A/N: Just to clarify, this chapter takes place in late August of whatever year the story has taken place in thus far. So right before Shuichi starts school and meets most of his other classmates.
Shuichi stared up at the imposing skyscraper in total awe. He knew Junko Enoshima as someone who considers herself of high social standing but this was the tallest building in the city. Even he was aware of the lack of subtlety. Shuichi felt his nerve abandoning him as he continued to gawk at the tower in front of him. He'd be lying if he said he was looking forward to being around the notorious supermodel again, even if Hinata promised that she'd be too busy to torment him today. Like that promise was supposed to comfort him in the first place.
Shuichi reminded himself of the play date he cautiously agreed to. Hinata insisted Junko's daughter Tsumugi was an apple that fell far from the tree. Their only true bond coming in the form of a shared passion for fashion. Even then that comes with an asterisk as Tsumugi cared little for the beauty industry her mother reshaped.
Shuichi didn't really care what hobby's the younger Enoshima reveled in, as long as she didn't intimidate him by her mere existence. The child stared away from the tall building and to his foster father, squeezing the man's tanned hand with increased anxiety. Hinata smiled assuredly at his son.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah." Shuichi tapered. "I'm just a little scared."
"Today will be fun, I promise. And if not, just remember our emergency cue to leave."
Shuichi eased up. "Ca-caw!" He repeated much to Hinata's amusement. Hinata knew his son's bird call was terrible and anything but subtle but it was the only way Shuichi would agree to the play date. Not that he could blame the kid one bit for it.
Hinata walked forward, Shuichi consequentially pulled towards the minimal lobby. As Shuichi walked hand in hand with his guardian towards the row of elevators he started to wonder how today could go. As he entered the elevator he imagined Tsumugi as a literal tiny clone of her mother as far as her appearance went. While the doors closed and the cramped box moved up towards the 15th floor, his imagination ran wild with Mini Junko forcing him to play dress up with her. He already saw himself getting cornered as Tsumugi insisted he try on the maid outfit.
Before he could wallow in his own strange mental creation the elevator dinged, the doors opening back up to a hallway of black doors. The two turned to their right, pacing down to the final door in the hallway. Hinata pressed the button besides the door with the number "1516" on it, prompting a loud buzzing sound.
"It's open!" A shrill voice shrieked from the other end. Hinata sighed before letting him and Shuichi into the apartment.
Junko's apartment was appropriately lavish. Magazine covers and head shots of Enoshima littered the walls that weren't covered with windows. As Shuichi removed his shoes he found himself drawn to the largest photo in the living room, a black and white picture of Junko dramatically lying with a tiger. Her lazy smile was one of supreme confidence. Shuichi instinctively walked closer to the photo, narrowing in on the large feline that looked rather unhappy upon close inspection.
"That was a real tiger, ya know." A sickeningly familiar whispered in his ear. Shuichi jumped away from the supermodel behind him as she maliciously giggled.
"Hello to you too, Junko." Hinata deadpanned. "Did you really have to sneak up on him like that?"
"Eh. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Can't change the fact I did it."
Hinata glared dangerously at his client. Enoshima got the message quickly before rolling her eyes.
"I shouldn't have spooked you there, sorry kid." Junko said in the weakest apology she could muster. Truthfully while he did get a little startled Shuichi wasn't actually upset. He was expecting such a move by the spiteful woman.
"I-it's fine." Shuichi waved off. "How did the tiger not attack you?"
"Heh, cause it knew better than to fuck with the true queen of the jungle." Junko grinned.
"Queen of the jungle? You wish you were that intimidating." A new voice called out from the couch. Shuichi quickly turned around discovering a muscular and freckled woman sitting at the edge of the black sofa. Was she always sitting there?
"Bite me, Mukuro." Junko growled. Well, that answers who this mystery woman is. Even if only her name.
"To be fair Junko's got some intimidation." Hinata laughed. "In the way a lap dog gets mad I suppose."
"Tch, what did I ever do to earn such mean treatment at the hands of my dear sister and most trusted manager?" Junko sarcastically complained.
"Oh where would I begin?" Hinata sighed.
Junko mimicked laughter before flipping Hinata off, shoving her hand right into her manager's face.
"You must be Shuichi, correct?" Mukuro calmly asked the child as she leaned in her seat towards him.
"Y-yes ma'am." Shuichi properly responded. Junko's sister carried a similarly scary air to her, one less based on chaos and more of a cold authoritative presence. She was at least marginally calmer than her blond sister. Easing the tension, she managed a small if awkward smile at him.
"No need for formality, feel free to call me Ikusaba okay?" She tried to assure the child. Much to her relief he appeared to agree as his posture relaxed.
"And to answer your question from earlier, we made sure to find the best trained tiger available for that shoot. Turns out finding one was far more trouble than expected." Ikusaba calmly recollected as she rose out of her seat and walked towards the kitchen. "Hajime here did his due diligence on salvaging that shoot as much as he could." She offhandedly praised.
"I did graduate with the Ultimate Breeder after all. And the Ultimate Photographer…" Hinata then turned to Shuichi. "Never underestimate the power of networking." Shuichi had no idea what his guardian was talking about but he still made a mental note to remember the advice.
"Oh yeah, Both Tanaka and Koizumi were at that shoot." Junko recollected. "That was a fun day!"
"… You do remember why neither of them have worked with you since, right?" Hinata exasperated.
Junko thought about that for a moment before breaking out into a wicked laugh. "Hey the end result was worth it in the end, right? In my defense I haven't even touched bars since that shoot."
"Bars of what?" Shuichi asked.
"Er, why don't we get you situated with the girls Shuichi?" Ikusaba hastily suggested as she guided him away from the conversation. Her refusal to answer his question was a hint that Shuichi did not miss. Besides Shuichi was here to meet their daughters and not listen to Junko ramble about her escapades that nearly ended her career.
"I'll be here if you need me!" Hinata called out.
Shuichi was led to a hallway with four wooden doors and even more photos of Junko on the walls. As he was being led further down the hall Ikusaba stopped at a door midway.
"Here's the bathroom in case you need to take care of business." She showed off, opening the door slightly to reveal a pristinely white room. The tub, toilet, and sink were all spotless. Shuichi was comforted in knowing Junko took hygiene seriously. He didn't get a long look at the room before being guided to the end of the hall. Ikusaba slowly opened the door revealing a bedroom with two girls about Shuichi's age. On the bed a girl with long dark hair was glossing over a manga while a blue haired girl with glasses was fitting a small hat on a familiar black and white teddy bear.
"Girls, this is Shuichi." Ikusaba introduced once everyone was in the room. The two children watched him carefully as he carefully marched ahead. He halted once he reached the middle of the room before nervously waving at the girls.
"Hello there!" The blue haired girl happily greeted, stepping away from her teddy bear to meet this new child. "My name is Tsumugi if you'll care enough to remember. I hope we can be friends." Shuichi curtly shook her hand, relieved at her manners while also put off by her self deprecation. The handshake was cut short when Tsumugi made a beeline for her closet.
Ikusaba walked over to the other child on the bed, the grumpy looking girl hiding her face behind long black pigtails. "And this little ray of sunshine is Maki." Ikusaba introduced with an appropriate level of teasing as she embraced the shy girl.
"Mommmmmm." Maki groaned without fighting the hug.
"Oh hush." Ikusaba whispered before planting a quick kiss on Maki's little forehead. She knew her daughter inherited her tsundere tendencies but she'd be damned before her own flesh and blood felt unloved. Besides what's the fun in being a parent without embarrassing your child a little bit.
"Mukuro get your ass back here!" Junko called out from the living room, effectively ending the introductions.
The freckled lady sighed deeply. "Alright, we'll be in the other room if you need us. Please don't interrupt unless it's an emergency. Play nice now." Ikusaba instructed as she turned back to the living room. Once she reached the door she couldn't help but look back at the three children. She offered an assuring smile to the clearly nervous Hinata boy, or whatever his last name is. She wasn't sure if Hajime had officially adopted him yet. Shuichi gulped but weakly smiled back before Ikusaba closed the door behind her.
Maki failed to move a muscle now that the three were alone, silently watching the sweating Saihara boy. As the girl studied him with wavering levels of intrigue Shuichi was praying she couldn't sense his fear. Meeting new people has always been terrifying for him. Meeting other children in particular brought on heavy layers of dread to the shy child. Not making Shuichi feel any easier is the fact that Tsumugi emerged from the closet with a tape measure and notepad in hand as she approached him. The open closet door revealed a wardrobe full of costumes and fabric.
"What are you doing?" Shuichi squeaked.
"I'm taking your measurements!" Tsumugi excitably revealed as she grabbed Shuichi's arm.
"My measurements? For what?"
"For your cosplay! How else are we supposed to make costumes?"
"My what!?" Shuichi squeaked.
"Have you never heard of cosplay? What kind of rock do you live under?" Tsumugi growled all while raising Shuichi's arm to measure his side.
"Tsumugi calm down." Maki warned. "Cosplaying is when you dress up like characters from video games, movies, anime. Nerd stuff really. Tsumugi's been making her own costumes lately and loves to make people act as her dress up dolls." Maki side-eyed her cousin as she explained, her cold tone remaining icy.
"But I never agreed to play dress up!" Despite his complaints Shuichi hesitated to stop Tsumugi, her relation to Junko making him reluctant to resist. As concerned as he was for any inner wrath Tsumugi had yet to even hint at, Shuichi was far more worried about the intimidation Maki wore on her sleeve as she studied him from afar.
"Just trust Tsumugi on this." Maki ordered, not having any better ideas on how to kill time. "Her mom was the Ultimate Fashionista after all."
"Ultimate Fashionista? What does that mean?" The tile of "Ultimate" sounded vaguely familiar. Was it Komaeda who mentioned it? Shuichi thought it was likely, Komaeda was always going on weird tangents.
"It means my momma could walk around in nothing but a garbage bag and within a week any loser who thinks they're somebody is going to copy her." Tsumugi repeated her mother nearly word for word.
"I… see." Shuichi gawked as Tsumugi measured his legs.
"She isn't kidding. I can ask my mom for photos if you don't believe her." Maki offered.
Shuichi considered that proposition for a moment. "Remind me later." Tsumugi then shot up on her feet, jotting down her finishing notes on her notepad. The young cosplayer smiled at her new friend, Shuichi's embarrassment preventing him from properly returning the favor.
"It's your lucky day Shuichi! You should be able to fit into most of my outfits." Tsumugi cheerily announced.
"Oh joy." Shuichi deadpanned, his eyes properly glued to the floor.
"What's the matter?" Tsumugi asked, unable to pick up on Shuichi's reluctance. "Are you afraid of your dad seeing you in a costume or something?" She guessed.
"No! No, that's not it at all. Hinata wouldn't care, I think." Shuichi explained.
"Hmmmm." Something didn't add up to Tsumugi. ""Hinata", you call your dad by his name?" She prodded.
"He… isn't my dad." Shuichi forced himself to say.
"Ohhh. So are you Mr. Hinata's younger brother then?" Tsumugi guessed.
"N-no. He's my guardian. I guess you could say he's my new dad. One of them at least."
"Guardian? What happened to your old dad?"
"He went to jail."
"Oh." Tsumugi coughed up after swallowing her own embarrassment.
"I'm sorry to hear." Maki sympathized.
"It's okay." Shuichi weakly assured. "My guardians are nice people. Really nice people in fact. I've only known them for a few months now and they've already taken better care of me than my father ever did if I'm being honest." Shuichi was only made aware of his increasing volume when Tsumugi recoiled. Maki's demeanor softened as she approached him. His plight with his bio-dad was all too familiar to her.
"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to yell." Shuichi apologized.
"It's cool." Maki dryly assured. "I don't like my dad much either."
"Why don't we start our cosplay now?" Tsumugi awkwardly offered. She was desperate to change the subject and lighten the mood back up. She couldn't relate to a bad dad, her father doing his best to raise her on only the finest anime.
"Sure, why not?" Shuichi uncomfortably decided. He reckoned he didn't have much of a say about it with Tsumugi in the first place. Better this than talking about the uncomfortable past.
"Alright." Maki huffed. She had a bad feeling Tsumugi already had something in mind with her, as she always did. It was too late to get out of it peacefully.
"Perfect, why don't we go through my wardrobe and see if anything catches your eye." Tsumugi happily offered.
—-
How anyone could get comfortable wearing a tuxedo was beyond Shuichi as he stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. He was appreciative that Tsumugi gave him a simple costume to start out with, a black and white suit with a top hat and dramatic cape. Shuichi had to lie when he said he knew who "Mamoru Chiba" was to avoid another scolding from Tsumugi. While standing in Junko Emoshima's bathroom playing dress up was far from how Shuichi thought his day would go, he found going along with the ride a lot easier as it went on.
As Shuichi slipped the top hat on top of his head he hummed in quiet content. Despite his earlier protests Shuichi found himself having more fun cosplaying than he thought he'd have. If only he was more familiar with the character he was dressing up as. He made a mental note to ask Nanami about this "Sailor Moon" when he got home.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Shuichi heard snip bits of the conversation in the living room.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to advertise that video on Twitter!" Hinata yelled.
"But then how else will people know it's out there?" Junko retorted as if her manager is an idiot.
Shuichi thought better about snooping in on the rest of the conversation as he walked back to the bedroom where Maki was brushing Tsumugi's hair. Both girls were now wearing their cosplay. Tsumugi was in a purple dress complete with a necklace and tiara. Maki in turn was adorned in a white and red sailor suit complimented with her own tiara, if one that was less glamorous than Tsumugi's. While she gently combed her cousin's hair she was clearly miffed. Likely due to her costume Shuichi mused to himself.
"So uh, what do you guys think?" Shuichi asked. Tsumugi's eyes widened as a fierce smile took over her face.
"You look lovely Shuichi! I knew you'd be a perfect Tuxedo Mask." Tsumugi praised as she sang her approval of the costume her momma finished for her.
"T-thank you. Just out of curiosity where did you get this costume?"
"Oh that's just a regular tuxedo my momma bought. She also sewed the cape on for me, momma says I'm too little to use the sewing machine by myself." Tsumugi revealed as she huffed about the one consistent rule between her momma and dad.
"Your mom helps you with your cosplay?" Shuichi asked with no shortage of shock.
"All the time! She puts make-up on me and helps if I'm struggling with a costume. She'll even dress up with me on a good day."
Shuichi was in disbelief. Did Junko Enoshima have a soft spot in her after all? Tsumugi talked about her "momma" in a blindingly glowing light. A part of him felt bad for doubting Junko's parenting ability despite his fair reasoning for uncertainty. But then he remembered his first encounter with Enoshima and all of a sudden his doubt felt more justified.
"Why do you seem surprised?" Tsumugi asked.
"Oh no reason!" Shuichi lied. Thankfully for him either Tsumugi was even worse than him at picking up sarcasm or she didn't truly care. Maki on the other hand merely smirked to herself as she finished combing Tsumugi's hair. Maki loved her Aunt Junko and all but she had to agree that she was more than a handful to be around.
"So, now what?" Shuichi asked, expecting a new step in whatever plan Tsumugi had up her sleeve.
"You know, I don't actually know." Tsumugi admitted. "We could try on another costume but…"
"But what?" Shuichi pried.
"But I'm kind of bored now. Cosplaying isn't as fun when I can't get momma to help me."
A part of Shuichi wished Tsumugi came to this realization before giving him his costume. A bigger part of him did understand her at least. He was a little jealous that Tsumugi had a hobby she could share with her mom at all. Sure, Shuichi enjoyed playing new video games with Nanami but his passion for interactive entertainment would never be the same as his foster mothers. Granted he's still only known his new parents for three months so the rational voice in him knew it was easy for things to change.
"Earth to Shuichi?" Maki briskly snapped, Shuichi's sudden silence breaking like glass.
"Oh nothing, just thinking of what we could do now." Shuichi brushed aside, his face beet red with embarrassment. Maki glared at him, seeing through his thinly veiled lie.
"Wanna watch a show?" Tsumugi suggested with growing enthusiasm.
"Sure." Maki shrugged.
"Is it going to be an anime?" Shuichi carefully asked.
"Well duhhhh, what else would we watch silly?" Tsumugi responded with glee.
"What did you have in mind?" Maki asked.
"Well I was watching this one show at my dad's before momma picked me up…" Tsumugi tapered off before grabbing the remote on the bedside table.
Shuichi felt uneasy as Tsumugi booted up the mini smart TV on the dresser, going straight for the Crunchyroll app. Tsumugi went straight for the first show in her recently watched list, an anime called "Elfen Lied".
"What's this show even about?" Shuichi meekly asked.
"Some girl gets mind powers and uses it to rip people in half!" Tsumugi revealed with a little too much excitement.
"Sounds… violent." Shuichi flinched.
"Relax, it's only fiction Shuichi it can't hurt you." Tsumugi pleaded.
"I don't know Tsumugi, I don't think he's as used to those kinds of shows as we are." Maki tried to reason with her cousin.
"Well the only way to get used to it is by exposure!" Tsumugi retorted, Maki's concerns falling on deaf ears as she selected the oddly named show. Shuichi nervously swallowed as the opera intro music began playing.
"I-it's just a cartoon." Shuichi thought to himself. "How bad can it really be?"
—-
Ikusaba was instinctively suspicious when she hadn't heard a peep from the kids aside from the occasional opening and closing of the bathroom door. She did say only interrupt in case of an emergency but military service prepares someone for the worse. Reaching the bedroom door, Ikusaba deeply inhaled and exhaled before grabbing the doorknob and twisting.
"Hey kids." Ikusaba greeted as she walked into the bedroom. Her greeting was immediately droned out by Shuichi crying on the bed, her daughter laying down right next to him trying her hardest to calm him down.
"Oh my god, Shuichi are you okay?" Ikusaba called out, rushing over towards the children.
"They killed the dogggggg." He cried out, unable to comprehend how someone would be so cruel to such a small animal. He knew it wasn't real but the rest of the show had put him on edge as it is. Why would anyone enjoy watching such a miserable anime was a mystery to Shuichi. A question he was unwilling to answer.
"Killed the dog? What the hell did you two put on?!" Ikusaba asked.
"I tried telling Tsumugi to put something else on but she wouldn't listen." Maki glared towards the other, pouting girl.
"How was I supposed to know Shuichi would freak out?!" Tsumugi defended. "That dog dying isn't even the worst thing that happens in Elfen Lied…"
Ikusaba sighed. She vaguely remembered that anime, memories of Ryota talking about it in high school rushing back to her. Details of the protagonists carnage sticking out to her even after all of these years. Bloodshed that paled in comparison to the one she's experienced. Bloodshed that would still upset a sweet child like Shuichi. "Girls, what did I say about picking appropriate shows to watch."
"Just because we can watch it doesn't mean other kids can." Both girls repeated.
"Exactly. Now, why don't we put something a little less… intense that you can all enjoy?" Ikusaba suggested as she knelt down besides the sniffling boy.
"Oh I know the perfect anime that-" Tsumugi tried to suggest.
"Oh no, you've lost that privilege for now." Ikusaba scolded before turning her attention back to Shuichi.
"Please calm down." She awkwardly pleaded as she grabbed the boy's hand, a feeble attempt at soothing him. She was used to giving her own kid a comforting hug when she got upset but Ikusaba was not going to overstep her boundaries.
"B-but the puppy." Shuichi whimpered.
"They didn't kill a real puppy though." Ikusaba sighed. "Not to say it wasn't traumatic to see, trust me when I was your age that show would have upset me too." She was lying of course, but she had to do what she could to get Shuichi to calm down. "Just take a deep breath and we can watch something to help you forget about that violent Elfen Lied bullshit."
Much to Ikusabas' relief (and surprise) Shuichi managed to silence his sniffles before taking three deep breaths. As he exhaled deeply for the last time Shuichi understood that some TV shows are not meant for kids like him to watch. It didn't answer why anyone would consider such melancholy media "entertainment" but it was best to not get hung up about it. Ikusaba was right, no dog was actually hurt and everything is okay.
"T-thank you." Shuichi mumbled.
"Don't mention it". Ikusaba flashed a genuine smile as she brushed his hair out of his face. "What do you want to watch now?" She asked.
Shuichi pondered for a long moment before conceding. He could never decide even when he had Netflix opened in front of him. The gluttony of choice made picking a single show overwhelming. So why not pass the remote over to the last person in the room.
"D-do you have any suggestions Maki?" Shuichi asked.
"Why don't we watch Pokemon?" Maki offhandedly suggested. She was only familiar with the show thanks to her friend Kaito, but it was the first thing that wasn't scary in any way she could think of.
"Great idea." Ikusaba praised. "Does Pokemon sound better?"
"Actually, yes it does." Shuichi eased. While never having seen the show, he knew enough about Pokemon from the video games that he could trust no one died in the anime.
—-
"Bye Shuichi!" Tsumugi's final goodbye yelled out from the now closed front door. Both Shuichi and Hinata shared a sigh of relief as they walked to the elevator.
"Long day with Junko?" Shuichi asked.
"Every day with Junko is a long day." Hinata chuckled. "Long day with the girls?"
"You could say that yeah." Shuichi admitted as the elevator arrived at their floor.
"Did you at least have fun with Tsumugi and Maki today?" Hinata asked as he pressed the button back down to the surface.
"Yeah, until Tsumugi made me watch a dog die." Shuichi nonchalantly revealed.
"Until Tsumugi WHAT?!"