Chapter Text
Akira receives news about his release from jail in the form of simply being let out the front door. He chooses not to question this.
The entire process is more or less silent. They return his school uniform to him—the clothes he’d apparently been wearing when he’d arrived in jail in the original reality, not that he remembers that. They warn him not to break the law again. They tell him someone is coming to pick him up soon, but don’t tell him who. He assumes it’s probably Sojiro.
It’s a little chilly outside when Akira finally steps out of the building, despite the bright sunlight. They’ve let him out through one of the guard posts, so he’s already outside the metal gates; he counts this as a blessing. There’s no one in front of the gates yet, though, so he simply leans back against the metal bars and waits, occasionally glancing down the street for any sign of approaching cars.
Eventually he hears the guard post door open again; he thinks nothing of it. But then a shockingly familiar throat-clearing snaps Akira out of his daze, and he whirls around, pushing off of the gate with wide eyes.
In front of him stands Akechi, alive, watching him with a cautious gaze. He’s not in his own school uniform but his winter clothes, dark green sweater under tan trench coat; only his left hand is covered by a leather glove.
Of course, Akira distantly thinks, I never did return the other one.
“Hello,” Akechi says carefully. “I...didn’t expect to see you here.”
Akira can’t quite find the words to reply, but he’s spared the need to reply at all by the arrival of Sojiro’s car. The front seat window is already rolled down, and Sojiro looks them both over once before sighing.
“Good, you’re both still alive,” Sojiro says dryly. “Get in, both of you. I don’t have all day.”
Akechi blinks, clearly surprised. “Me as well?”
“Niijima asked.”
“Fair enough,” Akechi says, and he gets in the car. Akira, slightly stunned, follows suit.
★ ☆ ★
Sojiro parks the car beside the house, and they walk the rest of the way to Leblanc. Akira still can’t figure out what to say, and Akechi seems unwilling to start a conversation himself; Sojiro for his part just seems tired, which Akira supposes is the norm anyways. When they reach Leblanc, he’s surprised to see the lights already on despite Sojiro actively unlocking the door.
That question is answered the moment they step into Leblanc and Akira catches sight of Futaba’s bright orange hair, but his focus is immediately pulled away by a familiar catlike shriek and a furry bundle on the counter.
“Akechi’s alive?!” the apparently alive and present Morgana shrieks, eyes wide. “What the fuck?”
For a long moment, no one replies; Akira, Akechi, and Sojiro all stare wide-eyed at the not-cat on the counter, while Futaba continues typing away on her laptop, seemingly unperturbed. Then Sojiro of all people is the one to break the silence: he pulls his hat off his head and throws it straight at Morgana, causing him to flip backwards with a yelp, and shouts, “Get off my damn counter! And don’t you use that language in front of Futaba!”
“But Akechi’s—wait, you can understand me? Since when?!”
“Get off my counter!”
“Hey, nerds,” Futaba speaks up, finally looking up at Akira and Akechi with a grin. “About time you got back. By the way, Crow, you gotta look at this, I found the court case Shido dismissed where your mom tried to sue him for child support and he owes you so much money, get over here—”
As she says it, she bounces over to grab Akechi by the arm and forcibly pull him back to the booth, narrowly avoiding getting hit by Sojiro, who is now chasing Morgana up the attic stairs with a broom. Akira takes exactly one step forward before the Leblanc phone starts ringing shrilly, and he picks it up out of instinct.
And of course, because Akira hasn’t had enough goddamn surprises for one day, it’s Lavenza’s voice he hears through the receiver: “My congratulations to you, Trickster, on finally attaining your freedom. Though your journey has ended at last, it is my wish to speak with you one more time. Please visit me in Shibuya when you have a chance. And please pass my congratulations on to Akechi Goro as well.”
Akira blinks once, twice. Then he slams the receiver back down, takes a long, deep breath, and says, as levelly as possible given the situation, “Will somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Nobody hears him, of course. Futaba is talking Akechi’s ears off, Akechi is standing perfectly silent in what is most likely equal parts shock and confusion, Morgana is...somewhere near the stairs, and Sojiro is still stalking around with a broom and muttering about fur on the damn counters.
Akira sighs, and despite his confusion, smiles slightly. It’s good to be home.
★ ☆ ★
eight bros, chillin in a hot tub
Joker: what’s up sluts, guess who just got outta prison
Panther: Sluts?
Violet: Prison???
Skull: AKIRA
Joker: YEAHHHHH
Joker: I’M BACK MFS
Joker: and oh my god when i tell you it has been the WEIRDEST fucking day of my life,
Oracle: you’re welcome lmfao
Fox: Are you alright? What happened?
Joker: oh y’know
Joker: walked outta prison and ran into akechi fucking goro????
Joker: you guys knew he was alive didn’t you
Queen: We did, yes. We worked to free him as well as you.
Joker: devious
Joker: i’m so proud
Noir: Why, thank you!
Joker: anyways we get to leblanc y’know and futaba’s chillin inside
Joker: and fucking MORGANA IS ON THE COUNTER
Joker: speaking of which.
Joker: which one of you has been teaching morgana how to swear.
Queen: Excuse me?
Panther: Ohhhhh noooooo
Joker: we walk in and morgana just goes “akechi’s alive? what the fuck?”
Joker: which like, same, but ????
Skull: thats gotta be oracles doin right
Oracle: guilty as charged!
Joker: right well
Joker: sojiro can understand morgana now apparently
Joker: and he DID NOT approve of that
Fox: Oh dear.
Violet: Oh no! Is Morgana in trouble?
Joker: morgana is in SO much trouble oh my god
Joker: sojiro chased him into the attic with a broom
Panther: Soooooo....
Panther: Does he know that Futaba taught Morgana to swear or...?
Oracle: oh no lmao it’s actually way funnier
Oracle: he thinks morgana taught ME to swear
Skull: omg
Joker: it’s gonna be a miracle if sojiro ever lets morgana downstairs again
Noir: Did Futaba-chan let him into Leblanc?
Joker: nope
Joker: apparently he broke in through the attic window
Queen: Ah.
Joker: let’s just say i am also in so much trouble for leaving that thing unlocked without realizing lol
Joker: but like fr
Joker: despite the chaos, it really is good to be home
Joker: i owe you guys a lot
Joker: thank you so much for everything, i love you guys <3
Panther: Aww we love you too!!!
Skull: for real bro
Skull: ur our leader n our friend
Skull: ofc we were gonna get u outta jail
Violet: Oh—where is Akechi-senpai? Is he with you? Is he still in this chat?
Joker: akechi is currently confined to the attic because i do not trust him not to just disappear in the middle of the night
Joker: i have no idea where his phone is
Joker: futaba said shido apparently owes akechi a bunch of money though so i’m sure he can just buy a new one at some point
Queen: Ah, yes, we did ask her to look into that.
Joker: you guys are unbelievable
Noir: We’re just following in your footsteps!
Joker: you know what? good answer
Joker: reject society. embrace chaos
Oracle: aye aye!
Noir: By the way, if Akechi-kun would like, I will bring a new phone for him when we meet up tomorrow.
Joker: i’ll ask him lol
Joker: he said, and i quote, “okumura-san can do what she likes, i don’t care”
Joker: which i think is “yes” in akechi-speak lmao
Panther: Lmao
Oracle: yeah you would be well-versed in akechi speak wouldn’t you
Joker: listen if you’re gonna call me a gay dumbass at least do it to my face
Oracle: alright gay dumbass
Skull: lmao
Noir: I’ll find him a nice phone case as well.
Panther: That feels so ominous what the heck
Fox: I find it quite threatening as well....
Joker: i will actually pay you money to find a featherman case for him
Noir: I’ll do it for free!
Violet: Something tells me this won’t end well....
Queen: I suppose we’ll find out tomorrow.
★ ☆ ★
It takes some convincing, but Akira eventually gets Akechi to agree to sleep on the futon while Akira himself sleeps on the couch.
“That cannot be good for your already-shit posture,” Akechi says flatly even as he sits down on the futon.
Akira levels a stare at him and says, “Not as much as my several near-death experiences. Shut up and go to sleep. And if I wake up and you’re not here—”
“I have assured you multiple times I will not be leaving this building.”
“—I will send Futaba, Haru, and Makoto after you.”
“So you’ve said,” Akechi sighs. “I will still be here in the morning. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go, anyways.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Akira says.
★ ☆ ★
They’re both woken up the next morning by a commotion from the café below, any actual words completely unintelligible from the sheer number of voices speaking. Akira groans in exaggerated frustration, but he’s already smiling fondly; Akechi, who is already sitting up, seems wholly unimpressed but also hasn’t climbed out through the window yet, so Akira will call that a tentative win.
“Are your friends incapable of being quiet?” Akechi grumbles.
Akira snorts. “Yeah, pretty much. Thought you knew that by now.”
Akechi crosses his arms and says, “I thought I knew a lot of things, including that I was dead, and apparently I was wrong, so forgive me for choosing to assume I know nothing about the current situation.”
“As long as I don’t have to mourn your death a third time,” Akira shoots back. “Come on, let’s go downstairs before Sojiro lets them storm the attic instead.”
Despite looking incredibly uncomfortable, Akechi does in fact follow Akira down the stairs into the mess of Phantom Thieves and party poppers. Sumire of course immediately tackle-hugs Akechi, ignoring his yelped “what the fuck Yoshizawa” with a bright smile; Akira himself is almost squished by a combined hug from Ryuji, Ann, and Haru before Sojiro sternly tells them to “let the kid breathe, damn it, he’s only been out of jail for twelve hours” and they release him with sheepish grins.
“I’m glad to see you guys too,” Akira laughs affectionately. “I missed you all. Thanks for getting me out of there—I owe you a lot for that.”
“Sae-san did the hard part,” Haru says, “she argued your case in court! And we were able to convince the woman from last year to testify in your favor!”
“The woman from—you found her?”
“Oracle did, of course,” Ryuji says, jerking his head in Futaba’s direction.
Akira looks at her with brows raised; Futaba shrugs. “Just doing my job to get you outta jail.”
He can’t argue with that. “Thanks, everyone.”
“Sit down, you lot,” Sojiro calls from the kitchen, “it’s time for lunch. And that cat better not be on any of the tables.”
“I’m not!” Morgana yells from Yusuke’s arms. “Geez, I liked it better when he couldn’t understand me....”
“Hey, I heard that!”
Ann scrutinizes Akira’s face and says, “You look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?”
“I slept!” Akira says defensively. “It was sleeping in jail that was the hard part.”
“Young man, you are not leaving this café until you’ve rested for at least four more days,” Sojiro says, jabbing a finger at him over the Leblanc counter.
“I will, I will! I promise. Futaba would kill me if I didn’t rest anyways.”
“Damn right I would,” Futaba says, grabbing his arm and pulling him down until he’s sitting beside her in the booth. “Someone get his other side.”
Ryuji promptly slides into the booth on Akira’s other side, Ann sitting down on Ryuji’s other side in turn; Yusuke ends up across from Futaba with Morgana still held in his arms, and Makoto and Haru slide in after him. Sumire steers Akechi toward the barstools so they’re sitting side by side, and Sae, whose presence Akira has only just noticed, ends up on Akechi’s other side with a surprisingly soft look. Sojiro begins passing out plates of curry, receiving a chorus of thanks in return.
“Eat first,” Sojiro says sternly, “and then you can catch up. There’s no way this kid doesn’t need real nutrients—who knows what they fed him in jail....”
He’s not wrong, so what follows is possibly the best meal of Akira’s life: delicious comfort food, his friends (and arguably family, in several cases) all surrounding him, and the warm relief of finally being home again. Though a few of the Thieves keep talking between bites (Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke, mostly), Akira’s content to listen until he finishes his meal, at which point Sojiro collects the already-emptied plates and shuffles over to the sink to give the Thieves (and Sae) some space to talk.
“You guys have some explaining to do,” Akira says, once the last of the plates are empty and everyone’s attention is back on him. “First things first: Morgana?”
“We only found out he was back literally yesterday,” Futaba says immediately. “He came back right after Sojiro left to go get you, so he was just chilling in here with me until you got back.”
“And Sojiro can understand him now...?”
“That much, we’re not completely sure about,” Makoto says. “Futaba and I think it has something to do with the Mementos-reality fusion and what he’s heard from us about Morgana being able to talk—Sae can also understand him now, apparently, as of today.”
“He sounds different from what I would’ve expected,” Sae adds, vaguely amused. “Not that I expected a cat to talk, but, well...it’s hardly the strangest thing that’s happened with all of you.”
“Fair enough,” Akira says. “Second, though, the elephant in the room...Akechi, you’re alive.”
The other Thieves all turn to look at Akechi, who shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Apparently.”
“How?”
“I don’t fucking know, I’m as confused as you.”
Sojiro’s voice, from the kitchen: “Not in front of Futaba, young man.”
Akechi rolls his eyes but says, “Genuinely, I have no idea. I woke up on the fourth, in jail, fully assuming that I had successfully taken your place and that you were home free. The fact that I somehow never encountered you while in jail is beyond me.”
“Alright,” Akira says, and then turns to Haru: “Are you okay with this outcome?”
Out of the corner of his eye he sees Akechi tense slightly, but Haru meets Akira’s gaze easily: “When we learned he was alive, we had a discussion about whether or not to try to free him as well. We then learned, via Sae-san, that he had genuinely tried to take the fall for all of us by turning himself in to the police in your place. Between that and Shido’s testimony of how he treated Akechi-kun, well—let’s just say that I don’t believe him serving time in prison would help anyone, including him.”
“I killed your father,” Akechi says, brows furrowing slightly. “You should’ve left me to rot.”
Sumire elbows him in the side and hisses, “Be nice, senpai!”
“I am not the same kind of person as you,” Haru says, looking over at Akechi. “I believe that everyone deserves the right to learn from their mistakes, and to become their best self. That includes you—what kind of a Phantom Thief would I be, if my moral beliefs did not extend to everyone equally?”
Akechi does a remarkable job of holding eye contact despite the hard line of his shoulders: “You believe I can become a better person.”
“I believe you already have. Is that not why you sacrificed yourself to save us in the engine room, and why you took Akira’s place in jail? Is that not why you worked with us so completely last month, and fought just as hard as the rest of us to restore the true reality?”
“That’s....”
“You have changed,” Haru says. “Make no mistake, I have not yet forgiven you. I still don’t know if I will. But I know you can start again, just as I told you back in the engine room. As long as you put forth genuine effort into becoming a good person, I will not continue to despise you for your past mistakes. Not when I know that if I had been as alone as you, I might have very well gone down a similar path of violence and revenge.”
“You’re too kind,” Akechi says. “I don’t deserve your mercy.”
“Nonsense—everyone deserves mercy,” Haru replies, offering the smallest hint of a smile. “Just because no one’s been kind to you before doesn’t mean you should have to continue living that way. I will not be the kind of person who forces someone else to live in guilt.”
Ryuji clears his throat and adds, “Just so ya know, though, if you’re ever mean to Haru or Futaba, I’m gonna beat you up. You’re not allowed to be mean to them.”
“I assumed as much,” Akechi says, then sighs. “Fine. Since you all seem set on this...Sakura, are you sure?”
Futaba huffs without any real irritation: “You’re here, aren’t you? I wouldn’t have tried to get you out of jail if I didn’t agree with Haru about you actively working to be a better person. If you have Personas at all, you have the will to fight for your future. Just make sure that future doesn’t involve hurting people again, and you’ll be fine.”
“You may have my word on that, for whatever it may be worth,” Akechi says. “I assume the rest of you are agreed, then?”
“If Akira and Morgana agree, then yes, by unanimous decision,” Makoto says.
Morgana flicks one ear: “If Haru and Futaba are okay with it, then so am I.”
“You know what I think,” Akira says, tilting his chin up just slightly.
Akechi watches him for a long moment, then nods once. “Very well. If that’s what you’ve all decided, I will accept it.”
“Good answer. Oh, and Lavenza said to tell you congratulations, by the way.”
Ann blinks and says, “Wait, you’ve heard from her? I thought she disappeared with the Velvet Room?”
“First, I don’t actually know if the Velvet Room can disappear at this point,” Akira says, “and second, she called the Leblanc phone last night. It was a really confusing night.”
“I remember her,” Akechi says. “She was a strange one.”
Akira raises an eyebrow. “So are you.”
“That’s fair.” Akechi sighs again. “Tell her thanks for me, if you’re able to do so.”
“I’m sure I’ll see her again sooner or later,” Akira says. “Alright then, with the most pressing issues out of the way—tell me what you guys have been up to lately.”
★ ☆ ★
Goro only kind of pays attention to the Thieves’ conversation, more focused on the coffee that the elder Sakura has presented to him. It’s good coffee, of course—Goro can only guess that Akira has told the man how he likes to drink it—and it’s a good distraction from the fact that Akira keeps glancing at him every few minutes or so.
“Are you alright, Akechi-kun?”
Goro blinks, and turns to Sae. “What do you mean?”
“You look a bit...lost, almost,” Sae says. Her expression is concerned, but not pitying—never pitying, from her; she’s always treated him with more respect than that. “I’ve heard from the others that you didn’t expect to be here, after they fought Maruki.”
“Something like that,” Goro says. “Before that, really. I wasn’t supposed to even be able to take Kurusu’s place in jail. I thought I died in that engine room.”
“So I’ve been told. Makoto was very upset that they hadn’t been able to save you.”
“Your sister’s too kind for her own good. I tried to kill most of them that day.”
“I’ve been informed that she once got the others in trouble with the mafia,” Sae replies with a slight chuckle. “I don’t think she cares much whether you’ve also tried to hurt the Thieves. She apparently blackmailed them into helping her.”
“That—explains a fair bit, actually.”
“It’s not as if I can judge,” Sae says. “I’ve heard about my Shadow.”
“You were distorted. That’s not your fault,” Goro says. “And I used you. Your Palace was always meant to be the setup to my assassination of Kurusu.”
“And you weren’t distorted? The younger Sakura told me about your second Persona. Loki, the vengeful trickster god. To hear her tell it, you were just as distorted—you were just more self-aware about it, harnessing it as your Persona rather than letting it control you as a Shadow.”
“If the Thieves could’ve changed my heart,” Goro says, “they would’ve, and arguably should’ve. But unfortunately for them, that was my true self.”
“Not anymore,” Sae says. “Haru’s right about you, you know. You have grown already, Akechi-kun—I saw it the moment you took Kurusu’s place. I’m no expert, but it sounds as if you changed your own heart.”
Goro hesitates. “That’s—well....”
“Just something to consider,” Sae says gently. “Listen. Makoto will be going to college soon, and she’s wanting to move into the dorms with Haru. There’ll be some extra space in the apartment. If you wanted, you could come stay with me for a little while. You can take some time to decide what you want to do—I know from the others that you never really planned for a future, so I can only imagine that you’re at a loss of what to do with yourself now. And I think it might help you, to stay with a friend—if you still consider me as such?”
“Of course I do,” Goro says, throat suddenly feeling oddly tight. “That much, at least, has always been the truth. But knowing what you know now, about who I really am, and what I’ve done—are you sure you still want to be friends with someone like that?”
“Absolutely. Whatever else may have happened with my Palace, I do believe that you wanted to help me,” Sae says, smiling warmly at him. “I know I acted harshly towards you during those few months. I’m sorry about that—I was frustrated, but I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. Let me make it up to you by helping you now, as you decide what path you want to take.”
There’s not a trace of insincerity in her voice, or in her gaze. It’s jarring, to say the least. Only one one other person has ever faced him with such stark honesty—Akira, who seems hopeful that Goro is actually here to stay; Akira, who looked him dead in the eyes on February second and promised to fight for his justice, even if it meant sacrificing Akira’s own wishes for the sake of Goro’s freedom.
It’s a nice change from all the lies and hatred that he’s used to.
“I’ll maintain that I don’t deserve your kindness,” Goro says. “But...if you truly wish to offer it to me regardless, and you’re absolutely certain that I won’t be imposing, then I would be glad to accept.”
“You won’t be imposing,” Sae promises. “I wouldn’t offer otherwise. You can take my room for the time being, since Makoto won’t be moving for another month or two. I’ll make it work.”
“Thank you, Sae-san. I’m grateful to you—for this, and for believing in me,” Goro says.
Sae sets a hand on his shoulder: “It’s the least I can do. I’m just glad you’re alive.”
“I am too,” Goro says, and he finds that he means it.
★ ☆ ★
The impromptu celebration of Akira’s and Akechi’s release from jail goes well into the evening before Sojiro finally shoos the other Thieves back home, grumbling about Akira needing rest; Akechi leaves with a new phone (and a Feather Black phone case) from Haru and strict orders to stay reasonably in touch with Akira, which Sae promises to ensure he follows. Futaba and Morgana stay in the café long enough to hand Sojiro a folder of some kind, at which point they each offer a cheerful goodnight to him and Akira. Sojiro’s gruff reply doesn’t quite hide the fondness in his voice, and then he’s coming around the counter to sit down across from Akira in the now-empty booth, setting the folder down in front of him.
“They’re good kids,” Sojiro admits. “How are you feeling, kid?”
“Pretty good,” Akira says honestly. “I’m glad to be home. I missed everyone.”
“Thought you might. Listen, I’ve been doing some thinking. It’s not lost on me that you call this place home, or that you never talk about your folks.”
Akira very nearly freezes on instinct, but Sojiro waves him off: “Relax, I’m not gonna pry about it. Things’re complicated; I get it.”
“...thank you,” Akira says, forcing his shoulders to relax again.
“Don’t thank me yet. Look, I asked Niijima about a couple things, and Futaba did some digging too. Thing is, she considers you her brother through and through,” Sojiro says. “And if I’m being completely honest, after everything that’s happened, I consider you family too. And you’re not obligated to accept this or anything, but I figured, well—if you wanted, you could officially be family.”
Akira’s heart skips, and he glances down at the folder, then back up at Sojiro. “Wait, are these—are you—?”
“Kid, you know I’m not good with this kinda stuff,” Sojiro sighs. “But yeah. They’re adoption papers, if that’s something you’d want. If you don’t, I’ll get rid of them, and we never have to mention it again—but, y’know...if you don’t wanna go back to your biological parents, there’s another option open for you.”
“Is that allowed? I thought I would have to....”
“I mean, it’d take a bit to go through—Niijima will argue for the termination of their parental authority over you, and then we’d file the paperwork—but it could be done. If you want that.”
“I do,” Akira says immediately, grateful tears welling up in his eyes. “You’re more of a parent to me than they ever were, and—I don’t want to go back. I don’t know if I can, after finding a real family here.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Sojiro says. He clears his throat, then continues: “I’ll give Niijima a call first thing tomorrow, and then we can go to the store and look at some real furniture. I’m not keeping you in that damn attic—we’ve got a guest room in the house that never gets used; we’ll turn that into a real room.”
After only a moment of hesitation, Akira stands to move towards Sojiro; the older man meets him in the middle for a tight, reassuring hug, one hand coming up to pat Akira’s head in some attempt at comfort. Akira chuckles wetly over Sojiro’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” Akira whispers.
Sojiro huffs, but it’s warm above all else: “It’s nothin’ special, kid. Just doing my best to look out for you.”
“That’s special to me.”
“Whatever,” Sojiro says fondly. “Get some rest, alright? We can work on all this tomorrow.”