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The café was silent. Morgana had retreated upstairs much to Akira’s dismay. Futaba was probably listening in too considering she hadn’t texted him to complain about her bugs being turned off.
Still, it was just him and Akechi now. Maruki had left nearly ten minutes ago by now and still neither of them said a word to each other.
Eventually, Akira went to sit at the bar, staring miserably at his reflection in the wood. Akechi cleared his throat, but Akira refused to meet his gaze. It was probably for the best, since he doubted Akechi wanted to be perceived either.
“He was clearly attempting to manipulate you,” Akechi started. Part of Akira wanted to laugh, but mostly he just wanted to cry.
“I know,” It was all he could say. Even to his own ears, it sounded remarkably empty.
“Then you know what you need to do.”
Akira didn’t dignify that with a response. Obviously he knew what needed to be done. He’d known since he saw the dead laughing with their kids.
After a few seconds of silence, Akechi let out a frustrated huff. “Are you going to say anything or are you just going to sulk for the rest of the night?”
“What do you want me to say?” Akira lifted his head, and god, he was so tired. Looking at Akechi only made it worse. It made his stomach twist in ways he didn’t know were possible. It made him want to run into that damn palace and beg for just one more night.
“That you’re going to stop Maruki,” Akechi sneered. “Or is your convictions really so weak that some bullshit threat to my life is really enough to stop the great Joker in his tracks?”
“...Why didn’t you tell me?”
The question made Akechi’s bravado falter for just a moment. His walls were back up almost immediately.
“Because I knew it’d only lead to this-”
“That’s bullshit!” Akira surprised even himself with the heat of his words. Akechi looked shocked for half a second before scowling.
“Believe what you want, but you’re only playing into Maruki’s hands by letting this get to you.”
“I’m playing into Maruki’s hands!?” Akira practically threw his stool to the side as he stood. “Maruki waited until the last minute to tell me this so he could use it as his trump card, what was your excuse!”
“Like I said before-”
“Don’t give me that crap Akechi!” Akira jabbed his finger at his chest. “If you thought the news would be too much for me to handle, why didn’t you even try to lessen the blow?!”
“And what exactly did you expect me to do?”
“Anything!”
“There’s nothing I could have done to stop your hysterics, Akira,” Akechi crossed his arms. “You’re the kind of sentimental fool that was always going to overreact.”
“I’m not overreacting-”
“Which one of us is screaming?”
“Oh, go to hell! You’re not the unattached schemer you seem to think you are,” Before Akechi could argue, Akira continued, much smaller now, “Why did you come to Jazz Jin?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“You could have said no.”
Akechi didn’t have a response to that, so he looked away with a huff.
“And what about Penguin Sniper?” Akira felt like he was made of glass as he took a step closer. His voice was trembling as he asked, “Why did you turn yourself in?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe to you it doesn’t,” Not that he believed that for a second. As erratic as he’d seen Akechi act in the past, he didn’t just make decisions for no reason. “But I want to understand.”
“Understand what exactly?”
“Why you did it! Why you thought it’d be better to-” Akira stopped himself as a sob threatened to tear its way out of his throat. “Why did you give me hope?”
“It’s your own fault,” Akechi suddenly couldn’t seem to look him in the eyes. His gaze flitted anywhere but as he spoke. “You always knew I was going to disappear after all of this.”
“I thought you would go to jail! I thought- God Akechi, I thought we had a future!” Akechi flinched at that. “And now, I find out from Maruki of all people that you’re going to die if I don’t do something?!”
“My life should have no sway over-”
“Stop it!” Akira grabbed him by the shoulders. He wanted to shake him until he finally gained some common sense. “Stop pretending like this doesn’t matter!”
“I’m not pretending, Akira. Because it doesn’t matter. Whatever choice you make, I die and I've made peace with that. So just make the correct one and stop the world from being subjected to Maruki’s little fantasy.”
“...Don’t you care at all?” Akira asked, just above a whisper. He hated how broken he sounded. He was sure Akechi hated it more. “Aren’t you scared?”
“There’s no reason for me to fear the inevitable,” Akechi shrugged Akira off. “I’ve been preparing myself to follow my mother for a long time.”
Akira let out a huff that almost sounded like a laugh. If only he could laugh all of this off as a joke. He’d give anything for his friends to Akechi to crack one of his mean little smiles and call him an idiot for buying into all of this.
“That’s so fucked up,” He closed his eyes when they began to burn with tears. “Why does it always have to be so fucked up?”
“Because life isn’t fair, Akira. Fate chooses favorites and we’re at the very bottom of the list.”
“That’s not true. Akechi, I- You mean a lot to me.”
“Enough to doom the world over by Maruki’s estimation.”
He would. If Akechi had walked into LeBlanc and joined Maruki’s side in the argument, Akira would have just folded then and there. Hell, if he’d been caught up in the fake reality at the start of all this, no one ever would have been woken up in the first place. But that wasn’t what happened, and Akira needed to make an impossible decision.
“I would,” Akira admitted. “If you asked me to, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
“But.”
“But… That’s not what you’re asking,” Akira reached out blindly, hoping to find Akechi’s hand. He met open air instead. “I care about you Akechi, I care a lot no matter what you say or do. And I’m pissed that you tricked me, but I’m not petty like you. We will fight Maruki and things will go back to how they were.”
“How they should be.”
“There’s not a world in existence where you should be dead.”
“I know several people who would beg to differ.”
“And I’m not- will never be one of them,” Akira opened his eyes. He found Akechi still refusing to even look at him. “I’ll be waiting for you after this is all over.”
“Don’t waste your time on a fool’s errand, Akira.”
“Then don’t challenge people to duels if you don’t plan on following through,” Akira grabbed Akechi’s hand. Squeezed it when he didn’t pull away. “I’ll be waiting for my rematch, so you better find me.”
“...I’ll see what I can do.”
A new silence settled over the café after that. Not as oppressive as before, but just as exhausting. Eventually, Akechi left for his own apartment.
Akira spent the rest of the night wetting his pillow with tears before Joker had to lead.