I greatly apologize for the long break, but I'm coming back and I think I'll even bring a few surprises as well! See you guys soon!

So here is the good news! Being Human isn't going anywhere! I'm back in my groove and I will be dusting off my old typewriter here shortly. The next chapter will be coming back next week so keep an eye out!

*Hey everyone! It's been a while I know, but I have some good news and an explanation as to where Being Human has been and where it is going. So First things first, where have I been? Well unfortunately I've been in Texas and my family was down near Houston when Harvey blew through. There was some touch and go moments, but everyone made it out safe and we were one of the lucky few to receive little to no damages. I also just took on a second job and while it isn't a full time job by any means, these two big events have kept me away from my writing.

Got it out before Friday! It's been a crazy week folks and unlike last week this chapter is a bit shorter than normal. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the journey to come!

The groups finally meet and things don't go as well as one would hope. But with Morgana's humanity on the line, the Thieves will have no choice, but to listen to what the others have to say.

Chapter Text

The setting sun gave the surrounding area a distinct orange hue. The few people occupying the food court looked like they were part of a painting as the colors of the nearby lights and the setting sun mingled together. Yusuke must be having a field day,

Akira turned to see his friend holding his fingers up in a makeshift frame as he scanned the food court. If he had a canvas and brushes, Yusuke would no doubt have begun painting immediately.

“Naoto!” A shout broke the relaxed atmosphere and Akira watched as his friend frowned before dropping his hands to his side. “Over here!” Akira followed the voice until he spotted a large wooden table on the opposite side of the roof. A large yellow and white tarp was currently protecting its occupants from the remaining sunlight.

A young woman with dark red hair was standing behind the table while she energetically waved at their group. She was surrounded by five others who had decided to remain seated while they made their way towards them.

A hand suddenly gripped Akira’s shoulder and he turned to see Ryuji and Ann staring at the table with their mouth open.

“Dude… dude that’s Risette!” Ryuji and Ann exchanged excited glances before looking back at the table. “Do you think she will sign anything?” Akira smiled before shaking his head.

“Keep it together you two. I doubt she came here to be swamped by fans.” They both gave him a pathetic look as they attempted to gain his sympathy, but he had come too far to let this conversation devolve into an hour of idol talk. “Wait till after this first then you can do whatever you want.” They exchanged another look before they both glanced at his bag. Their posture relaxed slightly before they both nodded.

“Fine, but I’m not letting this chance pass me by.” Ann said while she picked up her pace. Ryuji was quick to follow and they were the first to make it to the table. Akira noticed the detective shake her head as she watched his friends take their seats.

“Something bothering you detective.” Akira took his place beside her as they slipped around another table.

“I hope your friends aren’t disappointed when they get to know the real Rise.” Akira raised an eyebrow and the detective let out a short laugh. “I mean that she is a rather normal woman. Perhaps a bit more outgoing than most, but she’s… well I just hope that…”

“I’ll make sure they don’t bother her too much.” She met his gaze and gave him a kind smile.

“My apologies, I have no doubt you will all treat her with the respect she deserves.” A small figure suddenly appeared between them and looked up into his eyes.

“Come on! Stop standing around, I’m hungry!” Futaba grabbed him by the hand and lead him to the table. It was brief, but he thought he saw something in her eyes as she led him away.

As he got closer to the table Akira was able to make out the rest of the people sitting on the opposite side. At the center of the table was a young man with short grey hair. He was thin, but gave off an air of confidence that emanated from every movement he made.

Next to him was a slightly shorter woman with light brown hair. She was leaning forward and introducing herself to Makoto who had taken a seat opposite of her.

A much taller man sat a little further away from the center. He had dark black hair and his matching attire made him rather intimidating. Or he would be, but his round glasses detracted from that image somewhat.

Next to him was the thin black-haired woman they had met at the inn earlier. Yukiko Amagi greeted Yusuke as he took his seat. She seemed rather entertained by his sudden make shift frame as he looked up and down the table.

Finally, a short blonde boy with blue eyes sat next to Risette. He was energetically introducing himself to Ann and very obviously ignoring Ryuji. Though both of them already seemed to be having a hard time not freaking out about the idol at their table. Akira was beginning to wonder if they were going to make it through this.

“Where is Yosuke?” The detective asked as she took a seat next to the silver haired man.

“Oh he went to go order a bunch of food for the table, he should be here shortly.” Risette’s voice bubbled out of her and Akira glanced over at Ann and Ryuji who were currently exchanging glances with each other.

Akira took his seat next to Makoto and Futaba. He sat across from the silver haired man and the detective. He leaned forward to introduce himself when a large platter of sandwiches hit the center of the table.

“Sorry I wasn’t here to greet you all.” A young man with light brown hair moved around them as he set another platter on each side of the table. It took all of Akira’s self-control to not immediately rip into the nearest piece of food.

“No apologies necessary, we have all just take our seats Yosuke.” The newcomer took his seat near the end of the table, next to the short blond boy. As he pushed his seat in a gasp erupted from the same side of the table.

“Mr. Hanamura?” Yosuke looked up from the table and then a moment later shot back up to his feet.

“Ms. Okumura! I didn’t know you would be here today, was there a meeting?!” his phone was in his hand before Akira even realized he had slipped it from his pocket. Yosuke was quickly thumbing through his phone, clearly in a panic. “I’m so sorry I must have forgotten about a meeting or-“

“Mr. Hanamura it’s quite alright! I’m here with my friends.” Haru motioned to the rest of the table as Yosuke looked up from his phone. For a moment, the young man seemed completely confused before realization flashed across his face.

“You… you’re here with… oh wow.” He looked back at Haru and sat back down.

“Are these your friends Mr. Hanamura?” Haru asked while giggling at her flustered acquaintance. He nodded as he pulled his seat closer.

“Uh you two know each other?” Ryuji inserted himself into the conversation with the subtlety and grace of a wrecking ball, but it did seem to remind them of their surroundings.

“Oh yes! Mr. Hanamura has come to visit Okumura Foods on several occasions. We haven’t spoken much since I left the company though. I do miss our after-meeting conversations though.” Haru smiled at Yosuke and he laughed nervously.

“Perhaps we should catch up after this?” Yosuke nodded towards the others, “I’m sure you and your friends came here for a reason.” Haru nodded before looking at the others.

“My apologies, should we get started?” Haru asked as she retrieved a sandwich from the nearby platter.

“Yes, I believe that would be agreeable. Perhaps some introductions first?” Naoto surveyed the entire table before continuing, “I have a feeling this may be a decently long conversation, so getting to know each other certainly couldn’t hurt.” Akira had to stop himself from scoffing. She most likely knew everything she needed too about him and his friends. Though it wouldn’t hurt to at least try and be friendly. Akira was about to start when the man in front of him cleared his throat.

“Why don’t I start? You are our guests after all.” He leaned forward and smiled at Akira and his friends. “My name is Yu Narukami, currently I’m a prosecutor that works mostly in the nearby area.” Out of the corner of his eye, Akira caught Makoto tilting her head slightly.

“He’s being modest. Yu is our leader.” Yosuke spoke over Yu and leaned into the center of the table. Yu shook his head.

“That was a long time ago, I haven’t-“

“Oh come on, you never stopped being our leader. Just because we don’t get together like this as often, that doesn’t mean that you ever stopped being our leader.” Akira was surprised to hear the detective say something so sentimental. She didn’t seem the type to get emotional.

“Nice to meet you. Akira Kurusu, current high school student and leader of the Phantom Thieves.” He extended his hand towards Yu and without hesitation his hand was met by Yu’s.

_ _ _

It took several minutes for the rest of the group to introduce themselves, but as originally planned, no one else ever mentioned being a member of the Phantom Thieves. It never hurt to be careful after all. The introductions were the easy part however.

“So, Naoto gave us a decent idea as to what this meeting is all about, but perhaps you could shed some light on why you contacted our friend in the first place.” Yu’s voice was even and filled with as much confidence as his posture already conveyed.

Akira looked at the others before glancing at the bag. They needed to figure out if these people had anything worthwhile to say. He caught Futaba’s gaze and she nodded confidently at him before briefly placing her hand on his leg. It was now or never.

“Before we get to that, I have one last thing that needs to be taken care of.” He lifted his bag and gently set it on the table. Several of the detectives’ friends looked curiously at Akira and then the bag. He slowly unzipped the bag and opened it.

Morgana leapt out from the opening and landed gracefully onto the top of the table. He let out a long yawn while he enjoyed his sudden freedom.

“Dude you can’t just bring a cat into the store!” Yosuke yelped as he suddenly started to look around in every direction. Akira ignored him and took his seat once more. He looked calmly at Morgana and waited for his friend to finish waking up.

“Man, that looks like a really nice cat. Would uh, would you mind if I pet it?” Kanji’s fingers tapped the wooden surface of his seat as he seemed to admire Morgana. Kanji seemed a bit odd if Akira was completely honest.

“This is Morgana and there is a very good reason that he is here with us today.” Akira continued as if the others hadn’t said a word. His friend met his eyes and tilted his head slightly. Akira nodded and he watched as Morgana spun around to face the others.

“Good evening.” Morgana’s voice cut through the air and the world stopped spinning. Everyone sat completely still, one side of the table in stunned silence while the others felt their bodies tense.

“Holy shit did that cat just talk!” Akira got the feeling that Kanji and Ryuji would get along rather well.

“Woooow! He’s like me!” The boy called Teddie looked at the others as he pointed towards Morgana.

“He is not like you, you were a costume, this is an actual talking cat.” Everytime ‘the cat’ was said, Morgana twitched slightly. The poor guy was trying his best to not respond in his usual manor.

To Akira’s surprise however, two people seemed less effected. Both Yu and the detective were staring curiously at the cat. Yu tilted his head slightly as the woman next to him stared wildly at him and then the cat once more.

The detective on the other hand let her gaze fall onto Akira. Her eyes seemed to pierce through him, but he remained expressionless beneath her scrutiny.

“Why?” Her question was quiet, but it still caught the attention of the others. The table was suddenly quite as they looked between the detective and Akira. “Why not just tell us about the cat?” Akira had to resist the smile attempting to form on his face.

“Morgana is special. To most people he sounds like a perfectly normal cat.” Akira met the detective’s eyes, “But if you have been to the Metaverse then he sounds like he can talk like anyone else.” A sudden look of realization flashed across several people across the table.

“You wished to confirm that we did indeed know about the other world and at least increase the chances that we do, in fact, have Personas.” The detective smiled. “But why the deception? You could have simply had the cat-“

“Morgana!” The tiny Phantom Thief corrected.

“You could have simply had Morgana, speak to us from the beginning.” Akira shook his head in response to her question.

“First I needed to make sure that this was a safe place. If you had some kind of plot to capture me or my friends then you never would have seen Morgana.” The detective smiled.

“And what makes you think that we don’t have a plot to take you in?”

“I’ve already been cleared of my charges so arresting me is pointless. You have nothing, but conjecture about my friends and if they have anything to do with the Phantom Theives. If you did want to arrest us you certainly could just be waiting until we said something incriminating, but after meeting you all… well perhaps trust is the wrong word. I don’t think some of you have the ability to betray anyone even if we have only just met.” Akira watched the other thieves all seem to puff out their chests as Akira explained their plan.

“You seem rather confident that you have read us all correctly.” The response came from an unexpected source. The woman next to Yu, Chie he believed, had a very serious look in her eyes. “What if you are wrong?”

“Then I will do what I have always done, I will protect my friends.” The last words had an edge to them that Akira had not meant to use. To his surprise however, Chie simply grinned.

“You know he really does remind me of you.” She looked up at Yu as she continued, “Maybe a bit more aggressive, but just as passionate.” Yu scratched the back of his head and Chie leaned forward so that she could the detective. “No wonder you have a crush on him.”

“What!?” The sudden cry caused a few people to jump and Akira had to try his best to act surprised at Futaba’s sudden outburst.

“Can you please stop teasing me? I have no designs on him and we have far more pressing matters to discuss.” Akira watched as Futaba visibly relaxed. She jumped as he quietly took her hand under the table. She turned a light pink, but she squeezed his hand.

As he removed his hand from hers he caught Ann staring at the them. She had a soft smile playing across her lips. Akira shrugged before he turned his attention back to their hosts.

“You never explained why you needed to hide Morgana in the first place.” The detective said as she tried to regain her composure.

“Ah yes well, if you could hear Morgana and you did have something against us… well I don’t want to think what someone would do to a talking cat.” Akira’s face darkened as Morgana dropped into his lap.

“Well we can hear him, but uh that doesn’t answer why you contacted Naoto in the first place. I mean you clearly don’t trust us so why would you take the risk in the first place?” Yosuke asked from the far side of the table.

“Our friend needs help and our leader believes that you and your friends may be able to guide us to the answers we seek.” Yusuke slipped a small apple slice into his mouth as he finished speaking. A few people gave them some quizzical looks.

“To be more specific. I’m not cat. I was made… somewhere special, but I believe that I can become a human like all of you.” Morgana’s eyes peered at everyone as he spoke.

“Made? What do you mean made?” Yukiko leaned her head into her hand as she examined the cat in Akira’s lap.

“That is part of our story, which we are happy to share, AFTER, you share yours as was previously agreed.” Makoto sat back into her chair and crossed her legs.

“Man you guys are kinda rude.” Kanji’s mouth was crumpled into frown as he looked between the thieves.

“We prefer ‘careful’.” Haru’s voice was sweet and she gave the group a big smile.

“I would call it ‘hostile’!” Kanji countered looking slightly more annoyed.

“It’s alright Kanji.” The detective called to her friend, “Not everyone here knows, but I was rather hostile towards them. I… threatened them.” An uncomfortable silence fell over the group and all of her friends save two, looked at her with a shocked expression on their faces. “I’m not proud of it, but they have every right to be weary, even hostile, towards us.” Yu placed his hand on her shoulder.

“What’s done is done. Nothing we say now will change anything, and I see no reason as to why we can’t share our story with them.” Yu’s mere presence seemed to calm the group. “I do ask that we remain civil from now on.” Yu’s attention was suddenly on Akira and he could feel a sudden pressure descend upon him. Yu may have understood why they were acting so weary of him and his friends, but he certainly did not appreciate it. Something he couldn’t blame him for at all.

“You are right. I apologize. Regardless of our first impression with the detective, you all deserve a chance.” Akira bowed his head in apology.

“Good. I’m sure we can even learn to like each other, given time.” Yu’s expression softened before nodding. “Well then I suppose we can get started. It’s a long story and the sun is already setting.” Everyone leaned in as Yu looked between the others. Akira suddenly felt tense. There was a lot riding on this story.

“Ready when you are.” Akira’s mouth felt dry but he steadied his nerves and readied himself for whatever truths he was about to learn.

“It all started when I moved in with my uncle.”