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When Akechi first told Akira he wanted to be friends, Akira was delighted. Akechi was quite charming even if his friends didn’t think the same. And as time passed, Akira had only grown more fascinated with Akechi, spending time with him every chance he got.
Akira is walking home from his shift at Ore no Beko when a poster catches his eye. He stops in his tracks to stare at it, Akechi’s pleasant grin smiling at him. Akira would be lying if he said it didn’t make his heart flutter.
Morgana pops his head out of his bag, resting his paw on Akira’s shoulder. “Ugh, him again?” he grimaces once he sees what Akira has been staring at. “You seem to be obsessed with him.”
“Like you aren’t obsessed with Ann?” Akira fires back, to which Morgana responds by scratching his neck. “Ow!” He exhales a breath, reading over the details of the poster.
It’s an advertisement for a Detective Prince meet and greet with Akechi at the Shibuya bookstore, taking place the following Sunday. Akira decides to pull out his phone from his pocket, carefully snapping a picture of the ad to send to Akechi.
saw this on my way home tonight, Akira quickly types out before pocketing his phone once more. “Come on, let’s go home now.”
“Finally,” Morgana says with a sigh, retreating back into Akira’s bag.
Akira doesn’t check his phone again until he’s back at the attic, and when he does, there’s a new notification banner on the home screen indicating a new message from Goro Akechi.
As an influencer, I do have to give back to my fans. These meet and greets may seem a little silly, considering how they’re mostly impersonal, but I was told that it would help boost my image, the text reads. Despite how busy I am with the Medjed investigation, I was unfortunately unable to weasel my way out of these.
Akira laughs slightly. like your image needs any more boosting
Akechi doesn’t respond, leaving Akira to set his phone aside as Morgana climbs over his chest to tell him to go to bed already since they’re planning to meet up with Yusuke to duplicate some skill cards tomorrow. Though, Akira doesn’t fall asleep easily, still thinking about the Detective Prince meet and greet poster.
… And that’s when a lightbulb flashes in his mind.
He knows he could easily ask Akechi to make time to hang out with him, but where’s the fun in that when he can show up to Akechi’s meet and greet and have some fun seeing him out of his natural element? Plus, Akechi has been turning down his invitations due to Medjed.
Morgana is already sound asleep beside him, so Akira quickly checks his calendar to make sure he doesn’t have any plans for Sunday morning. Thankfully, he does not.
So it’s decided. He’s going to meet Akechi at the meet and greet.
After a few days of hustling around Tokyo preparing to infiltrate Futaba’s palace, Sunday comes around. Akira wakes up early that morning in hopes of being one of the first few people to make it to the bookstore but finds that he severely underestimated the power of Goro’s fanclub seeing as there’s already a line extending almost two blocks past the bookstore.
“Are you really going to stand and wait in line all day just to see Akechi when you can spend your day being more productive?” Morgana gripes. “This better be useful.”
Akira smirks. “Oh, it will be.”
Seeing as how Akira is nowhere near the front of the line when the bookstore opens, he patiently waits his turn by making tools out of the scrap metals in his bag and reading one of his many unread books. But he reaches the front of the store after more than three hours of waiting, and the pure shock written over Akechi’s face when he makes eye contact with him is priceless and definitely worth the long wait.
“Hi, Akechi-senpai!” Akira says when it’s his turn to meet with Akechi. He wraps his right arm around Akechi’s waist for good measure and holds up a peace sign with his left hand, winking at the camera.
“Kurusu,” Akechi says flatly. “What are you doing here?”
“What, can I not meet with my favorite Detective Prince?” Akira asks, batting his eyelashes and fully intent on acting as obnoxious as possible without getting kicked out.
“I’m the only Detective Prince. In Tokyo, anyway,” Akechi answers while still keeping up his cheery disposition for the cameras.
One of the attendants signals that Akira’s time is up, handing Akira the printed copies of the photos taken before calling up the next person in line.
Now, Akira could leave right now and make some use out of the time he has left in the day to meet a friend or take Caroline and Justine out somewhere, but instead he decides to kill some time at one of the sofas to wait for Akechi. The meet and greet is going to end in less than an hour anyway. Morgana complains for the umpteenth time that week, but Akira placates him by promising sushi from Ginza after securing the route to the treasure.
Akira is absorbed in the book he’s reading until he hears a sharp Ahem, looking up to see Akechi standing in front of him.
“Hi, Akechi-senpai!”
Akechi doesn’t bother acknowledging that. “You’re still here.”
Akira hums. “I guess I really wanted to see you today.”
“Well, I appreciate the thought, even though I was technically working earlier. We should meet up again when I’m more free.”
“Of course,” Akira answers politely.
“Good. I’ll be taking my leave now, but I’ll text you later tonight.”
Akechi walks away from him, and Morgana pops out of the bag, noticing the sinister grin over Akira’s features.
“You’ve got something up your sleeve again, don’t you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Exasperated, Morgana sighs. “Come on, let’s just go home before we miss the trains.”
And that’s how Akira starts his hobby of becoming the number one Detective Prince stan. He starts looking out for more Detective Prince meet and greets, because Akechi refuses to text him any details, and makes room in his busy, busy schedule to attend them, much to Morgana’s chagrin.
When he’s doing routine shopping at 777 and the Rocinante Discount Store, he finds tons of Goro merch on sale. Akira can’t exactly help himself when he decides to splurge his recent earnings from Ore no Beko. It’s a good thing that Morgana’s spending the day with Ann and Ryuji, otherwise he’d start whining again.
There’s one merch item in particular that cracks Akira up once he sees them—tiny plush keychains shaped like an orb with Goro’s face on them. He’s taken to calling them ‘Gorbs’ and makes a point to buy the entire box of Gorbs once he sees them at the discount store.
And after his shopping spree, he takes Caroline and Justine to the Shinagawa aquarium, completely forgetting about the Gorbs while the twins argue about the superiority of the killer whale versus the jellyfish.
(For the record, they’re both wrong. The Sea Otters are where it’s at.)
It’s not until the following afternoon when he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves are in Mementos that Akira remembers that the Gorbs are still in his bag.
“Hey Mona, can you look in my bag for my skill cards to hand to Fox? Thanks,” Akira asks once they’re sitting in a waiting room.
“You got it, Joker!” Morgana hops into Akira’s bag. “Hey, wait a minute, why does your bag seem a lot more cluttered than usual? I thought you cleaned it the other day during class?”
Akira is confused for a split-second, before remembering his impulsive shopping spree the day prior. “Uh, I bought stuff?” he says sheepishly.
Morgana pops out of the bag, holding up two Gorbs. “There are so many of them here! I can’t find anything else!”
“What on Earth?! Is that Akechi’s face?!” Ryuji all but shrieks. “They’re so creepy!”
“Yeah, Joker, why did you buy so many of them?” Ann asks, just as Makoto starts lecturing him on spending money responsibly.
Yusuke reaches for one of the Gorbs in Morgana’s hand. “I, for one, think they’re quite beautiful. Pure art in the form of a sphere.”
“Alright, alright, give me the bag, Skull, I’ll look for the cards.” Ryuji hands Akira’s bag to him, and Akira searches for the skill cards.
“We have to get rid of them,” Morgana says while Akira is looking for the cards.
Akira pouts. “Aw, they’re kinda cute, though. Tiny little stress balls or a keychain for the Monabus.”
“Joker, do you seriously need all of them?”
Akira shrugs. “I guess you could use some of these as ammo for your slingshot.”
Morgana reluctantly saves the Gorbs for later. The Gorbs actually turn out to be decent ammunition.
After roaming around Mementos for another short while, they reach another waiting room.
“Man, I’m starving,” Ryuji whines when he sinks into the seat. “Hey Akira, do you have any food on you?”
Akira nods, rummaging through his bag once more to whip out a thermos…
A thermos with Goro Akechi’s face on it.
Ryuji shoves it away from him. “Hell no, I’m not eating from that!”
Akira raises a brow. “You’re really going to turn down ramen just because the thermos has Akechi’s face on it?”
Silently, Ryuji takes the thermos away from Akira’s hands. It’s the quietest Akira has ever heard Ryuji, to be frank.
Akira turns his attention to the rest of the thieves. “How’s everyone? Does anyone need any healing items?”
“I think I’ll be good with just a bandaid! That shadow from earlier gave me a scratch,” Ann says, and Akira fishes for one beneath all of the Gorbs that are still in his bag.
Ann stares down at the bandaid. “…Akechi bandaids? Really?”
Mortified, Akira doesn’t meet Ann’s gaze. He’s thankful that the dim lighting of Mementos doesn’t show the way his cheeks flush red right now.
“Since when do they make bandaids with Akechi’s face on them?”
Akira shrugs. He doesn’t particularly know either, but as soon as he found them on the Detective Prince merch collector’s thread on Reddit, he swung by Shibuya to pick a box of them up. Besides, he was running out of bandaids for the Metaverse anyway.
Despite Akechi’s involvement with the Medjed case, he finds time to hang out with Akira shortly after the thieves steal Futaba’s treasure. They meet up at the Kichijoji cafe, with Akechi wearing Akira’s disguise once more to dissuade any recognition from fans.
“How have you been?” Akechi asks him once they’re settled at their table.
Akira shrugs. “I’ve been good. Worked a lot, hung out with some friends, trained at the gym. May or may not have started a Detective Prince merchandise shrine.”
Akechi violently spits out his coffee, nearly coughing up a lung in the process.
“I’m sorry, you WHAT?! ”
Akira plays innocent. “Hm?”
“You… have a merchandise shrine. Of me. ”
“Maybe,” Akira answers smugly. He pulls out a Gorb from his bag, one that he specifically brought with him to accompany him on their hangout. “Wouldn’t you start a merch shrine too if you saw how cute the little guy is?”
Akechi rolls his eyes. “You are unbelievable, Kurusu.”
They meet up a few more times before the date of the Medjed cleanse, a few of which are idol-like meet and greets that Akira intentionally crashed. Akechi was none too pleased each time Akira showed up, but he still wanted to hang out with Akira so who’s winning here?
Futaba thankfully wakes up from her mini-coma and hacks into the Medjed servers, and while waiting for their next target, Akira continues his merch hunting spree.
Now that Futaba has declared Akira as her ‘key item,’ she starts demanding trips to Akihabara to buy figurines and other video games she couldn’t easily acquire online. It’s a small shopping district with new shops to explore and more opportunities for Detective Prince merch.
But he’s not looking for Detective Prince merch upon his first solo venture to Akihabara. Mishima told him that there’s some sort of Maid Cafe nearby, and seeing as though Operation Maidwatch was a slight disaster for Mishima and Ryuji, Akira now scouts all things maid.
He seats himself at one of the tables to glance at the menu before he notices something—or rather, someone—in the corner of his eye.
Is that Akechi?
Akira dismisses it. There’s a good possibility that he has probably gone a little bit cuckoo in his quest to find Akechi merch. He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes before putting them on. Nope. It’s still Akechi.
And he’s wearing one of the maid uniforms, too. And heels. Akira feels like his heart is going to burst.
Akechi notices Akira staring at him and politely excuses himself from his conversation with the other maids before marching up to Akira.
“How the fuck did you know I was going to be here?” Akechi says in lieu of a greeting, and it’s clear that he’s at the end of his rope.
Akira gulps. “I didn’t, actually. My friend Mishima just told me to scout out the cafe. I just wanted to see the sincere omelet.”
“Sincere omelet, my ass,” Akechi says with a scoff. “You’re clearly trying to follow me around Tokyo again. Showing up to all of my meet and greets, buying all of my merch. You’re no better than one of those stalker fangirls. Y’know what, I should report you for harassment, I am at my wit’s end!”
Akira knows that he should be embarrassed, maybe even ashamed, but instead, he just laughs —because seeing Goro Akechi act outside of his charming demeanor, especially while wearing a maid dress, cracks him up.
“What the fuck are you laughing about?”
Akira tries to stop laughing for a moment. “Nothing, nothing. I just… you’re cute.”
“ Cute?! ”
And Akira hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it’s not that much of a secret anymore that he’s crushing on Akechi. Detective Prince or not, he makes for great company.
“Cute,” Akira confirms.
“I’m not cute,” Akechi answers with a pout, crossing his arms.
Akira hums. “I beg to differ. You should probably sit down before your feet start hurting.”
“Oh,” Akechi says, ever so eloquently. He sits down across from Akira.
“So I’ve been wondering, what exactly are you doing here in the first place?”
Akechi’s eyes drift away from Akira. “...My agent wanted me to do a promotional YouTube video. ‘I worked at a maid cafe for a day,’ she said.”
“That’s quite the YouTube video.”
Akechi shrugs. “I think she’s just looking for ways to boost publicity rather than trusting my intellect as a detective.”
“That’s really unfortunate, because I know you’re quite smart. With your philosophy and all that.”
Akira can barely see it, but there’s a faint blush over Akechi’s cheeks. “Thanks.”
There’s a slight tension in the air, and Akira decides to take the plunge and lean forward to kiss Akechi. Akechi kisses back, and Akira can practically feel the butterflies in his stomach.
The kiss ends, and Akira sits back down.
Akechi’s eyes narrow as he looks at Akira. “Was all of this just your elaborate plan to tell me about your true feelings?”
“Perhaps.”
“Well, lucky for you, I happen to share the same sentiments.”
A sudden spike of nervousness rises in Akira. “Okay! That’s… that’s great, wow. I would’ve dressed better had I known this was going to happen today, but uh, do you want to go on a date with me?”
“I’d like to,” Akechi answers.
A warmth blooms in Akira’s chest, washing away all of the nervousness from moments prior. Akechi agreed to go on a date with him. Him.
“Ah, my apologies, I need to get back to the cafe. I won’t be long if you don’t mind waiting?”
Akira shakes his head. “I don’t mind.”
“Alright, see you soon then.”
“Wait!”
“Hm?”
Akira fishes for his wallet and shoves handfuls of banknotes in Akechi’s hand. “For top tier customer service.”
“Are you insane? I didn’t serve you, you never even got your sincere omelet.”
“Don’t need it. I’ve already got what I wanted.”
Akechi rolls his eyes. “Stop being so sentimental.” He walks away before Akira can say anything else.
Akira only grins to himself knowing that no one else can take the title of the number one Detective Prince stan, even if he is a little bit ahead of the league as Akechi’s rival.