4/12: Wednesday

After school had been released, Akira and Nakamura made their way up to the roof of the school. They needed to discuss with Tanimura about the plan for tomorrow.

When they got up there, they were surprised to see that he was all alone. No sign of the Dynamic Duo. He flicked his half-used cigarette to the side and spread his arms wide in welcome.

"Welcome back to my humble abode," he called out, remaining seated in the chair. "Care for a soda? A smoke?"

"No thanks," Akira replied coolly as Nakamura began to hide behind him.

Tanimura nodded. "Ready to discuss how we're going to bring that rat bastard down?"

"I have some idea," Akira said, taking out the thumb drive and tossing it to Tanimura. "I just need enough time to plug that into his laptop. Ten minutes, at most. I'm thinking you could start a fight with your pals, keep the teachers distracted long enough for me to get in there."

Tanimura leaned back and rubbed his chin. "I like that idea. A fight's always good. But there's a problem with it."

"Which is?"

"How is that going to keep me and my boys from getting expelled?"

Akira hadn't really thought of that, to be honest. He didn't expect that Tanimura especially cared about staying in school, so he just assumed he'd be alright with starting a fight.

He put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight. "Then what would you suggest? You are the resident troublemaker."

Tanimura wasn't offended by that if the grin was anything to go by.

"A fight would only distract them long enough for them to drag us to back to his office. You'd probably still be doing what you need to do. There's another problem with that, too. Kamiya wouldn't like it if you was hanging around, waitin' for him to leave."

He was putting a lot more thought into making some trouble at this school than Akira ever would have given him credit for. He was also bringing up several points that Akira hadn't factored in. To be fair, most of the trouble he caused was in the Metaverse, where he didn't have to be as careful about these sorts of things.

"So, we'll need some other way to get the principal's attention, and someone else to plug in the thumb drive," he muttered, reaching up and fiddling with his dog tags. "I'm assuming you have an idea on the first?"

"Hell, yeah. Something I've been wanting to do for a long time." Tanimura's smile reminded him distinctly of Ryuji's shark-toothed grin whenever he was Skull. It was unnerving. "My boys will be more than happy to help, too."

Nakamura spoke up. "If, uh, you need, y'know, you need someone to-to plug the thing in, I-I can do it."

Both Akira and Tanimura looked back at the first year with varying levels of shock.

"Are you sure?" Akira asked, eyebrow raised. "You could get into a lot of trouble."

"Y-Yeah!" Nakamura swallowed the fear. "I mean, Tanimura is right, if, uh, if Kamiya-sensei finds you around his office, he'll get suspicious. No one really notices me, so I can take it and…" He mimed plugging the thumb drive into the computer.

Neither of the other two speak for a moment, before Tanimura says, "That's Tanimura-senpai to you, Naka-chan."

Akira shot a glare Tanimura's way, but he pointedly ignored it and got to his feet. "But yeah, pretty good idea. Nice work."

Nakamura gave Akira a look that says he isn't quite sure how to process being praised by his one-time bully. All he gets in return is a small shrug.

Tanimura looked from Nakamura to Akira. "That just means you can help us with the troublemaking."

"So long as we're not caught, I don't care." Akira held up his hand as Tanimura tossed the thumb drive back. "We'll meet up here tomorrow before school and go over in detail what we need to do, alright?"

"Sounds good to me."

4/13: Thursday

Nakamura fidgeted nervously in front of Kamiya's office. He was sitting on the floor to the side, pretending to read a manga he picked up a few days ago. The plan was simple on the surface. Get in there once he left, plug the thumb drive into the laptop, then leave when it was complete.

Simple.

Except for the fact that he'd never done anything remotely like this sneaking around that Akira seemed so good at. He really needed to ask him about that someday.

It was a miracle that his nerves didn't make him twitch and flinch whenever a teacher passed by. They didn't notice him, so he was doing his job well enough.

He just hoped that whatever Akira and Tanimura were doing was going to work.

"There is no way this is going to work," Akira said.

Tanimura looked up from his bag. "'Course it'll work." He opened it to show it filled to the brim with fireworks. "Set these babies off and they'll come running. It should give us enough time to hide if we can't get the hell out of here."

Akira pulled out a roll of firecrackers. "And no one saw you come up?"

Tanimura bristled and sneered. "Like what, some amateur? Nah, I've been coming up here with no one noticing my whole high school life. I know how to be sneaky. I'm just shocked you slipped past with everyone watching you."

"A trick I learned in Tokyo," Akira said.

He didn't elaborate further, which left Tanimura more confused than when he asked the question.

"Alright," he said, setting up one of the louder fireworks. His phone beeped. He pulled it out and smiled. "My boys are ready. They'll set off their end when I give the signal."

Akira nodded. "Sounds good."

The plan was for the four of them to set off fireworks at various times, splitting attention. Spike and Pierce were going to be running around the school, lighting off smaller fireworks to keep attention from the rooftop long enough for all the big stuff to be set. It was a much more solid plan than Akira's "start a fight and see what happens."

Plus, it was just plain fun to shoot off fireworks.

Tanimura pulled out a lighter and tossed it to Akira. "I'm almost finished here. Just light the wicks I tell you when I tell you. This is going to take some exact timing."

Akira nodded and steadied himself. Tanimura finished securing the last one then pulled out his own lighter. He grinned. "Ready?"

The firm boom made Nakamura jump to his feet. His eyes were wide. He didn't know fireworks were that loud when you were directly underneath them.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. Kamiya burst out of his office. "What the hell was that?!"

One of the teachers was already rushing past him. "It sounded like it came from the roof!"

Another bang went off, but this time it was further away. Both Kamiya and the teacher froze. Nakamura suppressed a smile. The plan looked like it was working.

Kamiya pointed to the second explosion. "You go that way! I'll head to the roof! And call the police!"

They both split up and ran in different directions. As people started streaming out into the hallway, Nakamura took this chance to slip into the office.

Akira set another firework off. It launched into the air and exploded into a shower of red and green. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.

"Hell yeah!" Tanimura shouted next to him as he lit off his own. As that one exploded as well, he jogged up to Akira. "C'mon, they're probably on their way now."

That was when the doorknob started to turn.

Thinking quickly, Akira grabbed the back of Tanimura's shirt and pulled him off to the side.

Kamiya burst through the door, as furious as any of the staff had seen him. How dare these children disturb the peace at his school? There was a certain image to uphold and shooting fireworks off in the middle of class was absolutely not what that image entails.

He was followed by several faculty, observing the scene before them. Used fireworks were strewn across the rooftop, with a few more going off at different parts of the school

There was a blood vessel threatening to burst, he knew. He turned to the nearest teacher and snarled, "Find them! Now!"

The teacher replied, "Yes, sir!", and ran towards the door and down the stairs.

Kamiya gave one last look across the rooftop. He couldn't see anyone, and that angered him further. How had they gotten away so quickly? His eye twitched.

It was Kurusu. Maybe even Tanimura. He was certain of that. Those two delinquents would do anything to ruin this school's reputation further than their mere attendance already did!

"Get me Kurusu and Tanimura, now!" Kamiya shouted again, heading back towards the stairwell. "I'll have them expelled! Immediately!"

"Uh, but Tanimura-san," another teacher said, intercepting him. "Without proper evidence of wrongdoing, we can't do anything…"

"Then we'll just have to find them, won't we? They're probably off shooting those other fireworks as we speak! Now stop being useless and go! And someone call the police, damnit!"

As the faculty rushed from the rooftop, one of the handle flaps on a nearby cardboard box flipped down. Inside, Akira grinned. I can't believe this worked, he thought.

Nakamura was sweating bullets. As more and more time passed, the closer he was to getting caught and then probably thrown out of the school.

The screen was showing a progress bar slowly crawling up, now at 98% completion. In just a few more seconds, he would be scot-free.

Hurried voices came from the other side of the door. Nakamura's eyes widened and he started shaking. He'd never been this scared in his life, and the fireworks weren't helping!

99% completion…

"C'mon, c'mon," he muttered, bouncing up and down slightly.

The door opened a crack, and he heard Kamiya shouting at someone. He froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Get the students to the auditorium! No, I don't care what you have to say, we're going to have a head count! Whoever isn't there is going to take responsibility for this prank!"

100% completion!

He pulled out the thumb drive, closed the laptop, and scurried over to the other side of the desk. Just in time, as Kamiya walked in and froze when he saw Nakamura standing there.

"Nakamura?" he asked, his voice laced with suspicion. "What are you doing in my office?"

"The-The fireworks, I got scared, and, uh, was wondering what th-the school was, was doing about it?" Nakamura didn't have to fake the fear, either. His knees were shaking, sweat was pouring down the side of his head. Nope, there was no faking the fear he felt.

Kamiya looked him up and down, the suspicion being replaced with contempt. It seemed that was the right thing to say. "I see. There will be an emergency school assembly. Any questions you have will be answered there. Now go."

Nakamura offered a deep bow before rushing out the door. He was terrified, relieved, and confused. He supposed it was a good thing Kamiya thought so little of his students, that he'd believe a high schooler would get scared of some fireworks.

The announcement was made over the intercom, and all the students immediately started making their way to the assembly hall. There were several that had to be pulled away from the windows, eagerly awaiting to see if anymore fireworks would go off, by the teachers.

The hall was already half full by the time Nakamura got there. He was only a little surprised to see Akira standing in the center of the crowd, as casual as anyone else.

Akira immediately spotted him and waved him over.

"Did it work?" he asked as Nakamura sidled up next to him.

He nodded and discreetly handed the thumb drive over. "Yeah, but how did you-?"

"Attention, everyone! Attention!" Kamiya called over the noise. The murmuring quieted quickly as attention turned to the stage. The principal looked over the crowd. "As you know, someone has pulled a truly audacious prank at our school. We believe it to be a student here. We have reason to believe that the perpetrators won't be in attendance at this school assembly. We'll begin with a roll call. Akira Kurusu?"

A giggle passed over the entire hall. It was only natural he'd pick the supposed criminal out first.

Akira's hand shot up. "Present," he shouted.

Kamiya looked over to the boy, his eyes wide and mouth agape. It seemed whatever plan he had in this moment was immediately foiled. His eyes twitched, but he set his jaw and called the next name.

"Kazuya Tanimura?"

"Here."

All eyes snapped over to Tanimura lazily raising his hand in the back of the gym. He was leaning against the wall, with his two helpers on either side of him. He looked as bored as ever to be here.

Nakamura could tell that would have sent Kamiya into a fit if he was alone. He would most likely have one as soon as he got out of sight. Instead, he cleared his throat and continued calling names.

As the assembly finished and students began to disperse, Kamiya cut Akira and Nakamura off at the door. "Where were you, Kurusu?"

Akira tilted his head. "What do you mean, Kamiya-sensei?"

"You know exactly what I mean, you delinquent," Kamiya growled. "When the fireworks went off, you were nowhere to be seen. Where. Were. You?"

"I was just sitting in the courtyard eating lunch. Why? Did one of the other teachers need me?" Akira rubbed his chin. "Was it Sayama-sensei?"

Kamiya gritted his teeth. "And I assume the security cameras will corroborate your story, yes?"

Nakamura felt his stomach drop. He hadn't even considered the cameras. Oh, God, they were going to get caught for sure. This was a stupid idea, he was going to get expelled, then he wouldn't get into a university, and his life would be over!

Akira didn't look concerned though. He shrugged and said, "I see no reason why they wouldn't."

A vein looked to burst on Kamiya's head. It would have made Nakamura laugh if he wasn't busy trying not to have a nervous breakdown. Instead of a verbal outburst however, Kamiya growled, "You're behind this, Kurusu. I know it."

"Then you have proof?" Akira said, raising an eyebrow.

"We will," Kamiya said with a sneer. "Now, get back to class. Both of you."

After school was let out for the day, Nakamura flopped onto the grass and let out a loud sigh. "Oh, my God! That was the scariest moment of my life!"

Akira stood above him, a bemused smile on his face. "Eh, that was nothing compared to some stuff I had to deal with in Tokyo."

"When are you going to tell me about that?" Nakamura asked, propping himself up on his elbow. "You make it sound pretty intense."

"I'll tell you after I tell my therapist."

"You're going to therapy?"

"No."

Nakamura rolled his eyes and fell back to the ground. "By the way, you didn't seem too scared about Kamiya going to the cameras. Did you have a plan for that too?"

Akira shrugged and sat down next to him. "I did. Don't worry. They won't figure out it was us. Besides, in a week or two, I think they'll have bigger problems to worry about than some prank."

"Are-are you sure?" Nakamura sat up. "Because he seemed pretty motivated to-"

"Nakamura-kun," Akira cut in. "It's fine. We'll be okay."

"Alright." He was still unsure, but he figured if Akira had a plan, then it would be a good one. "Say, what's the plan for today?"

"We'll have to cancel today's workout," he replied. "I have work tonight, and Javier needs me right after school."

"Sounds good, Kurusu-senpai," Nakamura said, waving him away. "I'm waaay too mentally exhausted for running tonight anyway."

"Akira."

Nakamura looked up at him. "Huh?"

"We just pulled a heist together, Nakamura-kun. You can call me 'Akira' if you want to."

Nakamura beamed like he was a kid given the keys to the candy store. He jumped up to his feet and bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, Akira-senpai!"

Akira couldn't help but laugh as he got to his own feet. "Okay, maybe that's a little bit much."

Nakamura straightened out and rubbed the nape of his neck. He let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, maybe. Hey, if I'm calling you 'Akira', then you can call me 'Hideaki'! It's only fair!"

Akira gave Nakamura a pat on the shoulder. "Sounds good, Hideaki-kun. Want to walk with me to the café?"

"Will Coffee Man get mad at me again?" Nakamura asked. He knew Javier wasn't his biggest fan. "He always looks upset when I put sugar and cream in his coffee."

Akira shrugged. That did nothing to help ease his reservations.

As Akira and Nakamura walked into the café, the chime heralded their arrival. Javier looked up and saw his employee. He smiled. "Ah, Akira!" he called out, throwing his arms out in greeting. "Good to see you!"

He then caught sight of Nakamura behind him. His smile fell a little bit. "And the Coffee Ruiner."

"Hey, Javier," Akira replied. Behind him, Nakamura offered up a small and nervous wave.

Akira looked across the café. "María not in today?"

"No, she's been feeling a little under the weather lately, so I had her take some time off."

"Bet she wasn't happy about that."

Javier snorted. "Of course not. I almost had to tie her down and force her to relax. Thanks for coming in after school, mi amigo. I'm sure you had other plans."

Nakamura took a seat at the bar while Akira took his apron from his school bag and tied it on. He shook his head. "Nothing too important. We'll have to run twice as hard tomorrow to make up for it, though."

From his spot at the bar, Nakamura made a depressed little squeak.

Javier nodded in approval. "Good to hear." He then looked to Nakamura. "Your usual?"

"Yes, please," he said, nodding.

"So," Javier said to Akira as he started prepping Nakamura's cup. "How's your blend been going?"

Akira shrugged. "It's been going all right. I feel like it's a lot better than it was before, but I don't know."

"Care to make some?" Javier motioned to beneath the counter.

Akira reached down and pulled out a pestle and mortar. "Give me a minute. I'll grind it up."

Javier hummed and slid over the finished coffee to Nakamura. When the kid kept looking at him like a lost puppy, he let out a dramatic sigh and pulled out some sugar and cream. "Serás la muerte de mí, niño."

"Thanks, Nice Coffee Man! I feel the same!" Nakamura began happily dumping sugar packets and creamer cups into his mug.

"Why do you bring him here?" Javier asked Akira. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"Ah, you like him," Akira replied, carefully grinding away at his beans.

"'Like' is a strong word, Akira," Javier argued, but couldn't hide the grin that betrayed him. "So, what was all that commotion about with those fireworks? Sounded like they were coming from your school."

"It was the darndest thing," Akira said, pouring the ground beans into a French press. "Some pranksters started lighting off a bunch of fireworks on the roof and around the school ground. Caused a ruckus the likes of which this schoolboy has never seen before."

"I see," Javier said, rubbing at his facial hair. "And these pranksters… they weren't caught?"

"Gone without a trace," Akira confirmed, crouching down to get a closer look at his brew. "Should've seen the principal. I don't think I've ever seen him that upset before. One of the veins in his forehead was about to pop."

He emphasized the statement by turning to look at Javier and pointing to his forehead. "Right here. It was hilarious."

Nakamura added, "It's true! Saw the whole thing!"

Javier grinned. "I wish I could've been there, but I saw the show from here. Must have been some pretty heavy planning to pull something like that off."

"Wouldn't know," Akira said, shrugging. He pushed the plunger down. "I take it things haven't been busy here?"

"They were until that little light show earlier today," Javier said. "I don't know why some loud noises and bright lights would scare my customers away, but here we are."

Akira poured his coffee and handed it over to Javier. The barista let the aroma wash over him before taking a tentative sip. He smacked his lips together and gave a thoughtful hum.

"Better, but…" He took another sip. "There is still something lacking. There is a presence clouding over you, Akira. A wall that is preventing you from reaching your true potential."

Akira's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. Nakamura just stared with his jaw hanging open.

"You got all that from a cup of coffee?" Akira asked.

Javier shook his head. "Of course not. But I do have eyes, and you're acting far too casually for nothing to be wrong."

The café fell silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Akira glanced over to Nakamura. "Mind giving me and the boss some space to talk?"

"Sure, I'll, uh, see you at school?" Nakamura said, grabbing his cup of coffee. He started to make his way to the door and paused. He realized that the mug in his hands was the cafés property, and just taking it would be stealing. "Um, I'll just—Imma just—"

"Bring it back tomorrow," Javier said. "I have plenty of spares for the day."

Nakamura bowed and quickly hurried out the door, leaving the two behind. Javier followed him and flipped the sign to closed. He turned to face Akira, who had his back turned to him.

Neither spoke for several minutes, the only sound was a clock ticking away the seconds. Akira's shoulders tensed. He didn't turn to face his employer.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to," Javier assured him. "I never want you to feel uncomfortable in my café."

Akira nodded, but still didn't turn around. "So… that was me, with those fireworks."

"I guessed," Javier confirmed, but he didn't look happy about it. Any jovial mood that was in the café left with Nakamura. Now he stood with a frown on his face. "What compelled you to pull a stupid stunt like that?"

Oh, boy, Akira thought, taking a deep breath. "Did you ever hear about this guy named Kamoshida?"

Javier tilted his head and stroked his beard. "Yeah, I think I heard about him when I first came to Japan. A gym teacher, right?"

"Volleyball coach at Shujin Academy," Akira corrected, turning to face Javier. "A former Olympic athlete. And a monster."

Javier flinched back, his eyes widening. "A what?"

"An arrogant dick, an abusive asshole, a sexual molester, and finally a full-blown rapist." He spat out that last word, hating the taste it left in his mouth. Akira clenched his fist below the bar. "He hurt some good friends of mine. And he got away with it for years."

"Jesus…" The word came out as barely a whisper.

"The worst part?" Akira had to grip the counter to control his shaking. Long buried feelings of anger and rage began bubbling to the surface, his lips curled back in a snarl. "Our piece of shit principal knew about it. He covered it all up."

"What happened to them?" Javier asked.

Akira let out a deep breath and let go of the bar. "Kamoshida had a change of heart and confessed, then Kobayakawa got hit by a truck and died." He hummed thoughtfully. "Can't say I felt too bad for him."

"'Had a change of heart?'" Javier repeated. "What, he woke up one day and realized that abuse and rape were wrong?"

Akira grimaced. The Phantom Thieves were slowly being forgotten about since the fall of Mementos, just barely more than a local legend at this point. Most believed they were nothing more than pranksters, taking advantage of people confessing their crimes. Others believed they dabbled in blackmail and extortion to get those confessions.

This was not at all helped by the complete coverup the police did, taking credit for all of those confessions and scrubbing the Thieves from the records.

Only Akira's confidants, people who he'd formed special bonds with, knew anything close to the truth.

"He must have," he said instead. "I don't care about the how or the why. He got arrested, and he's never seeing the light of day again. That's all that matters."

It was an easier explanation than the real one. How do you tell someone a God of Control tried to take over the world by merging the real world and the cognitive one? Even he still had a hard time wrapping his head around the specifics.

"Convenient," Javier said. He'd never seen Akira this angry before. Melancholic, sure, but never anger. "So, what do they have to do with the firework display?"

"I learned recently that there was a chance that our principal was lining his own pockets with the school funds," Akira explained. The sneer returned. "Not as bad as either of those two, but just the thought of him taking advantage of all those people still pisses me off."

"I never would have thought you would care for people who mock and scorn you," Javier said.

Akira waved a hand. "I already talked to my girlfriend about this, I don't feel like bringing it up again. Long story short, I see someone in need, I help them. Doesn't matter who they are." He let out a bitter laugh. "It's why I got arrested in the first place, after all."

"Admirable," Javier commended without a smile. That bit of information about Akira having a girlfriend was filed away for later. Now was not the time to bring that up. He stepped over to the bar and took a seat across from Akira. "So, the fireworks?"

"A distraction," Akira said. He pulled out a thumb drive. "I needed to plug this into his laptop to get any evidence that he may have that proves he stole money from the school."

"So, you didn't even know if he was actually guilty?"

"No," he admitted. "But I was willing to take that risk."

"And what about the police? You didn't think to go to them?"

Akira's eye twitched. His leg ached from the memory of it nearly getting broken in the interrogation room. "I don't have the highest opinion of police."

"Idiota loco," Javier grumbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose before looking Akira square in the eye. "How certain are you of his guilt?"

"I shot off fireworks on the school roof to get him away from his office. About that certain."

Javier leaned back in his stool and shook his head. "Debo estar perdiendo la cabeza," he said to himself. "I won't go to the police about this." Akira couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "But I never want to hear that you did something this stupid again. Got it?"

"You got it," Akira said, some of the stiffness in his shoulders falling away. "Thank you, Javier. For real."

"I also want you to be honest with me," Javier continued, resting an elbow on the bar. "This isn't the only thing bothering you, is it?"

Akira stiffened again. "What do you-?"

"There's something else, isn't there? I don't want to force anything, but there's something that you've been, no sé, dreading? If you want to talk about that, I'm all ears."

Akira knew what he was talking about, of course. It's been hanging over him since he got back to Meguro. A talk, if not more, that he knew he would have to do but had been making every excuse to avoid it.

Was that what all of this was? The heisting and the information gathering, the training with Nakamura, was it all just ways for him to get out of sitting down with his father and just talking?

No, that wasn't right. The truth of the matter was that Akira was just too scared to confront his father. A part of him was enjoying being able to just spend the random dinner with his father or watch him build model kits like before.

That would all go away, wouldn't it? Those feelings of anger, pain, hatred, betrayal, all at a low smolder, would rage into an inferno once again. But it needed to happy. It wasn't healthy to keep it all bottled up inside.

Akira pinched the bridge of his nose. This needed to be done. Tonight.

Well. He didn't really have any plans anyway.

"Hey, Javier, do you think you could handle the store without me? There's something I need to do."

Javier nodded towards the door. "Go. I can hold down the fort."

Akira nodded his thanks, stripped off his apron, and left it on the counter. He quickly rushed out the door, leaving the café behind.

He pulled out his phone. Tae would be at work for the next few hours, so the best he could do was text her.

A: Hey.

A: I'm going to talk to my dad tonight. I may or may not need to talk to you afterwards.

A: I love you.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and walked towards home.

What was he even going to say to his father? Hey Dad, want to talk about how you sent me to Tokyo and didn't contact me for a year? How about the emotional scars that left me? Oh, maybe we can have a riveting discussion about all those horrible nightmares I both fought and had!

He combed his fingers through his hair and hissed. He needed a plan, a course of action. Maybe catch his dad off guard, go in swinging for the fences? No, that wouldn't help either of them and it would more than likely just lead to a fight.

The more he thought about it, the more he actually wanted to salvage his relationship with his father. This talk was to get the facts. Why was he sent away? Why didn't his father reach out for a year?

That led to another question; if his father asked, how much information was Akira willing to divulge? He absolutely could not tell him about the Phantom Thieves. Not only was he legally barred from discussing it, but there was just… so much. The Metaverse, the Velvet Room, Mementos, Morgana, Personas, that'd take a day and a half to even scratch the surface on it.

He'd also have to keep quiet about Tae, for several reasons. The most important one being he was still a minor for a few more months. Sojiro may have been willing to let it slide, but he trusted Akira enough at that point to look the other way. Would his father feel the same?

That was a hurdle to cross on its own time. Tonight, had to be focused completely on Akira's exile to Tokyo. The Phantoms Thieves would always be a secret, and his relationship would come to light on its own. Preferably after his birthday.

His phone buzzed. He hadn't been expecting a text back so soon.

Tae: I'll be here for you when you need it.

Tae: Never forget that, guinea pig.

Akira smiled. He had the best girlfriend in the whole world.

By the time he got back to the house, he still hadn't thought of a good plan. He was thinking of this as a heist, a mission to steal a heart, but that was all wrong. He gritted his teeth. This was a conversation between a father and a son that desperately needed to happen and acting like this was some sort of battle would do him no favors.

He waited at his front door for a minute. Now or never, Joker, he thought.

Akira grabbed the handle and opened to door.

When he walked in, he wasn't surprised to find his dad at the kitchen table. But something was off. There were no papers, no model kits, no food. Just him, a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and a look of contemplation on his face.

His father was usually doing something, even during times of great duress. When Akira's mother got the diagnosis, Daisuke dove further and further into his work as a coping mechanism. It was the initial fissure in the divide that grew between him and Akira.

But now, he was just sitting there. Thinking. Not even noticing his son had just walked in.

Or so Akira thought.

"We need to talk," Daisuke said, snapping Akira from his thoughts.

Akira blinked. He had been caught completely off guard. "W-We do?"

They did, but he hadn't expected his father to be the one to initiate.

"Yes." Daisuke motioned towards the seat opposite him. "Please."