Chapter Text
“First target was a teacher, the second an artist… No clear connection between the two of them, except for them having committed crimes,” a brown-haired boy mused to himself, using magnets to attach two pictures to a whiteboard. “Time that passed between those incidents… about a month. Does that mean anything…? Does stealing a heart require time?”
He wrote dates above both of the pictures, then stopped in his tracks. He had so little information to work with… Not wanting to trap himself in thinking he had everything figured out, he left wondering about how does exactly one ‘steal’ a heart for later.
That was the way Akechi Goro tried to work. With his mind open to any new clue. It seemed like this case wasn’t going to be easy though, and the clues just didn’t want to come to him.
“The second calling card was sent to the museum, anyone could do that, but the first was hanged out in the school corridors of Shujin Academy… it wouldn’t be easy for anyone who wasn’t a student or part of the staff...” Goro muttered. “Shujin Academy has to be the key…”
The police apparently already questioned the students there and found nothing. This case was too shady to believe the culprits would leave any evidence behind though. Besides…
“The police cannot be trusted anyway,” he sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of his face. The ponytail he tied it into was coming undone again.
He doubted they knew much more than the public itself. The Phantom Thieves still seemed like a joke, but joke they weren’t. Goro didn’t have anything that would prove it yet… well, he wasn’t even sure where to start, but for some reason he was sure they did exist.
Or maybe I just want them to exist, he thought, his gaze wandering to the keychain representing the new logo of the Phantom Thieves that he impulsively bought earlier that day. It wasn’t really expensive, so he didn’t regret it, but… why did he do it, exactly?
He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that now he was a proud owner of a piece of phan-merch, while also investigating the thieves and trying to catch them. Something didn’t seem right here.
Finally, he forced himself to check the time. It was definitely too late to be taking care of that now, especially considering his homework that remained ignored until now.
“If they kick me out of this school because of this, I’ll make the Phantom Thieves pay,” he sighed again, putting the marker away. He had an idea he wanted to try tomorrow, but his investigation had to wait for now if he wanted stay at the top of his class. He couldn’t afford to fail now, in his last year. He was terribly lucky to get that scholarship at Kosei anyway.
He glanced at the keychain again, before picking it up and attaching to his school bag. It’s not like no one else would have one. A large amount of the students had similar accessories, actually. Nobody would pay attention to Goro having one too.
Nobody.
***
The pupil of that Madarame artist, Kitagawa Yusuke, was attending the same school as Goro, and he was planning on taking advantage of it to ask him some questions, but somehow, whenever he tried to catch him after classes, or even during the lunch break, Kitagawa was gone. Even when he tried to ask his classmates about his whereabouts, they just said that Kitagawa was a weirdo and there was no way of knowing where he was disappearing to.
So, instead of wasting his time anymore, Goro found himself at the Aoyama-Itchome station, heading towards the Shujin Academy grounds. If he wanted to find any clues, the best way of doing that was visiting the crime scene in person, right? Even if a month had already passed.
He didn’t have any clear plan in his head, aside from asking around. He couldn’t do much without appearing suspicious after all - that could only get him in trouble.
He spotted his first potential target upon getting closer to the school gates. A lone black-haired boy was standing there, looking at his phone. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to him.
“Excuse me,” Goro spoke up, trying not to startle him. “Do you have a moment?”
The boy raised his gaze to look at him. Even without the big glasses, his long curly bangs would be covering half of his face. For a moment he just stared at Goro, then nodded, slowly.
“Ah, wonderful. Though considering what my business here is, it might not be so wonderful after all…” He said, hoping the boy wouldn’t be scared off after he explains his reasons. “Maybe I should introduce myself first though. I’m Akechi Goro, third year at Kosei High and an amateur detective.”
“...detective?” The boy finally opened his mouth. His voice was surprisingly deep, but pleasant. He seemed on guard though.
“You’ve probably figured out why I’m here, right?” Goro smiled, trying to sound reassuring. “Don’t worry though, I’m not associated with the police. I’m an amateur after all. Would you be willing to answer a few questions?”
“...I’m not sure if I’ll be able to help you,” he said hesitantly, glancing at his phone again, as if hoping someone would save him from this situation. “I’m a second year, but I’ve only transferred here in April.”
“Oh.” Goro’s disappointment was probably clearly visible. “I’m sorry for bothering you then. It looks like I’ll have to find someone else to talk to… If anyone will agree at all. Well, I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“It wasn’t a bother,” the boy replied. “Actually, I’m interested in that investigation of yours. Can you tell me more?”
That surprised Goro. His impression of him was that he wanted to get away, but now he was asking him questions? It seemed a little strange, but the gray eyes staring at him didn’t waver.
What an interesting person.
“I don’t really mind,” he finally said. “But in turn, you’ll tell me everything you know, even if it’s something really minor.”
“Fine with me.” The boy smiled slightly. “Though maybe we should find some better place for that.”
“Huh? Oh, right, we’d attract too much attention here… Do you have any suggestions?”
“”Let’s leave this place first. Shibuya will do…” he muttered, but then a particularly loud meowing interrupted him. The boy quickly poked his bag and whispered: “Not now, Morgana.”
“Do you… perhaps… keep a cat in your school bag?” Goro asked, a little bewildered. This seemed a little surreal, but with the way the boy’s cheeks turned slightly pink, he could be sure of the answer.
“In my defense, I’m not his owner,” he muttered, unzipping his bag and taking a black cat out. “I found him and just…”
“I think keeping him afterwards makes you his owner,” Goro laughed. “He’s cute though, so I can’t blame you for that… ehm…”
“Amamiya Ren,” he said. “I forgot to introduce myself.”
The cat meowed again, and to Goro’s surprise again, the boy looked as if he understood him, nodding, then gently placing him on the ground. The cat (Morgana?) ran off as soon as his paws touched the ground.
“So, what did the cat say, Amamiya-kun?” Goro joked, but the other boy's eyes went wide at that, as if he said something weird.
“H-Huh?”
“Ah, I wasn’t asking seriously, just kidding!” He found himself explaining, like there was a need for that and he was the one acting strange. “It looked almost like you understood him, so I…”
“He said he’ll leave us alone because he doesn’t appreciate being called cute by a guy,” Amamiya suddenly said, not even blinking, in a completely serious tone. “You’re right, I can understand him. There’s one condition you have to meet to be able to do that.”
What. He had to be kidding, right?
The boy raised one hand to tug at his messy bangs in an embarrassed gesture.
“Just don’t tell anyone. I can’t have anyone know my secret, I wouldn’t be able to smuggle him to help me cheat during tests anymore.”
Not knowing how else to react, Goro laughed again. He met a pretty amusing guy.
“Trusting a person you have just met might turn against you, Amamiya-kun. But if nothing is stopping us, let’s go.”
“Sure, Akechi-san. I’ll lead the way.”
~*~
Ren didn’t expect that day to go this way. He expected himself to go to the gym with Ryuji, not sit across the table of a rather shady stranger at the cafe at which he first talked to Ann.
He messaged his friend to explain himself while they were on the train. Disguised it as gathering information. Well, that was exactly what he intended to do, but… He couldn’t lie to himself.
The boy who introduced himself as Akechi was pretty cute, even when considering his way of talking, which was making him look like someone pretty detached from people his age. His laughter, his dark red eyes looking at him with curiosity from across the table…
Yep, still cute.
At least he could tell that Akechi wasn’t lying about being a Kosei student, though he was wearing the standard uniform, with a dark-blue blazer. If Ren wanted, he could ask Yusuke to investigate him a little, just in case.
“I guess I should start then, since you asked me about my investigation and I agreed to tell you,” Akechi spoke up first. He actually seemed pretty eager to talk. Maybe he didn’t have anyone else who’d listen to him. “Though I’m afraid… I don’t really have anything interesting to say yet. I’m just beginning to look for clues.”
“You said you’re a detective,” Ren muttered.
“Yes, but I also said I’m an amateur, right?” He replied with a sheepish smile. “I helped the police solve a case a few times, but it wasn’t exactly a path to an instant career… You need connections for that, sadly. Well, I’m not giving up, and the case of the Phantom Thieves seems like a good opportunity for me.”
“Why…? This might be dangerous, you know.”
“If they’re really just, they won’t hurt me, since I’m not a criminal. Shouldn’t it be like that?” Akechi gave him a smirk, and Ren couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine. Something seemed off about this guy. “Besides, if I really were so easily scared, I wouldn’t be planning on becoming a detective in the first place.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Ren lowered his gaze to stare at the table instead. He felt a little uneasy. “But if they really are just, do they deserve to be caught at all?”
“I’ll be honest with you, Amamiya-kun. Until I’ll figure out what methods they use to force a change of heart, nothing will convince me that what they’re doing isn’t wrong,” Akechi said firmly. “They… definitely have a way of manipulating a person’s behavior, and while so far their targets were actual criminals… what if we fool ourselves into thinking it’ll always be like that, and miss the moment when those Phantom Thieves bend their own rules?”
Ren looked up again, his eyes wide as he stared at Akechi. He looked so confident about what he was saying…
“Did I say something wrong?” The brunet asked innocently.
“N-No, I just… I can actually see your point now. I never actually looked at it this way before,” Ren replied. It’s not like he had to consider it, since he was the one who was deciding about every move of the Phantom Thieves. But… the positive opinions of the general public made him blind to the negative ones, that definitely existed as well. “Can’t say I agree with you, but I can understand where you’re coming from.”
Akechi’s eyes lit up with excitement as he listened to that reply.
“Now, that’s interesting,” he said. “It’s hard to find someone with whom you can have a meaningful conversation despite them not sharing your opinion. I’m glad you were the person I ran into, Amamiya-kun.”
Ren couldn’t identify the feeling that bloomed in his chest when Akechi smiled at him, but it was definitely pleasant.
“I can understand your point, too. You’re a student of the school where it all started after all, you know what kind of danger the Phantom Thieves freed you from,” the boy continued, bringing his hand to his chin. “I’m not saying removing that… sorry excuse of a teacher was a wrong thing to do, this way I’d be insulting you and all your fellow Shujin students, especially since nobody else did anything about it. There are just… other things on my mind as well.”
“Do you mind… if I ask what those other things are?” So far Akechi seemed surprisingly straightforward. Maybe he could hear something interesting from him.
“I don’t really mind but…I didn’t expect you to be so interested in my hobby, to be honest.” Akechi seemed a little taken aback, and it was Ren’s time to smirk at him.
“You just seem like you could use a listener, and that’s something I’m good at. Besides, I’m genuinely interested, I swear.”
For a moment he and Akechi just stared at each other, as if trying to figure out if any of those ‘I swear’ was worth anything.
“That’s… alright, I suppose,” he finally said, still looking hesitant. “I remember you said you’re a transfer student, so I’m not sure how much you know, but… You must have heard about the mental shutdown incidents. This is… the case I actually want to solve, but I lack information. It’s like there’s no evidence for anyone to find. Not anything physical at least. It’s been so long, and I haven’t made any progress.”
Akechi seemed upset about this. Ren watched him fiddle with the hem of his blazer’s sleeve while absorbing what he’d just heard. Finally, he realized something.
“Wait… You don’t think there’s any connection between this and the Phantom Thieves?” He asked, feeling as if Akechi accused him of being the culprit.
Keep it together, Ren, don’t give him any hints.
“For all I know, both mental shutdowns and a change of heart occur in a way that can’t be logically explained. Is this some sort of mind control? Is something like that even possible? That’s what I’d like to know.”
“And that’s why you decided to start from investigating Shujin.”
“I’ll take anything I can get, Amamiya-kun. Acting on my own doesn’t offer me a lot of possibilities.” Akechi smiled sadly. “Speaking of which… I think now it’s my turn to ask questions.”
Do your worst, detective.
Oh, how Ren wished he had Morgana with him.
“I don’t know how much I’ll be able to help, but go ahead.”
“Right, I remember,” Akechi laughed that pretty little giggle of his. “It must have been tough for you to transfer here in your second year though. Was there any reason for it?”
That was a question Ren genuinely didn’t expect and that made his mind go blank for a moment. He didn’t want to think about how Akechi interpreted his reaction, because the boy almost instantly started apologizing.
“Uhm, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry, you don’t need to reply-”
“It’s alright,” Ren found himself saying, to his own surprise. “It’s no big deal. Though it’s not something that leaves a good first impression either.”
“Well… I can at least promise not to judge,” Akechi muttered. “I know better than to do that.”
“Like I said, no big deal.” Ren shrugged. “Got sent here on probation after trying to defend a woman from some drunk pervert and him tripping over his own legs in the process. Turned out he was someone important enough to not have any problems silencing one teenager, using assault charges.”
Akechi’s eyes went wide, and the hand he kept on the table slowly closed into a fist. Ren kind of expected him to make up some excuse and just leave, but… it didn’t happen.
“And this is why… the police is not trustworthy,” he said, for the first time dropping the smile completely. “How can we leave anything to them, when they act like pets of those who have the money to buy them?”
Ren didn't know whether this made his wish to catch the Phantom Thieves more believable, or more illogical. This guy was still a mystery.
“It's all old news, Akechi-san. Let's go back to the topic.”
“Ah, ríght, my apologies.” The boy forced a smile onto his face again. “What should I start with?”
---
Amamiya’s replies to his questions weren’t particularly long, but right to the point. Goro soon learned that the boy knew some victims of Kamoshida, but no names were listed. That was understandable, if Amamiya was friends with them, obviously he wouldn’t speak of something like that with a stranger.
Not that Goro actually knew what was considered fair in a friendship. He wasn’t lucky enough to experience that.
“Say, Amamiya-kun. Kamoshida taught your class, right? Did you have any problems with him personally?” He asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
Amamiya spent a little more time thinking on this one, not even looking at Goro. He tried to read something from his expression, but the black-haired boy was way too good at keeping his face blank.
“Well, he was the one to leak my criminal record to all the other students, so I guess?” Amamiya finally muttered. “Can’t really bring myself to like him after that.”
Goro felt sorry for him. And somewhat angry at that man, too. He knew what it’s like to have your life story discussed behind your back, and now, despite not being a Shujin student himself, he felt like it was sort of personal. The adults weren’t going to help kids like them.
“I’m… sorry to hear that,” he said, but the boy just laughed.
“It’s fine, don’t bother. You gotta get better at interrogating people if you want to be a detective.”
“I’d like to believe this isn’t an interrogation, just a normal conversation, Amamiya-kun,” Goro sighed. “I don’t want to come off as too forceful…”
“You’re good, don’t worry. Anyway, if your next question was going to be ‘do you think if Kamoshida was targeted because of a personal grudge’, then my answer would be ‘yes’. But Shujin is full of people like that.”
“Ah, then you also think a student might’ve been-”
“Beats me.” Amamiya shrugged. “What connection would it have to Madarame’s case, then? I can promise you that I don’t know anyone at Shujin who’d be particularly interested in art.”
“That’s where I’m stuck too,” Goro said. “There has to be some.”
And if he found it, he’d be able to narrow down the list of suspects from the whole Shujin student body to some specific individuals who formed this group. He couldn’t fool himself into suspecting someone without any evidence, after all. That was only leading him back to Kitagawa Yusuke… he really needed to talk to him…
“...kechi-san?” A voice pulled him out of his head.
“H-huh?”
“A habit of getting lost in thoughts? How cute,” Amamiya said in a teasing tone.
“That’s not it!” He protested, feeling himself blush anyway. “I’m most likely just tired…”
“Well, it is getting pretty late. Maybe you should just go home and rest? Don’t want you passing out on me.”
“I still have a shift at work today, so I there’s no point in going home now,” Goro sighed. He decided to take Amamiya’s words as a way of expressing concern, not trying to get rid of him. He had way too much fun talking to that boy to admit he was being a bother. “I already took too much of your time though. I’m very grateful you agreed to talk to me at all…”
“The pleasure is mine, Akechi-san,” Amamiya replied with a smirk. “I need to get going, but… would you mind exchanging phone numbers? And maybe chat IDs.”
“Why would you want my number?” Goro was genuinely surprised. “I don’t mind, but…”
“If I learn anything that might be useful to you, I’ll let you know. I’m interested in how things go for you,” he said.
Still a little baffled, Goro exchanged contact information with the boy he’s only known for a few hours, saving him under his full name despite noticing that Amamiya definitely wrote something else there. What was is. Why did he do it.
He didn’t really know how to keep a friendly relationship with someone his age, and the fact that Amamiya’s number was the only one that could fall into that category at all was quite telling.
“I’ll pay for your coffee, since I invited you here,” the boy gave him a warm smile, and before Goro could protest he added: “Though I know a place that serves something way better. Next time, we should go there.”
Was that… an invitation? He couldn’t tell. It was pretty stressful, if he was being honest, but he had to play along.
“It sounds like a plan, Amamiya-kun.”
***
After Ren reported what happened (minus some details) to his friends, the Phantom Thieves collectively decided that Akechi was not to be trusted. Especially the fact that he asked about what Morgana said seemed to make him look suspicious. Because what normal person would assume a cat could talk, right? Only metaverse users could hear him, after all.
There wasn’t really any way of checking if Akechi was one though, so they had to keep their guards up.
This was very hard to do though, when Ren encountered a very sleepy Akechi at the subway station one morning. He seemed barely awake, clutching at his bag.
“Why is he even still wearing that blazer? Shujin students are already wearing summer uniforms,” Morgana muttered from his bag.
“But just yesterday Yusuke still wasn’t, right?” Ren reminded him quietly. “He’s a Kosei student, remember.”
“Tch.” The cat dived back inside as they came closer to the detective. “Just be careful around him.”
“Sure, sure.”
Ren tried to approach him without scaring him, but that seemed easier said than done. He seemed pretty out of it, even in comparison to Ren himself, who definitely wasn’t a morning person.
“Hello, Akechi-san.”
The boy jumped in his place, eyes widening as he looked around frantically, looking way more endearing than he should.
“A-Ah, Amamiya-kun… I apologize, I didn’t expect anyone to try to talk to me right now…” He said, still pretty disoriented. “But I should probably be grateful… I did almost fall asleep standing here.”
Didn’t expect anyone to talk to him… Does he have no friends?
“You seem tired. A rough night?” Ren asked.
“More like a rough week… Sometimes it’s hard to balance studies, multiple part-time jobs and personal interests,” Akechi replied with a sigh. “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to complain. It just slipped out.”
Ren thought about this for a moment. It seemed like they actually had a lot in common, in a way. At least when it came to dealing with their time.
“It’s okay, I can understand that,” he replied. “But to be able to deal with that, you need sleep, you know?”
He could feel Morgana turning around in his bag. He was going to pay for it later, when he wanted to go out at night.
“Thank you for your concern, Amamiya-kun, but I’ll be fine.” Akechi gave him a tired smile. “But maybe you’re right and I should work less shifts...”
“Do you really need money that much?”
“Well, I don’t have anyone who’d support me after all. I was accepted into Kosei High School on scholarship, and that’s the only reason why I’m here,” he said. “Ah, I did it again. I’m sorry, for some reason you’re very easy to talk to.”
Ren thought that maybe to someone like him anyone willing to listen would be easy to talk to, but he couldn’t say that out loud. Also… this thin thread of understanding between them felt nice.
“I see you’re working hard, Akechi-san. I’ll be cheering on you,” Ren said, and to his own surprise it didn’t even sound like a joke. He could swear the other boy flushed slightly.
“Uhm, thank you, I suppose?” Akechi muttered. “Sorry, that’s not something… I hear often.”
“Oh? Then I’ll have to do that more often. Through text, maybe?” He pulled out his phone right away and opened his contact list to find Akechi’s number.
“What? No, you really don’t have to do tha-”
“Too late,” Ren interrupted him with a grin, after sending him a quickly typed “good luck”, with a heart emoji he added on a whim.
If Akechi saw it as flirting… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad actually.
All of this was only to extract information from him, of course. Of course.
“You keep surprising me, Amamiya-kun,” Akechi said, laughing a little. “I’m sorry though, I don’t have anything new to report to you yet, even though… I might be doing some progress.”
“It’s okay, I can wait. By the way… When do Kosei students change into summer uniforms?” He asked, just out of curiosity, but Akechi froze for a moment, his eyes widening.
“Oh no. It was supposed to be today,” he muttered in a panicked tone, but then just sighed. “If I were to go change now, I’d end up being late. How could I forget though…”
“You seem to have way too much on your mind,” Ren said sympathetically. “Everyone needs some time to relax. How do you feel about checking out that place I mentioned last time? I’ll send you the address.”
“To be honest… why not? It would be rude to reject an invitation, so… I’ll gladly accept it.”
Ren could feel Morgana trying to claw at him through the fabric of the bag, and couldn’t understand why. There was really no reason to worry, even if he and Akechi were getting along… surprisingly well.
That’s when he noticed something small and red dangling from Akechi’s bag. Something that looked pretty familiar.
“Hey, what is this…?”
“Huh? This…” Akechi looked panicked for a second again, then instantly became defensive. “I-It’s not mine.”
Ren gave him the worst smug grin he could manage.
“Then how did a keychain with the logo of the Phantom Thieves end up in your possession?”
“I… I found it somewhere?” He replied, not sounding very sure of himself. “I don't even know why I put it on my bag. Maybe I just went with the crowd.”
“Is that so? I didn't take you for someone like that,” Ren teased.
“W-Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you! Ah, look, it's my train, I need to go. See you some other time, Amamiya-kun!” Akechi exclaimed, dashing off as fast as he could.
What a convenient timing… Ren wouldn't mind watching him squirm for a little longer. Admittedly, it was pretty amusing, catching Akechi with a piece of phan-merch. Especially after everything he'd told him about his views on them so far.
“This guy is so sketchy,” Morgana said from the bag after the detective was gone. “You shouldn’t be so friendly with him.”
“You think so? I find him pretty fun.”
“You have a weird definition of fun, Ren. Also, it’s time for us too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He just felt like this accidental connection could turn into something interesting, and… he had to find out if his gut feeling was right.