The door to the new wing of Sae's palace creaked open, revealing a garish lounge bathed in gold and deep crimson. You could feel something was off.

It wasn’t just the smell of too much perfume, or the dizzying lights reflecting off glass walls—it was the energy. The Phantom Thieves tensed around you instinctively as you stepped into the heart of Sae Niijima’s Palace. And there, standing under the spotlight, was Sae herself—smirking confidently at the end of the room.

But then—

“Oh no,” came a quiet voice behind you.

You turned—only to find another familiar face.

You all turned. At the far end of the room, standing proudly with a beaming smile, was Akechi. Well, not your Akechi.

This one was dressed in a casino bunny suit: black tights and gloves, shiny black heels, and a beige strapless leotard with a black bowtie, reminiscent of his school uniform he wore in the real world all the time. A headband with bunny ears perked up on his head, and a silver serving tray balanced gracefully on one hand. His eyes sparkled with honest delight, nothing like the saccharine, phony detective you were used to.

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

The real Akechi, standing next to you, went stock still. Not a twitch. Not a breath. But the tension in the air shifted.*

You turned toward him, slowly.

His expression was a mask of porcelain rage.

His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides, his knuckles had gone white, and you could hear the faintest grind of his teeth. He wouldn’t look at the Shadow—he was looking directly at Sae, who appeared beside her cognition of him like it was nothing. Like it was accurate.

Sae didn’t even need to say a word. Her smirk said it all.

This was how she saw him: a harmless little entertainer in her world. A perky, eager-to-please pawn. In a bunny suit...

"How quaint," the real Akechi spat, voice dripping with venom, eyes locked on the shadow that bore his face. "I wonder if this is how the public sees me, too."

But Shadow Akechi only chuckled again and stepped forward. “Careful now, Goro~ Getting upset isn’t very professional.” He batted his lashes at the real one. “You're much cuter when you’re pretending to be useful~!”

“Akechi—” you started, stepping slightly toward him.

But he wasn’t listening anymore.

His rage simmered just beneath the surface—at Sae, at this room, at the distorted version of himself in tights and heels with a smile too wide. It wasn’t about the outfit. It wasn’t even about the voice.

It was about control. And how easily Sae had taken it from him, turned him into a joke before everyone.

The rest of the team fell silent as the real Akechi straightened, that thin, pristine smile snapping back onto his face like a blade drawn from a sheath.

“Let’s keep moving,” he said stiffly. “There’s nothing worth seeing here.”

Behind him, Shadow-Akechi blew a kiss. You weren't sure if anyone else noticed how Akechi flinched. But you did.