Chapter 1: Course of Action

"Let us sail toward a happy future together!"

Shido's booming voice echoed all around, soon followed by the thunderous cheers and shouts. The Nausea deep within Akira grew with each word Shido said. The Support didn't stop for one moment, quite the opposite, with each second that passed, the citizens clapped louder, shouted louder, encouraging Shido to continue. Akira could only shake his head at the display of it.

Akira loved his country. He was proud to be Japanese, proud of his history. But sometimes, he wished its people weren't so easy to deceive.

People were so easily fooled by a few well-chosen words.

Colorful flags and boards were raised, swaying left and right in the air. Everything was overwhelming; the sun that was unforgiving as it glared down on them, the noises around him causing an ever-growing headache. Everyone was in high spirits; people of all ages were laughing and whistling. Everyone was in high spirits, everyone but him.

Behind thick glasses, a pair of grey eyes glared at the bald man. This man, who caused psychotic breakdowns; risking the lives of the citizens in the progress, who lied through his teeth with no shame, all for his own achievements, was favored. It made his inside boil with rage.

Akira pulled the hoodie tighter around him.

The view of Shido's Palace was still vivid on his mind. If people only knew about his true desires, they wouldn't be celebrating.

A sailing ship, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sunken buildings.

"Even though this country may sink, he alone will survive."

As time progressed, the campaign was still in full swing, but a faint murmur rose from the crowd with each minute and it didn't take long before it turned into an uproar.

Turning around to see what the big deal was, his eyebrows shot up, flabbergasted at the sight.

Inwardly, however, Akira and all his personas were standing, cheering, wildly clapping and pointing at the stranger who had the balls to show up.

A board hung loosely around a corgi's neck, the sentence 'let me pee on him!' was elegantly written on it. It barked happily, tail swinging back and forth. It was a cute little thing.

Don't tell Morgana. He would feel cheated and would have his head.

But the best was; the owner of the dog held a picture of Shido, a familiar black ball biting half of his head.

It was the same picture The Phantom Thieves used.

You see, the majority may have chosen a dangerous, corrupted and twisted being as a leader, but as long as the weak stands up for themselves, as long as reality is not overlooked, there may be a change of heart, a way to a better future.

One effect sets off a chain of similar events and now, looking at the stranger, hope blossomed deep within his heart.

Unfortunately, it was quenched when the commotion started. Someone grabbed them by the elbow, forcefully dragging them away. The Shouts of Protest and angry barking when unheard. Nobody was making a move to help, just watching the scene unfold, watching as they thrashed around, trying to free themselves from the firm hold.

Without thinking, as if his body had its own mind, Akira lunged forward, desperately trying to get through the mass, grunting, accidentally elbowing them on their sides. It was like all the odds were against him; the more he struggled to get through, the harder it got.

Frantically searching for them, his hair swayed, falling in front of his eyes. Akira bit his lip, worry itching its way deep inside him. Akira ignored the weird looks he received. He couldn't care less about what anyone thought about him, anyway.

Unfortunately, all his efforts were in vain. The stranger could not be seen anywhere.

Running a hand through his hair, he surpassed an exasperated sigh before pulling his hoodie up, concealing his features and marched away to the alleyway.

"What kind of person is Representative Shido? What's he think about the National Diet?"

"His stance is 'dedication for country'- it's how he's garnered everyone's trust,"

"Everyone's trust, my ass." It wasn't hard to guess who said that. Ann slapped him lightly on the arm, shushing him before continuing to listen.

"He's an admirable man of action with a first-class determination. I'd say he's a model politician,"

"Well, nobody asked you." A harsh glare, warning him to keep the comments to himself.

"I believe that he'll help create a wonderful future in which young adults can live in ease."

"Yeah, the amount of bullshit this guy is spouting gets on my nerve." snapped Ryuji. Ann huffed but didn't protest when Ryuji shut the television off, all the while grumbling under his breath. Akira mentally thanked Ryuji. A guy can only take so much in one day.

Leblanc had this comfortable atmosphere since day one. The retro style was a welcoming change of style and the smell of coffee beans lingered in the air. It was usually quiet and, aside from the regulars, mostly empty. It was a perfect place to study, to read or quite simply, to just sit down and relax. In their situation, it was a perfect place to have strategy meetings.

What started with two people ended up with a group of seven people and one smaller being. Each was unique in their own way. With each friend Akira gained, Leblanc became livelier; sometimes surrounded by heated discussions, and sometimes by carefree chatter.

But now, gone were the discussions and chatter, replaced by utter silence. It wasn't awkward, it just lacked the usual atmosphere. Unspoken words hung in the air, glances were stolen, searching for answers.

Ryuji was the first to broke the heavy silence, "Now, what?"

He had voiced out the question that everyone had in mind. What now indeed.

Morgana jumped onto the table, tail wagging as he advised, "It would be better to lay down for a while."

"I agree that we need to lay down, but we also could use this time to enter the Mementos again," Makoto interjected, seemingly on another trail of thought. She took a sip of her cup, obviously enjoying the bitter taste of coffee on her tongue.

"We can't stay hidden for too long. Our popularity has already dropped under 3%" Futaba hold her phone out for everyone to see.

"It is to be expected after the events but I agree, we have to raise our popularity again, and we need to do it quickly." murmured Yusuke, absently playing with a strand of hair.

Akira leaned back on the soft furniture, taking a sip of his coffee before closing his eyes, resting them. It might look like he was sleeping, but he was all ears as comments were made back and forth, each member throwing their opinion out. He massaged his temples as the noise in the room grew, adding fuel to the fire.

Fingers touched his shoulder, gently shaking, making him snap his eyes open. Haru's concern filled face greeted him, "The Campaign must have worn you out?" it came out like a question, he wasn't sure, but he still nodded and gratefully accepted the offered glass of water and pill. It quenched his thirst and the pill was like a godsend gift, lessening the throbbing in his head. Akira thanked whatever God was out there for a considerate soul like Haru.

Gradually, the voices died down, once again filling the room with silence. Curious as to why they stopped talking, Akira opened one eye, peering at their somber faces as they looked down at him. What was with those expressions? Did he look really that miserable on the outside? He hoped not.

"Why the gloomy faces? I'm not dying here, you know."

A snort left Ryuji, "So, why you look so tired, then?"

"The Campaign left me exhausted, I guess," sighing, Akira ran a hand through his hair, eyes focused on the ceiling but not really seeing anything. All he could see was the stranger's face, or more precisely, their eyes. The Black bandana and navy mask had covered half of their face, save for their eyes.

"There was this one protestor, pissed the supporters off by just being there." Akira chuckled, recalling the look of offense on their faces.

It quickly vanished when he also the outcome of the event. The struggle, the calls for help still rang in his ears. This turn of events reminded him of the incident that landed him here, and all he could do right now was to hope for their well-being.

Shaking his head to get rid of these thoughts, Akira straightened up, leaning his cheek on his palm, a lopsided grin gracing his lips, "Back to the matter at hand, it would be better to go into the Mementos again, and I know exactly when the perfect time is."

1481 words, not bad if you ask me. I don't know how many times I rewrote this chapter but I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I tried to keep them in character so I hope they're not OOC. I bet nobody can guess where they're going next chapter hehe *rubs hand together*

Also, thank you for the reviews and favs and bla bla bla. I see them and they for real keep me going. Feedback is always appreciated. See you next time when I update *waves*