personatux-blog

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When you lowkey wanna roleplay Akira again after 5 months of break..... Sweats. #how to

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                             ▼         What he despises the most.            ▼

Akira never possessed any unusual triggers prior his life changing incident – mostly due to him being completely average, never encountering anything too exciting or getting involved in a particular situation. Thanks to his rather curious nature he also never had any fear of height, darkness or in  general possessed phobias boys of his age might develop; never for once becoming either enraged by something or fearing a situation. Naturally due to the way he was raised, however, and also because of the great influence his mother had on him, he always had his fair sense of justice; hence why he had always considered it only just and fair for criminals to be brought to court. Nonetheless this was more or less normal for someone whose parents thought highly of their system. There was nothing he whole-heartedly hated, however, but this slowly started to change.

At first Akira only developed a more than justified dislike, or even hatred, towards unjust people – those who only cared for themselves and used others for their cause. Yet he failed to realize this for long, still struggling with his trauma the incident in his home town had caused, even believing that perhaps he had deserved such treatment – that he indeed deserved to be branded as criminal if the law of this country was unable to protect him, an innocent. Thinking that he might not be as innocent as he had thought to be in this night of confusion; he only later accepted that his sudden intervention had been the right decision. With the awakening of his persona who did no longer want to turn a blind eye to this farce.

Yet after seeing the state of Kamoshida’s palace; specifically how he was treating the female members of his club and how he had also treated Ann and Shiho, Akira’s hatred become more defined. To be exact; he started to deeply hate men who would only use women for their own selfish cause; whether they had any sexual intentions or not. Seeing Ann’s tears and inner struggle; Shiho’s attempted suicide and desperation but also his very own past, this incident for which he got his criminal record, he absolutely started to despise men like this. Akira could not ignore it; and knowing that many women were still struggling in the distance, not raising their voices because they were scared, made him simply angry. After all a woman also brought him into this trouble; even making a false testimony.

Despite being rather calm –having an aura of reliability – and also never showing any signs of aggression with very rare exceptions, Akira gets extremely agitated by now when he sees a woman being sexually harassed by a man. He despises it that much that he cannot help it but to interfere. Yet due to the very fact that he’s still under probation, there is only very little he can do as actual student and normal young man. Ultimately he cannot allow himself to use physical strength and become involved in a fight –despite becoming quite good with it after some time thanks to his own efforts- knowing that he would only end up being in trouble. However, this does not stop him to try to interfere in these situations.

Specifically know, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, he is unwilling to ignore it. More so because they also have quite many female members who are –unfortunately- often bothered by other guys. Perhaps he started to become overprotective of them due to this; often keeping a good eye on them to help them if they needed his help. Especially after knowing what Ann –and her best friend- went through, Akira is particularly keen on keeping these troublesome guys away from her. Knowing that it is still extremely triggering for her.

[personatux-blog]

Cat ruins local man’s social life.

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Defend !!! (cause i live for battle drabbles/rps XD ~)

                        ▼    Meme: Drabbles!   |   ( still accepting, but extremely slow. )   ▼

Defend — I’ll write a drabble of my character protecting yours.

( Since I already wrote a longer one about Joker protecting Panther, which you can read here,  now something more ‘normal’!)

                                                                                    “No! Just leave me alone!!”

HE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZED THIS LOUD VOICE, even among the masses of Shibuya. In fact he knew it perhaps even too well, immediately realizing that she was in dire need of assistance right now. Ann was this type of girl who could take care of herself, at least most of time – but the hint inside her tone told him that she was failing to handle the situation properly. Pushing his bag full of hamburgers inside his bag, ignoring Morgana’s sudden complaint, Akira instantly turned around, trying to localize the VOICE mid the crowd of people. Apparently the situation got even more intense, still hearing Ann’s voice all over the place, even though he was seemingly the only one who cared. No one else, not even one person in the crowd, seemed to care that a young woman was aggressively yelling just now. It was always like this; and also the reason why he could not ignore it. Even less when it was someone like Ann.

TURNING HIS HEAD TO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, following the sound of her voice, Akira eventually found her being cornered in a side street – by a whole group of guys. Actually he did not even have to listen to them to know what they were thinking; what they wanted of her. It was obviously enough if he followed her gazes leading to her long, slender legs and the short tank-top which unfortunately showed perhaps a bit too much. But this was just like her, especially in a hot summer like this – ultimately it was not her fault that these guys were preying on her now. It was all their doing, their very own mistake. Fortunately none of them were bothered to even notice him when he closed the distance to her, moving right to her side – even if that meant to also be trapped now.

                                           ‘ANN, you alright?’

AKIRA QUICKLY CHECKED ON HER before his head turned to the other guys – five in total -, immediately recognizing that the tallest one of them was probably their leader. A red cap and blonde, wild hair… Didn’t Mishima mention something like this just recently? Some gang preying on and sexually harassing girls without any company around Shibuya? In the worst case, they had done even more than that.

“Piss off, fucker!”“You should go back home and check on your mother.”

                                                              Ah, so annoying…

ACTUALLY HE HAD NEVER BEEN AN AGGRESSIVE PERSON; scarcely ever raising his voice in the PAST, turning blind to important matters – even becoming ignorant of them. Believing that he could not change them, no matter what he did. Yet this mindset had changed; and the bitter taste of injustice was the voice, the call, which made him awake from his long slumber. He could still feel the sudden pressure on his palms, the rushing thoughts inside his mind back then when he had dared for the very first time to not ignore his discomfort; when he had, for the very first time of his life, dared to show courage. No… He had pondered about it for so long – but he had done the right thing, even if that woman made a false testimony afterwards to keep herself safe. The punishment had been to enslave him to a being he truly wasn’t; it had forged his invisible chains and branded him for all eternity. Someone like him would never be fully accepted into society; a criminal record never faded. But he had accepted all of that; had accepted that he had to raise his voice and act in order to stay truthful to his own principles. The principle to help those who needed it – whether it was a friend or not. Even if the whole world turned blind to it, he never would. And thus he had awakened, no longer staying inside the shadow he had lived in for so long. It had been a faint touch of fate – and after accepting these chains, this prison inside his very soul, he was finally free. Believing. Rebelling. -- FIGHTING.

                                             The FACE of the man… The VOICE…                               Why did his mind hide it from him inside thick fog?                     Yet these headaches… The memories were still there, somewhere.                      But his voice shall be heard now, louder than ever before.

AKIRA WAS WELL AWARE HE COULD NOT AFFORD to let his fist slip his control; no matter how disgusting these guys in front of him really were. Still being on probation he was honestly done for if they reported him to the police – no one would believe him even with Ann testifying; and no attorney would try to defend him in another court as well, knowing that it was already a lost case. Another assault on another person, no matter the situation, was still a crime if one already had a record for it. This was the disgusting truth of this so called justice of the adults; creating large holes for those who had the power to make them untouchable by law itself. It was an unbroken vicious circle considering that the archenemy of justice was the justice mankind had created; the law itself. Becoming a victim of it Akira knew that there was no escape from this very truth – but even then… it would not  s t o p   him.

STILL CLENCHING HIS FISTS NONETHELESS, he shoved his own body in front of Ann, shielding her from the guy’s sight. They did not know him – but soon they would learn how determined he was if they kept on creeping on her. This was no fucking joke to him. Ann went through enough bullshit because of guys like this already. It was enough. If there existed something which made him become pissed like this, then men like these.

                   ‘….I see. You guys really don’t want to leave her alone, do you?                    I ponder what you’ll try to do once I left?                   Continue to hit on her with these lame lines?                   Really. You should learn to take a  n o.                   Sorry, but she deserves better than any of you.’

HIS SLENDER FINGERS MOVED TO HIS GLASSES, carefully lifting it from the top of his nose. God, it was strange to not feel its weight in this moment – but the feeling was good. In fact he did not even need them; but it protected him from all the bullshit around him. It made him almost invisible in the masses – a mask he needed by now because his eyes had learned to sparkle and burn on their own. In this moment he did not need such foolish protection; this façade he lived with ever since moving to Tokyo. All he needed… was to convince them that he would not yield, even if they continued to piss on his leg. He knew people like them; all talk when they had to go against a serious threat. And he was certainly one – the one of the worst kind. It was this kind of behavior he despised the most; the attitude of not respecting the privacy and comfort of woman for their own selfish, disgusting pleasure. Just like these men. Just like any one who did not care for other people’s feelings. It was the ultimate flaw of this world; what made them all become prisoners of what they believed to be justice.

WHAT A PATHETIC JOKE. Obviously these guys did not know what was good for them – but he had not exactly expected them to retreat just now anyway. After all who was he? Some little kid to their eyes with a big, bad mouth. What a pity that there was more behind him than just that, however. And they would learn this soon enough. Their face expressions were a sweet mixture of confusion, amusement but also arrogance accompanied by unpleasant smirks.

      “You little punk!! Cut that crap!!”                         “Think you can go against all of us?”                                “You can still run home, boy. Leave the hot chick to real men.”

HUH...UNLUCKY  FOR THEM THAT HE HAD NEVER HIDDEN HIMSELF AT HOME. Not only for once in his entire life. Apparently he was quite an unlucky fool himself, but there were no regrets inside his mind. Now was his turn, however.

                  ‘R e a l   men…?                    Sexual harassment is delict, and not a minor one.                    I can call the police, you know.                    Huh… I’m just a dumb, little boy so I guess I’ll just do that now.                   I mean… What can I do besides that?                    It’s not like you did anything wrong, right?                    At least according to any of you.                   So how about we let ‘the hot chick’ behind me                   and the police decide this, shall we?                   I have the bad habit of recording with my phone after all.’

HIS LIPS CURLED INTO A CONFIDENT SMIRK whilst his stare got almost deadly, as if he tried to pierce their souls. And in fact he indeed was – attacking them there where they had least expected it. Attacking their vulnerability. 

                  ‘Or I suggest you leave her alone.                   And never look at her again.’

THE LAST TWO SENTENCES WERE SPOKEN WITH SUCH INTENSITY that his tone dropped lower, ice cold and sharp like a thousand knives. His hand fiddled at his pocket to fish his cell phone, just in case they had yet to see another hint.

                            Guess it was GAME OVER for them – soon enough.

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P5 Protagonist using a gun in a Palace or Mementos: *Perfect shot, never misses, amazing*

P5 Protagonist playing a shooting game irl: *Is confused*

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           ( Just to clarify something about my headcanon!! I might edit this later.               Of course Futaba is also a genius; but the problem is that she’s only               a genius in programming and hacking. I don’t deny that she still               has something you can call general knowledge; but being smart                is more than just that. You have to actually be able to make good               use of it as well; which Futaba is still learning. When it solely comes               to hacking she’s obviously the unmatched pro of the entire group;               but particularly due to her isolation after her mother’s death she                is still struggling with too many things to truly consider her being                the second smartest or even the smartest of them all. Which is why               I say she currently isn’t; but she would be at least as smart as Akira is,               if not more. I mean... god, she had some really good ideas in the game.               The best ones even. )

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                                  ▼       How smart is Akira actually?            ▼

Compared to all of the Phantom Thieves, Akira is the second smartest - still being a bit slower than Makoto to take hints and also slightly worse in school grades in the very beginning. This, however, was not always the case.  Of course Akira is quite intellectual by nature, albeit it was difficult to see when he was much younger since his interests back then did not really suit his mind. Actually being rather curious by nature, he often rather spent his days outside the house, exploring his area until his parents, particularly his mother, forced him to spend more time in the inside. Focusing more on his studies now, becoming a proper student like his parents wanted him to be, Akira was still only average - not trying much and spending a rather ordinary life like most boys of his age. So despite being extremely quick to find solutions to problems, understanding situations and also to memorize all he needed, he never for once stood out. In fact, he was only average - at times a bit above average - with his grades; never mainting a reputation of a model student.  Yet he would have been able to easily change this with enough efforts - however, prior the incident which caused his criminal record he actually never had much drive to become overly good in anything. He tried to spend his days with different occupations, not only studying - but never for once was he good in it. Once again, this had been his decision - albeit certainly not on purpose - to be only average with anything; not finding any need to become extremely good in something. After joining -or rather founding- the Phantom Thieves, however, this urgent need suddenly appeared, not only to maintain his facade as normal student. Being watched by his whole school due to his past and seen as delinquent -even if he had always been innocent in that case- Akira could not allow to ever let his grades drop; in fact he even vastly improved them to be in the top of his class.  All of his hidden talents, those he had never developed or found any proper interest in before, started to improve in only little time - thanks to his abilitiy to easily grasp and understand all kind of information. For example, due to his second identity known as the Joker, Akira had to learn how to properly use guns - not only since they could put good use of it in the Metaverse, but also because he had to be a good example, similar to a role model, as leader. Certainly he got all of his tricks thanks to Shinya Oda who taught him how to properly wield a gun with the help of a game; but Akira was solely able to pull it off thanks to his natural gift of learning incredibly fast. He could properly copy Shinya Oda’s movements and adapt them to his own; simply to later on create his very own moves to strike his opponents. His fast thinking also helped him to learn from other confidants as well; just like Hifumi Togo.  Despite not being necessarily a sign of intellect, Akira also possesses great empathy. This, however, is something he actually always had - even prior to the incident - yet no one ever took note of it. He was seen as a good guy, but nothing beyond that - never standing out, never having too many friends or even close ones. Yet this does not change that Akira is quite quick to read other people, not always accurately but most of time,  and he can easily tell when someone is uncomfortable around him or not. Likewise he can tell if someone needs his help; and this is when he refuses to be blind to it.  Akira can become sultry; but in the most dangerous situations he is still extremely calm - which makes him quite reliable. In fact, he can still properly think even in these moments hence why his friends put so much faith in his decisions. 

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“Come forth, my other self!”

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           ( I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT THIS WAS POSSIBLE LMAOOO.              Maybe because I’m this kind of person who sticks with one girl               for the entire game no matter how many are throwing hearteyes              at Akira. BUT NOW IM SITTING HERE LAUGHING ABOUT IT.               Sojiro’s the best though - like HE KNOWS and tried his best to help him.              Also, minor spoiler warning. )

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             ( My two cents about the P5 translation:                While you cannot deny that people messed up there, I am                unfortunately used to it and I doubt that companies will learn.                Atlus is not the only one who is terribly fucking up with this;                even other current major titles like Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem                DO NOT have a proper English translation. To make it even worse -                the original Japanese texts are getting phrased differently to be                ‘more appealing to specifically the american audience’; taking out                anything too offensive for example. This is going on for so many                years by now that I doubt it will ever change.                 To get mad about it simply won’t change it - it’s a common issue                with a shit ton of games hence why ‘hardcore fans’ usually always                have to refer to its japanese versions since the English or western                releases in general are totally messed up. )

[personatux-blog]

Send my muses anonymous love-letters. Bonus: leave a hint of who the author is.

[personatux-blog]

carmenized replied to your post: carmenized replied to your post: ...

┆&& get ready for the protag to buy double chocolate crepes for each ann. ❜

theholylight replied to your post:carmenized replied to your post: ...

Oh yes the crepes… I hope you have a lot of money *smirks*

          -DELETES ANN’S CONTACT DATA JUST TO BUY HER CREPES ANYWAY- 

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carmenized replied to your post:                    ( If I look at my inbox, my...

┆&& no e s c a p e ❜

( THERE IS NO ESCAPE - IT IS JUST GETTING WORSE - I WAS ABSENT DUE TO SICKNESS FOR A FEW DAYS AND NOW IM SURROUNDED.  ....I’ll probably get whipped if I tried to escape, so I guess I will just obey. I am okay with my blog being 80% Ann right now -sweats-. Also kudos to my platonic friend here who tagged me in 29272902 things during my absence @theholylight - no escape, nowhere.)

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東京生花 by おり

※Permission to reprint this was given by the artist. Please do not repost without the artist’s permission. If you liked this fanwork, do take the time to rate and bookmark the original work.

[personatux-blog]

     Bravery is [ ＮＯＴ] fearlessness.

           Bravery is knowing your fears,

                   and ＣＨＯＯＳＩＮＧ  to

     ———{ overcome }———  them.

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Defend !!

                  ▼    Meme: Drabbles!   |   ( still accepting, but extremely slow. )   ▼

Defend — I’ll write a drabble of my character protecting yours.

THE DULL ECHOES OF LOW MOANS CONTINUED TO FILL the seemingly endless netting of gloomy tunnels, a dark AMBIANCE yet to see outside Mementos. The twisted darkness was hiding more than just one strange shadow only seen in this place; sheltering the voices of the masses and their quenchless greed, false DESIRES manifested those threats they sought to find. The menace was awaiting them around every corner, and despite of this they crossed the tracks with the very same determination like before, making their way deeper into this unknown labyrinth of resentment. The first impression of this place deep inside the masses cognition had faded by now, however, almost seeing it with the very same emotion like he usually saw the palaces. Structures merely shaped by one’s mind, and not the source of fear and hesitation. Even if the lights turned to almost pitchblack the deeper they could go inside Mementos with Morgana’s help, this did not change. But he was no fool to not know of the risks; of the grinning facades lurking in the dark, waiting to ambush them while they searched for their TARGETS. Above all, it was his responsibility to know about it and taking it serious, even if all of it had started to feel… like a mere gamble. A GAME he participated in. Perhaps this pride had indeed started to become his greatest weakness.

USUALLY BEING THE ONE WHO TOOK OVER THE DUTY TO DRIVE in this place, even after Makoto joined their little group – and with the little experience he actually had with vehicles in reality, technically zero – he did quite well. Avoiding most of the shadows on their path of the black tracks, not because he believed them to be a serious THREAT but rather to save some time, he followed a new structure, the so far deepest level of Mementos. Everyone was loud as ever, cheerful even; despite all of them were aware of why they were in this place to begin with. To end the tyranny of someone who threatened too many innocents – and who also did not deserve to be ignored or even spared. Yet fighting was inevitable – not only in this place. There was nothing to gain without STRUGGLE, neither strength nor justice. Once they got out of the car, even if it was just merely a few seconds, all of them were already awaiting a shadow to attack them, showing their grotesque and more so ugly silhouettes in the darkness, one which often could only arise in one’s nightmares. Time was always essential and yet incomprehensible in a place like this; and when they finally reached their destination – the right place betwixt mind and matter – none of them hesitated to engage the shadow awaiting them. They were the foes they had already awaited; their archenemies and yet none of these shadows ever did anything less than to disgust him.

                                Their so called  j u s t i c e, nothing more but poor EXCUSES,                                 only f u e l e d  what he knew was lingering deep inside.

THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE TO WHAT HE KNEW IN THE REAL WORLD; and being able to show his true self like this, a burning and loud throbbing heart of rebellion, did not make him prone to show any mercy. Always collected and calm, his ANGER was still invisibly dwelling deep within – a feeling he could not ignore or neglect. It was his drive to fight; the will to stand up upright, facing all and even defying the whole world if he had to. It was the pride had started to yield to, accepting it as this part of himself which had been oppressed for too long. By all these illusions the society laid upon them ever since birth. It was ultimately not the roles they had to fulfill; all of them could make their own DECISIONS. Here and now. It was what gave them strength, continued to push them forward – and during fights like these, it was not about prestige but rather about being JUST. All of them always gave their all, fighting for what they truly believed in – and stopping now was no option. Never was, never would be. AKIRA WAS ALWAYS PREPARED TO BE THE FIRST TO STRIKE, just like in this moment when the shadow of a man transformed into an ugly CREATURE they had never seen before. Despite not knowing anything of this creature, unaware of its strength and weaknesses, he doubted that this one was any stronger than the previous ones. But he had been wrong with this assumption. It didn’t take him long to realize that this was probably their toughest battle so far, with the shadow’s strong will showing no mercy either. Despite being agile, he was barely capable of dodging its powerful attacks – and when the others of his team were the first to get hit by the spells, almost being pushed back by the heavy impact like lifeless MARIONETTES, he knew they were in trouble. Akira would certainly not withstand such an attack with less injuries than his friends did; and albeit he was quite confident in his abilities by now, he highly doubted that he would be able to dodge any of his attacks. This was simply impossible, no matter how swift his eyes could follow his opponent.

                        Tch…! This time this shadow was definitely more than just talking big.                             Guess there was no other CHOICE then than playing this dirty.

ONE RED-GLOVED HAND WAS QUICKLY WANDERING TO HIS MASK which covered the upper half of his face. He knew the contents of his soul well enough; knew of the many masks hiding deep within – clearly seeing the different voices and faces claiming his mind. Lifting it slightly, burning dark eyes fixed on his opponent, his previous PERSONA was not the one to appear by his side but another one – one of which he knew that the shadow would not like its taste. Changing the affinity was his trump card, ultimately, one which could easily overwhelm their opponents if they were not prepared for it. And they never were. Using the right attack to push the shadow back, he bought the others more time to get back on their feet once again to join his side. He was no dumb FOOL – knowing that the attention he currently drew from this thing would probably only end up deadly without any aid. But perhaps this was still better than seeing his friends being targeted by it with its stupid grinning face. This mockery… Noticing that his friends got back up on their feet support him, he was really grateful or them not fearing such challenge. But this sudden turning of the chess board seemed to only amuse the gigantic shadow in front of him, its grin growing wider. It certainly planned something…!

                                          ………The next big attack was incoming…!

THERE WAS NO TIME TO THINK; NO TIME TO FALTER. He saw it clearly who the shadow was targeting; but he could not bother to trust that Ann had noticed that she was in danger. The moment he saw the pending attack, he was already lunging forward, grabbing her body with both arms to throw her to the ground with all his body weight – but right in time, as it seemed, feeling the icy coldness scarcely missing the lower part of his legs, still causing a painful, almost burning ACHE. Shit… If he hadn’t reacted so quickly…  He could only assume that the heavy impact had probably injured her as well, but it was still better than being hit by that…! Even with performing the little roll mid air to ensure she would rather land on him than he on her, he was feeling the anger claiming him once again. Damn, his whole defense was gone. If anything, he was really pissed now. Fortunately the remaining team members immediately drew the attention on them, having witnessed his attempt to save Panther. RELIABLE, as ever. Carefully removing his arms and softly shoving her body aside to get back on his feet, Joker only managed to let out a frustrated moan of pain.

              ‘You   a l r i g h t ?’

HIS WORDS WERE ALMOST TONELESS, and his gaze only wandered over her face for a brief moment – knowing that he had to take care of their opponent first. This bastard… Perhaps this was his PUNISHMENT for being so careless for only once; but giving up was never part of his mind. Even if his bones would break, his will never would. Drawing his gun out of his pockets, the usual cocky SMIRK appeared on his lips again as if nothing had happened just moments ago. As if he allowed himself to become completely enraged due to that.  This was a battle he could win; with his friends at his side. And if that thing dared to injure them again, he would make it quite painful.

                        ‘Showtime’s  o v e r .                          I am starting to get tired of your ugly FACE.’

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                                        ▼           @navigrave            ▼

AN HUMAN HEART WAS CERTAINLY FRAGILE YET STRONG, with the unlimited power to overcome any wound, any possible SCAR by itself. He still believed it was not their doing, but ultimately Futaba herself, that her heart had started to open up again; even if they had given her the opportunity and courage to face herself. In the very end she had saved herself out of her own MISERY, growing stronger even now – and which each day passed she slowly started to overcome her weakness, her own created prison of isolation. Merely knowing of her existence for scarcely more than two months, he had seen such improvement more than just once. In fact she had become one of their most valued members of the Phantom Thieves by now – with her GUIDANCE always been accurate and helpful. But she was not the only one who had a change of heart; in the very end Sojiro Sakura had also opened up as soon as the heavy weight resting on his heart had been lifted. Being her foster father he had long lived with the fear, the helplessness and regret of not being able to help her; and albeit Akira only knew him for a few months as well, he knew that he truly was bearing this KINDNESS inside his very heart. It was the same kindness he learned to see over the time, even if the old man had tried to hide his true self quite well in front of him. Yet it all had started to become obvious, with the GUILT and  SADNESS still clouding his mind, that he had merely tried to protect Futaba. And perhaps even himself. The SHADOW which had been haunting him for so long had started to fade, although it did not completely disappear just yet.                                          There had to be more about it in the very end...

EVER SINCE FUTABA HAD RECOVERED AND LEFT HER ROOM  –and even the house- daily, however, to visit her foster father in Leblanc, she had certainly become part of their little, odd FAMILY. Or perhaps he was rather the one who was kindly invited to be with them since Sojiro and Futaba had been together for much longer. An outsider, formerly average with all he did but branded with a burning mark of injustice. But it did not really matter for him for what reason he was here, calling the small coffee shop his new HOME until next spring. He could not remember when he had last seen such heart-warming scenes before; perhaps it did faintly remember him of how his family had once been, but no longer was. Both of them had been government officials, not in very good positions but at least hardworking, so he saw them very little even as young boy. And ever since his mother died, all he had left was a father who found scarcely more than once a month time for him. Moving to a new place after the incident had been less of an issue than the painful taste of what justice of this country truly was. Leaving the empty rooms and fridge behind him for an entire year was nothing compared to the anger he had felt deep inside; the anxiety he had suffered for some time before his power awakened. And he realized that he should have never believed in those CHAINS to begin with; the teachings of his parents who made him firmly believe into something which did not seem to exist as of now. The justice of a rotten society, only driven by their own desires without seeing the truth.

THE SMILING EXCHANGE BETWEEN A FATHER AND DAUGHTER was certainly refreshing – if not even completely new to him – and he indeed liked to watch these two, even if it was solely arguing. But above all he started to feel regret as well. The very man who took care of both of them, watching their every steps, ultimately knew nothing. Futaba’s sudden change had certainly surprised Sojiro, but he could not connect the strings which lead to the Phantom Thieves. And hopefully he would also never. Akira knew that the old man would never sell them out, knowing of his heart, but even then they could not risk it to inform him. Even without him pointing this necessity out, Futaba did know this as well; clever as she was. Even with the ISOLATION ever since her mother’s death she knew well enough how this world worked at least in this certain point; how little trust they could share with everyone who did not belong to their group. Yet this did not change that he was not only grateful what Sojiro did for him ever since he took him in, but also how much love he gave his own foster daughter. Spending so much time with her by now and knowing of how much she depended on him, particularly while doing these little steps to discover the outside WORLD anew, Akira was indeed grateful that she had at least an adult she could also depend on.

YET SECRETS HAD STILL TO BE KEPT, EVEN IN FRONT OF SOJIRO. And yet only being able to explain him so little, even less where Futaba was disappearing every often, made him feel almost responsible to take good care of the older man as well. He knew that Futaba shared a similar mind; not always knowing how to phrase her emotions with words but certainly meaning the same. Sojiro was the father to her she never had; and after troubling him for so long she was probably feeling like she had to pay him back some way or another. He could not argue about that; feeling exactly the same. It was difficult to put into words, but perhaps the Boss had been listening to him more than his own father ever had. Such strong EMOTION was not easily paid back, no matter what. But they could at least put some effort into it, even if they were merely children to Sojiro’s eyes. After all kindness was one of very few things of this world which was always honest and pure.

EVEN IF HIS OWN COOKING WAS BY FAR NOT AS SKILLED AS SOJIRO’S, he had hoped that it would make quite an impression to serve a dinner for the older man and not the other way around for only once. Akira was only decent at best, but technically living alone for so long he did know a thing or two about cooking. Actually he had discussed this with Futaba for quite some time; but he had doubted that simply inviting Sojiro to some place was not the same like homemade cooking. How often had he woken up to the strong yet delicious scent of his CURRY? Way too often. He almost hated it how considerate he was, especially during his exams. He would always come back to Leblanc just to find more nutritious food on the bar, still warm and fresh, even if the older man’s harsh words explained him he was simply trying to save his GRADES – which were still above average, without any change. Heh, Sojiro was really unteachable. Perhaps studying was the only subject he had ever succeeded in his life before – at least before his life had turned upside down. In the very end the decision fell on easy Japanese dishes – one which were certainly made with heart and soul, but not too difficult for them to prepare in the little TIME they had. Naturally they only had a little time window for keeping their preparations a secret and surprise at the same time – one in which Sojiro usually disappeared for little more than two hours before returning to his little shop.

AKIRA WAS LEANING AGAINST THE BAR, one textbook inside his hands, seemingly being quite focused on his studies before he shoved his glasses back to the top of his nose. He knew that Sojiro was leaving LEBLANC very soon, already seeing him putting his little, fancy hat on his head. On days like these he had never seen any customers coming by around this hour – and perhaps this was also the reason why the older man left during that time as well – so he doubted that anything would get in their way. As the older man bid his farewell for now, Akira simply nodded as answer, not moving before he heard the door being closed. Well, guess this was it for now. Now they had roughly two hours to prepare anything, if it went well. He instantly grabbed for his cellphone, messaging Futaba who had been waiting in her room to not seem suspicious since she usually never visited around this time.

                      [ Text ] He just left.                       [ Text ] Two hours from now on.                       [ Text ] 3 minutes, in front of the grocery store.

HE HAD BECOME QUITE FAST IN TYPING MESSAGES BY NOW,  even seeing it as necessity – and only a brief moment after sending her the start signal of their personal mission, he was quickly grabbing his school bag which he had inconspicuously placed on one of the seats for the entire evening. Completely empty for everything they had to buy. Well, after all he had offered to pay for it, too – so why not carry it as well? But from his point of view she should be fine by now. Closing the door behind his back, it took him less than a minute to reach the store near the café. Leaning against the next wall he patiently waited for Futaba to arrive, quietly watching the passing people. Usually only visited by nearby habitants, the store was rather small – but he had already checked beforehand it if offered anything they needed. Actually he would have bought it even sooner – but he had not known where to properly store it for such a long time – and if they carried it from Futaba’s personal fridge over, they could also buy it together. After all they would not really save time by it, and it would be some experience for her as well. Sojiro was no FOOL; if he saw him carrying loads of food home, he would have smelled that something was going on.