2025-12-21: Joker vs. The Detective Prince
- Log: 2025-12-21 Joker vs. The Detective Prince
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Goro Akechi
- Where: Mementos
- OOC Date: December 21, 2025
- IC Date: August 28, 2012
- Summary: The tension between Ren and Akechi comes to a crescendo when they meet in costume in Mementos and break into an argument--and then a brawl. Fighting it out seriously, both verbally and with their Personas, leads to clarity, though...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Things have been picking up for Ren lately. Eiji Kamiya's heart was successfully changed, and his human trafficking operations have been shattered thanks to the efforts of the supernatural police. Ichika and Tsubasa--and Ryuji--have been a lot happier, for obvious reasons. Sojiro came home and even fed Ren breakfast. And Yusuke agreed to lend Ren his yukata so they could have something nice to wear to a summer festival date with Minako.
Sure, there's still bad things going on. Ren's parents continue to be sanctimonious and unhelpful. There's no indication of any new information about the New World Order despite Eiji's apparent ties to it. Akechi appeared on a talk show the other night, Good Night, Sumaru, and said some infuriating things along with its also irritating host. And...
Well, Akechi in general continues to be a source of stress. He helped everyone out at the last second with Eiji's Cognitive Father, and claimed it was an apology. But he also repeated his line about the worth of detectives on live TV for his squealing fangirls, and worse, laughed off the idea of The Phantoms being a worthy adversary, that it'd be a shame if he peaked in high school.
There's something to that, too, which only makes it worse. And while Ren had a good time with Minako, spotting Akechi during the festival only brought back that sour mood...
He went back home to Leblanc afterwards to carefully change out of Yusuke's yukata and put it away until he can return it to him.
Then he went back out again to catch the train back to Shibuya Station.
~ * ~
Joker doesn't really know if Akechi will appear in Mementos tonight. Maybe he doesn't plan on following them quite this far, especially after they already went home. Even so, he strides through the winding rails of Mementos with coat flapping and knife flashing. They refrain from going too deep--not without their friends, not without Morgana. But it's deep enough for a clandestine meeting with someone who wants to talk.
Or to fight. Joker almost wants that at this point, even. It's hard to enjoy the good things that've been happening lately when there's still so much unresolved tension with various other parts of their life.
The dark ichor of a Shadow clears as Joker guns it down into oblivion, providing a drape in the gloom of the underground. A subtle noise to one side makes Joker spin its way, sighting their handgun at--
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
You know that feeling of being watched? It might be the one Joker is looking for down here. It's not a creeping sensation though. It's more- all at once.
Because that's exactly what it is. The sensation of a familiar resonance. As the sound of footsteps come from around the corner. Until Goro Akechi steps right out.
Bold as brass, from the tip of his red Tengu Mask's proud long nose down to the polished toes of his black shoes.
"Oh my- I came out for a stroll, and look who I find." He smiles, as if unconcerned. Despite there being no weapon in his white gloved hands, "The leader of the Phantom Thieves, pointing their sidearm right at me."
His posture is relaxed, even if inwardly, he's tense- anxious about the outcome here, though perhaps less so than before. "Does that mean you're mugging me? Taking me prisoner? Or - are you ready for a parley, perhaps?"
And then, without any warning, he just- begins to bend over and touch his toes, like he's performing some light calisthenics. "I'm just going to stretch while I wait for an answer if you don't mind? I did come here for some light exercise."
Absolutely infuriating, even right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is all at once. And that, too, is another source of agitation--not just because of this situation, but because of how similar Akechi's appearance in Kamiya's Palace was to the Black Mask's in Kaneshiro's...
Joker's eyes narrow when they spot Akechi on the other end of their gun's muzzle. When he claims he's 'out on a stroll,' their lip curls, and his obnoxious questions get a pair of rolled eyes and a terse, "Shut up."
But they do dismiss their gun, vanishing as they tuck their gloved hands into their coat pockets.
Of course, then Akechi starts in on some light exercise. Joker stares at him coldly for a perhaps uncomfortably long amount of time, but they neither approach (to attack) nor walk away (to abandon this interaction).
Eventually, they say, "You wanted to explain yourself. So. Explain."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi does not shut up. He never shuts up. One might say he enjoys the sound of his own voice. And they'd be right.
He has to, because otherwise, he'd have none whatsoever. Speaking when other people would prefer you shut your mouth and be quiet after all, is another form of rebellion.
He merely smiles at Joker, as he tells him that, continuing as one does to talk, before Joker dismisses the gun asks him for the explanation he did promise.
Akechi touches his toes again, before rising back up with a luxurious aplomb. "Well if that's what you want? Simple enough."
Taking a more pensive pose, "I believe you're all under a misapprehension of the timeline of certain conversations. Detective work is often a work in progress."
His brown eyes settle upon Joker, as he continues, "When the Phantom Thieves made their debut - you became the only other group of individuals like myself that I was aware of to enter the Metaverse. As such, considering a possible connection between a 'Change of Heart' and 'Psychotic Breakdown' only felt prudent."
Placing a hand upon his chin, his fingertips rub against it as if in thought, "Because as far as I knew- you were the only potential suspects. Now, I know differently, and while I've not fully ruled out every single member of your group-" Wait why not, "I now know there is another, far more likely suspect that has been potentially eluding me for some time."
He does have the good grace to look bothered by this. "Perhaps I was merely careless or naive- too sure of being the only individual active within the Metaverse."
Dropping his hand, he gestures at Joker, "My original discussion with Seki-san whereupon I discussion that theory happened much earlier than I think you realize... in early June, actually."
Which, a quick check of his recollection will cause Joker to realize that Ren Amamiya and Goro Akechi were only beginning to meet just before that time.
"I updated that theory after I took that injury from that man in the Black Mask... however, after Seki-san's awakening, the two of us spoke, and they mentioned no intention to avenge their circumstances by pursuing the Phantom Thieves themselves."
There's a small shrug, almost like 'my bad' without saying that, "My concerns at the time were getting them out of their false imprisonment by the Sumaru City Police Department and familiarizing them with the basics of the Metaverse for their own safety. It did not even occur to me to discuss the Phantom Thieves with them, much less to update them on a theory I'd long since considered mostly irrelevant."
And to an extent, that's true, they didn't talk about them at all that day!
"So there you have it. I promised Kawase-san that I would assist in bringing down Eiji Kamiya. And upon realizing my oversight, I decided that I would make an exception, just this once- as the alternative would have been to stand back and allow a great number of individuals in that Palace to be captured - and either be executed or remain within his power, in captivity."
Something in his gaze hardens, subtly, "And that is a circumstance I would not allow." As he relaxes, he smiles again, before saying almost cheerfully, "And there you have it. My explanation of my 'apology'. And now that you have it, I don't suppose that we might move on from this unfortunate misunderstanding?"
Why does he think it would be so easy to move on? Well... perhaps, his idea of rivalries is a little childish, actually.
A misunderstanding occurred that caused a certain amount of drama from it, that misunderstanding is now cleared up.
It's almost 'episodic' in his mind. Like a story arc on TV that's now come to a conclusion. The two walk away with a newfound mutual respect...
... at least, it would be nice if life worked out that way sometimes.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
A voice is a powerful thing, after all. As someone who grew up disenfranchised, Akechi knows that well.
Joker doesn't push the matter, at least. They frown stonily back at Akechi's smile, but listen to his explanation. It seems he understands why Joker's mad at him--one reason why, anyway. It's a simple conclusion to come to after seeing Joker and Phoenix together, both mad at him while allied together. Joker doesn't take the bait about how he hasn't 'ruled out every member of their group,' instead watching him acknowledge his carelessness.
And it sounds like he originally talked to Tsubasa about that in... June? Joker's dark eyes flicker. That was a long while ago. They and Akechi had only been barely acquainted at the time--just enough to meet at Leblanc and later the TV studio. They didn't really know each other as people back then... Tsubasa had made it sound like they'd talked about this after the Aoba Park arsons, and it sounds like the two did talk, just not about this. And Akechi just happened to not think it was worth updating Tsubasa on the matter...
...the matter of who ruined their life.
"...."
It could be true. There would've been a lot of other important things to discuss, as he claims. Once again, Akechi has plausible deniability on his side. He always, always, always has a way of making himself look like the reasonable one, like they're the foolish one for doubting him. Like Tsubasa was the fool for describing what happened 'wrong.'
It's at least probably true what he says about his promise to Ichika, based on what she said. It's certainly a decent excuse for why he helped them all out in Kamiya's Palace despite his opposition to The Phantoms' methods. Maybe there's even truth to it.
There's just one thing wrong.
...I don't suppose that we might move on from this unfortunate misunderstanding?
"Why?"
Joker's own voice remains as even as a frozen midwinter lake.
"What does what I think or feel matter to you, Detective? Is it just too inconvenient for the game you want to play if I won't sit neatly in the box you want to stuff me into?"
...It's not the theatrical cadence that Joker usually adopts in mixed company, that pointed 'Detective' aside. It's more like their normal voice.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Joker's stoicism is as always, something he's quite familiar with. He just at least - thought he was past being stone walled as Ren Amamiya. Suddenly faced with the prospect that he would be again...
... he finds himself more bothered by that than he knows how to express. "You know why," Akechi says pointedly, without saying it outright. There is the layer of 'kayfabe' over this.
Ren Amamiya knows he's aware of him being Joker - he's also aware that he hasn't tried to arrest him yet. It could be because he lacks decisive proof.
It could be that he can't sell to a prosecutor or a court the supernatural level the Phantoms work upon to change hearts.
Or it could be something else entirely...
... but the reality is it matters because he's Ren Amamiya.
"As for your accusation... do you truly think I don't know that by now? In the beginning, perhaps that was so..."
He pauses, as if actually giving it some thought on the continued matter of their roles in this rivalry, "But it hardly matters now what it was before, when you enjoy that role yourself. What you actually despise is the thought that I'm placing you into that box myself, but let's be a little more honest with each other, shall we?"
And as any good Detective might, he bluntly states the conclusion of his deductions out loud. "You enthusiastically leap into that box of your own accord."
His eyes look like they're boring right through Joker's mask, peeling back the layers- to see the bloody flesh underneath. The Detective's words a probing scalpel, "So what are you really upset about, Joker? Because I know - it's not really me. I'm merely the easiest target you have right now for your anger."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
You know why.
"... Say it."
Joker does know. It's just that they can't stop questioning it. Akechi keeps existing in a place where they think they understand him until the moment he upends their understanding, over and over again. It doesn't help (it doesn't matter) that both of them have to maintain the illusion that neither of them is fooled by, that 'Joker' and 'Ren Amamiya' are two different people. After all... it just means that both of them continue to have to say different things at different times to different people. What's actually the truth?
"I want to hear you say it. I'm sick of you hiding behind your plausible deniability, schmoozing up to an audience, telling people what you think they want to hear so you can get what you want. I want you to tell me why you're sorry."
Will that get a chance to happen, after Akechi makes his own counter-accusation? Joker grimaces in aggravation--not just that Akechi's turning it around on them, but that he's not wrong. Being the wickedly clever, dashing phantom thief is fun for them. They do enjoy that role. It isn't precisely the idea that Akechi might be shoving them into that box himself. It's more--
"You arrogant piece of shit. You really think it's got nothing to do with you?" they growl, pulling their hands from their pockets to clench their fists, legs parting in a broad, aggressive stance. "I'll say it again: I'm SICK of you HIDING behind your EXCUSES." It was plausible deniability a second ago-- "None of this matters to you. You're just playing a game where you get to play the perfect prince and get loved and adored by fans who buy into your vapid act! It didn't have to be me. It could've been anyone who happened to give you a good enough case--not that this even is a 'good enough' case for you, because it would such a shame to have nothing to look forward to after you graduate high school, wouldn't it?"
--they hate the idea that inhabiting that role is the only value Akechi sees in them.
Because if they ever stop inhabiting it, they'll be nothing but a disappointment for the fact that they won't--just like they are to their parents. To their neighbors, friends, and classmates.
If they won't be what someone else wants them to be, they may as well not exist... may as well get exiled to another city, may as well get arrested and rot in jail for the rest of their life.
They may as well be nothing at all, for how much Akechi seems to think of them.
"Maybe there's something of this role I do enjoy. Sure. But I'm not just this role. I'm not just a--a cardboard cut-out for you to live out your fantasies on, then leave behind when you've had your fill!" Joker snaps, voice rising. "I believe in changing hearts. I'm risking my life to change hearts! But for you, it's just TALKING POINTS so you can win a fucking POPULARITY CONTEST!!"
They bite off their next words then, though they can't stop heaving a breath or two after letting their rage boil over. The first one to lose their temper loses the argument: that's always been their mayor father's attitude. Any time Ren lost their temper--like just now--that meant he automatically won, and anything they had to say was invalidated.
If Akechi acts like that too right now, they'll lose it.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Joker asks him to say it, and Akechi gives him a questioning look, one might imagine an eyebrow raised beneath the Tengu Mask.
"No. I don't think I will." He says it calmly, his blunt refusal. "First off, because I owe it to Seki-san more. And second - because you're in no state to actually listen to what I have to say right now."
Does it hurt, that he says that? That it feels like he's condescending him like an adult saying that he's being childish, emotional.
Akechi's posture grows a little more guarded, however, as Joker growls at him, he's still somewhat relaxed, just visibly less so. "I never said nothing..." He clarifies, "... I just understand it's mostly not my behavior that's prompting this."
And he doesn't say why, because it also has to do with that layer of cover. But that day in Ikebukuro... Ren's reaction, recounting the day, nothing he did caused that. He's certain of it.
Ren was upset about something else. And he thinks he knows why after pulling his phone records for incoming and outgoing calls recently- but he's not going to say that, because he's certain Joker would not take that very well.
His words do sting, though, and his expression becomes grave. "Didn't it?" He says, in reply to him saying 'It didn't have to be me'. But he lets Joker speak, he lets him keep going. he lets him get it out.
"You think I'm not risking my life in the Metaverse? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to do this alone?" Goro Akechi tells him, bluntly, "To get to where I am- that I could take on all of you by myself."
He now replies back, with a suddenly icy tone. "Even if it wasn't a resounding victory on my part - could you have done that? Could you have gotten that far by yourself? I have my own reasons for doing this... and I'm not simply going to hand them over to you just because you demand them, Joker."
And then, his blade of light snaps into his right hand, pointed at the floor, his other hand drawing up into a defensive posture.
"What I'll offer you instead, is a chance for you to rage at something. To cut loose. That's what you really want isn't it? A target. Something that gives you greater sport than a weak little Shadow."
And yet, he doesn't move to attack. This isn't him ambushing Joker after all. This isn't him trying to arrest him.
"So come at me... but if you do- you'd better hold nothing back."
Because- him using his right hand says it all to Ren Amamiya, doesn't it? Because Akechi won't even be using all that he has, against him. "Or it'll be over before it's even started."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It does hurt, and for exactly that reason. Akechi is often infuriating to Ren, but they can at least keep an even keel. Right now, they're struggling so hard, and he's still talking like he's the calm, reasonable one.
(And he is, and that makes it worse. Joker even understands why Akechi makes that assertion, because it did start that day in Ikebukuro, and Akechi's right, it wasn't him that prompted this. It's just...)
So when Akechi starts getting upset too, it's actually gratifying. (Not telling them about the call logs is very much the right call for Akechi there; there might be no coming back from that one.) 'Didn't it?' he says, but there's no lingering on what that might mean, because Joker wants him to be angry too, he wants him to push back. (Pushing back means what they think of him matters.)
"It wasn't a victory at all. If the Black Mask hadn't shown up, you would've run out of tricks and we would've kicked your ass," Joker snipes back.
If the Black Mask hadn't shown up...
"I'm not the one demanding anything. I'm just pursuing my Justice with who and what I've got. You're the one getting in the way!"
I could take on all of you by myself...
Joker's eyes do narrow again as he sees Akechi summon his light saber--in his right hand. Even now, he's still so goddamn arrogant, so utterly sure he'll win without even trying. He doesn't even make the first move--he invites Joker to do it, taunting them, drawing them into a fight. That's what he wants.
Well, good for him, because that's what Joker fucking wants, too. Maybe now they can know for sure if their suspicions are true or not.
They snap their own right hand out, and a dagger appears there too, blade gleaming in rainbow colors. "Fuck you," they spit, and launch themself point-first at Akechi. It might seem like a lukewarm attack, no matter how viciously it's made, given that it's a simple knife thrust--but then, while Akechi is dealing with that feint, Joker's mask lights in blue fire, and Arsene materializes behind them with their cane. They twirl it twice, then thrust it forward between splayed fingers like a billiards cue to slam into Akechi's chest.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"You just go on thinking that."
Akechi rebuts, without even sounding that upset, despite the undermining of his superiority.
Because, he was using his right hand that day too, wasn't he Joker? He may be arrogant, but is it only arrogance when you have something that can back it up?
When Joker tells him 'Fuck you'. "Haha- you certainly wish." He quips, and infuriatingly, it feels just as flirtatious as before, without crossing a boundary in this moment.
Dark Sun (Spanish Electro Arrange) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZSwdLIxC9Y
After all, they're now fighting aren't they? Joker comes forward with a simple thrust, and Akechi parries it with a flick of his blade.
His own hand already coming up to his mask, which mirrors the blue flame from Joker, and Robin Hood materializes just in time for the cane to slam against his bow, causing a crack right against the 'HOOD' of the ROBIN HOOD printed on the bow.
And Akechi just grins, as he pivots, releasing the blade lock as he flips it to his left hand. Don't mistake that for him no longer holding back, because his right has the Ray Gun in it. He stays right where he is, beginning to fire shots of that ray gun, trying for near misses each time he pulls the trigger.
Just because he wants to let Joker know- he could hit him any time for real if he were really trying.
"Come on. Hit me for real. I want to FEEL it, damnit! Is it a girl? A classmate? A parent? Some other enemy of yours? Or just me. I can TAKE IT!"
Despite being calm, there's something almost exultant in his goading, like he's letting his mask slip a little more than usual.
And he has no intention of fixing it.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"I will," Joker retorts stubbornly. Maybe he'd been using his right hand back then too--but he'd also been relying on tricks and traps, and they and their friends had steadily broken through them all until they'd made Akechi sweat. The final say was the Black Mask's, and Joker'd had to jump in and save Akechi's life.
But if he's still asserting he would've won all by himself, even after that... Even though he'd nearly died to a seeming third party, who'd also been on his own...
Thinking on that pisses Joker off too--because it's actually excruciatingly clever. Haven't they seen a cognition and the real deal in the same place at the same time multiple times now? But if you aren't expecting it, it sure as hell looks like it couldn't be the same person.
So when Akechi responds with a quip where someone else had just gone interesting, Joker snaps back, "Quit talking to yourself!"
...but there's a hint of humor there now, however mean-spirited.
The feint doesn't land, or rather, it lands on Robin Hood rather than Prince Akechi directly. That's fine and even preferable. If he crumpled so easily after all that boasting, Joker would just be left frustrated and upset. Instead, as he grins and fires on him with that ray gun, Joker starts to dodge--but then they still themself, letting Akechi just barely miss each time.
"Piece of shit," they growl, just before they slap their free hand up to knock his gun hand up and away. He can waste his bullets all he likes.
Is this calm? He feels too excited too be fully calm. He's too enthralled with the prospect of Joker really going at him. If they weren't still so angry, they might just laugh. He wants to know it, he wants to feel it so badly, like all those fights he claimed he got into as a kid.
Right now, Joker can believe it. It isn't just a line he fed them to look sympathetic. It's an echo of something real that they're experiencing right now. Together.
'I can TAKE IT!'
Joker lashes a kick at Akechi's midsection. "Take THAT," they snap, hit or miss, but this time a little breathy. Arsène's red eyelights flash, and Joker's dagger burns black into a lance of darkness. They sweep it across and forward towards Akechi--or Robin Hood--before spinning around and SLAMMING it down towards him. "And THAT!"
They don't say what 'that' is yet, but can Akechi be upset about it when Joker is trying to hit him for real?
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Joker knows how pissy Akechi can get if he's not known to be the greatest person in the room, isn't he?
But to this, he doesn't even retort, like he's totally secure in that knowledge this time. Which might piss off Joker all the more.
Him not even getting mad.
"Well you know, when the other person is trying to be a brick wall. Perhaps I just enjoy CHIPPING AWAY!"
Ren and him have both had conversations wherein he knows the stoic act is indeed just a way to protect himself. A way to be reliable. A way to downplay who he is in lieu of everyone else.
And Akechi countered that he thinks he feels quite deeply beneath that surface level.
Akechi just grins wider as he's called a Piece of shit, seeming to not even care about the insult because... he's delighted.
He's delighted to see something more of himself in the other party. Joker snaps a kick to his mid-section, and Akechi guards with his forearm of his left arm, the kick slamming it hard against his lower ribs, as he's skidded back.
And that's when Arsène fires that lance of Darkness. It takes him head on- and instantly he's dropped to a knee.
It's a satisfying sight to Joker, perhaps until he sees that he's smiling, until he sees him get up. "Now that's more like it. PERSONA!" A hand to his mask, he pulls it away with a gout of blue flames, and suddenly Robin Hood appears in a spinning flash, raising a hand, as shards of light descend down in sequence.
The Kouha spell cast over, and over to keep following Joker around.
"TAKE AIM!" Akechi calls out, as Robin Hood flourishes into a kneeling posture, a shining arrow in a nocked bow, aimed just beneath him. "ROBIN HOOD!"
The arrow slams into the tracks of Mementos hard enough to detonate the rails and twisted concrete into a shrapnel of metal and mortar.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It does piss Joker off more--but it also lodges in the still-logical part of his heart that has kept the possibility of a greater deception in mind. Akechi can be really insecure sometimes--but when he's doing something he knows he's genuinely excellent at, he's very secure. Even assuming he really has been fighting on his own all this time, is half a year of experience really enough to be so certain he could take on an entire group of Persona Users and win--especially when he just recently nearly lost to them and had to be saved by them?
It's more evidence for the pile, certainly. Right now, it's also just fuel for the fire.
"And that's what's so fucking ANNOYING about you!!"
Ren's stoicism isn't fully an act; they wouldn't be able to do it as well as they do if it were fully foreign to them. However, it is something they lean hard into for those precise reasons, even when they're upset or wounded or themselves insecure. Ren is confident that they're doing the right thing and acting in accordance with their own beliefs, but it's impossible for a teenager to be unaffected by the rejection of everyone they know for being true to themself. Locking down how they feel because there's no point in expressing it to those who won't care anyway... It's definitely an overreaction of a defense mechanism.
Even when they get angry in the Metaverse at horrible Palace Rulers, how often have they just cut loose and screamed like this? Joker doesn't think their friends and fellow Phantoms would discourage them from it, but as the leader--well, Queen said it just that last fight with Shadow Eiji when they were struck with a supernatural rage: they're the leader and they have to keep a cool head. Joker takes that seriously. They want to be reliable, they want to protect their friends and be someone they all can count on. But it does mean more pressure to hold back.
Here, when it's just him and Akechi, they can cut loose.
(Well, they need to make sure they don't get taken out; that's also a responsibility to their friends. Joker isn't thinking about that right now, though.)
It helps that Akechi's so goddamn delighted by their anger, goading it, provoking it, enjoying it. This, too, is someone who spends so much time suppressing his feelings for the sake of others, though in a different way. Maybe the two of them are just two sides of the same coin.
Akechi drops to one knee; Joker lets a heavy breath loose, one corner of their mouth pulling upwards. They are grimly satisfied, but they're also a little worried despite themself, just as they had been during that fight with the Old Maid while he'd gone after Akechi. When Akechi keeps smiling, when he gets right back up, Joker finds they're relieved.
...How hard can they hit him?
And how hard will it need to be before they can wipe that smirk off his face?
If he really is the Black Mask, then--
Spirals of light shimmer and chase Joker as Robin Hood casts what's probably a Multi-Kouha to their Multi-Eiha. That's precisely what Joker does in response, urging Arsène forward with a spell of darkness as they themself backflip and cartwheel out of the way of the motes of light that don't crash into plumes of darkness. Joker lands in a crouch, heart pounding, and as Akechi calls for Robin to take aim with an arrow of light--
"Angel," Joker intones.
They clutch a new mask in a burst of blue fire, and Angel appears in Arsène's stead, wrists crossed over her blindfolded head as she flaps her wings. Robin Hood had been aiming for just below Joker rather than at them, so the defense against light isn't as effective as Joker had hoped, but she protects them from the flying shrapnel all the same with another counter-attack--Omni-Dimension, splitting the space in the air where rock and metal would twist towards her other self. Together, she and Robin Hood raise a cloud of dust, obscuring their respective Users.
Thwip, goes the grappling wire at Joker's wrist. They go up, over, and down, aiming to surprise Akechi with an aerial kick to knock him to the ground while their Personas fight more head-on. If they succeed, they'll shove their gun right under his chin to pin him down.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Hahahahahaha!" Is he just laughing at Joker calling him so fucking annoying? He really is. "Oh I'm sorry, I hope you weren't expecting me to stop just because you called attention to it?" He says, trying to goad him all the more.
It would be easy enough to show him that other side, to show him what's beneath the lie. He's so close to it right now, but despite it all. Goro Akechi is calm in his current celebration of the violence. It's like looking into the mirror seeing Joker right now- and liking it.
Two sides of the same coin indeed.
Akechi watches him counter his light with darkness, before Joker calls upon Angel. "Calling upon another Persona? Wise decision." But his grin splits, as if he's enjoying that one, as the Omni-Dimension spell is cast, splitting space, he plants his Saber of Light in the dirt, and digs his heels in.
While Robin Hood surges at Angel, trying to slam his bow into her. The telltale sound of a grappling line, and Akechi twists at his kick, taking a more glancing blow, as he staggers backward, the force of it yanking his blade out with him.
The plan was a partial success, at least on Joker's part. Unpinned, but Joker has his gun on him- looking like it's his victory for a split second, before Akechi's blade suddenly slams up at wild speed, driving Joker's gun up as he brings to bear his own Ray Gun.
What's likely to follow is an exchange of blades purely to knock each other's gun out of position at close range. An exchange over and over where neither can seem to get an advantage in this close range gun battle. Infuriatingly- in the middle of this- Akechi winks at him. "Not bad."
Robin Hood is still across the room, clashing with Angel, as energy rises from them, but it's that moment that Joker hears something nearby him. A telltale sound, look in that direction, and he'll see a ephemeral straw dummy, wish slashes of blood across it in the Kanji for 'Death'.
"But not GOOD ENOUGH!"
Darkness explodes, as the Mudo spell goes off, attempting to catch him off guard.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ugh. You never do!" Joker snaps back as Akechi laughs at them. "Weird for someone who tries so fucking hard to be the perfect prince on TV!!"
It is weird. Akechi tries so hard to project a certain image to the public. Joker saw that when they watched his interview on Good Night, Sumaru earlier, even. He's never really tried to hide the fact that he's an asshole from them, though. How many people would he let see the way he is right now?
They grunt as they land that kick. However, their follow-up is interrupted when Akechi slaps his sword up to knock away their gun. The two of them counter and counter and counter in a series of gun-kata-esque maneuvers, neither of them ever quite landing a decision hit.
It's thrilling. It's like something out of a movie, or a game of full-body three-dimensional chess. Their eyes are scalpel-sharp beneath their mask as they hunt for an opening, get blocked, and block an incoming blow in turn.
Then Akechi winks at them. Even if a compliment follows, Joker huffs a breath in aggravation. "Shut up. You're so--"
They leap back with a strike of dagger on light saber and aim their gun at him from the greater vantage point the distance this gives him--but before they can open fire, they hear that telltale sound. They shoot a sharp, wide-eyed look that way in time to see the straw dummy of the Mudo spell.
Angel is weak to darkness.
As the curse magic incurs its fury on Angel, rupturing it from existence in a single strike, Joker screams in mortal pain. They stagger but one step to one side before they crumple, knees bending, legs bending, waist bending, until their whole body hits the rocky floor of Mementos and goes still.
...
...
a couple of red digits twitch.
That's all the warning Akechi gets before their handgun flies up with a BLAM as fire erupts from the muzzle.
They don't aim for a vital spot--but it'll be one to make Akechi remember them by if it hits.
Back on their feet, however staggered, Joker pants. In their other hand crumbles the remains of a Homunculus doll--unrelated to the creatures that sometimes lurk in Ateliers--that stood in for Joker's life and consciousness when that Mudo hit. They crush them, and dust seeps out between their fingers.
"--annoying," they conclude in between breaths.
But the insult doesn't ring with the same aggravated fury as before.
It almost sounds like they had fun.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Why should I care if someone is annoyed with it?" He asks, bluntly as they exchange blows, "Would you prefer I put on a better act for you: Oh- 'leader of the Phantom Thieves?' My showmanship not enough for you?"
It is odd, why does he try so hard, but is so willing to let this side of him show to them? How many people would he let see this? Why does he not care if Joker sees the lie for what it is on TV at least.
Each move between them is like a chess match. Knight to D4. Sparks fly as he strikes Joker's Gun. Bishop to B3. His aim is thrown off by Joker's dagger blow, as sparks shower his face.
It keeps coming, but neither seems likely to relent, nor gain an advantage in that moment. Until 'Check.'
Joker screams, and Akechi steps forward. "Hmm. I'd thought you'd come further than this..." He doesn't look aggressive, like he's going to attempt to finish Joker off or anything. Just to check on him.
Right when he sees the twitch of those fingers.
"You-!"
It's a quick, wild parry, the bullet strikes the edge, and is veered off to sink right into his right forearm, exiting out the other side. "-God-DAMNIT!" He swears, the pain being enough to let the mask slip just a little more, in the moment.
Clamping his left arm to the wound on his right, as red stains his sleeve, right as Joker gets up. '-annoying.' "Heh." And then, taking out a life stone, he presses it to the wound, the stone vanishing in a cascade of light, as the wound binding.
He's not smirking any longer at least. However...
"Feel any better, now?" He asks, in an almost conversational tone.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
If anything, his showmanship is too much--but Joker doesn't get a chance to make that quip before they fall... and it doesn't quite fit after they've gotten back up.
For a moment, Joker stares Akechi down. They don't do anything when he pulls out a Life Stone to his wound--save to do the same for themself. It's mostly a restoration of energy, considering they were just hit with a Mudo spell, but it's enough to bring some color back to their pallid face and steadiness to the rise and fall of their chest.
Do they feel any better?
"...A little. Yeah," they admit quietly. The anger has seeped from their demeanor; their gaze is guarded, but not cold. After a moment, they wonder, "You meant it? It really was an oversight; you didn't sic Phoenix on us on purpose?"
...That last line might help shed some light on why this has been such a big deal.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Good. You needed this."
The stain is still there, and will remain until he leaves this place, but the flesh is still knit at least. Perhaps he's projecting. He knows in Ren's situation that he would need this. But, even projecting, it indicates he's at least trying to understand his feelings.
Akechi himself, certainly doesn't seem angry himself, despite his shouted expletive. That was certainly from the pain, right?
Joker asks a question though, and he's still flexing his fingers to check on his injury when he starts to answer.
"I do. It was never my intention to send them to attack the Phantom Thieves. At the time they were not awakened, so why would I think they would have the means? I shared my current theory because they had convinced themselves they were crazy... and I wanted them to know I didn't believe they were."
His eyes fix on Joker, trying to catch his gaze as he says entirely seriously, "And for someone in Phoenix's position, nothing is more valuable than having someone acknowledge that you aren't... and mean it."
Straightening up, his ray gun and sword both vanish.
"As a gesture of my sincerity... I'll promise to make no move to arrest Phoenix whatsoever on their own- or share what I know of their identity with anyone in law enforcement. That doesn't mean I've decided that the Phantom Thieves don't need to be arrested, mind you." He cautions, "Only that if I came after you, I wouldn't make a move on them to do so."
It's at least something. A promise that he does seem sincere about. It does beg the question once again of why he hasn't already. Is this 'game' this thin separation of Ren Amamiya and Joker - given that he knows who is beneath the mask all that prevents him from doing so?
"And yes I know you didn't ask me to do that. Just like you didn't ask me to do what I did that day..." He says, as he begins to turn around. "...but seeing you so frustrated by that cognition's trick-... well, I suppose it did help me make up my mind."
And then he begins to walk, certainly not sounding like he's gloating, only remarking on the observation he made.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
They did need this, Joker realizes, and that realization lights the flickering in their dark eyes. They stand up straight, their own weapons vanishing back into the ether of cognitive space, though they don't tuck their hands into their coat pockets, either. They do catch Akechi's steady gaze, though, and meet it as he insists he was trying to support them emotionally--not set them up to go on a violent rampage months in the future. He even promises not to try to arrest Phoenix on their own, something that Joker huffs quietly at but doesn't argue with.
"...all right."
It was still careless of him in their opinion, but they can accept that it was genuinely an oversight and not an attempt at manipulation. There are still questions--why have all three of the people Akechi has approached like that ended up in The Phantoms? Why is Akechi so willing to play this game based on the thinnest possible pretense of Joker and Ren Amamiya being two different people, even though they both know perfectly well he knows the truth?--but...
They feel convinced that he really was trying to act in good faith. Which makes them feel bad about their suspicions about him as the Black Mask--are they just overreacting over what could have just been a coincidence? But there is something there, there keeps being something there...
They still don't know.
They only know--or at least now believe--Akechi wasn't deliberately trying to spread lies about them.
When he brings up how they hadn't asked him for that though--that their frustration at the Cognitive Patriarch helped make up his mind--their eyes flicker again, and they bow their head. "..."
"Well...
"Thank you, then."
They smile slightly.
"...my Prince."
It's a little bit of a joke; a little bit of a tease. It might be a little bit of a flirt in other circumstances, but not in these ones, where they fought this fight right after a lovely date with a girl they genuinely care for.
It's still a sign of friendly affection, though, and that'll have to be enough.
When Akechi has left Mementos, so too will Joker.