**August 9th, 2018 — Inaba — Eight Days Before The Wedding**
Around seven in the evening, Rise Kujikawa was getting more and more anxious as the day of her wedding was fast approaching. She sat in butterfly position on her bed, staring at her laptop, trying to finalize the seating chart for her wedding reception. Surprisingly, the guest list was a lot smaller than most people would've thought, especially for someone of her stature. Not that she cared very much, though. She preferred not to fill up her wedding with industry professionals, other famous people, ass-kissing yes-men, or have the wedding be taped to air on TV like most other idols/celebrities in her field tended to do. No, her wedding would be exclusively for her and her husband-to-be's closest friends and family. This wasn't one of Risette's sold-out arena concerts; attendance numbers and box office revenue weren't a factor to her. If she wanted a big, extravagant wedding, she wouldn't be getting married in a small town out in the countryside like Inaba.
"Rise!? I'm home!" she heard her fiancé, Yu, calling out from downstairs after returning from work.
"I'm upstairs!" she yelled out. After about a few minutes of waiting, Yu finally walked into their bedroom with a smile on his face and two cups of tea in both of his hands.
"Hey there!" he said as he walked over and handed her a cup.
"Hey yourself! Thank you!" Rise said before sipping some tea. "How was work?"
"Eh, same old, same old. With that said, I am excited to announce that I am officially on leave," Yu smiled.
"Yay~!" Rise was beaming with joy as she put her tea on the night table and closed her laptop before wrapping her arms around Yu's neck, kissing his cheek repeatedly.
"Haha. Rise, please, you're gonna make me spill my tea," Yu said before Rise begrudgingly let him go. "So, what have you been up to?" he asked.
"Trying to finalize the seating chart for the reception. I could use your help, actually."
"Sure, show me." Yu and Rise sat upright on the bed as she opened her laptop back up and showed Yu the seating chart for the wedding.
"Check it out. I've got most of it figured out, but there's something I'm not sure about." Rise rubbed her head.
"What is it?"
"Well, I'm wondering where I should put Akira? Do I put him with us and the rest of the wedding party, or do I put him with his friends?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I mean, tradition dictates he should sit with the party."
"Sweetie, it's our wedding," she said, placing a hand on his cheek. "We can do what we want. Who says we have to follow tradition?"
"Yeah, that's true. By the way, do you know who he's going to be walking down the aisle with before the ceremony?"
"Yeah," Rise nodded, "he'll walk down with Yukiko, after Kanji and Naoto." Yu chuckled slightly. "What?"
"Why must you torture him like this?" Yu joked.
"What are you talking about?" Rise raised an eyebrow.
"I may not know Akira as well as you do, but even I can tell he has a massive crush on Yukiko, even back when I first met him."
"Had." Rise clarified. "You said it yourself. That was years ago and he got over it. Besides, he has a girlfriend now."
"And while she's out of the picture, you're gonna try and set him up with his old teen crush. Very devious, I like how your mind works," Yu chuckled.
"Oh, shut up!" Rise yelled as she smacked Yu on the arm before bursting into laughter.
"Okay, but seriously, I thought he was going to walk down with Nanako?"
"You know I was kidding when I said that," Rise chuckled.
"I mean, it's not a bad idea. Logically, it makes sense seeing as they're the two youngest members of the wedding party."
"I figured she could walk down last with her dad."
"Aw, you're gonna break her heart," Yu feigned sadness.
"Grow up! I love her to death, don't get me wrong, but I don't want my shortest bridesmaid to be in the middle."
"I see what you mean."
"So, is that all right with you?"
"Yeah, that works for me," Yu shrugged.
"Cool!" She kissed his cheek. "Now, back to this. What do we do with Akira at the reception?"
"Well, it would be weird to have an empty seat at our table, but I don't think it matters too much. Besides, I think he'd rather be with his best friends." Rise nodded in agreement.
"You read my mind. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."
"Of course. I just hope Nanako won't be too upset, hehe." Yu expected Rise to share a chuckle, but she didn't. He noticed a distant look on Rise's face. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry…" Rise sighed. "I'm just thinking about something else…"
"Tell me."
"Obasan…"
"Ah, Akira and his mom… Yeah, that's going to be tough."
"As you can see, I put her with the other relatives…" Rise pointed out on her laptop.
"…at the furthest table away from Akira's friends' table." Yu noticed. "Was that on purpose?"
"I dunno, I just…" Rise ran her hand through her flowing copper-colored hair. "I don't know what to do about them."
"Are they still mad at each other?"
"As far as I know. I just wish there was something I could do…"
"Rise, there's nothing you can do. Whatever happened between them, they need to work it out on their own."
"Yu, he gets migraines whenever he thinks of her."
"Extreme stress is giving him migraines, not her. She's not the cause of his headaches, okay? Look, I may not know anything about seizures or anything like that, but I do know Kairi Kurusu. She's not some wicked, bitter, old crone. On the contrary, she's one of the sweetest and kindest people I've ever met, and someone who genuinely loves and cares for Akira. In fact, I shouldn't have to remind you of that since you've known her a lot longer than you've even known me."
"Yeah… you're right," Rise sighed and thought for a moment. "I should give her a call; see how she's doing. I haven't heard from her since she RSVP'd, back in March."
"Really? That long?" Rise nodded. "You didn't call after you found out about her and Akira's fight?"
"I wanted to, but I promised Akira I wouldn't. He said it was a personal matter between them."
"Well, even then, did you consider calling anyway just to see how she was doing?"
"It slipped my mind, okay? I've been busy with all of this." Rise gestured her hands at her laptop screen. "Planning a wedding is no picnic, you know?"
Yu looked away and muttered, "You don't have to tell me…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" Rise sighed and thought for a moment. "So? What's on your mind?" Yu asked.
"Maybe I'll go pay her a visit, tomorrow."
"Are you going to ask about the argument?"
"I don't know, maybe?"
"What about Akira's seizures?"
"I… yeah… probably… or no… I don't know." She was conflicted. "What do you think, should I?"
"I don't know either, but if you do decide to tell her, don't do it over the phone."
"Oh, God, no! Are you kidding me?"
"Do you want me to come with you? I do have time off now, you know?"
"That's very sweet of you, but I'll be fine by myself. Besides, there's something I need to ask her concerning the wedding."
"Sleeping arrangements?"
"Yep."
Yu smirked. "I get it; you want one more night alone before you spend the rest of your life waking up next to me," he joked. Rise started slapping him on the arm again and again. "Agh! Kidding, kidding, hahaha." She stopped and planted a kiss on Yu's lips. "I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled and pulled back away from his face. "Now, what should we do for dinner?"
"I don't know, what do we have?"
"Well, what do you want?"
"What are my options?"
Rise glared at him. "You can either make something or sleep on the couch, tonight."
"…you know what? I'm not hungry." Yu and Rise both chuckled. It was like they were already married. "But I am going to take a shower before dinner," he said as he got up off the bed.
"Ooooh~, mind if I join you~?" she smirked.
"Hehe, sure." As she was about to start removing her clothes, Rise's phone went off; she went to check it. "Who is it?" Yu asked, unbuttoning his shirt.
"Just the new photographer confirming."
"Heh, good thing he was able to agree on such short notice after the first one canceled." Yu removed his shirt.
"I know, right? Though it's not that short notice." Rise put her phone back on the bed. She took off her top and removed her bra as her phone went off again. She sighed and rechecked it.
"All good?" Yu asked.
"Mm-hm. Just an email from work. No worries." Rise threw the phone back down on the bedspread and removed her skirt. She was about to remove her underwear when the phone beeped again. "Oh, for the love of… Ugh!" Annoyed, she picked it back up. "What the…?" Rise was confused as a weird red and black eyeball appeared on her phone. She tried tapping on it, but nothing happened. The eye was pulsating in a hypnotic fashion.
"Rise? You okay?" Yu asked, wrapping a towel around his bare lower half.
"Yeah, there's just some weird thing on my phone. Probably need to get a new one." The icon seemingly regressed into just another app on her phone's home screen. "Huh…oh well." Rise just shrugged it off and deleted the app before tossing her phone back on the bed, not caring that it bounced off the bedspread and fell onto the rug. "Anyway… heehee," she giggled as she pushed Yu into the bathroom and closed the door with her foot.
The next day, late in the afternoon, Rise went to visit her aunt. She pulled up to the Kurusu home but didn't step out of her car right away. The idol was busy trying to figure out what she was going to say, but nothing came to mind. She was snapped out of her thoughts by her phone going off. Upon picking it up, she saw that they red and black eyeball was back.
"What the hell? I thought I deleted this, yesterday!? Ugh, what's with this stupid phone!" Rise, once again, deleted the app and went back to her thoughts. After a few minutes of pondering, Rise decided she was going to have to wing it. She stepped out of her car, walked up, and knocked on the front door. It took about ten seconds for Kairi to answer the door.
"Rise!" Kairi happily exclaimed.
"Hi, Obasan!"
"What a nice surprise!" Kairi beamed. She wore a white, short-sleeved summer dress and her light-brown hair was tied up in a braided ponytail. She also had on a pair of red-rimmed reading glasses. "What's up?"
"Sorry for just dropping by unannounced. I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I was just working in the office, planning for the start of the next term."
"Next term?" Rise thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Wait a minute, a-are you teaching again!?" Kairi smiled and nodded.
"I got a job offer a few months ago. Starting in September, I'll be taking over the position of English teacher at Yasogami High," she announced.
"Oh, my God! Yay! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Rise was ecstatic.
"Thank you! Please, come on in." Rise entered the house. "Can I get you anything?"
"Uhm, some water if you wouldn't mind? It's sooooo hot outside…" Rise moaned.
"Haha, tell me about it. Be right back." As Kairi disappeared into the kitchen, Rise sat down on the couch in the living room, once again trying to think about how she would bring up Akira and whether or not she should tell Kairi about his seizures. She didn't have long to think as Kairi came back into the living room and handed her an ice-cold glass of water.
"Thank you, Obasan."
"Of course!" Kairi sat down in the recliner across from the couch before placing her reading glasses atop her head. "So, one more week before the wedding, huh?"
"Yep!"
"How are you feeling? Nervous?" Rise took a drink of water before setting it down on the end table next to her and shaking her head.
"Not at all! I'm feeling great, excited even! I've been waiting for this forever, and now it's only seven days away. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Yu."
"Good, good. I'm glad you found the one for you, and I wish you both nothing but the absolute best," Kairi smiled.
"Thank you! I really appreciate it." Rise's mind drew a blank as she was unsure of what to say next. She wanted to talk about Akira, but she couldn't find a feasible way to do so. The Idol dug through her brain, looking for the most feasible way to approach the topic. As it soon turned out, she didn't have to look, after all. The topic came to her.
"Actually, Rise, I'm glad you're here. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Well… is Akira coming to the wedding?"
"W-Well, yeah. I actually invited his friends too."
"Huh? When did you meet them?" Kairi raised an eyebrow.
"Yu and I went to Tokyo for Golden Week. I met his friends and his girlfriend."
"Oh, well, good. How's he doing?" Rise hesitated. She couldn't think for very long. She had to decide right now: Tell her about the seizures or not. She chose the latter.
"H-He's doing well," Rise said with a smile. Kairi didn't buy it, however. From the way she answered, she knew Rise was keeping something from her. Akira was right; it was impossible to successfully lie to Kairi Kurusu.
"I see…" Nevertheless, Kairi decided not to call her out on it. "Well, like I was saying, I'm really sorry, and I hope you can forgive me for this, but I don't think I'll be going to the wedding."
Rise was stunned. "What!? How come!?"
"Well, you see…" Kairi began but couldn't finish.
"Is this about you guys' argument?"
"O-Oh, uhm…"
"It's okay, Obasan; I know what happened between you two. Akira told me." Kairi gripped her hands together and looked at the ground.
"H-How much do you know?"
"Only that you two had an argument before he left for Tokyo, but he didn't say what it was about."
"I see…" Kairi took a deep breath. "I-uhm… haven't heard from him since he left."
Rise went wide-eyed. "You haven't tried calling him?"
"I tried once, shortly after he left, but I thought it'd be best if I gave him some space. I wanted to avoid being pushy and try calling him over and over."
"What happened between you two?" Kairi found herself in the same spot Rise was just in. Should she be honest with her niece?
"I-I'm sorry, I can't tell you. It's a personal matter." Kairi was replaying the last words Akira said to her. She felt it would be better not to repeat them to Rise. Thinking about them was painful enough, she didn't need hear them out loud as well. "Anyway, like I was saying, I don't want to risk the two of us ruining your day."
"I don't understand. What happened that you guys are avoiding each other like the plague? At least tell me which one of you was right or wrong?"
"Rise, it's a lot more complicated than that."
"Please! I don't want to see you two fighting. Aside from my grandmother, you two are the closest family I have. You're closer to me than even my own parents."
"Sweetie, I realize that your parents aren't around as much, but they still love you. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Rise nodded and sighed.
"Especially, my sister; she and I are cut from the same cloth. We're not like our parents; we love our kids very much, no matter what."
"I know, I know. I just wish they were around more," Rise sighed, "but I'm glad they'll be at the wedding."
"What about your grandparents?" Kairi was referring to her own parents, whom she hadn't heard from in over twenty years at this point.
"They were going to come, but they canceled when they… uhm…"
"When they what? You can tell me, go ahead."
"…when they found out that you'd be there as well…"
"I should've figured…" Kairi huffed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. It's not your fault." Kairi took another drink of water.
"Do you think you'll ever patch things up with them?"
"What, between me and my parents?" Rise nodded. Kairi thought for a moment and sighed. "Let me put it this way: despite how busy they were, your mom and dad still made time to come to your Ojisan's funeral…same with Tetsuya's."
"I remember, I was there for both, too…" Rise somberly said. "So, what are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is… I never even got so much as a phone call from my parents," Kairi huffed. "As far as they're concerned, I don't exist anymore. I'll be honest, I'd hoped we could one day reconcile our differences. But after not receiving any sort of comfort or even condolences from them after I lost your Ojisan and your cousin, I consider that bridge indefinitely burned." Needless to say, the answer was a stone-cold "no."
"Well, forget them. I'd take you over them any day of the week."
Kairi cracked a small smile. "That's sweet, thank you. Speaking of your mom and dad, when are they coming?"
"Not until late Monday night, unfortunately. They're not gonna make it to the rehearsal dinner, not that it matters much. It's just going to be the wedding party."
"What about Yu-san's parents?"
"They'll be there too."
"Ah, good, good…" Kairi's stalling came to an end as she ran out of questions to ask. The two shared a moment of silence before Rise spoke again, steering the topic of conversation back toward Akira.
"Look, I don't mean to sound pushy, but I really think you should try calling Akira again. I mean, he's going to have to stay here anyway during the wedding, right?"
"…you do have a point… It's not like I'm going to have him stay at the inn."
"Besides, you've gotta be missing him, right?"
"Of course, I miss him. I just… I'm just afraid that he won't want to talk to me."
"Well, who knows? He might've calmed down since your argument, and you won't know until you try. If you really love and miss him, then call him. I'm sure he misses you too. Don't let that scare you away from trying," Rise said this, knowing full well what Sumire told her during Golden Week. Perhaps telling her about the seizures was the more intelligent move.
"You're right," Kairi nevertheless relented. "And forget what I said earlier. I'll be at your wedding, no matter what happens between Akira and me," she assured her.
"Great!" Rise softly smiled. "And if there's anything I can do to help, let me know."
"Thank you, Rise," Kairi said, nodding in appreciation, "I feel like I needed a boost of confidence," she smiled.
"Of course, Obasan!" Rise smiled back.
The two of them talked a bit more about the wedding, Kairi's new job, and just generally enjoying each other's company. Kairi had a nice time with her niece. Lord knows, she needed a break. The time since Akira left had been tough, but the first month had been the hardest. The house felt empty without him and Morgana around. Kairi spent some days crying in her bed, not even getting up or leaving the house. That meant the Kurusu plot went without being taken care of for a while. Unfortunately, very soon after they left, she picked up drinking again as a way to cope. After nearly two months of binge drinking, she began to wean herself off the bottle once she got accepted as Yasogami High's next English teacher. Plus, drinking reminded her of Shingo. It was then that she realized she was slowly slipping back into the mess of a person she was for two years after Tetsuya passed away.
By the time Rise came to visit, Kairi was exactly one-hundred days clean and sober, but she still wasn't feeling all that great. While she had now been able to get herself out of such a dark place twice now, she felt horrible that Akira may not even have moved on from Tetsuya's death at all. Kairi still remembered Akira telling her that he felt responsible for what happened, and that haunted her just as much as him saying, "You're not my mom," to her. Kairi could feel that her son was in pain, and there was nothing she could do to help him, but she would do anything to make his pain go away. To paraphrase, Kate Bush: If she only could, she'd make a deal with God, and she'd get him to swap their places. Be running up that road. Be running up that hill. Be running up that building.
"… Wait, Yusuke-kun asked you WHAT!?" Kairi asked in disbelief. Rise chuckled.
"He asked me if I would be his model for a nude painting."
"I-I-uh…hehe, wow… I mean, I could tell he was kind of eccentric the two times I met him, but wow…" Kairi awkwardly chuckled. "Did you take it badly?"
"No, not at all, haha!" Rise laughed. "He was very sweet, they all were!"
"Are you saying you would do it then?"
"Do what?"
"Model nude for him."
"Wha-NO!" Rise exclaimed, but then began to think about it. "…I mean, it'd have to be tasteful…"
"Oh, my God, Rise! I was kidding when I asked!"
"I could see myself doing it. It's not like I haven't done risqué photoshoots in the past."
"Yeah, but that was in underwear and bikinis, not your birthday suit!"
"I dunno, could be kinda fun! Besides, Yusuke-kun seemed sincere. He didn't strike me as one of those weirdos who just wants to see Risette in the flesh. Although, I worry about what Ryuji-kun might do if he got ahold of that painting, haha." Kairi scoffed and chuckled to herself.
"You now what? You're an adult, do what you want, hahaha." Kairi and Rise shared laughs for a while. Eventually, daylight slowly began to dim.
"I should get going," Rise said as she got up from the couch. "It was great to see you again, Obasan!"
"It was great to see you again too, Rise, and thanks again. I needed some pep in my step, and seeing you always brings a smile to my face," Kairi smiled.
"Aw, but of course!" Rise exclaimed before hugging her dear aunt. "And remember what I said, okay?"
"I will. I'll see you soon!" Kairi walked Rise to the door and hugged her one more time.
"Oh! I actually wanted to ask you something about the wedding."
"Shoot."
*Pew* It wasn't just the Kurusu family that was in on the dumb joke. "Well, uh… I hate to impose, but um… the night before the wedding, I uh…"
"Say no more, you would like to stay here the night before and get ready here the day off, right?"
"Are you a mind reader or something?" Rise raised an eyebrow; Kairi chuckled. "Would that be okay?"
"More than okay!" Kairi nodded. "You're always welcome here, Rise. Even if Akira and Sumire stay here, we've got plenty of room for you, too."
"Oh, actually, Sumi-chan's not gonna make it right away. She has a gymnastics thing, so she won't be at the ceremony."
"Aw, that's too bad. Well, either way, you can stay here."
"Thanks, Obasan! Sorry, that's all. I gotta get going. See you!" Rise quickly said before getting back in her car.
They waved goodbye to each other as Rise drove off. Kairi went back inside the house and into the office, sitting back down at her desk, and putting her reading glasses back on. The small fan was oscillating, providing a small cool breeze for her workspace, which otherwise felt like sitting in a sauna. She tried getting back to work, but instead thought about what Rise had said to her. Her niece was right, it was time to stop running away and face the issue head-on.
After a few minutes of mentally prepping herself in case Akira either ignored her or immediately hung up on her, Kairi picked up her smartphone and went through her contacts. However, as she was about to hit "call," on Akira's name, her cell phone began to ring. The caller ID read 'Akira.' Kairi was surprised, worried, and a little bit scared. She swiped on the green telephone icon and answered the call.
"H-Hello?"
"…"
"Akira…?"
"… hi, Mom."
**Earlier — Back In Tokyo**
Akira sat on his bed. He wasn't doing well at all. His hands? Shaking. His head? Pounding. His mind? Racing. Akira felt like he was going to throw up. The migraine was still kicking, but that was nothing new by this point. Some days forcing a smile was easy, some days it wasn't. Some days he hated his friends' guts, other times he was terrified of them leaving and him being alone; this was one of the latter days. Akira did a lot of thinking. Even knowing that they were likely still texting about him behind his back, no matter how much it hurt, Akira didn't want to lose them—they were his second family. Concerning the matter of his first family, however, he had also done a lot of thinking. He still hadn't told anyone the details about what went down between him and his mother before he left Inaba, but he thought about calling her more and more and apologizing for what happened. However, sometimes when he thought about doing so, a voice sounded off like an alarm in his head.
*Forget Her!*
*Forget Them!*
*BE FREE!*
He didn't know what was going on. Was he going crazy? Insane? Was he really hearing things, or were the migraines just making him think he was? The thought scared him, and the migraines only got worse with every whisper. Unfortunately, whether it was his seizure medication, Takemi's painkillers, or over-the-counter aspirin, nothing seemed to help him anymore. The only way he could dull the pain was through alcohol. Akira had ended up exactly where Riku predicted he'd end up. At only eighteen years of age, Akira Kurusu was becoming an alcoholic. He was able to keep it from everyone who didn't already know he was drinking, which excluded Morgana. He stayed sober during the day to do things, whether it was homework or helping out around Leblanc, but at night, once he was all alone in his room at Leblanc, he drank; on some nights, he drank a lot.
Akira managed to cover up the smell of whiskey pretty well from human noses by rubbing toothpaste in his teeth and chewed strong, mint-flavored gum. If he woke up with a hangover, Sojiro would assume it was just another migraine and would take it easy on him, telling him not to worry about helping out around Leblanc. Akira knew it wasn't good for his health, but he couldn't stop, and on some days, he didn't care at all. He didn't care about anything. Right now, his mind was going a hundred miles a minute as he thought about everything at once. He felt like his brain cells were being electrified. His body couldn't take it anymore. Akira tried getting up; instead, he fell to the floor and suffered another seizure. His body spasming as saliva flowed out of his mouth. Sojiro came rushing after he heard a loud thump from downstairs to find Akira's body jerking on the floor.
"Hang on, kid!" Sojiro tried not to panic and grabbed the pillow from the bed, placing it under Akira's head. He was about to call Takemi when Akira suddenly stopped spasming and immediately woke up. He looked dazed; Sojiro made sure he stayed down for at least a couple of minutes. "Hey, hey, take it easy, okay?"
"I-I… I…" Akira was trying to say something.
"What? What is it, Akira?"
"I gotta…get out…"
Akira's voice trailed off before passing out on the floor once more. He woke up later in his bed. Futaba was sitting at his side. She grabbed his hand and held it.
"Hey, how're you feeling?" she softly asked, afraid to feel the brunt of his irritability. Akira didn't feel angry or tense, however. He felt… nothing.
"I'm good; don't worry." He sat upwards, rubbing his eyes. It was still daytime, and the sunlight coming through his window was blinding him. "Do you know how long I was out for?"
"About an hour. Sojiro said you woke up for a few seconds, then you went back to sleep."
"Huh, weird but okay." Akira had an odd taste in his mouth; it was more blood. He felt that his gums were a bit sensitive and stung slightly. Again, it was nothing new; Akira didn't think on it. "So, what's going on with you?" he asked Futaba.
"Not much," she said, happier but still concerned.
"Hey, I wanted to say thanks for last night. It was fun."
"Well, we weren't gonna leave you high and dry after Sumire left yesterday morning. Besides, it felt good to have another semi-full Phantom Thieves reunion."
After Sumire had left for her retreat, Akira felt down. Well, more than usual, anyway. The Thieves took notice and invited him out to the Wilton Buffet. It took a lot of coaxing from pretty much everyone. The group, Morgana excluded, went to Leblanc and practically demanded him to come with them. Akira didn't argue; lucky for them, they had caught him on one of his few good days. They all split the cost for without him paying for anything. Of course, it wasn't necessary, especially the part where they all paid for him since he likely had more money saved up from Phantom Thievery than all of them, except for maybe Haru, but it was still a nice gesture on their part and did cheer him up slightly. Unfortunately, it didn't keep him from drinking his nightly cocktails afterward once he was alone in his bedroom. One meal wasn't enough to erase the sense of betrayal he still felt or make the pain in his cranium vanish.
"So, what else is up?" he asked.
"I'm about to head out. Makoto and Haru are gonna take me dress shopping in a bit, but I can stay with you, if you want." She kept holding on to his hand, gripping it slightly tighter.
"Nah, it's fine, go, have fun. I'll be all right. Besides, I have my own errands to run."
"Right now!? Don't you think you oughta rest for a bit?"
"Don't worry; I'm not going out right this second. But I have to go grab my tux and take the guitar to a shop and get the electronics fixed."
"How come?"
"Rise wants the two of us to perform 'True Story' at the reception."
"Woah, really!? That's awesome!"
"I'd say nerve-wracking, but sure, 'awesome' works too."
Futaba chuckled. "Don't worry; you two are gonna kill it!" she excitedly said.
"Thanks for the confidence boost." Akira spoke without smiling the entire time. He wasn't in a bad mood; he just didn't smile. He didn't smile much during the previous night, either. It was as if he forgot how to when he was around the other members of the Phantom Thieves.
"Oh!" Futaba pulled out her phone as it went off. "Makoto just texted me; they're waiting outside, so, I gotta go. Are you coming down too?" She put her phone away. Akira shook his head.
"You go on ahead. I'm going to do a bit of exercise."
"Really? After a seizure? Aren't you tired?"
"Nah, I'm good. Besides, it's a good boost for my energy levels."
"Energy levels?" Futaba snickered. "What are ya, a robot?"
"No, that's Makoto." Because he didn't smile or chuckle at what he said, Futaba looked at him, confused. "Old joke between us, you wouldn't get it," he explained.
"Ooookay, then," Futaba shrugged.
"Say 'hi' to them for me, 'kay?"
"Coolio, time to make like a banana and split!" Futaba skipped down the stairs.
Once he was alone, Akira took his shirt off. He pulled the chair over from the corner of the attic and placed it under the large beam in the ceiling. He climbed on the chair, grabbed the beam, and started doing pull-ups. He had been doing this pretty often as it was a good way to help clear his mind. Plus, a little bit of exercise was a good cure for a hangover. After a while, he changed into some fresh clothes, put the guitar in its gig bag, and walked out of Leblanc. He went back to Ishibashi Music in Shibuya and dropped the guitar off. The luthier there said it would be ready in just a few days. Akira got his ticket for it and walked out. He found himself in Shibuya but didn't feel like going to get his tux quite yet.
Akira swung by Untouchable, the airsoft shop run by ex-Yakuza member, Munehisa Iwai. Unfortunately, the store was closed. As he stood in front of the closed door, he looked to his left, where the entrance to the Velvet Room used to be. He thought about Lavenza; he really wished he could see her and ask her what was wrong with him. She probably wouldn't have the answers, but seeing her face would've brought him some comfort. Seeing the blue door always calmed him down back then. Only he could see it, and there was always something soothing about hearing that operatic rendition of "Fly Me to The Moon" emanating from the mysterious location between dream and reality. The blue door wasn't there, but, for a moment, he thought he heard a familiar voice calling out to him once again.
"…Tr-…er-…ick-…st-…"
"Not again," he muttered. Like the other voices he had heard lately, he tried his best to ignore them and walked out of the alley as another familiar voice called out to him. This one, he heard clear as day.
"Akira! Hey!" He turned around to see Ann walking towards him, along with someone he hadn't seen in quite a while. Ann's non-Phantom Thief best friend, Shiho Suzui.
"Hey, Ann and… Suzui-san?"
"Silly boy, did you forget about me?" Shiho chuckled. "I thought that was you, Akira-kun!" she went up to him and gave him a hug. "How are you? It's so nice to see you again!"
"It's good to see you, too. I'm doing okay." Akira noticed she was a lot spunkier than when he knew her at Shujin. Her hair was straight and flowed past her shoulders with a multi-colored headband on top of her head. She also had on a light blue summer dress with red converse high-tops. The best part, though, was that she was smiling. Akira was glad to see her this way after watching her nearly kill herself two and a half years ago. Thankfully for her, Kamoshida was nothing but a painful memory. Shiho still had a knee brace on her right leg because of the injury she sustained from her failed suicide attempt, but otherwise, it seemed like she was able to move on from such horrible misfortune. If only Akira could do the same; maybe he could borrow her notes? "What are you girls up to?"
"We're about to get crêpes!" Ann happily announced.
"Should've figured…" Akira forced a chuckle.
"What about you? What are you up to?" Shiho asked.
"I was just running a few errands."
"You wanna join us for a crêpe? My treat!" Ann offered.
"Thanks, but I can't; I still have to go pick up my tux."
"Oooh, a tuxedo? What's the occasion?" Shiho asked.
"My cousin's getting married next week."
"Oh, fun!"
"Not only that, you know who his cousin is?" Ann grinned.
"Nuh-uh," Shiho shook her head, and Ann whispered in her ear. "No way! Really!?" Shiho's face lit up; Ann nodded. "Wow, that's pretty amazing! How is she in real life? She's not too stuck up, is she?"
"Shiho!" Ann gasped.
"Not at all, she's really sweet," Akira replied.
"The. Absolute. Sweetest!" Ann beamed. "She came to visit during Golden Week, and we all got to meet her. She even invited all of us to her wedding."
"Shut up! Ann, that's amazing! Hey, are you dead set on going with Ryuji-kun? 'Cause, if not, I'd like be your plus one," Shiho grinned. The three of them laughed, even Akira. Shiho genuinely made him chuckle for the first time today. Despite that, he felt like it was time to leave.
"Well, anyway, I have to get going. It was great to see you again, Suzui-san. Ann, I'll text you later, 'kay?" he didn't actually plan to do so, not that she did either, but it felt like the courteous thing to say. He was about to walk away when Shiho stopped him.
"Actually, Akira-kun, can I talk with you alone for a minute?"
"Uh, sure."
"You don't mind, do you, Ann?"
"Not at all. I'm gonna get in line at the crêpe stand. I'll save you a spot!" Ann said before walking off. Akira and Shiho went a little further in the alley, away from the bustling crowd of Central Street.
"So, what's up?" he asked.
"Well, I hope you don't mind, but, um… Ann told me about your seizures."
"Right." Akira wasn't mad. He figured the group had told more people combined than even he'd told, himself.
"I'm sorry to hear about that, by the way."
"Thanks."
"She also told me that you had some sort of argument with your mother?"
That, however, made Akira angry. "So, it's not just the group chat, huh?" he thought. However, he resisted taking out his frustration on Shiho. She wasn't at fault. "…yeah, I did."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask what is about; it's none of my business…"
"At least she respects other people's privacy and boundaries."
"…but," Shiho continued, "I do want to ask, have you tried talking to her since?"
"So, Ann didn't tell her everything then," Akira thought. "No, I haven't."
"Can I give you a piece of advice?"
"No." "Sure."
"Well, my mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Thank you, and while I've always had a good relationship with both of my parents, her diagnosis has made me realize a few things."
"Like what?" Akira asked. "Life's too short; I'll bet."
"Well, that life is too short…"
"And you're predictable."
"…and that I want to spend as much time as possible with her."
"Then why are you here and not with her right now?" Akira's thoughts were getting more and more bitter. He decided to stop thinking and start listening. "I understand what you mean," he nodded.
"If you were in my shoes, would you want to make sure the last thing you said to your mother was more along the lines of 'I love you,' rather than something mean?"
"Suzui, my mother isn't dying." Shiho gasped at Akira's bluntness; he realized what he said. "Shit, I-I'm sorry, that was insensitive on my part."
"I-It's all right. Mine isn't either, really. The doctors say that her cancer is fully treatable."
"Oh, well, that's good to hear."
"My point is, no matter her health condition, I wouldn't want to stay mad at her. So, I hope you two can fix things soon. Ann told me your mother is lovely."
"…yeah…she is…" Akira wasn't letting his thoughts and emotions cloud his feelings anymore.
"Well then, call her soon. Family is the most important thing in the world, right?"
"…yeah, you're right. Thanks, Suzui-san." Once again, it was the people who knew him the least that Akira seemed to listen to the most. Go figure.
"Sorry, I know it was a bit of a clichéd speech, haha."
"No worries. I think it's what I needed to hear, to be honest."
"Well, I'm glad," she smiled, and they hugged one more time before walking back out into Central Street. "I hope to see you again soon, Akira-kun!"
"Me too. It was great seeing you again, Suzui-san."
"Please, call me 'Shiho,'" she smiled.
"All right, Shiho. then call me 'Akira,' no honorifics needed," he smiled back without grit.
"Sounds like a deal."
"Have a good one. I'll see you around. Bye Ann!" Akira called out to the blond bombshell, who was still in line at the crêpe stand. She smiled and waved back, and Akira was on his way. Shiho joined Ann in the line.
"I really appreciate you doing this," Ann said to her friend.
"Of course, what are friends for?"
"So, how'd it go?"
"I think I got to him," Shiho happily said.
Akira went and got his tux. The price was a bit steep, but he didn't mind. For all the trouble it gave him, the Metaverse pretty much made him a millionaire. Afterward, he went back to Leblanc. Sojiro was out getting more groceries, so Akira was alone. He went up to his room and set his suit down on the couch. The whole way back, he was thinking about what Shiho had told him. He thought about his mother and the last thing he said to her. Was it hurtful? Undeniably. Did he feel remorse? That was the million yen question he didn't have the answer to.
Akira thought for a moment before pulling out his phone and dialing his voicemail. The message he had received from his mother while he and the Thieves were at Rainmaker Park back in March was still in it. He wanted to trace the source of everything that had led up to this point back to the moment he received it, but doing so would be unfair to her, and he would be lying to himself. It wasn't because of her or a voicemail she had sent him. It went back further than that. The truth was, Akira didn't know what was happening to him, but whatever it was, he was simply looking for someone to blame, and his mother was the scapegoat.
"You have [no] new messages. To listen to your archived messages, press [1]. To-*Beep*"
Akira pressed the one key.
"You have [one] message archived. *Beep* Received on [Saturday, March 22nd, 2018] at [12:27 p.m.] …"
There was a slight pause between when the receiver stopped talking and when the voice message started playing.
"A-Akira? It's Mom… I…um… I just wanted to call and make sure you were all right…"
Akira noticed her speech was a bit slurred. He guessed she might've been drinking again, which reminded him of darker times.
"… I-I know I wasn't always the best mom to you… but I-I promise you, I-I tried my best… I hope y-you can forgive me for everything bad I've ever done to you…"
Listening to the message again, Akira realized how silly it was. Kairi had never done anything bad to him, never intentionally, anyway. Truth be told, he didn't even resent her for the 'Shingo' business. The way he saw it, just like with what happened between him and Makoto, he was the one who needed to apologize.
"…you're probably still mad at me… so I-I'm gonna give you a bit of space… If you wanna talk to me, I'll be ready… but know that I'll always be there for you… my son… whether you see me as your mom or not… I love you, honey…"
"Message end. To call back, press [5]. To erase, press [2]. To repeat the message, press [3] … Message archived—you have [no] new messages. *BEEEEEEEEP…*"
Akira thought about other ways the message could have played out. She could've called and angrily yelled into the phone about how mean he had been to her or how ashamed his father would be if he saw him, right then. She could have cried for three straight minutes to hammer home the guilt and hopefully get him to apologize. Kairi didn't do any of that. Despite her slightly inebriated state, she remained calm and composed, not wanting to upset him even further. Even after what he said to her, she never gave up on him. She loved and cared about him too damn much to do so. Akira finally realized that fact…and then came the voice back.
*She Hates You! She Blames You!*
"Shut up…" Akira said to no one in particular.
*You Don't Need Her! She Doesn't Want You!*
"Shut up!"
*Let! Me! Out!*
"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Akira began breathing heavily. He counted to four, inhaled, counted to four, and exhaled several times. He wanted to avoid drinking while it was still daytime, but he couldn't help it. He forwent the soda and shot whiskey straight from the bottle. After only a few sips, the pain mellowed out and the voice disappeared. Akira sat down on his bed, grabbed his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and made the call that was five months overdue. He was ready to apologize.
"H-Hello?"
"…"
"Akira…?"
"… hi, Mom."
Or was he…?