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The first rainy afternoon in November found Akira heading back to Leblanc to drop off his schoolwork before heading out to wander across Tokyo, unsure of where he’d be heading next. Maybe he could go and hang out with one of his endless confidants across the city? Perhaps see if a couple of the Thieves were free for darts, or even pull everyone together for a couple rounds of billiards. Maybe he could pull a shift at Rafflesia or Triple 7. He could go fishing (always a good decision, he loved fishing), but if he went fishing he’d absolutely spend the rest of the day fishing and he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that. He could go study, or go read, or do any variety of things.
But instead, here Akira found himself, standing under the awning of Leblanc and staring out at the rain, looking down at the soaked Monabag, said cat having escaped back to Futaba’s for an evening of listening to their favorite gremlin continue planning extra contingencies. Also to get a towel. There was that too. Somehow, despite his best attempts to remember an umbrella, Akira had left his umbrella at home. Sitting in the attic. Which is not where an umbrella would be useful whatsoever. So, standing alone under the awning of Leblanc, Akira pondered if Sojiro would be upset if he shook his head like a dog once he walked inside. Probably.
Sliding his coat off and letting it hang from his arm, Akira walked into Leblanc, expecting to see Sojiro and maybe a customer or two. Surprisingly, the cafe would usually have more customers on rainy days. Akira got it, though - drinking a warm cup of coffee and having a plate of curry on a slightly chilly autumn afternoon or evening always made his day better. The one customer that Akira wasn’t expecting to see, however, was seated at his usual barstool the moment Akira walked in, glancing over and face immediately brightening.
“Ah, Kurusu! It’s fantastic to see you this afternoon, I was under the impression you were quite busy today,” said Akechi Goro, a small smile on his face as he set down his cup of coffee. Akira blinked, staring at the detective, before shaking his head slightly to clear it. As a side effect, of course, water flung around.
“Watch it, kid,” Sojiro chimed in from behind the counter, though it was much less heated than it might have been in late April. Akira gave an apologetic look as he shouldered his bag.
“Gonna go set these upstairs and dry off a bit. Do you need another set of hands, Boss?” Akira asked, prompting a head shake.
“I’ll be fine. Go ahead and have some fun today,” Sojiro continued. Akira only nodded in reply, nodding at Akechi as he passed by to drop off his things. Just as he reached the stairs, Akechi spoke up.
“Kurusu, if you’re not busy, would you be willing to indulge me with a game or two of chess?” From where Akira stood, perched on the first stair heading up to Leblanc’s attic, he pondered for a moment. Considering all that had been going on in both of their lives recently, Akira hadn’t been able to play a quality game of chess with Akechi recently. Despite the darts and billiards and Jazz Jin visits that had ramped up in frequency with him joining the Thieves officially at the end of October, the two hadn’t sat down for chess since… September? The closest they’d come to anything like their previous chess matches was their duel at the top of the month, which was charged with some type of energy that Akira couldn’t quite put a finger on. He’d snatched the win out from under Akechi’s feet, just like a true Phantom Thief would, and it had been worth the scolding he’d gotten from the other Thieves the next evening.
“Sure. Gimme a second, I just need to clean up some,” Akira replied, lifting up his soaked uniform jacket as if giving an explanation. Akechi only chuckled, lifting up his cup of coffee to take another sip. Not wanting to leave the detective waiting, Akira bound up the stairs and quickly dried himself off, shaking his head like a dog and getting water everywhere. This time, he wasn’t getting scolded for it at least. He’d clean it later, he thought as he grabbed a towel and started drying his hair properly, setting down his glasses and pulling off his damp turtleneck in favor of a white t-shirt and black blazer.
“Guess my afternoon’s spoken for,” Akira said quietly, running his fingers through his hair to make sure nothing was sticking up any more than usual. At least he knew he’d be doing something he enjoyed, which wasn’t always a given with some of the things he could end up doing. Mainly Triple 7. That got mind-numbingly boring real quick. With a final check using his phone camera to make sure nothing looked particularly out of place, Akira nodded to himself and headed back downstairs, adjusting the cuffs of his blazer as he did. Akechi glanced over the moment he appeared on the stairs, taking a final sip of his coffee and setting down the cup with a clink.
“Shall we, Kurusu?” Akechi asked, gesturing to where Sojiro stored the chess board. Akira nodded, grabbing the board and glancing between one of the booths and the counter. It would depend on what Sojiro would allow them.
“Business is looking pretty light today. If the two of you want to use the counter, feel free,” Sojiro said. Akira nodded as Akechi gave him a winning smile.
“Thank you Sakura-san! We both appreciate it,” Akechi said, prompting a sigh and a handwave from Sojiro.
“How many times do I need to tell you kids… if you’re friends with Akira, just call me Boss,” he said. Akechi let out one of his laughs that Akira could tell sounded too rehearsed, too… crisp. Uncanny, one could say.
“Well, I think it will take at least once more, Sakura-san,” he replied, one of those TV smiles on his face. Akira hated that, sometimes. He wanted Akechi to be real with him, he craved it like a cat craves the perfect place to lounge in the sun or a cactus craves exactly the right balance of watering. It was a bone deep need, but Akira would take the small glances he’d get.
“You taking white?” Akira asked, setting the board down and reaching for the pieces. It was quiet for a moment, before Akechi chuckled and hummed an affirmative.
“As always. You know I’ll never turn down being able to make the first move,” he said, another plastic smile on his face. Akira liked to think if it was just the two of them, that smile might be the slightest bit more real, but he’d never know until it happened and it hadn’t happened. Yet.
“You know, Akechi, we really haven’t been able to sit down and play a quality game of chess in almost two months,” he said as he set the white pieces next to the board for Akechi to set out himself. If he knew nothing else, he knew that Akechi Goro was particular about how he set up his chess pieces. They had to be placed in a specific order, and while Akira would just put one piece randomly after the other, Akechi was methodical about it. Pawns, then rooks, then knights, bishops, the queen, and finally the king. Working inward after the first row. And he… always put down his king with a bit more force than necessary. It would occasionally rock the other pieces. Akira wasn’t sure of his reasoning, but he did find the little quirk to be endearing.
“Well, we both have been rather busy as of late,” Akechi replied. Akira shrugged once, placing his final pawn in front of his king - the first piece Akira had placed, this time.
“We might be, but I started to think you were ignoring me for a bit there,” Akira replied, before chuckling a bit at Akechi’s widened eyes.
“I know it wasn’t anything either of us did. Things were busy. I just missed it, our chess matches,” Akira continued, before gesturing to the board with a small grin on his face. Your move, Akechi.
With a small hum, Akechi’s hand hovered over his pieces, pondering each pawn like it held the answers to the universe. For all Akira knew, they may very well do so for Akechi. Regardless of a chess piece’s ability to know the answers to life, the universe, and everything (42, of course), Akechi eventually nodded to himself and lifted the pawn in front of his bishop to the left of his king, moving it forward two spaces. Akira raised a single brow, before picking up one of his own pawns and moving it forward a single space. The game was on.
The two were quiet for the first couple of minutes of the game - both Akechi and Akira knew that the opening moves of a game were important for a variety of reasons. Akira had read about several games that had been won via draw in ten moves or less, and had also heard about a Fool’s Mate. He had, of course, not seen any in practice, since Akechi wouldn’t play that poorly on purpose, even if he found the name to be hilarious.
Eventually, with Akira being the first of the two to move a non-pawn piece (a knight, after much deliberation), the game started to settle into their usual rhythm of much deliberation and hovering over pieces. Akechi was much more decisive with his pieces - always had been - while still taking all of Akira’s potential moves into account. Across their many games, Akira noted he tended to follow the old adage of the best defense being a good offense. This game, he seemed to be hanging back and waiting for Akira to make the first non-pawn move. Which was quickly proved, by the returned movement of one of Akechi’s knights.
“You never mentioned what your plans were, after this,” Akira commented, eyeing the knight and its proximity to his pawns. Akechi raised a brow, glancing over to Sojiro and looking back at Akira.
“This… afternoon? Or after the group outing later this week?” he asked, seeming hesitant. Akira knew it wasn’t Akechi being hesitant, though.
“The group outing. I know this will be the last time you hang out with us, but I am hoping we’ll be able to have more chess matches, afterwards,” Akira said in reply, eventually moving a pawn away from where the knight could capture it. Akechi’s brow furrowed slightly, lifting his gloved hand slightly and putting it back down a couple of times.
“For all I know, my schedule may not allow for it. You know how my detective work has been in the past,” Akechi replied after finally picking up a pawn and setting it down. Akira hummed, debating for a moment.
“Too busy for even your favorite rival?” he asked playfully, moving forward another pawn. Akechi immediately claimed it, the first capture of the game.
“Perhaps. But you are also my only rival, which means you are also my least favorite rival,” he said. Akira put a hand to his chest and gasped dramatically, leaning back slightly on his barstool.
“Oh, Akechi, you wound me! I thought we had something special, and then you go and say I’m your least favorite rival!” Akira exclaimed, his free hand going up to his forehead to “swoon.” Akechi rolled his eyes at Akira’s dramatics, but Akira grinned at the small smile he saw on the detective’s face.
“Of course, you're as dramatic as ever,” Akechi said, eyes following Akira’s hand as he reached out for his knight again, claiming the pawn Akechi had used to claim Akira’s own pawn.
“I live for the drama, Akechi. It wouldn’t be me without it,” Akira replied cheekily, drawing a snort from the detective. His eyes widened minutely afterward, eyes darting over to Sojiro yet again.
“It feels like you always draw out the unexpected from me, Kurusu,” he said. Akira smiled, glancing over at the rain-streaked windows by the front door. The cafe grew silent again, aside from the clink of the ceramic mugs Sojiro was organizing and the muted noises of chess pieces moving across the wooden board. Pieces were moved and trades made - Akira was particularly proud of his grab of one of Akechi’s knights, with the raised brow in surprise catching him by surprise too.
“This is… nice,” Akira eventually spoke up again, wincing slightly as Akechi took one of his rooks with a bishop. Stupid move, but… Hm. Maybe he could…
“Nice to lose yet another game?” Akechi… teased? Was he getting teased right now? Oh my god. He snorted, picking up a piece and debating his move for a moment.
“To spend time with you,” Akira replied. Almost immediately, Akira could spot the lightest dusting of pink on Akechi’s face, and he glanced away momentarily. Akira took the moment to make his play, giving Akechi a soft smile as he did.
“Do you say that to all of your motley crew?” Akechi asked, pointedly not looking at Akira as he asked. Akira shook his head as he made a noise of disagreement.
“Only the ones that I can play a good game of billiards with. Or debate philosophy with. Oh! And have conversations with over a game of chess,” Akira replied with a grin that Akechi didn’t see, with the man in question looking at the board and specifically avoiding looking at Akira.
The game lapsed back into silence for a moment, Akira slowly moving his own plan into motion with every piece moved.
“You know, Kurusu, you could be doing anything else right now,” Akechi commented, almost completely out of the blue, as he moved his remaining rook and - dammit, there went Akira’s bishop. Good thing he could-
“You’re not wrong, but,” Akira paused, moving his knight to take Akechi’s rook, “like I’ve said, I enjoy playing chess with you.” Akechi made a face at the board, hand flitting between a pawn and his remaining knight, before deciding to move his pawn.
“Enough to spend an afternoon you could spend with friends playing with me instead?” Akira hummed in consideration of Akechi’s move, eyeing his remaining pieces carefully. That pawn, considering Akechi’s lack of a queen, could be a larger threat than most any other piece. Taking a moment to check if another piece could steal it, Akira moved his knight to take the pawn, prompting Akechi to narrow his eyes.
“I’m already spending the afternoon with a friend, Akechi.” This prompted a sigh and a retaliatory movement of his knight, threatening Akira’s remaining rook unless he captured it. Akira narrowed his eyes, scanning the board and noting the bishop perfectly poised to grab whatever piece took Akechi’s knight. He moved his rook just out of range of either piece, glancing back up at the detective with a raised brow.
“...Do you not have anything better to do? Like finding one of the numerous rainy day specials across the city?” Akechi said, reaching forward to grab his knight.
“I mean… I’ve always enjoyed a hot cup of tea and a book on rainy afternoons but a game of chess with you is perfectly fine,” Akira replied, right as Akechi took his knight in hand. For a moment, Akira could’ve sworn he heard some sort of noise, but he attributed it to the rain gently hitting the window near their seats.
The game grew quiet again, and Akira wasn’t sure whether to attribute it to his comment, or something else completely. Regardless, pieces continued moving across the board, until-
“Check,” Akechi said, quiet yet triumphant, a small smile on his face. Akira blinked once, glancing down at the board.
“Are you sure about that?” he replied quietly. Akechi’s smile grew confused as he furrowed his brow.
“Quite, what do you-” Akira cut him off with a single move of his knight, capturing the bishop threatening his king and, more importantly…
“Checkmate, Akechi. I win,” he said. As Akira smirked like the cat that got the cream, Akechi stared at the board, blinking every once in a while in disbelief. As he did, Akira’s smirk turned into a soft smile, glancing behind the counter at the kitchen. Maybe there were extra curry ingredients?
“Another match? And dinner, maybe?” Akira asked. His comment seemed to snap Akechi out of his reverie and he gave his head a slight shake.
“I…” Akechi trailed off, before looking back up at him. There was something in his look that Akira couldn’t put his finger on.
“Well played, Kurusu. I do think I have to take my leave, however. Another time, perhaps,” he said, before turning back toward Sojiro with one of his plastic smiles plastered on his face.
“Thank you for the lovely coffee as always, Sakura-san. I’ll be seeing you,” he said, quickly picking up his briefcase and if Akira was a different person, he would say that Akechi bolted out the door like a man possessed. Instead, Akechi Goro walked quickly out of the door after leaving a bit too much for his coffee sitting on the counter. Sojiro hummed appreciatively as Akira sat at the counter, perched on a barstool and staring at the final move of a quite frankly lovely chess game.
“What just. Happened?”
Goro was extremely relieved that he wore gloves, since that spared him the image of what Kurusu Akira’s face looked like when Goro embarrassed himself. Goro had held his knight so hard he swore he heard a crack when he’d been given that little smile from across the table.
“I’ve always enjoyed a hot cup of tea and a book on rainy afternoons but a game of chess with you is perfectly fine, my ass,” Goro muttered, definitely not fumbling with his keys as he unlocked the door to his apartment. God, this boy would be the death of him. Saying things like that, with that sort of expression on his face? Who said he was allowed to do that? Being so, so… charming! And so effortlessly! Goro hated him, that was absolutely why his heart raced whenever Akira Kurusu texted him to go to Jazz Jin, or to play darts, or to do anything at all really. It was the loathing he felt.
Closing the door behind him, he set his briefcase down next to the coffee table and walked into his sparse kitchen. Maybe he should have taken Aki Kurusu’s offer to stay longer and have dinner, it wasn’t like he had more than microwave ramen at home. Perhaps some of Leblanc’s curry wouldn’t have gone amiss. Especially if Ak Kurusu made it, it always tasted better when he did. Then he paused, reaching up as he felt the quirk of a small smile on his face.
“No,” he said, shaking his head to clear it. Regardless of what happened today, Kurusu Akira was set to die in four days. Almost three, now. And yet… all of Goro’s attempts to distance himself felt like failures. He kept on replying to all of his invitations, whether to go with the group for another round of billiards, or another evening spent listening to music at Jazz Jin as they sipped fruity mocktails and chatted about their plans for what might happen after Sae’s Palace. He almost let himself forget, sometimes, what he had to do. Needed to, really. What he felt didn’t matter, in the long run. Goro would do his job, get his father to the height of his career, before revealing everything and shooting him, knocking the king from his throne just as he had earlier that afternoon in his game with Kurusu.
“Why do my thoughts keep on going back to you?” he said, grabbing one of the many containers of ramen sitting in his pathetic little pantry and turning to grab his electric kettle. Maybe it was the fact that after November 20th all these little outings would be gone. He wouldn’t be able to pick up his phone to see another random text of something that had “reminded Akira Kurusu of him” like the cat he’d seen three days ago. He wouldn’t have one of the most interesting conversation partners he’d had in years. Surely he’d be banned from Leblanc, if they ever figured him out. Would anywhere feel the same, when the loss of Kurusu Akira loomed over him, inevitable as the sunrise in the east each morning?
Goro heaved out a sigh as he filled his kettle, flicking the switch to turn it on and setting his uncooked ramen on the countertop. There wasn’t much use in thinking about it now. He couldn’t stop what was already set in motion, what had been set in motion when he was fifteen and worse about concealing the rage thrumming through his veins than he was now. When he hadn’t known what he was stepping into, when he was heading down a path of self destruction that he didn’t know how to stop and wasn’t really sure he’d want to, at this point. What was left of Akechi Goro, once he fulfilled his ultimate goal? When the one person he’d want to spend any real amount of time with would be gone in three scant days?
“I need to get my mind off of you,” Goro said, opening up his fridge and rummaging through it in search of something aside from shitty instant ramen to eat. When the fridge unearthed nothing but old sauce packets from takeout orders and a can of sparkling water he didn’t really want to drink, he groaned, his head thudding onto the now shut refrigerator door. Why would he have anything in his fridge, he never kept anything substantial in there. Shitty instant ramen it was. Shitty, just like his life was going to be. Why did everything he ever cared about have to leave him, driven away by him and his actions?
Perhaps his musing and his brain’s insistence on fixating on the topic led him to say what he said next, but as Goro turned around and leaned back against the countertop to the right of the fridge, one short phrase slipped out.
“Why did I have to fall in love with him?”
Goro blinked. Blinked again, as he reached up with one hand toward his mouth, almost in disbelief at what he’d just said. Love? Hah! No, he couldn’t be in love. Love was supposed to be mushy and soft and sweet and Goro had never felt any of those emotions when thinking about Akira Kurusu. The other boy pushed Goro to be better in ways no one else ever had, had him spending precious minutes after their discussions looking up articles to back up his points for the next time they talked, had him fabricate a story about a coworker getting him tickets to the Shinagawa aquarium to invite Kurusu Akira along and spending the evening looking up fish facts to impress him, had him doing flashier moves in the Metaverse in hopes of impressing the other. It led to afternoons and evenings spent in one of the most peaceful places he’d ever had the pleasure of going. It had him invite someone to one of his favorite places, all on a whim and not regretting a moment of it… had him starting to regret a plan years in the making.
He didn’t want Kurusu Akira dead.
He didn’t want Kurusu Akira dead… because…
The kettle, of course, chose that exact moment to let out an earsplitting whistle, but Goro gave it no mind.
“Oh fuck, I am in love with him.”