Chapter Text
The somber winter midday sky, the pouring rain had just stopped and lingering clouds made the whole area dimly lit along with the minimal light coming from the cheap street lamps adorning a small bridge, built there only so that people could pass over the aggressive waters of the lake, enjoying the view, maybe having a romantic little moment where everything played out like a fairy tale. Their lovers face only lit up by the yellow hues raying down on them making their eyes comparable to the stars up high, warm hands together in unison, sweet nothings being passed along into the breezy night sky.
Well, these meant nothing to Akira.
Walking over to the bridge with one purpose only. Today was the day he'd end it all. Well putting it that way would dramatize it way too much, at least that's what Akira thought. He knew the gravity of it, yet for him, it was almost the same as going on an afternoon stroll at the park with the addition of never actually returning from it.
For all that he could remember he had always been like this. Things some might call extreme didn't have the severity that they hold for most people. Even as a small child he'd usually be outcast by the other children his age. Walking down the breezy road Akira remembered this one particular instance in pre-school where he saw a girl crying on the school playground. He had first observed from afar, the girl was sat in the sand pit, most likely pushed over by the other kids that heard the bell ring and promptly rushed inside.
Is she injured?
He decided he was going to be the one to help her and actually manage to make a friend this time. He waddled slowly to the girl on the floor.
“Hello, are you okay?”
His big beady eyes stared at her intently, he didn't get an answer just more sobs from the girl, he crouched next to her looking focused. With closer inspection there was an item in the girl's hand. a plush doll from the looks of it was monstrously torn from the neck down. The body in one hand of the girl and the head in the other. Loose stuffing on her lap, lazily hanging from the doll where it has been opened. Little Akira felt relief flood over him. She looked like she had suffered no bodily injuries, maybe minor scratches on her legs but nothing that should make the girl sob her eyes out. The only thing that was damaged was the toy she had been carrying. Then why was the girl crying her heart out? Surely that wasn't the only reason, little Akira pondered. Suddenly his eyes grew wider with contempt. If he could explain to her, it can be easily replaced, she would surely stop crying.
“Are you not hurt, is it just your doll that has been ripped?”
She nodded slightly through the tears
Bingo; little Akira thought.
“Well, you don't have to worry you can get another one. This one is not fixable anymore. The rips are in very weird places and stitching it would ruin the doll's shape, but I think they sell the same one at a shop near our school!”
the girl looked at little Akira in horror her sobs growing louder and nearly unintelligible screaming erupted
“B-but I don’t want any other one I want this one!” The girl shrieked. Akira was very confused why her cries grew even louder, he thought that would calm her down, he didn't say anything wrong, and he was very nice about laying it too so what was going on? She said she wanted that doll well, it's completely ripped to the point of no repair. Why would she want that rather than the same doll brand new from the store. Little Akira maybe though the girl didn't understand him correctly that he just had to explain it again
“Wouldn't a brand new one from the store be better? It will be the same, just no tears and everything would be fixed. Why would you want that same doll that will look nothing like how it was even if it is fixed?”
Little Akira smiled expectantly after he finished talking. Surely this time he got his point across, confidently waiting for her sobs to stop. Instead, he was met with angry glassy red eyes staring at his
He was startled by the sudden change of emotion in the girl, before he could say anything else the she had pushed him to the ground and ran inside. The last thing he heard was the girls scream calling him a monster.
His teachers also had shown concern for him from this point on and would occasionally call his parents over for meetings when they saw him display “unfriendly” actions towards the other kids. Little Akira wouldn't understand why he was being punished most of the time. He wasn't being unfriendly or unapproachable, he was just being him, adults always said the same thing, didn't they? That lying is bad and it won't get you anywhere in life yet why was he punished for telling the truth? Why didn't the other kids like him? Why didn't the adult's side with him?
Nothing had really changed for Akira he was still the weird unapproachable kid all through middle school. Yet now he didn't really mind it anymore.
As Akira grew up things actually only started to get worse especially in high school, instead of just being the weird kid he was now also considered a convicted felon after a series of very unfortunate events
There were constant insults being thrown his way or the snarky comments made, sometimes even attempts to start fights from guys that thought he was putting on a tough act, specifically conjured up look cool in front of their girlfriends. It's not that Akira didn't mind the constant harassment, that would insinuate that he was just taking them and bottling it up causing him to eventually snap. No, he just couldn't care less. He genuinely couldn't get himself to be involved in; at best, trivial subjects. putting some thought into it, it was dumb that people even did stuff like this. What was the end goal really? Entertainment? Or was it a self-defense mechanism to single out the person everyone hates so no one can highlight their own shortcomings and failures. Even though he was a public enemy he still tried to keep appearances up all through the torment and eventually he managed to pull through. He had his first stable friend group made up of equally weird characters but a strong bond between each. He was now less harassed by his peers and was surprised that he wasn’t even getting blank stares in hallways anymore, maybe he had started acting differently with this change or everybody else was now that he wasn't all by himself, he gained more connections, joining clubs, even helping people out now that he wasn't the school laughing stock anymore. Yet as he gained the self-awareness that came with maturity, he realized he never actually had a moment he'd consider fun or entertaining; well, not in the way that other people describe it at least. Of course, he had fun spending time with his now developing social life and having solitary time on his bed with his cat. He did have fun doing any activity a normal teenager would, and yes, he would be sad if anything were to change that, but would he have a long period of grief or put him in to a depressive state if those things suddenly disappeared from his life? that was rather simple to answer and a very distressing answer for him at that.
No, they wouldn't
he would go on living normally adopting another schedule just like they never existed in the first place. well of course he wasn't heartless, there would be a portion where he would be very overwhelmed by his feelings, but those feelings wouldn’t only be sorrow for his now gone life, rather it'd be mixed with the stress of change and having to make a new order for himself. He felt he had no connection to anything, not even his very being. To imagine a world where the things he had ‘fun’ doing weren't a part of his life anymore wasn’t scary at all. Like walking on a long pretty beachside, the sun shining down on the tame ocean water reflecting the orange in the pool of blue. The fine sand and pebble mixture you walk on underneath getting caught in the insoles of his sandals making it just a tiny inconvenience in the vastness of the universe, easily discardable with a slight tilt of the foot. Those irreversible changes were little pebbles waiting to be discarded because no matter what happens, life went on.
That's why he made up his mind, if everything was this irrelevant in the first place, why not just nip the problem in the bud. Why would he want to live the same boring life cycle every day. He wouldn't have to do anything anymore, forever. That was the best thing he ever thought of in his lifetime, probably the most excited he's ever been about something. So that's why he decided after school he'd just drop by the nearest bridge. During the walk he was occupied by thoughts ranging from his past to how nice of a weather it was, as it had rained all day, it left a beautiful aftermath on the surroundings. He bumped into two people on accident that day, mouth slightly agape, since rather than looking forward while walking. His focus was on every nice little rain droplet that was left on random items on the street reflecting the light ever so elegantly, taking on the likeness of hundreds of tiny gemstones sprinkled all about the narrow street. The wood bridge slowly came into his view, making him snap into focus once more. It looked a shade darker since it had been soaking up all the rainfall. A figure also made itself visible to Akira as he got closer.
The bridge railings covered most of the person's middle and bottom half as it registered to him that it was someone standing outside of the thick railing and on the tiny ledge of the bridge. Akira made a grunting noise loud enough only for himself to hear. He was feeling disappointed as he was rather looking forward to this and there was, another person looking for the same satisfaction as him. Normally he wouldn’t he wouldnt dare do something as selfish as disturbing a person in their final moments of solidarity. But his patience had ran out long ago. This person was not going to have that peace, not on his watch. He was going to be the one to do that today. He slowly walked up; the figure grew closer and closer. He could now make up the features of this person.
A brown-haired male about the same age as him maybe a bit shorter. The figure turned his head to the side a lit cigarette displayed between his slender fingers the yellow overhead streetlamps not doing his figure any good as he looked extremely thin with the light only illuminating the high points on his face making it look extremely sunken and frail, staring at the violent current of the open body of water below.
while making a mental profile of the long-haired male Akira was already at his side
"Hello, am I interrupting something?”
The brown-haired male: surprisingly not startled, looked back slowly with the corner of his eye at the guy who decided to interact with him, tilting his head down at his feet then the cigarette with dull eyes, turning his judging eyes back to the figure, raising a mocking eyebrow
"What do you think?"
Akira furrowed his eyebrows in slight frustration
"Well see I was planning on doing this today and I really don’t want to have to change plans”
The brown-haired guy adopted a newfound expression of shock in his face before quickly fading away to the stoic stare he had on before, he found this rather amusing. The lifeless doll esque red eyes of the man now had a slight glint in them. The brunette decided to go along with it. turning around nimbly to not lose his footing, body fully facing this person that approached him out of nowhere just to overturn him from committing suicide so… he could? Both of his elbows now rested on the railing the cigarette smoke wafted in the air
"You can just go after me, can't you? don't worry it won't take long" The brunette said mockingly as he bored his eyes into Akira's gray shineless ones, what kind of eyes were gray anyway he thought to himself as Akira, spoke his mind once more
"I mean I kind of wanted to have a moment for myself and that would be ruined by the fact someone committed suicide right before me of course I can also decide to push you but I think I’m respectful enough to reason with you and I’d rather not die being remembered as the ‘murder suicide guy’” As Akira rambled on and on about the possibilities in a rather animated way, the man on the railing had adopted a wide eyed expression yet it blatantly contradicted the emotion that was forming at his mouth, he had cracked a rather crooked smile, Akechi had never met an individual quite like this before, was he always like this or was it because he was also on the brink of suicide, he had fully expected this man to make some useless speech about how he shouldn’t kill himself and to make him think about the 'good' aspects of his life or the people in his life would be sad the classic bullshit talk that never in the history of suicide ever fucking worked. Yet he wasn't expecting back and forth casual banter on who gets to kill themself today. This was almost painfully comedic. The shorter man was amazed at the sight in front of him as he had just realized something. How did this guy manage to keep that poker face all the way through their scuffle? Was this just a common occurance for him or what, Something was bubbling up inside of Akechi, It was pure unbridled excitement. Maybe his detective intuition was kicking in but he knew he had to push him more.
"If that's the case you can go before me, I don't mind” The smoker further prodded Akira to see what other incoherent notions he could hear.
But instead this was the first time in this whole conversation where Akira stopped to actually consider the words that were said to him instead of throwing back a response immediately. Even looking off into the distance crossing one leg over the other and placing his hand on his chin right after, the mystery brunette raised both his eyebrows anticipating a response.
" No thanks I don't think I could do that because this time you're going to have to think about me while in your last moments and that wouldn't be very nice for either of us"
"Hm?” the mystery man uttered as his smile grew wider and more condescending “and why do you think that I’d be thinking of you in my last moments?"
Akira tilted his head to the side in confusion
"Well wouldn't you think of someone even for a second if they killed themselves in front of you? I say that'd be pretty ruthless” A hand covered the brunette's mouth as he tried to fight back a laugh at the same time as taking the last drag out of the cig tossing the bud behind his back into the lake. He sure knew how to get his interest piqued. The brunette sighed dramatically,
“Well, I told myself I'd end it right after I finished my cigarette, but it seems like the universe has thrown a hurdle in my way, fine I'll entertain you stranger another one won’t hurt” The shorter boy threw a leg up and over the thick wooden beam climbing back on the bridge side, he chose to sit on the railing instead, hands on both his sides gripping the wood, kicking his feet a little staring at the stone-cold eyes of the boy in front. He stared daringly trying to get a read on him yet failing, finally breaking eye contact and opting to look to the side
“let's do it like this then we'll both come another day and end it then good enough for you?" The brown-haired boy awaited a response, yet no sound escaped the taller man. Finally getting impatient he snapped his head back at the boy just to stare in internalized shock. Was he… smiling? Really the first time that Akechi saw any emotion on the man's face throughout the whole conversation he couldn't help but just stare, was this man completely out of his mind? The side of his eyes were creased and mouth pressed together firmly. Unbeknownst to the brunette, Akira was only smiling because he had inadvertently saved a man's life, to be honest in the back of his head he had hoped his non-stop chattering assault would make the man actually go through with his plans, but this was also a favorable outcome. The sky lit up a bit since the clouds were starting to pass and the evening breeze hit Akira’s hair just right. If they had met under a different circumstance this could be considered as ‘romantic’, the brunette removed one of the hands from the railing putting it palm first against his chin while his elbow resting on his leg deep in thought, just who was this guy? Akechi wanted to break the silence.
“Oh, sorry how rude of me I haven't introduced myself yet have I, I am Goro Akechi maybe you've heard of me” Akira met the brunette's eyes who he just learned the name of.
Goro Akechi
“Akira. Akira Kurusu and no I don’t think we’ve met before”
Akechi letting out a slight chuckle easily mistakable for a sigh, for him this was a relief, the chances of his now attempted suicide being leaked to the press would be significantly lower. As Akechi was about to utter another sentence a loud growl interrupted him making him snap out of whatever headspace he was in and instead looking at Akira with both eyebrows raised
“Ah sorry I haven't eaten in like uhh…” Akira looked at the far distance while counting on his fingers absentmindedly raising up three fingers in Akechi's face “yeah, three days to be exact”
Akechi now with a slight amount of concern hopped off the rails and, on his feet, finally properly taking in the boy, they weren't terribly different in height. Akira was merely a couple inches taller than him though his frame was much more well-built then his pathetic one, his attention coming back to the matter at hand. Going half a week without eating anything? Did this guy have a care in the world? well going off by his actions and appearance that'd be a clear-cut no. Black hair all messed and fluffed up a brush had definitely never been in there. standard black frame glasses fitting a tiny bit too big on his face. His clothes looked shabby too casual for anything other than sleep wear. Baggy pants, a shirt and a hoodie on top. They seemed to be worn out most likely due to excessive use. Akechi couldn't help but try and connect dots, yet this wasn't the time for his detective instincts to hop in, so he stopped himself realizing he probably was staring at Akira for a bit too long then intended
“I am also kind of hungry, how about dropping by the nearest cafe around here, you can tag along I don’t mind”
Akechi normally wouldn't be that considerate to invite a stranger much less one that rudely interrupted an extremely personal moment, but he couldn't help but want to pick the boys brain apart if he couldn't read anything he sure as hell can force it out, he wasn't called the renowned detective prince for nothing and when it came to Akira, he was just a simple creature he heard the notion of free food and there wasn't a single time he'd pass that up.