First time writing Sojiro's viewpoint. Hope I did him justice ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
It was amazing just how much his life had changed since Akira walked into Leblanc.
He'd thought he'd have to wrangle some punk delinquent every morning just to go to school, argue about grades and homework, clean up every mess…
But the kid had been one of the biggest blessings he'd ever received.
Leblanc had never been so clean. The finances had never been so perfect. He'd even had Futaba brought out of her depression…
He really had nothing to complain about…other than the kid being a phantom thief and planning the dangerous game he did. But with the good he was doing… It was hard to find fault with it. Plus, the methods they used were untraceable, so the chances of the police figuring them out were slim to none unless Akechi pulled something.
The old man just smiled and let the thoughts fall to the wayside as he watched Akira work on his budgeting. It was the same routine every Thursday night at seven unless something came up with the Phantom Thieves. Akira was so predictable that he could've set his watch to the kid's schedule.
But something seemed…off tonight.
Akira hunched over a little more than normal, gripped his hair a bit tighter, hesitated over the numbers where he usually moved with fluid confidence. He could even see the kids eyes screwed up in concentration when his eyes were usually hidden behind the opaque glare he seemed to be able to summon at will.
"…What's the matter?" Akira nearly jumped out of his seat and hugged the notebook to his chest, breathing screwing up for a moment. That…was really out of character. Sure, he had anxiety due to the incredibly poor treatment he'd suffered, but for him to spook like that…
Sojiro reached over and put his hand on his shoulder, offering a gentle smile. "It's okay, Akira; it's just me." The boy nodded and let out a breath, forcing himself calm. Even so, he could see the tension in his muscles and Sojiro withdrew his hand, fetching a glass of water. That got a grateful look and Sojiro left the counter, flipping the sign to closed. It was dead that night anyway and there was only an hour till normal close anyway.
The talk he wanted to have was more important than any amount of money he could ever get.
Thankfully, the short pause seemed to have calmed Akira down considerably. Much of the tension had left his body and the frenzied, wild look in his eyes had been replaced with pure anxiety. His breaths still came shorter than they should have, but it was better than just a moment ago.
Sojiro settled in next to him, keeping a gentle smile on his face. No need to stress him further. "Would you be willing to talk to me?" Akira usually came to him of his own free will and he barely ever pushed him, but he was aware how much he tried to take care of everything on his own. Thankfully, the other Phantom Thieves and Yuuki made him rely on them to a large degree, but old habits were still dying hard.
Akira looked away and laid the notebook on the counter, remaining stony and silent as ever. Sojiro glanced down it and raised an eyebrow. It was written in English, no doubt in order to keep its contents secret from prying eyes but… He'd worked for the government. He knew more than his fair share of the language.
The teem snapped it away, but it was too late. The lack of color in his face betrayed even he knew that.
"Akira." Sojiro kept his voice gentle and ruffled his hair as he took the notebook. Akira relinquished it reluctantly, but there was no point in hiding it any longer.
He looked at it fully and shook his head.
Mortgage, insurance, taxes, groceries, alcohol, and so much more…
This wasn't for the Phantom Thieves; this was for his parents.
Sojiro had known the kid's parents were shitty with how easily they'd forced Akira on him, but he hadn't expected this level of complete incompetence. And from the looks of it…
"How long?" He kept his tone low and gentle, but Akira still looked away.
"…Since I was about five."
Sojiro wanted to snap the counter in half, but settled for curling his hand into a fist.
That explained the large box of weathered notebooks that had arrived at Leblanc before Akira.
But he let out a breath and forced himself calm, offering another soft smile despite the rage boiling in his blood. "…Akira, you should let them go under." If the fact there was a field for alcohol was any indication on top of everything else…
Akira's head snapped up and he stared at Sojiro like a kicked puppy. "But—!" A raised hand silenced him.
"…Kid, what's your story?" He hadn't tried to pry into Akira's past too much before this since he was so secretive and quiet. The dispirited look on his face when he'd walked through the door had reminded him all too much of when Futaba had arrived. He hadn't wanted to push where he didn't belong. But now, it was important.
Akira bowed his head and closed his eyes, the lenses on his glasses opaque. "There's really not much to say, Sojiro. You already know I'm transgender. My parents were neglectful as hell. My mother's an alcoholic to the point of being passed out all the time. My father was around so rarely that he might as well not've been there. Ever since I was about five, I've had to handle my entire household." He paused, obviously not wanting to say thebit. Fair enough, considering the place was bugged (he'd actually been the one to put them up so Futaba would know when he was in) but…
"Futaba's not listening. I asked her to leave us alone tonight. Everything said here stays between us." Sojiro smiled at Akira who gave a small nod.
"…The only reason my parents kept me around was because I was useful. They hated what I am because it's so expensive and reprehensible…" He wiped his eyes and it took every bit of self-control Sojiro had to not pound on the counter. But he didn't and just rested a hand on his shoulder."
"Then they're short-sighted, ignorant assholes that deserve to burn." He couldn't hold back the anger entirely entirely. He just couldn't believe this.
"…The reason I'm so upset tonight is because they officially disowned me. I have nowhere to go after my probation ends…" Akira buried his face in his arms on the counter and Sojiro pulled him into a hug. The boy buried his face in his chest, entire body shaking as he sobbed. How could anybody be so awful to their own child?
"Yes, you do. I'm here for you, Akira; you'll never be alone from now on. You're one of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever met, so you're always welcome under my roof," Sojiro murmured, rubbing his back. He hesitated for a moment before pushing onto what he wanted to talk about. Odd how well things had fallen into place tonight…
"…What do you think about the name Sakura Akira?" He looked up through bleary eyes and stared for a long moment before nodding and burying his face back in his chest.
"Everything will be all right from now on, son."