**August 14th, 2018 — One Day Before Leaving For Inaba**
Akira didn't know why he was here. He knocked on a door and waited for it to open. Soon, Akira found himself standing in front of Takuto Maruki. Akira didn't think he would find himself back here again, but he figured since this would be the last time he would ever be back in Tokyo, he might as well say a proper goodbye. Not that he wanted to tell Maruki that, but it was unavoidable.
"Akira-kun?"
"Hi, Doc."
"What are you doing here? I thought you went home for summer break."
"Y-Yeah… I partially lied about that. I'm actually going back tomorrow."
"O-Oh, I see. W-Well, what can I do for you? Would you like to come in and have a session? I don't have anyone for another two hours."
"No, thanks. I just wanted to make this quick."
"Make what quick?" Akira paused and took a deep breath.
"I came to say goodbye…"
"Goodbye? You mean until you get back, right?" Maruki asked, even though, in the back of his mind, he knew that's not what he meant. Akira shaking his head served as confirmation.
"I'm not coming back to Tokyo."
"What? What about college?"
"I'm taking a gap year. I'm going to go do some traveling for a bit, explore myself a bit more, and all that crap."
"O-Oh, I see."
"I thought it'd be better not to leave things the way I did when we last met. You know, with a lie?" Even though that's what Akira was doing right now.
Maruki sighed. "Akira-kun, are you sure you're all right?" Akira looked away and thought for a moment. Might as well be a little bit honest.
"No, I'm not. But I will be soon." Maruki didn't say anything. "Take care of yourself, Doc," Akira said as he began to leave.
"Akira-kun?" Maruki called out; Akira looked back. "You know you're not supposed to drink alcohol at your age?" Maruki sounded less friendly than usual. He appeared more like a stern parent. Akira sighed.
"You knew, huh?" he asked, referring to the time he left his whiskey-reeking tumbler in Maruki's office.
"I did, plus, I could smell whiskey on your breath just now."
"I'm surprised you even know what it is."
"I may only drink club soda when at a bar; that doesn't mean I was always straight-edge."
"Congrats, so you're soberer than I. What's your goddamn point?"
Maruki remained calm as he responded. "My point is, Akira-kun, that you need help."
"Well, then let me ask you something, Doc. If you knew I was drinking back in late April, why didn't you say anything before? If I didn't come to say goodbye today, would you have just kept it to yourself like you were doing before?" Akira was right; Maruki had no words. He did choose not to bring it up until the last possible moment. "Sorry, Doc. I wanted to avoid ending things like this." Akira felt guilty over his choice of words and probably worried Maruki more than he intended to. "Look, I promise you, I'll be all right. Okay?"
"I'm sorry, Akira-kun, but I'm afraid I don't believe you."
"Are you going to stop me from walking out that door?" Akira pointed at the exit; Maruki reluctantly shook his head.
"I should, but you're a stubborn person, perhaps, too much for your own good. Nothing I do or say will make you change your mind, will it?"
"Throw a rock," Akira replied. Maruki walked over to Akira.
"Here, take this." He handed him a card.
"I already have your number, Doc."
"For my office, yes. This is my personal line. If you ever need to contact me at any time during your 'journey,' wherever you are, I'll be ready to talk."
"Thanks." Akira reluctantly took the card. "But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. I'll see you around, Doc."
"I hope so, Akira-kun." The two nodded to each other before Akira walked out of Maruki's office for the final time. He walked through the streets of Shinjuku, making his way back to the train station before his step was interrupted by sudden Fortune.
"Akira-kun?"
"God damn it, now what?" he thought, walking over to the fortune teller's table. "Hi, Chihaya. How are you?"
"I would like you to sit down."
"I can't do a fortune reading right now, sorry. I have things to do bef-"
"Before you leave tomorrow?"
"Right, I forgot, you read my fortune even when I'm not around." "Yeah, so if you'll excuse me…"
"I would like to do it one more time, for old time's sake, please?" she pleaded. Did she somehow also know that Akira wasn't planning on coming back? From her choice of words, that what it seemed like.
"…fine," he sighed and took a seat opposite to her.
"All right…" Chihaya began her reading. "Hmm… O-Oh… Uhh…"
"Well? What's the word?" Akira asked, leaning back in the chair with his arms folded.
"W-Well, it's n-not…"
"Not good?" He raised an eyebrow.
"The Sun, Moon, Justice, and Fortune cards are reversed…"
"Meaning?"
"For the Sun, it means that you have an aura of negativity around you and are experiencing depression and sadness." Akira thought about the group chat behind his back again. "For the Moon, it means you are confused, afraid, and misinterpreting something important in your life. For the Justice-"
"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Akira snapped. "I feel enough like shit; you don't have to count the ways too."
"I'm worried about you, Akira-kun. I feel like you need some help."
"Not the first time I've heard that today, and I'll give you the same answer: I promise, I'll be fine," he tried to reassure her, but it clearly didn't work. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go. Take care of yourself, Chihaya."
Akira got up and left. Chihaya looked at the rest of the cards that were laid out on the table. Reversed Justice meant dishonesty, unaccountability, and unfairness. The Reversed Wheel of Fortune meant no control, clinging to control, and bad luck. The Tower card was there; the Fool and Devil were next to each other under it. For the duration of the reading, Akira's attention was mainly focused on those two for some reason. Of all the cards, however, two in particular made Chihaya uneasy. Death and the Hanged Man were both upright. Death meant the end of a cycle, new beginnings, change, and metamorphosis. Meanwhile, the Hanged Man meant sacrifice, release, and martyrdom. In short, Chihaya feared for Akira's life.
Elsewhere, Ryuji Sakamoto was either in the best place possible or the most boring place possible. For the last couple of hours or so, he had been sitting in Makoto and Haru's apartment as they and Ann tried on different dresses, trying to find what each wanted to wear at the wedding. Makoto and Haru made their choices, now it was Ann's turn.
"So~? What do you all think of this one~?" Ann sang as she walked out of Makoto and Haru's bedroom, wearing what seemed like the 80th dress Ryuji had seen today.
"Why am I here…?" Ryuji muttered to himself.
"Oh! It's lovely, Ann! It matches your eyes!" Haru beamed.
"I agree! What do you think, Ryuji?" Makoto nudged the blond boy sitting in between her and Haru. Rather than faking enthusiasm as he had for the past hour or so, he let out a long, weary sigh.
"Ryuji!" Ann snapped. "You're supposed to be helping!"
"Why're ya askin' me? It's just a dress. It ain't any different from the other ones to me."
"Ryuji, come on! You said you'd help!" Ann said as she twirled around, showing off her light blue dress with a thin black belt.
"I dunno that one's… fine. To be honest, I thought the black one was better."
"Black? Hahahaha," Haru laughed.
"What? Ain't black supposed to be a fancy color or somethin'?"
"Yeah, for a funeral…" Ann snorted.
"Yes, not so much for a wedding, heehee," Haru giggled.
"Shows how much you know, Ryuji, haha," Makoto snickered.
"All right, all right! I get it already!" Ryuji yelled out in frustration. "Look, you wanted my opinion; I'm giving you my opinion!"
"Woah, cool your jets there, babe, we're just teasing you!" Ann chuckled. She walked over and kissed him. "We're sorry. You're right; I do want your opinion. You think the black one was better?" she smiled; Ryuji sighed.
"Well… I mean, yeah." Ann bit her lip and thought for a moment. Ryuji thought he might finally be done looking at dresses.
"Hmm, sorry, I don't agree."
"Aw, come on!" Ryuji cried out.
"I'm sorry, it's just, the black is too… funeral-y."
"Then, why'd ya try it on in the first place!?"
"I liked it, but when I saw it, I didn't as much…"
"I agree. Were it for a different occasion than a wedding, the black dress would probably be the right choice," Makoto pointed out. After she agonized a bit more, Ann made up her mind.
"I think I'm gonna go with the red one," she said as she turned around and walked back into the bedroom to change.
"THAT WAS THE FIRST ONE!" Ryuji yelled out. "GAAAHHHHH!" Defeated, he slumped back onto the couch in between his friends. "What a waste of time…"
"Come on now, Ryuji, she still appreciated your input," Haru said as she and Makoto were barely suppressing their laughter.
"I don't even know why you asked me to come. I dunno jack about fashion. What about Yusuke? I bet he'd have a lot to say about Ann's dresses."
"Haha, he'd have WAAYY too much to say. We'd probably be here even longer," Makoto indicated.
"Crap, you're right… actually, why isn't Futaba here? Doesn't she have a dress she needs to try on?"
"Mako-chan and I already picked her dress out for her the other day," Haru replied. "I think her and Yusuke are spending the day together."
"What about Akira?" Makoto and Haru both looked at each other and shrugged. "Have you guys even heard from him since his seizure the other day?"
"I have not, unfortunately," Haru said.
"Me neither," Makoto added.
"I have," Ann said, as she came out of the bedroom, back in her street clothes. "I ran into him the other day on Central Street. He said he was running errands."
"You didn't tell us that," Ryuji said.
"Sorry, I was Shiho, and I forgot to text you guys," Ann said.
"How did he seem to you?" Haru asked. Ann took a seat opposite the couch and twirled her pigtails.
"About the same. Shiho talked to him."
"She did?" Ryuji looked surprised. "What about?"
"She told him about her mom's cancer diagnosis. It was to try and get him to talk to his own mom." Makoto didn't like that.
"That seems rather manipulative, don't you think?"
"I dunno…" Ann shrugged.
"Even if her heart was in the right place, it doesn't strike me as the right idea," Haru pondered. "Weren't we supposed to wait for Akira to open up to us about her?"
"Haru, it's been over three months now," Ann began. "Plus, we've been seeing him less and less. I told Shiho about how worried I was about him, and she wanted to try and help."
"I understand how you feel, Ann," Makoto empathized. "I'm worried about Akira too, we all are, but I still think that sending Suzui-chan to try and pry into business that isn't ours wasn't the right move." Ann thought about it for a moment.
"…yeah, I guess you're right," she admitted. "I just… I'm getting tired of sitting around and doing nothing. I miss the guy, you know?" Makoto and Haru nodded in understanding. Ryuji had a thought.
"Ah crap, I just realized; if we're all stayin' at that inn, does that mean Akira's gonna be stayin' with us as well, or with his mom?" he pondered.
"Well, I assume he would be staying at his own home," Haru pondered.
That is unless things are still sour between him and his mother…" Makoto added. Suddenly, her phone rang. It was a video call.
"Who is it?" Ryuji asked.
"It's Futaba." Makoto answered the phone.
"Yo," Futaba greeted through the phone screen. Yusuke came into the frame and greeted them as well.
"'Sup?" Ryuji yelled from out of frame.
"Hello, everyone," Yusuke greeted. "I trust the dress selection went well?"
"Dude, don't even, it was so bor-" Ryuji began before interrupting himself. "Wait, how'd you know about-?"
"We were listening in, duh," Futaba replied.
"The hell!? You're still spying on us through our phones?"
"Just kidding!" Futaba smirked. "Haru texted me earlier." Ryuji looked at Haru, who nodded. "Now, the reason I'm calling is Mona just told us some stuff you might be interested in hearing." The four squeezed together on the couch as Makoto propped her phone up in front of them to see Futaba and Yusuke together as Morgana came into frame.
"So? What's up?" Ann asked, feeling slightly anxious as to what they could have to share.
"Tell 'em, kitty," Futaba nudged Morgana.
"Why'd you have to say it like that?" Morgana whined.
"Just tell 'em!" Futaba retorted.
"Ugh…" Morgana shook his head. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys something. The other day, Akira called his mom." Ryuji and the women were intrigued.
"How do you know?" Haru asked.
"I kinda listened in on their conversation…"
"Morgana…" Makoto shook her head in disapproval.
"Sounds like he's been hanging around Futaba for too long," Ryuji quipped.
"Ain't that the truth! D'you know how hard it is to have some alone time with Yusuke!?" Futaba yelled out, clearly getting tired of Morgana crashing with her.
"Guys…" Makoto looked down and shook her head as she tried to get the conversation back on track.
"I must agree. In addition, Morgana is not exactly the cleanest of housemates. There is a significantly large amount of fur around the sheets and on my clothes as well," Yusuke stated as he looked over at the bed and himself. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find the lint brush." Yusuke walked out of the frame and out of Futaba's room.
"It's summer! I can't help that I shed so much around this time!" Morgana yelled out.
"It is what cats do, after all…" Futaba interjected without looking up from her laptop. Morgana snapped his head toward Futaba.
"I am NOT a-"
"SHUT UP!" Ann yelled. Morgana's head snapped back towards the video call. Her yell made Ryuji, Makoto, and Haru next to her cringe. "Now, can we please get back to Akira!?" she demanded.
"… O-Of course, Lady Ann. I'm sorry for-" Morgana began before getting interrupted yet again by Futaba rubbing his cheeks. "Mm-mmm, lemme go!"
"Futaba, please…" Haru brought her hand to her face. Futaba pulled away and went back to her laptop.
"We're so screwed up…" Ryuji sighed.
"Anyway, Akira called his mom and-" Morgana began before getting cut off.
"Wait! Are we sure we should hear this?" Haru pondered. "I want to avoid invading Akira's privacy."
"Don't worry. It wasn't anything serious. He just let her know that he'd be coming home on Sunday," Morgana said. Ryuji was flabbergasted.
"Wait, for real? That's it?" Morgana nodded. "Five months without a call or text, and that's all they say to each other?"
"It sounds like they're still mad at each other," Makoto thought aloud.
"It's possible. He didn't say anything about being sorry, and I don't think she did either. The little that I picked up from her voice, she didn't sound angry, just neutral," Morgana remarked, "…but there's something else." The four leaned closer to the phone. "I heard him yelling at someone to shut up." Everyone was understandably confused.
"What do you mean, Mona-chan? Who was he talking to?" Haru asked.
"He didn't say that to his mother, did he?" Makoto worried.
"I think it happened before he called her, I'm pretty sure. I heard him yell, so I went to check on him when…" Morgana paused briefly. He felt conflicted. After the scream, he went up to check on Akira, only to see him indulge in alcohol again. Should he tell them? Of course, they would try to help, or maybe they would be disappointed, perhaps both. Either way, Morgana worried that exposing the truth could sever the bond between Akira and his friends that seemed to be hanging by a thread in his eyes. He knew it was wrong to keep this from the others, but he didn't want Akira to lose them after he himself had walked out on his longtime partner, four months ago.
"When what?" Ann asked.
"…when he called his mom," Morgana chose to lie, and immediately regretted his decision, but decided to move on. "Anyway, I don't know who he was talking to when he yelled."
"Not Boss, though, right?"
"He wasn't around when it happened," Futaba chimed in. "I checked the cameras from that day; Leblanc was completely empty, apart from Akira."
"You have cameras in the café!?"
"At this point, are you really that surprised?" Futaba smirked.
"I guess not…" Ann admitted and sighed. Futaba continued.
"Anyway, since he was by himself, Akira was either talking to someone before his mom on the phone, or he was hearing voices."
"You're kiddin'… right, Futaba?" Ryuji worriedly asked.
"Well, what else could it be?" she reluctantly asked.
"I really hope it's the former…" Makoto said, anxiously squeezing her own hand.
"Me too…" Haru added, doing the same as her girlfriend. Everyone felt uneasy at the thought of Akira hearing voices, a sign of insanity. However, as much as they wanted to, they couldn't rule it out entirely, especially since Akira had been having seizures and blackouts sporadically throughout the last five months or so.
"Futaba, don't you have a camera in Akira's room to check?" Ryuji asked.
"Hell no! Are you kidding? I respect his privacy!" Futaba realized what she said, before anyone else could call her out, she did it herself. "Yeah, yeah! I heard it too, shut up!"
"Did you say anything to Sumire yet?" Haru asked.
"Not yet. I kinda thought we could talk to her about it after she joins us in Inaba. Wouldn't want her to be too distracted during her competition, you know?"
"That makes sense," Makoto nodded. "Unless something serious happens, why don't we keep it to ourselves for now?"
"I agree, only until she joins us. She must have a lot on her plate as-is, without also worrying about Akira more than she probably already is," Haru considered.
"Right, that sounds good to me," Ryuji agreed as well; Ann thought for a moment.
"Hey, Morgana, why don't you stay with Akira tonight, you know, to keep an eye on him?"
"Uhhhh…" Morgana knew it was a bad idea. Not because he didn't want to, but he was certain Akira wouldn't allow it, what with his drinking. "I'm not sure if he'll let me…"
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he?" Again, Morgana chose to bite his tongue.
"…no reason. Don't worry, Lady Ann, I'll ask him."
"Cool, thanks."
"All right, guys. It's been fun, but we gotta go. It's gonna be curry time soon," Futaba giggled.
"Remember, we're all meeting at Leblanc at four-thirty, tomorrow afternoon. We leave at five p.m," Makoto reminded her.
"Queen, you know I live, like, next door, right? Relax, I'll be there. If anything, you should tell Ryuji that, mwehehe."
"I heard that!"
"Good!"
"Guys, please…" Haru calmed them down. "Have a good evening, Futaba."
"Bye!" Ann waved goodbye.
"Time to make like a guillotine and head off!" Futaba hung up the video call.
Akira had one last errand to run before leaving Tokyo, and sadly, it wasn't saying goodbye to any of his other confidants. He took the train back to Shibuya and headed to the music store where he had dropped his guitar off to be fixed.
"Hi, can I help you?" the clerk behind the counter asked. Akira pulled out the ticket he was given when he dropped the guitar off and handed it to him.
"Yeah, I'm here to pick up my guitar. I got a call from you earlier saying it was ready." The clerk looked at the ticket.
"Ah, yes. Wait one moment, please," he said before walking to the back of the store. Akira waited for a moment, looking around at the other instruments in the store. His mind wandered for a bit until his phone dinged. He saw that he had received a text message from Sumire.
SY: Hey! Just wrapped up practice for the day, wanted to check in and see how you were doing.
AK: I'm good, just taking care of a few last-minute things before we leave tomorrow.
SY: Do you know when you're leaving yet?
AK: Yeah, we're heading out around 5 pm; we should get there around dinner time. My mom's planning on making us dinner.
SY: Oh, you talked to her?
AK: Yeah, the other day, I let her know what time we'd be there.
There was a bit of a pause before Sumire texted again.
SY: Is that all you talked about?
AK: Yes.
Akira knew what she was getting at.
SY: Okay. Well, I have to go. I'll text you later to say goodnight.
AK: K, I love you.
SY: I love you too *heart emoji*
Akira couldn't tell if his migraine was worse than before. He'd had it for so long he could barely remember what day it was without his brain hurting.
"All right!" The clerk came back with the gig bag. "Here she is." He unzipped it and got the guitar out.
"So, she's all better?" Akira asked, taking the guitar into his hands.
"Meh, more or less."
"What do you mean, 'more or less?'"
"Well, after closer inspection, she was in way worse condition than she seemed at first glance. The wiring was a disaster. You shouldn't have tried to fix her yourself."
"I didn't. It was like this when I got it."
"Well, whoever owned it before you did a real number on her. As I said, the wiring sucks; there are cracks all around the electronics. Honestly, the whole thing is just a terrible DIY job."
"Great…" Akira sighed. "But does it work?"
"There's an acoustic amp over there," the clerk pointed out. "You're free to try it out and see for yourself."
"Thanks." Akira walked over to the amp and plugged it in. The guitar emitted a loud feedback noise that reverberated around the store. It went away after a few seconds.
"Sorry…" The clerk said as he walked over. "Forgot to mention the feedback. Make sure the volume is all the way down when you first plug it in." Akira strummed a few chords. The guitar sounded a bit muddy when plugged in. The feedback kept coming back sporadically, and the sound kept cutting out, only coming back after Akira hit the area of the output jack/strap button. "So? What do you think?" the clerk asked.
"It sounds like fucking garbage," he felt like saying, but restrained himself. "It's not great. What about mic'd? Would that sound better?"
"Well, you wouldn't get the feedback issue, but, otherwise, the sound won't be better by much. It's not just the electronics; the whole guitar is in pretty bad shape. Honestly, you might want to think about just getting a new one."
"Right."
"How much did you pay for it, anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't remember the price, but I didn't buy it myself. It was a gift from a friend."
"Ah, gotcha. Is your friend a musician or know anything about guitars?" Akira shook his head. "Figures, no musician would be crazy to pay for this thing. Sorry to say, but your friend got ripped off. To completely restore it to a good playable condition would cost more than simply getting a fresh one."
"Hmph," Akira grunted. The two walked back to the counter. "So, what do I owe you?"
"Here's the total…" The clerk handed Akira the bill.
"Twenty-five-thousand yen!? Are you freaking kidding me!?" Akira felt like he was being ripped off.
"That's the price for a new pickup plus installation and setup, sorry," the clerk raised his hands.
Akira swallowed his pride and paid the man without saying another word. He played it a bit more to try and get a better feel for it. He was going to have to perform with it alongside his idol cousin in three days. Rise told him that it wasn't going to be a big wedding. He thought he'd be performing in front of other celebrities and whatnot, but thankfully, Rise told him that it was just for close friends and family. The wedding would have around sixty to seventy people in total, which is better than hundreds, but still enough to ruin his nerves.
After feeling like he got swindled, Akira got on the train and returned to Yongen-Jaya. He thought about going back and just picking up a new guitar for cheap, but wasn't committed enough to playing that he wanted to invest more money in than he already had. Plus, in rough condition or not, the guitar was still a gift from his friends. Ryuji may have bought it for him, but he still felt like it was from everyone. After all, in his mind, it and his little intimate performance in front of his fellow Phantom Thieves at Rainmaker Park represented the last time he felt truly happy before everything went to Hell.
Akira got off the train and walked back to Leblanc. Inside, he found Takemi and Hiromi sitting at the counter. Suddenly, he twitched and felt something weird inside him. It was like something had clicked, or perhaps when a lightbulb goes out after flicking the light switch. Either way, Akira felt like he was in the dark.
"Hey, if it isn't my guinea pig," Takemi quipped.
"Guinea pig?" Hiromi was puzzled. Takemi chuckled.
"It was my nickname for him back when he was helping me develop the medicine for Miwa-chan."
"Oh, haha, cute. How are you doing, Akira-kun?"
"Not too… bad, how… about yourself, Hiromi-san?" He wasn't speaking entirely normally. His speech was a bit stilted, and he looked like he had a thousand-yard stare in his eyes.
"Hiromi?" Tae raised her eyebrow. "You two on a first-name basis, now?"
"Yep, I figured, 'what the hell?' I mean, we've seen each other more outside my office than inside it, so…" Hiromi shrugged.
"Makes sense. Anyway, what do you have there?" Tae pointed to the gig bag Akira was carrying.
"Oh, just a… guitar. I took… it to get it fixed up… since I'm bringing it to a wedding."
"Oh, are you going to perform?" Hiromi asked.
"…yes…" Hiromi began to notice his speech pattern.
"Huh, you don't sound happy about it," she commented. "Not good in front of an audience?" Akira slowly shook his head. "Well, don't think about it too much. Remember, you're just there to have fun," Hiromi smiled.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Besides, I thought you had plenty of guts from all those new drugs I had you test out," Tae chuckled. "So, who's getting married?"
"My… cousin."
"Oh, Kujikawa-san! Yeah, I remember her," Hiromi nodded.
"Wait, hold up, Kujikawa? As in, Rise Kujikawa, the idol? She's your cousin?" Tae inquired.
"Are you a fan, Tae?" Hiromi asked, chuckling.
"I'm not, but Miwa-chan is. She talks about Risette a lot."
"That's… nice…" Akira thought for a second. "I'll ask… Rise to sign an autograph… for her."
"Really? You would do that for her?" Tae's face lit up like she was the one getting an autograph from a famous idol. Akira nodded. "That's very nice of you, Akira. Thank you," Tae smiled.
"That is very sweet," Hiromi added. "Hey, while you're there, do you think you can bring me back a nice guy as well? I hear weddings are good for that sort of stuff," she chuckled.
"Hiromi!" Tae exclaimed.
"What? I was kidding. Cut me some slack, Tae." The two nudged each other. Akira thought for another moment.
"Actually… Hiromi-san," he said before pulling out the card Maruki gave him earlier and handed it to her. "Here, take… this."
"Doctor Takuto Maruki, psychologist…? Um, thank you, Akira-kun, but I don't need therapy," Hiromi said, chuckling as she tried handing the card back.
"Says you…" Tae snorted before sipping more of her coffee, earning a glare from her former medical schoolmate.
"No, it's not… like that. He's… a really good guy, and he's single as well," Akira said, still sounding stiff.
"Oh…" Hiromi looked at the card and pondered. "Is he cute?"
"Oh, for God's sake, Hiromi, just go for it!" Tae encouraged. "If it's coming from Akira, then it's probably a good deal, trust me!" Hiromi pondered over the card for a moment.
"Ah, what the hell? I'll think about it. Thanks, Akira-kun," Hiromi smiled.
"Jeez… drug tester, guitar player, autograph getter, matchmaker, is there anything you can't do?" Tae quipped. Akira silently shrugged at her.
"Well, I think I better get going." Hiromi stood up. "Great to see you again, Akira-kun. Thanks for the coffee, Boss!" she said to Sojiro, who was in the kitchen. Akira hadn't even noticed he was in the room. She placed her money on the counter.
"I should go too. Thank you, Boss!" Tae said as she put her money on the counter.
"No worries. Come back anytime, Doc."
"Will do!" Tae and Hiromi said in unison, earning a chuckle from everyone present except Akira. The two left the café, and Sojiro turned his attention to Akira as he came and collected the money left behind by the two doctors.
"So, how was your afternoon?" he asked.
"Fine."
"You all packed up for tomorrow?"
"Not yet… I still have… time…" Sojiro nodded his head.
"Just make sure you don't forget anything and-oh right, hehe," he chuckled slightly.
"What… is it?"
"Nothing, I keep forgetting you'll be back next week. Guess I'm just getting a bit senile. Ah, it happens with age." Akira felt a bit of guilt at that. He didn't plan on telling Sojiro he wouldn't be coming back. He hadn't planned on telling anyone that he would simply run away after the wedding was over. He hadn't even planned on telling Maruki, yet he did so anyway. Why? Why did he go out again?
"Where am I again?"
"Hey!" Sojiro snapped his fingers in Akira's face. "Are you there?"
"Huh, sorry. Did you say something?"
"I said, are you doing okay? You were talking funny from the moment you first walked in. Whenever the doctors asked you about it, you just changed the subject."
"…I did?" he muttered to himself.
"Though I gotta say, that was nice of you to offer to get that little girl an autograph from your cousin."
"Did… did I really do that?" Akira didn't remember saying that. Come to think of it, he didn't remember anything after walking into Leblanc up until Sojiro snapped his fingers at him. He did remember seeing Tae and Hiromi sitting together.
"…you sure you're okay, kid? Did you have another small seizure or something?"
"N-No, but I think I blacked out for a bit."
"Jeez… do you want me to get them back in here?"
"No, no, I'm okay now," Akira said as he rubbed his forehead. "What else did I say?"
"Well, you gave your therapist's number to Kimura-san."
"Why…?"
"I think you were trying to fix the two of them up on a date, hehe."
"Huh…" Well, at least, he wasn't getting on random express trains or injuring his knuckles, but he felt horrible knowing that he promised to get a young girl an autograph from an idol when he wasn't planning on coming back at all. "I'm gonna go upstairs."
"Mind if I walk with you?"
"Sojiro, I'm fine."
"Relax, I just want to show you something I found earlier." Akira felt the blood drain from his face. Did Sojiro go through his room and find his booze? The two made their way upstairs. Each step felt like it took eight years to walk up for Akira. Once they got upstairs, Akira saw a box in the center of his room. Sojiro walked over to it and smiled back at him.
"What is that?" Akira asked.
"I picked this up for you earlier. It's a little project I'm giving myself while you guys are gone for the week."
"Still don't know what it is…" Sojiro turned the box around to show him.
"You're very own bed. Queen size." Akira couldn't believe it.
"Sojiro, thank you, but you didn't-"
"Stop right there. Don't worry about it. To be honest, I should've done this a long time ago. Even if you were to move out of here and into your own place in the next few months, at least this way, you'd always have a comfortable place to crash here. But seeing as there are no plans for that, at least that I know of, I figured it's time you got a real bed, rather than that flimsy mattress on top of milk crates, hehe." Akira cringed inside as he was reminded of his first day back and what he said to Sojiro, who was throwing his words back at him in a bit of fun, but he was also speechless.
"I-I don't know what to say…" He should've told him what he was planning to do. Sojiro smiled, walked over to him, and placed a hand around his shoulder.
"You don't have to say anything, son. Just know you'll always have a home here."
"When did you get so sentimental?" Akira chuckled for the first time today.
"Hehe, I have no clue. I think it's something that also happens as you get older." The two shared a chuckle.
"I really appreciate this. Thank you," Akira said.
"No worries, kid. Like I said, I should've done this a long time ago. Sorry, it took me so long."
"Don't worry about it." Sojiro smiled as he heard the bell chime and a familiar voice cry out in hunger.
"Sojiro!? Curry time!"
He sighed. "Are you coming down?" he asked Akira.
"Yeah, just give me one second?"
"Sure thing." Sojiro headed downstairs, leaving Akira alone in his room. He knew he had to do it now, in case he forgot to before he left, or he blacked out again. He went around his room, collected the bottles of alcohol he had stashed, and put them in his bag. He went downstairs and saw Yusuke, Futaba, and Morgana seated in one of the booths.
"Hey, guys."
"Yo! You going somewhere?" Futaba reminded him.
"I just have one more thing to do. I'll be back in just a few minutes. Excuse me," he said and left Leblanc, going into a secluded alley, making sure no one was around, and emptying the whiskey bottles in a garbage can before disposing of the bottles themselves. To most alcoholics, this meant that they were ready to quit drinking and get sober. Akira, however, had no plans to quit. He just didn't want Sojiro to find the bottles while he was gone. He returned to Leblanc and tried his best to enjoy a nice dinner with Futaba, Morgana, and Yusuke. Later, after Yusuke left and Futaba and Sojiro went home, Akira went up to his room and found Morgana sitting on the bed box.
"The chief got you a real bed, huh?" Morgana said.
"Yeah, he did."
"That was nice of him. Can't be any worse than the old one."
"Hmph, so what's up? Not going back to Futaba's?"
"Actually… I was hoping I could stay with you if that's okay." Akira knew what was going on. He knew Morgana just wanted to keep an eye on him to keep him from drinking, but if he was honest, he didn't mind at all.
"Sure, you can."
"Really!?" Morgana was fully expecting to have to argue and even expected to lose the said argument, but he didn't expect Akira to actually be okay with it in the first place.
"You sound surprised."
"Well, I'm sure you can understand why."
"Yeah… Look, I don't wanna get into it. We should just go to sleep."
"That's my line, mwehehe." Akira didn't chuckle.
"Not in the mood."
"R-Right, uh…"
"Look, I admit, it's been lonely without you. I do miss you; you know?" Akira tried to smile but couldn't do it. The migraine was pounding, but he didn't care. He was kind of used to it by this point.
"Me too." Morgana should've apologized for walking out on him. "Well, thanks."
"No worries… partner."