**August 15th, 2018 — Final Day In Tokyo**
Akira was in the Leblanc bathroom, staring in the mirror. He barely recognized who he was anymore. Between his messier than usual hair, his ever-growing beard, the bags under his eyes, and his pale and sweaty ghost-face, he looked like a wreck, and like he just wanted to get away from it all. Akira thought something similar earlier in the year before he came back to Tokyo. He knew he wasn't thinking straight; all the alcohol and pills he had consumed over the past few months might have finally caught up to him. In his eyes, though, he was screwed up long before anything this year had happened. If he could trace it back to one moment where it all began to go wrong, it would probably be…
*Knock* *Knock*
"Yo, Akira? You all right? You've been in there for a while…" Akira's thoughts were interrupted by Ryuji knocking on the bathroom door. He checked his phone and saw that it was getting to be around five p.m. when he last remembered entering the bathroom at four-thirty p.m. Meh, not the most prolonged blackout he's experienced.
"I'm coming… give me a second!" he replied. There was another, more subtle knock at the door.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Another voice asked, this one being Ann's.
"I'm fine… just feeling a bit nauseous…"
Akira didn't know whether he was nervous about going home or felt like he might be going through mild alcohol withdrawal. Even though he wasn't drinking excessively, it was still far too much for a boy his age. Akira hadn't had a drink since Friday evening, which was almost two days ago. He went all of Saturday sober and regretted not taking at least a small sip of whiskey before dumping the bottles the previous evening. His mind was racing, and he was sweating like a pig. Eventually, Akira couldn't keep it in his stomach and started loudly throwing up the curry he had earlier.
He sat on the floor, hunched over the toilet, hugging the seat for another ten minutes as he loudly heaved without actually throwing anything up. All the coffee and curry he had eaten earlier was out of his now-empty stomach. People kept knocking on the door, but he had locked it when he had gone in. One by one, his friends tried talking to him, each time he told them that he was fine and to give him a minute. While all of his friends and Sojiro tried and failed to reach him, another voice managed to succeed, one inside Akira's head.
*Let Me Out!*
"Not now…please, not now…" he thought.
*But Soon!*
Akira slapped himself, trying to shut the voice in his head up; it seemed closer than before. It only found itself being replaced by another voice.
"…Tr-…er-…ick-…st-…Tr-…er-…ick-…st-…"
He recognized the voice as the one he had heard a few days ago in the alley near Central Street, as well as the day he returned home last March.
"…L-Lavenza…?" he whispered.
"…F-…nd u-…S-…oon-…"
Like before, he couldn't make out what he was hearing. He looked around, but didn't see a blue butterfly, as he had back in March.
"This is it…" he thought, "…I've finally lost it."
After about ten straight minutes of dry heaving and occasionally puking up what he could only assume was stomach juice, Akira somehow found the strength to get up off the ground. He washed his face and gargled water to rinse out his throat. As he walked out of the bathroom, coughing, and blowing his nose into a tissue, he once again found himself in a position he was getting sick of being in, the center of attention. All his closest friends were looking on as he looked his worst. It happened when he came home drunk after storming out of Sumire's meet. It happened when he woke up screaming from a nightmare after a seizure, and it was happening now. Akira hated the feeling. It was his like he was walking into an intervention, even though he wasn't drinking right now. He was off the booze and yet, somehow, he still felt like he was in the gutter.
"Probably just something I ate," he said.
"Are you saying my curry made you sick?" Sojiro asked as he handed Akira a cup of chamomile tea before walking back behind the counter. "Maybe I should change the recipe?"
"You wouldn't!" Futaba yelled out. "Akira, tell him not to, please, please!" she begged.
"Futaba, now is not the time," Makoto said before turning to Akira. "Are you feeling all right to make the trip?" Akira nodded as he sipped his tea.
"Yeah, I'm good now," he wasn't.
"It's only three hours," Ryuji pointed out.
"That's still a long drive. What if he throws up in the van?" Ann asked.
"He can stick his head out the window. Let the guy behind us worry about it," Ryuji joked and shrugged; nobody laughed at his joke. Ann scoffed and shook her head.
"What am I, a dog?" Akira said, trying his best not to sound too bitter.
"Boss, do you have any vomit bags you can provide him with?" Yusuke asked.
"Yeah, I should have some plastic bags in the kitchen behind the fridge," Sojiro said as he pointed to the fridge.
"I'll go check," Haru said as she got up from her seat and headed towards the kitchen.
"Be sure to check the ones you pick out; some of them might have holes," Sojiro informed her.
"Will do." Akira finished his tea. He wasn't much of a tea drinker but had to admit; it was very soothing. Sojiro came back to take the cup out of his hands.
"Thanks for that," Akira said. "Didn't even know we had tea."
"Of course, we do, but no one ever orders it."
"Why would they when the coffee is so good!" Ann remarked. Haru returned from the kitchen and handed Akira some plastic bags.
"Here you go," she said in her typically sweet voice.
"Thanks." Akira took the bags and pocketed them.
"I also have some anti-nausea medicine here if you need it," Makoto added, reaching into her purse, and tossing him a box of medicine.
"Again, thanks," Akira nodded before checking the time on his phone. "We should get going."
"Do we have all of our bags packed in the van?" Makoto asked around. Everyone responded, "yes," except for Akira.
"Almost, I still have to grab the guitar from upstairs. You guys go on ahead; I'll meet you at the van." Everyone nodded as they began shuffling out of Leblanc, Sojiro included, while Akira went upstairs.
"Hold on, has anyone seen Morgana?" Yusuke asked. They looked around but couldn't see him.
"Eh, he's prolly in the van already. He'll turn up," Ryuji said as they exited the now empty café. Meanwhile, upstairs, Akira grabbed the gig bag from the corner of his room when he heard someone clear their throat. He turned around to see Morgana sitting on the bed box that was moved near his desk.
"Oh, hey. Why aren't you with the others? You want us to leave without you?" Akira asked.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Yeah, I came up to grab the guitar."
"I'm talking about this…" Morgana said as he motioned his head towards Akira's wallet that was next to him. Akira hadn't even noticed it was gone.
"Oh, right. Thanks. Would've sucked if I had forgotten it."
"Right…" Morgana paused. "So, who's Ren Amamiya?" Morgana interrupted. Akira froze as Morgana glared at him.
"…w-what?"
"You heard me."
"Morgana…" Akira sighed.
"I should've figured you had a fake ID. How else would you have been able to buy alcohol?"
"Congratulations, Sherlock. You've cracked the case," Akira sarcastically quipped; he was not happy. "Besides, why were you going through my wallet anyway?"
"I didn't mean to; I just happened to stumble upon it."
"Uh-huh…" Akira didn't buy that. "You really have been spending too much time with Futaba. Learn to respect other people's privacy." Morgana wanted to argue further, but decided against it. They had other things to worry about for now.
"You're right," he said, backing down. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine…" Akira sighed. "Now, can we please go? The others are waiting." Morgana nodded before hopping off the box and going downstairs.
Akira took one more look around his attic bedroom. In his mind, this would be the last time he would see himself standing in it. He turned around and went downstairs, taking one more look around Leblanc before exiting it for the last time. Akira was leaving the place he considered his second home just five months earlier, and he didn't feel anything; not even regret. He and Morgana joined up with the others at the van as everyone was saying goodbye to Sojiro. As he walked up, Futaba hugged her dad and got in. Morgana meowed his goodbyes to Sojiro and joined the others inside.
"Well, goodbye," Akira said to Sojiro.
"What, that's it? No hug?"
"Thought you weren't the hugging type?"
"Aw, shut up and bring it in," Sojiro pulled Akira in for a hug, which Akira reciprocated. "Besides, I'll see you in a week anyway. And remember, you'll have a brand-new bed waiting for you."
"Thanks, I appreciate it…" Akira felt his stomach drop but paid no mind to it. "See you soon," he said as he got in and shut the van door.
"Have a safe trip. Let me know when you get there, 'kay?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, say 'hi' to your mom for me."
"We will!" Futaba yelled out the window, waving as they began to drive off. All their phones dinged at once. Everyone except Makoto checked their notifications to see that Sumire had sent a picture to the Phantom Thieves group chat. It was her standing on a podium in the first place, holding a trophy.
**PT Group Chat**
SY: *Sumire Yoshizawa sent an attachment* I did it, you guys!
AT: YAY! So happy for you! *heart emojis*
RS: Way 2 go Sumi!
FS: Woohoo! That's our girl! Bringin home the gold! *fire emojis*
HO: We're thrilled for you, Sumire! Mako-chan sends her congratulations as well. :)
YK: As does Morgana. Congratulations.
AK: I'm very happy for you, Sumire
SY: Thank you all! Are you on the road yet?
AK: Just about to get on the highway.
SY: Safe travels! See you all on Tuesday! Love you, Akira!
FS: Hey! Not in the GC!
Akira put away his phone and took one more look at the city as they got on the highway. Eventually, Tokyo found itself in the rearview mirror of the van, as well as Akira's. It was still far too early for the sun to begin setting, but in Akira's mind, it seemed like the sun was starting to set on his time with his friends.
By the time they reached Inaba, the sun was almost completely out, with only a little bit of light still out. Thankfully, Akira felt better after they left. That is to say, he no longer felt nauseous. He was still a mess because of the migraines, but, at least, there wasn't the risk of him covering the others in vomit. It was nearly eight-thirty p.m. by the time they reached the Kurusu home. As they pulled up to the house and switched off the ignition, Kairi walked out of the house to greet them. The group, except for Akira, piled out of the van and all went in for a group hug for Kairi.
"Hey, everyone!" she happily greeted them in a casual summer outfit; jean shorts, a white shirt, sandals, hair tied up in a ponytail and sunglasses on top of her head.
"Good aftern-evening!" Futaba exclaimed.
"Kurusu-san! So nice to see you again!" Haru beamed, squeezing Kairi tight along with the others.
"I knew I'd have to remind you all, haha. Call me 'Kairi,'" she insisted as she let them go. "How was the drive? Not too bad, I hope?"
"Not at all!" Makoto assured her. "It was smooth sailing, surprisingly."
"Ah, s-sorry, I don't wanna interrupt, but I really hafta use the bathroom," Ryuji said as he shook, busting for a piss.
"I told you not to drink so much water!" Ann chuckled.
"Hey, it's not my fault! It was freakin' hot in there; I had to stay hydrated!" Ryuji fired back.
"Pfft, idiot…" Morgana said from back in the van. Ryuji still caught it.
"I heard that, cat!" Kairi couldn't help but chuckle at Ryuji arguing with the meowing cat.
"Perhaps you should've gone before we left," Yusuke pointed out as Akira finally got out of the van, holding his bag with Morgana in it.
"I was gonna, but Akira was hoggin' the bathroom, and then it slipped my mind when he started pukin' his guts out," Kairi's chuckling suddenly stopped.
"W-Wait! What!?" she exclaimed.
"Thanks for that, Ryuji." Akira put his hand on Ryuji's shoulder. "Real, subtle…" he said sarcastically before turning to his mother. "Hey, Mom," he unenthusiastically said.
"Shit, sorry, wasn't thinkin', really hafta go! I'm sorry, Kairi-san!" Ryuji yelled as he ran inside the house, leaving everyone else outside.
"Uh-umm, w-well, why don't you all go inside?" Kairi suggested. "Dinner'll be ready in a little bit."
"Thank you very much, Kairi-san. I promise you; we won't overstay our welcome," Yusuke assured her. Everyone began making their way inside the house, along with Morgana, who had hopped out of Akira's bag. As Akira started walking, his mother stopped him. Once they were alone outside, she spoke to him.
"Did you really get sick earlier?" she worriedly asked.
"Yeah, but don't worry. Makoto gave me some medicine. I'm okay now." Kairi nodded and held him tight. Unlike with Sojiro, Akira didn't reciprocate the same way.
"I missed you," she told him, smiling; Akira simply nodded and faked a smile. "Shall we head inside?"
"You go on ahead. I'm gonna grab my bags out of the back," Akira said.
"Do you need any help?"
"No, I got it." Kairi nodded and went inside.
Akira brought his bags upstairs and dropped them in his room before going back down to join the others. Everyone sat in the living room, talking as Kairi finished making dinner. She kindly served everyone drinks. A few days prior, she had gone out shopping and picked up all of Akira's favorite snacks. Kairi bought way more than what was needed for a week-long visit, and she wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps, she did it in the hopes of making Akira feel better, or maybe to forget what happened back in March? She had hoped things would be better when he arrived. So far, however, things were about the same. Kairi tried to ignore it, but the air between them was still tense. As everyone talked and joked, Akira thought he would begin to regret his decision to leave after the wedding, but he didn't. He stood firm on his plans. He tried thinking about what he would miss most about his friends, but nothing came to mind, except for them texting about him behind his back.
*They Don't Care!*
Akira cringed. The voice was back, and it seemed it was getting louder. He had to think of something else to distract himself.
*You Don't Need Them!*
Everyone turned towards Akira as he suddenly got up. "I'll be right back."
"You good?" Futaba asked.
"Mm-hm," Akira nodded and left.
Akira made his way to the bathroom. His headache was getting to be too much. His usual method of self-medicating with whiskey was not an option right now, while the painkillers from Tae had run out a while ago and he never bothered to ask for more. He looked through the medicine cabinet and found some generic store-brand aspirin. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. He took a couple of capsules in his mouth, cupped his hands together to fill them with water, and swallowed the pain relievers. While he had the water running, he removed his glasses and splashed some water on his face. However, when he looked back up at the mirror, Akira saw himself… as Joker.
*LET ME OUT!*
The person in the mirror screamed at Akira. Though it was all in his head, it nonetheless caused him to stagger and reel back, falling onto the ground and knocking a towel rack down in the process. The noise he made was loud. Akira quickly picked himself back up and looked in the mirror once more; Joker was gone. Instead, it was just his own reflection. Akira was scared. Despite his loud and heavy breathing, he heard a knock on the door.
"Honey? Are you all right?" his mother was calling out to him from behind the door. Before he had a chance to respond, the door flew open as Ryuji burst into the bathroom.
"Dude! Are you all right!? You good!?" Ryuji was freaking out, and Kairi looked confused.
"Ryuji! Calm down, I'm fine. I just accidentally knocked the towel rack down, see?" Akira pointed at the towel rack on the floor. Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.
"Jeez, man. You nearly gave me a heart attack. We heard a loud noise and thought you were-"
"Ryuji! Stop! I'm good," Akira glared at Ryuji, stopping him from spilling about his seizures in front of his mother.
"…'Kay, you sure?"
"Yes, now, can you please give me a minute?"
"Y-Yeah…" Ryuji walked out of the bathroom. "Sorry 'bout that, Kairi-san. I-uh, thought this guy fell in the toilet, hehehe…" he nervously chuckled as he passed Kairi on his way out. She went wide-eyed; Akira facepalmed.
"Of all the things he could've said to her…" Akira thought and sighed; Kairi looked back at her son in confusion.
"What was that about?"
"That's just Ryuji being an idiot, as usual," Akira said with no trace of humor in his voice.
"Akira, that's not very nice…"
"Right…" he didn't care. "Sorry about the noise; I was washing my hands and lost my balance somehow. I tried to catch myself on the towel rack." Kairi put her hands on his arms.
"You lost your balance?" she asked, concerned. "Are you feeling motion sick?"
"No."
"Feeling nauseous again?"
"No, no, I'm good. Don't worry."
"Okay, are you sure you still want to eat?"
"Yeah."
"Well, okay. I'll go let everyone know dinner's ready," she flashed a brief smile, clearly still ill at ease, before leaving Akira alone.
He leaned against the bathroom sink, facing away from the mirror, still trying to process what he saw. It was definitely Joker, but not the same as him. It was more like a reverse-Joker or meta-Joker. He had on a red coat; the mask was primarily black and only partially white, rather than his usual white mask with black embellishments. This mask was laced in gold as well; it matched the eyes he looked into. Golden eyes, just like a shadow from the Metaverse. Akira put his glasses back on, went to the dining room and sat down at the dinner table. His friends' concerned eyes lingered on him. Whenever he looked toward them, they would look away. Kairi didn't notice as she served everyone some homemade rice stew.
"So, how did everyone's first term go?" Kairi happily asked. Everyone answered positively. An ongoing conversation formed between the group and Kairi, with Akira just silently eating his dinner, still unable to shake what he saw in the mirror from his mind. Between that and the voice he heard in his head, the idea that he was going crazy seemed more and more like an actuality to him.
"Yo, Akira?" his thoughts were interrupted by a nudge from Ryuji, who was sitting next to him. "Your mom's talkin' to you."
"Sorry, what was that?" he looked at his mother.
"I was saying that it's a shame Sumire couldn't be with us tonight, but I understand how important gymnastics are to her."
"Yeah, I do too… wait, how'd you know she was away on a retreat?" Akira asked.
"Rise told me the other day. She came by to visit."
"Ah, gotcha," Akira said as he took a drink of water.
"Oh, that reminds me, she's going to be staying with us tomorrow night, and she'll be getting ready with the other bridesmaids on Tuesday morning. Is that all right with you?" Akira nodded as he put his glass back down on the table.
"Oh man, Risette AND bridesmaids under one roof? Can I stay here too?" Ryuji jokingly asked.
"Why don't you ask your girlfriend if she would be okay with that?" Futaba asked, gesturing her head to Ann, who was sitting next to her.
"Yeah, Ryuji, do you really think I'd be okay with that?" Ann glared at him.
"C'mon, I was just messin' around, I know you wouldn't be," Ryuji defended himself. Ann kept glaring at him. "…right?" Ryuji whimpered.
"Of course, I wouldn't be!" Ann yelled out before switching to a calmer and more seductive tone. "Besides, would you rather sleep on a couch all alone or in a real bed with me?" she asked, giving him bedroom eyes.
"Man, first the group chat, now the dinner table? Nowhere is safe from lovey-dovey crap…" Futaba muttered. Yusuke leaned over and whispered to her.
"I don't think 'lovey-dovey' is the correct word to describe what Ann is thinking."
"Thanks for that, Inari," she responded, rolling her eyes.
"So, you and Ryuji-kun are dating, Ann-chan?" Kairi asked; Ann nodded in response. "How long has this been going on?"
"Almost six months now," Ann responded, "but we aren't the only ones who got together since you last saw us."
"Oh?"
"Futaba and I also began dating not long after Ann and Ryuji," Yusuke announced.
"Well now! Did you all go on a quadruple date?" Kairi smirked.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to due to all of us being so busy. Perhaps we could do so during our time here?" Haru suggested. "Do you know any good restaurants, Kairi-san?"
"You could all go to Meguro's. It's a great restaurant, not too pricey either," Kairi suggested. "Actually, I think that's where you're all going for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow," she said to Akira.
"Do you know who else is going to be there?" he asked.
"Yu-san's parents, for sure, but, otherwise, I don't know; you'll have to ask Rise."
"I hope we'll get to all have dinner here again when Sumire gets here," Makoto said.
"Heck yeah! Would be cool for Mama-Kurusu to have the whole gang at one table!" Futaba exclaimed.
"What, so I can be a… one, two, three… ninth wheel!?" Kairi paused her quip to count the number of couples at her table, including Akira and Sumire. "Haha, yeah, thanks, but no thanks."
"Ah, don't feel bad. It's not like Morgana's got anyone, either," Ryuji chuckled.
"Shut up, Ryuji!" Morgana howled.
"Wow, that meow was perfectly timed, haha. It's like he understood you or something, Ryuji-kun. Excuse me for one second, guys." Kairi got up and went to the kitchen. The Thieves all looked at each other and chuckled. Akira might've as well if he remembered how. Dinner continued with more conversation. Akira only spoke when he was being addressed and otherwise kept his mouth shut. Once everyone's plates were cleaned, Kairi brought out a cheesecake she made herself. The Thieves were shocked at how amazing it was. Kairi was definitely a woman of many talents. "So, do you all have any plans for tomorrow?" Kairi asked.
"Um, not really, come to think of it. We were so focused on the wedding that we forgot to plan beyond that," Haru admitted. It seemed like Akira was the only one who had plans beyond the wedding.
"Well, why don't you guys head to the beach? The temperature's going to be super hot, tomorrow," Kairi suggested.
"Great idea!" Makoto beamed.
"Aw yeah! It's the middle of August, and we ain't even been to the beach yet!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"I'm down for a beach day!" Ann agreed, as did everyone else. Akira silently nodded before looking towards his mother.
"Is that all right with you?"
"Of course, enjoy your time off with your friends…" she replied. Akira noticed a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Like him, she was clearly aware of the elephant in the room, and also like him, she chose to ignore it. As much fun as everyone (well, almost everyone) was having, it was getting late, and the other thieves had yet to check in at the Amagi Inn. They all hugged and said their goodbyes to Kairi, Akira, and Morgana before getting back in the van, and then they were off. They had passed the inn on their way to the Kurusu home, so they knew where to go.
"So, that was a good night, right?" Futaba asked; the reaction was mixed.
"Y-Yeah, I guess…" Ann hesitantly responded.
"Dinner was marvelous, but I admit, the atmosphere was a bit tense…" Yusuke added. Ann decided to bring up what was on everyone's mind.
"Are we gonna talk about that crash we heard from the bathroom?" she asked. "Ryuji, do you know what happened?"
"Yeah, you rushed out of the room as soon as we heard it," Futaba said.
"Yeah…" Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought Akira was havin' another seizure. His mom was knockin' on the door when I burst in. Thank God he didn't lock the door like he did back at Leblanc."
"So, what did happen?" Haru asked, tilting her head to look behind her.
"He just said he knocked down a towel rack or somethin' like that."
"Do you believe him?"
"I want to… but I don't know…" The others nodded in understanding.
"Do you all think we should've told Kairi-san while we were there?" Makoto asked, still driving.
"You mean about his seizures?" Haru asked; Makoto nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't feel as though it is our place to tell her, but, on the other hand, I feel like if we don't tell her, who will?"
"I hate to admit it, but we may have to inform her ourselves, seeing as Akira likes to keep things to himself," Yusuke said.
"Yeah, I mean, he only told us about his seizures after he had one right in front of us," Ryuji recalled.
"Why don't we add that to the list of things to do once Sumire gets here?" Futaba suggested. "Maybe it'll be easier if we all tell her together?"
"So, after the wedding? I think I can live with that," Ann nodded.
"Yeah, I guess I can, too," Ryuji responded. Makoto, Haru, and Yusuke all agreed as well.
"I just hope he doesn't have another one before then…" Futaba murmured. After a short five-minute drive, they reached the Amagi Inn. They got their bags out of the back of the van and headed inside.
"Wow, nice place!" Ryuji observed the main floor.
"Indeed. The architecture is sublime. The décor is rather generic, however," Yusuke remarked. Futaba rolled her eyes.
"Generic? Huh, that's the first time I've heard that, haha," A woman with long flowing black hair, dressed in a pink kimono, chuckled as she stood behind the front desk.
"Oh, uh, hi," Futaba timidly greeted her as the the Thieves turned towards the front desk.
"Are you all friends of Akira-kun?" They all nodded. "Ah, great! My name is Yukiko Amagi. I've been expecting you."
"W-Wait, Amagi? You're the owner of this place?" Futaba raised an eyebrow. Yukiko smiled and nodded.
"That's right. I'm the manager, but it's been in my family for a long time."
"Ah, okay…" Futaba said before she softly elbowed Yusuke in the gut. "Way to insult the place we're supposed to be crashing at right in front of the owner, genius!" The other Thieves couldn't help but giggle. Yusuke grunted in pain before apologizing to Yukiko. She didn't take it too personally and simply laughed it off.
"Now, then, I have you all down for three rooms. One for uh…" Yukiko looked through the registry. "Niijima Makoto and Okumura Haru?"
"That's us!" Makoto said as she and Haru walked up to the desk.
"Here you go, room 300. Enjoy your stay!"
"Thank you very much, Amagi-san!" Haru bowed. She and Makoto grabbed their bags, said goodbye to the others, and headed for their room.
"Next up, Takamaki Ann and Sakamato Ryuji?"
"Oh, uh, it's Saka-MO-to," Ryuji politely corrected her.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry!" Yukiko made the correction in the registry and handed them their key. "Room 304, have a nice stay!"
"Thank you very much!" Ann said before turning to Yusuke and Futaba. "G'night, you guys!"
"And finally, Sakura Futaba and Kitagawa… Yusuke, huh, ha-hahaha…" Yukiko mused before giggling profusely. Futaba and Yusuke looked at each other, confused.
"I'm sorry," Yusuke began as he looked back at Yukiko, "is there something funny about my name?"
"…n-no, not at all, I'm sorry," Yukiko hastily apologized. "It's just that I have a friend named 'Yosuke,' hahaha," she kept laughing.
"Ah, I… see." Yusuke was no stranger to being the butt of a joke here and there, but he felt like he missed out on this one. Yukiko's laughter was out of control, like an overamped Energizer bunny. Futaba and Yusuke grew more and more confused, and slightly uncomfortable. Why was she laughing this much? Eventually, Yukiko recomposed herself.
*Ahem!* "Sorry about that. Umm, h-here is your room key, room 302. Enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks…" Futaba said, taking the key. As she and Yusuke began heading upstairs to their room, they could hear Yukiko starting to laugh once more. They looked at each other in confusion before Futaba also started giggling.
"Why are you laughing?" he asked her.
"Sorry, I can't help it. That was just so weird," she giggled.
"I can't argue with you in that regard," Yusuke replied. Futaba kept chuckling as they walked up the stairs and down the hallway to their room. Not to the same extent as Yukiko, but enough to make Yusuke wonder if there was laughing gas in the air. Once in their room, Yusuke and Futaba found out that being the only couple in the group that hadn't gone all the way romantically was painful. As they tried to go to sleep, they could hear Makoto and Haru moaning beyond the wall to their left, and judging by the sounds of a creaking bed, Ann and Ryuji also getting it on in the room to the right of theirs.
"They don't have what we have…" Futaba sighed.
"No, they do not…" Yusuke followed suit.
The next day was a beach day, but before that, the Thieves crashed the Kurusu home after breakfast. They were worried that they were taking advantage of Kairi's hospitality between all the food she was giving them and her allowing them to hang around her house all day. She didn't mind at all. If anything, it made the air less tense between her and Akira. After they left the previous night, Akira headed straight to bed, claiming he was exhausted from the trip. They shared a quick goodnight hug, but that was about it. Very few words were spoken. Akira skipped breakfast and opted to stay in bed until his friends arrived. Because of him being sick the previous day, Morgana assumed he was still feeling ill, but had reservations in his mind. They all sat outside on the patio, enjoying drinks, and talking. Kairi found herself growing closer and closer to the other Thieves. She pieced together in her mind that her son's friends were the other members of the Phantom Thieves. The only one she didn't suspect was Morgana. After all, he was just a cat to her. They decided to have a barbecue for lunch. If they thought Akira was great at the grill, Kairi was even better. She had learned to cook mostly independently, but she had learned to grill from Hiroki, her late father-in-law and legal guardian before that.
After lunch, the group hopped in the van and headed for Shichiri Beach. Just as Kairi had said, it was a hot day. The weather was perfect for going swimming. They spent hours swimming, playing volleyball, burying Ryuji in the sand, the usual shenanigans. Akira forwent his faux glasses in favor of aviator specs as he spent most of his time lying under a sunshade, alone with his thoughts. He tried to rethink running away, but every time he did, a negative memory supplanted it. The group chat, the falling out with his mother, getting mugged by Raden, nearly killed by that drunk outside World's End, all his seizures, and that was just the stuff that happened in the last six months. His being by himself was not lost on the others. They asked him to come out and join them, but he didn't. The sun was pounding down on him, even in the shade, and his migraine kept increasing, as did his certainty that leaving was the right thing to do. Akira was lying to his friends, to his family, and to himself, but in his mind, it was better to live a lie than face the truth. What was the truth? It didn't matter, Akira didn't think about it. Doing so gave him a headache.
Shortly before five-thirty p.m., the Thieves dropped Akira and Morgana off at the house; Morgana decided to take a walk to try and shake some of the sand out of his fur. When Akira walked in, he found that Rise had arrived. She and Kairi were chatting in the living room.
"Hey! Nice to see you again, cuz!" Rise happily exclaimed. "How was the beach?" she asked as she hugged him.
"Sandy," he simply replied. "How're things going with you?"
"Great! Couldn't be better," she smiled.
"That's good, I'm happy for you."
"Thank you! Now, you better go get ready. We're heading out to dinner in a half-hour."
"I'm on it."
"Oh, Akira?" Kairi caught him before he left the living room.
"Yeah?"
"Where's Morgana? Did he not come back?"
"He's outside somewhere," he replied before going upstairs to his room.
"Who's Morgana?" Rise asked.
"Oh, he's our cat." Rise raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't know you guys had a cat."
"He's Akira's. He got him when he first got to Tokyo for his probation year, and apparently, they've stuck together like glue ever since. He went back with him when he left in March."
"Ah, okay."
"I'm surprised you didn't meet him while you were there for Golden Week." Rise simply shrugged.
"Nope. Didn't see any cats in Tokyo. Well, no house-cats at least, just a bunch of strays, haha…" Rise chuckled.
Akira showered and put on some nice clothes. This wasn't the wedding, so he had room to dress up a bit casually. He put on jeans, a white button-up shirt, and a gray sport jacket. Rise wore a red cocktail dress, matching red, open-toed heels, and a small, black leather jacket. The two of them got in Rise's car and headed off. The restaurant was in the next town over and took about twenty minutes to drive there. Akira had been to Meguro's before; his mother had taken him there a few times before he was sent off to Tokyo, but he didn't remember too much of it. Most of his memories from 2011 to 2016 before Tokyo were a bit of a blur for him, and the only memories he remembered clearly were the worst ones. As they drove, Rise had the radio on.
"So, who's gonna be there?" Akira asked.
"At the restaurant, you mean?" Rise kept her eyes on the road as she responded.
"Yeah."
"Well, you, me, and my lovely husband to be, obviously," she chuckled before continuing. "Uh… Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Yosuke, Naoto, the Dojimas, and Yu's parents… oh, and a photographer, but he'll come later, I think."
"What about Ted?"
"He's in England."
"Really? When did that happen?"
"He left with our friend, Marie, about a week after you left."
"Who?" Akira raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, right, you don't know her. You know Mariko Kusumi, right?" Rise asked. Akira thought for a moment.
"Uh, name kinda rings a bell…"
"She was a popular weather forecaster, then she became an actual newscaster. Late last year, she got offered a job at the BBC in England. She left about a week after you did, and Ted followed her."
"Oh, so… are they like together-together? Or…"
"God, no, he's working as her personal assistant. As if Ted had a chance with her, haha," Rise chuckled.
"I was gonna say, he's a good guy, but about as smooth as an oil slick on an iceberg," Akira's comment made Rise snicker. "Still, him not being at the wedding sucks."
"Yeah, but what are you gonna do?" she shrugged.
"What about Obasan and Ojisan?" Akira asked, referring to her parents.
"They couldn't make it, unfortunately; they're not getting in until later tonight."
"Too bad."
"You'll see them tomorrow."
"I can't remember the last time I saw them…"
"Tch, you're telling me. I haven't seen them in a while, either. They're so busy."
"So are you, to be fair."
"I guess being a workaholic runs in the family, haha," Rise chuckled. "If I remember correctly, the last time you saw them was Tetsuya's…" Rise trailed off as she realized what she was saying and stopped herself before she finished her sentence. "…well, you know."
"Yeah… I do…" Rise looked over at him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for bringing that up." Akira knew what she meant, but he didn't say anything; he stared out the window and zoned out.
Rise softly chuckled to herself as she remembered her late cousin. Tetsuya was a daredevil, always jumping his bicycle or skateboard off ramps or hitting bumps on his snowboard whenever they went skiing. Needless to say, he got hurt a lot. She couldn't count the number of times Minoru and Kairi had to take him to the hospital because he had broken something. Name a body part; chances were that Tetsuya broke it at least once, and Rise was always there to sign his cast. She was always close with the Kurusu brothers, but she was especially close with Tetsuya. They grew up together and were pretty much in the same playpen as he was born only two months before her. They were like bread and butter until she became an idol, then they weren't as close due to her going on the road and being super busy, but they still talked pretty much all the time.
Tetsuya was her support system while she was on the road. Whenever she felt anxious or missed home, all she had to do was call him up, and he'd always calm her down by cracking some stupid jokes or telling her about his day. He always made her laugh whenever they talked, even when they were younger. He offered more emotional support than any amount of fake friends, celebrity boyfriends, or even therapy showbiz could offer her. After he died, just the fact that Rise wouldn't be able to rely on him to help calm her down before or after a show was too much. When she found out, she had a near mental breakdown. Before she came home, she cried for days and spent a long time convincing her manager to let her take time off to go home, citing stress and fatigue. Tetsuya may have only been her cousin, but to Rise, it felt like she had lost a twin-brother. The only friend, aside from Akira, she had until she met Yu and the other members of the Investigation Team. Back in the car, Rise shed a small tear, but quickly wiped it away as not to ruin her make-up. She noticed Akira was still staring out the window. At that point, the songs on the radio faded into the background, and they sat the rest of the drive out in uncomfortable, gloomy silence.
Thankfully, once they reached Meguro's, the mood picked back up. Akira and Rise walked in and were directed to the back of the restaurant, where she and Yu had gotten a private room. When they walked in, they found that they were the last ones to arrive. All eyes sitting around a giant twelve-seat roundtable went to them. Akira did a double take and thought they had walked into the wrong room for a split second.
"Hey! There you guys are!" Yu exclaimed as he got up out of his chair and walked over to them. "You're late, you know?"
"It's called fashionably late, sweetie!" Rise smiled as she kissed Yu in front of everyone. It went on for an uncomfortably long amount of time; everyone laughed while Nanako averted her eyes. To his surprise, even Akira couldn't keep a straight face as Yu and Rise's PDA produced a genuine chuckle out of him.
"Maybe this night won't be so bad after all," he thought before he looked over to his left and saw a karaoke machine at the end of the room. "Shit…" After about two weeks of kissing, Rise broke the kiss to the mercy of everyone. Yu pulled away from his fiancée and greeted Akira.
"Akira! Great to see you again. How was your ride in?"
"Just fine, thanks, Yu," he gave a head nod and waved at the table. "Hi, everyone," he said. Everyone politely got up and greeted him up close.
"Akira, these are my parents: Hiroshi and Asuka Narukami. Guys, this is Akira Kurusu. He's Rise's cousin."
Yu's parents were friendly. They didn't seem as stuck up as Rise made them sound in the past. Perhaps, she was just yanking chains. Akira took a seat between Rise and Nanako. All the chairs around the table were labeled. Nanako smiled at him as he sat down before quickly looking away. She wasn't discreet; Akira saw her blush. He wondered if Rise had set up the seating this way just to mess with him (and/or Nanako). Once everyone was seated, the waiter came to take their orders. The adults talked amongst themselves for a bit, while Akira casually chatted with Nanako. Eventually, Akira found himself at the center of the conversation.
"So, Akira-kun, how's college going?" Dojima asked.
"Fine enough."
"Exams went well?"
"Yep."
"What were you studying again?"
"Dad! Stop interrogating him!" Nanako came to Akira's defense.
"Haha, I'm not interrogating him, Nanako. I'm just asking him how school is going."
"Why do you have to sound like a cop when you do it, though?" Everyone let out a gasp and chuckled.
"WOAH! Nanako-chan's talking back! That's my girl!" Chie exclaimed before high-fiving Nanako.
"Chie!" Yu called her out. The kung-fu enthusiast calmed down. "You were saying, Akira?"
"I'm studying Business and Restaurant Management. I hope to open my own restaurant or café eventually," Akira replied.
"Impressive!" Dojima nodded and smiled nervously. "Say, I hate to ask…"
"Haha, no you don't…" Yu murmured.
"You didn't happen to bring back any more of that coffee you brought over that one time, did you?"
"I'm really sorry, but I didn't," Akira replied. Dojima looked disappointed but waved it off. He planned on it, but him getting sick made it slip his mind.
"He was really looking forward to it, haha," Yu chuckled.
"Guilty, haha," Dojima said as he playfully put his hands up.
"There he goes with the cop-talk again…" Nanako muttered. Akira caught it and chuckled.
"I gotta ask, Akira-kun," Kanji began. "Ever since Yu and Rise got back from Tokyo, they've been talking about this kind of curry they ate while they were there for Golden Week."
"OHMYGOD YESSSS!" Rise exclaimed. "Akira made us the best. Curry. Ever!"
"It sure was!" Yu added.
"Thanks for the glowing review," Akira chuckled.
"Why curry?" Naoto asked.
"It's the specialty of the café where I lived while I was in Tokyo. Leblanc is known for its coffee and curry combo."
"Huh, coffee and curry, huh? Sounds kinda weird if you ask me," Yosuke thought aloud.
"Nobody did," Chie glared at him. Yosuke glared back.
"I'll try to make you guys some before I leave." Apparently, Akira wasn't hearing himself talk, or maybe he was. Either way, it sounded like another empty promise. "Yukiko-san, I hope my friends weren't too much of a bother?" He joked.
"Haha, not at all. They seemed nice… ha-haha." Yukiko started laughing.
"Uh, what's so funny?" Akira asked, looking confused. Yosuke sighed.
"She's laughing at the fact that one of your friends and I have similar names," he explained. Akira just stared in confusion.
"…I don't get it."
"We don't either, buddy," Kanji said.
"She's been laughing about it all day, apparently. It's exhausting…" Naoto added.
"Don't worry too much, Akira-kun," Chie began. "We've been friends since elementary school, and I never understood her sense of humor either."
"Ha-hahaha, I-I'm sorry…" Yukiko composed herself.
"It's not that funny… in fact, it's not funny at all!" Yosuke said to her.
After a while, the waiter came back with their meals. As the adults conversed, Akira received a text message. He looked around the table. Since no one was paying attention to him, he pulled out his phone to check who it was. It was a picture in the Phantom Thieves group chat. Ann had taken a selfie with everyone as they ate at Aiya, a Chinese diner in Inaba's central shopping district. Akira was caught off guard by Nanako tapping him on the arm. He panicked and put his phone away, hoping she only saw the picture and not the name of the group chat.
"Is that your girlfriend?" she asked. Chie, who was sitting next to Nanako, caught what she said and her smirked profusely.
"Uh, no, hehe, she's just a friend of mine."
"She looked kinda familiar."
"Haha, yeah, she's a model. You might've seen her in a few magazines."
"Oh, you're talking about Takamaki-chan?" Yukiko asked.
"Yeah, that's right," Akira nodded.
"Wait, you're friends with Ann Takamaki?" Yosuke asked.
"Yeah, we went to school together in Tokyo. I actually met her on my first day. She wasn't the friendliest person, hehe," Akira chuckled.
"Really? That's not the impression I got from her," Yu said.
"Well, it had more to do with me being the delinquent transfer student," Akira began. "When I first got to Shujin, pretty much everyone saw me as someone no one really wanted to associate with, Ann, Haru, and Makoto included. Ryuji not so much seeing as he was a kind of a delinquent himself, so we kinda clicked right away. And Sumire didn't seem to care all that much."
"That's your girlfriend, right?" Nanako asked.
"Yeah, she's coming tomorrow."
"Oh yeah! Rise told us a bit about her," Chie said.
"She's super sweet! Perfect for him," Rise interjected as she nudged Akira. Nanako lowered her head slightly in disappointment. Akira noticed Dojima glancing at him. He leaned over to Rise and whispered to her.
"Please tell me you didn't say to Dojima-san that I would call his daughter in ten years…"
"Of course not," she assured him. "He'd probably shoot you if you tried to date her, heehee," she giggled.
"That doesn't make me feel better," Akira whispered before leaning back.
"Rise said your girlfriend was a gymnast?" Yosuke asked.
"That's right, rhythmic gymnastics to be specific."
"What does she use in her routine?" Kanji asked. "Hoop? Ball? Rope?"
"Ribbon," Akira answered, "she actually won first place in a competition yesterday."
"Sweet! That's awesome!" Rise exclaimed.
"Congratulations to her!" Yu added.
"Is she serious about it? Gymnastics, I mean? Or is it just an after-school activity?" Naoto asked.
"No, she's super serious. She has a dream of being at the top of the gymnastics world… it was also her late-twin sister's dream…"
"O-Oh, her twin-sister passed away?" Yukiko somberly asked.
"A couple of years ago, yeah… it actually happened…" he paused and thought for a second. "…a month or two before I was sent to Tokyo."
"For your probation, you mean?" Dojima asked; Akira nodded.
"Wow…so you both found love during troubled times," Yukiko somberly said.
"It's weird how life works out sometimes," Chie added.
"Yeah, box of chocolates and all that," Akira shrugged.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to move on from that. You're a trooper, kid," Yosuke smiled at him.
"Thank you, Yosuke-san," Akira replied. He did move on, boy did he ever. Nanako nudged him. "Hmm?"
"I just wanna say, I'm sorry you were falsely accused. That really sucks."
"Thanks, Nanako-chan. I appreciate it," Akira smiled at her. Once they were done with dinner, they all ordered dessert. Akira thought the night was about to wrap up when someone came through the curtain.
"Hello, sorry I'm late. I'm the photographer."
"Well, better late than never," Rise muttered under her breath.
"Honey…" Yu said, putting his hand on hers. "It's fine, no worries," he told him.
"I'm really sorry," the photographer began. "The train I took was late and—Akira?" Akira heard his name being called; he looked up from his plate and went wide-eyed.
"Riku!?"
"It IS you! Holy shit!" Riku exclaimed before putting his hand over his mouth. "Oh, uh, ahem. Pardon my language." Akira got out of his seat, walked over to Riku, and shook his hand.
"What are you doing here?" Akira asked.
"What does it look like?" Riku chuckled as he held up his expensive-looking camera. "I'm shooting the wedding party. What are YOU doing here?"
"What does it look like? I'm IN the wedding party," Akira chuckled.
"You a friend of the bride or the groom?"
"Well, the bride is my cousin, so… the groom," he shrugged; they chuckled.
"You two know each other?" Yu asked.
"No, this is actually their first time meeting," Yosuke sardonically quipped. "Obviously, they know each other, Yu."
"Thanks for that, Yosuke," Yu rolled his eyes.
"We're in college together. We have a class," Akira explained.
"That and we sometimes jam, him on guitar and me on drums," Riku added.
"You play guitar, Akira-san?" Nanako asked.
"Oh yeah, he's great at it too!" Rise added. "You'll see tomorrow," she winked; Akira blushed.
"Well, m-maybe we could play together?" Nanako suggested.
"You know, Nanako knows how to play the piano?" Dojima added.
"Really?" Akira asked.
"I've been giving her lessons for about six years now. She's really good," Naoto said.
"I did not know that. That's cool, Nanako-chan," Akira smiled at her; Nanako blushed. As if her crush couldn't get any bigger. Riku nudged Akira.
"By the way, I'm sorry I haven't gotten in touch with you since-" Akira knew what Riku was going to say and stopped him right away.
"Since exams, right?" Akira subtly signaled to Riku to go along with what he was saying. Thankfully, Riku got the hint.
"R-Right, exams. I've just been so busy. In fact, I got a job to do right now, don't I?" he looked to Yu and Rise, who both nodded.
"No worries, I get it. Good seeing you again," Akira said before returning to his seat.
"Again, I'm so sorry I'm late…" Riku said to Yu and Rise.
"It's fine," Rise assured him. "You're just in time for karaoke! Akira, since you're standing, you're going first!" she demanded. The rest of the table cheered him on.
"Damn it…"
The following two hours were comprised of desserts and karaoke, with singing-voices ranging from professional to piss-poor but charming, nonetheless. Akira was pretty good as the opening act, opting to sing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on A Prayer." Rise followed that "Venus" by Shocking Blue, a song from the late 1960s but made famous by Bananarama in the early 1980s. Needless to say, she did indeed have it. Riku took pictures of the show and everyone together once it was time to wrap it up. After Akira said goodbye to everyone, he and Riku leaned against the restaurant wall and chatted for a bit while Rise talked with Yu.
"Man, you can play guitar AND sing?"
"Hehe, guess so…" Akira rubbed his head.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just got a headache."
"Ah," Riku nodded. "So, I take it no one back there knew about your seizures?"
"My cousin and her fiancé know, but that's about it. I doubt they told anyone else."
"Huh… would've been pretty awkward if you hadn't stopped me back there, hehe…"
"To say the least." Akira felt a migraine coming on strong, same with a negative mood.
"How've you been since then?"
"…not great, to be honest. I'm thinking of taking a break from school and going off on my own, taking a trip somewhere."
"Really? You want company?"
"What part of 'on my own' didn't you understand?" The anger was seeping into his voice.
"You don't have to bite my head off." Riku kicked his heel against the ground; Akira sighed. "Look, Akira, it's probably not my place, but don't you think you oughta, you know, tell more people about your seizures?"
"You sound like my neurologist."
"If I were you, I'd listen to them."
"Whatever."
"Dude, this is a serious thing! You can't just keep it to yourself."
"Try me." Akira was getting more and more hostile.
"It makes me wonder what else you keep to yourself…" Akira was about to tell Riku to go fuck himself, but decided to hold back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a buzzkill. I should get goin' anyway."
"I'm sorry too." Akira wasn't sorry, but it seemed like the right thing to say. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Guess so. Have a good night, man," Riku said as he grabbed his equipment and walked away, leaving Akira in a bad mood. As he and Rise got into her car, she noticed he seemed off.
"Hey, you okay, kiddo?" she asked.
"Headache," he simply responded.
"Was karaoke that bad? Haha," she chuckled; Akira didn't respond in any way. Rise grew concerned. "You're not gonna have a seizure, are you?" Akira shook his head. "Okay, and please tell me you told your mom about them."
"I told her, yesterday," Akira nodded, telling her what she wanted to hear and adding yet another lie to the ever-growing pile in the process. "Sorry, I'm gonna shut my eyes for a bit if you don't mind."
"Okay, I'll keep quiet."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Rise started the car, and they began driving home. Akira stared at the window as she drove. If the silence was uncomfortable on the way to the restaurant, it was louder than hell right now. Akira wasn't feeling well, and Rise was worried. All the good vibes he had during dinner were gone, and things were about to get worse. They were about to exit the town and get back on the highway leading back to Inaba.
Then, as he stared out the window, Akira saw it. Cinema City.
He didn't know how he missed it on the way to the restaurant earlier. For all he knew, he had blacked out again. But seeing the movie theater filled him with anger, sadness, and misery. It was the movie theater his father was helping to build when he died, after all. Every time he saw it, he felt angry at the world. Now, he wanted to disappear more than ever.
Once they got back to the Kurusu house, the lights were all off, and they noticed Kairi had already gone to bed. Rise hugged Akira and wished him goodnight before then going off to bed herself. Akira went to his room and found Morgana was sound asleep on his bed. Akira didn't feel tired and instead had something else he wanted to do. He plugged in a pair of headphones in his record player and put on the album "The Stranger" by Billy Joel as he sat down at his desk, turned on his desk lamp, and began writing a note.
To whomever, it may concern,
If you're reading this, it means that I am already gone. Don't worry; I'm not dead, not physically at least. But I will be going away for a while. I can't stand being in Inaba anymore. I thought Tokyo would be better, but sadly, I feel the same way about it. I don't feel like there's anything left for me here or there. I don't feel like I have a home to go to. It's time I had some time alone. I don't know if I'll ever be back. If you care enough to try and find me, be my guest, but the way I see it, Akira Kurusu no longer…
Akira's writing was interrupted by his phone vibrating. He checked it to see that he had received a text message. As he did, Billy Joel started singing the second song on the album and title track.
(Well we all have a face)
(That we hide away forever)
(And we take them out)
(And show ourselves)
(When everyone has gone)
(Some are satin some are steel)
(Some are silk and some are leather)
(They're the faces of the stranger)
(But we love to try them on)
SY: Sorry, I know it's late. I just got home a little and I felt like texting you. I hope I didn't wake you. I just wanted to say good night and that I can't wait to see you tomorrow! I love you so much, Akira.
Reading the text, Akira could tell there was something off. It didn't feel like a typical "good night" text. It was like she somehow knew what he was planning on doing. Sumire was probably thinking the worst.
AK: I love you too. See you tomorrow.
(Well we all fall in love)
(But we disregard the danger)
(Though we share so many secrets)
(There are some we never tell)
(Why were you so surprised)
(That you never saw the stranger?)
(Did you ever let your lover see)
(The stranger in yourself?)
Akira sat at his desk and thought for a bit. He thought that the past six months were hard for him, but really, it went back further than that. He didn't realize it until now, but he had it rough for more than half of his life by this point. He looked at the note and noticed what he had written at the end.
Akira Kurusu no longer… exists.
*I Can Save You.*
The voice whispered in his head.
*Let Me Out. Let Me In.*
Akira tried his best to ignore what he presumed the voice in his head to be the Joker he saw in the mirror the previous day. What was wrong with him? He thought leaving was the right thing to do. He also knew that it was wrong, but it seemed like his only choice. If the only choice one has is to do the wrong thing, then it's not really the wrong thing, it's more like fate. Akira felt like he had no control over how he felt. Even back before Tokyo, when he was emotionally disconnected, it was like his body was on auto-pilot, going through the motions while his spirit lain at the bottom of a pit of despair. Confused and conflicted, Akira crumpled up the note and threw it in his empty wastebasket next to his desk. He then sat at his desk as the rest of the song played out.
(Don't be afraid to try again)
(Everyone goes south)
(Every now and then)
(Ooh, ooh)
(You've done it, why can't someone else?)
(You should know by now)
(You've been there yourself)
In the final verse, he felt like Billy Joel was singing to him about Joker.
(You may never understand)
(How the stranger is inspired)
(But he isn't always evil)
(And he is not always wrong)
(Though you drown in good intentions)
(You will never quench the fire)
(You'll give in to your desire)
(When the stranger comes along…)