Real & the Ideal: A Persona 5R Dark Sun Sequel (Goro Akechi x Amamiya Ren)

4: Getting Through to You

I won't let you suffer anymore....

(Akechi's P.O.V)

It was 6am.

I sat on our balcony, staring past the railing at the sunset as it slowly rose from the horizon.

My phone was quiet. None of my friends were awake yet, but soon they would start heading towards LeBlanc for our trip to the bathhouse.

....it had been a day or two since I'd seen Ren. I was excited to see him. To maybe smooth out whatever odd conversation we had had outside of Penguin Snipers that day...

"The last time I saw you, Sae-san took you into the police station under house arrest."

I remembered the look on his face as he spoke those words. As if my reaction to his confusing comment was the key to something important.

"But I was never arrested..." I muttered to myself, speaking into the quiet atmosphere as if he was beside me.

Yet, everytime I thought about it, something in the back of my mind felt off.

It was true, my life apart from my studies was utilized in Ace Detective work, which my father had supported me in pursuing for years. His political stance, as it grew, had connections that allowed me to get into the Detective scene; which encouraged the possibility that I could be known by the police, since I was always aiding them in solving minor cases.

....but why would I be arrested? How?

I'm a straight A student. I go to school and do my work. I work part time in between classes and after school, and any other free time of mine is spent either at Jazz Jin, the batting cages with father, or trying out new coffee shops around town.

.....where was Ren coming up with these ideas?

Why was he all of a sudden thinking up such false memories?

Sighing heavily, I deduced just that. Maybe Ren just tired from the holidays. False memories are a very real phenomenon, after all.

I turned to glance into the apartment I shared with my father, watching him walk down the hallway and towards the door to leave for work.

Despite deducing that I wasn't in the wrong, I could feel that nagging, uneasy feeling sitting in my chest once again. No matter how hard I tried, it never seemed to stay away for long.

....had I truly forgotten something?

---------------

(Ren's P.O.V)

I came home last night to find no trace of Sojiro-san or Morgana anywhere. By the time I got home it was pretty late, so I knew Sojiro had closed the cafe for the night.

But still, not seeing Morgana for an entire day..

I was starting to get a little concerned.

Either way, I trusted him and presumed he was fine. Maybe he just needed a day out. He seemed to disappear like that sometimes.

Besides...the weight of the burden that was that odd Palace sitting in Odaiba was weighing on me, keeping my thoughts preoccupied.

Something was wrong. But I couldn't quite understand what it was. Somehow, it was as if time had shifted. Akechi hadn't been arrested. Shido was somehow alive. And a Palace stood in reality, completely freestanding outside of the Metaverse.

Was Yaldabaoth somehow not defeated? Had we made a mistake?

But Qliphoth was gone..

I turned over on my cot, unable to get my head around all the questions I had. I glanced my phone lock screen to see it was nearing 6:50am. I had slept some, but my constant worries had kept me awake much longer than I expected.