Chapter 1: The Other Wild Card
(A)
Akira observed the scenery.
She had always wanted to ride a train. There was nothing quite like seeing the surroundings go by so fast and yet feel like floating past it. It was made even better with all the landmarks on the way, thanks to the line they were on having quite a few of them on the way to Tokyo. But she couldn't really bring herself to enjoy it as she reminisced on how they got here.
"Please, Big Bro," she said that day. "Can you please come with me?"
"Hmm? Come with you?" her older brother by one year said. "Why?"
"Well, there's this book I want to get but it's..."
"It's...?"
"It's on the far end of town so it'll be close to dark when I'm heading back and..."
Her brother just sighed before shaking his head with a small smile. "Is it about swords, by any chance?"
"Hey! It's not just swords! It's an encyclopedia of weapons! I've been looking everywhere for it! And the only reason I know it's there is because—!"
"All right, all right, I get it. Let's go so we can get back soon," he said, shouldering his briefcase with an amused smile.
As grateful as she was, she still couldn't help but pout at that. But that was soon gone when they reached the bookstore and Akira finally got the encyclopedia she wanted.
"Thank you, Mrs. Akatsu," she said to the woman manning the old bookshop.
"Oh, it's my pleasure, Amamiya-chan," she said, her smile making her wrinkles prominent. "It's always good to see books off to new homes."
"Bye! See you later!" she said and they left the familiar bookstore.
As soon as they were out, Ren said, "You're sure that book is in top condition?"
Akira rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, I checked. Or rather, I had Mrs. Akatsu check. The pages don't smell."
Her brother was still hesitant, but sighed and said, "All right, if you say so."
"You can check it yourself when we get back if you want, you know."
"I think my little sister has had enough of my nagging, so no," he said, smirking.
She slapped his arm in retaliation but all that did was make her brother laugh and she, too, fell victim to it. When the laughter faded, they walked in companiablr silence, the little lighting not deterring them as they walked the familar path back home. However, about halfway home, they heard a woman shouting in distress. The two stopped, looked at each other for a moment, then rushed off towards the sound. As they thought, there was a woman and it seemed she was being harassed by a man.
Just as fast as they came, they intervened, telling the man to stop, her brother also pushing him away from the woman. Apparently, that was enough to make the man topple over. But considering Akira could smell the alcohol off of him so strong it almost made her wretch, she hadn't been so surprised.
What had caught her off guard was the man blowing his top off, threatening to sue her brother. And, as if on cue, the sound of police sirens were coming closer and the man told the woman to tell them her brother had assaulted him.
"What?!" Akira said, took a step towards him, ready to say more with a punch, but was stopped by her brother grabbing her wrist.
Then the police came and fearfully recognized the drunkard man, who then turned to the woman and said,
"Well?"
And the woman did it. She actually did it. She told them that her older brother, Ren, had attacked the man.
Next thing she knew, Akira was the one to blow her top, shouting as loud as her defective lungs would let her. How dare he falsely accuse him?! He had been drunk and fell on his ass! She tried to get closer, to see his face so she could find out who the hell he was she was going to punch, but someone was holding her back. And that woman! Why did she do that?! They had been trying to help her! Why—
"Aki?" Ren said, her memory interrupted. "You all right?"
Akira glanced around, realizing she wasn't at the street anymore. She shook her head and gave her brother a smile, weak as it was.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Just...thinking."
"About last month?"
She glanced away at that and only heard her brother sigh.
"You didn't have to fight for me, you know."
That made her look back with a smirk. "And you didn't have to curl your hair so we'll look even more alike."
Ren stared before he softly chuckled, Akira joining him not long after. When he was done, he said,
"Then I guess that makes us even."
It was then that the train announced the next stop, signalling that they needed to switch lines if they wished to reach their destination.
"Ah, looks like our first stop's coming up." Ren adjusted his fake glasses and bag then said, "Ready?"
"Yup," Akira said and pulled up her mask. "Just lead the way, Big Bro."
The train stopped like it hadn't been going several miles per hour and its doors opened wide. Akira had to hold onto Ren, otherwise she would've been pushed outside and away from him by the mass of people swarming out of the locomotive. Once they were out, and not being squashed, Akira let go and looked around the station.
One thing was for sure, it was noisy. Akira was half tempted to cover her ears from the constant thrumming of steps echoing off the pavement. Thankfully, the sound wasn't as deafening once they went up and into the streets, but it was still just as crowded, everyone rushing around like ants. Despite the relatively lower volume, she was still tempted to get some form of earmuffs later.
Ren was quick to find the next line to their destination and Akira started following him. But when they reached a crossway, she heard her phone ring in her bag and took it out, a reminder for her to drink her medicine on the screen. But she couldn't take it here, not wanting to risk losing it, so she snoozed the alarm. With that handled, she looked up to her brother and was about to ask him how long it would take to get to their destination when she noticed him staring at his phone with a blank expression.
Akira frowned behind her mask and said, "Big Bro? You all right?"
Ren blinked and turned his stare to her, as if not realizing what he had been doing, before he shook his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just some weird app," he said. Then he moved his finger, recognizing the motion as him deleting it. "Our next train's in five minutes. We better hurry."
Akira decided not to question it since she needed to take her medicine soon. So they went to their next train, this trip sailing by just as fast, and then they arrived at Yongen-Jaya Station. Thankfully, this one had less people milling about, making it as peaceful as a city as big as Tokyo could be.
Yongen-Jaya itself was much the same with few people going about the residential area. But Akira couldn't help but stay close to Ren as he double checked the address. Everywhere she looked were buildings, buildings and more buildings, the only things breaking it up were the streets, the signs and the people. Not a single tree in sight. The best she saw were potted plants.
Soon they found themselves in front of an unassuming house, with the nameplate "Sakura" by its gate. Ren ringed the bell and they could hear the distinct sound of a modern and artificial bell but no one answered.
"You're sure this is the right place?" she said, unable to help it.
"Pretty sure," he said, his face showing he was just as confused and worried as she was.
It was then that a passing delivery man said, "Are you two looking for Sakura-san?"
They were hesitant, but seeing as they had no other leads, they nodded.
"He's usually at his café at this time. Just back down to the street and make a left at the second turn," he said.
Ren said, "Thank you."
As the man had said, they did indeed find a café with his directions, a place called "Café LeBlanc", from what Akira could read of the overhead sign. And she was glad that their caretaker was here as the inside was a welcome change. The brown colors and soft lighting made it feel like a lived in home. Though that impression was somewhat dampened by the news talking about a car crash earlier that day and an elderly couple mentioning they've been becoming frequent.
"I thought they were exaggerating it..." she said in a low voice.
It was then that a middle-aged man with a small beard and glasses noticed them. In a somewhat deep and definitely grumpy tone, he said,
"Ah, they did say it was today..."
Then he groaned and put away the newspaper whose sudoku he was trying to solve.
Coincidentally, the old couple stood up and the old man said, "Well, we'll be going now. The payment's on the table."
"Thank you for doing business with us," the bearded man said.
"Oh, it's our pleasure. After all, this café is in the back alleys so we don't have worry about cars crashing in here."
"A what now?" the small-bearded man said, eyebrow raised.
"Oh, didn't you hear the news? There have been more of those accidents lately. People apparently going mad or something and not remembering a thing," the old man said.
Akira shuddered. That sounded terrifying.
"That's none of my concern," the middle-aged man said.
"Ah, I see. Well, we'll see you next time."
Akira and Ren moved to allow the elderly couple to leave before turning back to face the man that remained, who groaned and muttered,
"Four hours for a single cup of joe..."
From the fact he was the only one left in the café and how he was acting, Akira could guess that this bearded bespectacled man was Sojiro Sakura. Especially as he turned his stern gaze to them and said,
"So, you two kids the ones?"
With a brief glance at her brother who met her eyes, she knew that Ren thought the same as well. She nodded, telling him in silence that she wanted him to answer. He returned it in agreement before turning to the presumed Sojiro Sakura.
"Yes sir. I'm Ren Amamiya. This is my little sister, Akira." He bowed then said, "Please take care of us."
That politeness, however, made the café owner look at them with suspicion as he said, "Uh huh."
Akira frowned, wondering if he was acting cold because of their record.
She didn't get much chance to dwell on it though as he said, confirming her first suspicion,
"Well, I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody for the year." And he cemeted her second one as crossed his arms and harrumphed. "I was wondering what kind of unruly kids would show up. But you're the ones, huh?"
"What? You didn't know what we looked like?" she said, giving him a flat stare.
"Akira..." her brother said with a frown.
Sakura-san looked unimpressed as he huffed again. "Of course not. It was a customer of mine who knew your parents and suggested to—" he said. But then he shook his head and sighed. "Well, not that that matters..."
The bearded man then turned and went to the end of the café, where there were stairs to the right.
"Follow me," he said as he went up it.
Akira pouted. The temptation to give him a hard time in payback was very high. But with a comforting hand from her brother in a reminder, she sighed in agreement. Since this was where they were staying, she would have to put up with it. So, tailing behind her brother, they went up the steps their guardian took in the back...
Akira's eye twitched.
...to find themselves in an attic that clearly wasn't used a lot. There were cabinets in various parts of the room, plenty of boxes stored in them. There were canvases covering many of said boxes. In the far left was a desk and the right a makeshift bed made from crates, with windows above them. Not too far from the bed, beside a cabinet, she noticed a potted plant that was beginning to wilt along with various other things, like a freaking ladder and bucket. And, worst of all, a layer of dust covered everything everywhere. The only thing that wasn't under the light grey veil was the box that had all of their essentials in it sent from home.
In other words: an asthmatic's nightmare.
"This is your room," Sakura-san said. "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."
Akira groaned. You've got to be kidding me...
"Hmm? You wanna say something?"
Oh she did. And she was about to, but then Ren said, polite to the point of near emotionless,
"It's cluttered."
And that calmed Akira somewhat, glad that Ren was also, at the very least, annoyed at the man.
"If you have a problem with that, then it's on you to clean up the rest," Sakura said.
"My little sister has asthma."
Alarm flashed briefly on his face, but it soon returned to his previous stern expression.
"All the more reason for you to behave then," he said. "I'll be leaving you two alone at night after I lock up each day. I'll throw you both out if you cause any trouble."
Akira was glad for her mask because there was no way she could hide her frown otherwise as she gritted her teeth and held her bag tighter. Ren was, arguably, taking it better than her as his face became even more blank.
"I see," he said.
The man huffed and crossed his arms. "Look, I got the gist of your situation," he said.
Akira nearly scoffed but held it, if only because she knew her brother would scold her slightly. But she bet that the man only got the official repo—
"The kid protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he protected her and the man got injured then sued you, right? Then when you were getting arrested, you—" He looked to her. "—protested. So you got arrested and resisted, right?"
—what? He knew? But then why was he being so—
"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter bettween two adults. You did injure him, yeah? And now that you two got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. So the courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved."
—oh. Now it made sense. She had hoped their intentions were enough to ease up his stance, but no, they were just being "troublesome brats" in his eyes. Even if it was to help someone. Just like everyone else. Just as expected of everyone else.
But then he said, with a freaking smug face,
"In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass."
Red.
Fist.
"You son of a—!"
"Akira!"
It was only when she felt a hand on her shoulder did she realize she had raised her own, ready to slug him. And, of course, Sakura-san was not impressed. Akira grunted and relaxed her stance, staring at the floor as Ren let go of her. Even if Sakura-san didn't think of them as criminals, that certainly solidified his impression of them being troublemakers. But at least it was even, seeing as she didn't have a good one of him either.
"You're lucky your brother stopped you or I really would've kicked you two out already," he said. "It's best you quit that attitude of yours and not talk about anything unecessary. I am in the restaurant business you know."
Not wanting to lose their current residence just as soon as they arrived because of her, Akira just nodded and glanced at Ren so he'd know she wanted him to talk for both of them. He nodded to her then at their "caretaker" and said,
"Understood."
"Right. I'll say this again: behave yourselves for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted. Cause any problems and you'll be sent straight to juvie."
She nodded.
"Yes sir," he said, tone back to extreme politeness.
"Well then. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."
"Shujin?"
The man sighed. "Shujin Academy. The school you'll be attending. We'll introduce you two to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know."
"Oh. I see. Thank you, sir," Ren said.
The man just scoffed before he groaned. He mumbled, "What a waste of my Sunday..."
Akira felt her eye twitch but then the man turned to the cardboard box sent from home in the middle of the room.
"Your luggage arrived earlier. I left them over there."
"Thank you," Ren said.
And with that, and another scoff, the ageing man with glasses went back down. It was only a few seconds after he left did she say,
"Saying stuff about us is one thing...but saying stuff about Mom and Dad..."
All Ren did was sigh and say, "Well, it's not like most parents would be happy about their children having a criminal record. It'd probably be hard for most people to believe our parents didn't do that with our situation."
Akira grumbled. "I know, I know, but still...this sucks..."
Her brother put a hand on her shoulder in comfort, giving her a sad smile. "I know. But we can't do anything if he that's how he will treat us," he said. "How about after you take your medicine you go look around while I clean up?"
Akira knew he was right, with both Sakura-san and needing to leave the room for now. But still, she groaned and said, "I wish I could help..."
Ren just gave an apologetic smile, as usual, before he said, "Well then how about you get dinner while you're out? And maybe see if there are any spots we can hang out after school."
That didn't sound too bad, even though she knew it was suggested so that she wouldn't breath the dust he would undoubtedly kick up while cleaning.
"All right then. I'll see you later, Big Bro!"
"See you, Aki."
Before she actually left, she took her medicine out of her bag and her water canteen to drink it. With that done, she then went down the stairs to exit the café. As soon as she reached the door however, the building's owner said,
"Where are you going?"
She paused her steps, took a deep breath, and then turned to him.
"I'm gonna look around and get dinner while my big brother cleans up our room," she said.
Sakura-san narrowed his eyes slightly but Akira kept her gaze locked with his, not backing down. Thankfully, he soon stopped and sighed. Then he said,
"Remember to come back before dark."
Akira allowed herself an eye roll as she finally exited the café. She couldn't tell if that was his attempt to make up for earlier or he just didn't want to deal with the trouble of a teen coming back late.
Which she hoped wouldn't be the case as there wasn't really anywhere else to get food besides his café in the area nearby. It wasn't "empty", as there was plenty of places to go, like a small market, a laundromat, and even a theater and a batting cage in the area. And, handily, she found there was a clinic that seemed to double as a pharmacy just a short walk away from Leblanc, which she made a mental note to check out if she could get her medicine from later. Which was good since it seemed there were plenty of stray cats in the neighborhood, as well as some neighbors with pets, wistfully reminding her she couldn't have one.
But besides Leblanc, there wasn't anywhere in the backstreets to eat and cooking a proper meal using the café's kitchen was out of the question. She was tempted to see the rest of Yongen-jaya considering what she's heard of the neighborhood, but she didn't want to stray too far from the area around Café Leblanc or the route they took between their new home and the station. That would add even more time, even with a map on her phone.
So with that, she decided to try her luck in nearby Shibuya, managing to take a train. Hopefully there would be some place to buy food not far from the station. Though once she stepped out of the packed elongated bullet and into the rushing tide of the Shibuya streets, she almost wished that she hadn't. She wasn't quite squished, but it was hard to keep an eye on her phone that had a map of the area and on her surroundings without getting jostled by people hurrying to their destinations. Seeing that was a disaster waiting to happen, she looked for a spot where she wouldn't be pushed by the flow, so that she could get her bearings and decide on a destination of her own.
As she did, all of a sudden her nose was assaulted with the nauseating stench of perfume, strong and decidedly minty. Her stomach churned, bile already threatening to leave her throat, and air struggled to get into her lungs as her airways clogged. In a quick and smooth motion, she pulled down her mask and reached for her pocket, taking out her rescue inhaler. But just as she did, she was pushed, the pungent perfume even stronger now, and her inhaler flew out of her hand.
No!
She moved, ignoring the gaudy and pungent lady, with only one thought in her mind as her air lessened with each step to find her savior.
I have to find it. I have to find it. I have to find it. I have to find it!
[G]
Akechi sighed as he checked his schedule on his phone after copying the message that arrived to an encypted file and then deleted the original message. He had just recieved another mission to cause a psychotic breakdown, this time on the engineer for a train. He would have to leave it for tomorrow since not only did he have to go deal with "closing" the case involving the last breakdown he did this afternoon, he also had been asked by Sae-san for help on something. Which was annoying since the new mission was a simple one but it couldn't be helped. And Sae-san did ask for his assistance. It would be fun to see what it was. She was one of the few adults he knew that actually had a brain.
Akechi was pulled from his thoughts when something bumped into his foot. He looked down to see a bright blue inhaler. He furrowed his brow as he picked it up and returned his phone. From the label and L shape, it was a metered dose rescue inhaler for asthmatics. And if it was out, that meant someone was going to use it but dropped it...and most likely desperately needed it. That wouldn't do. If the owner died and someone found out he held the inhaler, he could be blamed for letting a bystander die, damaging his reputation as the perfect Detective Prince, thus ruining both his fame and his plan by consequence. He thought of quickly disposing it, after all it wasn't his business, but he heard the sound of wheezing over the din of steps and murmurs and he looked to find it was a teenaged girl likely close to his age, clearly having a hard time breathing and searching with what little strength she had.
At a brisk pace, he went up to her, put down his attaché case and placed the inhaler in her hands as he moved it near her face, knowing every second counted. The girl, despite wheezing, moved with quick and practiced movments, uncapping it, putting it to her mouth, and pressing the button in less than a second before inhaling, long and deep. After a few moments of holding her breath, she exhaled and let go of the inhaler. It was only then as Akechi waited while she took a few more tentative breaths, making sure her symptoms wouldn't rise again, did he realize what he had done. But before he could berate himself for something unecessary and impulsive, the girl sighed in relief and gave him a smile as she said,
"Thank you very much for that."
Akechi returned it with one of the charming smiles he was taught to give.
"Oh it's no trouble, I'm just happy to be of service," he said.
That warmed her expression, the corners of her pale blue eyes crinkling as she straightened her posture. Akechi followed her example and was a bit surprised to find she was more or less the same height as him.
"Still, thanks. I don't think words can really tell you how grateful I am for the help," she said.
Then her cheerfulness disappeared as her eyes narrowed and she pouted.
Akechi almost took a step back, wondering why she was making such a face. Did she recognize him perhaps? That wouldn't be too surprising but if that was the case then all the more reason he should leave soon. But it would be rude to just leave all of a sudden and that would be a slight to his persona of Detective Prince. So he said,
"Are you all right?"
And when she answered, he would make his exit. As he hoped, she did answer, but not in the way he expected.
"Do you like sweets?"
He blinked. "What?" he said, unable to stop himself.
And she just said it again. "Do you like sweets?"
Unsure where this was going, but not seeing the harm at the moment, he said, forgetting his persona, "Well not particularly. But I don't mind them."
"Oh," she said, slumping her shoulders in disappointment. Then she put her hand in her pocket. "Well, it's not much but..." The girl pulled out a bar of wrapped chocolate. "...here. You're on your way to work, right? I'm sure this'll be a good pick me up. Well, unless you're allergic to dairy or chocolate..."
Akechi raised an eyebrow. She actually recognized him after all?
"What makes you think I'm on my way to a job?"
The girl gestured to his attaché case on the ground with her chin.
"That doesn't look like your regular bag for school. So I thought you're off to some part time job," she said. "Hopefully I'm not making you be late."
So she hasn't heard of him and she noticed despite the asthma attack... Unconsciously, Akechi's smile got smaller but more genuine as he chuckled. He wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or glad she didn't seem to know him yet was observant.
"I see. Very well then, I'll accept it. Thank you," he said, taking it.
The girl's eyes lit up behind her glasses when he did. She pulled up her mask, but not before he saw her amused grin as she said, "Hey, I'm the one thanking you, remember? And it's not much anyway."
"Well I appreciate the thanks nonetheless," Akechi said, a little surprised himself that he meant it. He picked up his attaché case. "I'll be taking my leave now."
"Sure, go ahead. Don't wanna make you late because you helped. Good luck with it, whatever it is."
Unbidden, he said, "And good luck to you as well."
The girl with glasses nodded before taking steps to leave. But, once again to his surprise, she waved as she left, looking over as she said,
"Bye! Hope we can meet again!"
With that, she got swallowed by the crowd, not even her distinctive curly hair making it easy to spot her in the mass. And Akechi stared at the spot he last saw her for a few moments before staring at the chocolate in his hands. He didn't need it considering he already had a few snacks in his case for emergencies, and there was a good chance it was melted considering he didn't know how long it had been in her pocket, but somehow...he didn't mind that it was the best the girl could do in the circumstances. And though there was very little chance of it happening or it being sincere...
She was the first to want to see him again.
{R}
Ren let out a deep breath before he scanned his progress.
The room was pretty clear now. Since they weren't his and there wasn't exactly a storage space, he piled everything—boxes, ladder and all—that wasn't theirs to the back of the room, behind the railing around the stairs, which, thankfully, still left plenty of space. The exception being the withering, but not dead, plant that he guessed was a palm tree of some kind. He had swept as much as he could reach that wasn't blocked by furniture too large to move by himself and then he cleaned the dusty areas he couldn't use a broom on with a wet cloth. Of course, he would have to change the sheets on the bed in the corner, but otherwise his makeshift cleanup would suffice for now, the darkening sky outside reminding him to stop. He would have to see if there was anything else that could cause an allergy or an asthma attack another time.
Sounds of footsteps made him turn to the stairs and, to his disappointment, found Sakura-san...and he was staring in surprise.
"Huh. I was wondering what was with all the noise, but I didn't think you'd actually clean up," he said. His expression made way for a smug one. "Pretty impressive."
Ren sighed quietly. He wasn't sure whether to feel complimented or insulted.
"Do you need something, Sakura-san?" he said, keeping his tone polite, as he walked up to him.
"No," Sakura-san said. "Just checking on you. I'll be closing shop soon, so don't stay up too late. I won't take care of you if you get sick." The middle-aged man glared. "And don't mess with anything in my shop. If I see anything out of place or gone, I will throw you to the cops."
Ren nodded, not caring too much of his words because of his tone...until he realized what he said.
"You're closing now?"
The slightly bearded man sighed. "Didn't you hear me?"
"Well, yes, but my sister..."
"I won't wait up for her. But you can let her in if she doesn't come back before I—"
"I'm home!"
Ren sighed in relief. Speak of the devil. He went past Sakura-san, down the stairs and said,
"Welcome home."
"Hey Big Bro!" Aki chuckled sheepishly as she said, "I hope you don't mind me getting cup noodles. I didn't want to stay in Shibuya too long."
Ren gave an inquiring look and went up to her. "You went to Shibuya?"
"I couldn't find anywhere else to get food," she said with a pout.
Ren smiled. "Just wondering. I don't want you hurt."
"Yeah yeah... I know..." Aki said as if exasperated but her smile showing she wasn't.
Sakura-san then cut in and said, "Well, since you're here, I'll be going now."
Ren wasn't sure if he was imagining his deep tone being softer than before.
"Good-bye, Sakura-san. And good night," he said.
Aki's face soured but Ren sent a silent threat with his eyes. She met his gaze then sighed.
"Good night, Sakura-san," she said, low on energy.
The man raised his eyebrow, pausing his steps. But then he said, before he stepped out, "Make sure not to get in trouble, all right?"
With those words, he left.
And Aki said, "Geez... I don't get him... Does he wanna be nice to us or not?"
"You know we won't get an answer to that, Aki. And even if we did, I'm sure you won't like it."
"But still..."
"Come on, while dinner's getting ready, let's call Dad and Mama," he said as he made his way to the stairs.
"Oh yeah!" she said, following him.
Once in the attic, Aki sat on the couch and pulled out her phone while he pulled out the electric kettle from the cardboard box filled with their belongings. When he started to boil the water, the familiar voice of Mama said,
"Akira! You're okay! You are okay, right?"
His little sister laughed and said, "I'm fine Mom! See?" Then she made a haunting breath that made their mother laugh.
"Okay, okay," she said. "Where's Ren?"
"Here," he said, sitting beside Aki. "How are you doing Mama?"
"I should be asking that to you two! Are you settled? Is the room fine?"
Aki turned unsure. "Uh..."
"It's fine," Ren said. "A little dusty but I cleaned it up."
"Yeah! And it's pretty cozy."
Mama, however, then said, in a tone usually accompanied by a stern stare, "Akira... Ren..."
"Really, Mom, it's fine."
"It could be worse. We could've been stuck in a closet."
"Very well, if you say so..."
"Is Dad there?" Aki said.
"Oh! Give me a second."
There was the faint sound of wind rushing around it with the phone being moved and her voice being faint.
Then Dad said, "Akira, Ren, how are you?"
"We're fine, Dad! We already said that!" Aki said, smiling.
"Ha ha. Is your mother bothering you again?"
"I'm not bothering her! I'm just worried."
Another laugh. "Sure sure. If you insist."
He and Aki couldn't stop themselves from laughing as well, not doubting that Mama was pouting at them ganging up on her. Unsurprisingly, she was the one who decided to change the subject, and said,
"So, how was your day?"
And so dinner was spent talking with their parents as if they were right there with them, telling them of the train ride, of the bustle of Shibuya and how their room was like. But soon enough, they were done and they wished them good night, with the promise of calling often. Ren moved the extra futon and put it on the floor beside the makeshift bed, making sure there was a gap between them. After a short discussion, they agreed that he would take the floor while Aki took the bed so she wasn't as close to the floor and dust. Before they turned in, Ren set the alarm on his phone...
...and found a red and black eyed stared at him.
Ren was confused. He was sure he got rid of the strange app from his phone. How was it back? He didn't give much thought on that though, his mind too tired, and just deleted it again. With his alarm set and the lights off, Ren pulled the blanket over him, turned to his side and said,
"Good night, Aki."
"Night Big Bro."
"A couple years ago, there was an incident where a cabinet member did very questionable behavior and caused a scandal that he didn't even remember doing. When it first happened, it was written off as a mere accident. The same treatment was given when a similar incident happened a month later, this time that led to a CEO's car to crash, leaving him heavily injured. It wasn't until it happened several times, most ending in major accidents and scandals but some in deaths, did people notice and it became a relatively common place event on the news.
Author's Note: Disclaimer, I'm not an expert in Japanese culture and the most I know is from some research and second-hand knowledge from someone who has done more thorough research on it, but there is something I do need to mention, and that is the treatment of Joker in the game by most people who know of his past.
Short version, because of Japanese culture, reputation is very important, and thus even if it was for a false charge, if you did something considered bad in that society, it brings shame on both the person and their family, hence why Sojiro's treatment, and everyone else's, is so harsh, besides the fact that, in the case of Sojiro, he has personal reasons for being that way.
That's also why, even if both Ren and Akira don't like it, they're not surprised by the treatment. So, as far as I know, if anything, the fact that I had their parents still be nice to them is probably an outlier with what I know. And if that is the case, then it's just more proof that their parents, having found one another, don't care about the usual rules anymore.