March 18th

He was going back in two days.

Not home. That place wasn't home. This was home. Home was a nice, quiet little café in Tokyo and an apartment above the medical clinic right down the street from it. His home was with his friends, his new family, this city.

It was with her.

Akira Kurusu ran a hand through his hair in front of the mirror. It was as unruly as ever, something that he'd never bothered to fix. He thought it looked nice, at any rate. But Sojiro Sakura, his guardian for the past year, took it as a personal mission to make Akira look the best he possibly could for today.

"Look, kid, the scruffy thing you got going on is all well and good for the day to day, but you're trying to 'wow' her tonight," Sojiro said.

And that was why he was standing here, in Sojiro's home, dressed in a black button up dress shirt and slacks. The sleeves were rolled up to just above his elbows and the top button was undone. He never liked dressing up, but the old man did have a point. He had to leave a lasting impression tonight. It would be his last chance for quite a while.

So, he picked up the brush and began to part it to the side. He didn't want to go overboard, but he wanted to clean up just a little. It got the hair out of his eyes, at least. That was the thing his guardian was the most insistent about.

"You'll want her to look you in the eye," Sojiro had told him. "Eyes are the window into the soul, and you want yours to know that she's the only one for you."

Once one got past the wit and snark, Sojiro was a romantic sap. Akira let out a light chuckle as he finished his hair. It wasn't a massive change, his hair was still curly, but that was fine. He wanted to look like he had cleaned up, not become a completely different person.

And she liked his curls. So, take that.

He ran his hands down his shirt, smoothing out any of the wrinkles that might have formed. Once he was satisfied with that, he reached over and picked up a small case. He opened it and took one last look at the gift inside. He'd spent all day trying to find something to give to her, but it wasn't until late at night that he knew he'd found the right gift.

He pocketed the case and let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, Joker, you got this," Akira muttered to himself. "It's just a date, you've been on plenty of those with her. You don't have to be nervous about this."

"Well, sure, but none of those were going to be your last date until at least summer vacation," Akira reminded himself. "This has got to be a special event. If we blow this, we might lose her."

"We're not going to lose her," Akira said. "She stuck with us even when we went back to prison. I don't think a few months of going home is going to break it for us."

"You can say that, but can you really be sure? What if we mess this up so bad, it will forever taint her imagine of us?"

"Can I—Who's side are you one anyway?! Do you want her to break up with us?!"

A knock on the door. "Kid, are you arguing with yourself?"

Crap. He needed to stop doing that. Akira's face went bright red, and he tried to think up of an excuse. "N-No, I'm, uh…" When he couldn't work anything out, he sighed. "Yeah, I'm arguing with myself."

"Hoo boy, I remember those days," Sojiro's voice answered. "You'll be fine. Hell, she's stuck by your side through this past year, right?"

Akira smiled. "Yeah, she did, huh?"

"So, stop whining and hurry up! A lady doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

The former Phantom Thief chuckled and started to put away the cleaning products Sojiro gave him but stopped when he looked down at his arms. Most of the time, his school or casual jackets hid them, but with his lower arms bare, some of his scars were on full display. It was only a fraction of what really covered his body, but it was enough to tell a story.

His face and hands remained untouched, miraculously, but there were burn scars, stab wounds, gun shots, electricity burns, more than he could count. They had racked up throughout his time traversing the various Palaces and Mementos, each one leaving a memory.

Akira finished putting the tools away and stepped out of the bathroom. Sojiro was leaning against the wall across from the door and gave him an appraising look. "Not bad. Nothing compared to my younger days, of course."

"What, back in the days of the dinosaurs?" Futaba Sakura, Sojiro's daughter, asked from her room. "I'm pretty sure you had an edge of them already, Dad!"

Sojiro frowned. "Be quiet, you!"

Akira couldn't help but laugh. "That's too high of a bar to pass anyway. But I think I had a good enough teacher."

His guardian smiled at him. "Get out of here. Can't let the lady wait."

Akira waved goodbye and left the house. He started to make his way down the street of Yongen-Jaya. It was about six o'clock, so it would be a little busier than he'd like. He got a few glances from the usual people who hung out around here, noticing his cleaned up look.

He soon enough reached the staircase leading up to the apartment complex above the medical clinic. He smoothed out his shirt, checked his hair and took a deep breath. God, he hadn't been this nervous since they'd started dating. Why was he so nervous? They'd gone on dates before. This will be fine.

He knocked on the door and waited. And waited. And waited.

Truthfully, it was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. The door opened, and there she was, standing in all her beauty. She was dressed as she usually was, in her spider-webbed blue dress, crop-top leather jacket, and ripped leggings.

Tae Takemi was the most beautiful woman Akira had ever laid eyes on.

Her eyebrows shot up as she took in his cleaned-up appearance. "Oh, what's the special occasion?"

Akira cracked a grin. "Everyday is a special one when I'm with you."

Tae rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Only you can say something so cheesy and make it work, my little guinea pig. Just let me grab my bag and we'll head out."

She did, and they did. Akira offered up his arm to her, which she gladly took, and the two began to make their way towards the train station. "What's on the agenda for today?" she asked.

"We'll be heading to Kichijoji. There's a bar there that me and my friends have stopped by a couple time, the Penguin Sniper. Ever heard of it?"

"No, can't say I have. Is that all we'll be doing, or do you have other… activities planned for the night?" She added a flirty little smile to that last part.

Akira's face reddened. She knew all the ways to stab right through his more stoic and reserved demeanor he usually kept up around his friends. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Err, I certainly hope so. But there are some other places in around there that I wouldn't mind stopping by. I've seen a Chinese bun place that I've always wanted to try."

He cleared his throat. "I was also thinking we could head to Inokashira Park after that."

Tae perked up. That was where he first confessed his feeling for her, and where she realized that she had begun to feel the same. They hadn't gone back since.

"And what do you plan on doing there, I wonder," she asked, biting her bottom lip. "Something special I hope."

He could feel the jewelry case in his pocket. He smiled. "I'd like to think so."

They made their way to the train and down to Kichijoji. They were lucky enough to find two seats available they could sit down at. It was a quiet ride, but pleasant. There actually weren't very many people on the train day, something for which they were both grateful for. Tae leaned against Akira's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Once the train stopped, they made their way to the Penguin Sniper bar. It was a nice place, if not exactly the place one would expect someone to go when trying to make a lasting impression, but Tae didn't mind. She had a lot of fun just eating at the bar with her boyfriend.

God, she still got all giddy inside when she though of him as her boyfriend. What was she, a teenager? It was so embarrassing.

Once they had finished with their food and drinks, Akira moved them over to the billiards table. He got a couple of cue sticks and handed one off to Tae. He set the balls up and offered for her to break, which she did. She wasn't able to sink in any of the balls, but she gave a decent break, spreading them around.

Then Akira stepped up to the plate. He rubbed the tip of his cue stick with chalk, aimed, and immediately sunk two balls, the 1- and 3-balls. It was an impressive ricochet shot that pulled off the deed.

Tae's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I had no idea you were that good."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not a big deal. I've been coming here with friends over the past year, and I learned a thing or two."

He aimed another shot, but failed to sink another ball in. He waved towards the table. "See? That first one was luck."

"Uh huh," she replied, not believing a word he said. How he had ever managed to hide his life as a Phantom Thief was beyond her. He was a terrible liar. Actually, that wasn't true. He could lie with the best of them. It was just harder for him to do it to those who were close with him. Plus, she had been able to see through them for a long time. "So, when did you learn to play?"

"I've been coming here for the past year with my friends, but I used to play a little when I was younger, too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, my mom played when she was younger, too, so she'd take me out every now and again to watch. When I was about 11, she showed me the basics." Tae hit the cue ball, nicking the 11-ball but failing to sink any in. She saw how he talked about him mother, the small and genuine smile on his face as the memories came flooding back.

"You don't talk about your parents a whole lot," she said, backing up to allow him to take a shot.

His face fell into an impassive wall, no hint given as to his thoughts. He lined up the cue, took a deep breath, and sunk the 5-ball. He stood up straight and shrugged. "No real reason, I guess."

Tae waited as he took another shot and sunk the 6-ball. "What are they like?"

Akira stood to his full height. He said, with a sad smile, "Mom was—is one of the kindest women I know. She'll lay down for anyone, she'll put everyone else before her. I just hope I'm making her proud in some way."

The admiration she had for the woman was, well, admirable. The way his eyes lit up when talking about her, the smile on his face, one reserved for when he was truly happy, that she was certain few people in Tokyo had seen, it all showed a man who was incredibly proud of his mother.

Was.

His mom was. That's what he started to say before catching himself, but it wasn't fast enough.

"What happened to her?" Tae asked.

Akira couldn't help but stiffen, but he relaxed a little almost immediately. "Caught that, huh?" He looked to the ground. "Three years ago, she got Leukemia. It was at a pretty late stage by the time we found out, so there wasn't a whole lot we could do. She chose not to get treatment, and so… yeah."

Oh. Shit.

"Akira, I'm so sorry, I didn't—" Tae began, but he waved her off.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know," he said, leaning against the table. "I've made my peace with it. She gave me fifteen great years. And I knew she loved me until the end." He wiped his eyes. "That's enough for me."

He sniffed and looked away. "My father is a different story."

"Is he still alive?"

"Yeah," Akira said, nodding. "Yeah, he's alive. No idea what he's doing now, though. Haven't heard from him directly since I got sent here last year."

Tae blinked. "He hasn't even called you?"

He shook his head. "Not surprised. I was the disgrace of the town. Ruined whatever good will my family had there. Closest I've gotten to any contact is word from Sojiro that I was being sent back."

"But you're his son!" she all but shouted. Righteous fury was building up inside of her. How dare he throw away his son like that? How dare he not even attempt to reach out?! If she ever met his father, she was going to show him exactly what kind of pain a doctor could dish out!

He sighed. "You know, we were never too close. Not like me and mom were. But we did things together, as father and son. But after mom passed, it just… I don't know, changed I guess." Tears formed at the base of his eyes, despite his best efforts. "We drifted apart. We talked less. On any given day, I'd say less than two words to him, and he sure as hell didn't make an attempt."

His grip tightened on the cue stick. "But to just abandon me? To throw me to the side? I can't say I was expecting that." His voice was calm, but he couldn't hide the emotion anymore. "I figured his own son would mean more to him than some reputation."

His voice cracked. Tae's heart broke.

Akira never did like talking about his past, and she was never one to poke and prod where she knew it wouldn't be welcome. He'd told her a few things, like that he was from a small fishing town and that he didn't have many friends before Tokyo, but his life before that run-in with Shido was almost a complete mystery.

"Honestly? I'm happy he did. I never would've come here, I never would've met my friends, I never would've become the man I am today, you'd still be blacklisted from the medical community, we'd never had met, I wouldn't have ever gotten the best woman in the world."

Tears were now flowing freely down his face. He looked over to Tae, and she had never seen him look so small. Even after he was tortured and had to fake his own death. "What did I do to him?" he asked in a whisper. "What did I do to make him hate me?"

Their game of billiards was forgotten, and her cue stick was let go to drop onto the floor, as she rushed into his arms for an embrace. He dropped his stick as well and held her as tightly as possible. "I'm so sorry," she said. She buried her face in his chest. "I didn't—I didn't want to hurt you..."

He didn't say anything, so she took a step back and looked him in the eye. She cupped his face. "If you meant so little to him, then he doesn't deserve a wonderful man like you for a son." She let go and took a few steps back. She gripped her forearm. "I'm sorry for bringing him up. You don't have to think about him anymore tonight."

"No, no, it's not your fault," Akira assured her, wiping away the tears. "I would've had to tell you sooner or later." A small smile crept up on his face. "It's just unfortunate we had to have this talk in a public place."

Tae's face went red as she looked around them. Thankfully, the Sniper was mostly empty, but the bartender somehow made cleaning a glass look a little too innocent in her opinion. She cleared her throat. "Yes, that is… unfortunate."

He couldn't help but chuckle at how flustered she could get sometimes. She gave him a piercing glare. "Don't make me kick your ass after that. I'd feel bad."

"Is that a promise?" Akira asked with a wry grin, but the illusion of the confidant badass was hampered slightly when he sniffed the last of his tears away.

"Only if you're good," she said, giving him a pat on the cheek.

They both looked down at the table. "I don't suppose you're up for finishing the game?" he asked, picking up his discarded cue stick.

"You mean, are you up to lose?" she said with a smile, bending to pick hers up. "I'm sure I can manage that."

"Oh, someone's feeling confident," Akira said. "What, planning to take advantage of my weakened emotional state?"

"Naturally," Tae said, stepping up to the table. She leaned forward, lined up a shot, and used the same ricochet shot he had used early to sink two balls.

His eyebrows shot up and he stared at her with a slack jaw.

As it turns out, Tae is actually pretty good at the game.

Akira still won, but it came down to the 8 ball.

They played another few games, falling into easy conversation and silence at varying point. In the end, it came down to Akira's favor, but Tae did win two out of the five games they played. They returned the balls and the cue sticks and made their way out the door.

They decided to not go to the Chinese Bun shop Akira mentioned earlier. It was later than they both expected it to be, so they decided to head straight to the park.

The sun was setting, and people were starting to leave. That left the two of them almost completely alone as they both stopped in front of the lake where he confessed. "Thanks for coming out her tonight with me," Akira said, his hands in his pockets and staring out to the lake.

"It's always nice to spend some time with my guinea pig," Tae said. She was focused on his face instead of the lake. "Something's been bothering me, though…"

"And what's that?"

"You got all cleaned up for tonight. You even combed your hair."

Akira grinned. "Do you like the effort?"

"I like the shirt," she said. "Not sure about the hair though. I think I prefer it messy."

"Me, too," he agreed. "It took far too long to get it like this, anyway. But Sojiro said girls like a cleaned-up guy, so…"

Tae giggled. "I'm sure, despite his infinite wisdom, Boss gets a thing wrong every now and again."

Akira snorted. "Try telling him that." He raised a brow and looked at her. "Is that all that was bothering you?"

"No, it's just that…" She trailed off as she looked away with a blush on her face. She gripped her forearm. He never got tired of seeing her like this, all flustered over him. "You didn't necessarily go all out, but this date seems special, in a way."

"It was," he admitted. He fully turned to her. "I'm going back to Meguro the day after tomorrow. And I have a lot of people to say goodbye to, so I wanted today to be between us. Something to remember me by."

She noticed a slight edge in his voice. "Were you afraid I'd forget you?"

He shrugged. "A little, I can't lie. I'll be gone for a year. A lot of things can happen in that time. And I think I know that better than anyone." When she didn't respond, he continued, his voice quiet and distant. "I'm scared, Tae. I don't deserve a woman like you, and I'm afraid you'll figure that out one day and come to your senses."

It was a long time before Tae did anything. She looked at Akira with a mix of anger and sadness. She walked over to him, grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down into the most intense and passionate kiss she could manage.

He was taken aback but fell into the kiss soon enough. He pulled her closer by the small of her back as they stayed like that for a moment or two. Maybe three. Eventually, Tae pulled back and looked Akira in the eyes.

"Listen to me. You deserved me the second you risked everything and gave me my life back. You continue to deserve it by being here for me every step of the way. I hope you're happy with me, Akira, because I'm not going anywhere. I'm here with you until the end. And a two-hour drive isn't going to stop me. Got it?"

Thank God she was so forward in life with everyone. Sometimes even he was so dense about this type of thing that needed a good kick in the ass to set himself straight. "Thank you," he said softly. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Maybe a little," she corrected, pulling him in for another kiss. It was shorter than the last one but no less sweet.

Once they broke it, Akira stepped back and reached into his pocket. "I, uh, got you something. As a gift."

"Is it another mug?" she asked.

He laughed but shook his head. "No, this is something a little bit more extravagant."

He pulled out a small jewelry case. Tae's eyes widened. "What are-?"

Without another word, he opened it and presented it to her. It was a small butterfly pendant with blue jewels adorning its wings. He pulled it out of the case, showing it to be a chained necklace. "It's nothing special, but I don't know," he said. "I couldn't help but think of you."

Great. Now she was starting to cry. The tears were just barely being held back as he stepped forward and clipped it around her neck. It rested between the two necklaces she already wore, shining brightly in the night. She placed a hand on it and promised herself that she wasn't crying.

Tae Takemi did not cry over something so real, so genuine, as a gift from the heart. Try telling that to the tears that did slip through. She smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

All Akira did in response was throw that handsome, maddening, dangerous, and beautiful smile of his.

She sniffed and wiped her tears away. "Speaking of, I actually have something for you, too."

"Really? I get a present?"

"I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but since you'll be busy, I don't know if I'll have the chance to," she said, reaching into her purse. She pulled out a pair of simple dog tags. She returned the favor by stepping over to him and clipping around his own neck.

But she didn't let go. Instead, she used the dog tags to pull him in close for another kiss. He didn't seem to mind, returning it with equal, if not greater, passion. Once the kiss was broken, he took the dog tags and gave them a look. There was a special message on it.

Akira Kurusu

090-5555-1457

Tae Takemi's favorite little guinea pig

"Favorite? Are there other guinea pigs that I have to worry about?" Akira asked with a wry smile.

"None that were strong enough to survive the clinical trials, I'm afraid," she said, returning his grin.

"Come on, now, that's too high a bar. Those cocktails you made me drink were awful. If I recall correctly, you almost poisoned me a few times."

"Once," she corrected. "And I apologized. A lot. Especially after we got together." She made sure to add some seductive purr into that last part.

Akira laughed and let the tag fall back down to his chest, before pulling her in closer. "Thanks for setting me straight back there."

"And thank you for telling me all that," Tae replied, trying to get as close to him as possible. "You know you can tell me these things, right? Even when you're back in your hometown, I'm just a phone call away."

"I'll probably take you up on that offer as soon as I get back," he admitted.

"I love you." The words came out of her mouth so easily, so freely. Before she met Akira, she never in a million years would've thought she'd be so cavaliere with those three little words. But in the months they've been together, and the time they've shared, her heart was changed.

Not like those assholes the Phantom Thieves went after, but a real change. She was the cold-hearted Plague, resigned to her fate to wither and rot in some back alley, only to have a new shot at life be essentially handed to her wrapped in a nice little bow. All that, hand-delivered by some idiot from a country town who made the mistake of falling in love with her and took a risk.

He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, too."

They stood in peaceful silence for a moment before he said, "Want to walk for a little bit more, then head back to Leblanc?"

"Is it alright with Boss if we commandeer the place for the night?"

"Please. He closed up shop hours ago. Told me that we had free reign of the place." He thought about if for a bit. "We should maybe try to avoid trashing the place, though." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "But that does mean we can be as loud as we want."

She couldn't help but crack a grin. "Well, we can't waste this perfect opportunity for you to show me what you've learned, can we?"

He presented his arm to her, and she took it without hesitation. As they walked off, all fears of future melted away, content to be pushed to the side by the utter joy he felt whenever he was around her.

Not everything was set in stone. He still had to deal with his life once he was sent back. It was going to be one of the toughest challenges he faced, even more than fighting whatever Shadow the Metaverse threw at him.

But with Tae at his side, Akira knew that he'd make it.

She was his light at the end of the tunnel.

As Tae and Akira were walking away, not too far off, hidden by some bushes, two figures were squirming around on the ground.

Ann Takamaki was currently trying to wrestle Ryuji Sakamoto into silence, a handle clamped over his mouth and latched onto his back tightly to keep him on the ground. It's a miracle they weren't spotted to begin with. Ann took a risk and leaned her head to the side of the brush to confirm what she thought. She waited a bit longer to make double sure they were far enough away.

"Alright, the coast is clear," she said, letting go of his mouth.

"Jesus, what the hell was that about?!" Ryuji complained, getting to his feet. He dusted the grass and dirt from his pants.

"You were going to make some stupid noise and get us caught, you idiot!" Ann whisper-shouted at him. She shot another quick glance down the pathway. "Did we really just see that?!"

She was bubbling with excitement. For the past year, she'd been trying to set Akira up with someone, anyone, who might take an interest with him. It shouldn't have even been that hard! He had that bad boy charm, and he was pretty good looking. It should've been easy! But if it wasn't his record that put the roadblocks in the way, it was his complete lack of interest in the opposite sex.

She was certain Makoto had eyes for him, but she politely declined. Apparently, she just didn't see him like that, and the feeling was mutual when it was brought up a few months after the fact to him. Ann was starting to think that maybe he just didn't swing that way. Boy, was she wrong.

The two of them had just gotten done hanging out at the Jazz Jin when they noticed Akira walking with Dr. Takemi towards the train station. At first they didn't recognize him with his hair combed and him all dressed up, but then they saw the scars on his arms and knew in a second. That peaked both of their interests, so of course they had to book it as fast as they could to make it to the same train as them.

She did feel kind of bad eavesdropping over what sounded like a very personal conversation the two were having. That guilt was taken away when, right as Dr. Takemi brought Akira in for a kiss after he confessed his fears, she realized Ryuji was about to start cackling with joy rather than some other form of silent excitement. So, she had to quietly, and discreetly, tackle him to the floor and keep him quiet. By all accounts, they succeeded.

But now, they could have a bit more of a louder celebration, but they still kept it somewhat subdued. "My boy did it!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Did you see the legs on her?! Like, holy shit, dude, how the hell did he land a babe like that?!"

"Did you see the way they looked at each other? That wasn't some crush, that was real love!" She said, tears of happiness forming in her eyes. "Our little Akira found a woman who loves him!"

"Like, shit, was that Dr. Legs? That chick who runs the clinic by Leblanc? I mean, I knew he was into older women, but hot damn!"

"And that little gift exchange they did, and how he poured his soul out to her, I think I'm actually going to cry right now, I'm so happy for him!"

"We have to tell everyone!"

Ann quickly smacked him upside the head.

"No, you idiot! He clearly kept this to himself for a reason! He'll tell us when he's ready."

"Alright, fine, jeez," he said, rubbing his temple. "No need to get physical."

"C'mon, let's leave the two lovebirds alone, we've intruded on their privacy enough."

"Aww, but I wanted to—owowowow!" Ann had grabbed him by the ear and begun to drag him towards the entrance to the park. "Okay, I give! I give!"