Is Akira Okay?

by AutomneLoup

One year since completing his probation, Akira Kurusu returns to Tokyo in order to start University. However his friends notice that this not the same Akira that left them after their cross country trip last August. He seems a lot more irritable and hostile towards others, even towards his friends and loved ones.

6. He's Lost Control

"MAKOTO, PULL OVER!"

"STOP THE FUCKIN' CAR!"

Voices were shouting at Makoto from behind her.

"I'M TRYING!" She shouted back.

The group could not have picked a worse time to ask Makoto to pull over. They were right smack in the middle of the highway. Though she was able to maintain a calm expression on the outside, inside, she was on the verge of mentally collapsing out of panic. Not knowing what was happening in the camper behind her was terrifying. And Haru, being next to her, looking scared, biting her nails, and on the verge of tears, didn't exactly make things easier on her. Makoto tried to find a way to get to the emergency lane, but no cars would let her through. Thankfully, she noticed a sign up ahead the pointed to a rest stop at the next exit, which she was coming upon, as in she had to make the turn immediately or she would miss it.

"HOLD ON, EVERYONE!" She shouted before making a sharp swerve into the exit ramp. It wasn't smooth at all. The sudden turn caused the Phantom Thieves in the back to tumble around slightly. Sadly for Akira, the swerve caused him to fall out of the bench and onto the floor. His body still experiencing convulsive movements. Sumire tried her best to keep everyone clear from him as they pulled into the rest stop.

As the RV finally stopped moving, Sumire ordered everyone out. "Everyone, leave! Stay outside for now!"

"Wait, shouldn't we call for help?" Morgana asked.

"I can call them right now!" Ann said, dialing the number on her phone.

"No, not yet, at least. Please. Just trust me." Sumire pleaded with the others. They all relented, Ann put her phone away, and the group quickly rushed out of the camper. Thankfully, fearing this might be another seizure, Sumire was prepared. After the first one, she looked up what to do in case another one occurred. She went to the bunks at the back of the camper, grabbed two pillows, and placed them around his head. She looked at her phone and made note that the seizure started about one minute ago. Unfortunately, all she could do right now was wait. "Please be over soon..." She hoped.

Makoto and Haru frantically exited the driver and passenger seats, respectively, and made their way around to the camper door. "Okay. Someone tell me what the hell going on?" Makoto demanded.

"What the hell was with that turn!? You coulda killed us!" Ryuji yelled at her, getting into her face.

"You were yelling at me to stop!" Makoto glared at him.

"Why didnt'cha get in the freakin' emergency lane!?"

"It was blocked by other cars! We were in the center of the highway! I had to think fast!"

"Well, your STUNT knocked Akira to the fuckin' ground!"

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" Ann yelled, getting in between them. Makoto and Ryuji turned to her. "We'll talk about this later!" Ann said, trying desperately to hold back tears. Yusuke, Haru, and Morgana remained silent while looking down at the ground. Haru had her hand up to her mouth as she was still biting her nails and was also trying to hold back tears. Futaba wasn't as strong. She sat on the concrete ground with her back against the RV to the left of the camper door. Her hands covered her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. Yusuke sat down next to her and took her in his arms, himself closing his eyes as he shed a tear out of fear for his friend's life.

"I-I'm sorry. It was reckless of me, I know." Makoto said, calming down at the feeling of Haru hugging her from the side. "But, please tell me, what's going on?"

"I dunno," Ryuji said, now calmed down as well. He rubbed the back of his head. "We were just playin' Tycoon when Akira started freakin' out all of a sudden." This handwave explanation in her mind made Futaba livid as she shot up from her sitting position and rushed over to him and pushed him.

"ASSHOLE! YOU HURT HIM BY PUTTING HIM IN THAT STUPID HEADLOCK!" Futaba angrily shouted, pushing and punching at his chest.

"Futaba-chan, stop!" Haru said as she and Ann tried to pull the younger girl off of Ryuji.

"Look, I didn't mean to hurt him. I would never hurt Akira." Ryuji defended himself.

"Well, clearly, you did!" Ann bitterly said. "You always get so worked up whenever you play Tycoon."

"Wait, you're not really puttin' this on me, are you!?"

"As much as I hate to take his side, I agree with him." Morgana surprisingly said. "We shouldn't assign blame to anyone for this."

"Do you know what happened to him?" Yusuke asked.

"To be honest, no, I don't." Morgana lowered his head, ashamed he couldn't give the thieves any more information. "But, I do know Ryuji didn't cause this. Look, we're all shook up, so it's natural for us to want to find someone to blame. But, right now, Akira is unwell. This is not the time for us to be at each other's throats." He said sternly.

Futaba managed to compose herself and went back to her seat on the ground along with Yusuke. Her period of calm didn't last long as she immediately went back to crying in Yusuke's arms. Morgana cuddled up next to her. Haru leaned against the RV wall to the right of the camper door and could no longer hold back tears. She closed her eyes and just saw the image of Akira's body convulsing. Makoto took her in her arms and tried to comfort her. Ryuji went to the back of the RV. Ann followed him and found him squatting on the ground with his head in his hands. She kneeled down next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Did I really do this?" He shakily asked.

"Shh, don't say that. Don't do that to yourself." She tried to calm him down. "You heard Morgana. No one is to blame for this."

"I don't feel like that's the case. God, I'm such a fucking asshole!" He exclaimed as he slammed his fist to the ground.

"Ryuji Sakamoto, look at me!" Ann demanded. He looked her in the eye. "This is NOT your fault. Do you hear me? Akira loves you. You're his best friend. He knows you would never hurt him on purpose." She told him, causing him to break down. She took him to her arms.

Meanwhile, inside the RV, Akira's body finally stopped convulsing to Sumire's relief. She removed the pillows from around his head and checked to see if he was still breathing. He was. She then placed him in the recovery position and made more notes. The seizure had lasted about a minute and fifty-three seconds total. Akira was now unconscious, and Sumire started the timer on her phone. Thankfully, within three minutes, Akira regained consciousness. As he lay down, he opened his mouth as a mixture of saliva and blood poured out and onto the camper floor. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them again and covered them with his hands. The lights inside the RV hit him hard. He managed to sit up and place his back up against one of the cabinets in the kitchenette. Sumire joined him on the floor, kneeling in front of him.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, trying to keep as calm as possible. Akira uncovered his eyes and looked at her, then around at his surroundings.

"W-wha... where am I? Who are you?" His eyes went bold. He started to panic and forgot how to breathe.

"Shh, calm down, calm down. It's okay." She tried to reassure him. "Here, breathe slowly. Follow my breathing." After some hesitance, he began to follow her breathing. "Good. Now, count to four and inhale." He did as she asked. "Now, count to four again and exhale." The "count to four, inhale, count to four, exhale" trick was taught to Sumire by her mother. It was a technique she used whenever she got nervous before a gymnastics meet. Akira found out about it during their first official date at the aquarium in Shinagawa in August during his year on probation. She got so nervous that she nearly passed out in front of the penguins. Once he gently grabbed her by the shoulder, she regained enough breath to begin her process. Typically, she didn't want to be touched by anyone when she felt her anxiety flair up like this and would push people away if they even tried, but Akira's touch calmed her down. At that moment, she knew he was the one who could always make her feel better. Sumire knew Akira was the one for her.

Once Akira's breathing was back under control, Sumire calmly asked him the same questions the police officer had two days prior. "Do you know your name?"

"...Um...Argh..." Akira's head felt like it was going to explode.

"It's okay. Take your time." She calmly said to him. The sound of her voice did soothe his pain a little bit. Enough that he found the energy needed to answer her.

"... K-k-Kurusu... A-Akira..." He had a dazed look in his eyes as he spoke in broken fragments.

"Do you know where you are?" He looked around.

"...I-I don't know..."

"Do you know my name?"

"Sumire," He sounded the most confident in his answer out of all the questions thus far. She smiled softly.

"I'll ask you again, do you know where you are?" He looked around once more.

"The Phantomobile, right?" He answered. Sumire nodded and smiled before gently hugging him.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Urgh... M-my head hurts." He answered as he put his hand up to his head. "What happened? Did I fall asleep? Are we at Leblanc?" He questioned as he felt an odd but familiar taste in his mouth.

Sumire slowly spoke as she tried to answer in the calmest way possible. "No, we're still about twenty minutes or so away. We're at a rest stop near the highway."

"Oh? Another bathroom break?" He managed to crack a smile until he looked down at the floor and saw a bloodstain on the floor and immediately became concerned. It then hit him what he was tasting in his mouth.

"Um... no..." She braced for impact. "You had another seizure."

Akira was left frozen. A mixture of emotions ranging from fear to anger to confusion began to flood his mind. "...Fuck," he muttered, looking away. Sumire explained that Makoto had to hastily pull into the exit ramp and that the turn knocked him out of his seat. "How long was I out?" He asked, looking back towards her but not at her.

"Not long, about five minutes. The seizure lasted about two minutes. Once it was over, you were unconscious for about three more minutes."

"Where are the others?"

"I asked them to wait outside while I took care of you."

"I didn't know you were an expert on seizures." He said, cracking a bit of sarcasm.

"After your first one the other night, I did some research online on what to do if you had another one." Akira got tired of sitting on the floor and slowly got up. He needed to catch his balance on the counter. Sumire gently grabbed his side and tried to help.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He said, brushing her hands away, still not looking at her. He went over to his bag and dove for his bottle of aspirin.

"What are you looking for?" She asked him.

"What do you think? I feel like I have a fucking jackhammer in my head. I need aspirin." He said in an irritated tone. His attention was entirely on his bag.

"No, you can't have any aspirin." She said sternly.

"Why the fuck not!?" He raised his voice.

"Aspirin could be a trigger for your seizures. We don't know what's causing them yet." She said. He ignored her. He walked back over to the table and picked up his bottle of water that had been knocked to the floor during the sharp swerve. He loosened the cap on the aspirin bottle. "No!" She yelled as she snatched the aspirin bottle out of his hands.

"Give me the aspirin, Sumi," Akira said calmly but intensely.

"NO! You can't have it! It might be dangerous for you."

"Give it to me!"

"NO!"

"GIVE IT!"

The two began fighting over the aspirin bottle. Sumire was trying to keep it close to her abdomen while turning her back away from Akira. Their yells could be heard from outside the RV. Akira managed to grab hold of the bottle but dropped it, causing dozens of tiny medicine tablets to scatter on the floor. Akira suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder from behind him. This caused him to quickly turn around, slap the hand away from him, put his hand on the person's head, and shove them to the ground. Akira was not thinking clearly. He had a red mist in his eyes. After the push, however, his mind began to clear as he realized he had pushed Ryuji to the floor of the camper. He didn't mean to do that. The others had seen what happened from the doorway and gasped. Ryuji wanted to cuss up a storm and ask what the hell that was about but kept quiet when he saw the look in Akira's eyes. It was a look he didn't recognize in his friend. Ryuji looked more worried than hurt, as did everyone else. Akira's anger faded, and he realized what he had done. He felt horrible and ashamed. The look on his face went from fury to shock.

"I-I... I..." Akira knew what he wanted to say but found himself at a loss for words. "I-I'm so sorry... I... I-I don't know what came over me." He said, hanging his head in shame.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Ryuji asked, still on the floor. Akira couldn't see it, but all eyes were on him. He had nothing but looks of worry and concern projected onto him.

"I don't know... I... I wasn't right in my head..." He said. "Arg..." He felt his head pounding. This was the first time he had audibly expressed pain for his head in front of other people.

He offered Ryuji his hand, which he accepted, and helped him back to his feet. The two hugged each other. Akira apologized again, and Ryuji brushed it off, telling him not to worry about it. Once all the commotion had stopped, the rest of the thieves made their way inside the camper and took seats where they could. Sumire explained to everyone that Akira had been suffered a seizure and that it wasn't the first time. Akira remained quiet, still feeling shame for his behavior moments earlier. His friends were understandably upset that he chose to keep this from them. Futaba couldn't handle waiting anymore and went to hug her pseudo-big brother, who reciprocated.

"Can we please call an ambulance now?" Ann asked. "He should go to a hospital."

"No ambulance, no hospitals," Akira stated firmly.

"So, what then? Takemi's?" Ryuji asked.

"I think we should take him to a hospital. As great as Takemi-san is to us, we don't know the cause of his seizure. It may be better to take him to someone more familiar with this," Makoto argued.

"I would agree with you, especially since we don't know what caused it. Still, she'll see him right away, no questions asked. A hospital might make him wait. The sooner he gets help, the better," Morgana said.

"Dr. Takemi's clinic is closer anyway. We're like fifteen minutes away, and the nearest hospital is twenty minutes past Yongen-Jaya," Futaba commented, looking up hospitals on her phone.

"If you ask my opinion, the sooner Akira is taken care of, the more relieved we will all feel," Yusuke said.

"Agreed, Akira-kun's health is what matters. She knows him better than any other doctor. She'll provide him with the best treatment she can, " Haru said in agreement.

Makoto reluctantly sighed. "...Okay, we'll head towards the clinic," She relented. She got up from her seat and made her way towards the door before turning back and bending downwards towards Akira. "Are you sure you'll be okay at the clinic?" She worriedly asked. He silently nodded in response, still not making eye contact with her or anyone. "Alright then." She paused before speaking again. "I'm so sorry about my swerve, by the way." She was looking at Akira, but it was really addressed to everyone. "I was panicked and-" Before she could continue with her apology, Akira took her by the hand and reassured her.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. Really." He said to her. She proceeded to hug him before she and Haru quietly exited the camper and got in the driver's seat. She stuck the key in the ignition but had to pause to catch the few tears that were falling down her face. Haru laid her hand on Makoto's shoulder, which seemed to comfort her. She then turned on the ignition.

"I'll call Takemi-san and tell her we're on our way," Sumire said, pulling out her phone. Within a couple of minutes, the thieves were back on the highway and heading for Yongen-Jaya. Sumire went to the back and called Takemi to tell her what had happened. The group cringed when they heard her say the words "another seizure." She hung up the phone, walked back to the booth, and sat down next to Akira. She looked at him. He was still looking down in shame. She caught a glimpse of his face. He had a blank expression. He didn't look sad; he looked emotionally drained. Sumire gently laid her head on his shoulder. The rest of the drive seemed to last forever as it was sat out in total, uncomfortable silence. Once they arrived at the parking lot across from the backstreets of Leblanc, they decided to separate for the time being.

"We don't all need to go with Akira to the clinic. It would be too crowded," Makoto suggested. "Sumire can go with him. The rest of us should head to Leblanc and tell Boss the situation."

"That sounds good. Sumi, let us know if there are any updates, yeah?" Ryuji said.

"Will do. We'll be back once we're done," She replied. They all headed into the alleyway, the same one Akira had gotten assaulted in two nights prior, which lead to the backstreets. Once they reached their intersection, Akira and Sumire continued ahead towards Takemi's clinic while the others headed right towards Leblanc. The group stopped and turned towards Akira and Sumire one more time before continuing. Akira and Sumire arrived at the clinic and saw Takemi, who was waiting for them outside. She didn't say anything as she gently put her hand around Akira's shoulder and led them up into her office. Sumire opted to stay in the waiting room while Takemi and Akira entered the exam room. For her, seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. The waiting room was completely silent, save for a ticking clock. She held her hands tightly. She had managed to stay calm for this long up until this point, but she couldn't take it anymore. She silently broke down in tears in the waiting room. After waiting for about ten minutes, which to her felt more like ten hours, Akira and Takemi exited the exam room and came back in the waiting room. Akira could tell that Sumire had been crying as he looked into her eyes for the first time since he first regained consciousness. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were still shimmering. Sumire regained her composure once again and stood up from her chair.

"How is he, doctor?" She asked Takemi.

"Well, I did what I could. I ran a few tests and checked his blood pressure. All were fine." Takemi said.

"What about the blood in his mouth?" Sumire worriedly asked.

"It seems he bit tongue during his seizure. It happens, unfortunately, but don't worry, there's no permanent damage." She reassured her.

"So, do you have any idea what might've caused it?" Sumire asked.

"I don't, unfortunately. I hate to make guesses, and I might be wrong, but unless we narrow it down to a singular cause, it seems like Akira might be developing epilepsy." This news made both Akira and Sumire's stomachs drop. "Unfortunately, neurology is not really a card in my deck." Takemi continued. "I do have a friend from medical school, however, who is a neurologist. She has her own practice near Shibuya," Takemi pulled out her card and handed it to Sumire. "I called in a favor, and she said she'd squeeze Akira in for an appointment tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. She'll able to do more and tell you more than me. For now, I'd recommend he stay away from any medications, even aspirin."

"Oh, come on, Tae. Can't you give me something?" Akira looked at her and whined, hand still to his head.

She turned towards Akira. "I know your head hurts, Akira, but until we find the root cause of your seizures, it's best to avoid any and all medications, over-the-counter and otherwise. For now, all

I can prescribe is a cold towel on your head and plenty of rest." She told him. "You're lucky my friend is able to see you so soon. On a Sunday, no less. Neurologist appointment slots are usually booked up for months. They have mile-long waiting lists, for God's sake,"

"Okay, okay. We get it. We're thankful, Tae." Akira said, raising his hand to stop her speech. He did chuckle at her sudden rambling, which made her and Sumire smile.

"Oh, and, of course, that also means no more of those painkillers either." Takemi thought for a moment, then asked, "You didn't overindulge on them, did you?"

"No, not at all. I took them how you told me to." He lied. He had taken two at once before lunchtime, hours ago. Not to mention the beer he had not long after.

"Good. Stop taking them for right now until we figure out what's wrong with that brain of yours." Tae said, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes.

Akira chuckled. "That's fine. I don't need those anymore anyway. To be honest, I'm not sure why you prescribed them to me in the first place. I just had a couple of bruises,"

"Well, I figured you'd rather feel numb to the pain rather than IN pain." She said, smiling. "Plus, you were helping me out. I invented them. I wanted to test them out."

"Ah, I see. I'm still your guinea pig, then? Is that all I am to you?" Though Akira was still smiling, he grew angrier.

"What? Of course not!" Takemi replied. Sumire grew concerned.

"Were there any possible side effects you might've forgotten to mention?" He asked Takemi.

"Well, yeah. But nothing serious like seiz-"

"Tae! Were. There. Side effects!?"

"...Yes..." She quietly responded.

"THEN WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU SAY SO!?" Akira quickly screamed at her. The room went silent once again. It seemed like even the sound of the ticking clock was muted. Takemi didn't say anything but gave Akira the same look of shock Ryuji did when he had pushed him down. Akira, once again, realized what he had done and immediately felt horrible. He apologized profusely to Takemi, who was at a loss for words. She eventually spoke up again and forgave him. Akira thanked her for seeing him, said his goodbyes, and made his way out of her office. Sumire stayed behind and also apologized on Akira's behalf.

"I may not be a psychologist, but I don't have to be one to see that there's something going on with him, in here," Takemi said, pointing at her head. "And I'm not talking about possible epilepsy." Sumire nodded her head in agreement, her face growing purple. "If I were you, I'd try to get him to talk to you asap. Whatever is bothering him, if he keeps it locked up for too long, it could destroy him." Sumire let out a big gulp of air as she realized she had forgotten to breathe while Takemi was speaking to her. She regained her normal breathing.

"You're right. Thank you very much, Takemi-san," Sumire said. The two shook hands, and Sumire headed out of the office. She found Akira leaning against the wall outside. "How are you doing?" She asked him.

"I'm doing about as good as I look," Akira said, trying and failing to crack a smile. "Let's go home." He suggested. Sumire nodded, and the two made their way to Leblanc. Akira knew it would be uncomfortable, walking in and being met with nothing but concerned faces, but he knew he had to face the music. Sumire opened the door, the bell chimed, and the two walked in. As expected, everyone inside turned towards the two with looks of concern. The atmosphere inside Leblanc was gloomy. The tension was so thick; you could've cut it with a knife. Sojiro made his way from behind the counter, went up to Akira, and hugged him without saying a word. Akira reciprocated the hug.

"Come on. You must be starving," Sojiro said to him, breaking the embrace. Akira could tell Sojiro was shaken up as well. He had a look of worry and despair on his face.

"Yeah, I am," Akira only realized it now, but he WAS starving.

"Good, take a seat. Curry's been done for a bit. I started preparing it a while ago. I didn't know what time you guys would be back, so I figured I'd try and have it ready for your return." Sojiro said, turning his attention towards the pot on the stove. Sojiro's words made Makoto raise an eyebrow. She remembered what Akira had said at the river, that Sojiro had called him asking what time they'd be back, and that Akira had told him. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Akira sat down at the booth with Sumire. He looked at Futaba across from him and noted the squeaky clean plate in front of her. "You haven't eaten yet?" He asked her. Futaba shook her head.

"Wasn't hungry." She quickly replied.

"How are you feeling?" Ann asked him.

"Like Hell," He responded. He noted the lack of Yusuke, Ryuji, and Haru around Leblanc. "Where are Ryuji, Yusuke, and Haru?"

"They went to get the bags from the RV, as well as clean it up a bit for the owner," Morgana answered. "They'll be back soon." He said as Sojiro handed Akira a plate of curry.

"Thanks, Boss," Akira said.

"Don't mention it. So what did Takemi-san say?" Sojiro asked as Akira began eating.

"If it's okay, I'd rather wait until everyone is here before I tell you," Akira suggested; Sojiro nodded in agreement. Twenty minutes went by. By this point, Sojiro had served curry to everyone present inside of Leblanc. The group sat in mostly uncomfortable silence, barely discussing the camping trip, let alone the return home. Finally, the bell chimed, and the door opened up. Yusuke and Haru walked in, holding a few bags, and Ryuji walked holding a few bags. "And a... gig bag?" Everyone was confused.

"Sorry, we took so long, everyone. We actually ran into the owner. We ended up talking with him for a while. Don't worry, Akira-kun, we didn't say anything about... well, you know," Haru said. "He's a very nice man."

"A lovely person, indeed."

"Okay," Ann began. "So what's with that bag?" She asked, pointing at the gig bag on Ryuji's back.

"Glad you asked, Takamaki," Ryuji said, smiling. "I ended up tellin' the owner about the show Akira put on last night. I asked him why he left it in the RV. He said he had been tryin' to sell it for a while and was gettin' frustrated as no one wanted to buy it. He said the electronics don't work, so no one wants to buy an acoustic-electric that's only acoustic."

"Okay, but why do you have it?" Makoto then asked.

"Because I bought it off of him," Ryuji said, grinning.

"YOU WHAT!?" Ann asked loudly. "How much did you pay for it?"

"Only about 10,000 yen. No biggie, I got more than enough dough from workin' at Protein Lovers. I told ya, the guy was desperate." Ryuji said.

"I'll say," Akira said, inserting himself into the conversation. "Those usually go for quadruple that, even more. But if it's partly busted, no wonder it was so hard to sell."

"But why did you buy it? You don't even know how to play." Morgana commented.

"Maybe he wants to learn? It's never too late. Heehee" Futaba smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Nah, I didn't buy it for myself." Ryuji looked at Akira. "I bought it for him." Everyone went wide-eyed, none more than Akira, who got up and walked over to his friend.

"You really did that for me? Even after wha-" Akira was cut-off by Ryuji waving his hand at him.

"Forget about that, man—water under the bridge. You've done so much for us. I thought it'd be nice to do something nice for you for a change." Ryuji said.

"You all got me released from juvenile hall. Pretty sure that's a debt I'll never be able to fully repay."

"Consider this a token then, a token to our friendship. And know that everyone in this room right now will always be there for you, man." Akira smiled and hugged his friend. The others began tearing up at the sight of the embrace. Everyone except Akira. He felt odd, he knew this was a happy moment, yet he still felt... empty. No tears were forming. No feelings of happiness were felt within him.

As Sojiro served curry to the returning Ryuji, Yusuke, and Haru, Akira and Sumire explained what Takemi had told them, leaving out Akira's sudden outburst. The concern never faded and seemed to only grow on the faces of those who listened. It was getting late, and the trains would be shutting down soon. One by one, people said their goodbyes and left Leblanc. Haru and Makoto were the last to leave. They both hugged Akira and Sumire deeply, and Haru said that if Akira needed anything to let her know. She was referring mainly to expenses for medical bills, looking for the best doctors, cost of surgery, or another procedure if necessary. Makoto had to calm her down, saying that she was jumping the gun. Haru, of course, also meant emotional support. Something that every Phantom Thief offered to Akira. After they left, Sojiro locked up the cafe, and he, Futaba, and Morgana said goodnight and headed home. Everyone was gone. Akira and Sumire were alone inside of Leblanc. They took their bags from near the front door and made their way upstairs to the attic/bedroom. They talked about Akira's appointment tomorrow, as they got changed and ready for bed. Sumire was, of course, going to go with him. Akira wanted to go alone as he didn't want to put her through any more trouble, but he knew it was pointless arguing with her. The shy girl he had first met nearly two years ago was now just as much of a stubborn fighter as he was. She left to go downstairs for a moment as he got into bed. He removed his glasses, plugged his phone in, and stared up at the ceiling. He heard Sumire come back upstairs.

Akira turned his head and watched Sumire climb into bed with him with a cool washcloth that she laid on his head. She was so beautiful. Her hair, which was usually up in a bow, was down, and her contacts were out. Unlike him, her glasses were authentic. She wore a red nightgown Akira had gotten her for their one-year anniversary the previous July, days before she left for her European gymnastics tour. They celebrated in the same place they were now. A dusty old attic might not seem like the best spot to celebrate their first year together, but neither one minded. They were just happy to be together. That night was also the night they had consummated their relationship, giving each other their virginities. Afterward, Akira jokingly asked her if she wanted to get married now, to which she replied, "Ask me again in an hour," with a devilish smirk on her face.

"Thought you could use this," She said.

Akira was highly thankful. "Urgh, thank you. You have no idea how good this feels right now." He said, taking the washcloth and covering his entire face with it, which she found humorous.

"Of course," She responded as she cuddled up to him, laying her head on his bare chest.

After a moment, Akira removed the washcloth from his face and broke the silence. "Hey, Sumi?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For how I acted in the RV. You know with the aspirin?" Sumire said nothing, letting him continue. "I lost control. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I know you were just trying to help me. I'm realizing now that I apologized to Ryuji and Tae, but not to you." She lifted her head and looked him in the eye.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You were experiencing a bad moment beyond your control. It's not your fault."

It's not your fault.

For some reason, those four words kept replaying in his head.

"I know you would never intentionally try to hurt me or any of the others because I know you, Akira Kurusu. You're the best man I've met, and I love you."

Akira forced a smile, this time not even attempting to hide the forced nature of it. "I love you too. I don't know what I'd do without you, Sumire Yoshizawa." Sumire knew his smile was forced, but she also knew that he meant every word he said with sincerity. She knew he was in pain, and she vowed to find out why so she could help him. She smiled back at him, and the two shared a passionate kiss before falling asleep in each other's arms.

That is to say, Sumire fell asleep. Akira was kept awake by a voice in his head repeating the same four words over and over again.

It's not your fault.

Author's notes:

-Man, I did not expect this story to be as long as it would be. Tbh, I thought we'd be at least at You and Rise's wedding by now (spoiler, that's gonna happen eventually). Like I said previously, I've never written a story and I'm pretty much making all this up as I go along. I like working out my creativity and I hope you enjoy it too. I've been piecing together the palace ark which I am REAALLLY excited to write. I'm still planting seeds for future chapters and I just want to get as many details right as I can. So I hope I've kept you engaged thus far.

-The title of the chapter is a reference to a song by English band Joy Division, who's lead singer, Ian Curtis, also suffered from epilepsy and depression, which sadly, on top of other issues, drove him to suicide. In case you're worried, don't worry, no one's dying in this story. I don't want it to be TOO dark.

-The "count to four..." stuff was from Wolfenstein: The New Order, if you know, you know.

That's it for notes! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying the story so far. Thank you for your comments as well, it means a lot. Have a good one :)