Life Will Change

Chapter 73: Countdown to the Mission

Begin!

~Normal POV

11/14 - Monday

Five days... As much as Akira was ready for anything, and had assured Ann that he was so, the clock was ticking. This situation was actually starting to sink in. He'd seen no word from Akechi lately. Truly their deal must have been finished, especially considering what Akechi had planned all along. Good enough for him really... Spending any unnecessary time with him would have been a test of his sanity now... Very few people had the privilege of knowing exactly what day they were going to die. Even that fortune teller in Shinjuku had asked him if he was sick because she kept seeing predictions of his death in her tarot cards. Hopefully she was wrong this time...

Going to school seemed fruitless at this point, but he had to keep up appearances. At least for now... Hm, now that he thought about it, school was about to be a big problem. A dead man can't go to school. How was he supposed to get out of that? Then it hit him: Kawakami owed him a favor. He planned to talk to her during lunch in the guidance office.

"Morning."

Akira heard Ryuji trot up to him as they entered the building. "Morning." The blond boy looked a bit tired today. "Dude, you don't look so good."

Ryuji yawned and shrugged off the concern. "Haru wanted to take her mind off things last night, so she asked if I wanted to see a movie with her. Didn't get much sleep."

Akira raised a brow at him. Sure, he knew Ryuji had a thing for Haru, but holy shit, did it really go that far that fast? Unlikely. Haru was not that type of girl. But in Akira's time spent helping her deal with her company related issues, he had a guess that she reciprocated those feelings. The two were close and got along well. They liked to sit next to each other in the thief van and during meetings. They even had similar fighting styles: bludgeoning Shadows with a large object. Once Haru even joked that they could switch weapons someday just for fun. And Haru was the only person that Ryuji never had a spat with on the team. Plus, during Akira's hangouts with her, she made a few "not very subtle" references to being interested in someone else. Honestly, Akira didn't think his two friends would be a bad match. Even Ann agreed; she thought "they'd be a cute couple." But still...

"...I hope to god you didn't do what it sounds like you did," Akira joked; not wanting to let the opportunity to tease his friend go to waste.

"Oh, very funny! No, of course that didn't happen!" Ryuji replied.

Akira chuckled. "I was kidding! What movie did she want to see anyway?"

"Pach Saw."

Akira gave him a puzzled look. "That... That new horror movie about the elephant that kills people?"

"That's it," Ryuji answered. "I was weirded out at first too, but apparently she's into those kinda movies. I went with her and... it was pretty damn scary. I couldn't sleep at all when I got home."

Akira smirked. "And you didn't try to convince her to see something else?"

"No, why would I? It's what she wanted to see."

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, we had fun, even if it was scary. Why are you so curious," Ryuji asked.

Akira snickered, only making Ryuji more confused. "You went out with her, without hesitation, to a movie only she wanted to see because she asked. You didn't say no, you didn't try to get her to pick something else. Ryuji, I never thought I'd be able to say it: you're whipped."

Ryuji's jaw dropped. "I am not!" He wasn't a good liar.

"Denial is the first step towards acceptance." Akira replied, smirking still.

"Akira, dude, I am not whipped for Haru Okumura!"

"She's got you wrapped around her finger like a bow," Akira taunted. "Hell, you two went on a date last night and you didn't even realize it!"

Ryuji continued staring at him in disbelief. "It wasn't- She didn't say- Why aren't you listening to me!?"

"I'll listen to you when you start being honest with yourself, bro." Akira answered, before starting to walk off to his homeroom.

Ryuji was left standing in the hall, completely flabbergasted by his words. He tried to shrug it off as friendly teasing. Akira liked to tease his friends... But the idea did stick with him...

He thought it over and couldn't help smiling to himself at the thought of a very sweet and beautiful girl with curly hair who happened to be quite handy with an axe...

~...

"Ms. Kawakami?"

The teacher looked up from her podium at Akira. Class had been dismissed for lunch. "Yes, Kurusu-kun?"

"I need to talk to you, preferably in the guidance office? It's important."

She looked a bit confused but left the room with him. Once the two were alone in the office, Akira went straight to the point.

"Ma'am... You recall that you owe me a favor?"

"Of course," She replied, "I take it you're about to ask me for something big, huh?"

Akira nodded and spoke slowly, trying to figure out how to word this request without giving away too much. "Extremely... So... On the 19th, I'm... Something's gonna happen. And assuming it works out... I won't be able to come to school for a while, and I can't let people find out why... If you could cover for me?"

"This sounds... like that, er, Phantom Thief business... Are you going to be ok?" She asked, quietly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, but just if... anyone asks; you're the only teacher in this school I can trust with this."

She nodded. "Ok. I'll, uh, say that you had a family emergency and had to go back home for a while."

"That's perfect, thank you."

"And Takamaki? Sakamoto? Do they know this is happening?"

"They're very aware."

Kawakami gave him a worried look. None of what he said sounded good. And the fact that he was trying so hard to avoid telling her exactly why he won't be able to come back for a while put her on edge. He was a good kid. She didn't want to see him get hurt.

"Well... Listen, whoever you're about to go after... Get 'em good, ok?"

Akira smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

~...

11/17 - Thursday

"Now I've got this thing set to lock up on the 19th at 5 p.m. We'll already be in the Palace by then. And I'll unlock it once you are safe in here again. And it'll keep all your pictures and stuff intact. I know you don't want to lose any of those scandalous images of you and Ann."

"You've thought of everything..." Akira replied, ignoring that little joke and taking his phone back from Futaba.

Futaba stared at him solemnly. Tomorrow they were going to send the calling card. Everything was ready. Akechi was none the wiser. This was all going to go well, she was sure of it. But she still looked on edge. Morgana was sitting on the table beside them watching.

"You gonna be ok, Akira?" The cat asked, worriedly.

"I'll be fine. It'll work... Futaba, you'll look after Morgana while I'm gone?"

"Of course! He'll be perfectly safe with me! And I'll keep Sojiro in the dark as long as I can!" Futaba said, firmly. "So... So..."

Akira smiled and gave her a hug. "I'll come back safe and sound. Promise." He pulled away after getting a text. "Ryuji says the card's ready."

"This is really it, huh?" Morgana said, "...Akira?"

"Yeah?"

"...Good luck."

Akira patted the cat's head affectionately. "Thanks..."

Tomorrow was the point of no return, and he was ready.

~End of Chapter