TRIGGER WARNING:
- Sex dream gone off the rails…? I'm honestly not sure how to classify this one. Better safe than sorry.
- Fat shaming and borderline if not flat out physical abuse and verbal/emotional abuse
Chapter Sixteen
Our Hearts Are To Ruthless to Break
Tuesday, May 3rd
In Chiyo's dream, she found herself in the same getup her cognitive-self in Kamoshida's Palace wore, right down to the intricate bondage harness. She was strapped to a St. Andrew's Cross, while her faceless partner held a riding crop in their hands.
She was familiar with this faceless partner. Or at least as familiar as one can be with a figment from a semi-reoccurring dream. They were almost always a part of Chiyo's sex dreams. Whether or not whatever they were doing was anatomically correct or even physically possible rarely mattered. So long as Chiyo woke up feeling pretty good, she was satisfied.
But in this dream, she was strapped down in frilly lingerie, elegant opera gloves, and heels higher than anything Chiyo had ever worn. Perhaps, in theory, the harness should have been putting pressure between her legs, but she didn't feel anything until her faceless partner rubbed the head of the crop there.
"Let's try that," her faceless lover said, gesturing to an alien BDSM contraption that would show off her flexibility. Damn if Chiyo could tell you what the thing was called, assuming it even existed.
Chiyo didn't want to be bent over, she was okay with being strapped to the St. Andrew's cross. Heck, she would've have been okay if her faceless lover added a blindfold. Just the very thought, unable to see what her partner was going to do next, immobilized and vulnerable… it made her pulse flutter. "Can't we just stick with this?" Chiyo asked. She twisted her wrists, shaking the manacles they were locked into. "That thing's a bit much…"
The figure grabbed Chiyo by the face, their nails digging into her skin. "You really think I need your permission?"
"Wha-?"
"C'mon, with a bod like yours, works like yours, I know how flexible you are."
Goose flesh began to prickle up on the back of Chiyo's neck. Glanced back at the contraction, to find it replaced with a phallic, blue-green blob, with a gaping black maw.
Chiyo's eyes snapped open, she sat up in bed, feeling a sudden weight drop into her lap, followed by a boyish cry. Morgana must have been sleeping on Chiyo's stomach and she had just woken him up. She could feel the flush on her cheeks and tension on her face, her expression was frozen.
'What the fuck, subconscious?!'
She did her morning stretches to help her calm down. Loosening her muscles and keeping herself flexible. After she finished, Chiyo was grabbing her casual clothes as Morgana moved the medal into her Sunday bag, when she heard Sojiro call from downstairs, "Hey. You can hear me, right? You don't have any plans, do you? Come help me out, instead of sleeping your life away."
'Sleeping her life away?' Did Chiyo not spend her Sundays outside of Leblanc? "We do owe it to him…" Morgana mumbled thinking Chiyo's irritation was towards being asked to help out in the store. "We'll just have to wait. Hurry down and help him out."
"Be right there!" called Chiyo.
She exchanged her casual wear for an easy-to-move-in ivory button-down shirt she had to roll up to her elbows, a black, knee-length, pencil skirt, black nylons, and black oxford shoes before she went downstairs. She was quick to get her apron on and followed Sojiro's orders. He mostly had her doing bus work, cleaning the floors and tables, washing dishes between customers. Chiyo recalled Sojiro mentioning how breaks like Golden Week often brought in extra customers. In hindsight, Chiyo wasn't sure why she wasn't expecting Sojiro to ask for help in the shop.
She kept quiet throughout the day. Only speaking when she was spoken to when a few regulars asked if Chiyo was a part-timer. When things began to slow down Chiyo stood in front of the sink, washing mugs, plates, and utensils. Sojiro sat at the bar, the TV on as it always was during opening hours. "Sorry I kinda pressured you into doing this," said Sojiro.
"It's fine," Chiyo said. She still had tomorrow to sell the medal after all.
"And now to our next topic," said the newscaster on TV, "Fall from Grace: The story of a dishonored Olympic medalist."
Without thinking, Chiyo dropped the plate she was working on back into the water. She stood in view of the TV set, ignoring the fact that her hands were wet, soapy, and dripping.
"Just yesterday, Suguru Kamoshida, PE teacher and volleyball coach at Shujin Academy, admitted to his school that he had been perpetually abusing his students, verbally, physically, and sexually. He has admitted to raping one of his female students, from what we can share, the girl tried to kill herself the day after. She is currently hospitalized, but expected to pull through."
"Hey," Sojiro sat forward, studying the screen as it showed images of Shujin. "Isn't that…?"
"Given Kamoshida's prior Olympic achievements, this has caused quite a stir. What caused this habitual offender to suddenly confess these heinous crimes to his entire school? Since the confession students have come forward to reveal the abuses he brought upon them. Even former students who have since graduated from Shujin since Kamoshida became part of the staff have come forward, revealing at least three more cases of rape. Police are hoping that the upcoming interrogations will bring light to this question?"
The image changed to a boy wearing the Shujin uniform. The framing cut his head off, and his voice had been distorted in post-production. "My friends would come back from practice with bruises all the time… It was scary, but I'm relieved that the abuse is finally going to end now."
The interview changed to a girl, likewise, her identity concealed. "He would touch me and stuff all the time," the girl said. Despite the distortion in her voice, it was clear that her voice was trembling. "When I think about what he did to that girl, the one who jumped, it shakes me to my core. I could have been like her… I'm glad I don't have to deal with that sexual harassment anymore…"
Another girl appeared. "There were always rumors, sure. Not many people believed them though. Like… I'm totally shocked they were actually true. At least now I can go to school without worrying."
"That's the same uniform you wear," Sojiro said as the newscaster returned. "So this is your school!"
Turning her head towards Sojiro. "Uh… yeah," she said quietly. "Sorry… I didn't say anything when I got ba-"
Sojiro stood up, his hands pressed flat against the surface of the bar. His eyes glared intently at Chiyo. Had she done something wrong? "That teacher didn't try anything on you, did he?" Sojiro asked, his voice low.
"O-oh. No." Chiyo shook her head. "I hardly saw him. He didn't have the chance to."
Liar.
The words came out automatically. But Chiyo decided it didn't matter. She had no intention of giving in to his ultimatum. And since it never got to that, why compare herself with the girls who weren't so lucky? She was barely a blip on the radar in comparison.
Sighing, Sojiro sat back down. "Well, regardless," he said, "things might be getting turbulent at school, but you need to just keep your head down, all right?"
"Yeah," Chiyo said, returning to the sink. "I got it."
"And make sure you pick up the slack. I still have a few things for you to do."
"Right…"
"And before I forget…"
Chiyo half turned when she heard something clatter against the bar. She half-turned to find a key glinting under the overhead light. "You gotta place to keep it, right?" Sojiro asked with his attention back on his paper. "I can't keep waiting for you all night, and I would think I can trust you by now."
"U-uh..." Chiyo looked down at the key to Sojiro and back. "Yes! Thank you!"
That night, Chiyo plopped herself onto the bed so that her legs dangled over the edge. She tugged at the center of her shirt to find a damp spot. Why was her shirt always wet after she did the dishes? "The chief really worked us hard…" Morgana said, sitting beside Chiyo.
"Um… 'us?'" Chiyo sat up. "You're only job was to stay out of the way."
"Hey, I'm trying to be empathic!"
Chiyo's phone buzzed, preventing her from arguing further with Morgana. Reaching out for it, Chiyo unplugged the phone from its charger.
Ryuji: Did you see?! It was on the news!
Ryuji: No way the school's gonna be able to play dumb after that.
Chiyo: Yeah, I saw it while helping my guardian.
Ann: I saw it too.
Ann: Shiho's name didn't come up, right?
Chiyo: They mentioned her circumstances, but I don't think they said her name.
Ryuji: I wouldn't doubt they wanted to keep that part quiet.
Ann: I'm so glad…
Ryuji: It's finally over then…
Ryuji: All we gotta do now is eat some tasty shit and put all this crap behind us.
Ryuji: I'm totally looking forward to this celebration party.
Ann: I'll try not to let you guys down!
"We really need to sell the medal tomorrow," said Morgana. "Even if the chief needs you tomorrow."
"You wanna try telling him that?" Chiyo asked. Her lips suddenly pursed in thought, that actually wasn't a bad idea. In theory at least. "You might actually get a favorable response if you do." She stood up and removed her shirt, revealing the bra underneath. As she headed over to the bathroom she heard Morgana take a deep inhale.
"Given Kamoshida's prior Olympic achievements, this has caused quite a stir. What caused this habitual offender to suddenly confess these heinous crimes to his entire school? Since the confession students have come forward to reveal the abuses he brought upon them. Even former students who have since graduated from Shujin since Kamoshida became part of the staff have come forward, revealing at least three more cases of rape. Police are hoping that the upcoming interrogations will bring light to this quest-"
Okumura muted the TV before he leaned back on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. Haru sat on the other side of the couch, clutching a pillow to her stomach. "The incompetence of that principal of yours," he murmured pinching the bridge of his nose. "I knew Horikoshi would have been a better choice for you."
But Shujin provided an escape from that dog-eat-dog lifestyle Okumura seemed to favor in recent years. It wasn't so much that Haru wanted to be 'normal,' she wasn't and she wasn't going to make friends pretending otherwise. She simply didn't want to spend another three years with people she knew she didn't like, knew they didn't like her, and wouldn't try to weasel their way into Okumura information.
"Please tell me you weren't naïve enough to hand yourself over to that-"
"No!" Haru shouted aghast. Her pillow suddenly whipped to her side as she removed her hands from her midsection. "I had no idea what was going on with Kamoshida!"
"If you prove to be worthless to Sugimura-"
Haru didn't give Okumura the chance to finish. She shot to her feet and marched upstairs to her room. She didn't doubt, not for a second, that Sugimura was sleeping around with other girls between now and the wedding. Nor did she doubt that he would have a mistress or two despite being married. Haru wasn't so naïve that she didn't know a double standard when she saw one. Her father and Sugimura expected her to be pure and virginal while Sugimura was free to sleep around. It was only her fault if Kamoshida forced himself onto her as far as Sugimura was concerned.
In truth, Haru was floored by Kamoshida's confession. Both the abuse and the sexual assault, she didn't see either of them coming. And Haru later realized Kamoshida likely never tried anything on her because of her connections. The poor Suzui girl was the daughter of a data entry clerk to Haru's understanding. Had she come forward about it, would have been her word over his? Must have, otherwise people would have come forward sooner than they did. It was frightening to think Kamoshida could have had abuses down to a science.
Her classmates were saying the Phantom Thieves of Heart were responsible for Kamoshida's sudden turnaround. Haru wasn't sure if anyone actually believed it or if Kamoshida's victims liked having someone to thank even if Kamoshida's guilt finally got to him. The calling cards posted around school lead some credibility that the public confession was because of those at least. Enough that the rumor mill said that the police took one of the calling cards as evidence.
In her bedroom, Haru kicked off her shoes before she laid herself down upon her bed. She pulled her knees up close to her chest. The rumors about Phantom Thieves stealing Kamoshida's heart… wouldn't it be something if they were real?
Wednesday, May 4th
Chiyo shook her arms after putting on her cardigan. Morgana hopped into Chiyo's bag well before she grabbed it. If she could just get this done early enough, she should be able to sell the medal and come back if Sojiro needed her. She shrugged the bag over her shoulder then headed downstairs.
"Make sure to do the dishes," Sojiro said without looking up at her from his paper.
"When I get back," Chiyo said, trying to keep the defiance in her voice under control.
Looking up at her with a thoroughly unimpressed look in his eye, he sighed. "Don't get overly cocky with me again."
"I'm just going to take an hour, most!"
The bell tinkled before they could argue further. Both turned their gaze in the direction of the door to find a young woman in her mid to late-twenties walk in. Chiyo initially thought she was donning a half-shaved hairstyle. But upon closer inspection, she saw that the woman's ashy hair was just parted at an angle and partially pinned down. She wore a black suit with a turtleneck under the blazer and a pair of black heels.
"Welcome," Sojiro greeted.
The woman studied Sojiro and Chiyo. She placed a hand on her hips and tilted her head to the side. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked.
"Not at all."
Silently, the woman sat down on the nearest chair at the bar and studied the selections before her.
"The cause of the runaway-train incident in the subway the other day still has not been found," the newscaster on TV said. Chiyo half-turned to get a look at the screen. "Police are hurrying to solve the matter as it may relate to the rise in psychotic breakdown incidents."
"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro asked, half-interested.
"Doesn't it make you curious?" inquired the woman.
Chiyo turned her attention back to the woman. "People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue… Not to mention that it's happening one after another… Could they really be coincidental?"
Furrowing her brow, Chiyo's eyes wandered to the upper right. She understood what the woman was saying, but wasn't it like finding out your coworker had a wild kink in their personal lives? Or worse, discovering they had serious mental problems behind the scenes until they lost the battle. Didn't ones personal lives play a factor?
"Leaving that aside," Sojiro said unsubtly changing the subject. "What'll you have?"
The woman's eyes cast downward for a moment before she looked back up at Sojiro. "I'll have the house blend please." She half-turned in her seat, spotting Chiyo. "Are you a part-timer? I'm surprised this place can afford one."
"Uh, that's exactly the case," said Sojiro.
"Are you a high school student?" the woman asked Chiyo. "Where do you attend?"
"Um…" Chiyo readjusted her glasses. "Shujin Academy."
The woman's brow rose. "Oh? Some I know goes there as well. I've heard that things are rough right now. The gym teacher, Kamoshida, confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person, supposedly. And it happened 'all of a sudden' one day… Can a person's mental state change so easily?"
"I wouldn't say it was 'all of a sudden,'" Chiyo said despite her better judgment. "He took a sabbatical a good week before the confession. And from what I saw, it looked like he hadn't seen a bed in days. He must have been contemplating what he had done."
"But what warranted his sabbatical?" the woman questioned. "After doing everything he's was, why now?"
"A girl tried to kill herself because of his sexual assault. That's not something that can be easily ignored."
"Perhaps. But three others have claimed to have had similar experiences as that girl. One of them claims she tried to take her own life, just like this recent case. After doing it three times previously, why is he confessing now? It's still a leap from going about business as usual to deciding you need time to reflect then confess."
"You don't know what goes on in a person's head though. It's like trying to find meaning in someone's suicide, sometimes you can't understand why."
"Didn't you have an errand for your folks, Kusakabe-san?" Sojiro asked quickly, giving her a peculiar look. "Better get to that sooner rather than later."
"Uh… yeah…"
By the time Chiyo exited the store, she realized Sojiro was likely shooing her out so her debate with the woman didn't escalate any further. What was that tidbit Shibuya told her? Lose your temper, lose a customer?
But Chiyo tried not to dwell on it too much. She was out of Leblanc, she was finally free to sell the medal. This was the best turn of events she could have asked for.
She headed to Shibuya with her head up as though she didn't have an Olympic medal and a cat snoozing in her bag. Or that she was about to go to an airsoft shop. She rounded the corner leading to Untouchable when she jumped in place. 'How?!'
In front of her, was Henry, standing guard in front of a blue cell door. He casually held his clipboard under one arm and swept one leg behind the other to tap the toe of his boot against the ground. When Henry looked up his visible brow arched, the other covered by the sheer size of his eye patch.
Did it count as an eye patch if it covered about a third of his face?
Chiyo tried to ask, "What're you…?"
"My master wishes for you to have easy access to the Velvet Room, if and when you require a fusion of Persona or need to look through the compendium," Henry explained. "I'm only going to explain this once, so open your ears, Maggot. You'll be able to find more access points like these in the real world as you deepen your bonds with your contracts. No one else but you will be able to see me. Got that?"
"Uh…" She scratched the side of her head. "Yeah… I guess…"
Contracts?
"Good. Now get going with your contracts, Maggot. Don't let my master's faith in you be misplaced. Got it!"
Chiyo shook her head slightly as she grasped the door to Untouchable. Opening it, she was met with the airsoft guns and apparel on display. Iwai was once again behind the counter, reading a new magazine when he looked up to find Chiyo. "You again? What do you want?"
"I was hoping you could take a few things off my hands. Firstly…" Chiyo dug her hand into her bag for the medal. Between her wallet, phone, and the other treasures from the Palace, she ultimately needed Morgana to hand it to her.
She held it out by the ribbon. Iwai put his magazine down and stood up, taking the medal into his hand. "Why do you have this?" he asked eyeing her. "We don't buy any fake or stolen goods here, kid."
"It's real," Chiyo said. She took the medal back. "But if you don't want it I can take my business elsewhere."
"Hold on a sec," Iwai said, snatching it back out from Chiyo's hand.
He took a few moments to carefully examine the medal. He even tapped it against the table counter. "I'm just… not gonna ask where you got this," he said at long last. "How's thirty thousand yen sound for it though?"
"I think we have a deal," Chiyo said with a smile. She reached into her bag again and pulled the pearl, the bit of onyx, and the silver wear out, laying them on the counter. "Are you willing to take these too?"
Iwai eyed the pile on the counter, then looked back at Chiyo. She was pretty sure he thought she was insane. "Two thousand twenty okay for this lot?"
Chiyo nodded, smiling sweetly all the while. Iwai gave her a total of thirty-two thousand and twenty yen in exchange for everything. To her surprise, however, Iwai reached under the counter and pulled out an old paper bag. "Here," he said, handing the bag to Chiyo, "take this with you. It's a thanks for sellin' me that medal."
How stupid did men over twenty think Chiyo was? This had 'suspicious' written all over it in bright red letters. Still, she took the bag and had enough sense to put it in her handbag with Morgana.
"But, uh… best not to open it. Just bring it with you next time you come back here."
"If you wanted me to smuggle something out for you, then why not just say so?" Chiyo asked dully. "It's not like this entire situation isn't sketchy as hell."
The door opened, revealing a couple of men in business suits. One man in a grey suit, the other in black. Chiyo thought she may have seen them outside the store, but she hadn't thought much about it. "Munehisa Iwai, yes?" the man in the grey suit said in greeting. "There are some matters we'd like to discuss with you today."
"Better get goin', kid," Iwai said under his breath, just loud enough for Chiyo to hear.
Keeping one hand on her bag Chiyo walked to the door, her free hand placed flat upon the glass. But she didn't leave. Not yet. But she should if only to calm her racing heart.
"Do you know why we're here?" the man in the grey suit asked, he and his accomplice approaching the counter.
"I dunno, lookin' for evidence?" Iwai asked nonchalantly. "You tell me, Detective-san."
Chiyo glanced over her shoulder, getting a look at the scene at the counter. "Watch your attitude!" snapped the man in the black suit.
Iwai held his hands up in placate. "Well, you guys gonna search me? Go on, do what you gotta do."
"What was that?"
"An upstandin' citizen's supposed to cooperate with the cops, right?" Iwai asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hey, you sure that lead was legitimate?" Grey Suit asked his partner.
"I could've sworn it was…"
"Can you two hurry it up?" Iwai asked politely. "I got a business to run here."
"You bastard," Black Suit cursed. He turned his gaze towards the door, towards Chiyo. "Hey, you!"
Instinctively, Chiyo turned towards the trio. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She shouldn't have hung around for too long.
Black Suit eyed her before his hands fell upon her handbag. "What's in the bag?" he asked. "Show me."
"The kid's just a regular ol' customer," Iwai said quickly. "You can check the tapes if that'll convince you. They'll show everything that's gone down here today."
If that wasn't a bluff, Chiyo didn't know what was. Chiyo did not doubt that there were cameras in the store, but they would have shown just what was going on. The exchange for the medal, the fact that Iwai clearly handed Chiyo a paper bag. The detectives would have known something was up.
"I won't let her get away that easy!" snapped Black Suit. "Show us what's in the bag!"
Blood was rushing in her ears, and suddenly, Chiyo could feel something cold and hard pressing against her wrists. Hand on her shoulders as she was forced into the back seat of the car, pressure in her throat and on her chest as she slowly realized what was going on. She needed to take a calming breath in. "N-Nothing you're looking for," she said. Her voice wavered. Damn it.
"I said, show it to me!"
"Hey, you're talking to a kid, remember?" Black Suit's partner scolded. "Besides, she's not the one were here to see."
Black Suit let out a low growl. "That's right, Detective-san," Iwai said, still putting on the air of a friendly manager. "Maybe next time try not harassin' my customers, see how that goes." He turned his gaze towards Chiyo. "Safe trip home, kid."
Chiyo tried to smile as casually and friendly as she could manage, and headed out the door. A few paces away from the shop, Chiyo had to stop; a hand braced against her chest, her heart was still racing. The feeling of the cuffs on her wrists...
Morgana poked his head out of the handbag. "What were those detectives doing there?" he asked.
"No idea," murmured Chiyo.
"Well, there is one way to find out. Aren't you curious about what's in the bag?"
She came to a full stop and looked down at her feet. "Kind of… but he said not to open it."
"There's no harm in a little peek."
"He's going to find out…"
"Come on!" Morgana started to nuzzle his head against Chiyo's side. As though that would make the idea more endearing. "Let's open it up."
Chewing on her lower lip, Chiyo reached into her bag for the paper one. She carefully rolled up the neck and opened the lid. She nearly dropped the bag in surprise, causing Morgana to ask what it was. She lowered the bag enough for him to peer in. He may have paled were it not for his fur.
Staring back at them was a Ruger MK III. "Is that real?!" gasped Morgana.
"I don't think so," said Chiyo. "Look closer."
The feline peered back into the bag, enough that he was sticking his head in, and nearly sighed in relief. "Just a model. It's incredible though! Miles ahead of the ones we have. There's something weird about that place…"
"I'll say. It's an Airsoft shop, but the manager still bought a medal and other shit from us."
"That's not what I meant! But this does give me an idea. We should totally buy this gun from him later! I mean, it's perfect. Something this real-looking would work wonders in the Metaverse!"
"Maybe, but it's gotta cost a fortune."
"Well, he told you to bring it back the next time you came, right? You should try striking a deal with him when we return it!"
"You make it sound easy," Chiyo murmured as she rolled the bag closed again.
Morgana was out of the bag as soon as Chiyo placed it on the floor. He hopped out, shook himself off, and stretched. Chiyo's phone started to ring soon after. She saw Ann's name and number on the screen before she answered it. "Hello?"
"Oh, hey, it's me," said Ann. "I saw the news… You know, about Kamoshida. It's getting a lot of coverage…"
"I noticed…" Chiyo walked over to the bed and sat herself down. "How do you feel?"
"I don't know… The reaction's been bigger than what I was expecting… I guess I'm just… surprised. I don't think we did anything wrong though. I wonder if we helped those people speaking up about it…"
"We had to. I heard some who've already graduated started speaking up about their experiences."
"That's pretty amazing, huh?" Ann asked happily. "I didn't think we'd actually be able to do it! And yet look at us now! This really calls for a celebration!"
"Yeah. Can't wait for tomorrow."
"I think you and Ryuji are gonna like it. Let's meet in front of Shibuya Station at noon tomorrow. Don't be late! Wait, you did pawn off that medal right?"
"Yep. And I got thirty thousand yen for it," Chiyo said in a sing-song tone. "And another two thousand from those knickknacks too!"
"Yes! I can't wait! Well, see you guys tomorrow!"
She hung up the phone, feeling so giddy she could sing. For the first time, Chiyo was connecting with people. Peers her own age.
Her smile died soon after. This, whatever she had going on with Ryuji and Ann… Was it going to stick around despite the drama with Kamoshida being over and done with? Would she and Ryuji just have part ways if they never stumbled into the castle? Would Ann had ever spoken to her in the first place if she hadn't overheard her phone call with Kamoshida?
Chiyo never had much for friends in Higashiizu. If she wasn't getting her mandatory schoolwork done, she was training. Her cousin Takio, from Ryou's side, was the only person who amounted to a friend in her life. Ryou was the middle child of five children, so Chiyo had a handful of cousin's both older and younger. Takio and Chiyo were of the same age, so when the aunts and uncles got together, the two tended to stick together. Takio was the one who tried to cheer her up when Chiyo learned she was going to have to wear glasses.
It wasn't enough that Chiyo had her training, but Takio went to high school in Ito and he was in his school's kendo club. They hadn't been able to see each other face to face throughout their first year of high school. They did try and communicate how they could, but coming face-to-face required planning ahead.
It was Takio's silence that stung as hard as Ryou's. She didn't try to call him, or her uncle's house, again after the night Chiyo put the hot lighter to her hand. He simply turned on her so easily, left her alone while everyone around Chiyo turned her backs on her and wrote her off as some violent, sexual deviant. Takio was one of the few people who should have known her better than that. Did she have to worry about that from Ann and Ryuji? Would they turn her back on her when things got too hard?
No. No. Chiyo was worrying over nothing.
You don't go through all of that and simply become acquaintances when it was over.
Thursday, May 5th
As discussed, they met up with Ann and Ryuji at Shibuya Station. Ann's casual wear included a red and white letterman jacket with a periwinkle blouse, white denim skirt, black leggings, and red converse shoes.
Though no one, except for Ann, knew where they were going, Chiyo would have never guessed they were going to the Wilton Hotel. Or rather, the Wilton Hotel's buffet. The group was met with more than a few raised eyebrows by adults enjoying the high life, but they still their accepted twenty-four thousand of the thirty-two thousand.
They were shown to their seats, plush, white loveseats with red pillows, one for each of them. The waitress informed them that they had an hour. The three each grabbed a quick starter to quell their rumbling stomachs. Ryuji grabbed himself a plate of smoked pork. The sent was enough to make Chiyo's mouth water. Ann grabbed herself a sponge cake with strawberries iced between layers. And Chiyo grabbed a simple miso soup.
"So good!" Ryuji said. His mouth was full of pork, and his eyes looked fit to burst.
"Mm, no wonder Lady Ann chose this place," said Morgana, still nestled in Chiyo's bag.
"Of course it's good," Ann said with a bit of cake on her fork. "This is a famous hotel, after all." She took her helping of sponge cake. Upon swallowing, her brow rose. "Oh, yeah, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at school."
"That's troublesome," said Morgana.
Ryuji lowered his knife and fork. "Our names are gonna come up for sure. People're spreadin' all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida… But we got 'em pumped up! I keep hearin' stuff like, 'The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!'"
"Really?" Chiyo asked with a raised brow. "I was under the impression that most thought it was a prank."
"Yeah, I don't think they actually believe it, but some of them actually seem grateful." He reached into his pocket for his phone and showed the others the screen. "Look at this."
The red and black background was the first thing Chiyo noticed. The next was the header; 'The Phantom Aficionado Website.' "We have a fan site?" Chiyo asked in disbelief. "A… Phan-site?"
Ryuji looked pained at that. "Dude…"
Ann stood up and leaned forward. "'Well done, Phantom Thieves,'" she read aloud. "'Now I can keep going too…' 'Thank you for giving us hope…'"
"Wow…" Chiyo said just above a whisper.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuji asked with a bold grin.
"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems," Ann said sitting back down, "but seeing people saying this feels… strange."
"Pride?" Chiyo asked in a hushed tone, holding a fist to her chest. "Is that you?"
"I know, right?" Ryuji asked. "So… what do we do now?"
"We're good on time, right?"
"Oh, right!" gasped Ann. "This place has a time limit!"
"Crap, crap, crap!" Ryuji chanted, getting out of his seat. "Just an hour right?!"
"Not even! We have fifty minutes left!"
"I'm not gonna finish all the beef dishes at this pace!"
"I need to eat my way through the entire dessert menu!"
Chiyo half-turned to look over her seat as the two headed back to the buffet. "Wait, more?!" she called to their retreating figures.
"We'll snag something for you guys too, don't worry," called Ryuji.
That wasn't what Chiyo was worried about. If the two of them ended up stuffing their faces, should Chiyo do the same? It was a part of the reason why Chiyo hated going to restaurants and cafes with her classmates back at her old schools. She'd always order ice water and the other girls always made her feel like some kind of outsider like she shouldn't be there in the first place.
She remembered middle school when she was fourteen and she had a free afternoon, one of her classmates called Todaiji asked her if she wanted to hang out after school.
What Chiyo hadn't expected was that they were going to a cafe. She sat awkwardly amongst them with a glass of ice water in front of her while the girls each had a dessert of some sort, is cream, parfait, cake. Needless to say, sweets were not on the list of food Chiyo could eat. Ryou and Matsubara would have murdered her if she had even a spoonful of the sweets the girls around her had. "Is that all you're getting, Kusakabe-san?" Todaiji asked, eyeing Chiyo and her sweating glass. "Come on, live a little."
Before Chiyo knew what was going on, Todaiji hailed a waitress down and ordered a simple purin for her. "I can't," Chiyo stressed, her voice was both feeble and whiny. "My mom-"
She knew what she sounded like the instant the words 'my mom' left her mouth. With two words, Chiyo wasn't a middle school girl headed for high school in the spring, she was an elementary school girl who needed her parent's approval of everything.
How could Chiyo get them to understand that she wasn't like them? That she was headed for great things and she couldn't ruin that with a few calories.
"Your mom won't find out if you don't tell her," Todaiji said as though it were the most obvious thing.
The purin placed before Chiyo was in a cute jar, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Todaiji kept nudging at Chiyo, encouraging her to eat it. One bite became two, which became three, and soon Chiyo ended scraping the bottom of the jar to get every last bit of custard.
It ended up being one of the better afternoons Chiyo experienced. Even if she didn't add to the conversations around her, she'd felt like she wasn't missing out on an experience meant for the young. Like she had friends, if only for an afternoon.
But when Chiyo got home, she was doing her homework at the table, when Ryou placed her phone in front of Chiyo. She saw her own profile, a grin on her face as she brought a spoonful of purin to her mouth. How…?
"Matsubara had something to share with me today," Ryou said, her voice carrying a particular edge. The glare in her eye was enough to make Chiyo feel shame instantly. "How could you be this selfish?"
"I-I-I..." Chiyo stuttered stupidly.
The grip Ryou had on Chiyo's arm was vice-like as she lead Chiyo to the bathroom. She barely had the chance to ask what was going on when Ryou forced her onto her knees. And she realized it too late when Ryou forced Chiyo's mouth open and jammed to fingers into the back of her throat.
As Chiyo threw up, she felt Ryou's other hand grab her hair, but it wasn't in an affectionate gesture to help her keep it out of her face. Ryou's grip pulled at her scalp. When Chiyo's body calmed down, her mouth was already forming, ready to spit, when Ryou pulled used Chiyo's hair to yank her head back. "I didn't give up my career for you, only for you to fuck it up," Ryou said coldly. "I gave birth to you, and this is how you repay me? How selfish can you get?"
There were already tears in the corners of Chiyo's eyes from retching, they were flowing freely now. She was a selfish girl, of course, she was. God, Ryou had given up so much for her already, how could she betray her like this? She may end up throwing up again for how sick to her stomach she felt.
Chiyo was a terrible daughter.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whimpered.
She nearly crumpled onto the floor when Ryou finally let her hair go. "If this happens again, you only getting two hundred calories a day," she said walking out of the bathroom. "That Russian diet should shave the fat off your thighs."
If Chiyo went out with her classmates again, she got something that had fruit and picked it off the dish. Otherwise, she ordered herself ice water. Her diet was shot since coming to Tokyo, but she never ate more than what she needed. Never ate between meals. She must have gained weight between the sushi and cheap ramen. This… This was a buffet.
Ryuji startled Chiyo by placing a plate of… something down in front of her when he and Ann returned to the table. His plate was loaded with the various meats the buffet had to offer. The steak was rare enough that it still carried the juices. More smoked pork, rough on the outside, tender on the inside. Chicken so juicy and tender, it cut like a hot knife through butter.
As though in contrast, Ann brought back nothing but sweets. Red velvet cake topped with buttercream frosting. Cannoli lightly dusted with powdered sugar. A small cake in the shape of a frog. Opera cake the size of Chiyo's fists.
"Aw man, it melts in my mouth!" Ryuji moaned happily.
"Seriously?" Morgana hissed. "Only meat?"
"Now, where should I start?" Ann asked herself, her fork hovering over her cakes.
"And she's all about the cake…"
"So happy!"
"Hey, Calories," Ryuji joked.
"Shuddup! How much do you think one of these costs?! I'll never get the chance to do this again! I've heard rumors of the Wilton Hotel cake buffet, but I never thought it'd be so amazing!"
As though in answer, Chiyo placed her spoon down and brought the rim of the bowl to her lips, draining the rest of the broth and tiny bits of miso and tofu. "I didn't really know what you and Morgana'd want," Ryuji said sliding a tall concoction in front of Chiyo. "So we just grabbed you some beans."
Chiyo's expression fell as she eyed the mesh of rice, beans, and… something Chiyo couldn't name. "B-Beans?!" puttered Morgana.
"Mm! There were some pretty bizarre things there too, so we got you a variety of those," Ann explained. "Fried bananas, preserved eggs, and… some kind of beans."
"More beans?!"
"We put so much on the plate that it got all mixed up, but it should probably still taste good."
Jaw slacked open, Chiyo stared at Ann, then at Ryuji, and finally back at the mush. "You'll forgive me if I have some doubts," she said at length.
"I agree," said Morgana. "Let's go Chiyo. These two just don't know what fine dining means! We'll show them!"
"We don't need to get as much as they did," Chiyo murmured, shouldering her bag as she stood up.
"Sure we do," Morgana said pragmatically. "You worked as hard for this as the rest of us. A little self-indulgence never hurt."
"Come on, live a little."
"The fish should come first!"
Fish? Fish wasn't bad. Maybe she should stick with fish?
Morgana made sure to hide in Chiyo's bag as she got a plate for both of them and headed over to the fish section. He was purring, likely from the smell, as Chiyo plopped him something labeled tilefish poele and grilled tuna.
"Have you heard, my dear?" the woman at her side asked her friend, or whoever they were to each other. "The news about that Kamoshida fellow was absolutely dreadful."
"Ah, right. That teacher at Shujin Academy caught doing such indecent acts. Shameful, really. And they still haven't managed to solve those horrible psychotic breakdown episodes, have they? I wish they wouldn't let themselves be distracted by such a tawdry scandal."
Chiyo's hand gripped the edge of her plate. While she agreed that something needed to be done about the psychotic breakdowns, what happened at Shujin wasn't just some pop group breakup. Someone wanted to die because of this!
"Perhaps it's a sign of how peaceful this country is," said the first woman. "I honestly pity those poor Shujin students though."
Given how the conversation had gone, Chiyo couldn't help but read that as condescending. "Tsk, how did a child like that end up in here?" one of the women asked. And the hair on the back of Chiyo's neck stood up. "I certainly hope she didn't bring friends. I prefer my meals to remain hooligan-free, thank you very much."
Of all the-!
Chiyo glanced down at her dress and cardigan. On the one hand, she did suppose she stood out amongst a place of high-class as overly casual. But on the other, she refused to believe they were the first group of teenagers to walk through the Wilton's doors.
Determined not to let her anger get the better of her, Chiyo followed Morgana's instruction and went up to the meat section and grabbed herself a few cuts of wagyu steak and meat rare enough it was still bleeding. "When you really look at it," said a young-ish man, "he's just an ex-athlete who overestimated himself. He should have just accepted his lot in life and quietly done his job as a teacher."
"It's not even an incident we can take seriously," said an older man. "The whole story is pretty ridiculous. We should probably look into it, but we can also just let the low-ranking scrubs handle it. Anyway, he's going to be arriving soon. We don't want to keep him waiting, so we better get going too."
"What is he going to discuss with the higher-ups? Well, I'm sure it's more important than lunch."
'Ridiculous?!' Students were being beaten and sexually harassed!
Morgana instructed Chiyo to stop by the table with rice, dumplings and pasta. White rice and white pasting. And her meat still had the fatty bits attached to it. Nothing lean beyond fish. Chiyo really was a horrible daughter.
She scooped a helping of rice for Morgana and a smaller portion for herself topped with fried vegetables. Dropped a few pieces of gyoza and Italian style ravioli onto her plate, which was quickly rising in height. "So the ratings for the news were really that good?" a young lady asked a much older man. "It was because it was about that teacher who sexually harassed his students, huh? Was it Kamoshida?"
"It's all about how you frame it," said the older man. "You've got to cater to the idiotic public. Ratings go up when you show them crude, sensational news, and make it easy for them to understand."
He said that while knowing someone tried to kill themselves because of Kamoshida? God, what an ass!
"By the way," the lady spoke up, "do you think these 'sudden changes of heart' might be real?"
"Who knows? Sorry, but it's time I have to go."
Unable, and unwilling to hear anymore, Chiyo moved her plate from one hand to the other and went on to the dessert table. She was nearly floored with its three chocolate fountains of white, milk, and dark chocolate. She'd only heard stories about melted chocolate cascading down as though it were water.
"News travels quick," said the man at her side. "It's already all over the internet. You know, the story about how Kamoshida got his ass kicked by some world-reforming heroes…"
"It doesn't sound like a serious story to me," said the woman. "Some of the details are pretty far-fetched."
"I wouldn't worry about it. We just have to do what they tell us to do. It's all rumors made up by school kids, anyway. If it's gripping news, who cares if it's not true?"
Chiyo must have made too much noise when she put her plate down to grab a small saucer. She kept her eyes on the cakes in front of her as she grabbed herself a slice of red velvet buttercream cake, a couple of the frog cakes, and a helping of pavlova.
"What's wrong?" asked the woman.
"Ah, nothing. I thought some weird kid was looking at us, that's all. Why don't we go? It's almost time for the meeting."
Full plate aside, Chiyo couldn't hear much more of the gossip. She wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut much longer. Taking the plates in hand she walked back to the table with her head held as high as she could. "Ooh, you brought a ton back," Ryuji said as Chiyo put the plates down. "Whaddya think about comin' up against such ritzy food?"
Chiyo finally realized how much she had piled onto her plate. Various bits of fish and meat, rice and vegetables finely cooked or smoked. She hadn't been paying attention to what she was doing while she eavesdropped. "She'll find out," said a snide little voice in her ear. "She always finds out."
"Just don't get too excited," Ryuji said, as Chiyo got her knife and fork ready. "You didn't look all that comfortable after that beef bowl we had last month."
"That's a riot coming from you, Ryuji," Morgana said, eyeing the meats in front of the boy in question.
"Can you even have half of this stuff, Mona?"
"Well, I ate a whole onion while I was looking for you and Chiyo. So I'm probably not a cat."
"Yet he still purrs when he's happy or excited," murmured Chiyo.
"I heard that!"
"Not so loud, idiot!" hissed Ryuji. "They'll probably kick you out if they find you."
"Still, there's a lot between us," Ann pointed out between mouthfuls of cake. "It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste."
"Then we should probably get started before our hours up," Chiyo pointed out.
Authors Note: Really couldn't wait to post this chapter after the week I've had with a COVID scare. It was just that, but I have some hypochondriac tendances, so I couldn't so much as sneeze without having an anxiety spike I needed to talk myself down from.
The diet mentioned is the Russian Gymnast Diet. It's kind of insane mostly involving, at most two glasses of fruit juice, one for breakfast, one for lunch, or a fruit salad, and a green apple for dinner. That's all. Do not try it.
Writing for Ryou is always… an experience. When she's cruel to Chiyo it should be heavy and uncomfortable, but you go too far and you get Dr. Heinz "It all began on the day of my actual birth, both of my parents failed to show up" Doofenshmirtz.
The title for this chapter comes from 'Sinners' by Lauren Aquilina.