Chapter Text
Robin Hood was, for all intents and purposes, perfect.
He was strong. He was beautiful. He was pristine in his angelic whites and gold — untouchable, and also completely and utterly inflexible.
Akechi slapped the flat of his sword into his Persona's waist. "Quit walking away from me."
Robin Hood, as usual, ignored him.
Akechi fumed uselessly at his Persona's side. They stood on a balcony in some inconsequential Palace or another, Robin Hood poised under a stage light, his cape billowing in a non-existent breeze. Shadows milled about down below, either oblivious to their presence or falling victim to their friendly image.
After two minutes of nothing, Akechi kicked his Persona in the shin. "I have homework to do. Can we please hurry this along?"
The only acknowledgment Robin Hood gave was a brief glance down at his owner, his lip curling almost imperceptibly, then returning to look out over the crowd of Shadows.
This was a bad day for this. Akechi had a headache, two late assignments, his piece of shit father breathing down his neck to hurry up and handle this target and he needed to play nice tomorrow morning for an interview. Robin Hood didn't care. Robin Hood was a hero. He wasn't bothered by such things.
Akechi took a deep breath, clasped his hands together and put on the nicest voice he could manage. "We have a job to do. Quickly, ideally. You have set the stage, and you look great. We can move on now."
There was too much irritation audible in his voice. Robin Hood remained where he was.
Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose under his mask. "Please. Can we not do this today?"
Still not good enough. Akechi grit his teeth and wondered why he bothered. For some small, pathetic reason he didn't want to acknowledge, he always started missions with Robin Hood. He invariably had to switch to Loki in the end and should just start with him, even if Loki's temper caused its own problems, but Akechi did the sensible thing less often that he would like to admit.
"Move."
Robin Hood didn't even look at him.
Throwing the only effective strategy to the wind, Akechi began his favorite exercise in futility: hitting him.
Akechi's pleasant facade shattered in a flurry of screamed obscenities and strikes. He hit his Persona until his arms ached and he breath came ragged, even using the edge of his sword in a desperate attempt to leave some kind of mark. No matter how hard Akechi hit him, this time or any of the dozens of times before, Robin Hood never once flinched. It was therapeutic, really. Robin Hood never fought back, never reacted, never held it against him. He just stood there and took it for however long Akechi needed to work through his feelings. Any other day, he would appreciate it.
But, today, Akechi just wanted him to cooperate. He groaned and braced his hands on his knees after he wore himself out, panting curses in his Persona's general direction while he recovered. He nearly convinced himself he felt better as he lifted his head to dismiss Robin Hood and bring his more useful Persona forward, but he stopped short when he heard growling behind him.
Akechi looked back, still doubled over. A Shadow stood in the entryway — a big, doggish thing with two heads. The sweat clinging to his back turned to ice. "Uh..."
He wasn't in fighting shape. The Shadow was. Akechi swallowed hard and shakily stood up. "Robin Hood, handle that."
He hated how small his voice sounded. He didn't have to look back to know his Persona was watching him coolly. The dog started to advance and Akechi took a step back, his legs shaking. "Robin Hood! Do something!"
He was doing it wrong. There was too much emotion in his voice, too much fear. He wasn't standing straight enough. His shoulder pauldron was off-center. He'd worked up a sweat, breathing hard, looking tired as well as feeling it.
Akechi glanced at Robin Hood's uncaring back, then at the advancing Shadow. "Goddammit Robin Hood."
Akechi bolted when the Shadow lunged, narrowly avoiding the jaws snapping shut where he stood not a moment prior. It overextended, careening into the balcony railing while Akechi fled the way it came, seething all the while. There was an air duct he passed earlier. If he could just reach it—
He barely heard the monster's claws ticking on the tile over his own labored breathing, but it got louder and louder with each passing second. He knew better than to expect Robin Hood to save him. Why would a hero break up a fight between monsters?
Akechi skidded to his knees — more like allowed his legs to give out — and crawled into the duct, but a sharp pain in his ankle jerked him back. He screamed and twisted in the narrow space, clutching his sword, and blindly stabbed it into the thing dragging him out.
A piercing yelp rang out. Akechi yanked his bitten foot back, then launched himself at the entrance in a fit of desperation. The Shadow was shaking one of its heads in pain. The other snarled at him.
"PISS OFF!" he roared, slashing wildly. Robin Hood had abandoned him, as he should, and he had no more reason to keep up appearances. His form was terrible and unpredictable as he caught the Shadow across the shoulder, then again across the neck. It turned to snap at him and only got a mouthful of his cape, wrenching him to the ground and giving him access to its underbelly. He screamed and stabbed upwards. The tip of his sword jarred on bone before scraping between the ribs.
The Shadow shrieked. Akechi matched its wailing and pushed up and into its heart with all his strength, the adrenaline surge allowing him to shove the Shadow up onto its hind legs, then over to collapse on its side. It melted into black ooze next to him without even a speck dripping onto his white suit.
That went better than expected. Akechi rolled onto his side and took a moment to catch his breath. His ankle throbbed, but he could still put weight on it. That's all he needed.
After a few minutes to recover, Akechi glanced up to see Robin Hood standing at the end of the hall. Supervising, maybe, or maybe waiting to finish the job. Akechi clucked his tongue and pushed himself to his feet, then limped closer to his Persona.
He felt better after his near-death experience. He usually did. Once he got close enough to be heard without raising his voice, Akechi adjusted his coat, laid a hand over his heart and bowed deeply. "Thank you for your patience, Robin Hood," he said in his politest voice. He straightened and looked his Persona in the eye with a warm smile. "Now, would you please assist me in exploring this Palace? We have a lot of ground to cover."
Robin Hood made a pointed glance at the blood seeping into Akechi's pant leg, his expression unreadable.
"Oh fuck this. Loki, come!"