Opps it's been 2 months again. :( Short chapter, sorry.

Between apparently being arrested for selling firearms to being isekai-ed by Truck-kun, he had an impending headache looming over him.

Akira pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to process the rumors Mishima informed him had coalesced in his absence. His glasses fall back down once his hand does and he opens his eyes to face this bullshit head on.

"...and the wildest one I heard was that you fled the country to avoid the cops."

Oh God, Mishima is still going…?

The boy can't help but laugh at that one. Were people that bad at playing telephone or was the rumor mill that insane?

Probably the latter.

He wanted to do two things, shake his head at the ridiculousness of what he was hearing or slap the nearest troglodyte. Which happen to all be crunched on the other side of the classroom.

Of course if they're at the front of the class having lunch, the straggles migrate to the other side.

Ugh, at least he can't hear them whisper as much. It must be told once more that he can't wait for when the school finally moves on to better gossip (and quit ogling him like a zoo animal). Can't he walk down the hall in peace without students giving him a weird look?

"Ah yes, I love absconding the authorities by fleeing the country for stealing a chocolate bar."

His friend snickers. "Must've been a really expensive chocolate bar."

"Hmmm, made of liquid gold."

Arriving back at school had the undesirable effect he knew would occur. People just didn't expect him to show back up. Students appeared shocked and some gasped when he entered the classroom. A couple of his teachers had done double takes. (He's pretty sure he heard Ms. Usami mutter something about him dropping out.)

All in all it was an irritable experience and if he gets one more odd look from a student, he's gonna-

Well, he's not gonna do anything actually. He's isn't that stupid nor is it that big of a deal. But it would be nice if people just, ya know, didn't? Akira isn't asking for much.

Unfortunately the world begged to differ.

I probably won't be able to be absent until I graduate at this rate. It's still surprising to him that Principal Kobayakawa allowed him to take a two-week break. Was Sojiro that convincing? Did he claim it was a family emergency?

Did the principal...

No, he's not gonna think about that. He's here in the present. He's going to get through this school day and hopefully get a reply from Futaba when he texts in the chatroom she set up.

His mood can't be dampened, not when he scored a victory such as that.

He misses Futaba dearly, even if he's living down the hall from her.

Can you blame him? The younger girl was like a little sister to him.

He's pulled out of his musing when he looks to the teen next to him. Mishima has an amused look on his face when he talks. "What did you expect? People around here talk too much."

"That's for sure." he mumbles.

Both Ann and Suzui were absent from the classroom at the moment. Could mean two things. They're hanging out somewhere else or discussing about the Yusuke situation this time.

It's the 20th...shouldn't Yusuke accidentally be pulled into the Metaverse today?

Well in that case, he silently wishes the Phantom Thieves the best of luck.

After school he steps on gum and feels his world feels sticky. Which is weird, because people are typically good about throwing away their trash.

"I uh, promised Ryuji I would go to the arcade with him."

"Hmm?" Akira turns away from the arguing students nearby them. Somebody's friendship seems to be turning sour. "Oh that's fine. I was planning to do some job scouting anyway."

"Really?"

He shrugs. "Got too much free time on my hands. I'm getting a bit antsy. Might as well, right?"

"I don't see why not." Mishima places a finger under his chin. He nods at him. "Good luck on your job search then! Tell me if you get hired."

"Thanks. Let's hope I don't end up working at a cover up store for a drug house."

The shorter boy's lip pressed into a thin line. "Are you...talking from experience?"

Akira turns around to head to the train station. Completely evading needing to grace him with an answer.

Mishima nervously laughs and bids him goodbye. Akira waves back without looking.

Akira had to work a couple of jobs before. Mostly due to the fact he had to support the endeavors of the Phantom Thieves, which weren't cheap mind you. Sure, the odd and bizarre fact shadows dropped money was a big help. But he couldn't just farm the Hell out of Mementos. He reasonably needed an excuse to be somewhere and out for hours at a time.

At that point it only made sense he would take up a job...or jobs depending on which redo you're referring to.

He's worked in a couple of places. Triple Seven, My Beko, Newcomer Bar, Big Bang Burger, and Rafresi Shop.

A convenience store, beef bowl place, a 'bar', fast food place, and a flower shop respectively.

So there's a few places he has to choose from that he knows he'll get hired at. The question is, what place did he have the energy to work at?

My Beko and Big Bang Burger were out of the equation because he'd rather not be in customer service like that. People tend to be more rude when they're hungry. And yes, most people tend to be nice, but he knows there's gonna be someone who's gonna go out of their way to be inconvenient.

Plus, they're both places near the school so inevitably students from Shujin will show up. Considering how much he's been absent and the wild rumor born from it, who knows when someone will recognize him? It'll be unnecessarily awkward and in the past (does that count as the past?) students have spoken to his coworkers about his 'reputation', resulting in his termination of employment.

So again, those two are a big fat 'nah'.

Newcomer Bar is also a no, but solely on the reason he isn't a PT anymore and therefore won't get the 'special pass' to work there. (Anymore almost sounds like a harsh word in this context. But it fills him with a sense of relief...and if he's being honest, a dollop of dread.)

Triple Seven would be an easy job, but that's kinda the problem. He's less likely to get seen by fellow Shujin students but...it's just...boring. He'd just stand there and ring people up. Make 5-10 seconds of small talk and help the next customer. His most exciting activity would be restocking the shelves. If at that since that was someone else's job. Morgana wouldn't even be in the backroom to keep him company during lulls in his work.

It's easy, not relaxing.

Not that jobs tend to be relaxing. That's besides the point!

The point is, working at a convenience store is repetitive as all Hell. He would just scan stuff and bag people's items all the while looking like an eye-staining strawberry. (He thinks the uniform was lowkey cute, but he'd rather wear wet socks with sliders than admit that out loud.) His would-be coworker, Nanami Shibuya, was a sweetie pie of a senpai, but that wasn't reason enough.

No, no. He has his sights set on Rafresi Shop.

He developed a fondness for flowers since working there back in the original 2016. Haru didn't help his case. Horticulture just piqued his interest, extending to potted plants as well. He knew how to make arrangements and had a strong basis on flower language.

Working there would require him to think about what the customer is looking for or making an arrangement based on a request. The shop was further down the strip mall and didn't see much patronage from students. At least not from his school.

Not to mention the owner of the shop; Megumi Hanasaki, was a soft spoken, motherly sort of boss. She would fuss over him and generally just made him feel very welcomed.

She was a nice adult. There was really no down side to working at that place. Pay was good too. (Luckily he didn't have allergies so the pollen never bothered him. But then again most flowers were stored in the coolers first, so it's not a big deal.) Making flowering arrangements was relaxing and required creativity. Being surrounded by pretty colorful flowers was…

Okay, you get the point. Before Akira even got back to Sojiro's place, he had made up his mind where he would send an application.

He'll be waiting a week or two, needing to keep up the appearance he was actually job hunting. But as he unlocks the door with a spare key he was given, he's confident he's got this the bag.

This is perhaps the first thing he's been confident about since waking up in this loop.

Small victories. He tells himself. Small victories.

Akira is washing dishes (what a new concept) when Sojiro decides to make conversation.

He asks about school to which Akira has nothing to report. (Why tell him anything when there was nothing worth mentioning about? Same shit as always.) Then stirs into if he has any interest in coffee beyond drinking it.

Akira smiles to himself at that one and tries not to drop the glass cup he was holding. Damn soap made it so slippery. "Trying to get me into the coffee trade?"

"I just wanted to see if you were up for the task." Akira can hear the man cross his arms like an old grump.

It makes him roll his eyes.

"I'm not opposed to it."

"Is that right?" He sounds a mix between excited and surprised.

Akira lies the cup upside down on the drying rack and goes to tackle the silverware. The final boss. "Yeah, I guess it would be cool to learn in my spare time."

"Spare time?" Sojiro shuffles from behind him.

He turns off the sink and dries his hand on the towel nearby. "Yeah, about that…"

The old man raises an eyebrow gesturing for him to continue. "About what? It's not good to trail off."

He faces him and expresses his interest in finding a part time job. Sojiro looks a little unsure, asks him if he's sure he wants to part-time so soon.

"Don't you want to focus on your studies first and relax afterwards?"

A reasonable assumption, but Akira had whizzed through the school's curriculum more times than any respectable person would. He knows it, in fact he would like to just be able to study shit in the higher grade, alas he is being held hostage by time.

And time is a little bitch who won't pull the trigger.

Akira shrugs. "Not really… I don't like being cooped up and it might be better for-," he nods in the direction of the stairs, "if I'm out more." He likes his new-found leisurely time, but on the other hand it's charm only lasted so long.

This guy is bored.

He's going to go stir-crazy if he doesn't do much else but school and going back here. It's not like he has a friend group now and the chances of him getting one considering how his peers are… Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

Sojiro's eyes linger at the door and nods to him. "If you feel like you're up to it." He gets up from the chair and pats Akira on the back. "Good luck. If you need a recommendation for your job hunt, I'll BS something for you."

The sentiment lights a warm feeling in his chest. "Thanks." The smile is subconscious.

"Now finish washing the cutlery."

His eyes narrow. Weren't we having a moment? "Yes Sir. "

Akira shoves his finished homework into his school bag and casts it aside. He went for his phone on his desk and booted up his messaging app.

The chatroom was still empty. Neither he nor Futaba had said anything yet, so he decided he was gonna take the first step. Otherwise this awkward game of 'Howdy Stranger' isn't gonna get anywhere.

'Hi' he typed out and hit the send button.

Generic, but it would be better if Futaba was able to steer the conversation. She was much more comfortable behind her screen. She'd be more inclined to chat right away if done in text. Even if she might have that lingering anxiety that the person she's texting is down the hall…

This is the simplest way.

Besides, what would he start off with?

'So, you like computers?'

'What grade are you in?'

'You like jazz?'

Nah, those wouldn't do.

Ding!

He looks down to see a message that made him chuckle.

Futaba: Hey.

Futaba: So you like Feathermen too, huh?

Futaba: Who's your fav? Answer wisely, I'm judging you.

He knew her favorite was Feather Parakeet, but what was a conversion without a little contention? So he answered honestly.

Akira: Feather Falcon. :)

Futaba: …

Futaba: The audacity-

Akira couldn't wipe the dumb look off his face.

This chapter was supposed to be much longer and have more events happening in it (mostly Akira actually making a new friend), but I have not been motivated to write as of late. I even started an original work about an otome isekai. Just to get my rusty brain working.

Ugh, hopefully it helps. I wanna work on my fics more.