The Hyacinth Café was fairly new, it had only been open for about three weeks. The whole place was decorated with the flower it was named after, in vases on tables, in pots hanging on the ceiling, the waiters even wore crowns made of them. The deserts the café specialized in were good too—not just good great.
That meant the place got crowded fast, making it all the more hard to spot the man they were looking for.
Makoto kept her eyes on the main door for as long as she could, stopping occasionally when she worried she looked suspicious. Takuto was definitely taking his time to arrive.
"Ooohh, that one looks so good!" Ann was face deep in the menu. "That cake must be pumping with buttercream, I bet it tastes delicious!"
"The way they design those frosting flowers, such artistry!" Yusuke was right beside her. "Goodness, look how big the cinnamon rolls are, just one could fill me for a week!"
Makoto groaned and furrowed her brow, quietly regretting choosing those two of all people for a café. She snapped her fingers toward them, quickly getting their attention.
"Hey, let's not forget why we're here. No time to gush over pastries." she said.
"But we've been waiting for him for almost two hours! And these cakes look delicious!" Ann poked her lips out.
"Did either of you eat lunch today?"
"I didn't have enough money, I used the last of it on a pose figurine..." Yusuke said.
"Aaaand, I forgot mine at home this morning..."
Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose and hummed to herself. She loved her friends dearly but god did she feel like a babysitter that wasn't getting paid.
"If I buy you both a snack will you focus on our task?"
"Yes! Thank you sooo much, my Queen!" Ann ensnared Makoto in a hug and pressed a big kiss to her cheek. Yusuke put his hands together, quietly thanking her.
"Ok, ok!" Makoto took out her handkerchief to rub Ann's bright red lipstick from her cheek. "Tell me what you guys want, I'll go up to the counter. And keep it under ¥2000 please!"
"Oh, um... I can't decide, surprise me!" Ann said.
"I have whatever you get for her," Yusuke added.
"Ok. Keep your eyes on the door,"
Makoto got up from their table and went toward the main counter, maneuvering past tables and other customers. Ann put her gaze toward the door and leaned on her hand, letting out a sigh.
"I hope this guy gets here soon. I wanna hurry to Leblanc so we can figure out what the hell we're gonna do,"
"I must admit, although I'm curious what's in Akira's Palace, I worry we really will affect him in some way or put ourselves in danger..."
"I guess we'll wait and see. Anyway, did Futaba send the extra info yet?"
Yusuke took out his phone, quietly swearing at the multiple messages from Futaba, half of them written in all caps or ridiculous text slang he couldn't even read.
"I have no idea what she's trying to say, but she's been sending a lot of screenshots of photos she found on Maruki's old social media page," he held out the phone so Ann could see, "by the looks of it he hasn't posted since the day Ren died,"
Ann took the phone to scroll through the photos. For the most part, they were just cute pictures of Ren as a child—she only knew it was Ren because of the captions below each photo. Occasionally there were other children, but overall, it was easy to see Ren was the favorite. Some were of him playing outside, looking at stuff like animals or the ocean, others were of little Ren giving the biggest smile to the camera. Takuto was only present in a handful of the pictures, and Ren was right beside him in each one.
"Aww, they must have been so close..." Ann frowned.
"You said Akira mentioned their father didn't know how to care for their needs, right? I can imagine Ren spent a lot of time with Maruki," Yusuke shrugged.
Ann stopped on the last photo. It was of Ren when he was older, one definitely taken maybe a day or so before his death. He was standing on a pathway by a fence, holding a red umbrella over his shoulder with a very light rain around him. A warm smile was on his face.
The caption beneath the photo read:
'Today, one of the purest and sweetest people alive left us. This picture was taken hours before his death. I'm thankful to have seen such a wonderful young boy grow. I wish I could've left before him.'
'How sad...'
Ann looked at the date it was posted. Her brow furrowed.
"That's weird..."
"What is it?" says Yusuke.
"The day Ren died... it's the same day Shido had Akira arrested."
Ann handed Yusuke his phone back, pointing at the date on the photo. Yusuke scratched his chin.
"That is odd..." he said. "Could this be important?"
"It might, who knows."
Yusuke glanced at the spot Makoto had been sitting. What was keeping her? Out the corner of his eye, Yusuke saw Makoto hurry to the main entrance up to a man that just came in. Takuto Maruki.
"Ann, he's here," Yusuke pointed them out.
"Finally!" she said under her breath.
Makoto came back with Takuto close behind, sitting herself back beside Ann. The man before them had a bit of a frown, eyeing each of them before sitting down him.
"I must admit, an email like that, I figured it was some children messing with me," he said. "I don't like to jump to conclusions though, so I'll listen to what you have to say,"
"Well, sir..." Ann started, "as our email said, we're trying to help Akira, he's our friend. We know you've known him since he was little, we were hoping you could help us understand him more,"
"This girl we know, she told us Akira did things like attack her and try to kill his brother—he even attempted suicide a few weeks ago at school."
Shock came to Takuto's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't, instead dropping his head and letting his hair fall.
"We understand this might be a hard subject for you..." Yusuke said, "but we really need all the help we can get. We're worried for ours and Akira's safety."
Takuto let out a heavy sigh, bringing a hand to his face to push his glasses up. This was going to be pure hell.
"I know Akira had a mental illness. His animal killing and constant death talk were a dead give away. I never had the chance to further look into it because he stopped coming to therapy around when he was twelve. That and Ren was a bit of a higher priority."
Takuto looked back up at the teens across from him.
"Their mother had just died from cancer. Ren was closer to her than Akira and he literally couldn't comprehend her not being around anymore. It was so bad that he'd be up for entire nights just screaming for his mom like when he was a baby. Akira wasn't grieving for long, so I put all my focus on Ren,
"As for the suicide thing, I have caught Akira attempting to cut his arms up multiple times. I used to have to lock the drawers that had knives or put everything sharp in high places so he couldn't get to them."
"Even so, Akira would never actually try to kill someone innocent, would he?" Ann said.
"... I really want to say no, Miss Takamaki,"
Makoto was the first to go defensive. Yusuke made a look, almost ready to get up and stand in front of Ann. The blond girl's mouth fell open.
"H-How... did you know my name?"
Takuto said nothing. The expression on his face grew dark. A waitress came up to the table, carrying a tray with two small slices of cake. Her cheery smile washed over the tables cold atmosphere.
"Two slices cheesecake with strawberries?"
Takuto turned to the waitress and smiled pleasantly.
"Actually, could we get those in a to-go bag, dear?"
"Sure thing!" she nodded.
Takuto waited for her to leave. He looked back at the alarmed teens with the same smile, something about it now a bit unsettling.
"I've waited long enough. We've much to discuss, Phantom Thieves,"
————
For once, Kasumi was quiet during work. Goro actually felt bad seeing her just sit at her desk in silence as she filled out work on her computer.
The only thing keeping them from complete silence was the music playing on Kasumi's computer; a very beautiful but haunting song.
🎶Separate me in half, so the doctor can stitch me back!🎶
🎶Oh won't you separate me in half, prosper your dear dahlia!🎶
Goro tapped his fingers on his desk, still thinking about the messages Ann sent. He dreaded it, but he just couldn't not bring it up.
"Is it true...?"
Kasumi looked up from her computer. "Huh?"
"Did Akira... really try to hurt you?"
". . ."
Kasumi sighed and paused her music before turning her chair to face Goro. She leaned on her hands, her lips biting her thumb a little.
"You're really that in love with him, aren't you?"
"What do you—"
"You love him so much that you don't want to believe any of the bad things he did really happened right?"
Goro was regretting even talking.
"I'll say it as many times as I have to for you, Akechi. Akira. Is. Insane. He'll get clingy to you, he'll control you, he'll do literally any psychotic thing possible to keep you from leaving him. You are not safe as long as you're around him, none of you are!"
Goro stared at her silently, swallowing before speaking.
"What if I'm ok with that?"
"Akechi, you're kidding me." Kasumi dropped her hands in her lap.
"I love him, of course I want him to be devoted to me! He doesn't want anyone touching me and I don't want anyone touching him!" Goro exclaimed.
"You know he tried to tie me up when I said I didn't wanna have sex with him? Do you want that to happen to you?"
"I like being tied up."
Kasumi's mouth fell open and she pulled her hair. She instantly stood up to slam her hands on the desk, ready to start yelling up a storm. But she didn't. Although her eyes were burning with rage, she slowly eased herself back in her chair and laughed, grabbing her coffee cup.
"You know what? There's no use in me fighting with you. We're partners after all," she grinned before taking a sip of her coffee. "in the real world... and the other world,"
Goro tensed up. Did that mean what he thought it meant? Kasumi giggled at his reaction.
"I asked Okumura-senpai this morning. She said that you guys would welcome me with open arms!"
Kasumi started spinning in her chair while laughing heartily. Goro's eye twitched and his breathing picked up. He got up from his desk and stormed out the office, heading down the hall to the bathrooms. Once in a stall, Goro leaned his back against the door, dragging his hands down his face and growling.
"Inordinate, redheaded, son of a bitch!"
Goro did not want this girl with the Phantom Thieves. She'd be a huge annoyance and do nothing but try and belittle Akira—his beloved! Even though Akira said himself that Kasumi was annoying, what if something happened and they ended up together again?
The thought made Goro start crying. He tugged his hair and shook his head.
"No, no, no! He's mine! He's mine...!"
His phone vibrated in his pocket. In his short panic, Goro automatically assumed it was Akira. He quickly took his phone out, only to see a text from Makoto. He almost got upset until he read it.
'Slight hiccup in our plan! If it's possible, can you keep Akira away from Leblanc for a few hours?'
Goro began to slowly calm down. He didn't even wanna ask what went wrong or why Akira couldn't be at Leblanc in the first place. There was an opening, and like hell he was gonna miss it.
'Not a problem'