Chapter Text
the constant sound of the heart monitor is deafening to Akira.
twenty-five nights she's been there, sometimes outside the room, with the cold freezing her feet and hands, and other times inside, staring taciturnly at the sleeping figure on the stretcher, but there's always that sound, sometimes fainter and sometimes normal.
no one tells her anything pithy to cling to
every night in tears she prays, as she never prayed before
big dark circles under her eyes peek through her pale skin
her heart aches
because she is helpless in the face of all this tragedy
◇
"Akira, are you okay?" asks Haise in front of her worried and only at that moment she realizes that she is bleeding
"I am" she says simply and Fueguchi 1 majestically saves itself in its quinque form.
If she keeps getting distracted like that she will end up committing suicide unintentionally.
she leaves the space and starts to take off her training uniform, Haise follows her.
"you should be more careful" he suggests with sincere concern
and Akira knows it
and hates it
"I know, it's not a good day that's all and bad days exist too" she says as she adjusts her blazer "and that's okay too".
"you shouldn't train like that"
she looks at her arm with the big cut, it's going to hurt a lot.
"and you shouldn't order me around Sasaki" he seems to shrink at her words "thanks for your concern anyway" Akira adds at his puppy-like expression.
the sparkle returns to Haise's eyes
"I have a meeting with investigator Marude, after that I want to meet with you and the Quinx squadron, I have a feeling we'll be assigned a mission" she comments and at the word 'mission' Haise seems to get enthusiastic
"whatever you say!" says the smiling boy and she shakes her head.
"see you later, investigator Sasaki" she greets and gestures with her hand before she leaves the room.
"good luck" she hears Haise say behind her.
with her back turned her smile fades into a grimace.
a lot has changed in two years, the CCG had a before and after since the Anteiku raid
Akira had a before and after in her life
even though two years have passed, she still can't get over it, but her motivations are bigger than her sadness.
It is strange that Marude calls her, it is usually to talk about her subordinate or the Quinx squadron, being a squadron leader and being in charge of another one is not easy but she is proud that Arima and the others trust her so much.
after healing her arm and bandaging it properly she finally goes to the office where she was called.
two knocks and a "pass" from inspector Marude is enough for her to be in that office again after all this time.
"Investigator Mado" greets and Akira bows her head in response.
"inspector Marude"
"please sit down" he indicates and points to the chair in front of him.
she sits down and keeps her pocker face in front of 'uncle Marude', he is no longer her uncle and she is no longer a child those are just very lovely memories
it hurts Marude to look at her, with some pity, Akira hates that look
he sees Kasuka in every gesture of his daughter, he sees the character of his great friend Kureo in every attitude of Akira, he dares to say that the girl torments him, she is the living memory of his great friends, destined to suffer losses and losses, at least in that they resemble each other.
before the silence he decides to start with the small meeting, it seems that his other investigator is not going to arrive on time.
Akira is going to hate him for what he is about to say.
"well, in a few moments the investigator should arrive..." his tongue doesn't dare to finish the word, two knocks on the door save him for a few moments
" pass in" he says and his voice sounds a little small
the door opens and the investigator enters
"investigator Marude" greets the big figure.
Akira can feel the floor beneath her move at the sound of that voice.
Amon's deep voice
she freezes in place, her breath catches in her throat, she's on her back immobilized, the whole room suddenly seems to have no sound, she hears her heartbeat in her ears, her stomach twists at the sound of that voice, she wants to run, to get out of that room.
but she is professional, she knows how to be cold, she swallows saliva and closes her eyes tightly forcing the stupid tears back from where they intend to come out, her fingers of her left hand twist the material of her uniform trying to calm her heart and her stupid nerves.
so he came back from the 24th district, she had no idea
damn investigator Marude
there is a silence too uncomfortable, the air is heavy.
"Special class investigator Amon, have a seat "
he sits on the chair on the right side, about six steps away from each other, just enough so that none of them greet each other.
She watches him from the corner of her eye, notices how tense his jaw is, how he refuses to look at her, it hurts.
he is quite changed, his hair is longer now, his eyes are colder, his posture is more intimidating than before, she really wants to look at him, she refrains and directs her gaze to the front... she has the feeling that he also wants to look at her.
she suspects that he also wants to kill Marude right now, they could work together again at least for that.
"it's been a while since the investigators of the 20th district met" Marude tries to break the ice and it goes terribly wrong, both investigators remain stone faced, they refuse to look at each other and the inspector laments the sad fate of this couple that had so much potential.
"Well," he clears his throat and decides to get down to business.
some of Marude's words for Akira are too low at times, her mind is still overwhelmed to see him suddenly after so long, she chides herself and tries to focus on what the older man in front of her explains, her head starts to hurt and more when she realizes that Marude is giving them indications that they will have to work together, their squads together, and mainly they will have to work together.
it's a not so simple mission but nothing new, it's about a rather cunning Ukaku ghoul, who kills for sport and has a great penchant for killing women, great she thinks
His nickname is Nightmare, his crimes are almost perfect.
over the table he passes a folder with evidence and data to be analyzed.
a single folder
one folder
one
for both of them
they both freeze in place
Marude observes them both
"let investigator Mado have the folder first, I can give the evidences to my team later, no problem" Amon speaks and every word he says makes Akira uncomfortable in her chair, she doesn't say a word or look at him
she takes the folder without hesitation.
"thank you investigator Marude, we will take care of this" being the first time she speaks since he entered the room she abruptly stands up from her chair and bows to Marude before almost running out of the office
Amon catches a pained glance at her as she crosses the threshold of the doorway
sighing at Marude's look of pity, he stands up and salutes him in the same manner before leaving
with hurried and clumsy steps he tries to guess which corridor Akira went down
somewhat disconcerted and frantic, he peeks out looking for her, until he finds her.
she stopped in a corner as if nothing while she leafs through the folder that Marude gave them
he admires her from afar, her hair has grown too long, golden strands cascade down her back, the same braid she always wore, her face looks more tired than it used to be, she looks a bit more grown up too, she looks so beautiful and even more so since the last time he saw her
it's hard to get close after everything they've been through.
they shouldn't mix the personal with the professional
That thought is enough for him to call out to her from across the hall.
"Akira!"
a shiver runs down Akira's spine when she hears him say her name after so long, once again she freezes in place, she hates that effect he has on her, it disconcerts her, it immobilizes her, it makes her vulnerable.
she sighs and closes the folder, holding it with both hands at her hips
gathering all the courage she has left responds to his call by turning in his direction.
"Investigator Amon" says it cold, cutting as glass, her violet eyes try to disguise the affection with coldness as she dares to look him in the face, with her usual face, pocker's face
there is a silence between them as they obvserved each other, a silence that says more than any words they can say at that very moment
"let me invite you for coffee" Amon says somewhat awkwardly and a wave of nostalgia hits her.
one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen and fourteen, she counts approximately the steps towards him.
looks at the watch on her wrist, her arm trembles and she curses herself when she realizes that her bandage is showing, Amon in front of her seems to ignore the fact, she is grateful and at the same time she wishes he was as careful and attentive as he used to be with her.
his talk that he would always protect her is worthless to Akira, young and foolish is what she was.
"I can" she accepts as cold as ice
they order two coffees at the CCG cafeteria, Amon orders it
when he hands it to her she thanks him curtly
he decides that the best place to talk about reports is the terrace, for some strange reason, Akira doesn't think too much, they go up to the elevator which is immensely uncomfortable because neither of them looks at the other, when they finally get upstairs the fresh air hits them and she is grateful for that afternoon breeze almost at night.
as she takes her first sip of coffee she realizes it's just the way she likes it, he damn well remembers how she likes her coffee, wants to cry.
"It's been a while" Amon says regretfully as he approaches the edge of the building and looks out over the bright city.
Akira admires him with her back turned, she notices the scar that starts on his hand and hides under his sleeve, she's so angry at him still , for leaving her alone, for not choosing her, just like everyone else
the wind plays with her hair and a tear escapes her, he seems so oblivious to everything from his place
she gets up from her place and walks over to him
when she arrives, Amon turns around and they are face to face, before he can ask anything, Akira's hand is faster than her brain and the impulse comes from her pain
she slaps him