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Reckless, is what Shinjiro would describe Akihiko as being. A lot of the time he didn't know his own strengths, nor his weaknesses. And he knew somewhere that Akihiko wasn't exactly stupid, no matter how many times Shinjiro would call him a dumbass. He had impressive test scores for the overall grade, and was impressively logical. That didn't mean he wasn't impulsive, though. You can be intelligent but still make moves without thinking about them first.
Unfortunately, and to be expected, that’s exactly what got Shinjiro in this situation in the first place.
“I changed my mind.” He said gruffly.
“Oh?” Replied the lady. He didn’t know her name, nor did he care to ask. She sold flowers at Paulownia Mall. That’s all he knew.
“ ‘sides.” He shrugged. “I was just browsing.”
“Well if you ever change your mind again, make sure to come back here, okay? I’m sure the girl would be very happy.”
Girl. Did this woman think he wasn’t buying flowers just because he wanted to appear manly to some girl?
If only he could tell her that girl was actually some dumb teenage boy who got into a street fight. That’s too much information for first impressions, though.
He walked away from the stand, his hands in his pockets. Akihiko would either start dying in laughter or say something sarcastic if he bought him some “get well soon” bouquet. It was likely that he wasn’t even that seriously injured, he was probably just going to be there for a few days and get sent back to Iwatodai Dorm before he knew it.
However, he was still in the hospital right now.
…
There was no harm in checking on him, he supposed.
…
“This type of brainless attitude is goin’ to get you killed someday, Aki.”
“Oh, please. I’m not that weak.” Akihiko grinned from the hospital bed he was sitting on, legs crossed. There wasn’t that much equipment in his room, to Shinjiro, it looked less like a hospital room and more like a doctor's office, like he was just here for a check up.
They were most likely keeping him in here for longer than they should because they were worried that idiot would run off and get himself hurt again. If so, Shinjiro wouldn’t be that surprised.
“You know…” Aki started. “I’m kinda shocked to see you here. Surprised you didn’t just call me a dumbass and leave.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s exactly what I was going to call you. Dumbass.”
“You still haven’t left though.” Akihiko cheerfully pointed out, to which Shinjiro only glared at him, but didn’t move from where he was standing. He was right though. If he only came in here to leave, it’d be some waste of his time. Maybe he could make some use out of making sure the gray-haired boy didn’t leave the room on his own to continue training.
Sometimes Shinjiro wished Akihiko would just rest. Would he ever tell him that? Absolutely not. But it was a whatever thought. Something he wished would happen, that would probably never come true. After all, ever since… that incident, he’s been absorbed in “getting stronger” …no matter if that means breaking a bone or two. It’s starting to stress the hell out of Shinjiro, something he’s not used to at all. This worrying, this insistent pressure, it was like a weight on his chest. Annoying, aggravating, but it was right… assumably.
Shinjiro didn’t like pressing into other people’s businesses. He stayed in his own and they stayed in their own, that’s how it was and that’s how it always will be. But he couldn’t help but feel some of this obsession Akihiko had came from his regret. Him blaming himself. It was sort of obvious, but again, he had no reason to pry. He just… ugh. Something inside him wished he could slap Akihiko and tell him everything that happened wasn’t his fault, that this wasn’t the solution. But he sat still. Wishing, like some wuss, was sort of all he could do.
“They’re keeping me here for a few more days.” Akihiko pouted, causing Shinjiro to turn back to look at him, dark eyes narrowed. “Just to make sure I heal. Can you believe that? I’m perfectly fine!”
“Yeah, that’s their job.” He snorted. “Do you think they like having you in here, making a fuss about not being able to train 24/7?”
“Eugh…” The corners of the other boy's mouth tilted down, and he gave an embarrassed frown. “Rude. ‘s not like I talk about it that much.”
“Not as much as you do around us?”
“I don’t even!—” Akihiko crossed his arms.
The two laughed together, smiling and throwing the occasional insults. This was how a lot of the conversations between the two went, he’s known that for a while.
But that worry came back, that weird, strange feeling. And so he opened his mouth, throwing his shot.
“Don’t go dying on me, Aki.” Shinjiro said. Quite frankly out of nowhere, but his eyes were serious.
“Huh?” Akihiko replied.
“I don’t wanna see you gettin’ beat up for no reason. You need to be less careless. Again, don’t go dyin’ on me.”
Akihiko stared at him for a moment, silence engulfing the room, but eventually his eyes brightened.
“You have to promise me the same thing too, y’know?”
“Ah, promise…?”
“Not to die.” He said, quite quickly. “Don’t die on me either, Shinji.” Akihiko smiled. “If you did, who would cook dinner for us?”
“Eugh. Moron.” Shinjiro shook his head, pressing a finger to his temple.
“If you’re going to tell me not to die, then you can’t either, that’d just be hypocritical.” He pointed out. “So, please. Promise.”
Akihiko’s tone of voice was comparable to that of a sad kicked puppy on the side of the road. So he rolled his eyes.
“ Promise. ” He mumbled in response. As if I’d be nearly as reckless as you are. He wanted to add, but he paused to look at Akihiko’s bright smile at his reply, and he changed his mind.
I won’t
…
That was the promise they made 3 years ago. To each other. And Akihiko had kept that thought in the back of his mind. Even after Shinjiro left SEES after the incident, it stayed in his head as he desperately tried to get him to rejoin, to come back to the Iwatodai Dorm. It tormented him when he learned about the drugs Shinjiro was taking.
That they promised each other they wouldn’t die. So here Akihiko sat, in this barren hospital room, the closest person to him in a coma. For how long, he had no idea. Hell, he even said that he wouldn’t make it past 18 due to the side effects of the persona suppressants.
It was sort of ironic. Usually Shinjiro was the person visiting Akihiko in the hospital, whenever he’d overexert himself in Tartarus, or get into a fight he didn’t realize he couldn’t win. But here he was. The same person who would criticize him for being reckless was laying on a hospital bed, motionless, still.
“Shinji…” Akihiko whispered, his voice shaky. “You promised that you wouldn’t die. You better keep that promise...”
He smiled. “I’ll never forgive you if you don’t. So… hold that promise for me… okay?”