Work Text:
Monday, April 11th, 2016
The grey clouds in the sky seemed to be taunting his original hopeful thoughts. The moment he stepped out of Leblanc, Akira wanted his first day at Shujin to be a nice one. Still, he knew from the moment he went into Shujin with Sojiro, that it wouldn’t be the case. He was just deluding himself into thinking it’d be nice. If the teachers treated him like a nuisance then wouldn’t the students act the same?
“Well….I’ve been a nuisance these past couple of months….maybe that’s just who I am now.”
Akira felt the sensation of water patter above his head. He glanced up just in time for a raindrop to slip past his glasses and into his eye. He attempted to close his eye in reflex, but it was too late. After rubbing his eye for a bit, Akira ran to the underground subway as he still needed to catch the train to Shibuya, and from there, to Shujin. After getting in the train, he discovered no seats and would have to, unfortunately, stand up for the rest of the trip. He grabbed the handle above him so he didn’t sway as much as the train moved along.
“…..What did I do wrong?.... Was that not the right thing to do?”
Akira’s decision to save the women backfired on him and caused this entire mess to happen. He didn’t feel any resentment towards the women or man, he only felt disappointment. Is this how people treated a good Samaritan these days? Or was the idea of chivalry dead nowadays? Akira gazed outside the subway train but was greeted with darkness as he was underground. The darkness seemed to stare back at Akira, mocking him for what he had done. The incident happened in the night, so all Akira thought of when gazing at such darkness was his past decision.
“Right or wrong?... Why hasn’t anyone told me I did the right thing? Am I really the one who committed a crime?”
Whenever his decision to save the women was brought up, people would tell him he made a stupid decision. His parents, the authorities, his parole officer, and his now current guardian, Sojiro Sakura treated him the same. The looks Sojiro and his teacher at Shujin gave him were imprinted in his mind.
Disappointment, unwillingness, resentment, annoyance, a bit of fear. All these emotions, Akira felt like he saw them in their eyes. Like they didn’t see a teenage boy who was in an unfortunate accident. They only saw an authentic criminal. Akira felt uncomfortable with being in a packed subway.
“…I feel them looking down on me….even now.”
Akira felt everyone on this subway viewed him the same. Those views of him, made it feel like everyone started to treat him the same way even if they didn’t. No one ever comforted him, they only looked away.
Akira had to pass by Shibuya. Walking to his next train to Shujin, he looked at the city square. He wondered what that event yesterday was about, but it was only a passing thought as he got onto the next train. He had to worry more about himself than others right now.
“At least….that’s what he told me to do….”
Still, the sentiment didn’t sit well with the kind-hearted Akira. After getting off the train for Shujin, the rains seemed to increase dramatically and Akira felt like if he went out in this weather, he’d be soaked as soon as he set foot in Shujin. Akira managed to find a canopy to take cover under while he watched others pass by him. Again, no one passed a glance towards him, as if they wanted to avoid eye contact with him or maybe it was just the fact they didn’t care about him. Maybe everyone was like how Sojiro said. Everyone only looked out for themselves. As he looked at his phone, he saw an old “friend”…or that’s what he liked to call the annoyance that had been popping up on his phone the past two days.
“It can’t really be a virus….can it?”
As he looked at the clouds and wondered whether it would clear up or not, he noticed someone come out of the underground subway entrance. It was obvious they were the same as him and they didn’t bring an umbrella. The person’s hoodie was getting soaked and they seemed to be heading for his direction. Akira smirked inwardly.
“At least someone’s here to suffer with me…..” Only moments after having the thought, Akira grew surprised and sighed to himself. “Is this who I’m turning into?….. A person who enjoys the misfortunes of others….”
After thinking so, he watched as the person stopped right next to him. Their face was tilted downwards so he couldn’t see their face but from their figure…. Akira guessed it was a girl. She had a slim figure and her long slender legs were covered by some bright eye-catching red leggings with brown boots. He guessed she was from Shujin as well as she had a jacket with the school emblem on it. She proceeded to wipe off the rain off her jacket with two delicate hands.
For some reason, Akira eyes couldn’t see anything else. He hadn’t even seen her face and yet, just from her small gestures, Akira had a feeling she was moderately beautiful. Maybe it was her figure or the way she positioned herself, but Akira was slightly hoping for the reveal. A beautiful girl could make the day a bit better for any guy and Akira was no exception. Only he was in for a surprise.
The girl finally reached for her hoodie and uncovered the face Akira was waiting for. The long strands of hair fell down as they were bundled up and she looked up at the sky as if waiting for the sky to clear up as well.
Akira stood there, a bit stunned at her appearance……Actually, maybe a “bit” was an understatement. Akira was expecting moderately beautiful, but instead, he got drop-dead gorgeous. The beauty stayed there without noticing the stunned look from her companion under the canopy. Her blond pigtails looked so illuminating in the once grey atmosphere Akira viewed the world in. Her blues eyes were a fresh color of variety compared to the hazel and brown ones that always looked down on him.
Akira soon found himself staring a bit too long as the girl finally noticed the person next to her was looking at her with such intensity. Akira suddenly regretted his lingering gaze as he felt he screwed up big time. This girl was the most beautiful one he’d ever seen in person. He didn’t want to leave the impression that he was a creep, but it was too late. Still, the girl surprised him once again.
Instead of a look of disgust, annoyance, or some apprehension, Akira might have even accepted she’d look away and try to forget there was a guy staring at her oddly, she did something different. She suddenly reached for his hair, which caught Akira off guard, but he felt no malice in her approach and stayed his hand. She suddenly pulled out a blossom out of his hair.
“I hate the rain. It scatters the pretty blossoms everywhere.”
She looked at Akira, with the blossom still in her hand, and gave Akira another surprise.
“Don’t you think so?”
She gave Akira the first genuine smile he’d seen in a long time. One that was directed at him and him alone. He felt it was her sincere attempt to let him be at ease. Did she sense his regret? His anxiousness? Was she always this kind?......Kindness. This, This was the first hint of kindness that Akira had received in months. Millions of questions started popping up, but they were all silenced instantly by one thought.
“Say something in response, you IDIOT?!!!!”
Even though he repeated that sentence in his mind, the words he wanted to say didn’t come out. The girl gave a simple nod and went back to her own business. Maybe she was used to such a reaction? Meanwhile, Akira was having a battle within himself.
“Say something!!! Don’t let her just walk away!!”
“But she goes to Shujin maybe I can-
“AT LEAST ask for her name!!!”
“Name? Yeah! I can do that!!”
Akira finished the inner debate with himself and just as he was about to attempt to ask for her name, something interrupted him…..or more like someone. A white car pulled up to them.
“You’re gonna be late, Takamaki-san. Mind if I give you a lift?”
Akira started wishing the guy who just popped up on them would suddenly disappear on them, but unfortunately, life wasn’t fair to him. The girl nodded.
“Sure…thank you.”
Akira heard a bit of hesitation in the response, but before he could glance at her, she started moving towards the car and got in. It was when she got in, that Akira was able to see her face again. One that differed from the smile he’d seen before. One that had a bit of inner turmoil.
[Don’t involve yourself in any more trouble, you hear!]
The words Sojiro said echoed in his mind, and that forced his body to stay still. Even though he wanted to ask what was wrong, the words didn’t come out of his mouth. The car eventually drove away and so did the girl that illuminated his once dull world.
“…….Takamaki-san….that was her name……”
At least he got her name. Maybe there would be a chance to get closer to her at school. As Akira started to console himself, he heard someone yelling after the white car. Akira never guessed the words this person said would send him on a perilous journey across the metaverse and granting his wish of knowing the name of the girl he’d just seen. Ann Takamaki. The girl who would later become the person he treasured most.
Sunday, December 25th, 2016
Regret, anguish, yearning, and frustration. A girl on this night was currently feeling this way on the supposed jolliest time of the year.
“Why…. Why did this have to happen to you..?”
It was the middle of the night on Christmas day. Ann Takamaki sat alone on her bed. A day that was normally spent with family and friends was surprisingly lonely for Ann this year, but that’s not what bothered her. Her mother and father would sometimes be here and sometimes not, that became the norm for Ann and she came to accept it as she grew up. She was used to always moving around a lot so the idea of spending Christmas with friends became foreign to her with the exception being this year as she made many irreplaceable friends, but no one was in the mood to celebrate Christmas without him. Ann was the most devastated with his disappearance.
The only light in her dark room was the lamp that was placed on the small table next to her bed. Ann wasn’t tucked into her bed as one would be around this time, she simply sat on the top of her covers, dressed in her PJ’s pulling her knee’s close her face. She buried her face in her knee’s, her hand trembling as she did so.
“Why didn’t you tell me anything?!!!!!!! How could you just leave without saying anything?!!!!!!”
Akira was gone. He had turned himself into the police just so everyone else could get scot free. When she heard the news, Ann felt immense regret for leaving him alone on Christmas Eve. She knew there was something wrong from the way he was acting last night, but to think he would just up and leave them like this…..leave her.
Ann brought her phone out and went through her phone until she came across the photo gallery. One by one, Ann scrolled through all the photos she took with Akira. Not even just the pictures of them being a couple, she looked at those photos they took before they were even a couple.
When they were the best of friends… before the change in their relationship.
Compared to right now, those times seemed so much simpler. They talked about everything and whatever bothered them, they freely spoke with each other. It might be why Ann felt he was so special because she could be open with him in ways, she couldn’t with Shiho. So…..why did he not say anything this time? Why did he keep silent when such a huge choice in his life…..would mean they might not see each other again. Did he not care?!!!.....
Ann sighed to herself, which was the equivalent to the dam being broken.
“No…. He must have a hard time choosing…..”
Tears started flowing down her cheeks. In her heart, Ann knew Akira did care about everyone, about her, and it was why he made that choice. Ann knew Akira was always looking out for another’s well-being while ignoring his own. It was a blessing and a curse while being with him. The way he always reached out for anyone’s trouble and tried to solve them, no matter how insignificant it might be, Akira always did his best to ensure that person got through their troubles. She loved that part about him, but she hated how he didn’t mind himself getting hurt in the process. It’s what got him into this position.
“How can you be so smart and yet so stupid at the same time?...... Didn’t you say you wanted to be with me forever?”
Memories on the school roof after the school festival surfaced. Ann mentioned how she thought they would be really good together, but the way she said made it sounded as if she wanted to marry Akira eventually, so she backpedaled on that quickly. That kind of topic was still too heavy for a high school couple, but it seemed Akira thought otherwise.
[I feel the same way, Ann]
The moment Akira said that Ann could feel her cheeks get really hot, but instead of embarrassment, she felt blissful to hear the reply. It showed he thought about it as well, and….he wanted it to happen as well….and now this had to happen to them. The world just seemed to want Akira to never gain the happiness he deserved.
Ann thought how Akira felt making this choice. Did it pain him to see her walk away that night…possibly thinking it’d be the last time he’d see her? Did he want to say something? Did he think about how she would feel? How the others would? They went through so much…..how could he leave them like this?
Ann threw herself backward on her bed. The tears still evident on her cheeks, but she blankly stared at the ceiling. She made sure to not let everyone get down about this at Leblanc, and it worked thankfully, but she felt the world crash down on her after she got home. How would they get Akira out of jail without the metaverse? Ann felt the world was always against her and her friends, but now? How can they fight back? They lost the “weapon” they could use, now they could only use their own hands in this situation., but….what could six teenagers do against the government with only themselves.
Ann turned to her right, and that’s when she noticed her lamp. Ann stared at the dim light in the dark room. That’s when she recalled something else.
“Light…..That’s what he is to me.”
Ann remembered when she called Akira her “light”. It sounded cheesy when she thought back to it, but it honestly is what Akira represented. The light that shined in the darkness. When those early years in Shujin were nothing but dreading to encounter Kamoshida again and again, Ann felt she was close to giving up on life, her only lifeline was Shiho, but Ann started feeling like soon, even that wouldn’t help her. That was when Akira came into her life. Like a bright beacon, even if she tried to reject his help, Akira still came to her and finally, she opened up to him. That choice on that day was the best decision she ever made…and Ann wished she had opened up sooner. Maybe things wouldn’t have happened the way they did, but she knew it wasn’t the time to dwell on past mistakes.
Finally, under her blankets, Ann opened up her phone again and pulled up a photo of Akira giving her a kiss on the cheek while she took the photo. Ann finally cracked a smile, she remembered how embarrassed Akira was doing such a thing, but he still did it for her.
Beside the photo was the dim light the lamp gave off. Ann had the two side by side, and finally, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Ann tightly held her phone to her chest as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The dim light still shined in the dark room. Despite how weak the light was compared to the surrounding darkness, it still glowed, allowing Ann to see it.
No matter where Akira was, Ann still always thought of him as her light and every step she would take, would be a step closer. Ann would keep moving towards that dim light. No matter how far away it seemed, until she could finally bask in the usual brightness that gave her warmth and comfort. Until she could finally be with Akira again.
Monday, February 13th, 2017
The passing scenery in the car window seemed incredibly surprising to Akira as he looked at it with slightly widened eyes. It was something he was prepared to not see for a long time, if ever. Sojiro chuckled slightly as he noticed while driving.
“Heh, Cat got your tongue?”
Akira finally looked at Sojiro. Maybe he remembered there was an actual person next to him.
“B-Boss…I’m…I’m not dreaming right?”
Akira had been prepared to stay in prison for the rest of his life. Although Sae Niijima said she’d do everything in her power to release him, Akira felt there was no way she was going to convince those people in power who cared more about their reputation than a person’s innocence. Hell, Sae even said they’d make up reasons to arrest himself and his friends if he didn’t turn himself in. Why would he trust those people who would only change with having their desires stolen? So, Akira appreciated Sae’s comforting words, but even he knew the harsh truth….at least he thought he did.
Sojiro chuckled as he heard the bewildered Akira.
“I’m sure you’re wondering how this all happened, but why not ask them when we get there?”
Akira shook in response. Sae had mentioned to him that the “others” had found the woman involved in the assault case, and that’s what led to the turning point in the case. Akira even heard he got support from many different people and groups, some of which he’d never heard of. It was unbelievable to hear so many people wanting him out of that place. When he got to Tokyo, he was alone, but now? There were a lot of people who cared for him. The feeling left him choked up in his emotions.
Akira started chuckling while he covered his eyes. Sojiro glanced at him and smiled as he brought his eyes back to the road.
“Save the waterworks for when we arrive. I’m sure they’ll feel the same.”
Out of one of the gaps Akira’s hand didn’t cover, a single stream of tears ran down his cheek. At this point in time with a grin on his face, Akira felt truly blessed.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
“When’shegettinghere!When’shegettinghere!When’shegettinghere!When’shegettinghere! AHHHHHHHH!!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!!” Futaba frolicked all over Leblanc.
Her energetic mood spread to everyone else as they all had smiles on their faces. Though Makoto knew they couldn’t have Futaba make an accidental mess before Akira arrived, so she made Futaba calm down. Still, there were aftereffects.
“HAHAHA!!! We did it!!! We got Akira out of that shithole of a prison!!!” Ryuji laughed heartily as he kept telling himself that.
For once, no one told him to quiet down, they felt very much the same. Ryuji went over to Yusuke and they started to talk about Akira’s arrival. Ann sat at a table all by herself as she faced away from the door. For some reason, Ann felt seeing him this way would feel a lot more special. As Ann was happily absorbed in her thoughts, they heard someone arrive at the front door. The sudden arrival made everyone quiet down. The person at the door paced back and forth, as if unsure if they should enter. After a few seconds of hesitation, the door opened. Ann heard that usual bell on the Leblanc door, but she couldn’t see who arrived as she had her back to the front door. Still, Ann’s heart was beating loudly in her chest as she knew who it was that went through that front door. It was-
“AKIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The excited and emotional shouts of everyone but Ann flooded Leblanc. Ann heard them all stand up from their seats and run across Leblanc’s floor and seemingly welcoming back their leader.
Ann still sat there in her seat, she felt all her emotions rise up at once and that made it hard to turn back. Ann didn’t know if she could keep her emotions in check if she saw his face.
“Ann? What’cha doin over there for?!!!!!” Ryuji’s shout made Ann flinch which got her out of the paralyzed state she was in. She slowly got up and turned to face everyone surrounding a face she hadn’t seen for so long.
Ann felt a bit silly for her earlier thoughts right now as she saw everyone had tears on their faces as they surrounded Akira. They were all just as emotional as she was in meeting Akira again. Still seeing his face with a smile and tears, made Ann’s final resistance crumble.
“Wel-….Welcome back…Akira.” Ann softly said with sniffles in between her words. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth as she tried to hide the soft cry’s she made.
Akira and the rest went over to Ann and they had a group hug. Akira looked at everyone around him and thanked which every lucky star he was born under to have friends like this…..and also a lover as well. Ann cried into his chest while everyone else joyfully celebrated his return. The gang was back together.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
The Phantom thieves asked about their leader’s wellbeing, as well as their own struggles to get him out of juvie. Akira listened quietly with a warm smile on his face as he listened to all their stories. They had gone through so much to get him out and he would be forever grateful to them. While Akira was listening to the stories, Ann sat next to him, slightly fidgeting as there was so much she wanted to say to him. The thing that stopped her is that their relationship would be revealed to everyone if she did and while she did feel it was about time to tell them, she needed Akira’s opinion on it. As Ann continued to bottle up these feelings, someone eventually noticed Ann’s restlessness and then got a huge smirk on their face.
“Ah! I got a message from Sojiro guys!” Futaba said as she looked at her phone in “shock”. Everyone turned to her in confusion.
“What does Boss want, Futaba-chan?” Haru said the words Futaba was hoping for. Futaba looked at everyone, with a plot brewing in her head.
“Well, Sojiro said he needs help with all the grocery’s he bought and that I should bring a couple of free hands.”
Makoto looked at Ryuji and Yusuke.
“Well, you-
“Actually, I need you and Haru too!”
Futaba cut off Makoto. Normally she would be all for using the boys to do the heavy work while the girls relaxed, but there was a reason she was saying this lie in the first place.
“Come on! Come on! Sojiro’s gonna get all grumpy on me if we don’t go soon!”
Futaba started pushing for everyone to go while leaving Akira and Ann alone. Before she left though, she looked at the two and gave a playful smile and wink before leaving. The two were a bit surprised but lightly chuckled at Futaba’s aid. Akira looked at Ann.
“Guess Futaba knows about us, huh?”
“..I have to thank her for this. Can…we go upstairs to talk?” Ann softly said. Akira already got up and reached out for her hand.
“Let’s. I want…some privacy as well.”
Who knew when Futaba’s group would be back. Ann giggled as she grabbed his hand. It was much rougher than before. It hadn’t been taken care of like it used to be. Akira led her upstairs while Ann gently caressed his hand as if trying to gently polish it to those smooth hands she held before. Ann’s heart started to ache as she wondered how Akira was in those months of solitude. Akira reached a familiar sight as he saw his room was still being cared for.
“Sojiro…..”
It seemed the old man still thought he would come back eventually and made sure the place stayed tidy. Ann looked at the room as well.
“I planned to come on certain days to clean up, but Boss would always beat me to it. He always thought you would be back one day….like the rest of us.”
The room was filled with knick-knacks and gifts he got from the people he met in Tokyo. It differed immensely from the first day he arrived. It made Akira recall all those times he spent with everyone. All the friendly chats with the guys, all the Phantom Thief business that went on, and…..the intimate moments he shared with Ann. All in this room. Akira sighed.
“….You guys didn’t know if I would ever come back….so why-
Ann suddenly hugged Akira from behind.
“Because we LOVE you! You idiot!!”
Akira words got stuck in his throat.
“Do you think we could just let you rot in there?! What was this past year to you if you think our relationship would end because of something like this?!!!!”
Akira could hear anger and sorrow in Ann’s shouts. Akira wondered what he did in the past life to deserve the love everyone gave him. Ann’s hold on him grew tighter. Akira found the atmosphere between him and Ann suffocating.
“I could never forget you, Akira. Not in a million years…. So how do you think I felt when you just up and left me…..when you left everyone who cared for you!”
“Ann, I-
“I LOVE YOU DAMMIT!!!!”
The sudden shout made the whole room silent. Akira’s hand clenched into fists. He could hear that soft cry again.
“Those words I said on the rooftop…and every other time!!! I really mean it!! I love you!! So please….don’t just leave me alone…..not again. I wanted to see you every day you were in prison. I’m tired of seeing the people close to me leave me.”
Akira turned around to see Ann brush the tears falling down her cheeks. An impulse took control of Akira and he rushed forward and embraced Ann.
“I won’t!!! I won’t let anything tear us apart ever again!!! I promise!!!”
Ann felt immensely comforted by Akira’s pledge. She returned Akira’s embrace with her own. Closing her eyes to enjoy the feeling of being in his arms once again while a tender smile came to her face. The warmth and comfort she missed had come back to her.
“He’s back…..My light….Akira….”
The moment was sweet and tender. As they both started to look into each other’s eyes, their faces inched closer and closer until their lips touched. They forgot about the world around them since, in their eyes, their world was each other. In their eyes, they were each other’s light’s and they were now together once more.
It would have served to be a nice return for Akira…..if it wasn’t for the peanut gallery watching. Five pairs of eyes watched them from the stairs. Where only the top of their heads could be seen.
“How long before ya think they’ll notice us?” Ryuji whispered.
“Who knows? Still….Ann and Akira….I never knew.” Makoto also whispered.
“They were always close. I suppose it would have happened eventually.” Haru silently added her point.
“I’ve known for a while now. Just happened to listen in on them once.” The cockiness could still be heard in the whisper from Futaba.
“Is “listening in” pertaining to your incessant meddling(hacking)?” Yusuke silently retorted
“Shut up, Inari!” Futaba fiercely and quietly replied
Ann and Akira didn’t pay any mind to them. While the two lovers did just discover the peanut gallery watching them, they both thought they should pretend they weren’t there in the first place. They still wanted to enjoy this long-awaited kiss.