April 4th

"Oh my God… I want to die," Nakamura wheezed out.

As soon as school got out, Akira met up with the underclassman and immediately got to work. They changed into better clothing to work out in, with Akira donning his red track suit he wore when working out with Ryuji, and Nakamura putting on a pair of athletic shorts and a plain grey t-shirt.

At the time Nakamura had been all smiles and determination. There was a starry-eyed wonderment that Akira couldn't help but find admirable. The workout had started well enough with the obligatory stretch, with Nakamura taking to it like a fish to water.

Then the workout started in full.

Nakamura's stamina was practically nonexistent, and he was not at all used to hard physical activity. He was only able to do a few push-ups, some sit-ups, and no pull-ups. The will was there, Akira noted, but the body simply lacked the strength. The run after that wasn't as bad, but frequent stops had to be made to let Nakamura catch his breath.

They had gone a total of a few miles before Nakamura tapped out, leaning against the side of a building, and desperately sucking in oxygen.

"Running hurts," he wheezed. "It hurts so much. Why does an activity I do with my legs hurt my lungs?"

Akira shrugged. With as many stops as they had to take, he didn't get nearly as winded. He felt a slight burn, but it was manageable. "I'm pretty sure it's a science thing. I know a doctor; they might be able to tell you a thing or two."

"Can they stop my lungs from collapsing?"

He gave Nakamura a pat on the back. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

Nakamura took a few more deep breaths before standing up straight. "You know, despite the indescribable pain I'm in, this was actually pretty fun. I can feel myself getting faster and stronger."

"Really?" Akira chuckled. "Well, that's good to hear, because we'll be right back at it tomorrow."

"Oh. Tomorrow? As in, tomorrow tomorrow?"

"Yep. Same time, same place." When he noticed Nakamura's face fall, he tried to reassure him. "Hey, don't worry. It'll get easier as you do it."

Nakamura nodded. A small smile started to spread across his face. "Okay, yeah that makes sense."

"When that happens, we'll run further and start early in the morning. And don't even get me started on when we actually get to weightlifting."

Nakamura's face fell again. "…oh."

The bell chimed, alerting Javier to some new customers. He turned to see his new employee walk in, followed by a slightly hunched high schooler. The high schooler looked a little younger than Akira, but that wasn't what he was concerned about.

"Dios mio, Akira, what happened to you?" Javier exclaimed.

Akira raised a brow, confused for a second, until he remembered that he had a large bruise on his face. "Tripped and fell," he quickly explained.

"On what, a fist?" María asked from behind the bar. An unlit cigarette hung from her mouth. "You look like shit, kid."

The rest of the café was mercifully empty, save for Javier and María. Akira quickly ambled over to the bar and took a seat, motioning for Nakamura to join him. "Well, good to know my looks haven't changed," Akira snarked. "Javier, María-san, this is Hideaki Nakamura. Nakamura-kun, this is Javier and María Hernández."

"Placer conocerte," Javier created, nodding his head.

Nakamura looked back at Akira, who just shrugged in response. He still hadn't pick up much Spanish in the time he started working here.

It was María who came to the save. "He said it's nice to meet you," she translated. She looked to Akira. "What'll you have, kid?"

"House blend, please."

"Sure thing," María said, already getting started. "And you?"

"Umm…" Nakamura looked over to Akira for advice. He got nothing. "I'll take… the house blend?"

María hummed an acknowledgement. Javier took her place in front of the high schoolers. He leaned on the counter and took a good at the bruise and scar on Akira's face. "Do your parents know about this?"

Akira couldn't hide the scowl on his face. "No." It came out as an aggressive snap, rather than whatever it was he was intending. He took a deep breath and said, a little calmer, "I… don't need to worry him more than I have to."

"Uh-huh," Javier said. He didn't believe the reasoning, but he wasn't going to pry. Nor was he going to ask why Akira specified only the father. "Either way, you certainly aren't doing your image any favors."

"It's not his fault," Nakamura blurted out. He shrank in on himself when Javier turned his gaze from Akira to him.

"Really?" Javier asked, but there was no note of accusation or disagreement. "What happened?"

María dished out the coffee to Akira and Nakamura as the underclassman squirmed in his seat. He snatched the coffee up and took a big gulp before letting out a few loud coughs. "Blegh! It's so bitter…"

Akira snorted and took a sip from his own mug. He was reminded of the first time Ryuji had a taste of Sojiro's coffee. Javier, on the other hand, looked offended. "It's black coffee. Of course, it's bitter. I can add some cream and sugar if you really want it."

"If it's not too much trouble?" Nakamura said with a timid smile.

Javier reached below the counter and pulled out a little cup filled with half-and-half creamers and sugar packets. The look on his face, Akira mused, finally matched the heavy bags under his eyes; one of tired defeat.

As Nakamura began pouring a rather insulting number of additives into his coffee, Javier turned to Akira. "Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to wait for him to ruin perfectly good coffee?"

"It was so cool!" Nakamura loudly exclaimed, startling them. "I was getting beat up, but then Akira swooped in and wiped the floor with them! I would have been a bloodied pulp if it wasn't for him!"

María let out a hearty laugh. "I hope he gave as good as he got!"

"Better!" Nakamura's eyes were glittering, and Akira couldn't help but put his face in hand. "He knocked a dude's tooth out!"

"Wow." Javier gave Akira an impressed look. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"It was no big deal," Akira replied, finding his coffee more interesting than the conversation.

"'No big deal?!' Kurusu-senpai, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"Looks like you got yourself a fanboy," María said with a smile.

"Don't rub it in." Akira took another drink. "But, yeah, he was in trouble, so I stepped in."

"You did try not to run into the punches, right? I haven't been in many fights myself, but I do believe that's one of the core tenants."

"You'd be correct," Javier replied. "But what about the other kid? Any chance of him going to the police?"

Akira shook his head. "Tanimura's a thug. He won't be treated any better. I'll be fine as long as it isn't a recurring issue."

Javier nodded, then quickly changed the subject. "So, what brings you around? You know you don't work until Thursday."

"I was hoping to not have people staring at me for a few minutes before we went to the arcade," Akira said. "Seriously, I feel like a circus freak at school."

"And the teachers are just okay with that?"

"The teachers are the worst." Well, that came out a more bitter than he intended. Akira felt his grip tighten around his mug. "They don't even try to hide what they say behind my back."

María shook her head. "That is so messed up. And I thought we had some issues."

"Have there been problems here, too?

Javier shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle, mi amigo. Just some locals who decided that giving a chance is worth getting upset over."

"What about business? I hope I haven't been—"

"Akira," Javier said firmly. "It's fine. You aren't the issue."

Nakamura took a sip of the drink that could once be called coffee and beamed. He turned to Akira and said, "The nice coffee man is right. If anyone should get blamed, it's all those guys who don't even bother to get to know the real you."

"You don't even know the real me," Akira grumbled, shaking his head. "But thanks. All of you. It does mean a lot to me that not everyone in this town hates me."

"Honestly, the worst is Kamiya," Nakamura said. "The things he says about you to the other teachers, it makes my skin crawl."

Akira exchanged a look with Javier before he asked, "What's he been saying?"

"Oh, just things like how you're 'ruining our image', or 'trash like him deserve to be in prison', or some stuff like that. The one that really made my skin crawl was him talking about our financial situation. Apparently, he thinks you'd cause a scandal, and the school couldn't afford that. Pretty messed up stuff."

"Wait," Akira said, putting his hand on Nakamura's shoulder. "What do you mean the school couldn't afford a scandal? When I left, Tokuyama was doing just fine for a small-town school."

"I mean, it was," Nakamura explained, his face unsure. "I guess it hit a rough patch? Kamiya's been doing a lot of budget cuts. Teachers are freaking out over potentially losing their jobs. A lot of clubs have been getting shut down, too. I was really looking forward to joining the photography club, too."

Akira shook his head in disbelief. "How'd you hear about this, anyway?"

"I sort of blend in with the background most of the time," Nakamura said, giving him a nervous smile. "People tend to not notice me too much, so they say a lot more when it's just me around."

Javier snorted. "With the way you treat perfectly good coffee, I don't think I'll ever not notice you." María gave him a light slap on the shoulder.

Akira, on the other hand, was deep in thought. The school was going through financial troubles? Was it because of him? He hadn't kept up on the current events of Meguro during his stay in Tokyo, but surely a year wouldn't have sunk the school that far down, would it?

An image of Kamiya in his fancy suit and his fancy watch crossed his mind. If Tokuyama was in such dire straits, how was he able to afford that stuff? It was suspect before, but now it was damning.

He took another drink of his coffee and filed that information away for later. An idea was forming in his mind. A bad, awful, terrible idea, one that he couldn't possibly do alone. He'd need help.

The rest of the visit to the café passed by in easy conversation as he and Nakamura finished their drinks and bid their goodbyes.

At the arcade, Nakamura watched as Akira beat him yet again. The gun drooped forward, and he frowned. "Man, you are really good at Gun About."

"Thanks," Akira said, giving the gun a twirl. "I learned form the best."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Besides, you kicked my ass at DDR."

Nakamura gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "I really like DDR."

"Obviously." He placed the gun back into the arcade machine and looked around. There wasn't much else to play, barring some pachinko games that Akira himself had never found that appealing. "Too bad they got rid of Street Fighter, though. I wasted so much on that game."

"I never played it myself," Nakamura said, returning his own gun. "Would've been nice to have had more than one two-player game, though."

"Excuse me, do you two boys attend Tokuyama?"

Akira and Nakamura turned to look at the unfamiliar voice. It was a woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late thirties, with her long black hair tied into a messy bun. She held a clipboard against her and a pen out to them. There was something off about her that Akira couldn't quite place.

"That's right," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He leaned against the Gun About cabinet and made sure his face didn't give any emotion away.

"Great! I'm sure you two were aware of some very unnerving news," the woman said. She smiled a little wider, but that did nothing to make her less off putting.

Nakamura tilted his head. "No? What news?"

"About them letting that criminal, Kurusu, back into our proud school."

Akira's eyes narrowed slightly, but he gave nothing else away. Nakamura, though, was less willing to hide his feeling. "Hey, that's not really—," he tried to say, but Akira held up a hand to silence him.

"Now, hold on, Nakamura-kun, I want to hear about this 'criminal'," he said, giving Nakamura a small smile.

"You don't know about him?" the woman asked.

"No, can't say I do. I'm sort of new in town, so I'm not too familiar with the place."

The woman nodded, giving him an understanding smile. "Of course. You see, exactly one year ago, this criminal assaulted a man on his way home from school. It was quite the shock at the time. Even worse, the man was in the running to be Prime Minister! Why, I shudder to think of how we failed a child so completely that he would assault a member of our parliament!"

"The fiend," Akira said casually, barely able to contain his grin. "What happened after that?"

"It seemed the legal system failed," the woman said, sneering. "He was released on a technicality or some other silly little thing, and his parents called for him back here. What they should've done is kept that boy where he was being held. No use ruining our town with the likes of that miscreant."

"I absolutely agree," he lied. He could tell Nakamura was having a very hard time not laughing. "A town as welcoming and accepting as ours can't afford to take in criminals."

"Exactly!" The woman sighed in relief. "It's so nice knowing the youth of today hasn't been turned."

"I blame television," Nakamura said through a snicker. Akira shushed him but let out his own little giggle.

The woman, none the wiser to their antics, presented her clipboard to the two. "Me and a group of parents and teacher have started a petition to send that ruffian back to where he belongs. The response has been amazing so far. Here, take a look! We've accumulated all of these in just a few days!"

She thrust the board into Akira's hand. The first page was already full, so he flipped it over to the next. And the next. And the next.

His smirk slowly fell as he read the three full pages of names. The fourth page already had twelve signatures on it. 111 signatures in total. How long had this petition been going on for?

Akira had known he wasn't well-liked in Meguro. That had been made abundantly clear. But there was still something about seeing it in front of him, listed out in detail, that cut into him.

He forced the smile to return to his face. With a shakier voice than normal, he asked, "Do you have a pen?"

The woman, oblivious to the turmoil inside of him, gladly handed him hers. Akira passed it off to Nakamura. "Here, you can have the honors."

Nakamura grabbed it and scribbled out his name before passing it back. Akira took the time to make his name as legible as possible before handing it back to the woman. "Here's to making our town crime free."

"Absolutely! It was a pleasure talking to both of you." She looked down at the names. "Nakamura-san and…" She trailed off. It gave Akira no small amount of pleasure to see her face shift from confusion to recognition, to horror, all in the space of a few seconds.

She looked back up at him with eyes wide. Akira's smile turned malicious as he watched the woman take a few steps back. "I-I didn't, uh, I mean, this was just—" she stuttered out.

Akira didn't waste another word. He motioned for Nakamura to follow him and left the building as she tried to stammer out a response.

When out the arcade, Nakamura finally let his laughter out. "Oh my God, that was great! Did you see the look on her face? I can't believe you actually signed it!"

Akira hummed in agreement. He was deep in thought. There was a petition to get him out of the town now. Did that surprise him? A little. He didn't think anyone cared enough to make an active effort to kick him out.

When would all pretenses be dropped, and he'd be run out of town with torches and pitchforks? Would it be tomorrow? The day after that? Next week? Akira didn't know, and he wanted desperately to say that he didn't care.

"Senpai?" Akira looked over to Nakamura. "Are you alright?"

No. I'm enemy number one in this town and I don't belong here. I belong in Tokyo, where I have a real life, where my family is. I'd go through Hell twice if it meant I could go back.

"I'm fine," he said instead.

"I mean, I'd totally get if you weren't," Nakamura said. He fiddled with his own fingers. "People can be real dicks. I know I've only known you for the past day, but, uh, you don't seem like a crazy criminal to me. I-I'm sorry, by the way."

"For what?"

"Y'know. Laughing, back there. I didn't realize that petition made you feel that bad."

"It's not your fault," Akira sighed. He threw a grin to ease Nakamura's spirits. "It was pretty funny."

"Heh, yeah. Um, if you wanted to, I don't know, talk? I can be there for you." Nakamura seemed to shrink in on himself, something Akira noted with mild bemusement. "I-If you want me to, I don't…"

He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. "Jeez, I'm sorry for making it awkward."

Akira laughed. "Don't be." He pulled out his phone to check the time. Tae would be getting off in an hour and a half, and he wanted to talk to her about something.

"You know," he said. "Up until that last bit, today wasn't all that bad. I actually had a lot of fun."

Nakamura couldn't help but beam. "Y-Yeah! I can already feel myself getting stronger! I really liked that nice coffee man and the nice coffee lady. Do you think they'd be upset if I go to that café more?"

"I highly doubt that." Akira checked the time again. "Listen, I have to head home, there's some things I need to take care of. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Akira looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before leaning forward. Keeping his voice low, he said, "Keep an ear out. If you hear anything else that sounds weird about Kamiya, I want to know."

"Uh, why?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

"Alright?" Nakamura's voice was tinged with unease, but he acquiesced to the request. His tone immediately lightened up. "Hey, should we exchange information? Just so it's easier to get a hold of each other?"

Akira pulled out his phone and they did so. "There you go. If you need anything, just shoot me a message," he said.

"Awesome," Nakamura said, giving a thumbs up. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Be there, Nakamura-kun."

"See you later, Senpai!"

Nakamura ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Akira to stand there for another moment. Despite his best efforts, a course of action was slowly taking shape in his head. He desperately needed to talk to Tae, or else he was going to burst at the seams.

First this troubling news about Kamiya, then an actual, honest-to-God petition to get him kicked out of Meguro again? When he said today would be interesting, he hadn't meant it like that.

Akira was usually able to guess what was waiting for him when he got home.

Either his father was on the couch, on the table doing paperwork, or in another room. Maybe he was making dinner, although he had stopped making enough for two after the first few days of Akira being back.

There wasn't a drink in sight, thank God. That had stopped on Akira's first night back. It was kept out of sight, at the very least. That was good enough.

Instead, what Akira saw was his father working hard on a model airplane kit.

He blinked before rubbing his eyes to make sure that's what was he indeed saw.

Daisuke must have heard his son's entrance, as he glanced up from his work. He looked like he wanted to say something but chose instead to just nod and look back down.

Every fiber of Akira's being was telling him to go upstairs and do literally anything else. There were video games he could play, people he would rather talk to, a bed he'd rather be sleeping in.

Unfortunately, his feet had already started moving him towards the kitchen table, and he was already pulling out a chair and taking a seat. Oh, God damnit, he thought.

"What are you working on?" he asked.

Daisuke looked up, almost disbelieving that it was Akira that had chosen to strike up the conversation. Then his eyes grew wider when he got a good look at his son's face. He frantically asked, "What happened to you?!"

Externally, his face remained the same neutral expression he had become so good at maintaining. Internally, Akira winced and kicked himself. He'd hoped that Daisuke wouldn't have noticed the bruise, but if Javier had noticed it, there was no reason he wouldn't either. Besides, Akira knew from experience it took longer than a day for bruises to fade completely.

"I was doing some workouts with a friend," he said. Which wasn't entirely untrue, even if the only real workouts they did were running together. "He got a little excited and accidentally hit me too hard. It looks worse than it is." Hopefully.

Daisuke became equal parts apprehensive and horrified. "'Too hard?!' He was trying to hit you?!"

Crap crap crap, Akira thought. He said, "Yeah, I was just showing him some moves a friend of mine in Tokyo taught me. She knows Aikido and I picked up a few things, and he wanted me to show him. Guess I wasn't quick enough, huh?"

"So, a girl taught you that?" A ghost of a grin, not unlike Joker's, appeared on Daisuke's face. "Is she someone special?"

"She is, but only as a close friend," Akira said, finally happy that he didn't have to lie about something.

Daisuke hummed. His face fell again. "And the eyebrow?"

Akira shrugged, but internally cursed. "Tripped and fell on my way to school yesterday."

"Mhm." Daisuke didn't believe him. That much was clear through tone of voice and facial expression. Bu it was also clear that he wasn't going to pursue the issue any further. For once, it made Akira happy that he had a father that didn't care as much as he should. "I hope you're feeling better, at least."

"Oh, yeah. Cleaned it up, took some Advil, and now I can't even feel it." Another truth.

"That's good." He blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry, you said something?" Akira gestured to the cluttered dining table. "Ah! Right, this. Just a model kit I bought a few weeks ago that I haven't had time to build."

"I don't remember the last time you worked on one of those," Akira mused, picking up a mostly untouched plastic runner.

Years ago, long before his mother passed away, he would occasionally build a model kit with Daisuke. It was mostly cars or airplanes, but Akira, being a young boy, found some Gundam model kits and begged to build them.

It was usually one of the few times that Daisuke would feel like an actual dad, rather than a distant, if still kind, stranger. He had worked as an engineer as a younger man before moving onto a more administrative role, but the love of building things never left him. He would come alive when carefully putting the kits together.

It almost brought a smile to Akira's face, remembering the first kit that he built. His mother was so proud, putting it on display on a shelf. Being a kid, Akira took it down to play with it and lost it soon enough, but for one reason or another they never replaced it.

Then the Leukemia happened, and all thoughts of bonding through model kits vanished.

Akira did his best to push that thought into the ground. He was actually trying to make an attempt here, and he didn't need to be betrayed by those memories.

Daisuke chuckled. "I saw it for sale online. I just felt compelled to purchase it, I suppose."

"Having fun with it?"

"I am." Daisuke quieted and his face shifted. "How's school been?"

"…fine."

"Fine?"

Akira leaned back in his chair away from his father. "Yeah. Fine." His tone left no room for further questioning.

"…And work? Have they been treating you well?"

Akira nodded. "Yeah. Javier and María-san have been good to me."

"'Javier and María-san'?" Daisuke hummed in thought as he continued building his kit. "They're letting you use their given names?"

"They're foreign. Mexico, I think. He said he could never get a grasp on honorifics, so everyone calls him 'Javier'. She just didn't care, so I went with a sort of middle ground. They're good people. The café is… safe."

Daisuke placed the piece down and looked at his son. "Did something happen at school?"

Akira seriously thought about telling him. He thought about telling Daisuke about what the students and teachers said behind his back, thinking he couldn't listen, couldn't hear. Maybe they wanted him to hear. Maybe they said all these things to get him to leave.

Confiding in Javier and María was nice, having Nakamura to talk to helped, but they weren't his father. They weren't the man who had raised him, then abandoned him, and was now trying to reach out and do something.

But he couldn't. There was still this pressure, this weight, that was preventing him from just reaching out and accepting that his father was… remorseful? It frustrated him beyond measure.

That didn't mean he couldn't give something back, though. There wasn't a point to be a dick for the sake of being a dick.

"No," he said simply. "It's just… lonely. That friend I was telling you about? His name's Hideaki Nakamura. He's a good guy, but he's also a first year. I won't get to see him a lot during the day."

"You still keep in touch with your friends in Tokyo, right?" Daisuke gave him a look that was hopeful and guilty all at once.

Akira tried to not let it get to him. He really wanted to take the question at face value. "Yeah. I couldn't imagine cutting them off. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I'd have made it through the year."

Unlike you.

Those unspoken words hung heavily in the air. He was certain Daisuke knew it.

"T-that's good," he said, immediately trying to hide himself behind the clippers and the untouched runner. "I'm… happy for you."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "I, uh, actually got a call from one of my friends yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Same girl who taught me Aikido," Akira said. "She came to me asking for advice on how to ask a boy out."

That unexpectedly drew a laugh from Daisuke. It was short, little more than a bark, but it still felt warm. "And what'd you tell her?"

"To go against the advice the girls gave her. Don't play hard to get, and don't wait for him to make the first move. He's too nervous for that."

"Mutual friend?"

Akira nodded. "Yep. He's into her. They won't admit it, though."

Daisuke placed his tool down and leaned back in his chair. "I remember when I was that young and stupid. Your mother actually tried to play 'hard to get.'"

Akira sputtered and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Seriously? Mom did that?"

"Uh-huh," Daisuke said. "She was a third year and I was a second year at the time. I'd been interested in her for a while, graduation was coming up, so I finally worked up the courage to go and talk to her."

"What happened?"

"She did everything in her power to tell me 'no' without actually saying 'no'." He gave Akira a look as the boy had to choke back a laugh. "That could very well have been the most humiliating moment of my life. All that work to put myself out there down the drain.

"Then the strangest thing happened. As I was sulking away, she runs up to me and starts swatting my arms, yelling at me. I was so confused!" A big smile made its way onto Daisuke face that was strangely infectious to Akira.

"Yeah, that sounds like Mom," he said, shaking his head a little.

"She's going on and on, demanding an explanation for why I'm not picking up these signals, and I'm just thinking, 'What the hell did I do wrong?' Finally, she practically screams that she would love to go on a date with an idiot who can't tell when a girl has a massive crush on him!"

They both laughed loudly, Daisuke banging the table a couple time and Akira clutching his gut. He felt… good. At peace. For the first time, in his own home, with his own father, he was comfortable.

Their laughter died down and they grew quiet. Akira checked the time on his phone and frowned. He really needed to talk over something important with Tae.

"What's wrong?" Daisuke asked, his voice still somewhat shaky with laughter.

"It's just that I promised some friends I'd get online with them," Akira explained.

An eyebrow raised. "Isn't it a bit late?"

"They're usually pretty busy in the day. You know how it is. School. Homework. Not knowing when a girl has a massive crush on you," Akira explained, getting to his feet.

"Ah." Daisuke nodded in understanding. "I won't keep you then."

"Thanks. Night, dad."

As Akira was walking up the stairs, he couldn't shake the weird feeling of calm and peace. Not even a day ago, he wanted nothing to do with Daisuke. Now, Tae's words played again and again in his head.

Think about it, guinea pig. He was partly responsible for his own son being shipped to Tokyo, alone and most likely feeling abandoned, only to later learn that that same son was completely innocent this whole time. Think about the guilt he's carrying with him right now.

His father seemed so happy to just talk to his son, about when he first met mom, about model kits, and that made Akira weirdly happy. There was still a weight above them. That weight would eventually either crash down and crush them or they'd work together to remove it carefully.

He still wasn't sure which it would be, but there was a growing part of him that was hoping for the later.

Akira greeted Morgana, sent out a text to Tae, and turned on the computer at his desk. He did this all practically on autopilot, so he hadn't noticed when his girlfriend appeared on the video call.

"Someone looks like they're thinking really hard about something," she said, cutting through his thought.

He blinked and looked at the computer screen. Instead of her usual blue spiderweb dress or dark green dress, instead opting to wear an incredibly loose-fitting grey t-shirt. The butterfly pendant that Akira bought her was around her neck, making his heart leap a few times. "Oh, uh, sorry. Guess I zoned out there for a second. Hey, is that my shirt?"

Tae smiled and pulled on the collar. "Well, it's just so comfortable, and you made the mistake of leaving it behind on night. Unfortunately, that means it's mine now. Sorry."

"I know a prosecutor, I can probably get her help to get that back legally," Akira joked.

"Sounds fun. She's pretty good looking." He didn't even bother to try and contain the eye roll, nor hide the grin on his face. "So, what's up? Sounds important."

"Yeah, it is," Akira confirmed, reached up and fiddling with the dog tags under his shirt. "I got another problem."

"Is it your Dad?"

"No, actually." Tae couldn't hide the shocked on her face. Akira held up a hand. "Now, things still aren't great, but I did just have a civil conversation with him."

"About what?"

"Simple stuff. Model airplane kits, how stupid guys can be to advances of the female gender, that sort of thing."

Tae let out a little snort. "That makes sense. I'm happy you weren't that dense."

"I mean, I was pretty terrified when I was confessing. But that wasn't what I wanted to talk about." He leaned forward and bridged his hands. "I think there's something going down at my school."

"Oh?"

"I don't have proof yet, but I've seen and heard things that make me believe that our principal is taking money from the school and funneling it into his own personal bank account."

On the screen, Tae let out a low whistle. "What is it with you and corrupt principals?"

"That's what I was thinking," Akira said, shrugging with a grin plastered on his face. Like I said, I don't have proof, but the way the guy carries himself, the suits he wears, the watch he wore, it's way too much for a small town like Meguro. That in itself isn't the issue, it just tells me he's a bit of a dick.

"It's the fact that the school, despite getting plenty of money from donations and the like, is struggling right now. A lot can happen in a year, but even that's a little suspicious. I could probably get some assistance from Futaba, maybe even have Ohya help with making this more widely-known."

"There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?"

Akira absently nodded, still rubbing the tags. "Should I do it? It'd be easy enough. We've taken down politicians and business moguls, a high-school principal would be no problem, even without our usual methods. One slip up is all it would take, though. I could get caught snooping around, either get expelled or thrown in prison for one reason or another."

"Why?"

"Because the town hates me and will do anything it can to get rid of me," Akira replied. "Did you know that there's a petition? Specifically for getting rid of me?"

"That's… horrible," Tae said, not at all comprehending the how or why he got so much vitriol. "We'll definitely need to talk about that later, but that wasn't what I meant. I mean, why should you help them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Face it, guinea pig. These people hate you. No matter what you do, it won't change. Sure, you could change a few minds here and there, but at the end of the day, the whole town will find a way to keep hating you. What do you have to gain by helping these people?"

"Nothing," Akira said, with a resolve he himself didn't quite understand. "But if I don't, who will?"

Tae smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Then I think you've figured out the solution to your problem, guinea pig."

He let himself laugh a little. "Yeah. I guess you're right. There really wasn't any other outcome, was there?"

"Nope. You were never one to take the easy road. Or the sensible one, for that matter." She reached out and touched her screen. "It brought you to me, after all."

"So, what you're saying is, I should do more stupid things?" Akira grinned. "I'll take that under advisement."

"Yes, that's exactly the advice you should take from that," she answered with a sardonic tinge to her voice. "Listen, whatever decision you make here, you'll have my full support."

Akira knew what needed to be done. Starting tomorrow, he would begin to look into the principal. If nothing came up, or if he was proven wrong, that was fine with him. But he was used to rotten adults in positions of power at this point.

He'd be more surprised if Kamiya was just some incompetent asshole. It'd be nice, but these sorts of things typically didn't go his way.

"So, about that petition?"

"Oh. That." Akira shrugged. "Some lady came up to me asking me and Nakamura to sign this petition. She didn't recognize me, she was a nasty piece of work, so I figured it be fun to mess with her."

"Oh, my God, did you sign it?"

"You should've seen the look on her face," he said, grinning ear to ear. "Made the whole thing worth it, really."

Tae burst out into laughter, making Akira's heart fill with glee.

They fell into easy enough conversation after that. Tae talking about her day, the interesting patients, Akira nodding along and offering words of support. He eventually stated talking about his time spent with Nakamura and the café. Tae showed an interest in visiting his work if she ever had the chance.

After a few hours, they said their goodbyes and Akira crashed in his bed, with Morgana making himself comfy on his chest. There were worse ways to end the night, he thought as he drifted off into sleep.

A/N: Hey, all, quick little announcement.

There's going to be a bit of a delay with Chapter 5. I'm planning to write the rest of the chapters before updating next, so when the updates do start up again, updates will be coming a bit quicker.

So if you don't see this fic updated for about a month or two, do not fear, it is not abandoned, I'm just finishing it up. Thanks for understanding!

Spino, out.