akechi's rank 3 is the gift that keeps giving because the intro before it starts confirms that:
- akechi has an in-universe fandom
- said fandom pays close attention to his whereabouts, who he hangs out with, etc.
- akechi monitors what's being said about him online
and since he by his own admission doesn't really have any other close friends, this means that as his confidant progresses, his fanbase is undoubtedly like "who is this mysterious glasses guy who keeps hanging out with akechi? why are they hitting up popular date spots?”
and like, internet gonna internet. half his fanbase thinks they're dating. another faction ships him with the leader of the phantom thieves. akechi watches this go down while experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion. someone says ren looks kind of generic and akechi is seconds from penning a defensive response on his burner account before he's like "what the fuck am i even doing" and clears 4 floors of mementos in one go to cope.