A/N: Hey, guys, just wanted to let you guys know that I had some art commissioned for Daisuke, Nakamura, and Tanimura!
It was done by the absolutely amazing NankoDoujin over on Tumblr. Because of this site's bullshit link system, I can't put the link here, buuuut it shouldn't be too hard to find on their profile. The piece is called "The Meguro City Confidants", if that helps at all.
Make sure to send them a lot of love, alright?
okaythanksforreadingBYE!
4/15: Friday
O: got the thing
J: Finally. Gotten anything from it yet?
O: oh yeah :)
O: dude was very sloppy in hiding his illegal fraud ring
J: I knew it. So, how much evidence is there?
O: plenty more than enough to put that principal and his buds away
O: \(^_^)/
O: i am genius
J: Just make sure to send that to Ohya. She'll be waiting for a news story.
O: want me to send it to the cops
J: No, Ohya will. That bug is still on his computer?
O: yep already had his computer email it to that reporter chick
J: Nice work on those cameras, by the way. How'd you pull it off?
O: please there was plenty of footage for me to loop and make it look real
J: Can't wait to see the results.
4/19: Tuesday
Akira sipped his can of soda. He felt calm, sitting on a bench near the entrance to Tokuyama. It was a nice day out, so he'd sat directly outside the building to enjoy the sun.
Next to him, Nakamura clasped his hands together and bowed before the boxed lunch that Akira had offered him. It was a gift for helping out last week with Kamiya's computer.
"I had no idea you knew how to cook," Nakamura said, opening the lunch.
Akira shrugged. "I can really only do curry. It isn't all that hard to make, anyway."
"Still, this looks really good!" Nakamura grabbed the chopsticks and took a lump of the curry. "Itadakimasu!"
He ate the bit of curry.
Nakamura wasn't really a spice guy. He typically had a very bland pallet, preferring to forgo the wasabi that was offered with certain dishes.
The fire that burned in his mouth were comparable to the fires of Hades. Even Satan would eat this piece of curry and fan his tongue. Sweat immediately poured from his forehead, it felt as if smoke blew out of his ears and nostrils.
"HOOOOOOT!" Nakamura shouted, frantically searching for something to quench the fire in his mouth.
Akira casually handed him a small box of milk. Nakamura swiped it with a lightning-fast speed that he wasn't aware he had and immediately drank the whole thing.
"I should have warned you about the spice, huh?" Akira asked, wincing at the display.
"Yes! Oh, my God!" Nakamura coughed a few times. "How the hell do you still have feeling in your mouth?!"
Akira shrugged. "It's just how I make my curry. I can make it milder, but whenever I do my own thing, it always comes out spicy."
"Jeez, Akira-senpai." Nakamura spat some saliva out onto the ground. "Do you torture anyone else with that?"
He thought back to last night when he made it for his dad.
"Christ!" Daisuke cried out, sweat pouring down his face. He'd finished his bowl. "I feel like this is burning my soul!"
Akira waited patiently.
"Can I have seconds?"
Akira shrugged. "My dad liked it."
Before Nakamura could reply, a police car pulled up to the front of the school, lights flashing but the sirens going off. Two police officers stepped out and made their way quickly into the building.
"Huh," Nakamura huffed. "What is that all about?"
Akira grinned. "I might have an idea."
A few minutes later, the police officers were escorting a handcuffed Kamiya to the police car.
"Hold on, you have no right! This is a mistake!" he cried out, then he spotted Akira. He wrenched his hand out of the officer's grip and pointed at him. "It was you! This is all your fault, Kurusu!"
Akira was sorely tempted to wave at him goodbye, but he settled for a mostly neutral smirk of contentment. That just seemed to piss the principal off even more.
"Damn you, Kurusu! I don't know how, but you did this! I'll get you for this!"
Nakamura leaned towards Akira. "Is threating a minor illegal?"
"Pretty sure," Akira said easily, reaching into his bag and pulling out some chips. "I think it falls under general law, though, not specifically for minors."
"Ah," Nakamura said as Kamiya was placed in the back of the cop car. "Taking down a rotten adult…"
Akira froze mid-chip. He swallowed and asked, "Excuse me?"
"Hm? Oh, just something I remembered from last year," Nakamura said, waving him off. "Do you remember the Phantom Thieves?"
Akira smiled uneasily. "I do. They were all anyone talked about. Why?"
"This whole thing, it seems like something they would do. Standing up to a corrupt adult, taking them down. I wasn't really ever into them too much, but I always thought the idea of them was pretty cool." Nakamura scratched his head. "Come to think of it, that whole thing felt like a heist…"
"Huh." Akira ate another chip. "I guess you're right."
Nakamura looked Akira up and down, then shrugged. "Oh, well. So long as I never have to do that again. That was the most terrifying thing I've ever done!"
"Keep it down, Naka-chan," a voice called out beside them.
The sudden presence of Tanimura caused Nakamura to jump to his feet. Akira didn't react as dramatically, but he did have to do a double take.
For such a big guy, Tanimura sure moved quietly.
He watched as the police car drove away, his hands in his pockets and a slouch in his posture with a scowl on his face. His gaze didn't waver as he said, "You did it, huh?"
Akira nodded. "Yep."
"You really are some kinda hero, ain't ya?" Tanimura asked, finally looking down at him.
"I wouldn't say that," he replied modestly. Nakamura was still too shaken to refute the statement.
Tanimura let out a hiss. "Whatever. I'm just glad the bastard's gone. Maybe this school won't be a pile of shit anymore."
"I never knew you cared," Akira said.
"W-What are you even doing here, Tanimura-senpai?" Nakamura asked, finally having caught his breath.
He looked down at the first year and grunted. "Wanted to give my gratitude, I guess. Felt real good putting that asshole in his place, so… y'know. Thanks. For letting me join in on that."
Akira smiled as he got to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He turned to Tanimura and grinned. "Tanimura. Are you saying that helping people felt… good?"
The delinquent's eyes widened while a sneer made its way onto his face. "The hell are you talkin' about? I just had fun shooting off fireworks and shit! Plus that bastard was always hounding me and my boys, so-!"
"Keep it down, Tanimura-senpai," Nakamura said, mimicking the third year. He tried and failed to hide the nervous smile on his face.
Tanimura whirled on him. "The fuck you just say to me?! You givin' me an order?!" He looked between the two and noticed them both starting to laugh at him. "Y'know what, fuck this! I don't need this shit from you guys"
He started to leave the two laughing high schoolers where they were but stopped after he went a few feet. "Kurusu!"
"Hehe… yeah?" Akira said, still covering his mouth.
"Your workouts suck," he said. "Come to the gym instead. Got some decent equipment you can use. You too, Naka-chan."
"Taking me up on my offer?" Akira asked as Nakamura blinked in surprising at being invited.
"Hell, no." Tanimura threw his chin up into the air. "Just want to make sure you keep pace with me for our rematch."
With that, he stormed away, fuming over his former victim and current rival laughing at him. When he was out of earshot, Nakamura looked at Akira. "What was he talking about?"
"I told him he could join us on our workouts," Akira said, rolling his neck. He heard something pop, and he sighed in relief. That crick in his neck had been there for weeks was finally gone. Now if only something could be done about the rest of his body.
"Um… you invited a bully to hang out with us?"
Akira shook his head. "Call it a gut feeling, but I think there's more to the guy than that. You're more than welcome to not come, I'll figure out a way to fit both of you into my schedule."
"Don't you have a job, though?"
He waved a hand. "I'm used to juggling a bunch of responsibilities at once. This won't be a problem."
Nakamura frowned. He crossed his arms in front of him and sighed. "I can't just let you put yourself in danger like that. What if he's just doing this to gang up on you at the gym?"
"And if he does? Will you be there to stop him?"
"Of course!" Nakamura shouted, almost without thinking. His eyes widened at he thought about the implications of his outburst, then slowly deflated, and fiddled with his fingers. "I-I mean, I will, but…"
"It's okay," Akira laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "I can handle myself against Tanimura. Think of yourself as… moral support?"
Nakamura beamed and gave a thumbs up. "You can count on me, Akira-senpai!"
"Thanks, Hideaki-kun." He looked after the long since departed cop cars. "Hey, after school, let's skip the workout and head straight to Javier's and celebrate. Sound good?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." He brought some more curry to his mouth, and it was only after chewing a few times did he understand the error of his ways.
"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWWHYDIDIEATMOREOFIT?!"
Akira rolled his eyes and produced another carton of milk, but couldn't hide his smile.
School had been let out, and the two boys made their way to Café de Olla for a celebratory cup of coffee for a job well done. Their conversation on the way there had started mostly amicably, but it had since grown… heated.
"No way!" Nakamura shouted, gesturing wildly. "Super Saiyan 4 is clearly the best of the transformation!"
Akira snorted, but he was otherwise as calm as usual. "What, that weird red haired monkey thing? Please, don't make me laugh. Clearly original Super Saiyan is the best."
"Ugh, you're impossible. Super Saiyan 4 brings the Saiyans back to their roots as giant monkeys!"
"Sure, the idea is neat and all, but the actual execution leaves a lot to be desired my friend," Akira replied, running a hand through his hair. "Original Super Saiyan is where it's at. It's the epitome of less is more."
"Maybe sometimes more is more," Nakamura huffed, scowling at his friend.
"Counterpoint." Akira held up a finger. "Mustard yellow pants."
Nakamura's eye twitched. "Fine. I'll concede that point, and on that point alone."
"Hey, I'll give you this; it's not the worst one."
"Which one is?"
"Super Saiyan Blue."
"Ugh," Nakamura groaned rolling his eyes. "Don't remind me. What an awful name."
As Akira approached the café, he opened the door and looked back to Nakamura. "Better than Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan."
"Just hearing you say that is exhausting," he said, bringing a hand up to cover a yawn.
The two entered the café, still in conversation, when Javier called out to them. "Ah, you're early today!"
Akira shrugged. "Well, we decided to cele-."
He stopped dead in his tracks when he looked to the bar.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
It had been almost a full month since he'd seen her in the flesh, since he had felt her lips against his, or her hands running along his scars, a stinging, but weirdly pleasant sensation. That playful little smirk he loved so much was still on her face.
She was still wearing the necklace he gave her. He almost reached for the dog tags around his neck.
She hadn't looked towards him yet, her mug of coffee mere inches from her lips. She hadn't changed much physically in the month since they'd last seen each other, only that her hair had grown a little.
Tae Takemi finally looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, and her smile grew a little wider. "Hello, Kurusu-kun. Nice place you got here."
"T-Takemi-san?" he managed to croak out. He was about to call her "Tae" in front of Javier and Nakamura but caught himself quickly. Her use of his surname made him err on the side of caution.
Across the bar, both Javier and María stood, the old man leaning against the bar and his daughter cleaning some dishes off to the side. Javier smiled broadly and gestured him over.
"It's nice to meet one of your Tokyo friends," María said, not looking at Akira. "Part of me thought you had just made them all up."
"Oh, you could not imagine the stories he could tell," Tae said, throwing him a knowing look. He gulped and tried with all of his might to keep his face from blushing.
He failed.
Tae looked over to the confused Nakamura. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Y-Yes!" Akira stammered out, gesturing robotically from Nakamura to Tae. "Nakamura-kun, meet Takemi-san. Takemi-san, Nakamura-kun."
"A pleasure," Tae said, lifting her mug in greeting.
Nakamura could only wave nervously. He gave Akira a curious look. He'd never seen his senpai this flustered before. He thought, Who is this Takemi person?
"Dr. Takemi here was just telling us about how you helped her with her medicine," Javier explained, pulling out two fresh mugs and a cup of sugars and creams.
Several weeks of serving Nakamura the abomination one could call coffee had forced him to just accept it as a fact of life. "Pretty impressive stuff," he finished, turning to get started on the two cups.
"Oh, it was, y'know, nothing," Akira said, scratching the back on his neck.
"It wasn't nothing, Kurusu-kun," Tae replied. She took a sip of her coffee. "Without you, I wouldn't have been able to finish the medicine. You helped a lot of people."
"Well…" he said, looking away to hide the even further deepening blush. He cleared his throat. "W-What brings you to, uh, to Meguro, of all places?"
"House call," she said simply. "A friend of mine recently moved here and requested me specifically. After hearing you talk up this little café, I had to see how it compared to Boss's."
She gave Javier an approving nod. "Not bad."
He bowed dramatically, adding a little flourish with his hand. "Always happy to serve, señora. Any friend of Akira's is a friend of Café de Olla."
"I'll make sure to put out the good word," she said. "Not sure how Boss is going to feel about me drinking someone else's coffee, though."
"Not my fault I have better coffee," Javier said, sniffing proudly.
Tae shrugged a shoulder. "Now, I never said that."
Javier stiffened and turned back to the coffee he was grinding. "No tengo ningún respeto por aquí."
María finally turned around and leaned against the counter. "Hey, Kurusu, how come you never mentioned her before?"
"Yea, I've heard about some of your other friends," Nakamura spoke up walking up and taking his usual seat, "but she doesn't sound like anyone you've talked about."
Tae made a little pouty face and looked at Akira. "Really, Kurusu-kun? Did our time mean so little to you?" She didn't keep it up for long, giving Akira a wry smile.
Akira stammered out, "U-uh, you see, it's this, um—"
"Alright, I think you've all bullied the kid enough," Javier called out, presenting the two fresh cups of coffee to the new arrivals. "Take a seat you two, drink it while its warm."
They both sat down, Akira sitting with a space between him and Tae just to be certain. He stared into his coffee mug for a few seconds, hoping the red on his face had faded. Probably not.
God, he just wanted to reach out and touch her, to hold her close to his chest. It had been far too long. With everything that had been happening, he hadn't had time to even think about how much he really missed her, but now that she was here it was the only thought going through his head.
He needed to get out of here. With her, preferably. But how?
He could ask to talk to Tae alone, but that would make everyone else suspicious. What should he say about never talking about her? As happy as he was to see her, it kind of made his life a bit more difficult at the moment.
Then again, she loved to see him flustered, so that was probably the reason.
A wavy smile spread across his face until he forced it back down into its neutral position. Keep it together, Joker, he told himself. It's just your amazing, funny, gorgeous, beautiful, enticing girlfriend that you have to pretend isn't your girlfriend. You can do this.
"Hey, did you guys hear about Kamiya getting arrested?" Nakamura asked, bouncing up and down in his seat. Akira was thankful for the broken silence.
"Really?" Javier asked, glancing towards the still deep-in-thought Akira with a raised brow. "I had no idea. What happened?"
"He—" Nakamura started to say, but Akira quickly cut him off.
"We're not actually sure. A couple cops showed up and threw him in the back of their car."
"And you said this place wasn't exciting," Tae teased.
María said, "It's not, trust me." She pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth without lighting it. "Doesn't even have a movie theater. You get to watch paint dry instead."
"It's gotten a lot more exciting since Akira-senpai got here," Nakamura said. He looked to Tae with a big grin on his face. "He's helping me get strong! Soon he's going to teach me how to throw a punch!"
María raised a brow as Javier asked, "Now why the hell would he do that?"
"I met Hideaki when he was getting beat up, remember?" Akira shrugged. "I won't be around here forever, and I want him to be able to defend himself when I'm not around."
Tae chuckled. "So, you found a new workout buddy? How's Sakamoto-kun going to feel about that?"
Akira waved a hand. "Ryuji won't care. He's secure enough in the knowledge that he's my bro."
"Do you think this Ryuji guy would like me?" Nakamura asked, pouring his fifth cup of creamer into the mug. "You should have him come up and join us for our work outs!"
"Not a bad idea actually," Akira said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'll ask him tonight if he's able to come up soon."
He had seriously calmed down since taking a seat. Talking was a lot easier, he could feel that he wasn't as red anymore.
Truthfully, this was because he was doing his utmost to not look at Tae. Not because he didn't want to, because boy did he want to, but he knew he'd turn into a stuttering mess again. Although he was absolutely certain that that was the reason she showed up unannounced in the first place.
He heard her place her mug down and start to get up. "Well, it was fun meeting some of your new friends, Kurusu-kun, but I have to get going now," Tae said, looking down at her watch.
"Want me to see you off?" Akira asked, standing up as well.
Nakamura deflated as he began fiddling his with half-coffee, half-creamer. "I thought we were going to celebrate." He was still feeling a bit bummed about their hang out being cut short last week, but he knew Akira had a lot more important things to deal with that day.
"Celebrate what?" María asked.
Javier leaned into her ear and whispered, "I'll tell you later."
Akira placed a hand on Nakamura's shoulder and smiled. "It's okay, Hideaki-kun, I'll only be a few minutes. Just want to chat privately for a bit, okay? It's been a while. I'll be right back."
"Okay," Nakamura said, his eyes slightly brightening. "I'll be here to keep Nice Coffee Man company!"
"For the last time, my name isn't 'Nice Coffee Man'," Javier groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Hah!" María cackled. Akira had to do a double take. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen María do more than a dry chuckle. "I'm keeping that one!"
"Don't you dare."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Nice Coffee Man!" She gave a sarcastic salute.
If eyes were the windows to the soul, then Akira could clearly see that Javier's was shriveling up and dying.
"I'll be back," Akira said, following Tae out of the café as María continued to bully her father.
They walked in silence for a few seconds, before Akira asked, "You didn't really have a house call, did you?"
The corner of Tae's lip twitched upward as she cast a sideways glance his way. "Of course not. I just wanted to see my little guinea pig. I said it before, a few hours' drive won't stop me from seeing you." She thought about her statement for a second. "Or train ride, in this case."
"Maybe give a warning next time," Akira pleaded, placing a hand over his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Did I not say anything?" she asked with a coy tinge to her voice. "Oops. Must have slipped my mind."
"Uh-huh, I bet it did," Akira said dryly. "Are you really leaving already? You didn't come all the way here just to see me for a few minutes."
"Don't worry," she said, wrapping her arm around his. He'd forgotten how good she smelled. Was that weird? It's weird. "I'm staying at the Inn for the night, then leaving in the morning. I would love it if you could spend the night with me."
Akira scratched his beard. "Not sure how I'm going to swing that with m—Wait, we have an Inn?"
Tae blinked and gave him a funny look. "Did you not know your own hometown has an Inn?"
He shook his head. "Did it just show up?"
"No, according to the website they've been around for a few decades." She shook her head. "You really didn't know about it?"
He waved the question off. "Anyway, as I was saying, I'm not sure how I'm going to swing that with my dad, but I'll try to find a way."
"How are things going between you two?" she asked. "You mentioned you talked, but how about lately?"
"It's going pretty well, actually," he said. "I'm not going to say it's perfect or anything, but I feel closer to him than I have in years."
"And it's only been a week. Who knows what next month, or even next year will hold?"
He let out a low chuckle. "Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. For right now, I'm taking things slow. After all the stuff with Kamiya, I think I deserve a little rest."
"I agree," Tae said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I missed you."
"That's my line," Akira said, nuzzling the top of her head. "I'll have to get back to the café, but I promise I'm coming straight to your room when it's all over."
"I'll hold you to that," she replied, reaching up and poking his nose. He flinched back and scratched at it.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. For Akira, it felt like he was on cloud nine. In Tokyo, he'd been so concerned about being caught with Tae, both for her relatively fragile reputation and the looming cloud that was his parole over him, but here? In Meguro? He couldn't care less.
Tae was an unknown person, and most people hated him already, so there was no real point of hiding their relationship. At worst, there would be rumors flying around the school that might trickle their way to his dad, but it wasn't like that hadn't happened already.
"What going on in that cute little head of yours?"
Akira looked down at Tae, who had turned her dazzling gaze on him. "Why do you ask?"
"You're smiling like an idiot."
He let out a small chuckle. "I am?"
"You are. Did something happen?"
He shrugged. "You did."
Tae slapped him on the shoulder lightly. "God, you're so cheesy."
"You love it," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "But I'm being serious. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've tried to reconnect with my dad. And every step of the way, you were always in my thoughts, telling me that I had something looking forward to after all of this.
"You are my light at the end of the tunnel," he said, beaming down at her.
Tae tried, and failed, to hide her rapidly reddening face. "Saying stuff like that…"," she said, fighting the smile that threatened to spread. "You are such a dork."
Akira pulled his arm out of her grasp and wrapped it around her shoulder. "I know." He gave her another kiss on the forehead, then whispered, "But I'm your dork."
"Damn right, you are." She looked around quickly, saw no one was in view, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. It was a little too intense for how brief it was, but neither were particularly complaining.
They broke apart and just stared at each other for a moment. Eventually, Tae reached up and stroked Akira's beard. "Oh, yeah. You're keeping this."
"Does it add to my rugged charm?" Akira asked grinning.
"Mhmm~" Tae purred. She let her hand fall and looked back towards the café. "You should get back to your friends. They're waiting for you."
"Are you sure you can handle a few hours without me?"
"It'll be hard," she said, playing up the dramatics a little bit before giving his hand a squeeze. "But I think I'll live. I'll text you the inn I'm staying at. Sound good?"
"Yes, ma'am," Akira replied, throwing a two-finger salute. "See you in a few."
"I love you."
"Love you more!"
She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Don't have to say it so loud." She still smiled anyway.
Akira laughed and headed back to the café.
God, he missed this.
He'd go through everything all over again, from all of the pain, the rumors, the arrest, the insults, the dirty looks, all of it, because he knew she'd be there for him.
Life had gotten a little better in Meguro since he came back, he thought. That petition to kick him out had gone nowhere, although there wasn't really a chance of that actually working to begin with. Most people left him alone. He had friends here.
On the other hand, though, seeing Tae again just made him realize how much he didn't belong here anymore. True, Nakamura was shaping up to be a good friend, his dad was making an attempt to be a part of his life and atone, and maybe there was something to build with Tanimura, but everyone else was still in Tokyo.
He let himself frown now that he was out of sight of his girlfriend. He would make it through the year, he believed that now more than ever. That didn't change the fact that it would be hard.
At Café de Olla, Javier was busy cleaning Nakamura's finished mug. The first year was now absorbed with some game on his phone.
María leaned against the bar, still looking out the door. She rubbed her chin and hummed. "I wonder if she's single…" she said, mostly to herself.
Javier laughed. "No, I don't think so," he said.
"How do you…?" Her eyes widened at his expectant look. "Oh. Oh!" A grin broke out on her face. "Damn, that kid has some serious game. If only I'd gotten to her first…"
Nakamura blinked and looked up from his phone. "Huh? What about Akira-senpai?"
"Nothing," Javier quickly said, serving Nakamura one of the dishes on the menu. It was primarily a breakfast dish, with tortillas, eggs, and some warmed salsa. "Adult stuff, you'll learn when you're older."
Nakamura scoffed and muttered into his food, "I'm not a kid. I'm fifteen."
María and Javier exchanged a smile. Who knew their employee had such good taste in women?
After a few hours spent chatting and hanging out at the café, he practically booked it to the hotel Tae was staying at. It was the fastest he had run in a while, possibly since Shido's Palace.
As soon as he got there, the two were all over each other. Clothes were gone in seconds, and a "Do Not Distrub" sign was on the door. Akira was fairly certain there wasn't anyone else staying at the Inn, but they kept it a little quiet just in case.
They were on the bed, getting ready to make up for lost time, when a sharp, intense pain shot up Akira's back. It screamed at him, causing him to let out a yelp. He fell to the side, clutching his back.
Tae sat up. She called out, "Akira?!"
"I'm fine," he groaned. "It's just my back."
She sighed. "It's getting worse?"
He nodded and rolled onto his back. "I thought it'd get better, not running around and getting hurt all the time. I guess not, huh?"
"Roll over," Tae commanded. He rolled onto his stomach and felt her climb on top of him. She immediately got to work.
Her intimate knowledge of the human body, as well as his own, was a much-needed relief. He could feel the knots and the pain slowly work themselves out of his body at her touch.
"Mmm." he moaned, a content smile on his lip.
"Feeling better?" she whispered, leaning down to his ear.
"Oh, yeah," he said, falling deeper into bliss. "You have no idea how much I missed this."
She worked out a kink that had been bothering Akira for weeks, producing a loud pop! from his lower back. He let out a cry, a mix of slight pain and intense relief. He burrowed deeper into the pillow.
She giggled and leaned down next to his ear. "I might have some idea~"
"God, that feels great," he said into the pillow.
This went on for several more minutes, Tae gently working out the pains and aches in Akira's back, while he squirmed under her touch. She asked, "Good?"
"Very."
She gave his back a pat before falling down next to him. He turned over to his side to look into her eyes. They were so amazing and full of life, especially compared to when he first met her back in April of last year.
If there was anything he was proud of during his time as a Thief, it was giving back that life.
"Are you staring into my eyes?" she asked, giving him a wry smile.
"Naturally," he said coolly. He gave her a brief kiss and fell onto his back, letting her snuggle up to him and rest her head on his chest. "You should come up more often."
"I'd love to, but I have a clinic to run," she said, sighing. "This might not happen again for a while."
"Why did you come up?" Akira asked, looking down at her. "A Tuesday in the middle of the month isn't when people normally take a day trip."
"I'll be leaving for a medical conference for a few weeks, starting tomorrow. I closed the clinic a day earlier and decided to spend a day with you."
Akira snorted. "And you call me cheesy? I wasn't expecting you to sneak to Meguro, y'know."
"I do. But I had the excuse, so why not?"
"Can't argue with that logic."
She started running a finger along a prominent scar of his chest. It ran from his upper left pectoral all the way down to his lower right abdomen. It looked like both a burn scar and a wound produced form a cutting weapon. "You have school tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but I can walk there from the train station," Akira said. "I guess that's one good thing about Meguro; everything's within walking distance from each other."
Tae let out a little moan of acknowledgement and nuzzled deeper into her boyfriend. Mornings had been a nightmare since he left, even more so than before they got together, and she was going to savor this as much as she could.
"Hey."
He looked down at her.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked. "Here, I mean. For the next year?"
He turned his attention towards the ceiling and thought about it for a minute. A smile spread on his lips as he turned back towards her, and said, very softly, "Yeah. I think I will be."
"Good."
Suddenly, she climbed on top of his, her hands on his chest. He let out a little "Oof!" at the unexpected weight. He grinned up at her. "And just what are you planning, Dr. Takemi?"
"Well, my little guniea pig, it's been so long since your last physical," she cooed, leaning closer. She squeezed her chest with her forearms, eliciting an interesting reaction from a certain part of Akira's anatomy. "I'll need to give you a thorough examination~"
4/20: Wednesday
According to the news, not only was Kamiya arrested, but several higher status individuals, such as one Kazama Akiyama, a rank ranking member of Akiyama Electric, were as well. Evidently, there had been a year-long fraud ring between the group, quickly whittling away funds for the town at large.
Nakamura had been told by his parents, who giddily showed the front page of the news to Akira and Tanimura on their way to the gym a short while ago. He'd been so excited that he completely forgot his trepidations towards working out near Tanimura.
Jury was still out on if the upperclassman was actually joining the workout regime. Nakamura hoped not.
"Did you see this?!" he excitedly proclaimed.
Tanimura raised a brow and sneered at the phone. "Figures a bunch of rich assholes were stealing more money."
Akira nodded in agreement. "Happens all the time in Tokyo."
"Well, no shit, there ain't nothin' but a bunch of rich assholes there!" Tanimura shouted back. Akira only smiled in response.
Nakamura practically bounced up and down. "I can't believe it! We're real heroes!"
"Lower the noise, Naka-chan!" Tanimura harshly chided him. "You want everyone and their ma to know we did this?"
Nakamura cowered and said, in a much quieter voice, "I'm sorry."
He jumped when Akira threw an arm over his shoulder. "Give him some slack, Tanimura, he's just excited."
"That excitement's gonna get us caught," Tanimura grumbled, but looked away and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Akira gave him a sideways glance. "Why did you agree to workout with us?"
"I didn't agree to do shit with you," Tanimura bit out. He pointed an accusatory finger at Akira. "Let's get one thing straight, Kurusu, we ain't friends. I don't wanna be your friend. This is so I can properly kick your ass later."
"Uh-huh." Akira wasn't at all convinced.
"It's the truth!"
"Sure."
"Shuddup!"
Nakamura chuckled under his breath.
"Naka-chan, I swear to God-!"
After the workout, which mostly consisted of Akira and Nakamura working out together while Tanimura punched the punching bag the whole time, Akira had to go to work.
Almost immediately as soon as he arrived, Javier had him brew a cup of the blend he'd been working on all summer. Both he and María were giving a sly grin the whole time he was working. Akira had to double check to make sure the mark Tae left on his lower neck didn't show.
As he blended the beans and carefully grinded them together, he found it strange how much easier it came to him. How he knew exactly how much of each blend to add, how much pressure to apply, how long to grind, he just knew what to do.
He poured the grinds into the French press, followed by the heated water, and waited the four minutes.
Once the timer went off, he carefully pressed the plunger down and poured it into a mug. He passed it off to Javier and waited for appraisal.
Javier picked it up, gave it an experimental sniff, and took a sip. He waited a moment before smiling fondly and looking at Akira. "I think you got it."
María walked up behind Akira and gave him a pat on the back. "Good work, kid. The old man never likes any of my blends."
Javier scrunched up his nose. "Who are you calling an 'old man'? I'm not even in my fifties yet."
"Isn't lying a sin?" María asked with a grin. "'Old man'?"
When Akira had come back to Meguro, he felt hopeless, trapped, and alone.
Then he met María. Then Javier. Nakamura. Tanimura. Even his father. Friends. It was strange. He knew he was going back to Tokyo at the end of the year, there wasn't really anything here for him in the long term.
But he'd miss this little coffee shop, the after-school workouts with Nakamura and Tanimura, the conversations at the table with his father.
No, there was very little here for him in the long term.
But in the short term?
Akira smiled as the father and daughter bickered in front of him. He'd make the most of the things he did have here.