March 20th.

Akira Kurusu didn't want to do this.

Here he was, standing in front of the door to where he grew up. It had been almost a full year since he stepped foot in this place, and he had prayed it would be even longer.

He refused to call it home.

It wasn't. It hadn't been for years.

Even before he was wrongly convicted of assault, the place was slowly growing distant from his heart. It was no longer filled with the laughs of a mother and son, or the occasional family squabble at the dinner table. Only silence between two people who would be total strangers if it wasn't for the blood relation.

"Joker?" a voice said from the bag slung over his shoulder.

He peered back, seeing a black cat pop its head out and look at him with his burning blue eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

Akira smiled at the cat. Morgana had been one of his most trusted companions throughout the adventures of the Phantom Thieves. Hell, they wouldn't have even been a group if it wasn't for the little cat.

Sorry, the human-turned-cat. Morgana was very insistent that he was, indeed, a human.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Akira replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've been standing in front of the door for five minutes."

Oh. Right. That would probably give off the idea that he didn't want to do this. Which, to be frank, he didn't. He'd rather be doing anything else right now. He'd rather be knee deep in Shadows, fighting his way through Mementos, on foot, than face the rest of today.

But there was time for cowering later. Right now, he couldn't be the self-doubting Akira. He needed to be the fearless Joker.

He took a deep breath, reached for the door, and knocked.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

This time Akira was reasonably certain it was about as long as it felt.

Finally, he heard the tumblers of the lock turn, and the doorknob rattled. The door opened, and his breath caught in his throat.

The man at the door could be the spitting image of Akira. He was a little taller, had filled out his figure a little more, but it was clear where the younger Kurusu got his looks. His hair wasn't the unruly mess that his son was so proud of, but it still gave off a general disheveled appearance, with a few stripes of white touching his temples. He also hadn't shaved for the past few days, judging by the stubble dotting his chin. The eyes were the same gray but had been dulled by age.

"Hello, son," Daisuke Kurusu said, holding the door opened.

Akira adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder and cleared his throat. "Hi, dad."

"It's been a while. How was Tokyo?"

Akira's features went from impassive to slightly irritated. Oh, it was fine, just got sucked into another weird head-dimension, had to fight a bunch of horrible authority figures, got tricked by a god, got wiped from existence for a little bit, and then had to take down said god.

"It was alright," he said instead.

"That's good." Daisuke stepped to the side. "Please, come in."

He did so, stepping into the home he grew up in. It wasn't much, they never did have a lot of money growing up, but it was enough to house three people comfortably. He was already itching to move as fast as he could up those stairs, lock the door, and call his girlfriend.

"Sakura-san called," Daisuke announced. "He sent your belongings back about an hour ago. They'll be here tomorrow."

"Good to know." This felt like pulling out teeth. "Is my room…?"

"Your room is as you left it," his father replied, motioning for the staircase. "I haven't touched it since… Well, it hasn't been touched. The, uh, bathroom downstairs is having some problems, so the only one available is upstairs."

"Did you need me for anything, or can I head up?"

"I…" Daisuke hesitated. He looked away, avoiding Akira's gaze. "No, you can go. Get yourself settled in."

"Thanks," Akira said without any emotion and he made his way up the stairs.

His room felt alien to him. It was unsettlingly clean, no decorations like the attic back in Leblanc. The bookshelves were full of manga he'd already read and other textbooks that he'd never read. A TV was situated in the corner with a newer game console than he had in Tokyo. He made a mental note to text Ryuji to see if he had the same so they could play.

He placed his bag gently on the bed, letting Morgana slip easily out of it. The cat stretched himself out on the bed and yawned. "Well, that could have gone better," he muttered, scratching the back of his ear.

"Could've gone a lot worse, too," Akira said, taking out the few articles.

He reached in and pulled out the few spares sets of clothes he put in the bag to make room for Morgana but frowned. There was cat hair all over them. He shot an accusatory glare at him. "Hey, don't blame me! Blame this damn cat body!"

Akira rolled his eyes and placed the clothes to the side. At least his school uniform wasn't in here. God, he'd have to get a new school uniform for Meguro. He'd grown a bit in Tokyo, so his old stuff wasn't going to fit him anymore.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It was still too early in the day for Tae to be done with work, so he shot her a quick text to call him as soon as she got off. His friends were all probably still on their way home. It was a few hours' drive back, after all.

He scrolled through his notifications, mostly spam, until he found that Mishima had sent him a text.

M: So, I've been thinking of how to finetune the Phan-Site now that you guys can't change hearts.

M: I don't want people to just post names expecting none of them to be resolved, but the Site has been pretty useful, don't you think? It'd be a shame to let it go to waste.

Akira shook his head, but he smiled at Mishima's dedication, nonetheless.

A: Don't worry, Mishima, I'm doing fine up here in Meguro. I'm just getting settled in.

M: Huh?

M: Oh, right, you were heading back today! Sorry, I totally forgot!

M: How's the small-town life treating you?

A: I've only been back for ten minutes, and I already have no idea what I'm going to do until school starts.

M: Damn, that sucks man.

M: My recommendation would be a job or two to keep you occupied until then.

A: I've thought about that. Since everyone else is busy, I figured I might as well walk around the town and see what there is to offer.

M: Sounds like a plan to me.

M: But anyway, about the Phan-Site.

Akira quickly closed his messaging app and pocketed the phone. If Mishima got started on talking about the Phan-Site, and if someone engaged, he'd be at it for hours. As much as he liked the guy, he did not want to discuss his past activities as a Phantom Thief. It brought up too many bad memories. And good memories that he didn't want to be reminded of.

That last one was a very confusing feeling.

He couldn't really do anything about it anyway. None of them had access to the Metaverse anymore, so finding and entering a Palace, or even Mementos, was impossible.

"Hey, get in the bag," Akira said. "I'm going to walk around for a bit, and I don't need my dad finding you."

"Eh? But we just got here! And I'm tired!"

"And I'm bored out of my mind. I need to find a distraction." He held the bag open for Morgana. "I promise I'll make this up to you with treats."

"I demand sushi!" Morgana held his head up high and glared directly at Akira.

"Alright, I'll get you your sushi, now shut up and get in the bag," he whisper-yelled, pointing into it.

Once Morgana decided that the bag was indeed good enough for him to crawl into for a walk, Akira quickly raced down the stairs. He stopped at the end when he saw his dad sitting at the kitchen table. He looked like he was going over some paperwork from his job and hadn't even noticed his son.

There was something off about him, though. In the past, whenever Akira saw his father going over work in the home office, his eyes were focused and determined, not allowing any distractions to get in his way. He'd barely react to his wife or child while working, just pushing on through. It was always one of the things keeping the two apart.

But as he sat there now, he looked so defeated and tired. The past year wasn't kind to Daisuke, deepening the wrinkles that had been present for a while and making the circles under his eyes darker and there was a lot more grey in his hair than he saw at the door. Akira wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed that when he first got home. What really caught him off guard was the drink in the older Kurusu's hand. A dark liquid of some undisclosed variety.

Had Daisuke taken up drinking? For years, he was against anyone in the household having anything more than the occasional drink for celebrations, like around Golden Week. He never elaborated on why, just that alcohol was banned in the house.

Now, though, he was cradling that glass like his life depended on it. He brought it up to his lips when he finally noticed Akira at the bottom of the steps, starring at him with wide eyes. "Oh, you're—I'm just—"

Daisuke got up, threw the contents of the glass into the sink, and refused to look his son in the eye. He kept his back to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come down. Did you need something?" His tone was hurried and panicked.

"No, I'm just… I'm heading out on a walk for a bit."

Daisuke nodded. "Okay. S-Stay safe."

Akira started to move on but wavered. He looked his father up and down, to the rumpled clothes, the graying hair, it painted a picture for him. It stirred a feeling of concern inside of Akira. Despite all the mixed emotions he had for the man, he didn't want his father to spiral into self-destruction. He didn't want that of anyone.

So, he took the plunge. "Dad, are you… is everything alright?"

Daisuke looked over his shoulder at him and shook his head. "No. I-I mean, yes, everything is—it's fine. Nothing you need to worry about. Go on ahead, get reacquainted with Meguro. I'll make sure to have some dinner ready when you get back."

"That's alright," Akira said. "I was just going to grab a bite while I was out."

"Oh. Okay, I understand. Have a good walk."

This time, Akira didn't stay. He walked as fast as could out of the house and didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"That didn't seem like the guy you talked about," Morgana said, poking his head out of the bag.

"That's because it isn't," Akira said. "Something's wrong with him. I've never seen him like this, even when Mom was sick."

"What do you think it is?"

Akira shrugged. "A guilty conscience, maybe? He did throw me to the wolves, after all."

"Shouldn't you… I don't know, talk to him?"

"Why? I tried that, and he didn't want to talk."

"You asked him once, after stumbling upon him in a precarious situation. Of course, he isn't going to open up yet."

"I'll talk to him when I'm ready," Akira stated.

"But-!"

"When. I'm. Ready." He left no room for argument.

"Okay, fine. But you will talk to him, got it?" Morgana put a paw in his face. "Got it?!"

"Yes, thank you, I understand," Akira acquiesced, pushing the paw out of the way.

The walk to the downtown area of Meguro took around twenty minutes. One could consider that a plus when talking about the small size of the town. If you were willing to carve out an hour or two of your day, you could walk to almost any point.

He could've gone to the docks, maybe done a little fishing, but he didn't want to be reminded of the one claim to fame this town had. Also, the only jobs he would find were going to be for the dock, and he didn't want to smell like fish all day. So, he had chosen downtown.

Downtown itself wasn't anything special. He looked up to see if anything had changed since he left, hoping to find some new jobs. A few family restaurants he knew weren't going to hire him, a floral shop and café that had both started up in the year he was gone, a video rental place, a small arcade and that was about it for anything even remotely interesting to a teenager about to go into his third-year.

So, basically, he had very limited options when it came to the job hunt. He figured if any of them were going to hire him, it'd be the café or the floral shop.

He stopped by the café first to see if they were hiring. Sure enough, there was a posting taped to the door. He pulled it off and gave it a once over. The hours were long and the pay was bad, but it would keep him out of the house. Regardless, money wasn't a problem. He had put more than enough away to set him on the easy path for possibly a year if he spent it wisely.

Akira stepped in and gave the place a once-over. It was a little larger than Leblanc, not nearly as inviting, but there weren't any instant coffee makers. That was a pus towards the café's favor, but it didn't have Sojiro working behind the counter, so the blends probably weren't going to be as good. The sole person working at the bar, a darker-skinned woman dressed in a black shirt and a dark blue apron, looked as disinterested as she possibly could be while sucking on a cigarette.

She didn't look Japanese, he noted, and he hadn't recognized her. Must have moved in recently. A problem about small-town living? Even if you were as distant as Akira was, you learned to recognize people. She had curly hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

It was a little busier than Leblanc normally was, though. There were six whole people at once. Normally Sojiro only got that many customers when Akira and his friends decided to commandeer the lower floor for one of their meetings.

The barista glanced to Akira and sighed, taking out the cigarette and putting it out on an ash tray. "Welcome to Café de la Olla, what can I get for you?" Her Japanese was decent, but there was definitely an accent there.

Café de la Olla? He didn't know much of the language, but that sounded a lot like Spanish. No clue what it meant, though. "Uh, I saw this job posting and I was hoping—"

"Great, you got the job," the barista said, cutting him off. "The hours suck, and the pay sucks worse. Probably why no one wants to work here."

Some of the customers gave her a curious glance but went back to their coffee without comment.

Akira was a little shocked at the speed at which he found a job. "You don't want to—"

"You'll start tomorrow at six o'clock, in the morning, so show up and be ready." She reached under the bar and tossed him a dark blue apron. "Make sure to be wearing that when you arrive."

She looked at him again. "You a high schooler?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Alright, we'll be able to work around that when it starts up again." She tapped her chin. "Beginning of April, right? That's when Japanese schools start the year?"

"That's right." If the skin color and accent hadn't already told him, that sealed it. She wasn't a native of Japan. Akira, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, he thought to himself. "Is there any other dress code I should know about?"

"Don't show up naked," she said, rolling her eyes. "Other than that, wear what you want."

"Alright, tomorrow, eight o'clock. Got it." A thought crossed his mind. "I'm Akira Kurusu, by the way."

"María Hernández," the barista said, as disinterested as ever. "See you tomorrow, Akira."

Well, today was already turning out to be a lot more productive than he was expecting. He had made some assumptions as to how the town was going to be treating him when he first arrived. Even at Shujin, where he was one of the top students, he was still ostracized by the majority of the student body and teachers.

They still shot him looks all the way to the end of his time there. So, if a big city like Tokyo was going to be treating him like shit, condense that into a small town like Meguro, and you'd get a concentrated dose of persecution and bias. He really hoped not all small towns were like that, but he didn't hold out any real hope.

But María wasn't from Meguro. She must not have even heard the rumors surrounding his name, or if she did, she clearly didn't care. She hadn't even asked for anything even close to qualifications or the like, just threw an apron at him and told him to show up tomorrow.

"Hey, do you guys sell any beans?"

María looked up from the next cigarette she was about to start smoking. She had that dull patient look an elementary teacher might have when they know they're going to have to explain something so blindingly obvious to a five-year old. "We're a café. Obviously."

He bought a few different blends, one from Mexico, one from Brazil, a French Roast, even an American blend that he hadn't tried yet. Sojiro said that Americans made the worst coffee, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to Akira, but he'd decided to leave it be at the time for the sake of his sanity and avoiding another lecture.

So, he waked out, a plastic bag full of coffee beans in one hand and a new destination in his mind. He'd stop by the market, grab a French Press and something to grind the beans with, then try his luck at any of the other jobs. Maybe they wouldn't turn him away.


Turns out, they all turned him away.

The lady at the floral shop was nice enough about it. She said that there wasn't a need for any more employees besides her and her husband. And she was genuine enough that Akira forced himself to believe her.

The rest made no bones about the fact that, in their eyes, he was a criminal and would be treated as such. It didn't matter that he was acquitted, that he never actually committed any crime (that they knew about/could prove), the only thing that was important was that he even had a criminal record in the first place. The guy at one of the family restaurants had said that's what he gets for poking around in other people's business.

It took a lot of energy to keep his stoic demeanor during that one. Couldn't stop the eye twitch, though.

So, after picking up a couple things of sushi for him and Morgana, he started his trek back home, carrying his newly purchased goods and the school bag over his shoulder.

"Oh, you're lucky you didn't let me at them, Joker," Morgana said, his head peeking out. "They would've regretted those words!"

"It's not a big deal," Akira replied. "It's not like I didn't expect something like this to happen anyway. It's a small town that's set in its ways."

"That doesn't make it right!"

"I know. But I just want to get through this next year of school with minimal trouble so I can get back to Tokyo as soon as possible. And clawing the eyes out of a restaurant owner is the exact opposite of 'minimal trouble.'"

Morgana pouted. "I just don't like it when they talk about you like that. You're a hero, Joker!"

Akira barked out a laugh. "Nah. I'm no hero. Just a high schooler charged with a crime he didn't commit."

"Ugh, so melodramatic." Morgana laid his head on Akira's shoulder. "I suppose you can take the boy out of the life, but you can't take the life out of the boy."

"Hey, you're the one who called me a hero first," he reminded the cat. "Don't be all mopey when I bust out the act when you do that."

His phone beeped, interrupting the conversation. He pulled it out of his pocket, quickly hushing his soon to complain cat. Oh, a message from Tae. Two, actually. She must have just gotten off work. He quickly opened it and his face immediately turned as red as a tomato.

"What is it?" Morgana asked, trying to peak over Akira's shoulder.

"It's nothing, you don't need to worry about it!" Akira quickly stammered out and held the phone close to his chest.

"C'mon, Joker, what did Dr. Takemi send you! Did she say 'hi' to me? Are you keeping Dr. Takemi's hellos from me?!"

"No! You don't need to know every aspect of our relationship," he muttered, sliding the phone back in his pocket. He looked ahead and saw that his house was rapidly approaching. "We're almost home."

"Need me to hide?"

Akira thought about it for a minute. "Actually, no, give me your collar."

"Why?"

"Because I think I know how I might be able to keep you without having to smuggle you around. It involves lying to my father."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Morgana asked. "The guy looks like he's going through enough, and if he finds out his own son is lying to him—"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I can't bring you to my job, and I doubt I could do the same for school. So, it's either this, or you stay in my room until we go back to Tokyo."

"…alright, what's the plan?"


"Hey, Dad, I found this cat in the dumpster. Can I keep him?"

Daisuke looked up from his paperwork, thankfully with no drink in his hand, at Akira, holding a freshly dirty and righteously angry Morgana out to present to him. He blinked a few times, rubbed at his eyes, and looked again.

"How'd you find a cat in the dumpster?" he asked.

"I was job hunting over downtown when I heard this little guy whining. I checked it out, and there he was, stuck in there, no collar or anything." Akira held Morgana to his side like a football and scratched the back of his neck. "I was just hoping, y'know, I could take care of him."

"We've never taken care of a pet before," Daisuke said, a little apprehensive. "How are you going to look after him?"

"I just got a job at that new café." Akira gave him a weak smile. "I was originally going to use that money for some spending, but now I want to help this guy." Morgana began shifting uncomfortably.

Daisuke noticed. "He doesn't seem to like you."

"No, he just doesn't like being held." Akira presented his school bag. "He actually likes being in the bag."

Daisuke looked at him blankly. "You shoved a cat that was in a dumpster into your bag?"

"Well, I didn't just shove him in," Akira explained. "I had the bag opened and put it on the ground, and he just sort of… jumped in."

"Okay…" Daisuke rubbed his eyes again, fighting the tired headache that was rapidly approaching him. "You're going to take care of him?"

"Yes."

"You're going to make sure he's well-fed?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then, you can keep him."

"You—Really?"

Akira was honestly a little surprised. His father never explicitly said that he didn't like animals in the house, but because they'd never had a pet before and his general demeanor, he just figured it was the case. Plus, it was always a lot harder to get what he wanted out of the old man than it was with his mom.

So the fact that all it took was simply asking and guaranteeing that he'd look after Morgana was not what he was expecting.

"You're sure?" he asked again.

Daisuke nodded. "I'm sure. If that cat makes you happy, then I won't stop you. Just… make sure it doesn't make a mess of the place, alright?"

"Y-Yeah, sure. T-Thank you," Akira said, unsure of how to feel about this. He was expecting something more, maybe a fight. He wasn't looking forward to that fight, but he felt as though it was coming regardless.

"And give it a bath, please," Daisuke said, going back to his paperwork.

"You got it."

"Oh, and Akira?"

"Yeah?"

"Good work on finding a job," he said, making a real effort to not look his son in the eye. "I know it won't be easy for you going forward, but… I'm happy you've found something here."

"…Thanks." He moved upstairs.

At this point, Morgana decided to shout. "Did you have to shove me in a goddamn garbage bin?! There wasn't any other way to make me look dirty?! Maybe let me roll around in some dirt?! No, let's use the actual garbage!"

Akira didn't respond as he walked towards the upstairs bathroom.

"You better not be full," Morgana hissed, "because I'm taking that other sushi dinner for this."

"Have it," he said. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Morgana's ears twitched. "Are you okay?"

"I have no idea."

After Akira had bathed a loudly protesting Morgana, he let the cat make himself comfortable in his bedroom. As he was devouring the two sushi platters, Akira made his way towards the desk at the other end of the room.

He took a seat and pulled out his phone. There were a few messages from his fellow Thieves, saying they made it home safely, a long chain from Mishima about the Phan-Site, one from Iwai wishing him luck at the new school, and Yoshida, thanking Akira again for all the help he had given the newly elected Diet member.

And a new message from Tae. He immediately gravitated towards that one. He'd get back to the rest. Right now, he needed someone to talk to. He opened the chat log, reading past the two he'd already seen.

T: I'd rather you be here with me when I'm getting off, my little guinea pig.

T: Sent a photo

T: Call me when you get this, you might be busy now.

He immediately did so.

It rang a few times before her voice answered, "Did my guinea pig like his little treat?"

She was referring to the photo, he assumed.

"Yeah, it was nice, but… I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

"This sounds like a serious talk."

"It is."

"Alright. Go ahead."

"It's about my dad." He looked back at his closed door and made sure to speak in hushed tones. "He's… different."

"Different how?"

"I don't know, it's weird. He's a lot less focused than he was, even after Mom passed. He started drinking while I was away. He let me keep Morgana when all I did was ask. He even congratulated me on getting a job."

"Was that not something he'd do?"

"Not after Mom died," Akira said. "Hell, we've spoken to each other more today than we have the past two-and-a-half years. In sentences, by the way, not just word count."

"Hmm. Do you think you being away for a whole year did that to him?"

Akira couldn't help but snort in derision. "When he was the one who sent me away?"

"Think about it, guinea pig. He was partly responsible for his own son being shipped to Tokyo, alone and most likely feeling abandoned, only to later learn that that same son was completely innocent this whole time. Think about the guilt he's carrying with him right now."

He'd have to admit, he hadn't really thought about it like that. He had refused to even think about his father if he could help it throughout his entire stay. Trust was an incredibly difficult thing to build. Akira liked to think he trusted easier than most, sometimes for the worse, but he was usually open.

But when that trust was broken? It was shattered. And trust was all too easy to break.

Did it have to be that way though? Did everyone only deserve one shot?

"I've had this idea of him built up in my head for so long, but seeing him like this is, it's a little disorienting, I suppose."

"Not too surprising. Listen, Akira, I can't tell you what to do with your father. I trust you to make the right decision, whatever it may be. But if you want my advice, I'd say talk to him when you're ready."

"You and Morgana have been saying the same thing," he muttered, throwing the now sleeping cat a look over his shoulder.

"What can I say? Great minds think alike."

"Don't let him hear you say that. He's got a big enough head the way it is."

"Seriously, though. Talk to him. Let it off your chest if nothing else."

Akira reached up and pulled out the dog tags from beneath his shirt. He ran a finger across the metal. "When I'm ready," he finally said. He quickly changed the topic of conversation. "How was your day? Missing me already?"

"Guinea pig, I started missing you the second you left," Tae said. "But the day was fine. Boring. I get the feeling I'm going to have a lot of boring days without you here."

"Can't be any worse than here," Akira offered.

Tae laughed over the phone. God, he missed that laugh. "Good point. I'll actually be doing some work at the hospital over the next few weeks."

"Hey, good for you. I remember when that was nothing more than a pipedream."

Tae had made a good point earlier. He would eventually have to communicate with his father. Not only about whatever guilt Daisuke was carrying, but the feelings of betrayal that were still etched deep into Akira's heart.

Maybe it was possible to repair their relationship. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe all he could hope for was to find closure. Would that be enough? Who knew? It was something, though, and more than he would've thought he could do this morning.

But now? Now, all he wanted to do was listen as Tae told him about all the customers that stopped by throughout the day and how they had started to view her as an integral part of their little community.

They talked for about an hour, but it all passed by quickly. Akira hadn't even noticed until his phone started blowing up with notifications. Ryuji was pestering him about hooking up for an online gaming session, Futaba was making winky face emoticons (which he proceeded to further ignore), Yusuke was presenting another theory on art. It all brought a smile to his face.

"Looks like I've let my friend duties to the side for a little too long," Akira said.

"Oh, you think you get to talk to your friends, I see," Tae said lightly, and then she tsked. "I'm afraid I can't let my guinea pig off the hook that easily."

"How about tomorrow after work, we hope onto a video chat, I turn off my phone, and maybe you can give me some more… treats?"

"Mmm. I like that idea. It might make up for you abandoning me for your friends tonight," she said jokingly. "I'll let you know when I get off work tomorrow."

"Likewise. Love you."

"Love you, too."

And with that, he hung up the phone and got around to answering all of the messages he'd been ignoring for the past hour.


Daisuke Kurusu had only gone upstairs to use the bathroom. He didn't intend to eavesdrop on his son, but when he heard him talking, he got curious. So, he lingered for a second longer than he should have.

Apparently, Akira had found a girl down in Tokyo. And he hadn't felt the need to tell him. He should've been hurt by that, he knew. His own son didn't trust him with that information.

Then again, why would he? Daisuke had hurt him enough. He'd tuned out the conversation quickly enough, just leaning against the wall opposite Akira's door. Thinking over their relationship. Rather, their lack of a relationship. And how one bad decision, one awful decision, had shattered it.

From the sounds of it, however, Akira had taken Daisuke's mistake and made something of it. He heard mentions of friends, of his time with Sojiro, growing as a person. And the way he spoke to this mysterious girl, it reminded Daisuke of the way he himself had once talked to and about Hikari. What would she do if she were here right now?

His lip twitched upwards, but his eyes remained downcast. Everything good that had happened to Akira had happened when he had been moved far away from Daisuke. That made him doubt his decision to bring Akira back as early as possible.

Was it the right call? He had no idea just how deeply rooted into Tokyo his son truly was. He still probably didn't know the full extent either. Maybe he never would.

He let out a tired sigh, kicked himself off the wall and started making his way back downstairs as quietly as he could.


A/N: So I guess this is a thing now?

I wrote Light at the End of the Tunnel as a one-shot, solely because I ran out of AkiTae fics to read and figured if I wanted it done, I needed to do it myself. I think it still works really well as it's own separate thing, but I wanted to continue it with my own idea of how a post-Phantom Thieves world would look like.

In this fic, Tae isn't going to be the biggest player, since she's all the way in Tokyo, so if you're looking for PURE UNADULTERATED FLUFF between her and Akira, this might not quite be what you're looking for. They'll still talk, obviously, but this is mainly going to be Akira adjusting to life in Meguro and trying (maybe?) to mend his fractured relationship with his father. If you're interested, I do plan to have a collection of one-shots focusing on some adventures in Tokyo, so look forward to that.

Forgot to do this last time, but the name of Akira's hometown, Meguro, comes from Cosmic Sky's fics. I mean, it's a real place in Japan, but I have no idea how closely they based it off the real-life counterpart, and I definitely wouldn't have thought of it without their fics, so... idk, just go read their stuff, they have plenty of AkiTae works that you should check out.

Probably don't have to mention this, but this Meguro has very little to do with the actual Meguro City.

Anyway, I've rambled enough and this document is already way too goddamn big.

Spino, out.