Friday, June 4th
Ever since Akira had gotten home from the night prior, he couldn't stop throwing up.
Be it from the fact he found out his teacher was moonlighting as a maid, the fact he almost kissed her, the fact his best friend abandoned him, or the highly experimental drug he took?
Any of them could fit as valid reasonings.
And considering his nature of constant vomiting, he also made the intelligent choice to stay home.
Or, Morgana forced me to stay home again.
As much as he was irritated by it, it was a smart choice since–besides the vomiting–Akira was worried about having another trip where everyone would oil themselves up and start having a twerking dance feature in his homeroom with Kawakami front and center.
Seriously, how goddamn lucky do I have to be to see my teacher in a maid outfit?!
…and how unlucky do I have to be for her to slap the dogshit out of me and broker a deal for my silence?
It's so not fair I had to take a fall for Ryuji…
In any case, Akira's worries about another session of ruthless and crazy hallucinations were slowly being tempered since it had been over 12 hours since his last when the girls turned into Mika.
I thought trips were supposed to be fun…
Then I–
Holy shit I said all of that stuff to Mishima.
…I said all that shit to Mishima.
HOLY SHIT I CAUSED THE ARGUMENT ABOUT THE PAAG?!
Before Akira could question the implications of that, he heard a knock on the door.
Hopping from his bed and getting dressed, he made his way to the door to be greeted by the sight of Tae Takemi.
It wasn't surprising, of course, he texted her first thing in the morning after Morgana left to give her a piece of his mind.
"I hate you so much."
"Oh, I see you're coherent and as feisty as usual, cool."
"What the hell do you–"
She walked past him, "You called me last night, started mumbling about a Saturn Stick, and then moaned and groaned before hanging up." She took a look around the apartment, "I would never imagine Sakura-san would lend you this apartment…I'm almost surprised you haven't destroyed it."
"I'm not as unhinged as you think…"
Takemi went to the countertop, taking a seat at one of the stools as he joined her, "Okay, talk me through everything that happened."
He sighed, "Let's make this quick just in case I have another one of my vomiting fits. Oh–yeah, that's a thing now."
Takemi whipped out a notepad and jotted that down, "Hm…okay, what else happened?"
"...so you're just going to ignore the-–" She pulled out a few bottles of her medicine, promptly shutting Akira up, "right…so, uh…the hallucinations. Yeah. They were…extremely real, and vivid."
"How long did it take for them to take effect? How long after?"
Akira shrugged, "I'm not sure…maybe 45 minutes after I left your clinic?"
"Hm…interesting."
"Yeah…interesting. Totally invested in how a brain fog drug just basically turned into an LSD trip."
Takemi in turn shrugged, "Clinical trials. Besides, I knew no matter what would happen, you'd be fine."
He scoffed, "I'm fine but my social life isn't…"
Her eyebrows danced with humor, "Ooh, I wonder what you said while on your adventurous trip…"
"You're gonna have to pay me with something besides flirting, half-baked advice, and medicine to hear that. Not that I totally don't appreciate those things and their insurmountable value to me."
She laughed, "That'll be the day hell freezes over." Takemi stretched, going to the door, "In any case, the vomiting fits should finish after taking a few doses of the medicine. The hallucinations shouldn't come back either since it should be out of your system by now." She flashed him a smile as she left, "Till next time, my faithful guinea pig."
He snorted as he locked the door, "As if…"
Akira felt a buzz in his pocket.
Ryuji: So…how ya feelin?
Akira: I hate you
Akira: I hate you so much
Ryuji: I said I'll pay you back!
Akira: Who in their right mind would allow a drugged teenager to be alone with a fucking MAID SERVICE?
Ryuji: Why TF were you even trippin dicks in the first place? If you knew we were gonna do this, why would ya go to Takemi's?
Akira: She said it would be short.
Ryuji: Jesus Christ man.
Ryuji: That shit you said to Mishima last night…you do know you caused the argument?
Akira: Yeah, yeah…did you make sure he wouldn't say shit about last night or?
Ryuji: I'm an idiot but not that much of one. Made sure he didn't say anythin or talk to Ohya about it. That INCLUDES you.
Akira: Ah yes, I get to be an accessory to your failed attempt at infidelity!
Ryuji: S-Shut the hell up! I wasn't even gonna do anythin I just wanted you to have some fun that didn't involve you kissin Student Council members and running from them.
Ryuji: Speaking of which, Saya came lookin for you, again.
Akira: Great. I'm so happy I have her contact on mute…
Akira: And we could've just gone for karaoke.
Akira: Literally anything else could've worked but you decided that involving me in some plot with a sex worker was smart?
Ryuji: I go above and beyond, my boy.
Akira: I hate you.
Ryuji: So…how did you even get home last night? After twenty minutes me and Mishima came back but you were just…gone.
Oh yeah, that's simple, Kawakami saw I was clearly in a horrible state and decided to drive me home after beating me half to death for even ordering a maid service!
Akira: I had a really understanding maid.
Ryuji: Huh…
Ryuji: So…what's next?
Akira: I forgot to tell you since I was drugged outta my mind but, Makoto's meeting Yusuke tomorrow. Right after school, so that's the answer to your question.
Ryuji: So, we gotta just…jump onto the roof then? But won't they hear us and kinda ruin the whole spy bullshit we're doin?
Ryuji: And how are we gonna use this to bust the old fart exactly?
Akira: Ha, I have a plan for that.
Ryuji: …Of course you would.
Sojiro sighed. Once again, it was his lunch period and he was aimlessly staring at the ceiling as he spun around in his chair.
His mind was bouncing around numerous topics, such as the Battle of the Bands, songs to arrange, Futaba…Sae Niijima.
So much for wanting to possibly get more information.
God, I'm such a weak idiot.
Sae Niijima led to thoughts of Madarame, and how he hadn't made a single ounce of progression ever since he and Akira had their argument.
And thinking of Akira…
As much as he hated to admit it, he kind of enjoyed Akira's presence in the band hall with him.
Though…I can't really blame the kid today.
Having a Takemi mix-up the day before that had him puking?
Yeah, I'd stay home.
A faint smile formed on his face since, in any other situation, Akira probably wouldn't have texted him to give him a heads-up.
Sure, it was small, but it was a start, and…he appreciated that.
Sincerely.
"You seem to be happy, Sakura-sensei." Sojiro's head shot up, his eyes jumping to his office door to see Makoto Niijima, "I wonder why."
Sojiro sighed, "O-Oh, it's just you, Niijima-kun. You scared me."
Makoto fully stepped into his office, taking a seat by his desk, "My apologies, sensei. I just wanted to see how you were doing."
Sojiro's eyebrow rose, "Huh? Why is that?"
"Considering the fact you're going to soon embark on the first appearance of the new and improved Shujin Buccaneers, it would be a miracle if you weren't considerably stressed."
Shujin Buccaneers.
God, that is an awful name.
Sojiro gave her a faint grin, "I appreciate the worry, but I promise I'm handling just well."
Makoto tilted her head, "Are you sure? Considering the erratic behavior of your elected officials and your own tardiness, it does lead to probable worry."
Taking a page from Akira's book, he sighed, "Trust me, I have those kids under control. What happened–"
"What happened on Monday was a gross display of everything Shujin isn't. Especially considering it was meant to be a positive moment to outshine what happened with…the man who used to command your post. I can't believe Kobayakawa-sensei let your degenerate delinquents off so easy after starting–"
Sojiro sat up straight in this chair, his eyes focusing on her, "Don't act like you know my boys. Are they rough around the edges? Sure. Are they idiots? Sure. But they are not delinquents or degenerates. For someone who's supposed to be an ambassador between the student body and faculty, you sure are quick to assume things." He paused for a moment, "And me being late to my job doesn't mean anything, Niijima-kun. It's not a judgment of my character or my program. So, if you came here to try and stoke a reaction out of me to see if some hypothesis of yours was right, you went about it in the wrong way."
They paused for a moment before Makoto stood up, bowing, "I see. My apologies. I've just been…stressed immensely over this last week, I…guess I let some of my frustrations out on you. That isn't fair." She turned for the door as Sojiro went back to his neglected lunch on the desk, "Oh, and Sakura-senpai?" Sojiro lazily took a bite out of his sandwich as he hummed a reply, "I think you should change your cologne. Teen Spirit smelled better on you."
Sojiro froze as she exited the band hall, the door echoing as it closed shut.
Oh.
Oh, that's not good.
June 4th, 2021: I've successfully had a pseudo-interrogation with Sojiro Sakura, not surprising he was defensive over Kurusu-kun, considering he's the legal guardian. He doesn't let his emotions control him like the boys, however, as he relatively caught onto what I was attempting to do.
- Although I was able to mention the scent of Teen Spirit, he didn't have anything to say afterward. If anything? It seemed as if he was frozen as I walked out of the band hall.
- Sakura-senpai doesn't seem to be a source of information I can attempt to routinely attack…which means the Teen Spirit debacle might be on hold for the moment.
Side-Note: Ask…sis?
- Now, weighing my options…I can't track Kurusu-kun, at least…not in the way I used to.
- I could try some new tactics and attempt to get intel from Takamaki, Sakamoto, or even Morgana….though, I don't think Ichiko-kun would be too happy with me following Sakamoto.
She doesn't have to know, Makoto.
- Sakamoto would be incredibly easy to follow…he isn't too aware, I wouldn't have an incident like with Morgana, actually.
- Takamaki could be interesting as well.
- I have to remember I have Okumura's number, I can continue getting closer to her since–after Monday–she really does seem to have some…intimate relationship with Kurusu-kun that seemingly is blinding her.
- Working his magic again, huh?
- Intimate relationship…?
- Ah!
- She didn't have a reaction actually! That works! Possible lead?
Morgana was laying on the floor of the roof, staring aimlessly at the sky as Ann and Ryuji chatted away at the table.
Ann sighed, "You think he's gonna be okay?
Ryuji took a long sip from his grape juice before answering, slamming it down on the table with a self-satisfied sigh, "Yup."
"Are…are you sure about that?"
"Yup."
"Is Akira worrying over it?"
"To be fair, he doesn't even know Morgana is mopin' around like this. I didn't tell him."
"What?! Come on Ryuji! That's his brother!"
"Akira's been pukin' and shit since last night, I think that's the last thing he wants on his mind. Lemme just give him a break before we do this stupid ass plan of his tomorrow. Besides, realizin' that you're bitchless is a rite of passage for Kurusu men."
Morgana grumbled from the floor, "Fuck off, Ryuji."
Haru poked her head from beyond her garden, "So, Mona-chan is hurt because of Yoshizawa-kun?"
Mona weakly raised a thumbs-up as Ryuji and Ann nodded, "Ah, I see." Haru put her gardening gear down and talked over to the youngest Kurusu, crouching with her knees touching her chest as she gave him a sincere smile, "Have you tried to talk to her?"
Ryuji snorted, "Oh he's tried alright. Whole buncha messages and shit."
Morgana groaned once again, attempting to turn away from Ryuji but Haru stopped him, "I mean, have you actually tried to physically talk to her? Do you know why she's specifically mad?"
"I haven't had the chance to in class since Aoba moved our seats around, using the fight as an excuse. Then anytime I try to see her outside of class, she just disappears…and why else would she be mad? The fight of course!"
"Hm…but what about the fight would make her mad, Mona-chan? You can't expect to reconcile things if you have no idea the source of it."
"But how am I supposed to figure it out if she won't talk to me?!"
It was Ann's time to snort as she finished her crepe, "Oh poor, poor Morgana…you have much to learn."
Haru tilted her head as she contemplated an answer, "Hm…well, if she won't talk to you…maybe she'll talk to me?"
Morgana instantly shot up from the ground, grabbing Haru, "Oh my god, that's a perfect idea!"
Haru nervously giggled, "Thanks…"
"Jeez…he really is like Aki-chan sometimes."
"Idiots who can't maneuver around women?"
"Yup."
"You know you're included in that, right?"
"What?!"
"I'm sure I might be imposing upon you by having you here, but I hope you truly don't mind, Yoshizawa-kun."
Kasumi took a seat, giving Makoto a respectful bow, "It's no issue, senpai. How can I be of service?"
"Well…I wanted to make sure you were okay, considering you're still new to Shujin Academy."
Kasumi paused, "How has my stay at Shujin been…? It's been okay, so far…"
"Have you been making friends?"
"Hm…in a way."
"Are they good?"
Kasumi paused, "...I'm sorry, senpai, but wasn't this supposed to be about my experience so far?"
Makoto nodded, "Correct, I'm hoping you're having a good experience, but considering I've heard tell of you surrounding yourself with the likes of Morgana Kurusu and Shinya Oda–especially after this past Monday–I can't help but worry."
Kasumi's expression dampened as their names emerged in her mind, "Right…"
"Considering your status, you understand why this is a pressing concern for me, correct?"
Kasumi sighed, "I do, Niijima-senpai."
"Then, why were you around them? Did they–"
"It wasn't anything…odd. I…I just thought Mon–" She bit her tongue, "I thought Morgana was nice…but I'm not really sure what to think now."
Makoto crossed her legs, "Did Morgana ever mention anything leading up to the fight? Anything…out of the blue?"
"No…not really. There was a time Shigeo-senpai appeared in front of us…but I hadn't really thought much of it. Outside of that…all he ever talked about was…me, actually." She paused, realizing the weight of that statement, "I-I mean, he just helped me and we discussed a lot of…helpful things."
"Did he ever mention anything about his past? Any sort of plans? Anything strange recently?"
"Hm…I guess he mentioned something about his band director here and there…but that's really it. I guess he mentioned something strange by talking a lot about that famous artist and his apprentice…"
They still have Kitagawa and Madarame in their sights…
Then it's definitely a good idea that I decided to meet with Kitagawa-kun tomorrow…
Makoto nodded, "Thank you, Kasumi…I really appreciate it."
Kasumi stood up from her chair, giving a bow as she left the room, Makoto quickly being granted the silence she was so acquainted with.
"At least it's something."
Saturday, June 5th
As the Delinquents of Shujin Academy, along with Ann, made their way from the train station, they were stopped by the sight of a police barricade in front of Shujin's street.
Ryuji drowsily looked confused as he spat out some confusion, "Dude…what the hell is goin' on?"
Morgana and Akira gazed around, seeing a multitude of beat cops scouring Shujin as a couple guarded a cop car.
Mona tapped Ryuji, "Whatever it is, it's got something to do with that cop car."
"Huh…whatever, that means we have a free day right?"
Ann snorted, "As if, since Mr. Band President over here needs our help."
"With that level of sarcasm you almost sound…annoyed to help me, Ann."
"Well, me being in on a plan is cool and all…but do I seriously have to do that…?"
Akira snickered, "Come on Ann, this is your time to showcase your awesome skills as an actress!"
Before Ann could spit out a joke or rebuttal, Ryuji caught sight of Sojiro, with a very annoyed expression on his face, "Hey! Boss! Over here!"
Akira sighed, "Are you serious gonna keep calling him that?"
He shrugged, "Hey, he liked it, might as well."
Akira rolled his eyes as Sojiro walked up, "What do you guys need?"
"So…no school today, right?"
"Nope. You kids can go home or whatever else you like to do. But, just remember we have a battle tomorrow so–"
Akira waved a hand over the barricade, "Yeah, yeah, we know old man."
Sojiro lazily shook his head, "You know, Akira you should really take a page from Ryuji's book, boss is way less offensive than calling me an old man." He grumbled, "Even though I'm literally thirty-seven."
"Damn!" Ryuji clasped his hands over his mouth as he nervously chuckled, much to the disappointment of everyone around him, "S-Sorry Boss, I uh…I didn't think you were that old."
Sojiro's face became warped with an overwhelming amount of despair, he opened his mouth to defend his age–-and more importantly his resistance of falling into a mid-life crisis–-but clasped it shut once he realized it was going to be a fruitless effort.
He sighed as he waved the kids off, "Just get outta here before the Boss stuff loses its luster and I change my mind on not giving you guys suicides tomorrow morning."
The rest of the group was quick to turn around while Akira stood stiff, a curious expression forming on his face, "Uh…do you know why…" He waved at Shujin and everything around it, "all of this is happening?"
Sojiro bounced the idea around in his head before gesturing Akira to come forward with a finger, his voice barely above a whisper, "Don't tell anyone I said this but…apparently some nutjob that assaulted a news reporter was stalking around Shujin this morning. Chouno-sensei called the police when she started feeling creeped out and they've had him in the back of the car ever since. Kobayakawa canceled as a way to avoid a big story or something."
Huh.
That's so we–
Akira's eyes widened faintly, "Oh…that's…that's weird. W-Well, uh…I'll see you later, Sojiro."
Sojiro nodded as the teenager ran towards his friends, placing a hand over Ryuji's shoulder, "Yeah, I think it's a good idea for us to waste time until later everyone! Especially far…far away from here."
The appearance of an infamous butt treasurer was something Makoto Niijima had never considered in all of her days, but-–and that was no pun intended-–she was glad it gave her a chance to prepare what she wanted to say to Yusuke Kitagawa.
In fact, Makoto had crafted an entire index card deck of potential questions, responses, and answers to this session the two were about to embark in.
Firstly? She just needed to knock on his door.
Okay, this should be easy enough.
Yusuke opened his door, his appearance instantly throwing Makoto off-guard as her recollection of Yusuke became challenged.
His skin was pale. His eyes were bloodshot with a multitude of bags underneath their lids. It seemed as if his skin was tightly pressed against his anatomy. To make it even worse, he had a bandage wrapped around his left wrist.
"K-Kitagawa—"
His lifeless face seemed to fill with color upon seeing his muse, "Niijima-san! You seem to be drained of energy, are you okay?"
Makoto wanted to snicker, something that felt out of character as she wished to remark, "I could say the same of you."
No…that would be strange, and potentially upsetting to same the least.
Makoto gave him a weary smile as she walked inside, "It's just been a…strenuous week, to say the least."
He closed the door behind them, accompanying her to his room, "Oh? How so?"
Makoto sighed, "A long story. I assume Madarame-san isn't here?"
Unbeknownst to Makoto, he nodded as they stepped inside his room, "Correct, Niijima-san, he had a sort of business meeting to attend in Shinjuku today. I assume it has something to do with the battle tomorrow."
Makoto took a seat, her interest peaked at the mention of the battle, "How do you see that going?"
He paused as he finished setting up a canvas, "I'm…I'm not sure. It could go in either favor considering Kurusu-san and I seem to be at an equal impasse."
She quirked an eyebrow as she inquired, "Impasse?
"Why yes, of course, it's the whole reason he asked for my number from you, remember? It's why he even suggested I see you again."
Her face contorted with confusion, "Excus—"
Yusuke's phone started ringing, bringing the conversation to an end. He brought up a hand as he apologized, "I apologize, Niijima-san, someone's calling me."
While Makoto wanted to push forward, she understood and waited patiently, since she didn't see the call taking too long of course.
Why would it?
Yusuke's eyes widened, "W-What?!" He stammered for a moment, "W-What do you mean he was injured? Where?!" He shot up, leaving both his room and Makoto behind, leaving the Student Council President in much confusion.
She followed behind him, her voice ringing out, "Kitagawa? What's wrong?" She found Yusuke at the door, placing shoes on as he seemingly prepared to leave the house. Her voice seemingly fell on his deaf ears, causing her to step in front of the fledgling artist, her voice firm and shackling him to the earth, "Kitagawa…what happened?"
That was enough to bring him back to Earth as he centered on her eyes, his focus momentarily wrenched from the phone against his ear, "It…it's sensei. He was hurt. A car accident, according to the emergency responder on the phone." He opened the door, beckoning for Makoto to follow behind him as he erratically mumbled his plan to her, "I'm going to take a taxi to the hospital and check on him." He paused, electing to lift his eyes onto Makoto, "I'm sorry, Niijima-san. It seems we're going to put another raincheck on our plans. Unless you wish to come with?"
Makoto was–-admittedly–-stunned at the course of events. It just seemed as if everything was moving fast…too fast.
I can't imagine how it must feel for Kitagawa-kun as well.
He's awfully nice for wanting to bring me along to visit Madarame as well…
If I'm going to go, I should probably tell Sae…
I can imagine this is going to be long.
Both the phone call and the visit.
She nodded as he was able to beckon a taxi, "Just tell me the location of the hospital, I need to talk to Sae first and I don't want to hold you behind…I'll meet you there, okay?"
Yusuke sat inside the car, giving a faint smile of understanding to her, "Sensei's at UT's hospital. I'll see you soon, Niijima-san."
She paused as he closed the door, leaving her behind on the empty streets.
"The University of Tokyo? But…he said he was in Shibuya…if that was the case, then he would be at Tokyo Metropolitan…"
An extreme possibility formed in her head. One that was crazy for even entering her head but…it made a twisted sort of sense.
A sort of sense that irritated her to no end.
But first, she needed to verify it.
Yusuke in his panic didn't lock the door to the shack, something she took note of as they ran to the open street.
Something she was incredibly grateful for noticing in the first place.
Akira and Ryuji opened the door, the former speaking, "I told you that nasty bastard would find a way to Shujin!"
Ryuji snorted, "Well, I guess you can thank GD for allowing us to-" He paused as Akira hopped onto the railing of the roof, beckoning Ryuji up, a hesitant act.
"So, is this better than the Kamoshida plan or?"
Ryuji nervously held onto Akira's arm, fearful of falling off the railing of the rooftop, "I–I mean, uh, yeah. It's a helluva lot better but this damn jump isn't it!
"You telling me, despite you nearly falling off the roof to grab Shiho and the fact our hideout is on the roof of Shujin, that you have a fear of heights?"
Ryuji, shakily, jabbed a finger in his face, "Those are completely different!"
"Maybe I'll give you the fact that the rooftop hideout is a little different, but Shiho definitely isn't! You–"
The two immediately fell to silence, electing to hop back down and peer over the railing as Yusuke came running out of the shack, a frantic energy spilling from him as Makoto struggled to keep up, "Jeez, Ann must've sold it." He hopped on the railing once again, taking a shaky breath before hopping to the roof of the shack.
Landing with a heavy thud that gave way to an awfully loud groan from the rusting metal, Akira sighed, looking around for Ryuji to share a joke with.
His face went flat when the blonde monkey was nowhere to be found, "Oh, you have got to be shitting me." He gazed skyward, Ryuji still holding onto the railing for dear life until his knuckles went pure white, "Ryuji! Come on man! We don't have a lot of time for this!"
Ryuji waved away his best friend, "C'mon this shit is scary! I'm sorry I don't have the platinum balls that you do!"
"Oh! So you finally admit I have bigger balls than you! Great, next time I want any secrets from you, I'll just hang you from LeBlanc's windows."
"'Eff off!"
"Just bring your ass! It's not that big of a jump! You do the jump and I'll…buy all the food tomorrow after the battle! All types of ramen!"
Ryuji straightened a bit, "All?"
"All! Can you please jump so we can put this elderly asshole behind bars!?"
"This better be worth it…" Ryuji shakily let out a groan before taking a running start, jumping over the railing, and–much like his best friend–landed with a heavy thud that made him reevaluate his weight.
Akira tapped Ryuji on the shoulder as he pointed to the skylight, partially ajar by his year pin, "I'm not even going to lie, I did notthink this would actually keep it open until we came back."
Akira lifted up the skylight, taking his pin back as they hopped into the shack, "And if it didn't?"
"Uh…let's not worry about the what-ifs, dude."
Ryuji rolled his eyes as he dug into his pockets, pulling out a bobby pen and a flat-head screwdriver, "Okay, where's the door?"
Akira waved for him to follow as he hustled down the stairs, immediately making a hard right and B-lining straight for the door, "Work your magic buddy, just–"
"Make it quick, yeah, I know." Ryuji jokingly shoved him out of the way as he made depressingly quick work on the lock, pushing the door open and brandishing a toothy grin, "Voila!"
"You mean vo–" Akira committed a double-take, "Holy shit, you got that right!" He quickly gave him a fist bump as they stepped foot into the dingy and dark room, causing Akira to feel around for a light switch.
"Not gonna lie to you Aki, I thought I got that one wrong." Ryuji pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight to help Akira find the light switch.
After a few moments, they found it and were granted full sight of the room.
It was a massive room, filled to the brim with records, stacks of documents, and a metal black desk in the center of it. Commanding your attention.
This is probably where that meeting on Wednesday happened…
I wonder what that was about…
Akira tried giving it some thought, but he shook his head as he remembered something crucial.
They were on an unknown time limit.
"Crap," He elbowed Ryuji in the ribs, "We don't have a lot of time, so just find something that'll prove Nanokohara was right."
"So, somethin' about the abuse or?"
Akira moved, scouring some of the documents and compositions littered about, "I don't know…sure, maybe something about Junko? If not, then something about the stolen compositions."
"How about somethin' with that asshole? Bael, I think he said?"
Akira grinned, "Sometimes, I truly do forget how smart you can be."
Ryuji went from shelf to shelf quickly, "Thank–hey!" Akira snickered as the two of them kept ruffling through paper after paper. After a while,Akira moved from the seemingly endless shelves to the desk that sat in the middle of the room.
Opening one drawer presented Akira with the sight of a bank statement of Madarame, one that went from the last six months to the present day. From Akira's perspective, they seemed to be deposits. Deposits of 7 million yen every two months it seemed.
He's an artist. A world-famous one, this…this isn't as strange as I want it to be.
Akira was close to discarding the statement until he noticed there were letters tucked away in the back of the drawer. Opened letters.
All written and sent by one, "Junko Fukushima…?"
'Thank you so much for your continued help Madarame! Hopefully we can meet one day in the states!'
'Here's another donation to my favorite Japanese artist!'
'I hope you come out retirement soon!'
Akira paused, an idea forming in his head as he noticed each letter had a symbol of a castle inked onto the page.
If Junko was truly sold off then…this doesn't make any sense.
Akira's eye caught something else in the drawer, a tape recorder with Sayuri labeled on it.
Grabbing it, he pressed play.
It was quiet at first, honestly leading Akira to think the contents on it were erased but soon enough the familiar chord structure of Sayuri played. Although…this time it was different from what Akira heard at the performance. What was typically the fifth of the chord structure was just played by its lonesome by a singular saxophone. It was a singular wailing note, rife with a sense of loneliness as it shone in the darkness of the audio log. Soon enough, it was replaced with singing taking the place of the note.
A woman's voice-soft and rich. There was a sense of heaviness somehow to its softness, adding a rich complexity to the singer.
Soon enough, words started spilling from her. Her voice rife with isolation, longing, and…a sense of love.
"As I gaze, thoughts fill my head on your view as I stand,
With eyes so small but oh-so grand,
Can they see how you touch me like a breeze against the sand?
In other words,
Please hold my hands,
To just see how dear you are to me,
My beautiful lily.
Dream with me,
To see how the pastures of my mind were mute,
The sky sick with the flu,
My eyes filled with dew,
Until that part of you made me feel new,
In other words,
I love you."
Akira didn't even notice Ryuji behind him, a bunch of sheet music in his hand, "Woah…"
The two best friends were equally dumbfounded, "That…was Sayuri but I've never heard it like that…"
"That was a woman right? Shit, her voice almost had me cryin'..."
Akira cleared his throat as he placed the tape recorder down, the log seemingly finished as he finally took notice of the sheet music, "What's up with the sheet music? And why does some of it look yellow?"
As Ryuji spread the sheet music onto the table, Akira placed the letter and statements into his back pocket, "You see how some of these are the old bastard's best works?" Akira nodded, essentially telling him to go on, "Look at the names dude."
Akira took a closer look, his eyes faintly widening, "...Katsura Hashino…Shigenori Soejima…Shoji Meguro…Natsuhiko Nakanohara and…Wakaba Isshiki…?" He felt his throat dry as he recited her name, something he hadn't done in a long time.
Ryuji immediately took notice of Akira's apparent familiarity with the name, "Dude? What's wrong? You know her or somethin'?"
Akira's eyes danced over the title of the piece, 'Beneath The Mask ', as he wanted to spit out an explanation.
Something he was currently failing to do, "Dude, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or somethin'."
He was finally able to spit out a word, "Dead."
"Ryuji's confusion was clear as day, "Huh?"
Akira gritted his teeth, "She's dead, man."
Confusion was soon replaced by shock, "How do you—"
A shadow manifested in the front of the room as a familiar voice blindsided them, "Isshiki-san's been dead for six years, Sakamoto-kun."
Ryuji froze on the spot as Akira's eyes shakily rose his eyes to meet Makoto's infamous stare, a stare that was more intense than usual. It wasn't just intimidating, it was laced with disdain, something that was clear in her voice as well, "Sakura-sensei used to work with her. As did Kurusu–kun's uncle in Eternal Sunshine, so of course, he knows who she is." Makoto took steps, eventually ending up at the front of the desk, never breaking eye contact. She shook her head in disappointment, "I'm almost surprised you'd stoop so low as to fake an accident to break into a home." She paused, narrowing her eyes, "Almost."
Akira narrowed his eyes in response, "First you stalk me to pry into my life, and now you're doing it with Sojiro? The hell is wrong with you?"
"Why wouldn't it make sense to learn about the mysterious guardian of one of Shujin's delinquents who fell from the sky to keep the band program afloat? Was this always your plan?"
Akira's eye started to twitch, "Whatever issues you still have with me, they're with me. Not Sojiro. So drop it."
Somehow, her anger seemed to surge, "You think you can just bark out a command and I'll shut up? Despite what you thought you did today, I'm never just going to fall in line to whatever idiotic commands you sprew out." She quickly flicked at Ryuji, "I'm not a tool."
Ryuji seemingly missed her not-so-subtle comment as Akira scoffed, "You're not a tool but you still, stilllet Kobayakawa boss you around like you're just a toy." She rolled her eyes at the mention of being a toy again as he went on, "You think you're doing the right thing, but all you're really doing is adhering to broken systems. Broken ideals, corrupt bastards, and useless prancing around as if you're actually attempting to do shit. The park clean-up? The renewed sense of focus on the athletic clubs to reach finals? The push for academics? Hell, even the battle tomorrow? You don't care. None of you care, and I think deep down you know it. And that's why I infuriate you so much. You're a fraud."
She chuckled, "You? Yes, I feel a sense of jealousy from a little boy who cries at every little thing. Who concocts little plans with his minions who will never tell him that he's in the wrong. Who becomes enveloped in a rage anytime anyone goes against him. You're just a bully. A dictator." Her chuckle became menacing as she pointed at the room at large, "You did all of this, and for what? Sheet music that could just as easily be loaned? Discarded projects that were given away with kindness?"
The implication of Wakaba giving away her work filled Akira with a wave of irrational anger as he slammed his hand onto the desk, "Wakaba…Wakaba would never give up any of her precious music to…some fraud like Madarame. She would've rather die." There was silence as they stared into each other's eyes. Akira's irate emotions took a hold of him as he pushed for another hurtful statement, "You're jealous of me because I'm free."
Makoto seemed to freeze as she struggled to come up with a response, but by the time she was able to come up with one, Ryuji finally spoke up. Frustrated at their back and forth, reaching a limit on how much angst-filled torture he could subject himself to, "Enough! Goddamn it! Can the two of you shut the 'eff up!?"
Akira eyed him with confusion, "Dud–"
"No! The both of you gotta shut the hell up!" He pointed at Makoto, "Prez, I don't give a shit how you feel, but even you have to admit all of this is shady!"
She spat out a response, one filled with irritation, "Do you two idiots numbskulls think I haven't picked up on it? Why do you think I agreed to talk to Kit–"
Akira snickered, "She was just going to wait like she always do—"
Ryuji cut him off, "Shut up man." He turned back to Makoto, as Akira looked at him bewildered, "You saw how Yusuke was when you walked in yeah?" She nodded, "I don't care how you view it, but there's no way you can see that and immediately not want to fix this. Especially when you know what the cause is!" He bounced his eyes between the two of them, "Sometimes, maybe Akira's right. Sometimes, maybe you're right. But right now?" He picked up the tape recorder along with the sheet music, "Put that shit aside so we can do somethin' before shit gets wors–"
"Come on, Yui. Retiring? That's idiotic!"
"It's really the only thing I feel I can do."
"It's because of your son, isn't it? The power of brats, huh?"
"You just don't get it, Ichiryusai. Hopefully, one day you can. Having a child…its something else. Raising a child…it comes first. Music just…isn't for me anymore."
"How can you say that after that beautiful thing you just sung? What was the name? Sayuri?"
"Sayuri is…the working title. I was thinking of naming it after Yusuke, honestly. If I even finish it. I've been using it as a bedtime song for him, actually."
Madarame could be heard snorting, "See! It's not even finished and it's a beautiful piece! Something that would become an instant hit! And you want to throw away that fame…our big break for a child?"
"So be it. You don't need me to have a breakthrough, Madarame."
"...then, could you simply let us—no, let me finish Sayuri?"
"If…If I said it's for my son, why would I let you take it? I know you want to be–"
"What do you even know, Yui?! I thought you were smarter than this! If you breach your contact with STR, they'll—"
"Nothing's going to happen. And I'm going to retire. That's final."
"It's…its not."
The tape stopped, leaving the three teenagers with a sense of disbelief. Akira and Ryuji found their hard evidence. They just needed to wait for their third party.
Ryuji placed the tape recorder down, surely shaken to the core by the implications, but sure enough, he found it within himself to speak, "Is that enough for you to put aside this bullshit, Prez?"
Makoto gritted her teeth as a shaky voice slid from her lips, "What…"
Akira sighed, "If you want to be useful, try to help us find anything on a Bael person inside of here. They're just as bad as Madarame…if not worse."
Ryuji looked at Akira, a little irritated at his provoking words but nevertheless assisted with looking for a mention of Bael in the piles and piles of documents in the room. Makoto on the other hand? She kept aimlessly gazing at the tape recorder. Proof that yet again…Akira was right.
His methods were—in the end—right.
Despite all of her moral posturing.
She was wrong, and the Delinquents of Shujin Academy were right.
It was infuriating.
She gritted her teeth once again as she regrettably went through the desk's drawers, the ones that Akira didn't open besides the first.
With the final drawer, she opened it to discover a card. The front side was purely black except for an oval shape of white in the center. In English, the word 'BAEL' was aligned in a strange way.
Makoto flipped the card, revealing a golden castle with two golden tusk-like structures coming from the roof.
There was a tinge of conflict in Makoto's being. Perhaps she should just give the card to the boys. Completely giving into the way of Akira Kurusu despite her entire tirade against him mere moments before.
Submitting to him.
Being no better than Ryuji Sakamoto.
Being weak like her father.
With the thought of her father, the conflict was snuffed out as she pocketed the card before being startled by a knock on the doorframe.
Though the shock was only multiplied by the appearance of Hifumi Togo.
The seasoned detective sighed as she looked at the rag-tag group, "What the hell are you kids doing?"
The appearance of Hifumi Togo wasn't something foreseen by either parties as they shared a collective confusion. Apparently, Sae had asked her cousin to have a police detail around the Madarame residence if anything were to ever happen, a rare favor as she put it which meant it was crucial for Hifumi to do so.
With that being said, she asked her trusted colleague, Uyama Hiroto, to keep watch and call her if anything suspicious ever happened. Course, he saw Makoto appear there and instantly called the detective to the shack.
Upon Hifumi's arrival, the kids were quiet, especially Akira and Ryuji as the tension of their first meeting was still rampant between them. Plus, the fear of potentially getting arrested for this as well was suffocating.
After enough questioning, Hifumi learned about the evidence they had acquired, getting an explanation of everything surrounding Madarame as she listened to the conversation between Yui Kitagawa and Ichiryusai Madarame.
The room was silent and without further explanation, she simply told the group to leave and go back home, stating she would deal with this and figure out what to do about Yusuke.
Throughout this entire interaction, Makoto wasn't acknowledged by her cousin at all.
Due to Hifumi's insistence, the Delinquents of Shujin Academy instantly went home, meeting up with Ann and Morgana at the apartment where they had elected to not tell the former about the great big red flag that manifested in the form of Hifumi Togo.
Just in case.
That idea of a worst-case scenario did cause Ryuji to panic-text Ohya, a hope that if the worst were to happen, he would be able to spend it with his girlfriend.
Sadly, she wasn't responding, which only served to ruin his mood even more.
The sullen energy of Ryuji wasn't missed by anyone as Ann slipped beside him at the countertop, hoping to lighten either of their moods, "Seems like someone is finally exhibiting the normal signs when their girlfriend is ignoring them."
Ryuji took a sip from his root beer as he groaned, "It's been an annoyin' two hours Ann…I don't got time for this…"
She nudged him gently in the ribs, "Humor's the Sakamoto way? Right?"
"A way that 'effin sucks at the moment."
Ann sighed, taking his phone from his hands and gently placing it face down on the counter. She softly grasped his hand, garnering his full attention, "Ryuji, what's wrong? I know it isn't just Ohya. You've been…weird ever since you guys got back."
Ryuji's eyes darkened, "Nah…nothin' new, same old, same old."
Ann knew he was lying but didn't want to push.
He would say something when the time was right, as always.
Or when she got frustrated and decided to beat it out of him.
As she kept trying–and partially succeeding—to cheer Ryuji up, Akira heard a knock on the door, something that briefly brought hope to Ryuji as he zoomed from the countertop to the door in seconds. Ripping it open, a massive smile formed on his face, "It took you foreve–"
It wasn't Ohya of course, but instead, the beautifully flat face of one Hifumi Togo, although this time she had a quant smile on her face, "Hello, Sakamoto-san."
As expected, Mona, Ryuji, and Akira all froze, while Ann had a perplexed expression, "Togo-san?"
Hifumi smiled in Ann's direction, smiling as she gave her a wave, "Hi, Takamaki-san. It's good to see you. How are you?"
To say Ann was confused by this entire interaction was an understatement, "I've been fine…thanks to you, but why are you here…?"
"Ah, I simply wanted to talk to Kurusu-san. Alone." She looked at the raven-haired boy on the sofa, "Mind stepping outside with me?"
Depressingly, he proceeded accordingly. After all, there's not too much a teenager could do against a detective.
The second the door closed, she chuckled, "At first, after our interview at Shujin, I just thought of you as a delinquent who got lucky enough to get revenge on some pervert who did you wrong. But today happened, and now you managed to come across evidence to put Ichiryusai behind bars, someone I must stress…doesn't have any connection to you." She paused for a beat, "Your group of friends and your…eccentricity are interesting," She directed her gaze to Akira, "which leads me back to you, Akira Kurusu."
"H-Huh?"
She pushed forward, getting in his face, "I did my research on you, you know? After Sae called me and our little interview, I dug deep. After all, who was this teenager that threatened me? Not that hard to keep things a secret from a detective. After a few…length calls and cashed favors with my contacts in Kyoto…I got my answers. Apparently, you Kurusus forced yourselves onto a woman? You physically assaulted a teacher?"
Akira felt his throat go dry.
He felt violated.
Naked.
"H–"
"And yet, here you are in Tokyo…having unofficially 'helped' taking down a pedophile and a fraudulent musical artist. Good acts for sure, yet they're laced with such dark methods. From 'letting' yourself into places, having things appear within your hands, masterminding elaborate plans with your friends, and threats…" She placed a finger on his chest, "You are an enigma. An enigma that keeps getting my cousin involved. An enigma that has threatened me with her."
Remembering his one piece of leverage, Akira stood a bit straighter, "I…I don't know what you want, but if you try to come after any of my friends I swear I'll scream about Niijima-senpai at the top of my lun–"
Hifumi chuckled, "Oh Kurusu-san, I must admit, you have a really good poker face, but you're shit at seeming menacing if you don't have the power in a conversation."
Oh crap.
"Aw crap."
She pulled back, leaning against the wall with a faint smile on her face, "You really are one lucky ass kid. Trying to use that on me when I could bring up your assault which is strangely not on your record? Or how I could charge you and your little friends with tampering Kamoshida's case? Or even trespassing on Madarame's property." She saw the energy leaving Akira as he non-verbally admitted defeat. A smirk formed on her face, "Good, I see you're willing to listen." She tapped him on the shoulder, "I don't think you're a bad kid. I just think you've been granted shitty cards by fate or whatever. So, I'll let you and the rest of your friends off the hook for the moment. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you run free and deal out whatever form of reckless justice you see fit." She chuckled, "I'll be checking in to make sure you're actually being a productive student and a good little boy. Am I understood?"
Akira muttered out a grunt of agreement, as Hifumi formed a smile as she patted them on the shoulders, turning around toward the elevator before pausing, "Oh! And that reminds me…if you ever try something like this again…or even involve or force Makoto into your little plots?" She gave an unnerving and chilling smile at the teen, "I'll ruin your life and everyone you love as well." She respectively gave a bow as she stepped inside of the elevator, with a young unassuming reporter in the steel box beside her as well.
Akira stood frozen as he aimlessly stared down the hall.
Stepping back into the apartment unleashed a multitude of serious stares onto the teenage rouge, Ryuji being the first to speak, "Dude, you okay? You look like you've seen the Holy Ghost…"
Mona peered at his brother nervously, "Seriously, you okay?" He perked up off the couch, "Don't tell me that detective chick–"
Akira waved a hand to calm their nerves as he returned to his spot, "No, no nothing happened. Hifumi was just…" He looked at the three of them…his gaze lingering for a time as her words bounced around, "she was just telling me to be a good kid now. Nothing serious. Just trying to uh…look out for us."
Mona peeved an eye as if he could tell his brother was lying but didn't push.
Not right here…not right now. He thought.
Akira slumped onto the couch as the hangout continued, Ann still trying to cheer up Ryuji–and seemingly doing a good job at it.
After it got relatively late, Ryuji decided to escort Ann to the train station. Leaving the Kurusu brothers to their own devices.
Akira's mind kept mulling over Hifumi's words, a form of terror hitting him until he thought about her final words.
I should be a normal…delinquent.
Yeah.
I guess that means I can't ignore Haru's words anymore, huh?
Madarame's officially not an excuse anymore.
Right, turn this into some good...I think.
Akira: Hey, Haru?
Elite Milk: Hm?
Akira: Do you want to grab something to eat tomorrow after the BOTBs?
Elite Milk: I'd love to.
Right.
Baby steps and a normal existence.
Yeah.
Morgana stepped in front of his brother, "So…what actually happened outside? I can understand not telling Ryuji or Ann…but come on, we've been down this road before."
Akira peered up at him, guilt rich in his eyes. He paused for a moment before trying to open his mouth. Even then, they wouldn't come out. The words couldn'tcome out.
I…
"H-Hifumi…knows about Kyoto…somehow."
Morgana faltered, his eyes laced with sheer dread.
As always, the mention of that awful place filled him with sheer fear.
And Akira hated to see that.
Before Morgana could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
Akira was greeted by the sight of blue hair and red eyes, "Y-Yusuke? How did you even–"
There was a faint quiver in his voice, "Hifumi Togo told me to come here if I needed to…do um…do you mind if I stay here for the night?"
Akira paused for a second, looking at his brother behind him, his expression grim from the news and Yusuke's appearance, "Considering I'm the cause for this…? Of course. Sleep wherever you want for how long you want."