Fanfic / The Delinquent and His Lover

Makoto never thought her first relationship would begin with a broken nose and a trip to the ER, but when she mistakes the new transfer student as a stalker, things take a turn for the worse. To get her actual stalker off her back, she convinces Akira to be her fake boyfriend. What was supposed to be a one time thing eventually turns into more when her friend, Eiko, gets involved with him. Their differences will either bring them closer together or tear them apart as Makoto's naivety threatens to put her in danger in an unfamiliar world.

The Delinquent and His Lover is a Persona 5 fic published on Archive of Our Own in 2017, by a now orphaned account. This is an Alternate Universe Fic in which the Metaverse doesn't exist, with a focus on the relationship between Akira Kurusu and Makoto Niijima.

Four years after the story became a Dead Fic, another author has picked up where they left off, completing the story in May 2022.

The new author decided to post a compilation and a translation of said compilation on Wattpad in 2022, changing little details on both stories and adding several media for text messages, letters and covers.

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The original story provides examples of:

• Almost Kiss: Makoto and Akira at the fireworks festival, interrupted by the sudden rainstorm, much to Akira's disappointment. It's then subverted when Makoto pulls him in for The Big Damn Kiss anyway.
• Boyfriend Bluff: When Akira sees the obscene text messages Tsukasa has been sending Makoto, he sends back a warning claiming to her boyfriend. Naturally, this leads to a Fake Relationship when Tsukasa calls his bluff, and then to a Romantic Fake–Real Turn.
• Brutal Honesty: Yusuke's comments about Akira's appearance and his lack of grace and poise, which Akira starts to find Actually Pretty Funny.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: When Makoto asks Akira to pose as her boyfriend, he initially refuses, calling her out on how much trouble she's already caused him by breaking his nose yesterday. Nevertheless, he goes to the diner anyway to see how it plays out and chooses to intervene when he sees how Tsukasa talks to her.
• Covert Pervert: Makoto, made apparent when she sees Akira fresh out of the shower and drops her teacup. Akira throws this back at her when she tries to claim her mind isn't as filthy as his.
• Cry into Chest: When Makoto breaks down in tears due to the storm triggering memories of the night her father died, Akira pulls her close to him.
• Facepalm: Akira's reaction to Makoto's naivety regarding the obscene emojis she's been sent.
• Fake-Out Make-Out: Attempted without the actual makeout when Makoto tries to hide from Eiko at the arcade. It doesn't work due to her recognising Akira's hair.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Eiko falling in love with Tsukasa despite Makoto having already tried to tell her how creepy he is.
• Hypocritical Humour: Ann refuses to let Ryuji take part in the plan to get Akira and Makoto together, saying he'd mess it up because he's "about as subtle as a brick to the face." However, Makoto comments that Ann wasn't any better.
• I'm Standing Right Here: Two Shujin students gossip about Akira's broken nose, assuming he got into a fight, before freezing up when he turns to face them.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the lack of a Metaverse, a few details resemble the events of the game.
  • Akira adopts a (non-sentient) cat and names him Morgana.
  • Kamoshida's crimes have been exposed, apparently as a result of Shiho's suicide attempt.
  • Madarame has been exposed as a plagiarist, before Yusuke even meets Akira.
• It's All About Me: Akira's mother makes it clear that she's only concerned about losing face because of his arrest, showing no concern about what he's had to go through.
• I Was Just Joking: Akira sarcastically asks Yusuke if he wants him to pose naked, before hastily explaining that he was joking and pointing out that they're in a church.
• Let Me Get This Straight...:
  Akira: So let me get this straight. You need me to pretend to be your boyfriend and go on a fake date with you tonight.
  Makoto: Yes.
  Akira: And you lied in front of my friends so I couldn’t back out without looking like an asshole.
  Makoto: That is correct.
  Akira: You’re pretty manipulative, you know that? Although, I don’t know why I’m surprised. This school is full of people who only look out for themselves.
  Makoto: You were the one who sent him that text in the first place. I wouldn’t have had to deal with this if you’d just left it alone.
• Love at First Punch: Makoto meets Akira when she mistakes him for her stalker Tsukasa and punches him in the face. When she realises her mistake, she's quick to apologise and insists on taking him to the hospital.
• Nosebleed: Akira's reaction when he watches Makoto training at the gym with Ann. Ryuji comments that he's only ever seen this happen in anime.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When Makoto tries to convince Akira to help her with Tsukasa:
  Makoto: We’re the same, you and me.
  Akira: Oh yeah? How so?
  Makoto: We’ve both had labels thrust upon us that neither of us wanted.
  Akira: Maybe so. But your honor student label will only help your future, whereas mine has already been decided for me.
• Not What It Looks Like:
  Sae: Am I interrupting something? You and your friend here seemed quite cozy.
  Makoto: He isn’t—well I mean he is but— This isn’t what it looks like.
  Sae: Oh? (Fascinating Eyebrow) Then I shouldn’t be concerned about the strange boy in my house who’s helped himself to my kitchen and apparently Dad’s clothing?
• Oh, Crap!: Makoto and Akira, when Sae comes home to find him having spent the night and borrowed her father's clothes.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Akira lets loose on Sae after she accuses him of lying his way into Makoto's affections.
  Akira: Maybe you should turn that introspective mirror towards yourself, Prosecutor.
  Sae: Excuse me?
  Akira: You keep accusing me of using her to further benefit myself, but isn’t that what you do? I’m not the one treating her like a robot whose only goal in life is to get into a top college.
  Sae: That is for her own good.
  Akira: You say that, but I’m sure that the added bonus of not having to provide for her anymore is what truly catches your eye.
  Sae: You have no idea what you’re talking about. I love my sister and would do anything for her. Hell, I have been doing everything for her since she was in middle school. If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have a roof over our head or money to keep us fed. She certainly couldn't do it, so someone had to step up and take some of the responsibility.
  Akira: And I’m sure you resent that a great deal. You’re stuck with providing for her while you slave away in a competitive field where no one takes notice of your worth. In the meantime all Makoto has to do is go to school and get top scores. Surely the pressure to succeed and stay at the top is nothing compared to what you endure.
  Sae: A career is a lot different than high school.
  Akira: With the pressure you put on her, it might as well be the same.
  Makoto: Akira—
  Akira: If she gets good scores then that means she’ll earn a scholarship and then you won’t have to worry about her anymore. Then there will be one less thing to worry about. One less person you have to take care of. Less money you have to spend. Less food you have to buy. More time to focus on yourself.
  Makoto: Akira.
  Akira: If she fails, then you’re stuck with her longer and to keep from having to endure that possibility you force her into your impossible standards and tell her to succeed no matter what. You keep telling yourself that it’s all for her sake but it’s a lie. It’s a damn lie and you can’t see it because you’ve told it to yourself so many times you’ve started to believe it. And you’re so blinded by this desire that you can’t even see what you’re doing to your own sister. How worthless and useless you make her feel.
  Sae: What would a futureless criminal know of such things? Are you psychic? Can you see into my head? How dare you come into my house and fling blatant lies in my face when you know nothing. What makes you so certain that you are correct in your assumptions?
  Akira: Because I pay attention. I know I’m right because I can see it in your face. And because my parents treated me the same. They never saw the love I had for them or what I did for them. They only saw the gain.
  Sae: I suppose you think I’m a terrible person. That you’ve got me all figured out.
  Akira: Didn’t you have me all figured out as well?
  Sae’s eyes widened. For a moment he thought he saw a tiny sliver of guilt. Then they narrowed into serpentine slits.
  Sae: Get the hell out of my house.
  He nodded. Makoto caught his eye and he mouthed a silent apology. Her lips lifted into a tiny smile and a small bud of hope bloomed in his chest. So he hadn’t wrecked everything. Before he left, he turned to Sae and said one last thing.
  Akira: For the record, I don’t think you’re a bad person or even a bad sister. I just think you’ve let your desires fester and become a distorted mass of rage and resentment. It's up to you whether you want to change that or not.
• Romantic Rain: Akira and Makoto have their first kiss in the rain at the fireworks festival.
• Shipper on Deck: Ryuji, Ann and Yusuke try to play matchmaker for Akira and Makoto at the fireworks festival, giving the two tickets separately. They both see through it before the festival even starts.
• That Came Out Wrong: Akira's attempt to explain himself to Sae, though he does manage to turn it around as well as he could have:
  Sae: If I’m wrong then surely he can tell me otherwise. Explain it to me.
  Akira: I like how she makes me feel.
  Makoto whipped her head around. Sae’s facial muscles tightened. Yeah, that didn’t sound creepy and sexual at all.
  Sae: You like how she makes you feel. You have exactly ten seconds to explain to me what you meant by that.
  Akira: I mean that she makes me feel good about myself. She’s never seen me as a violent criminal. Whenever I talk to her, when I see her or spend time with her, I feel a sense of peace. Of joy. I don’t worry about whether she judges me or not and I know I can be my true self in front of her. No one else has ever made me feel that way and I would do anything for her. I don’t—I would never hurt her or use her. She’s too important to me.
• There Is Only One Bed: Akira spends the night with Makoto, due to a thunderstorm. He offers to sleep on the couch but she shoots that down because she doesn't want to risk Sae coming home early and getting the wrong idea. Since Sae's bed has a similar problem, the two sleep in Makoto's room with a pillow partition between them.
• Treadmill Trauma: Akira falls over on a treadmill at the gym when he sees Makoto arriving.
• Trauma Button: The thunderstorm triggers Makoto's memories of the night her father died. Akira is quick to try to comfort her, with some success, though it gets worse when the power goes out.

The Continuation Fic by darxed provides examples of:

• Anguished Declaration of Love: From Akira to Makoto, in the middle of his furiously desperate attempt to explain that there's nothing going with Futaba.
  Akira: I don't care if I like her or even if she has feelings for me. Hell, I care a lot about Ann and Haru too. I've helped them with stuff too, and it doesn't matter if I like them either! I may care about them and Futaba, I might even like them now or in the future, but it doesn't matter, because I'm not in love with them!!!
• The Atoner: Once Sae learns the truth about Akira's arrest, she resolves to get justice for him to make up for how she treated him the morning they met.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: Sae's reaction to Akira's speech at the end of the original story.
  Sae: He was right, wasn't he? What he said about how I make you feel… I've been so immersed in my work, so assured that as long as you had food on the table, a roof over your head, and kept to your studies I was doing everything right… Meanwhile you… and I… I'm sorry Makoto... It's my fault, the way I treated you, the way I left you alone all this time, with no one to talk to you, to be there when you needed it... So of course you had to find someone to listen to you, to be there when I was not… It's my fault that you ended in this position… that you became... the easiest prey that criminal would have hoped to find...
• Beta Couple:
  • Ann and Ryuji, who get together when Ann kisses him in the wake of Akira's shooting, though they hit a stumbling block soon afterwards due to Ann's conflict with Makoto, taking a while to get back on track.
  • Sae meets Tae Takemi at Leblanc when Akira returns from the hospital. When Tae learns how bad Akira's injuries are and confronts Sojiro about them, Sae steps in to fill her in on what happened to him, as well as confiding in her about what she intends to do about the conspiracy. Tae then takes her back to her clinic and then over to the bathhouse, and what starts with Tae giving her a massage for the stress she's under quickly progresses to them making out in the bath.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • At Tsukasa's party, Akira intervenes to save Makoto from being kidnapped and raped, with help from a police taskforce led by Sae.
  • Makoto is abducted again in Chapter 21, this time by Sugimura, and Akira again tries to intervene, chasing the car on a bike. In this case, though, by the time he catches up Makoto has already got the upper hand on Sugimura.
• Big "WHAT?!": Appears several times in the first chapter, to the point of providing the chapter title. In particular, Sae's reaction when Makoto says she intends to keep seeing Akira, Makoto's reaction to Sae calling him "that criminal", and Akira's reaction to Sae sending him a threatening text message.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: Akira uses Ryuji's "For real?!" against him several times when Ryuji tells him about Ann kissing him, in a repeat of the Stop Saying That! gag below.
• Break His Heart to Save Him: After Akira breaks up with Makoto out of fear that she'll be targeted by the conspiracy, he doubles down by acting like a complete jerk to the rest of his friends. Makoto figures out what he's doing and manages to convince Ann what his intentions are. When Makoto confronts him about it in the hotel room in Hawaii, Akira can't keep up the cruelty act.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: By the time Akira and Makoto go public with their relationship, it's apparent that half the girls seem to have crushes on him, including Futaba, Haru (or so Ann and Makoto assume) and to a lesser extent Ann (who admits to liking him but is otherwise more interested in Ryuji). Downplayed in that he's not completely clueless — he can hardly not notice the gossip at school about how hot he is — but it does take him longer than it should have to notice Futaba's feelings for him.
• Coming-Out Story: Haru, when she kisses Makoto and reveals she was the one she had a crush on. Makoto takes it well, despite the presumed Incompatible Orientation, and assures Haru with a hug that she doesn't have to apologise for caring about her.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: When Akira de-escalates a confrontation between Makoto and Sugimura, Makoto gets angry at him for acting like a white knight. She eventually admits she was overreacting after Sugimura kidnaps her and Akira saves her again.
• Crazy-Prepared: In Chapter 28, following Akechi's murder and the apparent failure of his plan to transmit his evidence to Akira, it's revealed that he had a backup plan to get around the disruptors in the warehouse. Once his body has been removed from the warehouse, the evidence is transmitted as planned. What's more, it's made apparent in the video he recorded for Akira that he knew there was a possibility Shido had already seen through him.
• Disappointed in You: In Chapter 27, After Shido reveals that he knew all along about Akechi being his son, he expresses disappointment that he hadn't simply killed him already. "I bet you thought sending me to prison to rot was a better punishment and that's why you didn't act sooner. Such stupidity… Such a failure."
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When Ohya gets a phone call about Kaneshiro attending a certain party that night, it takes her a minute to make the connection that Akira and Makoto will be there, at which point she freaks out and calls Akira with a warning. For context, she was pretty drunk when she got the call.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: A running gag with characters' reactions to finding out about Sae and Tae's relationship, each time with Makoto feigning offense about them fantasizing about her sister like that.
• Groin Attack: Akira gives two to Sugimura after intervening in his attempt to kidnap Makoto.
• Heel Realisation:
  • Zigzagged with Sae, who takes Akira's speech to heart and acknowledges that he was right about how she's been treating Makoto and the damage this has been doing — only to then completely undercut it by taking this to be the reason "that criminal" Akira got his hooks into her, refusing to give him the benefit of the doubt when Makoto tells her his side of the story regarding his assault charge. Despite that, she is genuinely trying to treat Makoto better in later chapters, and when Makoto asks her to reinvestigate Akira's arrest, she agrees on the condition that Makoto stay away from him until she's done. And while it's clear that she wants the case against him to be airtight, even she quickly becomes suspicious about how many of the details have been buried, especially after speaking with one of her father's colleagues.
  Takashi: Right, lemme guess, victim's name and nature of the assault, all redacted right? [...] Then the victim is the big shot, or at least related to someone like that. They swept it under the rug to protect 'em, you know, their image and stuff. Sounds like your kid got screwed.
  Sae: (No kidding… And it also sounds like Mako was right all along, and all I've done is further the injustice perpetrated on a sixteen year old boy.)
  • Haru's father, after Akira calls him out on his Skewed Priorities regarding the danger he put Haru in by betrothing her to Sugimura.
• Holding Hands: Makoto and Akira's relationship starts attracting the kind of gossip that he really doesn't want her dragged into. To show him how little it matters to her, she takes his hand as they walk out of the school together.
• Immediate Sequel: The story picks up immediately after Akira's speech to Sae.
• The Infiltration: When Shido's conspiracy starts to endanger her and Makoto, Sae decides to convince the SIU director she wants in so she can take them down from the inside, convincing him that she can keep Akira from making trouble for them.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the lack of a Metaverse, Futaba's mother dying in an accident and her adoption by Sojiro played out the same way.
• It's All My Fault: All over the place following Akira being shot, with Chapters 13 and 14 being called, "My Fault":
  • Ohya blames herself because she got Akira the tickets to the party.
  • Eiko blames herself when she finds out that Akira and Makoto were only there so to get evidence for their warnings about Tsukasa.
  • Ann and Futaba blame Makoto for dragging Akira into this, showing No Sympathy at first for what almost happened to her. Makoto comes to see it this way as well, until...
  • When Makoto tells Sae she blames herself, Sae tries to assure her otherwise, pointing out that she chose to pursue prosecuting Kaneshiro without considering that he might target Makoto for it. Makoto then tells her that the only person who truly deserves blame is Kaneshiro himself.
  • A few chapters later, Akira blames himself for dragging Sae and Makoto into his mess and making them targets for the conspiracy, leading him to break up with Makoto.
  • In the Chapter 25 flashbacks, this is Akechi's initial reaction to his mother's suicide, though he quickly switches to "not only my fault" and "not MY fault at all!" after finding a photograph of Shido nearby.
  • In Chapter 26, Akira blames himself when he figures out that Akechi murdered Okumura, saying that should have tried harder to convince him to drop out of the election by blackmailing him with the Sugimura video. Sae and Makoto try to tell him otherwise, calling him out on always blaming himself before the people actively committing crimes.
• Jerkass Realization: Futaba realises she was being unfair to Makoto, acknowledging that she does care about Akira. Ann realises the same a few chapters later and apologises for blaming her for the shooting.
• Let Me Get This Straight...: When Akira gives Sojiro an abridged version of his night with Makoto.
  Sojiro: So, let me get this straight kid. The girl you like, the one that's been messing with your head for the last few weeks, is the little sister of a public prosecutor?
  Akira: Yes.
  Sojiro: And this sister knows about your record and your probation?
  Akira: Yes.
  Sojiro: (sighs) Kid, that's dumb, you're dumb
• Loophole Abuse: Sae threatens Akira with reporting him to his probation officer if he calls, texts or meets with Makoto again. Akira follows this to the letter, keeping in contact with her through hand-written letters, with help from Ann, Ryuji and Haru.
• Mean Boss: Chapter 25 reveals that Akechi used to work for a convenience store owner who physically and verbally abused him and only paid him in expired food, despite knowing about his difficulties taking care of his mother. As such, he was Akechi's first victim following his mother's suicide.
• Mexican Standoff: In Chapter 26, between Akechi, holding Akira hostage, and Sae.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Makoto sees Akira hugging Futaba outside Leblanc, jumping to the conclusion that he's been two-timing her all along. She sends him a breakup letter the next morning, but he manages to convince her that nothing happened.
• My Fist Forgives You: When Akira reconciles with his friends in Hawaii and begins to explain his Cruel to Be Kind actions, Ryuji tells him an apology isn't enough, before punching him in the stomach, with Akira not resisting in any way. In turn, when Yusuke points out that he was the only one Akira didn't bother to push away and asks if he should feel grateful or offended by that, he also follows up by punching him. Later, after Akira explains his role in Akechi's plan, Ann wants to punch him as well, but Makoto convinces her he's suffered enough.
• Mythology Gag: The epilogue mentions Dr. Maruki and Sumire Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal, with Akira mentioning that Makoto was jealous of Sumire to the point of following her all over Tokyo while hiding behind a manga.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: On top of what Akira already went through leading to his probation, him Taking the Bullet for Makoto results in him being put under investigation because of him being at the party, especially after Sae arranges for Makoto's presence to be kept quiet. The SIU director orders Sae to find an excuse to have him charged as an accomplice of Kaneshiro (never mind that Akira made the tip that officially allowed Sae's taskforce to raid the party when they did) leading her to suspect he's part of Shido's conspiracy.
• Parting-Words Regret: A flashback in Chapter 25 has Akechi lashing out at his mother for, among other things, her refusal to accept that his father is never coming back. "If you want to rot here waiting for that coward then be my guest, but I won't live in this hell anymore!!! I'm done, you hear me!!! DONE!!! Do whatever you want, eat, don't eat, live or FUCKING DIE!!! I don’t care… I'M DONE!!!" He storms out of their apartment, coming back the next morning to find her dead.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: When Ann learns the full story of how Akira got shot, she blames Makoto for dragging him into her attempt to save someone who didn't want it and declares their friendship over.
• Relationship Upgrade: When they meet in the student council room, Akira officially asks Makoto to be his girlfriend, though it's kind of a formality by this point.
• Running Gag: In chapter 2, Akira keeps coming up with poorly-thought-out solutions to his problems before catching himself and thinking, "That's dumb. I'm dumb."
• Second-Act Breakup: Akira breaks up with Makoto in Chapter 18, out of fear of her being targeted by Shido's conspiracy. They get back together in Chapter 22, though it's made clear they'll have some trust issues to work out. Incidentally, the author considers this more accurately the third act out of four, the first act being the original story.
• A Shared Suffering:
  • When Akira tries to explain him bonding with Futaba so quickly. "Come on Makoto, you heard her story. She lost her mother and the only family she had ended up mistreating her. Some lawyers decide her future and then she gets sent to live with a stranger. Doesn't it remind you of someone? Of me? Of you?"
  • Also used to explain what little trust Akira had in Akechi, as both had been hurt deeply by Shido.
• Slashed Throat: After Akechi's mother committed suicide this way, Akechi murdered his boss with the same knife. Years later, he does the same to Kunikazu Okumura before disguising it as a suicide.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: In Chapter 26, Shido speaks out after Okumura's staged suicide, saying that while he may have previously seen Okumura as a Worthy Opponent, he can only express disgust about what he almost did to his daughter.
• Start of Darkness: Chapter 25 features flashbacks to Akechi discovering his mother after she committed suicide by slashing her own throat. He committed his first murder later that morning, killing his abusive boss with the same knife.
• Stop Saying That!: As Akira fills Ann and Ryuji in on his night with Makoto, Ryuji replies "For real?!" three times (with increasing volume and number of exclamation marks) before Akira gets annoyed by it.
• Sympathy for the Devil: In the wake of Akechi showing his true colours, Akira admits to Makoto that he worries about Akechi getting himself killed, saying that he feels stupid for doing so. Makoto disagrees on that, pointing out that Akira could have easily turned out the same way, "Consumed with revenge, stopping at nothing to gain it." This leads to Alas, Poor Villain in the following chapter, with Akira upset to receive Akechi's video but recognising that he didn't die in vain.
• Taking the Bullet: Akira, when Kaneshiro tries to kill Makoto.
• Their First Time: Akira and Makoto, after they get back together in Hawaii.
• Think of the Children!: When Sae finds out that Masayoshi Shido was responsible for ruining Akira's life, she recalls one of his recent speeches about how "the children of the nation deserved to live in a happy future" and is infuriated by his hypocrisy.
• Trauma Button: Both Akira and Makoto, following the incident at Kaneshiro's party.
  • Kaneshiro calls Makoto "little lady" a few times when he tells her what his men are going to do to her and right before he tries to shoot her. When Ohya calls her the same while telling her there's nothing she can do, Makoto tells her about this. "Don't ever call me that again."
  • In Chapter 18, Akira is triggered by a car backfiring.
• The Unreveal: When Haru tells Makoto that, despite what she and Ann assumed, she's not interested in Akira that way, Makoto starts to ask who she was talking about before being interrupted by a call from Futaba. A few chapters later it's revealed to be Makoto herself.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Chapter 19 has a variation where what little we get of Akechi's plan is described as risky and full of things that can go wrong, plus Akira doesn't completely trust him yet, but he agrees to go along with it, saying it's the best chance of getting revenge on Shido while also keeping Sae and Makoto safe. As he eventually explains in detail to his friends, the plan involves painting Akira as the mastermind behind everything that's been going wrong for Shido, eventually getting him arrested so that he can confront the SIU director with the evidence they have. At this point Makoto calls it the stupidest plan she's ever heard. And indeed, it eventually backfires horribly, for Akechi at least.
• Villainous Breakdown: Shido's reaction in the epilogue when he sees Akira at the scene of his arrest and recognises him, which results in Shido on his knees looking up at him, just as both Akira and Akechi had fantasised about.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 11: Akira and Makoto go to Tsukasa's party, hoping to get evidence of his true nature to show Eiko. Unfortunately, the party is also being attended by Junya Kaneshiro, and he attempts to have Makoto kidnapped and raped to blackmail Sae. When Akira gets wind of this and contacts Sae, she orders a police raid on the party. When Kaneshiro realises he can't avoid prison this time, he tries to kill Makoto, only for Akira to take the bullet for her.
  • Chapter 14 ends on Kaneshiro being murdered in his prison cell in what's disguised as a suicide by hanging, by his apparent henchman Kouzo, who turns out to be instead working for someone else, all but stated to be Shido.
  • Chapter 27: Akechi's plan of implicating Akira backfires horribly, when Shido reveals that he had already figured out he's his father and that he was conspiring against him, and tells him that his attempt to film the meeting and transmit it to Akira's group will not work because the warehouse had been rigged to disrupt signals. On top of that, Shido and Kouzo already have plans in place to make Akira and his friends disappear, including having their own people infiltrate the security at the Okumura mansion. Akechi's last-ditch attempt at killing Shido fails, and Kouzo murders him with a Neck Snap.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 18, Akira intervenes in a tense confrontation between Makoto and Haru's fiance Sugimura, fearing it will go the same way as the incident that got him on probation. After Sugimura leaves, both Akira and Makoto angrily call each other out for how they handled this. Makoto recognises his point, but still feels annoyed by him acting like a "white knight", just as he did when he manipulated the situation at Tsukasa's party to protect her from the cops.
• Why Can't I Hate You?: Futaba starts to feel this way about Makoto when they start working together to get Akira out of trouble.