Hi there! I don't have any particularly special notes for this chapter. Thank you to the people who've left reviews and followed the story up until now, I really appreciate it! Especially one particular review from last chapter, which made me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt. Anyways, let's get going!
Aki Kurusu awoke with a jolt as the train's sharp turn brought her back to consciousness. Grimacing, she reached up to rub the back of her neck- sleeping on the train couldn't be good for someone's posture, especially not when she was bumping up against the metal making up the car's interior. Nobody else seemed to notice her rude awakening- everyone else was off in their own little world, the packed commuter car full of people keeping to themselves. Texting on their smartphones, reading books, simply sitting and looking at nothing in particular…
"Mental shutdowns? Ooooh, sounds scary!"
Or talking a little too loudly, apparently. Aki's gaze shifted to two other high school girls across from her. They weren't wearing the same school uniform she was, so they wouldn't be classmates- fine by her, seeing as how they apparently had no volume control whatsoever. Who'd want to be classmates with them? Hopefully they were an anomaly amongst high school girls in the city… The black haired girl had no clue how long she'd last if everyone at her new school was this loud and ignorant of the people around them.
"Yeah!" The taller one replied to her friend, both unaware of Aki's observation. "It's when people just shut down and do crazy stuff out of nowhere! They can't even remember it after! I read a rumour online that it's a curse!"
"You're waaaaay too into the occult!" Her friend laughed, sending both girls into giggles that were thankfully interrupted by the ding of the train. Looks like they'd arrived. Wasting no time, Aki picked up her bag, hurrying off the train. Just another face in a flood of people. It was so different from home… No, now wasn't the time to start missing her old life. Like it or not, Tokyo was going to be her home for the next year, and she'd better get used to this. The glasses-clad girl followed the signs pointing out of the station, leading her right into the famous Shibuya scramble crossing. It really did look identical to the movies, a concrete jungle with a sea of humanity going every which way. She was so caught up in the sight that she didn't remember to look down at the map on her phone until she was in the heat of it all, lost right in the middle of the human ocean. Startling back into reality, Aki quickly pulled her phone from her bag, pulling up the app to see if she was headed in the right direction.
She was, but something else caught her eye aside from the map. An icon in the middle of the screen, bright red with a strange black eyeball pattern in the center. Weird- maybe it was an ad? Still, it was obscuring her screen, so she went to slide and delete it, a pale finger reaching down to flick it away. But instead of moving, it simply grew as she touched it. Larger, larger… And with one vibration of the phone, Aki realized that the bustle of Shibuya had faded. Pausing, she looked up from her screen to examine something to her left and froze- not unlike the salaryman she now saw, completely still despite him being mid-step. The light breeze that was blowing back his tie had stopped, but the blue fabric was still hovering in the air. Unbelieving grey eyes darted to the person directly behind him. The middle school boy behind the salaryman was also still as a statue, caught mid-yawn while his equally frozen friend leant forward to catch a dropped notebook. The journal was stuck in the air, not falling as it should. Time had simply… stopped.
Unable to believe it, Aki slowly turned forwards to see something even more shocking than the impossibly still pedestrians- a giant blue flame erupting on the other side of the street. In the suddenly silent crossing, it was the only noise, fire crackling and whooshing as it rose into the sky. Too shocked to do anything else, the girl watched as a malicious face started to grow within the flame, licking upwards and slowly becoming more and more human…
Until it became hers.
Aki Kurusu stared back at a version of herself with a vicious smile, hair undone, glasses gone, and looking absolutely terrifying. Her blood ran cold.
And just like that, it was gone. She was torn from her shocked state by someone jostling her from behind, muttering at her to keep moving. Like it had never even changed, the crowd and noise of the big city had returned. The salaryman hummed a song under his breath, the middle school boy finished his yawn loudly, and Aki heard his friend's book smack onto the pavement. Everything was back to normal, and all she could do was hustle forwards, wondering what had just happened. A hallucination…? Had to be. Maybe she wasn't used to whatever lay in the air of the Tokyo train system, and it had given her a stress vision. Anything made more sense than it being real. No, she couldn't think about that. There had been too much happening in her life to try and divert energy towards a blue tower of fire with her face. It wasn't possible, she decided as she stuffed her phone into the pocket of her blazer.
Aki kept her head down, moving forwards.
Finding the cafe was a struggle. After entering Yongen-Jaya in the first place, Aki had nearly gotten lost amongst the twisted little streets (though the smaller feel of this particular area reminded her of home, which was a small comfort) trying to find the Sakura residence only to discover that the owner was probably at his cafe. Couldn't even bother to take a day off and meet the girl living with you?, she thought bitterly as she navigated the streets yet again before reminding herself that she should be grateful he'd even taken her in. Her parents had told her that before sending her off from their rural town this morning, stern faced and with a disappointment in their eyes that made Aki want to curl up in a ball and scream that it wasn't her fault. She must have looked frustrated as she pushed open the door to Cafe LeBlanc, because the man behind the counter gave her an inquisitive look in lieu of a greeting. After an awkward moment of silence, a realization dawned over the bearded man's face. "That uniform… Ah, you must be the kid. Didn't think they were sending a girl."
If he knew about that, this had to be him. "You're Sojiro Sakura?" Aki asked, pausing for a moment before realizing she needed to be polite, bowing quickly. "I'm Aki Kurusu. Please take care of me."
Looking her over again, Sojiro sighed, putting down the cup he was polishing and coming around to the other side of the counter. "Your stuff was shipped here already. It's upstairs in your room." Without saying anything else, the apron-clad man turned and walked upstairs, leaving Aki downstairs momentarily before she decided it would be in her best interests to follow him, chest-length low braids bouncing as she took the stairs two at a time to catch up. However, the sight at the top of the stairs quickly let her know that it was silly to try and rush to see this. The room was sizeable, but also an absolute mess- cobwebs, trash bags stuffed in a corner, books that hadn't been touched for god knows how long, and ancient dust that tickled her nose as she looked over the room. How long, exactly, had it been since Sojiro had last been up here?! The man didn't seem to share her concern, simply resting his hands on his hips as he looked over at her. "You'll be living here for the next year. Your probation will be lifted then as long as you don't cause any problems."
Unable to come up with much else to say, Aki simply spoke the only positive trait she could associate with this room. "It's… spacious." Sojiro shrugged in response.
"You weren't expecting five star accommodations, I hope. This isn't an all-expenses paid Tokyo vacation, country girl. You're on probation." The older man narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms. "I heard the story. You protected a woman getting harassed, the guy got injured, he sued, and your probation landed you here. You shouldn't stick your nose into adult business. You'll only cause trouble for everyone."
Aki let her eyes fall to the dusty floor. Heard it a million times already, geezer. "I understand." Saying her real thoughts on the matter wouldn't be such a good idea- she did just meet this guy, after all. Sojiro didn't respond, simply tilting his head to point in an opposite corner of the room.
"I left some cleaning supplies there. You have some free time before night, and I'd recommend you spend it tidying up." Sojiro looked around the cluttered room, seemingly just as aware as Aki was that it was a mess. "I'm taking you to Shujin Academy tomorrow to properly introduce ourselves to the staff. Your luggage arrived earlier, by the way. It's in that box." Motioning towards the cardboard case in the center of the room, the man had seemingly said his piece. Without so much as a goodbye, Sojiro turned and made his way down the stairs, leaving Aki alone in the quiet room. Looking around, the girl tried her best to see the good things about her new situation. Well… aside from being spacious, That window streaming in the light was quite pretty. It might be nice to spend a cool morning with a warm drink staring out it. And that desk would be good for studying once all the crap was off it. And she had a bed with blankets that looked cozy and only ever so slightly mothbitten…?
Forget it. This sucked, and no amount of positive thinking would cover that up. Sighing deeply, Aki went to the cardboard box in the center of the room that held what few things she'd decided to bring with her. Best to not let her school uniform get dirty. Trying not to think too hard about how Sojiro almost definitely had a key to the door downstairs and could walk in at any minute, Aki quickly changed into her old school's gym uniform, something she'd brought along specifically in case she needed to deal with something messy. Once that was done… Onto cleaning.
People from the countryside ought to be more knowledgeable of bugs than their city counterparts, right? And yet here Aki was, having found so many different types of spiders hiding around this room that she had never seen. How many species of eight-legged creeps were there?! Because she was almost certain she'd caught em' all just with this room cleanup. It was awful up here. At least the thorough scrubbing and dusting she'd given the area meant that she wouldn't be living in fear of them when she tried to fall asleep tonight- it was as tidy as it could be given the time she had.
Aki was so caught up in her cleaning (or her 'Spider Extracurricular Execution Squad' mission, as she'd mentally named it to make it less dull) that she barely noticed the creaking of old stairs as Sojiro made his way up. How long had it been since she started? A brief glance out the window showed a bright full moon streaming through the glass, so it had to have been a while. As the coffeeshop owner made it to the last step, he raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him. "Huh. I was wondering what all the noise was. So you actually were cleaning."
Opening her mouth to make a snarky comment about how it would have been too hard to fall asleep if she felt like she was snoozing in a pigsty, Aki quickly decided against that, jaw snapping shut again. Maybe she could get away with that stuff at home, but with her probation officer who clearly didn't want her around? Yeah, probably better to keep the sass toned down for now. The girl merely pursed her lips, staring silently at Sojiro who shrugged in response to her silence. "The place doesn't look too bad, but I guess it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy. Make sure you get some sleep. I'm taking you to school tomorrow so you can meet your principal. I don't want you showing up exhausted because you were up too late."
A goodnight may have been nice, Aki thought to herself as Sojiro turned and left just as quickly as he had arrived, door to her room making a clicking sound as he closed it. He clearly wanted nothing to do with her... Moving her cleaning supplies back into the corner (they'd have to find a more suitable home eventually, but she was tired), the girl moved to sit down on her bed, ignoring the light squeaking noise emitting from the bed frame and stretching her arms out as her mind started to wander. Living in Tokyo had been a dream of pretty much every kid like her who was raised in the sticks, but she hadn't wanted it to happen like this. Was everyone in the city going to treat her like some sort of criminal the way Sojiro had? If they did, Aki would make a promise to herself never to bemoan growing up rurally ever again.
Thinking about her hometown again… had anyone texted her? Lying down on her bed, deciding to just sleep in her gym uniform, Aki pulled her phone out from the pocket of her trackpants. And… nope, nothing. Not even from her parents. Looks like she really would be the only one to wish herself goodnight. It wasn't like she'd been close to her parents, but they weren't terrible people. She'd messed up bad if they were angry enough at her to not even check to see if she'd gotten to the city safely and if her caretaker was there. Sighing, the girl closed her messaging app and was prepared to turn off her phone when something caught her eye. That red and black icon from before was back, sitting on the screen like a newly downloaded app. It had just been some sort of annoying ad before, hadn't it? "... How'd you get here?" Aki mused to herself, brow furrowing at the program before sliding it into the trash one more time. If she had a virus, at least there were places in a big city like this that could help her get rid of it, but for now she needed to sleep. Leaning to the side a little to plug her smartphone into the wall, Aki returned to the bed, pulling up the blanket and staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts drifted to home once again, despite her best efforts to just go to sleep. That day… I had to go home late.
She'd been returning from cram school, the cloudy night ensuring the only light came from the windows of the houses and streetlights she'd passed as she walked through the residential areas. The darkness meant her other senses were heightened, which was what allowed her to hear that argument in the first place. Something about a car, it had seemed… Turning her head to look, Aki had seen a woman and man struggling with each other, the man had been attempting to force the panicking woman into a waiting car. It was off her route home, but something had compelled Aki to move in that direction regardless.
Their exact words had faded from her memory, but the woman had been in a panic, demanding that the man stop. The man was drunk, the smell obvious even from a short distance, and his rough manhandling of such a frightened person… this wasn't just some drunk idiot making a mistake. Something was intrinsically wrong with the man only several yards away from Aki. And just her luck, she'd been noticed by the man, dark eyes behind orange tinted glasses staring her down before he barked at her to get lost, trying again to force the woman into his car. Something in Aki's chest burned at the scene, and after a moment's hesitation…
… No. She would never get to sleep if she just replayed those events over and over again. She'd done it countless times since the incident, after all, and knew from experience she'd spend the whole night awake, attempting to hold back tears over how unfair the whole thing had been. Tomorrow was an important day, and she couldn't show up looking like a complete mess like she always did after those nights.
"Goodnight." She whispered to herself, remarking at how lonely that sounded. The quiet hum of the vibrant city outside her window and the gentle creaks of the house settling were her only companions as she slowly drifted into sleep.
When Aki awoke, she was not in her bed. Her body ached as she realized she was lying on a hard slab of some sort of metal. Shifting and adjusting her eyes to the dimmer lights, she noticed that the brown wood ceiling of LeBlanc's attic had vanished, now stone and a deep blue. Squinting, she slid off the bed, and only upon standing did she realize her attire had changed. A black and white prisoners uniform, a pair of chain cuffs around her hands, and one long manacle bound around her ankle. What was this…?
Her attention was pulled from her strange attire by a noise to her right. Head turning to see what it was, Aki's heart jumped as she realized she wasn't alone. Two little girls clad in peculiar warden uniforms stared back at her. Despite Aki's own shocked expression, the girls didn't seem to have any reaction to this strange situation as they looked her over, both wearing a single eyepatch. After a moment, Aki's curiosity became stronger than her fear, leading her to slowly step forwards (noting that the chain on her manacle was awfully long), placing her hands on the bars of the door keeping her and the little girls apart. "H-Hello…?"
The duo offered no response to her apprehensive greeting, instead stepping to the side in sync to reveal that there was yet another person in this room. Well, 'person' might not be overly honest- the suited man sitting at the desk in the center of the circle of cells didn't exactly seem human. While having mostly normal features, his bulging eyes and enormous protruding nose were indications that this was no normal man. His cheshire smile combined with his frightening appearance and the eerie music echoing throughout what looked like a circle of jail cells only caused another chill to run down Aki's spine.
It was one of the girls who spoke up first, the meaner looking one. "So you've come to, Inmate."
The quieter girl spoke, her voice a lot smoother and relaxed than the first. "The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream."
The mean girl cut back in. "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!"
Master…? Aki's eyes drifted to the center of the room where the peculiar old man sat, cheshire smile remaining even as he opened his mouth to speak, a deep and booming voice causing Aki to shrink into herself a bit. "Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well."
Aki felt a bead of frightened sweat fall down her forehead, and her breathing increased as she looked at the bars encasing her in the small cell. Igor seemed completely unbothered by her distress, continuing onwards. "I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."
The black-haired girl finally found her voice amidst the fear, her fright over the situation being funnelled into anger. How dare this thing and these girls…! After everything she'd been through, she…! "Let me out!" Aki abruptly pulled on the bars, speaking in a much louder tone than she'd intended. The mean looking girl responded by slamming her baton against the cell, electricity sparking through the bars and leading Aki to jump back in shock- no pun intended.
"Know your place, Inmate! Who do you think you're talking to?!" The girl shouted, clearly the angrier out of the two nearly identical girls. Igor simply chuckled.
"Those sparks of rebellion… I was not incorrect in calling you here. Still, this is a surprise." He briefly looked around the room, expression never faltering. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a prisoner of fate."
Tentatively, Aki approached the bars to hear the peculiar old man's words better, as what he said next caught her attention. "In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."
Had she heard that right? Certainly, he didn't really mean… "Ruin?"
"I speak of the end to everything," Igor confirmed her fears. "However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitated towards freedom… That is your only mean to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"
A question like that was nearly impossible to answer, especially taking into account the frightening situation and words she'd just been presented with. "... Wait, what?"
"You didn't decline, hm? Very well, that is enough." Igor seemed as if he had no real interest in answering her questions, and Aki was about to ask again until the little girls in front of her suddenly turned in sync to face her cell in a similar manner to the way they had when she'd woken up. "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."
Caroline spoke up first. "Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like."
Justine followed. "The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators… that is, if you remain obedient."
Igor chimed back in, and the two girls spun to face him. "I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning… it is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…" An alarm rang out abruptly, startling Aki away from the bars.
"Time's up," Caroline barked. "Now hurry up and go back to sleep."
Despite her lunge for the bars to ask something, anything to the people (though that was still up for debate) in front of her, Aki's world had faded to black in a heartbeat.
Waking up the next morning, Aki puzzled over what she'd just seen as she lay in bed, still staring up at the ceiling. Ruin… Rehabilitation… What a mysterious dream. It's not like she was one to frequently recall what she'd seen in the sleeping hours anyways, especially not with this much detail. But she was pretty sure she'd read online somewhere that big lifestyle changes could affect your dreams considerably, so maybe that's all this was. It was far too crazy to be anything else, she figured as she went to prepare herself for the day. It was Sunday, Aki mused to herself as she started to pull her hair back into her familiar braids. Normally that meant a day off, but she recalled Sojiro saying he'd be taking her to meet the principal today, and that meant uniform. It's not like Aki really had that much in the way of casual clothes, so that was fine by her. Getting changed into her Shujin uniform, she debated over customizing it or not. She got away with that at her old school, after all, so why not throw on a different blouse or a fun pair of sneakers?
… But she was on probation, wasn't she? Sojiro's words from last night hit her again. This isn't an all-expenses paid Tokyo vacation, country girl. She needed to follow the rules carefully. Even if it turns out other students could push the rules with their uniform, it wouldn't be wise for Aki to attempt the same. In the end, the uniform remained unmodified, a pair of black nylons and similarly coloured loafers being the only pieces of her own, and even then they were well within most school regulations. Sliding her glasses on and making her way downstairs (it felt weird to wear shoes indoors and not simply slide them on as she actually left the house, but she'd have to get used to it now that she was living in a cafe), Aki closed her attic door and entered the public space of LeBlanc where Sojiro was waiting for her, a newspaper in hand as he leant on the counter. Was he ever dressed fashionably for an old guy. Did all Tokyo men wear things like fedoras and white jackets?
"Glad to see you're up. Didn't wanna have to shake you awake," he said, dropping the paper on the counter behind him. "The school you'll be attending is in the Aoyama district. Normally you'd take the train, but I don't feel like dealing with those line transfers right now. Anyways, I'll be driving you today." Straightening up with a grunt, Sojiro headed for the door with the implicit understanding that Aki would follow, mumbling under his breath. "Sheesh… Girls that young aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat."
Scrunching her nose at such a peculiar comment, Aki once again decided against saying anything, simply ducking her head and following him out.
The streets of Tokyo were seriously a different level than what she'd seen at home. The silence on the drive over between her and Sojiro might have been awkward had it not been for how Aki's focus on the streets outside was so intense. Before she'd even processed much of what she'd seen, the car had pulled up to Shujin. It wasn't as big as she'd expected an all-girls academy in Tokyo to be- maybe manga weren't as truthful as she'd first thought- but it really did seem nice enough as she approached the gates with her new guardian, who made sure to stop her before she tripped over a step.
"Careful. Now, do me a favour and behave yourself, all right? Don't get me wrong, I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble." Aki must have looked more dejected than Sojiro had expected over his harsh comments, and his tone softened slightly. "Come on, let's go meet your principal."
By the time they'd made it to the office, Aki was over the hurt, settling into a slightly colder demeanour. What did she expect, after all? The guy didn't need to care about her- she was just some criminal to him, and apparently she was the same to the principal with the way he stared at her so harshly. Half his words barely processed- Principal Kobayakawa, got it. That's all she really needed to remember. Even so, she did catch the end of his spiel. "To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side. You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here. Shujin Academy is a prep school dedicated to nurturing the next generation of young women, and we don't need a delinquent sullying them."
Aki's eyes dropped to the carpeted floor as she nodded, the principal still continuing. "If you are thrown from our school, there will be nowhere else for you to go. Keep that in mind." Turning to the woman beside him, the principal nodded his head. "This is the teacher in charge of your class."
The teacher, a tired looking woman with mussed black hair and an outfit that was a bit too frumpy for a younger person like her looked up just as Aki did- looks like they were both already done with today and everything it had to offer. "I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." She spoke in a monotone voice, handing Aki the piece of plastic without any fanfare. "Be sure to read the school rules. If you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all." Her gaze fell to the overweight man beside her. "... That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"
The man nodded. "Correct. She is responsible for all her actions."
Crossing her arms, Kawakami's monotone voice broke into exhaustion for just a moment before she gathered herself. "But why me…? There should have been better candidates."
"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one with an opening." The principal responded.
Sojiro cut in, Aki mentally thanking him for allowing her to escape the presentation of the 'How Aki Kurusu Is Personally Responsible For Every Bad Thing That's Ever Happened' show unfolding in front of her. She'd had enough of those back at home. "Mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to."
Nodding again, the principal shot a final look of disapproval at Aki before looking at Sojiro. "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on her. Young women nowadays get up to so much more than they used to, and we cannot have anyone causing strife amongst our students. Don't let her cause any trouble outside."
Kawakami sighed, looking down again before directing her gaze to Aki. "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."
And with a few pleasantries, the meeting was over, Aki quietly following Sojiro into the halls. Once they were safely out of hearing range for the principal's office, the coffeeshop owner started to speak, rubbing the back of his head. "They're treating you like some sort of nuisance… Your past really does follow you wherever you go." Despite his sympathetic tone, he looked dead serious as he turned to face the glasses-wearing student. "I'm not going to watch your every move- you're sixteen, not six. But if you get expelled, I'm not going to hesitate in kicking you out. Got it."
"Got it." Aki replied, a dreary tone having settled over her voice. This really wasn't a good day at all, and the dream from last night felt as though it had somehow left her tired, contributing to her bad mood. Sojiro sighed, fishing through his pocket for his car keys.
"School never changes, hm? Guess you having a boyfriend won't be a concern here. Bet that's partially the reason the courts were happy about your transfer to an all-girls school. Anyways, we're going home." Once again, the man headed off without waiting for her, leaving Aki to catch up.
While Sojiro and Aki departed, Sadayo Kawakami was walking from one end of the building to the other, fully intent on gathering her things and heading home. Like her looks and attitude in the office had suggested, she was exhausted. But she was stopped midway through her journey by another teacher, a tall man in a white jersey. It seemed he knew exactly what was going on judging by his small smile and words. "What a troublesome situation."
Kawakami sighed, putting her hand on her hip. "I can't believe they pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher would be better suited for dealing with someone like her."
"Why in the world was a girl like her admitted to such an upstanding school?" The man looked just as bothered by it as Kawakami. "I hope she won't be causing the other girls any trouble."
"Who knows?" Kawakami shrugged. "The principal made that decision. Apparently it's for the school's reputation."
"I would have thought my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that. Be careful, okay?" The dark-haired man said with a grin. Kawakami returned the smile, although her eyes hinted that perhaps she wasn't as convinced as he was.
"That's certainly true. I'll be mindful, but I kind of hope that she just won't come to school. Still, that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher…" Humming to herself, the female teacher looked back over at the man, who was stretching his arms a bit.
"Well, I should be returning to practice. The tournament is coming up- having high expectations put on you by others is a problem in itself. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team, too." His smile grew a bit, clearly passionate over the team and indicate that he wasn't quite as bothered by such a 'problem' as his words might suggest. Everything about him indicated that he was cocky- not like Kawakami needed any more confirmation on that. Working with the man had taught her enough about him.
With a few nods of goodbye, the male teacher walked off, leaving Kawakami alone under the awning. Sighing, the woman put her hand on her hip once again, inhaling deeply. "Why'd it have to be my class…?"
Traffic was stalled. Aki sat quietly in the front seat, doing her best not to irritate Sojiro any further- the man was clearly already pissed at the terrible driving conditions, and the last thing she wanted was to tick him off more and spend the journey back to LeBlanc stewing in the tense air. The coffeeshop owner had no such qualms about speaking, however. "Traffic's not moving at all!" He spoke with an irritated growl. "You're taking the train starting tomorrow."
Aki had expected as much anyways. It looked like the brief outburst had calmed Sojiro slightly, as he looked a bit more aware of the fact that there was someone else here to hear his road rage and did his best to calm his voice a bit. "... So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"
"I guess we'll see." Aki replied, not taking her eyes off the bumper in front of her. Her foul mood since meeting Principal Kobayakawa and Kawakami hadn't yet dispersed, and she wasn't exactly in much of a chatty mood. Sojiro sighed, tapping his fingernails against the leather cover on the steering wheel.
"Listen up. Don't even think of doing anything stupid. You were expelled once already, and Shujin is strict. Nobody is going to give you any sympathy there." He paused, seemingly thinking about something. "It's not good for me as a business owner to have brought you in, so you're lucky. If you do anything that ends up hurting my restaurant's reputation, you're out on the street, got it?"
Aki nodded silently throughout the lecture, but… something was burning in her mind. It was a question she'd wanted to ask much earlier, but it wasn't exactly something she'd been in any position to ask. "Sakura-san, why did you take me in?"
"I was asked to do it, and I just… happened to agree with it." Sojiro grumbled. "I don't know why nobody thought to mention you were a girl. Guess there weren't any women around willing to take care of someone with a record. I've already been paid for this, so I guess you won't be switched."
The radio interrupted the conversation as it faded from inoffensive pop music into news spoken just a bit too loud. "Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetime all across the-
Reaching out, Sojiro turned down the volume. "Another accident? Guess that's why the road's been so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately."
Had there been? Aki didn't know- she hadn't been in Tokyo long enough. There really wasn't much to say to that. Turning her head to the left, she let her mind drift off staring at the unmoving traffic.
Leaving her director's office, a certain grey haired woman made her way to the main stairwell of the SIU building. Sae Niijima may have been exhausted, but there were people she had to see and things she had to do. Missing work or taking a break wasn't an option right now, especially not after that massive subway accident. Besides, someone was waiting for her.
Sae turned the corner on the stairwell, catching the eye of a young girl. Brown hair cut in a fluffy bob, slightly shaggy bangs, and a high school uniform, the girl looked terribly out of place if you only took her appearance into consideration. As her head raised up from her cellphone, though, the polite smile and ever-inquisitive eyes that made their way over to Sae projected a calm, mature aura. Young as she may have looked with her black and white uniform bow and black knee socks, this girl had a place in this adult world. Gloved hands tucking her phone into her blazer pocket, the girl smiled up at Sae. "Did you call for me? Is it a case?"
"Not quite." Despite her response, Sae simply kept walking, not stopping by the girl as she passed her on the stairwell. "I want your opinion on something."
Unbothered by the woman continuing to move, the brown haired girl turned to follow her. "Sure. Your judgement is most often correct, though." As Sae paused before walking the last few steps, the brunette caught up to her, looking up at the much taller woman. "Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You are making a student work late, after all."
… Her assistant really was still a high schooler, if her desires to both save money and acquire tasty food were anything to go off. Sae continued down the stairs, used to the mix of adult-like politeness and childlike whims that came from the girl. "Conveyor belt only." With a pout, the brunette gave up on her quest, holding her grey briefcase with both hands as she followed the older woman.
By the time traffic cleared up, allowing Aki and Sojiro access into Yongen-Jaya, it was the early evening. The older man sighed as he unlocked the cafe, the teenager dutifully following him in. She was ready to return to her temporary home as soon as possible after today.
"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic… what a waste of time. I wasn't even able to open the cafe today." Sojiro stuck one hand in his pocket, looking the place over. For a moment, Aki felt as if she should apologize, but… it hadn't really been her fault. Truthfully, she was just tired of being made to feel guilty over things she wasn't responsible for after today's meeting. She simply remained quiet. The coffeehouse owner didn't seem like he really needed a response, and just kept talking. "Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give you."
Now that was something she could do. Turning and hurrying up the stairs (noting each creak and ache from the wood), Aki dropped her bag on the counter going across the railing. As she did, Sojiro followed her up, putting a small leatherbound journal of sorts on the same counter. "This is your probation diary. Make sure you write in it. I'm obligated to report in on you, and like I said before, you're sixteen. I'm not going to hold your hand and make sure you're behaving, so I want you to record your own daily activities."
As Aki stared down at the small journal, the beeping of a phone interrupted the conversation (?) she and her guardian were having. It wasn't her ringtone. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Sojiro held it to his ear. "Hey, what's up?"
If that casual greeting was anything to go by, he recognized whoever that number was. "... I'm about to leave. I'll be there in no time… Uh huh. See you soon." Hanging up, he turned back to Aki, going from the kinder tone he'd had on the phone to the gruff voice he took with her. "I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Don't touch anything in the store. Make sure you get some sleep, you have school tomorrow."
Speaking as if he was prattling off a list (and maybe he actually was, given as those seemed to be simple rules and regulations), Sojiro took off with a small wave in Aki's direction. Again, no goodnight… But it was a bit stupid to hope for one, anyways. The guy clearly didn't care about her past keeping her alive and out of trouble, and as Aki's bitterness reminded her, he was under absolutely no obligation to. She was some punk kid who showed up in his life with a criminal record in tow. Who'd care about someone like that?
… Even so, she needed to just be thankful that she had a school to go to and a roof over her head. Speaking of school, she really did need to get some sleep so she'd be ready for her first day- as ready as she could be, anyways. If the treatment she'd be getting was anything like today… Ugh. Aki pushed the thoughts out of her head, going to get changed into her pajamas. Changing and undoing her braids, she was about to slide her glasses off until she remembered that probation diary. Eh, it could wait. Not like she had anything to write in it. Dear diary, today I learned I'm basically the devil because I didn't want to see some creep force himself on a woman. Yeah, that wouldn't go too well. Taking off her glasses, she laid down on her bed, reaching for her phone from where she'd dropped it atop the box next to her bed. She needed to take the train tomorrow, so maybe it was worth looking at the transfer schedule.
Opening it up, she was about to go to her map before something caught her eye again- that damn app. She'd deleted it, hadn't she? Twice, actually! And yet it had returned to haunt her home screen again. Third time's the charm, she thought as she deleted it once again. And of course, a quick scan of the screen showed that nobody had texted her. Great. Her parents definitely hadn't forgiven her for the way she'd 'sullied the family name' with her new record, and Aki was getting the silent treatment as punishment. Forget the map, she was just ready to go to bed and pretend today never happened.
Dropping her phone on the box again, Aki pulled up the blankets, closing her eyes and allowing the still-unfamiliar noises of the city to lull her to sleep.
There were no visits from the long-nosed man and the weird girls in her dreams, Aki mused in the middle of getting changed. Logically, it made sense- after all, not all dreams are reoccurring, and she wasn't once to get them, anyways. But it was so strange that a part of her had almost expected it to come again. But she was awfully glad it hadn't, given how she'd felt improperly rested the morning after. And, she thought as she braided her hair, she'd need all the energy she had to survive today. Packing everything up, she slipped on her shoes (still weird) and left her room, bag slung over her shoulder. The cafe was open, judging by the way Sojiro was standing at the counter. Bowing politely and mumbling her morning greetings, she was prepared to leave promptly until he called her name.
"Hey, Kurusu. Come here, I'll feed you." He motioned at what seemed to be a plate of curry in front of him- Aki hadn't noticed at first. "Make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in."
"... Breakfast curry?" Aki couldn't stop herself from asking the obvious. It looked and smelt delicious, but still- breakfast curry! Curry! For breakfast! A breakfast of curry! Five hops this time.
"What? Just eat it." Sojiro cocked an eyebrow at her. It wasn't like she'd be getting any other breakfast, and both of them knew it. Pausing, Aki thanked him quietly before sitting down and starting to eat. Any food served at a restaurant had to be at least somewhat tasty, she knew that, but this…! This was delicious! Spicy and flavourful, Aki zoned out completely as she chowed down. On top of everything, it was a sizeable portion. Was this a portal to the Curry Dimension? She hadn't even realized she'd finished until she noticed Sojiro taking her empty plate away. "Alright, time for you to get going. Don't want to be late on your first day."
Maybe she had been feeling crappy yesterday, but any animosity towards Sojiro had gone out the window with that meal. "Thank you! It was delicious!" Perhaps Aki sounded a bit too perky, but the happiness of having an actual breakfast plus the pleasant surprise that came from Sojiro doing something nice for her had improved her mood drastically. Maybe he felt bad for her after yesterday? His intentions didn't really matter, she supposed. Point is, she was doing a lot better than she was yesterday, and that was good no matter what.
"Thanks. Hurry over to school, and don't get lost." Sojiro didn't seem overly affected by her newfound perkiness, moving to drop the dishes in the sink. Nodding again in thanks, Aki turned, prepared to head out to the station.
The perkiness had been absolutely demolished on that trip. First she'd gotten lost leaving Yongen, and had to ask for directions again and again. Then she'd nearly missed her train, getting packed into the tiny car like a sardine. At least last time she'd had a seat, but now she was standing right in the thick of it. Being a bit taller than most of her female peers at five foot four, Aki was nonetheless very small amidst all the adult businessmen in the same car as her. The whole trip had felt suffocating. Then there was the detour to get to the Ginza line, again leading her to almost miss the train and receive the sequel nobody asked for, Tokyo Transit Sucks Two: Electric Boogaloo, as she was jostled into the crowded car. And to top it all off, as she finally got off the train, it had started to rain. And she didn't have an umbrella.
As she made it outside of the station, Aki was quick to hurry under the nearest awning to regain her composure and figure out a way to get to school without getting too wet. Pulling out her phone to check the time and see if it was worth just booking it to school to make it, something caught her eye. That damn app was back. Before Aki could slide to delete it, though, it only grew bigger until it was suddenly taking up almost the entire screen. What kind of virus had she fallen upon? Aki stared in frustrated befuddlement down at the screen until someone else who'd apparently also forgotten an umbrella hurried under the awning next to her. A quick scan of the girl beside her showed that, despite her bright red tights and non-uniform hoodie, she was definitely a Shujin student. The girl pulled down her hood, revealing puffy blonde pigtails that fell down around her shoulders and one of the prettiest faces Aki had ever seen. Big blue eyes and perfect skin… this girl looked like she could be a model. And was she fully Japanese? She didn't quite look the part.
Aki hadn't even realized she'd been staring for so long until the girl turned to look at her. The black haired girl jolted slightly as she realized what she'd been doing, but the blonde just gave a polite smile, clearly pretty used to stares, before turning back to face the street. Aki froze for a moment, trying to muster up an apology before a car pulling up in front of them distracted both girls. The window rolled down, revealing a man in a blue tracksuit driving it. Leaning out, he smiled at the blonde girl. "Good morning! Want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."
Though she couldn't place it, Aki was hit with the feeling that this guy was… gross. He hadn't done anything yet, no, but there was some sort of wave that hit her that told her this was not the type of guy a girl should ever get in a car with. Despite that, the blonde seemed to find this normal. "Ah, sure. Thank you." Leaving the awning, she hurried over to the car, opening the door and sitting down in the passenger seat. What was she doing?! She… She knew that guy, right? It was basic knowledge not to get in a car with strangers, and people in Tokyo had to know that doubly so. Yes, she had to know him. The man looked out the window again, making eye contact with Aki. "You need a lift too?" Moderately startled by him acknowledging that she existed, Aki quickly shook her head, smiling awkwardly. Even if that blonde knew the man, she definitely didn't. Still, for people who knew each other… the girl didn't look too happy as the window rolled up and the car pulled away, splashing water onto the sidewalk.
Speaking of which, the sound of someone splashing through puddles violently suddenly entered Aki's ears. The source of the noise made itself pretty clear right away- another girl was running after the car, though she stopped right in front of Aki's awning, frustratedly stomping her foot as she realized she'd never catch it. This girl was another Shujin student, although she wore some sort of graphic print shirt under her jacket in lieu of the turtleneck. Who knew uniform was so lax? She was wearing the skirt, but the suspenders were hanging loosely off to the sides, framing toned legs and white calf-high socks with a red around the top. Her white canvas shoes looked absolutely drenched, and they were only getting wetter as she stomped one last time in the puddle. "Screw that pervy teacher!"
Despite this girl giving off the air of a total delinquent, Aki's curiosity won out over the desire to just ignore this girl. "... Pervy teacher?" With her own statement, something was taking place on her phone, but she didn't see it. The girl turned around, looking her over in confusion. Like the one who'd just gotten into the car, this girl was a blonde. Unlike the first, though, her hair was pretty obviously bleached. Aside from how her chin length hair looked just a little too abused by bleach, the messy nature of the cut suggested she hadn't exactly brought the best product for it. Despite it mostly being left down, a small section of hair was pulled up on the left side of the girl's head, the small, puffy ponytail being topped off with a black scrunchie. The girl moved naturally into a hunched stance as she took a few steps towards Aki, and the black haired student got a few glimpses at what looked like a cartilage piercing in one ear amidst the hair. Brown eyes stared her down, sizing her up before she finally spoke.
"... What do you want?"
Yay, it's here! I'm so excited to really get into the meat of this story! Now we've officially met Ann and Ryuji, as well as had a glimpse at a certain Detective Princess…? Anyways! Notes!
- I based Ryuji's look partially on his original appearance, but I tried to take into account how being a girl changes the style game. He's not really the type to have ever struck me as being into fashion or makeup, so I didn't go the full gyaru route, but given how his style is meant to come off as rebellious and 'bad', I did add a couple hints of kogyaru fashion- namely the little ponytail and cartilage piercing. I tried to keep it faithful to his original design while also ensuring our female Ryuji is a bit different from her male counterpart when you consider how gender changes these things (especially with the way I elected to change her story here).
- Akechi, on the other hand, has the image of a smart, morally upstanding, handsome guy. So I just made him into a smart, morally upstanding, pretty girl. The fact that he doesn't modify his uniform helped so much when I was figuring out what he should look like, haha.
- The Velvet Room scenes stay… pretty identical to the game. I can't write Igor or the twins better than Atlus, and the character's gender changes nothing about what happens in there, so the dialogue is essentially identical. You can probably skip all Velvet Room scenes I write if you want tbh, they're essentially novelizations of what happens in game. I just need to keep them because the Velvet Room is such a vital part in the protagonist's journey, so I wrote them in anyways
- Canon Akira is 5'9, making him about two inches taller than the average Japanese male teen. So I decided to make Aki 5'4, ensuring she's two inches taller than the average Japanese female teen. Add 'average height of Japanese teenage girl' to the list of random things I end up researching while writing.
And that's about all I have to say! Expect things to start deviating from the canon story more than usual starting next chapter. Don't worry, it'll basically progress exactly the same, just with some big altered details- after all, now that Kamoshida is here, the genders of the characters are gonna have some large impact on what happens. Please leave a review if you liked it, have any critique, or want to tell me that you'd wish I'd never been born! (I wish the same thing, the last reviewer isn't special) See you guys soon!