Since I gave Kawakami the honor of being my first Persona story I decided to give my second favorite P5 girl the honor of being my thirtieth. Yes, our favorite punk doctor Tae Takemi! Now this won't be a direct novelization of her Confidant like Sadayo, but a limited look at all of them with one overreaching theme.

I do not own anything, Atlus does.

Akira Kurusu, when she first heard that name Tae didn't think too much about it. As far as she was concerned there was only one word that could describe the bespectacled teenager in the early days of their relationship, and that word was "odd". Seriously, what kind of kid willingly went to a back alley doctor like her for some experimental drugs with a half-assed excuse like entrance exams? At first Tae thought the boy was just plain crazy willingly accepting her deal to be her guinea pig for access to her medicine. Her first guess appeared to be true when he heedlessly drunk the first concoction she'd presented him with the day they'd made their deal. No fidgeting or demands to know what it was he was about to ingest.

"You've got guts kid, I'll give you that." She admitted staring down at the comatose boy before her. Her brows occasionally noted in accordance with the knots she saw forming in his stomach. For the most part his reaction was as she expected with few deviations. "Heh, depending on when you wake up you could actually be useful to me."

Almost fifteen minutes later and her new guinea pig awoke, to find her sitting in her chair with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Good evening, did you enjoy your little nap?"

"Just out of curiosity, if I had died, what would you have done? Would you have at least given me the honor of notifying my family so I could be buried?" Was the first thing out of his mouth as he roused himself awake. His parents had drilled it into his head never to drink anything offered by strangers, especially at parties, if they were here he'd be on the receiving end of a major lecture. It's good thing they'll never find out about any of this. He thought with a mental grin.

Unknowingly mirroring him Tae leaned back in her chair twirling her pen. "I don't know. What do you think? You believe I want to be the one to call some nameless couple and tell them their son died ingesting one of my experimental medicines?"

"You don't seem like the type who's afraid of getting sued…or having some idiot's death on your conscious." The younger of the two leered biting back a smile.

Tae felt her lips twitch a little. "If so then why the hell did you come here? For all you know I could be administrating you poison or something that leave you crippled for life." She'd play this game with this kid, she'd done so with dozens of men more than twice his age and never lost once.

With a shrug he turned onto his back leaving him looking up at the ceiling. "Oh well, I guess since you're a doctor I decided I could put my life in your hands. Doctors are supposed to help people, aren't they?"

Again, she had to admit the kid had guts to use that line as a defense. Either he was incredibly naïve or he was just that confident in her. As much as Tae would have liked to believe the latter she'd long lost that sense of optimism. "Moving on, do you remember anything from the moment you took the medicine until now?" Even if he was sitting up and wasn't vomiting his guts out she could tell the medicine was still working its way out of his system. For the most part there wouldn't be any lasting damage to Akira's bodily functions. "Hm, based on the look in your eyes, I'd say you don't. You briefly woke up from your coma, but you were completely dazed during the entire examination. Eventually you lost consciousness and fell back asleep."

Akira quietly digested the information. Before he went under he only remembered an unpleasant rumbling in his stomach then everything went dark. Okay, as bad as that is I'm sure we'll be able to work through it. Just duck into a safe room and we'll be good to go.

"Were you out of your mind? Only an idiot would have drank that without any kind of forethought." Her annoyed voice penetrated his bubble of thought.

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." He responded thinking quickly. "My exams are going to be pretty tough so I can't afford to take any chances. My future's on the line here."

There was something about his words that put Tae on guard. She'd been around liars before thus she'd learned how to tell a decent lie from truth. Akira Kurusu was most definitely lying to her. As much as I'd like to tell this kid to get the hell out he's my only hope. It's not like I'm going to get another decent test subject walking through my door any time soon. Subconsciously Tae wondered if this kid had set up this entire situation so she'd have to keep him supplied, something about her certainly told her he was the type to play dirty. Fine then, two can play at that game. She told him she'd hold up her end of the bargain so long as he kept his mouth shut about her personally created medicines. Without missing a beat he agreed and she proclaimed they now official had a deal. He seemed more relieved than anything, as if he'd just gotten a passing score on one of these "exams" he so casually mentioned. I guess I'll just have to wait and see, it's not like I have many options at the moment.

She bid him farewell a few moments later, not at all sure what it was she'd just gotten herself into.

"Doctors are supposed to help." When Tae heard that she had to bite back a laugh at Akira's childish word view. Never had she imagined he'd actually make her live up to them. She supposed she could have blamed fate for walking her into that one, there was no other way to describe the situation that lead to her spending almost an entire hour treating a girl with a rare disease. She couldn't exactly complain though as from what she'd found if she hadn't treated it the girl more than likely would have had to have been in critical condition, or worse. All of this because of you, my little genuine pig. Despite ingesting yet another oddball concoction Akira was almost sleeping like a baby, he'd toss and turn in the bed, but eventually he'd return to a semi-peaceful slumber. Truthfully it almost pissed Tae off her intended punishment for her genuine pig was turning into little more than a pleasant nap. "Maybe I need to rethink some of the ingredients." Tae muttered looking over her assortment of chemicals and medications.

Across from her Akira stirred in his sleep, a few loose burps leaving his mouth as his stomach growled like a hungry beast. "That…wasn't so bad." He proclaimed looking at her with half-focused eyes and a ditzy smile. "From the way you were talking earlier I was expecting you to give me something that was going to leave me feeling like crap for the rest of the day."

"Of the two of us, which one is the doctor, the one with intimate knowledge of the human body and how it will react to certain chemicals and medication?" The blue-haired doctor coolly shot back. She had to admit Akira had a gift for acting tough in the face of bad situations, something she found somewhat admirable. "Nice little stunt you pulled back there."

"You sound almost angry at me."

"Oh, pray tell why. Maybe because that was forty-five minutes of my time I'm never going to get back."

"How about because you spent it doing what you signed up to do, what doctors are supposed to do." Watching him sit fully upright surprised her as she believed it'd be another ten minutes before he could move around. Every day they interacted Akira was proving himself to be full of more surprises. He faced her directly without shrinking back under her piercing gaze. "You make it sound like treating one little girl, potentially saving her life was like trying to cure cancer. Haven't you done this sort of thing before?"

For a moment Tae shrunk back, averting her eyes to the walls around the two of them. "I…that was a long time ago, Akira. I was a different person back then. Helping cure the sick, treat the wounded, that's not who I am. That's not what 'The Plague' is."

"Maybe, but from what I saw 'The Plague' is pretty good at helping sick people get better." The teenager retorted with a smirk.

"You do know all I'm hearing is a request for knockout pills…or cyanide pills to be slipped into your medication."

Despite her threat he kept smiling at her, and to Tae's irritation she found herself smiling back a little. Perhaps it was because for the first time in a while she'd finally met a man who wasn't afraid of her, and was willing to play these little "games" with her to her heart's content. Rather it was because he knew he had the ball in his court or he was just that strong-willed Tae didn't know, maybe one day she'd find out if they kept this little partnership going. "What would you have done if I hadn't treated that little girl? Would you have…cut off our deal?"

Like paint Akira's smile was washed off turning his face into an unreadable frown. It was during times like this he went from odd in the strange or funny way to odd in the almost…creepy way. His glasses seemed to always gain some sort of foreboding shine that obscured his eyes, and when they dimmed they revealed dull gray orbs staring into the depths of one's soul. That was how Tae had begun to form theory after theory about her young "assistant"; he'd seen more than he was letting on, things that had left their mark on him in ways she could only imagine.

"I would have carried her to the nearest hospital I could find, then once I knew she was going to be alright I would have walked back here and done the clinical trial." He finally answered in a flat tone.

"You didn't completely answer my question, would you have thought less of me?"

"…Yes, but there wouldn't be anything I could do about that. You…seem like the kind of person who wants to be left alone, probably because the last time you tried helping someone it backfired on you and you still haven't recovered." Akira elaborated still speaking in that monotone.

For just an instant Tae saw a crack in the boy's cold armor, a brief glimmer in his eyes. Ah, so that's it. Maybe we're not so different after all. "Let me guess, you're now going to say you had total confidence in me to do the right thing and treat that little girl, and not charge her father for it."

The smirk returned, "Would it be cliché if I said yes?"

"Nope, I was worried I was going to have to examine your head, but now I know you're just a fool. A regular, everyday fool who just so happened to walk into my clinic and offer himself to me." The doctor laughed to which she was joined by her high school patient.

"Guilty as charged, I'm afraid." Giving her a mock bow as best he could he attempted to stand up only to suffer a dizzy spell at the last second. Dammit, she wasn't kidding about making me put in some extra work. As Morgana had told them while they could bend some of the rules of reality in the Metaverse they had to remember that didn't hold true in the real world. Embarrassing as it was he sometimes forgot that, especially whenever he visited Tae. "You know you could do that again, treat the sick and needy around here. There's plenty of patients to keep you busy."

"Have you forgotten what I told you last month? I have to complete my special medicine, no matter what."

"True, but who says you can't have some fun along the way? Maybe help out a person or two on your where to your destination? It's not like it could hurt."

Sighing she got up and walked over to Akira. Placing a single finger on his forehead she guided him back down into the pillow. "Just lie there and be quiet, it'll be another ten minutes or so before you can walk down the street without falling flat on your face, not to mention babble on like a lunatic." For the second time that day she found herself returning his little grins.

"Whatever you say, Doctor Takemi."

As he slid back into another mini-nap Tae found herself moving the tips of her finger along his hair line. His skin was soft and smooth, as expected of someone his age. If she hadn't seen it for herself she would have found it hard to believe this boy had ever been forced to endure hardship of the mental kind she had or physical. Speaking of physical her brown eyes briefly wondered down to his chest and stomach. A few days he'd come in for clinical trials he'd walked with a slight limp he'd tried to disguise, and sometimes when he sat he subconsciously rubbed his gut as if he were in pain. Those signs weren't lost to Tae who silently took note of them in her mind and on paper. She was tempted to remove his blazer and pull up his shirt to see if her suspicions were on the money, but she knew that would be the wrong move to make.

The question was would it be wrong because it would be a breach of doctor-patient rules or because she was an adult and Akira was still a minor. If he wanted to he could call her out on sexual assault.

"I guess I'll just have to bid my time until then, my little guinea pig." The blue-haired woman whispered running one of her colored nails down the teenager's cheek. "I'll get my answer one way or another."

That evening in May it was when she realized against all odds she really was beginning to take a liking to the strange glass-wearing kid who'd walked into her life a month ago. Like some sort of fishing line he was dragging her back into a life she thought she'd left behind years ago, and she wasn't putting up much of a fight. She knew it wasn't because she loved the flattery he heaped upon her or being able to endure all of her whims and trials-it was because she made her feel like she was an actual doctor again. Some days it was more than that, he made her feel…special. That unique concern he seemed to show for her was more than likely the reason why she found herself taking a more personal interest when he came to her for medication. Almost two weeks after the short conversation they shared in front of the clinic he showed up at her door, looking in worst shape than she'd ever seen.

"I, uh, funny story about how I ended up like this." He managed through a pained chuckle while clinching his right arm.

"Just shut up and get inside." Was all she said ushering him in while scanning the surrounding area. One thing she both loved and hated about summer was the sun taking longer to go down, it meant people could stay out longer than usual. For her, a person who didn't like crowds, this made it somewhat stifling and annoying to get any work done or have some peace and quiet. "You're really an annoying kid, have I ever told you that?"

"You've brought it up once before, doesn't stop you from taking care of me though." Akira smiled.

"Which is making me question if I need to go see a doctor so I can have my head examined." The doctor jabbed back stepping forward to undue his clothing. "Hold still, the less you move around the less pain you'll be in."

"Here I though you liked seeing me in pain."

Their faces met in a silent exchange that left them deadlocked. Tae blinked once before finally chuckling which resulted in Akira doing the same only to stop when pain flared up his right arm.

"Only when I'm the one causing it, my little guinea pig." Lightly popping him on the noise a cute blush spread across his cheeks, the forth she'd ever seen on him. "Now lie done and let me take a look at you, I promise I won't leave you to suffer, that's my job." Tae couldn't say she was surprised when she undressed him to find a multitude of crisscrossing scars and bruises that told a very telling story about her mysterious assistant. Akira, what in God's name do you get up to when you're not here with me? She silently wondered as she tended to his many wounds. His right arm had indeed been dislocated, and relocating it had been something of a traumatizing experience for the both of them. She hated the sound he made when she pushed the bone back in the place and held the dark-haired teenager as he cradled the limb. To his credit Akira didn't cry, instead he held the pain in waiting for it to pass. There weren't any snide remarks to give nor could she find it in herself to make any up.

Having been practicing medicine for over a decade she recognized battle wounds and scars when she saw them. She'd seen enough when she was going through medical school examining old cases and operations, finding out what killed a person and what didn't, how they were saved and how they would be scared for life. Akira's body told her a story of a boy who regularly dealt with sharp blades and blunt objects, fire and lightning based on the burn scars, and from time to time even bullets from what she could tell. If she didn't know any better Tae would have said he was some modern day adventurer living a double life he did his best to keep secret from the rest of the world.

That's it! Her eyes widened as soon as the realization manifested in her mind.

"Ow."

"Hm? Oh, sorry about that, I got distracted for a minute." She covered.

"Like you said, I really must be a fool if I keep slipping up this much." It was a pathetic attempt at humor, but he needed something to distract from the pain he was going through. "Sorry about wasting your time like this."

Without her knowing her touch grew twice as soft, gentle like a feather, while running her hands over his back. Under her touch he shivered, not from the coldness of her fingers, but from the calming sensation she always seemed to incite within him. "I'd rather have you come here and have me examine you then find out you…died somewhere, like a in a back alley or your body's found floating in the sewer." Fear wasn't an emotion Tae was used to feeling, and even then she'd never felt it in quantities such as this. A back alley or a sewer…why could she picture hearing that's where Akira would end up? Lying a pool of his own blood dead from a gunshot wound, or a stabbing, or perhaps from being beaten to death? Those seemed just as likely to happen as him being caught and spending the rest of his life in a prison cell. Why did the very thought of any of those things happening make her heart tremble in near uncontrollable fear? "You should really be more careful, I may be a doctor, but I'm not a miracle worker contrary to what you might think or want others to believe."

Lowering his head the glass-wearing teenager smiled again, "Maybe, but if I ever get hurt I know I can always depend on you to be there for me."

Many of Tae's defenses came down resulting in her resting her hand in the younger man's shoulder. She felt him tense up then relax once he realized he held no desire to break the embrace. Her left hand which had been tending to his left side began gently rubbing it, running her fingertips over the various bandages she'd given him to treat the various wounds. Her right hand with to his forearm, near the elbow where she'd had to practically stitch closed a knife-like wound Akira could have potentially died from. "I would like it better if you stopped getting hurt, but we both know that's not going to happen any time soon." When he first showed up at her door she assumed he was just some junkie trying to use her to get his next fix, as it turned out she was…right, in a sense. She just never expected his addiction to be one she could sympathize with, even support. "From now on just promise me you'll be more careful, cute little guinea pigs like you are hard to replace." She finished placing a chaste kiss on his shoulders causing electricity to run up the length of his spine.

Outside the sun had almost completely gone down meaning he had to be on his way back home. For the most part he would be okay if he followed her advice and stayed out of trouble for a few days.

"Goodnight, Doctor Takemi." He said waving back to her as he disappeared into the night streets.

Bring out of sight he couldn't see the small smile that was beginning to form on the physician's face as he went on his way. She found it funny how no matter where he went he always seemed to brighten the mood of the people he was around, she'd heard as much from Sadayo, and listened to the rumors floating around town. Better yet, she'd experienced it herself. "You're quite the little light bringer, aren't you Akira?" Tae giggled turning her back to him as he disappeared from sight into another crowd of people.

"At the expense of pushing my luck, can I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you agreed to be my girlfriend?"

Propping herself up on one hands she stared down at him with a silky smile. Usually when most men saw it they went running for the hills or broke out in a cold sweat like a pig about to be butchered. Thankfully Akira did neither, only smile good naturedly at her while twisting his body around so they were face to face. With the sunlight shining through the blinds both of their sweaty faces were illuminated. His usually dark gray eyes cackled with an open joy and her calming brown shined with admiration.

"Maybe I just wanted a change up, I've dated plenty of guys, but never a high schooler who moonlights as a Phantom Thief stealing the hearts of others. Pretty hard to pass up." Her other hand went to his chest where her painted nails began drawing lazy circles atop his skin. "Or maybe because you're my little guinea pig thus I can't allow anyone to harm this precious body of yours since now belongs to me."

A hot blush burned his cheeks hearing those words. As much as he would have liked to say something witty she had him at a loss, she was the more…experienced one than he was in spite of all his boasting and quick-wit. Nervously scratching his cheek he tried to tear his eyes from her charming gaze only to find he couldn't do it. "I don't suppose you're going to impose some new restrictions on me since we're now dating."

"Tempting, but something tells me you'd find a way around them." Tae laughed moving her fingers to cup his cheek. For weeks she'd been wondering what would it feel like to touch his skin in a romantic manner, and she'd just spent the last hour doing that. Her daydreams hadn't been far off from the mark. "Besides, if you started being too careful you wouldn't be the same boy I've decided to go out on a limb for. Just promise me you'll be a little more careful from now on." She didn't mind that her voice came out more as a plea this time. If something did happen to Akira she'd never be able to forgive herself, if he showed up at her door and she wasn't able to save him it'd be the biggest failure of her life.

The teenager sat up casting a shadow over her. Gripping her hand he said, "Alright then, I promise I'll try to keep the broken bones to a minimum." Without any hesitation he brought their lips together. At first she'd had to take the lead when it came to kissing, but he'd picked up enough in the last hour or so for him to take the lead this time. Tae melted into his arms wrapping hers around his neck bringing their bodies closer together. "Since I've given my word can I rest assured I can stop by and find my favorite town doctor still healing the sick and treating the wounded?"

Burying her head under his chin she responded, "I promise, after all, I've got too much to consider relocating to some high and mighty upscale hospital when so many people need my help." Rather than see it she felt the joy inside of him through his body. Akira's body was always warm, as if he were constantly being heated by some internal flame that warmed not just him but everyone around him. Tae considered herself lucky that warmth would now be at her side as well as the duty of maintaining it now fell to her. For the first time in years she was actually somewhat excited to hold another person's life in her hands.

Akira chose to walk her back home as they got dressed. It was a cool summer evening that both of them took the time to enjoy. It could have been Tae's imagination but the sunset seemed brighter than usually.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this happy." Akira noted when they came upon the door of the clinic. She still had a few hours of work left and not eve he was able to convince her to take the day off. While some would have been disappointed for Akira it was proof she'd well and truly accepted her role as a town doctor that everyone could turn to.

"What can I say? I've got a lot to be happy about." She laughed before leading in to give him one last kiss. "See you tomorrow, Akira."

"See ya, would it be too much trouble if I came in for a physical examine?" He said before stepping away.

"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it." She teased.

Tae still wasn't sure what it was she'd gotten herself into, but someone like Akira only came into a person's life once in a lifetime if they were lucky. It may have been wrong, it may have been illegal, but Tae believed she'd long since crossed that line long ago. If she found a light shimmering in the black darkness she was going to take it, consequences and all.

Like anyone else Akira got nervousness, he was only human after all. The thing was, he hated being nervous, especially when he was in a tight situation. Said situations included being cornered by an enemy in the Metaverse, facing a dead end in a Palace, struggling with a tough question in class, or more recently, trying to keep his cool while attending a fireworks show with his girlfriend. In the confines of his head Arsene was laughing his ass off with Akira helpless to do a thing about it without looking like a fool in front of the woman he'd spent months growing attracted to. He tried to focus on something other than the beautiful woman who was walking side by side with him down towards the river bank. Great, I can run ten miles but just when I'm about five feet from the finish line I fumble and suddenly run out of steam, real great life story Kurusu. The teenager mentally heaved trying for the ninth time to grab Tae's hand.

A brief smirk manifested on the doctor's face as she swiftly moved her hand out of Akira's reach. Seeing he'd lost the boy chose to give up for the moment and act like nothing happened. Though she knew Akira held a wisdom that exceeded his physical years there were times he still showed himself to be a young child, easily flustered and sent running for the hills with his face beat red. Tae enjoyed reducing him to that state, call it a kink or call it sadism, whatever the hell it was she held no shame about it. Deep down she believed her boyfriend actually enjoyed it himself. There was a chance mirroring her he was a kinky person himself, it certainly added another layer to their relationship both of them enjoyed.

Speaking of enjoyment, this would probably go down as the best end to a summer she'd ever had. Cliché as it was she owed it not to expansive view of the Rainbow Bridge but to the person beside her, watching the countless pyrotechnic displays above her head.

"So, how was your first summer in Tokyo?" She innocently questioned.

"Exciting."

"Exciting? That's really the best you could can come up with?"

Rolling his eyes he elaborated, "It's hard to find words to describe what I've been through: becoming a Phantom Thief, stealing the hearts of Tokyo's worst, eluding Tokyo's finest, and getting one of the prettiest girls in all of Tokyo to become my girlfriend."

Lightly poking his cheek with a finger Tae laughed, "The Great Joker, such a modest thief." Even if she hadn't kept her voice low they were in a private area Akira had scouted out two days earlier for the two of them. "You need to be careful or else that overconfidence could get you in trouble one day. Remember our arrangement?"

The sky above them turned into a myriad of colors lighting up the Tokyo skyline. It was an impressive sight that had attracted quite a crowd on both sides of the bay. All of it made for the perfect cover for the doctor and the Phantom Thief to enjoy yet another date without fear of being caught by wondering eyes.

Akira had to admit, he was impressed. There had been firework shows in Meguro, but nothing on the scale like this. Then there was the Rainbow Bridge itself, I suppose that's one childhood dream I can scratch off the list. Stealing a glance at his girlfriend who was equally mesmerized by the multi-colored display. Using that window he looped his arm around her waist. Along with boyhood dream number two-kiss a beautiful girl. "I haven't forgotten, don't worry. Besides, why would I ever want to miss out on moments like this?"

Moments like this, Tae repeated leaning her head on his shoulder. Akira's body heat flowed into her making her feel as if she were back home in her parent's house sitting by the fire. "That's why I said yes, because of moments like this." As she expected her statement caught him off guard. First she inhaled knowing what she was about to say was about to take a pretty big step, one she'd never taken in any of her prior relationships. "You could probably tell without asking, but I'm not exactly the sunshine and rainbows type of girl. My…tastes tend to drive some people off, and no, I don't just mean fashion or media tastes. If that doesn't do it my brain does, you'd be amazed how many men have trouble dating a woman whose brain is three times bigger than theirs'; it tends to turn them off. After a while you tend to get used to relationships ending and the common reason being 'it's not you, it's me', or some other version of the same bullshit. It's made me a little numb really." She didn't expect him to respond, Akira was young, too young to be entirely versed in the ways of the world. He'd told her point-blank on their second date this was his first relationship and he was making it up as he went, a remark she found cute, but also somewhat hopeful.

"Are you thinking I'm going to be the same way?" His voice was low and flat, not angry or sadden, merely inquisitive.

"Honestly, no." His response was to her previous question was partially why she gave him such a straight answer. Instead of flying off the handle he maintained that adult-like calm and waited for her to finish speaking before making his judgements. Over the course of her life Tae hadn't been able to find that type of personality in any of her romantic relationships. "Even though you're a minor, a strange one at that, you always seemed…different to me. I don't know if it's because you're a Phantom Thief or not, but…when I'm around you I just feel as if you're like a one in a million. Akira, when I was blacklisted a good portion of the people I knew cut contact with me, even those that didn't maintained a respectable distance for the sake of their social standing. You could say I was caste into a cold dark pit, and after a while, I got used to living in the darkness. I met others there and they became my associates."

"I can sympathize with that feeling." Something in his voice had changed. Though he was looking up at the illuminated sky he was seeing something far different than hundred bursts of color and light. Slowly Tae's arm wrapped around his waist in a bid to comfort him, remind him that he wasn't staying in the darkness alone.

"I was prepared to live out the rest of my life in that darkness, never seeing the light again, but then something odd happened." Smiling she moved her free hand to his face to cup his cheek. Almost ironically a bigger than average firework went off coloring the side of his face bright shades of red and yellow. "I met someone, a light-bringer you could say, he not only reminded me what living in the light felt like, but he showed me I can make some light of my own. He stayed with me when I thought I was out of allies, he risked everything to help me when he could have just walked away at any time. No person I've ever been with has done that for me. Call me naïve, but that gave me hope that this someone could be different. Even if he's over ten years my junior, even if he's a wanted criminal, even if the whole world were to turn against him, I want to stay by his side because I know he'd do the same for me."

Bit by but smiles lit up their faces reflecting the joy racing through their respective hearts. Neither said a word as they leaned in finally tasting the other's lips. Akira's mouth was the first to open allowing Tae access, then she pulled back passing the baton onto him. Tae's right hand slid from his waist to his messy dark hair where her left hand was rummaging through his ebony dark locks; in return he wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Moving their heads a little they deepened the kiss under the multi-colored light show that painted their dark hair every color of the rainbow. As much as they didn't want to they eventually pulled apart allowing air back into their lungs. Akira's cheeks were bright red even without the fireworks just as Tae's lips were. For the both of them it was probably the most intense kiss they'd had, or in Tae's kiss one that hadn't led to sex.

"Thank you," Akira said looking genuinely happy.

"For what?" She questioned already half-knowing the answer.

"For…accepting me, for having faith in me."

"Well, trust is a two-way streak, you gave all your trust to me, so now I'm merely returning the favor." The older woman laughed settling her head in the crux of his neck. As always his heartbeat was going strong and fast, a constant melody she could always lose herself in. "Even if you're a minor, you've shown yourself to be someone I can always depend on."

Staying together in that blissful embrace was paradise for the both of them. Akira softly rocked his blue-haired lover back and forth in his arms while she listened to the melody-like rhythm of his heart.

"Would you object if I said we should do something to make this moment memorable?"

"Such as?"

Withdrawing she saw him holding up his smartphone. With a roll of her eyes she agreed and stood by his side as he angled the camera. Seconds before the ensuing flash Tae smiled, not forced a smile or faked a smile, but a true expression of happiness.

A few days later he got the picture back to her, she hung it up in her room at her apartment, a private place very few people had access to and would ever see. No matter what happens knew she could always look to that photo of the two of them illuminated by a rainbow for strength whenever she began to feel lost in the darkness again.

No matter how many years passed or what she went through Tae had never been what some would call an early riser. Nothing had been able to change that, not even marriage and parenthood.

That wasn't to say she didn't find ways to deal with rays of morning light poking through her curtains. She merely found something to cuddle while she tried to fight off the urge to wake and start the day. Briefly fluttering her brown eyes open she saw her black-haired husband sleeping on his back, their oldest spread out on top of his chest rising and falling with his father's breath. The familiar scene brought a smile to her sleepy face, despite the front he put up Kouichi was still a rather affectionate person, a trait she supposed he inherited from her. Reasoning if Kouichi was there then his younger brother mustn't have been far behind Tae raised her head a little feeling a weight slide off her body. Instinctive she caught it laying the three year-old back on the bed beside her.

"Mo…Mommy?" Through his somewhat darker blue locks Arata popped open his chestnut brown eyes. "Ca…sleepy."

"I know dear, go back to sleep, daddy and I think it's for the best we all just sleep in for the day. No harm in it." The veteran doctor told her child cradling him against her chest as she'd done every day since the day she gave birth to him. Arata gave a soft yawn before falling back asleep content in the arms of his mother and in the presence of his big brother and father. A soft hand reached over to gently stroke his sleeping form.

Looking up at her husband Tae giggled, "I don't think anyone will mind if I take half an hour or so getting to work. It's not like it'll cause the end of the world." Akira said, his gray eyes cackling with joy.

"Good to hear, oh, and good morning, my dear guinea pig." Tae smiled leaning over to plate a kiss on his cheek.

"And good morning to you, my beloved doctor." Being careful to move Kouichi as not to wake him he laid him side by side with his brother so both he and his wife could wrap their children up in their arms. Sharing one last smile between each other they shut their eyes and drifted back to sleep with the light of the morning sun slowly creeping up upon them and their children. In time they'd awake and start their day, but until then they'd simple enjoy the moment.

So yeah, on my second play through I romanced Tae, and I wasn't disappointed. Akira/Tae was one of my favorites because of how interesting the dynamics were. For starters Akira and Tae actually have a lot in common: both are good people saddled with bad reputations they can't control, both of them were made scapegoats, they have a playful sadistic sides (at least most people portray Akira as having one), and lastly both operate on the barely legal side in order to help people in need. For an added bonus the colors they're associated with fit rather well: Tae has blue and white while Akira's is red and black.

Most of this was told from Tae's point of view showing her opinion of Akira involving over time, much like how the other Confidants grow to appreciate him during their side stories. Throughout all of them Akira really did act as a "light-bringer" that in one way or another helped everyone out if only a little. Since there's so little I'm going to try to write a little more for this couple in addition to Joker/Kawakami.

Have a hopefully safe Friday the Thirteenth everyone!