Marionette(My Strings Are Titanium, You Cannot Cut Them)

The night after Futaba had taken down Medjed, Akira received a half-hearted apology for breaking the promise he'd forced her to make. Still, he couldn't stay mad. Not when she followed up by relaying a message from Goro. He really was trying to protect Akira after all.

It was a small weight lifted, but he felt better nonetheless. Futaba's accusation from earlier that day had been right: he had assumed deep down that Goro wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

In the best mood he'd been in for a month, which pretty much everyone noted that day, Akira decided there was no better time than now. He called everyone to a meeting after school, in discussion of the very reason he'd been out of it so long.

For once, it had nothing to do with being a Phantom Thief or the Metaverse. He didn't even plan to bring up anything Goro had done, just his own feelings. Seeing the semi-serious looks on everyone's faces once they were all gathered in his room, aside from Futaba, Akira realized just how much the Metaverse had changed them.

There were serious matters to discuss, of course. That was done first. Futaba waking up, Medjed being taken down, and how to progress from there were of priority. Futaba wasn't very happy with the idea to help her get more used to being around people, but she wasn't adamantly opposed as long as Akira promised to accompany her. 

It didn't take long for everything else to be discussed and their meeting as Phantom Thieves adjourned. Akira did sort of wish it had taken longer, but seeing Futaba willing to break out of her shell and make the effort to function outside the comfort of her room gave him a bit of courage.

When the others began moving to head home, he spoke up. "As your leader, there's nothing else that I want to review. I need to talk to you guys as Akira, though." He really wasn't surprised by the looks of varying confusion and surprise on their faces. After all, he rarely spoke if he wasn't acting as Joker, and even then he was relatively quiet. He really did struggle with opening up to people, didn't he?

"What's up?" Ryuji asked first, slumping back into his seat. 

Akira shifted, suddenly uncomfortable now that everyone's attention was on him. It was fine when they were focused on their leader, but as their friend? Akira would happily fade into the background. His gaze flicked to Futaba, and she smiled encouragingly. His lips flicked up and he nodded. Was it really so different? It wasn't as though Akira and Joker were two different people, just different aspects of himself. Wasn't Joker supposed to be the more real version anyway?

Deep breaths, he could do this. He was confident, cool, and could overcome any obstacle thrown his way. This wasn't nearly as challenging as coordinating his friends to fight shadows. No one's life was on the line. This was easy.

"Do you remember a month ago when Ann made me realize I have a crush on one of my friends?" He started. "I didn't want to tell you because I was scared of how you might react."

To his surprise, it was Yusuke who chuckled at his admission. "Akira, I'm well aware how odd people view me as. And yet, despite how I may act at times, you've never once judged me. The same is true for all of you. Whoever interests you romantically, any sort of judgement we may display would only be in defense of you."

There was a chorus of agreement from the rest of his friends, and Akira laughed. Yusuke was right, there really was no reason why he should be so worried. Hell, they were a literal group of outcasts! If anyone wouldn't give a shit that he liked guys, it would be them. Sure, he could think of a few(Ryuji) who wouldn't be thrilled by which guy he liked, but that was the extent.

Akira felt more at ease now. "Thanks, Yusuke. The thing is, I was just nervous. My crush, well, he's a guy. I didn't know how you'd react if I told you. I-I'm bi, I like guys and girls. At the time, I just wasn't ready to come out."