#sorry akechi maybe next year...

[kohi-karasu]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKECHI

[thehylianidiot]

So...I heard there was an event week for my third favorite ship and since I was doing concept art of a fic idea at the time so I decided to post for the Day 5 - Royalty prompt (okay, maybe not exactly royalty but Disney Princess AU is close enough methinks).

Fic itself is still in brainstorming/planning/probably-nowhere-close-to-final-product stage. If I ever get to it. In the meantime, enjoy the art.

Goro knew how the story was supposed to end. Bastard child, cursed magic hair, secret weapon to a conspiracy to overthrow the kingdom all primed for some egotistical hotshot to destroy at the most climatic moment, it didn’t take a genius to figure out it wasn’t going to be a happy one.  But for that one measly victory he'd follow script. Stay locked in that tower. Suck up to those avaricious buffoons called associates. Take care of whatever sacrifice was meant to go rabid this time. Wait for the day that door will finally open so he can strangle that pathetic excuse of a sperm donor.  Ignore those pathetic lights that showed up once a year, because these walls were more than enough for his stupid story and nothing was going to change that.   Then one day some attic trash with a cat showed up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Or: The needlessly-complicated Shuake Tangled AU nobody asked for.

Bonus: Small sketch of Morgana having to watch all the frying-pan-shenanigans the entire time.

[mayuichi]

Spending your birthday with them.

Include:

Genshin Impact [ Alhaitham, Wriothesley, Heizou ]

Honkai: Star Rail [ Aventurine & Veritas Ratio ]

Persona 5 [ Akechi Goro ]

Moriarty the Patriot [ William James Moriarty & Fred Porlock ]

Content Warning: fem!reader, I'm sorry for men that may read this! If you easily switch pronouns in your mind then go ahead, but there's mention of the reader wearing a dress at some point! (kind of irrevelant though, so I think you can imagine something else then?), pet names and.. that's all i think-. it's just a fluff so...

may's note: im so sorry i took so long to come back!! ive got a lot on my plate recently, i had planned another oneshot to come out but but BUUT!! My best friend's birthday is right around the corner when I write this (aha just a day before.. hi..) so im writing this for her, with her favourites and some that i know she loves <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! I HOPE YOULL HAVE AN AMAZING DAY AND THAT YOU GOT THAT PLUSH YOU WANTED TO GO WITH AVENTURINE!! ive kinda rushed this to come out ngl, because its been a month im like "i have the time" until i didnt have time anymore.. sorry if it sucks :(

This artwork has been made by susucre! Do not steal/use it! every other used for the headers are official arts!

Even if he doesn't want to, he has duties now. Or at least, unexpected duties. But you can be sure Alhaitham always makes some time for you. How can he not? You're his sweetheart. Well, he isn't one to give sweet names but he still thinks so.

However, how could've you expect him to forget about your birthday? It's once a year, and he doesn't really care much about them usually. But we're talking about you. Of course he can't forget about it. He wants you happy, and he knows you'd hate if he doesn't at least wish you a happy birthday.

But what was your surprise when you find him still in bed, beside you, his right arm drapped over you as he reads from the other. Isn't he supposed to be at work, at the Akademiya? You don't even have the time to inquire, he saw your eyes fluttering open.

“Good morning.„ he briefly looks over you, before focusing back onto his book. But he strokes your side with his hand gently. He isn't much of a talker, but his small gestures are everything, aren't they?

He rapidly finishes his page, and places the book down to turn to you. “I'll let you take a shower and I'll prepare you breakfast.„ you can't even reply that he's already out of bed and heading to the kitchen. You'll just have to go shower.

It's your special day. Of course you'll wear a pretty dress, you want to feel extra pretty for today. When done, you head to the living room, finding him waiting for you to eat. It isn't a feast, but more than enough for the both of you. The silence is comfortable, only your breathing.

“Where are you going?„ he inquires when he sees you about to open the front door. You thought you'd go on a walk. “I haven't overworked myself for a week so I could have a full day off for you to ditch me, you know?„

It wasn't much, maybe even a bit offensive for some. But the idea that he paid attention enough to be certain to have a complete day off for you is enough to make you smile. And so, you chuckle and walk towards him.

“The weather is nice. It's sunny. We should go out together, don't you think?„ you tilt your head, waiting for his approval.. or for a compromise.

“It is. It's the perfect weather to do nothing at all. Or to read next to a window.„ without further notice, he stands and pulls you with him to the nearby window. Making you sit in his lap, he pulls out a book and rests his chin on top of your head.

“Maybe it isn't the best birthday you'll ever have, but I hope my company is enough.„ he isn't necessarily insecure, far from it even. But it's your special day. He just wants to make you happy, doesn't he?

And even if he says so, just reading in his lap with him, is enough. Spending time with him makes it nicer. Leaning further into his chest, you sigh and start to read with him. He's careful to wait for you, to ensure you finished before he actually turns the page.

He'll take breaks from time to time to make you both a drink, or to let you talk a bit. It isn't partying, but being able to spend the day together, reading and talking, without him possibly thinking about his duties is a luxury he doesn't always allow himself.

And he's more than glad for it to be with you.

∞ ₒ ˚ ° 𐐒˚ ◌༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ⋆·˚ ༘ *︶︶︶︶༉‧₊˚༊*·˚

Until now, Wriothesley was used to stay in the Fortress most of his time. It never bothered him. Sigewinne keeps him company, and his prisoners aren't too bad most of the time. Even Neuvillette or Clorinde comes visit him from time to time.

But it changed when he met you. He didn't want you to be that often in the Fortress, and yet he couldn't help but want you. You don't know it, but he even asked Neuvillette for your birthday. It has never been that much of a talk in between you. You were both kind of over it after all. You aren't toddlers for who it is extremely important to get one year older.

But he wants your first birthday with him to be special, to be something you'd remember. He wants to make this day amazing. And for that, he had to have permissions and ensure the paperwork was done before that day. He had to be prepared for any possibility, to be called in for an emergency if someone tried to escape, or if they get overwhelmed and for your day to be ruined.

But he was willing to take that risk.

On your occasional weekly visit, you both talk and drink tea together, as any other time. You're not sure when, yet now, he has you in his arms, holding you close. It is as if he believed you were leaving. He's quick to compose himself and just steals a kiss from you, to hide his worries behind that smirk he always has when he surprises you.

“By the way, I've heard your birthday is soon, isn't it?„ you raise an eyebrow. You haven't told him, yet he knows. “Would you like us to spend the day together?„

You were so sure he meant inside the Fortress of Meropide, that when he mentioned that it wouldn't be there, but in the city, your eyes widened. Of course, you firstly worried about his work. It isn't like he's just a guard who could take a day off or a sick day. He has a prison to keep in place.

But he assured you it'd be alright. And so you trust him. There's no reason for you not to.

Your birthday was soon to come, and you waited for him in front of the Fortress' entrance. Dressed in a pretty outfit, that you kept on for this occasion, you obviously felt amazing. And upon seeing you, Wriothesley grinned. “Someone made herself extra beautiful for today.„

His tone flirty, he wraps his left arm around your waist and pulls you close, pressing his lips on your hair. “It suits you perfectly. But you're always beautiful.„ his words meant the world to you.

And so began the day. Wriothesley is careful, meticulous even. He makes sure you stay hydrated, well fed and have fun. If you want a pastry, he'll buy it without a second thought. This piece of jewerly looks pretty on you? He'll offer it to you, no matter the cost.

It's weird for everyone to see the Duke out of the Fortress. He's respected for sure, and well known. You hold hands all day long, sometimes stealing kisses when you're in a alley or when no one's looking.

When the sun fades away to let the moon takes place, stars show up too. Now sitting near the water, you both look up at the navy blue sky. Wriothesley lets out a sigh and clears his throat. “I hope you had fun. I'm not sure when I'd be capable to have such a long time outside the Fortress without it being work related.„

Sure or not, you're just happy he manages to have time for you. And he's relieved everything went smoothly. He leans closer to you, his lips grazing your cheek. “Happy birthday.„

And even if it has caused him some stress, he's ready to do it over again next year if it makes him see your eyes so sparkly and shiny with delightment and happiness.

He'd risk anything to see you smile and hear your laughers echoing in his ears.

-ˏ͛⑅　‧̥̥͙‧̥̥ ̥ ̮ ̥ ⊹｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ‧̫‧ ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.⊹ ̥ ̮ ̥ ‧̥̥‧̥̥͙　⑅ˏ͛-

The good part of being a detective is that he knows how to not leave any clue about his true intentions. And so, he can surprise you whenever he wants and you won't even realise he has planned it for a while!

Since Heizou can hardly take a day off recently, you agreed it'd be better if you spend the day with your friends and just leave your evening for him.

It was an amazing day, your friends and you strolled around the city, went to some fancy places and just spoiled you entirely. But it felt off, knowing that Heizou wasn't with you like you wished he could've.

They dropped you by your house, and with a sigh, you stepped inside. Of course Heizou wasn't home yet. It wasn't surprising, he's quite overwhelmed with work lately. Yet there was a small disappointment in your chest. Your heart was a bit heavier. But you brush it off.

By the time he gets home, you had just finished preparing dinner. He steps closer with that shitty grin and clears his throat. “Such a sweetie, making dinner when I hoped I'd have time to treat you today.„ of course, he doesn't want you to do any effort for today, but his schedule decided otherwise.

And so, with a swift movement, he shoves a bouquet against your chest. “I know it isn't much compared to how it could've been nicer to spend the day together, but I hope it'll make it up for it a bit.„

Heizou has always been a romantic at heart, he loves it when he sees your cheeks flushing and feels your breath growing faster from his teasing. And he's delighted to see that sweet blush spreading slowly.

Leaning in close, he takes your hands in his, and presses a chaste kiss on your lips. “Let's eat dinner and enjoy the time we have tonight, alright? I need to make it up for you.„

He lets you take care of the bouquet first, ensuring it won't die just yet. He teases you about your day, plays with you some games and even let you win for once. And needless to say the night ends in something.. more than just flirt and teasing.

But he hopes next year won't be as busy, so he can treat you like the princess you are in his eyes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ☽ ✧˖*°࿐ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A gambler. That's what he'll always be no matter what, no matter the day. He needs to work every single day, to be a good asset for the IPC. He can't afford losing. He will never accept it.

But today, Aventurine thought it'd be nice to let you experience gambling too. Well, not as much as he usually does, but more in a regular casino. He's obviously well known here, and has some free drinks. But he wants you to enjoy it too.

He teaches you how to do, the ropes of each games. To guess when to stop, and more importantly of course, to understand the rules and that losing can cost a lot. But deep down, Aventurine doesn't give a fuck about how much money you'll lose. He has way more than someone can think of.

Each games were fun, but you hated seeing those girls eyeing him like you don't exist. Don't they see you, the gorgeous girl sitting next to him, with who he holds hands? Or perhaps they don't care. But it frustrates you.

Even more so when one comes closer and accidentally spills wine on Aventurine's jacket. He doesn't react at first. But he grows more and more impatient as she tries to clean her mess.

But he got fed up when she literally sat in between the both of you. Who does she think she is? “Excuse me, Miss,„ with a dry chuckle and bright smile, he stands up and walks behind her, “don't you see her?„

Swiftly, almost as if he has always been ready for it, he pulls you close, your head resting on his chest. Your face flushes bright red of course, but you don't say anything. “She already holds the string. And compared to you, she doesn't care about my money. So if you please, do not dare to bother us further on her special day.„

He leads you away, and yet, casts them a last glance, “Except if you want to face the consequences, that is. But I doubt you would like it.„

He'd never let anyone makes you feel inferior, nor worthless, and even less when it's supposed to be your day. The day he caters to your every need without any complaint or question.

Upon arriving to a new game, away from those nuisance, he holds your hand in his, pressing his forehead against yours. “I'm sorry, darling. But I promise you, you're the only one in my eyes. The prettiest, the cutest, and the most loveable woman I've ever set my eyes on.„

He'd cherish you. He knows the pain, and he wants to keep you away from it. He struggles at time, but every effort is worth of your smile. Every day is a delight to get home to you, to know you're his, and that he's yours.

That he has a home. A home with you.

☆.｡.:*　❥　-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-　☽　.｡.:*☆

What were you thinking when you first confessed to him? Of course you thought he'd reject you. We're talking about Veritas Ratio. But to your surprise, he accepted! But maybe you should've been careful... He's a teacher.

It isn't uncommon for Veritas Ratio to call you stupid or dumb, because you don't understand something or that you made a mistake on something simple. But you also know he'll always be here for you.

Compared to one of his colleage, he isn't particularly rich. Don't get me wrong, he is completely financially stable, and he won't be anytime soon the type to get ruined. But basically, if you need special teaching in something he doesn't master, he won't hesitate to help you with it.

He can't help but put intellect into a bit everything he does. But he knows it can piss you off at times, especially when it's not the moment for it.

Today, he has a long day. Longer than intended. So you nicely bring him lunch. Yet he requests of you to stay until his break is over. You know he isn't one to care about birthdays, but he does remember them if he is supposed to know them. Yours is no exception.

“I'm going to be home later than usual tonight, but perhaps you have any wish for how we spend our time?„ it isn't often that he lets you so openly choose. But you don't wait more time to ask if you could watch a movie and snuggle. You need nothing more than some rest, and so does he.

Laughers fill the empty classroom, except for the both of you. He knows when to not overdo it, especially with you. He will never admit it entirely, but he doesn't want to risk losing you. He can't. Not when you bring him so much by just existing.

There's a reason why he doesn't want you to be to close to that blonde, don't you think? But it doesn't matter.

In the evening, after you shared dinner, you set on the couch with him, snuggling up. His left hand caressing your side while his right one is holding a pen. Of course he can't only watch a movie, he needs to keep on going with his paperwork. But he doesn't entirely focus on it.

However, from time to time, you'd hear from Veritas that he clicks his tongue. He seems rather.. unpleased. And when you take a look, you don't see anything wrong. “Of course you don't, you're too much of an idiot to realise that student's mistake. What a pity.„

Unfortunately for you, you dared to ask what was the mistake.. and now you're in for a lecture. He sits you up and explains to you, in a rather annoyed tone. It isn't a surprise to say that you both don't even noticed when the movie has finished.

You're about to stand up when he holds you back, pulling you in his lap. “Don't you dare run away from my lecture. You asked to know, so you'll know.„ It promises to be an interesting evening and night, especially if you try to push your luck.

Veritas will make sure you get the appropriate punishment if his patience runs out by the time he's done with you.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ੈ✩‧₊˚ೃ⁀➷˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚.ೃ࿐

Have you ever imagined he'd steal your heart? A detective by day, a Phantom Thief by night. He earned his title well, he's definitely a prince in your eyes.

“Are you still listening?„ Akechi inquires. You have to admit, you weren't. You were too charmed into his eyes, shining as he shares his day with you.

“I've been thinking, there's an amusement park not far from here. Would you like to go with me?„ he asks. He isn't really scared of asking you on a date anymore. Of course, he couldn't help but feel like he isn't enough at times. But you love him, right? He can't let his insecurities win over.

And so, you are now on a date with him, on your birthday. He cares for a bit everything. He makes sure the sun isn't hitting you too hard, that you drink enough, and especially have fun.

You're the only one lucky enough to see him almost constantly out of his detective prince persona. To know the real him. He has his issues, and sometimes he may snaps at you. But he apologises and proves that he changes. He already does, but he tries to make sure you know he's willing to become better for you.

You're his light, and he can't lose you. At first, he even thought you loved that coffee shop's employee, but he felt lucky when you reciprocated his feelings.

Since then, Akechi would take you out often. To the beach, at restaurant, or even just for a walk. He wants you to know he cares, and he wants you only. He needs to be careful though, but he makes it work out.

Getting into a bit every attractions, he even ends up winning you a teddy bear. No one is ever too old for one after all, right? As he hands it to you, he presses a kiss on your lips, soft and tender, as if he wants the time to stop.

The sun sets slowly, and you get into the Ferris Wheel to end up the day. It's cozy, just the two of you. He holds you close, his nose in your hair as he breathes in your scent. “Happy birthday, my love.„

Why would he need to say anything more? Your heart races, and you look up at him with a sheepish smile. No one can mistake that expression on both of your faces. You're so undeniably in love with each other.

“I know I fucked up, especially when you discovered what I've done. But I'll become better. For you, and for us. So please, stay with me.„ he couldn't help but squeezing you tighter against him, as if you won't allow him time.

“I love you. So fucking much.„ he whispers as the sun disappears from view, letting the moon rise slowly. He'll always do his best for you, to be worthy of you.

Because he loves you. And he'll make every birthday from now on special for you.

·:¨༺ ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚　✮　☄. *. ⋆ ༻¨:·

It took him time to allow himself to be vulnerable in front of you. To allow you to see the worst part of him. To see the monster beneath. He was certain he'd lose you. And yet, you're still here, beside him.

William is more than delighted to know you aren't ready to leave him. To know you'll stay. He doesn't entirely understand his feelings himself, but he has them, and that's all that matters.

To say William cares about birthdays is an understatement. He doesn't make big things, but he shows his care for sure. So don't you dare think you'll be an exception.

He has been quite busy lately, but he made sure he'd be here for your birthday. From waking to sleep. He stays in bed with you until you stir awake. Your eyes flutter open, the first sight being his blonde locks.

He presses a gentle kiss on your forehead and lets you get ready while he goes preparing breakfast for you. Going downstairs, you smell the sweet scent of food filling your nose.

He serves you, as well as himself, before eating and letting you talk of whatever comes in your mind. He could listen to you all day long, but today wasn't that. He'd spend some quality time with you, no matter what.

He helps you putting on your coat, and holds your hand as you get inside the carriage. He feels your head resting on his shoulder, and he simply caresses the back of your hand with his thumb.

Getting into town, he dismisses the carriage for now. No need for that. He wants you to enjoy the place. If there's something appealing to you, he'll be ready to let you have it. But in the end, he's mostly the one who wants to buy you things.

A beautiful necklace, it'd go perfectly around your neck. Gesturing you to get closer, he carefully puts it around your neck and smiles. “It looks beautiful on you.„ his voice, smooth and quiet, holds so much love. Without hesitation, he buys it for you.

You walk hands in hands, past bakeries and shops, stopping when something would be nice for you. You're definitely spoiled, and it was unexpected for you. You aren't with William for his money, and he knows it. But today, he wants to make sure you'll remember it.

By the evening, inside the carriage to get back home, he lets you rest against him. It has been a tiring day after all, yet so thrilling. But the best was to come in his eyes.

Entering the manor, the living room has been decorated especially for you, a bouquet from Fred's garden waiting as well as a freshly baked cake by Louis. And they were all here too. Well, some like Sebastian aren't so happy, but they could make that effort.

He has planned it all, and it was worth it. For that smile, those happy tears, and those laughers and happiness filling the manor for the rest of the evening.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚︵‿︵‿୨✧༺♥༻∞୧‿︵‿︵‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

He has never been much of a talker. Ever since you both met, he mostly listened to you, no matter what you'd say. And he has a great memory too.

Fred is a caring man, he just stays quiet. He doesn't want to be noticed, he likes his tranquility, despite the circumstances of his current work under William. He absolutely adores the idea of being in charge of the garden, though.

He doesn't show it, but he appreciates plants and flowers. And whenever you may search him, you always find him there. He's peacefully repotting some flowers, to make sure they can grow further.

His head snaps up when you ask him if you can help. “Shouldn't you.. be with the others, celebrating your birthday..?„ he's unsure. He looks at you with suspicions, but in the end, he relents. You must have your reasons to not be celebrating it with them.

He loves spending time with you, but he doesn't want you to restrain yourself from having a good time just because he's tending to flowers.

But when he sees you, right here, with a smile as you carefully move a flower, it feels him with joy. He doesn't show his love much, he does it through small gestures like making sure there's always some of your favourite flowers in the bedroom for the scent. Or to stay with you throuhough breakfast.

It's those small gestures that makes you love him even more each day. And you just want to spend time with him, especially today.

He shyly scoots closer to you, to correct you. “You shouldn't be doing it like that.. it can hurt the roots.„ he doesn't scold you, he just tries to teach you.

Yet, he doesn't move away once done. He stays close. Until he gathered the courage to press his lips against your temple. “Happy birthday.„

It's cute, the way he quickly walks away to care for other plants. But you just thank him quietly. The day passes in a blur, and without even noticing, the moon is in the sky, and you're both still in the greenhouse.

He holds you tight against him, the garden not over yet but it's too late to keep working. And he has cut a rose to give you, making sure to also cut the thorns so you can't get hurt.

“We should head back inside, it's getting cold.„ he helps you up, until you're both home. He even helps to wash your hands, in your sleepy state.

He never thought he'd enjoy gardening with someone so much, and yet..

૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡ -ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- ₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

/ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋ mayuchi's property. do not repost, copy or translate without permission.

[mywifealhaitham]

may i request childhood bestfriends to lovers with goro akechi? for spice maybe they separate but reunite again when they're older

◟✶◝ childhood best friends with goro akechi

◟a/n◝ ok woah sorry this got so like angsty... I just kept yapping about everything but the lovers part 😞😞 sorry my brain will never write akechi happy

• you two originally met when his mother was alive, your parents were friends with her so you two naturally drifted towards eachother whenever the adults would hang out.

• you both got close over the years until his mother killed herself then you two got split apart. you both were so young and didn't fully understand the impact of everything, just that you went to her funeral with your parents and saw your dear friend akechi talking with some people in suits.

• you only saw him twice after that day. once was when he was walking with some adult on the street when you both were older. you wanted to rush over to him but your mind kept running, what if he forgot about you? or what if you'd remind him of the times were he had a mom? before you knew it he melted into the crowd of thousands. the second time was when you saw him on TV. by now you were a teenager and close to graduating and almost completely forgotten about him besides a few photos in a long forgotten about childhood photos book until you decided to eat your meal while watching TV that day.

• you nearly choked when his name appeared in a headline at the bottom of the TV screen, "young prince detective gives us a live interview here at...". you couldn't believe it. of course you knew that he grew up like you did but in your mind he was just a frozen picture of him as a child. as you fully abandon your food in favor of watching the TV you hope that fate will reunite you two again.

• and fate heard your call. about a week later when school was once again starting up you lazily zombie-walked to the train station. you stood by the platform in your unbuttoned shirt and undid tie when a stranger stood next to you. you glanced over at him when you two made eye contact. if you weren't awake by know then you surely were awake now because the stranger who stood next to you in this early morning was your old childhood best friend who was seemly frozen in your mind.

• you two politely smiled at eachother, both of your minds going into overdrive seemingly trying to process something that only really you understands. it's quiet for a few seconds before akechi tilts his head a bit before saying your name with a uncertain tone. you break out into a grin and come back to life with a gentle reply of his name.

• after that encounter in the train station and a seemingly long chat until the train came you two exchanged phone numbers to catch up. almost every night he wasn't busy you'd hang out with him and talk about everything that happened with you. he'd just smile and nod along to whatever you said. the only things he'd really tell you are stories about his job and how he came to be. you'd always notice a small glit in his eye when he talked about himself, almost like he wanted to say so much more.

• and there was so much more he wanted to spill. ever since he saw you at the train station he's been overjoyed. he'd never admit this thousands of decades but he's been thinking about you since forever. he could have easily tracked you down and reached out but the part of him that says he doesn't need human relationships kept him far away from you. now that your near him again he wants to tell you every feeling he's felt since you both got split apart.

• but he's the lovely young prince detective so he must stay composed in the presence of others, so he copies your energy towards him. if you continue to be ecstatic to see him again even though you both talked yesterday then he will match that energy. if you get more and more busy with other friends and can't hang out as much then suddenly he has more work that needs to be done. he will play any role as long as someone so dear to him doesn't leave.

• why does he do this for someone that half of his heart deems unless and unnecessary? it's because he loves you. it took him quite awhile to realize this and even longer to realize that it wasn't just a strong friendship but romantic love. and what makes it stronger is that you are his family, or the closest he has to it. you've see his dear mom and knew him before he locked all his past away and that's what makes him fall for you.

• whether you love him back or stay his closest friend is all up to you. akechi is a smart man so he has backup plans for everything. if your heart loves him back then he will do the best he can to keep you away from the phantom thieves and his schemes and show you only his good side, not letting any part slip. if you two just stay friends then he has no choice but to push you away slowly. it shatters his heart but he has duties that needs to be done and he can't keep letting his past haunt him.

[chronicallydolly]

The time passed, hours, days, weeks and months were all blurred in a weird fog and all was mixed together. Ren was laying on his bed looking at the ceiling thinking. His whole year in Sojiro Café and his friends, his Phantom Thieves… all those things changed him. His heart and mind were carrying the memories, all the scars, all the hope. Ren sighed with sadness. Something was hurting him inside. Akechi.

There were so many emotions, feelings and memories that his normal life and his room felt… wrong. Ren felt like a stranger in that "home". His room was filled with his favorite things and extremely well decorated but for first time it was not comfortable. It felt empty and off.

He closed his eyes and his chest felt heavy and tight.

His heart was telling him that it was time to leave, the time was passing again and the feeling was growing. Ren followed his wishes and he decided to leave his parents and home forever, he wanted to live by himself and spread his wings even if he didn't knew how to to fly. He was nostalgic for something or somewhere that he could't recognize until one day the answer appeared like a small light. He wanted to live a peaceful life.

He came back with Sojiro. Sojiro felt more like a father than his biological father who was just a shadow and never had any bond with Ren. He asked to work with him on the Café explaing him his wish to learn about coffee and live a peaceful and slow life. Sojiro warmly accepted and supported him. Ren was his son in his heart and he was grateful to have him again in his life.

Ren was enjoying learn more about coffee. The flavor of the beans. The acidity. The notes. The steps in every preparation. He found peace in his heart being a barista.

But one day, Ren was making a coffee when he noticed that he was still on autopilot mode. He was just functioning but not living, the peace he felt was wrong. Something was still hurting inside and bleeding. The coffee that he was preparing was burning but he still drank it. There was something speacial about mistakes, broken things, accidents, failures that make those things appealing and lovable even if they were not good, expected or perfect. Like Akechi was. Ren didn’t notice but a tear fell from his cheek and fell into his coffee. And then a full rain on his face fell in the mug. His coffee

was salty and burnt. The flavor of the grief.

Spring arrived, the flowers were blooming, the wind was warm and gentle like a soft caress, the sun was taking the coldness of winter away. That Saturday noon, Ren decided to close some minutes earlier to enjoy the evening in silence to clean while the sun was still filling the room with a tender light. Ren was washing the dishes when the door bell sounded. It was strange since the door said "Closed".

Ren took some seconds to turn around to apologize to the person and explain that the Café was already closed.

—I’m sorry we are already clos-

Ren words were cut. He tried to make a sound but nothing was coming out. His heart stopped for a second or two. It was Akechi. He was standing there next to the door with his usual fancy coat, smiling faintly at Ren, maybe he was embarrassed to be there or scared… or just he was not knowing what to say, feel and how to explain.

Ren hands lost their strength and he dropped a cup and it broke in pieces on the floor. His breathing was feeling heavier. Ren was paralyzed until he just rushed to Akechi side and he embraced him in a loving a desperate way. Ren was squeezing him, feeling his body, his scent, his heartbeat, his breathing… his life.

No questions were asked and no word were needed between them. Akechi hugged back even more tightly.

Ren's burnt coffee was the most perfect one. The most loved one. And he was hugging him again. His beloved Akechi.

~~~~~~~~~~

Second time writing a shuake fanfic because of course they deserve this! I’m still struggling a bit to write in English but I think that I’m getting a bit better, I’m sorry for the grammar and misspellings! ;; thank you all for the support! I’m starting to call Akechi burnt coffee sorry not sorry, brain rot

[pugs-cats-bb-8]

WIP Wednesday

"You know, if you're lonely. You should totally hire an escort". Ryuji sluped his noodles.

"Excuse me? I said I'm lonely. Not I want to get laid". Akechi sighed and speared a carrot.

"No man, I mean. Where did I put it"? Ryuji fished around in his pocket. "Here it is". He placed a soft pink flyer on the table. "I found this in my mailbox. Had'ta get it before my mom found it". Ryuji rubbed his neck. "I don't think these are the typa of maids my mom's looking for".

He eyed the flyer. "Victoria's House Cleaning". Akechi frowned, "I don't know".

"Come on, dude. A beautiful maid. Plus, it says you can request a themed outfit". 

**

"You're a guy"?

Ren stepped back. "Is that a problem"?

"No, I sorry if I scared you". Akechi sighed, raking his hand through his hair. "I did say send anyone and honestly I swing both ways". His face turned red. "... Forget I said that". It took him three years to come out to his friends. And less then thirty minutes to come out to a escort he'd just met.

Ren sat down next to him. "I get it. Not a lot of people know I'm Bisexual". He rubbed his hands on his pants. "So, what do you wanna do"?

Akechi pursed his lips. "How's a guy like you end up as an escort"?

"Morgana got hurt and the medicine wasn't cheap". Ren smiled when he caught Akechi's eye.

"Why an escort? You could've got another part-time job".

Ren leaned back on his hands. "I joined as a maid. The sex part came later".

"Do you really love sex or is it just a job"? Ren rubbed his neck. "While I do love sex. I don't get requested all that often and when I do I treat it like a job".

"How? You're fucking gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to sleep with you"?

Ren blushed and shrugged. "It's probably because I'm a guy who works at a maid company. Most people who want to sleep with guys go elsewhere". He did miss having sex.

"What about strip clubs"?

Ren's cheeks burned. "I worked at a strip club for three years. One year as a bartender and two years as a stripper".

Akechi would've paid to see that. "Why'd you stop"?

"I stopped bartending because I rarely drink. It's hard to recommend cocktails when you don't know what they taste like. And stripping wore me down". He rubbed his neck. "I loved the attention. It made me feel sexy". Ren lifted up his shirt. "That's how I got these".

Damn, Ren had more muscles than he did. "The muscles or the belly button piercing"?

Ren hadn't felt this nervous since his first week on the job. "Both. It got me more tips and gave me more confidence. And I last longer when I do get hired".

Morgana jumped on the bed. "Are you almost done? I'm hungry".

Akechi stared at the black and white cat. Did he forget to lock the cat door? During the day, he kept it open so the cat family he fed could come in. But at night, he locked it so the Tanukis couldn't get in. No, he's sure he locked it. Then, how did a cat get in? "Where did you come from"?

Morgana licked his paw, swiping it over his ear. "I came with Ren".

Akechi raised his eyebrow. "Ren? Wait, you can talk"! He turned to look at Ren.

"This is my cat Morgana. He can talk". Maybe he should've started with that. "You know how escorts bring their kids to work with them. Morgana's my kid".

Akechi looked from Ren to Morgana and back again. "How can he talk"? Cats can't talk, he had to be hallucinating.

"He just can". Ren really didn't have an answer for him.

Akechi decided to go with it. When life hands you a beautiful guy who gives feelings you haven't felt in years, you don't turn him away.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 241: On Time and Wounds

Ren woke up the next morning. She stretched, still feeling the effects from the palace, and her battle with Akechi the previous day. She sat there for a minute, because doing anything at that moment just didn’t call to her. She just breathed, and took it all in.

She was then startled when her phone went off with a text message. In a panic, she quickly grabbed it to read the message.

Yumeko: Hey.

Yumeko: I need to blow off some steam.

Yumeko: You free?

Ren: Um, I think so?

Ren: I hope we don’t do anything too strenuous.

Ren: I had kind of a rough day yesterday.

Yumeko: Oh. Sorry to hear about that.

Yumeko: Really, I just wanted to sing my lungs out at karaoke, maybe hit up the arcade.

Ren: Sounds like fun.

Ren: I can join you if you want some company.

Yumeko: Really?

Ren: Yeah.

Yumeko: THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Yumeko: Meet me at Central Street.

Ren: I might need some time. I kind of just woke up.

Yumeko: Wow, it must have been really rough.

Ren: It’s manageable.

Yumeko: Well, I’ll hit up the diner. I’m kind of hungry anyway.

Yumeko: Meet you there?

Ren: Sure.

Yumeko: Thanks.

Yumeko: Seeya!

Ren: Seeya.

Ren put her phone down, and started getting ready to head out.

A little while later, she entered the diner. It didn’t take long to spot Yumeko, as she was feverishly eating at a booth. Rensat down, trying not to make Yumeko seem too awkward. “Um, hey,” she said.

Yumeko swallowed her food. “...Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Ren said. “Um, are you feeling alright?”. Yumeko let out a long sigh. “I…take that as a ‘no’.”

Yumeko grunted. “It’s just…mmmmm! This morning, I went to my grandpa’s funeral.”

Ren was stunned. “The one you told me about?”

Yumeko nodded. “Yeah.”

“I see…” Ren said. She knew this had to happen. She was aware that the SIU Director was Yumeko’s grandfather, and he did kill himself. Although most people believe he was murdered. Still, that wasn’t the important thing at this point in time. “I’m surprised you went,” Ren told her.

Yumeko grunted. “I was torn. I ended up going because I hoped that with him dead, I could finally be a bit more cool about things. But that didn’t work. The whole sermon stunk to high heaven! It was just a myriad of heaping praise onto my dead grandfather! All of it lies. All of it!” She sighed. “I didn’t stay for the reception. I just needed to get out of there.”

“I see,” Ren replied. “I can’t say I blame you. But good on you for trying anyway.”

Yumeko pouted. “Thanks.”

“Hey,” Ren said, grabbing her hand. “I mean it. We don’t get anywhere by hiding.”

Yumeko still seemed unsure. “I dunno…”

“Listen,” Ren insisted. “Ever since coming to Tokyo after getting arrested, I’ve definitely changed for the better. It was slow-going at first, but over time, things became more manageable. I’ve done things that I never even thought I could do a year ago. And you can too.”

Yumeko sighed. “You’re right. I just- UGH!”

“Yeah…” Ren said. “After what you said about your grandfather, I get it.”

Yumeko groaned. “Well…for what it’s worth, I do like some of my other family.”

“Oh?” Ren wondered.

Yumeko nodded. “That’s another reason I went. I wanted to be there for them. But I kind of fell apart.”

“Well, you did your best,” Ren said. “But yeah, sometimes in order to take care of others, you have to take care of yourself.”

“Well, I’m taking care of myself right now,” Yumeko said. “I just want to burn off this rage and disgust with some wanton fun.”

“That’s what we’re here for!” Ren replied. They both giggled. Ren got a chance to order some food. After she took a sip of her drink, she asked “Oh yeah. I’m not judging or anything, but why is it just me here? Why not some of your other friends? Or Ikesugi?”

Yumeko got a little embarrassed. “I…I do hang out with them…fairly often in fact. But you’re the only person I’ve talked to about this.”

“Hmmm,” Ren pondered. “Well, maybe you should open up on that.”

“It’s…kind of hard…” Yumeko said. “I told you because I could trust you…”

“You still can,” Ren said, “but if you want to get closer with others, you need to learn to trust them.”

“Even Ikesugi?” Yumeko wondered.

“Especially Ikesugi!” Ren insisted. “If you want to get romantic with him, you have to be on the same page. Trust me.”

Yumeko got curious. “Was there…?”

Ren nodded. “It happened after our first date. It was just a miscommunication, so it wasn’t too bad, but it felt bad in the moment.”

“Hmmm,” Yumeko pondered.

“My point is that if it goes unaddressed for too long, it’ll create a rift between you and Ikesugi,” Ren continued. “And you don’t want that, do you?” Yumeko shook her head. “Good. I’m glad we got that settled.”

Yumeko nodded. “I’ll work on opening up some more. But for today, I just want to power through my emotions.”

Ren smiled. “Sounds good to me!”

Charity: Yumeko Mogami: Rank 6

They finished eating, and left. They went to a karaoke bar where Yumeko did all the singing, which was fine because Ren was still recovering from the previous day’s events. Besides, Yumeko needed it. They then hit up an arcade for a bit, before going home for the evening.

Once Ren got home, she was approached by Futaba. “You good?”

Ren nodded. “I took it easy with a friend today.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” Futaba replied. “I was a little worried after what happened yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Ren agreed. “I’m still a little sore. But again, I was taking it easy.”

Futaba nodded. “Well, good to know you know your limits.” Ren stretched a little. “So, um, would you mind coming into my office for a second?”

Ren shrugged. “Uh, sure, I guess.”

“Great!” Futaba said. She walked into her room. Ren followed her in.

Once they situated themselves, Ren asked “So, what’s this about?”

“Well, you know how we helped out Kana, right?” Futaba asked. Ren nodded. “Well, I’ve been in the process of trying to get in contact with her again.”

Ren lit up. “Well that’s good to hear. How’s it going?”

“I’ve been taking it a little slowly,” Futaba said. “I checked the Phansite to see if Kana updated, and she did. She says she’s doing a lot better now. She’s back in school. She’s working on patching things up with her parents.”

Ren was confused. “Is that such a good idea? After everything that happened?”

“I dunno,” Futaba admitted. “But it’s better than what was happening.”

"Fair…” Ren said, still unsure.

“I haven’t finished though,” Futaba said. “I eventually reached out to her. I didn’t know how it would go, but it went better than I thought it would.”

“Well that’s nice,” Ren said.

Futaba nodded. “I asked if she wanted to meet up in person. You know, because it’s been so long. And she does…”

“Oh. Interesting,” Ren said. “What did you say?”

Futaba seemed nervous. “I said yes. We’re meeting in Leblanc two days from now.”

“Woah,” Ren said. “That seems fast.”

“Maybe,” Futaba said. “But it’s been a long time coming.” She smiled. “I mean, I’ll finally be able to get along with her again. Well, hopefully anyways.”

Ren smirked. “You didn’t get this far doubting yourself. Why start now?”

“Fair. Fair,” Futaba said. “But, um, would you be willing to come along as well? You know, just in case?”

“Of course,” Ren said. “Still, I’m glad you managed to get this far.”

“Me too,” Futaba said. “I didn’t think I could do any of this. But now I feel like I can. And it’s thanks to you all.” She smiled.

Hermit-Futaba Sakura: Rank 8

Futaba checked the time. “Oh! One of my must-watches is going to begin.”

“Well, if it’s a ‘must-watch’, do you wanna watch it together?”

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Futaba said. “It’s kind of hard to jump into, but I’ll fill you in.”

“Sounds great,” Ren said. The two of them watched Futaba’s show, ate dinner, and then they had to go to bed.

[akechigoroarchive398]

rank 6 - bathhouse

Akechi: Welcome home, Kurusu-kun. I hope you don’t mind that I’m intruding on your home again.

I expect we’ve both had a long day. 

I was out until now with work, but I think I finally can take a break…

You’re not planning on anything too strenuous tonight, are you?

> Not much.

Then perhaps we can talk over some of Boss’s coffee…

Sojiro: Not that I’m complaining, but if you two are so tired, maybe you could use a bath more than a coffee.

I mean, there’s a bathhouse right there.

Akechi: A bathhouse? That doesn’t sound too bad.

Want to come with me, Kurusu-kun? I’d appreciate it if you could show me the way.

> Hang out with him

Oh… really? 

If that’s the case, I suppose I’ll take you and Boss up on that suggestion.

---

Ahh, this feels wonderful… It’s been a while.

> A while, huh?

Years. I used to frequent one when I was younger. Of course, these days I’m the Detective Prince, but my family situation was… well, complicated.

By the time I was old enough to realise it, my father was already gone. My mother was all I had.

My mother worked at a nightclub. Whenever she had to bring a man home, she’d send me off to the local bathhouse.

> You’ve been through a lot.

It’s in the past. I have no reason to blame her either.

The only one who deserves blame is my father. The worthless, degenerate excuse for a man who abandoned my mother. 

I wanted to force him to finally give her the apology he owes her. But… that’s no longer possible.

Sorry. I didn’t mean for our conversation to get so depressing. Actually, are you all right? I know the hot water can make people dizzy…

> This is nothing.

I’m still good to go too. I feel like I’m barely starting to feel warmed up.

Oof… I think I feel a little lightheaded.

> Same. 

Haha, I thought so. Your face is bright red, you know. This is the first time I’ve ever taken a bath like this. I’ve never told anyone about my family situation, either. I wonder why I told you? Curious indeed.

> Because we’re similar.

Now that you mention it, maybe we are pretty similar deep down… we’re both victims of the adults who unfairly impacted our lives.

> I think you’re right.

I’m even more sure of that after having talked with you. Then again… this probably isn’t a conversation we should be having naked. Let’s get dressed, shall we?

— rank up—

My skin still feels like it’s radiating heat… next time, let’s keep the competition out of the bath. Best to save it for the baize (billiards), right?

…Though we could always see who changes faster. First to leave wins. Are you ready?

Well, see you later.

---

Hey. Between the delicious coffee and the bath, I finally managed to relax. So… thank you.

It’s nice to spend the day as Goro Akechi for once, rather than the Detective Prince. You know? I don’t know if it’s because of the whole Prince image, but everyone seems to think I’m some brilliant prodigy…

It’s really nothing like that. But people always seem to misunderstand. If they saw how I was acting today, perhaps they’d say I wasn’t acting like the Detective Prince.

> My bad, I guess.

Oh, I didn’t mean for that to sound negative… I’m sorry if I offended. If anything, I envy you. You fit right in with the retro vibe back there.

Honestly, though… I just can’t figure you out, no matter how I try. You and I have common ground in some aspects, but in others, we’re total opposites. It’s intriguing.

The more I get to know you, the more it makes me think. I wonder why that is. …Ah, now I’m veering into strange territory. I should let you go for now. See you.

[manekikarasu]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKECHI. I’M SORRY FOR CRAPPY COLORING AND SKETCH.

-06/02/18

[vashtijoy]

i have a translation question ive been wondering abt (sorry if you've answered this before, I tried looking but couldn't find if you've mentioned it).

So Sae's conversation with the SIU director on 6/5 after madarame's change of heart has her asking to investigate the psychotic breakdown/mental shutdown cases, specifically saying "we need to find a correlation among the incidents these past two, three years." This struck me as odd because as of 6/5 hasn't it only barely been about 2 years? I know Akechi has only been working for shido around two years at this point which is when he first induced psychotic breakdowns to prove his worth to shido, and then Wakaba is noted to have been around when the mental shutdowns started happening on 8/21, so it seems odd to me that sae who is usually pretty precise with her knowledge on the case would suddenly give a range that doesn't seem to be accurate, implying the cases have been going on longer than they have.

I'm wondering if something got lost in translation, or if perhaps I'm looking too deep into it and this line is alluding to metaverse incidents that happened before akechi met with shido (like the stuff that happened with maruki, or maybe even akechi figuring out his own powers himself before turning to shido, idk)

thank you, you usually give really great in-depth analysis on this stuff and I've loved reading your meta so this is just one thing I thought to ask haha

Hello, anon, and thank you! I have not answered this before and I'm delighted to look at it.

Here's Sae in the SIU Bastard's office on 6/5.

Sae ここ2、3年の間に起きた事件を関連付けて、調査すべきです。 koko ni, sannen no aida ni okita jiken o kanrenzukete, chousa subeki desu We need to dig deeper and find a correlation among the incidents these past two, three years.

Literally, "the cases that took place over the last two to three years".

But what's going on here? What's the context of this scene?

on sae's case and others

6/5 is the last "real" day of the Madarame arc, the day it all wraps up. Madarame confesses; Akechi pops up in Station Square to watch (and, coincidentally of course, Kichijoji unlocks); you have a flashforward to the interrogation room where your next target is named; and Sae visits her boss, to link the psychotic breakdown cases she's been working on with the Phantom Thieves case that she has, to date, not been working on.

He is not best pleased, put it like that. Niijima is getting far too close to the truth. This will play out in later months.

One of the first things that happens in the game is that subway crash cutscene on 4/10. That's when we first see these two talk; Sae has made the connection that the "incidents" that have been going on, the scary accidents where people suddenly lose their minds, are all connected—a single case. The likelihood is that she brings Akechi in that day because he's known to have solved several of those cases.

On 5/4, at the end of the Kamoshida arc, Sae visits Leblanc, and talks about the psychotic breakdowns and the Kamoshida case: "Can a person's mental state really change so easily?" So here on 6/5, when she insists on the similarity between the psychotic breakdowns and the changes of heart, she's following a trail she's been on all along.

But of course, this is an ongoing case. Sae is likely refining and eliminating her data as she goes. It's perfectly possible she says "two or three years" because she simply hasn't narrowed her timeframe... or is it?

the news report at the start

Something else I want to quickly highlight from this scene:

When we cut to the scene, Sae and the SIU Asshole are watching a news report:

Newscaster: ...The suspect has repeatedly testified that he does not have any recollection of his actions. Newscaster: A full psychiatric evaluation will be performed to further investigate the crime's details and motives.

Note that this unfortunate suspect is not Madarame. Madarame remembers his actions. He's just confessed to them all on camera. His news report, earlier in the day, stated that "initial psych evaluations state that he is mentally sound and likely responsible for his actions".

This is a totally unrelated psychotic breakdown. This is interesting, because at the start of June, background gossip is suggesting that "those weird incidents just stopped all of a sudden". But they haven't; there's one right here.

So are they just being reported on less? Has the Madarame incident made it necessary for there to be a publicised psychotic breakdown, to remind people of the scary incidents? Don't forget, the news we see is constantly manipulated in Shido's interests.

the timing of the incidents

Anon, you summed up the timing pretty well, but to quickly go over it again—Akechi starts working for Shido some time around 2014/05/21. We don't know when he awakens, or what he initially does, though he likely has a window after the conclusion of P4AU (is that in 2012?) when it can happen—Velvet Rooms may be unconnected, but I don't think there are multiple Igors, and I can't see Igor sitting on his ass with a brand new wild card running about. So IMO Akechi must awaken after Igor is imprisoned. Don't forget he gets the app from Yaldabaoth; he—and Joker—don't spontaneously awaken. And they both awaken into the Metaverse we know—a cognitive world centred on and controlled by Yaldabaoth.

On 11/21, Akechi states that the first thing he does for Shido, the act that proves his value and that he's not insane, is to give psychotic breakdowns to a group of Shido's critics in the Diet. So Akechi must a. have Call of Chaos, and b. have used it enough to know how it works, before he approaches Shido.

Again, we don't know what this looks like. But if, say, Akechi begins causing psychotic breakdowns on his own behalf, in the spring of 2013, when he'd be fourteen-turning-fifteen-in-June, then that would give us the three years Sae mentions.

The fact that the dating is uncertain, though, IMO, suggests that Akechi's personal use was rather sporadic and not easily traced back to him. It wasn't systematic, like Shido's use of him would later be; it wasn't the wave of terror it would become.

Essentially: just as you say, Akechi exists in canon and has a life long before he arrives on Shido's doorstep. He doesn't awaken two years before canon; he awakens before that point, and contacts Shido two years before canon. He has his powers before that point.

And we just don't know what he's like then, or what he chooses to do—except that there's presumably some conflict between the sides of him represented by Robin Hood and Loki, where his worse nature wins out.

sae on 8/22

Let's take a look at that other line of Sae's you mentioned:

Sae 若葉の死は2年前⋯『あれ』が起き始めた時期とも一致する⋯ wakaba no shi wa ninenmae... "are" ga okihajimeta jikan to mo icchi suru... Wakaba's death was two years ago... That also coincides with when the incidents started occurring...

Sae does not actually say "the incidents"—a phrase that, in P5 at this point, unquestionably describes the psychotic breakdowns. She says are—"all of that". It's quoted in the textbox, to emphasise its significance. We're supposed to understand what she means from context. And what's the context?

Well, Wakaba suffers a mental shutdown. We know, and Sae suspects, that the psychotic breakdowns, the mental shutdowns, and, yes, the changes of heart, are all one big, interconnected thing. Sae could be conflating all of it here.

But the thing is, she goes on to bring the psychotic breakdowns back into the conversation:

Sae 騒がれてる『精神暴走事件』のこと⋯少し話したわよね? sawagareteru "seishin bousou jiken" no koto... sukoshi hanashita wa yo ne? Earlier, I briefly mentioned about those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public.

So Sae wasn't talking about the psychotic breakdowns before. She's only now raising the connection. She's reminding Joker (and us) that she talked about them in an earlier scene. Her are in the line about Wakaba's death can only have been the mental shutdowns. "all of those things that are like Wakaba's death".

What does that give us? "Wakaba's death was two years before that."—note, Sae is speaking in November, in flashforward—"That coincides with the start of the mental shutdowns."

what about maruki?

Going by his journal, Maruki's activity period seems to overlap with Akechi's—no years are given, but his journal describes an almost-three-year period, culminating in January 2017—the third semester.

He doesn't use his power until August 2014, at the same time as the mental shutdowns begin. But he's making small changes to the cognition of individuals—there's no sign he causes anything like a psychotic breakdown.

conclusions??

Let's sum up:

on 8/28, Sae's "two years before" likely refers only to the mental shutdowns;

on 6/5, Sae's "two to three years" likely refers only to the psychotic breakdowns;

we don't know when Akechi awakened, or what he did, but he did less of it than he did once he was working for Shido;

... but he almost certainly did do some of it—so there will have been psychotic breakdowns before ?May 2014, that might account for the "three year" period.

[arcplaysgames]

As everyone settles in, the discussion turns sad because it turns out, uh, besides Yusuke (hilariously) everyone is leaving?

Reverie is going home in a month as his probation is over. Morgana decides he's going with him, because they are soulmates. Ryuji is changing schools to one closer to a rehab center in hopes of working on his knee. Ann is going to study abroad. Makoto and Haru were looking at apartments for college. Sumire will be out training and touring. And Futaba got into high school.

So everyone is abandoning Yusuke which I think means he's going to starve to death or walk directly into the lake because he saw a beautiful bird. Farewell, my beloved Yusuke.

Considering this game has some kind of direct sequel, I wonder if all this "going our separate ways" shit will stick lmao.

Obligatory Valentines Day. The dateless wonders hang out at Leblanc.

Understatement of the year, Ryuji, do you SEE that double breasted coat? He's gorgeous.

MORGANA YOU TOOK THE WORDS OUT OF MY FUCKING MOUTH

my god at least Ryuji is considering the possibility of maybe growing as a person just a bit. Only took up a hundred and nineteen fucking hours.

GIRI-CHOCO YO!!!! Reverie gets chocolates from Ryuji, Sae, Ann, Tae, Haru, Kawakami, Hifumi, and Futaba. Amusingly, Ryuji's restores 10SP. Everyone else's restore 100SP. Which just feels right.

Why did Yusuke not give me chocolate. 8C Sad.

Valentine's Day is whatever, but I love White Day.

So Reverie and Morgana decide to get Sojiro fucking flowers.

Sojiro is lowkey but clearly touched by the gesture, and I PROMISE YOU that I don't even need to see all the other White Day options in the game, I know this one is the one I like best. He took Reverie in, protected him, fed him and taught him to cook, and took him in explicitly as family.

Sojiro deserves this. I love you Sojiro. Sorry for making fun of you like 300 posts ago.

THAT SAID Sojiro is like "NEXT YEAR though you need to have someone else to give them to."

Well, Sojiro, unfortunately Reverie's boyfriend died twice, so it'll probably take him a while to get over that. What's he supposed to do, just hook up with any mean boy he meets on the street? They don't make 'em like Goro fucking Akechi.

Then time jumps to the day before Reverie leaves and of course the game lets you go say goodbye to everyone.

Only a few really stick out to me. Sojiro's is one. Reverie gives him the probation diary that has serves as the save/load log for the entire game. There is this quiet moment as Sojiro looks at it and promises to keep it safe. All of Reverie's secrets in the hands of his dad (boogie woogie woogie).

Lavenza gives Reverie the key to his cell, noting that due to all the Horsefuckery that was going on with Yarblegarble that he was the first visitor to the Velvet Room who was not given his key. He was not treated as a guest like he should have been. But he freed himself, and the key is his talisman, proof he can escape any bondage.

I love Lavenza. Not at much as Margaret but probably more than Liz. Maybe because Lavenza didn't routinely let people into Mementos to wander around until they die. Goddammit Liz.

I went. I hoped. But of course not.

But I did manage to talk to the Jazz Club owner, who remembered Reverie and Akechi going to the club. Which leads Reverie to remember something himself.

My fight with him isn't over yet.

what the fuck does that mean. Reverie is going to kick down the door to hell going "WHERE IS AKECHI? WHERE IS HE?"

I love you, you're great, be safe. /hugs tora tightly

YUSUKE FUCKING GIVES REVERIE HIS PRIZE-WINNING PAINTING, "DREAMS AND HOPE"

yusuke, god. in another life. in another life that wasn't developed by fucking Atlus and SEGA. you and me, okay? i love you, please go see Sojiro if you get hungry, he'll take care of you.

I love you, too, Futaba. To this day, I am stunned at how good of a character you are despite every trope that should be set up against you. Thank you for being the best annoying little sister.

Sojiro wipes away tears as Reverie leaves, once and for all.

So Makoto just... owns a bus???? And everyone shows up to drive Reverie to the train station. Why does Makoto have a bus? Gosh, maybe that would have been in her SLink if I did, like, a single rank of it, lmao. Anyway.

For Unexplained Reasons that we are just gonna have to handwave, the fuzz are still tracking the Thieves I guess? So everyone decides to split up.

I just smiled so fucking wide. I was afraid this would end without anything on Maruki, and my hope was that he would get out of psience and psychiatry and start over.

And it seems he has. Honestly, taxi cabbing is a fantastic pick for him. He's good at gentle conversations and leading people to talk but not pushing them. Anything with that kind of thing, from hairdresser to driver, is a good fit for him.

I have a couple of favorites in this game but Maruki is on another level due to how phenomenal his writing and voice acting is. Sir, it has been a pleasure.

Everyone meets back up for a fast goodbye at the train station before the police are still???? chasing them???? wait maybe makoto DOESN'T have her license and instead she stole this van and that's the problem. Yep, headcanon accepted.

In the end, Persona 5 Royal is the story of a boy and his cat versus the world. What more could you want out of an ending?

HOLY SHIT AKECHI IS ALIVE

NOW THAT IS A FUCKING STINGER, BABY

THAT'S SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 5: THE ROYAL. THE STORY OF REVERIE VANTAS THE FIFTH IS A CLOSE, CHEERS! TIP YOUR WAITERS!

[akirameta84]

ok hi this is something i wanted to write a while ago but then i Lost interest in saiki and maybe this doesn't qualify as a "short" prompt but like can i get a little saikechi soulmate au and its like the one where you write on yourself and it shows up on them based on the one scene where akechi was getting bullied and they wrote バカ on his forehead you know the one 🤩🤩

Oooo, alrighty alrighty. sorry if it feels a bit rushed, not the easiest to condense into a short fic. and sorry sorry if it wasnt what you wanted, but once again, compressed it.

also crossposted to ao3

To Kusuo, the rest of the day had passed in a haze after stepping into that classroom.

He had thought...well, he'd thought a lot of things actually. But he had thought he was allowed to have a friend. Despite his powers, despite the fact that Kuusuke had thought he was too much of a monster to even be honest to their grandparents...

But that was in the past now. He had hurt several fellow kids today, including his former best friend. Asumi would be safe from bullies from now on, with them believing his projected memories of Asumi going crazy and destroying the classroom, but it didn't mean he was going to have a good time in school regardless.

He had gotten himself overly attached to Kusuo, and he regretted letting it happen.

But, once again, it was in the past now. He would never see anyone in that school again. Kusuo was actively on his way home now, ready to break the news that he needed to transfer schools.

It wouldn't be the first time his family had to move because of him and his powers, yet having to transfer away so soon after the rock-paper-scissors incident 3 years ago...upset him.

Finally arriving, Kusuo knocked on his apartment's door, hearing the surprised and rushing thoughts of his mom as she dropped everything to run to the door.

It slammed open.

"Ku-chan! Where on earth have you been!?" His mom exclaimed before dropping to her knees and pulling him into a suffocating hug.

By the time he'd regained focus in that classroom, the sky was golden with sunset, and Kusuo didn't actually know how long he'd been there. Time had been the farthest thing from his mind.

He shrugged in his moms grip, her relaxing at the action due to his usual inclinations towards nonverbalness.

His mom drew back and brushed his hair out of his face, "You can't do that, baby. We were worried sick. Even with your powers, little kids can't be out this late, okay?"

Kusuo nodded. There was no way he'd ever end up hurt, but he didn't want to worry his mother more.

She smiled before immediately dropping it, hand on his head as she froze her gaze on his forehead.

When she spoke next, it was scarily still, in her about to be angry tone, "Who did this, Kusuo?"

He...had absolutely no idea what she was referring to until the image appeared in her mind.

The word 'stupid' was written across his forehead in black marker, in the same exact spot and manner that Asumi had featured on his own head right when Kusuo had first entered the classroom.

He frantically shook his head, getting across that nobody had done it to him. Even if he did have the urge to rat out those bullies to his mother so she'd sicc herself on them, they'd already gone through enough punishment as is.

"Are you sure?" His mom's tone was dire, hoping he was being truthful and that he wasn't suffering in school.

Not that what he had to say next would support that.

"I need to transfer schools," He projected softly into his mom's mind, cutting to the chase to avoid dragging this conversation out too much further. He needed to figure out what was up with the word on his forehead.

Kurumi's eyes widened at that, panic immediately flooding every thought and frantic questions danced too fast for him to read.

Kusuo knew this would worry his mother more, but it was late, and he was only seven, and so he projected the next sentence quickly and pulled away from her grasp, "I'm gonna go to bed."

He purposely ignored the worried gaze that followed after him, going directly to his and Kuusuke's shared bedroom like he'd said before teleporting to the bathroom the minute he was out of sight.

Staring intensely at himself in the mirror, levitating slightly to even see himself in the mirror, he used a hand to hold up his bangs.

Indeed, the word 'stupid' was written in bold, black colors above his left eye, completely hidden by his hair. It looked...quite perfectly identical to the version scrawled across Asumi's head.

...Huh.

He turned the faucet on and scooped water into his hands, forcefully scrubbing at the ink.

It didn't come off, and his brow furrowed as he grabbed a towel to dry his head off.

That was strange. There was no way Kusuo hadn't used enough strength to scrub it away, considering he could level a house by flicking his pinkie finger.

Just then, right after he had finished dabbing away the last drops of water, the words began to fade in color, turning to a splotchy grey. They continued to fade, each letter vanishing one by one before the entire thing scrubbed itself away.

At that exact moment as well, even though he'd vowed to never see anyone from that school again, he crossed his eyes, focusing his clairvoyance on Asumi.

His fr- old classmate was in his bathroom, drying his head with a washcloth just like Kusuo had done seconds prior.

Asumi had just washed the word written on his very own head...and it had faded on Kusuo's as well, as if they shared the same forehead. But that was stupid, so something else had to be going on.

What he thought to do next was also stupid, but it was just enough of a stretch to figure out what was going on.

Quickly teleporting to his room, he levitated a pen off Kuusuke's desk and into his hands, uncapping it and quickly scribbling a wobbly line onto his arm.

Clairvoyance was activated again, and as he watched his old classmate begin to exit his bathroom, there it was, plainly visible to Kusuo's third site. A grey, wobbly line on Asumi's arm.

When his old classmate reached for his bedroom door, he caught sight of the scribble on his arm, and whined, spinning back around to the bathroom again.

If Kusuo's hypothesis was correct...

Indeed, minutes of scrubbing later, the line was still on Asumi's arm, the boy in near tears and his arm an aggressive red from the rubbing.

Kusuo reversed time on himself to make the line disappear, and the one on Asumi's vanished into thin air as expected.

So, for some reason, when they had things written on themselves...it appeared on the other person?

Well, no matter how strange, it didn't matter that much. Kusuo would just not write anything on himself, and ignore any ink that made his way onto his skin from Asumi's. He was transferring anyways, and didn't need to worry about anything regarding that school again.

~~~

"I cannot believe you let me think it was some stranger for years!"

Relaxing on the floor of Kusuo's bedroom, he and Akechi sat, sharing a slice of cake as they hung out for the evening.

His mom had been delighted that his friend and "soulmate" as she'd taken to calling them had come over, giving them space to relax after their second year finals.

"Well...at least I wrote to you at all," He projected back to his friend, receiving a shove to his shoulder in return.

After the discovering of the linked skin, Kusuo's child self hadnt been able to resist the temptation to write on himself to Akechi, then Asumi, for long. As if whatever had bound them in such a strange way was making him ache to do so.

Either way, he'd gotten an enthusiastic and confused greeting in reply to his simple "Hello," the rest being quite simple history. They'd bonded through letters appearing on the others arms and legs, Akechi believing magic had bound him to his soulmate.

The latter was, unfortunately, probably the actual case, but Kusuo did feel the tiniest bit guilty for not letting Akechi know it was him until they were in highschool.

He had to admit that he probably wouldn't have confessed at all, even after Akechi had transferred to PK Academy. It only came to light one day when Akechi decided to write to his soulmate during a hangout session like they were having now, witnessing in real time his words appearing on his best friend.

Akechi scooted closet and laid his head on his shoulder, knowing Kusuo would tell him if the contact made him uncomfortable.

It didn't. It usually never did around Akechi.

"I'm glad I found you again. Fate likely would have made that occur no matter what, though," Akechi spoke softly, grinning into Kusuo's neck as his attempt to swipe Kusuo's cake slice was foiled with a glare.

The glare immediately softened, though, as Kusuo replied back.

"Me too."

[ikeromantic]

Loyalties

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfic. Approx. 1700 words. Takes place in the romantic epilogue - spoilers!

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Hero's Welcome

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Kyubei kept busy running messages between Mitsuhide and his city contacts, and fetching items for the chatelaine. Though he supposed she didn’t really hold that title now. Now she was . . . well, a princess of the Oda. Soon to be Lady Akechi, if the two lovers had their way.

In all the years he’d served Mitsuhide, Kyubei never saw his lord so at peace. Though he was confined to the manor and still under suspicion - officially - and they had years of work to make the ‘new’ shogun fit, he seemed . . . happy. He spent hours in the garden or in his room with his fiance. And in the halls, the servants could hear their laughter. It was such a change. One Kyubei firmly hoped would continue. But life had taught him that these moments were treasures because they were ephemeral. Sweet because they were rare.

He waited for the axe to fall because it was inevitable.

When trouble finally arrived, it came bearing a box of sweets and an angelic smile.

Kyubei welcomed Ranmaru with a slight bow, and showed him to the chatelaine’s room in Mitsuhide’s manor. Though she spent her nights with his lord, her days she spent here - sewing. This was her passion, and it showed in the quality of her work.

Ranmaru thanked Kyubei, and as the door slid shut, he was already chattering away about his day and the sweets he’d made.

***

Mitsuhide folded and sealed the last of the days missives. He stared at the pile of letters and sighed. As the left hand of Nobunaga Oda, his work was never really done. There would be more reports, more letters, more planning and orders to send . . . and his lands needed him as well. He had projects to authorize and titles to bestow. And all he wanted to do was to curl up beside his little one and remind her how much he loved her with a thousand kisses.

He stood and stretched. This time of day, she was probably in her room working. His little one didn’t know that he already knew about the haori she was making for him. It was her surprise and he wasn’t going to ruin it by admitting he’d seen it, albeit in pieces, already.

As Mitsuhide approached her room, he heard the sound of another voice, high and young and full of forced joy. Ranmaru. He knocked lightly before sliding open the door.

His beloved sat across from the page, a little tray between them. There were sweets and tea. A little wooden box sat open beside her.

“My little mouse, I didn’t know you had a guest.” Mitsuhide smiled at Ranmaru.

The page stood. “I was actually just about to leave. I only came to drop off this gift for the princess.” He gestured to the box of sweets.

“They’re really good,” she picked up a small, colored sweet. “Do you want to try one Mitsuhide?”

Ranmaru pretended a gasp. “My lady! Those are only for you.” He glanced at Mitsuhide out of the corner of his eye. “I made them myself - so you could enjoy them.”

She laughed. “Well then you can’t complain if I share.”

“It’s alright. Such things are wasted on me.” Mitsuhide kept smiling but something in his chest tightened at the glib expression on Ranmaru’s face.

“Well good. I want you to eat them all up! Then I’ll bring you something else next time I try out a new recipe.” Ranmaru tittered.

His glee was grating on Mitsuhide’s nerves. He knew the boy was a spy for the Kennyo and this forceful mask he wore in his role here was bothersome. Still, Mitsuhide had all but promised he wouldn’t out the abbot’s protege. “I’m sure she would like that,” he said, “now, let me walk you out. I want to send a message along to Nobunaga.”

“Bye Ranmaru! I hope you can visit again soon,” the princess called as they left.

Mitushide walked alongside Ranmaru, his mind turning over the facets of this relationship. He wanted the page to stay away but did not want to make an unsubtle threat. This needed a cautious touch.

“She’s a very trusting girl,” Ranmaru said into the silence between them. “She thinks the best of everyone. Even you.”

“And you.” Mitsuhide stopped, looking down at the bright-eyed page. “Why were you really here today?”

Ranmaru smiled wider. “To bring her a gift, as I said. She’s used to accepting things from my hand. She doesn’t even question where it came from. Or what might be in it.”

Mitsuhide felt something in him turn hollow. His mouth curved in a sharp smile. “I see.” He gestured toward the front entry. “Thank you for stopping in. I do hope you have a safe walk back to the castle. Azuchi can be a dangerous place.”

“I’m not worried.” Ranmaru’s fixed grin betrayed nothing. “Didn’t you have a message for Lord Nobunaga?”

“I’ve decided it would be best to speak with him in person.”

Ranmaru shrugged, his smile going a little crooked. Then he turned and left.

Kyubei appeared from a nearby doorway. “Should I . . .”

“No. But I will bring you what remains of these sweets. Check them carefully.”

“Yes my lord.”

Mitsuhide returned to his beloved. She appeared fine. In high spirits after her visitor, even. She didn’t mind it when he sent the remaining goodies to the kitchen, suspecting nothing.

“Do you like Ranmaru very much?”

His little mouse laughed softly. “He’s really sweet. And I think a bit sad. Why? Are you jealous?”

Mitsuhide pulled her into his lap and nipped at her neck. “Mmm, no. I know you are mine. But, do you trust him little mouse?”

She straightened, her expression suddenly serious. “Why? Is there a reason I shouldn’t? Do you know something?”

It was tempting to tell her. Afterall, he’d promised no lies between them. But he’d promised Kennyo that Ranmaru’s secret was safe with him. It seemed he would never be free of conflicting promises and unintentional betrayals. Mitsuhide sighed. “Has he told you anything? Mentioned his past or his friends? His family?”

“No. He doesn’t talk much about himself at all, actually.” She was thoughtful, still in his arms. “I don’t think he would hurt me but . . . I don’t think he likes you very much either.”

Mitsuhide nodded. “I have that impression.”

“So . . . maybe I should find out more about him.” She sighed. “I guess as your wife, I can’t really trust anyone. Well, except maybe Hideyoshi. I don’t think he’d ever do anything underhanded.”

“Not well,” Mitsuhide laughed.

“It’s hard to think about people that way. I want to believe everyone is good.”

Mitsuhide gently combed his fingers through her hair. “I want you to still see the world that way. But please, little one, be careful.”

“I will be.” She smiled and kissed him. Her mouth was sweet and hot and what started as a light kiss deepened quickly between them.

No matter how many times Mitsuhide tasted her, it felt like the first time. New and exciting, forbidden. His desire for her only grew with their time together.

“My lord?” Kyubei called from just outside the closed door.

Mitsuhide reluctantly broke the kiss between them. “Come in.” His little one tried to slide off his lap to sit beside him, but he held her in place. Damned if he was going to let go just because they were interrupted.

“I am sorry to interrupt, my lord. I came to let you know dinner will be late today.” He glanced toward the princess. “I should have left you those candies awhile longer! If you want to eat the rest, the box is in the kitchen.”

His little mouse shrugged. “That’s ok, Kyubei. I’m not that hungry yet. Thank you for dropping in to tell us.”

“Of course, my lady.” Kyubei bowed again. Then he left.

Mitsuhide felt a coil of tension release inside him. Ranmaru might be an enemy by loyalty, but he hadn’t hurt his little one. The conversation between them was a warning. He leaned his head against his little one, inhaling her scent. “I think perhaps we need to get away from the city for a time. Would you like that, little one?”

“Hmm, where would we go? There aren’t any Sengoku resorts or amusement parks.” She laughed. “Where do warlords go on vacation?”

“Vacation? Another word from your time? It means to get away?”

“From work, yes. Like, to take a break away from the place you live.” She relaxed against him.

Mitsuhide considered. “We could visit my lands. You’ve yet to see them. Or, is there some place you want to visit?”

She closed her eyes. “I wish . . . I wish I could show you my home. All my favorite places. There’s a coffee shop by my flat where they make a cat face in the froth and the barista always gives me a free cookie. And a movie theater with the best soda. And I could take you on a roller coaster!” She laughed. “I’d love to see your face on the first hill.”

“I would like that.”

“Yeah. But we can’t.” His little one took a shaky breath. “I can’t regret deciding to stay here with you. I love you more than anything. But I sometimes wish that you could meet my mom and dad. My friends. I wish they could know how happy I am. How lucky. I mean . . .”

Mitsuhide waited for her to continue, but she said nothing for several long breaths. “What is it? What do you mean?” He tilted her chin up so that he could see her face. She was fighting tears.

“It’s just, I don’t want to cry. There’s nothing to cry about.”

“Little one, if you need to cry, then do. You don’t have to pretend in front of me.” He pulled her closer. This sudden sadness surprised him. He’d thought she was as pleased as he.

“They probably think I’m dead. My parents. My friends. Or worse. I wish I could at least tell them I’m ok.” The words came in little gasps as she let her tears out.

Mitsuhide stroked her back. He wished he could do something to cheer her, but this was beyond his abilities. Or was it? The ninja from Echigo - the one from her time - he might know of a way to get a message across at least. It was a long shot, but the kitsune warlord would not let his beloved taste more sorrow than her share. Not if he could help it.

Next: Lunches with Friends

[pulaasul]

Memory Trigger

Harry Potter was just revealed as the fourth Triwizard Champion, Hogwarts’s Second Champion. As soon as he was summoned, blue fireballs hit a number of students, sending everyone in a panic.

FFN / Ao3

----------

-October 31, 1994-

And utter chaos erupted in the Great Hall as soon as Harry's name was called by Dumbledore. It didn't even mellow down when the last champion was summoned in the next room.

In fact, it made the students even rowdier as soon as Potter disappeared.

"Silence!" Professor Mcgonagall called for order in the Great Hall.

A lot of the students heeded the deputy headmistress's call, but there were still some remnants of outrage that can be heard, especially from the Hufflepuff table, not to mention the looks of rage from the two visiting headmasters: Karkaroff and Maxime.

Before anyone could even protest of the recent events, lightning struck the Goblet of Fire and caused the flames within the goblet to rise up before blue fireballs erupted from the object and hit a number of students in the great hall, while three of those fireballs exited the room.

As thunder roared in the great hall, everyone began to panic, nine of Hogwarts's students were hit by those blue fireballs and were promptly knocked out.

Everyone momentarily forgot about the tournament as they tended to their housemates that were hit by the blue fireballs that the Goblet of Fire released, which was now unlit.

"Pomona, Flitwick, please move the unconscious students to the hospital wing." Dumbledore requested his faculty.

The two professors nodded as they flicked their wands onto the unconscious students. The students in question began to float off of the floor and were slowly but surely sent to the hospital wing.

--------

"So let me get this straight, the fireballs that hit us from the Goblet of Fire was the one that made us all remember?" Ryuji questioned.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense," Makoto offered. "Still reincarnation, it's hard to believe."

"What I'm more surprised is that if we were all reincarnated, why do we still have the same parents as we had in our past lives?" Anne voiced out. "Wait we all have the same parents, right?" She immediately added, unsure if her experience was the same as the others.

"Even close enough histories," Ren nodded. "Shido's still the reason why I'm in England."

"And Shido's still the one who left me and my mother here as well." Akechi growled.

"Madarame is still my guardian this time around," Yusuke offered. "Although, I notice he's not shy to show his wealth to me or his other students."

"My mom's not dead," Futaba shared. "However Sojiro's the one taking care of me in her stead."

"Why's your family name Sakura?" Anne questioned.

"Mom and Sojiro are married, he's my stepdad." Futaba grinned.

"Really? Neat!" Ryuji grinned back.

"So we have the same parents and close enough histories to our past lives," Ren summed everyone's situations up. "You're right, that is strange."

"Maybe it has to do with our Personas in our previous lives." Haru suggested.

"What about Morgana, in this life, he's the son of our servant." Anne pointed out.

"Isn't he still a cat?" Ryuji teased.

"I'm perfectly human, thank you very much, you ape!" Morgana growled at the blond.

Ryuji closed his eyes and took calming breaths before looking at the cat animagus.

"Whatever you say, cat." Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"Having an animagi transformation as your accidental magic is unheard of," Makoto offered.

"I'm sorry, but can we focus on our current predicament?" Akechi growled. "How am I going to make Shido pay in our current situation?"

"I think Shido is the least of our problems." Haru contradicted Akechi's words. "There are rumors that you-know-who is still alive."

"You-know-who?" Futaba questioned. "You mean Voldemort?"

A few of them flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.

"Guys, seriously?" Ren raised an eyebrow." You're afraid of someone's name?"

"It's not like we can control our reaction that had been honed for the past years in this life," Ryuji challenged. "Ma and I are close to the Diggorys and they kinda taught us to fear his name, everyone does in this part of the world."

"Not everyone." Anne shook her head.

"Lady Anne's right, Harry Potter has no qualms stating his name."

"He's Harry Effing Potter!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Cedric told me in the past years that Potter's been raised in a muggle household, and that reaction hasn't been ingrained in him."

"And from what I can tell, Headmaster Dumbledore seems to encourage him to mention his name." Akechi contributed.

"Fear of the name increases the fear of the thing itself," Morgana quoted. "That's what Potter always tells those around him."

"Where is the lie tho?" Futaba questioned.

"Potter has a point." Yusuke agreed

"We'll try to say his name whenever we can, Ren." Makoto offered. "But we can't just unlearn something we've been taught to do since we were born overnight."

"Makoto's right," Ryuji nodded. "That's like, what we were told to do growing up."

"So how'd we all end up in Britain anyway?" Haru shifted the topic. "I was just in London when my Hogwart's letter came in."

"We were supposed to be on vacation, but that piece of shit of a father suddenly got angry at me, and started hexing me in broad daylight."

"Wha-Are you okay Ryuji?!"

"I'm fine, he got sent to Azkaban for that," Ryuji grinned. "We were about to be obliviated but, my bout of accidental magic saved me and my mother from having our minds wiped, ever since, Cedric's dad was kind enough to let us live with them for a few years before ma got a job and moved us in a nearby muggle settlement."

"Lady Anne and I have actually the same circumstances with Haru." Morgana shared. "We were simply in Britain when we got our bout of accidental magic and when we received our Hogwarts letters."

"Madarame had an exhibit in Britain when I got my Hogwarts letter."

"After my father died in the line of duty, my mother moved sis and I to Britain but she died just a few years before I received my Hogwarts letter." Makoto shared. "It just so happen that sis already had a part-time job and dad has a lot of leftover money that we were able to live on our own."

"My mom, Sojiro, and I were on a trip in Britain when my mother was about to get ran over, like in my previous life," Futaba shared. "Accidental magic saved my mother's life, but she was also caught in the resulting blast and she's in a coma since."

"Okay, I can't hold it in," Anne exclaimed. "How is Ryuji not growling at Morgana right now?!"

"I'm right here!"

"My point still stands!" Anne argued. "Usually you'd fire back or even growl at Morgana every time he'd have a go at you."

"Gee thanks, you noticed that the cat has been insulting me," Ryuji rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling the love here."

"Not the point, Ryuji!" Anne huffed.

"Alright, enough!" Makoto broke up a potential fight. "Can you just answer her question Ryuji?"

"I must admit, I'm quite curious myself." Haru chimed in.

"It probably has something to do with the lack of Kamoshida, the incarceration of his father at Azkaban, and a healthy growing environment," Ren deduced. "You already know how he is in middle school in your past life Anne, how is this a surprise to you?"

"I guess, I got used to Ryuji's temper during our bout as Phantom Thieves," Anne admitted. "But he's still irritable back then too!" She tried to justify. "Not as explosive when it's against Morgana."

"Back to the topic at hand, I'm much more curious if the spells we learned in our past lives be applicable here as well." Yusuke pointed out. "I have no problem with the spells Hogwarts has taught us, but I have noticed the lack of elemental spells apart from fire and water."

"No, there's barely any water or fire spell at all." Futaba shook her head.

"I wonder if Hama and Mudo spells are still quite lethal as they were in our past life," Akechi offered. "Or if the Recarm spells have any effect on those affected by the Killing Curse."

"Or if Salvation, Amrita, and Energy showers are effective against the imperious curse." Makoto nodded.

"Wouldn't we get caught if we cast an unforgivable curse?" Anne asked in worry. "I don't fancy entering prison at all in this life, let alone Azkaban." She shivered.

"I'd rather not have to go to prison in this life as well." Ren agreed.

"I guess, we'll hold off countering the unforgivable curses in the meantime." Makoto nodded.

"For the meantime, who is everyone supporting in the tournament?" Futaba grinned.

"Sorry guys, I'm supporting Cedric, he's a Hufflepuff and my big brother in all but blood." Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck.

"I thought I was your brother?!" Ren exclaimed in mock agony.

"Well yeah, but they essentially adopted ma and I back when we were first living with them," Ryuji shrugged. "Ced's the big brother that I never had."

"Well, if Ryuji's supporting Cedric, then so am I." Ren grinned.

"House Loyalties here." Morgana and Anne announced. "Despite the dubious way he was entered, I'm still supporting Potter." Anne finished.

"I'm supporting Delacour." Haru offered.

"I am as well." Makoto nodded.

"Any reasons girls?"

"My code name as a Phantom Thief is a French word," Haru sweetly smiled. "That and she shows elegance in whatever she's doing."

"Had Diggory been Hogwarts's only champion, I would have supported him, but there is something in Delacour that makes me want to support her." Makoto shared.

"Is it because she's part Veela?" Futaba grinned.

"I thought the Veela's allure only work on the majority of men?" Makoto countered.

"Damn," Futaba cussed.

"I must admit, I have a hard time trying to pick one to support," Yusuke admitted. "All the champions are equally aesthetically pleasing, even Potter, I suppose I would have to abstain in this particular vote."

"I don't know, it'd be nice to support either Potter or Diggory, I'm quite undecided," Futaba admitted. "I'll take a page out of Inari's book and abstain as well."

"Akechi?" Ren looked at the former Detective Prince.

"I don't have time for some childish tournament," Akechi growled. "I'd rather prefer to spend my time and see if the Dark Lord will ever return to power."

"About that… regarding our topic of discussion," Makoto trailed off. "Rumor has it that You-know-who has already infiltrated the school twice, during our first year and second year."

"I had heard about that," Akechi frowned. "Well then, I guess I can spend my time investigating the dubious way Potter was entered into the tournament," He gave a manic grin towards his companions. "After all, this too happened on the night of Hallows eve, and Potter and Halloween don't exactly see eye-to-eye."

[hetyra]

thinking about if Akechi had a palace (post-game ideas as always)

To preface this, a palace like this manifesting for Akechi would probably cause him to be severely depressed and self-deprecating in reality. He rationalizes it to himself as a self-punishment since the courts failed to hold him accountable for his actions.

Of course, when Akira find’s out Akechi’s alive and tracks him down, he’d see how out-of-character he’s being and the lack of emotion in Akechi’s eyes and starts to worry that something is very very wrong. Upon finding out he has a palace, Akira would reluctantly determine that he needs to change Akechi’s heart before he looses him a third time.

--

On a surface level the palace is bright and colorful, like a weekend morning cartoon. Akechi’s shadow is him as a child, maybe 8 years old, dressed up in a featherman t-shirt with a blanket wrapped around him like a cape. He greets the thieves enthusiastically, calling them cool heroes and saying he’s a hero too.

As the Phantom Thieves explores the palace though, they start finding rooms tucked away in corners; rooms that have a dark atmosphere to them and feel more like something out of a child’s nightmare rather than their hero fantasy. 

The first room they find, a woman is telling a young Akechi to go play outside or go to the bathhouse as she leads a man into the house, saying she “has to work.” 

The second room, the same woman is drunk. She’s ranting about how “that man”, how “Shido”, ruined her life. She doesn’t know Akechi is watching until she turns around, and she immediately changes her demeanor, pulling the boy into her arms and saying “At least you love me, right sweetie?” 

The third room, Joker hesitates to go in, causing the thieves to all share a worried look. When they do go in, none of them can look at the scene for too long. Akechi’s mother is unmoving in a tub full of red tinged water, and they can hear the sound of a young Akechi sobbing, saying things like “Please wake up”, “Please don’t leave me alone”, “Did I do something wrong?”, “I’m sorry”, “Was I not enough?”. They don’t loiter in the room, and their discussion about what they just saw is brief. 

The next few rooms involve people speaking ill of his mother, kids at school bullying him, teachers calling him a problem child, and foster parents neglecting/abusing him.

By this point in the palace, the darkness has started creeping into the hallways, no longer staying to just the tucked away rooms.

The group also deduces that all the rooms must relate to all the things Akechi has gone through in his life that traumatized him on some level, and that they should expect things to get even more unsavory moving forward.

This is when they find the Shido room. It makes all of them uncomfortable as they listen to the false praise Shido threw Akechi’s way.

The next room they find, Futaba almost chokes. Wakaba is there, going on and on about “how helpful you’ve been to my research!”, “You’ve been such a big help, my little guinea pig!”. Her attitude changes suddenly though, and she looks at them with a solemn expression, her eyes turning a golden yellow, before saying “Just make sure Shido pays for it.” Futaba storms out of the room before they have a chance to talk about what that could have been about.

There’s a room covering the psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns, but not in a way any of them expected. There are small memorials to each one of shutdown victims. Those like Wakaba and and Ohya’s old partner have notes that say “I’m sorry.” and there are flowers by their pictures as well. Those like the Shujin principle and SIU director on the other hand do not have flowers, and their notes simply say “You deserved it.” Okumura’s however is the odd one out; the note there reading “I’m sorry, Haru.”

At this point, Shadow Akechi shows up again, looking scared. This is where entire palace seems to be swallowed by the dark atmosphere, the bright cheery cartoon atmosphere disappearing from sight. Akechi’s shadow tells them they shouldn’t continue, that “He might hurt you... And I can’t stop him...” He leaves without telling them who he’s talking about, and they all feel a weight in their stomachs as they press onward.

The next room is deathly quiet, the only thing there being a cognition of Akira laying face down on the interrogation room table, blood pooling around his head. There’s a note there too, and it reads “I thought I wanted this. I was wrong.”

They hear the next room before they see it, and they all know what’s waiting for them inside. There’s no mistaking the sound of a klaxon alarm. 

The room plays out the memory exactly. The hopeful speech of the phantom thieves as they tried to convince Akechi they weren’t the enemies and that he could have a second chance, the cognition of him showing up, the wall between them erecting, the... the gunshot...

The next room houses Maruki; him trying to convince Akechi not to “throw his life away”. The other’s discuss that maybe fighting knowing he was to die if he succeeded had actually been hard for Akechi after all; but Joker shakes his head, explaining Akechi had made it clear that a reality controlled by someone else didn’t sit well with him and that he didn’t like the idea of being manipulated and controlled by another person again. He then hesitantly adds on that he’d had a feeling Akechi was actually afraid of Maruki’s powers, but of course never admitted to it.

They all expect that to be the end of the tucked away rooms, only they find yet one more, which goes over the court rulings regarding Akechi’s involvement with Shido. They ruled him mentally and emotionally unstable in his decisions due to Shido’s emotional manipulation as well as his “rough” upbringing. Him being a minor and his crimes being unable to be proven (because metaverse) are brought up as well. In the end, he’s only sentenced to time in rehab and some therapy. Overall, he’s treated like a victim rather than a perpetrator, and it’s made obvious that Akechi wasn’t happy about that.

They finally reach what appears to be the end of the palace, and it’s then that they see who the young Shadow Akechi must of been talking about. It’s... Akechi, but as he is now, and dressed like some prince of the underworld. He’s yelling at the shadows to hurry up and find them. Once the shadows leave, he starts ranting to himself; but his emotions are all over the place. One second he’s livid, the next he’s laughing like a mad man, the next he’s curling in on himself with a choked sob. It goes on with no indication of stopping. 

The group sneaks past and finally finds... another room?

It’s Leblanc and a cognition of Akira is standing in the middle of the room, his expression distressed. He looks up and says “You knew?” and there’s a beat of silence where all the thieves look to the real Joker standing beside them. Akechi’s disembodied voice rings out something about Akira folding over some “trivial threat on his life”, and it takes all of Joker’s strength to bite his tongue as the cognition of him shouts “This isn’t trivial!” 

The cognition of Akira fades to nothing, and left where he was standing is the shimmering ball of light representing the treasure.

-

At some point after finding the second Shadow Akechi but before sending the calling card, the PT’s discuss and determine that the existence of two Shadow’s is likely due to the fact Akechi had two personas. Even if Robin Hood had only been used in attempt to deceive the phantom thieves, he must have been born from a part of Akechi’s heart that still yearned for those childhood dreams of being a hero. Loki, however, is who he became after everything he’d been through. They are both parts of him, and they’ll likely need to make the two reconcile in order to change Akechi’s heart.

Also the treasure winds up manifesting as the glove; and Akira totally hands Akechi the calling card personally, but only after a long talk that assures him that Akechi wants Akira to help him. 

Akechi is still slightly surprised and miffed that he has a palace and Akira didn’t tell him though.

[ajaxstar]

“It’s you.”

akechi goro x fem! reader > angst

@osusome-art

IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT JSKSJSHHS BUT THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING I REALLY LOVE THE IDEA !!

TRIGGER WARNING: Mental shutdown, death, blood(?)

“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to tire yourself out? Have you even eaten?” A voice of a person who stood in front of Akechi’s desk sighed and the brunette was positive she was probably shaking her head in disapproval. He looked up with an apologetic smile, “Y/N, hi. What are you doing here?”

Upon the question she sat down on the seat opposite of Akechi and placed a paper bag on the desk, “To take care of my irresponsible boyfriend who can’t take care of himself, duh.” Akechi couldn’t contain the laughter within as he heard the sarcastic voice of hers and let her continue talking as he noticed that she wasn’t done yet. “You’re on a break right now, right? C’mon let’s eat! I brought us food.”

His eyes soften in admiration as she beamed in front of him and got out the contents of the bag she brought with her, revealing the bento boxes that contained food; and from the looks of it, it’s probably homemade. He kept his laptop and files in his attaché case and held her hand after she had placed a bento in front of him. She raised her brows in a silent inquiry but he only shook his head softly and gave her hand a little squeeze—not too hard, not too soft; but enough to tell her how appreciative he is of her.

If someone were to ask how he had fallen in love with such a person, he wouldn’t know how to answer it. Maybe it was the way she always tried to get to know him before. Or maybe it was because when she confessed to him and promised that she wouldn’t break his trust. Countless reasons, a better answer of how he had fallen in love with her.

But it was still surprising. He’s just a detective and she’s the head of their company. An accelerated student who didn’t have to use too much of her time in high school and instead is now a college student albeit the same age as Akechi.

Their jobs were quite a hindrance in terms of hanging out together considering that after their work, they’ll have to study and catch up to school. And compared to Akechi, she had to attend college everyday. It wasn’t easy, they remarked before when they talked about it, but they’ll still power through it. Akechi on the other hand, made sure he wasn’t much on the news about his love life, keeping her as far away as possible from Shido.

“You have a little something there, Goro.” Y/N pointed out before taking a tissue into her hand and gently wiping the corner of his lips. He grew a pink dust on his cheek while she was completely oblivious and found it normal for her to wipe his cheek. In his slightly frozen state, he could at least still hear her voice. “Let’s grab some ramen next time!”

Even with Akechi’s status as the ‘Second Coming Prince Detective’ he was glad that she somehow looked at him as an equal. Although a part of him wanted people to look at him highly, he loved the feeling of equality whenever with her. Like he wasn’t the one committing crimes in the metaverse and solving them as if it was a mystery for him for two years.

It was great and all, these past few days, until a certain meeting destroyed it all in one snap.

Akechi gulped. His eyes widening, throat drying with a lump forming as he stayed stood in front of the desk of his bastard father. His body slowly started fidgeting but he refused and made sure to appear as normal as possible with a list of targets in hand. He cleared his throat and attempted to find his voice. “Why is the head of L/N corporations here? I believe I haven’t heard anything negative from them.”

“It’s more of a personal matter. Any more questions, Akechi-kun?”

And as much as he wanted to protest there and then, he only walked out of the office, eventually seeing a woman walk in the same room he had just walked out of when he looked behind his back.

Once he gets himself home, in a slow miserable phase he walks to his room and lays on his bed, his mind only occupying the list that had his beloved’s name. He contemplates in his mind,

should he?

or should he not?

But this is his job. He must always accomplish his mission; not to mention that he started this ‘business’ with Masayoshi Shido is all because his plan is to finish all his assigned missions, get popular, get up in the ranks, blame it all on Shido, then tell him he was his bastard father—the perfect revenge (or so Akechi had claimed). And even with the Phantom Thieves lurking around, he still could accomplish his job, he just has to make sure he’s doing everything right so he could also take them down.

His lover was never in his plans but he couldn’t blame himself when he fell in love and up until just earlier, nothing was a mistake and he never—not even once before—doubted getting into a relationship with her. Until he saw the name on the list.

Did Shido find out?

Is she somehow one of Shido’s ‘business partners’?

Did she get into his bad side?

‘Personal matter’? Just how is she involved with him personally?

He held his head in his hands, fingers eventually tugging his hair; frustration raging inside him. He feels so overwhelmed and with anxiety building up as well, it was going to be a tough decision.

Please, when he saw her name in the list he knew it was going to be a tough decision to make.

Everything stopped when the familiar special text tone pinged softly.

With that specific text tone, he slowly reached for his phone, the screen’s light gracing his features in the darkness of his room.

Y/N: Hey, I’m home now! College and work was a bit exhausting today. It’s late so I’m only settling for a text tonight since you might be sleeping. If you’re not, you better be taking care of yourself while doing work!! Feel free to call me if you want to though :D

Y/N: I love you, Goro. I’m excited for our ramen date next week! Goodnight! <3

And only until now that tears ran down his face, staining his cheeks and his voice no where even when he felt like, just, screaming everything out. He lost all his energy to scream, he noticed. One of his hand clenching his clothed chest, by his heart.

He only feels one, and one thing only.

Heartache.

Hours passed and he reminisces the reasons why he was in this type of job in the first place—to seek revenge against his father for putting him in such a hell experience of life.

He’s doing it. He must—he has to.

And so the next day, Y/N was suprised to be met by him in her company office just after she had a board-member’s meeting. Her assistant excused herself and stationed her desk and closed the door while Y/N nodded and smiled at her boyfriend before placing her laptop on her office desk.

“Hey, what’s up? Shouldn’t you be at work?” Her question is both sweet and kind, but he couldn’t help but notice the very small crack in her voice. Instead of answering, he settled with walking towards her and taking both her hands in his before kissing both of her knuckles, his kiss lingering. “Goro...” She said his name in a whisper, his actions softening her.

“I brought ramen with me.” Akechi told her with a smile, lowering both her hands that he still held as he pulled her closer to him as she stood. “I thought ramen date was next week?” She asked, surprised how Akechi had changed their schedule—which was completely odd as he usually followed his schedules. He chuckled, “We can just eat ramen next week as well.” At this she laughed and shook her head lightly but still agreed.

He was sure her mood was dark earlier but he was as well relieved that he had helped somehow in lightening her mood.

for the last time.

They shared chats and told each other about their day up until then as they ate, smiled on each oftheir faces but even though he’s seeing her smile, he wanted to know what was bugging her earlier. Maybe he could help in anyway? Maybe he knew something about it?

Maybe it could give him more time to spend with her before he accomplishes his mission?

“The company’s budget is starting to go down although the process is slow, I’m afraid it could affect everyone—mostly workers that are really in need of it. If this continues, we might either shut down to still guarantee their benefits and such, or to fire employess which I really do not want to do.” Y/N sighed, her head turning to look at the logo of their company hanging on the wall. “I want to ensure that my employees are alright—not ruined.”

“Do you have a hunch on what may had caused it?”

He noticed how her eyes narrowed ever so slightly at his question, her her hand tightening around her chopsticks, and how she had shook her head ‘no’ with hesitation. “I don’t.” She answered with a sigh following. “Now I have two weeks to solve this or else actions are needed to be done.”

“Two weeks...” Akechi whispered to himself.

But I only have till tomorrow...

“Hey, you look very stressed out. How about we go on a date?” Her eyes widened at this. A possibly public date with Goro Akechi in the middle of nowhere?

But to Akechi, this is his last chance.

“Are you sure?” Y/N asked, a mix of worry and surprise in her eyes. He nodded as he showed her a gentle smile with his hand extended while he had already stood on his feet. His smile and the softness his eyes giving her only making her smile as she thought of her decision.

But to him, he was practically begging her,through his eyes, to take his hand.

“Okay.” She took his hand and walked around her desk to stand in front of him. “I will always make arrangements just for you anyway, Goro.”

Goro chuckled and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek.

—————————————

The whole afternoon was a blast for them although a bit messy with Akechi’s fans talking to each other while some approached him. They nicely talked to them and waved them off goodbye. But of course, it wasn’t all that. When news anout them walking around with their hands entwined with each other, pictures were spread in different forms of media; practically making reporters dwarm the both of them.

But nontheless, they still managed to enjoy their date. Shopping crinkets and giving it to each other, going to the Planetarium, walking around the Art Museum (eventually bumping to Yusuke and Akira), and went to DestinyLand for the rides but mostly for the fireworks show.

Akechi led Y/N out of the cab as he offered his hand to her then closing the door for her when she got out. It was now dark, the shine of the stars and the moonlight along with the street lights being their guide through the night with their fingers entwined.

“We really went out of our way today, didn’t we?” Y/N softly spoke, as if the peaceful atmosphere would break if she spoke any volume higher. “We did. But I had fun, mostly because I was with you the whole time.” Akechi remarked. She released a small laugh as she shook her head and leaned her head on his arm as they continued walking towards her home.

“Hey, let’s dance.”

“Pardon?” Akechi’s steps halted along with hers upon her words, their hands still entwined and eyes in contact with each other. He had a surprised look on his face while she smiled lovingly towards him. “Let’s dance the night away.” She repeated.

He sincerely laughed at her request and as his laugh died down, he somehow found himself already wrapping her arms around her waist after he had wrapped hers around his neck. “Maybe a slow dance will suffice.”

She nodded with a smile, “Of course.”

Akechi led the dance, moving his body left and right, guiding her with him as they started slow dancing towards her house. Their eyes still staring right into each other with adoration and peace.

“Goro...” She whispered lowly which he hummed his answer at her, encouraging her to continue. “If I tell you find something about me, would that change anything between us?”

Akechi thought about her hint confession. Could it be about Shido or something entirely different? Either way he searched for answers of his own to her question.

“Nothing will change, my love.” He wanted to say something entirely realistic, maybe along the lines of ‘It depends.’ but his sincere side spoke before he could. And that side of himself ruled over him as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before touching his forehead against her own.

“Thank you.” She replied and laid her head against his chest. “I know this is unfair of me but, please wait for me until I earn more courage to tell you.” She could feel his head nodding before feeling one of her hands being pulled off his neck then his lips on her knuckles. “Take your time. I can wait.”

Akechi could honestly wait for whenever she could deem herself ready to confess something to him but before he even knew where he was going, he found himself searching for his beloved—no—target in Mementos. With his red sword he finished off a shadow and continued walking wherever he could possibly find her.

He was ready, he convinced himself over-and-over again. If he couldn’t do this and possibly fail his revenge against his father, then who could? He walked continuously, wherever his took him and wherever he could possibly sense a target. He walked towards a female form, her back facing him; the signature black and red smoke emitting around her body.

But Akechi didn’t need her to turn around and show him her face. The length and color of her hair and her clothes, he instantly knew who it was.

His target.

He didn’t waste time and called out his Persona. “Y/N, turn around and see for yourself who I really am!” His voice sinister and mischievous, a smirk dancing on his featured beneath his black mask.

As instructed, she turned around and looked up to see a black and white striped persona with red details, Loki, her absentminded brain guessed its name as he called upon it and ordered to attack her. She made no effort to defend herself nor dodge his attacks.

Here, Akechi noticed her state of being; blank, eyes empty, and looked completely hopeless. But he shook it off as he advanced towards her with his sword and stopped only centimeters against her neck. “Anything you want to say?”

She only took the dangerous part of his sword and aimed it towards her chest, directly towards her heart.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

She smiled towards him, small and gentle. “What I’ve been meaning to tell you is that... I... I have a heart problem.” Her smile widened while he stared at her with shock and sadness on his face.

That could mean a faster end to her life!

But before he could react, she had already plunged herself against his sword—finishing herself off. Her body fell limp against his sword and before Akechi could anymore react, she had already turned into black dust.

His façade and made up ‘strong’ personality shattered as he tried reaching up to her dark dust particles that only proved useless as he pounded his fists against the ground. Questions of why did he even do this to her and to himself.

Is it still even worth it?

———————————

Shido chuckled as he watched the news reporting of the L/N corporation’s young head, Y/N L/N, being announced deceased after experiencing a mental shutdown. The voice of her own aunt speaking through Shido’s phone in an on-going call as she thanked him over and over again.

“Anything for you, darling.”