3/20, Monday Daytime

If you hold on life won't change

As the wheels spun, as clouds swept by, sunlight played out over the water, and the van continued on, as music played a tune that resonated in all their hearts, Akira Kurusu breathed out and smiled. Around him were his friends, his confidants, the closest people in his life. Something beyond friendship or family, instrumental parts of his life. Extensions of his own self, the Akira that he was only complete with them beside him. The life he wanted to live.

"'I've been hearing stories about a group of high-schoolers extorting local middle-schoolers, and I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have advice?'"

Haru Okumura lowered the phone she had read the message from, raising her other hand in the same motion to rest a curled finger beneath her lips. Futaba was the first to suggest an answer.

"We run 'em over!"

"Come on!" Ann's attempt to recriminate Futaba's joking response to the Phan-site request was marred by the laughter in her voice, the younger girl's energetic suggestion of homicide enough to spread smiles across the majority of the former Phantom Thieves. Thoughts bounced from one individual to another, the response Haru would post constructed by the eight-fold group. A contented smile came from the auburn-haired girl as she submitted their answer, before she returned to watching the ocean to their left. Their fifth response so far.

"Wonder how much this helps," Ryuji did his best to watch the ocean as well, but being on the right side of the van had to look across Akira and Yusuke both to see it. "I guess it's all about trusting everyone to do what's right now, yeah?"

"That's part of our social reform," Makoto couldn't give answers at the same speed as the others, focused on driving as she was, but still proved able to give her opinion when called upon. "Inspiring others to stand up too."

"Yeah good point," Ryuji nodded to that. "Gotta change the world in our own way, right?" The group at large nodded to this. Phantom Thieves no longer, but their ability to bring change was still their own. They simply had to express it.

That was a topic Akira had spent a significant amount of thought on over the past few weeks.

Onwards the van went, tracing the coast of Shizuoka's south. Akira had left early, knowing it would be a long trip home, and so even after a few hours' drive it had yet to reach midday. Although, having left so early meant that…

"Ohhh, I bet there's the most incredible fish out there!"

Morgana had hopped into the back seat of the van, settling on Haru's lap while staring out at the ocean. His mention of food set the topic in everyone's minds, and Yusuke was quick to capitalise on the thought.

"We should stop and attempt to catch some."

It genuinely took a moment for anyone to know what to say about that.

"Are you kidding, Inari? We're kinda going somewhere right now!"

"It's only sensible! One should never pass up the opportunity to harvest a meal!"

"Yusuke, we're going to be stopping for lunch soon anyway."

"I think it wiser we attempt to retrieve food ourselves."

Akira gave a small smile while Ryuji bluntly shoved into the conversation.

"You ain't got any money again huh?"

"Well, I…"

"Yusuke," Futaba's giggling, Ann's shaking of her head, the quiet, judging whispers of Morgana that caused Haru to hold a hand over her mouth, quietened when Akira spoke up. Yusuke's expression was of one chastised. Akira just smiled. "We can cover lunch."

For as much as that had been a pattern of the last year, Yusuke still seemed somewhat concerned by the offer, even attempting to refute it with insistence that he would be able to provide for himself. It didn't land.

"Do you even know how to fish?"

"I…"

"Hey Ryuji," Ann leaned her head back, hair spilling over the back of the seat she was in before the other blonde, "I can't reach Yusuke from here, get him for me?"

"Got it," Ryuji nodded, turning to face the recalcitrant artist, who had immediately leaned even further towards the window with an offended 'Excuse me?'. Ryuji smiled before tapping Akira's shoulder. "Hey Akira, get him for us?"

Akira's own smile widened, Yusuke's narrowed eyes watching him as, without breaking eye-contact, he stretched out his right arm and tapped Makoto once. "Makoto, would you?"

"On it," Makoto's eyes never left the road, following its gentle path beside the sea, "Haru, if you please?"

"Of course!" Now Haru was the one to nod, Yusuke's head whipping around to examine the backseat as everyone bar Makoto now stared at him. Haru smiled sweetly. "Mona-chan?"

Unwilling to take his eyes off of Yusuke, Akira could only see from the corner of his own as Morgana hopped off of Haru's lap and walked across the back seat of the van, ending up before Futaba. She grinned at him and held out a hand. He set a paw in it to complete the baton pass.

"Alright!" And with that Futaba Sakura, unleashed, raised her phone up from her lap. "Presenting Yusuke Kitagawa's Top Ten Cries for Help, in Web Search Form!"

"What!?"

"Number ten!" Futaba ignored Yusuke's outburst, making sure she was pressed as hard against the side of the van as she could be to keep away from his reaching for her phone. "Best flavour enhancers for bean sprouts!" A chuckle rippled across the others as Yusuke looked absolutely mortified. Futaba continued with glee written across her face. "Number nine! Minimum sleeping and eating requirements!"

Ryuji actually spent a moment looking almost genuinely concerned as he stared across at Yusuke. "Dude."

"Number eight!" The orange-haired internet demon didn't waste a second. "Accidentally drank paint water."

"Yusuke!" The exclamation of shock came from at least three sources, Yusuke seeming to collapse in on himself as Futaba continued.

"It was only the one time."

"Number seven! Tokyo edible wild mushrooms, nuts and berries! Number six! Ohh, this one's my favourite, check this out-"

"Futaba," Makoto rescued Yusuke from his mortification, "Can you find a good place up ahead to stop for lunch?"

A breath of relief came from the artist as Futaba nodded, saluted, and gave a hearty 'on it!'. Akira turned to tilt his head in her direction. "Send me that list later." The look Yusuke gave him was met with the most innocent smile Akira could possibly manage. Haru, the only other who could see it from this angle, immediately started to giggle.

"We're by the ocean so we gotta get fish, right?" Ryuji turned around to Futaba, "Make sure it has fish."

"Finally we agree on something!" Morgana's yowl matched his feline form vaulting back over into the middle seat, settling between Ryuji and Akira. Ryuji stared him down.

"You sure are moving around a lot ain'tcha? Getting antsy to get out?"

"We need a break!" Morgana stared Ryuji back. "Staying cooped up in here for too long is bad for you!"

"Uh-huh," Ryuji seemed dismissive of Morgana's opinion. "You just need to use the crapper don't you?"

"Ryuji!"

"You dumbass!"

"Gross!"

The calls went along the right side of the van, from front to back, chastising Ryuji's vulgarity. He just smirked at Morgana who was staring daggers at him. Akira smiled at the scene.

"Probably best you are staying with me," Morgana whipped around faster than should be healthy at Akira's words, everyone else's focus returning to him as well. He just smiled. "If you stayed in Tokyo without me around to break things up you and Ryuji would have killed each other in about a week."

"Like I'd lose to him!"

"Like hell that cat would take me out!"

"Truly," Yusuke observed the two with an amused eye, "your similarities make for the worst possible conflicts."

"What similarities?!"

"Hey screw you Yusuke, Futaba what's number six?"

"Right here!"

"Futaba!" Makoto's voice silenced the rowdiness of the van. "Do you know where we're heading?"

"Yep, got it planned out. Third exit."

"Thank you."

It was a small coastal town, taking advantage of its position to make the most of being a stopping point for those travelling between Tokyo and Nagoya. A row of shops and eateries stretched just before the beach, and so the van carrying the former Thieves came to a stop before the one Futaba had indicated. The group piled out and began to spread around.

"Restrooms just over there!"

"Thanks Futaba."

Before long everyone had set up on benches facing the sea, various burgers, chips, and seafood purchased and spread between them. Yusuke had tried, one last time, to argue something about procuring his own food, but Akira had won him over by insisting he join them for their last meal together.

Saying it like that had quickly brought silence to the group, but it wasn't anything they didn't already know. Just… hearing it sucked was all.

It was a long trip out to his hometown; even if the others stayed for only a short while they'd be back in Tokyo way after dark. And there still was school tomorrow, Akira leaving just before the final week. Those few days and spring break were all he had to properly reunite with his parents before the next school year would start. Who knows how that would go, he surely didn't.

Well, at least he had Morgana. Akira absently scratched the back of the feline's head, a gesture Morgana only allowed some of the time, depending on his mood. He allowed it now. Maybe that was just because of the slice of fish he'd been given.

For a little bit it was quiet. The eight of them, arranged across a few benches, sat and ate, watching the ocean. They were each thinking of the future, of the year apart between them, of the few times they'd be back together in that time. And then of Akira's true return and the absolute victory that would be for all of them. The Phantom Thieves were over, but these eight, these friends, they were eternal. That was what truly mattered.

They'd be together again. Each swore it silently, only in their own mind, yet knew the same promise was being made by those beside them. It was their truth.

It was when the food was just about done, waste thrown into bins, group considering piling back into the van, that Akira stood up and took a few steps forward, the point where grass gave way to sand where he stopped. He spent a moment looking out at the ocean, breathe in, out, in, out, then turned back to the others, raising his head with a smile. They all fixed him with looks that said they knew he had something to say.

He did.

"You are," he rarely spoke honestly like this, kept his own thoughts internal. In youth he'd never found himself opening up to others, always the quiet one. In adolescence he hadn't quite isolated, but wasn't proactive in seeking out others either. One of the quiet types in the background. When he was accused of his crime everyone just immediately assumed he'd snapped, that his silence was repression, and that a violent thug had always lurked beneath the surface. So quick to brand him. In Tokyo he'd thought he'd be nothing. Empty and alone.

That was the furthest thing from the truth. "all incredible."

A rush of warmth followed the announcement, each of the seven before him feeling Akira's words reach their heart. Their leader, who they'd followed into the greatest of dangers trusting in absolutely, who'd given everything for their cause and for their lives. Who cared for them so much. His smile was true and shook each to the core.

"When I came to Tokyo I thought that was it for me. That I'd just spend the year alone and miserable. That even if I got past my probation I'd always be marked for the rest of my life. At first, I wondered if I'd even be able to keep going." Ryuji took a quick step forward but Akira shook his head, staying his friend's approach. There was more.

"But that's not what happened. Instead you all found me. And now I can't imagine being without you. You're all the most important people in the world to me. I'm," genuine emotion. He could feel it reach his eyes as his voice cracked. "I'm really going to miss you."

There was a moment, a brief pause as the raw feeling he'd expressed, more than most had ever seen, settled on the ones before him. Then they were upon him.

Futaba was the first to reach, arms wrapping around Akira's torso, head burying into his chest. Ryuji and Ann hit him next, each grabbing around a shoulder. Haru somehow worked her way in between them, while Makoto and Yusuke, only slightly more reserved, formed at the outside of the group hug. Morgana wound his way around Akira's legs. He smiled and felt warm.

"Idiot," Ryuji was the one to say it, voice emerging without Akira being able to turn his head to look at him, "Why've you gotta go say it like that now I'm getting all- ah shit." Ann sniffed loudly. Akira's smile remained.

The emotion pile continued for a while longer until the group broke apart, but only slightly. Still close enough for any of them to be able to reach out to Akira. He looked so gentle to them. If only there was a way to keep him, to turn the van around and go back to Tokyo and not let him go.

If only.

"But I am coming back," when he spoke again they all watched his face, all hung on his words, "and we will be together again. And… more than that…"

Now they were focused. Now they saw something. Not quite Joker, not quite the savage hunger of a hunter, but something with perhaps similar energy and drive. Something more refined. More mature.

More ready to face the world itself.

"I said it. And I meant it. You're all incredible. And you're all going to be incredible. That's us. A bunch of incredible people. And that… that means something. We can make it mean something. That's the future I want. That's what I've decided to pursue."

"You know what you want to do?" Makoto was the one to ask it, lips parted slightly. She'd asked once and Akira hadn't been ready to discuss it, something she'd only realised after the fact. Haru had tried to reassure her that she hadn't hurt Akira by pushing him so much on the topic, but it had still hurt her. She hadn't meant to do so, not with him so recently released. The last thing she ever wanted was to hurt him.

Akira shook his head.

"No, what I'll be doing, I don't know it yet. But I'll figure it out. Because I know why I'll be doing it." His eyes moved from one to the other. Focused on each. Nodded and acknowledged. "Because all of us are going to be there, in the future, and all of us can do something different. So between us all, between the eight of us, we can do anything. The world's not perfect. We fought for it, and we made it better, but there's a long way to go still. But we can keep going. We can keep changing it, and working together to make a difference. All of us. What I want is… for us to still call on one another, and to see how to make the future better and work together to do so. Still a team. Still together. Let's make that the future we believe in."

Akira had never made long speeches before. Final words to the Shadows they faced were quick and direct, lines conceived and delivered in moments. This though, this he'd been working on. His instructions by Yoshida, experience in speaking to others, they'd coalesced into a skillset now available to Akira Kurusu. A leader not only by deeds but by words.

They'd follow him to the end of the world. They had once already, after all.

Ryuji was the first to agree.

"Hell yeah! No matter what we'll stick together and change the world! Same as we always did, right?"

"Yeah!" Ann nodded, "No way we won't! We'll keep on going and fight against what's wrong, help change things for the better. You can count on us!"

"I would be a fool not to follow your path," Yusuke smiled, watching over this scene, concepting the title of the painting he would draw from it. 'Road to the Future', perhaps. "You have, without fail, always opened my eyes to more of the world. Following you I truly believe I will one day behold it in full and paint of that view. You'll have me at your side to the end."

Makoto moved forward, rested a hand on Akira's shoulder. He nodded at her and smiled. She smiled back. "No matter where we go, we'll be able to reach out to each other. No matter what happens, we'll call on one another. Our reform, it's not over. It's just getting started."

"I'm with you!" Futaba threw a fist to the sky, nodding rapidly as she did. "You can rely on the original Medjed, the great Alibaba, any day of the week! Let's change the world!"

Haru, hands clasped together, took a moment to survey the sight. People promising to be together, to rely on one another, not for gain or loss, but simply to be together because they wished to be. That end-goal, she believed in it, but she also knew it was not that alone.

It was simply a way to bind those who truly loved one another together. A goal to live together for. Feelings of friendship, of closeness, she'd never imagined she'd be able to have. They'd found her and given her this future. Her eyes shone as she agreed.

"We won't back down!" She announced, the others all smiling at her as she stepped forward, "Because we can change the world! So we'll do it together, no matter what!"

With a leap, Morgana settled on Akira's shoulder. His blue eyes stared into Akira's own. "I said I'm following you to become human," he spoke in a quieter voice, but it was one all the others could still hear, "but it's not just for that. It's because I want to still be with you all, and I want to go into the future just like this. So yeah, let's keep it up. And when the time comes if we're called to, we'll take the world again! As many times as we need to for its sake! Because that's who the Phantom Thieves are!"

A cheer went up from the group, any observer there may be considering it strange it was the yowling of the cat at the end of their motivational speeches that elicited the reaction. But they didn't care. They had each other. That was enough.

And when the journey ended, when Akira stood before his family home and each of the others piled onto him, insisting he keep in contact, swearing that they'd better see him again as often as he could, he knew it wasn't the end.

This wasn't over, they weren't through, the future wasn't bleak. Just a moment, a brief time apart, and they'd be together again. To face what came with heads held high.

Together forever. They knew it would be true.

And though his heart hurt as the van finally took its leave, heads and hands sticking out of every window waving at him, calling out promises to see each other again, Akira kept his smile. Because the future was just ahead.

The future they'd take as well.

And the wheel continued to turn.