Chapter 12: Take your time…
Friday, April 2015 8 days until deadline
Homura was very tired after the palace, him and Sumire parted ways, and he headed home. Arriving at Yongen-Jaya station, he breathed in the now familiar air, and headed to his new favorite cafe. He had discovered Leblanc only a few days ago, but it was love at first sight, it's rustic atmosphere, the delicious smell of coffee, and the most comfortable booths he had ever sat in.
"Hey Boss, how've you been?"
"Just as good as yesterday."
"Blue mountain please."
"Comin' right up. Hey how do you even afford to be here every night? High school students don't make amazing money."
"I've got a high paying part-time job."
"Here you are."
"Thanks."
He drank his coffee and chatted with Boss for a while, and left about a half hour later, ready to go home.
He walked in, seeing his mom working at the kitchen table.
"I'm home. What're you working on?"
" Oh Homura I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Have I been convicted again?"
"Have you been fighting people again?"
"No."
"Then no, It's about this kid, he got convicted of assault, so his parents are sending him away for a while so it can blow over."
"Why are you reading through the case then? If he's already been convicted there's not really anything you can do."
"Well his parents are old friends, so they've asked if the kid can come stay with us for a while."
"And you want to know if I'm okay with it."
"Yes."
"It's fine, he needs a home, and we can provide it, besides us delinquents gotta stick together."
"That's a relief, are you okay with sharing your room with him for a few days? I need to get some furniture for the guest room, and we can't exactly have him sleeping on the couch every night until then."
"Yeah, that's fine."
"Alright then, can you make something for dinner tonight?"
"Sure thing, you want beef bowls?"
"Sounds good to me."
Homura set about the kitchen, collecting the ingredients he needed, and starting cooking. Homura was particularly adept at cooking, it was one of his passions, but it brought forth some memories he wasn't prepared to contend with.
"Homura, you are an amazing cook!"
"Jeez Shiho, I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction to this, they're hardly as good as something from an actual restaurant."
"What are you talking about? These are a hundred times better!"
"Alright whatever you say…"
He pushed those memories to the back of his mind.
"They're almost done."
"Good. I was really getting hungry."
"Hey, I almost forgot to ask, what's the kids name?"
"Akira Kurusu."
Author's note: This was a fun chapter to write. I really don't care for palace writing, I much prefer daily life to this. We got a little peak of Homura and Shiho here, there is plenty of that coming in the future.
Anyway, Akira's coming soon.