(Persona 5) A Heavy Hollowed Heart

Down for the Count

Akechi was a man of few restrictions, yet so many of them at the same time. His relationship with his parents and his new friends, while working hard to make a name of his own. It would all catch up with him. His relationship with his father was the worst. Akechi was always caught up in his father's expectations. He knew he caused his father so much frustration. For years all Akechi had felt was that he should not have been a part of that world, to begin with. That was until he met them. The phantom thieves. Akechi felt so proud when he had found out their identities. The only problem was his father had told him to do so. He had felt forced to spend time looking for criminals only to know that he was nothing better than a criminal. He killed people, caused them to have mental breakdowns. He even blamed his crimes on the Phantom thieves. Akechi wanted to be useful to his father. However, when he met Akira, his thoughts started changing.

Akechi stepped into the cafe Leblanc on a normal Monday evening. Hidden away in an alleyway, but it was by far the best coffee Akechi had ever had. Being a detective, he had tried a lot of different coffee, but nothing beat this. Upon stepping into the cafe his eyes met the slender, taller male with black hair. "Oh hello. Sorry for intruding" Akechi's voice echoed in the otherwise empty cafe. "Are you working tonight?" Akechi's voice made Akira look away from the TV where he had been watching the news. Akira's eyes were dark, sharp, but never once did they see through Akechi's hidden mask. "Yes. Sojiro had to take Futaba to the hospital," Akira answered. He pushed his slender body away from the counting he had been leaning against. "Oh, is she alright?" Akechi asked genuinely sounding worried. "She started feeling ill, but she'll be fine" Akira smiled gently. Akira's smile was so cute, or so Akechi thought. Even if Akechi had a bad day at work or an argument with Sae, Akira's voice would make his heart skip a beat. Not that Akechi would ever admit that to anyone.

"The usual?" Akira finally said, breaking Akechi from the trance he was apparently in. Akechi had been in quite a few of them whenever he was near Akira. "Ah. Yes please" Akechi smiled before sitting down on the chair by the counter. He set his bag down on the chair beside him. Akira was truly beautiful. He was smart, witty, slightly childish, yet so dark and mysterious. There was still a lot of things that Akechi could not figure out about Akira. Akechi would feel bad whenever he remembered that he had to end the life of such a unique character very soon. Akechi stood there, looking at Akira while he made his coffee. "Hard day?" Akira finally looked over at Akechi, forcing Akechi to look away. He could not find anywhere else to look but the TV. "That easy to tell?" Akechi chuckled lightly the way he usually does. "You were staring at me, that's how I could tell" Akira smiled before setting the cup of coffee down in front of Akechi. "You think I have a bad day whenever I look at you?" Akechi wrapped his slender fingers around the cup and looked up at Akira. Yes, Akira was truly a beautifully made person. "I used my detective skills" Akira joked. This made Akechi chuckle once again. "Of course. How could I be this blind? I am outplayed by your detective skills, Akira" he closed his eyes as he took a sip of his coffee. Akira smiled gently and folded his arms over his chest while watching Akechi.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Akira broke the silence, making Akechi looked up at Akira with a slightly confused face. "You really wish to hear about my day?" Akechi smiled, but Akira simply nodded in response. Even the ace detective Akechi Goro could not possibly figure out why Akira did the things he did. Akira was the only person Akechi knew who was smart and strong enough to lead a gang of delinquents. Yet stupid enough to get too close to his future killer. "The police is still investigating the Phantom thieves. As a Phantom Thief, I can't help but to worry what outcome this will have" Akechi started, "I worry that your popularity will keep dropping at this rate ... leading anyone who knows of you to backstab you" Akechi finished by taking another sip of his coffee. "You say 'you' like you're not a part of us, Akechi. You belong with us," Akira said before leaning over the counter. This in itself shocked Akechi. Never had Akira been this close to Akechi before. "Ah. I joined recently, and even now I can't tell why you let me join you" Akechi stuttered slightly. Akira smiled and sighed, before placing a hand gently on Akechi's cheek. Despite Akechi's fight to keep calm and keep his façade, a small part of him failed. Akechi gave into the touch and placed his hand on Akira's. Akira's touch felt nice. It was not cold like other touches he had felt before.