Chapter Text
0. MISSING
Being called into Shujins faculty office was never a fun time for Akira, let alone any other student. Between thieving, working on his confidants at his wardens behest and trying to juggle his god-awful reputation, Akira was sad to admit his grades had fallen behind.
Kawakami had looked on in disappointment at the summary of Akiras grades in her hands, the noiret taking the moment to fiddle with his bag strap at the uncomfortable silence that fell upon them.
Pressing her hands to her temples, Kawakami sighed tiredly.
“ You know I can’t keep bailing you out here Kurusu-kun” her lightly manicured hands pressed his mid term report back into his hands.
“Most of these grades are salvageable… you’re not an awful student but whatever is going on is pulling your attention away in class, I heard just last week Ms. Chouno caught you napping in her class!”
Akira pursed his lips awkwardly, unable to admit his constant mementos runs with his teammates were taking far too much of his time. Being pressured by Niijima Makoto, Shujins very own Student President, was an add on stress on top of everything else, sleep didn’t come easy nowadays.
“It’s not on purpose Kawakami sensei… just the pressure has become a lot recently, especially with all the rumors”
Akira looked forlorn as he laid the charm on thick, watching as his teacher's brow had softened slightly, obviously swayed by his kicked puppy act.
“Just… try and salvage these grades Kurusu-Kun… summer break is coming up and you won’t be able to enjoy it with grades this low” Kawakami sighed tiredly, the bags under her eyes stuck out even over the makeup she had on.
“By the station, there’s a board with tons of ads… I’m sure there are many students looking to tutor for cheap, I suggest you find yourself a tutor unless you want to spend your summer back in the classroom”
Akira bowed lightly as Kawakami waved him off without a second thought, turning back to her computer desk and logging through the other students’ grades. Turning around, the thief left with a small thank you , before hustling out the room.
Once off of school grounds, Morgana poked his small head out from the noiret’s shoulder bag and swatted at the back of his head lightly
“Akira! You can’t be letting your grades slip… it’ll look suspicious…!”
Akira hissed at the paw that struck the back of his head and rubbed the spot lightly while not bothering to turn his head towards the perpetrator.
“I know- but being a thief has been taking up all of our time and You have been the one pushing for all those momentos trips.” Akira grumbled, trying not to draw attention to the fact that he was talking to a cat
“Besides, the rest of us are trying to collect information before Makoto outs us as thieves.”
Morgana whined from within the Shujin issued bag and shut his mouth for the time being, granting Akira a silent walk to the station, one he was grateful for.
-
Shibuya station had been busy as usual, people packed into rows as they waited to catch their trains home, teens loitering and gossiping over drinks and snacks while disgruntled businessmen tapped away at their phones or read the daily paper. Akira weaved his way through the busy crowd and over to the notice board, eyes skimming over the heaps of adverts only to land on a single paper that really stood out amongst the rest.
In bold text at the top of the page, read the word MISSING. Framed in the middle was a photo of a girl that looked just around Akiras age, if not a year younger. Long dark hair cascaded in a messy braid over the girls shoulder, bangs trimmed neatly and stopped right at her eyebrows, framing her face cutely. The girls cheeks were round and pink and despite the overall friendly appearance, Akira couldn’t help but feel unnerved. Eyes round and devoid of much emotion, a deep slate grey that stared back hauntingly at Akira, lips pulled into a neutral expression. For a missing girl they chose an odd photo the thief mused to himself.
“Look at the amount of zeros on that thing!” Cried Morgana as he learned his small head over Akiras shoulder. The frizzy haired student nearly threw Morgana off in surprise, sighing tiredly as he was shaken out of his daze. Shifting his gaze to the fine print, the thief purses his lips
Missing student: Rini Fujisaki. Last seen at the underground mall, cash reward given if located. If you have any information please contact...
“That’s a lot of money for one girl… whoever’s willing to pay that much must really miss her” Morgana sighed into Akira's ear, the Shujin student taking note of the date noted, mentally filing away the fact that she had been missing for six months, yet the paper looked brand new. Perhaps they were still looking for her?
“I’m sure they do Morgana, losing a loved one is hard… I wonder if it has any relation to the extortion going on at school?” Akira hummed, unable to really shake the feeling of dread that pooled in his stomach. Something about her didn’t sit right with him.
“Maybe… but hey, if we find her does that mean we’re set for life?” Morgana mewled happily, imagining all the fatty tuna he could buy with all that reward money.
Akira lazily shooed his hand at Morgana who swatted playfully before ducking back into his bag.
Among the other adverts and job listings, Akira's eyes settled on a flash of bright pink that hid underneath heaps of other flashy advertisements. Carefully unpinning the glossy laminated paper, Akira fished it out from the rest and couldn’t help but laugh at the obnoxious pink scrawled on the sheet.
STUDENT TUTOR FOR HIRE;
♡ AVAILABLE TWICE A WEEK
♡ 5000 YEN PER HOUR
♡ CAN OFFER A MULTITUDE OF LESSONS
♡ PLEASE CONTACT ME AT...
Holding the paper in his hands, decorated with doodles of hearts and such, Akira immediately took off, wandering down into a quieter part of the station. The frizzy haired teen tapped his phone screen, swiping away at the various texts while mentally promising to answer them later, before punching in the number listed on the laminated pink sheet.
A few listless rings, Akira was about to give up before a click stopped him in his tracks.
“ Hello…” a groggy voice answered. Akira took a moment to quickly check the number listed on the sheet and the one he had tapped into his phone.
“ Hey if this is a prank call I’m-“
“ Ah-! Sorry… I’m calling about the tutor for hire?” Akira responded smoothly. For a moment there was a clattering noise over the phone before a listless silence that followed.
“..... hello?”
“ Sorry! Sorry…” the voice over the phone gasped “ yes sorry, I was uhh… working. Yes hi. The tutoring...” Akira could only guess he had caught them mid nap.
“ My name's Joey, I’m offering tutoring service in my spare time, each session is 5000 yen per the hour. If you’re looking for a tutor I’m usually easily accessible and can be flexible with my time. I can teach an array of subjects and I’m great with kids” the voice over the phone jeered, almost as if reciting from a script. “ How can I help you?”
Akira adjusted his glasses and leaned his head back for a moment.
“My name is Kurusu Akira, I’m a second year… I’ve begun to fall behind in some classes and such… I saw your Ad at Shibuya station”
“ Great, second year classes aren’t too bad… what subjects are you looking to improve?” The voice replied smoothly, Akira began to try and mentally picture what kind of woman sat at the other end.
“Mostly English and Social studies at the moment”
“ Great! I can start putting together a curriculum for you and we can get started as soon as….” The voice on the other line dragged on her assss for a moment before seemingly finding whatever she needed “ as soon as tomorrow- actually.”
The thief thought for a moment, his week was more or less spending every day gathering info on the central street extortionists but… he could spare a day for his own betterment- besides, he was much too curious about this tutor now.
“Tomorrow works out great actually, there’s a cafe in yongen-Jaya called LeBlanc that we can meet at”
“ Yongen-Jaya… oh- yes, I know where that is. Alright I’m free anytime after 6 if that’s ok? Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are my ideal days.”
Watching the date on his phone blink Monday back at him, Akira nodded for himself.
“Ok, sounds great. I’ll meet you at LeBlanc at about six.”
“ Cool, I’ll see you then Kurusu-kun”
Before Akira could reply in any capacity, he was met with a click and an empty line. Sighing, Akira shoved his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his shaggy hair before moving on to find his train home.
“What kind of girl do you think she’ll be, leader?” Morgana cooed from Akiras school bag. Akira hummed for a moment, her voice was smooth and laid back but snapped into attention at times. Maybe she was someone mature, long, dark hair, gentle smile, long thick eyelashes. Akira was intrigued at the possibilities
“Time will only tell I suppose… but we should head back first.”
-
The gentle chime of LeBlanc’s bell alerted Sojiro of Akira’s return, watching as the boy gently closed the door behind him and brushed off his uniform.
The frizzy haired student gazed warily at Sojiros disgruntled expression, sitting against the bar with his crossword book in his hands. Surely there was trouble.
“I got a call from your school today” Sojiro began while Akira sighed lowly, could he catch a break today?
“I warned you about your grades slipping kid, you’re not doing yourself any favours like this” Boss scoffed.
The thief absentmindedly tugged on a few stray locks and looked down dejectedly,
“I’m sorry boss, with everything going on with school it’s been hard to focus but I’ve already arranged for a tutor though. Infact my first session is tomorrow night.”
Sojiro wore a look of surprise as he scratched at his beard for a moment, Akira felt smug knowing he had defied his expectations.
“Well, I see you’ve already taken responsibility… alright I’ll allow you to study at the cafe as long as you’re not disturbing any customers that is” Sojiro shrugged, Akira’s face brightened for a moment as Sojiro’s frigid expression melted the slightest bit.
“Thank you boss, I’ll work hard.” The cafe owner waved him off with a scoff, yeah yeah he grumbled while pulling his coat off the rack nearby, making sure to grab his hat on the way.
“Just make sure you lock up tonight and don’t make a mess” Sojiro reminded the student before heading out the door with the familiar jingle of the bells ahead.
Akira sighed tiredly once Boss made his way out, finally letting his shoulders slump from their stiff upright position before he fell back into one of the LeBlanc booths. Morgana hopped on the table before playfully swatting at the thief.
“At least that’s over with… Boss can be a scary guy when he wants to be” Morgana shuddered while Akira nodded in solidarity. The two decided it had been a long enough day and shuffled up the creaky stairs to settle into bed for another restless sleep.
“ So… what kinda girl do you think she’ll be? ” Morgana hummed, curled up on Akiras chest, ignoring the students obvious discomfort at the heavy weight on his chest.
Akira looked up at the ceiling, placing his phone down at Morgana's inquiry. It was hard to tell, but if her advert was anything to go by, she looked like a fun person, hopefully not too boring. “Not sure… she sounds interesting enough though.”
“Maybe she’ll teach you something we can use in the metaverse! Like how that doctor gives you medicine or the big scary Lookin’ guy gives you guns!” Morgana chirped happily, Akira snorted at his antics.
“Sure I’m gonna learn thief tactics from English studies.”
Morgana shrugged nonchalantly before settling down once more and getting cozy, using Akira as a pseudo heater. “You never know leader” he replied before settling into a light sleep.
Akira laid his head back into his pillow, staring up at the ceiling, unable to slow his racing mind. I do wonder what kind of person she is.