road less taken | akeshu

April 6th

  Notes: Thanks for picking up my fic! I'll try my best to stick to an update schedule. Please point out any mistakes.

Goro Nijima flinches as he brings his cup of coffee to his lips. The brew had been much too hot, scalding even, and left a sickening burn the moment it came into contact with his lips. The barista across the counter giggles softly. "I can tell you're working hard, Mr. Nijima, but do be mindful. I can't have my favorite customer getting hurt now." The barista, Akira Kurusu, whispers so only Goro can hear it (Not that it matters, as they are alone in the café.) Goro does his best not to choke up at that remark- Akira, the soft-spoken, sweet, even sad boy- was never outright flirtatious like that. Goro fiddled with his fingers as he stumbled over his words. "I- y-you shouldn't, we- I'm not-"

  Akira just looks at him and laughs, gently placing his calloused hands on the detective's gloved ones and slowly pulling them apart. "Don't do that. It's bad for your skin, especially when you're not wearing gloves." He cautions. Goro thanks Yaldabaoth that there is no one else is in the café to see him fluster and stumble over his words. "I'm really- You're not- I should-" Akira snickers and puts a lithe finger over his mouth. "Relax, 'Jima. You're my friend. And besides, nobody else is here. Let loose a little."

Goro stops stuttering, but his body remains tense. Akira withdraws his hand and goes back to idly washing dishes. "So, Mister Detective Prince. What's the big case right now? Catching a serial killer? A thief? Maybe a.." Akira peeks up at Goro, eyes wide in mock terror. "Litterer?" Goro rolls his eyes, but flips his notebook around so that the boy across the counter can see his work. "You weren't too off with thief. I'm looking into the vigilante known as Joker." He explains, chastising himself in his mind for sharing what should be confidential research with a mere barista. But it's too late now, as Akira's cloudy gray eyes are already scanning the pages.

Akira hums as his eyes dance across the page. "Eight." He mutters, As his fingers trace a particular line. Goro looks up at him, perplexed. "What do you mean, Eight?" Akira slides the book back around to Goro and indicates the note in question. Right here, you wrote that "The evidence at the scenes along with the mismatched witness testimonies indicate that Joker is part of and possibly leads a group of what seems to be 6 phantom thieves, including Joker himself." But the evidence contradicts that, see; one of the witnesses said they saw a red, catlike mask while the other said they saw a red and white catlike mask. And the way they manage to slip past alarms or cut power can't just be due to good stealth; the testimonies for those who were at the casino on the March 29 heist say that they spotted Joker across the casino from the lighting controls when the power cut. they must have an outside party who's good at computers." Akira grins and turns away as Goro clenches his fists and nearly pounds his head on the table.
"Great, so not only did we undercount the amount of members, but we also have an outside party to deal with now..."
Akira smirked as he took a seat across the counter from Goro, resting his head in his arms and looking up at Goro. "I think you would've noticed it sooner if you were in the right mind, Mr. Nijima. Maybe you should take a break. Don't think I haven't noticed how frequently you drop in for coffee at atrociously late hours."

Goro flinches as Akira calls him out. He knows the barista is right; He's been working nonstop lately, and the effects of his stacking streak of all nighters and late-night crime scene sweeps are really beginning to take a toll on the poor detective. Sae has been trying to get him to sleep more for weeks, mostly to no avail. Goro rubs his temple vigorously in his stress. Akira just gently pulls his hand away again. A part of Goro wants to be annoyed that this boy he barely even knows keeps intruding on his personal space, but that part of him is basically powerless against the part that would rather make him feel like he was flying every time his hands met those of the barista's.

Goro moves his hands from his forehead to wrap around the handle of his coffee mug, gingerly bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip. The coffee's gone lukewarm, but Goro can't bring himself to mind. It still tastes good, and it was made by Akira, so what's the point in conplaining? Akira watches him closely, eyes sharp and expectant. Goro gives him a wordless thumbs up as he gulps down the rest of the coffee, praying it will give him some sort of energy boost so he can get this god forsaken case over with already. He sets his (now empty) mug down onto the ceramic plate with a clink.
"Well then, Kurusu, If you're so smart, where are these phantom thieves going to strike next?" he asks. The inquiry was meant purely as a joke, but Akira seems to put actual thought into it. "I think they're going to go after Ritsu. The idol." He states matter-of-factly. Goro blinks up at him in confusion. "And why is that?" He asks, an inquisitive eyebrow raised.
Akira turns the page of the notebook, where Goro ahs documented the messages of all of the calling vards left by the group. "See here, they keep making musical references in the most recent cards, so it's safe to say that they're going after a musician. And there's a past pattern with the thieves always going after their target right before a big event in the target's life or career- Madarame's exhibit ending, the volleyball nationals for Kamoshida, etc. And Ritsu is the only notable musician in Japan who has anything big coming out in the next few days; she's releasing a new album for the first time in 3 years, right?" Akira states this all as if it was plain obvious. Goro furrows his eyebrows and looks back down at his notes. "I guess... you're right." He mutters, flicking through the pages of notes. "I should... I should report back to the station. Uh... Thanks, Kurusu."

Akira just hums as he turns to return the now-clean plates to their shelves. "No need for formalities. Call me Akira. Good luck on your case, Mr. Nijma."

Goro wants to point out that Akira calling him Mr. Nijima directly contradicts what he just said about not needing formalities, but he can't even muster up the courage to say a simple little sentence like call me Goro. He curses himself on the way out the door, too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice that Akira somehow knew what the most recent calling cards said, even though Goro hadn't written those ones down in the notebook he had shown the barista.

End Notes: Woo! The first chapter done. That's a first. Hope I'll remember to update.
Word Count: 1183