Chapter Text
Early Morning-
The bright lights of the station didn’t do much to pull his mind from its fog. They just made him want to close his eyes, and closing his eyes would lead to drifting off.
“I told you to go to bed earlier,” Morgana said.
“Next time I’ll listen,” Ren murmured. He rested against a pillar and checked his phone. Nothing new this morning. He clamped his teeth shut around a particularly powerful yawn and squeezed tears from his eyes.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Ren focused his vision.
“Who is it?” Morgana chirped. Ren gently elbowed the bag and feigned like he was adjusting the strap.
“Oh, right, I guess Shujin was in this direction too… still, I wouldn't have expected to run into you at this time. Perhaps it really is fate… How are you doing?”
Akechi Goro, the famed Second Detective Prince, stood before him in a crisp white button-up with a black and white striped tie with opposing directions between the knot and the tail. He wore leather gloves, and his right hand flexed tightly around a briefcase with an A on it. Ren deduced the 'A' most likely stood for Akechi.
The detective continued to smile politely at him.
“I'm sleepy,” Ren said, not fully registering the response. Akechi was his senior, and a celebrity at that. He debated attempting to recover by apologizing or bowing, but Akechi’s demeanor tilted for a moment. The polite smile flickered and the kindness in his eyes hardened. As soon as the expression materialized, Akechi managed to cover it right back up with polite concern.
“Did you stay up too late? Are you all right?”
Ren blinked at him, curiosity aroused. The inkling of something akin to scorn crossed Akechi's face - it looked nothing like the Goro Akechi crudely graffitied on the homeroom blackboard. Even the Akechi Goro on TV who chastised the Phantom Thieves seemingly portrayed practiced looks of disappointment tinged with condolences and regret for even having to dissent against public opinions. That flash of a look…Ren felt an urge to do something else to draw it out again. It made his heart race. Akechi Goro, the second coming of the Detective Prince, snapping harshly at his junior amongst the public. Ren liked the idea of getting under his perfectly composed demeanor. He had a fleeting image of tearing the princely mask from his face to reveal the bloody truth beneath, just as he and his friends did in the Metaverse.
Ren, while lost in his thoughts, simply stared at Akechi, dropping the natural flow of conversation long enough for Akechi to scoop it back up and save both of them from awkward, impolite, silence.
“...Ah, I do like that response. It’s honest, and it keeps the conversation from dragging. I’ve been interviewed quite a lot recently and have been wondering the best way to respond to the same question. I suppose it is best to simply be yourself and say what you think... Perhaps you’d care to accompany me to our respective stops?”
Ren nodded. The two of them stepped into the queue forming before the platform and stood side by side. Not two people ahead of him, Ren spotted Yusuke. He was taller than everyone in the queue, with a slender frame, dark blue hair, and a somewhat peculiar uniform that immediately signaled that he belonged to an art school, Yusuke stuck out. Ren masked his surprise and hoped Yusuke wouldn’t turn at the sound of his voice.
“Have you lived in Tokyo long?” Akechi said with a charming grin.
Ren looked back to Akechi as if he had forgotten he was there. “I’ve only been here a few weeks- well, I guess months now. I arrived in April.”
“Oh? May I ask as to why you moved here?”
“I-,” Ren’s hand found the strands of hair resting on the bridge of his nose and he rolled them between his fingers. He never put much thought into a lie - with his criminal record being leaked at school, everyone assumed before actually asking why he moved to Tokyo.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s a force of habit from work.” Akechi gave a gentle self-deprecating laugh.
“You didn’t,” Ren said automatically. It felt odd to be asked, almost normal. Perhaps he could forge a bond not based on his outcast. “My parents needed to focus on work, thought it would be best to stay with a family friend. What about you?”
“I’ve been here my entire life,” Akechi said.
An announcement came over the speakers, acting as a precursor to the arrival of the train.
“You must know a lot of Tokyo’s secrets.”
“Secrets?” The slightest tear in his gentle expression appeared - that same flash of discontent quickly spirited away within a second of its manifestation. His grin reappeared. “What an interesting topic choice.”
The train screeched into the station. People poured out of the opened doors and the ones in front of Akechi and Ren filed into an empty pocket. Yusuke ended up across from them, facing them, hugging his bag to his chest near a full row of seats. Ren and Akechi could no longer stand shoulder to shoulder, forced to face each other with Akechi’s back to Yusuke, granting Yusuke a direct view of Ren over the tops of a cluster of people’s heads. Akechi held his briefcase between them at leg level, and Ren hugged his bag to his chest, squeezing Morgana a little too hard in the process.
“Hey! Why didn’t you ditch the detective!” Morgana shouted from the bag. It wriggled in Ren’s arms and Ren gave him another, intentional, squeeze.
“Did your bag just move? What do you have in there, Amamiya-kun?” Akechi said, still somehow looking polite despite a curious expression.
“Don’t open the bag, Ren,” Morgana said.
“That depends, can you keep a secret?” Ren whispered.
Akechi’s eyes lifted to Ren’s. He studied his features for a moment, a hint of a dare in his eyes. Finally, he nodded.
Ren gripped the zipper and slowly pulled it towards him. The bag parted enough for Morgana to get an eyeful of Akechi and Akechi did the same with him.
“Gah! What did I tell you!” Morgana attempted to scoot back into the darkness of the bag, flashing his teeth at Akechi and arching his back against the top.
“How curious,” Akechi said. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it.
Ren zipped up the bag.
“Does it have a name?” Akechi smiled.
“Morgana. My guardian doesn’t want him home during the day.”
“Stop telling him things, he’s a detective - doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Morgana lamented within his fabric prison.
“Was he with you at the studio? I thought I heard meowing, although at the time I believed it was just the long day.”
Ren nodded.
“Well, your secret is safe with me.”
“Next stop, Aoyama-Itchome,” an automated male voice said overhead.
“Hopefully that won’t cause a conflict of interest,” Ren said.
“We have much bigger things to worry about than a feline stowaway.” Akechi winked.
Ren felt a smile warm his face.
The train slowed to a stop. As soon as the doors opened, the crowd shifted, almost taking Ren with it when he lingered too long just staring at Akechi’s face. He found his footing quickly.
“Hopefully we can chat soon,” Akechi waved.
“Yeah! See you!” Ren waved back, grinning a bit too enthusiastically.
“Pardon me,” Yusuke said, walking around Akechi and using his long legs to quickly catch up to Ren.
The doors closed, right when Yusuke matched Ren’s pace.
“Excuse me, Ren?”
“Yusuke,” Ren stopped mid-step and looked at him.
“Who was that you spoke to on the train? I didn’t want to intrude. I heard Morgana’s voice and spotted you.”
“That was Akechi-kun.”
“The detective from the TV?” Yusuke looked shocked.
Ren nodded.
“What ever could he want with you?”
“Well- walk with me?”
“Of course.”
“When we visited the TV station, he introduced himself and asked if we could possibly continue the debate we had during the question asking portion of the filming at a later date. He gave me his contact information but I never used it. He must have spotted me at the station and came to say hi…”
“Hey, let me out now!” Ren undid the zipper and Morgana popped out of the opening. He stood on Ren’s shoulder with his front paws. “Why did you show me to him? He could get you in serious trouble, Ren.”
“With all the chatting you do, I’m surprised you don’t get caught more often,” Yusuke said.
“Well I’m surprised you even noticed,” Morgana growled.
“What’s done is done,” Ren said.
They arrived at Shujin’s gates. Ren tucked his hands in his pockets and averted his eyes for a moment. “Listen, I know it’s probably not good to ask this, but can you both keep this to yourselves? I don’t want the others to know Akechi approached me, it’ll just make them worry.”
“If you deem that the wisest course of action, I will accept your request,” Yusuke said.
Morgana held his tongue. They both looked at him. “Fine… but if Akechi tries anything…”
“I will tell the others if that does happen,” Ren said. His attention shifted to Yusuke. “Why did you follow me to Shujin? Your stop is quite a bit after Aoyama-Itchome, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Yusuke smiled. “I was curious. I must depart now, thank you for your company.”
“Bye Yusuke…” Ren said, looking nervous for his friend who headed back in the direction of the station.