Chapter Text
Chat: The Squad - Akira, Ryuji, Ann, and 6 others
[Akira - 7:30am] No school today.
[Akira - 7:30am] Meeting. Leblanc. ASAP.
[Sumire - 7:31am] Senpai? What’s going on?
[Futaba - 7:31am] too earlyyyyy
[Haru - 7:31am] Is everything okay?
[Futaba - 7:31am] what the heck, Kira
[Akira - 7:32am] This is important.
[Yusuke - 7:32am] Did Maruki contact you?
[Makoto - 7:32am] Akira, we can’t just ditch school.
[Futaba - 7:32am] you can if you’re not a coward
[Ryuji - 7:32am] Already on the way!
[Ann - 7:32am] Me too!
[Akira - 7:33am] Makoto, this is not a discussion. I’m pulling rank.
[Akira - 7:33am] As your leader: Meeting. Leblanc. NOW.
[Akira - 7:33am] I’ll explain when you all get here.
[Akira - 7:33am] Please
***
It was rare that Minato was the first one awake.
Both he and Ryoji could sleep like comatose rocks, but Ryoji was usually the one out of bed first, always filled with boundless energy once he’d actually woken up. But this morning, Minato rolled over to find him still asleep.
He got up, got dressed, and checked his phone, and Ryoji still hadn’t stirred, so he went downstairs to start breakfast. Eventually, his other half stumbled into the kitchen, and he called over his shoulder, “Morning, sleepy-head. Were you extra-tired or something?”
“I dunno.” Ryoji sounded groggy. “I feel weird.”
Minato turned around, brow furrowing. He did look a little paler than usual. “Are you getting sick?”
“...I don’t know,” Ryoji said, after a moment of trying to take stock of how he was feeling. “I just feel...bad. Generically bad. Nothing hurts. I don’t feel nauseous. I don’t have a headache, or feel dizzy, or lightheaded. It’s just...bad.”
“That can happen sometimes.” Minato went to get the eggs from the fridge, and spooned a portion of miso soup into a bowl for his fiancé. “Eat something, drink some juice, and see how you feel after. If you’re not running a fever, you might need to just take it easy today.”
Ryoji cracked a smile. “This is definitely the part that sucks the most about being human,” he quipped, and Minato laughed.
“Honestly, yeah.” He bustled around the kitchen, fixing up the rest of their meal. “Do you know if Ken is still in bed?”
“His door was closed when I came out,” Ryoji replied.
“‘Kay. I’ll leave some rice on the stove to keep warm for him. He’s on winter break; he’s earned the right to sleep ‘til noon if he wants.” Minato came over to sit across from Ryoji, and after most of breakfast was gone, asked, “Have you heard anything from Akechi-kun?”
Ryoji hesitated. “...no. And honestly, I’m getting kind of worried. Now that you’ve said that, I think I’m going to try to call him.” He took a bite of rice and then pulled his phone out of his pocket, searching for Goro’s number as he chewed. The phone beeped when he pushed the button to dial, but he listened for only a moment before setting it on the table. “It, um… It didn’t even ring. It just hung up immediately.”
Minato stared at the phone. “...it should have at least gone to voicemail,” he said. “That’s not right.”
“Do you think something is wrong?” Ryoji asked worriedly. “If something happened to his phone, he would have found a way to let us know, right?”
It was a tough call. They wanted to give Goro time, trust him to contact them, and trust him to come home when this was over. Maki had said that making sure he didn’t feel overly confined was important to his mental health. But there was also reason to worry, since something seemed to be going on.
“I’m going to call Hamuko and get her to check in with the Phantom Thieves,” Minato said at last. “If they’re in trouble, if something has happened to Goro, I want them to have backup.” He reached over, setting his hand over Ryoji’s. “Are you feeling any better?”
Ryoji nodded. “Not completely normal, though. I’ll be even better once we know Goro’s safe.”
“Well, you take it easy.” Minato got up. “I’ll get the dishes after I call Hamuko. Don’t you dare try to do them yourself.”
“But you cooked!” Ryoji whined. Minato bopped him gently on the head as he passed, and he flopped down on the tabletop. Being sick once in a while was a fair tradeoff for spending a human lifetime with his soulmate, but it was still miserable. Especially when he didn’t know what was actually causing it.
He was more worried about Goro, though. They’d only had him for less than a month, and Ryoji was already attached.
If someone had hurt his kid, they were going to be in for a nasty surprise.
***
“So are you going to school today, or what?” Sojiro asked, watching Akira suspiciously from behind the counter.
“No,” Akira said. He was fidgeting, shifting from foot to foot. “The others are coming.”
Sojiro clearly hadn’t been expecting the unfettered honesty and blatant disregard for his schoolwork. His guardian stood there for a second, recalibrating how this interaction was going, and finally said with forced casualness, “All right. I’m assuming you’re going to explain?”
“When they get here.” He’d woken up after a fitful sleep filled with dreams he couldn't remember save for an all-consuming feeling of camaraderie, going back and forth anxiously. He knew that hesitation was exactly what Maruki wanted from him. He knew what the right answer was. All he'd retained from his restless dreams was the knowledge that he had to talk to his friends. But the decision had torn at the lingering trauma of having Goro ripped away from him twice over already, and between compromise and anger, he’d chosen anger.
“...I suppose I’ll make sure there’s enough breakfast for everyone,” Sojiro sighed. As he headed back into the kitchen, he commented, “So, Akechi-kun went home last night?”
Akira stopped moving, fists clenching involuntarily. “I’ll… explain when they get here,” he repeated.
Fortunately, Sojiro didn’t ask anything else, cooking up a mild batch of curry. The Thieves began to trickle in one at a time, starting with Futaba. Rather than asking questions, each of them took a moment to make sure that Akira wasn’t hurt, and then found a seat.
Yusuke had to travel the furthest, and once he arrived and had gotten a plate, Akira said, “You know I wouldn’t have called a meeting like this if it wasn’t an emergency, but thank you for showing up anyway.”
“Something’s obviously wrong,” Ann said. She patted the booth seat beside her, urging Akira to come sit down. He eventually did, gripping his mug with white-knuckled fingers.
Sumire glanced around the cafe. “Wait, are we starting without Akechi-senpai?” she asked.
Akira bit his lip. “That’s why we’re here.”
“Akira…” Makoto murmured, suddenly understanding what was important enough to skip school for. “What happened?”
“Maruki came to talk last night. Goro was here with me, just in case,” Akira explained. “Maruki wanted to try to change my mind one last time. And he told me… He told me that my wish couldn’t be properly granted. So he’d done something temporary, until he had enough power to grant it for real.”
“Something temporary?” Haru asked.
“Wait, your wish? You had one, too?” Futaba asked.
Akira set his coffee down before his shaking hands could spill it. “The thing that would make me happiest was to be reunited with Goro.”
Futaba let out a screech. “Wait, wait, wait, are you saying that Goro was like—” she cut herself off before mentioning her mom in front of Sojiro, “—Haru’s dad?”
“Maruki made him disappear right in front of me.”
“That’s effed up,” Ryuji shouted. “What the hell is he thinking?”
“Where is the real Goro, then?” Yusuke asked.
Akira explained what Maruki had told him, about how the real Goro had apparently returned to Tokyo and ventured into the Palace on his own. About how even now, Goro was ‘sleeping’ in the Palace, whatever that meant. The Thieves looked horrified as the full implications sunk in, and even Sojiro’s eyes had gone wide.
“Hey, when you say ‘Maruki’, do you mean that counselor who showed up here over the summer?” he asked, incredulous. “He’s holding Akechi-kun hostage?”
“Right,” Akira said. “That’s why we don’t have time for school. We need as much time as possible to get in there, find Goro, and steal the Treasure.”
Ann threw an arm around him. “We’re behind you 100%, Akira!” she said furiously. “What a scummy thing to do. He knows how important Goro is to you and he’s still doing this.”
Makoto folded her arms. “We need to make sure we have enough supplies. I’m sure there will be new traps with the Palace on high alert.”
“I can go to Takemi,” Akira said. “We’ve got enough extra money for more medicine.”
“I’ll take Inari and go to the store,” Futaba said. “We can pick up snacks and stuff. Sojiro!”
Sojiro looked surprised to be addressed. “Yeah?”
“We’re gonna need a whole bunch of coffee, stat!”
“I can do that,” he said, already reaching for the beans. “I don’t know why that helps, but I’m not here to question metaverse logic.”
They spent the next few minutes taking inventory of their remaining supplies, making lists of what they needed, and dividing up the tasks among the Thieves. Sojiro started brewing a vast amount of coffee, and occasionally chimed in with advice for where to get snacks in bulk. They were getting ready to pack up and head out on their respective missions when the door chimed, and Sojiro sighed.
“Shoot. I forgot to flip the sign. Sorry, we’re closed today for a family thi—” But as he turned to face the person coming in, he stopped abruptly. “I believe I told you that you were banned.”
Hamuko held up her hands defensively. “I’m not here for coffee, if that changes anything?” she said sheepishly. “I’m here to help. Sounds like something is going on.”
“Help?” Sojiro asked. “Pretty sure Kirijo-san promised that Akechi-kun was going to be fine in Shadow Ops custody, and now he’s trapped in a Palace.”
“He’s what,” Hamuko cried.
Akira tilted his head. “Who is this?”
She jumped a little. “Oh... I guess we’ve never met in person,” she said, turning to Akira as she shook off her surprise. “I’m Aragaki Hamuko. I’m a member of the Shadow Operatives. I think you’re familiar with us?”
Akira fixed her with an unimpressed look. “Yeah, the people who showed up at the last second and then hauled off my boyfriend.”
Futaba raised her hand. “Oh, oh, she’s the one who was asking Mishima all those questions, too!”
“Why are you even here?” Makoto asked.
Hamuko sighed and slumped into one of the counter seats. “My brother’s name is Arisato Minato. He and his fiancé have been looking after Akechi-kun since Christmas.” As the Thieves started to protest, she said, louder, “I mean exactly what I said! He’s not in prison, he’s not being mistreated, they’re literally just taking care of him and giving him space to sort himself out. I’m pretty sure Ryoji was perpetually ten seconds from trying to adopt him until he left.”
“He left?” Sumire asked.
“Yeah.” Hamuko kicked her feet. “Minato called about two weeks ago and told me that Akechi-kun was in Tokyo and was going to try to rendezvous with you guys. He basically wanted me to stand by in case you all needed help. But there was never a call, and I was busy trying to deal with reality blipping around me, dead people being alive, and the constant feeling that something was poking at me.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why Minato and I are immune to what’s happening, but Minato called this morning and said he hadn’t heard from Akechi-kun. So here I am, finding out that the kid I’m looking for is trapped in meta-space.”
Akira hesitated, unsure how much they could trust her, and Futaba said, “Well, our working theory is that Maruki’s power can’t affect people who are ‘Wild Cards’. That’s Akira’s term, not mine.”
“It’s the Velvet Room’s term,” Akira grumbled. He raised an eyebrow at Hamuko. “You don’t look surprised, so I’m assuming you’re one, too. That’s something, I guess. But there’s a lot that’s been happening since New Years.”
They filled Hamuko in on Maruki’s actions and plan, watching with slight amusement as she looked more and more baffled the longer the explanation went on. When they were done, she said flatly, “I don’t know how he got that much power, but he needs to be stopped. Even my brother isn’t that powerful.”
“That’s what we were getting ready to do, when you walked in,” Akira said. “You can come with us as long as you don’t get in the way.”
Hamuko took being ordered around by a teenager without flinching. “We should call Yu. He can back us up, too.”
“No,” Akira said. “We’re not calling anyone else. I don’t trust the Shadow Operatives; the only reason I’m letting you come is because you’re already here.”
Hamuko looked over at Sojiro, who shrugged. “He’s the leader. When it comes to this stuff, I’m just support.”
“All right, fine.”
With a single Shadow Operative on board, they finished their plans, opting to meet at Odaiba Station once their errands were complete. As they all prepared to head out, Hamuko tapped Sumire on the shoulder. “Can I borrow you? I need to get to the Velvet Room.”
Sumire glanced at Haru and Ann. “I suppose all three of us don’t need to go to the pharmacy…”
“You can’t get in on your own?” Akira asked.
“There’s no door in reality right now, and I can’t access meta-space the way you guys do,” Hamuko said. “Look, if you don’t want to call Yu, at least let me do this. I need to swap a few personas and ask a favor.”
“Then I’ll go,” Akira said.
But Sumire waved him back. “I can handle it, senpai. You’ve got to go talk to Takemi-san,” she assured him. “Aragaki-san wants to help; we’ll see you in Odaiba. I promise.”
It wasn’t in Hamuko’s best interest to swipe anyone else from his team, not when the world was at stake. And Sumire hadn’t done anything wrong. So only a little reluctantly, Akira let them go, hoping everything would be okay. Sojiro handed off a collection of thermoses, and Akira packed them into the Thieves’ duffel bag before heading towards Takemi’s clinic.
There was no one in the waiting room when he arrived, and Takemi was sitting at the reception desk, looking bored. She sat up when Akira entered, raising an eyebrow. “Hey, guinea pig. Here for a visit?”
“Not exactly…” Akira said. “I need medicine.”
Takemi pushed herself from her chair. “Well then, you’re in luck. I’ve got a surplus, because I don’t think I’ve had a single patient since the new year.” As she opened up the exam room and ushered him in, she said more quietly, “Is… something going on?”
Akira nodded. “Yeah. Which is why I need as many doses of my regular stuff as possible.”
Takemi hesitated in the doorway as he passed her. “That’s a lot of meds.”
“We’re up against something big.”
“I see…” she went to a cabinet and pulled out an armful of boxes, stacking them into a pyramid on the desk in front of him. “Takemedic-All Z, Revivadrin, and a Renew-All for emergencies. You are aware that these are expensive, right? Even with a discount, this is—”
“I know.” Akira pulled out a stack of 10,000 yen bills and set them next to the medicine. “This should cover it.”
Takemi picked them up, flipping through the stack quickly. “...guinea pig, this is 500,000 yen, in cash. What the hell.”
“Thievery is pretty profitable, surprisingly,” Akira joked, finally cracking a smile. “Don’t worry, I didn’t get any of it illegally.”
She regarded him suspiciously for a moment, then set the money back on the desk, took a step forward, and pulled him into a hug.
“I don’t know what you’re up against, but if you think you’re going to need that much medicine, you better be careful,” she scolded. “And you better come back here for a checkup when it’s all over.”
Caught off-guard, it took a second for Akira to return the hug. But he wrapped his arms around her in return, and promised, “I’ll bring the whole team. You can make sure we’re all in one piece.”
Takemi scoffed. “Good. I remember what you looked like after you got arrested. And I do remember that it rained blood on Christmas Eve. So if things get that bad again, someone’s got to make sure that all of you don’t have internal bleeding.”
“You have my word. You can give everyone else adorable nicknames, too.” Akira was forced to duck away as she swatted at him, sweeping the boxes of medicine into his bag and backing towards the door. “You know you want to!”
“Go do whatever dangerous thing you’re doing,” Takemi ordered. “And don’t break any ribs this time.”
It was only when he got outside that he realized that he felt less stressed. Takemi had distracted him, even temporarily, from how worried he was. He could breathe a little easier, and with a last look back at Leblanc, he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and headed for the station.
***
When he arrived in Odaiba, he heard a faint commotion, punctuated with the occasional yelp from Ryuji. Concerned that something was wrong, he hurried around the corner, spotting the Thieves all clustered together, with Hamuko and Lavenza standing to one side. Hamuko was smiling, though, and she looked over as he approached and called to the group, “There he is! Move, so he can see!”
Akira watched, baffled, as the Thieves shuffled around, parting so that he could see what they were fussing over. There was a little boy standing there with a mop of black hair, and he grinned at Akira and waved. Akira’s eyes darted from his bright blue eyes to the yellow bandanna around his neck, and his mouth fell open.
“M-Morgana?” He hated how his voice cracked.
Morgana laughed at his reaction. “The one and only!” he declared. Looking down at himself, he added, “I wanted to be taller, though. I’m not even as tall as Futaba…”
“That’s because you’re twelve,” Futaba teased.
Akira walked over, set his bag on the sidewalk, and dragged Morgana into a hug. “How?” he asked.
“Igor helped me turn into a human,” Morgana explained. “Even with what’s going on, there’s more hope than there was three years ago.” He rubbed his face against Akira’s shirt in a very catlike manner.
“That won’t last, though,” Lavenza explained, and they all looked over at her. “If the benevolent god gains full control over reality, the people will have no need of Hope. Morgana’s power and vitality will fade as his concept disappears, and he himself might vanish as well.”
“Even more reason to stop Maruki,” Akira said. “Lavenza, are you okay to be in the real world?”
She nodded determinedly. “I can manage for a little while. And one of my guests is in trouble. We are allowed one major interference.” There was a devious edge to her smile as she added, “As I have ended up with three guests, technically I should have three.”
Akira couldn’t help but grin. Lavenza would have been a fantastic phantom thief.
He looked around at the group, one hand on Morgana’s shoulder. “All right. Once we start this, we’re in it until the very end. Are we ready?”
They all nodded, and Akira pulled out his phone.
“Then it’s showtime.”