Summary: The group finds a new target. You’re still Akechi’s.
Warnings: swearing, toxic akechi as usual
You never thought a museum could stir up so much drama. After a week or two of being silently stalked by a blueberry haired art student, Akira and Ryuji stood in to successfully block Yusuke from creeping on both you and Ann. Well… creeping is a strong word.
After getting to know the outlandishly flamboyant art student, you’ve found that his silent (and frankly stalker-esque) observations has been nothing but pure admiration for both you and Ann. He mentioned something about how you both balanced each other out like ice and fire. Ironic, really.
“And you’re sure this guy won’t try and skin us?” You mumbled around your straw as you blink at Ann languidly. She nods, followed by support from Ryuji.
You look towards Akira who is already looking at you, “You’re seriously fine using us as bait?”
You were lucky Yusuke even agreed to let you and Ann back into his house after the blow up he had on the group. Ryuji brought up that Madarame was working him to the bone, as they had discovered in Madarame’s palace, but he had also manipulated Yusuke to think it’s okay for him to steal his artwork then demand more. You couldn’t really blame Yusuke for falling into it, the boy had no family or support to fall back on. The truth hurts sometimes, but the way Ryuji tried to shake some sense into Yusuke didn’t help too.
He’s more brawn than brains, I suppose.
“Lady [y/n]! If he tries anything I will claw his face up!” Morgana mewls as he pounces on the table. You smile as you bring your hand to rub over Morgana’s back. He purrs contently, walking in circles under your palm as he occasionally bonks his head against your hand.
Yeah… You’re definitely not a cat Morgana…
“Listen, if it means we can take a bad guy down, I’m down.” You break the silence, setting your cup down. Ryuji begins to rise from his seat, supposedly to make a big scene in support as he usually does, but he pauses as you continue, “As long as you actually think out a plan and don’t just throw us in there.”
They did not have a plan.
It was painful to say the least. Ann stumbled in wearing all but 100 layers of clothing and the worst poker face of all time. Frankly, you didn’t need to do a lot of distracting for Morgana because Ann’s skittish behaviour was enough to have Yusuke more than occupied. All you had to do was stand in front of the slightly ajar door and shrug when Yusuke threw you an incredulous look over his shoulder.
You have to admit it was quite hard to hold back a laugh when a powder blue bra is thrown into Yusuke’s face.
Of course the plan wouldn’t go completely smooth.
“Uh, what was that?” Yusuke frights as Morgana accidentally creates a loud slamming sound. You wince, glancing out into the narrow hallway. You try to shrug, “Probably a draft of wind knocking something over.”
Yusuke pales, “What if it knocked over one of Sensei’s priceless pieces?!” He stands from his stool, stumbling over the mess of clothes Ann left on his floor. You swiftly grab Yusuke’s shoulders, “Don’t look yet!”
Ann blinks at you. She finally pulls off her last layer, leaving her in shorts and a small tank top. She nods, quietly creeping out of the room.
“This is taking too long, I’m going to have to see you naked anyway.” Yusuke mumbles as he turns around. He blinks, clearly a bit puzzled to why you still have clothes on and the fact that Ann is gone. You smile awkwardly, shrugging. You laugh, “Can’t you just imagine it?”
Yusuke blinks, “Where is Takamaki-san?” You look around as clueless as you can muster.
“I didn’t realise she was go— and you’re leaving…”
“Shit.” You sweat, trailing after Yusuke. You can hear Morgana’s annoyed hissing as he fumbles with the door.
“W-What are you doing? We cannot go in there!” Yusuke panics as he rushes towards the fussy, mewling cat. His fear of being caught by Madarame seems to overlook the sight of a cat picking a lock.
The front door clicks, “I’m home!”
Oh great, Madarame has to come when Morgana doesn’t even have the door open.
“W-Wait!” Ann struggles as items of her own discarded clothing gets caught on her legs. Yusuke stumbles closely behind her, dodging each piece she flicks off her shoes. He panics as he doesn’t know whether to reply to his sensei or speak some sense into Ann. You crash awkwardly into the artists back as Madarame rounds the corner to the hallway. Morgana mewls excitedly as the lock finally cracks open.
Madarame looks clearly puzzled, “Yusuke? What are you doing here?” Ann grabs Yusuke’s wrist and tugs him towards the hidden room. You rush behind, grabbing the cord for the light switch to reveal the room.
Hundreds of copies of the Sayuri extend around the room. Yusuke falls back in a state of shock, calling for his sensei in confusion, “Sensei, what is this?”
“Get out.” Madarame demands, guarding the doorway. You stumble back to regain a bit of space between you and the older, aggravated man. Ann grabs your arm to steady your balance. Yusuke repeats himself once again, to which Madarame sighs. He spills some spiel about how he’s been trying to recreate the Sayuri to get over his creature slump. You glance at Yusuke who steps back from his advancing sensei. Clearly the sudden ‘frail old man who is just trying to get his creative spark back’ act does not match with the figure Yusuke knows.
Disgusting abuse of power.
“P-Please don’t…” Yusuke replies wearily as he steps away from Madarame’s extended arms. Ann steps forward, “Hold on. This doesn’t add up. A respected painter making money by selling copies?”
Madarame cracks, “What would you know!?” He sneers.
In the heat of the exchange, Morgana leaps forward and drags a dark purple tarp off of a particularly well-displayed canvas. He chirps as he does so, turning everyone’s attention to the canvas. Yusuke gasps, “That’s… It’s the real Sayuri!”
Madarame interrupts with a fire behind his eyes, “—No! That’s a replica too!”
Yusuke turns his back to Madarame as he drinks in the details from the original painting, “No, it’s real. I can tell as the painting kept me going. It’s the only thing that’s made me come this far. You’re lying, sensei.”
A pride swells in your chest. Both you and Ann share a confident smirk. This is going exactly to plan.
Except for the fact Madarame threatens to turn Yusuke to the police. Morgana creates an exit for you to all leave and you rush behind the scattering trio. Madarame stumbles to the floor after Morgana uses him as a makeshift launch pad.
You stumble and groan as you knock into the walls of the thin hallways, not realising that Morgana, Ann and Yusuke had fallen into a newfound vortex. You catch it last minute, legs stalling at the doorway but gravity punishes you, causing you to fall forward into the blurry, blue swirling floor.
A flurry of swears fall from your lips as your limbs go limp. A swash of colours flash before your eyes, manifesting into an ombré of golds and blues before you catch a glimpse of the dogpile below you. You barely have time to register your surroundings before you hit a pile of limbs.
“Ow! Fuck!” You pant as the air is knocked from your lungs. The body below your groans, unable to form a complaint beneath their pain.
“[y/n]!” Ann cries as she pulls you up by your limp arms. Your visions skews as you adjust to standing on your feet, a dull pain settling in your bones. You vaguely feel someone else pat you over for injuries. Probably Akira.
The body you landed on crumples together, “Am I dead?”
You jump, “Yusuke! I’m so sorry.”
The startled art student manages to pull himself to his feet after a few painful moments. You offer him a few more apologies but he’s swiftly caught up in the world he’s been transported to. You kinda forgot about that yourself…
Once the group was able to locate a safe room you were swiftly sent back to the real world. You could hear the sounds of them battling nearby shadows - as coined by Morgana - and the sound of Yusuke finding his persona. It’s still a little beyond you how you can go to this world but you just guess it’s some kind of proximity thing.
You startle once you appear in reality again. You kind of forgot that you were in Madarame’s house. Luckily you were able to grab your things (as well as pick up the suspicious trail of clothes) from Yusuke’s room and leave the house before Madarame realised you were still in his home.
It’s quiet when you step outside. The door closes shut with a slightly concerning squeak, but you ignore it. The sky has turned a peachy orange and the once bright sun has retreated behind a cluster of thick clouds. The birds had ceased their earlier chirping too, now replaced by the crunching of loose gravel beneath your feet.
“Didn’t take you to be a burglar.” You freeze as a voice interrupts the tranquillity. The gate to Madarame’s garden clicks closed, filling the pregnant silence between you and the perpetrator.
“Akechi.” You deadpan, heart rattling in your chest. How did the detective even find you here, better yet, what is he doing here himself? Did he hear about the rumours too? Surely a corrupt art tutor was far down on his list of important things to do but you suppose he must have enough free time if he’s able to chase you around.
Akechi steps forward and the closes the gap between you both. Your hands instinctively bury into your pockets as you try your best to not look so uncomfortable. Your heart drops as you realise he’s wearing the tan trench coat you bought him a year ago.
“Acquainted with Kitagawa?” He asks, yet it feels more rhetorical. You’re silent as you observe his face. It’s calm, a whisper of apprehension making his eyes twitch. He’s gotten better at keeping the mask on that he created for his public career.
You shake your head, “That’s what you’re here to ask me?” You mumble as your lips catch on your bottom lip. The wind tousles with Akechi’s perfectly styled hair yet he makes no move to fix it. You hate how your fingers twitch in your pocket at the sight.
“You caught me.” Akechi almost laughs, gloves hands swinging limply by his side. You’ve only just noticed his briefcase is missing.
He really is here in his own time.
Akechi stalls. You can tell there’s something hiding on the tip of his tongue but your body decides to move before you can fully process it. You thank whatever survival part of your brain tells your feet to start moving, but you’re less thankful when Akechi naturally falls into a stride with you.
“Are you here to tell me that I shouldn’t be hanging out with them again?” You ask. It comes out with a little more bite than you expected but Akechi doesn’t seem to be phased by it. In fact, he shrugs “You always weren’t very good at listening to me.”
You scoff, “Sorry I’m not your perfect little pet.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
The chill in the air transports you back to one of the last times you and Akechi actually enjoyed each other's company. The two of you always enjoyed little walks, hand in hand as you cheerily point out the wild animals that would appear in the long strands of grass. Akechi would smile - really smile. He wasn’t Akechi too, he was Goro. Your heart aches a little.
“Finals are over soon.” Akechi mumbles. You hum, gaze lifting from the uneven ground to glance over at the brunette. His head is downcast too yet he walks with a little more purpose than you do. His hands are stuffed in the pockets of his coat, directly mirroring your posture.
“I’m surprised you know that.” Akechi nods his head, “I got an extended deadline.”
Of course he does, detective prince.
Eventually the road leads into a side street, connecting you back to central Shibuya. The hustle and bustle of the city builds from a low buzz to muffled chatter. The sounds of vending machines and buskers begin to fill the silence between you and Akechi.
It doesn’t last for long, though.
“I met Akira.” Akechi glances at you. Your eyes dart to meet his as you drink in his expression. He continues, “It was luck really, Sae brought me. It’s her regular spot.” Sae. You vaguely remember the name as someone in a superior position to Akechi. Not that you think he cares much as he seems to do whatever pleases him.
“Okay?” You reply. He comes to a stand still, forcing you to copy. Once again you’re in a strange alley with Akechi having a weird conversation. He’s sure a creature of habit.
His eyes narrow, “You’re only going to get into trouble hanging around with this guy.” You could almost scoff. If one of his fangirls were to take a photo of you two right now you would be pummeled into the floor for even speaking to the prince. You shift and ignore how the chilly air begins to nip at your cheeks, "Funny coming from you.”
Akechi blinks, “Really? I can’t recall the last time I was on probation.”
“He’s not dangerous. He’s clearly been framed.”
“You’re just being naive. Did you just forget I watched you leave Madarame’s home?” Akechi clicks his tongue at you. He seems to be a bit too fond of doing that towards you at the moment.
“Did you miss the part when Kitagawa let me in the house? Or were you not stalking me then?”
Akechi rolls his eyes, “You’re purposely missing the point.”
A laugh escapes your mouth before you’re able to control it fully. Akechi scowls and opens his mouth to complain before you cut him off, “No, you are. I have never been harassed more in my life than after you put on this whole celebrity act. Do you know how many times a day I’m being asked ‘where Akechi is’ or what my business is with you? How I’m not worthy to be in your presence and that I’m clearly not your type so I should stop hanging onto your name? I’m sorry I found some stability with a group of friends that don’t fit your standards.”
Akechi can’t find an answer for that. Typical.
“Do you know that even the student council is trying to abuse me knowing you? How I was asked to beg you to come to the TV station when Shujin attends in a few weeks? I’m no one to people unless they want to get to you.” A sting presents itself in your eyes. You will yourself so badly to not let the tears manifest but it’s hard not to. It’s hard not to when the person who once brought you peace brings nothing but chaos to your life and he doesn’t even know it or seem to care about it.
“I’m sorry.” Akechi replies curtly. You don’t know if he notices the fat clumps of tears threatening to spill from your eyes but his reply is a little too late. You shrug, “You say that a lot. You don’t even seem to mean it.”
You turn in your heel with your guard fully up. You blink, gaze watery as the tears finally break past your lashes. The cool spring air dries them almost instantly and causes the chill in your cheeks to nip a bit more.
Akechi reaches forward, gloved hand extending before he can even fully think about it. He catches your shoulder with a strange urgency, twisting your position so he can collide your frame with his. The action leaves you little time to process what Akechi is doing before his arms press against your back, leaving you with no choice but to let your arms go limp. Your left cheek presses against the lapels of his trench coat, view skewed by tears and the fabric of his clothing.
“Stop.” You mumble, yet you can barely find it in yourself to push him away. The longer he holds you the further the pit in your stomach drops.
“Please.” Akechi begins, the begging words feeling foreign on his tongue. He shifts a hand up to hold the back of your head. You wince at the intimate action.
He continues, “Give me a chance. I really mean it.”
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