This ended up a lot longer than I intended, woops.


Date Published: 5/6/19
Word Count: 5,015
Page Count: 8


Chapter 4: Timely Confidence

4/21 Thursday

"Excuse me, father?" spoke Haru as she knocked on the wooden door to her father's study that evening, "May I come in?"

The Okumura estate was an extremely lavished building, but it wasn't exactly a mansion. Her father, Kunikazu, could afford multiple mansions if he desired them, but he had settled on a somewhat smaller chunk of land for their home. They had a large yard, a lavish western styled dining room, and numerous rooms with a variety of furniture decorated throughout them. One room, in particular, was dedicated to her father's precious collection of collectibles. The majority of the rooms never got much use unless her father had business partners and their families stay over.

It was just the two of them after her mother died. While the home was bustling with life from the vast number of servants, it wasn't the same. Her father usually walled himself off from her and surrounded himself in his work. He would occasionally eat dinner with her, and if he had finished early, he would attempt to engage in a conversation with his daughter. Those chats were always brief, and before she could continue, he would go off to his study.

His ability to run a business outclassed his ability to be a father by miles. Her mother and grandfather were the ones she spent time with the most in her younger years. On the occasion he was free, Kunikazu did try to find time to spend with her. She had memories of family activities, but there weren't many of them. Despite the small amount, she remembered being happy back then. She recalled how nice it was to actually have a loving family.

He was gentler back then too, and a smile wasn't so rare to spy on his face. One thing they used to do was watch movies together. Kunikazu had a love of sci-fi movies and TV series, and they used to watch his favorite ones together. He even showed her how to put together model kits, a passion of his from his childhood. It was thanks to him she developed a taste for horror films. It was an American hybrid sci-fi horror movie about an alien attacking a spaceship's crew that kicked off the interest.

"You can come in," he replied to her in an uninterested tone.

Haru opened the large doors and was greeted to the vast space known as her father's study. A gray couch with pillows on both end and coffee table rested near the entrance of the room. The table was made of glass and had a small vase with marigolds she had grown on the balcony of her room. They weren't anything special, but she was still happy to know he appreciated the gift. The walls were aligned with bookshelves, that held books her father had used for reference for his business. They also contained binders with work-related papers that weren't stored in the filing cabinets that could also be seen in the room.

His desk was a typical one, with a window facing out behind him. The light-colored desk was scattered with papers and her father's work computer. Behind his desk and near the window was a glass case filled with a variety of toys and memorabilia of different series her father enjoyed. While the majority was in a separate room, he enjoyed having some in the study for decoration. No matter how much he changed, nothing could stop his desire of collecting the toys he wanted as a child but was unable to have.

She walked up to her father, who wore a black business suit that matched with his hair. His face looked drained, and Haru could spy an outline of dark circles hiding under his eyes behind his glasses.

"What do you need?" he asked as he looked at his daughter.

"Well, something happened at school today and I wanted to tell you," she spoke softly as she raised her hand to the shoulder Mr. Kamoshida squeezed earlier. When she got home, she checked it out. It looked fine, but she wanted to tell her father nonetheless.

"Haru, you know I don't have time for trivial matters like these," complained her father, "I have more important things to do than listen to you about something silly that happened."

Haru shook her head and gathered the courage to reply to him, "It isn't silly, a teacher squeezed my shoulder really tight earlier and threatened me. I think he has been hurting his students on the volleyball team too."

Kunikazu's expression changed from disinterested to slightly worried, "Haru, what did he say to you?"

"After he hurt my shoulder, he wanted to talk to me alone in his office after I saw him talk down on another student. The other student told me it meant he was going to hurt me…" she trailed off as she recalled the incident from earlier that day.

"And?" he replied as the tiny worry faded from his face, "Do you have any proof he's actually hurting anyone? Accusations like that are steep to make without any proof."

"N-no father, I don't have any proof," spoke Haru as she dropped her eyes to the floor, "But he really did hurt my shoulder."

Kunikazu sighed, "Haru, that student probably lied to you, you know how those children are. That teacher likely didn't mean anything by that, and I doubt there is any abuse. The school would have taken care of it by now if there was."

"But father," started Haru as she returned her eyes to look at his.

"Haru, I have a lot of work to do. Unless you have proof on this man, I highly doubt anything is actually happening. Now go back to your room, I need to finish this up by morning," responded Kunikazu in an aggravated tone as he looked down at the papers on his desk.

"Yes, father…" responded the girl in a defeated tone before she turned her back on him and began to walk toward the doors. Before she could open them, she heard him call out to her.

"Your shoulder though, is that alright?" he asked as a tiny dribble of concern snuck out of his throat.

She turned to look at the older man. His eyes were still locked on the papers beneath him, but she appreciated the question. She knew trying to convivence her father of any wrongdoing without proof would be a difficult battle. He never believed her when she informed him of the cruelty of her ill-tempered fiancé. Why would he suddenly change his thought process when it came to a teacher? If only she had more courage, then maybe she'd be able to convivence him. If only she wasn't scared of his cruel words and darkened eyes…

"It's alright, it hurt a bit earlier but I'm fine," she replied lowly.

"Alright then," he spoke as he kept his eyes locked beneath him, "That's good. Good night Haru."

"Good night father," responded the fluffy haired girl before she left his office.

Haru started to make her way back to her room. She figured the conversation would end as it did. Her father had become distant in the last few years. The more money her family made, the colder he became it seemed. With every day that passed, the person she once knew as her father transformed into the man she saw. He no longer wanted to watch movies with her, he never showed her his new collectibles, and he rarely tried to interact with her. He had forced a horrible fiancé upon her but she couldn't run away from him. No matter what she told Kunikazu about that man, Sugimura, he always brushed it off. No matter what she said he never believed her words. He always wrote it off as some type of misunderstanding.

"Why did I even try," mumbled Haru as she felt tears well up in her eyes, "Father, he always ignores the bad things that happen to me anymore. Then I end up upset over something I already knew would happen. If something had happened to me, would he truly care about it?"

She missed her old father. She missed the days she had a family. She missed the good times she once had in the home that slowly became the cage she couldn't escape from. She knew she became a pawn for her father, but her heart didn't want to give up. Haru couldn't stop herself from loving her father. She wanted to impress him, to show how capable she was, all out of the hope that he would return to the days he praised her. He had done mean things to her as a child, but none of those things could surpass his recent behavior.

By the time she reached the sanctuary that was her bedroom, she couldn't hold her tears in any longer and cried.


4/22 Friday

The following day Haru thought about staying home. She wasn't sick, but the emptiness stirred up in her stomach from the previous night hadn't faded. The puffiness around her eyes was gone, and she was no longer sniffling. So, from a glance, no one could detect anything wrong with the affluent girl. Granted, not many people went out of their way to look at her to see if she was okay. They stayed away from her, and she, in turn, kept to herself unless Makoto was around.

She still pushed herself through the motion of school while trying her best to not think about what had happened with her father. It wasn't a new occurrence, but no matter how many times it occurred, the pain didn't become easier to tolerate. She thought her heart would numb from the despair, but with every occurrence, it stung the same.

By the time her classes had ended, the feeling started to dissipate. School was a good distraction from her home problems, but it wasn't a cure. She was sure her tiny garden would help, it always did. Before she went up to the roof, she stopped at a vending machine to get a tea. Bottled tea would never last in a battle against her expensive imported brands, but she still enjoyed the cheap drink. After she picked it up, she started to make her way to her tiny garden. She made a stop to get and fill up the watering can she regularly used. When she reached the doors to the roof, she heard voices emanating from it.

"Okay so we're almost ready," spoke the voice she recognized as Akira, "I just need to make a few more preparations in the meantime. If you two need anything, in particular, remember to let me know or you're on your own to do it."

"Yes!" squealed a voice that she assumed belonged to the other boy, "Can't wait to finally do this! We've waited long enough!"

Haru didn't enjoy eavesdropping, but she knew they wouldn't admit to whatever they scheming. Her curiosity took control for a bit before she decided she shouldn't continue to listen. It made her feel bad, even though she did want to know what they were up to.

"Excuse me," she spoke through the door, and she waited a bit out of courtesy for the three before she would open the door. She heard them rustling something around while whispering but she couldn't make it out. She had a feeling they were going to hide something, hopefully, it wasn't anything dangerous. After what she thought was a reasonable time, she opened the door and saw the three in the very corner she had sat in the other day. The two she didn't know looked rather dazed but Akira looked as collective as usual.

She walked up to the tomatoes before she turned to face them, "I apologize for interrupting your conversation. I won't take long," and with that, she placed her school bag on top of one of the desks. She was about to start watering the plants when she noticed the mess that was scattered around a desk close to the blonde boy. She placed her watering can next to her bag and walked over to him.

"Are you the one that has been leaving garbage up here?" she asked in a calm voice.

"Uhhh," he responded while averting his eyes from the upperclassman. He started to fidget a bit in his seat as he allowed his guilt to leak out of him.

"Ryuji," spoke Akira to the boy, "I told you to clean up your garbage once we left."

"Jeez Ryuji, how much of a pig are you? It isn't hard to throw the trash out," spoke the girl in an annoyed tone, "I bet your room is just as messy."

"H-hey!" yelled the blonde as he waved his hand around him, "I'm not a pig! I just, umm, forget to take it with me when we leave for the day. And my room is not messy thank you!"

"So, you're a forgetful pig," responded the girl in a teasing tone, "Still makes a pig, and I really doubt that."

As the two bickered back and forth Haru could have sworn she heard the phantom cat meow from somewhere. She really needed to look around to make sure a cat hadn't wandered up there and made itself a home. She didn't want the poor thing getting hurt, or to eat her tomatoes…

"Ryuji, could you please go and throw your mess out?" spoke Akira as he pushed up his glasses, "And you can take the garbage you left here the other day. She has been letting us use the roof without any complaints, so we should show her some courtesy."

Haru turned her head over to the desk near the door, and the trash was not only still there, but it had accumulated even more. She let out a sigh, how hard was it to throw away wrappers and plastic bottles? Then she wondered just how much the blonde could eat…

"How am I supposed to carry all this shit myself?" he mumbled angrily as he picked up the empty bottle and wrapper on the desk before he walked over to the other one. He eyed the remnants of his food from the last couple of days, then over to Akira, and then finally settled his on the girl, "Ann help a guy out and carry some of this for me."

"Hell no, it's your mess, you do it," retorted the girl as she twirled her finger around her hair.

"Come on, please," he pleaded as he nudged his head toward Haru for some odd reason, "I don't want to walk back and forth, just help me out. Ya get what I'm getting at, right?"

The pigtailed girl turned her head over to Akira, looked at Haru for a few seconds, and then over to Ryuji. The blonde continued the same motion while wording something Haru couldn't figure out. Ann allowed a sigh to escape her lips as she begrudgingly rose from her seat and walked over to the desk. She grabbed some of the trash and gave an annoyed look to Ryuji.

"Yeah, I get it, now cut that out. You owe me for this too," she mumbled, "I should add this to the 500 yen bill you still owe me. Money and carrying the garbage you're still too lazy to toss out."

"You're still going on about that? It's been years cut a guy some slack will ya," spoke the rugged boy who opened the door and held it open with his foot as brought the remainder of trash into his arms. Before he left, he gave Akira a wink and spoke, "You got this buddy!"

Ann shook her head, "Way to be subtle Ryuji," she said as she followed after the boy but she did give Akira a look with a small smirk.

Akira's stance shifted oddly as pushed up his glasses and sighed, "Those two, jeez."

Haru was a bit…confused at what had just transpired. She wasn't sure what that Ryuji boy was getting at, but she did detect a small change in her companion's demeanor. Whatever it was must have been some inside joke between them.

"You three seem close," she spoke as she looked up at him.

"Ryuji was the first friend I made when I came here, and the Ann joined our group not long after so yeah," he explained simply, "We may not have known each other long but it's nice having them around. We may bicker a bit but they make good friends."

"That must be nice," she replied as she walked back over to the watering can, picked it up, and started to water one of the planters. She used to have a group of friends when she started high school, but like the previous friend groups she joined in the past, they faded from her life after they figured out who she really was. That, or she had to cut them off when they tried their hardest to have Haru give them the special rich girl treatment.

"You doing okay?" Akira asked her as he walked over to her, "You don't look so good."

She lifted her gaze from the tomatoes to her right and saw the boy standing next to her. His eyes were soft and warm, unlike the eyes of her father. He seemed honestly concerned about her. Haru rarely spoke with anyone about her home life. Unless she was able to chat with Makoto, the pain of her home life remained hidden in her heart. Even then she never divulged too much information on her friend. Some things were too hard to tell anyone, though she knew her face told more of it than her own mouth. If only her dignified mask stayed in place rather than slipping to reveal her inner turmoil.

"How obvious is it Kurusu-kun?" she asked lightly.

"Pretty obvious, you look sad," he replied, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I tried to tell my father about what happened yesterday," she started to say, "He, of course, didn't believe me without having any proof. It's been bothering me since last night."

"I'm sorry to hear that," replied the boy as he watched Haru, "If I told the person I'm staying with he wouldn't believe me either. He'd probably say it was my fault or something because I'm a trouble maker. So, I understand the feeling of an adult not wanting to believe you."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she pulled the watering can away from the one plant and started to water the next one, "You didn't come here with your parents?"

"No, my parents are still back home. A friend of the family knows the guy I'm staying with, and he agreed to watch me during my probation period. He doesn't exactly like me, but I think he'll come around. He isn't a bad person, but he lets his expectations of me affect the way he interacts with me," explained Akira as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What…" began Haru as she clutched the handle of the watering can tightly. She didn't intend to change the subject but this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up, "If you don't mind my asking, of course, did you do to end up on probation?"

"It happened when I was coming home one night. This bald drunk guy was trying to force a woman into his car. She obviously didn't want anything to do with him, and I couldn't just ignore her as she screamed for help," began Akira as a saddened look crossed over his gentle face, "So I tried to intervene and help. I pulled on his shoulder to try to get him off the woman, and he stumbled backward and hurt himself. I then got railroaded and ended up with a criminal record because the police were paid off by the pervert."

Haru couldn't help but be memorized by his heroic, yet tragic tale. She felt her face warm up as he spoke. He tried to save a woman from a sexual assault. He wanted to protect a complete stranger because it was the right thing to do, yet he was the one branded the criminal. He was the one in the right, but the scorned villainous man abused his power and punished a schoolboy for getting in his way. It reminded her of the shows she watched as a child about heroes that the law didn't approve of but the people adored. Even when pegged as a criminal, the hero was the one doing the righteous acts. His actions from the previous day and his tragic tale shaped an image of a person who sought out justice with an obvious passion for protecting others in her mind.

"Earth to Haru, you're going overboard with the water," spoke Akira as he looked down and pointed at the plant. His words brought her back to reality, and she let out a little shriek as she saw what she had done to her precious tomato plant.

She jolted the watering can away from the plant and she felt her face flush from embarrassment. She bent down to examine the soil and patted it, "Oh dear, what have I done, I'm sorry tomatoes. I hope it'll be okay."

She heard Akira chuckle as he bent down next to her and patted the soil as well, "I think it'll be okay, it's a little too damp but a once in a blue moon accident won't hurt it. Next time though be careful, okay?"

Haru looked away from the tomato plant and directly into Akira's face. She nodded to him before she began to speak, "I'm sorry to hear that happened to you Kurusu-kun. To think all of these people think you're a villain when you're really the good guy…"

"It sucks, and I wish I could get back at the man that threw me under the bus to save his own ass. I know I can't so I'll settle for helping those who I can, and I'll make sure I don't get arrested for it this time," he explained as he lightened his tone at the end of his sentence.

"I'll be rooting for you Kurusu-kun," she said, "And promise you'll stay out of jail."

"Thank you and I will, one time was enough," he replied with a small smile, "I'm sorry for changing the subject earlier, but what were you saying about your father earlier?

Haru turned away from him so she could think. She didn't feel comfortable explaining every detail of her family situation to him but decided it would be a good opportunity to get the feeling fully out of her system for the time being. He was open about his backstory, so it wouldn't hurt if she would open up a bit to him. She felt that Akira was worthy of her trust.

"My father, he isn't how he used to be. He never listens to me when I tell him things," she began in a light tone as she carefully chose her words, "He keeps his distance from me. We don't interact much these days, and it hurts that he doesn't believe the things I tell him."

Akira listened to her intently as he placed a finger over his chin and held it with his thumb. He appeared to carefully analyze her words, "It's hard to explain the whole Kamoshida thing without proof so I could understand that. As for the other things, maybe when he has free time, try and tell him how you really feel? Say how you wish you two could spend more time together, and that by brushing aside your concerns he's making you upset. He could be so wrapped up in his work he didn't notice how his behavior has been affecting you?"

If she had a normal father that didn't live and breath his work, that could be an option. She couldn't remember the last time he actually took a break from his work. To have the courage to tell him outright she wished to spend time together, asking him to believe her more, to explain that she wasn't always overreacting. She knew she would be too afraid to do that.

"That's a good idea Kurusu-kun, but I don't think I could do that," she replied to the younger boy, "I…I don't have the courage to stand up to him when he gets mad." If she would insist that she was correct about something, or tell him adamantly about how badly Sugimura had treated her, he'd burst with anger. She would mention her problems, but the moment she detected any annoyance from him, she'd bow her head and scurry away.

Akira stared at her for a few moments before he spoke, "Do you two not get along?"

"We get along okay, but there are just some things I can't change his mind on. If he's set on a train of thought, it's hard to convivence him otherwise, and he'd get mad otherwise."

"I understand that feeling," he replied, "Not right now, but in the future do you think you could build up your courage and confront him? To tell him how you really feel?"

"Maybe," she replied lowly, "Right now though, I can't see myself being able to confront him alone and tell him how I feel. I always hope that he'd see the error in his ways on his own and go back to how he used to be. That way, I won't have to do it myself."

"It's hard to change, but if you put your mind to it, I think anyone can change," he responded in a confident voice, "If you give it your all, maybe you will be able to show him how you truly feel. I'm here to help if you ever need it Haru."

Haru gave him a light smile, "Thank you Kurusu-kun. In the future, could we, um, speak like this again?" She couldn't describe the feeling, but something in her stomach told her she could rely on him. The situation she was in was peculiar compared to most people's, but the amount of kindness he had shown her from the very start gave her a sense he could truly help her. She was always polite but had trouble openly trusting most people. Him though, he was different. She wanted to be able to trust him without any doubts.

"No problem," he replied as he stood up, "And we can talk more in the future like this. My instinct is to help, and you're a friend after all." With those words, he turned his back to her and walked over to the door and opened it. As if he had a special deduction power, Haru spied his two friends standing there.

"Really guys?" he spoke, "Did you really need to eavesdrop on us?"

"Look, we didn't want to interrupt the conversation you two were having buddy," replied Ryuji who made sure not to look his friend in the eyes, "And we weren't here long, I swear."

"This was his idea Akira," replied Ann, "I'm innocent."

"Innocent my ass!" yelled Ryuji, "You were just as interested as I was!"

The three continued to carry on the conversation, and Haru couldn't help but chuckle at the banter. It was nice to be around people for a change. She was so used to being by herself, she forgot how friends interacted outside of spreading rumors and foul mouthing other students. Just watching them interact was oddly comforting, though Akira's extended kindness had helped settle the left-over sadness in her body. As the group of friends carried on their chatter, Haru watered the remainder of her tomatoes. The silly babble was entertainment to her ears, even if she wasn't sure of everything they conversed about. By the time her plant duties came to a close, the three were still going at it.

"Come on dude don't lie," Ryuji spoke in a cocky manner, "You enjoyed the alone time with Ms. Tomato Chick."

"Being alone together was nice," Haru thought to herself as she grabbed her bag off the table, "I wouldn't have been comfortable talking about father, even though it was brief, with the other two. Having someone to confide in is nice."

Haru made her way over to the still conversing trio, and stood near Akira, "I need to get going, but it was nice talking today, thank you again Kurusu-kun."

The black-haired boy redirected his attention from Ryuji, who suddenly elbowed him playfully, to Haru and gave her a small smile, "It was nice talking to you too, and I hope things get better at home. If anything is bugging you, don't be afraid to let me know."

"Thank you Kurusu-kun, and I'll keep that in mind," spoke Haru before she directed her attention to the other two, "Have a good evening everyone. It was fun listening to your interactions." With her farewell bid, she walked back inside of the school as the other two responded kindly to her.

For the future, she hoped that she'd be able to share more with the friendly, and surprisingly heroic boy. It was nice, even for the brief moment, to let her feelings fall out of her mouth rather than remaining inside of her mind. She could get used to it, as long as Akira doesn't change his tone when he'd eventually learn about her father.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, she shook her head. She couldn't let those thoughts take the place of the ones pertaining to the mean behavior of her father. She prepared herself to drop off the watering can and then go on home when she heard vicious shriek that emanated from what had to be a cat. Meow after angry meow followed down to her ears, "Either I'm losing it, or I need to look into how to capture a stray cat."


And that is a wrap! This took me a while to write, especially since I omitted about 1,000 words that didn't mesh that well with the chapter. I'm not sure what to think about the chapter, but I wanted to make sure Kunikazu didn't come off as a complete ass. Headcanon dictates he wasn't always that way. I hope ya enjoy the chapter nonetheless.