Akechi had never needed a partner in his life, ever. Not in any kind of sense. He had become accustomed to being on his own, and it was something he even welcomed. Especially when it came to his work for Shido—orchestrating the mental shutdowns behind the scenes, parading in public as the pleasant, charismatic ace detective, all while waiting for the day he would be able to stab Shido in the back and watch the man fall to a mental shutdown caused by Akechi's own hand—it was all much easier to handle on his own.

Which was why he felt his blood boil underneath his skin at the sheer sight of you.

Shido had introduced you to him, informing him that you were to be his partner in public and in the Metaverse, too. What, had Shido stumbled across another Persona user so easily? Was this Shido's way of keeping Akechi in check, by having someone keep an eye on him for him? Was Shido intending on getting rid of him? As Akechi nodded to Shido's continuous rambling, his well-crafted pleasant smile became increasingly difficult to hold.

Finally, finally, after ages of filling Akechi's ears with nonsense, Shido sent the both of you out of his office. The moment you two were out and the doors closed behind you, he turned on his heel, sharp gaze landing on you, scrutinizing you harshly.

His first impression of you was that you looked to be around his age. Fairly attractive, but Akechi didn't want to think about that right now. Regardless of how he felt about you, he had to play nice. He didn't know your motives yet, or even your name. Apparently, that was the one thing Shido hadn't actually bothered to mention. Typical.

"It's nice to meet you. I hope we get along, uh..." Akechi began with that smile of his, pretending to falter when he had to address you. "I'm sorry, it seems I didn't catch your name," The detective apologized with a soft laugh, one that sounded impossibly fake.

"You are...?"