Goro woke up slowly in his bed, morning sunlight filtering in from the blinds of his window in an effort to assassinate his eyelids. Groaning he groped around wildly till he found his phone and checked the time.

6:28

Throwing his phone back onto the side-table he finally got up to begin his day. He could hear Akira downstairs, more likely than not already cooking breakfast and making lunch. He shook his head. It was just over a year now since Goro had moved in with the strange frizzy-haired teen, and over the course of the year he'd found out a few small things about the male.

First off, and actually the most surprising, was that Akira Kurusu had no connection to Shido. The two had talked about it and Goro found out that the only reason Akira had been recommended to him was that Shido's 'Janitor' was Yakuza and had heard down his grapevine of connections about a housemate offering but no one had been willing to take up.

When Goro had asked Akira about why no one was willing to take the offering, especially considering how good it was, he'd just given him a confused look, so Goro left it at that.

The second thing Goro noticed was that Akira had some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It wasn't evident, and he'd seemed to have done something to cope with it but Goro noticed over the year that Akira was scared of a large lack of noise. Akira would sleep with speakers on playing classical music, but had foreseen any complications and kindly added sound mufflers to his bedroom preventing the noise from reaching Goro's room. In any time when it got too quiet outside of his room, he'd always have a pair of headphones around his neck to put on.

It wasn't noticeable to a normal person, most would have assumed that Akira was like any other teenager constantly listening to music but they most likely hadn't seen Akira flinch violently when a sharp noise was made in a quiet room. Goro remembered a time in the middle of the night when Akira had gone downstairs and Goro had followed him silently. The moment Goro had caused one of the stairs to creak Akira had completely freaked out.

Goro would never forget the frantic hysteria in Akira's eyes even as they faded away as Akira noticed who it was and apologised profusely as he released the death grip around his throat. Goro at that moment had realised that perhaps there may have a reason that Akira lived without any adults.

During the following weeks and months after that event, Goro had spent every other moment that he wasn't using working for Shido and carrying out hit-missions in an effort to worm his way into his trust and take him out to look up his roommate. What he'd found didn't exactly paint the prettiest of pictures.

As far as Tokyo was concerned, Akira Kurusu popped into existence around just over a year ago, the identification obviously being fake as it showed Akira being twenty-one. This one was the one Akira had used to buy a house. There was also a second one that seemed more realistic stating Akira was fifteen, more than likely the one he used daily.

When Goro dug a little deeper he found that everything from Akira's identification to the purchasing of the house they currently lived in was carried out by the Yakuza gang that covered most of Tokyo, all carried out under the orders of the highest Yakuza member just outside the Kumicho, Akimitsu Tsuda. This wasn't too much of a surprise as Akira did outright state that he had connections to the Yakuza but what was interesting was how much Akira spent to keep himself hidden.

The running total that Goro had found so far was somewhere just a bit over 100 million yen. Whatever past Akira was running from, he'd completely erased whoever he was for the last fifteen years and somehow obtained and spent more than Goro thinks even Shido had used in a single-use. Akira had done so much to keep himself hidden and here Goro was trying to dig up just to sate his own curiosities; ensuring that there was no connection to Shido. And he'd found none.

Goro felt after years of being alone he'd found a kindred spirit in Akira and even though it was never implicitly said, Goro had the feeling Akira felt the same.

Getting dressed in his new uniform; a tan pea coat with black buttons, a striped black and white tie, black pants, and black loafers, Goro exited his room and was immediately assaulted by the scent of miso, white rice, and grilled fish. A traditional Japanese breakfast.

Akira smiled at him as he made his way downstairs. "Morning Goro, breakfast is ready," he greeted as he flipped the boneless fish in the pan onto a plate while the coffee machine dinged.

It almost felt natural by now how Goro slid over to the coffee machine and began making the cups of coffee. Akira's was always never to his liking but he'd explained that he'd once been spoiled on coffee; when Goro asked about it, Akira had gone quiet signalling Goro to let it go. Taking the two cups he brought them to the table and sat down, Akira did the same and after a small 'Itadakimasu' the two began eating in relative quiet, the sound of porcelain and metal scraping against each other the primary noise within the kitchen and the sound of Tokyo waking up for a weekday morning.

"Do you have any of your duties at the police station tonight after school?" Akira asked curiously as he began washing the dishes.

"I do, but I should be finished in time for dinner," Goro nodded, "It doesn't seem like that the police have much need for the 'Second Coming of the Detective Prince', right now, so everything's been quiet since the last mental breakdown. They're keeping me around for the time being to look at other cases."

"Ah… that's good…" Akira murmured to himself, "How do you feel about meeting up for dinner then? We'll call it a… celebration for the completion of your latest case. I'll pay of course."

Goro rose a brow. It wasn't often that Akira offered to eat out, mostly choosing to cook for the two of them since Goro's skill with the culinary arts were horrendous. "Where are you thinking?"

"How about we meet up in Ginza tonight? 6PM?" Akira offered to which Goro furrowed his brows in confusion but nonetheless accepted.

"Very well, I shall meet you there tonight. Do you have any plans for the day while I'm out?" Goro asked as he picked up the lunch Akira had prepared for him.

Akira was honestly quite… kind? strange? Ever since Goro had become his housemate, Akira had since prepared all the meals for him. Which was Goro was definitely thankful for otherwise, he was sure he'd be skipping his meals all the time. But back about Akira's time spent during the day, Goro found out that the frizzy-haired teen didn't actually attend school; instead spending most of his time at home or somewhere around Tokyo.

"I heard about a café that opened up somewhere in Yongen so I might take a look at it," Akira shrugged, "Then I might take a look around Shibuya." As a part of the police force, Goro should have been the one to make Akira go to school but he looked the other way when it came to him.

"Okay then, I'll see you this evening," Goro nodded as he picked up his briefcase and lunch and made his way to the door. He wouldn't ever tell him to stay safe though, especially if the local Yakuza were on his side.

"Have a good day." Akira waved his hand in farewell as Goro closed the door behind him and made his way to school.

It was around lunchtime that Sojiro Sakura got his first customer of the day. Customer traffic was still slow for a start-up business but it gave him something to do during the day. Sojiro inwardly groaned as he noticed it was only some teenager, but still, business was business. "Welcome," Sojiro greeted the frizzy-black haired teen as he took a look at the small blackboard at the corner of the counter, "What'll you have?"

The teen seemed to just stare around the shop for a moment before actually deciding to look at him. "I'll have the daily special please," the kid said, taking another glance at the chalkboard before seating himself at the counter quietly.

Sojiro grunted quietly as he got to work.

"How long have you been open for?" Sojiro looked at the teen, his elbows on the table and his hands clasped under his chin as he looked at him questioningly.

"Just over two months now," Sojiro finally answered as he finished pouring the coffee through a sieve after grinding the coffee beans and pressing them through hot water. "Order up. I'll have some curry ready for you in a moment," Sojiro placed the steaming cup of coffee before his customer.

The kid picked up the cup taking in the full aroma of the rich coffee. Admittedly it was one of the lower-quality beans in his stock that Sojiro used, preferring to save the higher-quality for customers than came more than once. Taking a sip, the teen gave a thoughtful glance at the cup before surprising Sojiro. "Guatemalan Strictly Hard Bean," he said as Sojiro placed down a plate of curry with white rice.

"Huh…" Sojiro let out. He couldn't actually remember the last time someone had been able to identify his coffee on a single sip. Then again, he'd really only been open for only two months and he couldn't actually recall when someone had been able to tell which beans he used.

"The beans have a citrus-acidity, hinting to some undertones of fruits and chocolate beneath the surface," the teen explained as he took in another sip and allowed the curry to cool.

"What? Are you some sort of coffee connoisseur?" Sojiro asked with a raised brow and smirk that tugged at the edges of his lip.

The teen shook his head, "Just a kid who can't make a good cup of joe to save his life. I will admit though that I do have a small addiction to a good coffee and curry, but nowhere anywhere near here serves anything worth its price."

"Well at least give this a try before you say that," Sojiro nodded towards the curry. "Let's see if you can tell what's in this while you're here."

"I think I'll take you up on that," the teen grinned, scooping some rice and curry onto his spoon before tasting it, meticulously savouring it. "I can taste some apple…" the teen placed his spoon down in thought, "…and is that yogurt? To balance out the spice I assume?"

Sojiro nodded impressed. Admittedly, he hadn't been able to identify that rest of the spices that made up the rest of the curry but it was still impressive that he was able to discern the two secret ingredients. "I wasn't sure how much spice you could take, so I figured it was better to take it easy. Especially with such rich coffee."

The teen nodded gratefully. "I see… thank you. It's delicious."

Sojiro merely nodded as he cleaned up the coffee machine for the next customer that came in. He watched as then teen finished off his curry and sat there enjoying his curry. He didn't realise what had been bothering him about the sight till he remembered that it was a Thursday.

"What a minute, shouldn't you be in school?" Sojiro asked with concern. "I'm telling you now, I'm not about to defend you if truancy officers come around and see you."

"I'm not enrolled in any schools," the teen just shrugged.

Sojiro rose a brow in suspicion. "And what? Your parents don't care?"

"Don't have any."

Sojiro felt his gut curl. He saw Futaba flash through the back of his mind before he shook it off. "What about a guardian or something? You should have one, right?"

"Nope," the sound popped from the teen's lips as he took another sip of his coffee. "The closest thing I have to a guardian is my housemate but he's currently at school."

"Housemate? W-What?!" Sojiro looked at him in concern, leaning forward onto the counter. "But what about Child Protection Services? Foster homes?"

"Japan's a big place. Some kids slip through the cracks and some foster homes… well suffice to say some aren't exactly the kindest." the frizzy-haired teen just smiled. "Besides I can take care of myself and now I have a housemate, we look after each other… sort of. I think I'm good on that end."

Sojiro vividly remembered when he found out Futaba's foster situation, when he'd found out how her uncle treated her. Sojiro took off his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose, an exhale of aggravation leaving his nostrils.

"Dammit…" Sojiro growled as the teen looked at him from his coffee. "Fine. I'm not going to say anything if anyone comes looking for you, especially if it's against my better judgement. Just… just stay out of trouble…"

"I've gotten this far, haven't I?" the teen joked.

Sojiro just glared at him. "Don't push your luck kid," he said warningly then sighed, "But if you need a place to take a break for a meal or a drink, my café's always open. Opening hours only though!"

The teen looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything.

"You're a good man," he finally spoke as he stood up. "What's your name? If I'm coming back here and like to know your name at the very least."

Sojiro grunted, "Sojiro Sakura, but most people have taken to calling me 'Boss'."

"Sojiro-san…" the teen muttered. "Akira Kurusu, but please... call me Akira. I think you'll be seeing more of me around here, Sojiro-san. This is some place that actually has coffee and curry worth a damn."

Sojiro failed to hold back the bark of laughter at the kid's request. "You'll have to pay me if you want me to call you by your first name kid," he retorted.

Five ten-thousand-yen bills were promptly slapped down onto the counter causing him to choke.

"W-what? The meal's only a thousand-yen– "

"That should cover my bill… the leftover should cover me at least for you to stop calling me kid," Akira grinned as he cut Sojiro off with a backwards wave before exiting the shop, the door-bell jingling behind him.

Sojiro stared at the absurd amount of cash he'd been handed for a moment, before shaking his head. "Kids these days I swear. No respect for their elders," he said as he put it in the cashier. "At least I can finally get those computer parts Futaba's been looking at online…"

Seriously though, what kid carried around that much money?

Goro stood at the entrance to Ginza's subway station checking the time on his phone.

6:02

It occurred to him after finishing his duties at the Tokyo police precinct that he and Akira hadn't actually agreed on a set time to meet up. Thankfully when he'd messaged Akira, he'd replied that they'd be meeting up around six in the event at the entrance to Ginza's station line. A familiar mop of frizzy black-hair and pair of black headphones entered his field of vision as he found his fifteen-year-old housemate approach him. "You're late," Goro noted bluntly.

"Haha sorry, sorry," Akira apologised. "I was buying something in Kichijoji so it took me a while to get here."

"Kichijoji?" Goro asked while raising a brow. "But… you've never been there."

"Yup. Got lost," Akira nodded before motioning for Goro to follow him. "Come on, I have a reservation at a local sushi restaurant."

Sushi restaurant? But the only sushi restaurant in Ginza was…. "Wait a minute, don't tell me-"

"Ahah," Akira waggled his finger as he jogged on ahead, "No arguing. Come on, let's move it, we're going to be late!"

This was how Goro found himself chasing after Akira until they stopped in front of a building with rice paper walls reminiscent of traditional-style buildings. "Akira…!" Goro hissed as he noticed exactly where they were. It was a high-class sushi restaurant known for its quality, however, along with that, it was known for the absurdly expensive price tag reflective of the food quality.

"You said you've been wanting sushi!" Akira grinned as he walked inside, Goro walking behind him as his skin crawled, unaccustomed to being in a place with such high price tags. They reminded him of Shido.

An attendant walked up to the two with a suspicious gleam in her eye but when Akira mentioned his name and that he had a reservation that gleam vanished. Quietly the two were shuffled past the counter that most sat at and instead were shuffled into a private room. The room had a low table with seat cushions along the floor, and the floor being solely made of tatami mats

Goro shuffled in awkwardly while Akira sat down, the two having taken off their shoewear at the door. Noticing Goro's indecisiveness, Akira motioned to sit down. "Come on, we're celebrating, aren't we?"

"This is a bit much just to celebrate a case," Goro muttered as he grudgingly sat down and picked up a menu, only to swiftly put it back down as he noticed the prices. Most were exorbitantly out of his pay range.

Akira looked at him quizzically.

"What?" Goro asked defensively.

"You still think we're celebrating about that case?" Akira asked eventually as his steel-grey bore into Goro's red.

Goro's brows furrowed. "We're... not?"

Akira stared for a moment before burying his face into his palm all the while shaking his head. "For the great Second Coming of the Detective Prince, you sure seem unable to pick up on things," he murmured with a shake of his head causing a small ugly feeling to well within Goro's chest.

"And what, exactly, are you trying to say Kurusu-san?" Goro hissed hotly, his carefully placed façade he'd cultivated as the Detective Prince slipping for a moment.

Unconcerned Akira picked up a nearby bottle of water, poured himself a glass and another for Goro before setting the bottle aside and drinking. "It seems just as much as you forget to eat breakfast or lunch without me reminding you," he said as he took another sip, "You also forget to check the date."

Goro rose a brow, a hand snaking its way into his pocket to withdraw his phone and look at the date. His eyes flicked to the date beneath the numbers showing the time.

June 2nd.

"What does the date have to do with anything-?" Goro asked hotly before something hit him for a moment.

Wait.

June 2nd?

Red eyes shot towards smiling grey in surprise.

"I can't believe you forgot your own birthday," Akira shook his head in faux sadness while retrieving a small rectangular box from his blazer pocket. The ugly feeling within Goro's chest dissipated as he slid it across the table over to him.

Akira smiled "Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Goro."

Goro just stared at it.

He couldn't remember the last time someone had actually bothered to celebrate his birthday. The last time he could even remember was… before his mother died. Goro was stunned as a hand placed itself on his shoulder, looking up he found Akira had gotten up at some point and moved beside him.

"Goro, you're crying," Akira whispered with concern, looking at the tear tracks that Goro hadn't even realised were falling. He quickly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve to hide the fact, darker streaks appearing on his uniform as it absorbed the tears before disappearing as they dried.

Goro shook his head as he responded in a clipped tone, "I'm fine…"

Thankfully, Akira didn't push the issue and returned to his seat on the other side of the table. Goro after erasing all traces of his crying picked up the box. It was a custom box, with a small engraving of a sakura tree in bloom in the corner. There was a thin black ribbon that held the contents closed.

Slowly he untied the ribbon, setting it aside gently and slid the lid of the box upward unveiling the gift contents. Carefully, Goro plucked out a pair of thin black gloves. Just from feeling the material, he could tell this was a custom order.

"Well?" Akira leaned forward, interest gleaming in his eyes, "Try them on."

Goro did so. He was pleasantly surprised to find they fit snugly, the pair of silk evening gloves black as night but soft against his hands.

"Ah good, I'd thought I may have gotten the size wrong," Akira smiled. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to guess the size of your hands without just measuring them."

Goro stared at them then at Akira. "You had this custom-made for me?" he asked genuinely shocked.

"Mhmm," Akira nodded. "I sent the order in around two weeks ago. I was actually lucky enough for them to text me after lunch, so I had to rush over to Kichijoji to pick them up. I got lost though, turns out the shop I ordered from was in the back-alleys so it took me a fair bit find them."

Goro just stared.

"Is something wrong with them? Do you not like them?" Akira asked as his brows furrowed in concern, "I thought you'd like them and that they'd complete your whole detective look."

"No!" Goro quickly shook his head as he shouted, but quickly lowered his voice. "I-I mean it's wonderful. I love it. I just- I w-wasn't expecting you to actua-"

"Bloody hell, Goro breathe!" Akira suddenly appeared next to him once more, holding both of his shoulders in an effort to stop the shaking of his body Goro hadn't even realised was happening. Akira looked at him with more concern than before, "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No… I-…" Goro shook his head swiftly, his words cutting off in his throat as he looked at his housemate. "Thank you, Akira… really."

Akira just smiled. "What kind of friend would I be if I just let your birthday pass by without a celebration?"

Friend…

Goro hadn't had one of those in a long time.

"Come on, no time to be down and mopey, I see that face of yours. We're here to eat good sushi and celebrate your birthday!" Akira urged with a small grin causing one to appear on Goro's own. "I'm paying and there's no way you can convince me otherwise."

At the end of the night, Goro felt his eyes bulge at the end total of their bill, well within the hundreds of thousands of yen, but Akira true to his word paid the bill without nary a thought.

Goro wondered when Akira's birthday, at the end he realised he didn't actually know so he asked.

Akira smiled.

"December 1st."

Goro swore would have to remember to save up and get him something nice. It felt good to have someone to rely on and trust.

It would be close to a month after the two got together to celebrate Akira's birthday at a café his friend seemed to frequent that Goro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he was at the police precinct. Picking it out he found he was getting a phone call, he didn't recognise the number but nonetheless answered the call.

"Good evening, Goro Akechi speaking," he automatically said politely.

"Ah, good evening Akechi-san, my apologies for calling," a female voice replied from the other side of the line, a voice that Goro didn't recognise.

The female continued speaking. "We regret to inform you that an Akira Kurusu has been hospitalised as of 4:36 PM the evening. Your contact was the only one we were able to find on him at the time of his arrival. We were wondering if you would be able to come to the Shibuya Private Hospital tonight."

Goro's heart dropped.

"I'm on my way now."

With a quick apology to his boss, he dashed outside of the precinct, already getting on his hybrid and speeding through the streets of Shibuya.