Desire and Love [AkiraxYusuke P5]

Chapter Ten

   Had Yusuke heard that right? Did Morgana really say what he thought he said?

   "His mother..." He couldn't even repeat it.

   "J-Just... like my mom..." Futaba muttered lightly.

   "Are you sure?" Ryuji leaned on the table. "Don't fucking mess around, Mona!"

   "I mean it. From what I heard, his mom had some kind of nervous breakdown and went missing two years after his birth, then she was confirmed dead. I don't know what caused her to feel that way. And yet..." Morgana looked down. "I think there's more to it... at night Akira has a lot of nightmares and he usually wakes up like he saw something straight out of Hell. When it's really bad, he wakes up screaming and hyperventilating, and Erin calls some guy over and they talk alone in a room for hours..."

   "A therapist...?" Makoto asked.

   Morgana gave a nod.

   "The guy doesn't like when I'm around, claims he's allergic to cats, I don't hear them talk. But right after, Akira is really calm and he falls asleep... and he sleeps right after every single talk with this guy..."

   "That sounds odd..." Ann said.

   "Could... this man be putting Akira to sleep...? Perhaps with a drug of some kind...?" Haru asked slowly.

   "Sleeping pills!" Ryuji spoke up. "My mom uses them. When she gets home late she takes one, and she's out in seconds!"

   'Akira could've... been drugged...' Yusuke grit his teeth when the thought filled his head.

   "I don't know what this guy does, but I'm sure he can give us more answers," Morgana said.

   Futaba was silent, biting her lip and shivering, then she slowly spoke up.

   "If... Akira is having a mental issue... and it's drawn from the death of his mother... th-then... wouldn't he be like me...?"

   Silence drew over them. Then Makoto gasped and put a hand over mouth.

   "No... don't tell me you're implying...!"

   Yusuke caught what she was thinking and felt horror overcome him, and he spoke for her.

   "Akira... has a Palace..."

   Everyone instantly got the horrified feeling.

   "It appears so. He most likely has the distorted desire of his own death..." Morgana said.

   Ryuji turned away with a hand over his face. "No...no, god damnit! Don't fucking say that!" He cried angrily.

   "Akira... how could he hide this...?" Makoto gasped with tears in her eyes.

   Yusuke felt himself close to crying himself. He had loved Akira for so long, he had been with him for as long as he could in that wonderful year they first met. How could he not see Akira had been hiding pain behind his smile...?

   Ryuji had suddenly let out an angered yell and kicked the wall.

   "Damnit! Why couldn't we know about this before we lost the ability to be Phantom Thieves?! We could've done something!"

   "But... how do we really know he has a Palace...?" Haru slowly spoke. "I mean he has a Persona... so he shouldn't have a shadow, right...?"

   "That should be right. But Akira has more than one Persona. He has the ability to use multiple Personas at once. The rules could be different for him..." Morgana said.

   "So... our best bet is to find his therapist... maybe he can give us answers..." Futaba said slowly.

   Suddenly a yell rang from across the roof, startling everyone.

   "WHOO! I thought I'd never find this place! Country girl not familiar with city world yet~!" Anesa was walking up with a large book in her arm and her phone in her free hand.

   "I assume this is about Akira and I's birthday coming up, but I prefer just my birthday, Akira and I never celebrate our birthdays together you see!"

   She set her book down on the table, ignoring all the glares that were currently on her. Anesa opened the book full of brightly colored things and started going off.

   "Now, for my special 18th birthday, I plan on having a BIG party! I'm sure you all know the best clubs in Tokyo, so if one of you could rent out one of those places that'd be great~! Bigger is better~!"

   Yusuke felt rage boiling in him as the girl droned on and he was the first to speak.

   "How dare you act so casual after what you've done..."

   Anesa stopped speaking for a second and looked at him, finally noticing the way everyone was looking at her.

   "What? So what if Akira and I don't share our birthday? We stopped when we were like 7, who cares? He doesn't even take it seriously! When we turned sixteen all he wanted was to go out and dance! For our big important sixteenth birthday! How fucking lame is that!"

   "That isn't what he's talking about," Ann said sternly. "Show her, Futaba,"

   Futaba quickly pulled up the page on her laptop again. Anesa showed no change in emotion when she saw it.

   "So, what...?"

   Ryuji slammed a fist on the table.

   "Don't fucking do that! Why would you post stuff like this of your own brother online?!" He yelled.

   Anesa stood up and spoke calmly. "He deserves it. He's a crybaby, and all he does is fuck things up. Like when we were 15, he messed up on a test, so daddy beat his ass! I'm sure I still have that photo somewhere!" She said.

   "How can you be so cruel?! Your own brother is getting abused, and you take pictures and laugh?!" Haru cried.

   "And sharing them online no less! Think about how it made him feel!" Makoto added.

   Anesa looked annoyed. She slammed her book shut, and folded her arms.

   "You're all just saying that because you don't understand! My mom died because of him, and he knows it!" She grabbed her book and turned away.

   "That doesn't mean you treat him the way you did!" Yusuke yelled out and made her stop. The tears were finally falling down his face as he continued.

   "You can't say things like that... Akira would never drive someone to death, and he's the most caring person I know! He doesn't deserve to be treated like a prisoner, and you're horrible to even think his pain is entertaining!" 

   Anesa didn't say anything at first and stayed still. Then she slowly let her words out but still didn't look back.

   "Wanna know something about us? Wanna know why he gets abused and why I hate him so much?"

   She finally looked back.

   "Akira and I don't have the same dad,"