'Do I know you?' He was tempted to ask, but managed to held his tongue at the very last minute. He doesn't want to look like an ass in front of a stranger and his new employer so he settled with a more welcoming tone. Akechi might have smile more widely, showing more teeth than usual when he aimed it in Joker's direction though, but the others wouldn't be able to see it because his back was facing them.

"Hello. It's good actually."

Joker smiled at his reply.

"Oh? So you met guinea pig already?" Takemi pipes up.

'How does she know Joker?' He wonders as he sipped his coffee. Weirdly enough, Joker hasn't responded yet so Akechi turned to look at her. She was staring directly at him.

"I... suppose so?" He asked in a questioning tone.

Does she invite everyone to be in her clinical trial or was it just teenage males? Wait, does that mean that HE was the one who fainted from her clinical trial? Akechi's eyes widen at the thought. He tried to imagine Joker making a disgusted face as he stared at a weirdly colored concoction before bravely downs the drink quickly and gags from the horrible taste, to suddenly blacking out and waking up on the floor. Takemi watched over him as she passively as she took notes.

Akechi tried to held it together. He bit his cheek as he prevented himself from bursting into laughter. Akechi doesn't want to look mentally unstable in front of these guys, but for the first time, he wants to ask Joker a question. He could be wrong and the person who fainted could be someone else, but he has to confirm this information! Besides, Joker should be happy that Akechi's curious about him to ask questions. Granted, it for to laugh at him, but hey, he's trying to get to know his new allies right? Got to give him kudos for that right?

"Mm. As interesting as this is, I need to get back to work. Thanks for the coffee Boss." She eyed the both of them before placing her money on the counter.

"I'll be in contact with you soon." She nodded to him and left.

Joker immediately took her chair and sat down next to him while grinning at him.

'How can I subtly move away from this boy while making it look natural and not because I can't tolerate his presence? ' Akechi asked himself as he took a sip of his coffee. He wonders if he should gulp down his drink like Takemi and leave as quickly as possible. But it was too good not to saviour every single drop. He doesn't think he could ever drink the nasty instant coffee from work ever again. He has tried a few other places around his school and work and none of them could be compared to this. Maybe he could ask for the owner to make this cafe into a chain and have one built closer to his area.

' That would be wonderful.' He sighed in pleasure.

"Oh, I never introduced myself have I. I'm Kurusu, Akira. Nice to meet you, detective."

"Stop calling me detective. My name is Akechi, Goro." He snapped back before his eyes widen a bit and he glanced to see how the barista would react. The older man seemed to mind his own business and sat down to read his newspaper.

Akechi looked at Kurusu with narrowed eyes. Why is he still here bothering him? Doesn't he has a new target to 'steal their heart' from? Wow, even those words puts a grimace to his face.

"So you did say that you would talk about your book when we meet up again. I'm free right now and am all ears." Joker grinned as he rested his elbow on the table, his face in his hand.

' Yeah, I said because I didn't think you would bother to remember it.' He sighed resignedly. Akechi didn't think they would meet up so soon. He was hoping that they would only meet up to collect bounties and that would be it. Of course, he shouldn't have expected it. When has anything ever gone his way. Even though he didn't meant it, if Kurusu remembers his words then Akechi will do it. No further excuses or delaying the inevitable. He tries to be a man of his word (unlike his father).

"The story is called Beyond the Boundary. The story takes place with an adventurer foolishly piloting a small airship for the first time on a small island. He manages to lose control of it during a horrible thunderstorm and the airship fell down, going beyond the clouds.

It looked like he wasn't going to survive since there were lightning flashing around him, but he did. He clung desperately to his ship until he managed to pass through the clouds...into another world. The world was called the Crimson Horizon."

"Wow, what an suspenseful beginning." Kurusu said.

Akechi smiled. "Yes. I have read the author's other stories, they were leaning more towards the historical side. This was his first fantasy novel and the pacing was very quick at the beginning."

"So what happens next?" Kurusu said eagerly.

"Ha ha, well you should read to find out."

"Aww spoil sport."

Akechi lightly laughed at that.

"Everything slows down after that because he's learning about the new world. Everything was different from what he originally thought he knew, from the air he was breathing to the plants, animals, and ocean. I just finished the story recently and would recommend it if you do enjoy a slow plot, but detailed world building."

"Yup, it sound right up my alley. Thank Akechi-san!"

Akechi-san. It sounds so weird coming from his mouth.

"You're welcome."

They basked in the silence together with only the television playing in the background until the barista made an abrupt sound.

"Hey kid, I need to make an errand. Be sure to lock up if I don't come back." The barista said as he stood up.

"You don't need to leave. Closing time isn't until another hour." He said to Akechi before putting on his hat and left silently.

"May I ask for a refill please?" Akechi really likes this coffee and wants to see Kurusu serve him. The leader of the Phantom Thieves serving him. Ha. That has a nice ring to it.

"Sure." He left his seat to put on an apron and walked to make Akechi's order. He didn't make any small talk while he was making the coffee. Akechi guessed that he needs a lot of concentration for the job or he's still new at it. Well, it's perfectly fine with him.

He started to pull out his phone to check to see if he has any new messages. The television suddenly changed into breaking news, interrupting the peaceful show, making Akechi more aware of the tv now.

"More updating news about the latest scandal. Kaneshiro, Junya has revealed that he was the mastermind for the drug smuggling operation in Shibuya. Now that he has admitted guilt and has accepted all the punishment for this incident, all the students that were previously blackmailed to work under him are now free from his service and have no lingering debts with him anymore.

We can now rest easier thanks to the Phantom Thieves and their diligent work on changing the heart of the crime lord. We never would have found the source behind everything if it weren't for them."

Kurusu quietly placed a newly made coffee in front of Akechi as he was watching the news. He took his eyes off the screen to thank him. Kurusu gave a small smile as he started cleaning the counters.

Akechi sipped his coffee. It was good, but not as wonderful as the original barista.

He recalled the past few days and remembered that the Phantom Thieves sent a calling card to Kaneshiro.

Akechi gave a small smirk, it was fun watching Shido get upset that another income of his suddenly got a change of heart from the Phantom Thieves. Their popularity might have made indirectly causes Akechi's to go down, but it's worth it seeing how Shido was suffering alongside him.

Akechi had to put on a passive face and asked if he wanted him to take care of it and he said no surprisingly. Shido said he had someone in mind for the job and told Akechi to continue with his current job. Akechi politely smiled and accepted it without question, but he wonders who Shido has in mind.

Well Shido will eventually tell him before anything happens so he just has to be patient.

He was curious about something though.

How did the Phantom Thieves find out about Kaneshiro? He hid himself in the shadows very well, leaving his henchmen to do all the dirty work as he sits on his fat ass and drinks alcohol while make disgusting faces at the various women in his clubs.

Ugh, well he won't miss that smug little man. Watching him cry on screen really made Akechi's day.

When he used to have to deal with him and watched him harassed and mistreated his employees, Akechi was horribly reminded that his mother was also treated in the same way. He wanted to rip Kaneshiro's face when he saw him slapped one of the women and increased her debt just because she paid late.

But no, Akechi had to smile and pretend that he didn't see anything as he sat there.

Akechi really wanted to ask Kurusu the details, but he doesn't want to break the barrier the anonymity of how the Phantom Thieves operates. He also doesn't want Kurusu to think he was interested in joining. He might blow up with more questions on his phone asking on when Akechi would join if he shows any remote interest in them.

Akechi's stomach suddenly decided to make an appearance. It grumbled so loudly, he feared that people walking outside the restaurant might have heard it. He saw Kurusu tilted his head at him and felt his ears turned red as he quickly drank the rest of his coffee and paid for his coffee. He might have put more bills down since he was in a rush to leave.

"Keep the change." He muttered as he stood up from his chair and was ready to walk out.

"Wait Akechi-san!"

He was tempted not to turn, heck, he wants to run away and not look back. Somehow, he keeps having these embarrassing moments with this guy.

"Yes?" He turned just enough to see Kurusu in the corner of his eyes.

"If you're hungry, I could make you something to eat. The specialty of this cafe is curry."

"Sorry, perhaps next time. I already have food at home that should be expiring soon." He said politely, which was a somewhat true. There were leftovers that were a few days old now.

"Oh, okay. I'll hold you to that." Kurusu gave that smile again.

"Goodnight Akechi-san."

"Goodnight."

As he left the cafe, he received a text message notification. Akechi walked towards the train station as he pulled out his phone, wondering who could it be.

Joker:

Let's go bounty hunting this weekend. :)

Finally.

He felt his heart racing, what kind of creature will they be hunting down? Another high level Shadow? Primals?

As he continued walking, he remembered that he didn't ask Kurusu about the details of his relationship with Doctor Takemi.

Dang, next time he promised to himself as he grinned, thinking about their future meeting.

Author's Notes:

I know there's an anime called Beyond the Boundary. It's a cool name and I'm lazy to make up a title haha. Short chapter, but I wanted to release something before the holidays. I also need to think about what quest they should do. A short quest or a story event arc from granblue… So difficult.