5/2

Akira wakes from unintelligible nightmares to a clear sky. Morgana sleeps soundly alongside him. He reaches out, scratches the cat's head, and proceeds with his routine.

He stretches.

He packs his books.

He sheds his pajamas.

He dons his school clothes.

He buttons his uniform.

He ties his shoes.

He keeps his mind as clear as he can, free of errant thoughts revolving around black bile and Phantom Thievery.

Sojiro comes upstairs. His typically stern face deflates into a mix between worry and confusion.

"Maybe it'd be better if you stayed home today," he says.

Akira frowns. Takemi had walked him home the night before and had pulled Sojiro to the side and explained the situation as best she understood. The man had been appropriately shocked, and even more so to learn later, through the nightly news, that the deceased was Yukio Kan, an up-and-coming politician in the 'New Dawn' segment of the Diet. Putting a name to the face had done little to quell Akira's tensions, especially since the official cause of death had yet to be declared.

Morgana, awake, hops off the bed and puts a paw on Akira's foot. "I think you should listen to him."

Sojiro tries to smile. "See? Even Prince is worried about you."

Akira kneels and presents his open bag to Morgana. "Thanks, but I'm okay." His friend stares at him for a few moments before climbing into his carrier.

Sojiro shakes his head. "Kid, you saw a man die last night." He takes a step forward. "Not to mention all the other shit that happened to you. For God's sake, if you're okay, I'm the Emperor."

Akira smiles and stands. "I didn't think you were that old," he says.

"Dammit, Akira," Sojiro growls. "Stop messing around! This is serious. People can’t brush these things off."

"I thought you wanted me in school."

"Don't be petulant," Sojiro replies and shrugs. "You've got most of this week off anyway, right? What's another day? I can keep the cafe closed. You can stay up here. Sleep. Whatever."

"I..." Akira starts, then trails off. His gaze falls upon the couch and stays there. "I want to see my friends."

Sojiro's eyebrows rise. "You've got friends?"

"You don't have to sound surprised."

Sojiro crosses his arms. "You can see them later. You're not going to school today. If I need to play the stern jackass, I will."

Before Akira can stop himself, he says, "You mean you weren't already?"

To his surprise, the corners of Sojiro's lips tick upward into a smirk. "Cute. Want something to eat?"

"Sure," Akira replies.

"This is for the best," Morgana says, and joins the two by hopping onto Akira's shoulders. They make their way downstairs.

Sojiro says little as he preps the food, and Akira is content to sit in the silence. A few minutes pass and Akira has a plate of curry, and a cup of coffee set out before him. He thanks Sojiro and digs in, finding himself hungrier than he would've imagined.

The image of Yukio Kan vomiting up black bile pops into his mind, but Akira is so hungry that - while it disturbs - it doesn't stop him from eating.

"We need to find a therapist for you to talk to," Sojiro finally says, staring at Akira from behind the bar.

"Doctor Takemi said as much last night. Not just for the guy dying, but for everything else."

"Yeah," Sojiro replies. "I'll make some calls later today. Hope I can find one with some availability. All you kids are basket cases these days."

"Thanks a lot."

Sojiro shrugs. "Well, in your case, it's warranted."

Akira lets out a small laugh. "Yeah. Guess so."

Sojiro looks at the floor, then sighs. "I don't know your mother well. At all, actually. I know her sister."

Akira's eyes widen. "Aunt Tomiko?" A sudden realization dawns on him. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Is she a customer, or-"

"No, no, nothing like that," Sojiro quickly says. "But I... well, a few years ago, I had an issue. A situation that I won't be getting into that involved the Child Guidance Center she works for. She helped me settle things over a few months, and then that was that. I guess I made a good impression."

"So, after the trial and everything, she reached out to you?"

"Tomiko asked if I would be willing to take you on. She knew I had the cafe, knew it had some extra room upstairs. I mean, she must have hundreds of case files to get through. I suppose she just wanted to smooth things out for your mother."

"Yeah, that's Aunt Tomiko. Always bending over backward for her." He smiles a bit. "I probably should've realized. Tomiko and I don't talk much."

"Yeah, well, you asked me why I took you in, and I figured I owed Tomiko for her help. Though, I did not think you were going to be this much work."

"Sorry to disappoint."

Sojiro shrugs. "Whatever."

Akira takes another bite of food. Why would Sojiro need the help of someone in Child Protective Services? He'd been to Sojiro's house the night of the train crash. There hadn't been any children there. None that Akira had seen, anyway, though he hadn't explored the house. "What was the issue my aunt helped you with?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Sojiro snaps, then sighs and shakes his head. "Look, do me a favor. Just leave that alone for now, okay? It's not a happy story or anything."

Akira nods. "Alright," he replies. "Thanks, then. For taking me in."

Sojiro moves towards the kitchen. "I'll make some calls about that therapist."

#

Ann and Ryuji send Akira texts throughout the day, inquiring as to his whereabouts. Akira does his best to set their minds at ease, but Morgana suggests it might not be a bad idea to see them. Akira, who spends most of the day wandering around Yongen-jaya, jumps at the chance to see people. He’s spent the early afternoon in a small café across the street from an old movie theatre that looked like it was in the process of being renovated.

The team invites Akira to join them in Shibuya, and with Sojiro’s blessing, Akira makes his way to the city center via train.

When Akira and Morgana arrive at the outdoor diner, they find it mostly empty. Ann sits in a corner booth and waves as they arrive.

“Where’s Bonehead?” Morgana asks, as Akira slides into his seat. “How’d we beat him here? Wasn’t he with you, Lady Ann?”

“I don’t know where he is,” Ann replies. “I saw him after school, but he told me he’d catch up. How’re you feeling, Akira?” Before Akira can answer, Ann sits straight up, wide-eyed. “Oh, I just remembered! Did you hear? Some guy totally died at the hotel last night, right after we left. Isn’t that freaky?”

Akira swallows. "Yeah," he says, slowly. He'd been intending on waiting until Ryuji arrived to discuss this. "About that..."

"Yo!" Comes a voice from the café’s entrance. All three thieves look and find Ryuji, hand raised in greeting, a broad smirk on his face. Behind him stands Mishima, lips pressed together in a tight white line, eyes darting from one teen to another.

Akira's shoulders droop. "Hey," he says.

"What took you so long?" Ann asks, a pout on her face. Morgana nods but remains silent.

"I was chattin' with this guy," Ryuji says and pats Mishima on the shoulder. "Turns out, we had a lot to talk about."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ann asks.

But then Mishima, who looks to be quivering, shoots past Ryuji, rushes up to the table, and blurts out, "Are you guys really the Phantom Thieves?"

Silence.

Then, everyone speaks at once.

"Like, what?" Ann asks, her voice high. "No way!"

"Of course not," Akira says, eyes darting around the café.

"What'd you say, Ryuji?" Morgana yowls.

"Guys," Ryuji says, shrugging, the grin still stapled onto his face. "I already told him."

"What?" Morgana hisses.

"Ryuji!" Ann screams.

"Why?" Akira asks, straightening. He feels his skin flush. What if he puts it online? He already put all my other shit online. He'll put this there too!

"Guys, chill!" Ryuji says, patting the air with his hands. He walks up behind Mishima and throws an arm around his shoulder. "Mishima here, is the creator of the PhanSite."

Three sets of eyes turn toward Mishima, but no one speaks until Akira asks, "How do you know?"

"Eh?" Ryuji replies, his smile shaking just a bit. "What'd you mean?"

"He just walked up to you and said, 'I'm the guy who made the PhanSite, are you a Phantom Thief?' How do you know he's not lying?"

"Uhh, well," Ryuji says, paling. He removes his arm from Mishima. "You see-"

Mishima takes another step forward. "I'm not lying!" He pulls his phone from his pocket.

“Just sit down,” Akira says, and Mishima plops down next to Ann, who looks none too pleased.

"I can prove it to you," Mishima insists. He begins to type something into his phone, face scrunched up in concentration. "Everyone check the PhanSite's front page in thirty seconds, I'm logging in as the admin, and I'll type a random string of numbers there."

The silent thirty seconds seem to last a lot longer, but after the allotted time, Akira sees, as promised, a random set of numbers posted by 'Admin' on the front page of their new site.

"There, you see?" Mishima asks, a newly minted grin on his face. "I told you!" No one says anything. His smile falters, and he reddens. "So, um, look. The reason I made this site was so I could support you guys! I'm like, your number one fan, and I felt that more people should know about you."

"Why?" Akira asks.

"W-why?" Mishima replies.

"Guys," Ryuji says, sitting down next to Akira. "Have you seen the site? I mean, have you really taken a look at it? People are requesting our help!"

"Seriously?" Ann asks and lowers her gaze back to her phone.

"Uh-huh," Mishima puts in. "A lot of people heard about how you got Kamoshida to confess. I mean, they talked about it on the news, how he was abusing us and everything. But the news also mentioned the Phantom Thieves and the Calling Card. I'm sure most people think it's just a joke, but there are a lot of people out there that believe in you!"

"Yeah," Akira says. "A full two percent."

"That's better than zero! And if you guys start fulfilling the Requests on the site and proving that you're real, that number will skyrocket!"

Akira glances down at Morgana and whispers, "What'd you make of all this?"

The cat purrs and hops up into Akira's lap. "I don't like how Ryuji just spilled the beans, but if we can become a part of the public subconscious... well, I'm all for it."

"Why?" Akira asks.

"I'll explain later," Morgana whispers.

"Think about it," Ryuji says, his grin back in force. "All those other big-time groups, like Medjed and Tatterdemalion, people know them. If we're gonna compete with those guys, we've got to become household names, just like them!"

"Compete?" Akira asks, jaw set, hands clenched into fists.

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

Ryuji groans. "How are we gonna change the hearts of bad guys, and how are we gonna help people if they don't even know we exist? We're not robbing museums or banks! If someone's in trouble, just like Shiho or Mishima were with Kamoshida, how will they know they can ask us for help, if they don't even believe in us, or have a place where they can reach us?"

Ann frowns. "I guess that makes sense."

Mishima nods. "Right? So, let me tell you some more about this site." Akira sits and listens to the boy rattle off various terms and features. The words flow in one ear and dance out the other. He keeps his mouth shut, choosing instead to move his jaw around in slow, clocklike circles. His hands have yet to unclench.

Eventually, the boy finishes speaking and leaves, citing some errands to run for his family. The four thieves remain in the booth, and from Akira's perspective, everyone seems convinced the PhanSite is a fantastic idea. "Ryuji," he says, his voice low.

"What's up, dude?"

Keep it together. "The next time you're going to tell someone about us," and Akira looks over into his friend's eyes. Whatever Ryuji sees there pales him by another shade. "Please ask us first."

"Yeah, seriously," Ann says, nodding. "I know Mishima is harmless and all, but revealing ourselves should be something we all decide to do."

Akira glances her way and decides to stay quiet about her revealing the Phantom Thieves to Shiho.

"Absolutely, Lady Ann," Morgana says. He narrows his eyes at the blonde boy. "You could've blown our entire operation!"

"Alright, alright," Ryuji mumbles, rubbing the back of his head. "My bad, okay? It's just, he came to me and told me he was the one that made the PhanSite. Isn't that kind of a big risk, too? If we weren't the Phantom Thieves, he'd have just revealed himself to us as the administrator for their website."

Ann frowns and sighs. "Well, whatever. It is what it is. Just check with us next time, okay?" Ryuji nods and offers more affirmations. Then, Ann continues, "But, I've been looking through these Requests, and some of them are kind of scary."

"What'd you mean?" Akira asks, taking out his own phone.

"I mean, people are posting the full names of the people whose hearts they want us to change. Isn't that kind of messed up?"

Akira finds his way to the site and begins to flip through them. "Yeah, but a lot of these are petty. This one girl wants us to change her mom's heart because, 'she won't let me do anything fun,' and this one is asking us to change his brother's because he keeps, 'looking at my stuff.'"

"What'd you expect?" Morgana asks. "The majority of people who know about us would be Shujin students. It makes sense we’d get some immature requests."

"Whoa," Ann says, eyes widening.

"What's up?" Ryuji asks.

"There's one here that's a bit freaky." She clears her throat and begins to read. "'A few weeks ago, I broke up with my boyfriend. Ever since then, I can't get it out of my head that he's been stalking me. Whenever I go outside, especially at night, I feel that he's right behind me. At first, I could brush it off, but now it's starting to scare me. I don't know what to do, and the police say they can't help unless he actually threatens me, but what if it's too late by then? Please, change his heart, Phantom Thieves! His name is Nakanohara Natsuhiko.’"

"Damn, that is scary," Ryuji says.

Morgana stretches out his paws. "If we don't do something, this girl could be in some serious trouble."

"Yeah," Ann says, putting away her phone. "If that guy keeps it up, he may eventually get violent."

"Well, wait a second," Akira says. "Don't we have to confirm that he has a Palace before we can change his heart?"

A small chuckling sound emanates from Morgana. "I was hoping you'd ask about that. The truth is, no. We can change this Natsuhiko guy's heart, without him having a Palace."

"For real?" Ryuji asks, sitting up. "How?"

"Allow me to explain Mementos," the cat says.

#

Akira had barely any time to process the information about Mementos when Morgana insisted that Akira tell them what happened to him the night before.

So, Akira does.

“For real?” Ryuji asks when Akira finishes his tale.

Ann blinks and reaches into her school bag.

"He freakin' died? Right in front of you?"

"Yeah," Akira says. Ann continues to rummage around in her bag. "He started puking all this black stuff, and it leaked from his eyes and nose, and… it was awful."

Ryuji – who had ordered food - sets his chopsticks down. "Holy shit. Dude, are you okay?"

Ann pulls out a wad of school paper from her bag.

"I think so," Akira says. "I mean, I wasn't at the time, but now… I think I'm alright."

Ann works the papers into a roll. Then she stands, leans over the table, raises the freshly-made cylinder, and brings it down onto Akira's head.

"Ow," he says, more surprised than hurt. It is paper, after all.

"Jerk!" She hisses and hits him again. And again. "Jerk! Jerk!"

"Uh, Ann?" Ryuji asks, looking around at the room. Customers are beginning to stare. "What're you doing?"

"Why didn't you call us?" Ann asks. "You should've gone to the doctor's or something!" Her brows knit together, and her words are sharp. She whacks him on his head again.

"Stop," Akira says. He leans back in his seat and raises his hands, hoping to ward her off. "I went to Takemi's last night, right after. And I stayed home today!"

"That doesn't explain why you didn't call us!" She swings again and still somehow hits him.

"Lady Ann?" Morgana asks. "I think you've made your point."

"Like hell!" She spits. "Do you know what I did last night?"

Akira shakes his head. "What?"

"I watched my dramas until midnight! That's it. That's all I did. Why didn't you call me?" She whacks him once more.

"I'm sorry," Akira says, shrinking away. "I promise, if someone ever dies in front of me again, I'll give you a call."

Ann drops back into her seat. The roll of papers sits in her lap. She dips her head forward, and when she speaks, her anger is gone. "Shiho jumped off a building, Akira."

Ryuji's expression softens. "Ann..."

Akira feels his throat go dry.

"It was the worst thing ever. I thought Shiho was going to die. She was hurting that much, and I didn't realize it. Or maybe I did realize, but I didn't say anything, I don't know!" She looks up at him, and Akira can see her eyes misting. "So, I'm never going through something like that. Not again. If something is happening to you, Akira, you have to tell me. I can't... I can't watch another friend jump." She stops speaking and just sits there, looking at him. She sniffles, just a bit, but no tears fall from her eyes.

"Lady Ann," Morgana says, but nothing else.

Ryuji reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Ann. Cut him some slack. He was probably too freaked out."

Akira can't meet her eyes anymore and lowers them to the tabletop. "I'm sorry, Ann. I am."

She shakes her head. "Promise me that you'll talk to me about everything that's bothering you. Or, if you don't want to talk to me, talk to Ryuji. Or Morgana. Someone, Akira. There has to be someone."

He nods. "Okay."

She shakes her head again. "No. Say it. Say you promise."

A few seconds pass. Then, Akira says, "I promise. Sojiro’s already going to set up a therapy appointment for me. I’ll shy away from the Thief stuff."

"Good," she says and wipes her sleeve across her face. "Oh, God. You're going to make me cry, you jerk. And I'm so sick of doing that."

"Yo," Ryuji says, turning towards Akira. "But for real, that's some serious shit you saw!" He shakes his head. "Honestly, was it too much to ask for one day where we could just kick back and chill? I feel bad for you, man. We had an awesome meal, and then someone's head exploded right in front of you."

"Ryuji!" Ann growls.

But Akira laughs. "Yeah, it was pretty horrifying." He fixes Ryuji with a grin. "I almost pissed myself."

"Good thing you were in a bathroom, then," Ryuji replies, wearing a matching smile to Akira's. Then he starts to laugh as well.

The two boys continue this way for a few moments as Ann watches them. "Honestly," she says, after a time. "I don't understand you two morons."

"That makes two of us," Morgana says, with a shake of his head.

Soon, the laughter dies down. The four thieves sit in silence, each alone with their thoughts though the diner's din bustles outside them.

Finally, Ryuji leans in. "Dude, did you say… black stuff?"

"Huh?" Akira asks. "You mean, from the guy? Yeah. He vomited a bunch of black tar or something. I don't know. Why?"

"Well, like, what could make someone do that?"

Ann pulls out her phone while the boys confirm neither has any idea what that could be. "What the hell?" She asks, staring at her phone's screen.

"What is it, Lady Ann?" Morgana asks.

Ann turns the phone around so the others can see it. "Yukio Kan, right? You said that was his name?"

"I only learned that this morning," Akira says. "I didn't know it last night." He reads the article Ann has pulled up on her phone.

Ryuji squints at the text. "Hold up. This says he died of a heart attack."

"That's..." Akira begins and shakes his head. "That's not right. That can't be right."

#

Takemi reads the article, then rereads it. She pulls up an associated news video and plays it. "The man often considered to be the New Dawn movement’s leader passed away last night after a political conference in a Tokyo hotel. Yukio Kan, forty-eight, has been confirmed to have died of a sudden heart attack. This unfortunate event is sure to have significant political ramifications throughout the Diet as…"

Takemi tunes out the rest.

Akira had seen Yukio Kan die. He had witnessed some black substance pour from the man’s eyes and mouth and nose.

That's no heart attack, Takemi thinks to herself, and she finds she is absurdly afraid to say this out loud.

All she can make herself say to her empty office is, "What the hell is going on?"