Hope everyone's staying safe out there. I know working on my fanfiction is the best stress relief, hopefully, this can provide a bit of repose.

Revised and edited 06/17/2022

Chapter Two
Shujin Academy

Sunday, April 10th

Chiyo woke up that morning without feeling rested. She was instead confused, a little on edge, and a little achy. Some people worked off their moods by exercising, some people worked off their moods by pacing, and some people were the creative types and jumped headfirst into their crafts to help their moods. Chiyo wroked hers off by dancing.

So when Chiyo woke up, feeling on edge, thoughts running with blue prisons, boys who thought themselves brown up, and impy men talking about rehabilitation and ruin, she dressed in more comfortable clothes and worked on her stretches.

When she was satisfied with that, she started to travel the length of the room on the balls of her feet, testing the floor to see if it creaked under her weight. Chiyo did not put it past Sojiro to give her hell if she made too much noise during store hours.

Thankfully, nothing creaked. So Chiyo tried to perform one of her ribbon routines from her last ever tournament, without an actual ribbon in her hand and in such a small space. The attic worked as a living area, maybe even a small apartment if someone got creative. But it was way too small for a dancer of any kind. More than once Chiyo needed to bring her routine to a complete halt just to scoot back lest she slam her ankle into the bed, or love seat, or the shelf. She must have gone over the routine several times only to halt the flow to scoot back or find another means to perform from the lack of space alone.

Today, Chiyo was supposed to be meeting her new principal and homeroom teacher. In theory, the only ones who knew of Chiyo's circumstances were Chiyo herself and the school staff. In theory.

Chiyo fully expected it to get out eventually. Someone was going to get nosy, someone was going to find out. It was downright naive to assume she could get through the school year without any problems.

But she hoped, hoped that if she played the well-behaved, shy student, maybe she could salvage the situation. Maybe she could convince everyone she wasn't that bad before it came out.

Chiyo wanted to continue moving. She wanted to go through every routine she'd committed to memory, she wanted to move and dance until she collapsed onto the floor. But she needed to be elsewhere and she needed to change into her school uniform.

The Shujin Academy uniform consisted of a white turtleneck shirt and a black blazer with the school's emblem on the breast pocket. Girls generally wore a black and red plaid skirt over black tights. So much black…

She tied her hair up in a half-ponytail with her tie-dye scarf scrunchie. It was a look that was rapidly growing on her after spending so long keeping her hair at bay with full ponytails and braids. Chiyo found she liked how keeping some of her hair down looked on her. But she only just realized that she may have been a little too impulsive when she colored her hair. What shy, well-behaved student colored their hair like this? Did they even dye their hair at all?

"Hey! I'm waiting on you!" she heard Sojiro call.

"I'm coming!"

Quickly, Chiyo slipped her feet into a pair of dark brown boots that came with the uniform, tall enough that they came up a few inches above the ankle. As soon as they were on, Chiyo hurried downstairs to find Sojiro waiting at the bar. He had on a white, two-button blazer over a pink button-down Chiyo suspected was reserved for occasions such as this. There was a matching trilby sat sitting on the surface of the bar counter.

Upon spotting Chiyo, Sojiro released a sigh and put on the trilby. "Come on," he said through another beleaguered sigh. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back."

Dressing up for the occasion, Chiyo could understand. But she thought the trilby was probably overdoing it.

Sojiro lead her to a house a few minute's walk from Leblanc where there was a small garage with a yellow Porsche inside. Chiyo's brow rose as soon as she saw the care, she hadn't pegged Sojiro as the type to have a license. She heard him mutter something as she slid inside the passenger seat, she couldn't make out what it was exactly, but the tone she could tell he wasn't particularly thrilled.

They were on the road a few minutes later; Chiyo kept her arms crossed defensively over her chest as soon as she was buckled in. "The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district," he explained when they were on the road. "It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain in the ass."

"Is it easy to get lost?" Chiyo asked, voicing one of her anxieties about transferring to the big city. It wasn't exactly difficult to get lost on her way to school back in Higashiizu, she had gone to the only public high school.

"You know how to read maps, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"There you go. It shouldn't be that difficult to find a route map and figure it out from there."

'That wasn't very comforting…' thought Chiyo.

She wasn't sure how long they were on the road before they passed a white building with a sign reading 'Shujin Academy' plastered outside. There were three stories, the while stone made it look like a fortress. Or a prison. A chill ran down her spine at the thought.

"Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right?" Sojiro asked as they got out of the car. He left his trilby in the driver's seat. Thank goodness for that. "Don't get me wrong - I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble."

His comment brought upon a tight sensation in her chest. She told herself it was fine. They weren't anything to each other, they just met yesterday. They didn't owe each other niceties.

They didn't speak again during the journey up the front stairs. By the door was a woman waiting for them; she looked a few years younger than Sojiro. Her face was long and sleepy. Her wavy dark-brown hair was cut just above her shoulders; she had on a yellow shirt and a long denim skirt. "Sakura-san," the woman said in greeting. Her gaze locked upon Chiyo. "And you must be Chiyo Kusakabe."

"Yep," Sojiro answered bluntly.

"I can show you to Principal Kobayakawa, Sakura-san. But I'll need to borrow Kusakabe to prepare her student ID card."

They dropped Sojiro off at the principal's office, and the woman lead Chiyo to an empty faculty office. There was a camera aimed at a wall where a blue cut of fabric had been pinned. Chiyo put on her best neutral face as the woman snapped a few pictures. Then she stood silently to the side while the woman sat in front of a laptop, putting Chiyo's ID card together.

Chiyo didn't particularly feel anything at the moment. There was a difference between being in a largely empty school on a Sunday versus being in a school that was full of students. This woman and the principal may as well be on par with Sojiro right now. More adults who already made up their minds about her.

The students… well, Chiyo intended to have a bland school year. She intended to keep a low profile and only speak when spoken to. But that didn't stop the fantasy of one of her classmates approaching her, bitting it off with her and Chiyo could have friends for a change. These fantasies didn't last much longer than that instant connection. Reality was always set in by Chiyo's expectations, it was only a matter of time. Not a matter of if, a matter of when.

"All right." The woman finally stood up with a small rectangle of plastic in her hands. "We're all set here. I'm sure Sakura-san's nearly finished with the paperwork by now."

Chiyo nodded briefly, silently following behind the woman as they walked back to the principal's office. Principal Kobayakawa was a large middle-aged man with a clean-shaven head. Chiyo couldn't describe him as 'portly,' not with the tawny suit he was wearing. He looked like a potato with that thing on.

Sojiro was leaning over Kobayakawa's desk with a pen in hand and a packet of papers in front of him. "To reiterate," Kobayakawa said eyeing Chiyo as the woman got out a small booklet, "you will be immediately expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you." He paused for a moment to scrutinize Chiyo up and down. "But there were some circumstances on your side. You might have done a variety of… unsavory things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here."

Chiyo simply nodded and tried to keep her lips from quivering despite the pressure in her throat. Did he really have to put it like that?

"If you are thrown out of our school, there will be no place for you. You'd better keep that in mind." Kobayakawa gestured to the woman. "This will be your homeroom teacher."

"I'm Sadayao Kawakami." She held out the booklet and the ID card. "Here's your student ID and the student handbook."

Silently, Chiyo took her wallet from her pocket and slid her new ID inside. "Be sure to read the school rules," continued Kawakami. "Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by any chance you cause problems, I won't be able to protect you at all." She eyed the principal at his desk. "That is your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa."

Kobayakawa sat back in his seat. "She's the one responsible for her own actions."

"But really though, why me? Surely there were better candidates."

"It was a sudden transfer. And your class was the only one that had an opening."

Sojiro and Chiyo quietly exchanged questioning looks as Kawakami and Kobayakawa went back and forth. Was this a usual occurrence with these sorts of meetings amongst the staff at this school? It seemed a little less than professional in Chiyo's opinion. Sojiro seemed to agree as he cleared his throat after breaking eye contact with Chiyo.

"I'm sorry about that," Kawakami muttered under her breath. "Later this year, in September, will be the second-year student's class trip. As of right now, Kusakabe-san, you are not permitted to go. But we may rescind this if you can earn the right with good behavior and keeping up with your schoolwork. That means getting decent marks on your exams, attending school, and attending the mandatory school events between now and September. And if we permit you to go, we expect this good behavior to keep up after the trip. Understand?"

Slowly, Chiyo nodded. A part of her was a little surprised to find that she didn't care if she was allowed on the school trip or not. What good were school trips in general if she didn't have any friends to experience them with? "If you're done explaining things," Sojiro said tentatively, "mind if we get going? I have a store to get back to."

Kobayakawa leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers. "Do keep a close eye on her, Sakura-san. Don't let her cause any trouble outside of class…"

"I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation she's in."

Like Chiyo couldn't figure it out for herself. Like she wasn't living with the reality day in and day out. It wasn't that hard to understand.

She imagined her brow gave away her bitter mood as she followed Sojiro out of the school courtyard. "Everyone's giving you the cold shoulder," Sojiro muttered as though thinking out loud. "That's what you get for having a criminal record." He half-turned towards Chiyo with a hand at his waist. "Turns out your past follows you wherever you go. Keep that in mind, all right? I won't hesitate to kick you out if you get yourself expelled."

"Got it," Chiyo said forcefully. For god's sake, she wasn't an idiot. Why was it so impossible for the adults in Chiyo's life to believe she wasn't stupid? That she didn't need these constant reminders? It wasn't as though Chiyo didn't already have a strategy for tackling her new school. She was going to make herself invisible. Make herself into a student overlooked by her classmates. If everyone could just leave her alone, she could coast on by until March.

"I could save us all a little time and just kick you out now if that's going to be your attitude," Sojiro shot back. Instantly, Chiyo felt a bit of heat in her cheeks. So even when she held back every bitter, hateful thought she had she was still getting scolded. She truly was in a no-win situation. Sighing, Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck. "Come on, we're going home."

They said that appearances could be deceiving, but Kusakabe was nothing like what Kawakami was expecting. When she heard about the girl's record and the circumstances surrounding it, Kawakami was expecting more of a typical delinquent. An altered uniform, colored nails, heavy makeup, the works. Even someone who was trying to advertise her sex appeal, Kawakami was expecting something like that. At most, Kusakabe dyed her hair. Yet she still wore her uniform as it was supposed to be worn. If she had any sort of makeup on it was so minor that it was unnoticeable.

No, Kusakabe looked nothing like a delinquent or a sex worker. She looked more like a student who could be found working in the school library after class.

But what if it was all an act for today because Sakura-san was there? What if she came into school tomorrow and that library girl look went straight out the window?

Or what if Kawakami was reading a little too much into all of this?

"What a troublesome situation."

Kawakami looked up to find Kamoshida crossing her path. She had stepped onto the catwalk in the school courtyard. The awning overhead tapped now and then with scattered raindrops. Kawakami did not need to ask what situation Kamoshida was talking about. The entirety of the second-year teachers and some general staff knew about Kusakabe.

"I just can't believe they pushed someone like her on me," Kawakami muttered pitifully. "Surely a male teacher would be better suited for this…"

"If it was just assault charges, they probably would have," agreed Kamoshida. "But given how promiscuous she is, Principal Kobayakawa thought it best to give her a stable role model. Someone to show her how a lady should behave."

Kawakami pursed her lips to the side but refused to say what came to mind. If that were true, then there was a slight irony to it all. "Still," Kamoshida sighed, lowering his head. "Why in the world was someone like that even admitted here?"

"Who knows? It was Kobayakawa's decision. I heard it was for the school's reputation. Being the school to take in a student with a criminal record and a past like that and helping them turn their life around does sound pretty impressive."

Of course, all that assumed Kusakabe didn't have a mind of her own. Kawakami wasn't sure if the girl was the type to go against the rules or conform to them. Perhaps it was the contradiction of the way Kusakabe had just presented herself and what she had known through the girl's record that made Kawakami particularly nervous. A contradiction like that just made Kusakabe into a wild card.

"I would have thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover the school's reputation. And that's ignoring those prodigy twins who started this year."

"That's certainly true…" Though Kawakami couldn't help the urge to rub the back of her neck uncomfortably. They didn't actually have the twins anymore per se, just the surviving sister.

"Just be careful, okay." Kamoshida stretched his right arm out. "Then again, if anything were to happen, I'd kick out a student like that in a heartbeat."

"I just keep wishing that she'd just end up not coming to school," Kawakami confessed guiltily. What sort of teacher was she if she said something like that? "But I could be overreacting. Kusakabe didn't look the part her record paints her."

Lowering his arms, Kamoshida's brow rose. "Really?"

"Yeah, she presented herself as someone who liked being at school. But I can't tell if it's an act or not."

Interesting… "Well, I should be returning to practice," said Kamoshida.

"Oh, right. The tournament's coming up, isn't it?"

"Having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too."

Kawakami nodded curtly. As Kamoshida walked off to the gym, she brought her hand to the bridge of her nose.

Why did it have to be her class?

Chiyo nestled herself in the corner of her seat, her arms crossed over her chest and legs crossed at the ankles. Almost immediately after they got back on the road they found themselves in the middle of a traffic jam. A few minutes after that, it started to rain, the sound of raindrops beat rhythmically against the roof of the card.

At her side, Sojiro was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. They barely move more than a few meters in thirty minutes. Irritated, he flipped on the radio. "You're taking the train, starting tomorrow," Sojiro snapped bitterly. Chiyo simply nodded in response. Wasn't that always the idea? "So… how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"

"I guess…"

"Don't even think of doing anything stupid. You were already expelled once." The older man leaned back in his seat, sighing. "To think you'd managed to re-enroll into a different school…"

"They just want the bragging rights that come with reforming a problem student," Chiyo muttered.

"I suppose that's true… Still, it's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too… What a troublesome kid I've taken in…"

Chiyo's hands gripped her arms tighter and tighter with each word Sojiro spoke. Could this man really not go five minutes without complaining that this situation was troublesome for him? God, if Chiyo wasn't getting sick of people making her problems about themselves. "So why did you take me in if I'm such an inconvenience, then?" she snapped. Her frustrations were finally beginning to reach a boiling point. "You clearly don't want any part of this."

"I was asked to do it, okay?" Sojiro snapped back, giving her a look of warning. "And I just… happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all."

'I knew it,' Chiyo thought bitterly.

"Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Sation," said the newscaster on the radio, "greatly affecting the timetable all across the-"

"Another accident?" Sojiro asked in disbelief. "So that's why it's so crowded."

Chiyo lowered her arms and stared at the radio. "Wasn't there a news report on something similar yesterday? Are these common in the city?" she asked. Should she be worried about her safety while traveling the train?

"Not… usually. Though that really does feel like the case lately." Sojiro kept his eyes forward, absently tilting the brim of his trilby down, casting a shadow over his eyes. "They were saying on the news this morning that one of the children in yesterday's accident was declared braindead and his family decided to pull the plug. How do you make a choice like that?"

Chiyo's eyes traveled to the side, refusing to meet with Sojiro. The conversation suddenly took a turn at a breakneck pace and she did not know what to say. It did not help at all that Sojiro looked like he was in his own somber world. "There was another sad case just last month. A traffic accident… If I remember right, the girl that passed away was barely fifteen. Her parents have gotta be just…"

"...All traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets."

Chiyo's shoulders dropped, and her head fell back against the headrest. "Oh, come on!" moaned Sojiro.

The screen replayed the security footage from the train accident, just one of many that had conspired within the last couple of years. The official story was that the train had been going so fast, that it ended up derailing at the station. The newscaster replaced the security footage before it could show anything overly gruesome.

"According to the police, the engineer's life was not in danger despite his injuries. After questioning, even he could not explain his high speed when approaching the station. No further comments were made. Police are still looking for a plausible motive. It's less of an operating accident and more of a crime of the company and the government…"

Souji Kodaira, director of the Special Investigations Unit, sat at his desk, his hands folded atop each other and held in front of his face as he watched the report. He was an older man, his hair having long lost its luster and his hairline had long started to recede.

At length, Kodaira leaned back in his chair, readjusting his glasses. "Site inspectors apparently reported all of this six months ago," he told the young woman standing in front of his desk, "the deterioration of the tracks and the ACT. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transportation both turned a blind eye to the truth. There's no way they can hide this, we'll go all the way to the top."

Sae Niijima, a young woman in her mid-twenties, watched the news report as her boss spoke. She styled her long, ashen hair asymmetrically, parted on the right. She was dressed in a black pants suit and matching turtleneck, giving her a mature air, a tough-as-nails beauty.

"'Everything's linked,' that's what you're thinking, correct?" Kodaira asked, giving Niijima a knowing look. He lowered his arms flat atop the surface of his desk. "Are you free tonight? You and I haven't gone for a drink in a while."

The woman blinked once, then tore her gaze away from the TV screen. "Thank you, sir, but I have another meeting to attend to." She gave Kodaira a respectful bow. "I must be going, sir."

Outside of Kodaira's office, Niijima headed towards a grand staircase where she was met with a young man of about seventeen. He let his hair grow out since Niijima had first met him and he had the exact kind of face that left many a teenage girl, and a few boys, swooning in his wake.

The boy was checking the inbox on his phone when he heard Niijima approaching. "Did you ask to see me?" he asked politely. "Is it about a case?"

"Not quite," Niijima said curtly, barely paying the boy any attention as she walked by. "I want your opinion on something."

"Sure." The young man followed behind at a respectable distance. "Your judgment is quite often correct, though." He paused momentarily. "Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You're making a student work late, after all.

"Conveyor belt only," Niijima said without looking at him.

The boy's shoulders dropped, betraying the mature image he was trying to present himself as. "Aw…"

Chiyo held her hands under the running water of the showerhead after she turned it on. She inched her stool closer to the stream and stuck her head under first.

Sojiro and Chiyo did not make it back to Leblanc until early evening fell. Which only exacerbated Sojiro's previous grievances. "Wasted Sunday," she heard him mutter. He dropped his trilby onto the bar and rounded it into the kitchen. "Day's profit down the drain. If you need to use the bathhouse, better do it now, I'm waiting on you."

Obediently, Chiyo rushed upstairs and trampled back down a few moments later with her brush, a towel, and her wallet.

There were two older, granny-type ladies already in the bath by the time Chiyo walked in. One had her hair cut boyishly short and the other kept her long hair in a high bun. "-for her hip," gossiped the lady with short hair. "Poor dear's foot caught on the rug and she took a fall."

"Himari is too unobservant," said the lady with the bun. "If she wore glasses, she'd tear her room apart when they go missing and overlook the fact that they're right there on her face."

Half-aware of what the ladies were saying, Chiyo brought one of the soap bottles uncomfortably close to her face. Body wash. She did the same thing to the other bottle to find the shampoo and soon began to lather her hair. She rinsed her hair and washed her body. When finished, she towel-dried her hair and pulled it back into a messy, damp pun with a plain elastic band.

She put her towel away on a hook within arm's length from the bath and lowered herself into the water seated on the opposite end, away from the grannies. The water was hot enough that Chiyo fully expected to come out as red as a lobster. She had never been to a bathhouse before, the apartment she lived in with Ryou had a bath, but it wasn't quite the same. At least in the apartment, Chiyo didn't have to concern herself with trying to make out the number on the lockers without her glasses on. Maybe she should wear her contacts while at the bathhouse…

"Oh, hello, dear," greeted the lady with the bun. "I don't believe I've seen you around here before."

Chiyo was half-tempted to sink lower into the water. Why did they have to notice her? "I, uh," she murmured, avoiding eye contact with either of the ladies. "I just moved to Yongen…"

It wasn't not, not true, just a bit more complicated than that. It was odd to think about, especially since Chiyo would not only be there for a year. And then… And then…

She couldn't go back to Higashiizu, she was the town pariah for one. They'd find her number again, the calls would start flooding in again. Ryou wanted nothing to do with her, she was on her own when the year was up. Would Chiyo be able to get a full-time job? An apartment? Would she have to live on the streets? Live up to her reputation to get by?

If that was her fate what was she even doing here?! What was she doing playing along with this dog and pony show? The sooner Chiyo got started, the better, right? How much for an apartment? If she got started now she could probably find a job without her past being looked into. Could she pass as a college student?

How hard could it be? Chiyo heard about high school kids dropping out around her age and still living a life all the time. Maybe not the best life, but it was still a life. She'd need an apartment, a refrigerator, a grocery budget, a phone budget, heating, lighting…

"Are you alright, dear?" the short-haired lady asked. "Don't stay in too long if you're feeling light-headed"

Chiyo blinked, finally aware of her racing heart and short breaths as though she had just run a marathon. It almost happened again. Those horrible moments that left Chiyo gasping for breath. She was always half-convinced she was going to die when those moments happened.

The bathhouse… what a terrible place for that to happen. The steam probably would have made it worse. And what if Chiyo lost consciousness and sank into the water and drowned?

"I-I'm fine," she murmured, scooting herself back.

Liar.

Did it count as a lie if she knew no one wanted to hear the truth? To tell someone she was fine when she wasn't? People only wanted to be around you, to put up with you when you were fine. They got snippy and annoyed at you when you weren't fine. It was easier to just say you were fine when you weren't.

It was a lie by omission for sure. But why bother when people wanted to pretend the uglier parts of a person didn't exist. It was easier to just pretend. Pretend she was fine. Pretend that Ryou was waiting for her back home. Pretend if she had the blandest school year, everything would work itself out and life would go on as usual.

Chiyo and the ladies ended up getting out of the bath around the same time. Keeping her towel in place with one hand, she found the locker where she had her things stored. She put her glasses on first and didn't bother to put her blazer back on as she dressed. Her hair was still a bit damp, but Chiyo didn't bother to dry it any further. She took the elastic out of her hair and tied it around the handle of her brush, then placed her scrunchie around her wrist. The scarf tied around the band hung down like a ribbon around her wrist.

When she returned to Leblanc, Sojiro was standing outside the store with a cigarette in his hand. She tried not to pay attention to it, or the sent of smoke filling her nostrils and she headed inside. Though she could imagine Ryou getting a little snippy at Chiyo breathing it in. She had to stay in peak physical condition, after all.

Upstairs, Chiyo put away her towel and hairbrush, put away her blazer, and was getting ready to pull out her black shirt with the yellow cat eyes when she heard Sojiro ascending the stairs. She turned to find him with a book bound in a leathery material. "You may be under probation, but there are no special limitations on what you can do in particular. Besides following the law, that is." Sojiro placed the book down on the table closest to the stairs. "That said, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities."

A muffled, mechanical jingle suddenly rang out. Sojiro turned his back to Chiyo and took his phone out of his pocket. "Hey, what's up? … I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time… Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." After ending his call, he turned his attention back to Chiyo. "I'll lock up the place, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. So long as you don't mess up my stone. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops."

"Mm-hmm."

"You got school tomorrow, so you should be heading to bed anyway."

Without another word, Sojiro marched downstairs. Chiyo waited until he was downstairs at least before she went to collect the journal. He wasn't even going to watch her write anything in the diary? So Chiyo could do whatever she wanted after school and lie about it so long as it didn't get back to Sojiro?

"Missed a big gaping hole in that little plan," murmured Chiyo.

She changed into her pajamas soon after. She got out a protein bar, raisin almond, and ate it in near-dead silence. Chances were Chiyo was going to have to try and get a part-time job before her money ran out. Somehow, she got the feeling she couldn't count on Sojiro to cover her expenses, her meals, her clothes, her lady times - granted with that last one, Chiyo would rather handle it herself.

When she finished her protein bar, Chiyo tossed away the wrapper and turned on her star projector, then turned off the light. She laid down on the bed, her head at the foot and her feet at the head. Her arms crossed under her head as the multi-colored stars traveled around the room.

In her mind's eye, she imagined herself floating in space, somehow inherently able to breathe and not explode in the vacuum of space. She imagined her hair floating about her in tendrils, as gentle as though she were simply floating in water. A calming sensation soon fell upon her, as it always did when Chiyo conjured this fantasy. Ever since she was a child, when her parent's marriage was on its last leg, it was the only thing she could ever do to block out the arguing while she was trying to sleep.

In space, no one could hear her scream. Amongst the stars and galaxies, everything that happened on Earth was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Nothing but Chiyo and the thousands of lights around her, the serenity of it all.

Chiyo opened her eyes to see purple stars above her. She sat up, turned off the star projector, and crawled to the opposite side of the bed. She dug out her phone, aiming to look up the best route to school on the GPS. As soon as she turned the screen towards her, there it was. The same red and black app. It was even right in the same place it was when he found it yesterday.

"Seriously?" Chiyo asked in disbelief. "Don't tell me it had a virus…"

It shouldn't, the thing was brand new; an attempt to go to Tokyo without the worry of anyone back home harassing her.

Letting out a 'tsk' Chiyo dragged the app back to the recycle bin. She was going to have to reboot the thing, wasn't she?

Authors Note: I always got the feeling Sojiro was projecting a little bit when he brought up the Yoshizawa accident. The sisters are about the same age as Futaba and the method of death was not unlike Wakaba's.

I gave the SUI Director a name for the sake of convenience. Souji was just a name picked at random, I doubt I'll be using it every much. Kodaria, however, comes from Yashio Kodaira, a soldier turned rapist and serial killer from 1932 to 1946.