Everyone was gathered in Leblanc. Shiina sat between Ryuji and Makoto, staring at Akechi expectantly.

"When you say that you want us to 'cooperate' with you, what exactly do you intend us to do?" Makoto asked.

He smiled charmingly. "That's a good question, but might I have a cup of coffee first?"

Shiina pursed her lips. Did he think this was a game?

"Quit fuckin' around!" Ryuji barked.

"Please keep this short." Makoto said as politely as she could.

"There's a bounty for information in addition to the arrest warrant... Those are quite desperate measures. I'm referring to Sae-san's actions. I assume all of you are at your wit's end as well. She must be considerably vexed if she's gone that far. Make headlines with the arrest warrant, then use incentives to get testimonies. It's not a bad method." He said lightly.

"The police have nothing on us. There's no way they can make an arrest," Futaba said firmly.

He nodded in agreement. "True. I'm the only one who's ascertained your true identities. However, the groundwork for fabricating testimonies and concocting a culprit are underway."

Futaba glared, "We don't care about that self-gratification. Get on with it."

He sighed. "I'll be blunt. I'm thinking of triggering a change in Sae-san. I've already discovered that she has a Palace."

"Huh? Really?" Haru asked in surprise.

"Is this to prevent the investigation agency's recklessness?" Yusuke asked.

"Precisely." Akechi confirmed.

Ann frowned. "Still, there's no need to change her heart just for that..."

"Indeed," Yusuke agreed. "It's hard to believe that a single person can fabricate all that."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case," Akechi said. "What if I told you that those around her would turn a blind eye to false evidence?"

"They'd do something like that?" Shiina's eyes widened. "What—what about Pro Heroes?" It wouldn't surprise her if Endeavor put innocent people behind bars, but it would definitely sicken her.

"Because most of the people Pro Heroes apprehend are villains during action, they're less likely to capture the wrong person and create false evidence," he replied, and Shiina's shoulders sunk with relief. "As for the police... Well, they're more trusted than I thought. Their priority is settling the situation. They don't care who the supposed culprit is."

"They're completely rotten!" Ryuji exclaimed angrily.

"My objective is to find the true culprit. That must be the case for all of you too." Akechi said. "However, the current situation is extremely bad."

"If worst comes to worst, someone unrelated will be set up as the culprit, huh...?" Yusuke asked knowingly.

The brunette nodded. "Our only solution to this is to make Sae-san come to her senses. If she's in her right mind, she can stop this situation. Her sense of justice wouldn't allow it."

"So that's why..." Haru trailed off.

"The truth will be covered up, and an innocent civilian's life will be destroyed... I can't allow such a thing to happen. My own ethics won't stand for it." Akechi stated. "And changing Sae-san's heart will be to protect her as well."

"How do you mean?" Makoto sat up in alarm.

"If the true culprit were to learn that she's responsible for the investigation... what would happen?" He questioned, and Makoto's face contorted into horror. "I'm certain they'll aim for her life. She's the perfect target to place blame on the Phantom Thieves."

Makoto fell silent, staring down at her lap with wide eyes.

"So how about it?" He asked. "Will you agree to my plan?"

"Even though you're particular about being just, you're willing to get your hands dirty?" Yusuke rose a brow.

Akechi looked down. "It can't be helped in order to ascertain the truth. There is also one more merit in changing Sae-san's heart: It will become a warning to not mess with us." He stated. "They can't go public if someone in the investigation has a change of heart. It'd show their corruption. All that's left from there is for me to discover the identity of the true culprit."

"What do you mean...?" Ann asked slowly.

Makoto glared at him. "You're gonna tell us to announce our disbandment once the real culprit is arrested... aren't you?"

Despite her harsh glare, Akechi lip's turned into a friendly smile. "As expected from a Niijima. So, what do you say? I don't think it's a bad deal for either of us."

Shiina didn't quite know how to feel about disbanding. She had just become a Phantom Thief and once the true culprit was found, they'd have to disband? But what if there were other corrupt people in the word like... her father?

"Makoto... What's your take on all this?" Ryuji asked the older girl.

She crossed her arms, looking uncomfortable. "It's a well-made plan. It even takes putting an end to our team into consideration."

Akechi's smile widened. "I'm flattered to hear that."

"Why are you willing to do all this, Akechi-kun?" Haru asked. "Why do you seek justice?"

"Because of sickening human beings... Yes. My contempt for such people drives my sense of justice. It isn't some grand reason like society's sake or some lofty ideal. It's simply an absurd grudge... and extremely personal."

His father? Shiina found herself wondering. She remembered him admitting to having something close to 'daddy issues', so was this where his sense of justice stemmed from?

"You know, doesn't he remind you of us...?" Ann pointed out.

"You think?" Akira asked.

She scratched the back of her head. "I can't really explain it... But I guess it's how some disgusting adult pissed him off."

"We're similar, hm...?" Akechi murmured. "Maybe that's why I thought that I could ask this of you all... Won't you cooperate with me on the mission to change Sae-san's heart?"

"We don't have a choice." Akira said, earning himself a smile.

"...Thanks. I was actually rather worried there. This mission can't succeed without your cooperation, after all."

"The Phantom Thieves will be disbanded, and everything will work out... I pray it does." Yusuke said.

"Mako-chan," Haru spoke up softly, noticing the girl's silent demeanor.

"I'm okay," Makoto assured, though she definitely didn't look okay. "I never brought it up until now... but the reason I joined the Phantom Thieves is... Because I wanted to change my sister's heart. I was hoping it'd never come to pass though. I've known for quite some time that she has a Palace." She admitted.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ann asked, no animosity in her voice.

"It was too selfish of a reason..." She answered. "Though, I was too scared to look any further into it on my own..."

"Why don't we try going there now to scope the place out?" Akechi suggested. "A lot of this will be new to me, so I'd like to get myself accustomed to it too."

"I'm sorry. I actually have plans today..." Makoto said.

Everyone sent her questioning stares while Akechi's face hardened for a fraction of a second. "I see. That's unfortunate."

"Will you tell your sister about this?" Haru asked her.

"Of course not, it's just..."

"You seem awfully evasive today. Is something the matter?" Yusuke pointed out.

"I just can't make time today." She replied.

Akechi released a soft sigh. "Let's call it a day then and resume this tomorrow."

— ❤ —

"Why are you still here?" Morgana asked curiously, hopping onto the table in front of Shiina.

With a sigh, she lifted up her phone to show him the screen.

[Fuyumi: Dad's in a bad mood tonight... I don't know where you are, but you should probably stay there until he cools down.]

[Fuyumi: And Shouto's ok if you were wondering.]

"What is it?" Akira asked, approaching their table.

"Shiina's basically stuck here until her dad calms down," Morgana answered.

"According to Fuyumi nee-chan, he's pissed about something." Shiina sighed. "I hope you don't mind, but can I stay here until he chills out?"

"Sure," he replied. "Stay as long as you like. Do you want some curry for dinner?"

She rose a brow. "...You can cook?"

"I live in a cafe." He pointed out.

"Oh right," she muttered, just realizing it. "I am starting to get hungry..."

"I'll get started then," he chuckled. Before he went to work, he headed for the bathroom (and of course he'll wash his hands afterwards).

"You know what I just realized?" Morgana said, frowning deeply.

"Hm?"

"That we agreed to disband the Phantom Thieves after changing Sae's heart... which means—"

"—We won't be able to change my dad's." Shiina finished.

"But it doesn't have to be that way!" Morgana insisted. "We can tell Akechi what the situation is, and if he has a sense of justice like he claims he has then he'll let us infiltrate one more Palace after this one!"

"But what if they find out?" Shiina despaired. "Endeavor's not going to keep quiet if he receives a calling card. The detectives are still wary of me. If they find out that Endeavor somehow got a calling card from the Phantom Thieves, they'll know it was me who delivered it and they'll connect me to you...! I already made Shouto's life worse, I-I can't do that to all of you...!"

He frowned sadly. "Shiina..."

"After my heart was changed, I wanted nothing more than to go over to the police and spill everything that man did to us." She began. "But... but you can't just go around saying that the Number Two hero abuses his wife and kids, you know? Nobody would believe it, and dad's always been good at covering things up," he covered her up, covered what happened to Touya up, and what he did to their mom... "The only way to be free of him is if he admits his wrongdoings to the world himself because there's no way people can't deny it."

"..." Morgana didn't know what to say, but he could see how much stress this dilemma was giving her.

"I want to save my siblings." She said firmly. "And I know that getting rid of that man is the only way to do it. But if I save them, then I might bring the whole group down and after everything you all have done for me... I just can't do that to you guys..."

"We'll figure something out...!" Morgana said weakly.

She shook her head. "No, just... just forget it..."

"You can't just dismiss something like this! You're stressing yourself out..." His frown deepened. "Maybe you should talk to Akira about this..."

She shook her head wildly. "No way! If anyone's stressed here, it's him! I'm not gonna dump all my issues onto the poor dude!" If anyone had the hard life here, it was Akira. He was put into probation for whatever reason and was sent all the way to Tokyo to live in the attic of some coffee shop. Not only that, but everyone in school were constantly spreading rumors about how he 'stabbed' someone and whatnot. Plus, he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

'Nuff said.

"Akira has a lot on his plate with what's going on with us now," she said quietly, feeling bad for her leader. "I don't want to add more onto his plate... He has enough as is. So I'll... I'll just deal with my dad for now."

Unbeknownst to them, Akira was listening to their conversation. In fact, he exited the bathroom when Shiina told Morgana about her doubts in changing Endeavor's heart and listened in to the very end. Her consideration on how he was faring warmed his heart, and he couldn't help but smile sadly to himself as watched her through the small gap he made from the bathroom door.

"Ah, senpai, what took you so long?!" Shiina whined as he finally exited. She was glaring at him with a pretty pout on her lips. "Were you taking a shit or something?"

He almost choked on his spit. "N-no!"

"Whatever," she huffed, crossing her arms and looking very much like the himedere Ryuji described her to be... "Just hurry up and make my curry. And it better be good, senpai!"

"I told you that you didn't have to call me that..." He sweat dropped, walking behind the counter to prepare her dinner.

She smirked mischievously, "But it turns you on, doesn't it?"

"Wha—?!"

"Hehehehehehe~!" Morgana and Shiina, the little devils they were, watched in pure amusement as he tried to make her curry, his face beet red as he did so.

— ❤ —

"Can I walk you home?" Akira asked as he finished washing her dishes.

"Hmmm," she hummed, looking up at the ceiling as she plastered on a thoughtful look before shrugging. "Sure, I guess. But don't blame me if Shouto-nii scares you off again."

He decided to ignore the last sentence and turned to Morgana. "Can you stay here?"

"Huh?" Morgana blinked.

"...Please?" He added.

Morgana huffed. "Fine..."

"So why'd you have Morgana stay at Leblanc?" Shiina asked curiously. They were walking towards the station right now.

"I wanted to talk to you."

She whipped her head up at him. "About what...?" She asked cautiously.

Oh no, she thought. Did he hear us?!

Unfortunately for her, he did.

"I overheard what you and Morgana were talking about while I was in the bathroom." He said.

She narrowed her eyes and accused, "You eavesdropped."

"Maybe," he said. "But I wanted to apologize about how we couldn't do anything about your dad. I... understand why you're so worried."

She looked down. "Oh..."

"And I also wanted to say that I think it's sweet that you're so worried about me." He suddenly smirked, and Shiina nearly tripped when she saw it. Was it just her or did Akira actually look hot when he smirked?

Her cheeks were on fire but she snapped at him as if they weren't. "I'm only worried because I didn't want the stress to damage your already shitty leadership skills, okay?!"

"Are you a tsundere?" He asked randomly.

"Hell no!"

Pure amusement was shining in his eyes, and Shiina huffed and looked away. A silence enveloped the two of them. It wasn't anything tense of uncomfortable, but Akira decided to cut through it.

"I won't be here for long."

She snapped her head towards him. "You're dying?!"

"No!" He answered quickly.

"Oh. Good." She sighed in relief.

"I meant, once my probation is over, I have to go back home." He clarified.

Her face fell just a little. "Right..." She said softly. "You don't actually live here."

"So because of that, I want to be able to help people as much as I can before I have to go." He explained. "And... I don't like the thought of not being to help you."

"I know," she said, remembering his words to her when they first met outside Big Bang Burger. He cares too much, she thought. He's always so caring. "Hey, Kira? How'd you end up here anyways?"

"I saw a woman being assaulted by a drunk," he began softly. "I went there to stop him. Since he was drunk, he fell and injured his head. He called the police on me and accused me of attacking him."

Her eyes widened. "W-what?! But didn't the woman say anything?! She knows you did nothing, right?"

"I think she was scared of that man, because she testified against me. And that's how I landed here." He explained.

She stayed quiet as his words sunk in. He was arrested, his future potentially jeopardized because of a false accusation.

"...Men in power are terrifying, aren't they?" She muttered, and he nodded in agreement. "And even so, you still want to help people... Damn, Akira, you sure you don't wanna try out UA?"

"I don't think they'd want someone like me." He chuckled.

"They let my dad in."

He let out a short laugh and it was then that Shiina noticed that Akira didn't really express much emotion as often as everyone else did. She recalled every team meeting they had and realized that he rarely ever spoke in them. In fact... he usually ever talked when someone asked him something. He almost always had a straight face glued on as well...

"You should smile more, senpai," she muttered to him. "You look less ugly when you do."

He placed a hand against his chest. "You think I'm ugly?"

"Well, you're better looking than Ryuji, I'll tell ya that."

"So you've been ranking us based on looks," he grinned. "Who's the best looking then?"

"Definitely Yusuke." She answered automatically. "Then it's you, then Ryuji."

"And the girls?"

"Me, duh," she scoffed, flipping her hair back like a total diva. "I'm the best looking out of all of you guys. Best dressed too." She added, eying his attire. It was actually pretty decent but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"You're so cocky," he chuckled.

"Can you blame me?" She asked rhetorically, but he answered.

"No. You're very attractive."

This time, she actually did trip.

"Sh—Shiina?!"

— ❤ —

"You look flustered." Shouto noted as his sister stormed into the house.

She froze in her tracks. "D-do I really?!"

"Yes, did something happen?"

"N-n-no!" There was no way she was going to tell her brother that she tripped on thin air because Akira called her attractive. No way Jose.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Who was walking you home?"

She squeaked and bolted for her room. "Nobodyyyyy!"