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Ryuji is beyond frustrated as he assumed the rest of them were as well. The stupid fairy-looking shadow they are fighting keeps laughing at them, sounding more like a stuck-up queen bitch than a fairy. The Phantom Thieves are farther into Mementos; therefore, it’s understandable they would be running into stronger shadows as was the case before, but hot damn if this fucking lady shadow isn’t giving them a run for their money. The only saving grace is it isn’t the reaper. If it was the reaper, then they would all be dead, and Akira would have to Samecarem all their asses provided he wasn’t finished off as well.  

Ryuji is glad it was not the reaper.

Akira, their fearless leader, is struggling just like the rest of them. A rare treat. They don’t know this shadow’s weakness, so he’s just running through all of the affinities in hopes maybe they can knock it to the ground. A rudimentary but effective strategy in the past only at the expense of Akira’s stamina points. Ryuji knows the stupid fairy is strong against curse and bless affinities, which is unfortunate as Akechi and Akira are best at those because the bitch fairy would be strong against their two tanks. Ryuji knows they could technically run, but it’s good practice, and Ryuji wanted to beat the shit-eating grin off her fairy face. Ryuji is begging to wipe that smug ass bitch face across the floor.

“Queen, switch out with Noir! Skull, try a physical attack. Crow, debilitate on it again!” Akira fired off commands with his usual vigor, raising his hand to his mask. He doesn’t summon a persona, and Ryuji knows that he uses a passive skill to increase his next attack. Doubled with Akechi’s debilitate on the shadow should be a devastating attack. Even if they can’t find its weakness, hopefully, between the two, they can take this shadow down.

“Right!” Makoto nodded, jumping back to allow Haru to hop forward in her place, her battle ax ready in hand.

“Alright, let’s blow this joint!” Ryuji yelled, trying to psych himself up as he summoned Seiten Taisei. He delivers a Swift Strike to the shadow, and it does very little. Ryuji sighed in frustration, “Guess Physical is a no-go as well.”

“I think Noir may be able to take her down. I don’t know if it’s Psi or Bufu, but it’s a fifty/fifty shot.” Futaba surmised from where she is hovering above the battle in her persona. On a completely separate note, Ryuji is hella jealous her persona is an aircraft while Makoto’s was a motorcycle. He wanted to ride his own persona, but he thinks he might fall right through Seiten Taisei’s cloud.

“If Noir is unable to land a critical, I will jump in.” Yusuke nodded at the information, preparing his weapon for in case from where he stood on the sidelines. Morgana is bouncing with anticipation next to him, yet, his wind had no effect.

“Well, it’s better than nothing, I suppose,” Akechi grumbled as he cast the debilitate spell on the fairy shadow. Then, she groaned in protest of all her stats falling; Akechi scoffed, “Imagine. Struggling with a measly shadow. What a sorry sight.”

Akira raises his hand to his mask as well in preparation but sent Akechi a flirty smile first, “Yeah, pull your weight, Crow. Come on, show us a little of that bloodthirst. It’s hot.”

Ryuji can’t help but roll his eyes.

Before Akira gets a chance to get his attack in or before Akechi gets to respond that Akira was the one calling the shots, as he was clearly gearing up too, the fairy laughed obnoxiously again. Then, she summoned a sweet, sickly song and did an awful little dance to go with it, fluttering through the air. The song sweeps across the battlefield.

Lullaby. What a pain.

“For real?” Ryuji groaned, but seemingly the ailment has missed him and the rest of them. That was the nice part about status ailments; they usually missed pretty easily unless the shadow uses a skill to boost the susceptibility rate of the ailments. But, then, they weren’t a big deal, and usually, they can deal with them pretty quickly. Sleep isn’t even the worst status ailment since one could recover SP and HP, but it did leave you venerable for an attack. A catch twenty-two. But, not the worst ailment. He thinks fear or depression is the worse ailment. Or maybe hunger.

She giggled, and Ryuji assumed Akira would take her out in the next moment or so he hoped.

Yet, that moment doesn’t come.

“Hey! Joker’s asleep; wake him up!” Futaba warned, a voice a little concerned as she hovered a little closer to the ground in her persona.

Ryuji blinked and turned to his friend, who is indeed asleep, slumped over on the ground. He didn’t realize that it missed all but Akira. Ok, so that wasn’t good. It seemed him charging for his next attack was all for naught in the end—a setback.

“Joker, wake up!” Akechi commanded, irritation in his voice as if he could wake Akira up with absolute pure will. Yet, he can’t, and Joker is still asleep, so Akechi sighed in frustration and looked back to the rest of them with narrowed eyes, “One of you want to find an item to fix this, perhaps? So, we can get on our merry way?”

“We don’t—” Makoto mumbled awkwardly, her face growing embarrassed as she wrings her hands before speaking up, “We don’t have any items that could help….”

“And why the fuck not?” Akechi asked incredulously, quickly dodging an attack by the fairy lady.

“Well, you know, we sort of sold a lot of things because we didn’t use them that often….” Ann laughed nervously, tugging on her ponytails, “And Joker used the money towards better weapons. We didn’t think we would need it! The ailments wear off anyways….”

“You sold them without telling me—have you no sense of being prepared in the slightest?!” Akechi scolded them with an incredulous tone, “Skill-wise perhaps? Mona, Noir?”

“Don’t look at me; I got nothing.” Morgana shrugged his little cat shoulders before motioning to Haru, “Noir might. Didn’t she have Amarita Drop?”

“No, actually, I sort of got rid of it in favor of another skill,” Haru admitted guilty, stepping to the side as the fairy lady threw an attack at her. “Sorry! It just didn’t seem useful!! Joker said it was fine.”

“Didn’t seem useful—Well, it would be damn well useful right now, wouldn’t it? Have you considered having something as a backup? Do any of you have any sense of being adequately prepared? What you’ll blindly listen to Joker’s every order without an ounce of common sense for yourself? Huh?!” Akechi contended, extending his arm to where Akira is still slumbering without a care in the world in the world’s most uncomfortable position.

Ryuji thought, good for him, at least Akira didn’t have to go through the humiliation of Akechi scolding them like they are toddlers.

He does want to point out that Akechi listens to those orders as well, despite how he might argue. But this might not be the time for that conversation as the stupid fairy lady looks like she is preparing for another attack, and Ryuji is mentally preparing to cover for Akira. Akechi will most likely beat him to this, though, seeing as the other is inching closer to the sleeping Akira, trying to be conspicuous.

“Dude, we just need to beat the shadow, right? And the ailment will lift. Or it’ll lift on its own.” Ryuji pointed out, “Chill. We whittled her down; we just need to beat her up a bit more. And bam, Ailment over. And we can all go home and actually get some real sleep. Good for Joker; he gets a head start.”

“After this, we are going to have a talk about your team’s habits.” Akechi scoffed, turning back towards the fairy lady and raising a hand to his mask, preparing his next attack. “Sold all the ailment cures my ass; it’s astounding you all are still alive.”

“Our team's habits.” Ryuji corrected because Akechi is just as much of this team as the rest of them, despite his reluctance.

Before Akechi can do anything of the sort with Loki, Ryuji feels an awful tugging sensation on his body, and he cannot place what move the Fairy Lady might have made, but it’s horrible. They are definitely fucked. He thought they had this battle in the bag.

He feels himself being pulled away, and everything goes white.

Ryuji comes to, a moment later, standing to the side of Shibuya Station. Neon lights from the screens and signs around the crosswalk assault his senses; even though it’s nighttime, the station is far brighter than Mementos is. The sudden change in scenery is very disorienting as it is unwelcome, the awful sense lingering like a bad cold that won’t go away. He feels very unsettled. Luckily, the square seemed pretty empty as the trains are probably about to stop running for the night.

“What the fuck was that?” Ryuji cursed, patting his body to make sure he didn’t lose a limb because it felt like he had been yanked out of one reality and thrown into another. Which wasn’t far off, he believed as they were back at the station. Everyone seems to be in the same discomfort he is. “What the fuck just happened??”

“The Metanav kicked us out!” Futaba exclaimed in offense, whipping out her phone to investigate said app, her fingers tapping loudly on her screen, “I don’t know, but I think it crashed? It booted us out! How rude! I can’t even open it!”

“Wait, it can do that?” Ann frowned, with disbelief in her voice, as she pulled out her own phone to check as well.

“It’s common for apps to crash now and again. Many things can cause it. Overload of the data or a minor glitch, too many people using said app,” Makoto nodded. Still, a look of unease crossed her face as she said tensely, “However a supernatural app that brings us to another dimension might be a little more cause for concern in that area as we don’t even know the perimeters it works at. It’s not something that should be crashing…I don’t think.”

“It was a little abrupt. But, maybe it’s for the best. We were getting tired anyway.” Haru offered, trying to be helpful. “Maybe it was telling us we were done for the day. It was getting rather late, even if it isn’t a school day tomorrow. Plus, this saves us the trip of traveling back to the top and leaving.”

“You all should just learn to enter and exit like I can. So much easier.” Morgana laughed, scratching one of his ears.

“I’ll admit. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling.” Yusuke grimaced, clenching his fists at what Ryuji imagined was the thought, “I would like to not go through that again. I’d rather go through extreme hunger than go through that ever again. It was like every bit of my soul was being torn apart.”

“It’s a bit dramatic, but I’d have to agree.” Ann sighed, pocketing her phone.

“I can do some research, but I don’t know if I could crack the app since we don’t know who made it.” Futaba shook her head and sighed while pocketing her phone; she swung her hands behind her back, “I’ll see if I can figure out why when we get home. Well, perhaps tomorrow…who knows where the night would take me.”

“That would be beneficial. It would be rather frustrating if that becomes a continuous thing.” Akechi nodded, gloved hand on his chin as he looks like he is questioning this development very seriously. “Still, that has never happened before…Futaba, let us know what your findings out when convenient. If it’s only a one-time thing, bug, then it’s not an issue, but if it’s something more serious, we are going to have to make adjust—”

“Hey, wait a minute….” Ryuji frowned as he realized that they were missing someone.

Usually, Akira would let them talk amongst themselves before bringing up his opinion, as he usually built off what they surmised, so it wasn’t surprising if he was quiet. But Ryuji doesn’t even see him among their circle at all. Had Akira just got booted out somewhere different than them? They had been so distracted from the conversation of the meta app. He looked around the station corner and plaza; there weren’t that many passersby but no Akira. Finally, a bit past Akechi, he sees something on the ground, and then his heart dropped in terror when he realized who it was.

“Shit. Akira!”

Ryuji roughly shoved past the Phantom Thieves, who just begun to realize something was wrong. He skidded on his knees next to Akira, who is strewn on the pavement lifelessly. Ryuji started to freak out and began shaking him and addressing him in a panic, “Shit, shit shit shit! Akira! Hey! You okay?!”

Akira doesn’t respond, though, doesn’t stir at all, and continued to lay on the pavement without so much as a twitch at Ryuji’s attempts to rouse him. Ryuji thought that maybe being booted out of the Metaverse had a worse effect on him than the rest. Perhaps because he had multiple personas? They certainly don’t understand why or how he does what he does. The Phantom Thieves have barely wrapped their heads around the concept of the velvet room. But, even with that theory, Akechi had multiple Persona, and he seemed fine. Regardless, It doesn’t change the fact that Akira is not responding to Ryuji’s calls and not getting up. Something is clearly wrong.

“Is he ok?!” Haru choked, the other Phantom thieves gathering around them. It’s a miracle the station is as empty as it was, but the Phantom Thieves were blocking them from public view regardless.

“Akira!” Futaba cried, panic in her voice.

Akechi kneeled on Akira’s other side in an instant, ripping off his glove without hesitation and pressing his fingers against Akira’s neck. Then, after a few moments with a pensive and concerned glare, he moved his hand under Akira’s nose, probably to gauge if he was breathing or not. Ryuji waits in a trembling silence before Akechi sighed in a wrangled relief and vexation. He sat up a bit, pinching his nose as if he were at the end of his wits.

“What? Is he ok?” Ryuji frantically asked, reiterating Haru’s previous question. “Dude, say something!”

“He’s asleep,” Akechi answered curtly, folding his arms as he gave Ryuji an exasperated look.

“Asleep?” Ryuji echoed, but then he instantly remembered their battle right before they were booted out of the metaverse.

The fairy chick. Lullaby. Sleep Ailment.

Shit, that wasn’t good.

“Oh. Oh, no.” Makoto breathed, seemingly coming to the same conclusion at the same time as the rest of them. “That isn’t good.”

The ailment didn’t wear off when the Phantom Thieves were booted from the Metaverse, and Akira was very much still asleep from when the fairy lady had hit him with Lullaby. But could ailments do that? Then again, the meta nav had never done that either, so it’s an unusual circumstance.

“’ Oh Akechi, we sold them because we didn’t think we needed them,’” Akechi mocked their argument from earlier, with an annoyed look on his face. Ryuji felt guilty.

“Maybe he will wake up?” Yusuke wondered, hopefully. “Surely, it’s only a temporary thing as it is in the Metaverse. I don’t see how a status ailment could carry over to reality.”

“Y-yeah. It has to be, right?” Ann nervously laughed, and she seemed a lot less sure than Yusuke was about the issue. She turned to Morgana because he is the most likely to know, “Right, Morgana?”

“I don’t know, this hasn’t happened before, but I would think so,” Morgana said but didn’t seem sure of himself. Instead, he circles Akira’s head, eventually choosing to bat at Akira’s cheek with his paw, “Hey. Hey! Wake up, lazybones! WAKE UP!”

Akira does not wake up. Ryuji wonders if that’s how Morgana usually woke Akira up in the morning for school, and Akira just learned to tune him out. Ryuji didn’t have a cat, but he too would learn how to tune them out if he did. Especially if it were Morgana.

“But, like…he’s ok, right?” Ann murmured nervously, biting at her lip as she watched on in hesitation as Morgana attempted to shove Akira’s head, but nothing comes of it. Akechi swatted him away when he started becoming a nuisance.

“He’s not dead if that is what you are asking.” Akechi scoffed.

“Reassuring, Akechi. Your bedside manner is immaculate.” Futaba grumbled, dropping into her usual crouch, but her shoulders are trembling in anxiousness as she also poked Akira’s cheek, “But he’s not waking up though. That isn’t good, right?”

“That sleep ailment only usually lasts a few minutes in Mementos. Unfortunately, it’s been more than a few minutes.” Haru frowned, tilting her head in concern. However, she brought up a good point. In Mementos, Ailments didn’t last this long and certainly not into reality as well.

“We don’t know exactly how the sleep ailment works.” Makoto pointed out objectively, “It could have dropped him into a REM or another sleep stage. In the Metaverse, we are only asleep for a few minutes; it could be the first or the second sleep stage. It just depends on the cognition of how people view sleep and its cycles.”

“Aren’t there like…four? How do we know which one he’s in?” Ryuji wondered; it’s definitely not up his alley. He hadn’t even thought how that even works. Logistics isn’t his specialty. It’s a miracle he knows there are four sleep cycles as he sort of remembered that from some class, “Which one do dreams happen in?”

“REM,” Futaba answered. “Rapid Eye Movement.”

Akechi leaned closer in, Ryuji assumed to get a better observation of Akira’s face. Still, Ryuji has to hold back a snicker because it looks like he’s about to kiss Akira. Akechi removed Akira’s glasses, neatly folding and hanging them on his collar before laying a hand on Akira’s eyes. Ryuji doesn’t know what he’s trying to accomplish from this. It sort of looks like he’s checking if he has a fever. He remembers his mom doing that at one point.

“It’s an NREM cycle.” Akechi deducted, retracting his hand after a few long moments. “No eye movement. His pulse and breathing are evened out too.”

“Meaning he is probably in a deep sleep, and he won’t wake up anytime soon.” Makoto groaned, pinching the brink of her nose in exasperation. “It makes sense in a way. Deep Sleep is the restorative stage, and in Mementos, we restore SP and HP with the sleep ailment. It just must last very shortly in the metaverse.”

“I mean…” Ryuji winced because shouldn’t they do something about this? Leaving Akira like this, even if he is just asleep, is a little unsettling to him. “Can we do anything? Maybe bring him back into Mementos and wake him up, then go home?”

“The app isn’t working right now,” Futaba shook her head, showing him her phone; the app screen only says, ‘Please try again later.’ “I’m not sure when ‘later’ is. I don’t think it’ll work tonight, though.”

“Yeah, and we don’t actually have any items that could help.” Ann frowned, a little guilt apparent in the corner of her lips. Ryuji felt just as guilty as her; if they had just had restorative items on hand, this wouldn’t be an issue. But to be fair, Akira did most of their shopping.

“Well, what should we do?” Morgana wondered, pushing his paw against Akira’s shoulder. It’s futile. “We can’t just leave him like this.”

“He may wake up later tonight. Or sleep till morning. I’d guess the latter.” Akechi said, pushing himself off the ground back onto his feet. “We may as well just bring him back to Leblanc. And regroup tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be resolved by then, and we can prepare ADEQUATE status ailment items for future endeavors. And I can give you a proper presentation about why it is imperative to be prepared in such situations. So look forward to my riveting points.”

“Joy, can’t wait,” Ryuji muttered, bringing himself up to a crouch as well. He took a moment to consider his options with transporting Akira. Bridal style is a no-go because that’s too embarrassing for a subway ride, and Ryuji isn’t sure he has the upper muscles for that. Firemen carry just seems too extra; people might get the wrong impression of the situation. So, he settles on piggyback. He lifted Akira’s arms, trying to pull him into a sitting position so he could figure out how to lift the other onto his back. It’s hard when Akira is entirely limp like a noodle. Ryuji grunted at Akechi, who is closest. “Uh, help?”

“Why, you are doing such a fantastic job.” Akechi mocked, amusement in his eyes as he watched the scene.

“Akechi, can you stop being an ass for once?” Ryuji grumbled, trying to maneuver Akira, but it isn’t going well, Akira’s lanky limbs going where they please with no guidance. And Ryuji felt bad when Akira almost slumps over.

“Yeah, aren’t you like in love with Akira or something?” Futaba wondered, a toothy grin as she watched the exchange. “Wouldn’t you want to help him? You seem more like the protective type, like ‘Oh how dare they touch him, he’s mine’ sort of vibe. Feral, even if you’re fighting style alludes to anything. You are really killing my headcanons here. I’ve pegged you all wrong. I thought you were an alpha.”

“Where in the world do you come up with these ridiculous notions?” Akechi scoffed, but regardless ends up quickly jumping in to help position Akira so Ryuji can pull him on his back. Ryuji wonders if it was because he didn’t want the conversation to continue. But it’s the Phantom Thieves, so of course, they continue. They never overlook the opportunity to tease Akechi.

“I was under the impression you were a couple.” Yusuke hummed and tilted his head with confusion, “Was I wrong?”

“That’s—”

“I mean, you guys are constantly flirting, even during battle.” Ann pointed out, adding in her two cents, and added, “And when you two play chess? Oh, man. The sexual tension in the room. I didn’t even realize chess could initiate that. What is so sexy about chess? You are just moving pieces around…Is it like a kink? Do you do things with those pieces? Oh god, I’ve touched those pieces….”

“I don’t think you understand what the definition of flirting or sexual tension is as—”

“I think she’s quite well aware as well of the rest of us.” Makoto chuckled, a knowing look in her eyes.

As the banter against Akechi continues, Ryuji slowly gets himself standing up with Akira hanging on his back, his arms loosely falling over Ryuji’s neck. Ryuji readjusted him and decided that tomorrow, when Akira wakes up, Ryuji will treat him to a beef bowl or three. Akira is lighter than he imagined, especially with all the training he does. How the hell is he so light? It’s a little concerning. Doesn’t he eat? He makes curry for them like crazy; doesn’t he eat any of it himself? He certainly makes enough to have leftovers. He gives Yusuke like a weekly portion.

“You all are wasting time. The trains are going to stop running at this point.” Akechi growled, folding his arms, but Ryuji thinks he can see the faint blush in his cheeks. “Do you really want to walk home after this all?”  

“Alright. We’ll let it be…” Haru sighed with a nod as the Phantom Thieves begin their trek down the stairs to the train lines. But she added with a pleasant and unsettling smile, “For now.”

“Gee, thanks,” Akechi grunted dryly.

Ryuji’s phone starts vibrating in his pocket, but since he has his arms looped around Akira’s thighs, he can’t reach it. But it keeps going off, so he turns to Ann next to him, “Hey, can you grab that for me?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, pulling the phone out of his pocket and activating it before her lips curl into a smile, “Awwww, ducky? Your mom calls you ducky?”

“Hehe. Ducky.” Futaba sniggered behind him.

“Tease me all you want! I ain’t embarrassed over it!” Ryuji protested, readjusting Akira’s weight before they reach the station platform to wait for the trains. He can feel Akira’s even breaths against his ear.

“You’re no fun.” Ann pouted and rolled his eyes at him, “Your mom is wondering where you are so late. She’s telling you it’s past curfew. You have a curfew?”

“Shit, yeah, it is kind of late, isn’t it?” Ryuji sighed, he hadn’t meant to worry his mother, and he hadn’t meant to be out this late, but then he wonders, “Uh, so are we going to Leblanc from here?”

“Well, It’s not like Morgana can take him back. Or Sakura either…” Akechi sighed, and after a few moments of thought, he sighed once more, “But, seeing as I am the only one who lives alone, I suppose I’ll take him back and stay at Leblanc this evening just in case. Someone with opposable thumbs should be there.”

“Oh yeah, mhmm, and what do you need those opposable thumbs for, Akechi?” Morgana asked with a sly smile, completely sidestepping the fact Akechi had basically called him useless.

“Why are you all so insufferable?” Akechi growled, pinching the brink of his nose with his fingers, “Do any of you have a mature bone in your body? Are none of you even the slightest concern for the state your leader is in?”

“For a smart ace detective prince, you sure set yourself up for that.” Ryuji chuckled before addressing Ann again, “Ah, can you tell her I’ll be home in twenty?”

Ann nodded, her fingers flying across his screen before she chirped. “And send!”

Akechi is annoyed; not only did they not know why the metaverse had kicked them out in the middle of a fight, or at all, but the fact it had to coincidentally happen while Akira had been affected by an ailment was even more frustrating. He can’t believe the carelessness of their team not to stock any items to do anything about this. Then again, Akira was the one who was in charge of supplies and weaponry as he had all the connections. So, Akechi carefully crafted out his targeted speech about why ailments can affect their battle strategy and make sure to give Akira an earful when he woke up.

How Akira managed to be one of the most intelligent persons he knows with only one brain cell is beyond his scope of knowledge.

Said Akira Kusuru was still asleep on his shoulder as they wait for the train to pull into the Yongenjaya station. He’s gotten a few snickers from other train goers, and It only serves to further irritate him. No one would understand the context even if he explained. He is pretty sure people are taking pictures of them that will end up on his fan blogs. But that wouldn’t be anything new. It seemed his fans were just as devious as the Phantom Thieves in teasing him, even taking candid photos of Akechi and Akira in date-like settings.

Futaba is typing away on her phone on the other side of Akira, both of them making sure Akira looks like he is sitting up and only resting. Akira’s bag with Morgana in it is sitting on his lap.

“Shuake or Akeshu?” Futaba asked him another of her absurd questions that Akechi has literally no meaning or context for. Is that what she’s been thinking about for the last twenty minutes? Akechi was hoping she was trying to solve their problem with the Meta app. But of course, her mind was on another planet.

“If you are going to ask me a question, then form it into an actual query,” Akechi grumbled, folding his arms roughly, not even caring he accidentally shifted Akira closer to him in the act.

“You and Akira’s ship name. Would it be Shuake or Akeshu?” Futaba asked again, pushing up her glasses as she peered at him with curiosity.  

“Are you seriously asking about a couple’s name?” Akechi sighed, pinching the brink of his nose. He feels a tension headache coming on. Of course, Futaba would be contributing to his fan blogs. He wouldn’t be surprised if she ran one just to spite him; it would explain how there were so many personal photos he couldn’t imagine someone else could take. “Firstly, we are not a couple. Secondly, I think you fail to realize that -shu is not in Kurusu’s name at all. You are smart, Sakura; I know you can read.”

“Yeah but, the problem is your names are too similar. Akira and Akechi? I can’t really combine those well; Kirechi just does not work. Then I thought, Gora, Gorusu? Kuro? Kurechi? They simply didn’t work either; it didn’t roll off the tongue! And then I thought, if this were a JRPG, then Akira would be the main protagonist, right? Shujinkou! So, when it came to me! Shuake or Akeshu!” Futaba cackled victoriously as if she had just figured out the secrets of the universe before she asked again, “So I ask, Shuake or Akeshu?”

“That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of in my life. Did you really spend this entire train ride coming up with this ridiculous amalgamation? And is it really a couple's name if one of the couples is omitted?” Akechi scoffed at Futaba’s eccentricity, but he can begrudgingly admit that Akira would perhaps be seen as the main character, and the thought infuriates him to no end because that meant they all saw him as the love interest. Akechi isn’t there to simply be the protagonist's love interest. He has far more important things to do. He isn’t some damsel in distress; hell, if anyone was a damsel in distress right now, it’s Akira who is drooling on his jacket.

“Can’t you live a little, Akechi?” Futaba frowned, “Akira entertains my thoughts all the time, no matter what.”

“Kurusu likes you. I don’t.”

“Ok rude.” Futaba pouted, “Next time a shadow is coming at your throat, see if I hack the cognition to stop them. Or even better yet, I’ll tattle on you to Akira.”

Akechi sighed, “It sounds like a sneeze. So why would you choose either?”

“What if I mashed them up?” Futaba smiled brightly, “Shuakeshu! Or Akeshuake!”

“That’s even more of a sneeze! It makes absolutely no sense at all. You realize that, right? Such a bright young mind, you can achieve so much Sakura, and yet, you are wasting your time over a ship name that isn’t relevant.” Akechi muttered, folding his arms harder but making sure not to let Akira fall, “Don’t you have something better to do, like figure out why we were kicked out of the metaverse? I feel that should be the priority.”

“I don’t know; I think it sounds good.” Morgana piped up from where he is hiding in the bag next to Futaba; his voice got hopeful as he asked, “What would mine and Lady Ann’s be?”

“Morgann? Morgamaki?” Anngona?” Futaba frowned, her brow crinkling in contemplation. “Takagana?”

“Oh, would you look at that? We’ve arrived at Yonge Jaya. Thank God we can end this frivolous venture.” Akechi exhaled as the train came to a stop and the train conductor’s voice came over the speaker announcing they were in Yongen Jaya. He is quick to pull the slumbering Akira off his seat. Then, not wanting to deal with the mortification of trying to figure out how to carry Akira and being stuck on this goddamn train with the people on the other side of them, snickering, he simply hefts Akira into his arms and quickly departed. Morgana following closely on the walls of Yongen Jaya like the cat he claimed not to be and Futaba in tow, cooing with her phone pulled out.

“Oh my god! I retract what I said earlier; you are so bringing my headcanons to life! You really are an Alpha. Shuakeshu lives!!” Futaba cheered from behind him, “All my wildest fantasies are coming true; my Twitter is going to love this!”

“Are you sure the Phantom Thieves stole your heart because your inherent views on the world and the mutual business relationship between two people with the same power are severely distorted.” Akechi snapped at her, walking a little faster even if it jostled Akira more, in some sort of attempt to lose her so he can stop listening to the ridiculous things she says.

“Tsundere, check!” Futaba snickered, and Akechi can’t feel any more overjoyed at the sight of Leblanc’s door down the street. “Don’t mind me, Just making my way down my list~.”

“Sakura, would you kindly get the door then go home for the night,” Akechi told her, as he didn’t have any free hands to open it himself. “And perhaps do something in the realm of useful. Either go to bed or work on the problem at hand.”

“Dominance, check!”

“Futaba.”

“On it!” Futaba innocently winked at him, taking the key out of her pocket to unlock the door. Allowing all of them inside the dark café. Sojiro must have closed up since they had spent too much time in the metaverse. If Akira was awake, Akechi would surmise that he would get a tongue lashing about it, but Akechi feels like he might get it instead as a proxy.

Morgana hurried inside, jumping onto the counter by the yellow phone.

“Good night, Sakura. I do hope you have a wonderful evening.” Akechi addressed her with a sarcastic tone, hoping she would get the message instead of standing around in the doorway instead of leaving.

“I don’t know…is it really safe for you to stay with him tonight?” Futaba hummed nonchalantly as she tilted her head, “I mean….”

“You are pretty suspicious.” Morgana commented from the counter in a sly voice, “So quick to offer to stay with him tonight…I wonder what you have planned.”

“Do you honestly think I am going to ravage your leader in the middle of the night?” Akechi scoffed in disbelief, “Is that truly how little you think of me? That I have nothing better to do? Even I know the law and how NOT to overstep it.”

Futaba gave him an exasperated look before mentioning. “Yeah, uh hm, I mean you did try to murder him at one point….”

“Look how well that turned out,” Akechi grumbled, turning away from them so quickly; Akira’s limbs almost smack the chair. Good, Akira can suffer a bruise if Akechi has to suffer through this hounding, “Good night, Sakura! Rest assured, I have no intentions of doing anything but throwing him on the bed and leaving him there.”

“Kinky, check!” 

“GOOD NIGHT, FUTABA,” Akechi yelled back louder, stomping up the stairs to Akira’s attic without allowing her to say anything else. He’s already, unfortunately, fueled her ridiculous notions too much. He hoped she could at least focus on the Meta App problem instead of updating the stupid fan blog.

The bell to Leblanc’s front door rings, signaling that she had finally had enough. Thank the heavens. He is sure Morgana will come up and give his two cents as well. But the cat usually liked to take a walk before bed. So at least it was somewhat of a break.

Akechi doesn’t throw Akira onto the bed; it’s more akin to dropping him. Could he have done it more gently? Probably but, it wouldn’t make a difference. Akira is dead asleep anyway.

“Honestly, Kurusu.” Akechi sighed in frustration as he meticulously removed Akira’s shoes, removed his blazer, and threw the comforter in a halfhearted attempt to make him comfortable enough, “You and your teammates only share one brain cell. So what happens if you sell that too, huh?”

Akira doesn’t answer for obvious reasons. Akechi feels stupid, as if he is sharing that one brain cell too because talking to a sleeping person isn’t productive. So, he folded his arms as he comes up with a plan. He definitely isn’t sleeping with Akira in the bed. Morgana walking in would only further the ruthless teasing from the Phantom Thieves. Meaning that either left the option of either the very creaky, uncomfortable floor or the slightly less uncomfortable old futon adjacent to the wall.

Akechi sighed. Akira owed him for this.

At least one of them would sleep well tonight.

“Hey, you came back really late last night.” Sojiro scolded Futaba when she comes into Leblanc for breakfast the following day. Usually, she slept in, and she did stay up extra late to try and figure out their meta-app problem. But she made no headway. It seemed to be functional this morning, however, without her intervening. Futaba is exhausted though, she kept tossing and turning without being able to fall asleep. She slumped on the counter, waiting for Sojiro to feed her; instead, he gently whacked her head with the newspaper he was reading, “Do I need to give YOU of all people a curfew? You are never out that late.”

“Lost track of time, a lot happened. Akira got hit with a sleep ailment in the Metaverse, then the app crashed and ejected us back onto the Shibuya Square, but Akira was still under the sleep ailment, so Akechi had to lug him back to Leblanc since I couldn’t. And I tried to figure out why, but the metaverse app doesn’t exactly have coding that makes sense. So I was up most of the night trying to crack the impossible code,” Futaba explained before whining, “Please feed me!”

“Wait, wait, what?” Sojiro sputtered, seemingly confused by the whole story. “I vaguely remember you telling me about ailments…but they carry over to reality? I don’t remember you mentioning that.”

“Well, they shouldn’t, which is why I think it had to do with the app crashing. But I can’t figure out how the app crashed.” Futaba sighed, taking the cup of coffee that Sojiro slid over to her and taking a big gulp, allowing the caffeine to flood her veins, willing it to wake her up.

“Is my kid ok?” Sojiro asked, concerned.

“Hey, I’m your kid too! And I’m hungry!” Futaba whined again before adding to appease him, “I’m sure it’s worn off by now; Akira probably just got the longest sleep of his entire life. And that’s saying something for eight hours. I’ve slept longer than that. I wish I could sleep longer than that now.”

Sojiro sighed, walking back into the kitchen to serve up a dish of the curry simmering on the stove. Futaba can feel her mouth water when he opens the pot, and the savory aroma fills the café.

She hears someone shuffling down the stairs and hopes it’s Akira.

But instead, it’s just an exhausted Akechi who looked like he got as much sleep as she did if the bag underneath his eyes were any indication.

“Oh, it’s you.” Futaba sighed, disappointed, looking back to her coffee. “You look like shit.”

“I could say the same to you.” Akechi muttered back but sagged into the seat next to her at the counter regardless, “Did you make any progress with the App?”

“No,” Futaba shook her head, “Any progress with Akira? Did he wake up?”

“No,” Akechi answered back with an irritated frown.

“Akira doesn’t usually get up before twelve when he doesn’t have to.” Morgana piped up as he jumped onto the counter next to them both, beginning to groom himself, “I wouldn’t call in the calvary yet.”  

Sojiro, seemingly noticing Akechi’s presence, brings two plates of curry and sets them in front of both of them before giving them a pointed look, “All three of you are getting a lecture when he wakes up. Three teens shouldn’t be out that late even if it wasn’t a school night.”

“I’m an adult,” Akechi argued, but it’s quickly shot down.

“Eighteen.” Sojiro said, giving him no room to protest as he empathized the last syllable as he pointed at Akechi with squinted eyes, “Teen.”

“I think you are hardly in a position to tell me how to live my life, Sakura-san.” Akechi snapped but eagerly dug into the curry regardless. Just like a petulant teenager that Sojiro just called him, “I have done quite well and taken care of myself on my own.”

“Well, you are bound to be my son-in-law at some point, plus you spend more time here than your actual apartment. It gives me some adult rights over you.” Sojiro smirked at him, hands on hips. Futaba nearly snorted out her coffee at this.

“Where in the world does your family get these entirely unfounded notions?” Akechi sputtered, looking at Futaba with an incredulous look just as gratifying as the looks he gave her on the train. This might be her favorite pastime other than hacking. Ganging up on Akechi. She especially loves when Sojiro jumps in on it too.

“You and Akira are joined at the hip most days. And when you play chess? Listen, I’m older, and I know when a person is smitten. I used to be quite the field player back in my day.” Sojiro added, a nostalgic smile on his face, before he clarified, “Of the romantic field. Not chess. But, whatever you two are doing seems like a good mix.”

“Smitten? Your vocabulary is quite dated, Sakura-san.”

“’ Entirely unfounded notions?’ Pot calling kettle black. Akechi. Eat your breakfast.”

“He’s got you there, Akechi,” Morgana snickered. Akechi doesn’t respond, instead turns all his attention to eating the curry in front of him. Avoiding the topic thoroughly. Futaba had to snicker too.

Sojiro isn’t wrong. Futaba reflected as she too turns her attention towards breakfast. Akechi is here most of the days. He won’t admit it to them, but Futaba imagined his apartment is rather dull to hang around. And it's poorly designed. He had the bare minimum, and that was it. Even his furniture is only the furniture that came with the unit. Futaba can’t imagine living somewhere like that with no evidence of home life.

But she understood why Akechi was like that.

Akira had been trying to play interior designer, but Akechi shoots him down every time. It’s comical; Akechi whined about how Akira lives in an attic, therefore, giving him no room to stand on in the state of his own apartment. Futaba thinks Akira’s attic is far homier than Akechi’s apartment.

Which is why Akechi spends most of his time here. That and Akira is here. Maybe Akechi doesn’t need a place to be home, rather just a person.

Futaba thinks that is probably it as all the evidence backed that up.

“He’s not waking up.” Makoto bit her lip with concern as she looked over across the table at Akira’s bed. He hasn’t moved an inch from where Akechi had laid him last night. That in itself is concerning. She is feeling rather stupid at the moment for allowing Akira to sell all their items. She probably should have said something, but honestly, they hardly used the items as they were accustomed to taking down shadows before they can attack or afflict them with ailments.

She woke up this morning and went out to buy some back, so they have a stock of items now, but the fact that the ailment is not wearing off is a big concern. “It’s nearly three, and he has shown no signs of waking up. That’s not normal.”

All the Phantom Thieves gathered to see if Futaba had figured out the metaverse app problem, but she knows she wanted to make sure Akira was ok. None of them had ever gone through a prolonged ailment like this before. It’s untreated territory even for them. And by the look on the other’s faces, they care more about Akira’s state than why the app did what it did.

At least Akira looked peaceful as he slept away, completely unaware of what was going on. Still, it was on them now to try to break this sleeping spell.

“Water. Smelling salts. The whole works, and he sleeps through it.” Yusuke shakes his head in concern, arms folded against his chest, looking in the same direction Makoto was. “What do we do?”

“Why don’t we try going to the Metaverse and using one of the items meant for curing sleep?” Haru offered with the voice of reason, setting her tea down and turning to Makoto, “Mako-chan, didn’t you say you went out and bought items? That might be all it is.”

Makoto nodded, lifting up the bag and setting it on the table; it’s filled to the brim. “Yes, I wanted to be prepared, so I got a little bit of everything.”

“Sounds good.” Ryuji nodded, his leg bouncing up and down so hard it keeps hitting the table; there is a nervous sort of energy in him. He stood up, “Alright, let’s go.”

“Why don’t we just stay here and try?” Futaba wondered, looking up from where she is tapping away on her computer, “We can enter the metaverse here too. That way, we don’t have to try and move him. And we probably won’t have to worry too much about shadows.”

“Yeah, that seems smarter.” Ann agreed, twisting her ponytail. “But won’t we suck Sojiro in?”

“I told him to go buy groceries.” Futaba chuckled, shutting her computer, “That way, he won’t get sucked in when we initiate the app.”

“The app is working now…but did you find any problems, Futaba?” Yusuke wondered. Makoto has to wonder too. What had happened certainly couldn’t be called normal in any sense of the word.

“No, I didn’t see anything, but, you know, even though I’m a grade-A hacker, I honestly can’t make a whole lot of sense of its code. It is completely above my level; I’d have to sit down with it for a while. A long while.” Futaba shook her head in disappointment, pulling out her phone, “But, I don’t think we’ll have any problems for now? We won’t encounter shadows.”

“Well then, let’s go.” Akechi nodded, giving her the go-ahead to start the app, “We need to fix this as soon as possible, or we’ll have to take measures, so he won’t get dehydrated. Possibly contact Takemi for an IV insert if this lasts longer.”

Makoto understands what Akechi means, but she does hope it doesn’t come to that.

“Yeah, since this is a metaverse problem. It makes more sense we’d be able to solve it in the metaverse.” Morgana assured them.

Reality distorted around them, plunging them into the metaverse. The eerie red hue shrouds Akira’s room. Making everything seem more unsettling. All of them get up and surround Akira’s bed anxiously as Akechi takes the bag from Makoto swiftly.  

Akechi crushed the item over Akira, the usual method of using them, the green energy envelops Akira. It lit up the eerie red room, a clash of colors before it fades away.

And does absolutely nothing.

 Akira doesn’t wake up, doesn’t move, or do anything indicating the item had any effect.  

“Um. That should have done something, right?” Ann asked nervously to clarify after a few minutes of nothing happening. “Right? Was that the wrong item?”

“Uh, why don’t you try this one?” Makoto suggested nervously, handing Akechi a cure-all item that could be more potent. Akechi took it quickly and did the same exact thing. Same flash of light. Same green energy. And Akira still doesn’t move. His eyelids don’t even make a flutter. The only movement they can see was the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest when he breathed.

All the Phantom Thieves can do is stand there in utter confusion and concern. If an item didn’t work, how are they going to wake Akira up? What other option is there? It’s not as if any of them can learn a forgotten skill again, nor do they know IF they can learn a skill.  

“Maybe we really need to be in Mementos for them to work?” Futaba offered weakly, but it’s a stretch at best. It wasn’t as if they had a whole lot of options, though.

“Y-yeah.” She nodded, but she isn’t convinced.

Lugging Akira back to Mementos was even worse this time. Not because of the increased amount of stares they received and Not only because he was not conscious and would not wake up but because they don’t know if this would actually work. Why wouldn’t it work in the metaverse of Akira’s room? And if it didn’t, what would make Mementos different?

Akechi doesn’t like this at all.

He feels the frustration bubbling in his chest, and all he wants to do is go on a slaughtering shadow spree because he hates this feeling of uncertainty. It keeps growing by the second.

Akechi leaned the slumbering Akira on the wall next to the exit of mementos. He nearly slumped to the side before Akechi quickly reorganized him, so he won’t fall. The blue of the velvet room glows nearby; neither of the twin assistants is standing guard today. Akechi makes it a plan C to try and see if he can get an answer out of the cryptic master. After all, they should want to help their charge…hopefully.

“Alright, come on, Akira!” Ryuji begged, being the one to quickly crush an item over his head. The familiar green energy umbrellas him.

But much to their disappointment, again, nothing happens.

Akira is still dead asleep without a flutter of his eyelashes.

They are running out of options; Akechi knows this.

“I don’t understand…why isn’t this working?” Ryuji groaned in frustration before crouching down and shaking Akira’s shoulder, hoping to get a reaction, but of course, it wouldn’t.

“This is rather concerning….” Yusuke admitted, “A skill perhaps? Will that be more effective?”

“None of us have a skill that can help, though,” Morgana frowned, big blue eyes peering at Akira, “The only one who could have gotten a skill ironically is Akira.”

“So, what now?” Ann frowned.

Akechi sighed, reluctantly pulling away from the group and heading towards the blue door. He was the only other one who could see it after all. Possibly they could provide some insight.

“Akechi-san, are you going to talk with the velvet room residents?” Yusuke called out in confusion.

“For real, are they even going to help you?” Ryuji wondered, baffled, “I thought it was only the people who had a contract with them! You said you didn’t!”

“Well, it’s best we try. I would hope they’d want to help their guest.” Akechi told them, before stopping before the blue jail door and banging on it, “I request to speak with you!”

Nothing happens, though, much to Akechi’s frustration. He isn’t a guest of the velvet room, as Akira was. While he could see the door, most likely since he has a similar ability as Akira, he has never had more persona than Loki and Robin Hood. He couldn’t enter, or at least he couldn’t enter without Akira opening to door for him. Which Akira is unable to do at this moment.

Ann came up beside him with a frown on her face as she tried to help. But she can’t see the door, and as she tried to knock as well, her hand goes right through the door. She sighed, “I still have a hard time believing there is a door here. If I believe, will it show to us? Cognition?”

“I doubt it. It’s VIP only.” Akechi grumbled as he knocked again.

“What does it say if you can see it but not enter?” Ann wondered, turning to him with sly curious eyes.

“They are entitled elitist asses,” Akechi grunted in a sour voice.

“Hey! Just because you refuse to seek your true potential doesn’t mean we are the ones at fault!” Caroline protested, whacking the floor next to Akechi’s foot with her baton. Justine is sending him an equally stern look as she flipped through her notepad.

“I don’t need some pipsqueak short stacks to tell me how to wield my power. Or an unrealistic man with unrealistic proportions.” Akechi snapped back at them to where they have appeared next to the door in their usual spots; at least they had decided to come out. “However, we find ourselves in a situation with your charge that you should deal with.”

“Oh, the twins came out?” Ann wondered, unable to see the twins either, but takes a note from where Akechi is talking.

“The inmate?” Justine wondered before turning to the rest of the phantom thieves who are lingering uncertainly next to Akira.

“What did the idiot do now?” Caroline asked in exasperation as she stomped over to Akira. Akechi followed close behind, Ann shuffling after him. Well, Akechi hoped they would do something at least.

“Are they here?” Futaba wondered as Caroline completely sidestepped her since Futaba couldn’t see her. She continued begging, “tell them to show themselves! I want to see these cute twins! Akira said they were little jailers!”

“Yeah, they are checking him out now.” Akechi assured them, “However they probably won’t show themselves to you….”

“What’s the point?” Justine chuckled, coming up next to him, “It would serve no purpose than to distract us further from our duties. I see no gain in it. We are already being distracted as it is.”

“What duties are you performing when your charge is like this?” Akechi wondered, motioning to Akira, whom Caroline is jabbing in the side with her baton cautiously. It isn’t achieving anything. Is she really going to get to the route by doing that? “If anything, I say this takes precedence. What good is a guest if he can’t participate in the service!

“Caroline…” Justine called out, seemingly coming to an epiphany as she ignored Akechi in favor of doing her own observations.

“Oh, this is….” Caroline muttered, her eyes widening, almost in embarrassment as if she suddenly understood what was going on; she sputtered incoherently, “When master….”

“Yes. I believe so.” Justine nodded but didn’t give away any information in the slightest as she looked back to her notepad, a calculative look on her face as she is hopefully coming up with a suitable solution. Akechi always felt, despite her coldness, she was more intelligent than her sister.

“So, do they know what’s wrong?” Ryuji asked impatiently as he tapped his foot, looking to Akechi to be the translator. All the Phantom Thieves are looking at him for clarification. Akechi suddenly realized how Akira must feel when he is put on the spot for orders. Akira should be the one dealing with him, not him; that was their deal. Akechi was not the front runner of this operation, and he doesn’t want to be. Akira was much more fit to deal with the Phantom Thieves and their weird quirks.

“Caroline, Justine. How do we wake him up?” Akechi sternly asked them, turning to the twins and looking away from the seven pairs of inquisitive eyes.

“We do not know,” Justine told him simply as if she didn’t just reveal earlier that she must have some knowledge about what happened. The twins clearly aren’t telling what they know, but Akechi doesn’t really care as long as they fix the problem eventually.

“Well, then what use are you,” Akechi muttered, feeling the frustration sinking deeper into his bones as he folded his arms.

“Do they not know?” Haru asked quietly, a concerned look on her face. Akechi bit his lip. This is looking direr by the moment.

He doesn’t answer as he watched Caroline and Justine talk amongst themselves before turning back to Akechi with a decisive look.

“We’ll strike a deal with you.” Justine offered, dismissing her notepad only to summon a large book with the words ‘Le Grimoire’ engraved on the cover. She flipped it open, the book hovering just above her hand. “If you deal with this situation, we will grant you one of the inmate’s masks temporarily that could help. Do you accept the terms of our contract?”

Akechi blinked at this in surprise. They were actually going to give him one of Akira’s persona. He knew that Akira could fuse and summon persona. But can they actually just provide him with one? This entire time he could have been using Akira’s persona?

“You and the inmate not only share a similar ability,” Caroline told him with an impatient tone as she seemed to read the confusion on his face, “But the inmate shares an incredible bond with you, the closest our master has ever seen. It is because of that it’s possible. Just accept the deal!”

Akechi is thoroughly glad none of the Phantom Thieves can see or hear the twins right now. That was the fuel they did not need.

“What are they saying?” Morgana wondered impatiently, and they have all seen the apparent shock on his face. 

“They are going to give me one of his personas to see if it’ll help.” Akechi relied on the information, leaving out the other stuff that they have no business knowing.

“Wait, they can just do that?” Haru blinked, “How? Is it because you two have multiple personas?”

 “I thought you said you couldn’t negotiate or fuse persona.” Makoto wondered, tilting her head.

“I can’t. But it’s probably because I can carry multiple personas in a sense.” Akechi affirmed, conveniently leaving out the bond talk, he turned to the twins. “I accept your terms.”

Justine nodded, allowing the book to open to a specific page. “I can only bestow on you the personas the Inmate have fused with your arcana in mind. The justice arcana. Fortunate for you, he had fused one that has the ability you require. Melchizedek, come forth!”

The book unleashed a flurry of flames that form into one of Akira’s masks. It hovers above the book until Caroline gives it a big whack with her baton.

Shattering it.

The mask reforms, pieces stitch back together but only now; it’s not Akira’s but Akechi’s mask hovering above the book. Justine flung the mask at him using the book. It absorbs into his own mask, the power of the new persona washing over him.

And it’s such a weird feeling. One he was not expecting.

“A-Akechi? You good man?” Ryuji asked, but Akechi isn’t paying attention to him. But he is sure they can see the stunned look he hardly ever wears on his face.

The persona is his now, but it also just feels like Akira.

He can’t explain it. Akira always had a warmth to him. Different than the cold apartment he always went home to. There is a distinct difference between Akira and without him. But, this feels like a piece of him that Akechi doesn’t ever want to let go of. He doesn’t want to give this mask back to the twins.

“We’ll send the bill to the inmate once he is awake,” Justine told him simply as she shut the book and dismissed it. The book is then replaced with her notepad.

“Wait…what?” Akechi sputtered, bill? Akira had to pay for his persona? Why? What are these twins going to do with yen?? Is that why he always tried to grind as much money as he could?

“You better fix the inmate! Our master has plans for him!” Caroline told him angrily as if it were his fault, but before he can argue back that Akira was the one to get them into this mess, even if it was passively, the twins are walking back to the velvet room, “We must report to our master!”

“And they were gone….” Akechi muttered, turning his attention back to the Phantom Thieves, who looked like they’ve only seen one side of a conversation that wasn’t wrong to say.

“Well?!” Futaba asked him excitedly, “Did they give you one of Akira’s persona?!”

Akechi nodded, raising his hand to his mask and calling out Akira’s persona, “Melchizedek!”

The metal angel persona appears in the usual flurry of blue flames swirling around Akechi. He can feel Akira’s power coursing through him. Is this how it felt to have multiple personas? He had gotten so used to Robin Hood and Loki’s power that he hadn’t imagined he would feel different, but he does. He likes it.

“Woah! They really did give him one of Akira’s persona! I remember that one!” Ann gasped.

“Amarita drop!” Akechi commanded the persona, sending the healing ability towards Akira. The familiar green light surrounded him. Lighting up the dark walls of mementos for a good moment before fading away.

And yet again.

Absolutely nothing. Melchizedek faded away behind him.

“Are you shitting me?!” Ryuji protested, voicing the frustration they all felt as their options start getting less and less. “That didn’t work either! Really?!”

“What an absolute waste of thirty minutes.” Akechi snarled, looking at the Velvet Room door in frustration as he reiterates again, “A WASTE! This is why I don’t want anything to do with your lot!”

Of course, he gets absolutely no reply. He growled in frustration, whipping back to the group whose morale as dropped to almost nonexistence. “We need to figure this out. Right now.”  

None of them speak, instead of wearing varied looks of guilt and shame.

“Makoto.” Akechi turned to her since he had to think she could come up with something. She was always annoyingly suggesting ailments they could inflict on shadows. Surely she has some ideas.

Makoto sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear, “Well…we’ve tried ailment items both in the Metaverse of Akira’s room and Mementos. We’ve tried the healing spell. We tried just letting it wear off. I mean, we’ve tried almost everything but tracking down the original shadow that inflicted it.”

“Is that even possible?” Ann wondered with a frown.

“Mementos changes every time we come.” Morgana pointed out with exasperation, “The floors are always laid out differently, and I wouldn’t be able to tell if the shadows would be the same! That could take ages!”

“What about cognition?” Futaba piped up. A suggestion that Akechi can’t make heads or tails of. It was true Mementos ran on cognition. Yet, he can’t fathom how that would factor into their suggestions.

“What do you mean by that?” Yusuke asked her with a skeptical look on his face, “Are you suggesting if we believe Akira will wake up, then he will?”

Futaba shook her head, “No, I don’t think that would work since Mementos is societies palace. I mean something that Society would believe to wake a person up.”

“We’ve tried coffee….” Haru pointed out with uncertainty. “And tea…I’m not sure what else society could believe would wake a person?”

“True love’s kiss!” Futaba suggested, excitement in her voice that Akechi does not like at all. The suggestion itself is entirely outlandish. As was Futaba's usual brand of advice. 

“True love’s kiss?” Makoto reiterated, with the same skepticism that he was feeling.

Futaba nodded and added gleefully, “True love’s kiss from a prince!”

All the Phantom Thieves look his way.

“For real?” Ryuji muttered, but he looks like he is thoroughly entertaining the idea as he eyed Akechi down. Akechi needs to bite this in the bud, he knows where this is going, and he does not like it.

“True love’s kiss from a prince?” Akechi scoffed, folding his arms, looking away as everyone stared at him in his Robin Hood outfit. He feels a bit self-conscious; maybe he should just switch to his dark suit so they will stop staring at him, even if the other mask makes his visibility hard. “It’s ridiculous, we all know I am far from being a prince, and we should be serious about coming up with ways to wake him. We don’t have time to goof around. We need concrete options.” 

“I’m serious!” Futaba argued, “Hear me out, ok? If the metaverse runs on cognition, then why wouldn’t it work? I mean, even if it was a children’s movie, there is still some sort of an innate belief that a true love kiss from a prince can indeed wake someone up. There have been countless media produced from this concept, movies, books, games; I mean, it is a fairly overused trope, but that, in turn, could work to our advantage! People have cognition of you, your detective prince persona. Even if it is made up, people will innately believe it. Society wants to believe it, therefor the cognition should be strong enough that it could work!”

Akechi frowned, hating how he saw the complete logic in it, “So my chance of being able to wake him up with a kiss hinges on the possibility of enough people seeing Sleeping Beauty and believing that is a viable way of waking coma patients. Fantastic. Well done, Humanity.”

“Sleeping Beauty? Nah, no way. He’s definitely Snow White. I mean, come on, skin white as snow and hair black as ebony? Totally Akira. I mean, he doesn’t have lips as red as a rose, but his gloves are that color. His entire color scheme works better with Snow White.” Futaba disputed with the most serious tone she has ever taken; she argued with conviction, “Akira is not sleeping beauty! He is Snow White!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, yeah, he doesn’t seem like sleeping beauty! He totally is Snow White!” Ann agreed wholeheartedly, seemingly buying into what Futaba is saying. Yusuke nods in agreement, and Makoto has a skeptical face. 

“Are we really discussing this right now? What Destiny Princess Kurusu is? Have you all no sense of urgency? This isn’t a goddamn BuzzFeed quiz!” Akechi scoffed, unable to believe they would continue this frivolous conversation when they were supposed to come up with ideas on how to wake Akira the fuck up. 

“There isn’t anything to lose.” Yusuke pointed out to him, “After all, we’ve tried items. None of us have the skills to heal ailments; this is the only option at the moment other than tracking down the shadow in the endless labyrinth of Mementos. This may be a better option to explore before that.”

“My dignity,” Akechi muttered, shaking his head. 

“There isn’t anything to loose in trying.” Morgana iterated, ignoring Akechi’s mutter, “What’s the harm?” 

“I don’t like being pressured into this.”

“Look, Akechi, none of us like the fact Akira won’t wake up.” Ann sighed with frustration, putting her hands on her hips as she waggled her finger at him, “You especially even If you won’t outright say it. So just scoot on over there and wake him with true loves kiss, alright?” 

“You are assuming there is true love there,” Akechi grunted but regardless kneels with reluctance next to Akira, who is still slumped against Memento’s wall. Akechi can admit that he will agree with Ann because he doesn’t like the fact they can’t wake Akira up. Or not knowing if he will wake up ever again. 

A minor ailment in the metaverse has blown up into an issue that may never be fixable. 

Akechi can admit even he is getting very unsettled by all of it. He doesn’t like how they haven’t come up with an answer. 

“Are you serious?” Ryuji threw his hands up into the air with disbelief as he scoffed at Akechi, “Have you seen how he looks at you? Like you’ve hung the sun in his sky when you’ve quite literally tried to murder him!? Do you even know how you look at him?! The fuck do you mean no ‘true love.’ How are you so goddamn stupid for a detective?” 

“That’s—” Akechi sputtered, not expecting such a genuine sentiment from Ryuji of all people. He feels a little offended by Ryuji’s analysis but couldn’t form a response in time. 

“So, kiss the boy!” Futaba cheered.

“Quit it with the Destiny Movie references.” Akechi huffed and readied himself, focusing on Akira’s face. If this is what it was going to take…

At least Akira looked peaceful through all of this. His long eyelashes laid flat on his cheeks. His mouth is slightly open, deep breaths escaping every moment. 

Serene. 

Calm.

This wasn’t how he imagined this moment to be like. He hadn’t imagined the moment at all, as he had never anticipated falling for someone. Falling for someone is such a cliché way to put it. It is too much reminiscent of a destiny movie which is his least favorite type of movie. He supposed it would be more appropriate to say to gravitate towards someone. Or enjoy someone’s company. It’s not really falling; it was a slow thing like a chess game. It’s slow and meticulous. Strategic. Nothing like the movies show. After all, movies are only an hour long. Akechi feels like actually gravitating towards someone takes a lifetime. 

Though Akechi seemed to have mucked up his strategy because he had not meant to end up where he is. 

And he definitely didn’t imagine having to kiss someone in such a cliché way to wake them, especially someone Akechi would begrudgingly admit he has gravitated towards. 

“Can you like, cut the internal monologue a little shorter? You aren’t the only one worried about him. Just have it later.” Morgana muttered, kicking his shoe from behind.

“Yeah…I can’t do this,” Akechi grumbled, pulling away and pinching his nose. Is this really what It has come to? 

“Come on! You are Goro Akechi, charming detective prince during the day but badass shadow destroyer, Crow, during the night! You can handle any TV interview they throw at you; despite how cringe-worthy and embarrassing the questions are, with grace and composure, none of us could. You brought shadows to their knees with a swipe of your blade!” Futaba cheered, probably to hype him up. He groaned; this is even worse. 

“Is it the consent thing?” Ann wondered before admitting in a hesitant voice, “because uh, I suppose I could temporarily break friend code and show you texts from Akira definitely consenting to this…and maybe a bit more as well….”

“He was joking.” Akechi snapped back.

“Oh, trust me, he was not joking.” Ryuji chuckled dryly, his face heating up a little bit. This does pique Akechi’s curiosity a little bit. 

“Let’s lay off him a little bit; this would be their first kiss.” Makoto offered sympathetically, “Of course he would be nervous about it.”

“This does not count as a kiss.” Akechi corrected her firmly, “This is a stupid attempt to wake him up that you all suggested; this did not happen organically there; this cannot be counted as anything.”

“Oh yeah, ok if that’s how you want to see it. Kiss him already.” Morgana hurried him.

Akechi sighed with frustration and turned back to Akira. Akira is going to pay for all he is putting Akechi through. At least an entire month’s worth of curry. He is never going to hear the end of it. 

“I never thought Akechi would be the love-struck schoolgirl sort of type.” Futaba stage whispered behind his back to the other thieves. Finally, pushing Akechi over the edge.

Better to just rip the band-aid off.

He surged forward, smashing his lips against Akira’s. It’s hardly anything like he’d imagine a kiss. Can it really be considered a kiss if the other party isn’t involved? But he reluctantly prolonged it for a long enough period to be considered a ‘true love’s kiss from a prince’ before pulling back, giving them an angry look, “Happy?”

“Yeah, I don’t remember the true love kiss being that angry.” Futaba frowned in disappointment, “That wasn’t romantic at all.”

“Well, it didn’t work regardless.” Akechi huffed, looking back to Akira, who is still dead asleep, “I guess your theory about true love is wrong. I hope you are all happy with yourselves.”

“About the kiss, probably yes. About how you feel about Akira and how Akira feels about you? Ah, that’s up for debate. We all know how Akira feels.” Ann reassured him, “And we can make a pretty substantial guess about you, but if you want to confirm those claims….”

“So, our only option left is to track down the shadow that inflicted this ailment on him.” Akechi stood up and addressed them all with a serious tone. He does not want to go any further with the other conversation. This isn’t the time to whine about his ‘feelings.’ It’s not going to do anything. “Sakura, can you locate this shadow since you’ve encountered it before?”

“Well, I can try.” Futaba shrugged, pulling up her screens, “At the most, I can pin down similar shadows. So, it really might be a grind. But, if we had whittled down her hp before, then maybe we just need to look for a shadow with less hp than the rest….”

“Last time, Sakura said either Okumura or Kitagawa could take it out, so both of them need to be on the frontlines. Morgana will be too to offer support, and Takamaki is in charge of item and buff uses. If one of you gets inflicted with a sleep ailment. Use an item that is not up for debate.” Akechi directed them as he pulled Akira off the floor and into his arms once more. At least he is getting somewhat of a workout from lugging Akira around Shibuya. Even if he didn’t weigh as much as he might suggest.

“Wait, what are we going to do with Akira?” Yusuke wondered.

“You all are going to take care of these things, as this is on your heads. And I’m going to take him back to Leblanc.” Akechi scoffed before turning to Makoto, “Nijima, You’re in charge.”

“Got it.” Makoto nodded before biting her lip, “Take care of him….”

“Naturally.” Akechi laughed before exiting Mementos.

Akechi knows the task of finding a specific shadow in Mementos might just be like finding a needle in a haystack. Still, the Phantom Thieves have pulled off miracles before, and he can only begrudgingly hope they can do it again. If this doesn’t work, Akechi has no idea what they are going to do next. Maybe the twins have come up with something by now; surely, they know the state Akira is in.

He sighed, unable to pay attention to the novel he had left at Akira’s attic. It’s dull, and the storyline isn’t hooking him as it did before; he can’t help but look over the pages of the book at Akira on the bed.

Akira not teasing or flirting with him for this long is unsettling. Akechi doesn’t like it. He likes it even less than when Akira is constantly flirting with him. While only a few days ago, he had told Akira he was looking relatively haggard and should try to get more adequate rest.

This isn’t what Akechi meant by a long shot. Leave it to Akira to completely misconstrue the meaning of his words in such away.

“You really don’t do things half-assed, huh?” Akechi scoffed, shutting his book and set it back on the shelf of random trinkets that Akira claims are ‘interior design’ when they obviously don’t serve any functional purposes.

He hated waiting like this; the uncertainty of an outcome always made him angry. Maybe he should have gone with them. Someone had to stay with Akira, though, however this way, he won’t know if or when the Phantom Thieves take down that Shadow until Akira woke up. Maybe he should have thought this through more.

 He liked being in control. He liked knowing where pieces were being placed and seeing things come together as he imagines them too. He liked knowing what was going to happen.

Akira threw a wrench in this all. Akira was utterly different than him. He was a go with the flow, Mr. Spontaneity, and ‘let’s see what happens if I add this ingredient to Curry! Surely it can’t be that awful, right? It’ll be fine.’

Akechi hated but, but now he found himself scheduling for Akira’s spontaneity, working it into a very confusing schedule that somehow worked.

A mix of control and chaos.

Akechi can admit, Akira and he work great together. He doesn’t really know what true love is. He knows it’s not what the movie portrays. But he doesn’t want what he has with Akira to end, especially over a fucking ailment that wasn’t supposed to be this big of a deal.

He’s mentally going through his points for when this all blows over. They have to be more careful.

Then, he swore he saw Akira’s eyelids flutter. Akechi paid closer attention, but he can’t tell if it was a trick of the light. The trees have been shaking in the breeze outside.

“Akira?” He wondered, leaning closer slightly with hope.

“Ugh….” Akira mumbled, slowly blinking his eyes open and pulling himself up into a sitting position, rubbing at his face clumsily. Akechi can’t deny the relief he felt rushing through his veins at this moment and makes every effort to promptly conceal because it was silly to be so upset since Akira was only sleeping. The Phantom Thieves seemed to have done something right after all. Finally, Akira was awake. Relatively.

“Well, it seems sleeping beauty has awakened. How was your rest?” Akechi chuckled dryly, leaning forward, settling his elbows on the bed. Futaba may have said Akira was more like Snow White, but Sleeping Beauty worked so much better in this sense.

Akira turned and blinked at him sluggishly with half-lidded eyes that can’t seem to focus on anything before groaning groggily in slurred words, “Yeah…uh…um… what  fucking  century is it?”

“The 23rd,” Akechi quickly answered without hesitation and in a serious voice, “You’ve been asleep for quite some time. Cryogenics, of course. It was quite a costly procedure, so I will foot you the bill.”

“I’ll say….” Akira moaned, rubbing his face once more before promptly falling back into his sheets with a breathy sigh, head hitting the pillow with an audible thump. “Wake me up when it’s like the 24th century, or something…add it to my tab….”

“Have you really not had enough sleep?” Akechi asked incredulously.

“Too much…my mind feels like mush.” Akira mumbled honestly under his breath; Akechi has to strain his eyes just to hear him, “Like…like all my brain cells have been blended or something…a brain cell smoothie….”

“You would have to have had brain cells in the first place for them to be blended.” Akechi scoffed, “Selling all of our ailment relievers? Honestly, I have half a mind to take over the role of treasurer and stocker. What were you thinking? You honestly worried us all. One of us should have an ailment skill at all times, and we should have a sufficient stock of ailment relievers at all times. It’s a hindrance when we don’t. Clearly, waiting for ailments to wear off is no longer a viable option—Kurusu, are you listening to me?”

Akira doesn’t answer, his eyes falling again as he began to nod off, and his breath evening out again. But Akechi quickly shook him to get him to wake up. It seems to do the trick as he groaned in protest at the action, trying to swat Akechi’s hand away but fails miserably. His coordination is off.

“Kurusu. Wake up now.” Akechi sternly told him, leaning forward and pulling him up into a sitting position so he couldn’t go back to sleep. That would be too troublesome, and knowing Akira, it was very likely. It was hard for him to fall asleep, but it was hard for him to wake up when he did. This might be the most extreme case, though.

“Mhmm, ‘m awake, ‘Kechi….” Akira slurred unconvincingly as he started leaning to one side, as his eyelids fluttered, “’m totally ‘wake…yeah….”

“Sure you are. How about we get you a cup of coffee. Or twelve of them.” Akechi told him, starting to pull Akira out of bed, not giving him a choice in the matter. Akira is too sleepy to protest, easily being pulled into sitting on the edge of the bed; Akechi has to steady him, so he won’t pitch forward. “You could use some caffeination. Perhaps we can have Takemi inject it into your veins like you are always whining about. Though…rather, what you probably need is not coffee but water. You are likely dehydrated.”

“The fuck even happened?” Akira muttered drowsily, rubbing at his face once more, his body tilting into Akechi’s and his head finding its way onto Akechi’s shoulder.

Akechi ignored this in favor of scolding Akira, “The fairy shadow hit you with sleep ailment. Then we got booted out of the metaverse. But you still had the sleep ailment, and the rest of the team had to go track down that bitch and take her out to wake you. All because you decided, ‘yeah ok, let’s sell our items when we don’t even need the money.’”

“Oh…interesting…Hey…did you kiss me? Or did I just dream that?” Akira muttered, ruffling his extreme bed head, his forehead pinched as if he were trying to remember something. “I could have sworn…."

“Clearly, you dreamed it.” Akechi snorted, refusing to give Akira the truth. How did Akira know that anyways? He was supposed to be dead asleep. Of course, Akira would somewhat remember the one thing he wasn’t supposed to because it was Akira.

“Oh…nice dream then….” Akira mumbled, his voice trailing off. Akechi wanted to protest it was not. Akechi could have made the kiss so much better than he did. Akira doesn’t know what a ‘nice dream’ is objectively.

Akechi chose not to respond; instead started to pull Akira up into a standing position because letting him sit isn’t going to fully wake him up.

“Carry me; I’m tired,” Akira whined, slumping over on his feet and into Akechi’s chest, leaning most of his weight on the other. The warmth of Akira so close to him reminds him of the warmth of one of his masks he holds.

“What are you, a child?” Akechi scoffed at him but makes sure he doesn’t fall as he continued to chide him, “You are old enough to walk on your own; just because you are half asleep doesn’t mean you don’t bear the responsibility of walking on your own. I’ve already carried you enough these past few days. You owe me.”

Akira blinked in confusion with half-lidded eyes as he looked at him, “Wait…what?”

“I had to carry your ass to and from mementos twice, not to mention when Ryuji had to carry your ass the first time,” Akechi explained as if he was explaining it to a child.

“Then…why won’t you carry me now?” Akira protested, “I don’t see the problem if you’ve already done it. What’s one more time?”

“Have Sakamoto carry you if you are so insistent.” Akechi huffed, slowly leading the clearly ‘delirious’ Akira towards the stairs because clearly, the dehydration is messing with his minimal brain cells to be so caught up on this one thing.

“Oh, I’ll have him do it too because I am very sad that I missed out on that. He is the Chariot Arcana, and he should be living up to that name more often.”

“And I am Justice, and my justice is watching you fall flat on your face down these stairs.” Akechi snorted.

“Yeah…you are…Wait….” Akira hummed, distracted by something, his face scrunching up with confusion as if he is trying to decipher something. Or using his third eye. Though It’s rare Akira looked so caught off guard, but before Akechi can ask, Akira turned back to him in disbelief and a bit of offense that Akechi reveled in, “Excuse me, Is that one of MY personas?”

Akechi can’t help but smirk, “You snooze, you lose. The twins will send you their bill, apparently.”