AN: This story contains mention and depictions of violence and abuse. On a less serious note, it also contains headcanons and liberties with the source material that may conflict with things like manga and drama CDs, but makes for a more interesting fic.
This was maybe the worst part, Junpei figured. Walking through the lobby, up the staircase and down the halls of the apartment building. Until he was inside his father's home, he had no idea what would be waiting for him there. Some days, the old man would be relatively sober and in a good mood, and they'd have a visit that went something like what Junpei imagined a normal father-son relationship to be. Other times, he'd be passed out on the floor, still wasted from a bender the previous night.
Far too often he would be exactly as Junpei remembered and thought of him; a drunk, violent man.
No turning back now- Junpei knocked on the door. The sounds that came from inside sounded far too much like someone getting up off the floor with difficulty for his taste. When the door finally opened a minute or so later, the man standing in the entryway was haggard and slightly hunched over, dressed in a white dress shirt, tie absent, which had been unbuttoned down to the ribcage. He was very clearly hungover and hadn't shaved for several days.
"c'min." he grunted and wandered inside.
Junpei followed. "Hey, Dad..." he said, quietly, and had a look around. Bottles were strewn everywhere as usual, as well as old, dirty ramen bowls and fast food bags. There was a musty smell around the apartment, and there clearly hadn't been any cleaning done in quite a while. Junpei felt like he had gone from a badass shadow-killing warrior back to a powerless kid the second he crossed the threshold, and he felt sick to his stomach looking at the place he could hardly believe was his home before he moved to the dorm.
His father settled back into his chair as soon as Junpei was inside, not paying attention as his son opened a window and put the old box fan in. He made a few protests about wasting electricity as it was turned on, but seemed too sick to get up and turn it off himself. Junpei headed into the kitchen, intending to make some coffee.
The kitchen was just as filthy as the rest of the place, so he decided to clean up before starting the coffeemaker. Fortunately there was still some sink cleaner in the cabinet, meaning he could give the sink a good scrub before drawing the water. Cleaning was a skill the boy had to pick up after his mom left, as his dad wouldn't bother. He mused a little on the thought as he scrubbed. His dorm-mates wouldn't believe it, seeing what his room looked like, but that was different. Sure there was stuff all over the floor, but it wasn't like it was actually filthy- orderliness and organization wasn't as important to him as it was to others, that's all.
By the time he finished rinsing, his father was talking again. "Get me a beer from the fridge while yer in there."
Junpei sighed. "Dad, you're hungover. Water and coffee will be better for ya."
"I said now!" his father shouted.
The boy felt a shock go through his entire body at hearing his dad raise his voice. All his muscles tensed, his vision went blurry for a moment and he felt light-headed. "Comin', dad." He heard himself say.
She put off the actual task as much as she could- first she had to finish all of her paperwork for that day, and then clean her bedroom/office up a little as well. She brewed a pot of fresh tea and sat down. It was finally the moment when she had nothing else to do but reread Iori's file.
She thumbed through the pages, giving each one the lightest glance she could to avoid learning anything she didn't already know. She was looking for a particular topic; something told her that there might be answers in the section detailing his family. Upon finding it, she started from the beginning and read thoroughly.
She had been through this document before, of course, but that was before she even met Iori, and it was a while ago. She was making excuses to herself, she knew, but she honestly just hadn't committed this to memory. When she found the topic she sought, the information started to come back to her as she read.
Iori's mother had left his father when he would have been about nine or ten. No explanation was given on why she left, or why she didn't take Iori with her. But it could be inferred that the senior Mr. Iori had not taken the loss well, as he was fired from his job due to alcoholism not long after. A few more job losses were recorded after, making her wonder if he was even employed now.
Mitsuru felt a chill as she continued. Apparently Iori was caught explaining a few bruises to different teachers with conflicting stories, and they brought him to the guidance councilor and asked if his father hit him. He said no. He was lying, Mitsuru knew. Why, she didn't know.
She stood and paced back and forth in her room. She cursed herself for not following up on this the first time she read this report. Was she any better than those teachers that let the issue drop? She was far too immersed in expanding SEES and preparing for battle at that time, that she completely forgot to treat her dorm-mates as humans. Was she any better, for that matter, than her grandfather, who saw his underlings as pawns, sacrificing anything in pursuit of his goal?
Dark thoughts again. Maybe she should go to the doctor about this.
She shook her head as if clearing it, and put the reports away. She had to take these issues one at a time and the one she was working on now was Junpei's fearful attitude around her. She was forced to look again to the possibility that it had to do with her status as an authority. For a long time, his father was his main authority, and also a horrible abuser. But that was only a possible explanation, and jumping to conclusions could hurt him.
She needed advice. Someone better than her at... people. She got out her phone.
Minako sat alongside Yukari in silence. When her friend had dropped by her room about 5 minutes ago to tell her where Junpei had gone and that he'd probably be back soon, she had rushed down ahead of her right away, determined to make sure that when he got back from that bastard's home, her best bro would be greeted by her smiling face. She had only sat for about a minute before she decided that she needed cookies out too. Fortunately, she had just made a batch with Fuuka and threw a few onto a plate, bringing it out and putting it proudly on the table.
As she sat down again, she realized she had never seen Junpei coming back from visiting his dad before, and didn't know how he'd be feeling. She had never seen him do it before, but would he need to cry? Sure, he acted like he was a manly-man all the time, but she wasn't going to presume. She jumped up again to grab a box of tissues, but put it under the table so he wouldn't see.
Of course, while she was up she considered that maybe he would just like to chill with video games? Better hook up the console and fetch the controller from her room.
Yukari watched, somewhere between concerned and amused, as her fearless leader ran around the dorm, which was now looking less like they were waiting to meet their friend and more like they were throwing a party. "You don't have to do all that you know. He's just gonna want to go get food and sing karaoke." She told Minako once she had returned from making a fresh pot of tea.
The normally confident, now frazzled, Minako slumped back into the couch. "I... I just want to be ready to take care of him." She was feeling kind of sick all of the sudden.
Yukari put a hand on her best friend's arm. "It's fine, Mina-chan. I understand that you're worried and all, but he's not gonna come back a broken man or anything... These visits just stress him out. Give him a hug or something, and then we'll go out together."
They waited for a bit longer. He wasn't normally gone this long, and Yukari was starting to wonder if he was alright. She definitely wasn't about to tell Minako about that, given the girl's current state. Of course, it was just because she valued her friends so much. "You know," She started, to fill the silence. "I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but... Junpei and I have a kind of agreement. I told you about my mother, right?"
Minako nodded. Yukari and her mother were still on poor terms, but it was hard to tell just how bad it was between them, and she sure as hell wasn't going to just ask.
"Well, Junpei's the only other person I've told about that... He and I kinda grew up together. We've always fought and teased each other, but we've got an agreement to support each other when we need to deal with our parents. Even if we're in the middle of a huge fight, we've gotta drop it if we're dealing with our parents."
This went a long way towards explaining their relationship, Minako thought. They had each other's backs. No wonder they worked so well in combat together. "Wow Yukari-chan... You two are closer than I thought."
Yukari shrugged. "Back then... It was just the two of us. So we had to turn to each other for help. We didn't trust any adults or anything. But we could rely on each other, 'cause... We could both understand each other." She finished with a forced smile, but it didn't last. She turned to stare at the table again, guiltily.
"Okay, that's not really true. Our situations are really different. Just like with you, I projected onto him what I wanted. I've always been kinda desperate that way..." She sighed and placed her head in her hands.
Minako enveloped Yukari in a hug and pulled her against her body tightly. "Well Yukari-chan, I think what you did was a good thing. You both needed and still need help and I'm glad you reached out to each other." She finished with a peck on Yukari's cheek. She's such a tactile person, and all the second years had gotten used to Minako's hugs and kisses.
Yukari sniffed. "His situation's worse than mine. I shouldn't be complaining."
Minako gently tugged on Yukari's chin to get her to look her in her face, which had grown serious. "Don't say things like that. You're not competing with each other. Even if someone has it worse than you, that doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel bad, or talk about it, or seek help for it. He has his problems and you have yours, and neither one is less important than the other. Got it?"
Yukari couldn't help but smile. She didn't know why she'd ever expect anything other than love from Minako. "Okay, I got it."
As she finished answering, the door lock began to rattle, alerting them to Junpei's return. He strode in mid-tired sigh, with his jacket on despite the blazing heat outside.
Yukari stood to meet him, but Minako just vaulted the whole table from a standstill and jumped into his arms. "Whoa, hey Mina-tan! Happy to see ya too!" It seemed to cheer him up until she leaned against his arm and he winced. "Ooh, hey, careful. That spots kinda tender."
She backed off, confused. "Why is it... are you okay!?"
One look at her face was all Junpei needed to know that she already knew. Fear and sadness overshadowed by great anger directed at someone that wasn't him. He turned to Yukari. "...You told her, huh?"
Yukari shifted uncomfortably. "She already knew the important parts. Anyway, you're home, so take off that dumb jacket before you sweat through it. Let me see it."
Junpei obliged, dropping his discarded uniform coat on the floor, and rolled up his sleeve. Just below his shoulder was a purple splotch of a bruise. Yukari examined it closely, much calmer in this situation than Minako expected, as Junpei continued. "It doesn't really hurt bad or anything. I just let my guard down for a second and he got me with a beer bottle. Just gimme the clean bill of health and I'll be fine, doc." He grinned, happy just to be home, and away from there.
Minako was shaking. Shaking in rage. She wasn't sure why she expected that Junpei would be alright this time, but she had. She just figured that his dad wasn't like that anymore, or wouldn't physically be able to hurt Junpei, but from the way her friends were acting, this must be the way it is every month.
Minako was a violent person. She knew that was a problem, but it was just a part of her, and she accepted it. She liked fighting. And right now, she wanted nothing more than to beat the tar out of Iori senior. It must have really shown on her face, because as she stomped purposefully over to the front door, both Yukari and Junpei were yelling at her to stop.
She turned and glared, momentarily angry that they interrupted her wrath, but her face fell when she realized what she was doing. "I... I'm sorry, guys. That's... wrong."
They were on her right away, taking hold of her from each side. Yukari spoke first. "I understand you're angry, but... it's better that you just stay here with us, right now. Please?"
Junpei swept her up in another hug. "It's okay, Mina-tan... We're... uh, forgot that I'm all sweaty. Sorry."
Minako laughed into Junpei's chest. She pulled back, now stickier than she begun. "Okay. I'm really sorry you guys. D'ya wannna go do something fun together? After a shower, I mean?"
"Hell yeah, " Junpei answered. "We were gonna go to karaoke! Come with us!"
The change in mood was a welcome one and Minako felt her smile finally returning. "Of course! Just let me get changed!" She turned to race him up the stairs but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Actually, later tonight... can we go to Tartarus? Maybe?" He asked, a little hesitantly.
Behind him, Yukari shook her head, concerned. "Junpei, that's not healthy. Not at all."
He sighed. "I know, but..."
Minako got out her phone to text Mitsuru-Senpai, seeing that she already had a message from her asking to speak alone at her earliest convenience, about some SEES business. While she answered her she thought about Junpei wanting to go to Tartarus. She thought about discouraging him from taking out his emotions physically on shadows, but the sheer hypocrisy might just kill her.
AN: Well, I'm not totally happy with this chapter, but I think it's alright. If you have any comments or criticism, I would love to hear it, reviews give me life.
Much of this was fairly unpleasant to write. I feel a catharsis having done so, however.
I think the next chapter will be the last one. It's short for a multiparter, I know, but I'm not novelist. Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll come back to see the ending!