Makoto pounded his fist against her door, calling her name out between the deafening thuds. The photo of herself and Emma on the shelf by her door was slowly tottering toward the edge. Kaede sighed, walking over and laying it down before turning and pulling out her clothes for the day.
"I'll open the door when you calm down, Makoto," Kaede called as she brushed her hair.
"No, you'll open it now!" he slammed his hand down again, "Kaede!"
"Koto," her mother's voice called from the bottom of the stairs, "Honey, what's wrong?"
"She had that punk in her room all night!" Makoto screamed, "Kaede open the door right now!"
"Makoto, dude," Daisuke said, apparently pulling Mokoto back from her door as the slamming finally stopped, "She can't come out if you're punching the door, come on."
She heard Makoto grumble angrily but he relented, stomping down the stairs.
"Ya owe me," Daisuke whispered through the door before heading down the stairs after their older brother.
She sighed, sitting heavily on the bed and pulling on her socks. She pulled out her phone and texted Manjiro. Then she shut her eyes and took a deep breath before standing and heading to the door.
In the kitchen, her family was standing around like they were planning an intervention. Her mother stood between Daisuke and Makoto, wringing a towel in her hands, her small form dwarfed by her tall sons. Kaede had always thought she favored her mother more than any of the boys did. Her light brown hair was the same as her mother's, she had the same dark eyes and downturned brows. She wondered when she would develop the creases around her mouth and across her brow.
"You're never going to see that boy again," Makoto said suddenly, face red with anger. Behind his shoulder Daisuke leaned his head back and rolled his eyes, turning to pack his lunch into his school bag.
"Well, now, Koto, honey are you even sure tha-" their mother began, fingers working around the dishcloth faster.
"I watched him jump from the window onto the fence! I'm sure those greasy biker boots of his even left a mark. I should charge him." He wheeled on Kaede, pointing at her as his face turned red, "And you! How could you disrespect yourself and your family like that! You're fourteen!"
"He just slept here!"
"He has his own home. Kaede I'm serious he's not welcome here anymore. Do you hear me?"
"Now...wait. Wait Makoto-"
"You aren't our dad!" Kaede screamed back, unable to contain her anger any longer, "You can't tell me what to do!"
Daisuke turned, eyebrows raised, a small smirk spreading on his face.
Their mother held her hands out between them, "Makoto, don't yell at Kaede like that, I'll-"
"You'll what?!" Makoto screamed even louder, her voice cracking from the effort, "Do what, mom?! How long has that trash been hanging around Kaede and you haven't stopped him yet! How can I trust you to do it now?!" Makoto took a ragged breath as their mother recoiled from him, her lip trembling.
Down the street, she could hear the rumble of Manjiro's bike. She picked her bag up, stepping back slowly toward the door. Makoto failed to notice, too distracted with the tears he accidentally drew to his mother's eyes.
"Mom...I'm just trying to protect her, she's a kid and she doesn't realize how bad he is for her," Makoto soothed, hands gently raising in front of his chest.
Kaede looked between them, sure they wouldn't notice if she ran, at least not fast enough to stop her. She turned and pulled the door open letting the loud noise of the bike engine into the home. She heard her mother call out and the sound of Makoto running behind her but she ran without looking back and jumped onto the bike behind Manjiro, throwing her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his shoulder. He paused for a moment, probably staring Makoto down, then tore off leaving her brother standing in the street staring after them.
The club was much less seedy than he originally had imagined. Everything seemed clean and aggressively opulent. Soft fake velvet couches and a chandelier probably made of cheap glass. It made Naoto feel like he was on a movie set, a place meant to look expensive as long as you didn't investigate anything too closely. He sipped his soda, holding the aggressive eye contact the manager kept forcing.
"Are you sure we can't get you anything else, sir?" The man smiled, wringing his hands.
Naoto sighed, sitting back on the couch. He hoped Takemichi was safe but he also hoped he wasn't getting distracted going down memory lane. He knew Takemichi seemed to earnestly care but if the hunt for his contact book was any indication he was deeply inclined toward nostalgia. Worse, Naoto wasn't even sure they were going to get any information out of this trip. Sano had completely hidden from the public, even Kaede hadn't revealed where he stayed yet despite having turned informant.
He took another sip and eyed the girls that were slowly approaching him, nodding politely when they made eye contact. The women giggled and sat down together, knee to knee on the couch, "Can you settle a bet for us?"
"I can try," he said, leaning his head back.
"You're a cop, aren't you?" the redhead asked. She looked up at him coyly, bright blue contacts peeking from behind her lashes and bangs.
"What makes you think that?" Naoto asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
The other woman smiled, "The polo shirt."
He blinked, he hadn't expected her to say something so blunt. Clearly, the club manager didn't expect it either because he began to laugh only stopping when Naoto's eyes sharply cut to him.
"I'm a detective," Naoto nodded, "but I'm just here to accompany my friend." He didn't like to lie. Even if it would protect him, even if it would make his job easier, it felt wrong so he didn't do it. Even if honesty was sometimes the more dangerous choice.
"You're not going to put us in handcuffs?" the redhead asked, smiling at him with a practiced innocence. The other girl gasped and hid her face in her hand, gently slapping the redhead's thigh to admonish her. Maybe that was the plan. Present him with someone more forward and someone shyer and see who he was interested in.
"I don't have any with me," Naoto said, setting his empty glass on the coffee table and silently wishing Takemichi would return soon, "as I said, I'm not at work right now."
"Exactly," the redhead spoke again, her smile turning to an admittedly attractive smirk.
Naoto shut his eyes and smiled briefly. He felt guilty. He hadn't done anything and he had no desire to but still, Kaede came to mind. He opened his eyes, staring down at the empty glass.
When he looked back up the women were looking at him quizzically, "I'm good here, thank you."
The shy girl stood, nodding to him politely before heading to the bar to wait but the redhead stayed, "So if you aren't at work what's the problem? Do you not think I'm pretty? Or," she gasped softly, coyly grinning again, "Are you being loyal to some lucky girl?"
Naoto couldn't keep himself from frowning, so much so that the girl jumped slightly.
"I...I'm sorry did I-"
Naoto quickly shook his head, leaning forward and setting his empty glass down, "No it's okay but please, I'd like to wait alone for now and I don't want to waste your time. Have a good night."
She nodded uncomfortably and quickly scurried back to the bar, leaning to the shy girl and urgently whispering. No doubt about him. The secretively sensitive polo-wearing detective. He wanted to kick himself. He wanted to let go of all the hope he was holding out for Kaede. There was no way to know what would change the next time Takemichi went back into the past. Meeting at the police station this time could be a fluke. Maybe he'd never see her again. And yet, he couldn't stop himself from thinking of her. He wondered if she had thoughts about his polo shirts. Then he felt stupid for wondering about something so childish.
He got lost in his thoughts. Head spinning with vain hopes of reuniting with Kaede, with dreams of seeing his sister grow old, with plans to find a lead for Takemichi if his friend couldn't help. He sat there, still and thoughtful until he suddenly registered distant screaming and realized the crying wails sounded familiar; they sounded like Takemichi.
Manjiro drove aimlessly. He'd almost stopped a couple of times but when he did he could feel how her fingers gripped into his shirt, a tell-tale sign that she was upset but didn't want to stop and talk so he tore on through the street. It was more dangerous to be out on the streets in the daytime. He had to be careful not to take any main roads, had to watch for cops since they both rode without helmets and they were too young anyway.
He shot up a back alley, swiftly swerving to dodge pallets and trash as they went. In all honesty as risky as day driving was, it was helping him calm down too. He hated Makoto. He'd hated him since they were little. Every time Makoto slighted him or upset Kaede he flashed back to his hateful stare when they met. He hadn't even done anything, all he'd done was walk her home from school but Makoto had heard about him already, and from what he heard he'd made up his mind. He decided that Mikey's home life made him unworthy of Kaede, that his attitude and his interests made him less than human.
He gritted his teeth. He'd have to let go of it for now. He didn't want to bother Kaede by complaining about his feelings and while he knew she wasn't close to her brother, he didn't want to put his stress on her. He'd just find a way to deal with it on his own. Some way other than the usual fistfights in open parking lots. At least as long as Makoto kept his hands to himself. He stopped the bike at the opening of the alley despite how Kaede's fingers dug against his chest.
He put his hand over hers, gently squeezing her fingers, "We don't have anywhere else to go, at least, nowhere else we can go without having to outrun the cops."
Kaede rocked her head against his back, groaning slightly.
He sighed, leaning his head back until he touched her forehead and pushed her back until she huffed and let him go. He turned to face her, looking into her frustrated, puffy face. He laughed softly, cupping her cheek before she could turn away from him and leaning in to kiss her.
She didn't resist but she didn't kiss him back, she just accepted his affection. When he pulled back she sighed, "How long of a walk is it to school?"
"Forget school."
"Manjiro," she groaned, swinging a leg over the bike.
He grabbed her hand before she could get far away, pulling her in toward him so she stood by his knee as he straddled the bike, "you can't go to school with your face all puffed like that. Besides, you're already late. Just go at lunchtime with me."
She sighed, leaning her head back, "But I already skipped when you introdu-"
"And did it cause problems?"
"Well, I-"
He stood quickly, pulling her closer to him, "Just come hang out, and then you can study super hard all the rest of the day when you've calmed down."
She debated back and forth in her head, eyes glancing back and forth as she thought. She looked tortured by the concept of missing school, even though she was already late, even though she wouldn't have been able to focus if she went right now anyway. Her studiousness was sometimes the hardest thing for Mikey to understand. Maybe it was because he didn't really want a normal job. He never liked any of his subjects in school or being told what to do. He liked to train with his grandfather and ride his bike and get in fights. He couldn't even remember the last time he attended a whole day of school, it was probably elementary school, back when they first met. Kaede had dreams and plans for her future, she wanted to study science and work in a lab but he dreaded adulthood and the loss of his freedom and it made it hard to understand her sometimes.
"Fine," she sighed, slipping her hand into his, "What are we gonna do until then?"
"Didya eat breakfast?"
"Nah, as soon as you left Makoto got into his whole thing so…"
He nodded and pulled her through the alley and out onto the street by his house. The Sano family house was a strange shape, three buildings in total, a modest house, a larger dojo, and the smallest building; an old garage Shinichiro had turned into an apartment. One that Mikey lived in now.
He walked in and went to the kitchen, "Uh...well I have eggs…? Rice...and...uh…"
Kaede sighed, pushing him away and rattling through the small fridge, "I'll do it."
"Well obviously," he laughed but she cut her eyes at him, "what? I can't cook."
She frowned but set to work silently, her face betraying how deep in thought she was still. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, "What can I do?"
"I'm not going to let you punch him."
"Mm. That's a shame but that isn't really what I said."
She sighed, leaning her head back. He turned his face in and kissed her neck softly while he waited.
"Nothing. I don't think there's anything we can do until I'm old enough to move out."
Mikey frowned, he knew that would probably be her answer but she was fourteen. So what, six years until the government considered her an adult? If she left before that would her family fight to bring her back? Sometimes he wanted to ask her to just stay with him. His apartment was small but it was big enough for both of them. She could go to school, they could have meals together, and when he came home late at night from Toman meetings he could sleep by her. It sounded ideal to him but he never asked. He knew she would tell him no. Worse, he knew she'd be annoyed at the suggestion. She loved Toman like he did, the boys were her friends just as much as they were his. When they weren't dealing with serious gang business she was often there with Emma at her side, goofing off and chatting with the boys when the formal elements of the meeting were done. Sometimes he thought she deserved a jacket, or some emblem to make her feel formally included. But no matter how she loved them they weren't her whole world the way they were his. When she considered something she thought about herself and her family and her future, Mikey only thought of Toman and the era they could create.
She was looking at him when he snapped out of his thoughts, "quit pouting."
He smiled slowly, "Sorry."
Finally, her face relaxed, and she kissed his cheek, "Let go so we can eat."
"Are you going to feed me?"
"I already cooked for you don't get so needy."
He laughed, taking a bowl from the counter, "But I rescued you so heroically."
She rolled her eyes and walked around to the counter, "Oh please."
"Kaeji-tannnnn," he whined, dropping onto the chair by her and turning to face her.
"Ugh! One. One bite," she snapped a large bite on her chopsticks and held it out to him. He grinned, leaning in and taking the bite, glancing up at her and smirking when her cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. A blush you had to know to look for. A blush he tried to draw to her face every day.
"Shut up."
He laughed, putting his hand on her thigh and leaving it there as he ate.
"Can we go out tonight with the guys and Emma? Maybe to the arcade or something?"
"On a school night? Are you my girlfriend?" She frowned as he giggled then he nodded, "I'll call everyone before I take my post-lunch nap."
She smiled down into her breakfast, finally relaxed as she ate and her fingers brushed over his hand on her thigh.