It was just another day of business for Sojiro Sakura at Leblanc, a quaint little café of coffee and curry. He had a sip of coffee as he considered different words for the crossword puzzle. He sat in his usual pink dress shirt and black apron. A couple of his regulars gossiped together about a train that recently derailed. At one point, they even asked for his opinion on the matter. He didn't have much to say. It wasn't really his place to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Which reminded him...

He did agree to take in some delinquent a while back. Wasn't he supposed to show up today, April 9th? He tried to remember what he heard about the boy. It was some kid named Ren Amamiya, a second-year who would be attending Shujin Academy while he was on probation in Tokyo. He was charged with assault, though supposedly it was to defend someone else.

Going out of his way to help someone like that was admirable, but the sad truth of the world was that messing with other people's business, even with good reason, only caused trouble. Sojiro learned to avoid doing that a long time ago. The middle-aged man hoped he could help Ren learn to do the same.

Leblanc's bell rang as a customer walked in the door. He glanced at them and noticed it was a young girl in a blue dress. The girl was also short. Very short. It didn't look like she was even four feet tall. Her height wasn't the only strange thing about her. Her eyes seemed to be yellow. Was that even a natural eye color? After he thought about it, he remembered reading somewhere that it was just a very rare one. He was curious why someone so young was in his cafe without their parents. He greeted her appropriately.

"I don't sell any cookies."

The girl simply asked "Are you Sojiro Sakura?"

He set down his newspaper. "Uh, yeah. And... who are you?"

"My name is Lavenza Amamiya." The girl gave a polite curtsy as she introduced herself. "I am to be in your custody over the next year."

"'Lavenza Amamiya'?" Sojiro wondered for a brief moment if he had had too much coffee. It was also then he realized the girl had a bag with her, likely carrying her belongings if her story was to be believed. But this kid wasn't anything like the description he heard. The first name wasn't even the same. He mumbled to himself. "There must have been a misunderstanding."

Upon seeing the concern on Lavenza's face, he clarified "What I mean is, I must have misheard your name when they were telling me about you. Do you mind if I quickly call your parents to check a few things?" The girl nodded. He pointed to a random empty booth. "You can take a seat, if you'd like."

As Lavenza sat down in a seat, Sojiro tried to figure out what to say to her parents. Are you sure you didn't have a boy? and What was her name again? were the first two questions he wanted to ask, but they were both too blunt and too strange. He glanced at the girl. He had wondered what kind of unruly kid would show up, but this was the last thing he had expected. Eventually, he decided on a question, and called the number he was given to use only during emergencies. Considering he had heard an exactly opposite description of this kid, he believed this counted as an emergency.

"So, your kid's here. I just need you to help me make sure they are who they say they are." Understandably, they were a little annoyed by that. "Just, help me out on this. I probably won't call again until next year, okay." They reluctantly agreed. He quickly glanced at Lavenza to make sure he gave an accurate description. "Okay. So... she's a short girl in a blue dress named Lavenza Amamiya. She's got blond hair in a blue headband that kinda looks like a butterfly. And... she has these black gloves that go all the way up her arm."

Only after saying it out loud did he realize how strange her outfit appeared. Ironically, her school uniform would probably be considered more casual than her casual clothes. Her parents confirmed his description. After a brief thank you and apology, he hung up.

He turned to Lavenza. "Sorry, I just find it hard to believe a little girl like you committed assault."

In a tone of thinly veiled anger that Sojiro would tolerate only this once, Lavenza said "I was convicted of it, yes."

She implied she didn't actually do it, but he doubted they could have convicted someone like her without solid evidence. She didn't seem like the kind of person to commit assault. What was the story about that?

Sojiro pushed that thought aside. That would be snooping into someone else's business, and that's exactly the kind of behavior he disapproved of. He hasn't had any problems in the last few years, and he wanted to keep it that way. Well, there was the issue with when Wakaba... Wakaba... What happened with Wakaba?

As far as he could remember, the only thing that happened with Wakaba is that she's become more engrossed in her research. He doesn't think she's even stopped by his café in a couple years. At least Futaba's visited now and then.

He returned to reality and remembered he needed to show Lavenza to her room. Patiently and quietly, she waited in her seat for any further instruction. Even if she wasn't who he was expecting, he needed to remember she was still a delinquent. Her attitude earlier only confirmed as much. He turned toward the stairway in the back of the café. "Follow me."

Once upstairs, he gestured to the dusty attic and said "This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed." He turned to Lavenza. She looked across the room with a calculating expression. She also let out a small sneeze. "You look like you wanna say something."

"No, it's nothing," was all she said.

"It's on you to clean up the rest. I'll be leaving after I lock up each day; you'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble." Maybe he was being a little hard on her, but he knew that when he prepared this short speech. He hoped this would help discipline the troublemaker he had to take care of: teenage boy or little girl, they needed to be brought in line either way. "As I mentioned before, I got the gist of your situation. You committed assault against someone, and maybe you shouldn't have gotten in trouble for it. But that's why you gotta keep out of other people's business."

Lavenza seemed annoyed by what he said. He added "And you should probably do better at hiding your frustrations. There's a lot of people more insistent than me on demanding respect. You got it?"

Lavenza took a deep breath, cleared her facial expression, and nodded.

"Your parents got rid of you for being a pain in the ass, so the least you can do is minimize how much you gotta inconvenience me, okay?" Once again, Lavenza nodded. "And it's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know?" Another nod. "Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted. Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie.

"We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow," he added. He noticed the confused expression on her face. "Shujin Academy-the school you'll be attending." Mentally, he wondered how someone as young as her was already in high school. But once again, none of his business. "We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know." He couldn't help but grumble. "What a waste of my Sunday..."

Was he being a little rude? Perhaps. But again, he was dealing with a delinquent. He had to make sure she knew the boundaries so she could stay well within them. If she set so much as a toe out of line, she'd ruin what little she had left of a normal life.

He then pointed to the box in the middle of the room. There was just one last note he needed to make. "Your 'luggage' arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you." Without even a chance for her to thank him, he went back downstairs.

No new customers had arrived, so he went to wiping the tables clean. Soon, he'd have to head home and check on his daughter. No, wait... That wasn't right. He didn't have a daughter. Yeah, he had a son. Well, it wasn't really his, but after his previous guardian was arrested, the kid needed somewhere to stay.

That was one of the few times he had seen Wakaba in the last couple years. Shortly after the boy's guardian was arrested, she brought the boy to him and asked if he could take care of him until he was old enough to take care of himself. Something about the way she spoke, it seemed as though Wakaba felt responsible for his guardian's arrest.

Of course, Sojiro doubted Wakaba was to blame. The man willingly confessed to plagiarizing artwork. How could she have been connected to that?

Sojiro was pulled out of his thoughts by some noise coming from upstairs. He was just about to head up there to see what's up when a customer walked in. Then another shortly thereafter. And another after that.

And thus the cycle repeated until closing time. When he finally checked the attic, he noticed a distinct lack of dust. The room had been cleaned, and he hardly recognized it at first. Meanwhile, Lavenza stood in the center of the room, admiring her hard work. She actually looked kind of proud of herself. "What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here but I didn't think you were cleaning."

After a glance around, he noticed how spotless the room seemed to be. Even he didn't clean it this well, he thought. He then wondered who this mysterious "he" was. Regardless, Sojiro couldn't help but compliment her work. Positive reinforcement is very effective, they say. "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad." Of course he couldn't be too nice about it. "Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy." Then, to make sure she would be rested enough to behave tomorrow, he added "Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right?"

"I suppose not," Lavenza agreed, her good mood unharmed. "Perhaps I could clean downstairs as well."

"'Downstairs'? What's that supposed to mean?" Sojiro thought he worked hard to keep his cafe clean. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't that bad. Right?

"Oh, um..." Lavenza didn't seem to realize the rudeness of her statement until he pointed it out. "I mean no offense. There is nothing wrong with downstairs; I just wanted to offer help. Be less of a, 'pain in the ass,' as you put it."

"Right," was all Sojiro could say in response. "Well, I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?"

"I do. Have a good evening, Sakura-san."

Sojiro was halfway down the stairs, but he felt there was a correction he needed to make. Even if he was trying to be an authority figure, there was an arguably more casual name he preferred. He called up the stairs "Please, call me 'Boss'. Everyone does."

"Yes, Boss," he heard echo back down.

Citizens trudged from one urban tower to the next, taking with them baggage of both their work and their lives. Cars and trucks carried people like cattle to the slaughterhouse, except they would only die a piece at a time at their destination. If their heavy footsteps and retching engines weren't loud enough, the small-talk they used to fuel their wills to live carried the decibels higher.

Lavenza knew a busy city like Tokyo would be much noisier than her quiet hometown in the country. However, its volume exceeded even those expectations. When she exited the subway system into the streets above, she initially had to cover her ears to block out the noise. Once she had gotten relatively used to the volume, she uncovered her ears and pulled out her phone.

Her parents had given her a phone just before she left her hometown. Having never owned one before, she was still trying to figure out its functions. What she needed it for now was to find the route to Sakura-san's home: where she would be staying for the next year. There was a navigation app on her phone, and while she didn't have much practice with it, she had already figured out how to use it. At least, so she thought.

It was showing her the route from the station to Sakura-san's home deep in Yongen-Jaya when a red eye symbol popped up in the center of the screen. Was it part of the app? Or did she already manage to install malware onto her new phone? No matter what she tried, it didn't seem to respond. After a minute of fiddling with it, the symbol grew in size. Lavenza was just getting more frustrated.

As she continued to mess with her phone, she felt as though something was off. More than just the symbol not responding, but also everything around her becoming quiet. Silent even. The infamously busy Tokyo had become mute. She looked up from her phone and saw a surreal sight.

The people of Tokyo's streets didn't vanish. She probably would have noticed sooner if they did. But the people weren't normal either. They were frozen, each and every one of them. It was as if she had wandered into a photograph, each person caught in their own little moment in time. Yet that wasn't even the strangest part. On the other side of the road, there stood a red demon engulfed in blue fire.

Just as soon as she noticed it, it was gone. She hadn't even a chance to take in anything other than its silhouette. Time resumed, and Tokyo's noise was back.

She was probably more stressed than she thought. She was even starting to hallucinate. She shook her head to try to clear it, then resumed her way to Sakura-san's home. She just needed make sure she got extra sleep that night. The insane delinquent: that's what they'd call her if she kept having these hallucinations.

She was initially dismayed when there was no answer at Sakura-san's home. She considered trying to use her phone, but she was hesitant to do so. She still hadn't figured out all its preloaded apps , and she didn't want to deal with the red eye again. Fortunately, there was a delivery woman there to point her in the right direction. It made sense the owner of a coffee shop would be working at his café in the middle of the day. It also made sense, she supposed after meeting him, that he wouldn't want someone convicted of assault to stay in the same home as him.

At first, she thought the attic was a storage room and wondered why Sakura-san felt the need to show it to her. After realizing it was where she would live for the next year, she decided to turn cleaning it into a way to take her mind off her situation. Although, she wasn't sure why Sakura-san was surprised by it. Didn't he recommend doing exactly that? After a day of traveling and cleaning, she was looking forward to a well deserved rest that night.

When she first awoke, she was surprised that the bed was somehow even less comfortable than when she fell asleep. She motioned to stretch with one arm and wipe the sleep out of her eyes with the other, but something resisted their separation. She forced her eyes wide open and shot up after she heard metal clanking in the space between her wrists.

She seemed to be in a prison cell lined with blue fabric, lying on a bed that would be more accurate to call a slab of metal. Rather than pajamas, she was wearing a black-and-white striped prison uniform. Her wrists were handcuffed together, and a ball and chain was attached to her ankle. As she stood up, she noticed the gentle music echoing throughout the room. The music helped her stay calm despite her concerning surroundings. The piano and vocals of the song, it was familiar... Nostalgic, even. She almost got lost in it.

Almost. The song didn't cancel out all of her concern: especially when she noticed a dark-haired boy twice her height standing outside her cell. He was looking away from her cell, staring off in the distance like some kind of sentry. However, he didn't look much like a prison guard. In fact, he looked more like a hotel bellboy. He wore a blue hat and coat and a pair of black pants. The outfit was also too big for him, by at least a size or two.

She followed where he was looking and saw an old man sitting at a desk in the center of an empty room. His wide eyes and long nose should have terrified most people, but just like the music, there was something very familiar about him. The old man in a black suit gave a sincere smile toward Lavenza. It was unnaturally wide, yet it was not creepy or sinister, just sincere. Somehow, it seemed a little sad, too. In a polite voice, the man said "Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young lady."

"'The Velvet Room'?" There were many questions going through Lavenza's mind. "Where am I?"

"As I've already said, you are in the Velvet Room." The man chuckled, as if that should have been obvious. "This room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. I am...its usurper, Yaldabaoth. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Only those who have signed the contract are welcome, but an exception has been made in your case due to...circumstances."

"Would that be that you are not the true ruler of the Velvet Room?" Lavenza asked. She knew what "usurper" meant: one who has taken power by force. Logically, if he was an usurper, then he was not supposed to be in charge of the Velvet Room. It was entirely possible he didn't even belong in the Velvet Room.

What was a Velvet Room, exactly?

Yaldabaoth's facial expression did not change. "The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'. Hmmm, a puzzling inquiry, isn't it? Suffice to say, all your questions shall be answered in due time. That is, if you do not lose first."

"Lose? Lose what?"

"Over the coming year, you shall participate in a game. The price of failure would be not only your life, but the world would fall to ruin as well." Yaldabaoth pointed to Lavenza. "As the Trickster, it shall be your duty to prevent this catastrophe."

Lavenza felt compelled to glance toward the sentry. He just stood there, not looking at her. If he had any thoughts on what Yaldabaoth was saying, he didn't show it. Rage bubbled up from within her. Something about the usurper's name and the game he spoke of agitated her. The only person she could remember feeling a similar rage toward would be the woman who condemned her to Tokyo.

She jumped at the bars and asked "So that is why you have brought me here? I will not be toyed with, especially by you!"

Yaldabaoth's smile didn't falter, but he seemed hurt by what she said. "I brought you here for introductions, not to harm you. This place is to be a safe haven for the Trickster. Perhaps it would help to think of it as a neutral zone of sorts. The chess board at which both players meet.

"The you in reality is still safe and at rest in slumber. When you awaken, you may even believe this was only a dream." The usurper shook a finger and chuckled. "But this is no dream. This is the first of your many visits to the Velvet Room. You will come here again, and there is much more for us to discuss."

"I would never choose to come back here, back to you, usurper!" She laced the last word with as much venom as she could muster.

Yaldabaoth looked away from her for a moment. She started to think he forgot about her when the sentry finally spoke. It was only one word, hardly more than a mumble. "Usurper..."

"My apologies, I had nearly forgotten to introduce my attendant." Yaldabaoth pointed to the sentry. "His name is Ren. He is a resident of the Velvet Room for the time being. How he shall serve you here will be explained another time. For now, it seems our meeting will be cut short by your awakening.

"It has been delightful to see you again. I look forward to our next meeting, when the time comes. Until then, farewell..." Yaldabaoth laughed yet again.

The last thing she heard before she woke up was Ren saying "Good luck."

The Velvet Room faded from her vision as Lavenza found herself back in reality. She lay on the bed in the attic once more. It was still uncomfortable, but much better than the metal slab in her dream.

Some people believed dreams were a means by which secrets of the real world revealed themselves. Lavenza did not consider herself superstitious, but with the vivid dream still fresh in her mind, she didn't think it would hurt to speculate how such people would interpret her dream.

She didn't remember ever meeting anyone like either of the two men in her dream. Although, she did notice that, ironically, Ren bared a stronger resemblance to her parents than she did. Perhaps "they"-"they" being the people who inferred deeper meanings from dreams-would say they were two people she was destined to meet in the future.

She also thought about the "Velvet Room," as Yaldabaoth called it. Judging by its name, the fabric lining her cell was probably blue velvet. Another major part of her dream was being trapped inside a prison cell in this Velvet Room. "They" would probably interpret that as connected to her false arrest. Lavenza knew her assault charge would follow her for the rest of her life, but it seemed she wouldn't be able to escape it even in her sleep.

It didn't matter. It was just some dream. Lavenza learned to stop believing in fairy tales and magic long ago. Any remaining belief in a higher power was squashed after she was sentenced.

She finished getting dressed for the day. She was trying out her new uniform for Shujin Academy, although she hoped it wasn't a violation of their dress code to add her headband and gloves. She then heard Sakura-san, or Boss as he preferred, arrive downstairs. She called out a formal greeting to him. In response, he called back "Sounds like you're up."

She went downstairs to meet him. He had a hat on, and it seemed he was dressed for meeting people rather than for running his café. Instead of an apron, his pink shirt was covered by a white coat. Once he spoke, she remembered what he had said just the day before. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district." He then paused a moment as he thought. "I can't give you a ride there, especially not every day. Would you be able to handle riding the train there, by yourself?"

"That is how I managed to arrive here in the first place," Lavenza answered. She figured he was probably worried because of her age. She was sure she could take care of herself. People often said she was mature for her age; how else could she have handled becoming a high schooler so early? Passive aggressively, she added "Just as you asked, I will avoid being a pain in the-:"

"Alright, I get it," Boss groaned. "And, a word of advice. Most people wouldn't take it too well for a kid to be swearing like that. Especially a delinquent." A pause. "Anyway, it'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. As I said, I can't drive you there everyday, but I can do it today. Now let's go."

When they arrived, Lavenza saw that, aside from it's name being pronounced the same as the Japanese word for prisoner, Shujin Academy seemed like just a regular high school. Walkways and bridges connected two large stone buildings. A sign by its gate read its name. Before they walked inside, Boss gave Lavenza another warning to behave herself or be sent to juvie. He clarified this warning wasn't for her sake, but rather that'd he'd prefer it if she didn't cause him any trouble.

They found their way to the principal's office and were greeted by two men. The first man wore glasses, a lab coat, and a smile, and he sat at the principal's desk. The second man, standing beside the desk with his arms crossed, wore a black sweater and a gray coat. It was clear both men were in need of a shave, the first man more than the second.

The man in the lab coat was the first to say hello. "Good morning Sakura-san, Amamiya-san. It's nice to meet you both."

"Uh, hi," Boss responded. He looked at the name tag on the desk. "Are you Principal Kobayakawa?"

Both adults reacted to the mention of the principal's name; the man in the lab coat seemed saddened while the man in the sweater was frustrated. The man at the principal's desk corrected "No. I am Doctor Takuto Maruki, and this is Munehisa Iwai. I'm the councilor at Shujin Academy. Former-Principal Kobayakawa... stepped down, due to his involvement in a recent incident. I've been volunteering in his position until a suitable replacement can be found."

"Incident?" Boss repeated. He groaned. "Oh, right. I think I heard something about that on the news."

"I assure you, Sakura-san, there won't be a repeat of that so long as I'm in charge here," Dr. Maruki promised. "All staff have been re-evaluated by a third party, myself included. There won't be another..." He glanced at Lavenza, clearly uncomfortable with finishing his original sentence in front of her. He started over, and quieter, he said "There won't be another 'Kamoshida.'"

"I'll take your word for it." Boss thought for a moment. "Still, I didn't think councilors were next in line for principal..."

Mr. Iwai finally spoke. "Not really, but with re-evaluations, and getting ready for the new semester, I guess no one wanted to step up. I suppose if they were willing to step up, we wouldn't have even had that incident in the first place..." Mr. Iwai let out a hollow laugh.

"I see," was all Boss said. Lavenza did agree it was a little strange. Even if it would be more work, being principal gave some level of power. Wouldn't people want the position just for that alone? She also wondered what the "Kamoshida incident" was referring to. She'd likely hear about it soon enough, if it was still relevant. "Well, isn't there some paperwork I need to fill out or something? Not to sound impatient, but-:"

And so the three adults set out to whittle their way through a stack of paperwork. Lavenza just stood in the back of the office, waiting. To pass the time, she hummed the song she heard in her dream the night before. She was certain she heard it before. Maybe she could eventually find out where it was from...

"What are you humming?" a voice asked her. She looked over to the three adults. Mr. Iwai and Boss were still discussing the forms, but Dr. Maruki seemed to have broken away from their conversation. He was facing towards Lavenza. It seemed he was the one to have asked her the question.

"I'm not yet sure myself," she answered. She figured there would be no harm in telling him, at least this much: "I heard it in a dream last night."

"A dream, huh?" the doctor said. So far, he seemed like a pleasant person, but she was going to wait before she made any judgments. "You know, some people say there are deeper meanings to our dreams."

"I thought you were a doctor," Lavenza muttered in response.

Just as soon as she realized how rude what she said was, Dr. Maruki began to laugh. "I'm not talking about the meanings fortune tellers try to find. I mean... hmm, how about a simple example? If you're getting stressed in school, you might have a nightmare about missing the final exam. Right?"

Lavenza nodded.

"Exactly. So it's more that your thoughts about the world could be reflected in your dreams. If you don't mind me asking, what was your dream about?"

Even if she wanted to tell him about her dream, she wasn't sure where to begin. The calming music that was already stuck in her head? The usurper with the long nose? Or the sentry dressed as a bellboy? What about the game for which the whole world was supposedly at risk? She decided to simplify it, and she hoped he wouldn't ask for more details. "I was in prison."

"A prison, you say? Where was it?"

What did he mean? "I'm not quite sure I follow..."

"Well," Dr. Maruki began before adjusting his glasses, "sometimes, we view parts of our world as something other than what they are. Almost like our view of the world has been distorted. Oh! Distorted, that means-:"

"I know what distorted means." She knew she probably shouldn't have interrupted him, but she didn't want to hear him define a word she already knew. People did that a lot for her. People often underestimated her. "What you're saying is, to recap for you-" and to prove she knew what he was saying "-there might be somewhere that I think of like a prison? Somewhere that is not actually a prison?"

"Exactly!" He seemed delighted that she understood the concept. "I was just wondering if this prison was anywhere in particular?

Lavenza thought about it. In her dream, she did ask where the Velvet Room was, but she was given no explanation. Well, it was said to be between dream and reality, mind and matter, but that wasn't a real place. "I don't believe so, no."

"Well, let me know if that changes." For some reason, Dr. Maruki chuckled at that. He then turned back toward Mr. Iwai and Boss. "Do you need any more help with that, Sakura-san?" he asked, referring to the paperwork.

"No, we're almost done." Boss groaned again. "Since when was it this much work to transfer schools?"

"Well," Mr. Iwai started, "there's a bit more added from the probation. Some of that was also about emergency contact, 'cause you're being her guardian for the next year instead of her parents. That's not even starting on all the complications of her skipping grades. I didn't even know that was possible..."

"Not usually," Dr. Maruki said. "But there were special circumstances in her case when she did it a couple years ago."

Mr. Iwai shook his head. Then, he looked down at Lavenza. Most people she met were taller than her, but he seemed to emphasize it with the way he glared at her. She could have sworn he also leaned toward her slightly, if only to add to his towering stance. "Now let me make one thing clear...

"I've dealt with troublemakers my whole life. Heck, I used to be one, too. Which is why I'm not gonna tolerate if you cause any problems. If you get kicked out, you won't have anywhere else to go, so I don't wanna have to do anything, but I will if I have to. I will allow one slip-up." He held up a finger for emphasis. "One. But after that, you're out of here. Understood?"

Lavenza refused to be intimidated. She stood on her toes, glared right back at the man, and with as much defiance as she could summon, she answered him. "Understood."

Dr. Maruki seemed more intimidated then Lavenza. In an effort to deflate the tension, he asked Mr. Iwai "Um, don't you think you're being a bit harsh with her? She is just a kid..."

Mr. Iwai straightened his posture (she knew it! He was leaning!) and turned to Dr. Maruki. "If she's smart enough to be a second-year, then she can be treated like a second-year, too. Have you read what happened to the man she assaulted?"

"Yes, I have," Dr. Maruki admitted.

Boss seemed confused, but how could he not know what "happened"? He was supposed to take care of her. Did he not read the whole agreement or something? "Wait, what are you guys talking about? I thought the man she assaulted was the one who sued?"

Dr. Maruki answered his question. "Hmm? No, someone else had to press charges in his place; the man was put in a coma. When he recovered, he was suffering from amnesia."

"What!"

"I'm sorry, I would've thought you already knew..."

Boss sighed. "There was a miscommunication when I was told about her. It seems the details of the assault were also misunderstood..."

In their short time there, the fresh atmosphere of meeting new people at a new place turned into a cold one of distrust.

"Um, I'm sorry," Dr. Maruki apologized. He sheepishly admitted "As you can probably tell, I'm not really good at this. Iwai has been helping me with a lot of my responsibilities as acting principal. It's actually part of why I assigned him as your teacher." More confidently, he added "Therefore, I will stand by any of his decisions. He will be in charge of you for your time at Shujin, and he will have the final word in your case."

Lavenza entered the meeting feeling as though she at least had Boss on her side. Leaving the meeting, it instead felt as though everyone was against her. Mr. Iwai quickly gave her her student ID, and that was the end of their meeting. Boss didn't say anything afterwards; he was even silent during the car ride back, only grumbling about the bad traffic. Apparently, a train had derailed the day before, so a lot of people were taking the roads instead.

When they returned to Leblanc, she tried talking to him. "Boss, I'm sorry you didn't know the details of my conviction..."

"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic. What a waste of time," he grumbled, brushing her off. To Lavenza, he then said "Remember, you're taking the train, starting tomorrow. And don't even think of doing anything stupid. Be glad your record's private, or you wouldn't even have your classmates to be sympathetic of you."

"Boss, would it help to hear I was framed?" Lavenza asked.

"I don't wanna hear any of it!" he said. He fished a small book from his pocket. "I'm going home for the night, but I need to give you this." He dropped it on the counter. "It's a diary; make sure you write in it. Despite your probation, there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is.

"However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities." It seemed he was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by his phone's ringtone. To a voice on the other end, he answered "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."

He hung up the call. To Lavenza, he then said. "Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll turn you in myself. You got school tomorrow, so you'd better head off to bed, all right?"

He was halfway out the door before he turned back and said "And don't call me Boss."

Lavenza picked up the diary and wondered how she would report on her first two days in Tokyo. Negatively, she imagined.

Iwai left the meeting drained. This new transfer student was going to be a headache. Sure, she didn't look like she could cause trouble, but he knew from experience how deceptive appearances could be. He figured she'd either be gone in two weeks, or she'd be there until her probation ran out. He wasn't sure which he preferred, but he knew which one a teacher was supposed to prefer.

He had stepped outside to have a sucker when another headache stopped by. A boy with blond hair greeted him. "'Sup teach!"

"Hello Sakamoto-kun," responded Iwai without making eye-contact. How the other teachers could tolerate this boy, he may never know. "What are you doing here? It's a Sunday?"

"Oh, y'know, going for a run. I just happened to swing by here when I saw you." Sakamoto had a wide grin on his face. On one hand, Iwai knew Sakamoto was a troublemaker, so he doubted his story. On the other hand, he also knew Sakamoto was honest. Too honest, even. So he probably did just happen to be in the area. Great... Iwai thought. In a whisper-ish voice, Sakamoto continued "So, about the transfer student... are the rumors true, did she actually commit assault?"

"You know I can't discuss a student's confidential information."

"I'll take that as a yes!" After a brief laugh, he then asked "Okay, but it is a girl, right? And she's gonna be in my class, so... is she cute?"

Iwai looked at Sakamoto with a disappointed expression. "She's half your age."

"Oh... so the other kinda cute...like the little sister type." Sakamoto seemed to realize something. "Wait, for real! How is someone that young a second-year!"

This time it was Iwai's turn to laugh. "She actually studies."

"H-hey! That's a low blow, dude!"

Iwai just ignored the boy's comment. He knew it was a long shot, but at this point, he would take anything if it would get Sakamoto's grades up. Well, almost anything. "Also, I noticed you still haven't dyed your hair back."

"Yeah, and whatcha gonna do about it, you rotten adult." Sakamoto grinned again, mischievously this time.

This kid really has no respect for authority. Not that I blame him, but still, Iwai thought."I mean, with dress code violations, cutting class, and all the other trouble you cause, I could probably suspend you. Maybe even expel you."

"You think the other teachers haven't thought the same thing?" Sakamoto asked. "But I'm the guy who got rid of Kamoshida! With how much damage his arrest did to the school's reputation, expelling the hero who caught him would lose what little prestige Shujin had left."

Iwai bit into his sucker, shattering it, and swallowed the pieces. He took the stick out of his mouth and decided to head back inside. He was enjoying his break, but at this point, he'd honestly prefer paperwork and grading.

"Seeya tomorrow, teach!"

If he didn't know better, Iwai would have thought Sakamoto was taunting him.

Prime Minister Masayoshi Shido and his campaign manager were watching the news in the Diet Building. It showed them footage of the train derailing the day before. The two were silent, only taking in what they saw. Shido was furious with the incident. His rivals would try to pin the blame on him. Meanwhile, his campaign manager was trying to figure out how to turn it to their advantage.

The campaign manager broke the silence first. "It's less of an accident, and more a mistake from the company. Inspectors reported this would happen just six months ago, but the railway company and the Ministry of Transport didn't do anything to fix it. It's both true, and it's the story we're going with."

"How unsavory..." Shido mumbled, irritated. Not the way of using the event for his own gain; that was perfectly fine. What he thought was unsavory was how they allowed an incident like this to happen in the first place. "Those people are steering my beautiful country off-course." The news continued, mentioning that the engineer in charge of the train was suffering from a strange illness, and that he was another in a long line of such cases. "Someone's doing this, but how, and why?"

"Sir, there's no proof of a connection between these illnesses," the campaign manager pointed out.

"Don't be so naive," Shido said. "Then why have so many of them happened to people in power. For all we know, I could be their next target." He couldn't help but find something morbidly funny about that.

"Perhaps we should cancel your next speech, or at least postpone it."

Shido gestured to the news, which was now listing casualties from the train crash. "Incidents like this are scaring the people. If I cower now, someone else will step up to rally them. It would be a mistake to give them such an opportunity. Especially with how fragile my career has become lately."

The campaign manager sighed. "You chose to take the boy in..."

"I couldn't leave him out there. It would have been an even greater scandal if word got out that I abandoned him. Honestly, it was impressive how we managed to spin that story." Shido laughed. His son should've been a blemish to his political career, but he and his campaign manager managed to convince the masses he was taking in an orphan with no where else to go. His relation to the boy, while never denied, was never confessed either.

"You're lucky it worked." The campaign manager looked back to the news. It had since transitioned to an unrelated story about a researcher who announced a demonstration of her findings. "The boy has been working as a detective, hasn't he? Perhaps you can have him investigate your...suspicions. Maybe he can finally make himself useful."

"An interesting idea. I'll consider it. Now, is there anything else for us to discuss?"

"I believe that was the last of it."

The campaign manager and Shido shared their goodbyes. With a day of work behind them, Shido was on his way home for the evening. He was annoyed with his driver; even if he had no control over traffic, the man should've at least found a better route. Just before he could complain, he received a phone call from a known contact.

He answered it. "Why are you calling me so late, Okumura-san?"

"My father wanted me to give a message to you and Akechi-kun." On the other end, it was a soft voice belonging to a girl known as Haru Okumura. "You are both invited to a dinner party he's hosting this Saturday. I hope this isn't too short of notice."

Mentally, Shido checked his schedule for the upcoming week. His meeting on Saturday was cancelled... "Fortunately, we have an opening. Though, sooner notice would have been preferable."

"I'll be sure to tell my father that." There was a pause from Okumura-san. "Tell Akechi-kun there'll be sushi; I know he'll look forward to it."

"And he'll look forward to seeing you, too," Shido commented. "Thank you for the invitation, we would be honored to attend."