From the Ashes
Version 3
Chapter 2: A Dealt Hand
Deep in the recesses of an individual heart is a blue fire that burns without a wick. Shall the fire be left forgotten and die? Or be maintained and strengthened? This fire, called the Soul is a very intriguing concept, isn't it?
"Damn brat, I'll Sue!"
"Officers, this kid assaulted him unprovoked!"
"Do you know who I am!/ I'm the one who will steer this country and there is nothing someone like you can do to stop me!"
"Help! Please!"
Those flashes of the worst night in his life kept repeating themselves in Akira Kurusu's head., Roiling like a stormcloud within his head. Repeating themselves over and over again as Akira was packing his belongings at his home. Being accused of a crime he didn't commit to trying to save someone in need really has an effect on the person affected.
"Sigh… I've heard that one night can ruin a life… I guess that is true after all huh?"
The sound of a gavel Akira felt would be haunting his nightmares as he got the last of his belongings ready for his trip. Not given a chance to defend himself or even be allowed to have a defense in the first place just felt wrong and everyone on Akira's side felt it. It felt like he was set up and everyone knew it. Akira just internally wallowed in his thoughts until he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
"Hey bud, you ok?"
"...No."
"I definitely get that. I wouldn't be that chipper myself in this situation. May I come in?"
"...Sure."
Akira's door opened and Akira's family friend Kazuya Obusaki walked in. A friend of Akira's parents, Kazuya was one of the few people Akira trusted after his sentence.
"I take it my father still hasn't said anything to you about this?"
"...Afraid not."
"Don't feel bad about telling me. This just proves to me that my Dad has deserted me like most of the people in my life have."
"Hey! Don't say that! Akira, your father may not be the easiest person to deal with on occasion but he still cares about you! I know you are not in a good place right now but that is stressful on the people that care about you as much as it is on you."
"Then why hasn't he even spoken to me? I don't care if he can or can't help with this only that he would care enough to just CALL!"
"I understand Akira. ...I know how hard this is on Noelia as well."
"Why do I have to move away from Mom for a YEAR!? I don't even know where I am going to go for God's sake!"
"Can I tell you about where you're going? I wanted to tell you the other day but your Mother wanted me to wait until you wanted to hear it."
"Where is it? I at least need to know since I'm heading there today."
"I asked my friend Sojiro Sakura to take you in. He is a bit strict but that is mostly a facade. He owns a small coffee shop in Yongen-Jaya called Leblanc. He is also taking care of another child by the name of Futaba Sakura."
"Ok… that at least sounds better than a foster home. What is this Sojiro like?"
"He is a little bit rough around the edges but to those who get to know him know he has a big heart. He puts up a tough facade and maybe a bit strict for the first while but eventually, that should go away."
"Okay…"
"One warning though I should tell you."
"What is it?"
"Sojiro, or Boss as he tells people to call him can be very direct and to the point. Please don't take anything If he says something that may be insensitive please don't take it to heart."
"Honestly I'd prefer someone who is more direct than someone afraid to say anything."
"...That is a good way to look at it. Well, it's about time. Do you have everything ready to go? We should get going sooner rather than later."
"I'm not being forced there by the cops?"
"Do you think those scumbags who arrested you have the commitment to do that? The douchebag who stacked that trial against you isn't the only one who can get influence."
"Benefits to owning a Five Star Restaurant?"
"Yup. I can drive you to Leblanc and talk to Sojiro for a bit before heading to Shibuya and do my paperwork at the North Star."
"Alright. Thanks, Kazuya-San."
"No problem Akira. We should get going. Noelia said she will text you when she gets home from work.
As Akira went to pick up the box with his belongings, all of a sudden he got a wave of nausea and dropped the box and heard something in his head.
"匚卂ㄥㄥ ㄩ卩ㄖ几 爪乇"
"AGH!"
Kazuya ran over to Akira's side.
"Akira, you okay?"
"...Yeah… Sorry about that. This is probably taking its toll on me."
"I'm glad you're okay. You should sleep in the car on our way to Tokyo. I'll take the box."
"Okay."
Akira and Kazuya then went to his car and started heading to Tokyo and Akira leaned his head against the window as he began to fall asleep on the way to Tokyo.
Akira's consciousness felt like it was falling as he drifted off to sleep further and further until his consciousness stopped abruptly.
Akira felt like he just landed on something that felt like pavement and opened his eyes only to see the Shibuya Crossing surround him on all sides.
"How the fuck did I get here?"
As he looked around Akira felt more abnormalities seem to surround him almost like he was being watched. He spun around to look behind him and saw blue fire consuming the center of the crossing.
"...?"
Akira walked towards the fire almost like he was being compelled to go to it. When he stepped right beside it he felt the fire was letting off a calming heat that seemed to give him strength the longer he was next to it. After a minute Akira heard a small muffled voice coming from the fire.
"山卄乇几 ㄒ卄乇 ㄒ丨爪乇 匚ㄖ爪乇 丂 匚卂ㄥㄥ 爪ㄚ 几卂爪乇"
As the fire stopped speaking, a face of red fire appeared looking at Akira and he saw a flash of him with his eyes yellow and a sick grin on his face before everything went black and he was jolted awake.
"AH!"
"Hey, sorry for waking you so suddenly. We're here."
"Oh, that was fast. How long was I asleep? It felt like five minutes."
"You've been sleeping for about three hours. You were sleeping very soundly. It was strange for a second when you were muttering in your sleep."
"What did I say?"
"I just heard mumbling."
"...Well, you said we are here?"
"Oh yeah, come follow me."
Akira got out of the car and followed Kazuya down a quant street and then they turned off at an alleyway and Akira could see an overhang that read Cafe Leblanc on it. Kazuya stopped just before the door and turned around and looked at Akira.
"Are you ready Akira?"
"...As ready as I think I'll ever be."
"Okay, then let's head in."
Akira and Kazuya walked into Leblanc, their arrival announced by the jingling of a bell on the door allowing Akira to look around. The place was much nicer than Akira expected, it had wooden furniture, a fancy counter, and a very nice smell of coffee wafting through the air. Akira looked around him and saw a few people there as well, an old couple sipping away at their cups of coffee while watching TV, and a younger man sitting on a counter stool seemingly doing a crossword puzzle. The older couple saw them first.
"Ah! Hello Kazuya-San! It's been a while. How have you been?"
"I've been good Oka-San, How are the Grandkids?"
"They are great! Thanks for asking. Who's the young man?"
"This is Akira Kurusu, he is the son of some friends of mine. Say hi bud, These are Oka and Machi Usagi, they are regulars here."
"H-Hello."
"Nice to meet you Kurusu-Kun. I hope to get to know you soon."
Machi looked at the clock on the wall and turned to the younger man.
"Boss, I think it's time Oka and I head home. Thanks for the coffee today."
The Man set his paper down and stood up.
"Of course. Thanks for coming. I'll grab your dishes."
"I'll leave the money here on the table. What is the total amount?"
"550 Yen total."
"Okay. Thanks, Boss, see you next time."
Oka and Machi stood up, Machi left a few Bills and coins on the Booth Table and Akira and Kazuya stepped out of the way to let them out of Leblanc. The man then grabbed the cups and money from the booth and walked toward the kitchen in the back.
"So… is this the kid Kazuya?"
"Yep. Thanks for offering to take him in Sojiro."
"You'll owe me Kazuya.."
"I already offered to pay for him to stay."
"While other people may I don't want your money for this. I understand the bullshit around the kid's situation. I just want him to be on his best behavior."
"Akira? Can you promise to not cause issues?"
"...I'll do what I can. After what happened I'm kinda afraid of getting in trouble for nothing."
"I don't blame you Kid," Sojiro said nodding his head to that. Before moving to behind the counter and opened the cash register. "You can stay here. I'm not going to be bending over backward on every little thing. I still will have to. I'm still supposed to be your Probation Officer."
"I understand."
Kazuya then stepped in.
"Hey Sojiro, where are you going to have Akira stay?"
"I have to clean out the guest room so he can't stay there for a while. The only place I have right now that has things in the attic here in the cafe."
"Akira, why don't you get your box from the car and come back?"
"Ok."
Akira then walked out of the Cafe to get his belongings but back in the Cafe, Kazuya continued his conversation with Sojiro.
"Sojiro, you aren't really cleaning the guest room are you?"
"I want him to prove himself first to trust him in my house when Futaba is there, sorry."
"Ok, that at least makes sense. I already told you a million times how good of a kid Akira is."
"Yes you have, Futaba is just very afraid of change and I don't want her to be worse off all of a sudden."
"I understand. Just… Please be easy on him. He is dealing with this bullshit and… I didn't tell you why I was so determined to find him a place to stay I could trust."
"I think you mentioned issues with his Dad?"
"No. His Dad is a tough shell to crack; he is just afraid to act. I'm not happy with him but it is not his fault for why I'm nervous."
"Okay, then what is it? I've known you since High School and I've never seen you this prickly about saying something."
"Sojiro,...Akira's Mom, Noelia, just got diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer a few weeks ago. It's really bad and we don't know how long she has. If he finds out about that on top of the shit he is already going through… I'm afraid of what he will do. His Mom is the only person he really has for Family."
"...He has you right?"
"Yeah, but there is a difference between Family and a Family Friend.,"
"True… Okay. I'll be as light as I can with him. Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep in touch throughout this process."
"Thanks, Sojiro. Hey, can I have a cup of the Daily Special?"
"To go? You have work tonight right?"
"Yes please."
While Sojiro was making Kazuya's Coffee, Akira returned carrying the big box.
"Hey Akira, Let me help you with that." Kazuya ran over to help Akira hold it. "Hey Sojiro, how clean is it upstairs?"
"I've cleaned it as much as I could. I can't clean all the dust up there though. Other than that it should be clear. Kid?"
"Yes?"
"You can use anything up there you find useful just don't do anything bad with it."
"Thank you."
Akira and Kazuya got up the stairs and set the Box on the bottom shelf on a rack and Akira was able to look around. It was very dusty but there wasn't anything else he could really say about the place. It was big and had a huge pile of stuff behind the stairs but he had a bed, a couch, table, desk, and other things. This was honestly better than he thought it would be.
"Akira, what do you think?"
"It's a lot better than I expected."
"Do you feel safe enough to be here without me?'
"Yeah."
"Okay cool. I need to go soon but if you need someone to talk to you can call me anytime. I may not be immediately available but I will call back when I am every time. Your Mom said to do the same for her. She just might be busy on Wednesdays."
"Thank you, Kazuya-San."
"No problem little buddy. I'll head to the North Star but Sojiro can help you with things. He will take you to the School to introduce you sometime later this week. They will provide the important things you need."
"Okay. I'll talk to him about that. Have good luck at work."
"Thanks, little buddy. Let's head back down."
Akira and Kazuya walked back downstairs just as Sojiro finished with some coffee and poured it into a to-go cup and put a heat-sealed lid on top of it.
"Hey, Kazuya, your Coffee is done. Kid if you want a cup you can have one too. On the house."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"No problem kid."
Akira walked to the counter and Kazuya walked behind him and put his hand on Akira's shoulder.
"Sojiro, Imma head out. Keep in touch."
"No problem. Also, that Coffee is on the house. Next time you have to pay though."
"Oh, thanks Sojiro! Seeya Akira. Don't forget to call or text me if you need anything."
"I will."
"Okay. Bye."
Kazuya then walked out and left Cafe Leblanc and Akira began drinking his coffee and Sojiro went over the details of his probation. He was given a notebook to document his actions and after that, he went home and closed up shop after getting a call from someone leaving Akira to his thoughts.
A girl with dark orange hair was just finishing up a bowl of Ramen whilst typing away on her computer and listening to a conversation through her headphones.
"Sojiro, you aren't really cleaning the guest room are you?"
"I want him to prove himself first to trust him in my house when Futaba is there, sorry."
"Ok, that at least makes sense. I already told you a million times how good of a kid Akira is."
"Yes you have, Futaba is just very afraid of change and I don't want her to be worse off all of a sudden."
"Sojiro… you don't have to do that for me..." Futaba Sakura felt bad hearing how much her caretaker cared for her. "I'll make sure I find Mom's research for sure then. That last research facility was a bust. I hope Phoenix is alright. I haven't heard from him in a few days."
P- Hey, sorry I wasn't able to respond. Personal Stuff.
"Huh, speak of the devil. He hasn't had stuff anytime in the past 2 years that I know of."
A- Personal stuff? You haven't been gone for more than a day in the 2 Years since I met you.
P- Yeah I know, I'm sorry. Kinda… was forced to move on short notice.
"Huh!/ That's drastic."
A- You had to move!? Where did you move to?
P- I am in Tokyo now.
"Tokyo!? Awesome! Now I'm really sad I don't step out of my room."
A- Tokyo? I live in Tokyo! If I wasn't afraid to step out of my room I'd say it might be a cool idea to meet up.
P- That would indeed be cool. I just have to get used to the new place and shit.
"Yeah..."
A- Yeah, that would take a while. Are you going to be going to school?
P- Dunno yet. Just moved in tonight. Don't even have all my stuff. This is the Backup setup I'm using right now to talk to you.
"Uh-oh. Is his connection secure!?"
A- You trust it enough to encrypt our convo?
P- Yeah. I have it set up to a VPN that runs through my one back at my real place. Unless someone finds out my password to this account they aren't getting in. The one under my real name is actually a good cover.
"That. Is. AWESOME! Can't let him know that !"
A- That is a good plan. Okay. Well, I just had Ramen for dinner so I'm pretty sleepy. I'm gonna go to sleep and see how things go. Glad you are at least safe.
P- Thanks, Ali. Funny enough I had Ramen for dinner too. But yeah, have a good night.
"Huh. Great minds think alike and have similar appetites don't they?"
Futaba turned her screens off and then stretched her arms out getting ready to go to sleep but quickly wrote a memo on a sticky note.
-Make sure to look into the guy Sojiro is giving the Attic tomorrow.-
Futaba then walked over to her bed, tossed the ramen package into an open trash bag, turned off her light and flopped onto her bed, and promptly fell asleep.
Hey, FatesAwakener here, hope you enjoyed the Chapter. It took me longer than I expected to get this done but I guess I am just not that good at doing the beginning. Hopefully from here, this will be smoother sailing. I will try to get the next chapter done and maybe Chapter 4 by the end of June but I am likely going to be moving so I can't make guarantees once again. I once again hope you enjoyed it and I would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to spend 5 minutes and give me your thoughts in a review or comment.
Next Chapter- The Two Detective's Intuition
See you on the next page! -Fates