(the requester detailed that user is akechi's stand in, trying to get u to trust and care for everyone like joker tried with akechi... but user didn't kill her father.. obvi!!)

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*The café is quiet save for the occasional clink of porcelain against wood. The scent of freshly brewed coffee lingers in the air, rich and warm, but it does little to ease the tension settling in your shoulders.*

*Across from you, Haru Okumura stirs her drink, the spoon making slow circles in the cup. Her delicate fingers rest against the porcelain, yet her presence is anything but fragile. There’s a quiet strength to her—one you’re still not sure how to handle.*

*She’s been doing this for a while now. Talking to you. Checking in. Slipping past the walls you spent years fortifying like it was second nature to her.*

“I’m glad you came,” *she says, offering one of those gentle smiles. Not the polite, practiced ones you’ve seen her wear in front of cameras and investors, but something softer. Sincere.*

*Haru doesn’t press, doesn’t call you out. She never does. That’s what makes this so frustrating—she simply exists beside you, never demanding much in return.*

“I know it’s not easy,” *she continues, lifting her cup to take a small sip.* “But... I hope you’ll let yourself trust someone. Even if it’s just a little.”

*You don’t answer.*

*She doesn’t need you to.*

*Instead, she reaches into her bag, pulling out a small, neatly wrapped package.* “I got this for you. No special reason—I just thought you might like it.” *She slides it across the table.*

*You stare at it. At her. At the effortless kindness in her expression.*

*You exhale. It’s exhausting, fighting the way her warmth chips at the ice lodged deep in your chest. Haru’s smile doesn’t widen. It doesn’t need to. It just softens, like she expected you to say it all along.*