Chapter Text
“Finally, we’re back!” Akira let out a long yawn as he dropped his bag onto his bed, rubbing his eyes free of exhaustion. The bag rustled around for a while until the zipper moved up, a black cat’s head popped out from the bag.
“Freedom!” The cat exclaimed as he jumped out of the bag, finding a comfortable spot to sit at the foot of the bed. He looked around, gathering his bearings after being trapped in the bag; a normal looking room with an old TV sat on an oak desk, along with a shelving unit with multiple items Akira had received from his friends. The futon the cat sat on was a twin sized; nothing too comfortable, but Akira found it easier to sleep on compared to others due to similarities with the futon he slept on during his stay at Leblanc.
“Sorry about that Morgana, they wouldn’t let pets into the stadium,” Akira rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face as he sat down next to the cat. We’re lucky they didn’t check my bag,” he added; there was security there due to the meet being a fairly large one, but security for unknown reasons just waved Akira in. Morgana simply shook his head, dismissing Akira’s apology; he was used to being stuck in the bag at this point.
“It’s alright; I’m just happy that I got the zipper open just a little so I could watch Sumire!” Morgana chatted excitedly. Akira grinned at his cat companion; they had just come back from watching Sumire’s, his girlfriend, performance at the regional meet. Akira’s grin became even larger as the image of Sumire standing on the podium popped into his mind, first place medal around her neck. “But man, for usually being so quiet, you sure can yell,” Morgana poked fun at the black haired teen, snapping him out of his thoughts. Akira looked over at the cat, his grin somehow getting even larger when he felt his phone within his pocket vibrate.
“Can you really blame me? Sumire’s performance was amazing today, and she got first place at the regional meet! How could I be quiet about that?” Akira countered, pulling out his phone to check who had messaged him. Seeing that it was from Sumire, Akira immediately went to his messaging app to read the message.
Senpai, I’m so glad you were able to make it today!
What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t come to see my girlfriend win the regional meet?
Having you(and Morgana-senpai) there gave me a huge confidence boost! I was able to give it my all because you were there, so thank you so much!
The pleasure is all mine(and Morgana’s).
So, how’s it feel?
It’s still not hitting me that I actually won and am going to Nationals, but remembering being on the podium helps reality set in.
Akira’s mouth curled up slightly into a smile; he knew what was coming next.
Speaking of which, did you really have to yell out my name during the award’s ceremony? I felt like my heart was going to pop from embarrassment…
His face turned into a full smirk; when Sumire stepped onto the podium to accept her first place medal, there was a brief loll in sound as the applause died down which Akira used to call out her name. He adores it whenever Sumire gets flustered, so when he saw her taking the podium he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
I was just talking about that with Morgana. Can you really blame me? You won the regional meet AND going to nationals next month, and you expect me to not do anything?
Also, everyone’s eyes were on me anyway.
That’s fair I guess. You really are brave, Akira-senpai. I could have never done something like that.
Says the one who performed in front of hundreds of people.
That’s different! I get so focused during my routine that I forget all eyes in the stadium are on me. Also, thinking about you helps calm me down.
Hm… I guess you’re right.
Akira let out a loud yawn as he stared at his phone, eyes wandering upwards; the date was December 17th. Letting out a long sigh, he fell down onto his bed as his phone plopped onto his chest. After the nonstop day he had, the looming feeling of dread in the back of his mind finally caught up with him. “What’s wrong, Akira?” Morgana asked concernedly, stretching out his legs as he moved towards the prone teen.
“I have exams coming up…” Akira moaned. He knew that he had good grades and the study schedule that Makoto helped him form while attending Shujin has helped him prepare for the exams, but it didn’t change the fact that he hated exams. Morgana’s face turned to one of pity before chuckling at his partners whining.
“Come on, Akira. I know you’re looking forward to winter break, so think of this as your last hurdle to get there!” The cat attempted to cheer up the black-haired teen. Akira let out another sigh as he felt his phone vibrate on his chest. He brought it back up to his face to see what Sumire texted him.
I wish we had more time to be together. The meet took longer than expected, so when it was all finished we only had around an hour to be with each other. It’s not fair...
Akira smirked at himself; he had been planning with Morgana for around a month to get a hotel room close to Shibuya for Winter break so he could be with his friends again. He hasn’t told anyone, not even Sojiro, because he wanted it to be a surprise for them. Just the thought of being around his friends for an extended period of time filled him with excitement, especially with Sumire. Akira smiled at the thought of the two walking around Shibuya on Christmas, going to get some food, then being in each other’s presence for the rest of the night. He shook his head free of those thoughts as he focused back on his phone; Winter break would come later.
I know how hard it is, I miss you a lot as well. I’ll be sure to visit soon, I promise.
That would be wonderful! Senpai, as long as you’re here with me, I feel like I can do anything!
Akira’s smile dropped slightly at the last part; ‘That was completely out of the blue…’ he thought before shaking his head again. ‘Oh well, it’s probably nothing to worry about.’
That should be my line, Sumi.
“Ahem…” Morgana coughed from the foot of the bed, causing Akira to look over his phone to see an annoyed look on the cat. He then checked the time on his phone; 11:15 pm.
Sorry Sumire, Morgana is giving me the stink eye right now. I gotta get to bed. Goodnight!
Goodnight Senpai. I love you!
I love you too Sumi
Turning off his phone, Akira pulled his covers over him, sleep claiming him instantly.
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“Ugh… it’s finally over…” Akira moaned as he put his bag onto his bed before sitting down next to it. Morgana’s head popped out with a meow, staring over at Akira with excitement. Akira barely noticed the excitement from the cat; over the past week he’s had terrible nightmares, and they continually ran through his head.
“So, Akira! Wanna finish packing now? We’re leaving tomorrow, right?” The cat pelted Akira with questions, jumping out of the bag. Akira closed his eyes; the stress from the nightmares along with Morgana’s excitement caused a splitting migraine in his mind. Morgana noticed and tilted his head, a slight amount of concern in his eyes. “What, are you that tired from your exams?” He asked, hoping that poking fun would lighten the mood. Akira sighed again, shaking his head.
“No… that’s not it…” he trailed off, mind beginning to race. ‘It’d be best if I told him,’ he thought, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves slightly as he waited for the migraine to die down. “I’ve been having nightmares for the past week,” Akira eventually let out, his head feeling marginally better. Morgana nodded; he remembered jolting awake due to Akira screaming out Sumire’s name the night before, but Akira just said that they would talk about it later. Apparently now was the time. “I know I’ve had some pretty rough nights since our fight with Maruki, but this past week was on a whole other level. I’ve been having nightmares about the past year; what if scenarios that would play in my mind if we failed certain missions…” Akira trailed off, his mind racing as he thought back to the nightmare he had last night. His body began to tremble slightly, horrific images flashing quickly through his mind.
“Hey, I’m here for you okay?” Morgana put a paw on Akira’s lap, looking up to see the fear in his former leader’s eyes. He could tell that the teen had been bottling this up for a while; during his exam today he had a distant look in his eyes, his hands shaking ever so slightly as he filled out his test. Akira slowly nodded his head towards Morgana, taking a deep, shaky breath before continuing.
“Last night was the worst one yet. It was just before you guys came in to save me and Akechi in Maruki’s palace, when Sumire had lost control of herself,” Akira stopped, feeling a tightness in his chest as he remembered the fear and desperation in her eyes. “But, instead of dodging her attacks and wearing her out, she… killed me. I was outside of my body, so I saw the immediate horror in her eyes.” Akira looked down at the ground as he recalled what happened next, where Maruki had Cendrillon cut down the rest of the thieves in front of Sumire, then brainwashing her into a perfect life as her sister. His body began to shake again, multiple emotions swirling around in his head; anger at Maruki, disappointment in his abilities, fear for Sumire who had worked so hard to live her life as herself.
“Akira…” Morgana stared down; he had never seen Akira like this before. He’d seen him pissed off, even tear up a few times, but never had he seen this level of anguish on his partner’s face. He looked back up, Akira not meeting his eyes. “Hey, you have to know those were just nightmares. The real Sumire is here in the real world we all fought so hard to live in,” Morgana assured Akira. Akira looked over at Morgana and stared for a second before nodding, giving a small smile to the cat as he wiped the tears forming in his eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Akira said as he slowly stood up from his bed, looking over at his phone. “Let’s stop with all this depressing stuff and finish packing, yeah?” Akira kept his smile on his face as he went over to his closet, picking out some more clothes to wear for the weekend. Morgana broke out into a smile as well as he jumped off the bed and headed for Akira’s bathroom where he kept all of his toiletries. After around thirty minutes of packing, the duo were all finished packing and headed towards the station.
The station wasn’t too far away from Akira’s parent’s house, so it barely took them any time. As he was walking, Akira noticed strange stares from people around him along with some seemingly going out of their way to avoid him. Akira frowned; it was a similar feeling when he walked around Shujin, but instead of fear causing them to avoid him the look in their eyes was akin to… reverence? Akira shook his head as he boarded the train to Shibuya.
“Finally, we can rest for a while!” Akira let out as he plopped down onto the seat with Morgana right next to him. He had paid the pet fare fee, so the cat was able to sit freely out of Akira’s bag. Morgana turned around in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position before curling up into a ball. Akira grinned at his companion, the cat’s eyes drooping from exhaustion.
“I’ll take you up on resting…” Morgana yawned, falling asleep nearly instantly. Akira’s grin at the black cat quickly turned to a confused look as he looked around the train car. “Huh?” Akira muttered under his breath; the train car was completely empty besides him and Morgana. Now that he thought about it more, everyone boarding the train did so on different cars. Akira shook his head as he took out his phone, eyes wandering up towards the time. It was December 23rd, 1:15 p.m.
“The 23rd, huh?” Akira muttered to himself, trying not to disturb the sleeping cat next to him. He shook his head, but the unwanted memory remained of the thieves fighting against Yaldabaoth. The fight was long and hard-fought, and Akira had awakened to Satanael at the end of the fight, supposedly ending the cruel game set in play by the false god. However, that wasn’t the case as Maruki gained the masses’ support indirectly from the thieves and continued the game into the next year.
Pinching his nose, Akira took a deep breath and cleared his mind. A loud snore came from beside him, causing him to look down to see Morgana sprawled on the seat next to him. He smirked at the cat before yawning as well. ‘I could use a nap myself…’ he thought, eyelids falling down. Within a minute Akira was soundly asleep.
Tri…ster
‘What was that?’ Akira shot awake, his eyes darting around frantically. He wasn’t in the train anymore and Morgana was nowhere to be seen; instead, he was in Leblanc, the place he called home last year during his time as “Joker”, his codename as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “Why am I back here?” Akira rose from the booth and felt soft fabric brush against his chest. He looked down at himself, and he noticed that he was garbed in a pure white robe with a magnificent gold and white suit underneath it.
‘What the hell?’ Akira grabbed his head; his body felt lethargic. ‘The last time this happened was on New Years, when I followed a blue butterf—’ Akira’s thoughts were cut short by the same blue butterfly floating in front of him, which meant one thing. ‘Shit, is this really happening now? Why?’ Akira’s internal questions were met with the gentle beating of the butterfly’s wings. As the butterfly flew up towards the attic, Akira decided it was best to follow it. As he scuffed his feet while moving towards the staircase leading up to his previous room, he heard the same voice from earlier, only louder and clear this time:
“Trickster”
Akira immediately knew whose voice that was, for only two beings called him that, and because it was a female’s voice, it had to be Lavenza. As Akira followed the blue butterfly, he took a look around the store; everything looked exactly the same. He continued to shuffle his feet as he began climbing the stairs, feeling an unease growing stronger within him. Just as he was about to reach the platform, Akira’s vision blacked out, with final words coming from Lavenza’s voice:
“Trickster, you… no, the world itself, is in danger yet again. The public is growing restless once more; be prepared and stay alert. Please, you must fight any strange desire if you wish to keep this world free from control.”
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Akira’s eyes shot open. Morgana, who was already awake, looked over up at him from the seat next to him.
“Hey, you okay? Nightmares again?” Morgana asked with concern in his eyes. Akira looked around at his surroundings, finding himself back in the train which confirmed to him that it was a dream. The warning from Lavenza still echoed in his mind, but he simply shook his head, figuring it best to not worry his cat companion at least for the time being.
“Okay, good. You seemed to be pretty distressed, so you had me worried there. Just let me know if something’s bothering you, okay?” his cat companion replied before staring at the phone in Akira’s hand. “By the way, your phone was buzzing while you were still asleep. Sounds like a lot of people want to talk to you.” Akira pulled up his phone to his face as Morgana curled back up, muttering “I’m gonna lay down for a little bit longer. Let me know if we’re doing anything today.”
Akira nodded as Morgana’s eyes closed. Before he looked at his message app he saw that the time was 3:25 pm; only around an hour left before they reached Tokyo. Akira tapped the messaging app, eyes widening at the amount of messages he got.
‘Six messages? Really?’ Akira thought to himself, getting an uneasy feeling in his gut. He shook his head, opening up the first one he saw; it was from Makoto.
Akira, how are you doing? I’ve been going through some issues recently pertaining to university, and, while trying to figure out what was happening, I realized it. I need you to help me. Without your incredible insight, I cannot move forward in life. I need your help to get through university. Please respond as soon as you can.
Akira started getting concerned. He knew Makoto, and knew that that wasn’t Makoto talking. He scrolled through the messages from his teammates, all of them acting… differently.
Yusuke:
Akira! I’ve had an epiphany! While my art has been phenomenal as of late, I have realized something missing within my soul, preventing my art from being elevated even further! It is you, Akira! My shining light in the darkness, please come back so that my mind can be at peace and I can achieve true beauty!
Ann:
Hey Akira, I just thought of something. I was talking with Shiho the other day about how my modelling is going, and she mentioned how strong I had gotten. It felt incredible, hearing that coming from her, but it only made me realize how much you helped me get to this point. As an eternal member of my fanclub, I demand you come to my next photoshoot!
Haru:
Leader! I was making some coffee with Boss last night for practice when my chest started to hurt. I… miss you dearly. Please, I need you back here to help me! I can’t make the best cup of coffee without you!
Futaba:
Akira! Master Futaba requires her special item! High school is proving to be too high levelled, so I demand you come back to Yongen immediately! I’ve talked it over with Sojiro and, as long as you’re okay with it, you can live in the attic again at Leblanc!
“Dammit Futaba…” Akira cursed under his breath; it feels like all his friends reverted back to how they were before they fought Maruki, only now more needy and pushy.
Akira sighed, noticing a notification that he received a message from Ryuji.
Yo Akira! How’re you doing man? Exams are all done (please don’t ask about them…), so I was wondering if you wanna hang out for a bit. I’m heading down to Tokyo right now for Winter break, so if you’re in the area give me a call!
Akira let out another sigh, this time in relief, but quickly frowned at his phone. Why was Ryuji the only one acting normally? He pushed those thoughts back as he looked at the final message that he had received was from Sumire; he felt a pit drop in his stomach as he read her message, which only said:
Please call me…
The uneasy feeling in his gut grew stronger; he knew just by that one text that she was going through a breakdown, which had only happened once before. He was lucky that he was there with her when it happened on the second to last day of golden week this year. She started crying, clutching at his clothes, sobbing as she begged him not to leave.
A lot of time had passed since then, and Akira knew how strong Sumire had become, so seeing this text filled him with dread. Looking around the empty train car to reassure him no one would eavesdrop, he went into his phone app, finding Sumire’s name on his phone and called her immediately. His phone barely rang until he heard her voice.
“Sen-Senpai?” Her voice sounded faint and timid, akin to when she became herself again after a year of being her dead sister Kasumi.
“Sumire, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Akira asked, voice full of concern.
“N…no, I’m not…” Sumire’s voice confirmed his suspicions, trailing off into silence. His chest tightened up; he could hear how pained her voice was and he despised hearing her like this.
“I’m here for you Sumi; you can tell me what’s going on,” Akira spoke softly, keeping his nerves out of his voice; he needed to be calm for her sake.
“I-I know I’m ju-just being selfish, b-bu-but I can’t live without you, Senpai,” Sumire continued, her words deepening his anxiety. “Ple-please move back here. I-I know this is pro-probably too big of a favor, but you are m-my light in this world. My tr-true love. My ki-kin-king,” Sumire finished. Akira sat completely still, stunned at the words that came from Sumire. A headache took form in the back of his head, but he ignored it as his mind raced as he tried to come up with a response. ‘Calm down,’ Akira thought, taking a deep breath as he forced his brain to slow down.
“Sumi, you are my world, my light. I love you more than anything else,” Akira reassured Sumire, speaking straight from his heart. “Any opportunity to be with you I will gladly take. However, we both have to continue moving forward with our lives, and our lives have us separated right now. I hope you can understand,” Akira finished.
“N-n-no! I-I can’t handle being away from you for even a second longer. I-if you won’t move back h-here, then I’ll move in with y-you.” Sumire stuttered. ‘Shit, she’s serious about this,’ Akira thought to himself. He had to act fast, because he could hear shuffling sounds through his phone. ‘Is she packing right now?’ Akira thought to himself, panic setting in.
“Hey, don’t say that. What about your parents? I couldn’t stand making them worry,” Akira spoke as calmly as he could, but the sound of Sumire shuffling around continued. Akira let out a sigh; ‘I need to tell her or this is going to only get worse,’ ran through Akira’s mind as he spoke back up. “Hey, I’m coming back for Winter Break, so there’s no need to come move in wit-” Akira got out before Sumire cut him off with a jubilant cry.
“Really?! Thank you so much Akira-senpai! I’ve already talked with Boss, and he said that he has a room already for you!” She happily exclaimed, the sounds of her packing stopping altogether.
Akira sat in silence, shocked; ‘Sumire also talked with Sojiro?!’ ran through his head, before returning his attention to Sumire.
“I’m so, so happy right now! Call me when you get here! I want to be by your side as soon as possible!” Sumire practically shouted in absolute glee, which only caused Akira’s sense of unease to grow.
“Sumire, wait!” Akira pleaded, but Sumire had already hung up. Akira let out a large groan, with Morgana starting to stir slightly from his nap.
‘Damn it, this is bad. What’s up with everyone? Everyone except Ryuji…That’s it!’ Akira, phone still in hand, found Ryuji’s name and called him.
“What’s up man?” Ryuji answered. The uneasy feeling in Akira’s chest died down a little bit at the sound of Ryuji’s voice.
“Hey, Sumire forced me to play my hand: I’m gonna be staying in Tokyo for Winter Break at Leblanc, so it’ll be easier for us to hang out,” Akira responded, testing to see how Ryuji would react.
“That’s awesome man! Like I said earlier, I’m gonna be in Tokyo for Winter Break, so call me whenever you want to chill. I’ll be staying in a hotel room for the week, which kinda blows ‘cause it's pretty far off from Shibuya…” Ryuji trailed off.
“You could always sleep on the couch upstairs,” Akira suggested. “I mean, Yusuke did it so it can’t be too bad.”
“Are you kidding? This is Yusuke we’re talking about, Akira. I feel like he would sleep on a bed of nails for ‘the sake of art’,” Ryuji mimicked Yusuke’s voice at the end, causing both of the teens to break into chuckles. Relief rushed over Akira: Ryuji was all good from what it seemed. He looked over at Morgana, who was curled up in his bag beside him; ‘So does the cat,’ he thought, before Ryuji broke him out of his thoughts. “So, was that all you wanted to talk about?” Ryuji asked.
Akira pondered for a second if he should tell him about the strange messages from the rest of the group along with the dream he just had. He inwardly sighed; it would be good to have the two caught up, but he still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. “There’s been something else on my mind, but I want to talk about it later today,” Akira explained. “I’m actually already on a train ride heading towards Shibuya right now, so I have around an hour until I get there. Wanna meet at Leblanc?”
“You’re that close? I’m actually already in my hotel room, so I’ll meet you and Morgana at around… 5:00? Does that work for you?” Ryuji questioned.
“Sounds good to me man,” Akira responded, nodding his head despite the fact Ryuji couldn’t see it.
“Alright, I’ll see you then Akira!” Ryuji exclaimed as he hung up, leaving Akira with his thoughts once again. ‘I have to figure out what’s going on,’ Akira’s mind raced as he stared at Morgana, who had since woken up and seemingly overheard Akira’s conversation.
“Are you meeting up with someone?” The cat yawned, stretching his front paws in front of him. Akira nodded, putting his phone back into his pocket.
“Yeah, we’re meeting up with Ryuji in around an hour. Apparently he’s also coming back for Winter break,” Akira said nonchalantly. “I have something to talk with him about.”
“That’s fine. I can leave you two b-” Morgana began before Akira cut him off.
“I also need you to be there as well,” Akira looked down at the surprised look on the cat, forcing a serious look into his eyes. Morgana looked confusedly at his companion for a few seconds before nodding; now clearly wasn’t the time to ask questions. “Alright; I should probably let Sojiro know we’re coming. Apparently both Sumire and Futaba asked for me to stay with him, so instead of going to the hotel we’re going straight there.”
Morgana’s face scrunched up in confusion; the two asked him that? He wanted to ask Akira so many questions, but Akira had already taken his phone back out of his pocket and called Sojiro.