Dissonant Harmony [G. Akechi x Reader]

エピローグ

[now playing: The World We Knew (Over and Over)- Frank Sinatra]

Haru stepped out of the (L/N) residence, bowing deeply to (Y/N)'s mother. "I'm so sorry for the intrusion. . . I learned of a small task (Y/N) left for me and I couldn't wait any longer." The music books felt heavy in her tightly gripped hands, even though all of them combined would never sum up to the weight of the axe she used to carry.

"Ah, well," (M/N) said while wiping her eyes, smiling at the girl. "You know those books were just gathering dust on the shelves anyways."

Haru thought back to their careful placement. The stack wasn't even close to the overloaded shelves that stored the rest of the music (Y/N) had played throughout her life. They lay in (Y/N)'s top desk drawer, just as (Y/N) had told her, with a sticky note on top: "To the Phantom Thieves that Stole My Heart."

It was almost easy for her to tell which book belonged to whom. (Y/N) had done a great job picking what fit each member well. It was harder, though, to find the will to open her own score. Mendelssohn's volume three of "Songs Without Words" was on top of the stack and the encore performance flooded her mind.

She sighed. It wouldn't hurt to look, would it?

Finding nothing on the first few pages, Haru scoured the index for the numbers she repeated that night over and over again until she was sure she wouldn't forget them. "Opus 76, number 2. Opus 76, number 2." A slip of paper was secured in the crevice of the page, filled with a familiar scrawl that could only have been (Y/N)'s.

Stopping in her tracks as she read the note, her hands began to tremble. Haru cursed the cold weather that had stuck around longer than normal, but she knew deep down it wasn't the weather. She scanned through the words once more, frowning slightly when she read what she thought she did. How could (Y/N) keep smiling when she knew she'd die that day?

Akechi's steps slowed as he arrived at the (L/N) family grave. Smiling somberly, he lay down a small bouquet lavender before moving to light an incense stick. You know how much I hate praying to fake deities, and yet here I am praying for you, (Y/N).

He sat down fully in front of the grave, trying to remember all the things he wanted to tell you since he last stopped by. Though he made it a priority to stop by each week, things were picking up again for him, as he had found a new career away from the leering eyes of the public.

Things had continued on as if nothing truly happened those few months in a different reality. He watched as the Phantom Thieves headed on their own paths towards success, but he felt stagnant against it all. (Y/N) was gone. He knew that. Her last words rang in his head constantly.

"Why did you have to leave such a big impact on me?" Akechi asked, shaking his head.

"I think it was something about our awesome rivalry," A voice responded. Looking up behind him, Akechi met eyes with Akira, who was offering a soft smile in his direction.

Akechi scoffed. "You know I wasn't speaking to you."

"If I let you get away with talking to yourself, I might find you living out here in a few months." The wind whistled, sending stray leaves on a race down the cobblestone path. "It hasn't felt like it's been that long since we last saw her, has it?"

"Easy for you to say."

The silence that followed carried a sense of understanding neither had recognized before.

"It has to get easier at some point, right?" Akechi shook his head, already knowing the answer. "Each morning I wake up to the reminder that she's not here." The incense stick dwindled, smoke rising higher into the sky. "Each morning I wake up, I die all over again."