Chapter Text
Gathering intel on his proclaimed rival never failed to intrigue Akechi. Kurusu resembled a complete enigma— one that thrilled and frustrated Akechi to no end. He seemed like an easily looked over scrawny delinquent, had Akechi come across him before they met at the TV station. Yet, he somehow remained the only person who consistently met his caliber. It was a no-brainer that his pesky friends always flocked to his side, eager to soak up any ounce of his attention at a moment's notice. He seemed to draw people in effortlessly, tempting them into spilling every secret they held close to his heart. Yet, Kurusu himself kept himself closed off, always redirecting the conversation away from himself with practiced ease. Try as he might, Akechi could hardly tempt his new rival into revealing his vulnerabilities. In fact, he found himself at the receiving end of Kurusu’s tomfoolery more often than not.
Until he spotted something particularly interesting with Kurusu.
He’d been invited to an arcade for a silly little shoot-em-up game. Of course, the game didn’t present much of a challenge to Akechi’s years of routinely putting bullets in the heads of shadows without a single glance at their pathetic faces.
Kurusu seemed impressed by his skills, though he had to admit he wasn’t so bad himself. Had they been in a face-to-face gunfight in Mementos, Akechi would have shot him dead already, what with his slight moments of hesitation and occasional awkward fumbling. Still, the rate at which his rival seemed to catch up to his skill level both excited and heavily irritated him.
Kurusu had arguably fumbled their latest round, seeming almost uninvested, as if his mind was occupied elsewhere. Irritation crept through Akechi’s features before he shut them down with a perfectly executed, light-hearted chuckle. He’d endured worse than being ignored by the very person inviting him to waste his time playing frivolous games.
Akechi turned away from the screen, ready to deliver a backhanded compliment, but any words died in his mouth as he took in the surprising sight before him.
Kurusu was looking off into the distance at… a Jack Frost crane game, of all things. He tried to recall all the times he’d inadvertently stared a little too hard at Kurusu’s pretty face, and yet Akechi couldn’t say that he’d ever seen him look so intrigued.
“It seems like we’re both just about done here,” Akechi quipped, his voice light and pleasant like a cool drink in the sweltering heat. “This is quite different from our usual outings, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.”
Kurusu absentmindedly nodded along, silvery eyes snapping back to curtly nod as if he were almost caught hiding… something. Akechi couldn’t help but linger his gaze, shutting down the urge to grin, teeth and all, at the notion that just maybe, he’d found a weakness in Kurusu’s seemingly impenetrable defenses.
His side investigation on Kurusu started accidentally after their arcade outing. Akechi just so happened to find a cute little plush cat attached to a keychain. It came with a love letter doused in a disgusting amount of sugary perfume stinking up his locker. Of course, he threw the letter out discreetly while he wrinkled his nose in disgust. It had been a blatantly misguided interpretation of what his “detective prince persona” would have liked: a charming, cute little thing befitting of his picture-perfect demure sweetheart reputation. He’d shoved the keychain unceremoniously in his briefcase to be forgotten about as he made his daily trip to Leblanc. That was until Kurusu, in all of his goody two-shoed kindness, suddenly picked it up with a perplexed face.
“Akechi… did you drop this?” He dangled the cat in front of him, though Akechi noted how Kurusu’s gaze seemed to soften with the same yearning reminiscent of their time at the arcade. Then it clicked in place.
“It appears I have,” He nodded, eyeing the keychain almost warily. “An admirer gifted it to me, though I’m afraid I don’t have a place to put it.”
A slight widening of liquid silver eyes and Kurusu’s mouth opened to say something before promptly clamming up. Such a brief slip-up would have normally been overlooked by most. Akechi kept his face neutral and appeared none the wiser— though a hawk-like hunger shone through regardless. He smiled, just to watch his dearly detested rival squirm a little more.
“It’s quite cute, isn’t it?” Akechi chirped, nursing his coffee while his gaze never left his rival. Kurusu shrugged as he attempted to feign disinterest and distance himself by furiously wiping away an invisible stain on Leblanc’s counter. Akechi wouldn’t let him go so easily.
He leaned forward, enough so that Kurusu had little choice but to meet his eyes again, and struck. He dangled the forbidden fruit directly in front of Kurusu and mused, “I don’t particularly have a use for it, so why don’t you keep it?”
Kurusu’s entire body stiffened within a moment’s notice as his eyes suddenly turned hard steel. He watched the gently swinging plushie with keen interest, before remembering exactly who his audience was.
Akechi simply stared in rapt fascination as Kurusu forced himself to appear unaffected entirely, even as his eyes skittishly darted between him and the cat.
“It was a gift for you. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Well, by that logic I am free to do whatever I please with my gift. That includes giving it to you instead.”
“I’d still have to decline. Mona might think it’s a toy and destroy it.”
“Oh but I insist, Kurusu. I don’t recall your cat ever having any toys to play with, anyway.”
“It has a metal keychain. I don’t think it’s safe for him to play with.”
“Really now? You’re making such a fuss over a charm.” He went for a low blow, but an effective one as Kurusu immediately sputtered and promptly shut his mouth to attempt another sorry excuse again.
A small part of him, shoved deep in the recesses of his mind, roared in fury over what could have possibly made his rival so skittish around stuffed toys despite the obvious want within his eyes. Even now, Kurusu remained an absolute enigma of a puzzle.
Akechi didn’t have all day to keep humoring him though.
“I’ll leave this here for you. Whether it’s thrown out or kept is up to you.” Akechi put his foot down on the matter as he quickly began to clean up his paperwork.
He pushed the keychain into Kurusu’s hand before he could even counter again. With a pleasant, but very smug smile, he promptly marched out of the coffee shop and waited.
He watched from out of Kurusu’s eyesight as his eyes nervously darted around before he seemed to finally relax his shoulders and uncurl himself. He stared at the keychain, stroking its soft fur with a finger before looking at the seat Akechi previously occupied. Nothing could compare to the sweet victory of watching Kurusu carefully tuck the doll away with a small smile.
Akechi walked away with a satisfied hum. He already thoroughly concluded his fruitful investigation on one aspect of Kurusu that he kept close to his chest, but… why stop there? Surely, he could use this to his advantage in gaining the trust of the leader of the Phantom Thieves. After all, as interesting as Kurusu was, Akechi would have to eventually kill his dear rival.
With renewed determination, a very insidious and fluffy plan slowly reared its ugly head aimed right at Akira Kurusu’s heart.