Let me make something perfectly clear to you, Sakamoto. I don’t need you, or your little friends. Never have, never will.

[ Sure, he let go of his pride in those final moments. He knew that if he couldn’t make Shido pay for the crime of his miserable existence, then the Thieves could. They had been stupid enough to extend an olive branch when they should have killed him, but even then, they were only ever a means to an end for him.

But now? He can only assume they did what he asked. Joker is a lot of things, but Akechi doubts he’d be the type to renege on their deal. Now the need has passed, and he doesn’t want them looking at him like a failure. He dreads seeing pity in their gazes. He worked so hard to get where he was, only to have it all crumble beneath him in a matter of moments. ]

Pancakes?

[ It takes him a moment to figure out just what Ryuji is talking about, harkening all the way back to their very first conversation. The realization is so absurd that he can’t help but laugh, the sound too loud in the quiet space, bordering on unhinged. ]

That damn cat. I should have known.