15 ❥ THE TRUE CULPRIT

A day after making an infiltration route in Sae's Palace, the Phantom Thieves held another group meeting at Leblanc. 

"Aw yeah! All we gotta do now is send the callin' card!" Ryuji cheered, leaning against his chair and throwing an arm behind an equally as relaxed Shiina. "So, when d'ya wanna send it? The earlier the better right?" 

Akechi shook his head. "No... In my opinion, we should wait until right before the time limit." He advised. 

Makoto quirked a brow. "May I ask your reasoning behind that idea?" 

"Sae-san is a realist. Even if she believes the Phantom Thieves exist, do you think she knows how they steal hearts? Furthermore, there is a chance she expects that she herself will be targeted." He explained. 

"So because her heart is ready for any possibility, the calling card might not have enough effect?" Haru guessed. 

"I only say that theoretically, but I believe so. Hence, it would be prudent for us to wait until we are driven into a corner to act." He said. "If we do so with no time to spare, I assume even Sae-san would have to be somewhat agitated." 

Makoto mused to herself. "Hm, ensuring the Treasure actually appears... that sounds quite logical. Impressive, Akechi-kun... Though it's a bit vexing that you know more about my sister than I do." 

He let out a laugh. "Haha, that's only because of my work as a detective. Well then, if our time limit extends to only five more days and we act the day after sending the calling card... Shall we send it out on the third day?" 

Morgana nodded in response. "We should prepare as much as we can before then. Well, I can't complain about having more time. Make sure you're ready, everyone!" 

"Alright!" Shiina breathed out, jumping up to her feet and making Ryuji's arm fall to his side. "Now that the meeting's done and over with, Yusuke, let's go." 

"Wait what?" Ryuji sat up a little straighter. "Go? Go where? Where're you guys going?" 

"We're going to her residence." Yusuke answered, prim and proper as always. 

"Why?" Akira was next to ask. 

"I have four hideously plain denim jackets and I need Yusuke's artistic skills to help me beautify them." Shiina replied. 

Akechi smiled, but only a true reader of facial expressions could see that his smile was tight and not as genuine. "Is that all you'll be doing?" 

"Well," Shiina looked up thoughtfully. "Endeavor's gonna be out late for patrols and shit, so Yusuke could probably stay over for dinner." 

Yusuke looked absolutely delighted to hear that. "Oh, I can't wait..." While he daydreamed about a hearty meal at the gorgeous Todoroki residence, he was completely oblivious to the dark stares three of his own teammates were sending him. 

When Yusuke and Shiina arrived at her house, Fuyumi was the first one to greet them. Her grey eyes lit up when she saw Yusuke and she went over to the pair happily. 

"Welcome back, Kitagawa-kun! Shiina told me you'd be coming over to help her out with some things so I made some snacks for the two of you to enjoy!" She exclaimed, holding out a tray full of assorted chopped up fruits with a bowl of chocolate syrup in the middle. 

Yusuke's eyes widened when he saw them. The perfect precision cuts and the way all the fruits were color-organized made his heart beat with joy. He gingerly took the tray from her hands. "Oh my, Todoroki-san, these fruits have been cut so beautifully! And the way you arranged them...! You truly are an artist!" 

"O-oh, really?" Fuyumi's cheeks flushed pink from the compliment. Shiina snickered to herself. Yusuke wasn't aware of it, but he could be really smooth with the ladies. 

"Thanks for the snacks nee-chan, do you know where Sho-nii's at?" Shiina asked. 

"He's studying in his room." Fuyumi replied. 

Shiina pouted in disappointment. "Aw, I would've loved it if he could join us." 

"We'll have to schedule another date where he is free," Yusuke said as they both began wandering over to the direction of her bedroom. Just before they could disappear into the hallway, Fuyumi heard him say, "Maybe then I could finally paint you and your brother naked." 

She blinked. 

"......What?" 

Meanwhile, Shiina was rummaging through her closet for the four denim jackets she wanted to paint on while Yusuke was inspecting the high quality of her brushes. 

"Aha, found 'em." She grinned, tossing them on the newspapers she had laid out on her floor to prevent staining. "You can paint two and I'll paint two." 

"And I can paint whatever design I want?" He asked, eagerly taking two jackets for himself. He was so eager that he was already picking through her set of white chalks. 

She nodded, sitting cross legged across from him. "Yup, just nothing weird like... a naked person. Dunno how the public would react to that." 

"Understandable. How shall we mix the paints?" He asked. 

"You mix the textile mediums with the paints to keep it from cracking or fading away when you wash it." She explained, also grabbing a piece of chalk. She already had a design in mind and was quickly sketching out the desired shapes she needed. 

Around ten minutes after they began, Yusuke asked quietly, "Any progress about the mystery persona user in your brother's class?" 

Shiina stole a quick glance at the door before answering, as if making double sure that nobody was listening in on them. "Akira advised me to ask nii-chan if that particular student wears a black mask with his hero costume, but nii-chan said he never wore masks. He said that his costume was military-esque and that he was able to summon a long spear kind of like how we're able to summon our own weapons." 

Yusuke listened intently, intrigued. "Did your brother say anything about his hero costume appearing at will or was it put on manually?" 

She shrugged. "I never thought to ask that, but it's not like it matters anyways... I told Akira that the student didn't wear a mask and suddenly that was all the evidence he needed to claim the dude as 'innocent'. I dunno, it just seemed like he dismissed it a little too easily." 

"Nevertheless... he's most definitely a Persona user despite how odd his summoning methods are," Yusuke noted, remembering that Shouto had said the student summoned his Persona via shooting himself in the head. "To think there would be another Persona user in this world." 

"A Persona user aiming to be a hero," Shiina added. "Do you think they're Quirkless like us?"

He frowned. "I'm not quite sure, but if they are, they would technically be the first ever Quirkless hero in the universe... It's too unfortunate that people don't know it." 

She nodded in agreement, snorting. "They'd shit their pants the second they realize he was actually Quirkless." 

The two of them shared a brief laugh at that. 

"Still though, I was almost positive that dude could be our guy. Our culprit I mean," Shiina corrected. "But," she heaved a sigh. "Akira said to let it go so..." 

"Perhaps he already has a culprit in mind." Yusuke guessed. "He'll tell us soon enough." 

"Hopefully." She muttered. 

Once she was done with her chalk design, she grabbed the masking tape and taped it around the borders of her jacket. Yusuke, being the perfectionist that he was, was still diligently sketching out his own design. She checked his drawing out, trying her best to decipher what it was in it's upside down state. She could see a bunch of flowers surrounding something in the middle... A face?

"Whatcha drawing?" She asked. 

He smiled, not looking at her. "You'll see." 

"Aww come on, I'll tell you what I'm doing! I'm drawing someone's face!" 

"Yes, I can see that from the big mouth you have in the center." He chuckled. 

"Oh." She looked down. Her drawing was pretty obvious since the details were so enlarged, unlike Yusuke's which were full of small and delicate looking designs. 

She started mixing up her paints. Yusuke didn't seem close to telling her what he was painted until he was done so she might as well finish her jacket. She mixed up her brown with white and added a hint of yellow and swirled it around until it created a satisfactory tan color. Next was to make a bright cherry red color. Once she was 90% done, she grabbed a thin brush coated in black paint and outlined her painting. Around an hour later, she was finally finished.

"Perfect!" She beamed, smiling down at her masterpiece. Now all she needed to do was let it dry out while working on the next one! As she stretched out to grab her second jacket, she peeked over at Yusuke's progress and let out a gasp of amazement. 

No wonder it was taking Yusuke so long, his artwork was so intricate and colorful! Now that most of it was colored in, she could clearly make out the face of a girl surrounded by features and flowers. 

"Damn Yusuke," she said, completely impressed. "You're really good." 

He smiled at her. "Thank you. Though I apologize if I'm taking too long." 

She shook her head. "No worries. If a little more time helps you make this masterpiece then take all the time you need." 

A few hours passed and the two were officially done with all four jackets. They were currently drying out on a clothes rack, leaving them to be admired by their artists. 

Yusuke's second piece was less colorful and smaller, but still beautiful and detailed. He had drawn a fox at the center of the back, clearly because of his codename being 'Fox'. 

"Did you paint a skull as a tribute to Sakamoto-kun?" Yusuke asked, motioning to her second design. The jacket was had rips on it which gave it a sort of edgy vibe, thus Shiina getting the idea of painting a skull on the back.

"Oh no, not really. I wasn't really thinking that," she admitted. "But it fits, huh? Pretty sure Ryuji would like it." She even snapped a picture and sent it over to him. 

"You and Sakamoto-kun are very close, are you not?" He suddenly asked, eyes glazed over as he stares at the jackets. 

Shiina had yet to notice. She was too busy typing back to Ryuji's happy texts and replied, "Yeah, we're kinda besties and all that." She finally looked up from her phone and saw the faraway look on the bluenette's expression. "Something wrong, Yusuke?" 

"Ah no. It's just that... now that I think about it, I've never really had a close platonic relationship with anyone other than you and the others." He admitted. "It's a bit... disappointing now that I am aware of how much I missed out on." 

She frowned sympathetically. "You had no one to play with as a kid?" 

He shook his head. "No. I was always stayed indoors practicing my art. I had always been in love with art... and as I grew up, I noticed how people strayed away from me because of my strong passions and eccentricities. I never liked it when people openly called me 'weird' or 'strange', so I avoided them and busied myself with my work..." 

"Well those guys missed out," Shiina huffed, crossing her arms. "You're not weird, you're just a great artist who appreciates the beauty of things. There's nothing 'weird' about that." 

He smiled at her, comforted by her endearing words. "Thank you, Shiina. It's a shame that you do not attend the same school as I. I imagine my school days would be much more brighter with you around." 

"It would," she heartily agreed. "I'm practically like a star." She snickered, tossing her silky red tresses back. 

"Oh, and you're a star too, Yusuke!" She quickly added. 

— ❤ —

"Are you just going to spend the rest of the lunch period staring at my boobs, Mishima-senpai?" Shiina drawled, inspecting her nails closely to make sure not a single one of them were misshapen even by a centimeter. 

"U-um—!" Mishima squeaked, his face turning red only to rapidly pale when Ryuji started to glower at him. "S-sorry, I was just... uh..." 

"Admiring my tits?" The red haired girl finished, looking up from her nails to give the bluenette a knowing smirk. "It's okay, senpai. Everyone stares at them, I don't blame you." 

Ryuji groaned, massaging his forehead. He could feel a headache coming through because of her. "Honestly, teachers come hounding at me every day 'cause of my dyed hair but nobody seems to complain about that—!" He pointed an accusing finger at the pair of fair-colored globes threatening to spill out from Shiina's blouse. "This is sexism, I tell you." 

"Mrs. Saggy always yells at me for 'em but she's just jealous 'cause she's, well, saggy!" Shiina snickered. 

"Who's Mrs. Saggy?" Mishima inquired with a tilt of his head. He was no longer staring at Shiina's boobs. 

"My homeroom teacher." She replied. "You know, the hella old lady who puts her white hair in that super tight bun?" 

Mishima's eyes flew open. "Mrs. Sagari!" He exclaimed, recognizing her from the very detailed description Shiina provided him with. 

"You know her?" 

"She was my homeroom teacher from last year," Mishima said. "Man, she's awful isn't she? She's always so strict! Does she still smack the students with her ruler? I swear, that thing's made of steel!" He shuddered, obviously having experience with Mrs. Sagari's ruler of doom. 

"Nah, I heard the school made her stop that because it was seen as abusive." She said dismissively. 

Ryuji snorted. "Oh, so the school was perfectly chill with Kamoshida who was beating up the male students and sexually harassing the female ones, but god forbid they let an old lady smack a few losers around with a ruler." 

Mishima frowned over at him. "...I was one of those 'loser's..." 

Ryuji fidgeted in his seat awkwardly. "Oh... Uh, sorry." To escape the awkward situation, he stuffed a rice ball in his mouth and looked away. 

Mishima focused on Shiina. "So Kiberi-san," his voice lowered down to a whisper. "Are you part of the Phantom Thieves now?" 

If she was drinking something she would've spat it out all over him. Instead, her eyes just looked like they were about to jump out of their sockets. "Wh-wh-wha-what?!" She and Ryuji exchanged looks of pure panic. 

"We-we're not the Phantom Thieves!" Ryuji spluttered and Shiina thanked the lord that the cafeteria was full and everyone's voices were at their maximum volume because Ryuji—for fucks sake—couldn't quiet down to save his life (or their lives in this case). 

"I would never do something so criminal!" Shiina insisted, nodding her head wildly. "I mean, prison jumpsuits are so not cute!" Even though I would totally rock it, she mentally added. 

Mishima wasn't buying their bullshit at all and laughed out loud, his shoulders shaking hard and his face turning red from the lack of air. "Guys," he calmed down. "It's okay. I know already." 

"Know what?" Shiina gulped. 

"That you two, Kurusu, Takamaki, Okumura-senpai and Niijima-senpai are apart of the Phantom Thieves along with a couple few whose names I don't know." He answered. 

Ryuji's jaw dropped. "How in the hell do you know that?!" He nearly shouted. 

"Ryuji!" Shiina hissed, smacking his arm. "Could you get any louder?!" 

"How in the hell do you know that?!" The blonde repeated, in a panicked whisper this time. 

"It wasn't that hard for me to find out," Mishima said casually, shrugging. "I always knew that Kurusu was a Phantom Thief—the leader, my suspicions tell me—and when you guys suddenly started hanging out with him, I figured you were a Phantom Thief too. Plus, I'm not really sure what your guys' 'thieving' activities include, but I noticed that you all started getting really toned, really fast. It's like you guys work out every day for 5+ hours." 

The two Phantom Thieves were rendered speechless. 

Then, Ryuji opened his mouth. 

"Mishima, have you been checkin' me out in the locker room?" 

"Oh my god." Shiina facepalmed. 

"What?!" Mishima squawked. "O-of course not! I'm not even in the same class as you!" 

"Oh that's right," Ryuji muttered, before grinning. "So then you've been checkin' Akira out, huh?" 

"No!" 

After that particular scene, the three of them returned to their classrooms when the bell rang. The last few periods droned on boringly and finally, the school day was over. Shiina didn't quite want to go home yet. She knew that she'd just step into an seemingly empty house. Fuyumi would be out purchasing some supplies that she ran out of for her classroom and Shouto would be—much to her dismay—training with Endeavor. 

Unfortunately, the rest of her friends seemed busy too. Akira mentioned that there was something important he needed to discuss with Futaba, Haru was going to look for more seeds to plant, Makoto wanted to bury herself in her homework and studies, Ann had a photoshoot to go to, and Ryuji was gonna hit the gym. For a second, she was about to hit up Yusuke but then remembered that he had an art project to work on... 

"Aw man..." She moped to herself, leaning against the side of the train with her phone in hand. 

As if the gods were watching over her, her phone lit up with a soft ding

[Akechi: Sorry to bother you, but I just got off home after a strenuous day at work. Would you like to come over? I could really use some company but I understand if you don't have time.]

Shiina's face brightened with joy and she quickly typed back a message telling him that she would be coming over soon. She also sent Shouto a quick message saying that she'd be hanging out with a friend in case he got worried (but she was sure he wouldn't even notice her absence since Endeavor would keep him busy the whole day—poor boy...). 

Remembering the way to Akechi's apartment complex, she rushed her way there, eager to hang out with a friend she felt that she was growing closer to. 

"Welcome back," Akechi greeted her warmly, stepping to the side to allow the redhead to enter the lavish apartment. It look spick and span just like last time. 

"Glad to be back. Your place is just too cool." She sighed dreamily, gazing out the ceiling-to-floor windows. Everyone looked like ants from where she stood. 

"Thanks, I try my best to keep it in mint condition just for you," he said jokingly. "How was school?" 

She snorted. It was such a Fuyumi thing to ask. "Boring as usual. Bet you don't miss it huh, Mr. Graduated-Early." 

"Oh, trust me, I do." He sighed heavily. "Believe me when I say daily homework and studying for tests beats doing paperwork, not to mention all those cases that are thrown at me, and the interviews, and talk shows..." 

She made a face of disgust. "Ew, just hearing that makes me feel old. I'm surprised you haven't started greying yet." 

He shrugged. "Self care does wonders. Would you like some coffee?" 

She winked. "With a dash of Vodka." 

He chuckled, "I'll take that as 'creamer'." 

"Buzzkill." 

"I'm eighteen. I don't have any alcohol with me, Shiina." He shook his head in amusement before disappearing into the kitchen. 

She glanced down at her phone screen and saw that her phone was at 11%. Yikes. "Hey, Goro-chan, you got a charger around here?" 

"It's here in the kitchen!" He called out to her. 

She walked inside and looked around, spying the white iPhone charger plugged against the wall over the counter. She connected it to her phone before returning back to the living room, plopping down on the couch and reaching out for the remote. Thankfully, Akechi wasn't a monster and actually had Netflix with him, so she scanned through the list of movies before landing on one that held a special place in her heart. 

Battle Royale. 

I wonder if he freaks out if he sees gore

"Oh no, is that a horror movie?" Akechi asked, approaching her. He set down two cups of coffee on the table before joining her on the couch. 

She grinned. "It's Battle Royale. Have you watched it before?" 

"No, but I'm guessing that you have." He said, seeing her mischievous expression. 

She nodded. "Ryuji and I watched this a lot when we were kids. It always creeped us out but we got used to it as we got older." 

"Is it gory?" He asked. 

"Very. You thinking about wimping out?" She smirked. 

He scoffed playfully. "Definitely not. I've seen enough crime scenes in my days." 

"Oh that's right! Tell me how accurate their corpses are, okay?" She asked eagerly. 

He smiled, not at all bothered. "As you wish." 

While the two were enjoying a not-so-pleasant movie, they were completely oblivious to the furiously buzzing cellphone abandoned at the kitchen counter. Messages popped up on the screen repeatedly as well as calls that ended up being missed. 

— ❤ —

"...Then I'll guide the police into her Palace and have them catch the Phantom Thieves in the act. That would be the only way to arrest them, given their methods. I'll deal with them after that. Let me see... We could say he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment... How about that? Public security questioning will occur on the first day... and with that room, my task will be simple. Yes, the guard will be on of ours. We'll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence though... Well then, I will make the arrangements the day after the arrest... And thus, the dangerous criminal responsible for the mass mental shutdowns shall end his own life. When he does, you will become a great hero who saved Japan from evil. As will I, of course." 

The voice recording finally ended. The group of teenagers gathered in the attic of Leblanc were silenced, unable to form words as they tried to register the words spoken by Akechi Goro. His voice lacked the amicable tone he always put on. The voice in the recording was downright chilling, laced with villainy and pure evil. 

That was the real Akechi Goro.  

"That... that... THAT TWISTED, SICK, SON OF A BITCH!" Ryuji screamed, his leg itching to violently kick something down. Nobody even flinched as he raged, too shocked by what they had heard. "I knew it! I knew that fucker was playing us this entire fucking time!" 

"I never knew someone could be so diabolical," Yusuke said quietly, his face set to a disturbed grimace. Hearing Akechi explain his plan for murder made him feel sick in the stomach. The plan was so well thought out, so detailed and thoroughly supplied... It made him realize just how dangerous Akechi was. 

"It made me uncomfortable when I first heard it too..." Futaba winced, turning the tape recorder off before it could go on repeat. 

"It's a good thing you and Morgana had Futaba do this." Makoto murmured over to Akira. "If... if we had remained clueless... There's no way we could make it out alive of Sis's Palace." 

"To think Akechi-kun was planning this from the very beginning." Ann's face fell. "He wanted to take us down way before he even joined us...!" 

"We can't just let him go through with this...!" Haru said, trying to even her breathing. Akechi was the one who had killed her father. Her father... and just when he was about to have a change of heart... He was so callously murdered by the psychopath that was Akechi Goro. 

"I know," Morgana said softly, knowing fully well what she was feeling. "We need to make a counterattack to prevent Akechi's plan from succeeding." 

Akira nodded in agreement. "But before that, we still need to inform Shiina... Does anyone know where she is?" 

Ryuji stiffened. "Shit." He cursed, hastily grabbing for his phone. He tried calling her but after a few rings, nothing. "Shit!" 

"Maybe she's home?" Ann suggested weakly. 

"We need to tell her about this as quickly as possible. Akechi's... Akechi's taken too much of an interest towards her." Akira said, looking almost pained at the thought of it. 

"I know," Ryuji growled, furiously messaging her. 

Soon enough, everyone else had their phones out and were desperately trying to contact her. They were there for what felt like hours, begging for Shiina to reply to them until she finally did. 

"Shiina!" Ryuji cried out, phone pressed to his ear. Everyone watched him expectantly. "Where the hell are you?!" There was a pause, and Ryuji swore his heart stopped beating. 

"...You're at Akechi's apartment?"

Silence. Then pure chaos. 

— ❤ —

"My favorite character was Kiriyama." Akechi said once the credits rolled in. 

Shiina raised a brow. "That silent psychopath that went around brutally killing innocent teenagers? Why?" 

He shrugged, a pleasant smile on his face. "I find him interesting." 

"Well my favorite character's Chigusa 'cause she stabbed that guy in the dick." Shiina grinned, giggling as she remembered the scene. 

"That scene was painful to watch." He shuddered. 

"Only 'cause you got a dick~" She sang, jumping up to her feet and skipping over to the kitchen to check on her phone. Turns out, it was able to charge back up to 100% throughout the duration of the film but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the massive amount of notifications she had. Text messages and missed calls... For a second, she wondered if Shouto's class was attacked again but then remembered that school was over and neither of the calls were from Fuyumi. They were all from the other Phantom Thieves. 

She unplugged her phone from the charger just as Ryuji called her. She answered immediately, curious as to why everyone seemed so desperate to reach her. And why didn't Akechi get any calls or messages? He had his phone with him the entire time. 

"Ryuji, what's going on?" She asked. 

"Shiina!" He cried out, sounding exhausted and relieved at the same time. "Where the hell are you?!" He demanded. 

She rolled her eyes. "Jeez, chill, will you? I'm at Akechi's apartment. We were watching a movie so I didn't see your messages. What's up?" 

For a second, he didn't say anything, but when he did something sunk down to Shiina's stomach. He sounded almost scared. 

"...You're at Akechi's apartment?" 

"I—y-yes? Why? What's going on?" She asked. 

Ryuji didn't reply, or if he did, then she didn't hear it. On the other end of the line all she could hear was pure chaos. People were shouting things left and right. Were those the rest of their friends? Just what was going on? 

After a few seconds of listening to people scream, someone else spoke into the phone. It was Akira. "Shiina?" 

"Akira," she said warily. "What's going on?"

"Is Akechi in the room with you right now?" He asked, sounding serious. 

"No, he's back at the living room..." 

"There's something we have to tell you. It's urgent, so come here quick. Do not tell Akechi about this. Lie. Tell him you have a family emergency and that you need to leave." He instructed her. 

She opened her mouth to ask 'why' but gulped instead. "O-okay..." 

"Good," he sighed in relief. "Whatever you do, don't let him know that you're coming to see us. We'll explain everything once you're here." 

"Okay." 

They hung up, and Shiin swallowed audibly yet again. 

What the hell is going on? She wondered, running a hand through her hair. Why is there another Phantom Thieves meeting and why can't Akechi know anything about it? Why did Ryuji and Akira sound so... scared...? Why did they sound so scared for me? 

Tucking her phone back in her pocket, she returned to the living room. 

"Um, Goro-chan, Fuyumi called me..." She began, and it wasn't that hard to look worried when she genuinely already was. "There's a bit of a family emergency. I have to go home real quick." 

He frowned, looking concerned. "Oh no... Would you like me to drive you?" 

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. She's picking me up somewhere close by." She quickly gathered her things and sent him a faint smile. "I'll see you soon, okay?" 

He nodded. "Of course. I hope everything's fine with your family." 

"Thank you. And so do I..." 

She got to Leblanc as quickly as she could, basically running up the stairs the second she entered the cafe. Yusuke, who had heard her, already had the door opened for her and she immediately saw the darkened expression on his face. It made her chest tightened. What was wrong? 

"Sorry if I missed a meeting," she apologized, standing at the doorway and inspecting everyone's faces. They all looked like a cross between frightened, tense, and miserable. 

"It's okay—" Akira said at the same time Ryuji demanded: "—Did he do anything to you?!"

She blinked. "What?" 

"Ryuji..." Makoto sighed. "Just... just sit down, Shiina." 

"You're going to want to sit down for this." Ann said, noticing the younger girl's hesitance. 

Shiina slowly nodded her head and sat down on a spare chair next to Ryuji and Futaba. The shorter girl brought out a small device and placed it down on the table. A tape recorder. 

Futaba pressed play. 

The second she heard the person's voice, she recognized it instantly. It was Akechi's. But something about it was different. He spoke with no hint of kindness in his tone and his words were cold and cutting. Everything he said felt like a punch across her face and she grew more horrified as she listened on. 

At the end, Shiina couldn't speak. 

"That's why I was so damn scared when you told me you were at Akechi's place," Ryuji mumbled. "I thought... I thought he was gonna hurt you." 

"...It was him all along..." Shiina said in a tiny voice. "The true culprit... It was him all along..." She glanced over at Haru and winced when she saw the petite girl's reddened eyes. She had been crying, which was understandable. If Akechi was the one behind all the mental shutdowns, then he was definitely her father's killer as well. Shiina felt so terribly guilty. All this time she had been bonding with Akechi, seeing him as a beacon of light and hope when he was nothing more than an empty hole waiting for people to fall in and ultimately drop dead. 

She also felt betrayed. He had been so friendly and kind to her. And when they talked about their pasts that were so similar... Was he even telling the truth or did he spin that story up so she would feel closer to him? 

I guess I'm still blind after all... She thought bitterly. 

"We need to talk about how to get out of this situation." Morgana said, drawing Shiina out of her dark thoughts. 

Makoto nodded. "Futaba's monitoring of Akechi's phone has confirmed it... He did indeed have an ulterior motive." 

Ryuji scowled. "It's on a completely different level than just that." 

"Not only was he trying to frame us, but he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns..." Makoto trailed off, her face crumbling when she caught a glimpse of Haru's eyes. She steeled herself once more and continued. "His offer to assist us was simply a plot to frame the Phantom Thieves... and kill Akira-kun. If we go into Sis's Palace as he suggests, we'll likely be met by a large ambush of police forces." 

"To think he would be this far gone... I know now what it means to feel a chill down my spine." Yusuke sighed. "Furthermore, he wishes to bring a police squad from reality into the Palace..." 

"If the nine of us can enter at once, it's not inconceivable to think a larger group is possible," Makoto theorized. "He may even be able to bring in vehicles or other special pieces of equipment." 

"Endeavor," Shiina suddenly blurted out, eyes wide with realization. "Do you—do you think Pro Heroes would be brought in too?" Endeavor would be more than eager to participate in finally arresting the Phantom Thieves. Would Akechi really be so cruel as to send him into the Palace knowing she would be there? Knowing how much he hated her? 

"The Pros were never mentioned," Akira informed in a reassuring tone. "I don't think any Pro Hero would be brought along, let alone Endeavor." 

She relaxed just a bit. 

"So this really was just a setup to shift the blame onto us..." Ann trailed off. 

"He made us go after Okumura, then once we triggered the change of heart, he killed him..." Morgana stated. 

"And he told us he had seen the true culprit... but it was him the entire time!" Haru exploded, face red from the onslaught of emotions she was feeling. 

"The whole time he was workin' with Makoto's sister, he was really just some homicidal maniac!" Ryuji exclaimed angrily. "C'mon, we gotta take that bastard Akechi down! Isn't that recording we got enough proof to do it?!"

Makoto disagreed. "No, Akechi is merely a tool. His orders come from elsewhere... The grand mastermind behind this all. An unimaginable fiend capable of arranging the murder of a suspect of a police station..." 

Yusuke looked down. "Unless we find out who that is, we will continue being targeted even if we defeat Akechi..." 

"But... what means do we have of learning his identity?" Haru asked hopelessly. 

"We'll have to make Akechi say it... though once we do, that mastermind will likely eliminate us." Yusuke said. 

"I think that will be the case eventually regardless of whether or not we learn his identity. The only reason it hasn't happened yet is because we're an easy target to blame for his crimes. If he realizes that's no longer possible and abandons that plan, he may opt to kill us immediately." Makoto concluded. 

"So we have to follow along with his suggestion..." Shiina said quietly. 

"But if we go into the Palace as told, Akira will get arrested and then murdered by Akechi..." Ann frowned. 

"Palace..." Futaba murmured. "The Palace..."

Makoto spoke up, "...Actually, there's something I'd like to say regarding—"

She was interrupted when Futaba suddenly shot up to her feet. "Aha! We can use the Palace to our advantage!" 

Shiina, who had been sitting next to the orangette when she had jumped, stared at her with wide eyes. "Uh, what are you talking about?" 

"There's a way..." She began. "A way to get past Akechi AND get the mastermind to lay off of us, all while learning his identity." 

"Really...?!" Haru breathed out. 

"If he wants to kill Akira, why not let him?" Futaba asked rhetorically, earning herself a lot of stares. 

"Um..." Akira fidgeted uncomfortably. 

"I mean, inside the Palace," she clarified. 

There was a small gasp from Makoto. "Yes...! We could have him kill the cognitive Akira-kun, all the while believing he killed the real one." 

Futaba nodded wildly. "Yeah, that's it!" 

"It seems that's our only option." Makoto said. "Listen close, everyone. I have a plan for how we can carry this operation out..." 

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