Chapter Text
If Akechi had known that this little trip would take them all the way to Kichijoji then he would have outright refused. It was irresponsible of him to be out like this especially when he had his first day of school in the morning. But it was too late now to propel himself out of the situation.
The streets of Kichijoji were busy even at this hour. The sky was a dark haze, filled with the buzz of neon lights and street lamps. People still traveled the sidewalks in small groups. Business men, students, even the elderly taking in the restaurants and shops that were crammed together in tight quarters, stores sitting upon stores, tents pulled tight over flaming grills and barking vendors.
Ren leads the two of them down street after street until they come to stop at a set of stairs leading downwards. It's perched just under an orange hued street lamp that buzzes and flickers on its last leg of light. There are groups of people gathered outside and, if he strains his ears, Akechi can catch the barest hint of music playing from somewhere deeper in the building.
They pause, and Akechi's eyes flicker upwards. There is a metal stamped sign hung haphazardly above the door “Jazz Jin” it reads, though rust tries to eschew some of the words from his sight. His brows furrow and he frowns, giving Ren a look.
At least he seems prepared for it. Ren holds his hands up, appeasing. "They don't serve minors alcohol. There are plenty of nonalcoholic things to drink."
Akechi relaxes enough to smooth away a wrinkle that had accumulated on his shirt, a graphic tee his mother had picked up from a thrift store. It was black with a design that was mostly faded. When Akechi looks up again, Ren is staring at him with what can only be described as fascination.
It unnerves him.
"Should we go inside?"
Akechi’s voice is light but he'd rather get this night over with and go to bed. He can sense that Ren desperately wants to get to know him better. It's in the way he looks at him, in the way that he walks just a little too close, and how he smiles whenever Akechi catches his eyes.
Ren pays the entrance fee for both of them. Their IDs are checked and they both receive a wristband stating that they are underage and cannot be served alcohol. He's thankful for it but Ren seems like he's done it a hundred times and radiates an air of irritated boredom. When they arrive downstairs he's surprised at how such a small area can look so big.
It's a cement floored room, obviously a renovated basement, with exposed brick and steel beams. A luxurious piano sits on an elevated space in the corner, a microphone standing beside it. There are various tables and chairs spread out in a haphazard pattern that abruptly ends before the bar. Almost every spot is taken, save for one that they are able to snag just as the lights dim and a woman steps onto the makeshift stage. People speak in hushed tones, the din of the crowd barely washing over him as if all the people there are making room for the music and the music only. Nothing else seems to matter to these people save for the drinks in their hands and the soothing wail that begins to drone from the microphone.
Her voice washes over them as they take their seats. The ancient wood creaks beneath him as he gets comfortable. His eyes scan over the area. Each table is polished to a sheen, the lights are hung in a way to bring all eyes to the stage, and the staff are all dressed in a way that almost seems as if they should be part of the band.
"Interesting..." He draws out the word, cupping his chin.
Ren sits forwards, his elbows resting on the table. "Do you like it?"
His lips thin. Ren's eyes are eager. What once was obsidian has turned into the warm velvet of night. He's waiting for his answer, but why?
"Yes," He says after a moment, "It's quite nice. A refreshing change of atmosphere."
"That's a polite way of saying you think it's a bit weird."
Akechi opens his mouth to disagree but finds himself unable to. Maybe it was because Ren had taken him here, or maybe it was just the sudden late night jaunt and the apprehension of what tomorrow would bring, but he did find this place almost ... uncanny.
"I suppose you're right."
"That's fine," Ren chuckles, "You can get used to it. I know you'll enjoy the music."
He wants, again, to disagree but Ren is mostly correct. The soothing notes of the piano, the faint buzz of the microphone as the songstress continues her tune . It was good. Nice, even.
"Yes," He sighs, "Yes, I do like the music."
Ren's eyes light up and Akechi is reminded of fireworks in summer ; sparks almost shoot off of him at the slightest of praise. "Good. I'll take you here more often!"
"Now-!" But as he tries to argue, one of the staff approaches. Ren, the cheeky boy that he is, orders for the both of them. Akechi doesn't even catch what is going to be served before the server walks away and disappears into the gloom of the club.
He huffs, sweeping a lock of hair away from his eyes, "Quite bold of you."
"I thought I'd recommend something."
Akechi flounders for another way to continue the conversation even when he'd rather not. His mouth tilts into a frown and his eyes dance away into some darkened corner where he feels he should be hiding away from Ren's gaze. Finally, after keeping Ren waiting, he settles on something he can grasp a hold of firmly.
"Shujin Academy, what's it like?"
Ren tilts his head. The way his shoulder slumps slightly tells Akechi everything he needs to know.
"Oh? It's ... good."
Akechi's brows pitch upwards in an expecting look.
Ren sighs, his own eyes drifting away now. They gaze past him with something distant in them.
"I had it rough when I first came here.” Ren starts slowly. “I won't lie. People treated me with unease at first, then a new scandal came along and they forgot about me."
"Scandal?" Akechi sits up. He hadn't heard about any scandal.
Ren nods, his eyes focusing back on him. "There was a teacher who was ... harassing students. He resigned after he got caught, but not before a girl I was acquaintances with tried to take her own life." Ren probably doesn't catch it, but Akechi does, the way his fingers grip the edge of the table, white knuckled.
After all of the research Akechi had done, he hadn't heard of this. A teacher harassing students? It makes his stomach twist painfully, but it also makes all the pieces click into place.
"So that's why they accepted me." He says it before he can truly realize. A poor student from a completely different prefecture getting a full ride to a Tokyo prep school? He hadn't believed it then and he had barely believed it when he arrived but this news alters his perception. He isn’t here for his good grades. He was here as a spot of good publicity.
There is a long stretch of silence. The singer and pianist finish their song and allow it to slip into the darkness. The light fades until it is almost pitch black within the club and then suddenly returns to the dull warmth that had existed before the song began. It seems the music was over for tonight.
"Is this why you wanted to take me out so badly? To tell me?" Akechi growls, feels the heat wanting to boil to his cheeks. He had assumed the worst of Ren but, perhaps, he had just wanted to make Akechi feel welcomed before the other shoe dropped. But it still makes his rage boil, the bile build at the back of his throat. He is being used.
Ren nods, but he can't look Akechi in the eye. "The good news is, you'll probably have it easier than me. I mean, you've got some of the best grades in the country."
Akechi is about to argue that, regardless of fact, teenagers are cruel. He is far away from home with no family and no connections. He is an easy target. It might as well be painted on his goddamn back. But then a server arrives with their drinks and he is forced into silence by their presence. Two matching glasses are set down in front of them before the server disappears once again.
It's easy to see why Ren would be drawn to a drink like this. It's a fizzing, green abomination topped with a kiwi. He can smell the sugar radiating off of it. Just the thought of drinking it gives him cavities. Without an ounce of recognition for his growing disgust Ren dares to beam a smile at Akechi.
"I thought you might like this!" Ren grins.
Akechi blanches.
Ren's face falls, "What?"
"How can you stomach something so ... sweet?"
Ren's frown pulls into yet another smile. This one curves mischievously at the ends. "Would you like something spicy instead?"
"Uh," Akechi splutters, taken aback by the sudden curve in the conversation. "No! I'm bad with spicy food..."
Ren picks up his glass, pinky out, and holds it aloft towards him. "Then it's bottoms up! Next time, you can pick the drinks."
Akechi picks up his own glass, frown still wobbling slightly on his face. "Next time?"
"Yeah, we're friends, right?" Ren manages to make his eyes light up again. Akechi is beginning to suspect that it's an unnatural talent of his, "We'll hang out."
"Friends..." Akechi looks into the swirling radioactive abyss that is his drink. He supposed it would do him well to make connections and Ren had already been kind enough to warn him of what really occurred at Shujin Academy. "... Yes. I suppose we are."
Their glasses clink together too loudly for Akechi's ears. When it touches his lips he can physically feel the onset of diabetes and Ren has the gall to laugh when he chokes on its overwhelming sweetness.
Overall it is a good night, one that Akechi thinks on fondly when he goes to sleep that night, even as the dread for the next day begins to overwhelm him.