He hated it when Dad got like this.

Right now his old man was sitting in front of the shrine, staring glassy-eyed at the blurred photo of his mom. Junpei had never thought it was a particularly good picture of her; the stiff, formal pose and dark clothing utterly failed to capture the vivacious woman he remembered from his childhood. His memories of her were much better, and he thought, more faithful to the truth.

Today his dad was being particularly trying. He was on a bad drunk and when he got like this he tended to either be violent or weepy. Right now it was weepy. And for some reason Junpei just didn't have the patience today. He had already heard about how he was a bad son for not coming around enough and then later how he was a bad son for not calling enough. When his dad went on to call him a bad son for being disrespectful to the memory of his dead mother, Junpei snapped.

"Get off it, Dad. You know just as well as I do that she didn't die. She just left you." As soon as he said it, he regretted it though. He hadn't intended to let his dad know that he'd never been fooled, but once the words were out, they were out. He looked up, hoping that maybe his dad hadn't heard, but he could immediately tell that the words had hit…deep.

His father, who had been swaying a little, was sitting stock still. He looked down at the floor and muttered something Junpei couldn't quite catch. Then he rounded on him, making Junpei flinch away from the cheap whiskey on his breath. "Left me? Let's get the story straight…she left us. She didn't want to take care of a dumb kid like you any more than I do. Maybe…maybe if…"

Junpei had learned not to take things like this personally, or at least, he told himself he had. He just responded calmly, "That's bullshit, Dad. If anything, I'm the one who takes care of you and you know it."

"You damned ungrateful--" the rest of their conversation didn't take place in words aside from the occasional harsh sounds that escaped one or another's throat as a blow hit or something fell or broke. Junpei left him on the floor in front of that joke of a shrine, his mother's face staring up complacently at the two of them through the broken glass of her frame.

When he got back he didn't bother trying to talk to anyone, not that it made a difference. Yukari was immediately on him. "What the Hell happened?!"

"Eh?" Junpei wasn't in the mood for this, either. "What are you talking about? I just went out for a little walk, that's what 'happened.'"

Yukari frowned at him and wordlessly flipped open her compact to let him see. Junpei hadn't realized that he was now sporting one hell of a black eye. See Spot run.

He grunted and pulled the rim of his hat down. "That's nothing; you should see the other guy."

"…it was your Dad…right?"

"That, Yuka-tan, is none of your damned business." Junpei put his hand around hers and shut the compact with a sudden click. "Anyway, I'm busy, so…" He turned to go.

"Don't be stupid! We've talked about my mom, what makes this any different?"

"Yeah, well, your mom probably doesn't mind the fact that you were even born."

"Junpei?"

"I need a shower." Junpei shook his head and walked off, leaving Yukari hesitant to go after him. Did he really think his dad felt like that? Then, what could she say…?

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

Yukari jerked and then turned around. When she saw who it was she let out her breath. "Senpai."

Akihiko adjusted one of his cuffs as he spoke to her. "There must be some reason you were just standing around blocking the door. So…what is it?" For all his appearance of casualness, though, he was obviously concerned. Yukari felt grateful. If it was Akihiko, he would fix everything. She told him about Junpei and then looked up at him appealingly.

Akihiko frowned to himself but then realized she was looking at him. "…Don't worry, I'll deal with it," he said, and then watched uncomfortably as her face visibly lit up with relief. He tried to give her a confident smile and then went up after Junpei. Privately though, he doubted he'd be much help. He hadn't even had parents for years now. Something like this was completely beyond his experience, and besides, he was about the worst person on Earth when it came to comforting someone or talking about difficult things.

All the same, he didn't really want Yukari to be the one comforting Junpei.