Akira hated his luck.

He thought that maybe it was a mean thing to say, that his luck was terrible. His luck had gotten him this far, to the point of no return, to the point of having friends who would die for him, and vice-versa.

It wasn't really an odd occurrence for Akira to have erratic luck, but, he mused that some good usually came out of it. Despite being free for a year now, and having returned home, Akira was still being investigated- trouble and investigation that lead them to Sojiro's cafe, where upon it will be examined and monitored for a few days. Wary of this, Sojiro needed Akira to stay somewhere else for a short while, as to avoid both suspicion and needless encounters interfering with his customers' service.

Akira had taken all this in stride, not really caring until Sojiro had let him in on the little fact that he'd be staying with the prosecutor. Or now, defense attorney. He had tried his best to remain courageous, despite the fact that the girl scares the living daylights out of him at times.

Staring at the attorney's evil eyes with barely hidden malintent did not do any favors for his courage, however, and Akira prayed that whatever good luck was left in him would get him out of this mess.

"Look, he just a needs a place to stay for three days, Niijima." Soujiro said blatantly, activating his cafe charm. Sae didn't relent, however, and stood staring at him for a long time. Akira shrunk under her stare, his calm and collected facade cracking under her intense scrutinization. He could tell she truly suspected him of the worse.

"If you didn't come here everyday, the cops wouldn't have sacked here anyway, Sae. You owe me." Sojiro played his last card.

"I'm just worried about Makoto," she responded lamely, her face flushed slightly. Her comment earned a groan and an incredulous look from Akira.

"Your sister's safe," Sojiro said with some smugness, "Akira may be a young boy, but he isn't reckless."

Akira laughed bitterly to himself. Reckless was a bit of his game, but he nodded politely anyway, not wanting to upset the good faith his caretaker had in him.

"Just for a few days?" Sae said, really sounding in pain. "You're sure. No upsets or mistakes."

"I'm positive. No upsets or mistakes," Sojiro parroted, wearing the confident, uptilt smirk he always wore. The atmosphere of Leblanc affected Sae's mood, and she found herself almost hating the scent of coffee, but loving the taste. The swirl was upsetting her, and she found herself wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

"You know what? Fine. Come with me, kid, and bring your stuff." Sae said sternly. Akira followed in an almost panicked, brisk pace, packing his stuff with anxious speed, under the cruel glare of Sae's eyes.

In private, Sae told the cafe owner, "I expect full compensation for this." She hoped her words worried him slightly, for putting her under such a heavy burden. She was extremely grateful for Akira and the thing's he's done, so she held no personal grudge against the child. Instead, she held contempt for the owner, and while the two could be considered friends, they engaged in the occasional mental sparring.

Still wearing that same confident smirk, Sojiro said, "Nothing to worry about, then."

Persona 5

The ride to Sae's place was plagued with an air of professionalism, a cold avoidance of contact, where conversation and exchange was kept to the minimal and necessary. Akira missed Sojiro already, and the smell of coffee in the morning, eating curry and talking to Morgana-

Morgana, the blasted fool, had left Akira for a limitless amount of fatty tuna over at Ann's place. So Sae and him were left alone to their awkward, stagnant air, and though both desperately wanted to break free of their chains, they both feared the judgement of the other, for empty words spoken beset the heart.

They enjoyed the presence of the other though, and in the deepest reflection of their eyes, they showed their gratitude, displayed in the small, reassuring pats Sae often gave Akira, or the quick flash of a smile she rarely displayed, even in front of her sister. Akira didn't miss these, not the signs, which is why he desperately yearned to start conversation, but without a proper subject, the adventure was futile.

Before either of them could get over their hesitation, they arrived at her house, a wealthy yet empty apartment, devoid of any bigger spruce of life or individuality, except the plaid skirt cladden girl lazing about on the couch. Akira's and Sae's shoes cladded against the wooden floor, and Makoto glanced above the couch, observing both her sister and the unexpected visitor.

"Akira!" She shouted bashfully, making some fidgeting attempt to remove herself from the sofa. After a loud grunt, she succeeded, much to Akira's slight disturbance. "What are you doing here?" She questioned calmly, though the slight blush on her face was a telltale sign of her embarrassment.

Sae moved forward, taking it upon herself to explain the situation. "Sojiro's ran into legal trouble," She said quickly, "Akira will stay here for a few days." Makoto seemed shocked at the news, as expected, her mouth forming a small O as it dropped. "Sae," she protested, "Where will he sleep?" Her simple and cordial answer was "The couch," in a tone that dismissed the matter entirely. Makoto grimaced, but said nothing more, as both participants made their way about their business. Akira had set his things down, and sat down next to the graduate, wary of his imprudence. "I'm sorry," he said lightly, "I don't really mean to be a burden." Makoto sighed. She seemed to quiet down in both thought and spirit. She cleared her throat. "It's okay." She said quietly. "I don't mind, and besides, it's only for a few days, right? I'm just wondering why there was nowhere else for you to stay." Akira pondered it, before replying, "The government will get suspicious if I'm not staying with some kind of adult. It's more just a precaution. Though I have to admit, it's a bit weird." Akira said calmly.

Makoto sighed once again. "Well, either way, I was getting dinner ready. Would you like to join us?" She smiled politely.

He said yes, with a nod, he would very much like to.

Dinner was a quick affair with little chatter. As expected of busy women, both Niijimas ate rather quickly, leaving Akira alone with his thoughts. Once he had finished, he brushed his teeth, and got ready to sleep.

Laying down on the couch, he noticed he had neither no blanket or pillow, but knew better to disturb either sister from their work. To ask would be asking for trouble. So, he opted to fall into an uneasy sleep, the sheer stress of the situation finally wearing on him.

He had no dreams. However, roughly into the night, he was shaken awake, sleep leaving his body fast. Thinking something was wrong, he shot up, but was met only by the silver haired Prosecutor. She flinched slightly, before letting her body relax, eyeing Akira dutifully.

"Go back to sleep," she stated simply, handing him a blanket and pillow. "I just wanted to give you these."

Akira ignored her prompt. "What time is it?" he said gruffly, removing himself from the stickiness of the couch. Sae looked agitated before replying, "3 AM." Akira groaned but sat up, the fresh breath in his nose, the weariness still in his eyes. He looked at Sae blankly before asking, "What are you doing up?" Sae let out a sigh, before sitting down next to him. "Work." She responded. Akira looked exasperated, but oddly appreciative; she could tell he wanted her to get to bed, but that didn't diminish the value of the work she was doing. "You should probably get to sleep," he tried anyway, "You're going to drive yourself nuts." Sae stayed silent, contemplating his words. "Even long after Shido, corruption still runs wild." She said forcefully. "Constant work needs to be done if I want to close this case out fully." The explanation was tired and rehearsed, a shadow of her determination. Akira didn't press further, in fear of angering the attorney.

Instead, he simply said, "A lot of has happened since Shido. If you ever need help, another testimony, or anything, I'll be here." Akira wasn't exactly sure where his words were coming from, but he wanted to let her know that somebody cared, somehow. The two had a strange connection, a strange friendship, a strange association of mutual benefits that neither party could bring themselves to cease. So they let it go on, on nights like this, where little mattered except themselves and the slumber forthcoming.

Sae smiled. It was a smile of warmth and passion, though her eyes betrayed her tiredness. "Thanks, Akira," she said quietly. "I'm going to head to sleep. Please, don't hesitate, if you need anything. I am your guardian, for now." She raised herself from the couch, and headed off, feeling a twinge in her heart. She couldn't repress the smile from her face. "Goodnight, Akira." and then she was gone just as quickly as she came, leaving Akira with a smile of his own.

Their relationship was odd in a lot of ways, but in just as many, it was primal. In a world where stealing hearts was possible, Akira had learned to embrace such paradoxes; they made more and more sense as time went on.

He fell asleep blissfully.

A/N- I just wrote this for fun, and future chapters will be under that aswell, so I'm sorry if I wrote anything too universe breaking. Anyways, please review and rate! Your criticism will help me get better. Thanks for reading!