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Prologue: One Bird, One Bullet[]
(Cue: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental) - Persona 5)
Goro Akechi felt like he was on top of the world.
He had finally done it. After putting up a facade in front of his 'friends' for so long, he had finally gotten all of the information he needed to expose his supposed allies as the group of 'thieves' that have been responsible for the sudden confessions amongst people across Japan. He grinned as he walked towards his home, his plan ready to be executed. The detective began to mumble to himself.
"At long last, all of my maneuvers are going to pay off. That bastard won't know what hit him and his group of thieving scum!"
Akechi opens the door to his home, his grin twisting into a smile as he picked up his phone.
"But first... I have someone else to..."
He goes through his contacts until he sees what he had been looking for. The man who thought he had been manipulating him. The man that only forwarded the Crow's goals. The man who thought he'd won. He may have hated... him more than almost anything... but he'd always say 'almost' for one reason.
Masayoshi Shido.
"...Deal with."
He calls Shido, holding the phone to his ear as it ringed. After some time, the man answered.
"So, did you get the necessary information?"
"Correct, Shido. Everything there is to know about... them has been discovered. And our plan of attack is ready to be executed."
Crow wouldn't even know how to begin to describe the immensely high temptation to say "my" and drop his facade.
"Good. You'd better not disappoint-"
As Shido talked, Akechi looked outside one of the windows of his home and heard something. There was a knock outside of his door.
"Are you listening to me!?"
Akechi snaps out of his distracted state as he walks to the door.
"Of course, sir. Apologies."
Like earlier, temptations of blowing his cover were hard to resist.
"Good. We will act before tomorrow evening and not a second later. Understand?"
"Yes... sir."
Once again, urges had to be bottled up. For now.
"Perfect."
Without even as little as a goodbye, he hung up. Akechi groaned as he opened the door... but to his surprise, nobody was there.
"Odd... but no matter."
Akechi goes back inside and looks outside of his window, the beautiful night sky shining as the bright lights of the buildings both above and below
"My victory is close... I will finally be desired, loved-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he hears knocking on his door again. Confused, Akechi opens the door. But unlike last time, the person knocking actually stayed. The bald man looked like he was in his 60s and was wearing a black jacket and blue shirt, as well as black pants. He had both hands in his pockets and had a very stern expression on his face.
"Good evening, mr... Akechi, was it?"
"Good evening to you too, mr..."
"Not important. Not like you'll see me after tonight, anyway."
The old man slowly walks into Akechi's residence, taking off his shoes and jacket.
"What makes you say that, sir? Are you in need of detective work?"
The man hangs his jacket, walking over to his windows as he did, nodding to Akechi's question.
"I really apologize if I came at such an inappropriate time, Akechi. I needed to... talk about some important details."
Akechi gives the man a fake, warm smile to the man, who was staring at the last open window in the home.
"There's never an incorrect time for such important matters, sir."
The urge to gag after such a fake showing of his character was through the roof.
"So, what's the issue?"
The man turns around as he finishes closing the last window, the stern look from earlier still present as he gave a simple, yet deeply cutting answer.
"Masayoshi Shido is dead."
(Music stops)
Akechi froze upon hearing the man's response. His eyes widened as he tried to say something, anything. But no matter what thoughts he came up with, he couldn't say a word. His rightfully earned kill was taken from him. The man he manipulated, tricked into believing he was the manipulator, lead to having a false superiority complex that he had because of him. He was here, one step away from his rightful win, because of his doings, deeds that were Akechi's doing. Crow's doing. His doing. He was so close to getting him out of the way with his own two hands, but that opportunity was taken away from him.
The old man's stern demeanor didn't waver. He started blankly at Akechi, analyzing his body language as a look of disapproval began to show. Akechi noticed this, his expression of shock turning into one of anger.
"What kind of deranged jokes are you playing, old man!? I had just talked to Shido! How could-"
"Death happens instantly, Akechi. Word gets out faster. I thought a 'detective' like you would know of that and... what had happened to one of your own classmates. Ren, was it?."
(Cue: Parking Garage Standoff - Breaking Bad)
Akechi felt his heart stop. He knew. He knew everything. The detective's breathing got faster, his pupils got smaller and smaller has his expression slowly turned to one of pure rage.
But despite this, the unknown man kept going.
"Investigators should be neutral on a case before going around. They should be more up to date, do a proper background check before letting guests into their home or office or... anywhere for that matter, and keep their cool, that way they seem more professional to the public and don't seem like they know more than they let on."
Right after his sentence came to an end, Akechi noticed something out of the corner of his eye, but before he can get a clearer view, his visitor says one last thing.
"With the way you're acting, it seems like this occurrence interfered with plans of your own."
At this point, Akechi's mask had fully slipped off. The old man's final remark is what drove him to show it. He ran straight towards him, a look of malice on his face, hands creating fists, veins being on full display there and on his forehead, a twisted smile forming.
"Don't fuck up now, Akechi. Wouldn't want another body on your hands now, would you?"
Akechi stops as he's inches in front of the man, his breathing loud, heart beating for what felt like millions of times per second, and all traces of the facade he had built up for so long gone. He goes to attack the man, but before he can, a part of his sentence fully sinks in.
"Another? From what I can tell, the only people that I'll get rid of..."
Akechi grabs a knife from the nearest counter.
"...are YOU!"
and slashes the man across the stomach, blood slowly dripping from the thin, but long horizontal slice. The man grunts as he goes on one knee. Akechi winds his hand back, aiming to stab the man in the head.
"AND THOSE DAMN PHANTOM THI-"
Before he can land the fatal blow, the detective notices the man shifting his focus to what was behind him. He turns around and sees a body.
Shido's body. Dry blood stained his face and clothing, with his glasses being broken as well.
This snaps the detective out of his psychotic breakdown, all of the pieces falling into place in his mind. This man wasn't some old guy that just wanted to tell him the news and talk shit. He was more than that. Another person looking for... him, perhaps? Maybe even a fellow detective in disguise. Or maybe...
"By any chance, would you happen to be associated with a 'Sae Niijima'?"
The man starts to walk over towards his jacket, stepping over Shido's body as he did, and starts to put his hand into one of its pockets.
"No. But I do want to have a word with her one of these days."
Crow, still stunned at the presence of Shido's body, fails to notice what the man pulls out of his jacket.
"Why would you, of all people, want to talk with such a high ranking attorney?"
The man slowly walks towards the shocked detective from behind. He stops and stands directly behind him, turning left and right, making sure the scene was perfectly set.
"Because she, and you, represent a problem. That even the most beloved in their craft don't truly want justice or whatever they go on about. Because all you and her have ever done..."
Akechi finally snaps out of his surprise and starts to turn around, but before he can get a good view of the man...
"...Is take half-measures."
BANG!
Intro[]
(Cue: Wiz and Boomstick - Death Battle)
Wiz: Ren Amamiya, the wild card leader of the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5 known as Joker.
Boomstick: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned notorious drug dealer from Breaking Bad known as Heisenberg.
Wiz: In the world of crime, whether it be thievery or drug dealing and whether how good or bad the intentions may be, it's not the best idea to have your real identity out in the open, which is something that many characters have learned in the past.
Boomstick: But these two have shown to be the best at keeping their identities a secret while being the best at what they do!
Wiz: For this particular battle, things are going to be very... different.
Boomstick: Yeah if we took the normal route, Joker takes the win and it's not even close. So instead, all that 'strength', 'speed', and 'durability' nonsense means basically nothing! We're only taking a look at each group's intellect and strategies to see which crew comes out on top! And no saying "crew" and "group" wasn't a mistake, you'll see what I mean in a bit.
He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle!
Act 1: To Blend In[]
(Cue: Taikutsu - Death Note)
If you were to tell Walter White that he'd effectively be right where we started in a completely different continent, he would've laughed in your face. And then shot it.
The last month felt like a blur, emotions drastically switching from positive to negative in the span of hours, sometimes even minutes. One moment, he was driving home after a successful... firing of his former boss, the next he'd be frantically gathering every dollar he can to get him and his colleagues out of the country. As Walt made his way through the halls of Shujin Academy, he took the time to think of what led him to teaching in a different country. He shook those feelings off, not wanting to seem unusual to the students that passed by, making their way to the exit doors that he was in front of. But before he could get out of the school, he hears a voice behind him.
"Hey, Black. Can I speak with you for a bit?"
He turns around and sees a woman with black hair that's wearing a yellow shirt with thin stripes on it.
"I've got some time before my son meets me, so sure. Is something wrong... uh..."
"Kawakami. And no, but if you're who Kobayakawa deemed the most fit for that job, we might as well not even compete."
Walter sighed. He can't say that she's wrong. Even he was confused upon hearing that he would be the volleyball coach. He already expected to be out of his element upon hearing that the chemistry teacher spot was taken, but when he heard that he'd be coaching the volleyball team, he was very... surprised.
"I haven't gotten fired yet, so I'd say that I'm doing a good enough job."
"Given how desperate Kobayakawa was to hire another coach after the previous one... left on his own terms, I doubt he even looked at your record."
Walt noticed the... difference in tone upon her mentioning whoever the previous coach was leaving 'on his own terms', which made him confused, but before he can question the teacher, a familiar voice can be heard.
"Yo, Mr... Dad."
"Yo, the new coach is your dad!? You serious?"
Walter and Kawakami turn around and see three people walking towards them, one with blonde hair, another with brown hair, and another with orange hair. The former sighs in relief, both because he could finally get out of conversation and because he was thankful the man caught himself before he... blew their cover.
"Jamie, what took you so long? I told you to meet me here by 17:00."
"What, you expect me to not to try to make friends at school?"
"No, but with your track record, I would have studies higher on the priorities list."
The blondie chuckled.
"Wow, did that volleyball to the face piss you off that much?"
Walt rolled his eyes, but before he could respond, someone cleared their throat. Everyone turned around to see Kawakami, who had an impatient look on her face.
"Are you done?"
She turned to the blondie.
"Sakamoto, I'm afraid that our meeting is going to have to wait. I have some... choice words for these three."
Ryuji Sakamoto looked confused at first before he got what she was saying, with him smiling as he turned to the exit doors.
"Sounds like a plan! I'll see ya tomorrow, yo!"
Ryuji exited the building, Kawasaki's face going from a happier expression to one of complete disdain. Jesse and Walter were both confused, both not understanding the sudden changes in tone. The Shujin Academy teacher turned to the three.
"Do any of you think I don't know what's going on?"
(Cue: Suspicious - Death Note)
The trio looked at Kawakami, their confusion only growing.
"Shortly after the death of Akechi, you and your three sons just... show up? Do you think anybody is falling for that crap?"
Walter, Jesse, and Todd all stare at her, not saying a word. Walt sighs, his expression turning to one of disappointment as he gets closer to Kawakami.
"That's all but an unfortunate coincidence, Kawakami. I was a mere janitor at a laser tag place. Only reason why I was able to move here in the first place was my dad. By some miracle, he made a fortune off of gambling in Las Vegas."
Walter started to walk through a hallway, Kawakami, Jesse, and Todd following suite. He turned to his 'sons', both of whom looked like they were preparing for something. Kawakami's suspicions started to rise.
"Before he beat the house, we all had jobs. Jamie was a fast food employee, Tommy was stuck being an intern at a hospital, and we couldn't even find a job for Ballen."
Kawakami turned to Jesse and Todd, who were both looking at their phones. Suddenly, both walked into the empty classroom.
"My brother, Sam, had to move in with us after an ugly divorce. Shit really hit the fan at that point."
"Wow, that's... kinda sad."
Walter fought the urge to wince at that comment. None of what he was saying was true. It was completely fabricated. Rehearsed. Played in his head over and over just in case someone were to get too close to finding out the truth. The thought of him seeming weak and having such a pathetic backstory made him angry. But for now, he has to keep this rage in if he wants to win.
"If you think that's bad, here's the best part... my wife died."
Jesse and Todd, both of whom overheard this, slowly snuck out of the classroom, making their way to where the exit door was... and turning to the left at the very last second. The former sighed in relief as the latter started making his way through a storage closet. Meanwhile, a woman with brown hair can be seen making her way down a nearby staircase, passing by a familiar-looking old man as she did, who, to those not looking closely, was putting away some cleaning supplies.
"Oh, really? Of what?"
"Lung cancer. Built up from 40 years of smoking, both herself and from secondhand exposure. Between her cigarette-loving folks, living in a city where cigarettes were both dirt cheap and everywhere, and not being able to get out of an addiction herself for a time, she didn't have much longer after Tommy's birth."
Kawakami's expression started to change to one of remorse. She really went out of her way to waste a new teacher's time and essentially call him a lying waste of life... because of mere coincidence. A coincidence that was practically unavoidable due to misfortune that was followed by a glimmer of hope.
After a while, Todd had finally found what he and Jesse needed. Both nod as they walk off, staring at Walter and Kawakami, who were turning to the right. At this point, the brown-haired girl had made her way to that same hallway. Jesse and Todd had thankfully exited before she made it, but that didn't stop her suspicions from increasing when she noticed the open closet door. The older man noticed this error in the corner of his eye as he was staging his exit.
"My father's brother and my sister needing places to say didn't help. Neither of them wanted to say why they got the boot. Must've been a real hard blow to their egos."
Walter and Kawakami make their way towards the destination that he apparently aiming for. A storage room. Walt opened the door.
"My point is, I absolutely despite when people like you have the gall to make such... drastically life-changing accusations just because the conspiracy-loving nutcase in you just can't go two steps without thinking of a dumb theory."
"Listen, I do apologize for what I said earlier, but are those insults really necessary?"
Jesse and Todd sneak up to the end of the hallway they were in, slowly turning their heads to the storage room door, which was barely open, with the only visible things in there being several shelves and one of Walter's arms.
"Excuse me, you two."
Both turn around and see a brown-haired girl with red eyes.
"What do you think both of you are doing at this time of day? Everyone else has left and neither of you have teacher meetings in your schedules."
Todd stared at the girl with a blank expression while Jesse walked up to her.
"Well, our dad decided to have a talk with Kawakami. He's been keeping us waiting for like, 5-10 minutes now."
"Then wait outside. It's irresponsible for you to go around this school and mess with supplies like you and your friend did and as the student council president, I simply can't stand for it."
This got Todd's attention. He and Jesse forgot to close the closet door. His expression didn't change, but his mind was going through what he could possibly do to get her out of here. What was worse was that this was Makoto Niijima. He didn't know much about her outside of 'student council president' and 'related to a lawyer', but those two things alone showed that she held more power than the people that he, Jesse, and Brandon were stuck with. He had to do something, anything.
At the same time, Walter was running out of things to say. He was frantically thinking of more and more fluff to add to the 'backstory' behind his 'family'. Thankfully, it seemed to be working, but not even Walt's boundless imagination could come up with realistic explanations fast enough.
(Music stops)
"And that's... all I've got for you. I hope you understand."
And then... silence. The entire room was completely quiet, Walter and Kawakami standing completely still. The only sound to be heard being the rain and wind. Walt briefly looked out of the storage room and saw Jesse and Todd talking to someone that he hadn't even taken into account. He fought against his anger, attempting to bottle everything up so that Kawakami doesn't catch on.
"Damn, I've gotta say, I didn't expect your story to be so glum. I do apologize for my insensitive comments. I knew Akechi well, so his death hasn't been one that I've been taking well."
"It's all alright, Kawakami. Though I do have one question for you."
"And that is?"
Walter looks out the door and sees that things haven't gotten any better for Jesse and Todd. In fact, it looked like Todd had outright given up, as he headed straight for the exit while Jesse was still arguing with someone.
"Niijima, listen, I apologized already and yet you're still on my ass about this, so why don't you let me just leave and I'll wait for my dad at like, one of those coffee shops or something."
"I can't let that happen, Black. You have used a time for extra lessons and turned into some party with one of your siblings. I have to alert Shujin Academy staff about this."
"Oh come the hell on, why do you have be such a bitch!? It's just some goofing around! Did that lawyer relative of your's win the jackpot in 'Fun Removal Services' or somethi-"
Jesse stopped his sentence as he noticed an angry Makoto winding up for a punch.
Walter looks back at Kawakami, who was quickly going back to her impatient self.
"I'm still trying to get use to what names to use for other people, so do you actually like it when I call you Kawakami..."
Makoto punches Jesse in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. He tries to get up, but Makoto punches him again, causing his nose to bleed. He looks around for Todd and Walter, but doesn't see them. However, he does see a very familiar face outside of a window close to where the electricity controls are.
(WIP)