Dark Half {Persona 5}

Chapter 1 - Silent Agony

A/N: Right, so this story IS being revisited. The plot before was very poorly written and I wasn't happy at all.

Warning: this is a very dark story, it'll be following the same plot I had for the original story but hopefully better written. I don't want to spoil the story with warnings, so any chapters containing dark themes will have individual warnings.

Pairing in this story is Akira x Ann. I do not usually use pairings in these kinds of stories as it can take away from the plot (everyone has their own ideas of best ships) but it can also add a lot to it, such as the agony Akira will have to face upon losing the one person who holds his heart. I hope you enjoy the reworked version of this.

CHAPTER WARNINGS: This chapter will revisit Akira's time in the interrogation room, so will focus themes of drugs, abuse, etc.

The Phantom Thieves sat around the beside of their leader in the attic of Leblanc, watching as the boy slept peacefully. Though that peace was fabricated, brought on by Takemi's IV she'd set up beside his bed. The group would take whatever they could get for their leader, however, watching as his battered and bruised body slowly rose and fell as he breathed.

The last couple of days had been hard on them all, but none more so than Akira. They knew their plan was risky, letting Akira get captured and placing all their bets on the fact he'd be able to convince the elder Niijima sister that Akechi was in fact the traitor and murderer she was looking for. The entire operation was immensely hazardous on its own, but nobody had taken into account that the law might have their own plans for the youth they'd captured.

Never had they even considered the fact that he would be so heavily drugged. The beating was not something they could ignore as a possibility - in fact it was likely to happen. The drugs, however, they hadn't taken into account. Let alone the overdose that near killed Akira before he could regain enough sense to form a plan himself to convince Sae to do what he needed to her to do.

Fortunately for his friends, they had not seen him before Takemi had cleaned him up. Sae had dropped him at Leblanc, left him in Sojiro's care and taken off to avoid suspicion on either party, for the boy's sake. Sojiro had swiftly taken him to his bed, awaiting Takemi's treatment, who had been let in on the plan for this exact reason.

It had been hard for everyone to see Akira in this state, but it was particularly hard for Ann, Akira's girlfriend. Takemi, once she was satisfied that Akira would recover in his makeshift hospital room, had filled everyone in on his condition. It was difficult to try and justify that Akira was "not doing very well, but should be fine", but Ann wasn't sure if that was better than hearing the details in full.

He looked as bad as the description sounded. He wore various bruises and cuts, some of which had been stitched up. His face was a mess, varying between pale skin and the purple and black of the bruises from his beating. He sported a black eye, and a deep wound above his eyebrow that would likely scar. Bandages covered his face, and dark circles had formed under his eyes, despite the fact he hadn't yet regained consciousness.

His wrists were bruised and the skin was torn where he had been handcuffed, the skin pulling against the metal as he had been beaten while still cuffed to a chair. His torso - while his friends had not seen it - was battered. He had three broken ribs from being kicked, and Takemi had no choice but to wait for the bruising to settle down to examine for further internal bleeding. According to her description, his body was "painted black and blue", and it was best for the others not to look, and there was also a visible footprint where a boot had collided with his side.

His leg was fractured where somebody had apparently stomped down upon it. Fortunately it wasn't too bad a fracture and didn't require a cast, but it was still going to prove to be rather painful. Bruises and cuts covered his legs as well.

But the scariest part, one that Takemi purposely didn't go into too much detail on with the teenagers, was the drugging. Ann sighed as she looked at the two needles piercing his hand, connecting him to the fluids that pumped into him, as well as the painkillers. The inside of his arms were spotted with needle marks, some bruised, others just red. While she didn't speculate, she did inform the group that Akira had experienced an acute overdose, and the substance could not be identified. To this end, the boy had spent the first two days in absolute agony, as Takemi could not administer any pain relief until the other drugs had run their course and left his system. Ann winced at the memories. They hadn't been allowed to see him until the third day, but they had been in the cafe to hear his agonized screams and desperate pleas to end his pain. Many a tear had been shed over their usually confident leader breaking down like he did.

For now, however, he slept. Takemi had given him some sleep aid, in an attempt to save him from some of the pain he was enduring, and while it appeared to be working, it did not go unnoticed by Ann that his hand would occasionally clench on the sheets, his eyes closing tighter. Whether this was from physical or emotional anguish, Ann did not know, and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to.

All Ann wanted to do was pull Akira close, hold him tightly and tell him everything was alright, that she would protect him from now on, and never let anything like that happen to him again. But right now he looked so fragile she was afraid to so much as touch him, doing little more than occasionally run her fingers through his hair gently. The small gesture seemed to calm him at least.

How long he'd continue to sleep for was anyone's guess, but as long as it kept some of the pain at bay, Ann was more than happy to wait for him.

~~

"You sure he's gonna be okay..?" Ryuji pondered, tapping at the table with a finger, "I mean, I'm sure he's gonna be fine, but.. they really put him through a lot, you know?"

Makoto sighed, nodding. She took a sip of her coffee as the group sat in the Leblanc booths. Ryuji had a point, there was potentially a lot of psychological damage done to Akira. After all, he was still but a child.

"All we can do for now is wait for him to wake up," Yusuke began, running a finger around the rim of his coffee cup, "and when he does we must assure him that we're not leaving his side, and that things will work out fine."

"Agreed. After all he went through for us, we have to show him that we're here for him as well," Haru chirped, her tone bringing a sense of hope back to the downtrodden teenagers.

"As strong as he is, though," Ann frowned, "I'm still worried. I mean, he's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up, isn't he? I've never broken a bone before, but I can imagine three broken ribs doesn't tickle."

"You're right. Only bone I've broken is my leg, back when Kamoshida was around," Ryuji slapped his leg, "and that hurt pretty bad, even with the painkillers. Ribs're gonna hurt more, cause don't it hurt when you breathe?"

"Indeed," Makoto replied to the blonde, "I've broken a few bones in my life, and all of them hurt rather significantly. He's got to be careful when he moves because the bones could potentially puncture his lungs, and that would be a disaster."

"Well you know what it's like trying to get Akira to cooperate with anything," Morgana rolled his eyes, finally speaking up from where he sat on one of the stools, "even if it's for his own good, I doubt he's gonna lounge around in bed once he wakes up."

"I imagine he's antsy," Futaba looked up from her laptop, "he's not really the kind of guy who can stay still for too long. But we're gonna have to make it a point to keep him in bed until he recovers."

"So what, make a roster?" Ann jested, but the looks she collectively received made her rethink her words.

"Well it would likely be beneficial to have someone by his side as often as we can manage," Makoto nodded to herself, "plus it will help with any fear he experiences or any psychological issues he might face."

"C'mon, you guys are lookin' way too far into this! My boy ain't someone to be taken so lightly!" Ryuji leaned back in the seat, "we'll just be here for him when he's done sleepin'. That's all we gotta do."

A collective sigh of relief left the group, and smiles replaced the forlorn expressions. For now, they'd play it by ear. Let Akira work things out while being there every step of the way with him.