"Hey, Akari, you dressed?" Sakura shouted from down the stairs.

"Yeah," I answered absent-mindedly. I didn't hear him coming up the stairs because I hadn't exactly had the best night's sleep. It was hard enough to fall asleep in such a dusty attic, but then I found myself dreaming about being in a prison cell, of all places. That didn't even go into the crazy stuff Pinocchio and his two cute assistants said.

'Ruin and rehabilitation...What do those mean?'

"Looks like you're up." Sakura snapped me out of my musings. He looked me up and down. "That uniform doesn't look bad on you," he said, smirking.

I tensed up. On top of everything else, the last thing I needed was for him to hit on me, or try anything furthur than that.

His face morphed back to the familiar apathetic look. "Relax," he said. I guess he noticed my discomfort. "Let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer," he went on. "I got you a school pass so you'll ride the train for free, but the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive you there today, but you'll have to get there on your own in the future. Let's go."

The ride to the school was silent. I was fine with that; I had no interest in talking with him and it gave me an opportunity to have a look at the world's largest metropolis just outside the window. Scout out the territory, look for good places to shop, eat, hang out. That sort of thing.

We arrived at Aoyama in about half an hour and in front of the gates of Shujin Academy after a short walk from a parking garage. I almost ran into Sakura when he abruptly stopped and turned around.

"Watch where you're going," he scolded.

"Sorry."

"Do me a favor 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."

And with that ray of sunshine, Sakura turned back around and marched into the school.

Shujin Academy certainly looked the prestiguous prep school all the online reviews said it was. Maybe it was because the school year hadn't started, but the floor tiles of the main entrance were squeaky clean and the same could be said about the dark brown wooden flooring of the hallways. The walls were a little more bland, but that was compensated for by having all sorts of stuff pinned onto them. Announcements, invitations to join clubs, grade postings. I'd have to check all of that out later.

Sakura and I headed up one floor and walked to the principal's office. He gave me one last warning glance before he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a friendly sounding voice said. We opened the door.

The first thing I thought was: I've walked into Humpty Dumpty's office. The principal had the physique and apperance of a large egg. Not that I judge people based on their appearance – I suffered plenty from the stereotype that pretty girls are dumb – but I know I'd have trouble taking orders from him seriously.

When the humor of "Principal Dumpty" faded away, though, uneasiness took its place. There were no chairs on our side of the desk and the friendly sounding voice was not matched with a friendly looking face. On the principal's right stood a woman who was also looking at me disapprovingly.

'This is a power play,' I realized. 'Show the 'delinquent student' who's in charge.' Even knowing that, it got to me a little.

Sakura seemed a little surprised but still apathetic. I never thought I'd admire or appreciate that aspect of him, but now I wished I had some of that smug "I don't give a crap" air that he had.

"Principal Kobayakawa, thank you for meeting us," Sakura said, starting things out.

"It's no problem, Sakura-san," Kobayakawa responded. "I want to take a few minutes to clarify just what kind of situation we're looking at."

And so started the rambling about how with my criminal record, no school would accept me, but I was very lucky that Shujin Academy had a sudden open spot, and how I'd better not bring shame to the school, and if I did, I would immediately be expelled. Then a little bit of humble bragging about Shujin's achievements: graduation rate, number of graduates that went on to prestiguous colleges, success stories, volleyball. Lots of volleyball. Then back to how they would not tolerate me ruining that.

Finally, Kobayakawa prompted Sakura to sign some forms. Of course, he took that chance to close out with a finishing jab.

"To reiterate," he said, for the fifth time. "Just so we're clear," he added, I guess he thought I didn't know what "reiterate" meant. "you will be immediately expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting somoene like you, but there were some circumstances on our side..."

I thought this was the start of the next rambling rant, but I guess even he got tired of hearing his own voice. "You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here."

"Yes, sir." I responded.

"This is the teacher in charge of your classroom," he said, looking to the woman on the right, who had yet to speak.

She looked up from whatever was on the floor, and turned her bored look to me. "I'm Sadayo Kawakami."

Kawakami-sensei was young and pretty, but the hollow look in her eyes and unenthusiastic voice hinted more towards someone much older who'd been beaten down by life.

"Here's your student ID," she went on, placing it on the desk in front of me. "Be sure to read the school rules, because I won't be able to protect you if you cause any problems."

Kobayakawa hummed in approval. "She is responsible for all her actions."

Kawakami-san turned to him. "But really though, why me...? Weren't there better candidates?"

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening." He sounded defensive, as if they'd discussed this before. Sakura and I shifted around awkwardly, feeling incredibly left out despite being the subject of their conversation.

"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going?" Sakura finally cut in. "I got a store to get back to."

"Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on her," the principal cautioned.

"I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation she's in," he promised. That satisfied Kobayakawa.

Kawakami sighed, but didn't argue any further. "Come to the faculty office before school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom," she instructed.

We said our goodbyes and left.

The school had looked shiny and pretty going in, but leaving? It looked just a little slimy. I guess Kobayakawa really had left a big impression on me.

We walked by the front entrance and Sakura stopped to rant a little. "They're treating you like some sort of nuisance," he grumbled. "I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record." He turned around, smiling grimly. "Turns out your past follows you wherever you go." He added an obligatory "By the way... if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"

"I'll be careful," I promised, hoping this was the last time I'd hear it.

He sighed. "School never changes, huh?" Then he started walking again.

"School never changes?" I asked myself. 'What does that mean?' However, not being left behind took precedence over trying to decode cryptic mumblings of a crazy old man, so I dropped the thought and went after him.

The ride back from Shujin was the opposite from the ride to Shujin. The ride to was quiet, peaceful, and fast. The ride back was loud, irritable, and painfully slow. It wasn't loud because Sakura and I had finally broken the ice and were conversing. Sakura did plenty of talking, though.

"Traffic's not moving at all!" he growled. I stayed silent. If there was anything I'd learned, it was that: not sticking your neck out is the path of least resistance. "Are you even aware of the situation you're in?" he went on, moving from one topic of anger (traffic) to the next (me). "You were expelled once already. To think you'd enroll in a different school. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you." I still didn't say anything.

"If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too." Right. So sorry that you're suffering from a decision that you made. "What a troublesome kid I've taken in."

"Why did you take me in then?" I asked, before I could stop myself. I was honestly curious. Sakura had done nothing but complain and complain about how I was here, but I was only here because he agreed to me being here.

He seemed surprised that I talked back for once. "I was asked to do it, and I just...happened to agree to it." He went on, a little flustered. "And...I've already been paid for it too, after all."

I should've totally believed it. Cynical old man like him taking in a probation kid for some extra money? 100% reasonable. But...there seemed to be more to it.

What was once a 30 minute trip took over four hours. Apparently, a train derailment was to blame.

How does a train get off the tracks, anyway? Aren't they locked in place there?

When we finally did get back to Leblanc, it was far too late for him to open shop. He expressed this sentiment.

"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic...What a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the cafe today."

I twirled a finger in my hair apologetically. Dislike him or not, that was lost business.

"Well, whatever. Go up to your room. I got something to show you."

The "something" turned out to be a diary. For probational purposes. Sakura needs to do a monthly report on me, and that was a simpler task if I just wrote down everything I did so he could copy it down.

He got a call from someone and left pretty quickly after that.

I picked up the diary and brought it over to the bed. Sitting down, I picked a nearby pen and tapped it against my mouth, thinking about what to write. In the end, I just did a barebones bullet point list. No need to give Sakura a deep insight into my life.

I changed into a nightgown and went to sleep to prepare for my first day of school tomorrow.

I actually had this finished a month ago, but then I sort of forgot that I had it done. Oops.

righteous-maximus: Thanks for the review, and you're absolutely right. I'll be sure to keep that in mind going forward!

Rebfan90: To be honest, a romantic relationship with Akechi was the most probable relationship in my mind if none of the other characters were changed. It would mean changing up the story quite a bit, but I could definitely see it happening.

Hanae Kokoro-chan: Thanks! In the game, the protagonist doesn't seem bothered at all about being arrested and looking forward to a life tainted with that. I guess it comes with being a silent protagonist, but doesn't make sense for a narrative.

I'm thinking Akari and Akechi as well, to be honest. We'll see :)

Guest: Thanks for the tips on Shadow speak. I'm not sure what I'll do for that.

Guest: Akari looks like whatever you want her to look like. I said she was attractive and left it at that. So, straight hair, frizzy hair, curly hair...pick your poison!

Guest: I actually sorta glossed over the Velvet Room, as you can see. The Velvet Room had more of a serene feel to me as opposed to scary/disturbing.

Guest: Akari with Mishima? Certainly haven't thought about that. I don't really see it happening, though, because Mishima is the one that muddied her name in the first place. It's true that he was coerced into doing it, but knowing that doesn't make it any less bad for Akari when dealing with her classmates. I know I 'd have a hard time forgiving somebody who did that, let alone deciding to trust them and advance a relationship.