June 12th, 2016: Sunday
It was Akira's birthday two days ago. It could have gone better.
Going to a big television studio should have been a highlight of his time at Shujin, but after everything he and his friends have done, it all just felt routine. Like going through the motions. It didn't help that he and Ryuji were put to hard work the entire time.
It was so bad he almost nodded off several times.
Somehow he ended up getting into a debate with Goro Akechi, the second Prince Detective. The guy was a complete tool, someone trying really hard to be liked by as many people as possible, but otherwise didn't seem to be a bad guy. There was something about him that put Akira on edge, just behind the eyes. He made a mental note and moved on with his day. In all likelihood, the guy was starting to get burned out on having to put up that act for as long as he was.
The gang more than made up for it though with the hot pot celebration, however. Ryuji informed Ann and Yusuke that it was his birthday and ambushed him with party poppers and a small cake. Sojiro was none too happy about the loud noises, but calmed down when he learned what the commotion as about. He wished Akira a happy birthday and left them alone for the rest of the day.
Overall, a good consolation gift from the bore that the TV visit was.
Takemi had texted him during school to meet at the clinic for the next clinical trial. On his way home from school, he noticed a black mug at one of the stores in the underground mall. He wasn't exactly sure why he did, but he thought of her and decided to buy it as a gift.
So now here he was, walking from the train station to the clinic with the mug rested safely in a plastic bag. His visits were starting to increase more and more lately, even if they were just to buy medicine and say hi before a Palace or Mementos run. Unfortunately, it was starting to become clearer to other parties.
"You've been seeing her a lot," Morgana said from the bag. He rested his chin on Akira's shoulder. "Any reason?"
Akira shrugged. "We need medicine, don't we?"
"Not really, no. The medicine is stocked up and Lady Ann and I have much stronger healing spells now. The last two times you've stopped by the clinic, you didn't even take part in a clinical trial to help her. You've just been buying medicine?"
"I…" Akira reached for the right words until he came up with something that was hopefully adequate enough. "I just think she's an interesting person, alright? I like spending time with her."
"As a friend? Or something more?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Morgana rolled his eyes and said, "You have a crush on the doctor, don't you?"
"Pfft, what? No, that's—C'mon, that's ridiculous."
Morgana lifted a single brow. How was it possible that he was feeling this level of scolding from a cat?
"I don't," he affirmed, perhaps a little too quickly. "I don't even know why I'm arguing this with you, I think I would know if I have a crush on her or not."
"Oh, really?" Morgana gestured down to the mug in Akira's hand. "Then why are you bringing her a present?"
Akira glanced down at the offending gift and clicked his tongue. "That has nothing to do with this."
"Mhm. Look, you can feel however you feel. Just don't get carried away, alright? I don't want it to get in the way of our Phantom Thief duties."
"I haven't so far, right? She needs help, and I'm going to keep giving it to her until she doesn't need it anymore. It's no different than Iwai, or Ohya, or even Kawakami."
Morgana furrowed his brow but bounced out of the school bag and onto the floor. "Maybe I'm missing something, but you've never given them gifts before."
"And?"
"Like I said, feel how you feel. Just try not to let it hurt you."
With that last bit of advice, Morgana turned tail and began making his way towards Leblanc. Akira looked down at the bag in his hand. A crush? That was insane.
Besides, what was even the point? It'd never work out anyway. She was an adult, he was a minor, even if he only had a year left with that label. He couldn't put her in that position. Not that she would ever actually reciprocate.
Best to leave that where it belonged, in a fantasy world.
He greeted the old lady leaving the clinic before opening the door, expecting the same old waiting room. Instead, a body slammed into him and nearly toppled them both over. He reached out to stabilize both of them and was shocked to find Takemi staring up at him in bewilderment.
"Takemi-san? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" He looked closer and noticed the color on her face. Seeing her blush did things to his heart that he wasn't sure he wanted to tackle, but he also wasn't sure why she was blushing in the first place.
Until he looked and saw he was gripping her shoulders rather tightly. He immediately let go and backed up, holding up his hands. "S-Sorry about that, I just—Where's the fire?"
"No, it—" She cleared her throat and waved him off. "It was my fault. I was just trying to catch that old lady. Did you see which way she went?"
He noted the blush was still there, but he pointed down the street. "Just around the corner, I think."
"Great." She pushed past him and started moving towards the opening of the alley. Maybe it was a little faster than the situation perhaps warranted, but he didn't mind putting some distance between them if it made things less awkward in the future.
Still, he wanted to make sure everything was okay, so he meandered toward corner and caught up to Takemi conversing with the old lady.
"Thank you dear," the old lady said, clutching a handkerchief close to her chest. "It was a gift from my husband from before he passed. I'm not sure what I would have done had I lost it."
Takemi shrugged and looked away. She seemed almost sheepish. It was pretty cute. "It was right in front of me, so…"
"Oh my!" The old lady laughed. "You're a shy one, aren't you?"
Takemi crossed her arms and stammered, "I-I'm not shy."
Akira decided to pick his moment wisely and slid up next to Takemi. "She is."
She practically pouted up at him, but any protests were silenced when the old lady perked up. "Oh, who is this young man?"
"He's my assistant," Takemi said through gritted teeth. "And he's rather fond of running his mouth."
Akira only grinned in response to that.
"Then he's picked a good doctor to work with. My neighbor speaks rather highly of you. She says your medicines are better than those at the big hospitals," the old lady rambled. She smiled at them both before bowing. "It's very reassuring to have such a distinguished doctor right here in town. I'll see you again soon."
She turned and started hobbling away from the clinic, leaving the two of them by themselves. Takemi let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "What the hell…"
"Someone sure is popular," Akira snarked, joining her lean next to her.
"Thanks to you," Takemi said, reaching into her lab coat and pulling out a small pack of… cigarettes? Akira raised his brow as he watched her pull one out and bring it to her mouth. She lit it up and took a deep breath.
She glanced at him with her own raised brow. "What?"
"Nothing." He shrugged. "Just didn't know you smoked."
"I only do it when I'm stressed and never in the clinic." She pulled another lungful before shaking her head. "It's all because of that girl and her dad talking about me all over town."
"Only good things, I hope."
"That's the issue. They've been singing my praises, telling everyone I can make all manner of amazing medicines and remedies." She sighed. "The number of patients I'm seeing has increased dramatically."
"That's… good?" Akira tilted his head. "Right?"
"Depends on your perspective. I've been getting some really crazy requests from these people. Like, yesterday a patient requested a 'sweet-smelling' compress, or the other day when someone wanted a 'cold-buster.'" She barked out a laugh. "A drug like that deserves a Nobel Prize."
Akira wasn't sure what the deal with the "sweet-smelling compress" was, but he'd nod and accept what Takemi told him. If she put it up there with a "cold-buster", it must be a pretty out there request.
"Then we come to the usual hair and skin tonics, everyone wants to look ten years younger it seems." She shook her head. "I even had to do a consultation about a cat."
She finished off her cigarette and let it drop to the ground. She reached for another one and placed it in her mouth without lighting it. "It's like these people think I'm some genius doctor…"
Akira shrugged and looked up at the sky. "Maybe it's because you are a genius?"
Takemi looked over to him before shaking her head. "Don't be absurd. None of these people know anything about me. All these people coming here is just interfering with my work. I need to cure Miwa-chan."
"I know, but…" Akira kicked himself off the wall and held up his hand. "Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but don't you think it's just as important to help the people that are coming to use your clinic as intended?"
"But Miwa-chan doesn't have forever," Takemi said. "All these people, they're just… distractions. They'd be fine if they went to the bigger hospitals."
"Not according to them. I've heard nothing but praises. Perhaps a little hyperbolic, but praises nonetheless."
"They're a bunch of idiots," she claimed, but there was no real heat to it. "I'm just the Plague. Helping people… it's not what I'm meant to do."
Akira shrugged. "I don't know about that. I think it suits you pretty well."
She blinked. "R-really? It does?"
"More than you think. 'Tae Takmei: Town Doctor'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
She looked away from him and shrugged a shoulder. "Well, I… suppose you're entitled to your own opinion."
She reached up and pulled the unlit cigarette from her mouth before replacing it in the pack. "'Town doctor', huh? Maybe once…"
She popped off the wall and began walking towards the clinic with Akira hot on her heels. "With so many new patients, I haven't been able to work on the medicine. Sorry if it's a bit stronger today, we have to make up for lost time. I hope you can handle it."
"Anything for you."
If there was a way he could have grabbed those words from the air and put them back in his head, he'd be scrambling to do so at the moment. Instead, he just held his breath and waited for whatever the inevitable response would be.
Thankfully, all Takemi did was laugh. "Flattery will get you nowhere, guinea pig."
He let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he really was just overthinking things. Scratch the maybe.
Who was he kidding? Morgana was right. He was absolutely smitten with the good doctor, logic be damned. And he could do nothing about it. The age gap between them made the idea of a relationship a non-starter.
He'd enjoy the time he spent with Takemi, help her cure Miwa, then he'd move on and put this all behind him. He'd try to, at least.
"Oh, I got you something, by the way."
Takemi looked over from her computer screen to Akira as he reached into the bag he had brought with him. He produced a black mug and presented it to her. "Ta da! I know, hold your applause."
"A gift? To me?" She took it from him and examined it closely. "What's the special occasion?"
"Nothing, really. Consider it a thanks for everything you've done for me." Akira grabbed his own school bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Don't know where my grades would be without all that medicine you've been giving me."
"You should have shown this to me sooner," she chided, placing it on the desk. "I'd have gone a little easier on you."
Akira felt his cheeks heat up, but he scratched the back of his neck and gave her a wobbly smile. "I know it's not much, but… I mean, it's always nice to have a new cup, isn't it?"
"It's like you read my mind, guinea pig." She smiled. "I was actually in the market for a new one. My old one broke a few days ago and I've been without caffeine ever since."
"Oh, the horror," Akira drawled out.
"Tell me about it. My nicotine intake has skyrocketed as a result." She adjusted the mug and nodded to herself. "Perfect size, too. Thank you. I'll see you at the next trial. I'll try to be a little nicer."
The two bid each other farewell and Akira left the clinic, his stomach full of butterflies and his head above the clouds.
It all came crashing down with the sudden realization; Morgana was right. He really was crushing hard.
Well,he thought.Shit.