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The streets of Yongen were dark, no stars filled the night sky and the lamps that took their place glowed only with a dim light. Endless alley ways branched off, each leading into its own labyrinth intent on trapping those who didn’t know the way. Shadows passed by slowly, unaware, their faces covered not by masks, but by mourning shrouds.
Akechi quietly wove through the shadows. He was rusty after his time away from the metaverse, but even he could tell they were powerful. With Loki and Robinhood at the ready, he made his way to the center of it all.
LeBlanc radiated a warm glow. Unlike the rest of the street, it stood as a perfect replica of its true location, down to the fading banner. Through the door, a familiar scene played out.
Akira stood by the bar in his winter clothes. He looked like he was about to fall apart. Facing away from the door was Akechi who spoke with resolve. Then, an argument. Gray eyes burned with useless conviction. In the end, it was all for nothing. A reluctant agreement, and Akechi was set to march to his own death. He approached the door, only for the scene to reset once he touched the handle.
Akechi tried not to watch for too long. He needed to go deeper to find the true shadow. He opened LeBlanc’s door, but not before making eye contact with a desperate Akira.
When Akechi left LeBlanc, the first thing he did was check his phone. His stomach filled with dread when he saw it. The Metaverse App, along with the Metaverse, was destroyed after Maruki’s defeat. Or, it should have been.
Akechi looked down at the familiar eye on his phone. It stared at him, taunting in a way. Daring him to explore.
Inside the building was not the cozy interior of LeBlanc, but a large dance hall. Masked shadows laughed and danced with each other. At the center of them all, a familiar face.
Akechi pushed his way through the crowd, throwing caution to the wind. This many shadows would be a problem on his own, but something told him Akira wasn’t in the mood to kill him.
When he finally made his way to him, Akira was waiting with a large grin.
“Looks like the guest of honor is here,” He wore his joker mask. Beneath it, gray eyes looked more than pleased. “But you’re missing something.”
With a snap of his fingers, a red mask appeared.
“Where’s the exit?”
“You don’t like it?” Akira tilted his head. He frowned, confused, before brightening up again. “Maybe this one then.”
The mask in his hand shifted, becoming black and pointed. Akechi watched in distaste which Akira seemed to pick up on.
“Not doing it for you either, huh?” Blue flames engulfed the mask. Once they cleared, a copy of Joker’s own domino mask was left in his hands. “I always wondered how you would look in this one.”
“I’m not here to play games-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know how this works,” Akira took a step forward. He affixed the mask to Akechi’s face. Suddenly, blue flames engulfed his outfit, changing his clothes to a mix of Joker’s costume and own more princely one. “But you can’t go through unless I open the door.”
The cognition pointed to a large, ornate door. Several shadows stood guard.
“What if I just killed you instead?”
“Then the door wouldn’t open and every shadow in the hall would be on you,” Akira crossed his arms and tilted his head. “I’d reform anyway, so it’s not like you’d be doing much.”
“What do you want?”
“Just one dance,” Akira held out his hand with a grin. “I’m not that horrible to be around, am I?”
Akechi hesitated. “You shouldn’t say that,” He took Akira’s hand and was immediately pulled close.
“You got taller.”
“So did you.”
“It happens,” Akira stepped forward, taking the lead in their little dance. “Five years does a lot, huh?”
Akechi didn’t have anything to say to that. He looked down at the floor, watching their feet, until Akira lifted his chin.
“It’s bad manners to look down.”
“Since when do you care about manners?”
“This is my ball, Akechi. I have to set a good example,” Akira looked around, urging Akechi to do the same. He realized that all eyes were on them. The shadows were repeating their steps. “If I can’t do it-”
“Is this meant to represent the Phantom Thieves then?”
“The Phantom… Oh! Them!” Akira’s seeming lack of awareness was more than a little concerning. Though, given this wasn’t the shadow, then maybe it wasn’t as terrible a sign. “I can’t even remember the last time I saw them!”
“I noticed they're not here.”
“We don't talk much. We used to,” A sudden spin sent Akechi falling against Akira’s chest. He chuckled as Akechi recovered. “But, I just… stopped.”
“And why is that?”
“Look around,” Akira had a strangely bitter look on his face. “I’m no better than any of the palace rulers-”
“How dense can you be?” Akechi suddenly stopped mid-step. Akira fumbled but quickly recovered. “Just because you have a palace, you’re evil now? Grow up. A palace isn’t a mark of evil, it’s distortion, I know you know that.”
Akira looked down at his feet. The shadows around them did the same. Slowly, the dazzling lights began to dim as the shadows melted into puddles of ichor. Akechi readied himself for an impossible fight, but they didn’t seem interested in reforming.
“Why do they always want me to lead?” Akira spoke in monotone. He let go of Akechi before stepping back. “Every choice I make hurts someone… So why do I have to keep making all the choices? Wasn't Maruki enough?” Akira looked up at him, his eyes flashed gold before returning to their former gray. “Even here-”
“Stop being so full of yourself,” Akechi grabbed Akira without warning. He pulled him close as he began to lead his own dance. It wasn’t as practiced as Akira’s but it was easy enough for the cognition to follow. “Do you expect others to read your mind?”
“No-”
“Then why should you try to read theirs? It’s impossible to make the perfect choice where nobody suffers. That’s the nature of life. If you’re so tired of the responsibility,” Akechi stopped their dance abruptly. Neither of them let go of each other. Instead, Akira clung to him. “Ask for help for once.”
“Akechi…” Akira pulled away. His mask burned away, as did Akechi’s. Akira snapped his fingers as the room reset. Behind him, the large doors opened. “What do you think this is?”
No one recognized him. No one even seemed to remember him. The blank look from Makoto had been strange enough, and he didn’t even particularly like her. What would he do if he got the same response from Akira?
Ahead of him were dark halls. The floor was made of stone, and the walls concrete. Once the ballroom doors closed behind him, there was hardly enough light to see the way in front of him. It reminded him of Sae’s maze of darkness. Back then, they had Joker to navigate for them, now, Akechi relied on his instincts.
He slowly made his way forward, hoping that the lack of shadows he sensed would continue. The emptiness of this palace, while off-putting, was at least somewhat safe. Still, the silence made him anxious.
Akechi kept his hand on one of the walls to track his path. He noted each turn, making a mental map for himself in his head. The part of the palace was large, much more so than the ballroom. It also seemed much easier to get lost in compared to Yongen.
The same concrete was all he felt beneath his fingers. It was rough, but not enough to hurt. The floor seemed smooth without so much as a speck of dirt on it, only further giving proof that this portion of the palace was empty.
Akechi kept going until he felt a difference in the wall. A space, then, metal bars. He stopped before what looked like a cell without a door. Inside was a dark figure, though, Akechi had a guess as to who it was.
“Joker,” The figure turned around. His eyes glowed red, though they didn’t give off any real light making it impossible to make out any other details about him. “How do I get out of here?”
The figure remained silent. It just stared at him like a caged animal.
“Akira,” Still no response. Akechi huffed in frustration, deciding to take a seat in front of the cell. The eyes continued to silently watch him. “What’s this supposed to be then, do you feel trapped?”
No answer.
“Where is your shadow?”
No answer.
“Can you even see me? It’s me, Ake-”
“Stop!” The voice was distorted, though undeniably Akira’s. He cowered away from the bars of the cell. “Don’t… Please, don’t say his name.”
“That got your attention,” Akechi sighed. “Tell me how to leave and I won’t say that name again.”
Akira seemed to consider the offer. Suddenly, a dim light appeared behind the bars. It allowed Akechi to see a bit more of this cognition.
Unlike the previous room, this Akira was not (presumably) his modern day appearance. Instead, it was the same one he remembered. He wore Shujin’s uniform, though didn’t wear his glasses with it.
“How do I get in there if the door’s with you?”
Akira didn’t speak. He just lowered his head.
“That’s how it’s going to be?” He stood up and inspected the bars. They seemed rusted, perhaps they were weak enough to break.
Akechi reached out and grabbed one of the bars. He pulled, which only caused Akira to cower further into himself. It didn’t break, but with some effort, it did bend. Akechi pulled it to the side with as much strength as he could muster.
“D-Don’t come in,” Akira’s voice was small but panicked. The light suddenly went out and Akechi found himself thrown forward as the bar snapped back into place. He hissed in pain as he hit the floor.
“Shit,” Nothing felt broken, nor did he feel any blood. Akira’s eyes remained on him, watching from the darkness. “Why are you being so difficult?”
No answer.
“Just let me get through already!”
Nothing.
Akechi let out a frustrated sigh. Then, an idea came to mind. “You don’t want me to say my name?” Red eyes shook slightly. “Then let me through.”
“...I’ll hurt you.”
“You already threw me to the ground.”
“S-See?!”
“Akira,” Akechi sighed as he moved towards the cell. He locked eyes with Akira as he reached his hand through the bars. Before Akira could notice what he did, he gently cupped his cheek. “You’re not hurting me.”
Akira immediately moved back, bumping into the wall behind him. Once again, light flooded into the hall. This time, it was brighter. Akira’s eyes widened in shock.
“A-Akechi… No, you’re dead! I killed you!”
“You didn’t kill me, Akira.”
“I- I couldn’t save you!”
“That’s not the same thing,” Akechi moved closer. “The choices I made were my own, not yours. You recognized that in Maruki’s reality.”
Akira remained silent for a moment. He closed his eyes as the bars faded away. “It hurts.”
“Then stop hiding,” Akechi walked into the cell and past Akira. He placed his hand on the wall, causing the light to grow even brighter. “You can’t solve your problems if you can’t even face them.”
”Akira? No, I’ve never had any employees named Akira,” Sakura shook his head. “Certainly never had anyone living here.”
The responses were all the same. Akechi forced a polite smile on his face. “Thank you for your time.”
Inside the next room was nothing but a boy. Akechi walked in a white void, getting neither closer nor farther from him.
“Akira!” Akechi called. That got his attention. Gold eyes quickly snapped to Akechi’s location before widening in surprise. In an instant the distance between them closed.
“Akechi…” He looked… Pale. Thin. His eyes were bloodshot and showed a lack of sleep. “What… What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Akechi pulled out his phone. “The metaverse is back, but there only seems to be one palace.”
“H-How are you alive- No, that doesn’t matter,” Akira pulled Akechi into a tight hug. “Akechi… You have no idea how much I missed you”
“Akira, we have to go back.”
“What?”
“Something happened, likely related to the return of the Metaverse,” Akechi pulled away from the hug, but Akira didn’t let go. He loosely kept his hands wrapped around his waist. “Your friends don’t remember you-”
“I know… But, it’s better that way!” Akira smiled wide, though it held no joy. “They wanted to help me but, it wasn’t really working. I just wanted to disappear and then… They stopped coming by! I was sad at first, I tried to fix it but they were happy without me so I guess I was happy too and- Akechi? What’s wrong, why do you look so upset?”
“Akira,” Akechi looked down at the endless white expanse. What sort of power did he have? “You did this?”
“Not on purpose! I just… Really wanted something to happen and then, poof. It’s like I never even existed, just like I wanted,” Akira pulled Akechi closer. “But now you’re here! I really wanted you back, but you never came until now.”
“I tried-”
“It doesn’t matter. The past is the past. We can just pick up from where we left off and-”
“No!” Akechi pushed him away. “It’s been five years Akira, we’re well past where we left off. You can’t keep waiting for me, you need to live your own life.”
“But… You’re right here! I don’t understand.”
“Is this how you want to live your life? Wasting away, forgotten by everyone?”
“You remember me, that’s enough!” Akira reached out but Akechi stepped back. “You’re alive and you’re here Akechi, that’s more than enough for me.”
“It shouldn’t be!” The look in Akira’s eyes, it disgusted him. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel pity for him at this point. “You have people that care about you. They were trying to help you!”
“They’re better off without me-”
“You don’t get to make that choice for them!” Akechi took another step back. “Just like you didn’t get to make that choice for me.”
Akira said nothing to that. He lowered his gaze.
“I don’t want to lose you again…”
“So you’re willing to lose everyone else instead.”
“I… You have to understand. You were willing to give up everything for-”
“And where did that lead me? Where did that leave you?” Akechi took a step forward. “Do you think I enjoy seeing you in this state? I wanted to find you again, my equal but right now, you’re just a shell of yourself.”
“Does that mean you’re going to leave again?” Akira’s voice was quiet.
“That depends on you.”
Akira remained quiet for a moment. Then, he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a well worn glove and handed it to Akechi. “Please… At least tell me you’re okay when you get out.”
Akechi held the glove to his chest as the ground began to shake. To think, all these problems could be caused over something so small.
“I will.”