Chapter Text

Morgana peered out from his small bag. He took a paw and rubbed his bleary eyes gently. Once his vision focused he took a look around at his unfamiliar surroundings.

Morgana couldn’t remember when he fell asleep, but he must not have been out for too long considering the train was still moving at a good pace. There was a low murmur coming from the surrounding passengers, but most of them were staring out a window, reading a book, or following in his footsteps and sleeping.

Akira, whose lap Morgana currently occupied, was sound asleep. His head was leaned back and currently rested against the back of his chair. Futaba had slumped over in her slumber and her head was now resting comfortably on his shoulder. Somehow their hands had found each other and their fingers were currently locked together.

Morgana shook his head at the two. As much as Futaba said she wasn’t ready for everyone to know, she was doing a pretty bad job at hiding it.

“If you lay on him like that, everyone is going to find out.” Morgana whispered as he tried to stop himself from giggling. He quietly leapt from his hiding place and landed on the cool metal ground. He took a moment to shake his body in an attempt to wake not only his mind, but his muscles as well. He looked forward to the day he no longer had to sleep in a small bag. Hopefully that day wouldn’t be too far off.

His eyes wandered over to the seats across the aisle and found Yusuke wide awake. He was sitting in the chair closest to the aisle and he currently held a pad of paper in his left hand. His right hand seemed to dance across the page as his pencil gently scratched against the surface of the paper.

Morgana stretched his front legs one last time before he took a quick look up and down the aisle. Once he confirmed that no one was coming or going he sauntered over to Yusuke and hopped up into the empty seat beside him.

“Welcome back to the land of the living.” Yusuke said as Morgana landed beside him. “Though I do wish you would have stayed in Akira’s lap a tad longer. It would have added another layer to the picture.” Morgana cocked his head before peering at what Yusuke was drawing.

It was readily apparent why Yusuke had chosen to sit one row ahead of everyone else. A detailed sketch of the seats behind him, showed the other Phantom Thieves in their current seats. Akira and Futaba looked exactly like how he had left them. Makoto had her head pressed against the nearby window while Haru held a book open in her right hand. Lady Ann-

Morgana nearly choked and had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing an illusion or that he wasn’t still asleep.

“Why would you draw Lady Ann like that!” Morgana’s voice cracked as he leapt up onto the top of the nearby chair. A few chairs ahead he could see Ann laying back against her head rest and that monkey, Ryuji, had slumped over onto her. Morgana could feel his eye twitch slightly as he highly considered flinging himself towards the disgusting ogre.

“What do you mean? I simply drew everyone how they naturally appear?” Yusuke’s voice brought him out of his own thoughts and he looked down at the young artist.

“H-h-how can any of that be natural!?” Morgana stuttered as he attempted to tear his eyes away from the horrid scene in front of him. Yusuke’s pencil stopped moving and he tilted his head slightly.

“Well whenever I draw them I get the same feeling I do when I draw Akira and Futaba.” Morgana felt his stomach drop out from under him. He looked back up at Lady Ann and Ryuji and then over at Akira and Futaba.

Morgana dropped back down into the seat next to Yusuke and sat in silence for a long time. He had always known deep down. Lady Ann was a human after all and he was… well he wasn’t human. But what did that matter? He still had feelings. He could fall in love, he could be angry, and happy, and sad, and… crushed. Didn’t that mean that he was already human? No. He was a cat. Even if Lady Ann or anyone else for that matter, had feelings for him it’s not like he could do anything about it. He could never give anyone else what they would need, what they would want.

Morgana was a cat. He could never go out to eat with someone. He could never go shopping or meet their parents. He couldn’t hold their hand or kiss them. He was a cat and there was a good chance he would always be that way.

“The soul is a complicated thing.” Yusuke said softly as he continued to press his pencil lightly against the sheet of paper. “It is the hardest thing to capture in a picture.” Morgana looked up at Yusuke confused. “When I try to draw others I aspire to show the world who they are deep down. The same way my Mother showed her own soul when she painted the Sayuri.” He pulled his pencil away from the page and placed his thumb on the side. He then began to flip slowly through the previous pages of his pad. He suddenly stopped and turned the page towards Morgana.

The picture showed Morgana standing alone on Akira’s windowsill. He stood upright looking out of the room towards the rest of the city. The picture itself was simple, but there was something about it that caused Morgana’s heart to stir. He looked confident and he looked… happy.

“I call this one ‘The Hope of Humanity’.” Yusuke was smiling as Morgana continued to examine the picture quietly. Morgana thought he understood what Yusuke was trying to say and he couldn’t help but return the young artists smile.

Without another word Yusuke flipped pages back to his current drawing and he went back to his work. Morgana laid down and rested his head in his paws. He couldn’t lose hope now. Not after they had come so far. As Morgana prepared for the remaining train ride something suddenly occurred to him.

“Wait you said that when you draw Lady Ann and Ryuji it feels like drawing Akira and Futaba right?” Yusuke continued to sketch quietly for a few seconds before responding.

“It’s a new development, but the feeling they give off is similar yes.” Morgana peered over at Akira and then back to Yusuke.

“How long have you known that Akira and Futaba are dating? I thought they had done a decent job hiding it…” Morgana cocked his head as he waited for Yusuke’s answer.

“Wait they are together? Romantically?” Yusuke met Morgana’s eyes and they stayed silent for several seconds.

“Oh… oops…”

_ _ _

“Next stop Yasoinaba, next stop Yasoinaba.” Akira stirred from his rest as the announcement sounded out from the nearby speaker. He felt something rubbing against his shoulder and he instinctively tightened his hold on whatever was in his left hand. A loud yawn escaped his mouth as he turned to look to his left.

Futaba was sitting up in her chair lazily rubbing her eyes, her glasses moving with her hand. He looked down and noticed that what he had tightened his grip on was her hand. He smiled to himself before looking back up to find Futaba noticing their currently intertwined hands as well. Her cheeks turned a bright pink before she quickly pulled away.

“I-I-I I’m so s-s-sorry!” Akira shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. We’ve done way more than just hold hands.” Akira whispered. He gave her a quick wink and he swore she turned a few shades darker.

“Yo, everything alright you two?” Ryuji was standing out of his chair and looking in their direction.

“Yeah, still waking up.” Akira said before yawning, “It was a longer ride than I thought it would be.”

“Agreed. I didn’t intend to fall asleep as well.” Makoto stretched her arms and the train began to slow.

“Ugh! Gross! Ryuji did you drool on me!?” Ann’s voice drew the attention of several others and Akira had to stifle a laugh as he noticed a rather large dark spot on her shirt. Ryuji gave her a confused look before his eyes finally landed on the wet piece of fabric. His eyes widened and he slouched into his usual bad posture.

“Uh sorry Ann. I guess I was just comfortable.” He let out a halfhearted chuckle in an attempt to alleviate the situation somewhat. It didn’t work. Ann reached up above the seats and pulled her bag down.

“God, I can’t believe you! How did you even manage to drool this much?” She unzipped her bag and pulled out another shirt. “Does anyone know where the bathrooms-“ before Ann could finish her question the train came to an abrupt stop.

“We have arrived at Yasoinaba. Please watch your step as you leave the train.” Ann’s mouth opened in abject horror as she looked at the stain once more.

“Come on we can get changed once we reach the inn.” Haru placed a calming hand on Ann’s back and gently lead her to the door. Ryuji sighed and dragged his bag from the bin above him. Akira grabbed his own bag and noticed it was rather light.

“Morgana?” Akira looked around at Futaba and she simply shrugged at him.

“Worry not. He is with me.” Akira turned and saw Yusuke holding Morgana in his arms while his bag was slung over his shoulder. “We bonded while you all slept.” Yusuke had a rather proud look on his face as he made his way to the exit.

“Well… that was certainly different.” Futaba said as she finished gathering her things. “Come on, the doors are going to close if we don’t hurry.” She placed her hands on the small of his back and gently pushed Akira out into the aisle.

They had left early in the morning so it was no surprise that the sun was still high in the azure sky. A few wispy white clouds dotted the sky, but it was mostly a clear day. The surrounding area was quiet and the only noise that could be heard was the engine of the train behind them and nearby birds chirping.

The train pulled away as the all finished gathering their things and they were suddenly hit by just how quite it really was. Akira was used to living in a city, so the sudden lack of cars honking, or people murmuring amongst themselves was almost… unsettling. Haru suddenly took a deep breath as a small breath of wind rushed passed them.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been here. I’ve really missed coming to places like this.” Haru’s voice seemed to sing in the silence and Akira cocked his head slightly at her statement.

“You never said that you had been here before.”

“Oh? I suppose it just never came up. I’ve vacationed here a few times. The Amagi Inn is a rather wonderful place to stay, I’m very excited to be staying there again.” Haru seemed almost giddy as she stepped forward into the sunlight. Akira looked at the rest of the thieves and simply shrugged before following her.

It took them the better part of an hour to walk from the train station to the Amagi inn. The heat had been unbearable and they all looked like they were about to collapse. Akira briefly wondered what sort of genius would put an inn so damn far away from the train station.

The inn itself was absolutely beautiful. The large wooden structure reached out several stories into the sky and felt very reminiscent of older buildings made during the Edo period. Wooden wind chimes hung near the front of the building and they sang with each brief gust of wind.

“Woah there is no way we could have afforded to stay in a place like this.” Ryuji whistled, clearly impressed. “Dude who is this Naoto chick? She must be loaded!”

“No kidding. This is going to be way better than Hawaii.” Ann’s eyes sparkled as she took in her surroundings.

“You should see the hot springs! If memory serves they are incredibly relaxing.” Haru bounced on her heels as she failed to keep her excitement in check.

“They have natural hot springs…” Makoto was clearly impressed, but she was doing a much better job at hiding her childlike enthusiasm unlike the others.

“Seriously who the hell is this detective chick!” Ryuji re-iterated.

“Can we please admire it from the inside…” Futaba moaned as she attempted to not collapse on the spot. Akira nodded and made his way over to Yusuke.

“They probably won’t be very fond of cats. Sorry but I think I’ll need to steal Morgana back from you.” Yusuke nodded and Akira opened his bag for Morgana to climb back into. Morgana simply plopped down into the bag and splayed out.

“Just get me inside… I think I’m going to die.” Morgana panted. Akira smiled at the exhausted cat before gently slipping his bag back on his shoulder.

The inside of the inn was just as impressive as the outside. They were quickly met by a young woman dressed in a white yukata. She gave them a deep bow and smiled.

“Welcome to the Amagi Inn. How may we be of service.” Her voice was soft and sweet. Akira saw Ryuji out of the corner of his eye and watched as his mouth dropped open. A moment later Ann shoved her elbow into his stomach and he doubled over. Akira had to stifle a laugh as he watched Ryuji attempt to catch his breath while also keeping an eye on the young woman in front of him.

“Ah yes I believe we have a reservation for some rooms.” Makoto was far more adept at ignoring the groups antics apparently. The young woman bowed once more and motioned for them to follow her.

They moved through the entry way and found themselves in a large open area. A large wooden desk stood on the left side of the room. Several couches and matching chairs had been spread throughout the room. The entry way had clearly been updated to match more modern times and slightly clashed with the traditional design of the building itself.

They were lead to the desk where a young woman was bent down filling out several sheets of paper. Her thin frame was covered by a silky pink yukata. Her dark black hair was held up in a bun, but some of her hair had slipped out and was now gently hanging down and framing her face. She looked up as they approached and her dark eyes sparkled.

“Ms. Amagi these guests have a reservation.” The woman accompanying said as she nodded towards the woman behind the desk.

“Oh! Welcome to the Amagi Inn!” Her voice was sweet and her eyes sparkled as she smiled. After a moment her eyes narrowed and then widened in what appeared to be recognition. “Ah! Would one of you happen to be Akira Kurusu?” Akira’s eyebrows shot up and the rest of the group turned towards him instinctively. Akira sighed and quickly regained his composure.

“Yeah. I’m going to assume the detective told you we would be arriving. I guess that would make you Yukiko.” The young woman smiled and tapped her pen on the desk.

“No wonder she’s so interested in you.” Akira blinked in surprise. “My name is Yukiko Amagi, the current manager of this inn. Our mutual friend has reserved two of our largest rooms which should comfortably fit all of you. The paperwork has been taken care of already so Yuri here will show you to your rooms. Once you have settled in feel free to come back down here. I will inform Naoto of your arrival and she will meet you here when you are ready.” Akira bowed and then nodded at their guide. She smiled in return and began to lead the way.

“Yo! You knew who that was?” Ryuji had slid up beside Akira and whispered in to his ear. Akria looked at his friend and had to stifle a laugh once again. His friend’s eyes were wide open and his mouth was half hanging open. Akira supposed she had been rather pretty so he wasn’t surprised by Ryuji’s ungraceful reaction.

“Yeah that was Yukiko Amagi you moron. Akira told us about her involvement with Naoto already. Maybe you should pay more attention and pick your jaw off the floor.” Ann rolled her eyes and strode passed Ryuji until she was almost walking side by side with their guide.

“Dude what’s her problem?” Ryuji asked frowning. Akira stared at his friend before sighing.

“I suppose it would be hard for you to see it.” Akira said to himself. He the slapped his hand on Ryuji’s back before confidently saying, “No clue buddy.” Their guide came to a sudden stop in front of two doors.

“Your two rooms are across the hall from one another. Please let us know if you need anything else.” The young woman smiled before slipping between them and leaving their group alone.

“Why don’t we take a minute to unpack before we head out?” Makoto’s suggestion seemed agreeable and everyone nodded in response.

“Finally I can get this disgusting goop off of me.” Ann growled as she stared menacingly at the stain on her shirt. Ryuji looked like he was about to say something, but Akira placed his hand on his shoulder and simply shook his head.

“Okay well I’m pretty sure we will be ready before you guys so come knock when you are ready to go meet the detective.” The girls nodded and they split into the two rooms.

Calling their room large was an understatement. Four futons had been laid out onto the floor while a wooden table had been placed across from them. There was an opening in the back that most likely lead to a washroom and a sliding door that most likely held the largest closet Akira had ever seen.

“My what a beautiful room. It would make a wonderful background for a painting.” Yusuke already had his hands up forming a makeshift frame with his fingers as he surveyed the room. “Perhaps I could convince you and Futaba to be the subjects of a painting while we are here?” Yusuke gave Akira a quizzical look that took him by complete surprise.

“Dude what a weird couple to want to paint. I didn’t think you were attracted to Futaba at all.” Ryuji’s blurted out as he found a nice place to drop his things. Akira gave a sharp look at Yusuke and then his bag. He saw Morgana avoiding eye contact and Yusuke’s previous words echoed through his mind. “We bonded while you all slept.” Akira’s eye twitched before he looked back up at Yusuke.

“Uh Yusuke I think-“ A loud scream echoed from across the hall causing them all to jump.

“Dude what was that! That sounded like one of the girls, we need to-“

“Stay right here.” Akira said before Ryuji could rush out the door. “Futaba just realized that we don’t have internet access.” Ryuji stopped in his tracks and stared at Akira.

“You mean you didn’t tell her!” Akira winced.

“I uh sort of forgot…” Ryuji’s mouth dropped open and stared bewildered at him.

“Oh dear. This certainly won’t end well.” Yusuke shook his head, “I may need to retract my request for that painting. I do not wish to paint what will surely be your death.” Akira’s shoulders dropped and he stared at the door to their room for a short minute.

“Let’s get unpacked. I’m sure my death can wait until they are ready.” Akira tried to remain calm, but he kept having visions of his girlfriend strangling him with her laptop’s power cord.

Several minutes passed before they finally heard from the girls. When they opened the door, they found Makoto giving them a weak smile while Ann and Haru were busy comforting Futaba, who looked like someone had sucked her very soul form her body.

“Looks like we don’t have an internet connection here…” Makoto gave them a worried look and Akira sighed. He could already see his grave before him.

“Right, I uh… I forgot to mention that before we got here…” Futaba’s eyes twitched before she looked up at him. She slowly stalked forward and lightly gripped his shirt.

“You… you knew…” Her grip tighter and she pulled him forward. “YOU KNEW AND YOU STILL BROUGHT ME HERE!” Her eyes were wild and Akira briefly wondered how such a small girl could be so frightening. “I trusted you! You have betrayed me! What sort of hell have you dragged me too!?” Akira looked to the others for help and found that they were all looking away and were seemingly oblivious to the current conversation.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me…” Akira whispered to himself. He looked back at Futaba and gave her a weak smile. He quickly leaned in and whispered into her ear, “I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” When he leaned back he watched as her eyes narrowed and she stared daggers at him, before she finally closed her eyes and composed herself.

“I know we came here for Morgana and nothing would have stopped me from coming, but a warning would have been nice.” Futaba growled as the last words left her lips and Akira nodded. She sighed before letting him go. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. It isn’t your fault this place has no internet… but if you want to make it up to me anyway, well I wouldn’t say no.” She whispered before she stalked passed him. Akira shook his head and sighed as he followed her.

Futaba was generally a very reasonable person so it was strange seeing her like this. He knew she wasn’t actually mad at him, but he still felt like he wanted to do something for her to make up for the lack of internet anyway. Maybe after their talk with Naoto he could go find her a gift of some kind.

When they arrived back in the main room, they found Yukiko had left her position behind her desk and was now sitting in one of the nearby chairs. She had changed out of her Yukata and was now wearing a bright pink shirt and a white skirt.

Yukiko was speaking to another woman. She had dark blue hair and was almost a head shorter than Yukiko. Her slim body was covered by a white button up shirt and she wore a pair of blue jeans. Her hands were intertwined in front of her mouth as she listened to Yukiko speak. Her back was straight and though she was sitting in a relaxed position, it felt like she was ready to leap out of her seat at any moment.

“Ah it looks like our guests have arrived.” The young woman stood out of her chair and nodded to Akira. “Joker it is good to finally meet you.” The use of his codename slightly irked him, but he waved it off.

“Wish I could say the same detective.” He expected some reaction, but the young woman simply continued to smile at him.

“Well perhaps we can change your opinion of me later. You have already met Yukiko here.” Yukiko rose from her chair as well and gave them a brief bow.

“It’s good to see you all again. I hope the rooms are to your liking.” Her voice bubbled out from her lips as she spoke and it was easy to see that her personality had changed slightly now that she was no longer in her uniform.

“Everything is quite wonderful thank you.” Makoto’s kind response was met with a quite scoff from Futaba. Haru frowned at their annoyed friend.

“Please forgive her. She isn’t used to living without constant internet access.” Haru apologized, but Yukiko simply smiled.

“Many of our younger patrons have a harder time adjusting to that. Once she gets used to it however, I’m sure you will all love it here.” Yukiko’s smile lit up the room before she turned to Naoto.

“Perhaps we should go meet up with the others? We can finish introductions once we all meet up. Besides, Chie has been teasing me about some big news she has all week.” Yukiko was practically bouncing up and down as she spoke. Clearly whatever news she was waiting for was important. Naoto simply smiled.

“Ah yes I suppose you would be excited to see her again.” She nodded once before looking at the rest of them. Why don’t you follow us? The rest of our group will meet us there and you all look rather hungry.”

Naoto strolled passed them, but as she did her eyes briefly locked with Akira’s. She gave him a brief smile before continuing passed him. The rest of the group eagerly followed, most likely due to their growling stomachs.

“Mind telling us where we are heading?” Akira asked as he fell in with the rest of them.

“Oh, just our old hideout.” Yukiko said excitedly as she spun her head back to answer him. Akira nodded, but looked down at his bag.

Morgana’s head stuck out and was looking up at him as well. Their eyes locked and they exchanged a knowing nod. This was it. If they were ever going to find a clue it would be here.

“Here we go.”