Friday, 7/1
Another day of detention, another day of fear setting in immediately after school got out. Ren trudged through the crowded halls of Shujin. He was already exhausted from the long day of work, and detention would only make that worse. Sure, Chouno could be kept in check, but it was extremely tiring to be mindful to not provoke the teacher.
Ryuji caught up to Ren. He always had energy after class. Ren was pretty sure it was because the guy napped through school, but he wasn't planning on asking. It didn't really matter, because Ryuji's energy would also be deflating soon anyway.
"Ready for another day?" Ryuji asked with noticeably less enthusiasm than Ren expected. Maybe Ryuji was already getting tired from merely going to detention.
"How could I be?"
"I feel ya. Maybe we'll get Yuriko today, yeah?" Ren wished he had Ryuji's optimism, but it was hard to match that when he knew what Yuriko was like.
"Pfft. Sure, she's better than Chouno, but she's still pretty bad."
"How's a cute girl degrading you a bad thing?" Ryuji casually asked as if it was a normal question.
Ren immediately stopped walking and turned to Ryuji.
"Ryuji?"
"Yeah?" Ryuji clearly didn't understand what was strange about what he had just said.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
As if realizing why he was being questioned, Ryuji cracked a smile.
"Oh… nah, I was joking," he said before he kept walking to Chouno's room.
Not like I can be mad at that. That's the verbal equivalent of deleting a text message.
Ren kept walking with Ryuji and they soon reached Chouno's room. Ryuji always hesitated for a bit before entering detention, but Ren didn't wait to aggressively throw the door open and walk in. He wasn't in the mood for this shit. However, when he entered the classroom, he found not Chouno, but Yuriko.
Dammit. Or is this not bad? Nah, Yuriko's going to verbally assault me. You know what? So be it. If you're gonna give it out, you gotta be able to take it. I can hold my own, can't I?
"Hey, Ren," Yuriko said casually as she stood in front of the blackboard. "You having a good day?"
"Uh…" Ren was caught off guard. "Excuse me?"
"Everything okay? You look like you're exhausted." The look on Yuriko's face was kind. So kind, in fact, that Ren thought about Haru.
Shoutout to Haru for being awesome. Oh yeah, and I gotta ask her to teach other GRAVY members how to garden. I'll do that after this is over.
"Eh, I've been better. Chouno's kinda a bitch," Ren said as he dropped his bag to the floor and sat at a desk. He heard the door open and close from Ryuji entering.
"Totally understandable, Ren," Yuriko said before turning to Ryuji and waving. "Oh, hey, Ryuji."
Ryuji stopped walking. He looked at Ren, then at Yuriko, then back to Ren, then finally back at Yuriko.
"'Sup, Yuriko?" Ryuji now sounded excited as ever.
What if Yuriko is actually super nice and her being mean was just a test? That'd be crazy, but I doubt it. She was just so damn harsh last time.
"Not much. Please take a seat next to Ren."
Ryuji sat down at the desk next to Ren's. As he did so, he lightly elbowed Ren and whispered to him.
"Dude!" he said quietly. "I think she's into me!"
"Ryuji, not every person who oversees detention is into you," Ren quickly snapped back.
Technically that's a lie. A hundred percent of the people Ryuji's completed a detention session with have been interested in him. Granted he's only completed detention with one person, Chouno, but it's still a hundred percent.
"Just you wait," Ryuji said quickly with a snicker.
"Okay," Yuriko said as if she was a teacher reminding the class of her presence so that they would quiet down. "I have an announcement to make. You two have been reassigned from Chouno."
Fake news. Yuriko is just saying that so we'll be fucking crushed when we come back tomorrow and Chouno's here. But what if she's not faking? What if Makoto actually got Kobayakawa to do something? Actually, that probably didn't happen. Makoto would've told me. But what if Yuriko isn't lying?
"Eff yeah!"
"I heard about what has happened in here between you two and Chouno and, well, I spoke to principal Kobayakawa about it. He let me take charge over your guys' detention," Yuriko explained. "Isn't that exciting?!"
"Uh… sure?" Ren fully believed he was being lied to. Why would Yuriko do something like that? To be nice to Ren? No way.
"Damn right, it is!" Ryuji was pushing the limit of how psyched up one could get. Ren could see Ryuji bouncing in his seat out of the corner of his eye.
"So… from now till the end of the year, I'll be teaching you guys English!"
"Oh… that's kinda lame," Ryuji said as his former excitement quickly deflated and he settled down.
"Alright! Let's get to work!"
Ren was more than puzzled. Yuriko was actually teaching them, even going as far as referring to Ryuji and Ren by the last names. She went over phrases, words, idioms, all of it. It was as if she was just Chouno minus the psychotic tendencies. In his mind, Ren knew this was wrong. Yuriko wouldn't do this. She would want to leave early. She wouldn't want to spend time teaching two dipshit second-years English.
But the feeling that he was wrong only grew as Yuriko continued her lesson. An hour had gone by, and there was no early exit in sight. Ren began to think that Yuriko was actually taking this seriously.
"And that is why-"
"Kuramoto-sensei!" Ryuji interrupted as he raised his hand. When Yuriko nodded for him to speak, he continued. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
Sheesh. "Kuramoto-sensei?" Give me a break.
"Yes, but make it quick," Yuriko said and shooed Ryuji.
Ryuji stood up and swiftly left the classroom. Yuriko focused herself on the words on the board and continued instructing Ren.
"Amamiya-kun, what-"
"Can you just use Ren? Please?"
Yuriko just dryly stared at Ren. Ren wished he was able to decipher whatever the girl was thinking, but she was currently too enigmatic for even a guess.
"Amamiya-kun, what sound do the letters C and H make when together?" Yuriko didn't even reply to his question. She just kept teaching.
Wish I knew what was going on.
"C and h sound like… ch?" Ren said it as a question even though he knew he was correct.
"Very good. And can you provide an example?"
"I have a bad itch."
"More like you're a little bitch," Yuriko quipped, not looking at Ren and focusing on the blackboard instead.
"Excuse me?" Ren wasn't offended, just more confused than ever, but why should he be? Yuriko calling him a bitch wasn't exactly a new concept.
"You heard me, Ren. You're a little bitch. A little pussy. A wimp," Yuriko said as she stopped looking at the board and began staring Ren down. Adding on to this, she began slowly approaching him while she laid on the insults. "You probably use the word 'cuisine.' You probably play Innocent Sin Online. You look like you listen to lo-fi hip-hop while you do homework."
Hey, lo-fi goes hard.
"I was wondering when this was going to happen," Ren said calmly. He didn't want to slip up and say something incredibly rude to Yuriko. He had planned on retaliating, but the thought of Makoto being upset with Ren for insulting her friend wasn't a pleasant one. Or maybe Ren just hadn't been pushed far enough yet. He wasn't keen on finding out.
"And I'm still wondering when you're gonna grow some fucking balls," Yuriko said before she sat down in Ryuji's seat, slapping Ren on the shoulder as she did so.
"I have more balls than you," Ren coolly reminded her.
"You wish. If that's true, then bring it. Gimme your best insult." Yuriko was inviting him, so it was okay to insult her back, right?
"Uh, okay…" Ren tried to think of something absolutely devastating. Something so catastrophic that Yuriko would go home and cry. Something so hurtful that the girl would be filled with despair. After a few seconds, Ren hadn't come up with the greatest insult to ever grace humanity. He came up with nothing, so he went with his trusty old provocation line. "I fucked your mom."
"Okay, wow… you really had to go there, huh?" Yuriko didn't sound antagonizing like before. Something was gone from her voice, as if the aggressiveness of her words had vanished.
"Yep. I know, I'm just too mean. Maybe you shouldn't be rude to people, Yu-"
"My mom is dead, asshat."
Ren, you absolute buffoon. You fool. You dipshit. This is your biggest fuck up. Wait, this is tied for your biggest fuck up because you did this to Akechi a while back! Jesus, what a piece of shit you are. You told two people with dead moms a joke about their moms. Great fucking job, asshole.
"Oh… s-sorry." Ren was at a loss for words at his own lack of compassion.
"You should be sorry…" Yuriko began, sniveling as she spoke. Ren could tell the girl was holding back the tears. "You should be sorry because you look like you have Risette on vinyl."
Goddammit. Her mom isn't dead, is she?
"Oh, you motherfu-" Ren infuriatingly interrupted by Yuriko correcting herself.
"Wait, no, that's not right. You look like you have Risette's live album on vinyl," Yuriko said with a smirk. "You probably eat at Stubway. You probably think Teddie is innocent. You probably complain about politics in video games. You probably-"
"Jesus, will you shut the fuck up?!" Ren was almost losing it at this point. "It's not fucking funny, just leave me the fuck alone! I don't wanna be here, you don't wanna be here, so fuck off."
"Well, jeez, sorry that I awoke the hornet's nest," Yuriko muttered, not caring about how much she had set Ren off.
"No, you didn't wake the hornet's nest, you were just being a bitch. Just don't do that shit, okay?!" Ren couldn't believe he had to do this. It was pretty much parenting a foul-mouthed child.
"...Okay."
"Thank you, damn," Ren said as he settled down and just sat there. Yuriko did the same and they both stared at the blackboard, neither of them having any idea of what to say.
For a few seconds, the silence was immaculate for Ren. It gave him the time he needed to calm down and not worry about exploding on Yuriko again. The silence lasted longer than it should've, which Ren was happy about, with it only ending when someone spoke.
"Friends?" Yuriko asked.
"What?! No, we're not friends!" Ren refused to believe that this girl dared to ask such a question. "This isn't some teen comedy where two people argue and are suddenly chill with each other!"
"Friends," she concluded.
Bullshit.
Ren's head snapped in the direction of the door when he heard it opening. Ryuji entered the room, immediately stopping when he saw that Yuriko had taken his seat.
"Woah… I interrupt somethin'?" he asked teasingly.
"No," Ren said flatly.
"Nothing much, Sakamoto-kun," Yuriko said as she stood up. "Please take a seat so we can resume our lesson."
"Gotcha, gotcha," Ryuji said as he sat down next to Ren. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned over to Ren. "Lover's quarrel?"
"Familial dispute over my son," Ren deadpanned.
Detention had ended after the two-hour mark, with Yuriko politely dismissing Ryuji and Ren. After Ryuji had gotten back from the bathroom, Yuriko was nothing but kind and thoroughly taught the two GRAVY members. Ren didn't understand it. Was Yuriko targeting him specifically? Did she not want others to know how mean she was to him? Was Ren a victim in all of this, and could he receive monetary compensation? Probably not, but it was a question worth asking.
"You guys looked weird as shit after I got back, man," Ryuji said as the two walked down the hall towards the exit.
"She was being mean."
"Nah, I think it's something more," Ryuji said, that familiar excitement emerging in his voice. "I think you guys are hiding something?"
"What are we hiding?" Ren asked. He looked straight ahead as he walked and spoke to Ryuji.
"You guys definitely effed or some shit."
"Dude…"
"Yeah, you definitely did. I can tell!" Ryuji said, willing his guess into being the truth. "I'm good with these kinda things, ya know?"
"No, you are clearly not."
"Then what's actually going on, huh? If you two aren't dating on the side, then what's actually happening?"
"She is mean to me."
"Dude, she's literally the nicest person at this school. You're lyin'. You two are definitely dating," Ryuji said. Ren hoped that the runner was satisfied with his false conclusion, but his hopes were in vain. "Wait, does Makoto know?! Ohmygod, you're cheating on Makoto!"
"Ryuji, Makoto and I aren't even dati-"
"Renny, nooo! Makoto deserves better than you!" Ryuji overdramatically protested.
"Unironically true, but it's whatever. Let's just get outta here. I got work tonight."
As Ren was seated on the subway to Yongen, he figured it was a good time to let Haru know about his plan to train the other members of GRAVY. He pulled out his phone and began texting the gardener.
Ren Amamiya:
-Because I have to boost GRAVY activity or whatever it is, I was hoping we could train the other members of GRAVY to actually be capable of gardening. Also, it would let us trade off days this summer so that you don't have to come to school every day to take care of the plants. Would you be willing to help teach the others sometime soon?
Haru Okumura:
-I'd love to! How about Sunday?
Any day but Sunday. I have plans. Very important plans.
Ren Amamiya:
-Can't Sunday, and neither will Ryuji or Yusuke. What about Saturday?
Haru Okumura:
-Saturday works great! I will let the others know!
Shortly, Ren received a message from the GRAVY chat.
GRAVY
Haru Okumura:
-Hello, everyone! Tomorrow there will be a gardening training session. It will be on Shujin's roof, after school. Will everyone be able to make it?
Ann Takamaki:
-I'll be there.
Makoto Niijima:
-Same.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-As will I, but I fear that I will be late. Is anyone willing to pay my subway fare?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-I got u, but idk if I'll be able to make it. Ren and I have detention.
Ren Amamiya:
-I can get us both out of it.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Oh yeah? How's that?
Ren had a feeling Ryuji was about to drop something unnecessary, so he preemptively warned the runner.
Ren Amamiya:
-Careful.
It didn't matter.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Gonna bang Yuriko?
Makoto Niijima:
-Ren, what is he talking about?
*Ryuji Sakamoto has been removed from GRAVY*
Ren Amamiya:
-Ryuji is on time out.
Makoto Niijima:
-Ren, what was he talking about?
Ann Takamaki:
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-I am also curious. I would not think Ren would be violent towards women, but perhaps even our leader has his own vices.
Ann Takamaki:
-Wrong kind of banging.
Ren got a text from outside the group chat.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Dude! Add me back!
Feeling a little upset, Ren decided he would be even pettier than he already was. Ren reread Ryuji's message with the new change he had made to Ryuji's contact.
Ushimaru's Bitch:
-Dude! Add me back!
Ren Amamiya:
-Apologize.
Ushimaru's Bitch:
-Okay, I'm sorry I said that you were banging Yuriko and I'm sorry for texting it in the chat with Makoto. Can you add me back?
Ren Amamiya:
-Text Makoto and explain to her what you did.
Ushimaru's Bitch:
-Bruh…
I wonder if he'll actually do it. I'm adding him back no matter what, but it'll be hilarious if he actually does it.
Makoto looked up from her homework as her phone vibrated again. She had turned off notifications from the GRAVY chat because messages came irritatingly quickly, but she kept notifications on for individual message senders. When she looked at the newest message, she was surprised at the sender.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Makoto, what I said in the group chat was a joke. There is nothing romantic going on between Yuriko and Ren. I am sorry, and I hope you accept my apology.
Makoto Niijima:
-I accept your apology?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Dope! See ya in the GRAVY chat!
Ushimaru's Bitch:
-Man, I apologized! Add me back!
Ren would've waited for confirmation from Makoto if he actually cared, but he trusted Ryuji enough to add him back. He also changed Ryuji's name while he obliged the runner's request.
GRAVY
*Ryuji Sakamoto has been added to the group chat*
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Good to be back!
Ann Takamaki:
-Sure... anyway, we're all going to garden after school tomorrow?
Ren Amamiya:
-That's the plan. If I'm not able to get Ryuji and me out of detention, just continue without us.
Haru Okumura:
-Okay. I'm excited to see everyone tomorrow!
With that, Ren put his phone away. The final few messages would just be people saying their goodbyes or confirming that they would be going tomorrow. It was pointless to read, so Ren was fine just leaving the messages on delivered.
Now that that was over, Ren realized he had more plans to make. Ryuji's birthday was Sunday, and he wanted to make sure that Ryuji had at least a good day. Ren got his phone out again and texted another group chat.
The Kitagawa Subway Fund
Ren Amamiya:
-You guys wanna hang out on Sunday?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Hell yeah! I knew this chat would come in handy!
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-For excluding the women?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-No! For just hanging out with the boys!
Ren Amamiya:
-That is excluding the women.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Whatever. What r we doing Sunday?
Ren Amamiya:
-Shinjuku.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Oh man... can't wait!
Ren Amamiya:
-Yusuke, are you able to go?
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-I am available if someone pays for my transport.
Ren Amamiya
-I'll cover it this time.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-I knew that this chat would be useful.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-That's what I'm saying!
Ren Amamiya:
-Alright, Shinjuku on Sunday. See you guys then.
Ren put away his phone and calmly waited for his subway ride to end.
"Hey, Sakura-san… its', uh… it's Ren," Ren said to the door. "How's your day going?"
Ren heard no noise from the other side of the door, but his phone did vibrate. This time, Sojiro had brought Ren to the door and went back down the stairs. Ren appreciated the trust that his boss seemed to have gained for him, but he wasn't very confident in his ability to get through to Futaba alone. Talking to a door and reading messages certainly wasn't easy.
Unknown Number:
-Could be better. How's urs?
"It's alright," Ren said. Searching his mind for ideas on how to continue the conversation, he figured he'd talk about his day. If things went well, it would serve as a jumping-off point for Futaba to let him into her room. "I had to go to detention today with a friend. The girl who's supervising us is kinda rude, so it's pretty lame."
Unknown Number:
-How'd you get into detention?
Ren wished he could make a contact for Futaba, but the number she was texting him through was literally unlisted. He didn't even know if he could text back.
"Got in a fight and nearly got expelled from doing so."
Unknown Number:
-Well damn, I didn't think u were cool.
"It's really not that interesting."
Unknown Number:
-Ofc it is! Tell me bout it.
"Uh… this guy was saying some bad things about a girl I'm friends with and threatening me. I punch him in the face a few times, teachers arrive, fights over," Ren explained as vaguely as possible. Even if he hated Yoshiro and always would, he didn't want to relive those events. That was a horrible, confusing day, besides Ren's time with Makoto that evening.
The reply took a little longer than usual, but it still came.
Unknown Number:
-You must be talking about Takata, right?
"Uh..."
Unknown Number:
-And the girl must be Makoto Niijima? You two have been texting a lot.
Why am I surprised that this is happening? Sojiro said she was good with computers and shit. Should I care if she's read my messages with Makoto? I think the only damning thing in there is that Mishima shit his pants at school, so it's probably fine if Futaba has seen the messages.
"How do you know that? I'm not tryna accuse you of anything, but it's just a weird thing to know," Ren said calmly. He was sure that the girl was already in a delicate state, and he didn't want to do anything to tip the girl in the wrong direction
Unknown Number:
-Mweheheh.
"You laugh in text messages?"
Unknown Number:
-Easier than laughing aloud.
"What about speaking aloud?" Ren felt himself going in the right direction. It wasn't a direction that would upset Futaba, but one that would hopefully coax her into speaking, maybe even opening the door.
Unknown Number:
-Out of the question.
"Why's that?"
Unknown Number:
-I haven't unlocked that ability yet.
Ohhh, video game nerd, huh? That's fine. I can roll with that.
"What level does it unlock?"
Unknown Number:
-¥10 and you'll roll a digital die to see if you get that power-up.
Ren chuckled.
"Seriously though. What'll it take to get you to speak?" Ren persisted before uttering the words that sent his evening downhill. "Can't stay trapped in their forever, you know."
No text message. Ren just figured that Futaba was taking a little longer than usual and that he would be receiving an abnormal text message. Instead, he got nothing. After giving it another minute, Ren knocked on the door.
"Hey? Futaba? You alright?"
Ren pressed his ear to the door, not caring if he looked stupid. He knew that he had done something wrong; that he and his mouth had fucked something up again. Regretting almost every choice of words that he had made since entering the Sakura household that evening, Ren was breathing deeply to calm himself down.
What if something happened to Futaba? What if it's my fault? Why the fuck am I freaking out so much?! Ren, she's fine. Maybe you just had a poor choice of words and she doesn't like you.
As Ren listened and focused, he heard it. There was the slow, creaking noise of a chair rocking back and forth. Ren figured Futaba was just relaxing in her chair, ignoring him until he heard something else from the other side of the door.
"Trapped…" wormed its way into Ren's ear and into his head along with the beginning of choked sobs.
Ren began to knock more and more, panicking whether something truly awful was happening or not. His knocks grew more urgent with every collision between the door and his knuckles.
"Futaba! Can you tell me you're okay?!" Ren said loudly to the door, hoping to metaphorically open it and get through to Futaba.
More chair creaking, more sobs, and more cryptic words.
"M-mom…" Futaba croaked hoarsely.
Okay, time to get Sojiro. I'm nowhere near compassionate or understanding enough to deal with this shit. I wish I fucking was, but who the hell gets what they wish for in Tokyo?
"I'm gonna go get Sojiro, okay? I'll be right back!" Ren said to the door before turning and swiftly walking down the hall. He didn't even completely descend the staircase when he started yelling. "Sojiro! Something's wrong!"
As soon as he got to the bottom, he heard someone rushing over to where he was. Sojiro came around the corner of the hallway looking like he was having a heart attack. He didn't ask Ren any questions and pushed past him to go up the stairs. As Ren followed his boss up, he contemplated what was happening.
Fuck. This was just supposed to be me getting a girl to come out of her room. Now it's turned into me triggering the girl and potentially causing a breakdown. You're on a roll today, aren't you, Ren? Why don't you text Makoto to go fuck herself to put the cherry on top of this fine day? Or why don't you break Ryuji's leg? Fuck it, maybe even step on Haru's plants. Or make fun of Shiho in front of Ann. Take it a step further and destroy one of Yusuke's paintings. That'd be really in character for you, wouldn't it, Ren Amamiya? First, you get Makoto kidnapped and now you're sending Futaba through a fucking episode. Just shut the fuck up for your own sake from now on, please.
"Futaba…" Sojiro sounded much calmer than Ren figured he should be. Or much calmer than Ren wanted him to be. "It's alright, Futaba. I'm here. Ren's here. Wakaba isn't here, okay? You don't need to worry about her…"
Wakaba? Probably Futaba's mother. What does Sojiro mean by saying that she isn't here? Is that what Futaba's seeing right now? Her mom? Shit… but how does the word 'trapped' trigger that? Eh, not like I'm competent enough to understand other people. Best not to waste time thinking about it.
It was difficult for Ren to hear the sobs in the first place with his current distance from the door, seeing as Sojiro needed to be in front of it, but he noticed Sojiro calming down. He took that as a sign that Futaba was doing the same.
"That's it…" Sojiro said soothingly. "Deep breaths, Futaba…"
Sojiro turned back to face Ren.
"You should go. We'll talk more on Monday," he gruffly ordered.
Not wanting to disobey at literally the worst time possible, Ren listened to his boss. He slowly walked back down the hall, down the stairs, through the final hallway, and out the door. He had run from his fuck up yet again, and yet another person did the clean-up work for Ren. Ryuji with Makoto on that day in May, now Sojiro with Futaba.
Ren sighed to himself. He hated that he couldn't talk to Futaba without setting her off. He hated that he couldn't handle emotional conversation of any kind without ruining things. He hated that he acted like this.
Keep your mouth shut more often and you won't feel like this, jackass. Got it?
Ren began his journey home for the evening.
Saturday, 7/2
Ren had a hunch. He believed that this hunch would get him and Ryuji out of detention. If it didn't, then nothing really bad would happen. Ren figured that it was best to test the hunch than ditch Haru's gardening class, so he shot Ryuji a text as soon as school ended.
Ren Amamiya:
-Here's the plan: I'm going to skip detention to do a counseling session. Then I'm going to appeal to Maruki's kindness and attempt to get the day off of counseling. You and Yuriko will be alone. It seems like she's only nice to you, so I got a feeling that she'll let you out. If she doesn't, then GRAVY can pull up and break you out. Sound like a plan?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Gotcha. I got faith in this plan, Renny.
Ren Amamiya:
-I appreciate your confidence, but you getting out of detention largely depends on how you speak to Yuriko. Do your best, Ryuji.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-You're talking to the real Ryuji Sakamoto, and you're saying that as if I've ever failed.
Ren Amamiya:
-Just don't fuck up. Failing is fine, but fucking up is inexcusable.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Relax, I got this.
Ren put away his phone and left Kawakami's classroom for the practice building. He walked through the emptying halls of Shujin, praying that Maruki was as nice as he thought. He would let Ren out for a mandatory GRAVY activity, right? If the worst possible scenario happened and Maruki refused to let Ren leave, he could always suggest the possibility of doing two sessions the next week.
Ren reached the nurse's office, entering without even knocking. Maruki surprisedly looked up from his clipboard, sitting in his chair.
"Amamiya-kun? Are we having a session today?" the startled counselor asked.
"Er, about that… Maruki-san, could I maybe get out of this week's session? I know that I'm required to do these, but there's a really important GRAVY event happening right now. You can come if you want to verify it or whatever, but-" Ren urgently explained, wanting to be late to the GRAVY meeting and set a bad precedent as the club leader. His rambling was cut off by Maruki.
"Relax, Amamiya-kun. So long as you make-up for the session along with going to all future ones, I won't tell the principal. Deal?" Maruki proposed, much to Ren's disappointment until he thought about the offer more.
Damn, I was hoping that that would be my final offer, not the one I end up getting. That sucks. At least I get to skip detention twice next week. That's cool.
"Deal. Thank you and goodbye!" Ren said quickly before he walked back out the door and went to the roof.
Ryuji strode into detention much more confident than usual. He knew that he wouldn't have to deal with Chouno anymore. He also knew that he was a free man, except for having to obey Yuriko. At least she wasn't a psychotic teacher with a praise kink or whatever the eff it was.
Still, Ren wasn't fond of her. Ryuji couldn't tell why. Ren had insisted that the girl was mean and rude, but Ryuji just didn't see it. In all his time knowing of Yuriko and knowing Yuriko, she was regarded as one of the nicer people by the student body. Why was Ren dying on the hill that she wasn't that much better than Chouno?
Maybe she's not rocking with him. She just doesn't like him, and that's why she's chill when I'm around. Heh, that's right, Ryuji thought with a chuckle as he sat down at his desk, nearly forgetting about what he was supposed to be doing. Eff! I gotta get out of here for the GRAVY meeting!
"Hey, Yuri- Kuramoto-sensei," Ryuji said, raising his hand for permission but speaking anyway. "Can I leave extra, extra early today?"
Yuriko crossed her arms.
"Why?" she said accusatorially.
"Well, uh, there's a special GRAVY thing happening right now that I kinda need to go to…"
"Is that why Ren's not here?"
Shit! Do I say yes or do I say that he's at counseling? Eh, he never mentioned that. Can't be that important to the plan, right? Ryuji figured.
"Yeah, he's the leader. Whaddya expect?" Ryuji said matter-of-factly.
Yuriko sighed.
"Fine, but make sure you're prepared to do a lot of learning next week, okay?"
"Okay, thanks!" Ryuji said as he sprang up. "You're the best!"
And she really was. She wasn't a half-bad teacher, even if Ryuji wasn't paying attention, and she never lost her temper. At this point, Ryuji just believed that Ren had an agenda against her because she wasn't named Makoto. But whatever. It was Ren's business, and Ryuji wasn't going to bother asking. Yet.
He took off for the roof from Chouno's room, reaching his destination quickly after climbing the stairs. Ryuji emerged from the school to the roof, the bright July sun hitting his eyes. The rest of GRAVY, except Yusuke, greeted him.
Good thing I sent Yusuke money for the subway earlier today. That would've sucked to explain to everyone, huh? "Sorry, guys. I didn't pay for Yusuke, so he's stuck in wherever the eff he hangs out." Speaking of, where does he hang out? Yusuke's a friend at this point, but I don't know shit about the guy. That'll change tomorrow, right? Ryuji asked himself.
"'Sup, guys? Made it on time," he said before he went over to the abandoned desks and took a seat. None of the others were sitting, but Ryuji didn't care. He was tired, and who was really going to be upset with him for wanting to recharge his batteries?
"Because Yusuke-kun will be late, we'll begin without him," Haru said.
All attending members turned to face Haru, who was standing in front of the mini-gardens. Ren, Makoto, and Ann stood in between the abandoned desks and the entrance back into the school.
"First, we'll go over the tools necessary for gardening."
That was Ryuji's cue to tune out.
Wonder what Ren's plan is for tomorrow. Shinjuku's a dope place, but not many hang-out spots for people our age. I mean, maybe there is, Ren's probably got something up his sleeve, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'll settle for being surprised, Ryuji thought, before proceeding to do the exact opposite of settling. We going to the movies? Nah, probably not. The big Shinjuku theater is more expensive than the closer theaters. Maybe just walking the streets and looking for interesting shit? That could be it, but Ren's still pretty new to Tokyo. I don't think he's confident enough to purposely get lost in Shinjuku yet. So what else? Wait… what if we're going to a bar?! Oh man, that'd be crazy! But then Makoto would ditch Ren for pretty much all of the summer. Then again, she doesn't have to know…
Ryuji kept thinking about the possibilities that the next day would bring as Haru proceeded to teach everyone how to take care of the plants.
Haru was pleasantly surprised with how the lesson had gone so far. No interruptions, except for Yusuke joining them shortly after beginning the important part, no plants being destroyed, and no new messages on Haru's phone. That last one wouldn't only ruin the lesson, but also her day. At this point, Haru would feel her anxiety spike whenever her phone vibrated in her pocket.
The feeling of dread for whatever the text message contained usually stopped Haru from checking, but there was always the possibility that it could be someone for GRAVY asking Haru to help. Her role in this world was to help people and make things easier for them, so of course she had to check the messages just in case they were friendly.
Unfortunately, it was usually him. Nobuo Sugimura always took the time out of his extravagant, wasteful time on earth to persistently pester Haru.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-Come over right now or else.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-Why the fuck do you never listen to me?
Nobuo Sugimura:
-Can't wait for you to be my wife so I don't have to wait.
Those weren't even randomly sent text messages over the past month or so; they were sent consecutively within the past twenty-four hours. Additionally, this wasn't even the first time a similar string of messages had to be sent. Haru had learned to just ignore him, but this would be less and less of a possibility going forward. Marriage loomed over every moment of Haru's day and loomed even more over her future. Ignoring Sugimura wouldn't be allowed at a certain point. Plus, even now she couldn't just ignore him all the time. Time together was occasionally required by Haru's father, and she didn't have the will or the empowerment to even tell-off Sugimura from his words. All he spoke of was the coming marriage and how he would fix Haru into a good little wife, and it made Haru despise the creature that was Nobuo Sugimura even more.
But Haru was able to bottle all of that up for now. The messaging anxiety, the threats, the thought of marriage, just to spend a little time with her friends. It was her escape from Sugimura, from the marriage, and from her father. Gardening was already what calmed Haru down, and having her friends with the experience was enough of a positive experience that she was able to entirely forget about what was currently taking over her life.
However, she didn't forget enough for the vibration in her pocket to not send a shiver up her spine and stop her in place when she was packing soil at the base of a plant.
"Everything okay?" Ann asked from next to Haru, performing the same action.
"Y-yes… everything's fine," Haru said as she dismissed the text message. Everyone in GRAVY was already present, so she didn't have to worry if the sender of the message was one of them. She already knew who it was, so she could ignore it.
Time would only prove her incorrectness. Over the next few minutes, all while Haru was instructing members of GRAVY on the watering process, the message notifications wouldn't relent. She didn't have the audible notifications on, so the other members of GRAVY didn't notice. However, they did notice Haru shaking ever so slightly when watering, not normal for a girl such as her.
"Haru? Everything is going as planned, is it not?" Yusuke solemnly asked as Haru handed him the watering can so he could test his ability.
"W-well…" another notification in her pocket. She knew that she would have to read them eventually. Better to just do it while she was somewhere safe rather than alone and afraid, right? Haru temporarily excused herself with a few words. "I'll be back in several minutes. I have a call to answer. Just continue watering the plants, please."
Yusuke nodded and Haru stepped back from the mini-garden. The other members of GRAVY heard her excuse, so she didn't have to explain more when she walked through the door back into Shujin. There, just inside the rooftop exit, Haru took a deep breath and pulled her phone out of her pocket.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-I want to see you in your wedding dress.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-When're you going to send those pictures?
Nobuo Sugimura:
-When are you going to let me see all of you?
And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Way more messages than usual had flooded Haru's inbox, all of them horrible. Perhaps whatever usually satiated Sugimura's lust wasn't there for him today, and all he had to do for entertainment was harass Haru over the phone.
Well, it was a little more than just text message harassment at this point. The most recent text message that Haru had received suggested something horrible.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-You never answer my messages.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-That's fine. We can "talk" in person…
Nobuo Sugimura:
-Don't think you can hide. The tracker that your dad has on your phone lets me know that you're at Shujin.
Nobuo Sugimura:
-I expect you to be waiting for me when the car pulls up.
No… not now… not with them here, please, Haru thought to herself. She felt the tears forcing themselves out of her eyes, but she had to contain herself. Sugimura would be mad if her makeup was off.
Haru looked at the door out to the roof. She could hear the other members of GRAVY laughing, all of them surely having a good time. She smiled to herself, happy that everyone was having fun learning about Haru's hobby. She couldn't weigh down their good time with her problems. She looked down the stairs, picturing Sugimura's slimy, smug face awaiting her at the school gate.
Haru wanted nothing more than to walk through the door and stay on the roof, but she knew that she couldn't. Sugimura would report her to his own further, who would then tell Kunikazu. The arranged marriage would crumble, Haru's father's political plans would be ruined, and Haru would be looked down upon as the daughter who took away her father's dream from him.
Haru took the time necessary to stop herself from unleashing the tears, and she went down the stairs.
"Ryuji, do not take the plant out of the dirt to water it!" Ann quickly objected as she saw Ryuji attempting to uproot a plant for that very purpose.
"Awww… please?"
"No." When Makoto authoritatively chimed in, the decision was made final.
Ren just observed as everyone did the work that had been requested by Haru. He had done enough gardening with Haru previously that he already knew the necessary basics, so he figured he was set.
Not gardening also enabled Ren to think of other things.
It's been more than few minutes… wait, is Haru still here?
Ren went to the door. He was just going to open it and make sure his friend was still there. She definitely was, because where the hell would she go to without announcing her departure?
Only she wasn't. There was no sign of her behind the door. Ren worriedly looked back to the group to decide whether to tell them of Haru's absence or not.
Fuck it. Makoto will know what to do. She's good with this stuff.
"Hey, Makoto? Could you come here?" Ren asked, interrupting Makoto laughing at a joke that Ryuji had told. She nodded and walked over, a smile still on her face from the banter. Ren lowered his voice before speaking again. "So, uh… Haru's gone."
You just had to say it like that, Ren? Really?
"What?"
"She went in here to answer a call a few minutes ago, right? Well, she's gone," Ren said with a little urgency. Sure, there was nothing bad that could happen, but Ren didn't exactly have the best history with his female friends going missing. Ren still considered Makoto's kidnapping his fault, so he didn't want to something similar happen again. Then again, who was going to kidnap Haru? There was pretty much no one left at school, and it seemed Yoshiro had apparently been figuratively neutered by counseling sessions with Maruki.
"Maybe she just had to go to the bathroom."
No, dammit. Something could be wrong, so we have to check. I'm surprised Makoto isn't rushing past me to help. Or am I just overreacting? Probably, but there's no harm in looking for her, right?
"Okay, maybe, but she said she was taking a call. And she would've told us if she was going to the bathroom. Can we just go look for her?"
Makoto looked at Ren in his eyes for a few seconds, analyzing him. He was fine with that, as that would hopefully help him get through to Makoto.
"Alright. Let's go," Makoto said. She moved past Ren into the school. Ren stayed back to let the others know that they were just going to be gone for a bit.
"Hey, guys? Makoto and I are gonna go check on Haru!" Ren said. "Just keep working. We'll be back soon!"
"Got it!" Ann said back, and then Ren knew he could leave.
He went into the school, following behind Makoto as they began their search.
Haru felt herself die a little inside as she watched the sleek black limo turn the corner onto the street that led to the front gate of Shujin. The tinted windows stopped her from seeing whatever despicable people were within, but she could feel their eyes on her even if she couldn't see them.
The limo slowed to a stop in front of Shujin's gate. Haru was standing just within the gate, even though it didn't change a thing. As the door of the limo opened, Haru felt her heartbeat growing more rapid with every second. The familiar white business suit and greasy orangish-brown hair made Haru feel sick at the sight.
Sugimura adjusted his tie and looked around, taking in Shujin's entrance and its surroundings.
"Ah, Haru. My fiancée, my soon-to-be lover. I see that you've read my text messages and knew to meet me…"
Haru didn't say anything. If it had worked in the past for the messages, maybe it would work in real life. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Either way, Haru stayed quiet and stared at the ground, not daring to meet Sugimura's perverted gaze. Even if she didn't look, Haru could feel his eyes traveling up and down her body.
"You've lost weight for me, Haru? Better than I expected from an Okumura."
I… Haru's mind was blank, but that was standard procedure for whenever one of these events had to happen. She was used to being kept in her place by now, but that didn't mean she wasn't aggravated.
"Afraid of the signature Sugimura bite? That's fine, I can leave that part out in the bedroom."
Haru couldn't help but groan at that. The despicable man never relented in his perversions of Haru and didn't seem to care about her distaste for him.
"Feeling rebellious today, are we?" Sugimura asked. Groans being classified as rebellious didn't surprise Haru; the pig would consider Haru breathing too quickly as her acting up. "That's fine. Once I break you in, there will be no room for such thoughts."
Haru felt as if she was growing smaller and smaller there at Shujin's gate. Sugimura's words shrunk her image of herself, as she knew that she couldn't respond at all. She had to stay quiet for her father's sake and put up with Sugimura. But words weren't so bad. As long as he wasn't phy-
"Haru!" someone yelled from behind the heiress. She turned around to see Ren and Makoto hurrying out of the school doors and down the steps. "Haru! Are you… who the fuck are you?"
Ren was always vulgar. Haru didn't have a problem with it, but his excessive swearing could sometimes catch her off guard or even be grating to her.
"Someone worth far more than you, imbecile," Sugimura said dismissively, flipping his hair for an added effect of douchebaggery.
She could hear Ren mumble some words, but he ultimately didn't speak up. It seemed unlike the GRAVY leader to stay silent in times such as this and not let an insult fly. This time, Makoto spoke for him.
"Leave all of us alone," she said authoritatively. Haru appreciated Makoto's words, but she knew that they would be pointless. Sugimura wouldn't be sent away by words. He would only leave when he got what he wanted or something went wrong.
"Don't make me laugh!" he said before doing so anyway, grabbing Haru's wrist in the process. "Come now, Haru. We have business to attend."
As Haru was being tugged towards the limo, she looked back at Ren and Makoto. Ren was staring at the ground, his shaggy hair covering his face, but he seemed to be stuck on what to do. Makoto was staring directly back at Haru, pleading for her to do something to end the situation so she could rejoin GRAVY. Seeing that look on Makoto's face and knowing that she was the reason behind it sparked something in Haru. It was something that didn't bode well for her once she unleashed it.
After the next tug towards the limo, Haru quickly turned back towards Sugimura and slapped him across the face. The shock forced the snob to let go of her hand so he could make sure his delicate face was alright.
"You... you bitch!" he yelled as he reached for her with one hand. Now that she was ready, Haru was able to step backward in time to avoid Sugimura's grip.
"We are not married yet, Sugimura-san. Leave me be," she asked as calmly as possible. Standing her ground was incredibly difficult, as she knew that she could be destroying everything her father was working for by doing so.
Sugimura gasped at Haru's disobedience. He turned to Ren and Makoto.
"You two! This is your fault!"
They didn't say anything in response, both of them now looking at Haru with concerned expressions.
"Goodbye, Sugimura-san," Haru said before turning to face the school and walking back to it.
Haru heard a frustrated yell from Sugimura as he stomped around the ground at Shujin's gate and smiled to herself at his unhappiness. As she opened the door for herself, she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Thinking that it could be Sugimura trying to grab her again, Haru swiftly turned to defend herself.
It was just Makoto and Ren. Haru lowered her guard and held the door for the two, both entering the school and then turning to talk to Haru.
"You alright?" Ren asked.
"Yes, I'm fine but-"
"Are you sure? I dunno about the marriage situation but this could be-"
Haru had been able to keep the idea of ruining her father's plans at bay because it was only herself reinforcing the idea, but the external reinforcement was too much for her. Haru knew how much what she had just done would weigh down the Okumrua name, possibly even damaging father's position among his peers.
"You think I don't know that, Ren?! You think I don't realize what I just did?!" Haru practically screamed at him, finally snapping after all this time of being a good girl and staying quiet.
Ren looked shocked, but soon accepted Haru's anger.
"I'm sorry... let's... let's just get back to gardening," Haru said before she walked past the pair and began going to the roof.
The bittersweet feeling of slapping Sugimura's face was becoming more bitter than sweet as Haru stressed about the consequences. She would certainly face them within the next day, as the Sugimura's were still staying at the Okumura estate.
Haru planned on making the most out of her time left with GRAVY that day, but she knew it would be tainted by the incident. Finally reaching the roof, Haru went to open the door but stopped when she realized what she was missing.
She forced a smile onto her face and then opened the door to rejoin her friends.
A/N: I'll be uploading new chapters on Sundays instead of Wednesdays because school is starting to go back to in-person learning, so I wouldn't be able to get chapters up on Wednesdays until night, which is why this chapter is coming so late in the day. The next chapter will be on April 4th, and the Sunday schedule will go from there.