Work Text:
Just his luck.
Of course this would happen. After working his ass off all day, not even having time to take a break or eat lunch or hell, even a quick snack… When he finally finished work, it was pouring rain.
An irritated yet unsurprised sigh leaked out of Kira's mouth as he walked down the street towards the train station. Don't get him wrong; he loved his job and words couldn't even begin to describe how fulfilled he felt after everything he did today. That didn't change the fact that he was exhausted. All he wanted right now was to have dinner and then pass out until noon tomorrow. He had the day off, he was allowed to do that if he wanted.
In an attempt to distract himself from the constant barrage of rain battering down onto him, Kira took out his phone and checked for any notifications. He had two.
One was a voicemail from his sister… He'd listen to that later, he really wasn't in the mood to listen to her ramble about something unimportant right now.
The other was a text from Nagisa. Kira immediately opened it to see what he wanted.
[Nagisa: theoretically if I were to take ten capsules of my cold medicine instead of the recommended two would that help me shift my cold 5x faster?]
…Kira suddenly wished he hadn't opened Nagisa's message.
With a tired sigh, he typed out a reply.
[Kira: No. That's more likely to put you into a coma than do you any good.]
[Nagisa: a coma sounds pretty good right about now…]
[Kira: Do not. Just take the recommended dosage and have a nap.]
[Nagisa: but I have stuff I need to do and this colds making it impossible]
[Kira: I knew you could be reckless at times but I never took you to be stupid.]
[Kira: If you keep pushing yourself, you're just gonna take even longer to get better.]
[Kira: Just do as you're told. And don't forget to stay hydrated and eat easily digestible food.]
[Nagisa: yes mother]
[Kira: Need I remind you that you came to me for help?]
[Kira: Don't start complaining now.]
[Nagisa: fine]
[Nagisa: goodnight]
[Kira: Rest well.]
Kira slid his phone back into his pocket with a sigh and a shake of his head. How could such a mature kid end up acting so childish because of a cold? Either way, it was his own fault that he had a cold; Kira had told him time and time again to stop rushing around in the rainy season without drying himself off.
…Maybe if he had the energy tomorrow, he'd head over to Zoshigaya to check up on him…
Looking back up, Kira hummed as he noticed a taxi at the crossroads just up ahead. Huh… He had the money for it… and it would certainly beat getting into a crowded train. And as luck would have it, this taxi was free judging by the light on top.
As the traffic slowly began moving again, Kira quickly leaned out towards the road and waved his hand to flag down the taxi. Thank god the driver could actually see him through the rain.
The instant the door opened, Kira dove into the car and began trying his best to dry himself off.
"A hell of a downpour, huh?" Remarked the driver.
"Tell me about it… Of course it happens when I don't have an umbrella." Huffed Kira, picking up a towel he noticed was offered to him on the backseat and began dabbing his hair and clothes dry.
"Every time… So where are you headed?"
"Ikebukuro. The station's fine."
"You got it."
And with that, the door closed and they were on their way.
"So, I noticed you wearing that lab coat, what do you do for a living? You a researcher or a doctor or a scientist or something?" Asked the driver, attempting to start a conversation.
Kira wasn't really in the mood to talk but it definitely beat being bored out of his mind for the whole journey so he figured he'd play along.
"I'm a doctor."
"Ah, a doctor. Very admirable, thanks for all your hard work."
Kira's brow furrowed. Why the hell did that voice sound so familiar? He didn't really pay much attention when he first got into the car, but now that he was comfortable and relaxed… He could swear he'd heard that voice before… He'd ask a question to see if he could figure it out.
"So… have you been busy today?"
"Not really… Well, not until the rain started, then I had nonstop passengers for about two hours. I actually managed to have a half hour break before you hailed me."
"Has it been raining that long?"
"Yep, it's been raining since about half past four. Of course if you were busy, I'm not surprised that you didn't notice."
Kira discreetly leaned forward, trying to get a look at the man driving him. He definitely recognised that voice… but who the hell was it? He couldn't quite see his face thanks to the hat that was part of his uniform. At the very least, he could tell that he wore glasses.
"It's getting pretty late, I suppose you don't really have time to make plans for when your shift finishes." Kira remarked, hoping the driver would shift his position to answer him and allow him to get a better look.
"Hm? I mean, I don't always work the evening shift so I'm fine with it. I'm not really the nightlife type of guy anyway… I was honestly just planning on having an old friend round for the night and ordering a pizza." The driver muttered as he focused his attention on the road. The light turned from yellow to red so he slowed down to a stop and let the pedestrians cross.
He turned his head to take a look at the cars driving past the turn he needed to make, and therefore gave Kira exactly what he wanted. A fairly average build, fluffy brown hair and brown eyes behind a pair of large framed glasses with a little bit of stubble on his chin.
Kira's eyes shot wide open as he gasped in disbelief.
"Maruki?!"
Maruki whipped his head around, stunned by the use of his name. His eyebrows practically shot up to the top of his forehead as he finally laid his eyes on his current passenger.
"Kitazato?!"
"What are- I mean, you're- When did- What about-" Kira genuinely couldn't think of the last time he had been so frazzled that he couldn't form a single sentence. There were too many questions bouncing around in his brains and they were all fighting to be the first question he asked.
Luckily for him, Maruki started up the next conversation as they began driving again. "Wow, I haven't seen you at all since college! How are you doing? I've been hearing some pretty impressive whispers about you through the grapevine."
Kira cleared his throat, quickly regaining his composure after his slight freak out. "I'm doing quite well in my residency."
"That's an understatement, right? I heard about you being the genius of your med school… and that new approach for that surgery for a certain disease." Maruki prompted him for more information with an excited grin, clearly eager to catch up with an old friend… or well, maybe classmate was more accurate. They studied psychology in the same class and happened to live in the same dorm building, they just happened to hang out from time to time. Kira tended to keep to himself and Maruki was always busy with either his research or his girlfriend.
Kira sighed at the mention of his supposed reputation. He didn't care about becoming famous, he just wanted to save lives. "The genius thing is an exaggeration. Everyone who called me that didn't see how much time and effort I put in. And that surgery… Yes, I came up with the methods but if it hadn't been for a friend of mine, I'd have lost the nerve to lead that project days before it happened."
Maruki softly chuckled. "As blunt as ever, Kitazato. But I get it… I lost count of the sleepless nights I had working on my research paper. And I mean, no need to sound so embarrassed about losing your nerve; having a patient's life in your hands is a heavy responsibility. The fact that you got through that and pulled it off is impressive."
"I wasn't embarrassed. And I just said I didn't do that alone. It took a friend to bring me back down from the edge when I panicked."
"So I suppose you see why your sister was so insistent on you making friends now?"
"Oh, don't bring her into this."
Maruki laughed brightly at the immediate annoyance in Kira's voice at the mention of his sister.
"I'm guessing she's still as nosy as ever?"
"She breaks into my house just to clean up and leave me groceries."
"… 'Breaks in'? Wait, so she doesn't have a key?"
"No. She picks the lock."
Maruki blinked a few times as his brain tried to process that information. "I-I… I can't quite tell if that's sweet of her or slightly scary…"
"It's annoying, I know that much."
"Haha, I see your dynamic hasn't changed at all."
Kira crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands on top of his knee. "Well, what about you?"
"Hm?"
"You keep asking about me; what about you? What have you been doing since college? How did you end up driving taxis?" That had really been bothering Kira ever since he identified Takuto. He had been working on some really impressive research… Why was he the one driving Kira home right now?
Takuto awkwardly chuckled. "Yeah… That's a pretty long story…"
"We have a pretty long car ride."
Takuto struggled to keep his smile on his face as he could feel Kira's gaze piercing into the back of his head.
"Well, I mean… A lot of stuff happened but in short: I became a therapist, then got hired as a counsellor at Shujin for about half a year and now I'm here."
"That's too vague. How do you go from therapist to taxi driver?"
"Ahaha… You'd be surprised how many people bare their soul to taxi drivers. I actually help talk through a lot of people's problems."
Kira's brow furrowed. Since when was Takuto so evasive? He was one of the most honest people he met a college, that was what he liked about him. As Takuto made a turn, the movement of his hands gripping onto the wheel drew Kira's attention to a new detail. No wedding ring.
"You're still not married? Everyone thought you and Rumi would have tied the knot the second you graduated."
Takuto's smile faltered for a split second.
He breathed deeply as he tightened his grip on the wheel.
Kira sat up straight as his brain connected the dots. "Oh… Did the two of you break up?"
Takuto's strained smile changed into a much more melancholic expression.
"No… No, nothing like that…" He sighed as he decided to just come clean. "We were engaged but then there was an incident; a burglary gone wrong at her parents' home while we were there. Both her parents died and Rumi was left deeply traumatized… It was for the best that I left - didn't want to accidentally trigger any bad memories, y'know?"
Kira sat in stunned silence. He never would have expected something so haunting to happen to his former classmates. Especially not those two.
"I'm so sorry…" He eventually managed to choke out.
Takuto softly shook his head with a sad smile on his face. "No, it's fine… From what I've heard, Rumi's been doing very well since then. As long as she's happy, that's all I could ask for."
Kira couldn't help but feel bad for Takuto, everyone knew about him and Rumi in their dorm. Hell, it was a running joke to call Shibusawa their third wheel because he was always stuck with the happy couple. But… he didn't want to pity Takuto, that'd probably just rub salt in the wound.
"You always were a giant softie, huh?" Kira scoffed out with a small smirk, deciding to diffuse the situation with humour.
Thankfully, Takuto chuckled. "Yeah… Shibusawa's always telling me to prioritise myself more, so that's what I've been trying to do lately."
"Oh, you're still in touch with Shibusawa?"
"Yeah, I didn't really speak to him for a while there but we reconnected last year and have kept in touch ever since."
"Oh yeah? Then who did you have reading through your papers in the meantime? Speaking of, what happened to that research of yours? What was it… cognitive psience?"
The air around Takuto turned tense again. Did Kira just stumble into another touchy subject?
"I don't do that anymore."
"Huh?"
That stunned Kira to the core.
Takuto? Dropped his research? The thing he focused almost all of his time and energy on? That didn't sound right at all…
Noticing Kira's bewilderment, Takuto decided to explain. "My research was going really well… Then the funding got pulled and the guy who funded it stole it. Shortly after that was when the incident with Rumi happened… So yeah, I had to take some time to recover from that one, two combo."
Ahh… So that's why he tried to dance around the subject earlier… Completely understandable. That would be a lot for anyone to go through.
Maruki continued. "But I kept working on in my spare time while I was a therapist and a counsellor; even had a student at Shujin that helped me with my research - really sweet kid, I wish him all the best in life - but yeah, I managed to finish the paper and then… Well, it's complicated but some stuff happened and I realised that I was too invested in that research and took a step back."
Kira nodded slowly as his brain worked through all of that information. "Okay… I'm sorry for all of that crap you went through years ago."
"Oh don't be. Those burglars and the bastard that stole my research are rotting in jail where they belong."
"Oh. Well, that's good to hear, at least. But it's a shame your research didn't lead to anything…"
"Oh no, my theory worked."
"Huh?"
"My theory worked perfectly. It is possible to alter someone's cognition with the use of cognitive psience."
Kira leaned forward and grabbed onto the seat next to Takuto. "Then why the hell didn't you do anything with it?! That could have-!"
"I did, and it was thanks to that that I realised how dangerous it was."
"What…?"
A sheepish smile spread Takuto's as he avoided Kira's gaze, seemingly ashamed by his actions. "Well… I always thought I was fine after everything went down a few years back… Evidently I wasn't since I thought I knew best for everyone and tried to change their cognitions accordingly. It was thanks to that kid I mentioned earlier smacking some sense into me that I realised I was being selfish. I was convinced I was doing what was best for them, but in reality I was just making the decisions for them without ever asking for their opinions or questioning if this would help them grow from their experiences. In a way I suppose I forced my trauma onto them."
Takuto actually changed people's cognitions? That was something he could do? He had the knowledge of how to do that?!
"I understand that you misused it but surely you could have-"
"No."
"But if others had access to-"
"No, Kitazato. Others did have access and they misused it too. What did you think all those mental shutdowns were?"
Kira head whipped over to look at Takuto in shock. All of those were caused by tampering with people's cognitions?! Wait… Those mental shutdowns were… But then that would mean…
"Your research was stolen by Masayoshi Shido?!"
"Bingo. Yep, it was that scumbag… and look how he used it. I don't even want to risk the possibility of someone else doing anything similar."
Kira frowned down at his lap as he gave it some thought. It frustrated him, in all honesty. He understood Takuto's point of view, he really did, but… That research still had so much potential to help people! Just because it could easily be misused didn't mean that it couldn't be used for good!
"Couldn't you please reconsider, Maruki? You've seen the recent epidemic, right?"
"Hm?"
"People losing all interest in life. You've seen them, right? No passion, no desire to do anything, not even seeing any point in life."
"… Yes, I've seen them… I've lost track of the number of people I've had to drive to the hospital to visit loved ones…"
"So, you can understand why I'm asking, right?! If we use your research, we could rewrite their cognition and revitalize their desire to live!"
It had been a while since Kira had so passionately fought for something, but that was how strongly he felt about this! Such widespread apathy wasn't normal! Something had to be done about this!
Takuto tilted his head and spoke with a confused tone. "But isn't that already happening?"
"What?"
"I mean… Isn't that exactly what those Phantom Thieves of Desires are doing?"
Kira was once again baffled. How had this happened to him so many times over the course of a single conversation? So that's how they changed hearts? They changed those menaces cognition? But wait, how did Takuto know that? Sure he researched cognitive psience but there was no way he could-
"Wait, does that mean the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from last year were changing cognitions?"
Takuto flinched and averted his gaze. He forgot how sharp Kira was…
"They did, didn't they?!"
"H-How would I know…?"
"You know who the Phantom Thieves are!"
"No, I don't…"
"Yes, you do! So then the current thieves-"
"They're not the same people."
"Oh, so you admit you do know the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"
"Well, I wouldn't be able to fool you… Besides you're not the type to gossip so I trust you. Either way, the thieves I know are just as surprised by these new thieves as everyone else but they're sure they're good people and I trust their judgement."
"You trust criminals?"
"They saved me from myself, of course I trust them. And I know you, I know damn well you didn't see them as criminals. You supported them the entire time, didn't you?"
"I suppose I can't fool you either."
The two men laughed quietly amongst themselves. Despite not contacting each other in years, they were still surprisingly familiar with each other. It was honestly comforting to know that a few things had stayed the same when everything around them had changed so drastically.
"Hey, so… Shibusawa and I were gonna meet up tonight, would you want to join? I'm sure Shibusawa would be happy to see you… and brag about his fiancée." Takuto gently suggested, honestly unsure if Kira would take him up on that offer.
"Shibusawa actually managed to get himself a girlfriend?" Kira gasped in disbelief.
Takuto couldn't help but laugh. "Yep! You're not the only person to react like that!"
"Can you blame me? The eternal third wheel actually engaged?"
"There must hope for all of us."
"Must be."
"So how about it?"
"Hm?"
"Hanging out with us."
"Oh…" Kira glanced out of the window with heavy eyes. "Not tonight. It's been nonstop at work today and I really just want to eat and go to bed."
Takuto nodded. "Okay."
"Maybe some other time."
"Sure thing. When I drop you off, do you wanna exchange numbers so we can keep in touch?"
"Sure, makes things a lot easier."
"Alrighty!" Takuto cheered with a satisfied smile. Kira discreetly yawning and rubbing his eyes didn't go unnoticed by the driver. "If you want, you can go to sleep in here. I'll wake you when we get there."
"… You sure?"
"Yeah, you clearly need some rest. Don't worry, I'll get you home safely."
Kira wanted to protest and say that he wasn't a child but his body just wasn't cooperating with him. His eyes drooped more and more until he couldn't keep them open anymore. Accepting defeat, Kira leaned back and rested his head against the back of his seat.
"Alright… I'll… take you up… on that…"
Within seconds, the exhausted doctor was fast asleep and lightly snoring.
Takuto chuckled quietly to himself, turning the windscreen wipers off after noticing the rain had finally stopped. He hadn't at all expected to run into an old college friend today but he was thrilled that he did! He just had to tell Shibusawa about this later!
He glanced up at Kira's reflection in the rearview mirror. He always looked so tense while he was awake but he looked so peaceful right now. The honestly adorable sight made him smile again as he spoke with a whisper.
"Thanks for all your hard work, Doctor."