole option on the dropdown, Castle of Lust, grow dim, covered by bright red text reading SEIZED.

Her other hand was also curled around something tightly, something disc-shaped and heavy. Turning over her hand, it looked like--

“Is that a medal?” Ann sat up slightly, still leaning on Ryuji in a way that made Akiza’s heart pang and no, push that down, lock it away, she’s talking again. “Where’d the crown go?”

Mona flopped over to his other side, righting himself with a wiggle. “The Treasure must have taken the form of whatever caused his distorted cognitions. In this case, an Olympic medal, by the looks.” Getting a better look at it, Akiza noted that it seemed well cared-for, polished on the raised edges but still tarnished in the recesses. It was old, but maintained.

“He couldn’t let go of his glory days, huh?” Ryuji propped himself up a bit more, massaging his sore thigh. “That’s kinda what his Shadow was sayin’. That he was entitled to shit.”

A silence hung in the alleyway, broken up by the traffic and pedestrians around the corner. It wasn’t awkward, just… peaceful, in a sense. With a breath, Akiza hoped that this feeling would last.

Eventually, the three teens and their feline companion hauled themselves to their feet, trudging to the Shibuya diner for a much-deserved meal. They chatted on and off; Ann about Suzui’s condition, Ryuji about a talk he’d had with Mishima. Akiza stayed quiet, only piping up to offer an agreement or murmur some response. The peace and contentment faded, gnawed away by something more foreboding, like something was still looming over her. They’d have to wait to see if the change of heart worked, of course, but there was something… more than that. Closer to her heart. She reached for the spot in her mind where Julie nestled and found her there, presence reassuring as always.

At the end of their meal, Ann's phone pinged, and when she swiped it open, her face exploded in joy.

"Shiho's awake!" She exclaimed, a bit too loud. Ryuji surged out of his seat.

"No way! Holy shit, that's amazing! Can we see her!?" The sheer giddiness on his face was downright infectious. Akiza felt warm, in a comforting way. Suzui was still here.

"Not all of us yet," Ann continued. "She's still recovering and they don't want to push it. I… I'm gonna go see her, if you guys don't mind. I have something to tell her."

Akiza could see Ann's expression shift, some combination of nerves and excitement tightening her brow.

"Go for it," Akiza said. "And good luck."

Ann met her gaze, and for an instant, Akiza felt like she could see right through her.

Ann left soon after. Ryuji mentioned something about selling the medal to fund a victory celebration; Akiza, half-listening, nodded in assent. Her mind was elsewhere. She just wished she knew where.

Monday, 4/18
Bunkyo
Evening

Ann’s limbs felt weak, and it had nothing to do with the heist from earlier. Well, okay, maybe at least a little bit to do with it.

The buildup today, right now, sitting in the hospital lobby while she stewed in it, was maybe even stronger than what she’d felt burning away inside when she’d first awoken to her Persona. Carmen was there as a weight in the back of her mind now, silent so far, but there all the same.

Confronting her feelings all at once felt a little too hard, in an unsettling sort of way. There was a tightness in her gut, something like what she felt in the moments just after realizing some sleazy modelling agent had outsmarted her. Only this time, her opponent was her own thoughts.

No one in the world would get away with saying she wasn’t willing to work for the things that mattered. But most of her life had, admittedly, been spent coasting. Modelling and laughing and shopping and just sort of taking up space. The last couple years had been a lot harder, but until recently, she hadn’t really taken control yet. Now, if she closed her eyes, it almost felt like there were reins to take, the same way Carmen held leashes.

It was like… a feeling of control, for the first time. The sense that wherever she went from now on, it would be because she wanted to go there.

That newfound control could lead her to Shiho’s door, and it could take her in, and it could push the words out, but that was as far as it could take her. The rest was in Shiho’s hands.

And that was what had her stuck in the lobby.

Confessions were something else. They were the most painfully honest thing someone could ever do, and there was no practicing them. When she went in, Ann would have to put everything out on the table, in the open air, and hope that Shiho would put some things of her own out on the table too.

Shiho would never hurt her on purpose. Ann trusted Shiho to be kind, if things really didn’t work out, and Ann trusted Shiho with much more than that. It was just…

She and Ryuji had always been dancing around something, something just outside of their reaches. When he’d come to middle school one day with a godawful bleach job in his hair, shouting at the kids that picked on her about how they should try to pick on him if they felt tough, something had started to click. They hadn’t even known each others’ names at that point. That day after school, she’d dragged him to her house to bleach his hair properly, and he’d just… fit so effortlessly into her life beside Shiho. Even as the wedge that was Kamoshida had driven them apart, Akiza had inadvertently dragged them back together, and it was like nothing had changed; they still fit together, still dancing around that something, growing inexorably closer to reaching it as the days passed.

And Akiza. God, Akiza. Every time she or Ryuji managed to coax a genuine smile out of her, Ann felt her heart swell. It was like those songs about roses pushing up through concrete; a little bit of joy shining through from someone so beaten-down and trod upon that it made Ann want to start tearing down the Tokyo skyline to give Akiza the sunlight she deserved. In that little cafe in the middle of nowhere, Akiza had trusted them with a secret, with a truth more precious than any Ann could imagine. Kamoshida had flayed her alive, and somehow she’d been able to face them afterwards.

Akiza, she realized, reminded her tragically of Shiho.

It was just-- was it selfish, to want more than just Shiho? Did she deserve to want more than what one person could give, like that wasn’t just as important, like it wouldn’t mean the world to her if Shiho liked her back? It was all twisting around itself, knotting up her heart. The analog clock across the way told her it was an hour before visitors couldn’t be around any more. Ann shook her head, expression tightening. I didn’t come all this way to stop now. I can do this.

Walking gave her just enough time to be ready to push through the door when she got there. Ann hadn’t given any warning she was coming, no texts or anything, just knocked on the already halfway open door before walking in. Shiho, leaned back on the raised bed, had been watching TV with a listless expression before turning to see her. Her brows rose up, mouth open in a little “o” before solidifying into a weak smile.

It was hard not to blurt out “I love you”, but somehow she managed.

Before, she’d been too focused on Shiho and her condition to really take in some of the details of her room, but two of them hit her right there and then. The first was the way Shiho’s heart rate spiked, just a little, after seeing her. It was smoothing out already, and while it was easy to think that must have been something that happened any time someone walked in, it was also the first time Ann had ever really thought about the way Shiho was always using her hoodie as a second blanket, or a sort of pillow-case.

Shiho’s smile got just a little more strained, and Ann figured she must have looked weird, just walking in and saying nothing, so she smiled back and pulled up the single extra chair in the room to sit beside her.

“Hey.” Ann said.

“Hey.” Shiho responded. She sounded strangely upbeat.

“So, um… how are you feeling?” Her voice wavered, and she cursed herself for it. Keep it together, damnit!

"I’m good." Shiho looked around aimlessly, gesturing at her surroundings. "My parents were here when I woke up a few hours ago. They cried and hugged me a bunch, and then my mom texted you. They had to go home a few minutes ago."

“They must’ve been glad to see you awake,” Ann said. “I am too. You seem… good?”

Shiho laughed into her hand, careful not to move too quickly for fear of disturbing her IV. “I’m fine, I promise. The doctors said recovery might be tough, but I should get at least some of my leg function back.”

Ann fiddled with a ponytail. It didn’t seem right; Shiho looked worn-out. Her hair was greasy from days without washing it, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her hands trembled with every movement. But she sounded optimistic, more than she had for weeks prior to this. Was she okay? How was Ann even supposed to broach a question like that? What do you do when your best friend, the person you love, tries to end her own life, and then acts like it didn’t even happen?

“How much is some?” Ann wasn’t any kind of doctor, but she’d seen Shiho after the fall. She could see the casts on her legs right now. There was no way this would be easy.

Shiho looked somewhere into the middle distance, below the muted TV. “My volleyball career is probably finished,” she said, that same weak smile still there on her face. “Outside of physical therapy, I’ll be in a wheelchair for a while, once I get out of here. Maybe forever.”

Something twisted up inside Ann at that. Everything Shiho had worked so hard at, gone, and she said it with a smile? That wasn’t right. It couldn’t be.

“...all I have is volleyball. It’s all I’m good at. I n-need this.”

But… was she in a position to question that? No matter how well she knew Shiho, she couldn’t presume to understand everything going through her head right now.

“I’m sorry to hear about the volleyball thing,” Ann said after a moment. “You always threw everything you had into it.”

“I think it’s better this way.” Shiho grew quiet, the room silent save for the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor. “He doesn’t have anything to hold over me anymore.”

Ann’s jaw clenched.

“Shiho, you, um…” She breathed deep, willing herself to relax, trying to find the right words. “You don’t have to talk about… what happened, if you don’t want to. I won’t force you to. But if you ever need to, I’m here for you, okay?”

“I know you are,” she said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. “If I need to talk, you’ll be the first to know.”

Ann grabbed a fistful of her skirt, knuckles going white. I wasn’t there when you needed me, she thought. You were all alone and I just left you there because I was too caught up in my own problems to recognize it.

They sat in silence for a minute, Ann stewing in her own thoughts while Shiho picked at her blanket. It was only then that Ann remembered what she’d come here to do. There was so much Shiho wasn’t saying, either because she couldn’t bring herself to or because she wasn’t allowing herself to acknowledge it. And maybe by confessing, Ann could try to close this gap she felt between them, bridge this divide with an outstretched hand.

“There’s something else I wanted to tell you,” she began. “I’ve… kinda been sitting on this for a while, I guess, but I didn’t know how to put it into words for a long time, but with everything that happened this week, I just… figured I had to. Because I realized how much you really mean to me.”

Maybe Ann wasn’t making perfect sense, but she’d built up momentum, and she wasn’t about to stop now. She dared a glance at Shiho’s face, and for the first time since she’d arrived in the room, Shiho looked… fragile. Like she couldn’t quite believe what was happening. With a deep breath, Ann drew on the flame that kindled in her chest.

“The truth is… I’m in love with you, Shiho.” Deep breath in, then out. “I have been since middle school, I just didn’t realize it. You’re my best friend, you’re the most important thing in the entire world to me, and… and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

The words fell from her lips like a boulder shoved off a cliff. The seconds stretched out to infinities, and Ann felt like she was in freefall.

“Do you...” Shiho whispered, soft enough as to almost be inaudible above the rapid beeping of her heart rate monitor. “Do you mean that?”

“Yeah,” Ann answered, without hesitation. “Yeah, I do.”

Immediately, tears formed in the corners of Shiho’s eyes. A disbelieving breath escaped her as she gazed down at her lap. A single tear fell, and after a moment, she sobbed.

Ann leapt to her feet, reaching over to wrap her arms around Shiho’s shoulders, all else forgotten. Shiho’s frame heaved, shuddering with each breath as she buried her head in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Ann murmured. “I shouldn’t have--”

Shiho shook her head, cutting Ann off. She shivered, drawing in a breath, and lifted her face from her hands to look up at Ann.

“I love you too, you dummy,” she said, and her smile shone like the sun.

Ann let out a single, incredulous laugh. Her flame was warm and alive, and as her own tears began to flow, she held Shiho tight against her chest.

“I love you,” she whispered, smiling so wide it was starting to hurt her cheeks. “I love you,” she said again, over and over, like she was trying to make up for all the times she hadn’t said it before. Shiho cried as she laughed alongside her, wrapping her free arm around Ann as best she could from her position.

Ann had no way of knowing which of them initiated the kiss, but when Shiho’s lips touched hers, the whole world lit up with fireworks.

Never again, Ann swore to herself. I’ll never leave you alone again.

Chapter Text

Friday, 4/23
Bunkyo
After School

To Akiza, the five days since the Palace fell had been… a mixed bag.

She was happy, of course. School was easier without having to worry about Kamoshida around every corner, even as she worried about the success of the change of heart. And then, of course, she was happy for Ann and Suzui. The way Ann had talked about her, Akiza would have assumed they were already dating. Ann’s confession that she hadn’t realized that she liked Suzui romantically until very recently had earned a beleaguered groan from Ryuji, and Akiza couldn’t help but laugh. He’d been around the two girls for a long time, and wasn’t shy about vocalizing how glad he was that they’d finally gotten together, if for no other reason than that he was tired of watching them both dance around the issue of their obvious crushes. That was one thing Akiza could give herself credit for; at least she knew when she had a crush on someone, one-sided though it may be.

In that vein, the news about Ann and Suzui… Well, it hadn’t dampened Akiza’s crush on Ann so much as recontextualized it. She’d never had any illusions that Ann might actually reciprocate, of course; they’d barely known each other for a week, and normal people didn’t instantly develop an attraction to whoever showed them a scrap of affection. And, in a way, it was kind of nice to have that certainty. All perfectly sound, logical things.

The part that was troubling her was the fact that she still felt that distant pang in her heart, even knowing that Ann and Suzui had finally found each other. When she pictured the two of them together, doing something as simple as holding hands, she felt… well, jealous wasn’t the word. She didn’t want to replace Suzui in that image, or deny her. But part of her couldn’t help but wish that she could enjoy the same thing Suzui did.

Suzui, it turned out, was very friendly, as were her parents. Akiza had been afraid that Mr. and Mrs. Suzui wouldn’t want the criminal transfer student near their daughter, but Ann and Ryuji’s words were as good as gold to them. After school, they’d waited in the empty apartment (Ann and Ryuji both had keys, apparently) while Suzui’s parents went to collect her from the hospital. And now, she and Suzui were next to each other on the couch, Ann on Suzui’s other side, Ryuji chatting with her parents in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry for… everything that happened the week we met.” Suzui toyed with a lock of her hair, looking down at her knees for a moment, wrapped in casts adorned with their signatures. “I wasn’t in the best mental shape. I wish you hadn’t seen me break down like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Akiza bit her lip, composing her words. Morgana had come with them, of course, and was currently curled up on Akiza’s lap. His presence always provided a balm to her anxieties, even out in public where he tried to limit his speech. “Without getting into specifics… I’ve been there.” She turned her gaze upwards to Suzui with a small smile.

“Thanks. That…” The other hesitated a moment before returning the grin. “That means a lot. I wish it hadn’t happened to any of us, but… It’s nice to have people who understand.” Akiza glanced down at Ann’s hand, fingers now twined with Suzui’s and resting on her leg. That little pang again, just to remind her.

“He hurt all four of us,” Ann said, and did not say his name. “We all know what it’s like, one way or another.”

Suzui nodded, and glanced through the doorway at Ryuji, still talking animatedly to her parents. There was something unidentifiable in her eye as she did, but it vanished quickly before she turned to Akiza again. “Mhm. Ryuji’s a part of this, too.” Her smile turned a little mischievous, then, before she continued. “Still, us girls have to stick together, right?”

Don’t cry, Akiza told herself. Do not cry. Don’t you dare. She could already feel that tell-tale warmth in her eyes that told her she was about to start. A quick glance over Suzui’s shoulder found Ann’s gaze, and she was smiling like she’d won the lottery, looking like she was about to cry. Akiza managed to keep it down, though she was doubtless looking misty.

A thought occurred to her then. The three of them were together while Ryuji was still deep in conversation with Suzui’s parents. She could come out to Suzui right now. If she did, it would be the first time she’d come out to someone else on her own terms. Sojiro had been informed by her parents, and the less said about how Ann and Ryuji found out, the better. But this would be her choice, her truth to share, and her life to take ownership of.

Akiza closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Suzui-san, there’s… something I want you to know.” When she opened her eyes again, Suzui was looking at her curiously. Over her shoulder, Ann smiled.

Go forth, mon coeur.

And she did. She spoke, quietly and calmly, and came out.

“I trust you,” Akiza finished. “So I wanted to tell you.”

There was silence for a moment. Akiza felt herself hanging by a thread, stuck by Suzui’s gaze like a butterfly pinned to a board.

“Thanks,” Shiho began. “For telling me. That can’t have been easy.” She took a sip from the soda she’d been nursing since they sat down before speaking up. “I think that’s awesome,” she reassured, knocking a fist against her chest. “You know your heart better than anyone else.” Akiza felt her heart beat twice, then Suzui’s face split into a downright impish grin, finger pointing past the can of soda. “And, I mean, if you can tell me that, does that mean I can call you Akiza?”

Akiza let out one laugh, then another. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded giddily. “O-Only if I get to call you Shiho.”

Of course, Ryuji chose that moment to amble in, right as all three girls were getting weepy and giggling at each other.

“Did, uh.” He scratched the back of his head. “Did I miss somethin’?”

Monday, 4/26
Cafe Leblanc
Evening

Akiza had been cleaning the same mug for about a minute when Sojiro spoke up. “Something on your mind?” He drawled.

The cafe was empty at the moment, which was probably for the best given that Haru was due to show up any minute. Apparently the narrow streets were totally unfamiliar to her, so it was lucky that Yongen had so many landmarks to get by.

“Oh! Um,” she set the mug down finally and squeezed the rag instead. “I forgot to tell you, I invited someone over to the cafe, if that’s alright?”

“Kid, this is a business. I’m not going to complain about you advertising it to your friends, so long as they don’t make a mess.”

“Don’t worry, she would never.”

Sojiro arched an eyebrow, staying focused on wiping down the counter. “This friend of yours the one you asked about coffee for?”

“Um,” Akiza said gracefully. Julie was definitely snickering that time. “Yeah. Well, I wanted to learn anyway, if I’m gonna be here, but she liked what she tried a few days ago, and wanted to try it fresh.”

Sojiro didn’t comment on her pauses at all. “Hm. Glad to know kids these days can still appreciate a good brew, then.”

The bell chimed, a startling noise in the silence that made Akiza jump slightly. She hadn’t even seen Haru walking in, dressed up in a plum peacoat and beret with a pink scarf. Her eyes brightened a little at seeing she’d found the right place. Akiza stood a little straighter before breathing, forcing herself to relax. It was just a get-together between two new friends, no need to be so tense.

“What a lovely cafe,” Haru chimed with a sweet smile. Sojiro hummed appreciatively.

“Have a seat, miss. Anything interest you?”

Haru’s eyes settled on Akiza. “Her, I suppose, but a fresh brew would be delightful.”

“Oh, so this is your friend,” Sojiro said, and Akiza’s eyes moved automatically because she had to keep up with everything somehow. “Well why don’t you make something for her and I’ll just supervise, then?”

“Sure, okay.” Akiza managed. Sure, okay, she repeated to herself, and then turned to Haru with a natural smile, nodding. “Did you want to try the same thing you had a week ago?”

Haru nodded. “That sounds wonderful for a first visit.”

It was rapidly occurring to Akiza that there were a lot of assumptions going around between both Haru and Sojiro. The first was that everything would go well enough that Haru would visit again. The second was that Akiza could make coffee that good with guidance, after only a few days of lessons. The process itself was technically simple, but good coffee still took precision.

“That was the Guatemalan dark roast, so…”

Haru watched patiently while Akiza walked herself through the steps, mumbling slightly while Sojiro supervised, giving advice for the angle of her pour and to keep her moving. Managing both at once, Sojiro introduced himself and Haru returned the gestures, asking some easy questions. Once again, she just wanted to go by ‘Haru’. Akiza wondered why.

It was just after the brew was complete that Sojiro’s phone buzzed in his apron pocket. He answered it with a suddenly very neutral expression.

“Hm? Wait, slow down, what is it you need?” He kept his voice low, and Akiza tried not to listen in too hard. Across the counter, Haru was doing the same, looking at her phone suddenly with a polite smile. “Okay, alright. I’ll get it and be by soon.” The wrinkles on his face were showing while he sighed. “Hey, kid. I’ve got an errand to run real quick. As far as I’m concerned the store’s closed ‘til I get back, but if you end up going out, be sure to lock up after yourself.” Sojiro brushed past, hanging up his apron and putting on a coat.

“You trust me with the store?” Akiza blurted. It was kind of a stupid question, since she already had the keys to the place.

“I trust you not to burn the whole place down,” he retorted with the barest hint of a grin. “Should I not?”

“No, um, you can leave it to me.” She did a little bow, also smiling.

“Good. Have fun, you two. Youth only lasts so long.”

And with that he was gone, leaving them alone.

“It must be nice to be trusted with something like this.” Haru commented idly, fingertips resting against the fresh cup in front of her. Akiza had poured one for herself, still standing on the other side of the bar. If getting Haru to open up a little meant doing it first, then that was fine by her. Things were starting to look up, after all.

“It’s a lot more than I ever got at home,” Akiza admitted. The word ‘home’ made her pause a second, not exactly bitter but already unfamiliar. “Not like I really had an opportunity.”

“Oh?”

“All the businesses out in the country were pretty much just family-run. Or apprenticed out, I guess.” Akiza took a sip. It wasn’t as good as Sojiro’s, but making it herself brought a certain sense of satisfaction anyways.

Haru hummed, taking a sip herself. Her smile brightened. “I’ve always enjoyed places like this, whenever I could get away from things.”

“Do you have a lot to do outside of gardening?”

Haru’s brown eyes stayed on the coffee. “I have to tend to a lot of things. My father’s very busy, so I have to be home by certain times to share meals, among other things.”

Akiza noted the way Haru said have to the same way she said home. “At least we can text each other about it?” She had her back turned, cleaning out the grinder, but made sure to throw a friendly look at the other girl.

“Oh, how true,” Haru seemed surprised. “I rather like the time we get to spend together, so I don’t know why I haven’t thought of texting more.” The words came out of Haru’s mouth shockingly easily for how important they felt to Akiza.

“That’s pretty easy to fix, then. Here, I’ve got a conversation starter and everything.” Akiza finished putting everything back where it went and pulled her phone from a back pocket. Haru’s eyes lit up at the image she’d received; Akiza had managed to stack twenty-six napkins on top of Morgana in the booth after he’d fallen asleep while she studied.

“Was he upset?” Haru asked, tittering behind beautifully painted nails.

“Just a little grumpy,” Akiza chuckled. “He’s been out most of today, actually - didn’t want to come with me to school, either. Said he had-- Er, I guess he had something to do?” She rubbed the back of her neck. God, what a weird slip it would’ve been to quote him directly.

“He does seem like quite the busybody, what with the little suit he wears.” Haru joked.

“White gloves and all,” Akiza nodded.

Haru’s expression fell at the sound of her phone ringing. It was a three note tone, short and harsh. “Excuse me,” She unseated herself, walking away to take it, quieting to a whisper. Akiza debated on whether or not to listen in this time, only to find curiosity winning out. She pretended to focus on her own phone, straining her hearing until it felt like something sort of… popped. The world was in black and white again, meshes of grey and nothing else, except for Haru, who was lit up by blue. And she could hear the conversation perfectly. This again…?

The ‘Third Eye’, Igor had called it. At least it was somewhere quiet this time.

“Yes,” Haru confirmed. “I’m with someone right now. I will inform you when I am finished and we can meet then.”

“That’s not good enough,” A man’s voice, impatient. “I’ve already sent the car around. You’ll be joining me early tonight. We need to share plans, after all.” The voice turned up into something unkind at the end, more than the vocal equivalent of turning a nose up. Her father? He sounds old enough.

“I will listen to you when--” Haru almost hissed, but stopped, grip tightening. “... I will listen to what you have to say. Tell me where to go to be picked up.”

“That’s more like it,” the voice responded, relaxing. “I’ll text you the street.”

Haru hung up without another word. Akiza closed her eyes and shook her head, dismissing the Third Eye with some concentration. When she opened her eyes, Haru was the one looking worriedly at her. “Are you alright?”

Akiza blinked and realized she’d been gripping the countertop hard. “Oh, I’m fine. Is everything okay?”

“I have to return home sooner than expected,” Haru said, expertly dodging the question. “I’m sorry to have to cut this short. Maybe we can meet again next week? Your neighborhood is very nice.”

Akiza barely had to force the smile. “That sounds great. We could meet anywhere though, it doesn’t have to be here.”

Haru smiled sweetly. “I think I like it here just fine. We’ll figure something out, alright?” And got up from her seat. “Thank you for the coffee, it was wonderful.”

“Of course,” Akiza leaned forward a little, voice lowering. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you, alright? I’ll bring some more coffee to school tomorrow.”

Haru’s eyes went soft and she nodded, leaving through the door.

Akiza watched Haru go for as long as she could, her image on the other side of the window somewhat obscured by all the tall or hanging plants. It felt like the sort of thing she might have wanted to see in a painting, the way the foliage let her focus in on the conflict written across her face, soft pastels on the faded red brick behind her. And then she was gone.

Nodding to herself, Akiza resolved to text Haru another cat picture in half an hour. She looked like she could use a few.

Tuesday, 4/27
Nakameguro
Evening

After another after-school visit to Shiho’s apartment with the girls, Ryuji had gone back to the apartment he’d lived in his whole life, checked to make sure his mom was still at work, sat down on the floor of his bedroom, and cried.

Something about seeing Shiho and Ann and Akiza together, smiling and laughing and happy had made it all click for him. They’d done something real. One way or another, Kamoshida would never hurt anyone again. His fellow thieves had helped him do what he’d failed to a year beforehand. And the gravity of that hit him like a cannonball to the chest.

He’d kept a lid on it for the party, at least. He’d already cried in front of Akiza and Ann once, and they didn’t need to see that again. This time was different, though, hot tears rolling down his cheeks over a delirious, joyful smile.

Ryuji had missed Ann and Shiho so much in their year apart. He hadn’t truly understood how much he depended on them in middle school, when it was just the three of them against the world. And in high school, he hadn’t grasped the truth of how much it hurt to see them suffer. The ache had just become a part of him, the same way his leg and its busted limitations had. And then Akiza had appeared in his life and torn open the scars he’d learned to ignore almost without trying.

This was the kind of shit he had on his mind all the time, especially now that the Palace had collapsed. Forced to sit and wait to see if the change of heart had worked, Ryuji was tempted to fall back to hold habits. Well, no, not really. He had Shiho and Ann again, and now Akiza too. It would’ve been so easy to start distancing himself again, going straight home after school and trying to keep other people away from his messes. But he couldn’t help remembering what Akiza had said that night at the ramen place.

This isn’t any of our faults, she’d said. He did this to us.

He couldn’t fight the little warmth that rose to his cheeks when he thought back to that night. Despite what they’d talked about at first, their conversation once the food arrived was one of the bright spots of his recent memories. That was the first time he’d seen Akiza smile-- really, really smile-- and god, he couldn’t help but want to see it again.

His feet carried him to Shiho’s door, the route long since engraved into his memory, and she answered seconds after he rang the doorbell.

“Uh, it’s Ryuji. Is Shiho here?”

He didn’t get a verbal response, just a text from Shiho.

He unlocked the door right away, sliding his shoes off and padding into the living room. Shiho was already dressed to relax for the evening, by the looks; Ann’s white hoodie and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Her legs were propped up on a cushioned footstool, the white casts standing out in the slight darkness of the evening.

“Hey,” she said with a small smile. “I’m binging some old mecha anime I found online, if you wanna stay for a bit?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, moving to sit next to her in view of her laptop. “Oh, uh, d’you need anything while I’m up?”

She waved towards the kitchen. “Throw some popcorn in the microwave, if you wanna. You know where all the stuff is.”

He did, in fact. He knew Shiho’s apartment almost as well as he knew his own. The popcorn spun away in the microwave as Ryuji mulled through his thoughts, eventually rejoining Shiho in the living room.

“So, what’s up? You finally here to drop off my homework? Or are you trying to sabotage my grades so you’ll finally beat me?” The teasing lilt in her voice pushed a smile onto his face immediately.

“Shaddup!” Ryuji shot back defensively. “I was helpin’ my Ma with some errands, FYI. Besides, I ain’t tryin’ to compete on grades anymore. Ain’t my thing.”

“Mmm,” Shiho mused. “Definitely not because you got sick of me kicking your ass.”

They laughed, and the conversation slipped into a comfortable silence as Shiho busied herself with the popcorn, with Ryuji pulling his phone out to check the group chat. No news on Kamoshida yet, just the vague dread of that combined with upcoming exams. There were some ideas thrown around for things the three (or four, counting Shiho) could do for fun, but now that the high of Shiho’s return was starting to die down, there wasn’t much heart in it. Hard to have fun while we’re waitin’ to get expelled, Ryuji mused.

“I’m only a few episodes in,” she explained as she leaned forward to fiddle with her laptop. “The plot’s a little fuzzy, but the mechas are cool and the music is good.” Shiho sat back after a moment, offering Ryuji one earbud while putting the other in herself.

“Sure, yeah.” He put the earbud in, plucking at a few pieces of popcorn while the opening theme song played. Glancing sidelong at Shiho, the little smile on her face set his anxious heart at ease a bit.

The episodes ticked by in relative silence, interrupted by some riffs on the writing and pauses for bathroom breaks. Shiho was still having trouble getting herself into the small wheelchair she had for home use, but Ryuji was glad to assist.

Halfway through yet another tirade from the protagonist on the futility of war, Ryuji swallowed his fear (and his soda).

“Hey, can I, uh,” he started, tongue fumbling to hammer his thoughts into words. “Can I ask you somethin’?”

Shiho’s gaze flicked over to him, eyebrows perking just slightly as she reached over to pause the episode. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“You… you and Ann, right?” Goddamnit, nice job, dumbass. Great way to start.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I-I mean, you’re the only couple I know, and Ann would tease the hell out of me if I tried to talk to her about this shit, and--” Words just kept tumbling out of his mouth, venting his stream of consciousness, until Shiho stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Dude, relax,” she said, and somehow that actually helped. “What are you trying to say? You need romantic advice?” She couldn’t help but smile as Ryuji buried his face in his hands, groaning what sounded like yes. “I hate to break it to you man, but me and Ann have been together for, like, a week. Dunno how much help I can be.”

“Y’ain’t makin’ fun of me, that’s a good start.” He looked up, grinning wryly, and took a breath before he continued. “I don’t even know if that’s what I’m feelin’. Like, what’s it feel like? With Ann, I mean. To like someone like that?”

Shiho’s eyes flicked away, lit by the glow of the laptop screen reflected in them. She rested her chin on her hands, sleeves of her hoodie pulled up to cover them. She breathed in, and the look on her face was unmistakably fond.

“It’s…” She paused, drumming her fingers lightly. “She makes me feel safe. Like-- okay, this is cheesy-- like my heart would be safer with her than with me, y’know? So, after everything that happened, I decided I’d just… give it to her. Let her take better care of it than I would. And I think I’ve always felt that way, like I could tell her anything, trust her with anything, and she’d rather die than hurt me, even accidentally.”

Ryuji shifted slightly in his seat.

“Like… like she just gets you? A-and just bein’ around her relaxes you?” He hazarded carefully, trying to put words to the emotions, the phantom sensations of arms around him.

Shiho nodded, eyes still pointed at the laptop without really looking at it. “Like she’s this immovable rock that you know you can lean on, but you also wanna be that rock for her.”

“...Fuck,” Ryuji mumbled, dragging his hands down his face. He hunched over, trying to measure his breathing. One leg bounced restlessly as he thought, shit, that all checks out. “God, but there’s no way she’d go for someone like me…”

“Um, Ryuji?” Shiho’s voice was a little quiet, in a way that set Ryuji’s nerves on edge. He looked up from his crumpled position, finding Shiho meeting his gaze warily. “I’m not… I’m not gonna give you advice on how to ask out my girlfriend.”

There was a pause, and then Ryuji jolted in his seat.

“N-n-no!” Ryuji shouted, and Shiho’s slight flinch was a sharp reminder to moderate his volume. “No, no way, it’s not like that, I was talkin’ about Akiza!” He slumped back on the couch, suddenly exhausted. “I was thinkin’ she and Ann had feelings for each other, but now you ‘n Ann are together, so it ain’t that, but I don’t even know if she likes guys--”

“Dude, calm down!” Shiho’s hand on her shoulder was shaky, but as he turned his head, Ryuji was relieved to see her doubled over in laughter. “I’m sorry,” she started after a moment, catching her breath. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have accused you there. You’d never do something like that.”

“Yeah, I don’t…” Breathe, you idiot. “I mean, Ann’s amazin’, she’s gorgeous, but you ‘n her have been buildin’ up to this since middle school. I ain’t gonna get between that.” He shoved some popcorn in his mouth hastily before he continued. “Akiza’s just so damn skittish sometimes, y’know? Like, I get why. Or at least, part of why. Y’know, with all her… stuff.” He made a circular motion with his hand, and Shiho nodded. “Even if I could work up the guts to tell her, I feel like I’d just scare her off, y’know? It’s like ya said earlier, with the whole ‘rock’ thing. She keeps bein’ there for me, and I wanna be there for her. I want her to feel safe.”

“That makes sense.” Shiho leaned back as well, stretching her arms over her head. “I think you’ve gotta put yourself out there. From what she told me, even having friends is kind of a new thing for her, but I think once she trusts, she trusts a lot. You have to let her know you like her, or else she’ll overthink everything and psych herself out.”

“Right. Okay. Yeah, okay.” His restless leg stilled as he calmed himself. Put yourself out there. Tell her how you feel. “Uh, thanks,” he said after a moment. “Sorry for throwin’ all that at you.”

“No problem,” Shiho responded easily. “I figure this is repayment for having to watch me crush on Ann without realizing for so long. I’ll be your wingwoman.” She held up her left hand in a loose fist, smiling at him. “I got you, man.”

Ryuji let out a breathy laugh, raising his right hand to bump against hers. “Thanks, Shiho. I, uh... really missed you.”

She paused for a moment, seemingly caught off guard. “I… I missed you too,” she admitted, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Ryuji could’ve sworn he saw something click into place behind Shiho’s eyes, then. He was pretty confident Akiza could have figured out what it was, but he wasn’t that perceptive. Shiho looked down at the laptop again for a moment. “And, for what it’s worth,” she added, turning back to look at him with an odd smile. “I think she’d be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks,” he murmured. “That means a lot.”

They settled back into the calm relative-quiet of binge-watching then, episodes ticking by as the cover of night fell over Tokyo outside. When Shiho’s parents returned, her mother shushed her father, the pair tiptoeing in so as not to wake the sleeping teens, leaning against each other on the couch.

Sunday, 5/1
Cafe Leblanc
Evening

Akiza sat at a booth, notebooks spread out across the table, clicking her pen.

Leblanc was closed for the night, Sojiro was at his house, and for lack of another way to distract herself from expulsion anxiety, Akiza had resorted to studying. A mug of coffee accompanied her -- one she'd made herself, and it was only a tiny bit under-extracted -- while Morgana nosed through a magazine beside her.

Akiza clicked her pen again.

Click click click click--

“Would you stop that!?” Morgana yowled, ears flattening as he glared daggers at Akiza.

“Oh, sorry,” she mumbled. Her gaze seemed to slide off her history notes, and with a resigned sigh, she took her glasses off to rub her eyes. “I’m… distracted, I guess.”

Morgana stretched as he stood, pacing over to sit down attentively at Akiza’s side. “Nervous about tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “My assumption right now is that Kamoshida just didn’t show up to school and never got to start the expulsion process. If the change of heart worked, we’ll never hear from him again and life goes on.”

“Are you nervous that it didn’t work?”

Akiza bit her lip. If it hadn’t worked, she and everyone else would be expelled, which would mean that not only would their lives be ruined, she’d end up in juvie. And her odds of keeping her hormones or any kind of support structure in there were…

...Well. She’d had enough nightmares about that in the last week.

“Kinda. I’ve mostly been thinking about… what comes next, I guess.” She raked a hand through her hair, trying to gather her thoughts. “If we can do changes of heart, I want to help more people. But… How many people did Kamoshida hurt before we showed up and did something?”

Morgana cocked his head. “I don’t understand.”

Akiza blew out a breath. “I just… There could be thousands more Kamoshidas out there, and we have no way of knowing who they are until they’ve already hurt people. Changing a heart doesn’t heal the hurt that’s been caused.”

“Maybe not,” Morgana admitted. “But it does prevent anyone else from getting hurt. You can’t save everyone, Akiza.”

“I know, I know.” She twirled her pen in one hand, fumbling it after a second and letting it clatter to the table. “But it’s like… I have this power now. We have it. I want to use it as much as I can. I don’t want anyone to suffer like we have.”

Morgana rose from his seat, leaning over to butt his head against Akiza’s chin. Despite herself, she grinned at the gesture.

“Just because you can only do so much doesn’t mean that the things you do accomplish are meaningless.” He sat back down, tail swishing. “When this change of heart goes through, Kamoshida will never hurt anyone again. That’s real. That’s important. So please don’t beat yourself up just for having limits, okay? Maybe I’m not completely human, but I’ve learned enough about humanity to know that you did the right thing, and that you did a good job.”

Akiza leaned back in her booth seat, fingers laced together in thought. It was a perfectly reasonable concept, but something about it hadn’t sat right with her until Morgana had said it out loud. In her mind’s eye, she saw smiles on Ann’s face, and Shiho’s, and Ryuji’s, and Mishima’s. And smiles on the faces of everyone Kamoshida had ever made to feel helpless.

“Thanks, Morgana. I think you’re right.” She looked back up with a smile, reaching out to scratch her companion behind his ears, earning a delighted purr.

She cleaned up her study materials after that, washed out her mug, and laid down to a dreamless sleep.

Monday, 5/2
Shujin Academy
Morning

The day of their expulsion arrived.

Morgana’s reassurances that the change of heart had worked did little to soothe her nerves, even as Kawakami informed the class that there was an assembly that morning.

“Probably something about why Kamoshida’s been gone for so long,” Ann reasoned as they filed into the gym, Ryuji and Mishima alongside them. “Two weeks is a long time for someone as well-known as him to be out.”

“Are they gonna expel us? Do they do that in an assembly like this?” Mishima’s fretting was only amplifying Akiza’s fright, but rationally, he had even less reason to be confident than they did, given his lack of knowledge about the Palace.

The assembly began on time, Kobayakawa sweating under the stage lights as he began to speak. Before he could even get into the actual point of the assembly, however, there was a crash as the far door to the gym was flung open.

Heads turned, and shocked gasps filled the room as a dejected, defeated, and sullen Kamoshida stood hunched over in the doorway. Four thieves fought down wicked grins as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I have been… reborn.”

Chapter Text

Monday, 5/2
Shujin Academy
Morning

When Kamoshida was finally escorted from the podium, Akiza had expected to feel a lot better than she did. There was relief, certainly, but it wasn’t the full-bodied, shoulder-sagging, soul-lifting catharsis she’d bought into. Together the four of them had bled, sweat, and cried to ensure that Kamoshida would be forced to face his sins, but there was still something unpleasant lingering in the pit of her stomach.

Maybe it had to do with the way some of the other students had come up to Ann afterwards, making breathless apologies that felt like nothing more than platitudes. Knowing how many people had been complicit in what was happening felt… bad, or wrong, or something. They’re all cowards, she thought as she watched the teachers try in vain to corral the students out of the gym. Every single teacher who let students suffer rather than sticking their own necks out. Not everyone had the same means to make an impact they did, and almost all of them were victims in their own ways too, but the fact that anyone-- everyone could have done something to reach out and make a difference long before the day Shiho came up to the roof made her…

Sad.

A couple boys came up to Ryuji, nowhere near the amount that had apologized to Ann, but it was better than nothing. Apparently they’d been members of the old track team. Not everyone on the old team shared their sympathies, but Ryuji seemed happy to be connecting with the two of them again anyways. Ann and Ryuji spoke softly about everything not far away.

“So, you guys did it, huh?” Someone spoke, jumping Akiza from her thoughts.

“Oh, Mishima,” she turned. “What are you talking about?”

“It was you three, right? You’re the ones that made Kamoshida confess?”

Akiza tensed up. As close to all this as Mishima was, surely it wouldn’t be wise to have more people know about their involvement than necessary. With or without evidence, blackmail accusations could not be allowed to surface. It’s fine, she reasoned. Just deflect and it’ll be fine. He’ll never--

“Hahaha, what do you mean?” Ann sidled in. “W-we don’t know anything about that!” Her stilted lying voice only made Akiza tense up more.

Fuck.

Ryuji was next up to the plate, of course. “Yeah, no way! And even if it was us, s’not like we’d just go around sayin’ so.”

“Well,” Akiza began, trying desperately to salvage the scraps of this deception, before being thwarted by Morgana poking his head out of the bag.

“Are you two kidding me?” He yowled furiously, fixing the blondes with legendary stink-eyes before Akiza could scramble to shove him back in the bag. “Now there’s no way he doesn’t… suspect… us…” The feline trailed off as his head turned, finally realizing that Mishima was still watching them, now with an indescribable expression.

Merde.

“S-so, um,” Mishima stammered. All present tried to find their footings again as murmurs of the rumored cat began to circulate the crowd. Morgana ducked back into the bag, leaving Akiza to fumble together an explanation for… all of that.

“That’s,” she began, pausing to try to regain her composure. “That’s none of your business.” God, you couldn’t come up with ANYTHING better?

“Um, don’t worry! Whoever the Phantom Thieves are, they did the right thing, and I think they’re really good people! I just, well, it’s such a big deal, and it means he can’t hurt anybody again, y’know?” He spoke hurriedly, like he was trying to get it all out before he could stop himself. The bluff was transparent, but his nervous little knowing smile set Akiza’s mind at ease a bit. He’s sharper than I gave him credit for, she thought as she returned the gesture.

“Yeah,” Ryuji agreed from next to her. “Good to have that shithead gone.”

It wouldn’t undo the damage he’d done, but he was gone. Akiza glanced at Ryuji for a moment, chewing the inside of her lip before looking away. “Yeah. It’s a good thing.”

“It is.” Mishima surprised her with the firmness that appeared in his voice. “I know that-- I mean… I’m just one of the people he hurt. And maybe others had it worse, but there’s a lot of people that’ll be able to breathe easier now. Not just at school, either. Someone like that… we can’t have been the only ones he was hurting. There must’ve been others outside Shujin."

The thought gave Akiza pause. She’d been so absorbed in Ryuji, Ann, Shiho, Mishima-- in the students that always had something to say and the teachers that failed to say anything. But every day, just on the commute to school, there were so many people, all affected to some degree by people just like him. How many people had been ground beneath Kamoshida’s heel elsewhere, now free to grow again thanks to what they’d done? How many lives had they touched through with their actions?

“Yeah…” she agreed after a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Mishima.” She held up a fist, and he bumped his against it with the beginnings of a real smile. The memory of that day and the aftermath grew a little less sharp in her mind.

“By the way, Takamaki-san? Do you know when Suzui is coming back?” Mishima spoke up again, turning to face Ann fully. “I was hoping I could talk to her about… uh, stuff that happened. If she’d be okay with that.”

Ann deflated slightly. “Oh. Shiho’s, um. She’s actually…” Akiza watched the other girl pause, breathe, and release, the same way she herself did so often. “She’s actually transferring to another school in Tokyo.”

“Wait, what!?” Ryuji was quick to jump in. “Since when?”

“A couple days ago.” Ann twirled a ponytail between her fingers, looking somewhere off to the side. “Her parents were worried there’d be too much baggage here, and she agreed.”

A little silence fell over the group. Shiho would still be in Tokyo, at least, so they’d be able to see her. And Ann wouldn’t have to worry about her girlfriend moving away so soon after getting together, thank god.

Mishima tapped his toe on the polished gym floor, seemingly lost in thought. “Yeah, that… that makes sense. I can’t blame her for wanting to get away from all that stuff.”

“I’m gonna see her later,” Ann began. “So I can give her your number if you want.” Mishima seemed happy with that, and as the teachers finally moved to usher them out of the gym, he spoke in a low voice so that only Akiza could hear him.

“The Phantom Thieves are gonna be something people can believe in. I just know it. So I’m gonna do my part too, okay? I have to do something as thanks, after all.” He leaned back with a proud grin on his face, standing so much taller than the boy she’d seen on her first day, no longer dark with bruises or looking to disappear.

“Just stay safe, alright?” Despite her words, Akiza couldn’t help but match his grin.

Mishima only nodded. Whatever he was planning, she was curious.

Monday, 5/2
Jiyugaoka
After School

Ann’s home wasn’t quite what Akiza had expected. The Jiyugaoka district was known for its more Western-style homes, and it made a certain kind of sense that her parents would want to settle into something familiar in a place that wasn’t.

The way it stretched out inside, all open floors with a view into whatever room was adjacent, could have easily made the space feel cold, or empty. The decor itself was all minimalist - Ann’s parents, she explained, always had to stay on top of current trends wherever they went. Ann, however, was anything but minimalist, and so the whole central living space was decorated with little touches of humanity.

Whatever nooks the weird shelving units left unfilled, she occupied with trinkets, kitschy decorations with phrases in a few different languages, and a number of souvenirs. Framed photos hung along the walls, of her parents, of Ryuji and Shiho, and of landscapes with their origins written in white marker. The stairs that led up to a landing on the second floor (and the bedrooms, Ann added) even had a string of soft lights wound around the railing.

In a space that must have once been lifeless and empty, Ann had filled it however she could. Being invited into the space, and being allowed to be a part of it, made Akiza smile.

She would have to give Ann a present to add to it.

“You’ve been to Niagara Falls?” Ryuji asked. Shiho, who was currently moving herself from her wheelchair to the couch, cut in first.

“It’s actually pronounced ‘Nia-gara’ falls.”

“Wha-- for real?”

“Haha, no!” Shiho snorted. Ann rolled her eyes, then nudged Shiho gently on the shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s probably one of the loudest things I’ve ever heard,” Ann came closer, putting a hand on her chin. “I don’t know exactly why, but something about all the water actually makes it really easy to see rainbows there in the day.”

Morgana padded back and forth from atop the long couch. “It’s just a big waterfall, though, right? I don’t see what’s so special about it.”

“The photo probably doesn’t do it justice,” Akiza replied. “And besides, not all of us have had the privilege of seeing things as crazy as you probably have in the, uh… the Metaverse.” Talking openly about something so strange and unbelievable with someone who hadn’t seen it themselves yet felt a little weird.

… “Yet?” Would Shiho even want to see something like that?

“Crazy doesn’t mean pretty,” Morgana flicked his ears, puffing up a bit. “Though I have managed to get out of some pretty intense situations.”

“Just not a certain jail cell,” Ryuji joked. Morgana stuck out his tongue.

“Uh, so,” Shiho faced them with a slightly baffled expression, leaning until her face was closer to Morgana’s. “The cat talks for real? That’s-- you’re not punking me? You’re actually having a conversation with him?”

Almost automatically, Morgana yowled. “I am not a cat!”

“He’s not a cat,” Akiza translated, amused. “And no, we’re not punking you. We’re really having a conversation with him.”

“So what is he?” Shiho asked.

“He’s, um… not a cat?” Ann said. Morgana nodded.

“So why is he like one now?” Shiho asked, tilting her head. “God, what would I even do if I got turned into a cat?”

“Fall asleep on my face, probably,” Ann said without thinking. Then she blinked. Shiho and Ann looked pointedly in different directions, and Ryuji suddenly became very interested in a Russian nesting doll painted to look like the statue of liberty. Akiza cleared her throat.

“So, um. I wanted to check in with everybody, now that it’s all over. Just to make sure we’re all doing okay, and fill Shiho in on any details she’s missing.” Ann gestured to the seats available, and they each took a spot; Shiho was tucked against Ann on the couch, while Akiza and Ryuji chose the chairs facing them.

“I think I mostly get it.” Shiho adjusted her position, settling deeper into the crook of Ann’s side and adjusting her legs on the footstool Ann had provided. Ann put an arm around Shiho’s shoulders almost protectively as she continued. “You jumped into his head--”

“Heart!”

“Morgana says ‘heart’,” Akiza relayed.

“--Into his heart, and stopped him from wanting to do bad things, and that made him confess.”

“That’s pretty much how it went.” Ann brushed a strand of hair aside with her free hand. “His Shadow-- the, uh, version of him inside his heart-- was like, how he saw himself. So making the Shadow realize that what it did was wrong caused his real self to realize it too.”

“By stealing this from his Palace,” Akiza clarified. She took the medal out of her bag where it had sat since the heist. “Hence the Phantom Thieves thing. It basically means that his distortion stemmed from his Olympic win.”

“Couldn’t let his glory days go.” Ryuji shrugged out of his uniform jacket, slinging it over the back of the couch and sitting down on Shiho’s other side. “Stupid asshole took it out on us.”

“So, how are we all holding up?” Akiza’s hand found Morgana’s back, as it so often did, soft fur passing under her fingers and calming her with the sensation. “It’s been a really stressful couple weeks for everyone. Um, I can go first, I guess.” She took a deep breath as the others turned their eyes to her, marshalling her thoughts into words.

Leadership means forging the path, she thought. The significance of being the leader of the Thieves, of carrying that responsibility, was not lost on her. Helping them be okay meant laying herself bare too.

“I’m really happy you guys are supportive of, y’know, me,” Akiza began, gesturing to herself. The others nodded, and she continued. “It means so, so much. Like, more than I can really say. But… when I found out I was moving to Tokyo, and I decided that I was going to present as a girl full-time, I wanted it to be on my terms.”

Her eyes fell to the middle distance, the hand not on Morgana’s back starting to tighten its hold on the chair’s armrest. “Being trans is hard. I’m glad I figured out that I am, but it hurts. It’s so much work and money and headache just to try to get somewhere that you might never reach. But I got to Tokyo, and I met you all, and I was just a girl to you. I was normal. And I want to believe that I would’ve come out to you on my own, eventually. That I would’ve worked up the courage. But I never got the chance, and it still hurts.”

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, stifling a quavering breath. Morgana’s paws kneaded into her thigh, and she forced herself to untense her muscles.

Breathe.

“I wanted to take control of my life for once. I wanted to be my own person and decide how I wanted to live and how to express myself, and he took that away, and I know it wasn’t for very long but--” She choked, then, on the words pouring from her heart. But she was almost to the end of this, and damn it, she was going to get there. “But it hurts, and it sucks, and I’m not over it, and it feels selfish of me to still be hurting when you all dealt with him for so much longer, but I am.”

It was only once her outpouring finished that she realized she couldn’t see out of her glasses anymore, tear-stained as they were. She pushed them up gently, delicately, wiping at her eyes with her fingers. “Sorry,” she croaked with a wry smile. “I know that was… a lot.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Morgana pushed his head into her palm before turning to meet her gaze. “You went through something awful. We’re a team, right?” She nodded carefully, and startled a bit when he stood up on his hind legs, placing his front paws on her shoulders and leaning in for what must be an approximation of a hug. “Then rely on us.”

Akiza froze for a second, then smiled, placing a hand gently on Morgana’s back. “I will,” she whispered. “I will.”

“He outed me, too.” Akiza’s head snapped up at the sound of Ann’s voice breaking the silence that fell in the wake of her venting. She looked shaky in her seat, taking a deep breath before continuing with a quaver in her voice. “Well, sort of. I was pushing back on his advances and he started rumors that I was easy. People calling you a pervert slut behind your back… it starts to get to you. I don’t even know whether he actually knew I was bi, or just wanted to mess with me and happened to be right.” Akiza watched her grip tighten on Shiho just slightly, and how Shiho pressed into her in response, and the sight brought a piercing joy alongside the ache. “So… I at least kinda get it. Wanting to do it your own way, and having that taken away.”

“God, that sucks,” Akiza sighed, wicking the last few tears out of her eyes. “Coming out just sucks in general, mostly.”

“That’s pretty much why I never did.” Shiho mumbled a bit behind the cuff of her hoodie. “Until I was like, fourteen, I thought it was just normal to like girls too. Other kids making jokes made me realize.” She let out a shaky, breathy laugh, and Ann squeezed her a little tighter. “You all know I’m a doormat, so I just let myself think I was weird. I only told Ryuji because he figured it out.”

“First, y’ain’t a doormat. Second, ya didn’t exactly make it hard,” he said, prompting Shiho to stick her tongue out at him. A good-natured noogie from Ann got them all laughing again, and Ryuji slumped back into his seat. “Seriously though, it was super obvious that you and her liked each other. ‘Least, I thought so. ‘Specially with both of ya talkin’ to me all the time about how pretty she is, oh Ryuji her eyes are so nice and her hair smells so--”

The poor boy was cut off by a sudden cry when Shiho's hands found his sides with haste. “You forgot, Ryuji,” she shouted as he convulsed with laughter beside her. “We know you’re ticklish!”

Akiza couldn’t help the huge grin that split her face at the sight, sharing a mirthful look with Ann as they watched him thrash and cackle. There was a moment of understanding that passed between them then, a mutual appreciation of the uncomplicated joy on display.

“A- haa ha fuck, a-all right you f-freakin’ gremlin, enough!” He batted her hands away, nudging her back into Ann’s embrace as he caught his breath.

“Wow Ryuji, never would have pegged you for the ticklish type. I’ll keep that in mind.” Akiza snarked from her chair, casually petting Morgana as if she were some B-tier supervillain. The smile quickly fell from her face when Ryuji strode over to where she sat. “Whoa, Ryuji, what-- eep!”

Morgana tumbled from Akiza’s lap with a yowl as Ryuji hauled her out of the chair, heedless of her squirming. Akiza very quickly became aware of how close Ryuji was, the cadence of his breathing after enduring Shiho’s onslaught, the seemingly effortless way he could just pick her up like nothing--

And then she snapped out of her thoughts as she was dumped on the couch alongside the other girls, now themselves cackling at her plight. As soon as she sat up, Shiho pivoted in her spot, leaning her back more against Ann and lowering her legs across Akiza’s lap, while Ryuji sat down on Akiza’s other side and slung an arm around her shoulders.

“U-um,” she stuttered, fixing her glasses and trying to fight the flush rising to her cheeks. “Guys?”

“You okay?” Ann was presently undoing Shiho’s ponytail, running her hands gently through the dark locks. “You look kinda spooked. Ryuji, you can’t just do that without warning!”

“Shiho always likes it when I do that to her!”

“Yeah, but I’ve known you for years!” Shiho crossed her arms defiantly, fake-frowning at him. “You’ve known her for, like, a few weeks!”

“It’s okay,” Akiza managed. “I was just, um. Surprised.”

“How do you like it?” Morgana grumbled as he hopped up onto the couch, choosing Shiho’s lap as his new seat after a moment (he sniffed her hand carefully beforehand, of course). “You pick me up and carry me around all the time! It’s undignified!”

Akiza looked over at Morgana for a moment, becoming steadily more aware of the arm around her shoulders because oh god that’s Ryuji he put his arm around me does that mean he likes me oh jeez relax breathe chill. Her gaze turned over to him, watching as he fumbled with the TV remote. “Is, um, should I not…?”

He began to lift his arm for a moment, and Akiza was nearly ashamed of how quickly she answered “It’s okay!” and put his arm right back where it had been. From the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw Shiho give Ann a look of some kind, but the physical contact with Ryuji was making her brain too haywire to process it.

The group settled into a comfortable silence, between whatever was on TV and the inevitable distractions of Twitter and Instagram feeds. Akiza thumbed idly at her phone as she settled more comfortably into her seat, fixing her skirt and, after working up her nerve, leaning more against Ryuji, her head on his shoulder. Her eyes found the MetaNav’s icon and, just next to it, the messaging app she’d used to join the chat room (affectionately titled “The Gender Blender”) that had been one of her lifelines for so long. The red notification signaled unread messages, and it was for the first time then that she realized she hadn’t checked them since her first day of school.

As she opened the app, she was surprised to see not only her chat rooms, but also several DMs from people whose usernames she recognized from them. Several well-wishes and notes of concern, and a single message that caught her eye more than the others.

>Roland: Hello. I’m sorry for the message. We’re all waiting to hear from you. I can try to help, if something has happened.

Akiza bit her lip, trying to push the smile down so as not to look like a total idiot. The stiffly-formatted nature of the message was one of its sender’s little quirks, and she’d always felt at ease talking with the boy who insisted on typing that way. A couple quick updates were posted in the smaller channels, apologizing for her absence and assuring everyone that she was fine and, in fact, doing better than ever. She resolved to message “Roland” later with more details but set her phone aside for the time being, leaning into Ryuji’s side a bit more and being rewarded by his arm squeezing a bit tighter around her shoulders.

“This is… nice.” Shiho’s voice was quiet, but it still drew everyone’s attention. “After, um, stuff happened, part of me was afraid that I’d never get to do something like this again. Like I’d been… I dunno. Tainted, somehow.” She breathed in, closing her eyes as she held it for a second, then letting it out slowly. Ann adjusted her position a bit, going back to playing with Shiho’s hair. “I know it’s dumb, I know it’s not true, but it’s still been eating at me for a while.”

“I get it,” Ann murmured. “I really do. Every time he’d ogle me or put his hands on me, it made me want to go scrub myself raw. Clean him off me, y’know?”

Akiza picked at the hem of her skirt. “I know I do. It only happened to me a couple times, but I get it.” A pause, full of considerations on what to say, how to say it. “Before I started presenting, I’d always imagined something like that would be bad, but I didn’t understand how it’d feel. How it lingers.”

They sat in silence for a minute, and the kinship Akiza felt with Ann and Shiho in that moment felt warm, despite the circumstances. Ryuji squeezed her just a little tighter.

“I just can’t stop thinkin’ about all the shit I can’t do now ‘cause of him,” Ryuji added after a moment. “It ain’t just the track thing. I can’t get part-time work ‘cause I can’t always stand for long enough. Sometimes if I’m havin’ a bad pain day, I gotta literally drag myself up the stairs to my apartment. And every time I look at my old sprinting cleats, I just get sad.”

Akiza laid a hand over Ryuji’s, and met his gaze hesitantly. His big brown eyes were all too expressive, and the hurt and anger rolling through him was plain to see. He bit his lip after a second and looked away, seemingly unable to handle the eye contact in his present state. He didn’t let go of Akiza.

The silence that hung in the air after that wasn’t exactly comfortable, but nor was it uncomfortable. It just sort of… existed, Akiza supposed, charged with the hurts they’d all shared. They’d avoided giving each other much verbal reassurance, but the solidarity, the unity, the sharing of the burden made it all a little easier.

“We should probably be getting back soon,” Shiho said after a moment, stretching out across the length of the couch. “Trains are gonna start closing up soon.”

Akiza made an affirmative hum, already plotting out her route back to Yongen when Ann spoke up.

“You could stay here tonight. All of you, I mean.”

Akiza looked up from her phone blinking, finding the others doing the same. “What, like, a sleepover?”

“W-well, um, yeah. It’s just that, well…” Ann touched her fingertips together, seemingly struggling to find the words. Akiza watched her close her eyes, and for the briefest instant, she thought she saw Carmen’s hand on Ann’s shoulder. “I’m just feeling shaken right now, after everything, and I’d rather not be alone all night. A-and I care about you guys, you’re important to me. I just… I like having you guys around. You make me feel safe.”

Something in Ann’s eyes, the fragility in her voice, made Akiza’s heart swell. A little smile tugged at her lips, and the little prickling behind her eyes told her to focus on not losing it again. Ugh, I cry about everything now.

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure my Ma’s cool with it, but I ain’t got clothes here.” Ryuji straightened up a bit, finally pulling his arm off Akiza’s shoulders to retrieve his phone from his pocket, and she nearly had to physically stop herself from pouting at the loss of touch.

“I’ve got tons of clothes for sleeping in, you guys can just borrow some and I’ll wash your clothes for tomorrow.” Ann’s answer was almost a verbal shrug. “We used to do that when we were kids, right?”

“Well, yeah, but-- ah, whatever, that works.” Akiza couldn’t help but snicker at Ryuji’s capitulation to Shiho’s puppy-dog eyes. “What about you guys?”

“I’m pretty sure my parents would give Ann their credit card numbers if she asked. They'll be fine. You, Akiza?” Shiho stretched out along the couch again, legs lifting off Akiza’s lap before gently plopping back down again.

“Um, I’ll call Sojiro. I think he’ll be okay with it? We have tomorrow off for Golden Week anyway.” She chewed her lip for a moment, looking up at Ann. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to wear your stuff?”

Ann’s brow furrowed at her. “What? Yeah, of course! It’s all oversized shirts and sweatpants and stuff, it’s totally fine. I’m pretty sure we’ve got spare futons in the linen closet, too.”

Akiza smiled again, letting out a huff of laughter. “Okay,” she said. She felt herself relax again, leaning on Ryuji and letting her eyes close for a moment. Something about being not just accepted, but wanted, being a source of safety and comfort, tugged at her heartstrings. Like a thread connecting her to them that she could reach out and touch.

“Alright!” Ann clapped her hands together with a smile, pulling out her phone. “Where are we getting takeout from?”

Monday, 5/2
Jiyugaoka
Evening

“Oh my god he’s probably gonna trip and faceplant when he sees that!” Ann flopped back onto her bed, feet kicking as she cackled. Red-faced as Akiza was at the current activity (“Let’s Tease Ryuji Hour,” according to Shiho), she couldn’t help but join in the laughter, covering her mouth with one hand as she waited for Ryuji to respond.

“Told you it’d be fun.” Shiho’s cheshire smile was unmatched as she sat proudly next to Ann. “It’s super easy to make him blush, but you gotta do it smartly to get the best impact.”

“I’m almost concerned by how devious you are,” Akiza said with a wry grin. “You might put us Phantom Thieves out of a job if you used your talents for good.”

“Mm, nope! I am strictly a girl of mischief.” Shiho put a hand to her chest dramatically, raising her gaze to the middle distance as she spoke. “The troublemaker is a vital part of every friend group, and I take my role very seriously!”

Her grin shifted from proud to giddy, though, as Ann rose, still giggling, and wrapped Shiho up in her arms. Akiza had noted since Shiho’s release that Ann only ever put her hands on Shiho in very particular ways; always palm-first, always from within Shiho’s line of sight. It didn’t take a genius to piece together the reasons why, and it warmed Akiza’s heart to see Ann’s attentiveness in action.

“She’s always been like this,” Ann explained as she gave Shiho a light squeeze, garnering a happy squeak that made Akiza’s heart soar. “You wanna know how we met? She came up to me in art class in middle school and told me that my painting sucked.”

“Oh wow, yeah, that’s not subtle.” Akiza’s eyes narrowed just slightly, putting on her best Joker smile at Shiho. “Pulling pigtails right away, huh?” Shiho actually blushed slightly at that, smiling lopsidedly.

“I guess, looking back, it kinda was, yeah. I thought she was really pretty and I walked up to her before I’d even figured out what I was gonna say.” She giggled and turned her head, burying her face in Ann’s shoulder. “Teasing is how I express affection, I guess.”

“Poor Ryuji,” Ann added. “Two pretty girls hanging out with him any chance they got, and the price he had to pay was some light shenanigans.” She paused for a minute, then turned to Akiza with a grin. “Well, three pretty girls now.”

Huh???

Akiza froze. Okay, she thought. Right. Ann called you pretty. She thinks you’re a pretty girl. Do not panic. Smile and laugh and move on.

“R-right,” Akiza stammered. “I don’t, um. Know if I belong in that category really, but I’ll take it, haha.” Just take the compliment, you idiot!!

“Oh you totally do!” Ann perked up with a light clap of her hands, and Akiza had the sinking feeling that she was about to be, god forbid, praised. “Your hair is super cute, and your cheekbones are really nicely defined! Plus your eyes look so cool behind your glasses, and when you peek over them, they’re really intense. You’re super pretty!”

Shiho nodded next to her, and Akiza was, at that moment, one hundred percent sure she was going to die. She was sitting in Ann’s room, on Ann’s bed, wearing Ann’s clothes (that still smelled like her!!), being told by Ann and her girlfriend that she, Akiza Kurusu, was “super pretty.”

“U-um,” Akiza squeaked. “Okay. Um, that is, uh, thanks! F-for saying that.” The only thing stopping Akiza from hiding her face in the oversized sweatshirt Ann had lent her was the knowledge that the other girls would surely find that adorable.

“Ryuji thinks so too,” Shiho casually mentioned after a moment. “He’s got a huge crush on you.”

What--

“No he doesn’t,” Akiza said reflexively, because the alternative was too much to even imagine. “No way. That can’t be true.” She laughed to herself, mouth behind her hand, at the sheer, unbelievable ridiculousness of the idea.

“He totally does!” Shiho leaned forward, heedless of Ann’s starry-eyed wonderment at what she’d just said. “He came to my place the other night asking for romantic advice because he wasn’t sure how to approach you. And, if my eyes are working right, is it safe to say you like him?”

Fuck. Fuck. What? Oh god.

“I, um.”

“C’mooooon, spill!” Ann’s smile threatened to split her face in two. “Girl talk is one of the most important parts of a sleepover, and crush talk is one of the prime topics!”

“W-well, I…” Breathe. Breathe. You’re safe here, she reminded herself. Okay. So what if it’s obvious you like Ryuji? Look at Shiho right now. She’s not gonna make fun of you. Ann’s too earnest to. They don’t think it’s a joke. This is… girl talk. “Y-yeah,” she breathed after a few moments. “Yeah, I like Ryuji too.”

“Aaaah oh my god you two would be so cute together!” Ann practically squealed at that, and Akiza felt her life flash before her eyes as Ann lunged at her and grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug.

“Ann-- Ann, lungs!” She released her death grip, leaving Akiza to catch her breath again (and lament the loss of Ann’s touch, but that was a separate issue). “God, okay. Yeah.”

Something about having it out in the open made the idea feel so much more real, so much heavier in her mind. I like Ryuji and Ryuji likes me back sat like a dam in a river, holding everything else back and demanding that other thoughts deal with it first. “I don’t… I don’t even know how that would work,” she mumbled, folding her knees up against her chest and leaning into her sleeve. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. People… people like me have a lot of trouble with dating,” she explained, letting the details go unsaid. “I’d have no idea what to do.”

“I mean, neither did we.” Shiho’s calm, steady voice tugged her out of her thought-spiral, meeting her dark eyes. “Me and Ann never dated other people before we got together. And, I mean, I can’t speak to your stuff, but I think that’s just kinda how relationships go. You help each other.” She leaned a bit more into Ann, perhaps unconsciously, and visibly relaxed more as Ann’s arms encircled her again.

What if that was Ryuji, Akiza allowed herself to think. What if it could be like before, and I could just… lean on him? Hug him? Kiss him? The heat that rose to her face at the mere thought of being so lucky made her heart beat double-time. Her mind flashed back to the Palace, standing over the Shadow’s form, Ryuji clinging to her and weeping into her shoulder.

“What… what should I do?” Akiza found that her voice was small, crowded out by all the other thoughts spinning around the central core of Ryuji likes me. If, miracle of miracles, she were to somehow get together with Ryuji, her other crushes would definitely fade away into friendship.

...Right?

“You gotta be direct with Ryuji,” Ann said confidently. “Don’t beat around the bush or he won’t get it. “

“And it’s gonna have to be you that speaks up first, probably. He’s really, really nervous about this, and if I know him, he’s gonna shove this down and not deal with it until someone makes him deal with it.” Shiho leaned forward, laying a hand on Akiza’s knee. “You’ll be okay. I promise.”

“Mhm, same here.” Ann placed her hand over Shiho’s. “You won’t know until you try.”

“Right,” Akiza breathed, and a smile crept onto her face as the sounds of Ryuji opening the front door filtered up the stairs. “Thanks.”

Monday, 5/2
Yongen-Jaya
Late Night

Clickclickclickclackclickclackclickclack--

The wise Alibaba’s ears perked up at the audio feed trickling through one of her many all-seeing eyes.

Ah, the bug on the new girl’s phone. The thing must have been propped up on a charging pad; there was some video footage, but the dim light of the new girl’s friend’s house at this late hour made it difficult to distinguish anything.

Where the hell is the gamma setting?

Ah, found it! Turn that up, get a better look, and…

The wise and all-knowing Alibaba made an eep! sound and force-closed the bug’s feed as she caught a glimpse of two people shrouded in shadow, leaning closer and closer still, until their lips finally brushed together.

Chapter Text

The tranquil sounds of a piano rose to her ears, and Akiza awoke in a place she was growing accustomed to.

Dang, I didn’t wear socks, Akiza thought ruefully. Swinging her legs off the cot, she braced herself for the cold bite of the concrete… and was surprised to find it warmer. Still cold, but now just chilly, rather than freezing.

“Hey, Lavenza.” Akiza padded out into the central area of the Velvet Room, waving at the small girl, who curtsied with a smile.

“Good evening, Trickster,” she said. “Thank you for joining us.”

“My apologies for calling on you during this gathering of your allies.” Igor rolled a hand from his seat at his desk, gesturing at nothing in particular. “There is but a brief matter to discuss before you return to your rest.”

“Is it about the Palace?” Akiza hazarded that it probably wasn’t anything else; Igor and Lavenza seemed to be in the habit of not telling her things that weren’t immediately relevant.

“Indeed. We wish to congratulate you on your first successful venture.” Igor nodded in her direction, and Akiza couldn’t help but preen just a bit under the praise. “To change the heart of one unable to change themself is no easy task, and you have accomplished it handily.”

“In addition, you have made great strides in deepening your relationships with those closest to you.” Lavenza opened her book to somewhere in the middle, gloved finger tracing down the page over several images. “When last we spoke, the arcana open to you included the High Priestess, Devil, Hierophant, Death, Lovers, and Chariot. Since then, you have opened your heart to the Moon and Sun as well.”

“Moon and Sun… Mishima and Shiho?” Akiza still wasn’t entirely sure of the significance of tarot cards in her personal relationships, but she had felt the genuine tug-tugging insistence of the Personas that inhabited her soul whenever one found its matching arcana among her circle of friends.

Lavenza nodded with a smile, answering Akiza’s question as Igor spoke again.

“However, I caution you against complacency, Trickster. The coming ruin is vast, and nothing less than the pinnacle of your ability will suffice.”

Akiza blinked. “The coming ruin? Do I get to know what that is?”

“It will reveal itself in time, and the form it takes will be most unexpected. It, however, is not a problem to be solved immediately.” Akiza pinched the bridge of her nose as Igor’s words sunk in. He’d mentioned something like this the first time they’d spoken, something about how the “shape of the world” would change, and he’d called this all a game a few times.

“How much control do I have here? Realistically,” she asked. If she was going to be part of some grand design with names like “the coming ruin” being thrown around, she wanted to at least get a sense of where she stood.

“I will be blunt,” Lavenza said, closing her book again and tucking it under her arm. “Your chances of winning are almost none. The deck is stacked against you in almost every way it can be. However,” she interrupted, noting the expression on Akiza’s face. “Your greatest weapons are your agency and your bonds, and through them, you may seize victory.”

Akiza rolled that around in her head, suddenly feeling as if the stakes had been raised in this “game” of Igor’s. Or perhaps she was simply becoming more aware of the stakes that had existed all along. She thought back to the first time she’d heard Julie’s voice, down in the prison below Kamoshida’s castle.

The world is stacked against you, and you have the chance to defy it.

“There is yet work to be done, Trickster.” Igor’s voice intoned at her again, and she turned her gaze to meet his unblinking one. “Will you continue to walk the path?”

Work to be done, Akiza mused. Hearts to change, people to help, treasure to steal. And ruin to avoid, apparently.

“Of course,” she answered with a lopsided grin. “We’ve got a job to do.”

“Then I shall continue to observe you, and mark your growth into a most excellent Thief.” Igor nodded once, and the tell-tale sensation of being pulled through the floor alerted Akiza to the end of this meeting.

“One more thing,” she managed. “How can I find you again, if I need to talk?”

“Worry not, Trickster. You will not have trouble finding us.” Lavenza curtsied with an enigmatic smile, and Akiza just barely had it in her to wave before she blacked out.

Tuesday, 5/3
Jiyugaoka
Early Morning

Morning came quietly, nudging Akiza’s eyelids open just as soon as she left the Velvet Room. Not for the first time, she was thankful that her visits didn’t prevent her from getting a full night’s sleep. Instinctively, she moved to sit up, reaching blindly for her glasses and phone, and froze when she met resistance.

To her left, Ryuji, still snoring softly, held onto her arm with both hands.

Oh, she thought. That’s right.

Memories of last night shoved their way to the front of her mind; hushed confessions and whispered questions, fingers tracing the line of her jaw up towards her ear, Ryuji’s hand cradling her face, Ryuji asking can I kiss you, and Akiza’s own disbelieving, near-tearful yes. She remembered distinctly the smell of his breath as their faces drew near, still a little bit minty from the toothpaste Ann had given them. His hair between her fingers wasn’t quite as soft as she’d imagined night after night, but she supposed bleach would do that.

And oh, the way her cheek had fit into his palm, the way he’d brushed her bangs out of her eyes with his other hand, the way he’d whispered is this okay, the way she’d nearly cried at the contact-- they’d touched before, held hands, hugged. But this was different. This was everything she’d wanted, everything she’d known that she’d never have.

Then he’d asked the question, and she’d said yes, heart hammering in fear and delight, and their lips met, and he was so warm, and...

“Mornin’,” Ryuji mumbled next to her, eyes barely cracking open. Seemingly unconsciously he curled a little tighter around her arm, and Akiza thought she might die right then. “Y’r up early.”

How was it fair that Akiza was allowed to see this? To see Ryuji’s face as he first woke up, watch him gradually open his eyes, and see him look up at her? This was never supposed to happen, right? Did she deserve this?

“Oh, shoot, sorry.” He released his grip on her arm, pink rising to his cheeks, and Akiza suppressed the urge to whimper at the loss of his warmth. Her eyes tracked across him as he stretched with a muffled groan, popping some joints. “What time is it?”

Akiza blinked herself out of her reverie, fumbling for her phone that she’d left charging on the stand last night and showing Ryuji the display that read 7:32 AM. She glanced to the side, finding Shiho and Ann sharing the other futon and Morgana curled up on the couch, belly rising and falling slowly.

“Should we, um,” she began, whispering around the nervousness in her throat. “Talk? About last night?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. Yeah, probably. Uh, kitchen?” Ryuji seemed to trip over his words as he mumbled them, and it only endeared him to Akiza more. She nodded, and together they rose and padded across the cool floor and into the adjacent room, careful not to wake the others.

“You drink coffee, yeah? Pretty sure Ann keeps some around.” His voice was a bit louder now, no longer whispering, but still low as he searched through cupboards. Akiza glanced over the countertop, eyes catching on an instant coffee machine.

“I think I’m good, actually,” she said with a smile. “Sojiro’s kinda ruined coffee for me. I can feel myself turning into a snob.”

“Okay, cool. I dunno how to use the coffee maker anyway.” He grinned over his shoulder at her, and Akiza had to stifle a laugh to save Ann and Shiho and Morgana’s sleep. He leaned against the counter, looking at her with a face somewhere between indecision and nervousness, and Akiza joined him. She settled next to him, a few inches of space between; she wanted so, so badly to lean into his side, to feel his arm around her waist, but she didn’t know where he was with the whole “touching” thing yet. The only thing that made her more nervous than the idea of Ryuji being genuinely into her was the idea of making him uncomfortable.

“So, uh.” Ryuji spoke up after a moment where neither of them could find their voices. “I guess everything’s all out in the open now, huh?”

“Yeah. Shiho’s a good wingwoman.” Akiza grinned a little at Ryuji’s flustered expression, then, and she was very grateful for the humor’s work at tamping down the slow simmer of anxiety filling her.

“She told you? Aw man, I told her not to…” Akiza could only laugh softly at his indignation, and this time it actually did make her heart feel a bit lighter.

“She said there was no way you’d get it unless I came right out and confronted you about it. So I figured I had to be the one to say it first.” Akiza’s feet shifted a bit on the kitchen’s tile floor. The Velvet Room was warmer than this, she thought idly. As she adjusted, she inched just a little closer to Ryuji, who didn’t move away.

“That… that makes sense,” he groaned. “That sounds like the kind of dumb shit I’d do. I just didn’t wanna like, scare you off, y’know?” Akiza tilted her head, one eyebrow raised, and Ryuji gesticulated a bit. “I just… I really like you, and I know you’ve got a lotta stuff goin’ on that I don’t get all the way, and I didn’t wanna hurt you.” A deep breath, eyes closed, a shaky exhale. “There’s a bunch of people that got hurt ‘cause I did somethin’ dumb. I didn’t want you to be one of ‘em.”

Oh, Akiza’s heart ached.

“Ryuji,” she breathed. “You could never. I’ve… I’ve never trusted anyone as much as I do you guys. And even if you did, I know you’d do anything to try to make it right. Besides, I…” Akiza felt the words stall in her mouth. Her mind could feel the shape of them, the thorny thing in her heart, but she couldn’t give them form. She felt her hands clench, arms starting to ache from the continuous tension they’d been under since this conversation began.

“You okay?” And Ryuji, of course, noticed. “You’re shakin’. C’mon, sit down over here.” Akiza stared dumbly at the floor as he took her hand in his, steering her over to the little dining table and guiding her into the seat before sitting down next to her.

“It’s just… a lot,” she breathed, forcing herself to untense her muscles. “I’ve never told anyone I liked them before, y’know? Much less had them feel the same.” She swallowed air, trying to center herself.

“I get that,” Ryuji admitted. “I ain’t ever dated anyone either. Hell, last night was the first time I ever kissed somebody for real. And it’s kinda scary, thinking about it, but I wanna try, if you wanna. You’re really cool, and nice, and p-pretty, and stuff.”

Akiza couldn’t hold back a laugh. Ryuji was clearly no better at talking about emotions than she herself was, but his floundering was endearing. “If you say so,” she sighed, referring to his compliments. “I usually can’t imagine myself as anything more than an anxious mess, but you’ve literally saved my life a few times now, so I basically have to believe you.” The smirk that grew on her face was natural, reflexive, the standard accompaniment to self-deprecation. It faltered when Ryuji didn’t return the joke.

“Hey, c’mon, don’t get yourself down like that.” He laid a hand over hers gently, careful not to be too rough. “I ain’t joking, I genuinely think that stuff. I like you for a reason, y’know?”

Right, Akiza thought. Ryuji wouldn’t lie. He has to be telling the truth. The logical reassurance made sense to her brain, but failed to quell the uncertainty in her heart.

“I’ll… I believe you,” she eventually replied. “It might be hard for me to remember sometimes, but I’ll try.” Akiza turned her gaze to Ryuji’s big, beautiful, concerned-puppy eyes, and she managed a weak smile. “I promise, I’ll try.”

“Good,” he breathed. “That makes me real happy.” His smile was, of course, brighter than the sun, and it pulled Akiza’s mood up just a bit, all by itself.

The clock ticked by, counting seconds and heartbeats as the pair marinated in the silence.

“So, uh…” Akiza was the one to speak first, eyes flicking back and forth between Ryuji and the table. “Do we… Are we dating?”

“Um.” He blinked, a dusting of pink coating his cheeks. “I-I’m down if you are? That sounds, uh, g-great.” The flush on his face was clear and bright, and just seeing it drew a smile from Akiza.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “Yeah, I’d love that.”

Ryuji let out a single, breathy laugh, then another. “H-hey, um,” he whispered. “Can I kiss you again?”

Akiza’s eyes fluttered closed as her heart swelled, joy indelible for the moment. “Of course.”

Their lips met, and met again, and met again. Distantly, Akiza heard the sounds of the others waking up.

Tuesday, 5/3
Jiyugaoka
Morning

“Ann, you’re using too many blueberries! Y’ain’t gotta put ‘em all in one pancake, damnit!”

“My house, my food! I’ll put as many blueberries in my pancake as I want!”

“Hey, be careful with that sticky stuff, I don’t want it in my fur!”

“They’re always like this when they cook together,” Shiho explained. The two dark-haired girls sat idly at the kitchen table, observing bemusedly as the blondes bickered over pancake batter. Morgana sat perched on a chair nearby, nosing through the recipe book and shouting out instructions. “We got kicked out of home ec in middle school more than once.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Akiza grinned, chin resting in her palm as she watched them rush this way and that way, Ryuji standing over the griddle and passing pancakes off to Ann as they finished. “I didn’t know Ryuji could cook.”

“He cooks for his mom a lot.” Shiho sipped at the instant coffee that Ann had produced for her, and which Akiza had taken a single, regretful sip of. “She works really long hours at the hospital, so he likes to let her come home to nice food.”

“Oh my god, that’s so sweet.” Akiza heaved a breathy, contented sigh at that. That’s my boyfriend, she thought, for the twentieth time. Ryuji is my boyfriend.

“So,” Shiho began, setting her mug down. “You’ve been making doe-eyes at Ryuji all morning. Wanna tell me about that?”

Akiza had expected Shiho to notice quickly; she was very perceptive about these kinds of things, apparently. She’d also expected to be a lot more nervous about the idea of telling Shiho. But, she supposed, she’d already come out to her. This was nothing, by comparison.

“We, uh, kissed. Last night.” She spoke in hushed tones, so as not to distract Ann during the pancake assembly process. “I told him I liked him after you guys fell asleep, and we just… kissed. We talked about it this morning before you woke up, and… and we’re dating now.”

The smile that crossed Shiho’s face was wide and bright as she leaned in for a hug. “Congrats,” she whispered. “I’m really happy for you.”

“This only happened because of you, y’know.” They separated after a moment, Akiza tucking a stray bang behind her ear. “I would never have told him if you hadn’t told me he liked me.”

Shiho had a shrug and a mirthful grin to offer. “Troublemaker, remember?”

Tuesday, 5/3
Shibuya
Morning

Morning ticked on, Ann screamed for joy when Akiza and Ryuji shyly told her about their newfound relationship and, devoid of any meaningful plans for Golden Week, they inexorably found themselves idling in Shibuya.

“Oh hey, y’know what? This is kinda like a double date,” Ann observed from around a mouthful of crepe. They’d taken over a table outside a cafe near Central Street, a quick walk away from the airsoft shop where Akiza had pawned the fake Olympic medal off to the shady-yet-unquestioning owner. Fake though the medal was, thirty thousand yen was nothing to sneeze at.

“Isn’t any time the four of us hang out a double date, technically?” Akiza, for her part, was sipping on some kind of fruity tea thing that Ann had recommended. “I mean, since we’re two couples?”

“That’d make Morgana like, the fifth wheel. What even has five wheels?” Ryuji grabbed another french fry into his mouth, his chair scooched right up against Akiza’s. “A big trailer truck, I guess?”

“Those usually have eight, I think,” Shiho swiped a bite of crepe from Ann’s plate, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before letting her head thud onto the table with an audible groan. “Ugh, what are we doing? It’s Golden Week and we’re sitting here talking about trucks.”

“We’re Phantom Thieves! We should be celebrating a successful heist!” Morgana chirped from his seat in Akiza’s bag, resting on the table where he could converse with them. “We’ve got a bunch of money to do something with, and a whole city to use it in!”

A resounding silence met his declaration, four bored teenagers stuck in the mire of looking for something to do. Akiza’s roaming gaze landed on a passing pedestrian, decked from head to toe in bright, rainbow-patterned clothes.

“Check out that outfit,” Akiza said as they passed, jerking her chin to indicate. Ann’s eyebrows shot up.

“Wow, okay. ‘Bright colors for spring’ is one thing, but head to toe tie-dye is a lot.” Her eyes shifted at that, looking elsewhere into the crowd with a slight squint. “Is it me, or are there… a few people dressed like that?”

The group turned to look, and Akiza was surprised to find that Ann was right. Dotted throughout the crowd of passersby were people dressed in extravagant outfits and vibrant colors, all looking various levels of excited, heading in roughly the same direction. “Is there some kind of event going on?”

“Looks like it’s Pride,” Shiho answered, already searching on her phone. “It’s up in Yoyogi Park, running all week.”

That got Akiza’s attention.

“Is it? That’s this week?” Her head snapped around immediately, leaning forward in her seat, eager to hear more. She’d seen people talking about Pride in chatrooms, dreamed of one day being able to go and see this incredible thing, never imagining it’d be so close to where she found herself.

“Yeah, looks like today’s opening day,” Ann answered for her, having pulled up the same page on her phone. Ryuji and Morgana craned their necks to see. “There’s a big festival in the park with booths and events and stuff. We should go!”

“That sounds fun,” Shiho agreed. Her eyebrows perked up, aiming a mischievous grin across the table at Akiza and Ryuji. “What a first date for you two, huh?”

“O-oh,” Akiza mumbled. Ryuji fully clammed up, turning a little pink and busying himself with his soda. “I-I guess so, yeah. That sounds good, if we all want to?”

Ryuji held up a finger as he chugged the rest of his soda, setting the empty bottle back down on the table with a light thud. “I’m down if y’all are! You said Yoyogi, right? That’s like, a ten minute walk from here.”

“Sounds like an appropriate place for celebration,” Morgana declared. “Let’s go!”

“Hey, are you gonna be okay walking that far?” Akiza spoke low to Ryuji as they prepared to leave. He’d been fine moving for long periods in the Palace, but that was in the Metaverse, and she wasn’t about to discount the possibility that the cognitive world made his pain less severe.

“I should be good,” he said. “I keep some painkillers on me just in case. Thanks for checkin’, though.” The smile he gave her wasn’t quite his thousand-watt one, but rather a more reserved, thoughtful one that she hadn’t seen on him yet. “Means a lot.”

“Of course.” Akiza hesitated for a moment as Ann and Shiho began to set off towards the park, hand frozen midway to Ryuji’s. The little thoughts of is this okay picked at her brain for that instant, but were silenced when Ryuji took her hand in his, following behind him as he moved to catch up with the other girls.

Tuesday, 5/3
Yoyogi Park
Afternoon

Four hours into Pride, and Akiza’s camera roll had never been so full.

Performers, activists, vendors, and ordinary people filled the park, booths and tables set up all around, bursting with life and joy and, well, pride. She took countless photos of the stands, the art, the sights, and, of course, her friends. Too many group selfies to count, and more than she ever imagined she’d take.

Early on in the adventure, they’d stumbled across a table selling hand-made bracelets made from cord, woven from the colors of different pride flags. Obvious to anyone who knew, but not so flashy as to draw attention from those who didn’t. Ann had scooped up a bi one, all blue and purple and magenta. Akiza hesitated for a minute, warring with herself on whether she felt able to declare such a thing, but the soft blue and pink and white of her own flag won her over.

This is Pride, damnit, she thought. Be proud.

Ryuji had shocked the group when, after Akiza had bought a bi flag bracelet for herself to accompany the trans one, he’d taken one of the pink-purple-blue ones for himself.

“S’not a big deal,” he’d murmured as he handed over the yen to the booth owner. “I like guys too, sometimes.” Akiza had merely taken his hand in hers and, courage welling in her heart, given him a peck on the cheek that set his face ablaze.

Morgana, ever seeking to be a part of things, had fired questions at Akiza about what each flag stood for, and what those names meant. Eventually they’d moved on, Morgana leaning his front paws on Akiza’s shoulder and proudly displaying the yellow-white-purple-black bandanna he’d chosen.

Akiza was pretty sure she’d caught sight of Takemi’s dark-blue bob cut at some point, but couldn’t guarantee it.

Presently the group was gathered around a picnic table to give Ryuji’s leg a break. Shiho had wheeled around to the end of the table next to Ann, while Ryuji and Akiza sat next to each other.

“Man, I’m super glad we found out this was happening!” Ann’s joyful smile was infectious as always, cheeks adorned with little bi flags done by a face painter they’d found earlier. “I saw events like this back in America and Finland, but I never got to actually go to one.”

“It’s amazing,” Akiza breathed. And she really meant it; the sights, the sounds, the overwhelming sense that you are not alone, there are so many others like you… all that, combined with the glowing truth of this is a date with Ryuji, my boyfriend, the continual elated joy on Ann and Shiho’s faces, and even Morgana’s excitement at the intricacies of human experience, all wove together in a way that made her heart warm. “I’d only ever heard about stuff like this, I never thought I’d actually be here.”

“It’s pretty sweet,” Ryuji agreed. He hadn’t gone the full face-paint route, but the bracelet said all that he wanted it to. “It’s cool to see everybody havin’ a good time and being themselves.”

“I’m really glad we came,” Shiho added. She hadn’t picked out any specific souvenirs, mentioning offhandedly that she still wasn’t sure exactly where she fell, but she seemed to be having just as good a time as the rest of them. The paved footpaths made it easier for her to navigate in her chair than the dirt ones at Inokashira, something she’d been vocally thankful for.

“This place is fascinating!” Morgana paced in a circle around the table, bandanna still adorning his neck. “I had no idea gender was so varied and complicated!”

“Everyone experiences it differently,” Akiza explained, turning to Ryuji and Ann after a moment. “Morgana didn’t know I was trans until you two found out. He barely even knew what gender was.” Her brow furrowed for a moment at that, looking back down at the elated not-cat. “Hey, how do you want us to refer to you, actually? Pronouns-wise.” She gestured at his bandanna.

Morgana looked down at his accessory, then back up, seemingly deep in thought, before perking up again. “‘He’ is still good! It’s easy, I think? And I still like it, even if I also like being non… not--”

“Nonbinary,” Akiza finished for him, and his grin made her heart swell. He deserved ear scratches for that, which she was all too happy to provide.

“I still don’t totally get it,” Ryuji confessed. “I mean, I get what you said about bein’ something else, I just don’t really understand the stuff outside of guys and girls yet.”

“You will,” Akiza assured, taking his hand in hers. “It’s a different way of thinking, you’ll get used to it.”

“That’s why I’m making a gender all for myself!” Morgana issued a declaration from his mighty perch on Akiza’s shoulder. “So that I don’t have to share with you!”

Ryuji smirked, waving his free hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, go be your own thing. More man-gender for me!” The two shared a laugh at that, and Akiza couldn’t help but join in.

They chatted a bit more after that. Akiza was a sentence into a joking rant about gender as a finite resource when they were interrupted.

“Excuse me,” the voice said, low and smooth. “Could I bother you for a moment?”

The gang turned, and at the end of their table stood a boy about their age. He looks so lanky was Akiza’s first thought, the boy a wiry beanstalk with deep blue, silky-looking hair and dark gray eyes. He wore a white collared shirt with a fleur-de-lis emblazoned over his heart, and a key ring hooked to his belt. The total lack of any Pride-related adornments made him stand out more than those dressed in all colors of the rainbow, like a human rendered in monochrome.

“Can we help you?” Ann was the first to speak up. “The bathrooms are over--”

“I caught sight of you four earlier while people-watching, and I’ve been looking for you ever since.” He spoke right over her, pushing on with his statement. “You emanate a passion more intense than any I’ve seen! Please won’t you--”

“Hey, man, hold on a second--” Ryuji held up a hand, moving to stand up, but was cut off again.

“--Be the models for my next art piece!?”

They clammed up, and Akiza could swear even Julie raised an eyebrow at that.

“Uhh… excuse me?” Ann was the first to speak after that, prompting the unforeseen boy to plow on ahead.

“My work of late has been lacking in inspiration, but there is a passion you possess that I simply must capture! Please, will you model for me!?” He leaned over the table, one hand supporting himself as the other gesticulated wildly. The sheer pain his face conveyed made Akiza, unbelievably, pretty sure he was telling the truth.

“Who even is this guy!?” Morgana yowled from his place on the table, hackles raised.

“Hey, hang on. Who the hell are you?” Ryuji spoke up, and Akiza felt her attention drawn back to the boy in front of her, rather than just his face. The boy pivoted to meet Ryuji’s gaze, brow furrowed, before seemingly realizing what he’d done and straightening back up.

“Oh, my apologies,” he began. “Where are my manners? My name is Yusuke Kitagawa, a second-year at Kosei High’s fine arts program.”

“Kosei…?” Shiho’s whisper was quiet below the general din of the festival, but Akiza picked up on it anyway.

“I study under Ichiryusai Madarame, as his pupil,” he explained. “My aim is to become an artist worthy of one day succeeding him.”

“Wait, hang on. Ain’t Madarame that super famous artist?” Ann and Shiho gave Ryuji a baffled look at that. “What? Me and my mom like to watch TV together,” he countered. Yusuke smiled softly at the recognition.

“The very same. Sensei is an incredibly accomplished painter, across a variety of styles. Ah, but we’re getting off track,” he added, steering back. “I would be honored if the four of you would consider modelling for me.”

“This is all a bit sudden.” Akiza piped up in an attempt to get them out of this situation. “I mean, we’ve never--”

“That won’t be a problem,” Yusuke interjected, to Akiza’s slight dismay. “I’ve worked with first-time models before. Ah, I have an idea.” He reached into the bag slung over his shoulder, rooting around for a moment before procuring four slips of cardstock. “Sensei’s exhibition begins tomorrow, at the address listed on the tickets. I’ll be there opening day to help out. Please, think about the offer, and come see the exhibition for yourselves. We can talk more then.”

“Are you in a rush?” Ann’s head tilted a bit. “I mean, it’s Golden Week. It’s not like school’s going on.”

“I have to help Sensei with some work before the opening tomorrow,” he explained. “Now, please excuse me. I hope to see you at the exhibit tomorrow.” He bowed slightly with that same soft smile, then turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.

“So, uh…” Ryuji began. “That was weird.”

The four of them worked their way gradually down a row of stands, trying to get their heads around the conversation they’d just escaped from.

“Kosei’s where I’m transferring to after Golden Week,” Shiho explained. “That’s what caught my attention.”

“Weird coincidence.” Ryuji had taken Akiza’s hand as they walked, lacing their fingers together. Akiza had to fight to keep the delirious smile off her face. “If you run into him, maybe be careful? Hard to tell. I think somethin’s up with him.”

“I’ll be careful,” she replied after a moment of thought. “Are you guys gonna do the modelling thing? I’m gonna pass, he seems like a lot to deal with.”

“I kinda wanna check out the gallery,” Ann submitted. “I think it’d be fun. Plus, didn’t he say his mentor was super famous? How cool would it be to meet someone like that?”

“Couldn’t hurt to look, considering he gave us free tickets.” Akiza’s eyes tracked back and forth across the row of stalls, just taking in the sights before she caught on one in particular and nearly stopped short.

Between two booths stood a little girl in a blue dress, smiling knowingly at her.

Akiza looked back at the group, who seemed completely unaware of Lavenza’s presence.

“You guys go ahead,” she said hastily. “I think I forgot my phone back there.”

The others left her after a moment, leaving her to dash to the girl that she suspected only she could see.

“Lavenza?” she sputtered, blinking twice at the young girl in blue who stood before her, very much in the real world and not in the prison inside Akiza’s brain. Heart? Not important. “You’re… here? In the real world?”

“Every world is real, in its own way,” she replied, being characteristically cryptic. “Please, follow me away from the crowd, so that we may converse.”

They moved behind the row of stalls, out of sight from the crowd, taking up a spot under a tree. “So,” Akiza began. “You’re here?”

“Indeed I am,” Lavenza said through a grin. “I wished to inform you that, should the crowds be overwhelming to you, the Velvet Room is open to you as a place of rest.”

“Ooooh,” Akiza hummed. “That’s what you meant about me finding you?”

“Correct. Additionally, my master will be establishing doors to the Velvet Room in opportune locations for you, should you ever need to perform executions or seek aid.” Lavenza knelt on the grass, smoothing out her skirt and laying her tome on her lap. Akiza held up one finger and made to respond before the little girl cut in again. “Worry not, Trickster. I and the doorways will be visible only to you.”

“Right,” Akiza said, lowering her finger. “Alright, that makes about as much sense as anything else you’ve told me.” Lavenza tittered behind a gloved hand.

“Regardless, I wished to make you aware that our door is open, should you require a reprieve.” Her mysterious little smile was endearing in a way that Akiza was growing accustomed to.

“I’m alright, I think. A few months ago I probably would have said yes, but I’m having a great time. Oh!” Akiza clicked her fingers, a thought suddenly occurring to her. “Did you want to come meet the others? Ryuji and Ann and Morgana and Shiho?”

Lavenza’s brow creased for the barest hint of an instant. “...No, I shouldn’t. It’s not my place to interact in that manner.” She looked down and away, seemingly lost in thought.

“Well, Pride is all about embracing getting away from the norm. You could break the rules just a bit.” A piece of Joker’s grin slipped through, and Lavenza seemingly couldn’t help but feel a bit better.

“You truly are leaning into your role as Trickster, I see.” She stood up, smoothing out her skirt and brushing some grass off her stockings. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I must decline for the time being."

Akiza hummed, then reached into her bag and offering a simple rainbow button. "At least take this then, as a memento."

Lavenza eyed it for a moment, then took it with a smile. "Thank you. I will not keep you any longer. I wish you well, Trickster. Continue to walk the path, and we will aid you as you require.” She winked with one eye, a finger held over her mouth, and walked to the other side of the tree. When Akiza started after her, she was only barely surprised to find that the little girl had vanished.

Oh well, she thought. Better get back to the others.

Tuesday, 5/3
Yoyogi Park
Afternoon

When Haru’s father informed her that they’d be making an appearance at a festival in Shibuya today, she hadn’t expected this.

Watching the colors and vibrancy and life on display at Pride from behind the window of the company car was… well. Haru certainly envied the festival-goers a bit.

More than “a bit,” part of her thought. You want to be with them. You know you do.

But she quashed that down, focused on preparing herself for the showing she’d be making. Ordinarily she wasn’t invited to many public-facing events, but apparently the board had decided that having a young presence at the event would lend authenticity to Big Bang Burger’s display of allyship.

Not that she believed it would. She knew it all for the deception that it was, vagaries and platitudes in the hope of driving up business.

Such was the way of things.

It was the kind of thing she’d grown accustomed to in recent years, especially as the sword of Damocles that was Sugimura swung ever closer to her head. She was getting very good at pretending, these days.

She expected that she’d be just as numbly content as always to smile and wave through another corporate event as she always was, but towards the end of the appearance, she caught sight of something that made her heart skip.

Among the crowd, she caught a glimpse of thick, dark hair in a high ponytail, cat perched on her shoulder.

Takamaki and Sakamoto were with her, as well as Suzui, now using a wheelchair. But what truly shocked Haru was how happy Akiza looked. Every time they’d met, the other girl had seemed a bit weary, a lot guarded, and just as perceptive as Haru liked to think she herself was. And, crucially, just as good a liar.

But the wide grin, the brightness in her eyes, the way she leaned on Sakamoto, it was like looking at an entirely different, more honest person. And the tightness that seized Haru’s heart at that notion stung her in a way she couldn’t place.

Akiza was a nice girl from school who made excellent coffee and was pleasant company, unaware of Haru’s status or family situation.

There’s more to her, said that same part of her from earlier. You know there is. She offered to help, you know.

No, thought the demure, obedient part of her. She can’t do anything about this, anyway. Nobody can.

“That’s right,” she whispered to herself that night, staring at the text notification hovering next to Akiza’s icon on her phone. “Nobody can.”

Chapter Text

Wednesday, 5/4
Shibuya
Morning

The first thing Akiza’s eyes caught sight of as she stepped off the elevator was the shock of blond hair poking up through the crowd. She rushed through the throng towards him, ecstatic at the promise of Ryuji.

“Oh, hey.” He beamed as he caught sight of her, chuckling as she pulled him into a quick hug. “What, you miss me that much?”

“Mm-hmm. Missed my boy.” She mumbled into his shoulder with a smile, reveling in the way his laugh vibrated through his body before pulling back, keeping one of his hands in hers.

“I still can’t believe this is real. That we’re dating, I mean.” He gesticulated with his free hand as Ann trotted over to join them.

“Tell me about it,” Akiza sighed. “I had to remind myself a couple times this morning that it’s okay to hold your hand.” The smile that graced her lips was full and genuine, in a way that she had difficulty placing. Something about it just felt different, a little lighter and a little more free.

Ryuji's purple 777 sweatshirt and Ann's baseball jacket didn't exactly blend in with the semi-formal atmosphere of the gallery. Akiza's default choice of blazer-over-white-shirt was certainly more at home here than the others, even if it was… less than feminine. She supposed the rest of the outfit served to balance out her skate shoes.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Ann got her attention as they stood in line for the gallery, trickling in while Morgana complained about having to stand around. Akiza nodded, and Ann pressed on. “This might not be any of my business, but I was thinking about it last night. How are you for clothes?”

“Variations of this,” she sheepishly admitted, plucking at her blazer. “Plus my uniform. I don’t hate it, but I don’t think it’s… me, y’know?” She waggled an eyebrow, desperately hoping Ann would take the hint without Akiza having to spell things out in public. Gratifyingly, she did.

“Do you wanna go shopping this week, then? We can get a whole new wardrobe picked out! Now that you’re living in the city and, uh, stuff, it’s the perfect time to make a change!” Ann beamed like it was the simplest thing in the world to her.

“S-sure,” Akiza stammered after a moment. “I kinda… don’t really know a lot about it? So I might be slow on the uptake--”

“Ann’s got it,” Ryuji chimed in. “She knows, like, everything about fashion stuff, and she loves talkin’ about it.” The withered look on his face made Akiza giggle, and Ann pout just a bit.

“Blame me for having interests,” she fake-grumbled, the lilt in her voice betraying her amusement. “You wanna come with? It’ll be just like middle school~” She poked the other blond in the side with a mischievous grin, cackling when he jumped away.

“No way, nuh-uh, I am not spending a whole day being your shopping cart again! ‘Specially not with my leg!”

“True,” Ann hummed. She glanced down at her phone, tapping out a message to someone. “We can hit up Harajuku on Friday, if that works for you?”

“It should, yeah.” Akiza noted the name of the district in her head. She’d need to plan out a route this evening, and Sojiro wouldn’t grumble much if she helped out tonight…

“Great! I'll ask Shiho if she wants to come, it’ll be a girl’s day!” Ann’s arm slung around Akiza’s waist, and she jumped at the touch for a moment before remembering this is just how they operate. They touch each other all the time.

Akiza relaxed into her hold, nervous-happy smile gracing her lips.

Despite raising an eyebrow at the trio, the security guard waved them in when they displayed their tickets. Even though they’d been invited into this place by the artist’s own pupil, Akiza couldn’t help but feel unwelcome.

Speaking of whom, Akiza caught sight of his dark-blue hair poking up above the patrons a bit away from the entrance, standing idly with hands clasped behind his back. She watched his eyes glide over the crowd, lingering on the artwork with a listlessness she couldn’t place. For being the pupil of a nationally famous artist, he sure seemed not to draw any curiosity from the gallery-goers. Akiza had a nagging feeling that there was more here (she recognized the look of someone trying to be invisible), but there weren’t enough details to start making guesses yet.

“Kitagawa-kun!” Ann waved cheerily, catching his attention. The surprise on his face was vivid, and Akiza couldn’t help but wonder-- was he surprised they came, or surprised that someone was looking for him?

“O-oh,” he stumbled, blinking at them a moment before catching himself. “Thank you so much for coming! Was the other girl unable to come?”

“She wasn’t interested in modelling,” Ann explained. “I hope the three of us are still okay.”

“Oh, undoubtedly,” Kitagawa replied hastily. “I… I’m sorry, I just realized that I never got your names.”

Oh, now he was awake. Akiza’s eyes drank in his motions, the way his fingers jittered just a bit with nothing to hold onto, the way his eyes moved in slow, languid arcs about their forms. She’d felt Kamoshida’s eyes those few times, and this was nothing like it. Yusuke’s gaze moved with an appreciation for the subject, an appraisal rather than a judgment. The trio gave him their names, and he nodded at Akiza as she went last.

“Ah, like the rose. It suits you.” His smile was almost undetectable, like a ghost of a thing, and Akiza felt her brow twitch at the statement. He’d almost certainly seen the flags painted on her cheeks at Pride, and the bracelet could be peeking out from under her sleeve. Was he implying anything?

Ryuji’s hand slid around her waist, and she let the safety in the gesture wash over her. She could get very used to the way his hand fit against the curve of her side.

“Thank you. Would you mind showing us around?” Akiza brushed it off quickly, eager to learn more about this enigmatic boy.

“Certainly. We can speak about the piece I’d like you to model for, as well.” He gestured towards the paintings arrayed on the walls and displays in the center of the room, letting the trio lead the way.

“There’s so many styles here,” Ann remarked. “I didn’t think Japanese art was this broad.” Akiza certainly couldn’t argue with that assessment, given the works on display. Some that evoked ancient traditions of painting, landscapes, starkly minimalistic works, figure studies, and more. “Don’t artists usually focus on a particular style?”

“That’s correct, yes.” Yusuke nodded, something like pride on his face. “Sensei is special. He told me once that he seeks to capture all aspects of life, not merely that which can be portrayed in one medium.”

“Oh, hey, I saw this one on TV! I was hoping it’d be here!” Ryuji stopped at a work near the corner, something like a landscape but more abstract than many of the others. A harsh red and orange sky over a mountain, with dark trees in the foreground. Akiza barely caught Yusuke’s brow twitch from the corner of her eye. By the shift in Ann’s posture, she caught it too.

“This one…? Why do you say that?” His voice wavered just slightly at the end. Ryuji pressed on, either unaware of the change or trying to push through it.

“My mom and me had this whole conversation about it,” he explained. “She kept sayin’ it was a sunset, but it just looks too angry for that, y’know?”

“Is that so,” Yusuke murmured. Akiza glanced towards him again, noting the return of the faraway look in his eyes.

“Yeah, I can see that.” Ann held her chin in her hand, squinting at it. “Like, all this black stuff in the front kinda looks like trees, but it looks to me more like smoke. Like this is a big forest fire or something. It surprises me that Madarame made something like this, honestly. He always seemed like such a sweet guy in interviews and stuff.”

Akiza could certainly understand what they meant. The painting was all harsh diagonals and black streaks demanding her eye’s attention, obscuring the hazy colors in the distance. The fact that their attention to this piece was affecting Yusuke in this way didn’t escape her, but she couldn’t put it together yet. She didn’t have enough pieces to know the shape of the puzzle she was trying to complete.

“Hey, you okay, man?” Ryuji’s voice pulled Yusuke out of the haze, blinking himself back to the present moment.

“Don’t mind me,” he deflected. “There are better pieces than… this one.” Ryuji tried to respond, clearly unconvinced, when he was cut off by a new voice.

“Ah, Yusuke! There you are.” All present turned to the old man approaching them, clad in a kimono with an easygoing smile. “I’d wondered where you were.”

“Sensei! My apologies, I was showing these three around the gallery.” Akiza fought to keep her expression neutral and not show her surprise as Yusuke’s face practically lit up. “They are the ones I asked to model for me.”

“Oh, is that so?” Madarame’s eyes narrowed, piercing Akiza with his gaze. Half-subconsciously, she shifted to move her right hand behind Ryuji. All of a sudden, she did not want to run the risk of him seeing her bracelets. The way he scrutinized her wasn’t anything like Yusuke’s analytical gaze; there was no appreciation of form here, only harsh, critical judgment. His eyes tracked to Ryuji next, then Ann, giving them the same appraisal. Ryuji shifted uneasily from foot to foot, saying nothing despite the clearly growing agitation in his stance.

This is Yusuke’s sensei, huh. Akiza bit the inside of her lip lightly, mind racing. I don’t like this…

“Well,” he said after a moment, seemingly having reached a conclusion by the satisfied smile on his face. The mere thought of him having appraised them made her seethe. “The places you find inspiration never cease to surprise me, Yusuke. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.”

“Thank you, Sensei. Please, do not let me distract you from attending to the gallery.” The old man nodded, smile still serene, and walked away. Yusuke bowed a bit at the hip, and Akiza felt her worries roil together in her gut. Was she overthinking this? Was there anything here to worry about? And, most significantly--

Was Yusuke okay?

“I apologize for the interruption. I hope meeting Sensei helped to convince you a little.” He turned back to them, and Akiza cursed herself. I don’t like this, she thought. I don’t like it at all.

“Yeah,” she piped up, cutting in before Ann or Ryuji could. “We’d like to model for you, Kitagawa-kun.”

“We would?” Ryuji balked as he turned to Akiza, blinking once he met her stern look. “I-I mean, we would! Uh, yeah, totally!” Yusuke leaned in slightly, eyes wide.

“Really? Truly, you will! Ah, this is wonderful!” He (thankfully) leaned back, eyes closing for a moment. Akiza tracked the happiness as it washed over his face, then was distracted by Ann poking her in the side.

“Hey, what’s the idea here?” She whispered fervently, fixing Akiza with a bewildered look. “We hadn’t decided that yet!”

“Just go with me on this, I promise.” The trio straightened up again as Yusuke returned to the present. They exchanged contact info, agreeing to sort out a date and time later, before the trio excused themselves to the hall outside the gallery.

“So, you gonna tell us what the deal is?” Ryuji massaged his thigh under the table as they took up seats on a bench, Akiza in the middle with Ryuji to her left and Ann on her right. “You kinda sprang that on us.”

“Sorry,” Akiza mumbled. “I’m sorry I put you guys on the spot like that, but I think we should do it. I’m worried about Yusuke.”

“How come?” Ann sipped quietly on the tea she’d grabbed from a vending machine, twirling the end of a ponytail in her fingers. “I did get some kinda weird vibes from him, but I mostly figured he was just a little off-beat. Aren’t a lot of artists like that?”

“Maybe, but I think that more than anything, he’s lonely.” Akiza leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on her thigh. “I get the impression he doesn’t really talk to many people besides his sensei.”

“I could see that,” Ryuji agreed. “He doesn’t seem like he gets out much.”

“Right,” Akiza nodded. “I know what it’s like to be sad and alone, and you both do too. I think we have a chance to do a good thing here.”

“So you wanna be friends with him?” Ann continued twisting her ponytail around her finger, seemingly for want of something to do with her hands.

“I want to get to know him,” Akiza finished. “You guys reached out to me when I got here, and that meant so much to me. I wanna pay it forward.”

“That’s noble of you,” Morgana meowed from her bag, currently resting on her lap. “And you’re okay with the modelling thing?”

“It’ll be a new experience,” Akiza eventually said, which wasn’t exactly an answer to his question. “I think he could use the company.”

“I’m down as long as it doesn’t get weird.” Ryuji cracked his knuckles, stretching out his leg again. “I ain’t posing nude or nothin’.”

Akiza and Ann chorused their agreements, and a few minutes later they parted ways from the gallery, resolved to do what they could. Akiza really, really hoped her fears about Yusuke’s sensei were unfounded.

Friday, 5/6
Harajuku
Afternoon

Takenoko Street was loud. Not strictly in the volume sense, though it certainly wasn’t quiet. What surprised Akiza was how every inch of surface she saw was bursting with color, a clamor of palettes from building to building and storefront to storefront. Currently, she was leaning against the side of a subway station across the street from the main shopping center, accompanied by Ann and Shiho. Her bag was noticeably lighter today, as Morgana had elected to spend the day with Ryuji after the “great tissue box betrayal”.

“‘I’m excited to meet Haru-chan,” Ann grinned. “She sounds nice.”

“She is, yeah,” Akiza said. “We bumped into each other my first week of school and talked about coffee stuff.”

“It’s good to hear that,” Shiho said. “Shujin still has good people.”

Akiza just nodded, glancing back down at the time on her phone, somewhat anxious about Haru’s impending arrival. Would she and the others get along? Would she be nervous around them? Admittedly, inviting her did slightly complicate the mission of clothes shopping, given the fact that Akiza wasn’t out to her, but she and the other girls were confident they could work around it.

“Is that her?” Ann gestured across the plaza, where a lost-looking Haru was scanning the area. Akiza bit down a laugh, trotting over with a smile and the others in tow.

“Are you looking for someone, miss?” A bit of Joker bled into Akiza’s voice, faux-innocently posing the question to Haru who, for her part, turned her head sharply at the sound of Akiza’s voice. Haru’s surprised expression grew to a wide smile.

“There you are! It’s good to see you, Akiza-chan.” Her joy was like a sunbeam, and Akiza couldn’t suppress the way her heart fluttered just a bit at Akiza-chan.

“Hiya! I'm Ann Takamaki, this is Shiho Suzui. I bumped into Akiza on the first day of the semester and we realized we’re in the same class.” Ann gestured to Akiza. Her voice was just a little strained, not accustomed even to lies of omission, but far from the stiff improv of her outright fabrications. Idly, Akiza wondered if Haru could tell.

“I met Akiza-chan by chance as well,” Haru continued with a smile. “She came up to the roof for some fresh air while I was tending to my planters." That, too, wasn’t quite the truth, halfway between omission and modification of what had actually transpired. A well-intentioned misdirection meant to keep Akiza’s perceived secret safe, and one that made Akiza to wonder what had forced Haru to become this good a liar.

“We should get started,” Shiho prompted. “We’re building a whole wardrobe from scratch, after all.”

“Oooh, yeah! C’mon, this is gonna be so much fun!” Ann bounced on her toes a bit, ponytails floofing with the motion before she set off for the shops, Akiza and the others following and sharing mirthful grins.

Doing her research ahead of time had paid off. Ann threw question after question at her as she dashed through racks, name brand after name brand, fabric this and style that and cami slip blouse cutoff suede cotton--

Well. It was enough to make her head spin. She mostly managed to keep up, with occasional input or commentary from Haru and Shiho. Speaking of whom, the two were presently thumbing through a rack of sweaters a few rows away, while Ann and Akiza went over the skirts.

“I’m not super big on skirts outside of school, but you said you were into them, right?” Akiza gave a so-so gesture with her hand, prompting a thoughtful expression from the blonde. “Hmmm. This one would go really well with that blouse we picked out earlier, the blue one? Ooh, and some knee-highs would pair really well with those shoes you’ve got on…”

Akiza nodded along, a somewhat strained half-smile on her face. It wasn’t that she was unengaged with the process, but Ann knew so much, and she’d be happy with anything, really. Unfortunately for her, Ann turned to face her then, fixing her with a curious gaze.

“Hey,” she began. “Are you okay? You’ve barely said anything since we started.”

“Oh,” Akiza mumbled. “Well, I figured I’d kinda just let you pick? You know way more about this than I do.”

Ann’s brow furrowed, hands planting on her hips. “Well, what about what you want? Is this stuff you wanna wear?” Akiza blinked.

“Well, yeah?” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, other hand finding refuge in her pocket. “I-It’s all girl clothes, so…”

“Yeah, but is this the style you want?”

Akiza bit her lip, glancing to the side at Shiho and Haru, still engrossed in their conversation. “I… I just want people to read me as a girl,” she whispered. “I’ll wear whatever, as long as it works.” Ann stared at her, eyes conflicted, and Akiza couldn’t meet her gaze.

“Fashion isn't just about how others see you,” she began. “It’s about expressing yourself, too. Like, dresses are the stereotypical ‘girly’ clothes, and I’m a girl, but I don’t wear them very much, cause they’re not my style most of the time.” Her hand rested on Akiza’s shoulder, and the dark-haired girl looked up tentatively to find Ann’s expression melted into a soft smile. “You shouldn’t force yourself into anything just because it’s the ‘right’ thing. Now, is this stuff you wanna wear?”

Breathe, Akiza reminded herself. Keep your center. Her eyes slipped closed for a moment, exhaling slowly as she opened them again. “I do like skirts,” she said. “And dresses. But other stuff, too.” She turned on her heel, thumbing her way through the rack. “I liked that muted green long-sleeve we found earlier, the one with the pearl buttons and the front pocket. I think I could wear that with like, a black shirt and some jean shorts?”

“Yeah, yeah, go on!” She glanced to her side, pink rising to her cheeks at Ann’s ecstatic expression.

“And… and I always thought those shorts with overalls on them were cute.”

“Workable!”

“And I really like Converse…”

“A classic!”

“I kinda want a women’s version of this blazer?”

“That’d be fantastic!”

“And I want some skinny jeans!”

“Heck yeah!”

I can do this, Akiza thought as Ann rushed this way and that, grabbing piece after piece and pushing Akiza towards the dressing room. She tried on outfit after outfit at store after store, chatting with Ann and Shiho and Haru about them and flushing at their compliments. And at the end of the trip, as they prepared to board the train, Akiza hefted the bags she carried and couldn’t suppress a smile. Her cut of the heist spoils had found a good use.

Friday, 5/6
Shibuya
Afternoon

Odd as it felt to be hanging around in Shibuya with Morgana in his bag, Ryuji was definitely glad he wasn’t being dragged around Harajuku right now.

“Why didn’t you go with them?” Morgana poked his head out from the bag he’d taken residence in. “You’ve been texting Akiza since you met up earlier. Aren’t you supposed to be together all the time when you date someone?”

“Uh, not necessarily? I mean, I don’t think so.” Ryuji scratched the back of his neck, scrolling idly on his phone. Truth be told, he didn’t really have a particular reason to be in Shibuya right now, but neither did he have anything better to do. Maybe it’d be worth going by the sports shop; the Palace and his mad dash through it during the heist had reinvigorated his love of running. Maybe the track team was through, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still try for fun, right?

With a thoughtful hum, he flicked his browser closed, lingering on his phone’s home screen background-- a selfie of him and Akiza from Pride, her midway through planting a kiss on his cheek. Even still, the smile was clear on her face just as much as his. He couldn’t help but grin at the memory, despite it having been less than a week ago. And as always when he thought about Akiza for long enough, a fluttering rush rose in his chest, and the sense-memories made themselves known; the smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, the rise and fall of her breathing as she leaned against him.

“Oh, Sakamoto! Hi!” Ryuji looked up from his reverie, surprised to see Mishima standing in front of him, phone in hand.

“Hey man, how’s it going?” He stood with an easy grin, noticing the way Mishima’s eyes darted to Morgana and back.

“I’m good, just doing some errands. Is, uh… is that Kurusu’s cat?” He gestured to the feline half-perched on Ryuji’s shoulder, clearly still confused as to Morgana's constant presence among their group.

“Yeah. She and the girls are goin’ shopping today, so I offered to hang onto him for a while. I was just headin’ over to the sports shop, actually.”

“Oh, me too! Want to go together?”

So they did, looking through shoes and all manner of gear, chatting about this and that. Mishima still wanted to pursue volleyball once a new coach was decided on, and Ryuji found that admirable, in a way. Kamoshida used volleyball to make Mishima miserable, but he wanted to keep finding enjoyment in it anyway.

“Hey, lemme show you something,” he said after they left. “It’s, um. Phantom Thieves stuff.” Mishima whispered that last part as he took his phone out, turning it to show Ryuji a webpage.

“‘The Phantom Aficionado Website’? What’s this?” Ryuji’s eyes tracked up and down the screen. It looked like a regular forum, with a header made from an approximation of the symbol he’d drawn on the calling cards.

“I set it up a couple days ago,” he explained. “People can submit requests for help anonymously, and the Phantom Thieves can help them out!” He tapped over to the requests section and scrolled through a few.

“Convenience store manager is exploiting his workers, upperclassman is bullying us, my ex is stalking me… these are serious problems.” Morgana scanned the headers over Ryuji’s shoulder as they scrolled by.

“Yeah, for real. That’s some heavy shit.” Ryuji exhaled through his teeth, scratching the back of his head and glancing towards Morgana. “I mean, this’d be a good way to help people, right? We’d just have to do what we did before. Shit, that’d be a lot of Palaces though…”

“Not necessarily,” Morgana interjected. “I might know of a way to do this much easier, but I’ll need to show the others too.”

“That cat’s really talkative, huh?” Mishima shifted from foot to foot, gesturing to Morgana.

Eh, s’not like he can hear it, Ryuji reasoned. “Yeah, he’s just hungry. Hey, thanks for doin’ this, dude.” He bumped his fist against Mishima’s shoulder gently, grinning as Mishima glowed with pride. “This is really sick. I’ll show this to the others, ‘kay?”

“Yeah, please do! Share it around, I’m sure the Phantom Thieves will appreciate it.” Mishima pocketed his phone, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet excitedly. Ryuji had to hand it to him, the dude knew how to keep a cover story going. “Consider it my thanks for them helping me out. If it works, I’ll be happy to keep it going.”

They parted ways soon after that, once Ryuji got a text from Akiza that they’d made it out of Takenoko Street alive. There was a selfie attached, and Ryuji couldn’t help but smile at how happy she looked.

Friday, 5/6
Jiyugaoka
Evening

Akiza, Ann, and Shiho parted ways with Haru at the station, the three of them heading back to Ann’s for the time being. Ann declared that she'd had enough sweating in Harajuku and was taking a bath the instant they entered the house, leaving Akiza and Shiho grinning as she made a beeline for the bathroom. Akiza left her six bags grouped up near the door for easy retrieval later as she and Shiho made their ways to the couch.

“Hey, thanks for inviting me out,” Shiho said as she set herself down. At Shiho’s request, Akiza tucked her wheelchair to one side of the couch before joining her. “It’s nice to have an excuse to get out of the house these days.”

“Oh, of course. I’m glad you came.” Akiza was all too happy to bring Shiho along; she was great company, and the smiles she brought to Ann’s face were plentiful. She seemed to be doing better than she had been the first time Akiza saw her post-hospital, which was certainly encouraging. “It’s been really nice seeing you and Ann together. I know I haven’t known her for long, but even just these few days since the confession have been totally different than the first little while I knew her.”

Shiho looked down at her hands with a fond smile. “Yeah. This is the happiest I’ve seen her since middle school. It’s the happiest I’ve been, too. I…” She paused, eyes narrowing just a tad, before relaxing again. “After I woke up, it hadn’t really hit me yet. That all that had happened, I mean. And when Ann confessed to me… I guess it helped bring me back down to Earth, a bit. Sorry, that probably doesn’t make sense.” She gestured vaguely as she spoke, talking around the specifics.

“It totally does. I had that same kind of… detachment, I guess, when it happened for me.” Akiza’s honesty surprised her, given that she’d never really managed to talk about this particular life event for very long. “I didn’t really have anyone to help keep me centered, but I managed to deal with it my own way.”

Shiho nodded silently, and the pair of them sat there in the silence for a minute. It was an odd kind of pause; a shared scar, differently shaped, but carrying similar pains. One fresh, one years-old. Still… having someone who really, truly knew that impulse was new to Akiza. It wasn’t pleasant conversation exactly, but that kind of solidarity and understanding was welcome on its own merits.

“You and Ryuji make a cute couple too, you know.” Shiho spoke up suddenly, smirking at Akiza’s sputtering shock. “I’m serious! You’re like one of those videos where a cat and a dog cuddle with each other. It’s great.”

Akiza very nearly opened her mouth to protest, before briefly imagining Ryuji’s smiling face next to that of an excited golden retriever. “...Yeah, he is kinda like a happy dog, isn’t he.” She muffled her smile behind her hand slightly as Shiho laughed. “Yeah, it’s been really nice. He’s just so sweet and considerate, especially with all my stuff, y’know?”

Shiho nodded, smiling wide. “For sure. Honestly, if Ann hadn’t made a move, I could see myself going out with Ryuji. I thought about it a bunch in middle school.”

Akiza joined in the laughter, surprised at Shiho’s honesty. “Oh man, you two would be perfect together! You’re like different gender versions of each other sometimes, I swear.” She paused a second, laughing again. “And I guess that’s the alternate dimension where I started dating Ann.”

Despite the sarcasm in her voice, Shiho perked up again. “You two would be amazing together, no joke. You get along perfectly! And she clearly has a thing for dark hair and ponytails,” she added with a smirk and a flip of her hair.

Akiza threw her head back, cackling at the mere idea. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from the strain of smiling, but she didn’t dare try to stop. “So, what, we switch partners every other week? Rotate the blondes?”

“Or we share them,” Shiho laughed.

“That’s a thing people do, right?” Akiza grinned as she asked, and they fell into a silence that seemed more loaded than it ought to have been. It stretched, it lingered, it pressed on Akiza's chest like a lead weight as the joking atmosphere vanished.

“I mean,” Shiho said after a pause that grew more inexorable as it dragged on. “Who’s gonna stop us?”

Akiza’s heart stopped. Then Shiho laughed, and Akiza swore she heard some nervousness in there. “I mean, that’d be crazy. Can you imagine?” She sounded dismissive, but there was an undercurrent to her voice that Akiza couldn’t place. That she didn’t dare attempt to ascribe meaning to. The laughter between them stopped, and right as the silence was getting awkward, they heard Ann’s voice carry down the hallway.

“Hey, uh, Akiza? Could you bring me a towel? I forgot to grab mine!”

“Coming!” Akiza bolted upright, desperate to vent this rapid accumulation of nervous energy, and walked off to get one. She and Shiho made fleeting eye contact as she did, and Akiza tried not to acknowledge the pink on Shiho’s cheeks.

Monday, 5/8
Mementos
After School

Stepping back into the Metaverse had washed over Akiza, blue flames enveloping her in the thief attire she’d missed so dearly. Julie rested just beside her heart, ready to fight.

Morgana and Ryuji had excitedly filled the girls in on Mishima’s Phan-site, including Morgana’s plan to use Mementos as a method for changing more hearts. Ann and Akiza had agreed, and that was how they found themselves driving Morgana-turned-vehicular down the twisting subway tunnels of Mementos. It was almost eerie in how similar it was to the real world, with the exception of the Shadows. They were the same types they’d seen in Kamoshida’s Palace, and tearing through them was a delight.

Soon enough, they happened upon the platform Mona had described.

At the bottom of the escalator was a space that looked nearly identical to a subway platform, trains rushing by on either side now and again. At the opposite end stood a massive wall etched with red markings, and a man’s silhouette facing it.

“Izzat that Nakanohara guy’s Shadow?” Skull asked quietly. “The guy who’s stalking his ex?”

“That’ll be him,” Mona confirmed. “This’ll be more of a straight fight than Kamoshida’s was, but the goal is the same. Defeat him, change his heart, and take the Treasure.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Joker examined her pistol again, checking to make sure it was loaded, then nodded to her comrades. “Skull, you and I are on close combat. Panther provides magic from range, and Mona supports. All good?”

Three nods, and Joker gestured forward, blade in hand. The Shadow turned as they approached.

“Hey, who the hell are you guys?” He looked human as anybody else, dressed in a plain suit, given away only by his sickly yellow eyes cutting like lamps through the darkness.

“You’re that stalker, aren’t you?” Panther strung her whip between her hands, tightening it for emphasis. “What makes you think you can get away with acting like that?!”

“She used me first! Why can’t I return the favor?” He scowled, hunching over just slightly.

“That doesn’t make it right!” Skull cried out next to her, brandishing his bat. “We’re gonna change that heart of yours, then you’ll see.”

“How come you’re coming after me, huh?” The Shadow glanced between them, clearly growing agitated. “There’s a million other people worse than me! Madarame stole everything from me, but you’re letting him off!?”

Madarame, Joker thought. Yusuke’s sensei? A creeping dread rose in her heart.

“Heads up,” Mona cried. “Here it comes!” Sure enough, the Shadow’s form melted, re-forming into a little red imp with the same bowl cut the man wore.

The Shadow swung at them with wild fists, forcing Joker to dart in and out of striking distance, landing only glancing blows. Panther mostly kept it in place with her flames, but one of its strikes eventually caught her off-balance, sending her tumbling to the floor. Skull swung hard to keep it distracted while Mona’s healing washed over her.

With a frustrated cry, Skull raised a hand to his face, burning his mask away and summoning Kidd. The lightning struck home, knocking the Shadow flat and leaving it open to a barrage. As the dust settled, it reformed into the shape of the man it had held before, head hung in penitence.

“I’m sorry,” he said meekly. “I-I was afraid of being used and thrown away again. I know I shouldn’t have taken it out on her.”

“You mentioned Madarame,” Joker cut in. “Tell me more.”

“He stole everything from me,” the Shadow breathed. “Me and so many others. Please, if you can change hearts, you have to change his, too.”

The Shadow’s eyes closed as a white light began to envelop him, the way Kamoshida’s had disappeared. “I’ll go back to my real self and put an end to this,” he said. “Please, change Madarame’s heart, for the sake of everyone he’s hurt.”

Then the light flashed, and he was gone. A little white orb hovered where he had been.

“Take that with you,” Mona directed. Joker reached out to take it, feeling it settle in her palm in the form of a small jewel.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, 5/11
Shujin Academy
Morning

The school library wasn’t a place Akiza liked to linger in. Not since the one failed attempt she’d made to study there, distracted the entire time by other students whispering about the transfer student with the criminal record. She’d made it about twenty minutes before having to pack up and leave, cursing her steadily-improving hearing.

Hence why she’d arrived at school early to browse the catalog. Akiza was sorely in need of some reading material for the train, and the lack of students present meant she could search in peace.

“Excuse me,” said a quiet voice next to her, shattering the calm quiet she’d been enjoying. The girl who’d spoken up was a bit shorter than her, with neatly-styled brown hair and piercing red eyes. “I’m sorry to bother you, but could I have a moment of your time?”

Akiza glanced her up and down. The girl wore the halter-style uniform top that she’d seen on a few students, standing primly with her hands behind her back. “Sure,” Akiza said cautiously, turning to properly face her.

“You’re Kurusu-san, correct? The transfer student?” Her expression was unchanging, perfectly neutral. Akiza didn’t trust it.

“My reputation precedes me, I suppose. That’s me, yes.” Akiza let some professionalism bleed into her voice, matching the cadence set by the other girl. It seemed to work, the girl’s stance becoming somewhat easier.

“I see. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that you’re having to deal with those rumors. Your record being leaked must make it difficult to focus on your school.” The girl reached to her front, smoothing out her skirt and picking at the hem for just a moment. Akiza suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow at the obviously leading nature of her statement.

“I’ve always been good at studying,” Akiza settled on, giving the verbal equivalent of a shrug. “I just tune the rumors out.”

“That’s fortunate, then. I think it’s admirable that you’ve clearly dedicated yourself to your studies despite your circumstances.” The other girl nodded to herself just a bit, and Akiza felt her politeness starting to ebb away.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?” She let her brow arch freely, fixing the girl with as skeptical a look as she could conjure. It clearly had some effect, the other girl’s eyes widening slightly as she fidgeted in place.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, how rude of me. My name is Makoto Niijima, I’m the student council president. I just wanted to check in, see how you were adjusting to Shujin.” She brushed some hair behind her ear, neutral smile faltering for only an instant. “It must have been upsetting to see such a scandal unfold just after you arrived.”

Akiza blinked, scorn dropping from her face and morphing into something else in her chest, something more tempered and more pessimistic. “It was upsetting for a lot of people,” she murmured, turning back to the bookshelf and continuing to browse. Niijima shuffled next to her, suddenly quieted by Akiza’s shift in tone. She only perked up when Akiza pulled something from the shelf.

“Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings,” she observed, causing Akiza no small amount of irritation. “Do you do kenjutsu?”

“Nope. I’m interested in his art, mostly.” Akiza tucked the book under her arm, heading towards the circulation desk. Niijima was hot on her heels.

“I see. Well, as I said, I’m glad to see you’re doing well and applying yourself--”

Akiza cut her off before they reached the desk. “I’m glad you approve of how I’m spending my time, Niijima-senpai. Wherever would I be if not for the school authorities breathing down my neck?” She laced her words with every ounce of venom she had, thoroughly tired of Niijima’s condescending attitude. The student behind the desk checked out her book with hurried, nervous motions, handing it back to her without a word.

“I-I’m sorry, I only meant--”

“I have an exam to get to,” Akiza shot, silencing the other girl. “Thank you for your concern.”

She strode out the door, sliding it closed without looking back.

Friday, 5/13
Kosei High
Lunchtime

Shiho counted herself very lucky that Kitagawa was in the class just next to hers, which made approaching him at lunch far easier than she’d been expecting. He sat near the doors on the edge of the classroom, sketching with one hand and disinterestedly picking at some bean shoots with the other, ignored by his classmates.

Well. Shiho had plenty of experience handling loners.

“Hey, you’re Kitagawa-kun, right? Can I eat with you?” Shiho wheeled over as she spoke, parking herself across from him and determinedly ignoring his elated expression as his face lit up.

"You're one of the ones from the park! Have you decided to model for me?"

“No, I'm just here to eat lunch." His face fell at that, but he didn't wave her away, so that was a start. "I'm Shiho Suzui, class 2-B." She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Which, to be fair, it was, but she also knew that it didn’t really follow on from his question. Whatever, she thought. Just keep bulldozing.

“I see. Well, it’s nice to properly meet you, Suzui-san.” He tried to right himself, brushing his hair out of his face. “May I ask why you want to eat with me?”

He really isn’t used to people talking to him, huh, Shiho mused. Just keep being blunt and hopefully he’ll get it.

“Nothing complicated. I want to eat with you because you’re friends with Ann.” Shiho gestured aimlessly with her chopsticks as she spoke, popping a rice ball into her mouth with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

“I wouldn’t call us friends,” Kitagawa said, leaning just a bit on the word ‘friends’. “She’s my model, that’s all.”

“I have pickled plum onigiri today. You want one?”

Kitagawa blinked at her. “No thank you.” Shiho shrugged, taking another for herself.

“So,” she said after finishing the rice ball. “How’s life with Madarame?”

Kitagawa’s brow furrowed. “It’s… fine? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.”

“What I said, pretty much. He’s a famous guy. What’s it like?” Shiho met his gaze unflinchingly, watching as he grasped for a response.

“It’s creatively stimulating. Sensei eschews material wealth, so we live in a modest shack in Shibuya. The practice of a form of asceticism is--”

“That seems weird,” she interjected. “With how famous he is, he should be able to afford something nicer than a shack, even if it’s modest. Where’s all his money go?”

“Sensei maintains a grant fund for student artists. The bulk of any money he makes from sales goes there, although most of his works are donated to charity.” Kitagawa’s answer was calm, collected, and entirely too automatic-sounding for Shiho’s liking.

She knew that tone, the rehearsed and pre-prepared answer to smooth over an obvious question. She’d passed off more than her fair share of them already.

“That’s nice of him,” she said nonchalantly. “You live with him, then?”

“I do,” Kitagawa answered, eyes slipping closed and something like pride showing on his face. “Sensei has always hosted his pupils in his atelier. It allows for a closer relationship between teacher and student.”

“So he has other students, besides you? That live with you?”

Kitagawa’s face fell, just enough to be noticeable. “Not anymore. The others have left in recent years. I’m his only student at the moment.”

“Probably gone on to have art careers of their own,” Shiho guessed, if for no other reason than to keep the conversation moving. Kitagawa hummed at that, expression unsure.

“They haven’t kept in contact. I assume they’re very busy.” He glanced down at his bowl of bean shoots, then further down at his sketchpad.

“Right,” Shiho replied. “Probably that.”

They didn’t speak much after that, continuing the rest of the lunch break in unsure silence.

Monday, 5/16
Shibuya
After School

“You’re sure Yusuke won’t be here?” Akiza tapped her foot idly, trying to channel some nervous energy. The trio currently stood around the corner from the address Yusuke had given them, staying as out of sight as possible without looking suspicious.

“Yup. Shiho reported back, he’s staying late at Kosei today.” Ann twirled a ponytail between her fingers, as she so often did, thumbing through her phone. “And Madarame’s still at the gallery. We’re clear for a few hours, for sure.”

“We just need the distortion, right? We got the name and location?” Ryuji hung off Akiza’s shoulder, eyeing her Meta-Nav. They’d decided after scheduling a modelling session with Yusuke that the best way to get intel was to show up a day early and scope out Madarame’s Palace. A quick check on the Nav confirmed it existed, and the “shack” part had been easy to guess once they found the house, which left only one piece.

“There’s not that many things related to art that it could be,” Akiza mumbled, in thought. “The shack isn’t a place where you show things off, really, so it wouldn’t be a gallery.”

Conditions have not been met, the Nav beeped, confirming her thought.

“A studio, maybe? Since he paints here?” Morgana peeked over her other shoulder.

Conditions have not been met.

“Maybe it’s something money related, like an auction house.” Ann opened her own Nav.

Conditions have not been met.

“Let’s try this,” Akiza murmured, still in thought. “Museum.”

Location confirmed. Beginning navigation.

The world pitched up as the Thieves whooped, and the blue sky of afternoon yielded to a sheet of darkness hanging over the skyline. On the other side of the parking lot they found themselves in, a ten-foot wall rose up, only barely blocking the view of the massive, garish building on the other side.

“Hell yeah! We got it!” Ryuji cheered next to her, his joy infectious as Akiza felt a smile creep across her face. The Metaverse folded around her, enveloping her in all the power and grace that it conferred. Her Thief attire fit her just as well as it had before, and she relished in the sensation of wearing it again. She felt Joker slide neatly into place.

“This place is crazy. It’s nothing like Kamoshida’s castle.” Panther was breathless next to her, gazing up at the spotlights that danced across the surface of the glittering gold monolith. “This is what Yusuke’s sensei is like, huh…”

“Looks like we won’t be getting in the front door,” Mona said, indicating the massive line of cognitions waiting to get through the door. “He clearly believes he’s enough of a celebrity to warrant this type of crowd.”

“Doesn’t sound much like the ‘humble artist’ bit he puts on for TV,” Akiza mused, scanning the immediate area before turning to address her team. “Alright, we’re just doing some preliminary scouting today, so hopefully we won’t be getting in any fights. Make sure you check your weapons anyway, just in case. Looks like we can climb up that truck and get over the wall, then infiltrate from there. Ready?”

“Good to go!”

“Of course!”

“Ready when you are!”

Joker grinned.

Monday, 5/16
Kosei High
After School

Shiho tucked her phone away into her bag, packing up her things and getting ready to head home. She’d confirmed that Kitagawa was staying late today and told Ann as much. Apparently he had work to do in the art wing, which put a damper on her “keep tabs on the lonely artist” plan. She’d eaten lunch with him once more since Friday, and he continually struck her as distant and standoffish. Part of her felt a little guilty about the idea of sorta-spying on him, but another part was thrilled at the idea of helping the Thieves out with a mission.

The Phantom Thieves, she giggled to herself. Leave it to Ryuji to come up with a name that cheesy.

He’d always been like that, she recalled, always impervious to what others found embarrassing, always marching to the beat of his own drum. Being friends with him again was so nice, after having nobody but Ann for a year and change. The fluttering gladness in her heart at the sound of his voice was a reminder of middle school; it was like a return to form, and she took comfort in that. Life, as it had been before freshman year turned her life upside down. Nothing could erase those scars, but Ann and Ryuji and Akiza made her feel like she was capable of healing, and that was so, so much more than she’d dreamed of in that long year.

Shiho began her exit, excusing herself past the quiet shogi-playing girl who sat near her classroom door, and continued down the hallway towards the elevator. Ann and the others were busy, obviously, which left Shiho with no distractions for the afternoon. Might as well get some homework done, finish off that show she’d been catching up on…

“...of course, Madarame-san. Thank you for stopping by.”

Shiho’s ears perked up as she passed the slightly-ajar door to the faculty office, slowing herself to a halt..

“Of course. Kosei is a fine institution, I’m always happy to visit.”

That had to be the artist Ann had been talking about. She vaguely recognized the voice from TV, and the coincidence of someone unrelated with that name being at Kitagawa’s school was too great to even consider. With as much nonchalance as she could muster, Shiho turned to wheel herself beside the bench outside the office, pretending to thumb away at her phone as she listened. Madarame was still talking.

“I wanted to ask about Yusuke’s performance here. Is he making sure to stay focused? Not involved in any unnecessary activities?”

“Not to my knowledge, Madarame-san. The clubs have been instructed to deny his applications, but he hasn’t yet tried to join any. He tends to spend his time either in the art room or the library, when able. His homeroom teacher noted that a girl from class 2-A has had lunch with him twice since Friday.”

Shiho tensed. The idea that the faculty was actively watching her crawled under her skin, settled into a hollow in her chest right where her scars lay. She shoved it down, to be dealt with later, trying to focus on the task at hand. Why would Kitagawa be frozen out of extracurriculars like this? Akiza had mentioned that she’d gotten a bad vibe from Madarame, but there had to be a reason for this, right?

“I see. If she approaches him again, I want to be informed. He doesn’t need any… inappropriate acquaintances distracting him from his studies.”

“Absolutely, Madarame-san. We hope we can count on your continued support.”

Madarame gave a gruff sound of approval, and the door next to Shiho slid open. She kept her head down at her phone, not making eye contact with the hakama-wearing old man making for the stairs. Idly, she felt the eyes of the faculty member on her for a moment before the door closed again.

Shiho let out a shaky breath, typing out a message to the Thieves.

Monday, 5/16
Madarame's Palace
After School

Joker’s inner child was excited to discover that dropping into a museum through a skylight was exactly as fun as she’d always imagined it to be. The room they entered through was massively tall, portraits covering whole sections of the walls. Joker and Skull took up positions on either side of the single entrance, crouched out of sight with guns drawn while Panther and Mona surveyed the area.

“They’re labelled with names,” Panther reported. “This one says ‘Shouichi Tsugami.’”

“Hayato Ichimonji over here,” Mona called. “Don’t these usually have titles, rather than names?”

“I think it depends. This isn’t an ordinary museum, so it might be different.” Joker kept her eyes focused, ears perking up again at the sound of Panther’s surprise.

“This one’s Nakanohara! The guy we fought in Mementos!” Joker turned, brows raised behind her mask and, sure enough, the plaque confirmed it.

There’s some connection I’m not making here, she thought. I don’t even know what we’re looking for right now.

“It’s weird how blurry they are. Like, the faces keep rippling and I can’t make out the details.” Skull peeked around the corner. “There’s more in the next room, too.”

“If there’s nothing else in here, let’s keep moving.” Joker held a hand up, signalling an advance, and they carefully swept through the next room. Where are the Shadows…?

The new room was much the same as the first; portraits on every wall, all tagged with names, all with blurred faces. Something nagged at Joker as they explored, hooking into her brain and refusing to go away. If this was Madarame’s own personal museum and the names on the portraits corresponded to people in reality, perhaps these were the cognitions in the same way Kamoshida’s fake volleyball players had been. But if they were being displayed in his museum, surely that would indicate that he believed he had some kind of hand in their creation. And if--

“Uh, guys? You’re gonna wanna check this one out.” Skull’s hushed voice carried down the corridor, wrenching Joker out of her thoughts, and she trotted up to join him, others in close pursuit.

...Oh.

The wall was covered in a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Yusuke.

“I don’t like this,” Panther whispered. “Why is this one so big? And why’s only this one have a face?”

Joker chewed her bottom lip. She had to assume that Yusuke was of significant importance to Madarame, based on the sheer size of the thing. She’d been assuming they’d run into some kind of cognitive Yusuke, probably in the form of a servant in the way the cognitive Shiho had been. But this was different. Yusuke, rendered as a portrait, hung up in Madarame’s museum, implied ownership.

“I’m working on a theory,” Joker eventually murmured. “We’ll talk about it later. Let’s keep pushing for now and see if we can get some definite intel before we leave.”

The others nodded. For what must have been the hundredth time, Joker wondered just where in her head this skill of leadership was coming from.

The Thieves pressed on through the lobby, and on the other side of the ticket counter, they found their intel. A massive font of gold, embedded with the shapes of people, climbing up and up towards the rafters and demanding every ray of light in the room reflect off its garish surface.

“The Infinite Spring,” Joker read from the plaque. “‘All disciples of the great Madarame must sacrifice their work to him, as repayment for his kindnesses. They do so with joy and pride, for they know they would have nothing without him.”

“Sacrifice their inspiration,” Mona murmured. “What does that mean?”

Joker heard leather creak, and glanced down to see Panther’s fist clenched and shaking. “The painting at the gallery,” she began. “The one that made Yusuke so nervous. He must have painted that, and Madarame took credit for it.”

“Oh shit, that’s why there were so many different kinds of art there! He didn’t paint any of ‘em, he just took credit for ‘em!” Skull jammed his bat into the floor, gritting his teeth. Joker’s brain continued to spin, pieces falling into place now that she had an idea of what to look for.

“This must be what he meant when he said that Madarame stole everything from him. So, he’s stealing art from less famous artists, then using that to boost his own image.” Mona folded his arms, still casting his eyes around the room. “What are you thinking, Joker?”

Joker furrowed her brow, feeling the other Thieves turn to her as she continued to stare at the sculpture. “There’s more here that we’re not seeing,” she said. “Yusuke had his art stolen and pretended to be happy about it. He lives with Madarame, so he has to have known it was happening to the other students too. They probably left because of the plagiarism.”

“But studying under Madarame is probably his big shot at succeeding as an artist,” Panther whispered, fist still clenched. “So he’s afraid to speak up.”

Joker nodded grimly. “That’s my thought. And if I’m right about the paintings we saw already, Madarame believes his students are his creations.”

“That’s bullshit! He doesn’t own Yusuke, or anybody else!” Skull’s fist slammed against the railing next to the sculpture, voice echoing through the empty museum. “We gotta do something about this! He’s totally a bad guy!”

Joker placed a hand on Skull’s shoulder, squeezing lightly when he met her gaze. Some of the tension bled out from his stance, and he let out a shaky breath.

“Let’s pull out for now,” she said, as calmly and evenly as she could manage in defiance of the frothing anger bubbling away in her chest. “We can regroup outside and figure out our game plan.”

They made it as far as the hallway with Yusuke’s portrait before their lucky streak ran out.

“Hey, what are you doing here!?” A voice called down from the end of the hallway, and Joker cursed herself for getting complacent. A Shadow wearing a guard’s uniform rushed towards them, and she knew there was nowhere for them to hide in the hallway as the exit door slammed shut.

“Get ready,” she called to her Thieves. “We’re fighting our way out!”

The guard melted into Shadow-stuff, reforming into a quartet of stone dolls holding boomerangs. Joker drew first, snapping off a shot with her pistol that left one reeling. Panther took the opening, tearing her mask off as Carmen chucked a fireball in their direction.

Skull charged through the smoke, bat colliding with one of the Shadows and staggering it. A boomerang whizzed past Joker’s head as she dashed behind him, rapier finding purchase in its chest and dissolving it into the air. There was a cry of “Zorro!” just as a blast of wind shoved the smoke aside, knocking the remaining enemies flat even as more guards approached from the way they’d come.

“Close in!” she cried, Thieves descending upon the Shadows with weapons raised, leaving only empty air behind. “Panther, cover our rear and let’s go! Skull, take that door down!”

“Roger!”

Her mask burned back onto her face and her arm swung up, submachine gun spraying rounds down the hallway behind them. The guards either jumped back or reeled from the bullet impacts, leaving space for the group to charge ahead.

“Alright, cover your ears!” Skull roared, unslinging his shotgun with one hand and ripping his mask off with the other. Captain Kidd’s ship rushed forward, swinging around at the last moment to slam the stern into the door and continue through to the other side. Skull was in close pursuit, letting off slugs into guards before they had a chance to form more Shadows while Kidd rained lightning on those already deployed.

“The dolls are weak to wind,” Mona cried, hot on Joker and Panther’s heels, saber slung over one shoulder. “Knock them down and let’s get out of here!”

Joker didn’t hesitate as another pair of guards became yet more dolls. Her mask tore free easily with a cry of “Kelpie!”, and a blast of air from the horse-creature sent them reeling. Her strikes were quick, alternating between jabs with her rapier and barely-aimed pistol shots that mostly met their marks.

Mona rushed through the gap, cleaving a guard in two and beckoning for the others to follow. They dashed forward, Panther alternately chucking fireballs backwards and yanking displays over with her whip to stall their pursuers, until they reached the room they’d entered through. Mercifully, the rope was still dangling from the skylight.

“Everybody up! Out the way we came in!” Joker called upon Angel, firing little bolts of light back the way they’d come and rendering the guards dizzy. Panther was first up the rope, followed quickly by Mona. Skull continued pouring lead down the corridor with her, only starting the climb when Joker shouted “Go!” in a tone that allowed for no argument. Skull hollered after her from the top of the rope, and only when she confirmed everyone was out did she spin on her heel, firing her grappling hook up and rushing through the air to land beside her companions.

No words needed to be exchanged as they broke into runs, ignoring the shouts of guards below as they raced across the top of the garden, over the wall and back out into the real world.

Exiting the Metaverse in a hurry was, as in the previous Palace, a bit like running face-first into a wall of syrup, except reality itself didn’t even have the decency to taste sweet. Akiza’s breath heaved and everything felt sluggish and heavy, and by the looks, the others weren’t faring much better.

“Are we good? Everybody in one piece?” The blondes gave thumbs ups, and Morgana meowed a “yes,” so that took care of that. Before she could speak up further, her phone buzzed in her bag. As she dug for it to check, she noticed in her periphery that the others were going for their phones too. Unlocking it, she found a message from Shiho in the group chat.

Akiza looked up, locking eyes in turn with Ann and Ryuji. Morgana hummed uncertainly from her shoulder.

“So,” Ryuji began after he caught his breath. “We gotta help Yusuke.”

There were no disagreements.

Tuesday, 5/17
Shibuya
After School

Akiza shifted slightly, trying to stay as still as possible in her position between the blondes on the little bench Yusuke had procured for them. The trio had tried to chat with the artist while he worked, but he remained resolutely focused, setting them back to square one. Morgana had slipped out of the room to examine the rest of the house once they’d sat down, leaving Akiza uneasily curious as to what he’d find.

Ann was in her element, more or less. She’d mentioned that this was a bit different from her usual photo shoots, but she seemed to be adjusting fine. Ryuji was clearly unused to the prospect of sitting mostly still for such an extended period, and was apparently trying to vibrate the restlessness out through his left leg. Akiza couldn’t help but grin at his apparently boundless energy; the boy was like a dynamo, always whirring and looking to expel energy.

For Akiza, the sitting still wasn’t really an issue. She’d been chatting quietly with the trio about nonsense, having failed to learn anything more than Shiho had, and the close proximity with Ryuji was enough to give her that paradoxical feeling of fluttery-yet-calm that always overcame her when they touched. Even being pressed up against Ann’s side on the tiny bench wasn’t an issue; she’d grown more and more comfortable with the other girl’s physical affections since the gallery, leaning into her casual touches the same way Ryuji did.

No, the thing unsettling her was the way Yusuke’s eyes seemed to cut through her, like he was peeling back her shell to see what lay beneath. Akiza was working off the assumption that he’d seen her bracelets and face paint at Pride and paid them no mind, which would’ve been a comfort, if not for the fact that it entailed having her identity out in the open to someone she wasn’t sure if she could fully trust yet. Logically, she knew she was getting in her own head about it; he was drawing her, not interrogating her. Still, the prospect of being admired for her aesthetics was one she was unused to, despite Ryuji and Ann’s repeated assurances.

The click of Yusuke setting his pencil down on the easel pulled Akiza out of her introspection, watching the blue-haired boy rise from his seat and roll his neck. “I’m sorry, this isn’t quite working for me right now,” he said. “You three should stretch.”

The blondes chorused agreements, grateful for the opportunity. Akiza couldn’t suppress a grin as Ryuji leaned back, nearly falling off the bench before righting himself with a start. In her periphery, Akiza watched Morgana slip silently into the room and hop into her bag.

“Do you think we’re the problem?” Ann trotted over to the easel, peeking curiously. Ryuji and Akiza followed suit, standing on Yusuke’s other side. The canvas was a mess of half-realized sketches, each subtly different and abandoned.

“No, certainly not.” Yusuke trailed his fingers over the graphite lines on the canvas, over the curves of Ann’s hair in one sketch, the folds in Akiza’s skirt on another, the line of Ryuji’s jaw on a third. “You three are exceedingly beautiful subjects. It seems my muse escapes me today, for some reason.”

“Well, we can try again later this week, right? You’re probably just havin’ a bad day.” Ryuji plowed through the “beautiful” comment, Akiza mentally rushing to catch up with him before she could get jittery about it. He leaned in for a closer look at the canvas, placing a hand on Yusuke’s shoulder as he did so. Akiza didn’t miss how Yusuke’s eyes darted to Ryuji and back at that, or the way he stumbled at the touch.

“I-I think that would be for the best,” Yusuke stuttered. Akiza tilted her head just slightly, letting the shadow of her bangs fall across her eyes so that she could observe. Ryuji patted Yusuke’s shoulder once with a smile, and Akiza watched Yusuke’s eyes widen just a bit at the gesture. There was the tiniest tremble in his hand as he reached to straighten his sleeve back out.

“If we’re done for the day, do you guys want to go get something to eat?” Akiza brushed her bangs back into place, shooting glances at Ryuji and Ann for emphasis. “I’m kinda craving a beef bowl, if we wanna head over to Central Street.”

“Hell yeah! Beef bowl’s exactly what I need after exams.” Ryuji pumped his fist, and Akiza felt a shot of fear to her heart as Yusuke very clearly flinched at the shout. Was that him being startled, or was it a fear response to shouting? Was she overthinking this?

“Yeah, that sounds great! There’s a really good crepe stand we could stop at after.” Ann glanced sidelong at Akiza, nervous glint in her eyes, which Akiza countered with a reassuring smile. Ann might not have mastered lying, but she was getting better at following Akiza’s lead. “How about you, Kitagawa-kun?”

Yusuke fidgeted where he stood, brushing some hair out of his face. “I-I’m afraid I’m actually a bit short on funds right now, I just replaced my brushes--”

“It’s on me,” Akiza cut in, to Yusuke’s shock. “I got a bonus from my part-time job last week, so I’m happy to. Consider it a thanks for drawing us.” He still hesitated, so she appended a “Please?”

“...If you insist,” he murmured. The blondes cheered, and the trio scooped up their bags and began heading towards the door. Akiza lingered just a bit, bumping her hand against Yusuke’s gently to get his attention. His gaze met hers, one eye obscured by his thick blue hair, the other full of surprise and some unease she couldn’t place. With a small smile, she took his hand in hers, tugging him towards the door.

The beef bowl shop was crowded, as always, but the four of them had managed to squeeze into a booth, Ryuji next to Akiza and Ann joining Yusuke opposite them.

“I guess we can call this a celebration of exams being over,” Akiza offered, trying desperately to pull Yusuke into a conversation. “How’d you guys do?”

Ann and Ryuji groaned in unison, eliciting a laugh from Akiza and a wry smile from Yusuke. “Bad,” Ryuji mumbled. “I’m so dead.”

“Pre-calc and chemistry killed me,” Ann huffed. “I think I did well on the language and history stuff. How about you, Kitagawa-kun?”

Yusuke blinked at Ann’s question, gaze shifting back and forth between the three pairs of eyes settled on him. “My exams were the week before last,” he explained. “My academic results were average, I suppose. I had to dedicate much of my studying time to my portfolio submission. I only wish I had happened across the three of you before submissions were due.” His voice seemed to warm as he spoke, expression softening.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what brought you to Pride in the first place? Just looking for inspiration?” Akiza knew to tread carefully here. Give him an opportunity, but don’t pressure him.

“I attend such events as often as I can. Beyond the aesthetics of it, Pride is a celebration of authenticity and genuine humanity. There’s something beautiful in that, I think. And it’s, ah…” Yusuke’s focus shifted somewhere to the middle distance as he trailed off, one hand plucking at the cuff of his other sleeve.

Ryuji, seemingly picking up on Yusuke’s discomfort, cut in. “You don’t have to say nothin’ you don’t wanna,” he said. The artist locked eyes with the blond, and Akiza took Ryuji’s hand under the table. “If you do wanna say somethin’, I promise, you ain’t alone here.”

Akiza squeezed Ryuji’s hand, an overwhelming fondness overtaking her. He’s so sweet…

“He’s right,” Ann chimed, lightly bumping her shoulder against Yusuke’s. “No judgments here. I mean, we’re all over the place.” She gestured at the three of them with a smile, and Akiza let out a single, hushed chuckle.

Yusuke cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. “Thank you. I… I will keep that in mind.”

He smiled, a bit closer in warmth to what she’d seen from him at Pride, and she nodded. The other Thieves showed the same solidarity, just as their food arrived. Yusuke didn’t elaborate, but he seemed notably more comfortable as they chatted over gyudon, and that was enough for Akiza.

“So,” Ann chimed after a pause in the conversation. “How’d you end up with Madarame? There’s gotta be a ton of people wanting to learn from him.”

“My mother was a student of his,” Yusuke explained. “She passed away when I was three, and Madarame took me in and raised me.”

The matter-of-fact tone in his voice only made the words sit heavier in Akiza’s gut. A hush descended upon the table, everyone assembled stalled in their eating.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” Ann murmured. Yusuke was quick to wave it away.

“Don’t be,” he said, idly rearranging the ginger in his bowl. “It happened before I could’ve remembered it. I suppose it is sad, but I’ve come to terms with it.”

“So, you’ve been learning from him this whole time?” Akiza tried to change the topic as gently as she could, desperate to steer the conversation to lighter topics. Some part of her brain chimed in that she should push further, get more information on Madarame, but she quashed it down. She wasn’t that insensitive.

“Effectively, yes.” Seemingly satisfied with his work, Yusuke took a carefully-arranged bite before continuing. “Though my lessons didn’t begin in earnest until I was around six. It was a particular work of his - the Sayuri, if you’ve heard of it - that inspired me to capture that same beauty.”

“Oh, that’s that mystery painting, right? The one with the lady and the fog that got stolen?” Ryuji perked up, seemingly grateful for the topic change. “Did Madarame ever tell you what she’s supposed to be lookin’ at?”

Yusuke let out a single laugh, breathy and low, and brushed some hair from his face. “I’m afraid not. He told me once that the viewer’s curiosity and speculation is important to how they engage with the piece, and so revealing the true intention would render the work meaningless.” He trailed his chopsticks through the rice, cutting a little channel that was quickly filled in by sauce. “In my opinion, there really isn’t an answer to that question. The interpretation of the work belongs to the viewer, not the creator.”

“I guess that makes sense. It’s not as fun if you don’t have to think about it.” Ann set down her chopsticks, having finished off her bowl.

“Is there such a thing as ‘death of the artist’?” Akiza’s lips quirked into a lopsided grin, and Yusuke’s quick, bright laughter filled their booth for a moment.

Eventually it came time for them to leave, walking to the station together and going their separate ways. The train rolled on towards Yongen-Jaya, and Akiza couldn’t help but ruminate on the fact that Yusuke had barely touched his food.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, 5/18
Shujin Academy
Morning

The gymnasium bustled with pre-assembly activity. Ann and Ryuji stood at either side of Akiza, near the front of the crowd.

“I bet this is gonna be about the new coach,” Ryuji said. “They prolly wanna get back to nationals as fast as they can.”

“Would they really call everyone in just for that, though? I feel like they’d probably just tell the athletic teams.” Ann twirled a ponytail, thinking out loud.

Akiza’s eyes caught on Principal Kobayakawa walking onto the stage, nodding in his direction to indicate to the blondes. A hush fell on the audience as he stepped up to the mic.

“Good morning, everyone. I’ve called this assembly to introduce you all to a new member of the faculty.” Kobayakawa spoke, and Ryuji immediately turned to smirk at Ann. Ann merely stuck her tongue out at him, turning back to the stage. Akiza fought not to laugh, smile still showing clear on her face.

“Ever since the incident last month, many of you have voiced concerns that I couldn’t bear to ignore. We believe the mental health of our student body is vital to your success, so we’ve brought a counsellor onto our staff. The floor is yours, Doctor.” Kobayakawa gestured off to the side, chatter rippling through the crowd as a tall, younger-looking man joined him on stage. The lab coat stuck out to Akiza. What kind of therapist wore one of those all the time?

“Oooh, don’t you think he looks hot?”

“TOTAL snack, oh my god.”

In the corner of her eye, Akiza saw Ann’s face scrunch up in confusion.

“I mean, he’s alright,” she whispered, gesturing vaguely at the newcomer and turning her head to the others. “What do you guys think?”

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. “I guess I can see it,” he mumbled. “He’s got the ‘broke gay grad student’ thing going on. Akiza?”

She didn’t respond immediately, continuing to scrutinize the man - Takuto Maruki, apparently -- as he introduced himself. He cracked a joke at one point, which got the audience laughing, though Akiza was too focused to hear it. She reached for the Third Eye, letting it extend her sight to--

“Are you using the Joker-vision?” Morgana drawled from her bag, poking his head out just barely. “I can’t believe you’re still acting like that exists.”

“It’s real!” She hissed at him, glancing back up to find the principal beginning to dismiss the assembly.

The trio filed out of the gym without much issue, eventually ending up in the walkway between the school buildings.

“Y’know, I’m actually surprised they hired a therapist. Never thought this place would give a shit about mental health.” Ryuji folded his arms, leaning against the side fence and taking weight off his bad leg. Akiza sidled up next to him, close, but not conspicuous. Ann occupied Akiza’s other side.

“They probably just wanted to look good,” Ann reasoned. “I mean, the school was on national news. Makes sense that they’d try to save face.”

“I just wonder if he’s really gonna do us any good. Like, if the school hired him, doesn’t that mean he’s gonna do what they want?”

“Ryuji!” Ann hissed, throwing a meaningful glance over his shoulder. Akiza looked up, surprised to find Dr. Maruki approaching, hands in pockets and a friendly smile on his face.

“Hey there,” he said with a casual wave, nodding in turn at the three of them. “Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san, right? And that must make you Kurusu-san?”

Akiza’s eyes narrowed fractionally. “Kobayakawa told you about us, huh.”

Maruki’s brows raised, smile fading for just a second before returning. “You’re sharp. Well, in the interest of being honest, yes. I was specifically asked to speak with you three, since you were the closest to the incidents with Mr. Kamoshida.”

Ryuji scoffed. “I bet they just want you to make sure we keep our mouths shut, huh?”

“Whether they like it or not, I’m bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. So, they don’t really have any control over what I do or don’t talk to you about. That is, if you’d like to have a chat with me sometime.” Maruki was more or less unflinching as he continued, relaxed confidence ever-present in his voice. “I’ve got snacks, if that helps entice you!”

“We’ll think about it,” Akiza said suddenly, cutting off Ryuji and Ann before they had a chance to snark at him any further.

Maruki’s smile widened, face brightening at even the suggestion of possibility. “Great! I’ll be setting up in the nurse’s office. I’ll let you three get back to class, but feel free to come by whenever.”

And with that, he excused himself, heading back to the practice building.

“Are you really gonna go?” Ann poked Akiza lightly on the arm. “You’re the last person I’d expect to want to see a school-appointed therapist.”

“I just want to follow up on a hunch,” she explained, setting off towards her classroom.

“Kobayakawa talked to him, right? D’you think he knows about…” Ryuji trailed off, nudging Akiza’s arm slightly. “Y’know, you?”

Akiza chewed her lip. “I’m gonna find out,” she replied after a second. Ann bumped the door to the building open with her hip, holding it open as they entered and prepared to part ways. “Anyway, don’t worry about that right now. We’re still in the middle of a job.”

“And we gotta talk to Yusuke again tomorrow.” Ryuji was clearly antsy about the prospect. Akiza couldn’t blame him, considering her own nerves.

“I hope it works,” Ann murmured. She waved away a teacher reminding them to get to class, turning back to the conversation. “I’m really worried about him.”

“Same,” Ryuji agreed. “We just gotta hope he hears what we’re saying.”

That gave Akiza pause. Were they going about this correctly? Would he hear what they wanted to say?

“Right. Keep your heads down today and get some good sleep tonight.” The others nodded, Morgana providing a mrrp of agreement from inside the bag. Ryuji gave Akiza’s hand a quick squeeze before he ducked off to his classroom, and Ann and Akiza headed to theirs.

Wednesday, 5/18
Shibuya
After School

The door to the atelier always stuck slightly unless one lifted it just slightly in a particular way. Yusuke was an expert in all the little ways the shack was falling apart at this point, right down to which floorboards creaked on the way from the stairs to the kitchen. He slid out of his shoes just inside the door, placing them next to Madarame’s geta. He’d been feeling continually off today, the same as he had for the last few. Something about the modelling session he’d had with those three had shaken something loose in his mind, something that now rattled around, making noise and throwing the whole world off-balance, and he couldn’t for the life of him place what it was.

Yusuke shook his head, padding silently towards his room and thinking about the book he’d checked out from the library. Surely it would serve as a distraction to help clear his mind of--

“Yusuke, come in here for a moment.”

Ah, Yusuke thought. Nevermind.

“What is it, Sensei?” Yusuke half-entered, the sitting room, lingering in the doorway. Madarame fixed him with a stern, neutral gaze.

“Regarding your most recent project,” he began, and Yusuke felt a lead weight sink into his gut. “I took a look at your sketches from yesterday.”

His limbs stiffened. Part of him scolded his reaction-- he’s been going into your room since you were a child. It’s normal. And another, quiet but insistent part countered that sentiment-- that doesn’t make it right.

“I apologize for their poor quality, Sensei. I plan to meet up with my models again to get it right.”

“Those three are exactly the problem,” he intoned, still frowning at Yusuke in a way that made him uncomfortable just to be standing in the doorway. “I had a feeling when you introduced me to them that they wouldn’t be ideal models, and unfortunately, it seems I was correct in my assessment. I sympathize with you, Yusuke, truly. Sometimes the eye makes mistakes.”

Yusuke’s fist clenched tighter behind the door where Madarame couldn’t see. He tried with all his might to appear as stoic and unbothered as possible, and prayed it was enough. “Perhaps they’re not the most experienced models, but I have confidence that I can bring out the best in them.”

“I understand your passion, Yusuke. I really do. But as your sensei, I believe it’d be best to have you work with one of the usual models this time.”

He knows best, said the first voice.

Your art is yours alone, said the second, growing louder with every contribution.

“I… I understand, Sensei,” he breathed, cursing himself for shrinking like this. Why now?, he thought. Why this? What is it about this piece that compels me so? “I will… graciously accept your assistance. However, I would still like to work with my models in addition to the gallery piece.”

Madarame heaved a sigh. “I admire your drive, Yusuke. I really do. But you must learn to direct your focus better. We need this gallery to be successful in order to stay afloat financially, and that means I need your help for the new piece so that it can be revealed later and drum up excitement.” He stroked his beard, fixing Yusuke with a look that was something like apologetic. “It’d be best if you stopped seeing them for now, so that you can focus properly.”

“I promise, you ain’t alone here.”

“No judgments here. I mean, we’re all over the place.”

Yusuke’s heart rang in his chest, a hollow and clawing feeling rising quickly to the fore. Madarame said something else that he didn’t really hear, just nodding along and shuffling to the stairs when the older man waved him away. Yusuke moved without thinking, autopilot taking him to his room.

There used to be so many others, he thought, eyes tracking around the room and remembering the faces of people long gone. We used to sleep shoulder to shoulder in here.

Other faces, other students coming and going from the atelier as if through a revolving door. Always leaving as changed people, always looking more worn and empty and tired. Sometimes they left in great shouting matches with Sensei, other times slipping out in the night, never to be seen again.

Touma-san left in an ambulance, chimed some horribly spiteful part of Yusuke’s brain. And you’re still here.

His gaze fell on the sketchpad from yesterday, still marked with the attempts he’d given up on. He’d sworn there was something beautiful in the way they carried Pride with them. Their dynamic, their elation, it had spoken to him.

Right?

He’d struggled so hard and hadn’t produced a single sketch that satisfied him. He’d let himself down, he’d let Kurusu and Sakamoto and Takamaki down, he’d let Sensei down. There was a roiling sickness in his gut as he glanced at the wall he preferred to lay his futon against; a small photo pinned to the wall depicted a younger version of himself, eyes bright with wonder as he gazed upon the Sayuri.

Where did that child go? Yusuke reached out to the easel again, tracing the graphite marks comprising the sketches.

“Yusuke!” Sensei’s voice from downstairs made him jump, heart pounding. He clutched at his chest, breathing hard, willing himself to calm. “The model will be here in an hour, please get rid of those sketches!”

Yusuke froze, unable to process that for a moment. The model was already coming? He was supposed to just switch directly from his true muses to one provided to him? He shook his head; he must have agreed to it earlier without thinking about it.

“Yes, Sensei,” he called back. His voice was weak and hollow, even he could tell. His hands trembled as he reached to take the paper from the canvas.

“We’d like to model for you, Kitagawa-kun.”

His hands tightened around the sketch paper. There was potential there, there had to be. Why else did his heart tighten at the sight of them? Why else did he ache to capture their beauty? Why else did his idle thoughts continually find themselves back at the gyudon restaurant, surrounded by their voices and laughter?

He quickly tore the paper from the sketchpad, folding it up and slipping it beneath his futon.

Wednesday, 5/18
Cafe Leblanc
Evening

Leblanc wasn’t technically closed yet, but it might as well have been. Most of the coffee hardware was cleaned and shut off for the night, leaving only Akiza and Sojiro.

“Listen, you’re not ready for espresso yet. That’s a deep rabbit hole you might not come back from if you go in. Stick to the basics and you’ll get there.” Sojiro leaned back against the shelf, gruff but with the hint of a wry smile as he watched Akiza huff.

She wasn’t really annoyed, but she wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to further break the ice with Sojiro. “I bet you just don’t know how to use the steam wand on the machine anymore and you’re afraid I’ll find out.”

Sojiro’s surprised heh of laughter brought a smile to her face. “Don’t get smart with me, kid. This is still my shop.” There was no intensity behind his voice, only amusement and, dared Akiza hope, friendliness.

The bell above the door chimed, and Akiza was about to groan internally before she realized who had entered.

“Good evening! I’m sorry for coming so late.” Haru bowed in the doorway, Akiza’s breath jumping in her chest.

“Not a problem at all,” Sojiro eased. “C’mon over and have a seat. Take her order, I’m gonna go have a smoke.” That last was directed at Akiza, snapping her out of her light daze of amazement as Sojiro headed outside. Haru sat down at the counter, directly across from Akiza.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Akiza opened. She set the siphon she’d been cleaning back on its stand, letting herself bask a little bit in the warm fluttering that Haru’s smile inspired. She could let herself enjoy this. “What brings you over here so late?”

“I was simply in the mood for some coffee,” she said, sounding very much like there was more behind that sentence. “And your company, of course.”

“Lucky me. You’re pretty great company yourself.” She gave a lopsided smile, and Haru tittered behind her hand. “House blend?”

“Please,” Haru replied, and Akiza set about her work. The movements were practiced now; she wasn’t confident enough to say that she could get the water ratio right without a scale, but she was certainly better than when she’d started.

There was a comfortable silence as Akiza worked, Haru’s eyes tracking her motions intently. The coffee sat to steep for a moment, leaving Haru an opening to speak up.

“Thank you for inviting me to Harajuku the other day. It really did help me get my mind off things. Ann-chan and Shiho-chan were lovely.” Haru toyed with the hem of her sweater, clearly distracted.

“I’m glad,” Akiza answered honestly. Once she herself had gotten into the swing of things, it was plain to see how delighted Haru was by the whole prospect. She got along with the others brilliantly, which had been a relief, and Akiza had noted how Haru had seemed, for once, to be relaxed, how she seemed to move without being weighed down.

She so desperately wanted to know more, wanted to help, wanted to do something, but she didn’t dare push. Haru clearly didn’t need anything else burdening her.

Akiza stared at the coffee as it drew down through the filter, thoughts inevitably wandering to the thing that occupied most of her brain these days. She needed to talk to someone about Yusuke-- not the other Thieves, they were too deeply involved, and not Sojiro, who’d only scold her for getting involved in other peoples’ business again. That left…

“Do you mind if I ask for your opinion on something?” She saw Haru perk up in her periphery, still picking at her sweater.

“Not at all,” Haru said politely. “You seem troubled.”

God, she felt troubled. The creeping dread of anxiety that Yusuke might not hear them, might not open up, might reject them--

“What do you do when you want to help someone who might not want it? When they might not even realize they need help?” The draw-down finished, Akiza lifted the brewing cone and placed it aside, pouring out a cup for Haru and setting it on a saucer in front of her. The other girl looked down at the dark liquid, folding her hands silently in her lap.

“That’s a difficult question,” Haru eventually said. “In my experience… sometimes, a person can need help but be afraid of what that help might look like. Or they may be afraid of the change itself. Pain can be awful, but it can also be familiar. There’s safety in familiarity.”

Her finger hovering over the mouse, a click away from submitting the order. Miracles in a bottle. New body, new face, new, new, new, the terror of taking the leap of faith--

“I know what you mean,” Akiza murmured. Haru’s eyes flicked up, hazel gaze meeting Akiza’s own silver, and again Akiza felt studied. It made her antsy, like Haru was opening up her ribcage to poke around inside.

Haru hummed after a moment, looking down at her coffee again and taking a sip. “This is lovely, thank you.” Akiza nodded, and Haru exhaled before continuing. “Someone like that… isn’t going to be convinced by words alone. Logic isn’t why they’re afraid to accept help, and it won’t be the reason they do accept it. They have to be shown the truth before they can begin to come to terms with it.”

Akiza stilled.

Trembling hands clutching the pen, scrawling out a familiar name in shaky letters, but with the characters changed just slightly, just to see, just to see what it sounds like--

“I think you’re right,” Akiza said unsteadily after a moment. The weight of memory had come upon her suddenly, dredging up emotions long past. She smiled as warmly as she could. “Thanks, Haru. I really appreciate it.”

Haru’s serious expression lingered for only a moment, quickly fading back into a bright smile. “Of course! Anything I can do to help, I’m glad to.”

Haru lingered only a little longer, finishing up her coffee and bidding Akiza farewell. Akiza quickly excused herself when Sojiro returned, running quickly through the last of the cleaning and heading upstairs, careful not to wake Morgana.

She’d present her new plan to the Thieves tomorrow. It would work.

It had to work.

Thursday, 5/19
Shibuya
Evening

Yusuke had agreed to meet them at seven, but the three of them were late. Takamaki, Sakamoto, and Kurusu hadn’t told him that they would be delayed. He really shouldn’t be bothered by this lateness either. A missed train could account for the ten-minute delay. Or they were meeting up before going to the diner. The three of them always seemed to go together, connected, or perhaps bound, like strands in a braid…

He shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking about those kinds of nonsensical tangents. That part of him that had shaken loose after the first modeling session was restless. Fearful, even. But this was what Yusuke had to do to maintain his integrity as an artist and please his Sensei.

Finally, the door to the diner chimed. Yusuke heard Sakamoto complaining about a heavy bag, and on instinct, he stood up to greet them more respectfully. The three of them noticed immediately and drew closer--Sakamoto indeed held a rather heavy-looking duffel.

“Hey--are you okay?” Takamaki asked instantly. “You look really pale.”

“It’s nothing,” Yusuke brushed the concern aside. “Thank you for meeting me so suddenly. I have something very important to tell you.”

“Shit, important? What is it?”

Kurusu placed a hand on Sakamoto’s shoulder. Like Sakamoto had touched me… “Let’s sit first.”

That made sense, for everyone to sit, but Yusuke felt his fingers tremble with each passing second. He might lose his nerve at this rate. He stared at the table while the other three chatted a bit about the drinks on the menu and placed orders. Actually, it was more like the other two. Kurusu seemed to be saying very little. Yusuke could practically feel her watching him, those clear grey eyes, like the Greek goddess of wisdom…

He had to end this, now.

“Before we get too distracted,” Yusuke spoke up. “Sensei saw the sketches I made from our first modeling session, and he was displeased with my efforts.”

“That’s not a problem, right?” Takamaki said. “You said it yourself, that your muse just wasn’t working that day. Madarame has to understand that you can’t get perfect work every single day.”

“That is definitely true,” he admitted, knowing that it had been several years since Madarame’s own muse had visited him. Even the greats could face dry wells of inspiration. “But it’s more than that. Sensei has advised that my next work use… a professional art model.”

“For real?” Sakamoto interjected. “What’s a pro model got that we don’t?”

“Pro modeling is a real job, okay!? And it’s tougher than it looks!” Takamaki cut in. “But maybe there’s a difference between modeling for photography and for paintings.”

Kurusu leaned in just a little closer, resting on her elbows. “How do you feel? About what Madarame’s asking of you?”

Yusuke blinked at her. If he opened his mouth and told her his true feelings, he might never be able to close it again. Frustration and guilt and shame and pain would pour out of him, like an avalanche from a high mountain, until he buried this kindly and exquisite girl so completely she’d never speak to him again.

“...I trust Sensei’s judgement. He wants what is best for me and my work.” Without saying a single word in response, Yusuke could feel Kurusu’s disappointment. Just to make her stop frowning, he pushed forward. “That is to say, the majority of my time will be spent working with the model Sensei has picked for me, but you three were gracious enough to agree to my request in the first place. There has to be some way that we can continue working together. Perhaps on weekends, once or twice per month. My progress would be very slow if we do that, but perhaps that will give me the time to develop the skills that I am lacking.”

“What exactly are you lacking?” Takamaki asked. “Did Madarame describe it?”

He tasted bile, hot and metallic, as he recounted the words. “He said my eye had made a mistake.”

Sakamoto blew a loud raspberry. “Forget that! Ain’t your art about what you want? Who cares if it’s not up to Madarame’s standards?”

“But Sensei is an accomplished artist. There’s no way I’ll succeed unless I learn everything that I can from him. He created the Sayuri, after all.”

“It’s okay,” Kurusu chimed in. “You want to do your best, and we want to help you. Whether you paint us or not, we want to keep seeing you.”

“I just want to eat with you because you’re friends with Ann.”

What kind of upside-down philosophy did these miscreants live by? How did it keep slipping out of Yusuke’s grasp any time he tried to comprehend it? What purpose would there be in spending time with them if they weren’t his models? What could Yusuke learn about art from people who his Sensei had deemed to be wrong?

Somehow, they keep calling to me…

Yusuke looked down at the table, feeling himself scowl. “Is that why you were so eager to meet me, even when I wasn’t ready to paint you again?”

“Basically,” Sakamoto said.

“We know a thing or two about what it’s like to be lonely,” Takamaki added. “And we don’t want you to feel the same way.”

“It’s hardly any of your concern.”

“That’s just how we roll,” Kurusu said. “We can’t leave well enough alone.”

Unsure what exactly Kurusu meant by that, Yusuke just stared at her: the slope of her nose, line of her jaw, arc of her cheekbone, fall of her hair… individual parts that Yusuke had studied in detail, each one of them deemed lacking by the standards of high art. But as he sat across from her in a diner, Yusuke could not conceive of a more beautiful woman.

“Actually, if we’re not going to be modeling for you anytime soon, what are your plans for this evening?” Takamaki asked.

“I will need to return home eventually, but Sensei isn’t expecting me for dinner.”

A grin passed through the trio. Kurusu leaned just a little bit forward, conspiratorial and enticing.

“What if you helped us with an art project?” she whispered across the table.

Yusuke blinked at her in bafflement, but curiosity won out. “What kind of art project?”

“I can’t do this. You can’t ask this of me,” Yusuke protested, staring at the now-open duffel bag.

Sakamoto ignored him and picked up two cans of spray paint, green and yellow. When he shook them, a heavy rattle echoed in the pedestrian tunnel. Takamaki found cans of her own, a blue one and a silver one.

“Which do you wanna try first?” Takamaki asked Kurusu. With a hum, Kurusu selected the silver paint, and Takamaki held the blue one out to Yusuke. “Here, start with this one!”

“No!” Yusuke told her, but he could hear his voice crack. “You said that this was an art project! Not--thuggish vandalism!”

“Who cares? Walls’re already covered in tags!” Sakamoto cheered. He popped the lid off of his green can and pressed the nozzle forward. “Woah--!” The volume and force of the can’s hiss shocked him.

“That’s all the more reason! We could be arrested for this! And even if not, others have come before us and put their names on these walls! You can’t disrespect their work like this!”

“It ain’t disrespect! It’s evolution!” Sakamoto shook the green can again and aimed it at the wall, around waist-height. With another hiss, a stream of green paint hit the concrete, and once it connected, Sakamoto started to run, leaving a trail behind him. It dripped like a fresh gash.

“That looks fun--me next!” Takamaki found a red can and mimicked Sakamoto’s path. The red wove in between the green, adding rivulets of red to the long streak.

“Babe--hey, babe, get me a new color, let’s race!”

Kurusu smiled and brought Ryuji a gold can while she shook her own silver paint.

“We can’t do this!” Yusuke protested one more time.

Kurusu flashed a grin his way, dazzling and infectious as when he first saw her at Pride. “We can do anything we want.”

At a loss, Yusuke stood by and watched as Kurusu and Sakamoto lined up. Their idea to race was flawed from the start, since they wanted to run along the same wall, silver and gold together. Nearly on top of each other at the starting line, Takamaki shouted, “Go!” and the two of them took off. Sakamoto pulled ahead instantly, but in a few seconds, cried, “Ow, ow, ow, ow…” and pulled away, limping on one leg. Kurusu dropped her paint can and caught up to Sakamoto, wrapping him in a hug and letting him lean on her.

Something about that sight made Yusuke’s stomach churn. He said ‘ow,’ and she hugged him, like it was nothing…

“C’mon, Kitagawa-kun~!” Takamaki pushed the blue can into his hands. “Just think of it like an experiment! I bet you never used spray paint before.”

“It’s a crass medium,” Yusuke declared. The can in his hands felt cold, but… comfortable? Like his fingers didn’t care about the temperature. “Fine arts are not made with aerosol cans.”

“This doesn’t need to be fine art! Just have some fun, figure out how it works!” Takamaki picked up Kurusu’s discarded silver paint and launched a few more bursts at the walls, creating a crude heart shape.

Yusuke should call the police. He should go home and abandon these delinquents. He should listen to his fear, run and hide, return to Madarame’s home, lock himself in his room…

And then what? Die there?

“Man, this stuff is hard to paint with,” Takamaki complained. “It takes so much force to push, but once I do, too much comes out!”

Something about that raised Yusuke’s hackles. “It can’t be any harder than a brush,” he said.

“You won’t know until you give it a shot!” Takamaki goaded. “C’mon, just a few squiggles!”

“I can surely accomplish far more than squiggles!”

He twisted the cap off the can and gave it a few rattling shakes. It felt heavy, but the chill remained comforting. He’d play along for a few minutes and then leave…

With a push of his finger, the can kicked back. His intended circle turned into an oblong shape, not even closed properly at the end. And it immediately began dripping. He tried again to see if he could push more gently, but then he didn’t get any paint. A third attempt and the paint came out at full blast again.

“What’s the point of this? None of us have any skill with these materials,” Yusuke said, ready to drop his paint and never look back. This was stupid, his muses were stupid, Madarame was right--

“Hey, don’t give up yet,” Kurusu stepped closer, taking Ann’s red paint for herself. “How about you chase me?”

“...Chase?” Yusuke repeated back.

“Follow my line with yours.”

“This is going to look hideous.”

“Trust me, it won’t.” Kurusu shook her can and leaned close to the wall. “Ready?”

With a sigh, Yusuke crouched beside her. Kurusu’s red paint hit the wall, and then she started to move forward, reaching high and dipping low as it pleased her, with no regard for what was already on the walls. Yusuke pressed and let blue join her red and walked behind her. He matched her path as precisely as he could until the exercise stopped feeling like art and started to feel like a tightrope-walk. Focus on the paint. The way it sprayed. It clumped, it bled, it overstepped its boundaries. It took force, but the longer he held his finger on the nozzle, the less pressure he felt he had to apply.

“Watch out!” Kurusu called.

Too absorbed in his line, Yusuke hadn’t realized Kurusu was doubling back, ducking underneath his long arms to continue her scribble across the wall. He pulled back his stomach to create more space for her, and lost his focus for a second, seeing the way she left color in her wake.

And Yusuke’s color had joined her. The effect was still completely amateurish, but the red and blue together looked like a dancing ribbon, appearing purple in some places due to the aged, fluorescent lighting.

“Hey, Kitagawa, you okay?” Sakamoto asked.

“...This needs a tertiary color,” Yusuke found himself saying. “What haven’t we used yet?”

Sakamoto whooped and pumped his fist, opening the duffel bag for Yusuke to plunder. The collection of colors was eclectic, seemingly random brands likely grabbed haphazardly from hardware store shelves. He settled on a dark magenta (the label displayed a metal bench sprayed entirely in the color; who on Earth would do that?) and shook it as best he could. The clatter of the agitator ball inside the can echoed off the tunnel walls, and after a moment he uncapped it and began adding to his and Kurusu’s trails.

He worked in bursts, trying to control the flow of paint and only partially succeeding. Magenta tried to interweave with red and blue, but more often than not bled over, still-wet paints mingling but not blending.

“There’s no way to mix these colors,” he mused. Kurusu sidled up next to him, eyeing his work. “The paint just… exists. It’s wet but it’s not malleable. How are you supposed to work with it?”

“I think that’s part of the appeal,” Kurusu said. Yusuke noted that this excursion was probably the most he’d heard her speak at once. “Once it’s there, it’s there. No take-backs, no adjustments. Just pure expression.”

Pure expression? A voice in his head that sounded like Madarame wanted to dismiss the idea out of hand, but another wanted to dig further. Pure expression, free of second-guesses. Emotion portrayed with faith.

“Surely it would be ignored by any passersby. It’s graffiti.” He rolled the can in smooth circles, feeling the agitator ball swirl around the inside. Everything he knew about art rejected this, this delinquent childishness.

Everything you know is what he’s told you, said a part of him. Can you be sure it’s all true?

“I mean, it’s your art,” Takamaki chimed, finally filling in the heart she’d started. “Sure, it’s nice if people like it, but isn’t it more important that you feel something about it?”

He thought about how he’d felt when he painted the piece hanging in Madarame’s gallery, with Madarame’s name in place of his. He thought about the anger that had felt hazy and indistinct at the same time. He thought about how these three had been the only ones to recognize the piece for what he’d intended. He thought about how surely, even if his work was displayed under Madarame’s name, someone would recognize the emotions he’d poured into it. And that was manageable, if not ideal. Right?

How long will you continue to lie to yourself?

Wordlessly, Yusuke bent down to pick up an orange can in his free hand and returned to the wall. He set about it, interpreting the shapes he created as he went, at times intersecting with the lines the others had drawn, looping around Takamaki’s heart as Kurusu drew Cupid’s arrow piercing it. The cans felt more natural in his hands as he moved, changing the distance from the tunnel’s surface to adjust the effect as he liked, at times in bursts and at times in long, unbroken arcs.

Yusuke let his mind quiet, let all the clamoring voices that sounded too much like Madarame fall silent beneath the hiss of compressed air and the laughs of the others. He paused at one point to rest his sore fingers, glancing to the side and finding the others elbowing each other, gesturing at something they’d created. The sight brought a shock of warmth to his heart, one that seemed to slow the world around him and bring it all to focus on them, their beauty, their joy.

He only yelped a little as Kurusu took him by the hand suddenly, pulling him into the center of them. Sakamoto’s hand on his shoulder, Takamaki’s on his back, Kurusu’s holding his own, all making his nerve endings light up like firecrackers. He ached for this companionship, he realized all of a sudden. He needed their warmth, their touch, their light.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything before this feeling faded, but was quickly cut off by a yowling sound rapidly approaching from the end of the tunnel. Is that Kurusu’s cat? was his only thought before the others began shoving cans into the bag as hastily as they could.

“Come on! We’ve gotta get out of here!” Kurusu tore the can from his hands, checking once more for any strays before yanking his hand down the tunnel. Around the corner they’d come from, he could faintly hear the sound of voices.

“...probably just some kids vandalizing the tunnel. Let’s go get ‘em.”

He tried to keep up with Kurusu as best he could, heart pounding in his ears as they raced alongside the intertwining red and blue and gold and silver and magenta, still drying and layered over the countless tags that had come before. They’d added their marks to an ever-growing canvas.

They ran and ran, his muses whooping and laughing, and he found himself joining in.

The four of them ended up deep in the wooded area of Inokashira Park, cops long behind them. Yusuke’s chest heaved, his lungs burned, his legs ached…

And he’d never felt more alive.

His every cell sang with energy, the crashing tide of adrenaline still racing through him. He dropped onto a bench off the side of the path, Sakamoto and Kurusu and Takamaki piling in next to him. Kurusu’s cat hopped up onto her lap, meowing in rapid-fire at her.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it! Lay off!” She laughed when the cat batted away her attempt at petting it. It occurred to Yusuke just then that tonight was the first time he’d heard Kurusu laugh so fully. It was a bright sound, rich and genuine in a way that simultaneously felt inaccurate to how he’d envisioned her and like the truest expression of her self that she’d shown him.

So awash was he in the wonder of the sight that he only barely realized that she was trying to get his attention. “You okay, Kitagawa-kun?”

“O-oh,” he breathed, straightening himself up. “I-- yes. A little winded, but fine. That was... “

“Pretty cool, right?” Sakamoto grinned at him, wide and toothy, and he felt his heart quicken. “You really got the hang of it after a bit!”

“Yeah, you were a natural! That little dance-thing you and Akiza had going on was super cool.” Oh, no, Takamaki too, sweet and bubbly and vibrant. Her cheeks were stained red from the exertion of their escape, bangs plastered slightly to her forehead with sweat.

“That was incredibly reckless,” he eventually said, doing his best to compose himself. “And it flew in the face of any traditional understanding of art.”

“But…?” Kurusu prodded him with a single word, brows raising.

“But… It was quite exhilarating. And I accept that I was wrong about it initially. It absolutely holds artistic value.”

Sakamoto and Takamaki cheered, bumping fists. Kurusu just smiled, a little warmer, a little kinder.

“I’m glad you had fun, Kitagawa-kun. Thanks for coming with us, we really enjoyed having you here.”

Yusuke blinked. That thing that had rattled around in his head for the better part of a week was growing louder, more insistent, the edges of it banging into the corners of his mind.

“I… thank you. To be honest, I don’t really get to spend time with people my own age these days. So, this has been…” He gestured aimlessly with his hand, searching for the words. “Enlightening, I suppose. I’m sure Sensei would disapprove of this, for a number of reasons, but I'll happily cherish this memory."

Kurusu’s smile turned just slightly, becoming a little less honest, a little more forced. Yusuke felt his heart sink at the sight. Had he said something wrong?

“Right,” she said, quietly. She looked down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers and seemingly deep in thought. Her eyes flicked over to the blondes for an instant as they say quietly. Their faces were more expressive, clearly painted with worry. Kurusu looked back up at him, her grey eyes sharp with a determination that shook Yusuke to his core. “Hey, Kitagawa-kun? How would you feel about going to a museum?”

Sakamoto, Takamaki, and the cat exploded with protest, voices layering over each other that was quickly cut off by a stern look from Kurusu.

“Trust me,” she said, a hint of steel in her voice. She turned back to him, brows raised. Something about that gesture unsettled him just the tiniest bit; what was their relationship like, that the others would object so strongly to a proposal and then quietly fall in line with nothing but a look?

“I suppose so. Are there any open at this time of night?” Something in his brain told him that all wasn’t what it seemed. Something else told him to follow Kurusu anywhere in Tokyo.

She grinned, adjusting her glasses. “There’s one that’s open, yeah. It’s near your place. C’mon, let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 5/19
Madarame's Palace
Evening

The first shock Yusuke had experienced upon crossing over into this place was his companions’ appearances. He hadn’t quite been able to place them until they removed their masks, their presences somewhat hazy and indistinct, like a filter blocking his mind from recalling them. But once they had-- oh, they shone. Kurusu’s striking jacket and skirt, Takamaki’s daring colors and rose motif, Sakamoto’s sleek-but-tough leathers. It was, in some sense, exactly how he’d seen them that day in Yoyogi. Free, defiant, and proud.

The second shock was the place itself; the museum was gaudy in the extreme, exterior all golds and silvers and peacocking. Just laying eyes on it was enough to turn Yusuke’s stomach. The very air in this place felt heavy, weighing down on him with a pressure that told him you need to leave, you’re not welcome, you shouldn’t be here. It was beyond belief, even as the others hurriedly briefed him. Another world, existing alongside their own? It should be impossible.

And yet.

Here he walked, dream-matter under his feet rippling just slightly as he beheld the third shock: the interior of the place. Portraits lined the walls, faces hazy and constantly shifting, but he recognized every name emblazoned on the signs below them. The other three had explained it to him: this was Sensei’s heart. The world made manifest by his thoughts and beliefs. A shrine to vanity and garish ostentation.

At one point they made to round a corner, and Yusuke laid eyes on a massive portrait of himself, face unobscured. He couldn’t claim to understand this place, but he could piece together the meaning of these portraits. Sensei viewed his students as creations. Property, even. To be shown off as displays of his prowess.

It’s more than that, the voice in his head whispered. He is guilty of far more.

Yusuke shrugged the voice off, staying focused on hiding. He shivered; when had it gotten so cold in here?

Currently, he was huddled behind the reception desk in what appeared to be the entryway. He’d caught a glimpse of something in the room beyond, but he hadn’t gotten a good look before Takamaki had ushered him to his current hiding spot and taken up a post by the door (where had they gotten firearms from?)

"Alright, we're clear. C'mon in, Kitagawa-kun." Yusuke moved at the sound of Kurusu's voice, and found himself confronted by the most garish work yet.

Yusuke's stomach turned as he took in the sculpture, all golden swirls and with anguished faces caught up in its current. They were faces he knew well, constant specters in his nightmares, taunting and accusing him.

How can you let him take your art as his own? Does that not disrespect the memory of those who came before?

Yusuke shivered again, and an instant later, his knees gave out.

"Whoa, hey!" Sakamoto was at his side in a flash, supporting his weight with the arm not currently occupied by a shotgun. "You okay, man?"

Yusuke's head spun. They knew. They had to know, if they'd seen this sculpture before. They knew of his cowardice, his failure. Shame burned in his gut, searing his insides and crawling up his ribcage to his throat.

"He told us he had artist's block," was what Yusuke found himself saying. "He would ask us for help, tell us it would just be once, and then it would never end."

He felt far away from himself, like he was watching his body being driven by somebody else. He wanted so badly to force himself to stop, to prevent the bile and ugliness in his heart from burying his muses' light.

“Here, drink this.” A water bottle entered his vision, pushed toward him by Kurusu. He took it with shaky hands and uncapped it. It was surprisingly cool, washing away some of the burning bile sensation in his throat. “Can you walk? There’s a safe place just up ahead.”

“I can,” he managed. “Thank you.”

Sakamoto helped him get his footing again, and they proceeded up the ramp leading to a door behind the sculpture. Its golden sheen poked at Yusuke in his periphery, needling him right in the open wound he’d just laid bare to his muses. They’d have questions when they made it to wherever they were going, he was sure. He was also sure of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from answering them, no matter how badly he wanted to spare them from this.

They ushered him down a long hallway, through a door that seemed to ripple and fade, and he found himself sitting in some kind of office room. For an instant he could have sworn it was the dining room in the atelier, but the feeling faded just as quickly.

“Take all the time you need. We’re completely safe here.” The creature they called Morgana sat perched on the table, little legs dangling over the side.

“We brought some snacks, if you need them. There’s, uh, jagariko? And some granola?” Takamaki placed the packets on the table as she sat beside him, Kurusu and Sakamoto opposite. They’d all pushed their masks up to their foreheads, and he realized with a start that they shone with a wholly different type of light with the masks than without.

“I don’t think I can trust my stomach right now.” Yusuke folded his hands on the table, still shaky. The group sat in silence for a minute as he caught his breath.

“I’m really sorry for doing this,” Kurusu said after a bit. “We didn’t really want it to work out this way, but I wasn’t sure how else to get through to you.”

“You knew about Sensei using my work before we arrived here, then. It seems you know your way around this place.” Yusuke prodded carefully. He didn’t exactly have it in himself to mislead at this point, but Kurusu and her companions surely wouldn’t just give up their plans.

“We first came here on Monday, but we weren’t here very long. We made it to the sculpture you just saw, and we got the gist of the situation.”

“I see. Are you the only ones that can come here? To this otherworld?”

“Far as we know, yeah. We fell ass-backwards in another one of these places by accident a while ago.” Sakamoto had propped his right leg up on a free stool, massaging his thigh. It wasn’t the first time he’d done so in Yusuke’s presence. “We kinda had a hunch that Madarame had one of these.”

"And I assume that's why you agreed to model for me. To get information on Sensei. You’re using me to get to him." Yusuke's heart began to twist for just an instant. Every raw unfiltered instinct told him that he was being used, that he was a means to an end to the people he'd chosen as his muses. But those instincts clashed against warm memories of gyudon, of sketches, of spray paint.

“That’s not it,” Takamaki insisted, something like desperation in her voice. “If anything, we wanted to use Madarame to get to you!”

Yusuke froze. “I… I don’t understand,” he began. He grasped at air, trying to make it make sense in his head. “Why me? What do I have to do with any of this?”

“I ain’t gonna get into specifics right now, but all three of us,” Sakamoto said, gesturing to the costumed humans present. “have been through somethin’ like what you’re going through with Madarame. Where you know shit ain’t right, but you don’t know what to do.”

“You reminded us a lot of… well, us.” Kurusu spoke up again.

Yusuke’s breath caught in his chest. He knew how to cope with being used. He had no idea how to process the alternative -- that he might be wanted.

“In addition to that, we wanted to involve you because he’s your teacher,” Kurusu said plainly. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, before meeting Yusuke’s gaze again with piercing steel-silver eyes. “To summarize really briefly, if we steal the core of this Palace, Madarame will undergo a change of heart, and confess to all his wrongdoings. You should have a say in that, as his student.”

The weight of their words was heavy on Yusuke’s shoulders. This potential for empathy, for understanding of the kind of things he’d experienced… dared he believe it possible? And the way his heart had leapt at the idea that Sensei’s heart could be changed, that he might come to realize the error of his ways-- it shifted something within him, something fundamental.

“You make it sound so simple,” Yusuke mused, trying his damndest to rationalize this away, to retreat into the safety of the known. “You’re thieves, then? I suppose that explains the clothes. And the weapons.”

“We’re the Phantom Thieves of Heart,” Kurusu said with a knifelike grin. “We want to help, if you’ll let us.”

The others affirmed her declaration. Yusuke could hear the knock-knocking voice that sounded like Sensei in his head, telling him to turn around and leave this behind and go back to what he knew.

And yet, and yet, and yet.

So much of him wanted to take the leap, to trust in his muses, to make Sensei see where he’d gone wrong, to once again see the man who’d taught him the basics of watercolors, how to care for a brush, how to stretch a canvas. It coursed through him, every vein and nerve ending alight with the desire to throw himself into the arms reaching out to him.

He took a deep breath.

“I want you to show me the rest of this place,” he declared. “I need to determine with my own eyes how deep this distortion runs.”

“Uh, dude, no offense, but you look seriously shaken up right now. Don’t force yourself.” Sakamoto’s worried tone and expression jabbed at Yusuke’s heart.

“Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine. I need to do this.” Yusuke’s hands clenched into fists beneath the table, grabbing at the fabric of his pants. He could do this. He would do this.

The assembled exchanged looks again, all turning to Kurusu, who chewed her lower lip in thought. After a moment, she addressed him again, eyes shining in the half-light of the room.

“It’ll be dangerous,” she said. “You could get seriously hurt if you don’t do exactly what we say, and even then, you still might. Are you okay with that?”

“I am,” he replied. “There’s no way I’ll understand this place until I’ve seen it all.”

Kurusu nodded, standing from the table. “Let’s get moving, then,” she said. Yusuke rose with the others.

It so happened that acting as an accomplice of the Phantom Thieves entailed creeping along behind them as they cleared rooms of creatures they called Shadows. Presently he crouched low and out of sight, hands trembling as they held the machine gun Takamaki had given him.

“Just in case you need it,” Takamaki had said cheerfully. “It’s got a kick to it, so watch out for that. Don’t point it at anything you’re not about to shoot, and keep your fingers away from the slidey thingy!”

Yusuke hadn’t quite been able to process the fact that he’d just been handed a firearm, accompanied by a briefing given with all the casual cheerfulness of someone explaining the nuances of a tricky electric fan. Even the idea that he was holding something like this was beyond him; guns were the instruments of soldiers and criminals, not him.

The hiss of a Shadow fading away filled the exhibition room they’d found themselves in, and Yusuke soberly held his position. He’d caught brief glimpses of what those creatures could do, and he did not intend to draw their ire. He could hear the thieves combing the place, examining every potential entrance for more enemies. Yusuke’s hands tightened around the gun, finger off the trigger as Kurusu had instructed.

“Alright, clear! C’mon out, Kitagawa-kun.” Kurusu’s voice beckoned him from behind the display he’d been behind. He emerged just in time to see the great red-and-black form that he kept catching glimpses of fading back into Kurusu’s mask.

“I don’t sense any more Shadows in this area. We should be free to walk around a bit!” Morgana strode briskly out into the aforementioned courtyard, chin proudly held high. Yusuke had to admit, for a creature of his stature, Morgana appeared to be quite the capable combatant, and fiercely intelligent. He’d caught snatches of Morgana calling out tactical advice to supplement Kurusu’s orders in nearly every battle that had occurred so far.

Kurusu walked beside Morgana, Takamaki and Sakamoto behind, with Yusuke between them. The cold, foreboding roof of the museum yielded to the unnaturally inky blue night sky outside. Flecks of gold tumbled through the air as if blown by wind, but Yusuke couldn’t feel even a hint of a breeze. The colors of the buildings around them were all too vivid, like a photo with the saturation cranked too high. Before them, the center of the courtyard sprawled, wide open spaces ringed with carefully trimmed hedges and topiaries.

“The Treasure’s in that building!” Morgana hopped excitedly, pointing ahead of them as his feline pupils grew round. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

He dashed past Kurusu without warning, only to leap back as fence posts shot from the ground around them, quickly linking into a dizzying array of laser tripwires and electric currents just like the ones they’d been avoiding this whole time.

“Whoa! Mona, be careful!” Kurusu was quick to drop to one knee, hands raised and poised to check Morgana over. “Did you get zapped? Anything hurt?”

“I’m fine, sheesh!” He batted her hands away, pouting slightly. “Is there any way to disable these fences? A control panel or something?”

“Doesn’t look like there were any other routes on our way here.” Sakamoto had his phone out, scrolling around a map of the museum. Indeed, it seemed that the entire place was a straight shot up until this point.

“And I can’t sense anything of interest.” Kurusu was standing on her toes, peering around the area.

“That door… I recognize it. It’s in the atelier.” His hand twitched, grabbing for a sketchpad and pencil that weren’t there. He’d seen this door-- or, a version of it-- every day he could remember.

“What, with the peacock feathers? That seems like a lot for how, uh, lived-in the atelier is.” Takamaki seemingly cut herself off midway through her second sentence, but Yusuke couldn’t fathom why.

“It’s always locked. Sensei forbids me from entering it.” Yusuke explained as best he could, only realizing as he spoke how suspicious that seemed. There was a creeping dread in his heart that had lurked there since entering this place. If Sensei was capable of this, what other secrets did he hold?

“That’ll be why this area is impassable!” Morgana hopped up onto a nearby low wall, just slightly below eye level, pacing back and forth. “That building represents Madarame’s cognition of that room. And because Madarame thinks the door in reality will only open for him--”

“The one in here is stuck closed.” Kurusu nodded along, seemingly following along with Morgana’s line of thought. It made sense to Yusuke, in an abstract sense; this world was formed from Sensei’s perceptions, after all.

“What!? Man, that’s bullshit! How’re we supposed to get through there if it’s super-locked like that?” Sakamoto’s vocal disagreement was more than a little bemusing.

Yusuke tap-tapped his fingers on the side of his borrowed gun, still in thought. “May I hazard a theory?”

“Not at all,” Kurusu replied immediately. There was a look of something like careful optimism on her face, though it was difficult to read behind the mask. “What’ve you got?”

“Well, if it’s locked in here because Sensei believes that it’s impassable to anyone other than himself, wouldn’t that mean that opening the real door would cause this obstacle to vanish?”

There was silence in the courtyard but for the buzzing of the fence. The self-proclaimed Thieves glanced between each other, then more pointedly at Morgana, who blinked in surprise before grinning widely.

“I think he’s right! We’d be changing Madarame’s cognition, which means altering the landscape of his Palace. It’s a sound plan!”

The blondes cheered, raising their weapons into the air. “Sick, we got a plan! Nice detective work, Kitagawa-kun!” Sakamoto leaned over, laying a hand on Yusuke’s shoulder. Again, he felt that shock run through him, heat and tension and relief all at once, before the hand fell away and he willed himself to resume breathing.

"Hang on, Skull.” She fixed Yusuke with a hard gaze. Not harsh, but full of steel, inquiring as to the strength of his convictions. “Kitagawa-kun, it’s your home, and he’s your mentor. Are you okay with this?”

He paused, ready to answer a resounding yes but frozen in his tracks. The peacock door loomed tall in his memory, present from the earliest moments he could recall. What did Sensei not want him to see? Did horrors worse than those in the Palace lurk within the walls of his home?

The rising anxiety in his chest cooled all of a sudden, assuaged by the faces of the assembled Thieves. Their very presences were reassurances in themselves.

"I can do it," he replied, certain this time. "I may need assistance, but I will lend you what aid I can."

"Thanks," Kurusu said, beaming beneath her mask. The sight brought that inspired joy back to roost in Yusuke's heart. "Let's head home for now and plan our next move."

They exited the Palace together, stepping back into reality. Yusuke already felt lighter on his feet.

Saturday, 5/21
Shibuya
After School

Kurusu had rather deft fingers. Her grasp on her lockpicks had absolutely nothing in common with the technique of holding a brush, but Yusuke could tell they were her instruments, her art.

An actual Phantom Thief… Based on the timeline of events, Kurusu and her friends must be fairly inexperienced, but with an actual successful heist to their names, they were truly professionals. Confident and brave in the face of that distorted world, they could even protect a tourist against the dangers within.

And for the first time, Yusuke was thinking about what lay within the storage closet with the padlock and peacock door.

“Something wrong?”

Yusuke flinched a bit at Kurusu’s voice. “Obviously,” he told her, with no need to explain. “But I’m concerned about what we’re going to find in this room.”

Kurusu’s tools clinked lightly as she picked at the tumblers. “What did you think was in it?”

“Old paintings, as we were told. Or things that Sensei didn’t want us to touch, such as bleach and acetone.”

“Behind a door like this?”

“I had found it fascinating,” Yusuke said, tucking some of his hair behind his ear. He either needed to cut it or let it grow intentionally. “When I was a child, the purpose of art was to make the world beautiful. So plumes of feathers decorating a storage room made sense to me.”

“What’s the purpose of art now?”

“To discover what true beauty is, and show it to the world.”

“Like your painting at the gallery?”

Kurusu’s attention had not slipped from the padlock, but somehow Yusuke felt like she was staring directly at him. “No. True beauty had not been my aim at that time. Sensei had needed a new painting, and in spite of my frustration, he deemed my work sufficient to show.”

To steal, that voice said.

“Regardless,” Yusuke continued, “Once Sensei’s heart is changed, he’ll be capable of demonstrating true beauty again. I can finally learn about true art.”

Kurusu’s ponytail bobbed in a nod, but she was silent. Yusuke’s comment didn’t even hang in the air; it dropped like a thrown pebble, striking nothing.

What was in the closet? What did Madarame cherish? Valuables? Madarame had been plagiarizing from his pupils for so long, maybe there were other things he had stolen from them, too. Or it wasn’t related to his students at all, and it was something else. His own artwork, withheld, as he lazily exploited others? Any other crime Yusuke could imagine wouldn’t make sense to commit at the atelier. Tawdry, inelegant crimes related to drugs or violence took place in faraway seedy bars and warehouses.

Morgana poked his head around the corner. “Are you done yet?” Somehow, Yusuke acquainted himself more easily with the idea of a talking cat than his Sensei’s distorted heart.

“This is harder in the real world,” Kurusu told him, keeping her gaze focused on the lock.

“Do you need to swap? I know it’d be tough with paws, but I am an experienced thief myself.”

Before Kurusu could decide whether she wanted help, Yusuke heard a call from downstairs.

“I’m home!”

And all at once, the depth of Yusuke’s betrayal washed over him. Sensei will be furious. He had already told Yusuke to stop seeing his muses, and here he was with Kurusu, trying to enter a forbidden room! What would he do if he found Yusuke in the storeroom? Even if the Phantom Thieves did change his heart, Yusuke wouldn’t deserve Madarame’s forgiveness--

“Do you need more time?!” Morgana hissed.

“I’m almost done!” Kurusu whispered. “As soon as Madarame sees the door open, go help Ann and Ryuji!”

Morgana darted off to a dark corner of the hallway. Yusuke lost track of his black coat in the gloom.

“Yusuke, are you home?”

Should he call back? They needed Madarame to come by, but not before Kurusu had opened the door! Why did he agree to this?! “Y--Yes, Sensei, I’m here!”

He sounded wrecked. Instantly, Madarame would know he was up to no good. It was just Yusuke, trapped between Madarame and Kurusu who was still picking the lock, a tsunami closing in against a mountainside--

And then the lock clicked. He heard Kurusu say, “All right” under her breath, the instant Madrame rounded the corner. Madarame saw Yusuke, and Kurusu, and the open door behind them.

“What are you doing there!?” he demanded, eyes trained on Yusuke like spearpoints.

Yusuke had no chance to answer him. Kurusu grabbed a fistful of Yusuke’s shirt and bodily dragged him back into the dark storage room. Madarame barked out some other order, but Yusuke had no choice but to fall backwards into the darkness.

When Kurusu found a lightswitch, all Yusuke could see was Sayuri.

At the front of a row of paintings, over a dozen deep. On the wall rack, he caught slivers of the signature down the side, a glimpse of her red clothes, half of a tree’s twig. Among all the paintings in the closet, every other one was a Sayuri.

“Get out!” Madarame ordered. But even if Yusuke wanted to, his feet couldn’t move. There were twenty. Thirty. Forty.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“I suppose I can’t keep quiet, now that you’ve seen this,” Madarame said, his tone changing now that he saw Yusuke would not be moved. “Truth be told, I’m in severe debt. I handmade these ‘Sayuri’ copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine. Since a former pupil who begrudged my strictness stole it long ago, my artist block stopped me from providing for my students, and furthering your talents. So they offered their ideas to me from time to time, and for the rest… Well, you can see now.”

Yusuke glanced from Madarame to the shelves. Mass-producing a classic painting, selling the replicas, trying to keep food on the table? But in the shift of his eyes, Yusuke noticed Kurusu, her gaze leveled at Madarame. Even though firmly in the real world, in all other senses, Kurusu stood in the cognitive museum. She looked like… what had they called her? Joker?

“It’s all my fault,” Madarame continued. “I ask that you forgive your cowardly teacher.”

How many years had it been since Madarame admitted any wrongdoing to Yusuke? He couldn’t recall the last time his teacher had said anything even remotely contrite, because everything he did either had a good reason or a good outcome: “This is how you become an artist, Yusuke. Do as I say.” And all of that had been because Madarame had been struggling to keep up appearances, for Yusuke’s sake--

“Don’t.”

Madarame’s eyes flicked to Kurusu. “What did you say, girl?”

“Don’t you lie to him,” Kurusu said.

“You dare accuse me of lying?”

“You can make copies of this quality from memory?” she asked.

At that, Madarame hesitated. “I happened to find a finely detailed photograph in an artbook.”

“And your buyers are okay with third-rate copies like that? Sayuri, by Madarame, from a photo, in a book?”

“What would you know?” Madarame scoffed, but Kurusu stayed unflinchingly strong.

Without another word, Kurusu turned to an easel covered with a tarp. She tugged on a corner, and the fabric fell away to show yet another Sayuri. And in a single breath, Yusuke knew--the size, the composition, the brushstrokes, the serenity--

“This… this is the real Sayuri!”

“That’s a replica!” Madarame insisted.

Louder than it's ever been, Yusuke felt his entire soul answer, No! As Madarame called it replica, then counterfeit, all of the fear Yusuke had felt before breaking into this room burned away. Something cold and angry and vicious stayed behind.

But rather than tell the truth, Madarame pulled out his cell phone and made a call. “I’ve reported you to my private security company! I never thought it’d come in so handy. So, consider this your final warning, Yusuke.”

Yusuke met Madarame’s eyes, strict as ever, expecting Yusuke to fall in line like he always had before. “I warned you against those unsightly models, but you brought one here, specifically to defy my rules. If you agree to never speak of this again, then my security will only arrest this girl.”

Kurusu leaned, with barely a shift of her weight, and Yusuke could feel her place herself between Madarame and Yusuke.

“Try me,” Kurusu growled.

“I’m not frightened of brats like you and your friends,” Madarame said. “My security will be here in two minutes! There’s nowhere for you to go!”

Go… Just like Kurusu sent Morgana away.

Yusuke reached out for Kurusu’s wrist. “Don’t,” he said. “Not here.”

“Where else but here? You can run, but you’ll be found!”

But Yusuke did run. Holding Kurusu’s hand, Yusuke ran for the door, past Madrame and into a familiar hallway, made strange and horrible by what he had just found.

“Yusuke!” Madarame called after him again. “Yusuke, come back here!”

“We need to go to that place!” Yusuke told Kurusu in a rush. “It’s the only way to escape!”

He barely had to glance back to know Kurusu had her phone in hand. They rounded a corner towards the living room just as the world melted around them.

The ground was absent for a split second as air rushed past Yusuke's face. He thought to scream, but found his lungs empty, breath stolen by the wind. His eyes slammed shut just as a pair of arms encircled him.

And then, all of a sudden, it was over, the landing jolting him and making his jaw ache with how hard it had been clenched. Kurusu dropped him a short distance to the floor from her kneeling position.

He recognized their location as the Palace’s courtyard after a moment. The fences had dropped already, returning the space to the way they’d initially found it. The gates on the far end lay wide open, revealing the entrance to the museum beyond. The air was thicker than it had been before, the whole place seeming to thrum with an energy that crept into his bones and rekindled that familiar urge to panic.

A grunt from beside him caught his attention, and he turned to belatedly recognize that Kurusu was kneeling, clutching one ankle and squeezing her eyes shut. Yusuke straightened himself into a crouch, hands reaching aimlessly forward, unsure of what to do. He had to do something, had to help--

"Are you hurt? Can you stand?" He watched Kurusu wince as she tried to put weight on the thing, reaching for her mask after a moment.

“I can walk,” she hissed. “Let’s get to cover.” She stalked along the low hedges in a crouch, clearly favoring her good foot, and Yusuke scrambled after her. “The others must have taken care of whatever guards were behind the gate. Must be why the security level’s so high.”

“Were they found?” Yusuke asked. Scorch marks littered the floor just inside the gate, and the air still crackled with a slight amount of static that made the hairs on his arm stand on end. There had been a battle here, and a violent one at that.

“They had ways of escaping in case they couldn’t fight their way out,” she said, pressing herself up against the wall and peering around the corner. “There should be a security room in here that controls the courtyard. If they didn’t go back to the entrance, they’ll be there.”

Across the way, Yusuke’s eye was suddenly drawn to a yellow glove emerging from a glass door. Kurusu clearly saw it too, as she grabbed his arm and bolted for the door, staying low and among the shadows. The door slid open just enough for her to slink inside, Yusuke fumbling in her wake before being pulled under a desk where a leather-clad finger pressed hurriedly against his lips.

“Keep your voices down!” Sakamoto hissed beside him. Yusuke felt his heart rate skyrocket as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. Takamaki and Kurusu were huddled under the desk opposite them, Morgana beside that one. “We took out the Shadow guarding this place and shut off the security, but the whole place is crazy alerted now. Shit, Joker, what happened to your ankle!?”

Kurusu hissed again as Sakamoto whisper-shouted. “Landed on it wrong. Worry about it later.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath, before she continued. “Why didn’t you use the Goho-M? We could’ve met up at the entrance!” Kurusu’s expression was mostly hidden by the darkness and her mask, but her voice was full of incredulity and, if Yusuke’s ear was accurate, fear.

“It didn’t work! The security level must be messing with it!” Takamaki explained frantically, gesturing aimlessly with her hands. “I think our only option is to book it for the safe room.”

“Okay,” Kurusu breathed, pinching her nose. “Mona, how are we with Shadows? Do you sense anything nearby?”

“Hard to say,” came the reply. His eyes shone unnaturally blue in the dark. “They’re definitely restless, I can tell you that much.”

Kurusu swore under her breath, checking her pistol and adjusting her glove. “I really don’t like this, but I don’t think we have another option. Everybody set to go? Kitagawa?” She turned to him specifically, and he grabbed for a response as best he could.

“I-I am,” he mumbled. Truthfully, his legs felt just shy of stable, but he had to keep up. The adrenaline would carry him through. It had to.

“Okay,” she said. “There’s no cover in that courtyard, so once we start running, we make a break for the safe room.”

She emerged from beneath the desk, crouching low by the door. The others followed suit, and Yusuke trailed behind them, emulating their stances as best he could.

“On my mark,” Kurusu whispered, bracing to run. Yusuke readied himself as best he could. He would not let himself fall behind. “Three, two, one… go!”

The Thieves bolted from the door, Yusuke lagging just a second behind them. They were fast, much faster than him, and his legs and lungs burned with the effort of keeping pace. A siren blared somewhere, filling the space with not just sound, but seemingly the very essence of hostility. The Thieves ahead of him were shouting something he couldn’t hear, not over the alarm and the awful squelching sounds bursting in succession behind him. He didn’t dare look back, not with such malevolence bearing down on his very soul--

He barely had time to blink before Kurusu collapsed in front of him.

She tumbled to the floor, crying out as she landed in a heap. For an instant, Yusuke could have sworn her foot was pointing the wrong way, but it seemed positioned correctly as he approached. Kurusu howled in pain, clutching at her leg. Yusuke kept running.

“AKIZA!”

Sakamoto’s voice boomed like thunder as pivoted in his sprint, sliding on his knees to land at Kurusu’s side. Takamaki and Morgana came up behind him, weapons drawn but clearly out of breath. For the first time since entering the Palace, he got a good look at them, and saw clearly the weariness in their faces. Whatever enemies they had fought earlier had clearly not been simple foes.

“Hey, hey, ‘Kiza, I gotcha, okay?” Sakamoto gingerly threaded his arms beneath Kurusu’s form, picking her up bridal-style. She grunted in pain again as she shifted, eyes screwed shut behind her mask. “Mona, heal her!”

“I can’t! I used up all my energy in the fight earlier!” The cat-creature crouched in a fighting stance, saber at the ready and eyes trained on the encroaching guards.

They took off as quickly as they could, but the delay had been long enough for the guards to close the gap. Uniformed people with heart-shaped masks cut off their exit, and the group screeched to a halt.

Yusuke’s fists clenched; he was so useless, why was he even here? He could have taken Sensei’s fury for Kurusu while she escaped, and she wouldn’t have had to catch him, so she wouldn’t have been injured, and his muses wouldn’t be trapped. Anger and shame boiled in his gut, burning him from the inside. His head pounded, he felt sick, he felt dizzy--

He heard a laugh ring out across the courtyard, so alien and yet so familiar. A shiver rocketed up his spine as the rest of the world seemed to dim.

“Welcome,” said the voice of his Sensei. “to the museum of the master artist Madarame!”

The guards parted, and there stood his Sensei, clad in an obscene golden hakama, face painted in a caricature of stage makeup. His eyes burned a sickly, sulfurous yellow that pierced through Yusuke, leaving him feeling contaminated.

“Sensei!?”

“That’s not him,” Kurusu groaned behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see her still in Sakamoto’s arms, face twisted in pain, one eye cracked open. “That’s his Shadow. It’s how he sees himself.”

Sensei’s wicked grin was unlike anything Yusuke had ever seen on the man, all wicked angles and too many teeth. “Tell me,” he pleaded. “If you’re Sensei, please, tell me! It’s not true, is it? Everything in the storage room, the copies, the Sayuri! It’s all a misunderstanding, right!?”

That laugh came again, kindling the flame of sadness-rejection-guilt-shame in Yusuke’s chest hotter still. “Your friend had the right of it,” he crowed. “It was all a ruse! A setup to sell fake Sayuris to stuck-up art snobs who want to be the sole owners of a lost work!”

“No,” he whispered, falling to his knees. “No, that can’t be… That’s...” His chest burned, heat spreading up his neck. His whole body felt aflame, scorched by the shame of his cowardice. He knew Sensei spoke the truth. It made too much sense to be another lie.

“Art has no inherent value, you naive boy. It’s all an illusion based on scarcity! What’s the harm in providing that illusion to those willing to pay for it?” Sensei kept speaking, but Yusuke couldn’t even meet his gaze anymore.

They’d known. They had to have known. They’d come into his life and seen through the veil that he’d placed over his own eyes.

I was so blind.

“You took care of me,” he murmured, grasping for something, anything. “You raised me, you taught me! You were the one who made me love art! Why, if all of it was a lie!?”

The Shadow scoffed. “The same reason I took in any of the other pupils! Talented but troubled children are perfect sources of ideas and works to sell as my own! It’s not as if they can fight back!”

As it so often did, the memory of finding Touma-san in the bathroom forced itself upon Yusuke. He willed himself not to be sick right then, only barely succeeding. The fire in his chest was all-burning, all-consuming. His skull pounded, his vision swam, and the Shadow’s laughter scraped against his soul.

“You,” he whispered. “are unforgivable.”

The laughter ceased. Someone behind him gasped, barely audible.

“I don’t care what you’ve done for me,” he continued. His hands grabbed at the tile floor, trembling as he seethed. “I won’t forgive you for this!”

“Such ingratitude! You could’ve been rotting in the street all these years if not for me! Guards, get these thieves out of my sight at once!” The Shadow clapped twice, and Yusuke could hear the guards advancing.

“Get back,” Takamaki said. “Kitagawa-kun, get back!”

But her voice was so, so far away right now.

“I let myself be fooled-- no, I fooled myself for far too long.” His voice grew in volume, in conviction. The fire inside him dulled, replaced by something ice cold and bone-deep. Something unrelenting and demanding. “I blinded myself, all so that I wouldn’t have to acknowledge the truth of this one wretched man!”

Have you finally come to your senses?

Something slammed into Yusuke’s skull from the inside, and all the air left his lungs.

You were a fool to avert your eyes from the truth. A deplorable imitation.

I know, he thought. I was a coward! I hid because I feared the truth! I sat back and did nothing while he made us suffer!

If you reject your old weakness so, you had best part with that aspect of yourself!

A scream tore itself raw from Yusuke’s chest, hoarse and agonized, before he fell silent again. One hand clawed slowly, harshly at the floor, tearing the skin of his fingertips and leaving streaks of crimson blood on the golden stones.

Let us now forge a contract, the voice said.

Gladly, he replied.

“I am thou. Thou art I.”

He heard his own voice reverberate across the courtyard, drowning out everything else, demanding that all present bear witness.

“The world is filled with both beauty and vice,” he said as he stood. Azure flames burst to life before his eyes, and the weight of a mask made itself known. His fingers, still dripping with blood, raised to it, painting lines across its alabaster form, finding the edge. “We will show you devils which is which!”

He tore the mask free, and his soul burst forth.

Heatless flame cascaded across the courtyard. He didn’t have to look to feel the towering presence behind him. At his hip, the weight of a sheathed katana-- a fitting choice of weapon, in his mind. The frigid anger and hatred that permeated his bones seeped forth, dancing between his fingertips in arcs of snowflakes. He clenched his fist, feeling the ice dance at his gesture.

“It truly is a breathtaking sight,” he remarked, standing taller than he ever had before and nodding towards the Shadow. “The look of fear you now wear suits you.”

“S-shut up! How dare you disrespect me in my own museum!” The Shadow swept one arm forward gracelessly, gesturing towards Yusuke. “Guards, go! Kill them all!”

The hulking creatures rushed forwards.

“Goemon,” Yusuke said with a raise of his hand. “Shatter these illusions.”

The figure behind him raised its pipe, taking a deep draught before letting loose a stream of breath. Ice formed in an instant on the ground, the rushing guards slowing in their advance before being frozen completely.

“This is impressive,” Morgana exclaimed. “He’s amazingly strong!”

“Yo, Yusuke, kick his ass!” Sakamoto whooped behind him.

“We’re with you, so you can count on us!” Takamaki’s voice rang out as well, alongside the crack of her whip.

Yusuke smiled simply, revelling in this rush of power. He glanced over his shoulder, finally feeling as if he was something of an equal to the Thieves.

“Thank you,” he said, and he felt true joy show on his face. “Now, allow me--!”

He crouched low, one hand on the sheathe at his hip, the other on the handle of the katana, and dashed forward.

Chapter Text

Saturday, 5/21
Yongen-Jaya
Late Night

"The good news is that it's not broken. Bad news, it is sprained." Takemi turned in her chair to face Akiza, legs crossed. "Not gonna need a cast, but I'll give you a brace to keep it straight, plus some light painkillers just to take the edge off."

"How bad is it?" Akiza craned her neck from her laid-down position, trying to glimpse the x-rays pinned up behind Takemi. She hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't be more than a few days to recover. Madarame would be breathing down their necks after the stunt they'd pulled, and they needed to clear the Palace as soon as possible--

"Ballpark, one to three weeks. Depends on how good you are about resting it."

Fuck.

Akiza let out a long sigh, gazing up at the white tiled ceiling. Takemi chuckled next to her.

"Be more careful and you won't be stuck in bed for another week." She stood from her chair, stretching a bit as she moved to rifle through a box under the exam bed Akiza was laying on. She paused after a moment, seemingly in thought. "...Do you consider yourself to have a lot of stamina?"

Akiza blinked, mentally stalling out at the sudden diversion and eventually settling on an ambivalent “I guess so? I do pretty well in gym class.”

Takemi hummed. “Do you get sick often? And how severe is it when you do?”

“Um, not very often, and it’s not usually too bad. I had the flu once a few years ago, but it was gone in a few days.”

“That’s to be expected,” she mused, still rummaging through the box. “And no adverse effects from the HRT, right?”

“None,” Akiza answered. Where was Takemi going with this…? Finally, Takemi straightened up, fitting the brace onto Akiza’s foot.

“Once you get back on your feet, how’d you like to help me with clinical trials for a new medication I’m developing? Nothing too strenuous, you’d just come in for some basic vitals tests and self-reporting on how you feel. In and out in twenty minutes, once every couple weeks. And--” she said, cutting Akiza off before she had a chance to speak up. “I’ll be willing to sell you some stronger meds in exchange. What do you think?”

Akiza laid her head back, chewing her lip. Based on Takemi’s description, it would be quick, relatively easy, and make life easier in the Metaverse. And, hey, helping develop new medications was good, right?

“I’ll do it,” Akiza said, just as Takemi finished adjusting the tightness on her brace.

“We have a deal, then. I’ll get you crutches to take home, but you shouldn’t be up and moving more than absolutely necessary. If you’re not taking your recovery seriously, then our deal’s off. Okay?” Takemi ducked behind the curtain sectioning off part of her exam room, presumably to retrieve the crutch.

Akiza thumped her forehead lightly, tormented by the idea of a week without Palace progress, especially with an inexperienced addition to the team.

“Okay.”

Saturday, 5/21
Yongen-Jaya
Late Night

The others were still in the waiting room when she emerged, each looking anxious in their own ways. Ryuji and Ann lit up like fireworks when she entered the room, wide smiles on their faces as they bolted to her side. Yusuke stood as well, looking much more relaxed but no less relieved.

Ryuji was on her with questions in an instant. “How is it? You gonna be able to walk?”

“Not really,” Akiza mumbled. “I’m not supposed to walk on it for at least a week once I get to Leblanc. Might be three weeks.” Something about his concern embarrassed her; it was only natural for him to worry about her, she would do the same for any of the Thieves, but still…

“Three? But what about--” Ann was cut off with a hasty shushing motion from Akiza, and a hissed not here! from Morgana, still hidden in Akiza’s bag. “--But what about school?”

Akiza shrugged. “Staying home, I guess. Takemi was very clear that I’m not supposed to walk on it.”

“We should get you back to your place, then. Here, lemme help you?” Ryuji took a half step closer to her, arms slightly raised. Akiza nodded carefully, and he slipped beside her, one hand under her knees and the other at her back. “Ready?”

O-oh.

She nodded again, and Ryuji gently pulled her into his grasp. Ann, thankfully, had the presence of mind to take Akiza’s crutches as she settled into his arms, while Yusuke took the small bag of ice packs and painkillers Takemi had given her.

“Gonna have to point me towards your place,” he said as he made for the exit, Yusuke and Ann trailing in his wake. As he stepped out into the cool night air, Akiza curled closer to his chest, pulling her arms around herself as a faint heat rose to her face.

I can feel his heartbeat…

The walk back to Leblanc was silent, save for Akiza’s single reminder to turn right. Yusuke, Ann, and Morgana stayed quiet as well, but at one point Akiza glanced back and saw a faint smile on their faces.

Morgana emerged from Akiza’s bag holding her key between his teeth, which Yusuke thankfully took and unlocked the cafe with. Ann turned on the lights at Akiza’s gesture, and Ryuji began moving towards the stairs.

“So you live here? I figured this was just that old guy’s shop.” Ryuji spoke quietly, stepping sideways to avoid hitting Akiza’s feet against the line of chairs at the counter.

“He lives down the street. I sleep in the attic here.” Akiza supposed that the arrangement would probably sound strange to anyone else, but after a month, the attic was starting to feel just a little more like hers.

Ryuji hummed, taking the stairs slowly. “He must really trust you, if he’s cool with letting you sleep in his shop.”

Akiza blinked slightly at that. Initially she’d thought it was just to keep her out of his house, but the more she got to know Sojiro, the less that seemed like the case. Even if he was supportive of her, he didn’t really have much of a reason to trust her in his place of business unsupervised, at least not right when she’d arrived. There had to be a reason he’d put her here, right? Was there something in his house that he didn’t want her to see? He had been very clear that she wasn’t allowed to explore his house beyond the bathroom, but…

Her train of thought was cut off as Ryuji approached the bed, Ann and Yusuke behind him. “Here, legs up, Ann can you move the-- yeah, right there, thanks. Okay, setting you down now… okay, good. Yusuke, can you put some ice on the-- okay, cool, thanks. You comfy?”

Akiza stretched as much as she could, heaving out a deep breath as Ryuji set her down. Her leg was elevated, ankle wrapped in an ice pack, as the others gathered around her bedside. The attic was still very much an attic, free of any kind of decoration or personalization, and there was something awkward about having the people she cared about see how… plain her room was.

“I’m good, yeah, thanks. Sorry about… all this.” She gestured down at her ankle, blowing out a huff at a stray lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. “Me being laid up in bed is gonna put a damper on things.”

“Hey, don’t apologize,” Ryuji said, crouching beside her. “You did what you had to do. We wouldn’t have gotten that door open without you.”

“And you got all that information out of Madarame when he found you,” Morgana added. He’d curled up on her stomach as he so often did, kneading away at her belly. The weight was something she’d grown accustomed to over time, and it struck her right then that she’d probably have trouble getting to sleep without it at this point.

“And I would have surely fallen to my death if you had not caught me. You saved my life tonight, Kurusu-san.” Yusuke sat on the tiny couch beside Ann, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but Akiza supposed that was reasonable considering everything that he’d seen tonight. On top of that, he seemed to waver slightly, nodding off for a moment now and then.

Akiza laughed just a bit. “You can call me Akiza if you want,” she said. “You saved my life tonight too. All of our lives.”

Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking down and away. “Very well, Kuru- Akiza,” he said, correcting himself. “In that case, please, call me Yusuke. That goes for all of you.” The sound of the door unlocking downstairs cut off any response from them.

“Kid, you here?” Sojiro’s voice was muffled through the floorboards, but still clear enough. It was hard to tell, but Akiza swore there was some real concern bleeding into his tone.

“Up here,” she called. “My friends are here too.”

The others mostly idled awkwardly, waiting as the thudding of Sojiro’s feet progressed from the cafe floor to the creaky wooden stairs and up into the attic. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?” He walked briskly to her bedside, brow furrowed, and decisively did not acknowledge the three other people in the room.

"I tripped going up some stairs in Shibuya Station," she lied. "Landed weird on my ankle, so the others helped me to the clinic here in Yongen."

"That little place? Why not an actual emergency room?" His brow furrowed, and as Akiza heard him speak more, she confirmed her hunch; he was really worried about her.

“I trust Dr. Takemi. I didn’t want to risk going somewhere else."

Sojiro heaved out a sigh, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I'm glad you're not worse off. How long are you gonna be laid up?"

Akiza sucked a breath in through clenched teeth. "One to three weeks, depending on how good I am about resting it."

Sojiro's brows leapt upwards. "That's a lot of school to miss."

"I can help with that!" Ann raised her hand cheerfully, pulling Sojiro's attention away from Akiza for the first time since he'd entered. "I sit right in front of her in class, so I can bring her assignments over and let her review my notes."

"That's-- That's very kind of you," he said, tone warming up gradually. "I don't believe I got you kids' names last time I saw you. And I've never seen you before." He nodded to Yusuke at that last point, before Ann spoke up.

"Ann Takamaki," she chirped. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" The exhaustion of fighting their way out of a Palace was present in her voice, but it was easily passed off as a consequence of having helped Akiza across town in a hurry.

"I'm Ryuji. Uh, Sakamoto." Ryuji's voice was a little stiff, and as Akiza got a better look at him, he seemed the slightest bit uncomfortable, fidgeting in that agitated way he sometimes did. What was he nervous about? Akiza could only assume it was something to do with her injury, which caused her no end of her own anxiety.

“And I am Yusuke Kitagawa,” Yusuke said, standing and bowing formally. “I apologize for the intrusion.”

Sojiro waved him off. “No need to apologize. You kids did what you could. I’m Sojiro Sakura, but most people call me Boss. Still, this is a real hassle…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up slightly and sighing. Akiza chewed her lip; the last thing she needed right now was to irritate Sojiro as well.

“I’m sorry,” Akiza said quietly, looking down towards the end of the bed. “I was careless and now I’m making trouble for you because of it.”

Sojiro’s brow furrowed. “What? Kid, come on, it was an accident. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He paused, scratching the back of his neck again. “I’m just worried about how I’m gonna run the shop and take care of you at the same time.”

"Lemme handle it!" Ryuji said quickly. "I can come over after school and make sure she's okay. I had an injury like this a while back, so I kinda know how to help.”

"I will assist in this effort," Yusuke added. "Any aid that I can offer, I give gladly."

“Me too! Even if it’s just keeping her company.” Ann chimed in with a smile.

“And I’m always with her anyway! We’re partners!” Morgana’s statement was accented by the pride on his face, and even though Sojiro only heard meowing, Akiza was still touched at the affirmation.

Sojiro sighed again, shoulders relaxing a bit. “Well, kid? You okay with these three and your cat taking care of you?”

Akiza’s head spun. She should know by this point that they cared about her, especially Ryuji, but to hear them so casually and immediately offer to keep her company and take care of her? It sounded strange in her ears, even as her friends (and boyfriend) volunteered so readily. The idea of being taken care of was… unfamiliar, to say the least.

“That’d be nice,” she said after a moment. Truth be told, the company was likely what she was most looking forward to. Yusuke was still something of an enigma to her, and the opportunity to continue to get to know him was enticing. Plus, she could probably use this as a way to get some alone time with Ryuji…

Sojiro grunted in affirmation. “Works for me. For right now, you kids have a way home tonight, right?”

“Um, I think the trains are gonna stop for the night before I get home…” Ann fidgeted with a ponytail.

“Boss, can I talk to you for a sec?” Akiza spoke up quickly before anybody else had a chance to chime in. Sojiro looked skeptical but still obliged her, crouching down where he could hear her speak quietly. “Yusuke is in kind of a rough situation right now. He… his father’s been drinking and he needs somewhere to stay, just for tonight. And he feels safe when we’re all with him. I know it’s a big ask, but…”

Sojiro’s brow furrowed in thought. Akiza was, admittedly, gambling here; his willingness to take her in and his seeming concern for her wellbeing led her to believe that there was a weakness for troubled teenagers hiding behind his glasses. She didn’t feel great about having to lie about Yusuke’s circumstances, but it was plausible and, hopefully, would get them one night at Leblanc.

His jaw tensed, then relaxed as he sighed. “You have a funny idea of staying out of trouble, kid. You’re sure that injury was from a fall?”

“Yes,” she said after a pause that felt just a heartbeat too long. “I fell. Seriously.” Sojiro continued to fix her with his gaze, searching for something, before standing, apparently satisfied, and turning towards the others.

“I’ll go get some futons, you kids sit tight. There’s a bathhouse across the way if you want.” Everyone’s faces brightened at least a little bit; Yusuke’s mouth perked up into a smile, while Ann beamed and Ryuji bowed gratefully. Sojiro merely nodded as he set off down the stairs, the jingle of the door bell sounding shortly after.

“This is great, we get to do another sleepover!” Ann bounced in her seat, clearly delighted. “The last one was great, and now we have Yusuke with us!”

“Indeed,” Yusuke hummed. “I really must thank you for allowing me to stay here tonight. I… wouldn’t feel safe returning to the atelier at the moment.”

“Has Madarame tried to contact you since we left the Palace?” Morgana raised his head, tail swishing.

“Not to my knowledge,” Yusuke answered. “Perhaps that is for the best. I… don’t know what to expect after all that happened today. Madarame will tolerate my absence for the time being, but he will surely take action once the exhibit is over...”

“I don’t think it’s worth worrying about right now,” Akiza interjected. She could see the look on Yusuke’s face, eyes narrowed just slightly and brow tensed, and knew to step in to prevent him from spiralling. “There’s not really anything we can do at the moment, so we should probably just relax and try to recuperate.”

Yusuke blinked. “I… right,” he murmured. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“This couch sucks.”

“Y’shouldn’t’ve drawn the short straw then,” Ryuji mumbled into his pillow. Ann huffed indignantly, attempting again to find a comfortable position on the thing.

“Sorry about the couch,” Akiza called from her own bed. “Hopefully I can convince Sojiro to get another futon next time.”

"I don't know what you mean," Morgana yawned from his spot on Akiza's chest. "The couch is fine. I've napped there before."

"For you, maybe. It's gonna kill my back!"

“These futons are quite comfortable,” Yusuke remarked. “Much nicer than the ones at the atelier.”

Ann groaned again. “Go ahead, rub it in. At least the bath was nice.”

“Now who’s the one rubbing it in?” Akiza smiled wryly over at Ann. She had stayed behind while the others used the bathhouse (for obvious reasons), and as much as she really wanted to shower after all the exertion of today, she’d accepted that she was going to have to survive for a while without one. Even if one of the others were to help her hobble over to Sojiro’s, that kind of activity should probably come after some rest and healing.

“Okay, fair,” Ann said through a little laugh. She stretched, repositioning on the couch yet again, before groaning dramatically and surging to her feet, pillow in hand, hopping over Ryuji's prone form to Akiza's bedside. "Nevermind, fuck that. Scooch," she said, gesturing with her hands.

Akiza and Morgana blinked in unison. "What?"

"There's no way I'm gonna be able to sleep on that couch, so scoot over and I'll sleep next to you." She said it so matter-of-factly that Akiza almost didn't question it, exhausted as she was. Almost.

"I, um," she said eloquently. "Are you sure?"

"I'm totally sure! C'mon, pleeeeease?"

"She used to do this to me an' Shiho too," Ryuji mumbled. "Just go with it."

Okay, Akiza thought. You're a mature, levelheaded person who can handle sleeping in a bed with your friend for one night. Relax. Wordlessly, Akiza shifted closer to the wall, mindful of her ankle, and raised the blanket.

"Thank youuuu!" Ann sounded elated as she climbed into bed. Morgana merely sighed as he hopped down to the floor.

"I'll take the couch, then," he said dryly as he wound between Ryuji and Yusuke. "Akiza, can I have one of your old shirts to sleep on?"

"Go ahead," she agreed. Not like she was planning on wearing a freshman year sports day shirt any time soon. "You comfy?"

"Yup! You'll barely know I'm here." Ann settled herself down, tucking her loose mass of hair under her head and wiggling under the covers.

“Liar,” Ryuji called. “You starfish hard.”

“Can’t hear you, sleeping now!”

“Yeah, yeah. G’night everybody.” Ryuji waved dismissively before rolling over, tugging his blanket up over his head, leaving only a shock of blond peeking out. How is he so cute?

Yusuke, for his money, seemed to already be asleep, on his back with his arms draped loosely across his stomach. Akiza wasn’t surprised; today had been rough on him, physically and emotionally, to say nothing of the days preceding this one spent dancing around Madarame. Morgana had indeed curled up on a shirt atop the couch, and the dim street lights flickered through the frosted window panes of the attic.

And that left… Ann. Try as she might, it was near impossible to give Ann quite enough berth, leaving the two of them slightly pressed up against each other. Ann was on her side, facing away from Akiza, seemingly relaxed and unbothered by their closeness.

“Everything okay? I’m not crowding your ankle, am I?” Ann whispered low, looking back over her shoulder. Her voice barely carried above the low hum of the fridge downstairs.

“No, no, you’re fine,” Akiza assured. No, she was just… a little agitated about the Madarame situation. Perfectly normal stress. Nothing to do with the fact that Ann was here, in Akiza’s bed, wearing Akiza’s pajamas, smelling like shampoo and clean towels and so warm-- a comforting, round warmth like that of a smooth stone heated by the sun.

“Cool,” Ann said after a pause. “Well, um… good night.”

“Good night,” Akiza echoed, closing her eyes and doing her best to fall asleep to the sound of Ann’s breathing.

The sound of sirens. Cold metal biting her wrists, the heat of the engine radiating through the car’s hood against her face. A cell, freezing and dark and unyielding. Men in suits, the fall of the gavel, rough hands and the wrong name and no, no, NO--

Akiza gasped for air, waking with a jolt as her eyes snapped open in the darkness. Her hands gripped the sheets, so tight that it hurt, but she couldn’t let go, couldn’t force her fingers to yield, not when every muscle in her body was so tense that she couldn’t move. All that surrounded her was dark-- the cell, she was back in the cell, alone and afraid and furious and cold, so cold, please I’m so hungry I’m sorry I didn’t--

“Akiza? Akiza, hey, can you hear me?”

Her head whipped around at the sound of a voice, fast enough to hurt. She stared uncomprehending at the person, just a vague blob of shapes and colors, breathing hard and fast through clenched teeth.

“I-- oh, god… Akiza, it’s me,” the voice whispered. “It’s Ann! I’m right here, can you hear me?”

“Where--” she croaked.

“Leblanc,” the voice said. “You’re in Leblanc, in Yongen-Jaya, where you live. Do you remember me?”

Akiza wracked her brain, panicked as it was, like a terrified animal hissing and spitting at any who dared approach. Pretty laugh, blue eyes, red whip, Panther--

“Ann,” she said haltingly, reaching for her with a trembling hand, grasping weakly at her. “H-help me. Please.”

Ann moved without a second thought, wrapping her arms around Akiza and pulling her protectively to her chest. One hand found Akiza’s hair, petting it slowly and carefully, while the other rested on her lower back.

“I’m right here,” she whispered. “You’re safe. You’re right here with me.” Akiza didn’t respond, burying her face in the soft linen of Ann’s borrowed shirt, trying to focus on the feeling of Ann’s hands on her, grounding her in the present. A heaving, silent sob rattled Akiza’s frame hard enough to make her tense again. Ann merely kept going, making quiet shushing sounds and reassuring her. “Morgana’s here, Ryuji’s here, Yusuke’s here. They’re all still asleep. It’s just us, the door is locked. We’re all safe here. You’re safe.”

Minutes or hours passed, Akiza couldn’t tell which. All she knew was that by the end, the tension had finally left her body, replaced by an awful, bone-deep exhaustion, the kind that precluded sleep and robbed her of the will to move, sickening in its familiarity. At last, she had some control of her breath, forcing herself to stay in a regular, slow pattern. Ann had stopped her whispering at some point, carrying on with the careful ministrations of her hands.

“Thank you,” Akiza mumbled, hoarse and low. “You’re good at this.”

“I’ve had some practice,” Ann admitted. “How are you feeling?”

“Bad.” Akiza laughed for just a second, wry and bitter. She felt some of Ann's nervousness ebb out of her body as she did, and unconsciously curled deeper into her embrace.

“I’ll listen if you wanna talk,” Ann whispered. Her voice was soft, delicate in its phrasing, and Akiza found herself drawn to it in an inescapable way. Here, enfolded in Ann's arms, was warmth enough to stave off the cold.

"The cop who arrested me lived on my street," Akiza began, letting words tumble out before she could stop them. She didn't know where she was going with this, but it was too late to stop now. "I didn't know him very well, but his daughter was nice. I used to walk her to school most days. She's fourteen, I think. I hope she's okay."

"Did he hurt you? Sorry," Ann added when she felt Akiza tense again.

"No, it's okay. Just… remembering." Akiza took a deep breath, holding it to the count of five and letting it out again, slackening back into her nervous relaxation. "I begged him to stick up for me, but he wouldn't do it. Just read me my rights and yanked the handcuffs on hard enough to bruise my wrists. Somebody else shoved me into the squad car and I hit my head on the top of the door. I was so dizzy I threw up in the backseat on the way to the station because they wouldn't pull over."

"Fuck," Ann murmured. Somehow, it sounded wrong coming from her lips.

"Yeah," Akiza said. She curled up a little more, grabbing pitifully at the front of Ann's shirt as she pressed on. "My parents were away on business when it happened, so they kept me in juvie until they got back." She swallowed thickly. "Eight months."

"Oh my god, that's--"

"It was so cold. It was February when I got there, and nobody came to see me except to give me food, and I couldn't take a bath, I couldn't take my hormones, and I couldn't shave so I started pulling the hairs on my face out with my fingers and--"

Perhaps mercifully, a sob cut her off, ripping through her body once again as the crying came back. Ann resumed her soothing touches immediately, even as Akiza heard Ann's tears falling onto the pillow.

"You pretty much know the rest," Akiza croaked weakly when the moment had passed. "I'm sorry for dumping this on you."

"Don't be," Ann said. "You went through something fucking awful. It's okay to not be okay, y'know?"

"I guess," she admitted. "I didn't tell anybody else when it happened. I guess I figured I should just keep my head down to avoid getting hurt again."

"You can always talk to me. I mean it," Ann insisted. "If you ever, ever need anything, even if it's just a hug, say the word. Okay?"

Akiza looked up for the first time, gazing up at the soft curves of Ann's face lit by the dim street lights outside, blue eyes shimmering wetly with unspent tears like gemstones in the dark.

"Okay," she whispered. "Can… Can we go back to sleep?"

"Yeah, of course." Ann pulled Akiza tighter into her arms, nuzzling her nose into the top of Akiza's fluffy hair. Distantly, Akiza was aware that in any other circumstance, her heart would be hammering out of her chest at Ann's closeness and affection. But right now, she couldn't bring herself to care. "Sleep well," Ann said quietly.

"You too," Akiza mumbled, already feeling sleep begin to take her. "Thanks."

As she fell back asleep at last, she faintly felt Ann's lips touch the top of her head, and heard a whispered anything for you.

Chapter Text

Sunday, 5/22
Cafe Leblanc
Morning

Distantly, a light scritch-scratch sound tugged Akiza towards wakefulness. In grand defiance of its pull, she mumbled in her slumber, burrowing deeper into the soft warmth that she found herself curled against.

“Oh, that is simply perfect…”

New voice. Whose voice? Not Ryuji, not Morgana, so…

“Mnnngh’morning...” Akiza blinked, the warmth below her stretching and shifting as it spoke, and as she propped herself up on her elbows and pawed for her glasses she felt her hand brush against a mass of hair that definitely wasn’t hers.

“Oh,” she murmured. “Uh, hi Ann.”

Ann, as it turned out, was splayed out under her, idly scratching at her stomach where her shirt (borrowed from Akiza, and apparently too small) had ridden up, other hand rubbing at her eye. “Heya,” she said sleepily, blinking blearily at Akiza with a sleepy smile that set Akiza’s heart fluttering. “How’d you sleep?”

“F-fine,” Akiza said quickly, finally finding her glasses and slipping them on. Some part of her screamed to scoot away, to give Ann some space, but… Ann clearly wasn’t in a hurry. And she was still very warm.

Scritch-scratch caught her ear again, and a look towards her desk revealed Yusuke, hunched over a sketchpad in what was almost definitely an awful position for his back, pencil moving this way and that. “Hi, Yusuke,” she said with a small wave, moving to the side just a tad to allow Ann to sit up.

He didn’t react immediately, but after a moment, his pencil paused, and he looked up towards them. He brushed his bangs back behind his ear with a look of mildly startled wonderment on his face not unlike that of a wide-eyed deer caught in the headlights of a car. “Oh, er, good morning,” he said abruptly. “I apologize, I just happened to notice that the two of you were arranged in a most beautiful pose, and I just had to sketch it.”

“Oh man, I must’ve been a disaster. You sure I looked good?” Ann smiled snarkily as she pulled her hair up into a loose bun. Akiza couldn’t help but laugh behind her hand.

“Absolutely radiant. Here, have a look.” Yusuke passed the sketchbook over to them, and sure enough, there on the page was a rendition of two figures curled against each other in a small bed, blanket draped across their embrace. Despite its lack of color, the fan of Ann’s hair was unmistakable, as was the dark mop of Akiza’s. He’d even gone so far as to trace the morning sunbeams filtering into the room, lighting up the sheets in the pattern of the window’s panes.

“This is… this is really pretty,” Akiza breathed. Something about being drawn while she slept in such a position with Ann was… disarming? Unusual? Something she couldn’t grasp. Seeing herself through Yusuke’s eyes, even only partially, stirred something deep in her heart that she had no name for.

“It is,” Ann said, seeming to have a similar opinion. “How long…?”

“Maybe thirty minutes,” he said, retaking the sketchpad when Ann offered it. “Ryuji volunteered to help Boss prepare breakfast, so I chose to stay here and draw.”

Akiza’s brow furrowed at that. “Sojiro’s letting Ryuji help him cook? He doesn’t even let me help him cook.”

Yusuke only shrugged in response, hunching over once again and resuming his work on the sketch.

Ann stretched lazily, arms raised above her head as she yawned again. “Gotta use the bathroom,” she said, swinging her feet around to stand up. “I can help you downstairs if you need?”

“Please,” Akiza answered gratefully, accepting Ann’s arm and beginning the hobble to the stairs.

“I didn’t do much,” Ryuji said around a spoon of curry. “Just, like, chopped the veggies and meat and stuff.”

“He barely even lets me do the rice,” Akiza countered, shifting to lean more comfortably against her boyfriend and taking another bite of curry herself. Ryuji had come upstairs with curry for everyone, joining her on the bed and letting Akiza lay her legs across his lap while she leaned against his side. “How come you get to do prep?”

“Because he told Sojiro that he really wanted to make you breakfast. Adorable, really,” Morgana teased from the windowsill.

“H-hey, shut up! You heard that?” Ryuji sputtered indignantly, prompting a few light laughs from the rest of the room.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Ryuji. It’s sweet!” Ann was chipper in her usual way, lounging on a folded-up futon atop the couch. “Honestly, I’m jealous of you, Akiza. Shiho can barely boil water.”

“I concur,” Yusuke added from his seat at the desk. “Well-versed as I am with a brush, I can only barely manage a spatula with enough delicacy to fry an egg. Food is a form of art in itself.”

The attention clearly came as a surprise to Ryuji, who mumbled something around his curry again, a little blush of embarrassment on his face stirring Akiza’s heart up even more. She tilted her head up with a smile, pressing her lips to his cheek and giggling at the little bits of stubble that tickled her jaw. “That was really nice of you,” she said. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he said quietly, still looking elsewhere. He did glance back at her after a moment, lips quirking up into a smile as he gave her a peck on the forehead in retaliation.

“So,” Akiza began after a quiet moment, voice low so as to avoid Sojiro overhearing. “We need to figure out what we’re doing while I’m stuck in bed. Most importantly, where Yusuke will be living.”

Yusuke set his nearly-untouched plate of curry aside, fingers lacing in thought. “I’ve given it some consideration. Assuming the change of heart takes effect, Sen- Madarame will admit his crimes and go to prison, which means the atelier will no longer be an option.” His face contorted at the self-correction, eyes downcast.

“You okay, Yusuke?” Morgana paced over, hopping down onto the desk and placing a paw on the boy’s shoulder.

“For now, yes,” Yusuke answered. He sat back, brushing his hair behind his ear again, one lock still slipping free to hang down along his jawline. “Whatever else he may have been to me, Madarame is a liar and a criminal. He must answer for his misdeeds, and I must move on from him. I will be able to move into Kosei’s dorms once Madarame is no longer able to interfere.”

Ryuji shifted behind Akiza. “He’d stop you from leaving?”

“Almost certainly. He exerts control over every facet of his students in order to keep them in line.”

Akiza hummed, hand on her chin. That lines up with what Shiho overheard. But what do we do in the meantime?

“I’ve got a spare room at my house!” Ann chimed in, sitting upright. “My parents are only home a few times a year, and the guest bedroom literally never gets used, even when Shiho or the others stay over. There’s plenty of space for both of us!”

Something in Akiza glowed at watching Ann so readily jump to Yusuke’s aid. If there was any doubt left in his heart that they wanted to help him more than anything else, this generosity would surely banish it away. “Yusuke, does that work for you?”

“Perfectly,” he replied, standing up and bowing deeply. “Ann, you have my sincerest gratitude.”

Ann bounced in her seat, smiling wide. “No problem! We can figure out the details later. I’ll help you move your stuff over too! We can set a tarp down just to make sure paint doesn’t get anywhere.”

Akiza grinned, breathing a sigh of relief at what was, for once, an easy resolution. Ryuji pulled her a little bit closer, squeezed her a little tighter, and she hummed in delight. “Okay, that’s one less problem. Next, Madarame himself. I’m guessing he wouldn’t want to stir up bad press during the exhibition, which would mean we have until it ends to get this heist done. Does that sound right?”

Yusuke sat back down, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers together. “I believe so. Any action on his part would come on the fifth of June at the earliest. And without my assistance at the gallery, his time will be further occupied, which should allow me to enter and leave Kosei without being confronted by him.”

“Sick, so you can just lay low ‘till we get this done.” Ryuji cracked his knuckles idly, shifting his position to allow some more room for Akiza’s ankle. “What about gettin’ you some practice in the Metaverse? If Kiza’s laid up for like, ten days, we’d only have three to steal the Treasure and one of those has to be for the calling card. Did I get that right?” He angled his head over to where Morgana lay in search of confirmation.

“That’s right, Ryuji,” he said, standing up again to pace circles on the desk. “Akiza’s already our strongest fighter, so if we do some training in Mementos to get Yusuke ready, that should work out well.”

Akiza sat up a little more. “Are you guys gonna be okay without me? It’s not that I don’t think you can do it, but we usually plan around my versatility.”

“We can stay near the upper levels for now,” Ann said confidently. “Me, Ryuji, and Morgana should have all those Shadows covered, and we’ve got our own healing, which lets us help Yusuke out.”

Yusuke nodded in agreement. “I would relish the chance to hone my skills. Being caught unprepared would be unacceptable with stakes this high.”

Akiza hummed. “I’ll give you my healing meds from Takemi as a backup, just let me know when you’re planning on going in. Oh, and take Yusuke by Untouchable first so he can pick out some gear, I’ll give you some cash for it. He’ll need armor and a gun, something with good range would be great for rounding out our options, so maybe an assault rifle or--”

“Hey, hey, Kiza, babe!” Ryuji jostled her slightly with the arm still wound around her, and coupled with his use of the word babe, brought her train of thought to a crashing halt. “You gotta relax, okay? We’ll take care of this, you just focus on gettin’ better.”

Akiza groaned quietly to herself, pushing her glasses up and pinching the bridge of her nose. The worst part was, he was right, and there was no sense in arguing otherwise. “Being stuck in here for however long it takes to heal might drive me crazy,” she mumbled. There was a momentary pause, silence broken only by the sound of the TV downstairs, until Ann stood up.

“You know what this room needs? A makeover,” she said decisively. “Akiza, if me and Ryuji go get some stuff to decorate this place, would that be okay?”

“You guys don’t have to do that,” Akiza replied hastily. “I-I wouldn’t want you to spend time and money trying to make this attic look better--”

“Nah, Ann’s right,” Ryuji interrupted, and Akiza knew then that she would end up agreeing to this. “Even besides the injury stuff, this is your room! You gotta make it look good!”

“I have often longed to decorate a space in my own style,” Yusuke added. “And this room does have a particular rustic charm that would lend itself well to adornment.”

“Rustic is a funny way of saying dusty,” Akiza said with a wry grin. “Okay, sure. Just don’t go too crazy, okay?”

Ann pumped a fist in celebration. “You’re gonna love it! This is gonna be awesome, just you wait!”

Akiza’s grin melted into a softer smile at Ann’s giddiness, and as Ryuji squeezed her tighter against his side, she could practically feel the anxiety starting to seep out of her. Her head leaned against the crook of his shoulder, and if it weren’t for the others excitedly discussing ideas, she could easily have fallen back to sleep.

Sunday, 5/22
Cafe Leblanc
Afternoon

Morning ticked on, and after dishes were cleaned (courtesy of Ann and Yusuke, as thanks for Sojiro’s generosity), the blondes and Morgana had set out determined to bring some life to the attic. Yusuke stayed behind, both to keep Akiza company and to continue his work on the sketch from earlier. The two of them sat in a comfortable if dull silence, Yusuke working away at his sketchbook on the couch while Akiza fiddled idly with her phone.

There was so much she didn’t know about Yusuke, so much she wanted to know, but the withdrawn way he spoke made bridging that gap difficult. He seemed lonely, still. Not that Akiza could blame him, given even the loose details he’d confessed about his life with Madarame. She wanted desperately to engage him, to help him come out of the shell he’d had to build around himself, but so far she couldn’t even see the shape of that shell.

“How’s the piece coming along?” Akiza set her phone aside, hoping to strike up a conversation. Yusuke paused, looking up and tucking his hair behind his ear again in that same smooth motion, long fingers curling around deep blue locks.

“Very well. To tell the truth, I haven’t felt this comfortable with a piece in some time.” He glanced back down at the paper before leaning back on the couch, placing his pencil behind his ear. “For the past few days, I’ve had this persistent inkling that I couldn’t ignore the lies I lived with any longer. And now, I feel… liberated.”

“You see the world differently now,” Akiza said, to which Yusuke grinned in agreement. “I felt like that when I first came to Tokyo, honestly, like I was finally alive and seeing the world in color for the first time. Leaving my hometown felt like losing a weight that I’d been carrying for so long that I’d forgotten about it.”

“Truly?” Yusuke’s brows arched. Akiza was once again taken aback by Yusuke’s ability to shift from reserved and withdrawn to nakedly curious. “If I may ask, what exactly brought you here? You’ve seen me at my lowest, but I barely know the first thing about you.”

Akiza couldn’t help but laugh, then. “I guess not, huh? My bad,” she said, raking fingers through her hair in thought. “You probably noticed my bracelet at Pride, so you already know about that.” He nodded, and Akiza took that as an encouraging sign to continue. “As for how I got here…”

And she told the story again, from the distant relationship with her parents to the secret internal struggle to the encounter that set her on the path to Tokyo. Yusuke sat with rapt attention the whole time, chiming in now and then to echo a shared experience or empathize with a particular struggle, especially whenever Akiza spoke of her parents and their coldness. She carried on through Kamoshida’s Palace, leaving out the more personal details of the others. They could share those if they wanted to.

“And now I’m here,” she concluded, spreading her arms wide to gesture to the room. “Criminal transfer student with a busted ankle and a bleeding heart. Not much more to tell, I think.”

Yusuke hummed, twirling a pencil. “If I may ask, when you were told that you would be sent to Tokyo, how did you feel?”

Akiza blinked. “Um, surprised, I guess?” She chewed her lip. “No, that wasn’t it. Some parts of it hurt a lot. But in general, I was just… adrift, I guess. Like my old life had just cut me loose and shoved me somewhere else to figure it out.”

Yusuke was quiet for a minute, pencil still deftly spinning between his fingers while his free hand drummed on his thigh. “I believe I understand,” he said eventually. “I feel as though my whole life has been cut away without warning, and I am left to navigate an unfamiliar world without guidance. I chose to cut myself free, and yet…”

“Everything feels strange and foreign now, right?” Akiza hazarded, and Yusuke nodded in agreement. “For me, at least, there’s this weird sense of missing what I left behind. Even though my parents were distant and neglectful, even though I had to hide who I really was, at least I knew what I was in for. Now--”

“You don’t have the luxury of familiarity, even to that which you know will hurt you.” Yusuke’s head hung, gazing down at his lap. “Objectively, I know that Madarame is abusive, manipulative, profit-hungry, and scornful. Yet, I still remember him teaching me how to hold a paintbrush. How to compose a scene. The first time he entrusted me with oil paints. And I… I find that I cannot separate the subjective from the objective.”

There was a long silence, filled only by the dull sounds of the cafe downstairs. Akiza tried to gather her thoughts, sorting through Yusuke’s words as best she could and reaching again across the metaphorical gap between them. “Are you having doubts about the change of heart?” she asked tentatively.

“No-- well, perhaps. I’m not…” Yusuke trailed off, sighing and chewing on his eraser for a moment. “I don’t doubt for a second that Madarame desperately requires a change of heart. But I… I don’t know what should happen once it’s done.” He stood, then, pacing around the attic, only stopping his chewing of the eraser to speak. “Any sane person would say he deserves to be in prison for his crimes. But does that solve anything? Does that undo the suffering he caused? Is that what the other students would want? What if he changed his ways, and began truly pursuing art again? Wouldn’t that be better than nothing?”

“Yusuke,” Akiza interjected, grabbing his hand as he passed by the bed and forcing him to stop. He looked down at her with cloudy eyes, conflicted and twisted around the thorn in his heart, and she met his gaze with as much compassion as she could muster. “First of all, just take a deep breath, okay?” He closed his eyes, doing as she asked, and immediately some of the tension left him. “Thanks. As far as all that goes, I can’t really give you those answers. What I can tell you is that having a Persona, doing what we do, you learn to trust your instincts.”

Yusuke blinked. “Instincts?”

“Yeah. When you come to an issue like this, think about your options, and when you feel part of you grab onto one, listen to it. Trusting my instincts is how I ended up getting sent to Tokyo, and how I ended up meeting the others and becoming a Thief. And it’s how I knew I needed to reach out to you. I know you’re confused and hurting and everything, but no matter what, you know how to do the right thing. You just have to trust the part of you that tells you what the right thing is.” Akiza squeezed his hand, then, and his breathing hitched just the tiniest bit. “It’s hard, and I know everything’s uncertain right now, but we’re gonna do whatever it takes to make sure this works out. And if you ever want to talk about this stuff, I’m always here to listen.”

Yusuke stood paralyzed above her, seemingly on the precipice of something, unsure whether to step forward or back. In the end, though, he squeezed her hand in return, his hands thin and bony and just a little chilly.

“I will,” he said, barely more than a whisper, a thin-yet-genuine smile drawn across this face. “Thank you.”

Akiza nodded. “Anything for a friend.”

Tuesday, 5/24
Cafe Leblanc
After School

Akiza had to admit, the attic did indeed look better. Ann had donated several lengths of string lights that now clung to the rafters and the wall above her bed, a pleasant alternative to the light she’d been using earlier (though even that now had a simple shade to conceal the bare bulb). Ryuji had hauled an old carpet up the stairs, explaining it as a gift from his neighbor that he and his mother had shampooed and cleaned for her, and it did wonders to quiet down the noise from both floors. He’d even picked up a cheap DVD player from the secondhand store in Yongen that, once the attic’s old CRT had been configured, was more than enough for movie nights and general time-filling.

Best of all, though, was the curtain that stretched across the far side of the attic, at last offering her some privacy from anyone coming up from below. Sojiro had rigged it up without warning, grumbling something about how “a girl needs her privacy” that made Akiza beam.

Presently she scrolled around on her phone, idly looking at new clothes and not really paying attention to the X-Folders playing in the background. With the other Thieves out shopping for gear with Yusuke, she was left a bit out of options. That is, until Sojiro knocked on the railing on the other side of the curtain.

“Someone’s here to see you,” he said. “You decent?”

Akiza flushed indignantly at that, even as she swiveled her legs to pull on some sweatpants. “Just a second,” she called as she settled back into bed, decency now attained. “Who is it?” It couldn’t be the Thieves, they should still be busy. And Sojiro wouldn’t have needed to announce them anyway. Haru, maybe?

“Niijima, from the student council,” came the sound of the last voice Akiza would have expected. “I heard you were hurt, so I came with a care package. May I come in?”

Akiza blinked. Of all the people to arrive at her door unannounced, Niijima was certainly a surprise. Some residual ire from her first encounter with the girl flared, but she shoved that aside. People got off on the wrong foot sometimes. “Sure, come in. Leave your shoes by the stairs,” she said to the curtain.

Sure enough, there was Niijima, wearing her halter-top uniform and carrying a parcel in one hand as she brushed the curtain aside. She smiled as she toed her shoes off.

“I’m surprised you knew where to find me. Pretty sure the student register doesn’t list this place as my actual address.” Akiza eyed Niijima with a reserved curiosity as she padded across the carpet.

“I tried Sakura-san’s residence first, actually, since that’s the one in the register. A passerby told me I could find him here. May I?” She gestured to the chair by the desk, to which Akiza nodded wordlessly. Niijima pulled the chair up to the bedside, sitting primly with the package on her lap. “Thank you. First and foremost, I want to apologize for my behavior during our first conversation.”

“Oh?” Akiza raised an eyebrow.

“As the student council president, it’s my job to assist the student body however I can,” she explained. “I realize that I didn’t express this properly before, and in doing so I unnecessarily added to the already considerable stress you were under. Between Kamoshida’s unforgivable behavior, midterm exams, and your transition--”

“My what?”

“--to Shujin,” Niijima continued, and Akiza wrestled her heart back down into her chest from where it had leaped into her throat, “you had far too much on your plate, and I only exacerbated those issues. So, to that end, I prepared this.”

She opened the package then, withdrawing a stack of small notebooks and other stationery. “These are study materials, to help you keep up with your schoolwork. I find flash cards to be extremely helpful, so I’ve included some. And these particular notebooks help me organize my notes more effectively. I did mean what I said last time, your grades are excellent. I would hate to see you be set back by this injury.”

Akiza blinked, taken aback. These were nice notebooks, made from high-quality paper and accompanied by a fancy-looking mechanical pencil that sat comfortably in her hand. There was a little package of erasers too, and a stack of color-coded index cards. “Um, thank you,” she said. “This is all very kind of you--”

“And I also prepared some food,” she interrupted. Reaching into the package again, she revealed four plastic containers, clearly containing homemade meals. “These can be reheated easily, and I tried to include as many healthy and organic ingredients as I could to promote recovery. I wasn’t sure about your specific tastes, of course, so I aimed for common flavors. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy them.”

Okay, now Akiza was well and truly thrown. This was a shocking amount of effort to go to from someone who she barely knew. Mending fences was one thing, but this level of kindness genuinely warmed Akiza’s heart. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she might have ascribed this kind of behavior to someone with a crush. Right as she opened her mouth to respond, however, there was another knock on the other side of the curtain.

“Akiza-chan? It’s Haru. May I come in?”

Oh my god.

Not that Akiza wasn’t happy to receive a visit from Haru, of course. But now, while Akiza was trying to confront Niijima’s very legitimate and extremely unexpected kindness, was not what Akiza would consider an opportune moment. At the same time, though, she didn’t want to turn Haru away…

“Come in,” she said after a moment, trying to hide her mental flailing.

The curtain moved aside again, and in stepped Haru, carrying a bouquet of flowers in a simple vase. Haru’s face was alight with a smile as she entered, but the second she made eye contact with Niijima, her face faltered into surprise. “Oh. Hello, Niijima-san.”

“Good afternoon, Okumura-san,” she said, all smiles. “I didn’t know you and Kurusu-san were friends.”

Immediately, Haru’s polite smile gave way to an unhidden frown, jaw tightened in an anger she hadn’t seen on Haru since the phone call in the cafe. Seeing it straight-on was… unnerving. Especially considering she’d just learned Haru’s last name, seemingly to the other girl’s irritation. There was an odd guilt that pricked at her from that realization, oddly similar to the feeling of learning a friend’s deadname by accident.

“You can put the flowers on the desk, Haru. Thanks for those.” Akiza jumped in hurriedly, already trying to assuage whatever this was. Haru seemingly took a second to compose herself as she removed her shoes, and by the time she’d placed the flowers down, her placid, businesslike smile was back.

“My apologies, Niijima-san,” she said warmly. “I didn’t mean to exclude you. I had no idea you were interested in friendly gatherings.”

Holy shit, Akiza thought. Haru sat down on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap.

“R-right,” Niijima stuttered. “Well, um. Yes. I hope the food is to your liking. And don’t worry about the containers, either.” She stood, food still in hand, and began moving towards the stairs. “I’ll give these to your guardian. And if there’s anything else I can help you with, my phone number is in the box.”

“Sure, yeah,” Akiza said warily, still eyeing the other girl as she slid her shoes on. “You’re leaving?”

“I didn’t intend to stay for long. I have some more student council business to attend to. I hope you recover quickly, Kurusu-san. Okumura-san, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” Niijima bowed stiffly, turned, took one more glance over her shoulder, and vanished down the stairs.

Haru’s face fell once again to a kind of neutrally sullen expression, like a deep exhaustion surfacing after being ignored for too long. Her whole body language seemed drained, from the loose way she folded her hands in her lap to the (very well concealed) dark circles under her eyes.

“Um, hi,” Akiza said, grabbing at anything like a conversation. “I’m sorry she upset you. I wasn’t expecting her over.”

“It’s quite alright. I’m… not upset, exactly, just a little irritated. It will pass.” Haru seemed to perk up a bit, legs swinging lightly from the bed in a manner reminiscent of a plush toy.

“Do you know her?” Akiza asked. “Niijima, I mean. This is only the second time I’ve spoken to her, and our first meeting didn’t exactly start off on the right foot.”

Haru nodded, looking over at the flowers. “She and I are in the same class. I don’t know her very well, but this behavior is a bit out of character for her. She’s cordial with the other students, in a very formal way. Friendly, but not particularly close with anyone that I’ve seen.”

“That’s what’s got me wondering,” Akiza said, attempting to twirl the mechanical pencil the way she’d seen Yusuke do. “This care package was really, genuinely kind and thoughtful of her, so how does that square with her keeping her relationships with students professional?”

Haru was quiet for a minute, picking at the hem of her skirt. She looked in conflict, eventually speaking up, seemingly having reached some kind of decision. “The student body generally doesn’t think very highly of Niijima-san,” she explained. “It might be that she sees you as someone who doesn’t share that opinion, and so wants to remain in your good graces.”

Akiza hummed, leaning back against her stack of pillows donated from Ann’s house, thinking wryly that Niijima must be desperate if she was turning to the school’s resident delinquent for companionship. “I mean, if she needs a friend, I can do that. She seems nice.”

Haru nodded. “She strikes me as terribly lonely. Whether she realizes that or not, I can’t say. But I do know how wonderful it is to have someone reach out to you.” Her gaze shifted at last to Akiza, pensive expression melting into a warm, relaxed smile. Her hazel eyes, tinted with weariness, still glimmered with sparks of joy.

“True enough,” Akiza said with a matching grin. “I do too. Thank you for the flowers, by the way. They look beautiful.”

Haru clapped once, instantly perking up further. “Oh, I’m so glad! I thought about taking them from my own garden, but my plants aren’t exactly bouquet-ready yet. The lady at the flower shop was so helpful…”

They talked about flowers for a while longer, Haru joyfully fielding Akiza’s questions about symbolic meanings and expounding on crossbreeding techniques. All the while, though, Akiza still pondered Haru’s words about Niijima. It continued to pull at her curiosity that there seemed to be this… other Haru operating beneath the surface, one who was observant, quiet, coldly angry, and downright scathing. And, at the same time, it brought her some measure of gladness to know that Haru was, in some capacity, willing to let Akiza see that part of her.

By the time an hour had passed, Haru regretfully announced that she had to be going, but promised to visit again. Akiza waved to her as she departed, once again wondering as to what secrets Haru held. Nobody was quite so perceptive and adept at deceit as her without good reason to be.

Akiza would know, after all.

Wednesday, 5/25
Yongen-Jaya
Lunchtime

Morgana was on a mission. Deftly he wove through the backstreets of Yongen, evading pedestrians cooing over his feline form. Ordinarily he would have been embarrassed to receive such attention, but that didn’t matter today. There was work to be done.

For all three days of Akiza’s bedrest, Morgana hadn’t been able to do much. Sure, he was happy to keep her company and converse about a myriad of subjects, and Akiza had expressed how thankful she was for that, but there wasn’t much he could do materially besides fetching ice packs out of the freezer when Boss wasn’t around. It had taken him hours to figure out how to open and close the freezer safely, but the satisfaction had been well worth the effort.

So today was something special. As much as Akiza drank coffee like it was water, she did still maintain a fondness for green tea. When asked, she said it soothed the aches her medications sometimes gave her, and Morgana was glad to hear it. Too often, he would shift in his sleep, press a paw down on Akiza’s chest by accident, and be flung as she bolted upright in pain. Anything that eased that tenderness was good in his book.

Tragically, today she had found herself with a great deal of aches and freshly out of teabags to soothe them with. With the other Thieves out at school, and Boss manning the lunch rush in the cafe, that left only one solution. “I’ll go,” Morgana had proudly declared. “I know what kind you like and they sell it at the grocery store in Yongen. Just give me some money and I’ll take care of it!”

Akiza had seemingly weighed her options, and decided to entrust Morgana with the task after all, to his delight. She’d penned a note, folded two thousand-yen bills into it, and tucked it into his collar before opening the window for him.

And now he strode proudly through the automatic doors, turned quickly to the left, located the tea, and pulled three of the packets off the shelf with his teeth. Before any of the customers could audibly protest, he dashed to the register, placing the tea down and calling out to the cashier. “Hey, down here!” He cried, knowing full well that all the employee heard was meowing. Sure enough, a young woman in an apron leaned over the counter to look down at him, clearly perplexed by his insistent pawing at the tea packets. As soon as he had her attention, he retrieved the note from his collar, offering it up to her.

“I… whose cat is this?” She asked the few customers in the small store, all of whom shrugged, and cautiously reached down to take the paper from him. “Hello, my name is Morgana,” she read aloud.

Morgana merely scraped his tongue with his paw; paper was not one of his preferred tastes.

“My human, Akiza, lives in the neighborhood and needed this tea, but she’s stuck in bed and can’t get up right now. Here’s money to cover it, please keep the change and I will be on my way.”

She looked down at Morgana again, still looking utterly baffled, but eventually shrugged and put the money in the register. “Thanks for your business, I guess?”

Morgana returned a jolly “No problem!” and took his prize again, trotting out the door towards Leblanc with his head held high. Upon returning, however, he spotted a slight commotion at the door.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t order this,” Boss said grumpily. “I’m not paying for a pizza I didn’t order.” “It’s already paid for, sir,” said the other person standing there, holding a large flat box. “Paid by card online, the note says it’s, uh, ‘for Akiza, from Alibaba’?”

That changed Boss’s tune. From his perch by the fire escape, he watched Sojiro’s face move from confusion to suspicion, then weariness, resolution, and finally acceptance. “Yeah, okay, this is for here. Thanks.” He took the box, and the delivery person hurried off somewhere else. Just before Sojiro went back inside, he took the note off the box, crumpling it and shoving it into his pocket.

Morgana hopped up the fire escape, back through the window he’d exited from, and proudly presented his prize to Akiza’s grateful relief. Sojiro came tromping up the stairs a moment later, knocking on the wall past the curtain.

“Hey, kid. Curry was running low and I don’t have time to cook something else, so here.” he said. “Want me to leave it up here?”

Akiza blinked. “Oh, uh, sure? Thanks!”

Sojiro nodded gruffly, as he so frequently did, setting it down on the shelf beside Akiza’s bed and taking some tea to brew at her request. He went back down to the cafe without another word.

“That was weird,” Akiza said after her first bite. “Wouldn’t have expected him to send out for pizza.”

Morgana hummed. “He’s been warming up to you,” he said noncommittally. Whoever this Alibaba person was, Akiza wasn’t going to benefit from one more thing to worry about while stuck in bed. That said, Akiza having some kind of mysterious food benefactor was certainly an unexpected development. Boss clearly knew who they were, or at the very least had a strong suspicion, and they knew who Akiza was. Furthermore, it seemed that Boss didn’t want Akiza to know Alibaba existed at all. That left Morgana’s list of potential suspects at… zero. Hm.

Well, there’d be time for that later. Right now, after all, was the time to curl up on Akiza’s lap, try this new kind of human food, and watch more bad sci-fi on their beat-up TV.

Morgana, they realized later, was not much a fan of pepperoni.

Chapter Text

Thursday, 5/26
Cafe Leblanc
Afternoon

True to her word, Shiho had lifted herself up the stairs one at a time, leaving her chair downstairs and making her way over to the chair by Akiza’s bed in a true feat of upper body strength.

“I’ve been training since I got out of the hospital,” she explained. “It helps keep me in shape, and it makes it easier to move myself around. Ryuji found me a really nice chair-friendly gym in Shibuya and it’s been working wonders.”

“I should really do that once I’m better,” Akiza said. “Ryuji asked me about it the other day. Plus it’d probably help with Thief stuff.” She stretched a bit, reaching down to adjust the ice on her ankle. The pain had pretty much entirely subsided by now, but Takemi insisted she keep resting, as stir-crazy as it was making her.

Shiho nodded. “It’s usually not too busy when I go. Ann’s been talking about trying it, so maybe we could all do it together.”

It was certainly an appealing idea. Powerful as the Metaverse’s strengthening effects were, some improved physical ability would be sure to help. Plus, she’d been missing morning yoga for the last week, and that in itself was starting to drive her crazy. And the thought of all of them together at the gym was amusing enough in itself. Maybe she could get Ryuji to bench-press her…?

“That sounds fun. Like a... group date.” Akiza trailed off a little at the end of that sentence, realizing what she’d said. Well… that was what they were supposed to talk about anyway, right?

“Hah, yeah. Speaking of which.” Shiho laughed, and that beveled the nervousness a bit. “Have you been thinking about… that at all?”

Deep breath. We’re all friends here. Working together to figure it out.

“I have, yeah,” Akiza said calmly. “The technical term is polyamory. I have a couple chatroom friends that do it. You just… date multiple people, and everyone knows and is open about it. You figure out what kind of setup works for you and you… do it.”

Shiho nodded, deep in thought. “For a bit, I was stuck on this idea that I was being greedy, you know? Like I was a bad person for not being happy with just Ann.”

Akiza hummed in agreement. It was an easy feeling to conjure, shame and guilt for thinking that Ryuji wasn’t good enough, that she should just be satisfied and try to drown the feelings she had for Ann. She was lucky enough to have such an amazing boyfriend, why would she want more?

“But,” Shiho continued. “I realized that that’s a stupid way to think. Ann can’t be everything at once. She can only be Ann. And… I think that maybe it’s weird to assume that one person is gonna be everything I need or want in a partner. I wouldn’t trade Ann for Ryuji or vice versa. I like them both. And that’s okay. And if they both want to date me, that’s even better.”

Akiza glanced up from her lap and saw fire in Shiho’s eyes, her conviction working to soothe Akiza’s nerves just a little. It helped that everything she said was making a lot of sense.

“I always thought being poly would be nice,” Akiza said. “Having so much affection and stuff, and being able to love that many people. I just never thought it could happen to me.”

“Who’s gonna stop us?” Shiho raised her head, thumbs fidgeting rapidly against each other. “Look at all the shit we’ve gone through. All the bullshit we’ve had to put up with. You, me, Ryuji, Ann, maybe even Kitagawa if one of us feels that way. The world keeps beating the hell out of us. Don’t we deserve to be as happy as we can?”

“I don’t disagree,” Akiza said after a moment of consideration. “But don’t you think we’re jumping the gun a little? Are we even sure Ann and Ryuji would be cool with this? Like, setting aside the question of whether they reciprocate our feelings, how do we know they’ll be okay with polyamory?”

Shiho hummed. “I’m, like, ninety-nine percent sure they’ll be cool with it. I know them, they’re both open-minded and if anything goes wrong we can just talk it out and–”

“But what if we can’t?” Akiza interjected, chewing on her lip between sentences. “What if Ann likes me but feels weird about dating more than one person because she’s worried about hurting us? What if Ryuji doesn’t think he deserves to date both of us? What if–”

“If any of that happens, we can deal with it then.” Shiho stopped Akiza’s doom-spiral in its tracks, her voice permitting no argument. “If Ann thinks she’s gonna hurt us, we explain to her why she won’t. If Ryuji thinks he doesn’t deserve us, we’ll make sure he knows he does.” Shiho reached out, tapping Akiza lightly on the forehead. “We make solutions, not problems. If you want this, you’ve gotta work at it with me.”

Akiza hadn’t really expected Shiho to be so confident in this. But here she was, so sure that she was right, that this could–no, that it would work. And try as she might to find all the possible ways it could go wrong, the allure of it going right was proving to be enough.

She looked up, fists clenched in her lap. “I will,” she said with as much determination as she could muster, crushing her worries down, compressed again into the little diamond of anxiety in her heart. “I… I want this. I want to make this work.”

Shiho grinned, pumping her fist in celebration. “Attagirl. How do you want to do it?”

“It should be special,” Akiza mused. “We should try to do something nice so they know we’re serious about this.”

“Mm, yeah,” Shiho hummed. “And we can plan that out while this whole Madarame thing is still going, that way we can bring it to them once he’s not breathing down your necks.”

Akiza exhaled, releasing some tension from her shoulders. “That’s a good idea. We have to make sure we do this right.”

“We will,” Shiho said with a warm smile. Akiza smiled back, and really, truly believed her.

Friday, 5/27
Mementos
After School

Fox exhaled, flicking Shadow goop from his blade before returning it to its sheath. Skull whooped as he threw his arm around Fox’s shoulders, nearly knocking him over.

“Fox, dude, you’re killin’ it! You’re a freakin’ natural!” Skull’s enthusiastic hollers were perhaps a bit louder than necessary, especially so close to Fox’s ear, but the celebration and praise made him smile regardless. He was beginning to grow accustomed to the touch of his fellow Thieves.

“It’s thanks to your guidance,” he said truthfully. “The movements come naturally, but the tactics are another matter. It’s certainly an effective showing of coordination.”

Skull nodded enthusiastically, holding up a hand for a high five. “Teamwork makes the dream work, man!” Fox laughed, returning the gesture despite the fact that it made his palm sting. “Ah, I just wish Joker were here,” Skull continued. “Ain’t the same without her.”

“Somebody misses his girlfriend~” Panther teased as she skipped back from where the target’s Treasure had dropped, prize in hand. “You’re not wrong, though. With all those Personas she’s got, she covers a lot of weaknesses. And she’s a better driver than me.”

“We need to be able to do our jobs without her,” came the voice from the Monavan that Fox still wasn’t quite used to. “It’d be risky to get overly reliant on any one team member. But… you are right that it’s not the same without her.”

The Thieves piled back into the van, preparing to seek out their last target for the day. Fox took the backseat, Skull up front, Panther driving. They were quiet as they got situated, comfortable aside from the unnerving air of Mementos. The katana sat heavy in Fox’s lap, no longer as effortless to wield as it had been in Madarame’s palace, but still a graceful, precise instrument. His mind flicked back to the hateful museum, and the way Joker had seemed to dance through its halls, rapier shining in the fluorescent lights.

And now she was bedbound. It wasn’t his fault, of course (he told himself that often). They hadn’t had time to enter the Palace safely, and it was this or catastrophe. Still…

“I’ve been thinking,” Fox said as Panther scrolled through the Metanav. “You three have known Joker for longer than I have. Is she always so… reckless? She told me about her probation, and I worry that she’s endangering herself by placing herself in Madarame’s sights like this. If we fail in our mission, then…”

“It’ll violate her probation,” Panther finished. “She did that with Kamoshida too. If he’d expelled us, she would’ve gone back to jail.”

Skull spoke up next. “And in his Palace. She was throwing swords at Shadows and stuff before she even got her Persona, and as soon as she did she was jumpin’ over pits and stuff like she didn’t care.”

“I know what you mean,” came Mona’s voice. “Before Kamoshida’s confession, she told me about how she felt like it was her duty to help as many people as she could. She was frustrated that she couldn’t have done more.”

The van was quiet then. Panther didn’t start the engine, merely staring distantly ahead into the darkness.

“Sometimes I feel like she doesn’t care what happens to her as long as she can help somebody,” Skull said after a minute. “And it’s like… am I supposed to tell her not to help people? The whole reason we started doin’ this Thief thing was because we wanted to make sure other people didn’t get hurt like we did.”

There was another long stretch of quiet, empty and searching for answers that the four of them didn’t have. It was Mona who eventually spoke up. “She has a really big heart,” he said, a note of fondness in his voice. “I just hope she has room in there for herself.”

“Perhaps that’s where we can come in,” Fox mused. “Ensure that she knows we care.”

Skull hummed. “You’re probably right. She’s… she’s told me a couple times that dating me is weird for her ‘cause she’s not used to people caring about her so much.”

The leather of Panther’s gloves creaked as her grip on the steering wheel tightened. “We have to show her we care about her too,” she said resolutely. “I know how easy it is to let yourself think that nobody does. So we have to prove it to her.”

“Agreed,” Mona chirped. “You guys wanna come over to Leblanc tonight?”

Three agreements rose, and a moment later, the van rumbled off into the dark.

Monday, 5/30
Shibuya
Morning

Ann raised an eyebrow at Ryuji as he stepped off the train. “You’re already wearing your gym clothes?”

“Good morning to you too,” he replied with a dry grin. “And yeah, why? Is that weird?”

Ann rolled her eyes as they made for the nearest vending machine. “It must be so nice to be a guy.”

“It’s got perks,” Ryuji said while he keyed in his purchase. A wide grin slowly spread across his face. “Why, you thinkin’ of switching? Are we gonna be bros!?”

Ann laughed. “No way! I like being a girl, thank you very much. Even if guys have it easier sometimes. What do I owe you?” Ann gratefully accepted the drink Ryuji offered.

“Oh, nothin’. Don’t worry about it.” He waved her off, excusing his way past a group of huddled businessmen and out into Shibuya Station’s main thoroughfare. From where Ann stood, he walked a little differently than usual; something almost bouncy in his step, a brightness in his eye. She smirked as she sidled up next to him, bumping her shoulder against his.

“Seems like someone had a really good date last night, hmm?” Ann cackled as Ryuji immediately sputtered, nearly choking on his drink.

“S-shut up!” He jostled her back, only making her laugh harder. “It was a normal date. We got takeout, watched Mouse, and went to sleep.”

Her smirk widened. “You touched a boob, didn’t you?”

“Ann!”

Okay, she was definitely past cackling and into wheezing now. She’d stopped walking at some point, now doubled over and struggling to breathe. Her cheeks hurt from smiling, Ryuji was sputtering, and all was right with the world.

“You don’t have to get so worked up about it, y’know,” she said once she’d recovered enough to keep walking. “It’s perfectly natural.”

“I know that,” Ryuji grumbled. “But seriously, that’s not what happened. It was just a really nice date.”

“I believe you! If it does, though, don’t be afraid to ask for advice!” Ann smiled cheerily, taking another sip from her can. Ryuji hesitated a moment, then scoffed, a light smile on his face. "What's so funny?" Ann asked.

Ryuji's smile grew into a grin as he looked over at her. "Just imaginin' you tryin' to keep a straight face while you talk about gettin' nasty."

Ann spat out her coffee.

Thankfully, no substantial mess was made, and after a brief delay they were back on their way to Inokashira.

“I can’t believe you’d just say that,” Ann said through a laugh. Truth be told, she was only a little embarrassed; it had mostly been the surprise that had caught her.

“As if you didn’t do the same thing!” Ryuji elbowed her gently, now only faintly blushing through his returned smile. “What, you can dish it out but can’t take it?”

Ann’s very mature and thoughtful reply was to sip her coffee again and remark, “Your roots are showing.”

Ryuji blanched immediately. “What? No way. Seriously?”

“Yes, really!” Ann reached over, ruffling his hair. “And it’s brittle!”

“Ugh, goddamnit. I swear I just redid it like, a month ago.”

“No, that was two months ago,” Ann reminded him. “I remember because I saw you come into school the next day, and you’d forgotten the toner so it was way too bright. Anyway, I can touch you up later if you want?”

“That’d be nice,” he admitted. “Ma’s workin’ late again tonight and–”

“Come on, there’s no need to be shy…”

Ann’s ears perked up at the sound of an insistent voice near the Hachiko statue. A middle-aged man stood, holding a clearly nervous girl in a Shujin uniform by the wrist. Several passersby turned to look, mumbling to each other, but nobody moved.

“Like I said–” began the girl, before being cut off.

“If you’re busy, I can put my number in your phone so you can call me later. Sound good?” The man kept pressing. Still, nobody moved.

“Oh, fuck this,” Ryuji murmured to himself. Without warning he grabbed Ann’s hand, pivoting towards them and closing the distance in two quick strides. “Hey, you’re hurting her!”

The man and the girl both snapped their heads towards them. A flicker of indignation crossed the man’s face, then he released his grip. “Don’t get worked up. I’m just being friendly.”

The girl took a step back, clutching at her wrist, then darted around Ann, hiding behind her and peeking out. Discreetly, Ann reached her free hand back in offering. The other girl accepted, grabbing on and squeezing for dear life.

The man scowled. “What’re you getting so jumpy about? As if you’re anything special!”

“Just leave us alone. We’re in a hurry.” Ann stood firm, glaring daggers down at the man until he turned on his heel, storming off.

All present heaved a sigh of relief. The other girl released her grip on Ann’s hand as the blondes turned to face her. “Thank you so much!” She bowed politely, gratitude plain on her face. “I’m so sorry for the trouble!”

“What’re you apologizin’ for?” Ryuji shifted from one foot to the other, tapping his toe. “That guy was a creep and you needed help. Speakin’ of which, you okay?”

“I am! A little bit rattled, but I’ll be perfectly fine. I appreciate your concern.” She rocked back and forth on her heels for a moment, and Ann spied her wringing her hands behind her back. “You two are Shujin students, right? Are you on your way to the cleanup?”

“That’s right! You wanna walk with us?” Ann nodded vaguely in the direction they were headed.

“I’d like that! Thank you very much!” The girl’s chipper tone coincided with the literal pep in her step as they set off, bouncing slightly on her toes with each stride.

“I’m Ryuji Sakamoto, by the way,” Ryuji said with a grin. “Second year. Nice to meetcha!”

“Ann Takamaki! Also a second year,” she added.

The girl smiled wide. “It’s nice to meet you, senpais! I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa!”

The park cleanup passed without incident. Ryuji mostly kept his head down; his groupmates didn’t talk to him much, and honestly, that suited him fine. He kept his ears open though, and his heart sank when he heard someone speculate that Akiza’s absence was because she’d gotten arrested again. Before he could blink, though, someone else came to her defense, reiterating Kawakami’s explanation of a sprained ankle. So… maybe her reputation was improving? He certainly hoped so. He’d briefly bumped into Dr. Maruki, who’d asked about Akiza’s ankle and offered to provide some snacks before Ryuji declined as politely as he could. And again, he told Ryuji that his door was always open.

Sure. Whatever.

Time passed, and the cleanup came to an end. He got his lame soup, reconvened with Ann, and made himself comfortable on a bench beside her.

Ryuji squinted at his phone, doing his best to evaluate the photo he’d taken through the sun’s glare on his screen. “What do you think of this one?” he asked, turning the phone to Ann, sat beside him. “Do my arms look good from that angle?”

“Dude,” Ann said around a mouthful of soup. “She’s crazy about you. You think you need professional-quality pics to impress her?”

“Well, no, I just–”

“Oh, hi Yoshizawa-san! Did your group finish up?” Ann waved to the redhead as she approached their bench, bowl in hand.

“We did! May I eat with you two?” The blondes agreed, and Yoshizawa sat primly beside Ann. “How did it go for you?”

“Someone in my group found a wallet and everyone wanted to take the cash out of it,” Ryuji said as he tried to angle his phone camera properly. “But we ended up takin’ it to the lost and found when I said we should give it back.”

“One of the girls in my group said something about how I’d make a good wife just because I know how to throw away an umbrella,” Ann laughed. “I mean, it’s flattering, but that’s a weird compliment, right?”

“For sure. But, like, they ain’t wrong? Just…” Ryuji gesticulated aimlessly, gazing up at the trees overhead. “Not like you’d be a good wife because you’re good at housework or whatever, that’s messed up. I just think you’ve got the right kinda mindset, if that makes sense?” He shrugged, stretching his leg again. “You’re really good at makin’ people smile just by being yourself, that’s all.”

There was a pause, then silence. Ryuji twisted in his seat to look over his shoulder at Ann, who was now turning about three shades of red and staring wide-eyed at him.

“Wh…” she stuttered. “What– s-shut up! Ryuji, that’s so embarrassing!” Ann buried her face in her hands, prompting a very confused Ryuji to turn to Yoshizawa. The other girl just sat there, giggling to herself.

“You two make a very cute couple,” she said simply.

Ann made a kind of half-strangled shrieking noise as she looked up at Yoshizawa, then at Ryuji, then back to Yoshizawa. Ryuji felt all the gears in his brain grind to a halt and fall off their axles, crashing down into the bottom of his brain like anvils dropped off a cliff. “W-we ain’t–” he began, trying desperately to hammer words together on the fly “I mean, we both–”

“I-I mean, he’s my best friend, we’ve known each other for years, I just–” Ann wasn’t faring much better by the sound of panic in her voice as she floundered alongside him.

“S-she’s great, but, uh, I already–”

“We’re not d-d-dating!” Ann finally exclaimed. “I-I'm seeing someone else! And so is Ryuji!”

“Yeah,” he added, breathlessly. “We’re just really good friends.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding!” Yoshizawa apologized, but the look of mirth on her face hadn’t faded. “It’s just… well, with how affectionate you two are with each other, it really does seem like you’re dating.”

Ryuji chose to very deliberately not think too hard about that.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, 5/31
Shibuya Underground
After School

Akiza chewed her lip, staring at the flier on the rack as if trying to burn a hole through it. She read the ad again, convinced it would be different, less feasible on a second pass. Then, at least, she wouldn’t be so tempted by what was so obviously a bad idea.

“This is a bad idea, right?” She murmured, low enough that the passersby wouldn’t be able to hear her talking to the cat half-perched on her shoulder. “I shouldn’t do this. I definitely shouldn’t do this.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Morgana meowed, disinterestedly grooming behind his ears. “It’s just a part-time job. And it’s basically the same as what you do at Leblanc, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Akiza trailed off, failing to articulate the sheer scale of difference between those things. “It’s-- It’s gender stuff.”

Morgana perked up at that, scanning over the flier again and twisting his face up in confusion. “Really? If anything, I’d think you’d wanna do it because of gender stuff.”

Akiza gave an anxious groan in lieu of an answer. Yes, Morgana was right in an objective sense, but practically and objectively were leagues apart in this instance. “I just… wouldn’t want the others to see that, y’know?”

“It’s in Sunamachi at night,” he deadpanned. “Who do you know that even goes to Sunamachi regularly?”

“Would you stop making so much sense!?” Akiza whispered, frustrated at her failure to find a convincing escape.

“You’re trying to talk yourself out of it,” Morgana said softly. He butted his head against her ear affectionately. “You were so excited when you saw the poster, and now you’re trying to come up with reasons why you can’t do it. What kind of thief talks herself out of taking what she wants?”

Akiza chewed her lip again, fidgeting with her phone and shifting from foot to foot. Irritating as it was, Morgana’s logic was undeniable. She wanted this, and if she wouldn’t tolerate someone else telling her she couldn’t do it, why should she tolerate it from herself?

She punched in the number on the flier, held the phone up to her ear, and waited. Morgana grinned, ducking back inside the bag.

Three rings passed. Part of Akiza hoped it would go to voicemail, or be a wrong number, or something--

“Hello!” came a chipper voice from the other end. “This is the Chickadee Maid Cafe, how may I help you?”

Akiza gulped, hopefully not audibly. “I saw your ad in Shibuya,” she explained. “I’d like to apply for the… part-time night position.”

“Oh, wonderful! We’ve been looking for a new waitress ever since our last one moved on,” she explained. “Have you worked in this type of position before?”

“In a regular cafe,” Akiza said, still with her voice low from the vague paranoia that some passerby might overhear. “I can make specialty coffee and wait tables. And clean,” she added hastily, trying to recall as many relevant skills as she could.

“Perfect! I’m sure you’ll do great. Why don’t we have you come in on a slower night for your first shift? That way you can get used to the way we do stuff better!”

“Sure,” Akiza mumbled, still numb from the shock of realizing that this was actually going to happen. “I have some family stuff coming up, so maybe I could come in later next week?”

“Works for us! We’ll be in touch to work out specifics later. Oh, and could I have your name?”

“Akiza Kurusu,” she breathed.

“Thanks, Kurusu-san! I’ll let the manager know you’ll be coming by. We’ll talk to you later!”

“You too,” she replied, and then sat there frozen for a bit after the call disconnected, awash in paralyzing nerves, but more than that, excitement.

Thursday, 6/2
Shibuya Central Street
Evening

Try as she might, Akiza still couldn’t get herself to fully relax whenever she paid a visit to Untouchable. There was just something about the dimly lit shop, hidden away in the alleyways of Shibuya, that set her on edge. Maybe it was the illicit nature of her business at the store, maybe it was the owner’s intimidating gaze that seemed to follow her around the room even as it stayed glued to whatever magazine he was reading that day.

So when she set the most recent haul of bizarre Palace loot on his counter, and he scanned over it with his usual implacable scowl, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was the time the jig was up, if he’d turn her away or call the cops or something.

“I can do five thousand for this stuff,” he grumbled, sweeping it behind the counter when Akiza agreed. She cast her gaze around the store as he counted out the bills, eyeing the stock for any potential acquisitions. She’d already upgraded everyone’s weapons, so nothing to worry about there. Maybe Yusuke could do with a charm to protect him from fire…

The owner startled her out of her thoughts as he swore under his breath. “Here,” he mumbled. “Here’s your cash. Hang onto this for me, okay? Bring it back later. Act cool and get outta here.” A heavy paper bag was shoved into Akiza’s hand along with a small roll of bills. Then, before she could object or question it, the door to the shop chimed open. Two imposing men in coats sidled their way into the store, and Akiza quickly backed out of their path.

“Excuse me,” the first man said. “Are you Munehisa Iwai?”

The owner grunted. “Might be. Who’s asking?”

“Tokyo Metropolitan.”

And that’s my cue to leave.

She made it about halfway out the door before the other cop stopped her. “You’re awfully young to be in a store like this, little lady. You a student?”

“I play on a team. I’m actually on my way to practice, so please excuse me.” Akiza bowed politely, sounding every bit the prim and proper student. Lying to cops, she had absolutely no qualms with. She stepped out the door as quickly as she could without arousing further suspicion, the absence of streetlights in the alleyway giving her plenty of shadows to blend into. Part of her, the intensely curious part that couldn’t tell when not to stick its nose somewhere, nagged at her to linger, use her Third Eye and find out what the cops wanted from the man they’d called Iwai.

Instead she turned decisively, heading back towards Central Street to catch the next train back to Yongen, willing her racing heartbeat to settle down.

“Good evening, Trickster. Are you presently occupied?”

…Or maybe not.

“Hi Lavenza,” Akiza said as she turned towards the little girl’s voice, stuffing whatever Iwai had given her into her bag, to be dealt with later. Lavenza stood in a corner near the exit to Central Street, by the same blue cell door that flickered and shone in the entrances to Mementos and the Palace. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I believe I mentioned that my master would be granting you access to the Velvet Room directly from the physical world. This is one such point of access.” She didn’t have her enormous book with her this time, Akiza noted.

“It’s certainly more convenient than sneaking into Mementos whenever I need to fuse something.” That got a smile out of Lavenza, who tittered into her gloved hand. Akiza couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Any chance you could stick one in Yongen?”

“I’m afraid not. Only certain locations in the physical world are suited to host such gateways. The cognition of the area determines its viability. This alleyway, for instance,” she explained, gesturing to the dark, twisting passage they found themselves in. “Its cognition is tied to secrecy and hidden things. Thus, an ideal location.” Akiza hummed. Cognitions tied to places was nothing new, that was how Palaces were made after all, but she hadn’t considered the possibility of a more abstract application of the idea.

“Makes sense,” she said after a moment. “And to answer your question, no, I’m not particularly busy. Why, need a favor?”

“Actually… yes.” Lavenza’s hesitant tone caught Akiza off guard, especially when the little girl began picking at the hem of her dress anxiously. “As you may have surmised, while I do possess knowledge of the cognitive world, I am only… academically familiar with the physical one. And if I am to properly fill my role as your guide and companion, it would not do for me to be unfamiliar with the subtleties of your world.”

She breathed deep, steeling herself, and opened her eyes, gazing resolutely up at Akiza. “I would strike a deal with you. You aid me in expanding my understanding of the physical world, and I shall expand my understanding of fusion and executions to help you achieve greater heights of power.”

“Oh,” Akiza said. Whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t this. Half of her had been expecting Lavenza to request some stupidly complex fusion or a special item from somewhere elbow-deep in Mementos’ asshole. “So, you just want me to show you around? Take you places so you can learn about them?”

“In essence, yes. I wish to learn about the human world by living in it, if only for brief excursions.” Lavenza folded her hands primly at the front of her dress, a formality betrayed by the adorable way she kept standing on her toes for brief stints. “Do we have a deal, Trickster?”

Akiza grinned. “Deal.”

“Good. Then let us seal our pact. Thou shalt be my guide, and I shall be thine strength.” Lavenza paced forward to stand on her tiptoes directly in front of Akiza, holding up one hand with her pinky outstretched. “This is how humans seal contracts, correct?”

Oh my god she’s the cutest little thing ever.

“That’s one way to do it, yeah.” Akiza grinned as she hooked her pinky with Lavenza’s. “So, any thoughts on where you’d like to go first?”

Lavenza hummed as she settled back down onto her heels. “Let us begin with… that place!” She turned sharply pointing her outstretched hand out of the alleyway and towards…

“Big Bang Burger?”

“I have observed it from this place for some time,” she explained. “It claims to offer ‘all the wonders of the cosmos, for only 799 yen.’ I would like to verify this claim.”

“Mm, yeah, I could eat.” Akiza fired off a quick text to Sojiro that she was going to be shopping a while longer, then pocketed her phone and extended a hand to Lavenza. “Shall we?”

Lavenza eyed her hand for a moment, then placed her hand in Akiza’s. “Lead the way.”

“So, what do you think?”

Lavenza sat in deep contemplation, looking for all the world like she was trying to unlock the mysteries of the universe right here in this Big Bang Burger booth.

“I believe,” she said after a moment, still eyeing her Lil Bang meal appraisingly. “that I like it. I am, however, still perplexed by the size. Does the sign not advertise ‘enough food to fill a black hole’?”

“So the thing about advertisements,” Akiza said as she dug through her box of fries looking for any uneaten stragglers, “is that they’re not true.”

Lavenza boggled at that. “Truly? Businesses falsify the nature of their products to attract sales? And humans tolerate this?”

“Eh, you kinda get used to it,” Akiza mused. “Or, at least, it’s considered pretty normal in our culture to exaggerate that kind of thing for the sake of ads. Most people read ‘intergalactic taste for only 799 yen’ and just kinda accept that the ad is just telling them they can get a burger and fries and a drink for relatively cheap.”

“Still, to think that such hyperbole is so normalized as to not arouse the slightest suspicion is… surprising to me. Are all humans so complacent?” Lavenza looked up at Akiza from her seat in the booth next to her, sipping on a lemonade and kicking her dangling feet idly.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Akiza said as she stuffed a discarded burger wrapper into the now-barren fries box. “If you ask almost anybody point-blank, they’ll tell you they hate how normalized corporate garbage is in every aspect of life. But the whole system of our society is set up to stop individuals changing it. A salaryman with a family to support just has too much at stake to take a stand against the culture. So most people just kinda put up with it and accept it as a fact of life.”

“Only most people?”

“Oh, there’s all sorts of opposition groups. Problem is, anybody who convinces themselves they can change the system from within it is just gonna end up a pawn of that system. Change has to come from outside, from places the system rejects and ignores.” Akiza took one last sip of soda, draining the cup down to the ice. “Like the Thieves,” she said with a cocky grin.

A smile, warm and reassured, spread across Lavenza’s face. “Indeed,” she said. “It is my understanding that there exists a special kind of solidarity between the downtrodden and the outcasts. I believe it is this solidarity that will win you the game, Trickster.”

“And I suppose I still don’t get any hints as to what the game actually is?”

“That would defeat the purpose of the game,” Lavenza hummed. “In time, you shall…” She trailed off, and when Akiza looked up to follow her gaze, she could see why. A burger the size of Akiza’s entire head had been set on the table next to them. “Trickster, what is that?”

“That must be the Big Bang Challenge thing they advertise all the time. If you can eat the whole thing in 30 minutes, you get a prize.”

“Fascinating. Have you ever attempted such a feat?”

Akiza sucked in a breath through her teeth. Too many failed Rainy Day Challenges to count. “Something like that.”

“Will you demonstrate this prowess for me now!?” Lavenza was leaning forward on the edge of her seat, hands clenched into tiny fists and a look of pure wonder on her face.

Akiza winced. “I… Well, I just ate, and it’s been like six months since I last tried, so…”

Lavenza looked instantly crestfallen. “I… I see. If it is truly beyond your capabilities, then–”

“Okay, hold on,” Akiza interjected. “I didn’t say anything about beyond my capabilities. I could do it if I had time to get ready.”

“The game ahead will not always afford you such luxuries, Trickster.” Lavenza’s expression was deadly serious. “If you cannot face unexpected challenges, how will you overcome the ruin?”

“That’s–” Akiza fumbled for a response, but relented to Lavenza’s insistent gaze and resignedly flagged down the server.

On the tray before her lay the shredded remains of what was once a burger. A valiant effort, spurred on by Lavenza’s cheerleading, but one that ended in failure just short of the finish line.

“You did remarkably well, Trickster.” Lavenza rubbed the small of Akiza’s back soothingly while Akiza contemplated the grim reality of not only what she’d just done, but how close she’d come to winning.

“Thanks,” she groaned. “Ugh I was so close, too…”

“There will be other chances. Think of it as a goal to aspire to!”

“That’s true, yeah.” Akiza sat up a little straighter, snapping a quick photo of the carnage on the tray before her for the group chat. “So, thoughts on your first outing?”

Another warm smile. “I found it truly enlightening. Thank you, Trickster. I believe now is the time for me to return to the Velvet Room, however.”

Akiza nodded, standing up (slowly, carefully…) and discarding the burger scraps to the trash by the tray return. “Glad to be of service,” she said with a grin. “Now let’s get you home.”

Friday, 6/3
Cafe Leblanc
Evening

Akiza hummed as she sat at her workbench, turning over the cobbled-together device she’d been working on for the last twenty minutes. “What do you think? Is this realistic enough?”

Morgana stood, circling the thing approvingly. “Looks good to me,” he said after a moment. “You’re getting pretty good at this tinkering stuff, you know!”

“I’m just glad it doesn’t have to actually, like, work, as long as it looks good.” Akiza set the thing aside, reaching for supplies to start on another–

–until she heard the click of something glancing off the window.

She and Morgana shared a confused glance before Morgana hopped up onto the windowsill. “It’s Haru,” he reported.

Akiza felt her brow tighten as she stood. “She usually texts before she comes over.”

Morgana hummed, looking out the window again. “She just saw me. And she looks… scared.”

Akiza rushed to the stairs without a thought, hastily getting her house slippers on and bounding down the steps two at a time. She opened the door as soon as she reached it. “Haru, what’s–”

“I-Inside, please!” Haru cut her off, voice full of alarm, and Akiza stepped to the side immediately. Haru rushed in as Akiza locked the door behind her. “Can we go upstairs? If I’m seen here, I-I…”

For a fraction of a fraction of a second, Akiza froze. Yes, of course, anything for Haru, but her desk was covered in incriminating stuff; forty thousand yen in Metaverse cash, her pistol, Ryuji’s new bat, all the gear for the heist–

From above, there was a thunk, a scrabbling of claws, and Morgana’s voice calling out “I’ll take care of it! Bring her up!”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.” Akiza grabbed Haru’s hand right away, pulling her towards the stairs. Haru gripped back fiercely. Brushing past the curtain, she saw a brief glimpse of Morgana darting out from under the bed, shoving any one of a dozen incriminating things under there. She mouthed a silent thank you as Haru joined her. “You wanna sit down?”

Haru did, wordlessly taking a seat on the end of the couch, still holding tight to Akiza’s hand. She didn’t speak for a minute, just stared aimlessly at the floor, breathing slowly and shakily. Morgana trotted up from beside Akiza, pawing at Haru’s shoe until he finally got her attention. “Oh, hello Mona-chan. Would you like to come up?” Haru’s voice made Akiza’s gut roil as Morgana hopped into her lap; there was none of the airyness that her voice usually had, none of the soft cheer that colored her words. Her words were flat and cold. Not politely angry like she’d been with Niijima, not anxious as she’d been when she received that phone call in Leblanc. This was the resignation of someone whose worst fear had come to pass.

“Can I get you anything?” Akiza asked quietly, as gently as possible. Making sure Haru was comfortable and as safe as Akiza could make her was first priority. “I can go make you some coffee, or heat up some curry for you?”

“Maybe later,” Haru said quietly after a moment. “I… would prefer not to be alone right now.”

Akiza thought for a moment, then reached under the couch, pulling out the folded-up quilt she’d found while cleaning out the attic in April. She opened it delicately, reaching around to drape it over Haru’s shoulders. Haru seemed not to respond for a moment, only perking up a little when the quilt’s weight settled on her. She didn’t say anything, at least not right away. She took the material gently in her hands, running it between her thumb and forefinger.

“Thank you,” she said, breathing deeply, shoulders rising and falling with the motion. “This is nice.”

“No problem,” Akiza said as she sat back down. “You, uh, don’t have to talk, of course. I can just put on a movie or something. Whatever you need.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Haru went back to stroking Morgana’s fur, smoothing it along his body in even motions as he purred like an engine in her lap.

“It’s no problem,” Akiza dismissed. “It’s the least I can do for a friend.”

Haru laughed once, softly. “That is what they say, isn’t it. That helping someone is the least you can do.”

“It’s what I say, at least,” Akiza said. “And it applies to you, too. Whatever you’re going through, I want to help however I can.”

Haru’s free hand tightened a bit on the quilt then, and her eyes got a faraway look in them, staring somewhere into the middle distance. She inhaled, held it in, gritted her teeth—

—and then heaved it out in a resigned, weary sigh.

“Akiza-chan,” she began. “I’m… I’m not foolish enough to think that the— the events that took place at Shujin recently happened for no reason.”

Akiza’s breath caught– where was Haru going with this?

“And given how, er, close you were– a-and Sakamoto-kun and Ann-chan as well– how close you all were to the situation, well… I-It stands to reason that… that you had something to do with the, er… resolution. A-and I think that’s a good thing! It’s admirable that you were able to… to take a stand like that. I-I think that makes you a wonderful person.”

“I just gave the others a shoulder to lean on.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Haru said, eyes still fixated on the second hand carpet. “M-My point is, I know you want to help me. And I’m grateful, really, but…” She trailed off.

“But…?” Akiza nudged, even as cold dread crept up her spine.

Haru laughed again, differently; the sound was brighter, but there was no joy behind it. “There’s not really a point anymore, unfortunately.” Slowly, Haru turned her gaze towards Akiza, regarding her with misty eyes and the saddest, most defeated smile ever to grace her vision. “I believe my life is already over.”

The world stopped spinning on its axis, and yet, Haru continued.

“That’s why… I want to help you. I want to do something for you. I think… if I can do something, some big wonderful good deed, then maybe my whole life won’t have been such a waste.”

Ghosts of a hundred sleepless nights roared through Akiza’s limbic system bearing scars and dark impulses, every inch of her animalistic hindbrain seized by thoughts of the signs the signs you know the signs and the protective urge to wrap Haru up in this quilt, shield her from whatever evil had driven her here with rapiers and pistols and great feathered wings.

“Haru,” Akiza began, calmly and evenly. “Are you thinking about hurting yourself?”

As soon as she said it, Haru’s smile dropped and her brows shot up. “W-what? Oh, no! No, not at all, I didn’t mean to insinuate that.”

Akiza heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good,” she said. “I’m glad.”

“...Thank you for checking, though.” Akiza looked up at Haru’s words, finding herself once again pinned by that piercing gaze. But whatever Haru found in her, if she found anything, was swiftly dropped as she looked down at Morgana, who was butting his head into her stomach in a show of enormous affection that got a real, honest giggle out of Haru.

“He really likes you,” Akiza said, letting just the tiniest smile back onto her face.

“I’m honored,” Haru said softly. She breathed deeply again, seeming to center herself as she exhaled. “My home life isn’t what you’d call enjoyable,” she explained. Akiza sat up a little straighter. “My father is an extremely busy man, and there are certain… expectations placed upon me by him. Expectations that mean I’m not able to do many of the things that people my age do.”

Akiza nodded, recalling Haru’s many mentions of family obligations, and the heated phone call that she’d overheard at Leblanc weeks earlier. Memories of Inaba rose alongside them unbidden, of her own obligations and all the things that her parents had denied her.

“Sit still and be polite,” they’d say. “Don’t embarrass us.” And then when she failed, as she always seemed to, they’d scream that name that she hated so much–

She shook her head lightly, shoving those memories aside to be dealt with another time. Haru continued, voice still just above a whisper.

“Still, I’ve been able to get away on occasion, like the time I’ve spent with you. I’ve learned to take my joy where I can get it.” One of her hands slid down from Morgana’s back to pick at the hem of her skirt, nails digging into the seam. “Tonight, it was made clear to me that… certain freedoms I take for granted can be taken away from me. Such as my phone… or my ability to attend school.”

Akiza gasped beneath her breath, trying not to let her shock show on her face. What on earth was Haru’s father putting her through?

“Oh, Haru…” Morgana murmured in her lap, butting his head against her hand again.

“So, yes,” Haru said. “As I mentioned earlier, I want to help you. With the time I have, I want to do something unequivocally good. So…”

She turned in her seat a little, facing more towards Akiza, then abruptly clasped her hands together and looked at Akiza with the face of a sinner begging for a blessing. “Please, if there’s anything you need, tell me. Anything at all. You’ve been so kind to me, and I-I… I want to repay that kindness!”

Akiza stared into Haru’s eyes, chewing her lip in the space between breaths. Part of her screamed to deny this, to not encourage this kind of thought, to tell Haru to her face that there was still hope. And another part, a more worldly and tempered part, reminded her that there were worse ways to cope than this.

“Okay. I’ll let you know if I need anything,” she said after a moment, and Haru’s shoulders sagged with relief. “But. I know you think I can’t help you, so I’ll just say a couple things. Firstly, if you need a place to go, I can convince Sojiro to put you up here, at least for a while. Ann lives alone in a big house in Jiyugaoka too, so you can live there if you need something long-term. Secondly, if you ever, ever want to talk about anything, even just to vent, I’m here. I’ll make time for it if I have to. And thirdly–”

She paused, taking Haru’s clasped hands in her own, squeezing them tightly and letting a little bit of Joker into her smile as Haru gasped. “No matter where you go, no matter what you are or aren’t allowed to do, nothing gets between a barista and her favorite customer. I’ll always have a cup for you.”

Haru sat there frozen for a moment, eyes shimmering with a look somewhere between relief and wonder. And then, quietly, her bottom lip began to quiver, and a tear rolled down her cheek, and Akiza pulled Haru into a tight embrace as the other girl began to cry. Haru curled up against Akiza’s chest, folding her arms in front of her as Akiza held her tight. The sobs wracked her body even as Akiza stroked her back soothingly, murmuring it’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got you.

Time passed, and eventually Haru’s tears subsided. She did get that coffee after all, a little warmth that brought some light back into her eyes as Akiza dug through her bag.

“Here you go,” she said, handing Haru a notebook as she stood in Leblanc’s doorway. “If anyone asks where you were, you were getting some notes from a classmate.”

“Thank you,” Haru said, sounding a little bit steadier than she had before. “I… I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”

“Don’t mention it,” Akiza said with a smile. “I’m just glad I was in the right places at the right times to be able to.”

Haru smiled in return. “I should be going now,” she said. “Can I count on you for more cat photos?”

“Of course,” Akiza replied immediately. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“I won’t,” Haru said, and Akiza decided that she believed it.

Sunday, 6/5
Nerima
Late night

Yusuke sat in contemplation, examining once again the calling card that had helped lay low that foul teacher at Shujin. The top hat logo with the sawtooth grin was… inelegant, yes, but there was a certain charm to it, a clear sincerity by the artist.

Said artist grumbled, tearing another page out of his notebook and chucking it towards the waste basket. “This one’s way harder than Kamoshida’s,” Ryuji groaned. “With him, it was like I could just point all my feelings at the paper and it’d just… make sense, y’know?”

“Ah,” Yusuke said, sitting up straighter. “You are experiencing a form of artist’s block, I believe. I find that when I have been struggling with the same piece for too long, a break helps me find my center again, so that I can look at the problem with fresh eyes.”

“Oooooooh, that makes sense!” Ryuji sat up straighter in bed, placing his notebook to the side. “Sometimes when I’m tryin’ to do homework or whatever, I’ll give up and play video games or somethin’, and then it’s way easier if I try again later.”

“The same approach,” Yusuke agreed. “I could also provide some input, if that would help?”

“For sure! So like, with the last one, I–”

He was cut off by the buzz of Yusuke’s phone, laying on the floor and lighting up with an unfamiliar number. Yusuke looked up at Ryuji as he reached for it, and with Ryuji’s approving nod, he answered the call. “Hello,” he asked. “Who is this?”

“Yusuke!” exclaimed the unmistakable voice on the other end. “Thank goodness, I’ve been worried sick. Are you okay?”

Instantly, Yusuke’s grip on the phone tightened and his breathing caught. Ryuji must have noticed some look on his face, because he scrambled off his bed, sitting on the floor right beside him, face plain with worry.

“I’m fine, Sensei.”

“That’s wonderful,” he said pleasantly. “Yusuke, I wanted to apologize for what happened at the atelier. I was wrong to react so harshly.”

Yusuke blinked. “Y-you were?” he asked, and immediately cursed himself for it. He couldn’t cede ground to Madarame, not now. The looking-glass was long broken.

“I was,” said Madarame, so gently that it made Yusuke want to weep and scream all at once. “I was caught off guard and I lashed out. I was wrong to direct my anger at you, and I can only ask that you forgive your Sensei for his mistake.”

He felt it again. That hot bile of regret and shame that pooled in his stomach, a learned response from years of such apologies for missteps small and large. I’m sorry Yusuke, I didn’t have a chance to get groceries today. I’m sorry Yusuke, I wasn’t able to afford the heating bill this month. I’m sorry Yusuke, I had to cancel our visit to the museum.

Even as he sat trembling beneath the weight of sixteen years’ worth of apologies, he knew this time was different. He wasn’t in the atelier. Ryuji was by his side, and the Thieves were a text message away. And Goemon’s presence in his heart eased the flame, tempered the hot anguish with cold defiance.

“I haven’t been to the atelier in two weeks. You only thought to call now?” He asked, finding a cool edge in his voice that made Goemon swell with pride.

“I had a fight with my teacher when I was your age,” Madarame explained with a sympathetic-sounding tone. “It lasted nearly a month, and even after all these years, I still think about it. I know it’s only natural to get confused sometimes, and to lash out against the people trying to help you. I gave you space so that you could cool down.”

“I could have been at the bottom of Tokyo Bay for all you knew.”

“The principal at Kosei informed me that you were still attending classes.”

Yusuke stewed, circling Madarame’s words, trying to pry apart the apology and find the motive within. “So you’ll be dropping the charges, then?”

“I’m afraid not. Even if no harm was done, breaking and entering is still a crime. You won’t have anything to do with this, of course. Only the girl who was with you.”

Not a surprise. Why would anyone have expected Madarame to let Akiza get away unscathed?

“She didn’t take anything,” he countered. “All she did was open the lock and make some accusations. Surely you can overlook her foolish mistake, as you have mine.”

There was a sound on the other end like a sigh, and when Madarame’s voice returned, it was coarser, less understanding. “Yusuke. If my private security company handles this, no word of it will get out. But if Kosei were to learn that you were friends with a criminal, well… even my recommendation wouldn’t save your scholarship.”

And there it was. Now that Madarame had lured Yusuke in, he was reminding him how small the cage really was. “I see,” Yusuke said simply, grip tensing around his phone.

“I know the last two weeks have been hard on both of us, so let me make it up to you,” Madarame continued, brushing off that response. “The exhibition ends in a few days. Once it’s over, why don’t we go on a trip?”

Yusuke blinked. “A trip?”

“Precisely,” the man explained. “We’ll take the train to some cities around the country, tour some art schools and look for more prospective pupils. I know it must have been lonely in the atelier for the last few years. And there will be plenty of opportunities to find inspiration for new works.”

Yusuke’s lips tightened into a hard line. The young, bright-eyed child leapt at the idea of going on such an excursion with the man he knew as his father. Even the person he was a month ago would have done the same. And now… now the rational part of him was too disillusioned to even imagine a world where Madarame was being genuine.

“Why don’t you come by the exhibit tomorrow and we can discuss this in person?” Madarame asked as Yusuke sat in silence. “We can decide which landmarks we’d like to see.”

Beside him, Ryuji hastily scribbled something on a spare piece of paper, passing him a note with can make sure he sees calling card, only if you’re safe scrawled across it. And that touched Yusuke a little; even if this would help the mission, it was up to him and his comfort with the idea.

“I’ll come by tomorrow at opening time,” he said, keeping his tone even.

“Wonderful! I’ll be so glad to see you again, Yusuke. Please take care.” And like that, Madarame hung up.

Yusuke’s shoulders heaved as they released tension that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, phone falling from his hands and thudding onto the tatami floor. His breaths came shakily as his heartbeat thudded in his ears.

“Hey, you okay?” He looked up, snapped out of his brief spiral by Ryuji’s voice. He was still there beside him, eyes full of concern.

“I’m… I’m fine. I just need a moment,” Yusuke said. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, controlled breath. In for five, hold for five, out for five. Just the way Akiza had shown him. Three breaths passed, and he felt still again.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Ryuji said.

“Thank you,” Yusuke answered. “I don’t… I didn’t expect that he would have such an effect on me, now that I know the truth.”

Ryuji sighed, adjusting his legs to splay out in front of him and leaning back on his hands, looking up at the ceiling. “I get that,” he said, a little quieter. “It’s easy to forget how much they’ve got their hooks in ya.”

Yusuke turned his head, brushing his bangs out of his face. Ryuji stared upwards with a mixture of recollection and regret. “You do?”

“Yeah. I ain’t told you about that yet?” Yusuke shook his head at the question, and Ryuji blew some air out through his nose. “It’s just me and my Ma here. Dad walked out on us when I was like, nine or ten. He was a real motherfucker too, always drunk and angry. He’d hit me and my Ma a lot. And then one day he just… left.”

“You don’t have to share this, if it’s difficult,” Yusuke said.

Ryuji waved him off. “Nah, it’s fine. The others know, so you might as well. Anyway, I still hate the guy. Only ever heard from him a couple times, when he wanted us to send him money or whatever. And every time I picked up the phone and heard him on the other end, I… froze up.”

Almost without noticing, Yusuke scooted a little closer to Ryuji. The other boy didn’t move. “I keep finding myself conflicted,” Yusuke said, looking down at his hands. “I can’t reconcile the Madarame I know to be true with the one I know from fond memories.”

Ryuji made an mm-hmm sound. “I ain’t got many of those with my old man, but there’s a couple. I just hate that like… I feel like I’m over it, like it’s all behind me and stuff, and then sometimes the upstairs neighbors will drop something or slam a door or whatever, and for a second I think it’s him, and it scares the fuck out of me.”

“We’re kindred spirits, then.” Yusuke steepled his fingers, idly observing the curves of his fingers, if for no other reason than to keep his hands occupied. “I’ve experienced similar scares during my stay at Ann’s house. Sometimes the refrigerator just… closes a little too hard.”

“Shit, I’m sorry man.” Ryuji looked over at him sympathetically. “I can tell ya that it does get a bit easier after a while. Most days I don’t even think about him.”

There was silence then, save for the hum of the ceiling light. Yusuke felt a hand brush his shoulder, and before he knew it, Ryuji had pulled him into a hug.

“If that stuff happens to you again, lemme know, okay? I’ll do whatever I can. You’re one of us now, even after we change Madarame’s heart. So lean on me when you need to, okay?”

Ryuji’s voice was soft, close to Yusuke’s ear. His arms were folded against his chest, Ryuji’s hold encircling his shoulders. His chest rose and fell with his breaths, heartbeat strong and constant. Here, for the first time since the phone call, Yusuke felt safe.

“Thank you,” he whispered, not moving from his spot. “Do… Do you really believe we can do it? Change Madarame’s heart?”

“For sure,” said Ryuji, as if it was as certain as the sunrise. “Just you watch. We’re gonna steal the crap out of his Treasure.” Yusuke laughed once, turning his head to look up at Ryuji’s face, covered in a wide, reassuring smile. And Yusuke was captivated by that smile, and those brown eyes that lit up alongside it, as big and as bright as the moon.

Chapter Text

Monday, 6/6
Early morning

Not every day was a bad day. But stepping into the shower that morning, it was painfully clear that today was going to be a bad day.

Close your eyes. Hose off in the shower. Sit in the bath only long enough to get clean. Keep your eyes closed. 

Get out of the bath. Eyes forward, don't look down. 

Towel off. Blow-dry your hair. Don't think about it. 

Look at yourself in the mirror. Stare, unblinking, at your reflection. Poke and prod at your cheeks, flinching at the sight of how the skin sits on your face, like an ill-fit sheet flung hastily over your bones. Remember all the people who complimented you, told you how wonderfully you were maturing. 

Breathe. Grab the sink in case your legs give out. Stare at the thing in the mirror. Wonder who, or what, it is. Grip the sink until your knuckles turn white. 

Hear the bathroom fan grow deafening. Hear the roar in your ears. Feel far, far away from yourself. Resist the urge to cry. Resist the urge to scream and claw at your flesh and pull the thing in the mirror apart at the seams in the vain hope that it might free you. Squeeze the sink harder even though your fingers hurt. 

Clench your jaw. Grit your teeth. Stop feeling. Try not to break the mirror in futile, implacable rage. Succeed somehow. 

Hear a knock on the bathroom door that startles you like a cornered animal. Blink. Come back to yourself. Control your breathing. Listen to the other person. 

"I'm heading out," the voice said. "Make sure you get to school on time." 

"Okay, sis," Makoto said, as calmly as she could. "I'll see you later."

Monday, 6/6
Shujin Academy
Lunchtime

The student council room was empty aside from Makoto, as it so often was. Hypothetically, the student council was supposed to eat lunch together on Mondays, but they rarely did. The other members had friends to socialize with, and that was fine. That kept them in tune with the thoughts and worries of the student body. Besides, Makoto appreciated the extra time to study in private, chopsticks in one hand and pencil in the other.

This was fine. It was. It was fine.

She looked down at the practice exam again, reading over the essay prompt for the sixth time. With respect to the historical events of the time period and the works of his contemporaries, analyze and describe the themes in the works of Soseki Natsume in his…

Makoto sighed, setting the pencil down. No good, again. Her eyes just kept sliding off the paper, brain still stuck in the horrid funk of the morning. Those awful… panic attacks, she was calling them– they had only grown more frequent and more intense with time. No matter how many breathing exercises she went through, no matter how many different meditation techniques she tried, they kept coming. Usually in the bath, but they had a tendency to ambush her no matter where she was. Throwing herself into her studies only seemed to exacerbate the issue; it had worked in the past, but now she was having to fight tooth and nail to keep her grades from slipping as the panic attacks ate up more and more of her days.

No, the only thing that seemed to help consistently was training. Sae held some disdain for her love of martial arts, worried that it distracted Makoto from her studies, but her sister tolerated it on the basis of extracurriculars looking good on college applications. It didn’t help further her already-perfect grades or prepare her for exams, but the dojo was the only place she’d found she could truly clear her head. Getting lost in the art, the practiced motions of forms and strikes, really laying into a dummy or a sparring partner with all she had… it made her feel alive. For the few hours each week she was able to justify it to herself, she was at peace, there on the dojo floor.

Maybe a visit was in order after school today. Sae was working late as usual, so she wouldn’t get on Makoto’s case about it, and cram school didn’t start till the evening, so His Princeliness wouldn’t be able to rat her out either. She pushed the practice exam away, standing up to try to walk off some of the tension in her back.

As she passed by the window, though, something caught her eye. Two shocks of bright blonde hair and one dark one, walking out into the courtyard and taking up residence on one of the tables. Kurusu, Sakamoto, and Takamaki– persons of interest one, two, and three on Principal Kobayakawa’s list of suspects. Yet another stressor thrown onto the pile, of course. Tracking down the so-called “Phantom Thieves” who had supposedly incited Kamoshida’s confession.

In the courtyard below, the suspects looked energized, gesturing excitedly about something or other. She couldn’t help but notice how much touching was going on; Kurusu leaned on Sakamoto’s shoulder, Takamaki reached across to ruffle Kurusu’s hair, and so on. They looked… alive.

Something like disdain or envy or perhaps both swirled in Makoto’s ribcage as she watched them. Why should she be jealous of their fun? If they wanted to goof off, so be it. She had a bright future ahead of her, and a cynical, bitter part of her doubted they did. Not with Takamaki and Sakamoto’s reputations and Kurusu’s criminal record. But Makoto couldn’t deny that they looked happy, at least. She doubted that looking in a mirror sent Kurusu into a blind panic on a nigh-daily basis.

She shook her head. Bright future, successful career. The promise of a better tomorrow, all her dreams in her grasp if she just buried the inconvenient parts of herself. And that was happiness of its own sort.

…Right?

Sighing, she sat back down to finish her lunch, jotting down a trip to the dojo in her planner.

Monday, 6/6
Shibuya
Morning

Yusuke stood motionless, just behind and to the right of Madarame, as he so often had. Madarame spoke amicably with a reporter as visitors stood just outside the gallery’s threshold, waiting for security to lift the velvet rope and open the exhibition’s final day. The enormity of what he was doing bore down on him; little shards of accusation, of incrimination, stared at him from all sides, laying in plain sight. Nobody had noticed yet. Nothing wrong under the sun, as far as Madarame was concerned.

The clock struck eight thirty and guests began filing into the gallery, murmuring politely to each other about the masterworks on display.

“It’s such an honor to finally see his work in person,” said one of the guests, and Yusuke would have flinched if not for Goemon’s cool embrace.

Bide your time, he thought, though it may well have been Goemon alongside him. It’s almost over.

Madarame turned from the reporters, regarding Yusuke with a kind smile. One of his Sensei’s hands wound around his shoulder in an act of physical affection that, in months past, Yusuke would have sold his soul for. And indeed, his heart ached, pangs of fondness that a boy could only have for his father reverberating through his body. “Thank you for coming, Yusuke,” Madarame said. “I’m glad we could put this business behind us.”

And suddenly, it all rang hollow. Because now he could only think of the Thieves; their embraces, their voices, the way Ryuji had held him just like this, the way he had smelled of cheap deodorant and warm sunshine and safety. Of how rotten Madarame’s touch truly felt.

Yusuke didn’t know if he could open his mouth to speak. Would his mouth betray him? Divulge his secrets, his friends’ plans, all in the pursuit of this facade of affection? Shame sizzled in his chest when he realized he wasn’t quite sure.

And then, as if to save him, a murmur began to ripple through the gallery-goers. This is it, he thought. The point of no return.

Madarame’s brow furrowed as concerned, confused whispers rose, more and more patrons gathering around the offending pieces. A security guard pushed through them, then rushed to Madarame.

“Sir,” he began. “There’s been some kind of vandalism. The description cards for the pieces have been altered–”

“Give me that,” Madarame snarled, snatching the thing from the guard’s hands and raising it to the light.

SIR ICHIRYUSAI MADARAME, THE VILE SINNER OF VANITY:

YOU WEAR THE SKIN OF AN ARTIST, YET YOU CREATE NOTHING OF BEAUTY OR VALUE.

YOU TWIST AND MANIPULATE THE VULNERABLE, THE HOPEFUL WHO COME TO YOU FOR GUIDANCE AND INSPIRATION, IN PURSUIT OF MONETARY GAINS.

YOU DISGUISE THE WORK OF CHILDREN AS YOUR OWN, STEALING THE FUTURES OF THOSE WITH NO MEANS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.

THUS, IN RECOMPENSE, WE WILL MAKE YOU CONFESS YOUR CRIMES WITH YOUR OWN MOUTH.

WE WILL TAKE YOUR DISTORTED DESIRES WITHOUT FAIL.

SIGNED,

THE PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEART

Madarame bristled, and as he flipped the card over, he beheld the emblem Yusuke had designed with Ryuji, a mask with one burning eye adorned with a gentleman thief’s hat. His face twisted into a scowl immediately, jaw clenched and the one prominent vein on his temple standing out in the way it only did when he was truly furious.

“Who did this? Who is responsible!?” Madarame hissed at the guard as his eyes darted around the room, glaring down the visitors who glanced at him with worried suspicion.

“We don’t know, sir,” said the guard. “The security footage only showed a cat wandering around…”

“Get these things down and get everybody out!” he roared. From the side, Yusuke could swear he saw the Shadow beneath Madarame’s skin, clothed in putrescent gold.

He’d come this far. Now all that remained was to finish the job.

Monday, 6/6
Madarame’s Palace
After School

When Madarame’s Shadow became a mass of floating portraits, Fox’s confidence had been shaken. The way each painting had moved, gyrating like independent limbs of some horrid unseen abomination, made him question whether this was a winnable battle. But they had stayed strong, fought the thing to a standstill even as it sloshed around black paint that sapped their strength with each drop. Now it was reduced to copying itself over and over, counterfeits that had nowhere near the power of the original.

Fox ducked beneath another flying bolt of flame, feeling it just barely graze the end of his suit’s tail. Six more multicolored copies of Madarame’s Shadow remained, slowly whittled down until the Shadow had no energy left to create more. He lunged forward, katana drawn from its sheath in a low, sweeping arc, channeling Goemon’s frigid touch into the blade and cutting into a red-robed copy. The copy crumpled, just as the others did under the other Thieves’ attacks.

“This is our opening!” Joker cried when the last one’s knees hit the floor. “Take ‘em down!”

The Thieves fell upon the downed Shadows like buzzards, carving away every fake until only the gold-clad original remained.

Fox’s chest heaved. His lungs burned. His muscles screamed.

And before him, Madarame’s Shadow knelt, defeated.

Joker snatched the Treasure up immediately, just as the other Thieves began worriedly checking each other over. She eyed him with a worried look. “Any injuries, Fox? You need a minute?”

Her words barely reached Fox’s ears. He stepped forward, stride languid and assured, finding a perverse glee in the way the Shadow yelped in fear.

“Y-Yusuke, please, you must understand,” it begged. “Money makes everything tick in our society, you know that. Y-you know how miserable it is to be a poor artist! I didn’t want to go back to–”

“I know how miserable it is because you forced me to live that way,” Fox spat, cutting the Shadow off with a snarl. “I didn’t need to live like that. None of us did. You could have provided for us. You could have given us all we needed, but your vile greed blinded you.”

“I-I just–”

Before he could think, Fox had grabbed the front of the Shadow’s kimono in his fist, yanking the terrified Shadow towards him. His voice growled low in his throat. “Do you remember how many pupils came to the atelier, only to have their passion drained from them by your actions? Do you remember their names? Do you remember the face of the one whose life you took!?”

The Shadow stared, eyes quivering. “I do,” it said. “I remember them all! Every name and face that came into the atelier!”

The worst part was, Fox believed it. The desperation in its voice was too real, too raw to be a lie. And with the way each one had been immortalized in this horrid museum, he had little choice but to acknowledge that truth. Another facet of his Sensei, irreconcilable with the evil deeds he had seen the man commit.

“Then why?” Fox whispered, voice straining beneath the weight of the fury it bore. “They were my friends. My family! You drove them out, crushed their dreams with your selfish greed, and discarded them! Touma was like a brother to me, and you killed him! ”

“I’m sorry!” The Shadow cowered, pulling away from Fox as much as it could while stuck in his grasp. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

The sniveling grated against Fox’s ears, intermingling with the thundering sound of his own heart and drowning out the world around him. After all this, the nerve to beg forgiveness, to apologize– Fox hadn’t even imagined that an apology would come. Would an apology mend the scars? Would an apology lay flowers on Touma’s grave?

“Fox,” called Mona’s voice behind him, cutting through the furious haze. “You should take a look at this."

He blinked, turning in place, ignoring the Shadow’s babbling pleas. Joker held the Treasure, its cloth covering shed, revealing–

The Shadow thudded to the floor as its kimono slipped from Fox’s loosening grasp.

There, in Joker’s arms, was the Sayuri. The vision of beauty that had spurred his love of art, his lifelong passion, the lodestone of his search for meaning. Except this one was different. There was none of the iconic haze shrouding the lower portion of the portrait, replaced by a swaddled, contented baby.

His eyes flicked upwards, everything about the piece recontextualizing around this new axis. The enigmatic gaze of the woman– a mother’s love, endless fondness and care. The blossoms on the branch– new life, budding forth and determined to grow in beauty and light.

“What is this?” he whispered. Then, when he heard no answer, he turned to the Shadow again, all thoughts paused by this revelation. “What is this?”

“Th-that’s… that’s the true Sayuri, ” the Shadow said meekly. “It was painted by your mother.”

Fox’s breath froze. Distantly, he heard somebody gasp.

“Her health had always been poor,” the Shadow explained. “But she loved you more than anything. That was her last work before she d-died. I-I…”

“But why?” Skull asked. “Why’d you mess it up like that? You said it yourself, that was her last painting!”

“Because I was blinded by greed,” the Shadow whispered. “I came back to the atelier, back when it was my only place to live, and she was having a seizure in her studio. I don’t know what possessed me in that moment, but… I didn’t call the ambulance. Not right away. I let her die, I altered the painting to create a mystery to draw the public eye, and I rode it to fame and fortune.”

Fox blinked. Someone, Panther maybe, was screaming at the top of their lungs, bloody murder scraping raw across the golden stones of the Palace floor. There was something hot on his face– when had he started crying? He took one halting step towards the Shadow.

And then Joker, silent all this time, spoke, from just beside him. “It’s your call, Fox,” she said, her voice an island of calm in a hurricane of emotion centered on him. “You’re the one he hurt. Whatever you choose, we’ll have your back.”

Fox blinked again, and only then did he notice that his right hand was halfway to his katana, suddenly much heavier on his hip. He felt far, far away from his body as he stared down at his unmoving hand. In his periphery, the Shadow still cowered beneath him. Fox turned to the trembling figure once again.

“I should cut you down where you stand,” he whispered, only faintly hearing himself. He was laying track under himself as he went, and he had no way of knowing where it would end. “All the lives you ruined, and the ones you took– that would be fair, would it not?”

“P-please, don’t–” the Shadow hiccuped, sobbing now. “Please, I beg you, d-don’t kill me! F-for what it’s worth, Yusuke, I… I really did think of you as my son.”

Fox’s eyes widened beneath his mask. His fist clenched around his katana’s sheath, muscles straining to the point of pain, shaking with rage. That word, that one single word, and whatever semblance of control he thought had over his emotions went tumbling down again. He considered it, staring with eyes like fire through hot tears at the crumpled, pathetic vision of his sensei before him. His sensei, his mentor, his…

His father.

A scream tore itself from his throat as he threw his sword to the side, turning away before he had the chance to do something he might later regret.

“Return to yourself in reality,” he said, at last feeling in control of his voice, haggard and strained as it was. “Confess to your crimes– all of them!”

“I will,” sobbed Madarame. “I will, I swear! Y-you won’t kill me?”

“Go, or I may change my mind!” Fox barked.

“I-I will! B-but please– call off your friend before you go! The one in the black mask!”

“Who?” Joker spoke up again, arms folded. “There was somebody else in here?”

“It wasn’t me, was it?” Mona jogged to her side, only for Madarame to shake his head.

“N-no, someone else… I-I thought they were part of your team–”

Madarame was cut off as the whole Palace, air and earth and all, began to shake. The great building they had come from shifted, listing to one side, dirt and dust cascading off it.

“We have to go!” Joker shouted. Mona dashed back, morphing into a bus with haste as the other Thieves piled in.

“W-wait, Yusuke,” Madarame said as Fox picked up his sword and turned to leave. Glancing back, he saw the Shadow beginning to fade, dissolving slowly into white motes of light. “W-what do I do now? Where do I go from here?”

“Confess,” Fox said. “And then fill the world with your own art.”

“Fox, let’s go! ” Panther waved him towards the bus, and as Madarame’s Shadow cried out his name, Yusuke jumped aboard.

Monday, 6/6
Shibuya
After School

Yusuke had lost track of how long he had been sitting on this bench, staring down at the Sayuri in his hands. His fingers grazed feather-light over the impasto on its surface, tracing the contours of the brushstrokes, feeling his mother’s touch in every curve and ridge.

“It really is beautiful,” Ann said next to him.

He nodded. “It’s strange to know where the rush of emotion I felt when I first saw it came from,” he said. “Perhaps some long-buried part of me recognized it. I never knew what my mother looked like, but… perhaps some part of me remembered.”

“So this is where all Madarame’s distortions started?” Ryuji leaned over the back of the bench as he spoke, a little closer than what Yusuke would consider personal space. He found he didn’t mind.

“It stands to reason. It sounds like this is what made him start down the path he did,” said Morgana. He sat comfortably in Akiza’s bag, as usual. Akiza, for her part, sat with her arms folded and legs crossed, chewing on her lower lip.

“I’m glad you got it, then,” Ann said. “This way it’s like a memento of who she really was, right?”

“I suppose it is.” Yusuke gazed down at the baby, finally revealed after years of being hidden beneath that smog. “It’s not as if I can show it to the public. A hundred people with counterfeits believe they alone hold the true answer to the Sayuri ’s mystery.”

“And that way if you ever get stuck in a rut again, you can remember what made you wanna make art in the first place!” Ryuji’s hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing firmly, and Yusuke felt more anchored to the world than he ever had before.

There was a comfortable silence that settled over them, a warm blanket of togetherness and calm in the Shibuya sunset, here on this bench in the little park near the atelier.

“What’re you thinking about, Akiza?” Morgana spoke up again, butting his head against Akiza’s side, seemingly doing nothing to break her from her thoughts.

“I’m glad we succeeded,” she said. “But this other person in the Metaverse… It’s worrying me.”

Yusuke exhaled, letting the exhaustion settle into his muscles just a bit. “Now that I’ve had some time to think, I must agree. From your explanation, I would have thought we alone decided who can access the Metaverse.”

“And Madarame said the guy had a mask,” Ryuji said, settling down next to Akiza and taking one of her fidgeting hands in his. “Ain’t that mean he’s got a Persona?”

“It’s possible,” Morgana said, hopping down onto the sidewalk to pace back and forth. “A Persona is your will of rebellion. It’s rare, but we can’t be the only five people in Tokyo who want to change the world. It could be almost anyone.”

“Could somebody have snuck in while we were going in at some point? Or gotten pulled in accidentally?” Ann twirled a ponytail around in her fingers, tugging idly as she did so.

“Maybe,” Akiza said. “We need to be more careful. I don’t want any more people getting in there. Not everyone shares our good intentions.”

Morgana stopped his pacing, stretching out into a long arc of feline grace. “Agreed. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open whenever we’re in the Metaverse for the time being. We don’t really have any other leads to go on right now.”

“I tell ya what lead I’m goin’ on,” Ryuji said as he stretched his arm over his head. “ Food. I’m freakin’ starving!”

“Curry at my place?” Akiza asked, finally sitting upright, pensive creases on her brow smoothing out. “That way we don’t have to deal with crowds at a restaurant.”

“Gladly,” Yusuke said with a smile. “I’ve been aching for another taste of Sakura-san’s coffee for days.”

Akiza stood as Morgana hopped back into her bag, a warm grin on her face. “Let’s go, then.”

Yusuke stood, and walked side by side with his companions into the setting sun.

Monday, 6/6
Cafe Leblanc
Early Evening

Akiza wasn’t surprised to see Sojiro starting to clean up, given how close it was to closing time. He looked up as the door’s bell chimed, automatically getting ready to greet a customer or turn them away for the night, but his expression shifted when he recognized her.

“You’re back,” he said. “And you brought your friends again?”

“Customers,” she answered, placing her bag on the booth table where the Thieves were already taking up residence and heading behind the counter. Morgana hopped down onto the floor, brushing up against Sojiro’s legs affectionately before trotting up the stairs. “We’re all starving. Mind if I help with the curry?”

“Nice try, kid. Get some coffee going, I’ll take care of the curry.” He shot her down once again, already moving to the stove as she let out an exaggerated groan despite her grin.

Making coffee was starting to become automatic for her at this point. Sure, she still used the scale, but only because precision was a virtue. Blue Mountain, lighter-side-of-dark roast with white mocha for Ann, Ethiopian light roast with two sugars for Ryuji, plus a teensy drop of saline solution to cut out the bitterness he hated, and with Yusuke… well, she didn’t know his order yet. She’d ambush him with a tasting session soon, but for the time being she settled on Sojiro’s house blend.

The Thieves chatted in the background, Ann and Ryuji quieter than usual as the usual post-Palace exhaustion settled around them like a blanket. She glanced up at one point and caught a glimpse of Ann leaning on Ryuji, a contented smile on her face as they talked about whatever it was. Yusuke was sketching as usual, eyes focused on his paper even as he chimed into the conversation.

“Order up,” called Sojiro, depositing four plates of curry on the table as Akiza stepped out with the coffees. “Hey, nice job,” he said as she did so, nodding at the cups as she set them down. “You’re getting much quicker at that.”

She preened just a bit under the praise, settling in next to Yusuke. “Thank you so much for the food, sir,” he said as Sojiro straightened back up. “I’ve been anticipating this moment since I last tasted this wonderful recipe.”

Sojiro chuckled. “Your friends can come back whenever they like, kid. Speaking of which, where's that other girl? With the dark hair and the...” He trailed off, probably hovering on the word wheelchair.

“That’s Shiho,” Ann chimed again. “Shiho Suzui. She had to go home after school, but she usually hangs out with us.”

“And Suzui,” Sojiro concluded. “Well, let me know if you kids need anything.”

Sojiro made it about halfway back to the counter before Yusuke spoke up, a deep crease etched upon the artist’s brow. “Actually, there is something,” he said. “This painting… could I ask you to display it in your cafe?”

Akiza’s chest tightened, and Ryuji spoke up immediately. “Dude, ain’t that…”

All you have left of your mother, he didn’t say. Sojiro’s brow arched, and he chuckled lightly. “That’s awfully generous of you. You paint it?”

Yusuke stilled, and Akiza caught the look of concern on the blondes’ faces. He looked down at it again, hand hovering over the surface, as if afraid to touch it. “My mother did, actually. Her final work before she passed.”

Sojiro went quiet, then coughed uncomfortably. “That’s, uh… I’m sorry to hear that. You sure you wanna leave that here?”

Yusuke, however, shook his head. “I live in a dormitory at Kosei,” Yusuke explained. “It’s not terribly spacious, and I don’t have much room to store belongings. The painting isn’t fit for a gallery, but this place…” He looked around again, at the cafe, at the Thieves, and then at Sojiro. “I’d like to think my mother would have liked it here.”

Sojiro scratched at the back of his neck, shifting from one foot to his other. “Well sheesh, when you put it that way… Yeah, I can find a frame for that.”

Yusuke beamed, bowing as much as he could while still in the booth. “Thank you, Boss. I’m truly grateful. My only stipulation is that I would like to visit now and again, to see it again.”

“Well, sure.” Sojiro chuckled a bit at that, leaning back against the bar. “It’s a public cafe, c’mon in whenever you like.”

Yusuke smiled again, and they settled back into quiet conversation after that. At this point, Akiza felt she was fairly in tune with the general feelings of her team, and right now they were weary. Weeks of tension all built up to the heist, and now all they could do was watch and wait to see if they’d succeeded. Ann still leaned on Ryuji’s shoulder, but her eyes betrayed her exhaustion, both physical and emotional. Ryuji looked much the same, and Yusuke… she didn’t quite have a read on him yet, but he at least seemed to be in good spirits for the moment.

Akiza got up to clear the now-empty curry plates a few minutes later, bringing them all over to the sink to be washed.

“Thanks for the curry, Boss.” Ryuji said quietly from the booth. “You gotta let me get some of that again sometime.”

He chuckled. “So long as you all keep this one out of trouble,” he said, nodding towards Akiza. She flushed a bit under the little laughs that got out of the others.

“More like she keeps us outta trouble,” Ryuji said as he finished off his coffee. “She’s pretty much the only one of us who’s got her head screwed on straight. Practically tutored us for exams.”

“Really,” Sojiro said, impressed curiosity in his voice as he turned to look at Akiza again. She just mumbled something about it being no big deal, suddenly very interested in the dishes. All this combat experience and soul-baring, and she still couldn’t deal with some light praise. Sojiro laughed in that gravelly way he did. “Well, I’ll look forward to seeing your exam scores then, kid.”

He patted her shoulder lightly, affectionate in a grounding way that she’d been growing accustomed to. Ever since that first time after Kamoshida, whenever she nailed a cup of coffee or got the shop cleaned up ahead of schedule, he’d clap her gently on the shoulder, sometimes without saying anything at all. And even as she shrank under her friends’ praise, she glanced up and saw something in Sojiro’s eyes that she dared to imagine was pride.

Then, however, she heard Ann speak up. “Whoa, Yusuke, what’s wrong?”

She spun on her heel, looking back at the Thieves, and saw Yusuke looking down at his coffee with a faraway expression, breathing unsteadily as little tremors shook his lean frame. Ann had moved over to Yusuke’s side of the booth, reaching hesitantly for his shoulder, and Ryuji sat up on alert.

“I’m… I’m not sure,” he said shakily, like he was holding back tears. “I-I…”

“Boss, I’ll finish the dishes later,” Akiza said, shucking her apron off and rushing to the booth. “Hey, Yusuke, you wanna come upstairs?”

He nodded wordlessly, and the blondes slid from their seats, Yusuke rising sluggishly to follow Akiza. The blondes trailed behind him. As Akiza passed Sojiro, they exchanged glances, and he gave an approving nod.

Upstairs, Morgana laid on the windowsill, tail flicking idly as he slept, only for him to be roused by the sound of feet tromping up the staircase. They guided Yusuke to the couch as one would herd a sheep, and it was only once Ann and Ryuji sat either side of him and Morgana hopped into his lap that the tears began to flow freely.

His sobs were quiet, more like little stilted gasps, but they shook his thin frame each time, his shoulders heaving intermittently as he buried his face in his hands. Akiza hesitated, standing off to the side by the desk. She didn’t want to crowd Yusuke, but she wasn’t quite sure what else she should be doing. Not without at least having an idea of what was wrong.

Ryuji seemed to know, though, or at least have an inkling, because the instant he put his arm around Yusuke, the artist turned into him, burying his face in Ryuji’s chest and clutching at the front of his shirt. Ryuji just hugged him, smoothing his hands down Yusuke’s back and murmuring words of comfort under his breath.

Ann and Akiza exchanged a silent glance, neither sure what to do with themselves. Akiza eventually ran back downstairs to grab a glass of water, careful to avoid disturbing a few newly-arrived customers. Sojiro shot her a confused, worried look, to which she could only shrug apologetically and trot back upstairs.

When she pushed through the curtain at the top of the stairs, Yusuke was in the process of uncurling his withdrawn form, pulling away from Ryuji just a tad. Akiza offered him the water wordlessly.

He took it, mumbling something that sounded a bit like th’nkyu before downing half of it in one gulp. “Forgive me,” he said softly after a moment. “I’m… not exactly sure what that was, but I feel… lighter, somehow.”

“That’s good,” Ann said, matching his volume. “It’s okay if you don’t know what it was. You’ve been through a lot the last couple weeks, y’know?”

“Right,” he breathed. “We’ve… done all we can, yes? Now we wait to see if the change of heart takes effect?”

“That’s right,” Morgana hummed, still curled up into a loaf on Yusuke`s lap. “You did great out there, Yusuke. For someone who only awoke recently, you’ve acclimated to the Metaverse well.”

Yusuke didn’t say anything to that. He sat there, rotating the glass in his hand, examining the way the light passed through it. There was something in his eyes– something altered, or maybe refracted. He gulped down the rest of it, sitting back and looking up at the ceiling for a moment, remnants of tear tracks still on his cheeks, before turning to look at Ann. “I think I would like to go lay down for the evening. Are you ready to head back?”

Ann blinked. “Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, let’s get you back to my place.”

“I prolly should too,” Ryuji said. “Ma’s gonna be home tonight.”

The three of them stood up, hustling out the door with the particular sluggish hurriedness that affected exhausted people desperate to get to bed. Ryuji gave Akiza a slow, lazy goodnight kiss that set a pleasant buzz going in her chest. As she stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching her Thieves head towards the train station, she couldn’t help but appreciate the way the Sayuri looked in the light from its new place by the door.

“So, Mona? What do you think?” Akiza scritched behind Morgana’s ear as she passed by his perch on the couch, settling into her bedtime routine of hair-brushing and concealer-removal. “Second heist better than the first?”

“Well executed, certainly,” he said as soon as he stopped purring. “Theoretically, he should confess just like Kamoshida, but until we see it happen, we should keep our guards up.”

“Spoilsport,” she said, sticking her tongue out playfully. “Even if you are right.” Morgana preened at that, doing that little satisfied mrrow that he saved for when someone complimented him.

A few minutes later, she flicked off the light, padding across the carpet to her makeshift bed and settling down for the night. Morgana was quick to join her, curling up on her stomach after a couple preparatory circles.

“By the way,” he said quietly, just before Akiza shut her eyes. “You did really well with Yusuke. That thing I said about focusing on helping the people you could reach? This is what I meant. Even if you’d stolen the Treasure without him, you didn’t have to go so far out of your way to make Yusuke feel safe.”

“I think I did,” Akiza said after a moment’s pause, voice a quiet murmur just barely audible over the hum of the fridge downstairs. “I don’t think a thief lets something like that go unaddressed. At least, I don’t.”

Morgana hummed. “That’s a thief I’m proud to have as my partner, then.”

In the dark of the attic, Akiza smiled, stroking a hand down Morgana’s back. “Goodnight, Mona. Sleep tight.”

He purred into her touch again, settling down onto her belly a little more. “You too, Joker.”

Chapter Text

Tuesday, 6/7
Shujin Academy
Early Morning

As soon as Akiza and Ryuji stepped off the train in Aoyama, the crowd of students was abuzz with the news; master artist Ichiryusai Madarame had confessed to over a decade of forgery and plagiarism in dramatic fashion on live TV, and word on the street was that he’d received a calling card from none other than the Phantom Thieves. The chatter buzzed under Akiza’s skin as they walked, even more so when Ryuji reached over to hold her hand.

_{“Did you see the news? That old geezer was crying his eyes out!”}

_{“I thought that whole Phantom Thieves thing was kinda hokey, but this is crazy…”}

_{“I told you they’re real! You owe me 500 yen!”}

“Pretty cool, huh?” Akiza bumped her shoulder lightly against Ryuji’s. He gave a vaguely affirmative grunt in response; he had a distracted look in his eye, like he was only faintly paying attention to the ongoing gossip. “Everything okay?” Akiza asked, brow furrowed.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, just thinkin’ about somethin’ my Ma said,'' Ryuji answered. Akiza cocked her head to the side, and he explained. “I told her we’re together a while ago, and she’s finally got some time off work, and now she’s sayin’ she wants to have you over for dinner.”

Akiza’s thoughts paused as she processed that. Morgana shifted inside her bag. “I didn’t know you told her.”

“I’m sorry, I shoulda asked you first,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just real hard for me to lie to her.”

“No, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” This was part of relationships, often. Meeting the parents. “When?”

“She was thinkin’ tonight. I know it’s last minute.” Ryuji looked forward, idly swinging their joined hands between them as they walked. “She works weird hours and wasn’t expectin’ to be home tonight, an’ it’s the only night this week she has free.”

“Tonight works,” Akiza said, taking comfort in the motion of their hands. Ryuji always seemed like he wanted to be moving, even standing still. Off to the side, she caught sight of a pair of girls in Shujin uniforms whispering and glancing at her and Ryuji, then sharply looking away when they noticed they’d been caught. “I had a loose idea for something to do, but we can do it another night.”

“Do what another night?” Ann bounded up behind them, almost as if on cue, and fell in on Akiza’s opposite side as she sipped from a nearly-empty bottle of fruit juice.

“Training at the gym!” Morgana poked his head out of the bag just barely. “Strengthening your physical bodies will improve your cognition of your own ability, which in turn will make you stronger in the Metaverse!”

“Easy, Mona.” Akiza spoke under her breath, gently squeezing her bag between her arm and side in an approximation of a hug. “Lots of people around.”

He groaned. “I know, I know. Wake me up when it’s lunchtime.”

Ann made a sympathetic sound as he retreated back into the bag. “I wish he didn’t have to stay cooped up in there all the time.”

“Me too, but it’s not like he can just roam around the school. Maybe–” Akiza trailed off as she caught sight of Niijima standing by the school gate, seemingly looking for something. After a moment, she seemingly found it, walking briskly over to the three of them. Akiza offered a perfunctory wave even as Ann and Ryuji tensed up, the trio coming to a stop.

“Good morning,” Niijima said, with that little prim lilt in her voice that Akiza recalled from their unsavory meeting in the library. “How are you three doing?”

“Who’s askin’?” Ryuji asked brusquely, standing up a little straighter. Akiza had half a mind to tell him to back off, but after the way Niijima had infuriated Haru, she was content to sit back a bit.

“I am,” she replied simply, hands held primly together in front of her. “I’m the student council president, after all. It’s my job to look out for the well-being of the students.”

Ann scoffed. “You’ve done a great job,” she spat, looking off to the side. Akiza caught Niijima’s jaw clenching at that.

“Yes, well.” She cleared her throat, moving swiftly onward. “It’s been brought to the faculty’s attention that none of you have been to see Dr. Maruki yet.”

“And?” Ryuji spoke gruffly, the way he did when he absolutely did not want to be talking to someone. Akiza squeezed his hand, checking in on him, and got a squeeze back in reassurance.

“The faculty is requiring all students who were impacted by Mr. Kamoshida to see him at least once,” she explained, and Akiza finally felt her hackles rise. Despite Niijima’s earlier kindness to her, she wasn’t about to deny the blondes their frustration at one of the few authority figures who might have been able to help them before they were forced to help themselves. And this– attempting to infringe on their autonomy like this– was over the line.

“The faculty’s done plenty for us,” Akiza said, calmly matching Niijima’s tone. They locked eyes, and Akiza scoured Niijima’s face for some kind of sign, some indication she could go off of, but all she got was that same grim professionalism.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said, loosening her jaw. “Still, I’m afraid the faculty’s decision is final. Please pay Dr. Maruki a visit at your earliest convenience, or you’ll be seeing him in detention.” Niijima turned to leave, pausing to add “Oh, and the roof is off limits to students. Don’t let me catch you up there again.”

She walked away, something prideful in her step.

“That fucking bitch. ” Ann hissed after a moment, throwing her empty bottle in the general direction Niijima had gone, watching as it clattered limply on the asphalt. A couple students glanced over at them, eyeing them before quickly turning away. “Who the fuck does she think she is!?”

“Number one teacher’s pet,” Ryuji grumbled. “If she really cared, she woulda done somethin’ before–” he cut himself off. “She woulda done somethin’ a long time ago.”

Akiza chewed her lip as Morgana stuck his head back out of the bag, butting against Ann’s shoulder and attempting to purr her fury away. She’d assumed Niijima’s care package had been a show of good faith, but maybe Haru had been right. Maybe she’d just been trying to get into Akiza’s good graces for the sake of monitoring the “problem students.” But why this insistence on Dr. Maruki? What did the faculty hope to gain from–

Oh.

“Guys,” Akiza said quietly, immediately halting the blondes’ mutual grousing. “Don’t panic, but I think she might be onto us.”

The color drained from their faces immediately. “What, that we’re– no way,” Ann murmured. “How would she?”

“I don’t think she has any hard proof, otherwise we’d have been hauled off already.” Akiza hummed, moving from chewing her lip to her thumbnail. “The faculty probably wants us to see Maruki so he can pass it onto them if one of us slips up.”

“That’s effed,” Ryuji growled. “I figured they only got him for the school’s reputation, but…”

“I’ll go see him today,” Akiza said after a moment’s thought. “I’ll scope things out and let you guys know what to expect. And if I see him right away, Niijima should lay off you guys a bit.”

The blondes exchanged a look. “Babe, you sure?” Ryuji squeezed Akiza’s hand tight, and that alone melted some of her tension away. “You gonna be good?”

“Wouldn’t be my first time lying to a therapist,” she mumbled, and that got a dark chuckle from Ann. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

They split off towards their respective classrooms shortly after, Akiza sneaking a swift goodbye kiss in before reluctantly releasing Ryuji’s hand, watching him go with a lovely shade of pink in his cheeks.

“You guys are sweet,” Ann remarked with a small smile when Akiza turned back towards her.

Akiza laughed lightly. “I guess so. It kinda sucks that we barely have time to spend together, y’know? Like, right from Madarame to this crap with Maruki.”

“I get that,” Ann sighed. “It’s hard to get alone time with Shiho sometimes, especially with her going to a different school and all. Plus, it’s really hard for her to get her chair into a lot of places. Her building just isn’t built for it.”

Akiza made a sympathetic sound. “That really sucks. Will the landlords do anything about it?”

“Dunno,” Ann said with a shrug. “Her parents are thinking of looking for a new place closer to Kosei, and she might stay with me for a while in the meantime.”

Akiza grinned. “How domestic.”

Before Ann could answer, a chipper, familiar voice grabbed Akiza’s ear. “Oh! Takamaki-senpai, good morning!”

“Oh, heya Yoshizawa-san!” Ann waved to the cherry-redhead. Akiza faintly remembered her from somewhere, the hair was too distinctive to be a coincidence. After a second, she put it together; the girl who had caught her on the first day of school. “How’s it going?”

“Going well! And you must be Kurusu-senpai, is that right?” she asked, looking to Akiza.

“That’s right,” she said evenly. Clearly a friend of Ann’s was likely trustworthy, but prudence never got anyone killed. “You two know each other?”

“Takamaki-senpai and Sakamoto-senpai helped me out on the day of the cleanup! I’m glad to see you’re back on your feet, by the way.” She paused, then gasped sharply. “Oh, where are my manners? I haven’t even properly introduced myself!” She bowed once before Akiza could stop her, quickly returning upright and continuing her breakneck pace. “I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa, first year and member of the gymnastics club! It’s nice to meet you properly!”

“Akiza Kurusu, second year,” she answered. “Nice to meet you too, Yoshizawa-san. ”

“Would you like to join me for lunch today? I’d love to get to know you a little more!” Yoshizawa bounced on the balls of her feet.

Well, Yoshizawa seemed nice enough. And besides, she’d be seeing Ryuji that night anyway. “I’d like that, yeah.”

“Great! I’ll see you in the cafeteria later, then.” Before Akiza could get a response in, the homeroom bell chimed. “Shoot, I’ve got to be going now. See you at lunch, senpai!”

She dashed off, leaving Akiza stunned in her wake, and Ann giggling. “Am I making up for lost time after Madarame?” she asked as they took their seats. “I’ve got like, three things going on today, right after all that got resolved.”

“I had no idea you were so popular,” Ann teased gently. The girls shared a laugh as Kawakami walked in, looking haggard as usual, and began the morning roll call.

Tuesday, 6/7
Shujin Academy
Lunchtime

Idly, while watching Yoshizawa absolutely tear through a bento the size of Morgana, Akiza had the thought that the gymnast would probably destroy the Big Bang Burger challenge if she tried. Hell, probably the Rainy Day at Aiya too.

“Where in the world do you put all that?” Akiza asked when she was done.

“Oh, I’ll burn all that off at practice this afternoon. I calculate my calorie intake every week, and cook my meals accordingly!” Yoshizawa beamed proudly, tucking the massive bento away beneath her chair.

“That’s impressive,” she said. “You compete, right?”

Yoshizawa nodded. “Since grade school. There were some complications last year, but I’m hoping high school will be a fresh start.”

“You and me both,” Akiza murmured.

“Ah yes, the rumored criminal. What was it I heard people saying you did? Robbery, murder… elephant tusk trafficking?”

Akiza snorted, grinning despite herself. “That’s a new one.”

Yoshizawa laughed along with her. “Anyway, I don’t believe a word of it. I can’t imagine where people got such outrageous ideas from.”

“People like to talk,” Akiza said with a shrug. She paused. “Can I ask why you don’t believe them? The rumors about me?”

“People are who they choose to be,” she said simply. “As far as I can tell, you’ve done nothing but make a few friends and get good grades since you got here. Even if you committed a crime before you came here, if you’re not going to act like a criminal, why should I treat you like one?”

It took a second for Akiza to really absorb that. That was… a very thoughtful way of looking at it. That kind of faith in another person’s intentions was a rare commodity, especially for Akiza.  “Thanks,” she said quietly, after a moment. “That… means a lot.”

“No problem at all,” Yoshizawa said, still cheerful but mellowed out a bit. “I hope you don’t let the rumors get to you too much.”

“I try,” Akiza said noncommittally.

“If it ever gets too bad, why not pay Dr. Maruki a visit?” Akiza’s ears perked up at that question, even as she looked down at her lunch. “He’s a great counselor. I’ve actually been seeing him since before I came to Shujin.”

“Funny you mention that,” Akiza mumbled. “You’re the second person today to tell me to see him.” When Yoshizawa furrowed her brow, Akiza continued. “The school is forcing me and the blondes to see him because we got wrapped up in the Kamoshida stuff. Needless to say, we don’t exactly trust the faculty.”

Yoshizawa frowned, looking contemplative. “Well, he’s not faculty.” Akiza raised an eyebrow, and the other girl continued. “Dr. Maruki works at a private practice. That’s where I saw him before he came here. Shujin is just contracting him to work out of here for the time being.” 

Akiza hummed. “Still, I’m not exactly willing to trust adults these days. Neither are Ann and Ryuji. I can’t know that he’s not trying to get something out of me.”

“Being an honor student, the school has very high expectations of me. And even though I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, Dr. Maruki has never put the school’s desires before my needs.” Yoshizawa’s voice was firm all of a sudden, conviction clear on her face. “Even before I came here, he was always focused on what I needed, not what my parents or anyone else wanted for me.”

“Not like I have much of a choice. But I’ll… try to make the best of it,” Akiza said after a moment. “Besides, I’ve got other stuff to do today, so I’m not gonna let that ruin my mood.”

“Oh? May I ask what?” Yoshizawa’s eyes were bright and curious.

…Eh, no harm, Akiza decided. “Having dinner with Ryuji’s mom tonight. I’m actually meeting her for the first time, and I’m… nervous, honestly. Nobody’s ever been serious enough about me to ask me to meet their parents, but I guess I’ll just wing it.”

Yoshizawa went oddly silent, and when Akiza looked over at her, there was an odd expression on her face, like she couldn’t quite decide what to make of Akiza’s statement. Something was shifting behind her eyes, pieces moving in ways they weren’t supposed to. Before Akiza could ask if she was okay, however, she spoke up.

“Do you want to borrow my lucky hair ribbon?” Akiza blinked, but Yoshizawa just kept talking. “Or… or some eyeshadow? I might have a dress you could borrow…? Or these earrings I– oh, but your ears aren’t pierced– We could go shopping for… no, I have practice today, but…”

“Hey, Yoshizawa-san, are you–”

“I’m really sorry I can’t be of any help, Kurusu-senpai,” she said, head hung low. “M-maybe Takamaki-senpai could? I’m sorry, we were supposed to be talking about gymnastics, but I–”

“It’s fine,” Akiza said, firmly this time. “Really, I promise. Honestly, just admitting how nervous I am made me feel a bit better.”

Yoshizawa looked back up at her, confused and upset, but eventually she took a deep breath and seemed to settle a bit. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I tend to… spiral, sometimes, when things go wrong. I appreciate you getting me out of it.”

“No problem,” Akiza replied. “I get like that too, sometimes.” She didn’t remark on the fact that there didn’t really seem to be anything to spiral about in the first place.

Yoshizawa nodded, then went quiet. Akiza was normally content to sit in silence, but Yoshizawa was clearly still uncomfortable, and Akiza didn’t know how to keep her nose to herself. Change the subject, something she’d want to talk about…

“Hey, could I ask you about your training?” She asked after a moment. 

Yoshizawa’s ears perked up. “Oh, sure. What do you want to know?”

“Trying to get in better shape, mostly,” Akiza half-lied. “Just curious if you had any exercise tips for like, flexibility and agility and stuff.” Akiza could just hear Morgana now, meowing away about how this would be a great opportunity to learn new skills for the Metaverse.

That lit the redhead’s face up again. “Absolutely! So, first we’d need to identify your goals…”

Tuesday, 6/7
Shujin Academy
After School

Trepidation filled Akiza’s gut as she waved goodbye to Ann. The blonde had promised to help Akiza with makeup and a dress before her date, so they agreed that Akiza would text her when she was on her way after her session with Maruki.

Akiza wasn’t overly concerned with her own ability to lie her way through a therapy session, but making sure Ann and Ryuji would be safe to do the same was another matter entirely. Still, it was easy to slip into the Metaverse mindset, walking down the stairs towards the nurse’s office with just a little more confidence. The door was open when she arrived, so she stuck her head in and knocked on the wall.

Maruki turned from some paperwork he’d been looking over, a wide smile crossing his face when he saw her. “It’s nice to see you, Kurusu-san. I was hoping you’d stop by.”

Akiza shrugged. “The faculty insisted.”

His face fell. “I see,” he said, trailing off. “I had a feeling they would pull something like that. I’m truly sorry for all that they’ve put you and your friends through.”

He acts like he’s not faculty, but he could be lying, Akiza thought. 

She hummed. “I’m used to it by now. Should we start?”

Like a light switch, Maruki’s face lit back up. “Absolutely! Come on inside and have a seat,” he said, stepping aside and gesturing through the door. The nurse’s office looked nicer than the last time Akiza had seen it, newly decorated with a coffee table and two large, comfortable-looking chairs. “Anything I can grab for you? I’ve got water, juice, tea, you name it,” Maruki said as Akiza sat down, smoothing out her skirt. She sat up straight, attentively watching him look through his little fridge.

Akiza shook her head when he turned to look back at her, after which he took a juice box for himself and sat down in the other chair to Akiza’s right. “So,” he began, poking the straw into the box. “First thing’s first, basic doctor-patient confidentiality stuff. Nothing you tell me leaves this room without your express consent.” He glanced up at her, giving her a meaningful look. “No matter what Principal Kobayakawa says.”

Akiza hummed, nodding. That he went out of his way to emphasize that point was certainly interesting, though it was entirely possible he was just buttering her up. He was probably about to pull out her case file and–

“I understand you transferred to Shujin this year,” he said, derailing her train of thought. “What led to that?”

…Oh. Does he not…?

Well. No harm in sharing, she supposed. It’s not like Kobayakawa would learn anything new from this. So she recounted the story, explaining how she’d been wrongly accused of assault, skipping over the harsher memories to save her own nerves and digging her nails into her palms when they threatened to rear their ugly heads. Maruki listened intently as she did, nodding along with little interjections of sympathy.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m really sorry you had to go through all that, Kurusu-san.” He put a hand on his chin, thumb grazing back and forth over his barely-there goatee as he sat in thought. “I think I’ve got a rough handle on the situation,” he said after a moment. “Full disclosure, the faculty did give me a rundown of the circumstances of your transfer. I wanted to hear you tell it, though. I had a feeling you were being unfairly demonized, and it looks like I was right.”

Akiza’s brow furrowed. “You believe me?”

Maruki nodded. “Absolutely. I mean, why would you lie about that at this point?”

“Hm,” Akiza said, considering that. He… wasn’t wrong, she supposed. Still… “You’re the first adult in this school that’s taken me at my word,” she said with a grim chuckle.

Maruki grimaced for a second. “I’m not surprised to hear that, unfortunately. Kids in situations like yours rarely get to have their voices heard. How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay now,” she answered noncommittally.

“But you weren’t before, I take it?”

Once again, his question snuck up on her. She hadn’t even been thinking about that when she gave her answer. Abruptly, she realized that she desperately wished Morgana was in her lap right now, and not hiding in the bag.

“I… jail was rough,” Akiza murmured. “And then as soon as I got here, all the stuff with Kamoshida–”

“You don’t have to dredge up any painful memories,” he said, interrupting her before she could start to spiral into dark recollections. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing okay now.”

“Thanks,” Akiza said automatically, still in somewhat of a daze. She’d come in here with Joker’s mask on, and here she was, leaning back into the plush cushion of the chair, talking honestly about her trauma. And it felt… good, to be actually, really listened to by an adult. Not dismissed out of hand like with her parents and the police, not criticized for trying to help someone like with Sojiro. Maybe Maruki really did want to help.

“Of course. All I want is to see you live the best life you can.” He gave a lopsided smile, then looked down at the coffee table, lips drawing into a thin line for a moment before he looked back up at her. “So, to that end, my goal is to give you the most effective support that I can, in whatever capacity you want me to help. And to help that along, I think it’s only fair that you get to know some things about me as well.”

Akiza just nodded, content to let him talk.

“Let’s see… I went to college in Osaka, but a couple friends and I moved to Tokyo for grad school. I like experimental and lo-fi music, that’s something…” Maruki’s face screwed up as he trailed off, and he exhaled with a single, breathy chuckle. “Man, this is hard. Okay.”

Akiza raised an eyebrow. “Is… everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, still smiling wearily. “Just psyching myself up. Okay. So. I know the adults here haven’t been kind to you, but I’d like to be someone you can trust. And trust is a two-way street.” Akiza nodded, and he continued. “So. As a show of trust…” He paused again, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes. Then, he opened them again, and exhaled.

“I’m trans,” he said, and Akiza’s train of thought flew completely off the rails.

“You– what?” Akiza stumbled over just those two words as she tried valiantly to reorient herself after that. “Really?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, looking halfway into the distance like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just said. “It’s only really a few of my friends from college that know. And now you.” Maruki looked back over at her, his smile a little wider this time. “I hope that proves my sincerity a bit.”

“I– yeah,” Akiza said with a slight laugh, because what else was she supposed to say? How could she not believe him after an admission like that? “I, um,” she began before she could stop herself. “I am too, actually.”

Maruki’s eyes widened, then his brow furrowed. “Did I see you in Yoyogi Park over Golden Week? At the booth with the bracelets?”

No way, Akiza thought as she reached into her bag, fishing around for the bracelet she kept in there. Morgana made the tiniest erk! of surprise, and Akiza could only hope he could sense her apology without words. In her periphery, she thought she saw Maruki’s ears perk up at that, but she pushed on in the hope to move past it quickly. “These ones?” she asked as she held it up, trans and bi flags tied together.

Maruki laughed, clear and loud and warm this time. He shook his arm, rolling his sleeve up, revealing that same weave of pink and white and blue wrapped around his wrist. “I guess that makes us even, then?”

“I guess so,” Akiza said, his infectious laugh spreading to her. “That’s… that’s incredible. Thanks for telling me that.”

“Likewise,” he said, sitting back in his chair. His eyes scanned over her face for a moment before he sighed with something like contentment. “You know, I already thought you were admirable just because you stepped up to help that woman, but knowing that? I think you’re one of the most remarkable people I’ve had the good fortune to meet, Kurusu-san.”

“Oh, come on,” she said, seeking to temper his overblown praise. “I just… I just did what I thought was right.”

“I mean that,” he said, leaning forward again. “When I was your age, I didn’t have nearly the courage you do. It took me until I was on my own in grad school to come out to myself and start my transition. It’s been hard for me, but you’ve been doing it as a minor. I waited to come out, but you’re out now. That makes you brave in my eyes.” His smile was lopsided, fitting right in with his undone collar, loose tie, and sandals. Despite the lab coat, it set her at ease. He laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry, that must sound weird coming from someone you just met.”

“A bit. But I appreciate the sentiment,” she said, with a wry grin creeping onto her face. All this time, she’d seen her transition as a necessary part of her survival. Never once had it occurred to her that living as herself, as who she wanted to be, was an act of courage in itself. “I’m… I’m glad I decided to transition. I’m glad I’m still here.”

“I am too,” he said, and she really did believe him. “Ah, it looks like our time’s up,” he noted with a tsk, glancing at the clock on the wall . “Looks like your commitment to the school is fulfilled.  Thank you so much for stopping by, Kurusu-san. I’m glad we got to talk. Oh, and let Takamaki-san and Sakamoto-san know that if they want, they can just come in, have a snack, and leave. They don’t have to talk to me about anything they don’t want to.”

Akiza hummed as she stood. “I’ll let them know, thanks.” She paused as she shouldered her bag, flicking her thumb back and forth across the fingers of her free hand in an attempt to vent some sudden anxiety. “Do you think I could…”

Maruki smiled as he stood, tossing his empty juice box into the trash. “My door’s always open,” he said. “I’d be happy to talk with you again.”

A weight lifted off Akiza at that, one she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying. Maybe she didn’t have to worry about saddling her friends with her baggage. Not when there was someone here offering to help her carry it.

Tuesday, 6/7
Jiyugaoka
After school

“Lemme make sure I know what you’re going for here,” Ann said as she combed through her hoard of makeup, setting some in the ‘maybe’ pile and putting others back. “Nothing too bold or wild, just enough to accentuate? Girl-next-door vibes?”

“Something like that,” Akiza said from her seat on Ann’s bed, still with that bit of trepidation that had lingered in her voice all afternoon. “I don’t want to go overboard, but I want to look nice.”

Ann grinned as she dumped her accumulated items on the bed beside Akiza. “Gotcha. Do you wanna learn today, or should I just throw it on and we can do that another time? Oh, and if you’re cool wearing just an undershirt while I do the makeup, that’ll make it easier to change later.”

Akiza paused, then hummed as she wiggled out of her standard-issue Shujin polo shirt, leaving her in just a tank top. “Give me the rundown as we go?”

She nodded cheerily. They set off from there, with Ann spreading out products on the bed and going through each in turn. Akiza interjected with questions here and there, and Ann did her best to answer in a way that would make sense to someone without her years of experience. Eventually they arrived at a modest collection; simple eyeliner, a bit of mascara, and some light contouring.

“Alright,” Ann said. “You said you’ve got your own foundation? Can you show me how you put it on?”

Akiza didn’t say anything, instead just withdrawing the tube from her bag, careful not to wake the sleeping Morgana inside. She reached up, taking her glasses off, and–

Oh.

It struck Ann then that this was her first time properly seeing Akiza without her glasses on. The only other time was when she’d slept over at Leblanc, and that hadn’t exactly been at the front of her mind at the time. But this close, and without glasses to obscure, she could see, see the roundness of Akiza’s face, the barely-there freckles that dappled the high ridges of her nose and cheeks, and…

“Am I doing this right?” Akiza said quietly, jolting Ann back to life. She was spreading the foundation under her eyes, covering up dark circles that Ann hadn’t noticed before. And that motion invariably drew Ann’s gaze to Akiza’s eyes, bigger than the glasses made them look, almond-shaped and silvery-gray like the sun shining behind an overcast sky.

“Yeah, that’s good. Just make sure it’s even across your face.” Ann fell back on her expertise in an attempt to center herself. She was just… surprised, that was all. She just hadn’t expected Akiza to look this different without glasses.

“So… what next?” Akiza asked, wiping some excess foundation off on a towel. Ann belatedly realized she’d zoned out again, mentally kicking herself for that.

“Contouring,” Ann mumbled, grabbing for the tools she’d set out for this. “It’s, uh, kinda tricky, so I’ll do it for you this first time and you can get an idea of how it works.” Akiza nodded, and Ann scooted a little closer to her, close enough that she could see the curl of Akiza’s eyelashes. The way they framed her eyes was like… like a cloak, or a shadow, or something Ann didn’t have the words for. She held up a brush with a little tremor in her hand. “You can, um, close your eyes.”

Akiza didn’t say anything, just obligingly closed her eyes and leaned in closer. Ann raised her free hand, taking Akiza’s chin gently between her thumb and forefinger and tilted it up just slightly to catch the light better.

Akiza’s cheekbones were high without being overly pronounced, giving a nice softness to her face and taking the highlighter and blush fantastically. Ann tried with all her might to still her trembling hand, moving in long, slow swipes from cheek back to ear.

“How’s it going?” Akiza asked, voice low presumably to avoid moving too much and to avoid waking Morgana. Something prickled in Ann’s ear at the sound of her voice; she’d never really paid close attention to it before, but the natural huskiness of it, like warmth and coffee and chocolate and smoke all waltzing through her ears and down her spine, made her mouth feel much too dry all of a sudden.

“Good,” she murmured. “Gonna start blending in a sec.”

“I feel like one of Yusuke’s paintings,” Akiza said with a little smirk. Oh god, Ann could hear Joker in there, a subtle knife-edge concealed in shade, and it did nothing to help her concentration.

Ann huffed a breathy laugh, because that was all she could think to do at the present moment. Every neuron in her brain was focused on blending the contour out, and as it was done, she hastily moved on to the eyeliner. “This is gonna feel like I’m about to poke your eye out, but just hold still, okay?”

“As you wish,” Akiza said, and she was still fucking smirking, and that was driving Ann crazy.  

They continued in relative silence, broken only by the capping and uncapping of bottles and Morgana’s gentle snores. Ann tried to move briskly, both for the sake of Akiza getting to her dinner date on time and for the sake of her own heart, because if this kept up for too long, she felt like she might explode. Yes, she found Akiza attractive. Undeniably so. She’d known this since they met, and she’d settled that fact with herself. There’s nothing weird about finding your friends attractive. Besides, she was with Shiho now. She’d made her choice.

But that little candle flame in her heart refused to dim. Akiza’s smile, her eyes, her voice– they made Ann’s heart beat faster, fed the flame in her chest and her cheeks until it grew and grew and roared . And she knew, she knew Shiho wouldn’t hate her for it. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this had only gotten worse over time, and seemingly would just keep on getting worse. She knew exactly what this feeling was, because it had happened to her with Shiho years ago. 

The deeper problem was that Akiza and Ryuji were absolutely perfect for each other, and as the days passed, Ann couldn’t help but see herself as a threat to that perfection. Was she betraying them just by having feelings for Akiza? Let alone both of them? She knew perfectly well that the stereotype of bi people being flirtatious, greedy homewreckers was just flatly not true. But how could she not feel like she was feeding into it by feeling the way she did?

And no matter how much Ann tried not to think about it, Akiza always had a dry joke or a kind word or a sweet gesture to remind her just how hard she was falling. Seriously, Ann mentioned once offhandedly that her favorite crepe filling was hazelnut creme but only if the stand had caramel syrup, and lo and behold, when she walked out of the bathroom in Kichijoji, there Akiza stood with a hazelnut creme and caramel crepe for her. Nobody remembered that detail besides Shiho.

Ann was still lost in thought when Akiza got up to change into her dress, staring at her phone and the selfies she’d taken with Akiza today. The dark-haired girl was clearly not the most comfortable with having her picture taken, but with Ann’s gentle encouragement, she’d been slowly opening up to the camera. Then, far too soon, the bathroom door opened, and Ann’s throat closed up.

There Akiza stood, wearing a black top that left her shoulders exposed combined with a sheer mesh halter that she’d chosen for the way it narrowed her frame. A decorative brown belt cinched around her waist, and a semi-pleated red skirt reached down to just above her knees. She had modest little one-inch pumps on, her hair was carefully parted and pulled back into a clean ponytail, and she looked radiant.

“So…” she asked. “How do I look?”

“Good. Really good. Uh.” Ann’s words tumbled out of her mouth. “It’s getting late. Do you know how to get to Ryuji’s from here?”

“He gave me directions, yeah.” Akiza grinned as Morgana arose from the bag, yawning awake and blinking sleep out of his eyes. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Morning,” he said, adding “Looking cool, Joker!” once he got a good look at her.

“You okay with hanging out with Ann tonight?” Akiza asked as she withdrew a smaller handbag from her school one. Ann just continued staring, the elegant lines of Akiza’s black nail polish and, god help her, the tiny little mole in the hollow of her collarbone. Fuck.

“Sure am,” Morgana replied. “Have fun on your date!”

“Yeah, I should get going.” She turned to Ann, who somehow managed to wipe the goldfish stare off her face long enough to accept a quick, tight hug from the other girl. “Thank you so much. I owe you for this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ann said in a heartbeat. “Just go have fun. I’ll drop Morgana off at Leblanc later.”

Akiza smiled so brightly, Ann felt like her heart might explode. And then she stepped out, trotting down the stairs and closing the front door behind her.

Ann flopped over in her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and let out a muffled scream as a confused Morgana pawed at her head.

Tuesday, 6/7
Nerima
Evening

“Thank you so much for having me over, Sakamoto-san. The food was delicious.” Akiza bowed as she stood in the doorway to Ryuji’s apartment, opposite the small woman who had welcomed her earlier that evening. Ryuji’s mother was a joyful presence, every bit the beacon of sunshine her son was.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re welcome back any time! And please, call me Junko.” Junko pulled Akiza into a full-body hug the instant she straightened back up. Ryuji groaned in embarrassment off to the side as Akiza awkwardly returned the hug.

“Ma, can I walk her to the train now?” He asked plaintively. “They’re gonna stop runnin’ soon.”

Junko released Akiza with a start. “Oh! Oh, yes, please go! It was lovely meeting you!”

Ryuji hurried out the door, taking Akiza’s hand and pulling her towards the sidewalk. “It was nice to meet you too!” Akiza called back, laughing as she followed along in Ryuji’s wake.

The pair of them walked to the station hand in hand, Akiza content to enjoy the evening quiet for a bit. “Your mom’s really nice,” she said after a few minutes, pulling Ryuji out of whatever he’d been thinking about.

“She is, yeah. I’m real lucky to have her.” Ryuji looked off somewhere in the middle distance. “Shit’s been hard on her since… well, you know. I try to do what I can to help her out. Cookin’ and cleaning and stuff.”

“She’s lucky to have you, then,” Akiza said with a grin, bumping her shoulder gently against his. He looked over at her with a smile that set her heart aflutter in the way that so many did.

“Got my ma in my corner and my best girl on my arm. What else can a guy ask for?”

Akiza couldn’t do anything but look away at that, his big brown eyes and adoring expression too much for her to handle directly. She didn’t bother fighting the dumb smile that rose to her face, or the blush that simmered in her cheeks.

The rest of the walk to the station passed in fond silence, punctured only by the occasional squeeze of hands. When they arrived at the station platform, Ryuji offered to ride with her back to Yongen, like a perfect gentleman. She almost accepted, if for no other reason than to spend a little longer with him, but she didn’t want him to miss his train home afterwards. So she accepted his good-night kiss, promised to text him when she got back to Leblanc, and headed off.

The cafe was dark when she returned, Sojiro long since having closed up for the night, which thankfully meant she didn’t have to worry about any probing questions regarding her outfit. Morgana was upstairs already, curled up asleep on the windowsill. A fond smile overtook Akiza’s face as she watched his chest rise and fall for a moment.

She went about getting ready for bed in the usual fashion, setting her new shoes by the stairs with pride and placing her skirt and shirt in the hamper with reverent care. Then, pajamas on, she headed downstairs for a quick snack before bed. There was a new arrival of beans on the shelf she’d been itching to try.

The coffee procedure was becoming a ritual after so many repetitions; grind the beans to order, pre-rinse the filter paper, bloom the grounds, wait thirty seconds, then brew. She cleaned behind her as she went, already setting up for the following morning. Idly, she opened her phone, snapping a photo of her finished cup and sending it off to a certain someone in her ever-reliable trans chatroom.

>>Joyeuse: New beans this week! Ethiopian single-estate, Swiss water decaf.

There was only a moment of delay before the typing bubble popped up, and Akiza grinned with delight.

>Roland: That sounds positively decadent. How have you been finding the decaf?
>>Joyeuse: Better than I expected. The Swiss water stuff is way better than the supercritical CO2 kind.
>>Joyeuse: How’s your day been?

A longer pause this time. Akiza sipped at her coffee gently, in no great hurry to get to bed and end this conversation.

>Roland: School and work-related stress as usual. Nothing I can’t handle.
>>Joyeuse: You seriously need a day off.
>Roland: As I’ve said in the past, I really am fine. Your concern is unwarranted. 
>Roland: How about you? I believe you mentioned you had a date?
>>Joyeuse: YES
>>Joyeuse: Met my boyfriend’s mom for the first time and it went SO well, she’s amazing.
>>Joyeuse: It’s hard to believe it’s real sometimes, you know? Like, I can’t believe this is all happening. I never would’ve imagined I’d end up with a boyfriend after I moved, especially one who’s cool with me being trans.
>Roland: You’ve made the most of your circumstances. I truly admire that about you.
>>Joyeuse: Oh yeah?
>Roland: Fate belongs to those who take it. You were brave enough to accept his advances, and you reap this happiness as a reward.
>>Joyeuse: You have such a unique way of talking about this stuff. I like that about you c:
>Roland: Hah.
>Roland: I appreciate the sentiment.
>Roland: Unfortunately I have to be on my way now. Thank you for talking, as always.
>>Joyeuse: You too!! Hope to hear from you again soon, don’t be a stranger <3
>Roland: Will do.

Akiza clicked her phone off with a smile, rinsing out her cup and softly padding upstairs. Roland was an odd duck, but his stiff formality was endearing, and he had odd ways of looking at the world that always sat with her for a while after hearing them. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of him, but their shared kinship of transness always drew them to each other, even after days of unread messages. She didn’t see Takemi too often, but that inherent trust was still there. And now, she supposed, Dr. Maruki was a part of that group.

Morgana stirred just barely as Akiza brushed aside the curtain at the top of the stairs. “Akiza? Izzat you?”

“Yup. I’m coming to bed right now, don’t worry.” Akiza grinned again when Morgana let out a yawn, and as she got into bed, he immediately hopped down off the windowsill, curling up on her chest just like he always did. She wrapped one hand around his fuzzy little body, gently and idly scratching at his belly.

“Mmmmgnight,” he mumbled, snuggling tighter into her hold. Akiza set her glasses on the windowsill with a contented sigh, letting Morgana’s purrs gradually pull her into sleep.

Idly, she thought about Shiho, and their planned proposition. In all likelihood, that would be some time this week. A month ago, Akiza knew she would have been crawling out of her skin with anxiety at this point, but right now all she could think about was the warm not-cat on her chest, the quiet sounds of the city at night, and Ryuji’s warm, sun-bright smile. It wasn’t long until she drifted to a peaceful sleep.

Wednesday, 6/8
Chickadee Maid Cafe
Evening

In an effort to make up for lost time in Madarame’s Palace, Wednesday was jam-packed full of things to do. Garden with Haru at lunch, do a clinical trial for Takemi after school, return The Running Dead to the rental shop in Shibuya, pawn some Mementos loot to Iwai, and now…

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Akiza murmured, clutching her phone in a death grip. Morgana leaned out of the bag, front paws perched on her shoulder as they both stared at the building before them. The sign was right, the European-looking brickwork looked like the images online did, and this was the right address at the right time.

“This was your idea!” Morgana butted his head against Akiza’s, in his usual affectionate way. “You’re gonna be just fine. Is this really scarier than fighting in the Metaverse?”

“Yes,” Akiza answered immediately. Sadly, Morgana had already retreated back into the bag, impervious to her retort. Swallowing air, Akiza steeled herself, stepped forward, and pushed the door open.

Objectively, the cafe wasn’t unlike Leblanc. Rather than the brightly-lit and cutesy maid cafes that Akihabara was famous for, Chickadee was almost cozy; warm tones abounded, fancy-but-not-too-fancy decorations adorned the walls, and quiet bustle filled the space alongside ambient music. Altogether, it felt a bit like if someone tried to artificially capture the vibe that Leblanc exuded so effortlessly.

Its pleasant aesthetic, however, was undercut by the sight of maids bustling this way and that, waiting tables and serving coffee at the counter and chatting with patrons in that cutesy-friendly way, the mere sight of which made Akiza’s heart hammer in her chest with equal parts anticipation and terror.

Oh god, that one just called that customer “master.” They’re curtsying!? Ohhh look at those maid dresses, those stockings and– am I gonna be wearing GARTERS!? Am I gonna have to braid my hair? Oh fuck, I should’ve looked up how to braid my own hair! I’m under prepared– yeah, that’s right! I didn’t prepare properly, so I can just leave and…

Panicked thoughts spun wildly through Akiza’s head as she stood transfixed by the scene before her. Roland’s weirdly poetic adage echoed in her mind even as it failed to slow the hurricane of her anxiety.

Fate belongs to those who take it.

“Welcome to Chickadee Maid Cafe! Can I show you to a table?” A maid greeted Akiza from behind the little hostess stand, a pleasant smile on her face.

“I’m the, uh, new hire, actually,” Akiza said, though mumbled was probably more accurate. “My name’s Akiza.”

The other girl lit up. “Oh! Yes, we’ve been expecting you! Follow me, I’ll help get you started.” She swept Akiza across the dining area, through a door marked “employees only,” into what looked like a staging area. Akiza couldn’t help but feel like she was walking into a place she didn’t belong, even if she would be an employee shortly. “There’s lockers here for you to leave your stuff while you’re at work. Do you know your sizes?”

Akiza blinked. “Er, no. Sorry.” She realized abruptly that knowing those would probably be convenient. Are they gonna kick me out for not knowing? Can I bail…?

The other girl shook her head. “No worries! I’ll eyeball it for this first shift and we can get you a fitted uniform later. Oh, my name’s Rika, by the way! My maid name is Lily.”

Another blink as Rika rifled through a wardrobe set against one wall. “Maid name?”

“Oh, yeah. All of us have one that we go by when we’re in front of the customers, just to keep things from getting too familiar,” she explained. “Think about it while we get ready, okay?”

Akiza pondered the question while Rika continued pulling things out of the wardrobe. A name to use just for work? She supposed it made sense, but what would she use for hers? Should it be meaningful, or should she not get attached to it since it was just for work? Did it have to be English, like Rika’s? Oh god, what if she picked one she liked, but another maid already had it? What if–

Before she could come to a conclusion, Rika reappeared, holding a stack of clothes and a pair of cute black shoes. “Here you go! There’s a changing room right there, so put this on and let’s see how you look!”

She nodded towards another door off to the side. Akiza nodded dumbly, taking the proffered clothes and not quite processing that this was her maid uniform. As she locked the changing room door behind her, she did her best to relax as she went through familiar motions of undressing. Morgana obligingly stayed in the bag, though part of her did desperately wish for his reassurances.

Then there was a knock at the door. “Hey, I’ve gotta get back to the front, but the night manager will be here in just a sec and she can pick up where I left off, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Akiza called back, because really, what else was there to do?

It took Akiza a minute to figure out the garters, but other than that, everything went on easily, fitting her just right. And when she eyed herself in the mirror, she was actually kind of impressed. She’d done up her makeup a bit before coming, the way Ann had showed her. The skirt reached a bit past her knees, and the little faux-corset did well to accentuate her figure. Now that she was really looking at it, the outfit was comparatively modest, relative to the short, frilly things often advertised in Akihabara. There was an eye for practicality in the design, while still being appropriately eye-catching. This was… this was good! She could do this!

It’s just like Leblanc, she told herself as she pushed the door open and stepped back out into the locker room. Just relax and serve the cust–

Her thought was interrupted by the sound of something clattering to the floor. Glancing down, it looked like a clipboard, dropped at the feet of an older woman, her dark hair pulled into two high twintails, who Akiza assumed was the night manager Rika had–

Wait.

“What are you doing here!?” Exclaimed Akiza and Kawakami.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, 6/8
Chickadee Maid Cafe
Evening

Ordinarily, Akiza probably would have started panicking. The exact type of thing she’d been afraid of had come to pass; someone knew she was working here. If it had been Ryuji or Ann or Shiho or Haru, she would have been beside herself. Possibly crying out of sheer embarrassment.

But no, it was Kawakami. Kawakami, her homeroom teacher who always spoke in a dispassionate drawl, who always seemed determined to rush out of the building as soon as she could, who always looked exactly as bedraggled as she could get away with. And here she was in a maid dress, makeup flawless, hair bunched up in ponytails even bigger than Ann’s. And if Akiza’s assumption was correct, working as a manager.

“You– it’s a school night!” Kawakami exclaimed. “Don’t you live on the other side of Shibuya from here!?”

“S-so what?” Akiza stammered just once, but she found her feet in the next breath. She was used to staring down authority at this point. “There’s nothing in the Shujin rulebook that says students can’t have part-time jobs. I’m working here too. It’s my first shift.”

“You’re on parole! Shouldn’t you have a curfew?”

Akiza flinched. The word parole stung her ears, and she was sharply reminded that she was, in fact, a convicted criminal. She’d gotten lucky that Chickadee hadn’t run a background check on her, but if Kawakami knew she was here–

“Shouldn’t you be grading papers or something?” Akiza asked, straightening up with a sudden burst of skepticism. “Does Shujin know you’re working as a maid on the side?”

Kawakami flinched, looking off to the side. Gotcha.

“Kawakami-sensei, I’m not looking for trouble.” Akiza let her tone drop back to a more neutral, reassuring one. She wasn’t above manipulating a teacher to ensure her own safety. “Neither of us have anything to gain from revealing the other’s secret, right?”

The older woman sighed, shoulders slumping. “No, I suppose not.”

“Then let’s make a deal,” Akiza offered, extending a hand. “I keep your secret, you keep mine?”

Kawakami looked back at her, squinting slightly, like she was angry that she’d been outmaneuvered. “Why do you even care so much?” she asked wearily. “You shouldn’t be getting involved with a job like this. Can’t you just work at your guardian’s cafe for an allowance? Or at a convenience store or something?”

Akiza hadn’t even considered asking Sojiro to be paid for her work at Leblanc, but that was neither here nor there. No, she couldn’t just go somewhere else, but she wasn’t about to tell Kawakami why this particular job scratched a very specific gender euphoria itch that couldn’t be attained elsewhere.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said, smoothing over the details. “My hometown doesn’t have a place like this, and I want to do it while I’m in Tokyo.”

Kawakami stared back at Akiza’s still-outstretched hand warily, before letting out a resigned sigh and shaking it. “Fine,” she groaned. “I suppose you haven’t had any disciplinary problems since the incident with Kamoshida, so unless you sprained your ankle getting in fights, that’s one less thing to worry about.”

“I’m just trying to make some spending money,” Akiza said calmly, joy radiating through her chest. Deft and in control, she thought. Like a phantom thief. Mona’s gonna be proud. “So… Rika said you were going to show me the ropes?”

“I guess so,” Kawakami sighed, exhaustion clear in her voice. “Uniform looks good. Do you have contact lenses?”

“No,” Akiza lied. Yes, she had some, but she vastly preferred the shape of her face with glasses on, thank you very much.

Kawakami hummed. “That’s fine, plenty of people like glasses anyway. Do you have a name picked out?”

Akiza hummed. No, she didn’t, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d come up with a name for herself. And this one didn’t have nearly the same import as her actual name. Sakura, maybe? That was generic enough, but didn’t quite fit with the European style of the place. Julie would be kind of funny, but…

“Joy,” she said after a moment, thinking of the way she imagined her trans chatroom username Joyeuse rolling off Roland’s tongue.

Kawakami nodded. “That’ll work. Come on, I’ll show you the ropes.”

She pushed open the door to the main room, and Akiza followed in prim step. “Rebecca” was kind and matronly, like how Akiza figured a head maid should. The work, as she’d been assured, was a lot like Leblanc, just with more waiting tables due to the fact that there was more than one customer in the place at a time. She took to the little rituals as best she could; no overly cutesy ketchup-on-omurice routine, but she curtsied when appropriate, spoke more demure than normal, and said goshujin-sama enough times that it stopped feeling weird on her tongue. It felt beyond wonderful to be correctly gendered every single time without fail, even if the slightly-skewed performance of femininity took some adjusting to.

Akiza left work that night with sore feet, a smug Morgana, a satisfied grin, and her homeroom teacher in her back pocket.

Wednesday, 6/8
Big Bang Burger Corporate Headquarters
Evening

Marunouchi-Otemachi-Yurakucho. The beating heart of Tokyo’s business and financial sector, glass and steel organs connected by asphalt arteries. Lights glittered in the evening twilight, offices and street lamps lit up as commerce refused to sleep.

It made Haru’s skin crawl.

She sat in practiced demurity through the company board meeting as the shareholders nattered on, as she so often did. Her father expected her to be able to run the company one day, so he dragged her every which way to “give her experience.” But the primary thing she’d learned at these meetings was that being in a position of power was no indicator of competence. The first time someone said my idea of progress is moving things forward, she checked out. At which point she had little to do but sit there like a good bargaining chip, waiting for her fiance.

The thought of Sugimura made her shoulders tense. He seemed almost like a parody of a human, with how nakedly possessive and controlling he was around her. And doubly so now that their engagement had been confirmed. She’d managed to stave off his most repulsive advances thus far, on the grounds that they weren’t married yet, but that was delaying the inevitable.

It wasn’t just the way he treated her that she hated most of all– boilerplate misogyny turned up to eleven. What she despised more than anything was how afraid she was of him. The mere mention of his name made her pulse quicken like a pursued animal. Suppressing her fight-or-flight instincts in the moments she was forced to share with him was an uphill battle. 

She’d fantasized about breaking his nose several times at this point, only to circle back to the inevitable truth that doing so would only make things worse, and that circular logic only stoked her fear. There was no point. Nothing she did had any consequences anymore. She was a ghost, drifting aimlessly and unable to affect the world around her. If she broke Sugimura’s nose the next time she saw him, so what? Her father would find another suitor. If it even deterred Sugimura at all. She could stray from her prison cell as far as she liked, but the elastic band of her father and Sugimura would yank her right back.

The shareholders called for a break in the meeting, and Haru nearly sobbed with relief. The break had been scheduled thirty minutes ago, but they just. Kept. Talking. Water from the cooler outside the conference room was a blessing in her dry throat. Wordlessly, she slipped out of the executive suite as the suits chattered on, making for the elevator in the main wing of the top floor. Better to at least walk around outside during this brief respite from Sugimura.

The streets were full of hustle and bustle as always, so it was easy to lose herself in the flow of foot traffic, listlessly going wherever her feet decided to take her. On the one hand, being down on the ground set her at ease– she was just part of the crowd down here. But equally, she knew she didn’t belong. She knew what these people, working-class people trying to make their way in the world, looked like from forty-eight stories up, and she couldn’t un-know that.

She didn’t know how long she walked. Long enough for twilight to turn to night. Nary a text or call from her father, so she clearly wasn’t missed at the meeting. She’d just tell him later that she’d excused herself to study. If he even asked.

She found herself staring at the front entrance of a Duck Burger, of all places. The very business her father and his shareholders were conspiring to drive out of business, to subsume its market share and labor force into the charnel house of Okumura Foods.

Something caught her eye in the alleyway beside the restaurant. A shadow, a shape in the half-dark, flickering before vanishing altogether. And maybe Haru’s brain was playing tricks on her out of sheer desperation, but for an instant, she could’ve sworn it looked like Akiza. The height, the hair, the build might not have been quite right, it was hard to say. But her heart tugged in that particular way that it did around the dark-haired girl, and so she pursued.

She stepped carefully into the alleyway. Rational self-preservation instinct should have been screaming at her not to walk into a dark alley alone at night, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to care.

She rounded the corner, still in pursuit of the shadowed figure. Even if it was Akiza, what was Haru expecting her to do? Akiza couldn’t solve her problems. Nobody could.

…Akiza would ask her if she was okay. She’d be able to tell Haru wasn’t, of course. Akiza always saw right through her without fail. She’d ask if Haru was okay, and then she’d whisk Haru off to the Duck Burger, and they’d sit in the little booth and eat junk food that would garner a snide comment about her weight from Sugimura, and Morgana would sit in Haru’s lap, and everything would be okay for a little while.

Haru heard a tiny sound behind her, a little drip-drop of water, but by the time she turned to look for it, it was gone. Then, another sound from where the shadow had gone, and–

–And the sky above Haru’s head had changed from the blanket of night to a dark red, peppered with angry and pitch-black clouds. She took a tentative step forward, and the ground pulled with her foot, moving like water from a puddle but in slow-motion, tinged with pink. The air felt wrong all of a sudden, a creeping wrongness that writhed beneath her skin.

This was some kind of panic attack. It had to be. She’d hallucinated a reprieve in the form of Akiza out of stress, and now her perception was going sideways. That had to be the answer. She leaned against the wall, eyes closed, and did her best to center herself. And yet, when she opened her eyes, the world was still askew.

This can’t be happening, screamed her animal hindbrain, heedless of the fact that Haru had no idea what this was. Either she was losing her mind and having serious hallucinations, or something really had become of the city. Neither option soothed Haru’s racing heart and spiraling panic.

With no other options, she crept around the corner towards the street, shaking hands clasped tight around the strap of her bag. Instead of the sprawl of the financial district, Haru was faced with a deep, dark forest. The trees were immense, far larger than any she’d seen in person, gnarled roots twisting deep into the soil, bark twisted into patterns that looked just a bit too similar to screaming human faces. A path of broken asphalt lay before her, winding deeper into the woods.

Her phone pinged, pulling her attention away yet again. She couldn’t focus on something for a second, pulse hammering in her ears as it was. The screen was covered in red and black concentric circles, otherwise unresponsive.

Please tell me I’m having a nightmare, she begged. Her vision swam as she desperately grabbed for logic in a place where there was none. Tentatively, she raised a hand to her mouth and called out “Hello?”

Silence.

Haru stared down the path. Wherever she was, she needed out. The whole world felt tense, coiled and waiting to strike.

Well, she thought. Nowhere to go but forward.

It took about fifteen minutes of walking before the scenery began to change. First, a faint smell of smoke found Haru’s nose. Then the path smoothed out, broken pavement finally coming together into a solidified road. The sounds of hustle and bustle grew with each passing step, and Haru picked up her pace, desperate to get out of wherever this awful place was. She would go home and lock herself in her room and soak in the bath for however long it took to cleanse herself of the bone-deep dread that had suffused her when she entered the woods.

And then, all that hope was dashed to pieces. The trees yielded to a clearing, but instead of downtown Marunouchi, Haru found herself staring at a massive lumber yard. Cut and stacked wood was piled high before her, lashed to pallets as if being prepared for shipment. What she’d thought was the sounds of traffic sounded much more like machinery this close. Beside the gate, a sign read SHIBUYA ENQUIRER PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING.

Perhaps I can ask for directions, she thought, and then laughed joylessly. This place was too other, too wrong for it to be that simple. Every hair on her body stood on end, telling her no no no leave go back. But the only lead she had was through the lumber yard. So she clutched her phone tightly, making a mental note to stick to the left-hand wall, and headed into the maze.

She paced carefully, feeling far too much like an intruder of some kind. The air pressed down upon her more as she ventured in, its weight almost physical in its intensity. The whole world thrummed with coiled tension, herself included.

Something growled behind her.

Every muscle fiber in Haru’s body froze. Her breath hung in her throat, animal instinct screaming at her to run even as she stood paralyzed. Slow footsteps padded along the dirt behind her, and as quickly as she dared, she turned her head to look.

It looked like a dog, but much too large. It would probably come up to her shoulder in height if it wasn’t crouched low and stalking towards her. Its face was hidden behind some kind of protective eyewear, but she could see the glow of sickly red eyes burning behind the frosted glass, the same color as the sky above her.

She took one step back. It stepped closer, fangs bared. Drool dripped from its mouth, all teeth and anger and death stalking towards her. Another step back. There was a corner just behind her– if she bolted, perhaps she could lose it, or make it to the exit before–

Her back touched a wall, and her heart stopped.

This was it. She was going to die here, some otherworldly and hellish lumber yard, torn apart by this monstrous dog crouching into a pouncing position. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as it leapt, each heartbeat separated by minutes in Haru’s mind as she slid down the wall to the ground. A vengeful part of her was oddly satisfied; somehow, she’d found a way to spite Sugimura in the end after all. Would her father mourn her? Would he miss her? Would he even remember her?

…Akiza would remember me, she thought ruefully.

…

“Loki!”

A piercing shout cut through the air, and in the blink of an eye, an orange blade the size of a car rocketed through the dog before it could reach her, skewering it and pinning it to the wall off to the side. It flailed for just a moment, then it went limp, melting into red-tinged black ooze that dripped off the blade and seeped into the dirt.

Before Haru had so much as a chance to breathe, the blade wrenched itself from the wall, flying back across her vision. Her gaze went with it, only to be dumbfounded again as it halted in midair, hovering point-down beside a massive humanoid figure, covered in black and white stripes. Its legs bent backwards below the knee, terminating in cloven hooves adorned by ornate golden horseshoes. It turned to regard her with an eyeless gaze, and then just as quickly as it had come, it vanished into blue flames, revealing the figure standing behind it.

A bodysuit made of deep black and dark blue leather clung to the stranger’s body, the cuffs of their sleeves frayed and shifting like smoke, along with the short cape on their back. In their hand was another wicked-looking blade, one edge sharply serrated. Their head was encased by a dark helmet, only a bare sliver of their face visible between the cowl and the birdlike mask that hid their face.

“Did it hurt you?” the stranger asked. Haru blinked, still stunned, and the stranger gestured towards where the dog had perished. When she didn’t answer right away, he huffed impatiently. “The Shadow. Are you injured?”

“I– no, I’m fine.” Haru dusted herself off as she stood, grimacing at the still-fading puddle of apparent Shadow-gunk on the ground. Calmer now, she took a moment to take proper stock of her savior; based on his build and the oddly soft sound of his voice, he couldn’t be much older than her. He stood with hips askew, one clawed hand resting above some kind of holstered gun. As much as she wanted to be out of this nightmare, she knew better than to let her guard down. “You saved me,” she asked, probing.

“Don’t let it go to your head. I was passing through here and it was making a racket,” he scoffed. “How did you even get this far into the Palace undefended?”

Palace? Haru put that term aside for the moment. “Through the woods, back that way,” she said, gesturing towards the way she’d come in. “I was walking down the street in Marunouchi, and then all of a sudden I was in a forest.” She picked at the hem of her dress as the stranger regarded her, silently. She couldn’t see his eyes through the red lenses of their mask, and that left her with precious little information with which to direct this encounter. Reading body language was not her strong suit; reading faces was.

He sighed like a put-upon teacher, pinching where the bridge of his nose would be with a clawed hand. “Okay. Fine. Come with me and I’ll get you out of here.” He started to turn, heading deeper into the maze, then paused and undid the strap on his holster, holding the gun towards Haru grip-first. “In case you need to defend yourself. Don’t lose it.”

Haru reached for it tentatively, pausing once. Whoever this was, he had access to real, honest-to-goodness firearms. Was he police? Yakuza? She supposed it didn’t matter much– as far as she could tell, her options were to be killed by Shadows, or trust in this stranger.

“Is the damsel in distress afraid of a gun? It’s not going to bite you,” the stranger chided. Haru’s eyes narrowed just a tad as she took the gun from him. “Safety’s where your thumb is. Don’t fire too fast or it’ll overheat. Don’t rest your finger on the trigger, don’t point it at anything you’re not ready to shoot. Stick close behind me and do exactly as I say, and you can go home. Make one wrong move here and you’ll die. Understand?”

He didn’t so much as wait to see if she was following before he turned, serrated blade drawn and body crouched low. She did her best to imitate as she followed, given that stealth seemed to be the priority here.

“I didn’t get your name,” she murmured.

“You don’t need it,” he retorted.

Haru’s jaw clenched. “If we’re going to leave this place, we’ll have to trust each other. Or at least be able to get each others’ attention.”

The stranger paused, peeking around the corner. “Fine. Call me Karasu. Real names are dangerous here.”

Like the bird, Haru thought . She followed the logic, of course. Quickly, she wracked her brain to think of a suitable moniker for herself, until her eyes settled on the smooth curves and jagged edges of Karasu’s pitch-black mask.

“Noir,” she said. “I’m Noir. Now please lead the way, Karasu-san.”

They progressed slowly but steadily, dodging around patrolling dogs and hulking lumberjack figures, engaging in fights only when absolutely necessary. More often than not, Karasu’s spectral friend would emerge to simply slit a Shadow’s throat before it became an issue. Soon enough, they emerged from the stacks of wood and stepped into a much larger structure. Machinery lined the walls, hissing and groaning intermittently as it worked through whatever arcane function it served.

“What exactly is this place?” Haru whispered during a moment of quiet. The sound of the machinery afforded them a little less need for stealth here. “You said Palace earlier, but this looks like a lumber yard, and the sign at the gate said it’s a newspaper.”

Karasu paused, diligently checking his corners again before they proceeded down the next hallway. “It’s another world,” he said, as if it were the morning weather. “Right underneath our world, there’s one formed by human thought and desire. When someone’s desires are particularly twisted, they develop a Palace– their own little sectioned-off bubble where they get to be a tyrant with impunity.”

“So this place is a reflection of that person’s mental state?”

“That’s what I just said, yes. It’s an exaggerated version of how they see themselves. The form of the Palace is determined by the Ruler’s distortion.”

Haru held her tongue between her teeth, thinking. “How do you know if someone has one?”

“There’s an app,” he said bluntly.

Haru glanced up at the sound of a particularly angry blast of steam. “You’re being awfully forthcoming with all this.”

“I see no reason not to be. It’s not as if you’ll be coming back here. And who in the real world would believe you? Am I to expect you’ll be running to the police to have them come in here and arrest all these Shadows?” His voice sounded almost amused, like the thought of police officers being slaughtered by Shadows warmed his heart.

Haru huffed. Truth be told, Karasu’s prickly demeanor was oddly refreshing– her life was filled almost entirely with controlling authority figures and do-nothing corporate yes-men. Karasu’s speech was barbed, and it was something like catharsis to be able to drop the demure act for once.

“Why are you here in the first place?” she asked.

Karasu squeezed his blade a little tighter. He breathed in as if he was about to speak, then stopped, ducking behind a low barrier and yanking Haru along with him.

“What are–”

He shushed her, nodding towards the direction they’d been heading. “The exit is through there, but it’s heavily guarded. More than it usually is.”

Haru picked at her skirt for a moment before she reached into her bag, searching for… there. Wordlessly, she handed Karasu the little compact with a hand mirror on the inside. He stared at it silently for a moment, then raised it carefully, using it to peek over the barricade.

“Good thinking,” he murmured, and Haru couldn’t help but preen just, just slightly. His praise was gruff and blunt, but it was genuine. And that meant more than a million empty platitudes from people looking to get into her father’s good graces.“Stay here. I’ll sneak over and cause a distraction. Once the coast is clear, go straight across this yard until you reach the gate. That will take you back to the real world. Leave my gun by the exit. Do not lose it.”

Haru nodded wordlessly, peeking around the corner to watch Karasu’s progress as he went, ducking behind what little cover he had at every opportunity. Twice, he slipped behind a guard so closely that she’d felt her heart drop, sure he’d be found, but each time he managed to get away undetected.

After minutes of agonizing wait, Karasu made it to his apparent objective: a control panel seemingly connected to a large crane swung off to the side. Haru watched him check over his shoulder once, twice each, then he set to work, doing something to the panel that she couldn’t quite see. This was good. He’d set off the distraction, she’d be able to get out, and then–

And then she saw the lumberjack Shadow approaching him from behind, looming large, burly and malformed like a child’s drawing of a strong man.

He hadn’t seen it. It was being uncharacteristically quiet, taking slow steps. Haru’s heart hammered in her chest, begging in her mind for Karasu to please turn around, please turn around, please…

The Shadow was four steps away. Haru suddenly felt the weight of the gun in her hand. She glanced down at it, then back up. Three steps now. She hadn’t needed to fire it since he’d given it to her. Not even close. She’d never done anything of the sort, but the Shadow wasn’t that far from her, and the Shadow was two steps away from Karasu and he still wasn’t turning around, and the Shadow was one step away, and it raised its axe–

Haru stood, held the gun as steady as she could, and fired.

…She missed.

The shot went wide, hitting the ground beside the Shadow. It, along with Karasu and every other Shadow in earshot, froze, then they all turned in unison to look directly at her.

Karasu bolted, control panel forgotten. Loki’s sword cut bloody swathes through the Shadows, splitting the guards’ attention. Even still, the number of Shadows advancing towards her was too large to count. Haru’s hands shook as she raised the gun again, firing once, twice, three times, and again and again until the shots stopped coming and the gun burned to the touch, but the mob didn’t falter. One of the Shadows threw something at her, and as she ducked, she tossed the gun in a panic. From the crunch sound that came after, she could only assume a Shadow had destroyed it.

“Karasu!” She screamed, voice cracking in terror. “Please, help!”

“Can’t follow a simple– Help yourself!” came the angered reply. “I’m not dying for you!”

Help yourself.

So that was it, then.

This, too, was hopeless. She’d trusted Karasu, she’d done as he said, she’d even taken action to save his life. And for her effort, she was left to the wolves. Again. Just like with her father. Whatever he wanted, whatever he asked of her, all for him to leave her at Sugimura’s mercy. Again, again, always the same, why am I so stupid!?

Her hands shook again, less from fear and more from anger. She squeezed her hands into fists with every atom of strength in her body, hoping, begging for something to break, just so she could do something, so she could have any effect on this godforsaken world before she died, alone and forgotten. Her chest heaved with breath, her vision swam red, her jaw clenched so hard it hurt, and none of it mattered because it was all pointless, every minute of her worthless, stupid life had been completely and utterly pointless!

Nothing mattered. She was going to die here. With nothing in her mind but rage, all-consuming, furious, burning rage, she ran. 

Directly towards the oncoming mob.

She raised a fist over her head, bringing it down in a futile strike against one of the lumberjacks as she closed her eyes for what could be the final time.

She’d go down fighting. She’d make it hurt, make them suffer, make it count.

…I’m sorry, Father. I’m sorry, Akiza.

Then there was a wet thunk, a gurgling moan, and everything froze. Haru felt her hands clasped around something. Something cylindrical, something that felt like wood grain.

She opened her eyes, and in her hands was a savage lumber axe, buried in the skull of a collapsed Shadow.

Haru heard another one approach on the left. Her muscles moved without thought, wrenching the axe free from the corpse and swinging it wide with a shout, slamming into the other one’s side hard enough to send it to the ground. Another– wrench, pivot, slam. The black goo that the Shadows melted into sprayed from the hole she’d put in the third one’s neck, warm and viscous. It splattered across her, soaking her further in their ichor as she swung, one after another after another while a guttural berserker’s cry tore itself from her throat.

Another rushed at her, low this time. She wound the axe over her head, then brought it down in a perfect arc, cleaving the thing messily in two like a split log. It really was like chopping wood, in a gruesome way.

Blue fire burst from Haru as she fought, coming in fits and starts across her body. She barely paid it any mind; it didn’t hurt, and she had more pressing matters. By the time it finished, her clothes had burned away, replaced with a musketeer’s outfit– far more sensible for combat.

A dog, on the left. Outside her reach. So she pivoted, swung overhead, and released, sending the axe flying into the leaping dog. It landed in a heap, already melting, but there was already another between her and the axe. She closed her hands into fists–

Only to feel her right hand settle around a curved metal grip. Blindly, she raised it, aimed haphazardly, and pulled the trigger. The recoil from the rifle blasted her arm back, and the gun went flying, along with the dog. She dashed forward, retrieving her axe, getting right back to parting the crowd like water.

There was a sensation somewhere in the back of her mind, sitting right in the middle of all this hatred that burned through her every cell. It spurred her on, stoking the flame, calling for more, more more–

Haru pressed forward– the exit was in sight, and every time she held out a hand, a gun was there to greet it. She blasted a dog into mist, cut off a lumberjack’s head off with a single sideways swipe, and laughed like she hadn’t laughed in years.

Chapter Text

Thursday, 6/9
Akasaka Mitsuke
Morning

Despite it only being an hour into the field trip, Akiza felt secure in calling this a bust. 

The TV station had sounded interesting enough, so she and the blondes had signed up, not anticipating that they would first be spoon-fed obvious trivia about TV production, and then made to do unpaid work for the studio. To say nothing of Ann having had to fend off a leery production assistant, and Ryuji earning himself some manual labor with the cables for intervening. Ann was now fielding questions about modeling despite having never appeared on TV. Akiza, for her money, was mostly trying to stay out of the way, as one of the few students not called upon to do something. Idly, she wondered if the crew had been briefed about her record. Maybe it was just the antisocial loner vibe at work.

“This is awful,” Morgana mumbled from her bag. “Is this going to go on all day?”

“We get out a little earlier than school normally does, but otherwise, yeah,” she replied, careful to keep her voice low and her posture nonchalant. She got the feeling Morgana was a little bit of an open secret at this point, at least among her class, but Maruki’s paperwork hadn’t cleared yet, so better safe than sorry.

Morgana groaned. “I’m too bored to sleep. This is the worst.”

“Agreed,” Akiza hummed. The one saving grace was being able to listen in on some student chatter about something other than her supposed money laundering operation. The whole school was abuzz with talk of the Phantom Thieves, from speculations on their true identities to requests for aid. Mishima had mentioned the huge influx of requests on the Phan-site, but he was doing his best to filter out the noise for them. Either way, more requests meant more Mementos, and Akiza wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to continue living in Joker’s skin.

“...hear the new chief officer is starting this week.”

“I can’t believe how much air time he’s making us dedicate to this whole Phantom Thieves thing…”

Akiza’s ears perked up. Two people in suits stood off to one side, near a hallway. Carefully, she shifted a little closer to them.

“It’s like, how can he expect us to run so many features on a bunch of rumors that nobody can back up?” asked the first, a woman in a business-casual blouse and pencil skirt. “What even is there to say?”

“No clue,” answered the other, a man in a plain shirt and tie. “Word from the reporters is that they’re getting pulled off their usual beats to cover this. Even Kaname-san.”

The woman balked. “But wasn’t he working that thing in Shibuya with the–”

“Shh!” the man hissed, quickly glancing around. “Don’t just– here,” he whispered, leading them down the hallway a bit and around a corner.

I could just leave that, Akiza thought, even as she sidled closer to the hallway, craning her neck as if she was trying to get a better view of something happening on the stage. Once she was out of sight, she slipped away down the hall. The pair were nowhere to be seen once she peeked around the corner, so she made her way down the hall, Third Eye open, listening carefully for any sign of them.

“...took him off the beat even though he was really onto something.”

There. She headed a bit closer to the door, keeping an eye out for anyone else coming down the hall, and listened closer.

“...serious business. Kids all over Shibuya are getting caught up in it, but nobody will touch it. Not even the cops.”

“Where’d Kaname-san get that info from, then?”

“Ohya. Remember, that lady who always came in reeking of booze? Used to work the political stuff?”

“Ohhhhh, I do remember her! I hear she basically lives in that Crossroads place in Shinjuku now… You think she really has a lead on this gang thing?”

“I doubt it. She’s probably just stringing him along in the hopes she’ll get her old job back.”

“I dunno, Kaname-san’s info seemed really strong…”

Abruptly, a bell sounded further down the hall. With the Third Eye active, the sound was piercing– Akiza winced, covering her ears as she abruptly released her heightened awareness. Fortunately, the bell stopped after a moment.

Unfortunately, when she reopened her eyes, she found the pair of studio employees staring at her indignantly.

“What are you doing here?” The woman questioned angrily. “This area’s off-limits!”

“I–”

“You brats are supposed to be in the studio room! What makes you think you can snoop around here!?”

“I-I was–” Akiza tried to speak, tried to talk her way out, but she was still disoriented from the bell, and caught off-guard on top of it. The man folded his arms, scowling.

“Were you eavesdropping just now?”

“No, I–” Akiza stuttered, even as she felt the reply die in her throat. If she could just– if they could stop yelling and let her think , she could… there had to be a way out, but everything was still ringing, and then there was an abrupt sense of vertigo, like her body was pitching forward, and then–

“I’m sorry. I was looking for the restroom and I got lost. I was going to knock on the door to ask for directions when the bell rang.”

That… that wasn’t right. She heard her voice make those words somewhere in front of her, but she didn’t say that. Where… was she? The studio hallway was still in front of her, but underneath her feet, she felt... polished hardwood? Something touched her back, like a large, heavy length of cloth-- she knew the wall was still behind her, but... She grabbed at the material, running the thick velvet between her fingers– she felt it, but she didn’t see her hands move...

“Well… okay,” the woman said. “The bathroom’s the other way. I’ll show you, and then you can head back to your class. Got it?”

“Of course,” she heard herself say, and then she bowed. Well, her body did, but… “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

The woman waved her hand dismissively as she started walking, Akiza following close behind as the man headed the other way. “No harm, no foul,” she said. “Here. Make sure you go straight back to your class after.”

Akiza watched her hand push the door open as she stepped into the restroom, mercifully single-occupant. Her hand clicked the lock shut, and then…

And then she was back in her own body. She raised a hand experimentally, flexing her fingers just to make sure they were actually responding properly.

What… What was that?

I apologize for the intrusion, mon coeur, rang Julie’s voice in her head. I felt the need to assist.

By taking over my body? She asked. Well… thought was more accurate. Despite the circumstances, communicating like this was oddly intuitive. That’s a thing you can do?

It is. I was not certain it would be successful, but you required a reprieve. 

Right, she said. Separately from her conversation with Julie, she pondered, chewing her lip. I appreciate the help, she replied after a moment. But I’d have liked a little warning.

Désolée. In my haste, I failed to consider.

It’s alright. I’m glad you jumped in when you did. Akiza paused, looking over at herself in the mirror. Idly, she traced the line of her jaw with a finger. We need to talk about this more. Some time when I’m not on a field trip.

Of course, chérie. We will discuss it later. In the meantime, I will not intervene without your consent.

And then Julie’s presence faded. She was still there, even if Akiza couldn’t quite tell where.

“You okay?” came Morgana’s voice. “You’ve been really quiet.”

“I’m fine,” she answered, tugging on a stray lock of hair as she turned from the mirror. “Just needed a minute. C’mon, let’s get back to the others.”

Thursday, 6/9
Akasaka Mitsuke
Afternoon

The rest of the morning passed without incident. Upon her return to the studio, Akiza had been given a stern look from Kawakami, then glued herself to Ann’s side, both to keep herself out of trouble and to provide a sense of safety in numbers. She glared at the skeevy cameraman from earlier each time he approached, and that thankfully seemed to fend him off.

Mercifully, the end of the day rolled around eventually. Akiza stood outside the bathroom with Ryuji, waiting for Ann and thinking about how to convince Sojiro to teach her about espresso.

“Man, I’m so pissed off,” Ryuji grumbled. “Goin’ to the bathroom didn’t even make me feel better.”

Akiza felt her brain jolt at that. “Ryuji, honey,” she asked. “What the hell does that mean?”

He blinked. “Well, y’know, it’s… what’s the word? Catatonic?”

“Cathartic,” Ann answered dryly as she stepped out into the hallway. 

“That.” Ryuji groaned loudly, head hanging in exasperation. “We gotta do more of this shit tomorrow too?”

“We could call out sick and spend the day at my place?” Ann hazarded. Morgana popped out of the bag and onto Akiza’s shoulder in retort.

“No flaking out! With all the buzz going around, you need to lay low and avoid acting suspicious,” he meowed. Akiza reached one hand up to scratch behind his ear, garnering some contented purrs.

“Fiiiiiine,” the blondes groaned in tandem.

“Well, at least we get to go straight home from here,” Ann offered, pulling out her phone. “I guess we don’t come over to this area much, so we could check the place out first?”

“Oh!” Morgana’s ears perked up. “That big pancake-looking place we passed by on the way here! I wanna go there!”

Ryuji grinned, taking Akiza’s hand in his as they headed for the elevators. “Oh, you mean Dome Town? It’s like this big– huh?”

Akiza looked up from Ann’s phone as the trio stopped abruptly, faced with an unfamiliar boy standing by the elevators. Mona dove back into the bag as Akiza scanned him over: sharply-dressed, wearing dark slacks and a khaki uniform jacket over a collared shirt with a black-and-white tie. In his gloved hand, he held a silver briefcase with a large A emblazoned on it. His light brown hair cascaded around his face in waves, reaching down to the base of his neck. The surprised look on his face as he met Akiza’s gaze looked… oddly out of place. 

“Oh, hello,” he said, voice just a tiny bit unsteady. Then, Akiza watched in real time as a mask slotted over his face, uncertainty smoothed over by a placid, friendly-but-neutral expression. “Based on your uniforms, I take it you’re Shujin students?”

“Uh, yeah. Why?”  Ryuji asked. Akiza didn’t fail to notice how he shifted ever-so-slightly in front of her, interposing himself between the girls and the newcomer.

The other boy shifted his posture, holding his briefcase in front of him with both hands, almost demurely. “Well, we’ll be filming together tomorrow, so it couldn’t hurt to say hello. Ah, where are my manners?” he asked, glancing at the elevators. “My name is Goro Akechi.”

He bowed just slightly, and all of a sudden, Ann had a look on her face like she was trying to remember something on the tip of her tongue. 

Ryuji blinked. “Filming? What, you some kinda celebrity?”

Akechi chuckled nervously. “I-I wouldn’t say that, exactly. I’ve just appeared on TV a few times, that’s all.”

They went silent then, conversation petering off as they awkwardly waited for the elevators to arrive. Akiza kept watching this new boy, watching his carefully-constructed mask wear thin. She recognized the spots where cracks started to show; the brow, the corners of the eyes, the impatient fingers drumming out an irregular rhythm on the handle of his briefcase. “You seem anxious,” she said, breaking the silence. “Did you get much sleep last night?”

Akechi’s eyes widened as he locked eyes with her for the first time since the conversation began. “W-well, as a matter of fact, no,” he admitted, capping it off with a sheepish laugh and failing to elaborate.

Akiza said nothing, opting instead to hum and adjust her glasses, watching as Akechi turned away from her gaze. At last, the elevator dinged, and Akechi perked up. “It seems I must be going,” he said, nodding at them in turn. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Enjoy your pancakes!”

Ryuji blinked as the elevator started to open, brow furrowed. “Wh– cake? What?”

Akechi tapped his foot as the doors crept open, seemingly far too slowly for his taste. “Oh, my mistake. I thought I’d heard someone say something about pancakes. I really must be going now though. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

With that, he stepped into the elevator, pressed the button to close the doors, and then he was gone.

“Wh- hey!” Ryuji was indignant, scowling in disbelief at the closed elevator. “That little nerd just took the elevator and closed it on us!”

Akiza squeezed his hand, smiling just a bit despite herself. “You okay, Yuji?” she asked, invoking his pet name in an attempt to mollify him.

It worked, but only marginally. “That’s just basic elevator etiquette! Like, my leg’s fine right now, but what if it wasn’t!?” he exclaimed, hammering the elevator button indignantly. “First this lame-ass field trip, and now this jackass–”

“Dude, chill out,” Ann said with a placating smile. “You were telling Akiza and Mona about Dome Town, right? They’ve never been. There’s the stadium, the rides…”

Ryuji stared at her for a second, then blinked, shoulders un-tensing. “Oh, yeah. So it’s basically a baseball stadium with an amusement park around it,” he explained as they got into the newly-arrived elevator. “There’s a bunch of roller coasters and stuff, it’s pretty cool.”

“Suidobashi’s got a big shopping district around it too,” Ann chimed, swiping through her phone and showing off a map of the area. “Plus, there’s this bakery there I’ve really been meaning to check out. What do you think, Akiza?”

Akiza chewed her lip, feeling herself shrink all of a sudden. “I’ve… actually never been to an amusement park.”

Two blondes blinked owlishly at her. And then, before she could get it in her head that someone was going to make fun of her, Ryuji spoke up. “I guess you did grow up in the sticks, huh? We should totally go, then!”

Akiza breathed. Right. I shouldn’t worry about things like that with them. “Go easy on me with the roller coasters, maybe?” she said with a lopsided grin.

Two blondes and one Mona cheered. “Dome Town it is!” Ann announced, pulling up a map on her phone. “Let’s see, we can take the Ginza line like one stop down from here, then switch to the Namboku line…”

“I wonder what was up with that Akechi guy,” Mona wondered. “He seemed so jittery.”

“Celebrities, man.” Ryuji exhaled. “He’s probably some kinda comedian or something. Never gonna get anywhere with that hair, though,” he added with a grin.

Akiza hummed. “I thought he looked kinda handsome.”

“I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before,” Ann mused. “Maybe at a modeling gig?”

“Could be,” Akiza offered. “Do you guys have anywhere specific in Dome Town you wanna go?”

Ryuji squeezed her hand as the doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby. “Well, it’s your first amusement park, so we gotta give you the grand tour! Roller coasters, bumper cars, everything!”

“And the food!” Ann chimed, already looking wistfully off into the middle distance. “Amusement park sweets just hit different.”

Akiza hummed contentedly, settling into the calm between the blondes and Mona as they plotted out the afternoon. Still, something about that boy with the briefcase nagged at her. His manufactured geniality reminded her far too much of Haru for her liking; once again, only someone with very good reason was that practiced at deception. And, much like Ann, she couldn’t shake some kind of loose familiar feeling about him.

She shook her head as they walked together to the train station. Nothing worth worrying about now, she thought, Ryuji’s infectious smile and Ann’s bubbly laugh at something he’d said spreading to her just as easily as they always did. There’s roller coasters to ride.

Thursday, 6/9
Between Dream and Reality
Late Night

A familiar triplet of piano notes grazed Akiza’s ears, and she awoke to familiar surroundings.

She rose from the prison cot unhurriedly. The Velvet Room was nothing new at this point, even if she hadn’t been summoned like this in a few weeks. Igor sat at his desk as always, Lavenza greeting her with a curtsy and a smile as she emerged from the cell. Akiza waved back.

“Welcome, Trickster,” Igor began. “My apologies for the sudden summons, but it seems you have a visitor.”

Akiza’s brow furrowed. “A visitor? What, here? How?” Rather than answer, Igor merely chuckled unhelpfully.

“If you’ll follow me, Trickster, I will show you to the visitation room.” Lavenza gestured to Akiza’s right, and for the first time, Akiza realized that the cell immediately to the right of hers was actually a hallway. She nodded silently, and Lavenza led the way.

The hall was much like the cell she always woke up in: dimly lit, dark stone walls cast in faint blue, wisps of fog curling around her feet. Lavenza turned abruptly, opening a door and ushering Akiza in. The visitation room was narrow, split in the middle by a low stone wall and an ornate, wrought-iron fence separating the two halves of the room. There was a chair on each side, and for lack of a better idea, Akiza sat down in hers.

“I will send the visitor in,” Lavenza said as she closed the door. “Privacy is your right, of course, so I will not enter unless you call for me.”

Akiza just gave a thumbs up, and the door behind her clicked shut gently. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what this was about. Another weird metaphor for something to do with Personas, maybe? The guillotines and electric chair were fairly gruesome in their own rights. This seemed comparatively peaceful, at least.

The door on the other side of the fence clicked open, and Akiza drew a sharp breath when she saw who entered– a mirror of herself, clad in her Metaverse outfit, sans mask. The doppelganger smiled softly at Akiza as she closed the door, amber-yellow eyes examining her. She sat down, crossing one leg over the other, and folded her hands in her lap.

“Good evening, mon coeur, ” she said. Her voice rang strangely in Akiza’s ear– she could tell it was her voice, but it sounded entirely different coming from someone else. It sounded almost… womanly . “My apologies for visiting you in this manner, but it was the most convenient way for us to meet face-to-face.”

A switch flipped in Akiza’s brain. She’d been trying to imagine what this mirror of hers could represent, right up until the use of French. “Julie?” she asked. “What… Why do you look like me?”

“Our contract, beloved. Je suis toi, tu es moi. We are each a facet of the other.”

Akiza exhaled, settling back into her seat a bit. “I guess that was in the contract, huh. I kinda didn’t think it’d be so… literal.”

Julie cocked her head just slightly. “Out of curiosity, what had you imagined I was, until now?”

“Well, a Shadow, I guess? Mine, specifically.” Akiza reached up, fiddling with a lock of her hair. “All the Shadows I’ve seen have been related to some kind of myth or folklore or legend or something, so I figured you were like that. What… are you, if not that?”

Akiza watched Julie chew her lip. “It’s difficult to say,” she arrived at after a moment. “I am the shape of a person borrowed from the Sea of Souls. I am your Shadow. And I am also you. Neither you nor I are merely one thing.”

“That sounds crazy, but it feels right,” Akiza chuckled, raking a hand through her hair and teasing out a stray tangle. “It’s kinda weird how… normal it all feels. To have you in my head, that is. Like, if you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have thought sharing a body with someone would be weird and uncomfortable. But it’s just–”

“Normal,” Julie finished. “I agree. Despite my confidence, I, too, am learning as I go. But spending the weeks since our contract backstage, watching you perform, has helped me understand some things.”

Akiza sat up a little straighter, brow raised. “Is that a metaphor for just hanging out in my head, or…?”

Julie’s eyes widened. “Do you… non, I suppose you would not. May I show you something, chérie? It will help you understand.”

“Go right ahead,” Akiza said with a laugh. “It’ll be nice to know what’s going on for once.”

Julie laughed along with her, refined and bright. She gestured down at the table between them, and only then did Akiza notice the drawer there. Just like the ones in juvie, only accessible from one side at a time. Julie held something up, and before Akiza could see what it was, she slipped it into the drawer. “Go ahead, beloved,” she said, nodding towards Akiza. “The answers are within.”

Akiza reached for the handle hesitantly. Despite how normal and intuitive it felt, she couldn’t help but be wary. The Metaverse and its denizens were inscrutable at the best of times. Still, she pulled the handle open, putting her faith in Julie– her other half, or whatever she was. Sitting in the box was a slip of red paper, embossed with gold writing in flowing script. It wasn’t Japanese, but somehow she could still read it perfectly as she held it up in front of her.

“You are cordially invited to this evening’s performance of… Le Voyage du Fou? ” Akiza read aloud, looking up to gauge Julie’s response, only to find herself somewhere else entirely.

She wasn’t sitting anymore. Somehow she’d moved directly to standing without getting up. The stone beneath her bare feet was gone, replaced with the slightly-sticky texture of polished hardwood. Lights shone down from above her. Blearily, she squinted through their brightness as her eyes adjusted, and at the sound of footsteps behind her, she turned.

“ Bienvenue, mon coeur, ” Julie greeted. “This is your stage.”

Akiza blinked once, twice, and then her vision was clear. She and Julie stood on a wide stage, red curtains looming tall and imposing behind Julie as she held her arms wide. The smile on her face (Akiza’s face?) was indelible. Akiza glanced around, only to find the audience section dark, seats starkly empty.

“Where is this?” she asked. “Is this part of the Velvet Room?”

“Non, chérie,” Julie answered. “This is a part of you.”

It should be weird. Akiza should feel weird about seeing this, about being told this was a part of her. But still, even this felt… perfectly natural.

“How long has this–” she began, but she found the answer herself. She felt it in her bones. “...This has always been here, hasn’t it? Even before we made our contract.”

Julie hummed, pacing towards the back of the stage. One hand traced the fabric of the heavy curtains gently, almost reverently. “That is my impression as well. You simply did not know to look for it.”

Akiza knelt down, feeling along the grain of the hardwood. Exactly like the ones she used to stand on in elementary school. The lights, too– they bore down with a heat and brightness that faded from awareness as soon as the performance began. “So the Velvet Room is its own place, shaped by my heart. But this place, this theater, this is me. This is some kind of… internal space.”

“Exactly, chérie. I knew you would understand.”

“...We’re not the only ones here, are we?” Akiza asked, but she still felt like she knew the answer.

Julie shook her head, smiling. “Non, we are not. The others are backstage, waiting for their cues.”

Akiza glanced towards stage right, at the edge of the curtain, and caught a glimpse of Hua Po and Leanan Sidhe peeking out from behind the curtain before ducking out of sight at Akiza’s gaze. “All my Personas are back there, aren’t they?”

“Right again. This is where your performers reside until they are called on.” Julie gestured towards stage left. “The curtains rise when you don your mask. Whomever you call upon stands on the stage with you. But you are always the prima donna. ”

Akiza’s brow wrinkled as she cracked a grin. “Isn’t that Italian?”

Julie chuckled. “A loan word, mon coeur. ”

Akiza laughed alongside her double as she pondered Julie’s explanation, feeling along its logic. The rules of this place became more apparent to her the more she thought about them, like she already knew them and was just recalling them from memory. “So, because I’m the one on center stage, I’m the one that controls my… our body,” she hazarded, once again surprised at how naturally the idea of our body felt. “But I don’t have to be.”

“Correct,” Julie affirmed. “I am capable of standing in the spotlight as well. I do not believe any of your other performers are, at least at the moment.”

“Right. So… rules,” Akiza murmured, chewing her lip. “We need rules for that.”

“Agreed.” Julie moved to sit, and a chair appeared to accommodate, emerging from a hidden trapdoor that rapidly closed as soon as the chair was on stage. She crossed her legs again, then nodded towards Akiza. Tentatively, she made the same motion, grateful to find herself similarly caught. “I wish to make it clear that I have no desire to usurp you as the prima donna. My role is a supporting one, and I am glad to play it.”

“That’s good,” Akiza said, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Not that I really expected that or anything, but it’s nice to be sure.” She hummed, chewing on her thumb idly as she thought. “Well, ground rule: no switching performers without checking first?”

“Absolument, ” Julie answered immediately. Akiza supposed she should be grateful her double was so agreeable about all this. 

“I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this, but could you fling curses out of your… our hand?” She asked with a cheeky grin.

Julie laughed. “ Non, not in the real world. Although, I have noticed that while you perform, our body does not behave as spryly in reality as it does in the Metaverse, despite capabilities being the same. It is possible you have some form of internal block preventing you from using that dexterity, but I do not share it.”

“Kay,” Akiza mumbled, thinking again and looking absently at the curtains to the left of Julie’s head. “So… if I’m in physical danger, then, you could help?”

“Oui. Though there may not be time to ask in such a case.”

“That makes sense. So, switching without explicit permission is okay in an emergency?”

Julie smiled. “Only if you allow it. If you truly do not wish to step back from the light, I cannot force you.”

“That sounds good, then,” Akiza agreed. “Switching with permission, unless I’m in trouble and need help immediately.” She chewed her thumb again, spinning out possibilities in her head. Unbidden, the memory of Kamoshida’s office sprung to mind, and she winced as she absentmindedly bit down too hard on her thumb. “What if… what if I’m overwhelmed?” she asked. “If I’m freaking out, can you…”

“I can step in,” Julie finished. “If you turn from center stage, I will take your place and do my utmost to resolve the situation peacefully while you rest.”

“Right,” Akiza breathed. “I’ll… I’ll try not to rely too much on that. Only if I really need to.”

Julie tilted her head, mouth drawn into a thin line for just a moment. “As you wish, chérie. I will be here when you need me.”

They stayed and talked a while longer, fielding hypotheticals and considering possibilities, but everything boiled down to those initial rules: no switching without permission, except in an emergency. When the time came, Akiza stood, returning to center stage, feet either side of the little T-shape marked in tape on the floor, facing Julie.

“Bonne nuit, mon coeur,” Julie said. “You know where to find me.”

“Yeah,” Akiza said, smile wide on her face. “Talk soon.”

She turned towards the audience, and then she was back in the visitation room, Julie having departed from the other side.

A gentle knock sounded against the door. “Trickster?” came Lavenza’s voice. “The visitor informed me that she was departing. Are you ready to return to your world?”

Akiza stood, energized, and opened the door. “Sure thing. Lead the way.”

“You seem in good spirits,” Lavenza remarked as she led Akiza back towards the center room. “Did the visit go well?”

“Absolutely,” Akiza answered. “I feel like I understand myself a little better.”

Lavenza hummed as they returned to the cell, Akiza getting ready to lay back down and return to sleep. The little girl flipped through her massive book, brows raised as she stopped on an entry. “You have formed a bond represented by the Fool arcana,” she said hesitantly, as if trying to puzzle out the import of her words.

“Is that one special?” Akiza asked, head cocked to the side.

“The Fool is unique,” Lavenza answered, closing her book. “It is that which binds the Arcana together. It learns from the others and teaches them in turn. Typically, a guest such as yourself would be represented by the Fool, and you still are. And yet, the Fool is now among your trusted confidants.”

Akiza hummed, then grinned. “I had a really good talk with the visitor.”

Lavenza smiled back, content to leave it at that. “I am glad for you, Trickster. Fare you well, until we see each other next.”

“You too,” she answered with a little wave. Lavenza returned it as she laid down, letting the drifting piano and crooning vocals of the Velvet Room’s song usher her back to sleep.

Friday, 6/10
Akasaka-Mitsuke
Afternoon

“I may not look it, but I sometimes wish Santa Claus existed. Although, if he did, I suppose I’d have to arrest him for breaking and entering.”

Akiza wasn’t sure how to describe the emotions she was currently feeling. In fact, she could barely comprehend what said emotions actually were. Something made of bewilderment, fascination, incredulity, and with a dash of inchoate rage sprinkled in for good measure, just to spice things up.

She felt this way because Goro Akechi, now revealed to be the teenage wunderkind Second Detective Prince, had just sat down in front of two interviewers, her entire class, the TV studio, and God himself, and said that with a straight face.

She could only look on in horrified rapture as the TV hosts and the fangirls in the audience laughed and the blondes boggled in quiet disbelief. She felt like she’d stuck a fork into an electrical socket, every synapse in her brain firing at the same time to create an incoherent mass of nebulous, unidentifiable thought, like a monkey banging cymbals together between her ears. Ryuji whispered something about what’s this guy’s deal at some point, and Akiza almost said something along the lines of I need to get in Sojiro’s car and run him over before something in her brain (possibly Julie?) reminded her that this was not a normal thing to say.

“All joking aside, though,” Akechi said, as if he had the audacity to just continue speaking after that. “Hypothetically speaking, if the Phantom Thieves are real, I believe they should be tried in a court of law.”

He kept talking, going back and forth with the host about morality and justice and decrying the Thieves’ actions as vigilantism. Akiza couldn’t help but bristle as he did, absolutely scandalized by the fact that Akechi knew the details of Kamoshida and Madarame’s crimes and still denounced the Thieves. How could anyone claim that they stood for anything but justice? A cold dread seized Akiza’s chest; a hollowing heaviness behind her ribs, tense and vivid, almost physical in its intensity. 

The female host polled the audience on whether the Phantom Thieves existed, getting about a thirty percent yes rate. It was a number simultaneously bigger and smaller than Akiza had expected, both impressed at how many people believed in them and shocked at how many people didn’t.

Akechi said something else, and Akiza couldn’t help quietly boiling again. If he knew, if he only knew the intimate details of the inhuman nightmares named Kamoshida and Madarame, not to mention the dozens of requests they’d taken, he wouldn’t be so confident. And then to dismiss her and her friends and her boyfriend as mere rumors–

She blinked. The hostess was roaming the aisles with mic in hand, eyes sweeping over the seated students. Several people fidgeted in place in the other seats, either from excitement or nerves. Akiza kept up her passive face, looking nowhere in particular, and…

…And the host was heading right for her, looking directly at her.

You can’t be serious.

Merde.

“Let’s ask this student here,” the woman said, holding the mic in Akiza’s face. “Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on the Phantom Thieves, if they were real?”

A few things happened in the space of a breath. In rapid succession, Akiza tried to consider her options: she could downplay the Thieves, trying to lower possible police interest. She could support them in the hopes of giving more people the courage to reach out for help. Julie even offered to step in, a gentle and wordless prod that felt like a questioning hand on her shoulder which she gratefully declined.

In that handful of heartbeats, she glanced over at Akechi, still on stage, regarding her with a curious expression. He seemed bemused, bored, face flat with feigned interest– a far cry from the nervous mess struggling to keep it together that she’d seen yesterday. The kind of nervous fear that she’d seen over and over again, in Shiho, in Mishima, in Yusuke.

And yet, something about that look, his demeanor, the audacity of his accusations against the Thieves, made her hackles rise. Lacking the time to give it any more forethought, she met his gaze.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re real or not. Their impact is real.”

As the audience laughed, something in Akechi shifted. His left eyebrow raised just slightly, he leaned forward just a bit, and the corners of his mouth lifted up into a grin. There was a spark behind his red-brown eyes now, engaged and alert.

“Indeed,” Akechi replied. “So, you’re saying that the mere idea of the Phantom Thieves is sufficient to encourage victims to step forward, and for criminals to confess? Fascinating…” He sat back, eyes still trained on her. 

“Whatever their morals are, they’ve had a positive impact on people’s lives,” she added, pressing her attack.

“So you believe only evil hearts can be stolen, then?” he asked. “It seems rash to resort to such unproven and volatile methods, if the goal is to improve lives. How can one be certain that these rumored actions will produce only just ends?”

Akiza set her jaw. “How can one be sure the police will only produce just ends?”

“The police are accountable to elected officials,” Akechi scoffed. “The Phantom Thieves are accountable to no one. I’m not so naive as to claim the police have a spotless record, but there are mechanisms by which such incidents are resolved swiftly.”

Now that, Akiza had a lot to say about, but she was already probably pushing the limits of what was acceptable to broadcast on the news, if this segment didn’t get cut entirely. She had a feeling it hadn’t been intended to go on this long. “The Phantom Thieves have only done good so far,” she settled on instead.

“That’s all well and good,” Akechi replied. “But will that hold true forever? And what if there have been more unsavory incidents they simply haven’t taken credit for? For example, say someone you care about– your friend sitting next to you, perhaps. If his heart changed without warning, wouldn’t you suspect the Phantom Thieves?”

Akiza glanced to the side, looking towards Ryuji who seemed coiled like a spring, leg bouncing with excess energy. She looked back, and Akechi’s gaze was still waiting for her. “His heart will always be his heart, no matter what.”

Akechi’s eyes narrowed fractionally, grin a little more pronounced. “But how can you be so sure?” he asked, finally breaking eye contact and turning slightly, addressing the host and the cameras again. “The true question is regarding their methods. Blackmail seems to be the most straightforward answer, but it would be foolish to rule out more outlandish means. And if such means do exist, extracting confessions may not be all they are capable of.”

“That’s quite the ominous statement, Akechi-kun,” said the male host as his counterpart rejoined him on the couch. Akiza felt her shoulders un-tense as soon as the mic was out of her face. “If their methods are unknown, what can be done regarding these Thieves?”

Akechi’s sharp grin dulled back into a placid smile. “I’m happy to reassure you and your audience that I’m already working with the police to resolve this matter.”

The hollow feeling in Akiza’s chest grew, yawning and hungry.

When the cameras cut and the audience stood up to stretch, Akiza and the blondes hurried off to an unoccupied section, voices low.

“Where the hell does he get off, makin’ it look like we’re the bad guys?” Ryuji murmured, arms crossed. “That ain’t right. All we’ve done is help people.”

“I can kinda see what he was talking about.” Ann twirled a pigtail around her finger. “As far as like, changing people without their consent. Not that Kamoshida and Madarame and everyone didn't deserve it, but like...”

“I don’t think it matters,” Akiza answered, fiddling with a stray lock of hair. “Let him speculate all he wants. We might not be morally pure, but I’ll take that over doing nothing.”

“Agreed,” Morgana said, voice muffled inside the bag. “As long as we stay true to our justice, we’ll be fine.”

Ann hummed. “Right, but if what he said about the police is true, then…”

Akiza chewed the inside of her lip. “We shouldn’t let that psych us out yet,” she said after some thought. “There’s no way they could prove the method. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and heads down for now.”

The blondes nodded, settling into an uneasy silence. After a moment, Ryuji spoke up, standing from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “I gotta go take a leak, I’ll be right back,” he said, heading off towards the bathroom.

“I’m gonna call Shiho and Yusuke,” Ann said a moment later. “Let ‘em know what’s going on. I’ll text you in a bit?”

Akiza just hummed in agreement, and with that, she and Morgana were alone.

“You okay?” he asked, quietly. “With the police, and all…”

“I’m okay. Thanks.” She answered honestly, even as the cold dread of handcuffs and cell walls prickled at the corners of her brain, like pins and needles in an arm fallen asleep. Then, on the far side of the room, she saw Goro Akechi catch sight of her and begin trying to excuse himself from his conversation to make his way to her.

“Mona, I need your help with something thiefy,” she murmured, outlining the essentials of her plan in hushed tones as Akechi closed the distance. With a single purr as acknowledgment, Mona slipped out of her bag, into the shadows and out of sight.

“There you are,” Akechi said as he finally reached her. “I’m glad I caught you. I wanted to apologize for yesterday, and to thank you.”

Akiza cocked her head to the side, brow tense. “What for?”

“Firstly, for introducing myself in such a frazzled state,” he answered. “I was low on sleep and dealing with some nerves for an upcoming exam.”

She nodded in reply. “And the thanking?”

“For providing such stimulating answers to my questions,” he said casually. “To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.”

Akiza laughed once, surprising herself as she smiled bemusedly. “ Hegel is your pickup line? Bold play, detective.”

Akechi smirked, that same engaged look from before, like a hunter having sighted prey. Akiza stood up a little straighter. “Nothing so forward as that, I’m afraid,” he said, leaving unsaid words hanging in the air. “Though I must admit, you’re a much better conversation partner than most people our age.”

Akiza shrugged. “I’m not afraid to speak my mind.”

A nod from the prince. “Your audacity is admirable,” he said, holding his chin in his hand and looking her over. “Adults only care about using the young, and the young do as the adults say. But you’re… different.”

Against her better judgment, Akiza smirked, lopsided and knifelike. “I’m not like other girls,” she replied, savoring the double meaning that only she was privy to. “And you’re not like other boys.”

Akechi laughed, a shade lower than his polite one from the interview. More intrigued, more focused. “I’m not,” he agreed. “I know what I want for myself. Fate belongs to those who take it.”

Akiza’s heart stopped.

There’s no way, she thought. He couldn’t be…

But it fit. The odd turns of phrase, the manner of speech, the assuredness and the love of verbal sparring…

“If you have the time, I’d enjoy your company in the future,” he said, leaning back a bit. “I feel there’s much I could learn from you. Oh, and I don’t believe I got your name?”

“Akiza Kurusu. And yeah, likewise,” Akiza agreed. They exchanged phone numbers briefly, and as Akechi put his phone away, he extended his hand.

“I look forward to our next meeting,” he said with a smile, halfway between his hungry hunter-grin and his approachable TV smile.

Akiza shook his hand, looking him dead in the eyes. “Same here,” she answered. And then, after a breath, added “...Roland.”

Akechi’s eyes widened, his smile gone, mask cracked.

Half a second passed, and he attempted to marshal his act again, turning back into the jumpy mess she’d met yesterday. “Aha, I’m sorry,” he said shakily. “You must have misheard my first name, it’s Goro. Easy mistake, Kurusu-san. Let’s talk again soon.”

“No, it’s okay,” she assured, releasing his hand. “Listen, your secret’s safe. I’m Joyeuse.”

Akechi blinked. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not familiar with French. Still, I-I’m not sure who you’re talking about. I’ve never met anyone named Roland.”

Stuttering again.

“When you were little, you wanted to be Grey Pigeon from Featherman when you grew up,” she said, voice hushed as she uttered words that only two people could possibly know. “On Tuesday, I told you about meeting my boyfriend’s mom, and you said you were proud of me. You said fate belongs to those who take it. ”

Akechi froze for just an instant. “I truly am sorry Kurusu-san, but you really must have me confused with someone else. I’m certain we hadn’t met until yesterday. I really should be--”

Akiza grabbed his hand again, catching him by the wrist as he turned to leave. “Alright, fine,” she huffed. With the hand resting at her side, she made a quick fist, then extended her first and middle fingers towards the floor– the Thieves’ signal for go.

“Hey, Akechi!”

“Huh?” Akechi turned at the sound of his name behind him, unaware that he’d just sprung Akiza’s trap perfectly.

She crooked her first and middle fingers, the signal for come here, and Morgana slunk back over to her, moving through shadows and under props as if made of liquid, and hopped back up into her bag, blue eyes watching Akechi’s every breath.

“You heard Morgana,” she said, heart hammering in her chest.

“I-I’m sorry?”

Are you sure of this, chérie?

Sure enough.

“Morgana,” she repeated, gesturing to her bag. “This guy. The only way you could’ve heard him say your name just now is if you’ve been to the Metaverse.”

The color drained from Akechi’s face in an instant, mask shattered.

Gotcha.

Chapter Text

Friday, 6/10
Akasaka-Mitsuke
Afternoon

As Akiza stood eye to eye with Akechi, waiting to see his next move, she couldn’t help but enjoy being the hunter for once, instead of the hunted.

“Pick one,” she said after he failed to respond for three full seconds. “Either admit you’re my friend Roland and we can move forward with that understanding, or admit you heard my friend here, and we can talk about what that means for both of us.” She gestured to her bag at that last option, Morgana continuing to fix Akechi with a searching cat’s-eye gaze. “Or both,” she added with a shrug. “Both works too.”

At last, a reaction; Akiza caught the way Akechi’s jaw set, the way his eyes relaxed, the way his gloved hand tightened just slightly. “That perceptiveness will get you into trouble someday.”

“Already has.”

He barked out a single laugh, coarser than his dignified chuckles from earlier. “And yet you have me in a stalemate.”

Akiza twisted a lock of hair around her finger, trying insufficiently to vent some of the nervous-excited energy under her skin. “We shouldn’t do this here,” she said, almost regretfully.

“Agreed,” Akechi grumbled, and the indignation of it almost made Akiza giggle at how cute it sounded coming from him. “I’ll message you this evening. Just…” He trailed off, glancing to the side at something Akiza couldn’t see. “Just stay out of trouble till then.”

“No promises, detective, ” she said with a smirk. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Akechi nodded, marshaling his demeanor back into that of the TV-friendly Detective Prince, and headed down the hallway, stopping once to glance back at her before rounding the corner out of sight.

Akiza took a breath, and then her knees went wobbly.

She leaned abruptly against the wall behind her, Morgana yelping at the sudden shift. “Hey, are you okay!?” he hissed. “That was crazy!”

“I’m good,” she assured, catching her breath as her heart hammered in her ears. “Just… recovering.”

“That was unbelievably reckless,” he chided. “It’s true that a thief has to gamble to succeed sometimes, but…”

“It’s alright,” Akiza reassured. “Once it clicked that I knew him, I knew it wasn’t a gamble.” Roland was someone who held a lot of Akiza’s trust and secrets. And now that Roland and Akechi were one in the same, Akechi seemed somehow defanged, less of a threat but more of an enigma.

Morgana hummed. “Just because you know him doesn’t mean you can fully trust him. He’s going on TV to oppose the Thieves for a reason, and we don’t know what that reason is yet.”

That, Akiza couldn’t deny. It clashed with what Akiza knew about her friend, but that didn’t mean it was incompatible with the boy she knew. 

“You’re right about that,” she said after a moment’s thought. “It was risky for sure, but I think he can help us.”

“At the very least, he could be a good source of intel.” Morgana’s ear flicked in that particular way it did when he was deep in thought. “Just… be careful, okay? You’re playing with fire here.”

“That’s what I need my best buddy for,” she said, reaching into the bag to scratch behind his ears.

“Now you’re flattering me,” Morgana purred, pushing his head up into her hand. “Do it more.”

Akiza grinned even as her heart still thudded with leftover adrenaline. Big gains required big gambles. Still, even if she didn’t know Akechi, she knew Roland, and that counted for something. He’d help them, she was sure. Roland wouldn’t let injustice stand.

She caught sight of Ryuji rounding the corner, and stood up to regroup with Ann.

>Roland: I should honestly stop being surprised when you impress me, Joyeuse.
>Roland: I’m shocked that we were able to have that chance encounter at all, let alone that we discovered… Let’s call it ‘additional common ground’ between us.
>Roland: That said, I’m sure this new information about me and my part-time job raises some questions.

>>Joyeuse: Just a few, yeah.

>Roland: This afternoon, I found myself scrolling back through our conversations, looking for contradictions or discrepancies, but nothing stood out to me as particularly relevant.
>Roland: I’ve used our friendship as a place where I can be honest. More so than I can afford to be in my everyday life.
>Roland: But, as I’m sure you’ve surmised, I’ve only given you fragments of the truth. I don’t doubt you’ve done the same.
>Roland: Being face to face with the one person who knows so much about me is not something I was ever prepared for.
>Roland: I want to warn you that I may not be the person you have imagined me to be. I could aspire to be him someday, but right now I can only be myself.

>>Joyeuse: What I’m hearing is that you lied by omission, and I don’t think that’s much of an issue... if you fill me in on the rest now. I know parts of you, and I want to see the whole picture, that’s all.

>>Joyeuse: Particularly the part of the picture where you’re a teenage celebrity detective, somehow?
>>Joyeuse: “>Roland: The police have nothing to offer people like us except violence.”
>>Joyeuse: “>Roland: No police officer has ever solved a problem that couldn’t have been better solved by somebody else.”

>Roland: Do you plan to use my words against me for the rest of time? First the pancakes, now this?

>>Joyeuse: You’re not the only one who went scrolling back through old conversations.
>>Joyeuse: I’m assuming you have a reason for doing this. I just don’t know what it is.

>Roland: I understand why you’d be confused at my association with such a vile and corrupt institution.
>Roland: Your intuition is rather accurate.
>Roland: I’ve said that fate belongs to those who take it. I’m using my position as a means to take that fate for myself.
>Roland: Much like yourself, no?

>>Joyeuse: I got kicked out of my hometown and I’m on probation for a year. Pretty different position, if you ask me.

>Roland: …Firstly, my apologies. I wasn’t aware.

>>Joyeuse: No worries, it’s a boring story.

>Roland: Secondly– do you think I’d be using such a detestable institution to advance my goals if I had a better option?

>>Joyeuse: Depends on the goals.

>Roland: Do you plan to undercut everything I say tonight?
>Roland: Frankly, I have my own questions about you as well, including this “boring story,” but I think it would harm our friendship if we interrogated each other at this stage.
>Roland: There are some conclusions you could leap to regarding how I know about that other world, and I might do the same thing. The police would be very interested in my deduction. 

>>Joyeuse: Threatening me is a great way to reassure me.

>Roland: This is a last resort, I promise.
>Roland: I cherish your friendship and I don’t want to do anything to harm that bond. But, if I may be juvenile, ‘you started it.’

>>Joyeuse: …Be that as it may.

>Roland: This is not the end of the discussion, I promise. I’d like to continue in person.
>Roland: Now that you know that I’m something of a minor celebrity, this will take some time for me to arrange. I’ll message you again when I’m ready to meet.

>Joyeuse: I’ll be looking forward to it.
>Joyeuse: …Sherlock. c:

>Roland: As will I, Watson.
>Roland: For now, goodbye.

Saturday, 6/11
Kosei High
After school

Akiza buzzed with energy all through the school day and the train ride to Meguro. Yusuke met them at the gate, whisking them up a flight of stairs to his second-story room. True to his word, it wasn’t terribly large; there was a dresser shoved against one wall to make room for a small rack holding several completed paintings. With Yusuke’s futon folded up against the other wall, there was sufficient space for the four of them to spread out a bit, but Akiza still sat directly beside Ryuji. Ordinarily she would have laid her head on his shoulder for a minute, decompressing and breathing in his scent while he played with her hair, but there were other things on her mind. That could come later.

“So,” she began once they were all situated. “Field trip to the TV station yesterday. We heard from Goro Akechi that he’s looking into the Phantom Thieves with the police.” Four nods. “I also got his number.”

Ann and Ryuji erupted with noise, questions and disbelief alike. Once she settled them down after a moment, she continued. “He came up to talk to me after you guys left, to thank me for being the other half of his little knockoff Hegelian dialect thing.”

“Hegel– what?”

“A conversation between opposing viewpoints, with the aim of coming to a new understanding.” Yusuke explained to Ryuji before Akiza could speak up.

“Right. So we go back and forth a bit again, and then it hits me.” She sat up a little straighter, laying out her next words carefully, deliberately holding back the most sensitive details. “Turns out, he and I actually knew each other before this. I met him on a forum a couple years ago and we’ve been friends since then.”

Ann boggled. “But that’s— that’s an insane coincidence. There’s like thirteen million people in Tokyo, and you’re not even from here!”

Akiza shrugged. “Well, it’s possible there’s something else at play there. Because the other thing I realized is that he’s… been to the Metaverse.”

This time, Yusuke joined in the chorus of confusion.

“Wait, wait, timeout,” Ryuji exclaimed. “How in the hell do you know that?!”

“He heard Morgana,” she explained, recounting the pancake incident from Thursday and then the execution of her and Mona’s trap on Friday. Ryuji and Yusuke watched on with incredulous expressions. Ann, though, stared at the floor, growing stiffer with each passing sentence.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked when she finished. Akiza flinched, finding her mouth dry all of a sudden.

“I didn’t… I didn’t realize it had happened until later,” she explained, weight in her chest heedless of the truth of her statement. “Like, late that night.”

“So you just told Morgana? Did you even tell Morgana?” Ann’s voice pressed the air from Akiza’s lungs. “You could’ve texted us! Or told us anything at all!”

“Ann, relax.” Ryuji broke the moment’s silence, seemingly to placate the little sense of unrest in the room. “Nobody got hurt, right?”

“Well, no, but…” Ann sighed, fixing Akiza with a look. “If he knows about the Metaverse, he’s probably using it for police stuff, right? What if he figures out we’re the Phantom Thieves?”

“Wait, what? ” Ryuji’s jaw dropped. “Can he do that!?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Akiza murmured, looking down and curling in on herself a bit as the weight in her chest grew. It changed in shape, guilt compounded by anxious thoughts about the possibility Ann had raised. She hadn’t considered that at all, too blinded by the realization of Akechi’s identity. “...I’m sorry.”

“Do you trust him?” Yusuke asked. Akiza looked up, finding no judgment in Yusuke’s dark eyes.

Akiza nodded shakily. “I’ve known him for a while now. There’s… We confided in each other. We were kind of each others’ only friend.” 

Yusuke made a little sound of affirmation, seemingly satisfied.

Ryuji slid a hand across the floor, laying it over Akiza’s and squeezing gently. “Listen, babe, it’s not like we don’t trust you.” She glanced over at him, at his face writ with equal parts frustration and worry, and felt herself shrink a little more. “But like… this ain’t the first time you’ve just jumped into somethin’ like this. That’s how it was with Yusuke comin’ into the Palace too.”

Akiza thought back to that night in the park, crowded onto a tiny bench with Ann and Ryuji and Morgana and Yusuke, adrenaline surging through her veins and then cut off sharply by Yusuke’s intent to stay with Madarame. Something had seized her then, an urge to throw caution to the wind, to strike out and dictate to the world what she wanted. Back then, she’d wanted desperately for Yusuke to understand that there was a better life within his grasp, that he could have if he only knew to want it. The same feeling had driven her months and months ago, when she’d seen that man and woman by the car and wanted only to get the woman to safety. And yesterday, at the TV station, she’d wanted…

…what, exactly?

A dozen things; to make a friend, to help, to reach out, to protect the Thieves, to get a rise, to feel the adrenaline again. Things that shoved her rational decision-making off the stage and demanded the spotlight. Just like with the woman, and with Yusuke.

“While I admit the moves were reckless, I’m glad Akiza reached out to me the way she did.” The Thieves’ gazes turned to Yusuke as he spoke, looking off into the middle distance. “If Akiza hadn’t sprung that invitation on me, I may well have never understood the depths of Madarame’s abuse, nevermind awakened to Goemon. I can’t claim to know the color of Akechi’s soul, but the possibility exists that he may need our help as well.”

A few moments of silence followed, hovering in the air like loud static, before Ann spoke up. “I get that there’s not always gonna be time to communicate with stuff like this, and that’s fine. But… the public already doesn’t trust us. We should be able to trust each other, right?”

“Agreed.” Morgana rose higher onto Akiza’s shoulder, looking down at her as he spoke. “You’re our leader, and I have faith in your abilities, but… if something like this happens again, tell us what you’re thinking. We can help. We’re a team, right?”

Akiza looked up at Morgana, perched on her shoulder, then around at the faces of her fellow Thieves, waiting and watching. “Yeah,” she said, weight still bearing down on her. “I’m sorry I didn’t fill you guys in. Won’t let it happen again.”

The others simply nodded, uneasy tension still hovering about the room like a ghost.

“Still, it’s quite ironic,” Yusuke mused. “To think that you of all people would be friends with someone so closely tied to the police…”

“For real. I mean, I don’t think any of us got a lotta love for the cops, but you especially.” Ryuji adjusted his position, stretching his leg out and exhaling as he did so.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” she said, chewing the inside of her cheek. “The Akechi I know was no fan of the police. I can’t imagine him working with them unless he has a really, really good reason to.”

“Information, perhaps?” Yusuke hazarded. “He may be attempting to use police resources to his advantage.”

Akiza hummed. The unspoken possibility, that she didn’t know Akechi as well as she’d imagined, nagged at the back of her brain. He’d implied as much in his texts. “We’ll see,” she said eventually. “I’m supposed to hang out with him when he has some time, and hopefully I can figure out what’s going on then. I’m… I don’t want to turn my back on him. Not after all he’s done for me.”

“Do you want us with you, when you talk to him?” Ann asked. Akiza shook her head.

“Probably not. I’m the one he knows, and if he does suspect me of being a Thief, I don’t want to give him an easy bridge to suspect you guys too.”

“I can hang around out of sight,” Morgana offered. “He already knows I’m not a cat, but that doesn’t stop me from observing.”

Akiza opened her mouth to respond, ready to insist that it was fine, that she didn’t need the help. But again, that clawing tightness gripped her heart, and the words died in her throat, the almost-refusal like ash on her tongue. “Sure,” she said after a moment, forced to concede Morgana’s suggestion. “More eyes and ears might be helpful.”

“So what do we do till then?” Ryuji asked. “Just sit around and wait?”

“Well, the bad press might hurt our ability to get into Mementos,” Ann said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Three pairs of human eyes stared at her blankly, and she fidgeted under their gaze for a moment. “I mean, Mementos is everyone’s cognition, right? So if people think we’re bad, then Mementos gets more dangerous for us.”

“Exactly!” Morgana purred, ears perking up. “I’m glad somebody pays attention when I talk.”

“By that same token, we may want to choose our next major target carefully,” Yusuke posed, chewing idly on the end of a paintbrush he’d produced from somewhere. “Our previous foes had social standing that made their confessions into controversies. An unequivocally reprehensible target would weaken the arguments against our justice.”

“A target nobody would feel bad about?” Ryuji asked. “Like who?”

“I couldn’t say. But it bears considering.”

Akiza nodded. “Keep your eyes and ears out for any leads,” she added. “Getting ahead of public opinion is probably our new goal for the time being.”

The meeting didn’t last long after that, overshadowed as it was by the lingering tension in the air. She and Ryuji shared a goodbye hug that felt just slightly too stiff to be fully comfortable, and as he and Yusuke turned to leave, Akiza’s phone buzzed with an unread message.

Akiza pocketed her phone, looking back up at Ann. “Hey, Morgana, would you mind taking a walk around Kosei?” she asked him. “Shiho wants to talk while I’m here.”

Morgana made a mrrp sound as he poked his head out of the bag. “Oh, sure. The garden looked really pretty, so just meet me there when you’re done.” He butted his head against her cheek like always, receiving a grateful scritch of silent thanks, and then dropped to the floor, trotting out to the garden.

Ann’s brow twitched just barely as she watched him go. “Shiho? Is she okay?” she asked, insistent and on edge all of a sudden. Again, Akiza felt the urge to deflect bubble up in her chest; if Shiho wanted to talk privately, it was about one of two things, neither of which the others could know about. But after the previous conversation, Akiza knew she wasn’t exactly on the most solid ice in terms of trust.

“Yeah, nothing’s wrong,” Akiza said, willing her breath to come evenly. “I mean, I’m already here at Kosei, so this is just convenient. I’m sure she’d tell us if something was up.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah,” Ann said quietly, fidgeting. “Tell her I said hi?”

“For sure. She’ll be glad to hear it,” Akiza reassured, and that seemed to loosen Ann’s tense shoulders. “She always lights up when she talks about you.”

Ann’s lips pressed into a line for a second before cracking into a smile. “She does, doesn’t she? It’s so cute.”

Akiza felt a little bit of tension dissolve as they shared a laugh before parting ways.

Saturday, 6/11
Kosei High
After School

Kosei, despite its aesthetic differences, was laid out much like Shujin, with the exception of the attached building being designated for arts rather than sports. Shiho’s directions were easy enough, even as unresolved thoughts weighed heavy behind her ribcage.

The sign by the door Shiho had mentioned caught Akiza’s eye as she slid it open– photography studio. Sure enough, inside there was an open space cleared in front of a backdrop, flanked by lights equipped with diffusers. Finding nobody, she called out.

“Hello? Shiho?”

“In here!” came a muffled voice from behind a door near the back of the room. “Just turn your phone off and don’t let any light past the curtain!”

Akiza did so as she pushed the door open, clicking her phone off and waiting until the closing door behind her left her in pitch black to push through the heavy curtain ahead of her. Immediately, she blinked; the entire room was bathed in red light that reminded her eerily of Mementos, half-obscuring tables covered in equipment she didn’t recognize. One wall was covered in clotheslines with large, glossy photos hanging off them, details oddly clear given the lighting. And at one bench of equipment sat Shiho, using a small pair of tongs to lift a photo from a container of some kind of fluid.

“I didn’t realize you were into photography,” Akiza observed as she made her way over.

“Not until recently. Kosei wants every student to pick up an extracurricular, and since sports are out of the question, I needed something to do.” Shiho looked up from her work, grinning in the half-light. “You should see the cameras I get to play with. Pull up a chair.” She jerked her head towards a spare seat nearby, which Akiza dutifully brought over to sit beside the other girl.

“So what’s all… this?” she asked, gesturing around. “No digital stuff?”

“The darkroom’s for making prints out of physical film,” Shiho explained, hanging up the photo she’d been working on. “The film’s sensitive to normal light, so you can only handle it in here. There’s something kinda…” she gestured aimlessly, searching for a word she didn’t find. “I dunno. I like the process. Going through from shoot to developing, all by hand, it’s kinda relaxing. I dunno, it feels satisfying, even if the photo sucks at the end.”

“You could be Ann’s photographer,” Akiza half-joked. Shiho replied with a half-laugh.

“Maybe once I get better at it. I haven’t told her about this yet.”

The weight settled lower in Akiza’s chest. “Any particular reason?”

Shiho let a breath out, lips pulled into a thin line. “I don’t know. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. It just feels hard to talk about myself around her lately. Like I’m afraid they’ll think…”

Akiza cocked her head. “Think what?”

“I don’t even know,” Shiho sighed. “Ann’s been doing this thing where like, if I’m ever even a little bit sad, she starts making herself manic trying to cheer me up. Probably because of…” She glanced down at her legs. “You know. And I appreciate the thought! I really do. But…”

“You don’t like her thinking of you as fragile,” Akiza finished. Shiho looked up, eyes widened, the red light catching eerily on the whites of her eyes.

“Yeah,” she exhaled. Beneath the table, Akiza glimpsed her hands clench into fists. "She wants me to be happy. And I’m glad she does, I just… I wish she’d trust me to be sad sometimes. I want her to see me as her girlfriend, not just as the girl who jumped.”

Akiza nodded, sense-memories prickling at her hind brain. It was a familiar feeling, if not quite the same; an echo of breathlessness, rather than vertigo. And afterwards, nobody to see her as anything at all, aside from the four walls of her bedroom.

“It’s hard to understand for people who haven’t felt like that,” she said quietly.

Shiho huffed, brow creased. “It’s like… does she think there’s a meter in my head that fills up whenever I’m not happy, and once it maxes out I suddenly want to–” She cut herself off, rising anger in her voice halted by a full-body wince. She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled again. “Sorry.”

Akiza hummed. “It’s okay. I know how hard it is to deal with this stuff. I mean, you’re one of two people in Tokyo that know I attempted, and the other one isn’t a Thief.”

The wind in the leaves, grass beneath her, trembling hands clutching her phone, tapping out a message–

Akiza blinked, yanked back to the present. Shiho’s eyes widened, just barely. “Not even the blondes?” she asked. Akiza shook her head.

“Nope. I know it’s kinda dumb, considering they know I’m trans and everything, but I’m just… I don’t like talking about it. Especially with people who don’t… know .”

“It’s not dumb,” Shiho reassured, and Akiza couldn’t help but be comforted by the hint of steel in her voice. “Talking is hard.”

Akiza laughed once, bitterly. “Don’t I know it. I just… I feel bad keeping things from them. Me and Ryuji are dating, me and Ann might be soon, and aside from that, we’re friends. And including Morgana and Yusuke, we’re all teammates. We should be able to trust each other. They should be able to trust me. ”

Shiho caught her tongue between her teeth, looking up at the photo she’d hung from the line– it was hard to make out in the red light, but Akiza could see a handful of students holding what looked like scripts, probably rehearsing for an upcoming production. Somewhere on Akiza’s stage, Julie’s feathers ruffled appreciatively.

“So you still wanna do this poly thing, then?”

Shiho’s question jerked her out of her thoughts, looking back over at the other girl, expression unreadable. Akiza fidgeted her thumb against her fingers.

“I think? I mean, I’d love if it worked, I’m just… having second thoughts.” She sighed, moving to rub her eyes before remembering the makeup she’d put on this morning and settling for fiddling with her hair instead. “I dunno. Cold feet, I guess.”

Shiho went quiet again, knuckles of her right hand brushing back and forth along the spokes of her wheelchair, little thunkthunkthunk noises in rapid succession. “I mean, if we tell them, that’s one less thing we’re hiding from them, right? I don’t have to hide that I’m into Ryuji, and same for you with Ann. And if you want to make sure they trust you, you gotta trust them with your feelings.”

Akiza didn’t say anything. Shiho was right, of course; one way or another, getting the secret out there would at least put them all on the same playing field. Still, her heart rattled against her ribs at the thought, like a percussive drum building up to the curtain’s rise.

Akiza huffed, a single breathy chuckle. “Yeah,” she said, as much to Julie as to Shiho. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Shiho grinned from ear to ear. “Attagirl.”

Saturday, 6/11
Cafe Leblanc
Nighttime

Akiza watched with anticipation as Sojiro raised the cup to his lips, swirling it gently and eyeing the dark brown liquid inside. Her own cup looked much the same, vivid aroma suffusing her held breath. Sojiro took a noisy sip, licking his lips and looking off into the middle distance, before setting the cup back down in the saucer.

“That,” he said, turning to regard her with a mild grin. “is not a bad cup of coffee.”

Immediately, Akiza’s heart ballooned; faint praise, perhaps, but the way he’d delivered it, the thoughtful look as he’d tasted her work, the way his eyebrow was perked just slightly, the way it did whenever he was impressed, belied how much he really liked it, even if he wouldn’t say so. Eagerly, she tried it for herself– complex sweetness that evoked some kind of fruit in her mind (though she couldn’t quite nail down what type), a little bit of fruity acidity, a warm and comforting body to it.

“Well, I think I did a great job,” she retorted. Sojiro laughed.

“Goes to show how much technique matters,” he said, going in for another sip. “Some people will tell you to brew with water at eighty degrees, and they’re schmucks. Boiling water only.” Akiza laughed behind her cup as she let the flavor wash over her tongue again. It was… not berries, exactly. Not citrus. More like…

“I’m getting… stone fruit?” she hazarded, trying to throw words vaguely in the direction she was tasting. Something about the sweetness was almost juicy, evoking peaches, plums, nectarines.

“Remember, don’t get too hung up on finding the ‘right’ flavor. If a word jumps out that helps you understand it, use it. But yeah, that’s about what I got too. Sharp kid,” he praised, and Akiza felt herself glow.

Akiza shrugged, setting her cup down for the moment and taking the decanter to the sink for a quick wash. “I’ve always been a quick study. Does that mean you’ll teach me how to make espresso now?” She tossed that question in with a cheeky grin, the way she did so often. It was rhetorical at this point, an expected in-joke, and she was already anticipating Sojiro’s rejection that she’d follow with exaggerated dismay.

“Sure,” he said after a moment, and the decanter slipped out of Akiza’s hands into the sink.

“Wait, really?”

“You proved you’ve been paying attention,” Sojiro said with a shrug, switching on the espresso machine behind the bar. “Espresso is all about details.”

Akiza set the decanter aside to dry, toweling off her hands and stepping over to the machine with a suppressed grin. Sojiro was already fiddling with the brew basket, pulling down a new bag of beans, right up until his phone rang.

“Hello? Who is this?” he asked, accepting the call and turning away. Akiza did the same, deliberately not eavesdropping with the Third Eye and busying herself with sweeping up the kitchen. In her periphery, she caught sight of Sojiro’s face morphing into a scowl. “How did you get this number!? …Now? Where?” A pause. A sigh. “Alright, fine.” He hung up, pushing his glasses up and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, something just came up. We can continue this another time.”

Akiza nodded. She was disappointed, sure, but… “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine,” Sojiro replied bluntly. “Just finish up the dishes, and remember to shut the gas off before you close up.” Akiza bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to take his irritated tone personally as he made to leave.

“Right,” she murmured, head down. Faintly, she heard Sojiro sigh from where he lingered in the doorway.

“It’s… It’s been nice having some extra help around here for times like this,” he said, looking out into the night. “Keep it up. And don’t eat all our food while I’m gone.”

The door closed behind him, and Akiza watched him through the window as he left, a complex tangle of emotions tight in her chest.

Sunday, 6/12
Shibuya
Daytime

“No way,” Ann murmured. She stood stock-still beside Shiho, eyes wide, staring at the opulent entranceway before them. “No way did you do this.”

“This place is like eight thousand yen a head,” Ryuji mumbled. “We can’t– you guys can’t–”

“It’s our treat.” Akiza cut him off, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. She’d dressed up for the occasion, a simple pale yellow sundress with a light cardigan. “Shiho cashed in her New Year’s money, and I used some of my Mementos stuff. We get an hour to eat, starting when we walk in.”

“The Wilton’s Marble Lounge buffet,” Ann muttered, still in shock. “Just the dessert menu is three pages on its own...”

“They got, like, an entire table just for the meat,” said Ryuji, just as shell-shocked.

Morgana poked his head out from Akiza’s bag, mouth hanging open. “I can smell the fish from here…”

Shiho grinned from ear to ear. “Are we or are we not the best girlfriends ever?”

“ Yes, ” the blondes chorused as they made their way inside.

True to her promise, Ann tore her way through the dessert table; croquembouche, tiramisu, cake piled high with berries and cream. Ryuji tended towards the grill section, a dozen different cuts of steak prepared in a host of sauces that clung to every inch of the food. Akiza cast a wide net, tasting everything from pan-fried salmon with whole grain mustard to roasted chicken breast stuffed with dried figs (she also made sure to grab plenty of different varieties of fish, all slipped covertly to a tearfully grateful Morgana).

Shiho hadn’t been quite so fortunate at the outset. When they reconvened after their first ventures to the buffet tables, Shiho had an empty plate in front of her.

“I can’t get my chair up to the tables,” she’d explained, exasperated. “And nobody wanted to help.”

“Screw these rich assholes,” Ryuji had said, and none too quietly. “Just tell us whatcha want and we’ll get it for ya.”

Shiho had looked at Ryuji with a little wondrous glimmer in her eye, one that Akiza was well aware of. “Um… some kind of pasta?” she’d asked, hesitant. Ryuji had set off in an instant, his own plate left at the table until his return. Akiza had managed to slip a knowing wink to Shiho while Ann was enraptured by cake. Shiho had shyly returned it.

The effort was valiant, but forty-five minutes into their hour, the two couples and one not-cat sat defeated. Akiza leaned back in her seat on the sofa next to Ryuji, who exhaled as he set down his utensils on a cleaned plate. Across the table, Ann slumped over, head on Shiho’s shoulder, who just ran her hands soothingly through her girlfriend’s hair.

“You two are the best,” Ryuji groaned contentedly, stretching one arm around Akiza’s shoulders. “What even… what was this for?”

“We wanted to surprise you,” Akiza hummed as she cuddled closer. “Just… wanted to do something nice. And it doubles as an apology from me.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Ann said, sitting back up and stacking her head back onto her shoulders. “Still, thanks.” She smiled softly, and Akiza’s heart went aflutter as she was sharply reminded of the true reason for this date.

“There’s one other thing too, but that can wait till later,” Shiho added. “Whose place are we staying at tonight?”

“Not mine,” Ann lamented. “The housekeeper is there tonight and she won’t want me having people over.”

“There was barely room for three of us at my place in middle school,” Ryuji said. “Sure as hell ain’t gonna fit four.”

Akiza couldn’t help but grin– not a single mention of the fact that no such sleepover had been mentioned before this, just an immediate launch into logistics. “Leblanc might work, actually.” She sat up just slightly, withdrawing her phone from her bag beside a stuffed full and dead asleep Morgana. “Sojiro’s at a cafe owner expo thing tomorrow, so it’s gonna be closed anyway.” In truth, she’d already cleared it with Sojiro this morning, under the pretense of a study session, but doing it this way added to the surprise.

Such theatricality.

As if you’re one to talk.

“I wanna hit the bathroom before we go,” Shiho said. Akiza and Ann nodded wordlessly, standing up and stretching.

“Ryuji, can you hang onto Mona?” Akiza asked, met with a confused look on her boyfriend’s face.

“Uh, sure,” he replied, pausing for a second before adding “How come girls always use the bathroom in packs?”

“Our door’s ten times heavier than yours,” Akiza answered without missing a beat. Ryuji just looked even more confused as she and the others headed off, laughing to themselves.

The bathroom was just as ostentatious as the rest of the hotel. Especially bewildering to Akiza was the entire foyer area full of couches and seats in front of mirrors, presumably for the purpose of fixing makeup. Stranger still was the fact that they’d had to take an elevator up to actually get to it in the first place.

“I’ll need to swing by my place to grab some stuff for tonight,” Ann mentioned as they waited in line. She stood right behind Shiho’s wheelchair, hands on the other girl’s shoulders, thumbs rubbing little circles on the exposed skin. “I can grab your stuff if you just wanna go straight to Leblanc, Shishi.”

“Mmmm,” Shiho responded thoughtfully, leaning into Ann’s touch. “Sure, yeah. Can you pack my scar cream?”

“Yup! There’s a nice little bathhouse across the street, so that should help your legs too,” Ann added. Shiho just hummed again, tilting her head back to look up at Ann with a soft smile.

“I’m told the bathhouse is nice,” Akiza said absently. “I haven’t soaked in a bath in… a year or so now?”

Ann and Shiho both turned to look at her. “Wait, didn’t you say you use the one at Sakura-san’s place?” Shiho asked.

Akiza shook her head. “Just the shower. He never mentioned a bath.”

Ann opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and started fiddling with her phone. Shiho frowned. “That’s… a real shame.”

Don’t I know it, Akiza thought. She just shrugged, toying with her hair idly. “Dysphoria plus juvie will do that,” she said matter-of-factly. She didn’t feel bad about it, not really. Just another fact of life, being who she was.

Ann spoke up, breaking the silence. “The place next to Leblanc’s website says it allows swimsuits,” she said, still looking at her phone. “And it’s supposed to rain tonight, so there probably won't be anyone there.”

Akiza blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, if you wanted to, you could wear a swimsuit in the bath,” Ann said, like she was talking about something completely obvious and not absolutely absurd. “We could all go together, and if anyone gives you shit, I’ll beat ‘em up!”

“I-I don’t have one,” she said reflexively, keenly aware of the people now glancing at Ann with disdainful expressions.

“I’ve got some swim shorts at Ann’s place you could borrow?” Shiho offered. “Some of my physical therapy is in a pool at the hospital, and I don’t mind lending them.”

Akiza chewed her lip. Her gut told her no with the force of a kicking mule, but something about the way Ann had preempted her concerns and how Shiho had no issue lending Akiza a swimsuit made the notion seem just that little bit more feasible. Just enough that she didn’t want to dismiss it out of hand. “And you guys wouldn’t… You wouldn’t be uncomfortable with me being there?”

Ann made a face like she’d just been fed a lemon. “What? I mean, why would we be? It’s just us girls.”

Shiho nodded. “Only if you wanna. But yeah, we’d be happy to have you with us.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. Shaky as they were, they did help to center her. Try as she might, she still hadn’t been able to shake the notion that Ann and Shiho saw her as some kind of Other, alien and unnatural and dangerous. But that wasn’t true, and it never had been. To them, she was just… a girl. Simple as that.

“As long as it’s not busy,” she murmured after a moment.

To her relief, there was no great cheer from them, just a pair of soft smiles.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a line to take the elevators back downstairs as well. Akiza waited alongside Ann and Shiho, idly chatting about school and the planned sleepover, right up until they weren’t.

Shiho grunted as something hit her wheelchair with a thud; a glance revealed it to be a tall man in a suit, shoving her out of the way as he and several other men like him muscled their way in front of the girls.

The suits surrounded another man. A bald man, looking away.

“Wha- hey!” She exclaimed, whirling around to glare up at the offender. “What gives? We’re in line already!”

The bald man said something. Akiza couldn’t tell what, not when all the air in the room was suddenly pressing down on her like a leaden blanket. Something stole her breath from her lungs, brain too alight with panicked sparks to figure out what the hell was happening. Every muscle seized up at once, painful but locked in place. They were talking, Ann was yelling, Shiho’s ponytail was moving but it was all too much, darkness at the edges of her vision pressing in–

Julie. Julie’s hand touched her shoulder, a silent question. Her animal hindbrain lurched to say yes, please, get me out, GET ME OUT–

–and then there were more hands on her shoulders. Human hands. Ann’s hands.

“Hey, hey, Akiza, it’s okay. Look at me, okay? Right here,” Ann murmured, soft words cutting through the muffled pounding in Akiza’s ears. She did her best to focus on Ann, her voice, her face, her hands. Julie asked her wordless question again, and Akiza replied with a wordless decline. She was safe. She was okay. Ann said so.

Akiza’s grip loosened, and she let her eyes flutter closed, forcing her breath into slow, even repetitions as Ann unwound her.

After a moment, her hands dropped limply to her sides from where they’d been clutching the strap of her bag. Her eyes opened. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Of course,” Ann said, like it was nothing. “What had you so spooked?”

“I… I’m not sure,” Akiza replied, holding her right wrist in her other hand. “I think… Some part of me might have thought they were cops? I just kind of blacked out.”

Ann sighed sympathetically, pulling Akiza into a sudden hug. Akiza made a little breathy sound of surprise, glancing down at Shiho, who just gave a little lopsided smile.

“Let’s get you home,” Ann said, taking Akiza by the hand and pressing the elevator button again.

Akiza glanced furtively at her and Ann’s joined hands as they waited. Shiho threw her a wink of her own.

“If I ever see that guy, I’m gonna bust his effin’ teeth,” Ryuji murmured, now caught up on the events upstairs. He held Akiza protectively in both arms as she buried her face in his shoulder, glasses held in one hand. His voice rumbled in his chest, working in tandem with his touch to ground her. 

“You and me both,” Shiho added from across the table. “The nerve of that dickhead to shove my chair around like that… Not to mention Ann . ”

“It’s whatever,” Ann said sourly. “All the high-level modeling execs are exactly that dismissive and self-important. I’m pretty much used to it.”

“That’s effed up. I can’t stand adults who just treat people like us like shit.” Akiza felt Ryuji’s leg bounce as he spoke. “All the rich assholes in here keep lookin’ at me like I’m stinkin’ up the place. Like they can smell the broke on me.”

Everyone sat in silence for a minute, the pleasant mood from earlier slashed. Akiza straightened up, putting her glasses back on and taking a centering breath. “It’s more of what we’ve all been through,” she said, looking down at the table. Morgana climbed into her lap, purring as he curled up beneath her hand. “They don’t care what happens to us as long as we don’t inconvenience them. This whole society is built to grind the hope out of people like us.” Another breath, in and out. “But… that’s what we have each other for. We keep each other safe.”

She glanced up, and saw her three conspirators, confidants, friends. Battered and bruised, but not broken. Not yet. Not by a long shot. Smiling back at her, weary and hopeful.

Sunday, 6/12
Cafe Leblanc
Nighttime

True to Ann’s predictions, the bathhouse had been blessedly empty aside for the three of them. Several times, Akiza had almost chickened out, ready to cite nerves and scurry off to Sojiro’s shower, but the soft, grateful smiles on Ann and Shiho’s faces at her acceptance won the day. Not only did they not mind her presence, they welcomed it. Existing in such a state with the other girls had been affirming in ways she hadn’t imagined, settling into her bones as the blissfully hot water leached the tension out of them. They regrouped with Ryuji afterwards, returning to Leblanc for the evening.

“Washed Ethiopian for Ann,” Akiza said, setting the cup down in front of the blonde in question. “Iced cocoa for Ryuji,” she continued, doing the same. “And house blend for Shiho, because I don’t know what you like yet. All decaf, of course.” 

She placed the tray to the side, sliding into the booth next to Ryuji and across from the other girls, cradling her own cup of Guatemalan single-estate. The four of them gathered around a booth table in Leblanc while Morgana snoozed upstairs at Akiza’s request (and promise of forthcoming sushi). Akiza insisted on making coffee, nominally to help wind down for the evening but primarily in an effort to soothe her own nerves via ritual.

“Thanks, babe.” Ryuji grinned, slinging an arm around Akiza’s shoulder as he sipped his drink. Ann and Shiho echoed similar thanks, sans term of endearment.

“Thank you two so much for today,” Ann said, sighing contentedly. “I’ve wanted to go to that buffet for ever .”

“Worth every yen,” Shiho said with a nod. “Even if the rich people were jerks.”

“The food still tastes just as good!” Ryuji said, grin as bright as ever. Akiza just smiled, leaning into his touch and letting her eyes slip closed for a moment. 

When she reopened them, she caught Shiho’s gaze. The two blondes were lightly bickering about something food-related, but Shiho gave her a meaningful look, gesturing subtly at them.

Deep breath.

Akiza nodded, and Shiho nodded back.

“Um, guys,” Akiza began, already wilting slightly as both of them turned to her. “There’s something we wanted to talk to you about. That thing Shiho mentioned at the restaurant.”

Ryuji’s brow furrowed. “You okay, Kiza? You look nervous.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. She nodded.

“Yeah, thanks. Okay, firstly,” she began. “Nobody did anything wrong. Everything’s good. We just wanna talk about… the future, I guess.”

“Alright, cards on the table.” Shiho laid her hands down flat in front of her, looking at Akiza and Ryuji. “You two like each other, so you’re dating.” At Ryuji’s confused nod, she continued. “Me and Ann like each other, so we’re dating.” She licked her lips once, hesitating, then pushed forward. “I think we all know there’s more attraction than that going on here.”

Ann went white as a sheet.

“Ryuji,” she said, fixing him with an unyielding gaze. “You told me before you started dating Akiza that Ann was amazing and gorgeous, and that you didn’t want to get between her and me because we’d been crushing on each other since middle school. Am I right to think you have some kind of feelings for Ann? Remember,” she added, holding up a hand when Ryuji opened his mouth to protest. “Nobody’s in trouble, I’m not asking because it’s a problem, we just want to clear the air. I’m not upset if you do like her.”

“And if you do, it doesn’t mean we have to break up, or anything like that,” Akiza added. “It won’t change anything between us.”

“I…” Ryuji trailed off, his leg bouncing a mile a minute. He glanced sidelong at Akiza, then at Ann, who looked like she was trying her best to turn to stone, cheeks flush with pink. “I… yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“Wha– Ryuji!?” Ann gasped.

“Look, I can’t help it!” he exclaimed, running his free hand through his dyed-blond hair. “She’s– I mean, you’re amazing! You’re like the nicest person I know, you’re funny, you light up any friggin’ room you’re in. We were always together in middle school, and when I fucked up last year and we stopped talkin’, it hurt. And I realized it was ‘cause I felt like you were a part of me, and you were just gone. And then when we took that bastard down, you an’ Shiho got together, and I was so happy– I still am. Seein’ you smile again in the castle was like gettin’ that piece back! And now my oldest friend is so effin’ gorgeous that she gets put in magazines! It just… all that together ain’t fair! How could I not fall for you?”

Akiza found the breath leave her lungs as he spoke. Sure, she’d had her suspicions, but this… seeing it said so undeniably was something else. And yet, she wasn’t afraid. That clawing weight that so often found its way behind her ribcage was nowhere to be found. Just the warm glow of optimism.

Across the table, Ann covered her mouth with both hands, flushed from the tips of her ears to her collarbone. “Ann,” Shiho prodded. “You like him back, don’t you?”

Ann’s hands moved to hug her sides as she looked down at the table, tears falling from her bright blue eyes. “You– Ryuji, you– you jerk! Of course I do! Ever since middle school, you just say stuff like that, like it’s just so obvious, and you have no idea how it makes me feel– my heart fucking hurts, every time, b-because I want to be able to say it back, but I can’t because I chose already– I chose Shiho, and it’s not like that was the wrong choice, I wouldn’t give Shiho up for anything, but no matter which one of you I chose, I’d be leaving the other two behind!”

Akiza’s breath caught. “The other two?” she asked, quietly.

Ann’s gaze whipped up to meet Akiza’s, eyes wide and shimmering. “I-I…”

“Ann,” Shiho said, gentle but decisive. She reached out, and Ann gasped softly as Shiho took her face in both hands. “Anneli Wilhelmina Takamaki. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not a bad person for having feelings like that. For Ryuji or Akiza.”

“Huh?” Ryuji stammered. “W-wait, you–”

“Babe, hold on a sec,” Akiza hissed. Ryuji clammed right up.

Shiho continued. “Akiza and I had a feeling. So we wanted to sit down– all four of us– and talk it out, so everyone’s on the same page. You still with me?”

Ann nodded, shakily. “I-I just… I felt so bad, like I was being greedy. I still feel like that– like I should be grateful that I’m lucky enough to have you love me back. I shouldn’t want more than that–”

“You can,” Akiza said firmly, sitting up straight as all eyes turned to her. She and Shiho exchanged a knowing glance, and Akiza drew in a deep breath, drawing on all the courage in her heart as her cheeks turned pink. “Because… I like you too, Ann. I have basically since we met. I showed up in Tokyo and you and Ryuji were the first people who cared about me in… a year? I just… I look at you and I feel like I’m home. That night you slept over and I had a nightmare and you talked me through it– I’ve never felt that safe before. You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, and for the longest time I’ve ached every time you smile at me because it makes my heart do backflips.” She exhaled, raking a hand through her hair and twisting a lock around her finger. “So… yeah.”

“Why?” Ann asked, voice small. “Why are you doing this? What’s the point of saying all this if it won’t change anything?”

“Because we can have everything we want and more,” Shiho said, as unyielding as stone. “Ryuji,” she said, gently slapping her hand on the table to punctuate. “I’m a dumbass. I’ve been crushing on you for months, since you came over to my place that one night to ask about relationship advice. Maybe even before that. You’re stupidly thoughtful in the littlest, most amazing ways, and you smile like a golden retriever, and god dammit dude, I wanna kiss you so bad all the time. I just wish I’d said so sooner.”

Ryuji had turned about six shades of red over the course of Shiho’s confession, a sight Akiza noted with some fondness. “B-but that’s– I-I mean, I like you too, but it’s not like we can date–”

“Says who? ” Shiho said forcefully, hand thudding lightly against the table for emphasis again. “Since when the fuck have any of us given a shit what the rest of the world has to say about us? You and me are disabled, Ann’s half white, Akiza’s trans, we’re all bi. We were never gonna pass for what society thinks is normal. Why the hell can’t we all date each other at the same time and be cool with it!?”

And at last, the shoe dropped.

“It’s called polyamory,” Akiza explained when silence smothered the room. “You date more than one person, and everyone’s okay with it. It needs a lot of communication, and it’s not always easy. But… Shiho’s right. We can have everything we want. Don’t we deserve that?”

Ryuji and Ann gaped, too stunned to respond. Ann’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly, and Ryuji just kept bouncing his leg.

“I want to do it,” Akiza said, taking Ryuji’s hand with her left and reaching across to take Ann’s with her right. “Sure, it’s not exactly normal, but what about us is? What’s one more rebellion?”

Shiho held Ann’s other hand tenderly, but not delicately. Akiza could see it in her eyes; Shiho knew that Ann wasn’t made of glass. This was no time for hesitation. All they could do was trust their beloved blondes and look towards the future.

Ryuji was the first to speak up. “We’re gonna have to like… really talk this out. Make sure we’re all on the same page with who’s cool with what. I ain’t gonna lie, I… I really like the idea. Like, what dude wouldn’t wanna have three girlfriends as incredible as y’all? Still, I ain’t gonna lie and say it’s not scary to think about. But…” he glanced down at his and Akiza’s joined hands. “So are lotsa good things. If everybody’s cool with it… yeah. I’m in.”

Akiza exhaled a breathless laugh, smile cracking wide across her face. There was still one vote left, though.

“I… I feel like I don’t deserve this,” Ann sniffed. “I don’t deserve all this kindness from you guys.”

“Fuck deserving, ” Shiho interjected. “I don’t give a shit what any of us deserve. I care about what we– about what you want. And I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that, Annie.”

Ann gulped, looking down at her lap for a long moment. The ticks of Leblanc’s old clock stretched out, little infinities between the seconds.

Ann looked up, with a tearful smile on her face.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, absolutely.”

Ryuji surged from his seat. Ann was pulled from the booth with a yelp, into Ryuji’s arms as he hugged her with all his might. “C’mere, you,” he said as she wiggled briefly in his grasp before relaxing, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Akiza looked over at Shiho, smiling wide enough that her cheeks were sore, and saw Shiho happier than Akiza had ever seen. Wordlessly, Shiho extended a fist. Akiza met the fistbump halfway.

Then, Akiza yelped as she was yanked from the booth, only to be swept up in a dual embrace by Ann and Ryuji. “You guys are incredible,” the other girl said shakily, face buried in Akiza’s shoulder now. Their collective hug, their combined touch, all sunshine and sparks and the smell of vanilla conditioner and three-in-one all melding together into an impossible, miraculous whole. 

At Ryuji’s insistence, they dropped down to the floor so they could draw Shiho into the pile for a half-kneeling four-way hug that, for all its odd positioning and giggles about whose elbow was poking whose ribs, felt more right than anything Akiza could remember.

“I love you guys so much,” Ann said, tears flowing with joy.

Without needing to think, Akiza, Ryuji, and Shiho said it back.

“Love you too.”

Interlude - Murmurations / Reading the Augury

Ann, very kindly, volunteered to help Akiza clean up while Ryuji helped Shiho upstairs. There wasn’t really much to clean, just the siphons, the grinder, and the mugs, but it was appreciated nonetheless.

Akiza couldn’t help but notice that the air felt… different. Lighter, brighter, sweeter. Everything about Ann had been recontextualized– every brush of hands set them both blushing with bashful smiles. Now that everything was out in the open, Akiza could allow the feelings she’d locked away over a month ago to bubble back to the surface.