Let Us Start the Game!

A Persona 5 Imagine/Headcanon Blog Ask Box is CLOSED!!! [12 asks] (3 matchups) {0 character responses}

[phantomthievesimagine]

Posts are slow this week

Sorry for not posting anything this week, I’m busy with 3 birthdays to prep and celebrate so my responses take more time than usual.

I will be posting matchups this weekend, thank you match up doods~

Thank you as well to the new followers recently~! I’m happy my writing is enjoyable for you guys!

Things should pick up later next week so please look forward to it!!

[phantomthievesimagine]

phantoms + akechi's reaction to their s/o being secretly rich?

Rich so

Akira: 

He had an inkling that they had money from the way they easily purchased things he would be hesitant to. He’s not too bothered about their secret and understands that some people would take advantage of the situation. He would only worry if his S/O had poor spending habits that got them into debt easily.

Ryuji: 

Will be a buit frustrated at first. With all the fancy, expensive places he’s taken them to, his S/O could’ve chipped in a little. Ryuji doesn’t hold it against them however. He doesn’t hesitate to call them princess afterwards from time to time because of their status.

Ann: 

Ann doesn’t really mind it. Though she doesn’t see the point in worrying about hiding such a secret, she understands the feeling of not wanting to be taken advantage of. The two of them take turns paying for clothes and sweets like crepes when they go out. Ann doesn’t treat them any different.

Yusuke: 

Yusuke doesn’t think much of his S/O’S secret at first. As someone who’s broke and hungry most times, he’s more than willing to accept anything they offer him. He does feel self conscious of whether he’s not giving enough in the relationship though.

Makoto: 

Makoto isn’t too surprised about their secret, it was pretty obvious. Her stern, mothering nature does make her a bit more repeatative in the relationship. She doesn’t mean to, but Makoto has a habit of warning her partner of their spending habits all too often.

Futaba: 

Futaba doesn’t mind her S/O keeping such a secret, after all; she has plenty herself. She takes great joy in dragging them to Electric Town and showing them the more easily missed things ‘commoners’ indulge in.

Haru: 

Haru doesn’t find it too odd given her similar status. The two bond rather quickly and have no issue indulging each other in their hobbies. She’s quick to defend her S/O if anyone wants to judge or use them for their money.

Akechi:

Was suspicious of his S/O being wealthy and was pleased to find himself correct. It’s not something that he feels effects him. Goro will occasionally be cheeky about it with his S/O, however, demanding a trip to a good sushi place as payment for keeping their secret safe.

[phantomthievesimagine]

headcanons for the phantom thieves in a discord server?

Ahhhh this was fun to write!! Hope you like it, Soul (*ﾉωﾉ)ｷｬｰ

Akira:

The creater and first admin of the Phantom Thieves discord. He isn’t on all the time, but when he is, expect something really introspective or sarcastic. Sometimes Morgana gets on with his login and adds his two cents.

Ryuji:

Got Akira to add the fitness channel on the discord. Generally he’s pretty easy going, though he misspells things and uses all caps more than he should. If you need to vent or want to go restaurant hopping, he’s your guy.

Ann:

Dominates the beauty channel. She tends to take lots of pictures from her model shoot and helps Makoto and Haru with their makeup often. The beauty channel has devolved into the ‘girl talk’ channel and Ryuji stays far away from it.

Yusuke:

Owns and operates the Art channel. If he doesn’t post at least one drawing a day, you know something’s wrong. He also likes to talk philosophy with the others, though in hindsight, some of the things he adheres to makes him quite the oddball.

Makoto:

Makoto is one of the admins of their discord. While she’s pleasant to talk to, sometimes she can be a little overbearing when it comes to making sure everyone’s adhering to chat rules. She gushes with Ann over sweets a lot and is the mother hen of the group.

Futaba:

is your resident meme spamming admin. Anything to do with adding bots, channels, and customizing the discord falls to her. She loves to rile up Yusuke on voice chat and then mute him. You can never expect the same kaomoji in one chat from her.

Haru:

The resident cream puff everyone fawns over. She uses the flower emojis instead of hearts when she likes something. The other thieves are both at awe and disturbed by the opposing things she posts. Haru’s the reason they have a NSFW channel now.

[phantomthievesimagine]

this one is new, we know that persona world is fuck up(like every 5 years the world start to end) so how about the phantom's s/o has feature of a wolf? like tail, Improved perception, like they find it by accident(bonus if one day they take them to metaverse and notice that they are STRONK, the s/o doesnt awake to his persona but still) hc please?

This was a pretty unique request! It makes me wonder how the phantom thieves would act as more animalistic characters...

Akira:

Has to wonder whether the person is cosplaying at first or not. 

Constantly staring when his S/O isn’t looking. 

He thinks it’s pretty cool that his partner has wolf features and wonders if there’s a way he can have cat features. 

He asks Morgana why he can’t be as cool as his S/O.

Ryuji:

Really mesmerized by his S/O’s wolf ears. 

Ryuji wants to dress up as a werewolf to match his partner someday. 

Their couples song is Monster Mash. 

All in all, he gets really pumped seeing his partner using their abilities in palaces.

Ann:

At first she thinks they’re just following a niche trend. 

Ann is pretty surprised to find that it’s not a trend at all. 

She likes floofing her S/O’s tail. 

Whenever her partner’s nails chip in battle, later on Ann files and buffs them back to their original, sharp form.

Yusuke:

Yusuke takes his S/O’s appearance with ease. 

Though he makes sure to keep his lobsters away from them. 

It’s not that he doesn’t trust them, he just doesn’t want his pets to be eaten. 

Yusuke enjoys testing out how far his partner’s perception works.

Makoto:

Makoto is pretty confused. 

She shows up to a meet up one day in wolf cosplay to ‘make them feel more comfortable’. 

No one says anything to her about it until much later and she’s quite embarrassed with herself. 

Makoto does her best to figure out ways to utilize them as a team member in battle.

Futaba:

Futaba automatically calls them Okami the moment they meet and makes a lot of puns about them. 

She jokes a lot about how the number of animals in the group has increased. 

She low-key wants something animal related, too. 

Expect futaba to blast Hungry Like a Wolf when they’re nearby.

Haru:

Is really fond of how cute and cuddly her S/O is. 

She finds brushing her S/O’s hair and tail very soothing. 

Haru uses her S/O to see if she can make tea and coffee suited to animals. 

These two are a dangerous power couple in battle.

[phantomthievesimagine]

can i request phantom boys, dealing with a blind s/o? with like those little things that we see in movies the blind person slowly touching their face to "see" them, and this s/o is also a phantom thief, but they can see because of their persona who works like a sonar, (you can think of mitsuru's persona on p3, or even a whale), but they still can't see as a human would but they can see well enought to be able to fight the format i want is hc ok?

It’s really cool how accessible the main parts of Tokyo are for the disabled! Researching the things blind people have to work around and adapt to in order to be independent in society was really eye opening. I hope you like this, and if anyone feels I missed or didn’t convey things well, pls let me know~

Akira:

Akira takes it well. Tokyo has a lot of features in its train stations and otherwise that are meant to aid the disabled so he’s not too worried about his partner’s capabilities. He loves how much his world has expanded thanks to his S/O’s way of traversing the world.Whenever the go to a palace together, Akira makes sure to vocalize to them what’s going on so they’re included. He’s become much more outspoken and expressive than he used to be thanks to his S/O. Even Sojiro is surprised to see him more talkative than usual. Currently Akira’s goal is to show his partner how to make Leblanc coffee, and it’s working out pretty well.

Ryuji:

Ryuji is more protective of his S/O. He hasn’t had any experiences with how blind people go about their daily lives so his thinking in regards to his partner are a bit outdated and unnecessary. With time, his S/O is able to get him to be less parenting towards them and is able to show him the technologies that help them be independent. He’s really amazed that his partner’s persona is able to supply them with depth of field. However, it will still be a while before he’s willing to separate himself from them when they split up. Ryuji really enjoys being able to hold their hand and guide them around during their investigations, but sometimes that causes trouble when he’s not paying attention.

Yusuke:

Yusuke is perhaps the most perceptive of his S/O’s abilities from the very start of their relationship. Though he’s a little disappointed he can’t fully convey his artistic expressions to them, he does his best to find ways around it; such as using thicker acrylic paints for his partner to feel the texture of his paintings. Yusuke loves the quiet intimate moments where his S/O caresses his face and lightly strokes his hair. He’s very intrigued at the way his partner’s persona functions via emitting sound waves and wants to figure out if their abilities could be used to create things such as simple sand mandalas with enough precision.

[phantomthievesimagine]

how about a phantom boys+mishima's s/o who is a super famous mangaka with the theme guro/thriller/horror (you know these manga with so much guro and blood if you twist the volume will drip blood), bonus if in this manga they make a new main character inspire by the boys and is still alive kicking, extra if they found about that character because someone said "hey ___ this character look alot like you... "

This was enjoyable to write! I kept picturing the S/O as penning something on the level of Shinji Ito’s works haha~ Thanks for the request!

Akira:

Akira’s genuinely curious of the types of stories his S/O creates. Though he’s not well versed in the guro scene.If his partner knows of his escapades in palaces, he might try to see if they can nail down a good artistic representation of them without being exposed to the actual dangers of it.He’s a big fan of any major plot twist his S/O scripts into their manga and always chats about it over coffee at Leblanc.He tried getting Sojiro to advertise his S/O’s  manga but was turned down due to the content matter. Akira hasn’t given up yet though!He’s elated to find his visage in their manga even if he’s just a minor character. He’s showed it off to Sojiro and keeps spamming pics at Futaba to the point that she calls him a narcissist.

Ryuji:

While Ryuji isn’t as interested in horror manga(he prefers shonen), he definitely follows his S/O’s manga and buys the merch for it anytime he can. It’s getting to the point where his key chain pulls down his pants when he doesn’t wear a belt. He gets a lot of odd looks from the teachers because of it and there have been teachers that kept his keys until the end of class because of how low his pants were hanging down. Kawakami has had the displeasure of being flashed by him one time after school because of it. At this point, Ryuji’s managed to get both Makoto and Yusuke into his S/O’s manga just because he won’t stop talking about it.When it was pointed out to him that he was one of the main characters in the story, the convenience store cashiers jumped at how loud he yelled in the tiny store. But because of that incident, Ryuji and the cashiers have become close acquaintances.

Yusuke:

Yusuke is really happy to have someone he’s close to also be attuned to the arts. Explaining expressive design choices and trying to get proper critiques can be hard at times when his audience is not as literate to such things as he might be. Even though his S/O’s style is more macabre and brutal, Yusuke can’t help but marvel on the skill and hours put into the various one shots and series that they’re a part of. If his partner is willing, Yusuke will help them out from time to time as an assistant. He really enjoys those times shared with his S/O the most. Not only does he learn more about the manga industry as a profession, but he gets to be more accustomed to various artist techniques that aren’t taught by his teachers in school.Yusuke is quietly surprised to notice his visage in their manga and starts to hunt it down in every volume and run to praise his partner for it.

Mishima:

Mishima is quite surprised to find his S/O is a mangaka. Perhaps it’s his naivety, but this boy never pictured his sweet partner being into guro and horror stuff. Unfortunately, try as he might, Mishima has yet to get through the first two chapters of his S/O’s manga. He barely got through the first gruesome scene by hiding under his covers during the day. There’s something about the horror genre that brings him back to the days he was abused and he has a hard time pushing all that trauma away. Mishima shows his support in other ways, however. If his partner is hungry, he’s ordering takeout, or if they’re getting tired, he’s there to help clean up and get them home. He’s really, really emotional when he finds out his S/O made him a character in their manga and brags about it a lot. It’s a real self esteem boost for him that they put him in their comic.

[phantomthievesimagine]

WAIT WHAT??? YOU KNOW AND LOVE MAFU AND KENSHI YONEZU??

100% hell yeah i do

I especially love when mafu does covers of yonezu’s works. I can’t get enough of his cover of loser and orion right now >u< they’re frickin amazing dood

i love honeyworks and kagepro too, those groups are amazing in their own right as well

[phantomthievesimagine]

Hello. I was just wondering if I could request a match-up please? I'm a straight girl that's pretty reserved and not very assertive, but I'm passionate about the things that interest me, always willing to learn about new things and can be pretty cheerful once I open up to people. My hobbies are writing, studying mythology and tea tasting. Some of my likes are chocolate, fantasy novels and cute plushies. Some of my dislikes are mornings, losing my place in my reading and the color orange.

Sorry this took so long, but thank you very much for being so excited to get a matchup from me!! Your message really gave me a push to start matchups :)

I hope you like this matchup~ Feedback is always appreciated.

Your Match is Yusuke!!

This boy appreciates having someone that’s passionate about things and willing to expand their views. As an artist, Yusuke is always looking for inspiration and seeing how diligent you are about your hobbies spurs him to push his own boundaries on what content influences his works. Having a reserved partner is a great boon to him, since he’s an introvert. He doesn’t feel the need to worry as much about his energy being drained as compared to being in an extrovert’s presence.

Yusuke takes great pleasure slowly getting to know you and seeing you open up to him. On the occasion that he’s with Akira and Makoto, he’ll gush to them about it in his own eccentric way. He doesn’t mention his relationship with you often, but when he has an especially good day getting lost in your hobbies and his, Akira and Makoto are up to date.

He’s kept it to himself for a while, but he’s actually the type to fantasize about first kisses quite a bit. If you catch him staring at you a little too long, it’s because he just can’t help his day dreaming. A part of him is charmed that you’re willing to let him take the lead in the relationship because he wants to direct the perfect moment for you both to smooch. Yusuke will do his best to avoid doing so when you’re reading, of course, but he can’t deny that he’d like to catch you by surprise just a little bit.

He enjoys being able to have tea and try different chocolates with you. He’s quite partial to more bitter varieties of tea and chocolate, but Yusuke will enjoy the sweeter variants just the same as long as it’s with you. 

He’s thinking about spending all his money on champagne pocky as a treat for you both. Please stop this boy.

[phantomthievesimagine]

Hello! Could I have P5 boy's headcannons if their S/O was really hurt in battle? Thank you!

These poor boys are all sorts of torn up when their loved ones are in danger. Hope you enjoy it~

Akira:

The incident happens when Akira is focused on strategizing for the battle.His lack of attention causes his partner to get hit and that shakes him out of his inner thoughts immediately.He’s very anxious for his S/O’s sake and will put a grinding halt in their progress to get them out of there and away from fighting for the whole day.It will take a lot of fussing from the rest of the thieves for him to finally budge and let them go to the palace again during that week. His worries will have him very clingy to his partner for while as he copes by delving into his touch-starved coping mechanisms.

Ryuji:

Ryuji is very shaken by his S/O getting hurt in the line of action. And there’s many times he wishes his persona was good for more than physical attacks. He wants to be the one to tank all attacks for his S/O and take care of them when they’re down. During this time, he won’t listen as well to his teammates. It’s just too much stimulus to focus on for him.Ryuji is a bit possessive of his partner when they’re hurt and doesn’t let any one but Ann and Akira help him tend to them. He just doesn’t want anything else to happen to his S/O if he can help it.

Yusuke:

Yusuke is quite visibly taken aback by his partner being caught in the line of fire. Although he isn’t cocky, he always had the naive expectation that as long as he was around, his S/O wouldn’t get hurt. The reality is that he relies on his partner more than he is consciously aware. He prefers to delegate the task of fleeing the battle to Akira as he takes care to remove his partner from the fight. Yusuke takes great care to stay by his S/O’s side as he feels it partly his fault that they ended up in the predicament. He’s quite doting to his partner during this time and doesn’t mind staying with them and giving them hugs and massages until they’re well again.

[phantomthievesimagine]

Can I request an Akira imagine where s/o actually doesn't like drinking coffee but hides that from Akira. S/o downs it and says it's good because everyone else thinks it is and they like Akira so they don't want to decline or say they don't like coffee and Akira notices and gives s/o more and more trying to make s/0 admit it. S/o just wanted Akira happy

I have friends that both love and hate coffee to varying degrees so it was fun thinking on an S/O that just plain hates the stuff. Akira’s got his hands full with this haha ^^

At first, he assumes the coffee isn’t quite his S/O’s preference. The subtle frown and slow pace at which the beverage is being enjoyed striking Akira as out of character for his partner. It takes roughly six attempts of different brews for Akira to finally accept the truth, his S/O really doesn’t enjoy coffee. Akira concocts varying blends changing between sweetness, bitterness, and even tries using soy and low fat sweeteners to see if it’s an allergy issue. 

At first he enjoys the challenge of uncovering their likes based on minuscule expressions toward his brews, but as he realizes that they just don’t enjoy coffee, he feels more sheepish than anything for pushing so much on them.He’ll apologize profusely for it and offer to make them tea or for them to go out for something his S/O enjoys. 

He feels utterly betrayed when he finds his partner enjoying one of the seasonal frappuccinos from the big name coffee shops, though.Akira is low key salty at his S/O for a solid week, however only the thieves know about his upset. 

From there, Akira absolutely refuses to go to any cafe serving the sugary beverage. He won’t get revenge, but he can at least make a point of not going to those establishments anymore.

[phantomthievesimagine]

Hello! First off, I just want to say I love your blog! And second, I was wondering if I could request something alittle bit different; I was thinking of a medieval fantasy Alternate Universe where the Phantom Thief boys are princes/soon-to-be kings. I was wondering What kind of kingdom would they rule, how would they go searching for a beloved and any other HCs you can think of, please?

Woahhh I had so much fun with this!!! If you wanna ask for more AU head canons or more headcanons for this Kingdom AU pls feel free o(≧∇≦o)

Akira:

Akira is a prince ripped of his proper title by a neighboring kingdom. While his parents quickly went into agreement with being placed under new rule by the dictator, Shidou, Akira refused to have such a vile uncaring person ruling his country and was banished from the kingdom. 

Now he’s found a home in a bard’s tavern as a vigilante thief, bringing awareness (and fear) to nobles alike. He’s a quiet person, and his trust issues show clear to any one willing to look behind his Cheshire grin. But what draws others toward him is his sense of justice. 

He is the one to be rescued by his love interest after a particularly daring plan to regain his kingdom is foiled by an insider of his group. From there, he keeps that person at his side, appreciating how they put themselves at risk for his safety.

Ryuji:

Ryuji would run a kingdom focused on fighting, a very strong independent nation that boasts for its military prowess. The lands would be filled more with cobblestone and durable buildings that are structured to handle attacks from enemy nations to varying degrees. 

Ryuji would be an easy going prince until he first experiences the dangers involved with people within his court trying to usurp him.This would cause him to step back from his princely duties and try to protect his mother from some of the more dangerous people of the court. 

He would end up falling for one of the handmaids placed in charge of his mother’s care. Seeing that this person was patient and caring of his family’s affairs while still treating them like human beings really would strike a cord with Ryuji. It isn’t before long that he makes his affections toward the lower class worker be known, and he runs off with them and his mother in tow to a place away from judging and malicious eyes.

Yusuke:

Yusuke would be the bankrupt prince of a once very influential nation known for being the heart of the current era’s renaissance.At a young age, he would’ve been placed in his mentor’s care to be groomed into the successor of the crown while his mentor ran the kingdom in his place. 

Although the kingdom appears lush with culture and pleasure, only the citizens are aware of the true mechanisms going on in the land. Since the Queen’s passing, the land has suffered great instability in its agriculture and commerce. Yusuke’s incredibly unaware of the disparity of his nation until Akira leads an internal revolution within it and frees him from the tower study he’s grown up in since he was a child. 

He meets his beau by chance as he escapes the kingdoms and hides out in the drought ridden farmland beyond the royal walls. He’s taken in by their devotion and love of the formerly prosperous kingdom and later elopes with them.

[phantomthievesimagine]

e r r or 4 0 4

[phantomthievesimagine]

Here’s a guide to requesting matchups!

Gimme your:

Name

Sexual Orientation (straight, gay, bi, ace, lit af, etc etc)

5 things that are super important to your daily life  (ex; being close to family, going to hardees every pay day to get a chicken sandwich, trash talking your cat about how she keeps slipping when she tries to jump, getting to read smut when you get home from a busy day, oogling your manager’s hot dad butt at work)

3 things people say about you (ex: being shy when it comes to learning new things, being the big strong)

3 positive personality traits

3 negative personality traits

2 of your main hobbies

anything else you feel you want to add or expand on

DO NOT gimme your:

super dark 1k long backstory, I haven’t known you guys long enough to unlock it yet!!!! ><

10k essay on who you are. Just gimme a basic summary no longer than 500 words please! I will delete any matchup requests that are longer than 500 words.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Matchups will ONLY BE POSTED ON WEEKENDS

[phantomthievesimagine]

Name’s Aya, i’m 22 and a girl in love with best girl Yukari^^^

Currently on summer break from college and im studying software development

Feel free to talk to me and message me about purse owners, I guess??

Blog Stuff:

be nice guys pls

im slow as heckie but ill do my best to kick my own ass to keep this blog going

send in whatever you want as long as it’s not pedo stuff

if you want me to tag something feel free to pm me and ill do that

OCs are welcome, just message me off anon so i can get your character(s) better

self inserts are 1000000000% welcome as well as ships

this blog does head canons, character responses, and the rarely sighted fic (tho i take forever on those)

one day i’ll do matchups, one day… THAT DAY IS TODAY HOLY COW!!

no discourse pls if you don’t like something please pm me

for the sake of the people using tumblr mobile, i will not put things under read mores cuz they suck and make enjoying stuff a pain

[phantomthievesimagine]

Since it's Ryuji's birthday, what about a scenario/headcanons of his s/o surprising him with some celebration of his birthday? It could be a party with the rest of the thieves, or something a little more private and personal.

This is a really cute idea. Very cozy and festive! Here you go :)

I’d like to think that the first birthday Ryuji shares with the phantom thieves and his S/O is the biggest one he’s ever had. 

He’s had birthday parties, but he’s mostly just spent the morning with his mom sharing a small convenience store cake that she got for him when she came off work after a lot of long days and nights and multiple jobs.

Any big parties he had were when he was little so he doesn’t have much of a memory of them any more. 

It’s unsurprisingly easy to plan a secret birthday party for this guy. 

Almost too easy in fact. 

His S/O and Akira will get the rest of the thieves together and come up with some things for Ryuji’s birthday as a group. 

Haru might just rent out Destiny Land again or an arcade restaurant. 

Yusuke would set up decorations.

Futaba would manage the music and snacks.

And Ann and Makoto would make sure everything else would match up to what Ryuji likes.

His S/O may invite a few old track team mates that are still on good terms with Ryuji as well. 

He’s really ecstatic when Akira leads him to the place. 

It’s hard not to get infected by his huge grin. 

All in all, it’s a fun night filled with karaoke and video games and lots of great food and laughter. 

Even Morgana is a little more reserved for his birthday, begrudgingly allowing Ryuji to throw cake at him and be a good sport about it. 

Ryuji and his S/O would spend more intimate time together the morning after with his mom; the three of them sharing a small cake as per Sakamoto tradition.

[phantomthievesimagine]

Ryuji's reaction to his fem crush sacrificing her life for him

Speaking of crushes, Ryuji certainly understands the meaning of the word quite well~ Hope you like it uwu

Barely a moment passes as the former track star pushes his joints to the limit. He needs to catch them. Just let him get there in time. 

Even as his healing legs scream at him to stop, he refuses. 

It’s only as his leader grabs him by his arms and yells at him to back away from the after effects of the attack that his body is able to take a moment to relax slightly out of its tense state. 

 “Let me go! I need to help her!” 

“If you get any closer, you’ll be hurt, too. Do you think they’d want that?!” 

Out of anger, Ryuji rips himself from his friends grip. His own safety doesn’t matter right now, not when his crush’s health is questionable at best.When he finally reaches to her side, he’s a hot mess. His thief outfit is torn from the shadows follow up attacks and he’s out of breath, having used most of his energy summoning Captain Kidd.He takes a sharp inhale as he pushes himself to kneel next to her broken body. There’s so much, too much, blood oozing from her cuts and he can’t tell if she’s breathing anymore.Her skin’s still a bit warm, but her face is stalk pale. 

When he touches her, she won’t so much as twitch. 

Ryuji chokes down a sob. His kerchief suddenly feeling like a hand choking him at every contraction of his lungs. Fainting is his body’s natural inclination, but he holds out just long enough to hold her gingerly in his lap for the first and last time and let out an anguished scream. 

Of all the things that could go wrong, why did she have to pay the price? 

[phantomthievesimagine]

Can I request a scenario or headcanon where Ryuji makes his female crush cry?? like they would stop talking for a while and then because it's his birthday, she would apologize to him and hug him. love your blog 💛💜

This ended up longer than I thought it would–and a lot angstier than I thought ^^ Thanks for liking my blog, I hope this satisfies you. uvu

It’d started as a simple comment.Ryuji hadn’t realized it would impact them the way it had. 

If he would’ve known…God he hated it. Why was he so stupid?Of course, the guy who screwed up track for everyone would screw a potential relationship up, too. For a week, the phantom thief ruminated to himself about the situation before he brought it up to Akira.Talking to the fellow ‘delinquent’ eased his nerves a tad. 

 Even as he saw her in between classes, Ryuji tried to appear apologetic and kind, but it was to no avail.He would just have to let them go, even as the look in their eyes tore at him. 

A few weeks went by and Ryuji was back to his routine. Today was his birthday, and the gang was going to hang out after school, go to the arcade and enjoy some good cocoa curry.Before he joined up with his friends, however, she stopped him at the school gate. 

A box was in her hand, and a shy ‘sorry’ on her lips. The teen wasn’t sure how to react so he just shrugged and gave them a small smile. 

 “Don’t sweat it.” The words fell automatically from his lips. 

Don’t sweat the weeks I’ve been beyond upset with myself. Don’t apologize when I should be the one at your feet asking for your forgiveness. I’m so sorry. 

He must’ve looked pretty sad, why else would she suddenly hug him so comfortingly? “I’m sorry for running from you… I didn’t know what to say. But, I’d feel even guiltier if I missed your birthday over this.” 

Ryuji hid his wince well for the moment. Those words had no intention of injury, but somehow they just hurt. Patting their head, and stepping out of the hug, the phantom thief had made his decision alone. 

 “It’s okay if you’re still upset with me. I’m really sorry for what I said.” 

Making a strong face to clear away their doubts and hide his emotions, he said, “You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me, I’ll be fine. Don’t push yourself so hard, okay?” He didn’t accept the boxed gift, he couldn’t. It would serve as more a momento for this moment than for his birthday, after all.

Every step away from them burned more than he’d hoped. Even with their time away from each other, Ryuji couldn’t deny his attachment to them still sitting in his heart.  But he didn’t want their relationship to become like this. Not some tug-of-war of comfort versus desires. That wasn’t how he was and he wouldn’t push that on them either.