“Have you ever seen the life leave somebody’s eyes?” With Akira?
Are we back? I think we’re back.
Am I fired? Yeah probably.
Who cares? a lot of folks probably. That’s fine, we have a rolling ball again!
It was something you noticed as the chills of October began to settle within Shibuya. He had been acting… different.
The fun, mischievous air he had seemed to have cleared away, nothing but a tense melancholy following him around wherever he went. Even with the culture festival nearing and every student chattering about it, he was just out of it.
Of course, as his significant other, this worried you.
You had tracked him down one day after school, hitching yourself on his arm, asking if he wanted to walk home together. Normally, it wouldn’t even be a question for him, but he paused, mulling it over before agreeing, his expression noticeably calming.
Maybe some time with you would’ve been enough to help take his mind off of things.
He managed to maintain his composure, easily chatting with you about various goings on. He found your excitement for the culture festival endearing and had promised you that you’d go together. That certainly put a spring in your step. As fun as the thought was though, you still couldn’t help but feel like he was feigning enthusiasm for your sake.
To a degree, he was. It was like he didn’t want to go with you, he did, he really did, but his mind had been overtaken by the most recent news report in regards to the Phantom Thieves, still fumbling things over in his mind about what happened to produce such drastic change. Unless Okumura’s true single desire was to overwork his employees to a catatonic state while he used them as stepping stones to the top.
While part of him honestly didn’t doubt it, that didn’t seem right either.
You dropped any pretense of pretending when you joined him in his room.
“Akira, I need you to tell me what’s going on.” Your voice was quiet, but he knew for a fact that this wasn’t a case of something he could brush under the rug. Thinking about how he wanted to word things, he laid back on his bed, patting the spot next to him, signalling for you to join him, and you did, simply sat on the edge.
The silence passing was deafening. After a sound passed your lips- one he knew was going to just be a repeat of the question, he simply set a hand on your thigh.
“I.. I know, things have been weird, I just… I don’t know what the best way I can explain things to you is. Or, if you’d understand or believe me, for that matter.” A bitter chuckle passed his lips at the last part. After another moment of silence, he breathed out a loud sigh, deciding the best way to go about things would be the most direct. “Have you ever seen the life leave somebody’s eyes?”
The question, to say the least, caught you off guard.
“No, I can’t say I have.”
He only hummed in response, wondering how many specifics he could divulge. Ultimately, he decided ‘minimal’ was his best bet.
“I’m sorry, that’s probably something I shouldn’t have told you-”
“No, no, it’s… It’s fine. A little strange, maybe?” You paused, fiddling with your thumbs. “You didn’t kill someone, did you?”
“No! No, I didn’t…” He let out another sigh, holding both arms over his face. “I don’t think I did.”
You didn’t respond, only racking your brain for any recent deaths you’d seen in the news, with just one result springing to mind.
“Hey, Aki… you’re not…” You stopped yourself, not bothering to finish the thought. The idea of Akira being a Phantom Thief had seemed plausible to you- if only because a whole week after you started dating, someone who’d been stalking you had completely stopped and turned themselves in to the police.
Which, mind, you had just brushed off as a happy coincidence.
But, the coincidences around Akira and people who supposedly had changes of heart kept lining up again and again from what you could gather. The CEO of Okumura foods wouldn’t even break that coincidence streak, what with you recently being introduced to Haru Okumura mere weeks before her father’s death.
Would that ruin your relationship? Not likely. Would it make things rocky for a bit? Probably, yes.
Abruptly you stood up, clearing away some hair from your face.
“I… I think I just need to go think about some stuff for a bit…” You mumbled, walking toward the stairs.
“H-hey, S/o! It’s not like that!”
“Aki, everything’s fine, I promise. I just… need some time to figure something out, alright?”
He hesitated, debating, before simply nodding, letting you descend.
The idea that Akira Kurusu was a Phantom Thief, to you, was ridiculous.
But, that didn’t make it improbable.
