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Akira hadn't thought seeing him in person would affect him as much as it does. After all, he's had two months to mentally prepare himself for this moment.

And yet, the sight of Goro Akechi, alive and in the flesh, perfectly put-together and looking like he was made to sit under the studio lighting, makes him feel... some kind of way. Unsettled, for sure, knowing what he knows now. Then again, there's a part of him that hasn't stopped feeling unsettled since he first (well, perhaps first isn't accurate) jolted awake to find himself on the train to Yongen-Jaya again. In one piece. Not bleeding out on the ground with a megalomaniacal pseudo-god bearing down on him. And, most importantly, as the only one with any recollection of all they'd been through.

It doesn't take Akira long to come to the most logical conclusion: That somewhere along the line, he screwed up. Somehow, it hadn't been enough, and now he has an opportunity to fix it—which would be a lot easier if he were to have some notion of what, specifically, he needs to fix, or even if this is a one-time deal.

At first, he tries copying his previous motions as closely as possible. People always talk about their regrets like they would change them in a heartbeat, given the chance, but the thought of altering the timeline as he knows it is overwhelming. The more Akira steps away from his previous path, the less accurate his existing knowledge may become, the bigger the chance that he may miss something important from the first time around.

That reasoning goes out the window pretty quickly. Akira finds that he can't watch Shiho Suzui jump off that building again, can't go through hearing that agony in Ann's voice a second time when he can so easily prevent it. So he stops her. It's what the Phantom Thieves would do. And things change... but not in a way that affects the flow of events in any profound way. Ann still stumbles after them into the Metaverse and finds the conviction to awaken her persona, somehow. He's not sure how it works out, but it does. What Akira does know is that fate is what you make of it. If he believes in his teammates, they'll end up where they need to be.

But for all of that, he still wavers as they're leaving the recording area. Up until now, the decisions to change things have been easy. Akechi, on the other hand... where to start? Is it even salvageable? Akira's not certain, but when he thinks of their last meeting in Shido's palace, Akechi's remark about the possibility of them meeting a few years earlier, the sounds of gunshots echoing from the other side of the bulkhead—he can't not try. It's not years, but maybe this handful of months will be enough.

Akira lets Ann go ahead with a nod, sliding his hands into his pockets as he tries to maintain his usual casual demeanor. Any moment now...

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When he peers at the screen, Akira isn't at all surprised to find the evidence that Shido has been trying to get in touch with Akechi. From the conversations he listened in on during Sae's Palace, he has a pretty good idea of how Shido speaks to his subordinates. There's no way he's taking the silence well right now.

It’s kind of funny, actually, but Akira manages to temper his amusement down to a glint in his eyes. Shido is still dangerous.

But only for one more night. By tomorrow evening, this part will all be behind them. "How are you feeling?" he asks, crossing his arms over his knees. This time, stealing Shido's heart feels even more significant—they'll be releasing Akechi from the last of his control, from years of being under his influence. Akira can't imagine what kind of emotions he must be experiencing right now.

The question isn't jarring or unexpected, but Akechi is silent for a long moment before responding. Even though it's something he's considered prior to this coming up with an actual answer is pretty tricky.

"Strange," is what he eventually replies with. "I always knew it would be ending soon, but not this soon - and not under these circumstances." He definitely didn't think he'd be spending the final night of their plan laying low in a manga cafe with a guy he has some extremely complicated feelings for. "I thought I would be excited or uneasy, but instead I'm just calm."

That's relatable. If anything stands out to Akira right now, it's how incredibly strange their current situation is. He thinks he might have more nerves about being in such close quarters with Akechi for the night than about going after Shido tomorrow. At least with the latter, he has no doubt about their success. The former... is still uncharted territory.

"I thought I would be more worked up too. So that's good at least." Being crammed into a space like this would probably only magnify any feelings of unease.

Akira's tone takes on a humorous edge as he continues, "Well, it looks like we're getting an early start on our 'normal lives.' Want me to go grab you some manga?"

Akechi would agree with that much. Right now, the small space feels more cozy than stiffing, but he's sure it he were more nervous it would be unbearable. Fortunately, the prospect of spending time with Akira is holding his attention more than the prospect of facing down Shido tomorrow. But that's an incredibly silly thing to prioritize over the biggest job any of them have ever undertaken, so Akechi silently nudges the thought aside.

"You wouldn't rather watch detective dramas all night?" It's easy to meet humor with humor, even if Akechi thinks he'd be perfectly happy with that. Video games would also be fun, but in the end... "I suppose it wouldn't make much sense to come to a manga cafe and not read manga."

"With you spoiling all of the plot twists?" Akira fires back, recalling Akechi's past comment.

Really, he should've thought to pack something to keep them entertained, but the plan to come here was rather last minute. If the chess board fit in his bag, Akira would've dumped the whole thing in there—but alas, it wouldn't have, and especially not after Makoto reminded him that he should bring along his textbooks. He may not be able to attend school while he's 'dead,' but that's not going to excuse him from knowing the material once exams roll around.

He's a little surprised that Akechi agrees to the joking suggestion. A smile unfurls, Akira leaning forward a bit. "Alright. Anything in particular you're interested in?" There's kind of a lot, and while he has some idea of Akechi's tastes, a little bit of guidance still wouldn't hurt.

"That's the problem with being a genius." He never gets to have fun with mysteries anymore, except that the thrill of being right makes ruining the surprise worth it.

Akechi catches himself wondering if they might not have board games, too, but he stops short of actually asking Akira to look for one. He's not sure he has the attention span for something like that, which makes answering Akira's next question a little easier.

"I'm not picky about the genre, but something simple." He just wants something easy to pick up and easy to set down, he thinks. "Though if we spend too much time reading I'll get in trouble with Niijima-san for not making you study." Akechi should probably study himself, but he did well on the mock exams and doubts he'd retain much right now even if he tried right now, anyway.

"Watch out," Akira warns as he pushes himself up, "she might get you to tutor me to make up for it. Maybe even all of us," he adds, comically sinister. Akira himself has no trouble retaining the necessary information; he's top of his class for a reason. Some of his friends, on the other hand... There's definite humor in imagining Akechi trying to contend with Ryuji's seemingly permanent mental block towards studying.

Now that he has a task to complete, Akira slips out of their cubicle and heads for the shelves of manga. He can't help but wish that he could peruse them with Akechi, but it's much safer and sensible for him to stay tucked out of sight as much as possible. It'll just have to go on the list of things to do once they're past all of this—a list Akira didn't quite realize he's been forming until now. Huh.

It takes a solid ten or so minutes (although it doesn't feel nearly so long for Akira as he gets swallowed up by the selection), but he eventually returns with a few volumes in hand. A couple are for Akechi—a short thriller series that Akira isn't familiar with but seemed intriguing enough from the summary on the back cover—and he passes them over before returning to his previous spot. "It seemed like something you might be interested in."

Tutoring Akira doesn't sound like a bad time, but all of them? Akechi actually looks worried. Ryuji and Ann are both bound to be a pain, especially Ryuji. Then again, if he could trick Ryuji into carting around all his winnings in Sae's Palace then surely he can trick him into learning something.

The ten minutes Akira is away pass quickly for Akechi, too. He listens to Shido's voicemail several times over, making sure he has it memorized and taking a few notes on its contents before he finally deletes it. By the time Akira returns he's gotten caught up in reviewing and writing down a few other notes in his journal, though he's easily pulled out of it when Akira returns.

"Welcome back." It's a quick, simple not-joke before he takes the offered volumes. He gives them a quick glance, then nods at Akira's assumption. "Probably." He takes a mental note of the title, but that's not the most immediately interesting thing to him right now. "What did you get?"

His eyes flicker over Akechi's journal as he passes over the books. Akira is curious, but so is Akechi, who manages to get out his question before he can think to ask about the contents of the notes.

Akira glances down at the volume in his own hands before holding it up for Akechi to see. "A sports manga I haven't kept up with in a while," he explains, tucking the book back into his lap after. He's not the type to be particular about genres either, so long as the story is interesting, but something mundane seemed about right today. There isn't much motivation to read about drama and heroics when he has more than enough of that in his life at the moment.

If Akechi catches Akira looking towards his notebook (he doesn't) thne he gives no indication of it. It's not like he has much in heard Akira doesn't already know about.

He's a little surprised when Akira holds up something as mundane as a sports manga, but after a moment the reasoning clicks.

"Something mundane must be a nice break." Akechi can't imagine much in the way of fictional excitement could compare to being an actual, real-life phantom thief. Then again, what does that say about Akechi and his persistent fondness for mystery novels? He'll ignore that thought and focus on the subject of sports for now. "You aren't in any clubs, are you?" He can't imagine he is. Not with his record and how dramatically the situation with Shujin's volleyball club played out.

Akira shakes his head, and when he elaborates, he doesn't sound particularly bothered by the reason. "When I first came to Shujin, most of the other students didn't want anything to do with me. Joining a club would've been difficult…" And now he's glad that he didn't. Turns out Phantom Thievery and everything that comes with it takes up a large portion of his free time. Akira shrugs, adding, "I ended up taking on some part-time jobs instead." They probably did as much for building character as a school club would have, plus the scheduling is a lot more flexible.

He's curious, though—Akechi's school life isn't something he knows much about. Akira can't quite see him being able to balance a club on top of everything either, but it wouldn't be the most impressive thing he's done if the assumption is false. "Are you in any?"

Well that's depressing - or it would be, if it seemed to bother Akira at all. Akechi isn't surprised that it doesn't. Considering the amount of time he's spent in the Metaverse Akechi can't imagine he has time for much else - or need for additional friends.

"I'm not." Not that Akechi has time, either. "I started working during my first year of high school, so between that and maintaining my grades I didn't think there was any time for a club." So at least they have favoring work over school clubs in common, too. He doesn't add that he hadn't joined a club in middle school, though. Admitting that he'd never bothered because of the high odds of unexpectedly being moved to another foster home too far away from his current school would bring down the mood considerably. "Though if I were to join one, I think I might choose the broadcasting club."

As expected. He's sure, however, that unlike himself, that by now Akechi has no shortage of invitations to join. Having someone so well-known would be a boon to any club.

The hypothetical choice isn't much of a surprise, either. But as with all things related to Akechi, Akira wants to dig in deeper and find out more. He's yet to come out of one of these conversations feeling like he had his fill. "Do you like being on TV that much? Or are you just familiar with it from experience?" he asks, curiosity plain. It's all too easy to imagine, but the thought does bring a spark of amusement to his eyes. "You'd have to let someone else handle the interviews, though. I think you would grab all of the attention from the other person."

"Is it that obvious?" Akechi says it like a joke, but he's sure it's more than just a lucky guess. Even if he hasn't spelled it out so plainly to Akira as he had 'last time', Akechi has still been open about how important his image is to him. He's sure Akira has realized his multiple television appearances are just part of that.

Still, it's nice to know that Akira's assumption about his reasoning isn't completely on point.

"It's partially familiarity, but I'm actually curious about the rest of the process." He sets his stack of manga aside as he explains, already more invested in this particular conversation. "I know how to work with broadcasting crews when I'm the one being interviewed, but I think hands on experience with the day-to-day work that goes on behind the scenes would be a valuable experience." As for Akira's next comment... "So that might stop me from stealing the spotlight - at least for a little while."

Without quite realizing it, Akira has already forgotten about his book as well, attention snapped up by the exchange. Well, they have plenty of time to pass here. He just thinks he might be okay with it if the entire time is spent talking like this.

"You should try it. I held a wire once, it was pretty fun," Akira comments jokingly. Come to think of it, that was the school trip where he first met Akechi. It feels so long ago now that he blurted out an invitation to Leblanc. "Really though, you should join if there's one at your university."

The reference to holding a wire gets a puzzled look from Akechi; it takes him a moment to remember that they'd first met while Shujin was on some sort of school trip. Once he does remember, he grins.

"Were they making you earn your seat?" Probably not; he figures they just had him pegged as easy labor. As for his suggestion, it gets a pause out of him. In most cases he's brush the suggestion off, but now... "Maybe. It'll be fun if I have the time for it." Which might also sound like he's brushing him off, but he means it. There's no harm in checking it out. But as long as they're on the subject: "And you? Which club would interest you if you wanted to join one?"

"They were getting Ryuji to do it, so I helped out." Thinking back on it now, it really wasn't the most informative experience. His encounters with Akechi were really the only important takeaways there.

Akira ends up taking the response for what it is. While he may not be doing any more side work for Shido, it doesn't change the fact that Akechi is a busy person. No doubt that'll continue on into university.

Instead, he considers the question being posed. "Chess club?" he tries with a smile. Honestly, that wouldn't be so bad, though his preferred opponent will probably always be Akechi. But after another moment of pondering, Akira gives a deeper response. "Student council, maybe." It may not be the most orthodox choice for someone so willing to bend the rules and buck authority, but sometimes those things are necessary in order to prevent situations like the one with Kamoshida from happening. Having the leader role thrust upon him has taught Akira a thing or two about how he can use it to help others.

Ah, of course. Instantly Akechi imagines a scenario totally different from the one he first envisioned: Ryuji getting bossed into doing something, going along with it, and Akira tagging along to keep him company.

Akira's first response gets a smile from Akechi, with is replaced with a contemplative expression when he switches to his true answer.

"That's not something I would have guessed, but it suits you." Which feels like the silliest possible thing to say about the leader of a group like the Phantom Thieves, but Akechi means it. "You're adept at hearing others out, especially those who have been otherwise ignored." Student council work bears too many similarities for politics for Akechi to take interest, even though he doesn't think of it as a bias, but he can see someone like Akira managing it.

He's quietly glad that Akechi finds some logic in it. A smile flits across Akira's lips as he nods. "Especially with Makoto on the way out… Although I'm not sure they'll take a student with a criminal record," he adds, a bit more subdued, when the thought occurs to him.

There's always the chance that his name will be cleared after Shido confesses, but Akira isn't about to count his chickens before they hatch. His situation is probably just a tiny drop in the ocean of Shido's wrongdoings, many far worse than his false charge. Who knows if it'll even come up before he's put away for more serious crimes—if the case is even accepted at all. That was in limbo right up until the end last time.

And then there's the matter of if he'll even still be at Shujin after his probation ends. Akira wants to believe that he will be, that he can stay in Tokyo indefinitely, but if his parents call him home… It's a thought that actually makes uneasiness creep up on him, so he sets it aside for now.

Akechi's thoughts follow a similar path. Akira may have a criminal record now, but it's one of several things that can be set straight if Shido confesses - and then he realizes that even if Shido does confess, clearing the record of one high school student will seem paltry compared to everything else.

Akechi's already thinking of ways things can be pushed their favor, but the possibility of Akira's record remaining permanently stained is a little depressing - not to mention something that can be easily discussed where they might be overheard. So he sets the thought aside as well.

"It's a shame all of your practical experience can't be added to your resume." He'll go with that instead. It's adjacent to the subject without being completely zeroed in on it. "That's not a skill set most people can claim."

"That's true, but…" Akira can't help the laugh that slips out. "I think some of it might make me look even worse." He doesn't need to elaborate, not when Akechi surely knows, and especially not when the sound of their conversation can easily carry. Leadership experience is impressive and all, but the vigilante justice, lockpicking, and extensive knowledge of hyper-realistic prop weapons, on the other hand… Yeah. Definitely not going to help his case.

He shakes his head. No point in getting caught up on that before he knows how things will turn out.

"I guess it'll have to be chess club," Akira sighs, his eyes crinkling at the corners despite his best efforts to keep a perfectly straight face. "If I hone my skills for a year, I might finally be able to beat you."

That's definitely a fair point, and one that Akechi won't argue with. The chess club makes for a more interesting subject anyway.

"Don't sell yourself short. It's not like I won without trying." Even with his relative inexperience Akira has good instincts. Certainly enough that taking him lightly would have been a one-way ticket to disaster. Granted, that doesn't just apply to chess when Akira is involved. "Though if you start practicing chess more often, maybe I should buy a game console for myself." It's a passing thought he'd had once, but now he's wondering if it might be necessary. He'd like to still be able to win at something.

Edited 2019-03-30 06:29 (UTC)

"I know. I don't think you're capable of not trying," he adds, because really, Akira isn't sure he's seen Akechi half-ass anything in the time he's known him.

Even video games, apparently, because while it sort of sounds like a joke, it also sort of doesn't. It's still a funny mental image, Akechi researching and practicing games with the same level of dedication he gives everything else.

"You should. It's actually good stress relief." Although… he recalls the interior of Akechi's apartment. "Well, you'd need a TV. But you're always welcome to practice on mine," Akira offers, and it's definitely just a coincidence that it would be another reason to spend time in each other's company. Most certainly.

That's certainly true. Akechi can't even make himself half-ass classes he doesn't care about and can easily pass, so not putting his all into a game with his friend (particularly when Akira is still the only one he thinks of that way) is out of the question.

Declining opportunity to practice at Akira's is also out of the question, and Akechi perks up when the offer is made.

"My funds are going to be a bit tight for a while." He still has more than enough to survive and a decent chunk saved up, but his 'fun' budget was more or less wiped out by his replacement phone purchase. "Though I might not have time until after my entrance exams are over."

The initial comment strikes him, though only because Akira isn't quite sure of the reasoning behind it. He wonders to himself if Shido paid Akechi for the work that he did. While it's not too far-fetched of an idea, he knows it would never be a motivating factor.

But Akechi keeps speaking, so he tucks the thought away for later.

"Ah, those are right around the corner…" Sitting a grueling entrance exam seems comparatively small when the task of saving Japan is looming before them, but it's still Akechi's future at stake. Of course he'd need to study. "It can be something to look forward to after."

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