Monday, 5/2

Ren woke up in the morning believing that the previous night had been a dream. When he realized it wasn't, his anger towards Makoto resurfaced.

She doubted me this whole time. Rather than talk to me, she just left. Unbelievable.

He got ready for school and left his apartment.

When he got to Shujin, Ryuji was waiting for him at the gate.

"How ya doing, man? Last night must've been tough."

More than you know.

"I'm fine. I gotta talk to Makoto." Ren said.

"Good luck finding her. Apparently we got an assembly to start the day."

What for? Oh. It's probably Kamoshida.

"We should probably get going then."

"Agreed." Ryuji said as the two went into the school.

They joined a large group of students that was walking towards the gym. The crowd became nervous around Ren, and he got the message. He slowed his walk, and Ryuji did as well.

When the reached the gym, they found that most of the student body was already there. Principal Kobayakawa stood on stage, reviewing notes on his podium. Ren and Ryuji took their places in the crowd. Ren saw Makoto standing at the side of the stage with several teachers. She looked unfazed.

I should send her a text.

Ren Amamiya:

-Hey. We need to talk.

Ren looked up at Makoto. He saw her check her phone and put it away.

A for effort? Whatever. It'll be better to catch her off guard anyway.

Kobayakawa began his announcement.

"Students of Shujin Academy, I am here today to announce the resignation of Suguru Kamoshida."

The students all gasped. He heard a few whispers after the gasp.

"Kamoshida-sensei is leaving?"

"Why? He was great."

"I know! He made everyone around him better."

Pieces of shit. Excusing abuse just so they get can letters of recommendation.

Ren chided himself for getting so worked up over students who didn't know what he knew. When the buzz of the crowd settled, Kobayakawa continued.

"He is resigning after being taken into police custody. Through his arrest, we have been made aware of his abuse of the student body."

Ren heard more whispers.

"The police arrested him for the abuse? Fucking snitches, man."

"I know. They took our future from us. Who do you think it was?"

"Probably that Niijima bitch. I saw her running out of Kamoshida's office crying."

Ok, time to die.

Ren turned to who was whispering. They were members of the boys volleyball team, and had the height advantage over Ren.

Nevermind. I'll do something about it later.

Ren turned back around. The whispering continued.

"You think we should get her back for it?"

"Definitely. It's about time someone taught that bitch a lesson."

Ren knew he was innocent of assault, but he was certainly willing to change that at the moment.

Probably shouldn't attack them right now. Murder is a kinda a buzz kill at a a school assembly.

Kobayakawa resumed his speech.

"We apologize for his actions. He will never be seen at or near Shujin again. We have enlisted a counselor if any of you would like to discuss your issues with Kamoshida, or your problems in general. With that, allow me to welcome said counselor."

With that, a middle aged man with messy, short, brown hair stepped up to the podium. He wore glasses and a lab coat. Kobayakawa moved out of the way so that the counselor could speak.

"Hello, everyone." He waved. "My name is Takuto Maruki."

Silence from the students.

"I'll be your counselor from now until December. Please feel free to come to me in the nurse's office if you have any problems. Or if you would just like to talk, in general." He nervously laughed.

The silence continued.

"We have snacks." An even more nervous laugh came and went.

Maruki looked like he didn't know what to do, and the awkwardness of the situation seemed to be dawning on him. He attempted a bow, but ended up hitting his head on the microphone. This cut the silence. A few student giggles, and a few positive whispers ensued.

"The new counselor is… kinda hot."

"I know, right? I'm totally gonna go see him!"

Maruki stepped away from the mic and went towards the side of the stage, next to Makoto. Kobayakawa took his place at the podium.

"We thank you all, the students, for your dedication to Shujin Academy. This concludes today's assembly. Please return to class."

The crowd immediately began to disperse. Ren and Ryuji had a difficult time getting out of the gym, so they just decided to move out of the way and let everyone else out.

"Whatta load of bullshit. As if we need counseling now, after Kamoshida's been arrested. It's ridiculous." Ryuji said.

Please don't have a fit of rage at school in front of everyone.

"It makes sense. Shujin's reputation will be taking a hit if there's any media coverage." Ren said. As he was speaking, Ryuji looked at Ren, his eyes getting wider.

He agrees with what I'm saying. I must've prevented an incident of Ryuji Rage. I should keep talking.

"I mean, Maruki is really just a bandage for Shujin. They're just slapping him on until everything blows over."

Ryuji was shaking his head intensely at Ren.

I thought he agreed with what I was saying. I wonder what changed.

"Greetings, Amamiya-kun, Sakamoto-kun." A voice said from behind Ren.

Isn't that the new counselor? Oh... fuck.

Ren turned around and nervously chuckled. Ryuji noticed, and covered for him.

"Wassup, Doc?"

"Doc, huh? Call me whatever you like. I trust you'll be coming to the nurse's office?"

It was Ryuji's turn to be nervous.

"Uh… Why would I do that? Have I been bad?" He said.

"No, but you did have a history with Kamoshida from what I hear. After all, the school brought me here because of Kamoshida."

Ryuji seemed to calm down.

"Oh. My bad. I thought you had somethin' important to talk to me about."

Maruki looked genuinely hurt.

"I guess not. It's more like what you want to talk to me about. I guess I'll be leaving then."

Maruki turning his back from the two made Ren feel bad. He didn't know why.

I'm just a mix of emotions today, aren't I? Angry at Makoto, angry at the volleyball team, and now I'm sympathetic for a bandage. I'm also curious at why the bandage knew my name.

"Excuse me, Doctor Maruki?" Maruki turned back. "How did you know my name? I have no history with Kamoshida."

"Forgive me Amamiya-kun, but your file was the first one that the school passed on to me. I read through your file, and nothing there seems to fit the 'Delinquent' label that's been placed on you. Please come see me if you ever need to talk about it."

Ren wasn't sure if he wanted to do that. Disclosing info about his life to people in Tokyo had only happened in exchange for something. Advice from Takemi, a job from Sojiro, technically even a person to play games with from Alibaba.

I didn't actually tell Alibaba my name. That was weird. I should ask him about it. And that thing with his mom, too.

Maruki noticed the hesitation on Ren's face, and added something to sweeten the deal.

"There're snacks."

Fuck it. I could use another person to sap my time. And I get snacks out of it. Ten out of ten. Great deal.

"Can I come after school today?"

"Whenever you would like, Amamiya-kun. You too, Sakamoto-kun." Maruki said as he gave them a smile and took his leave.

That guy is pretty nice. Almost as nice as whatever the male version of Haru would be like.

"You're actually gonna go?!" Ryuji was very surprised.

"He has snacks." Ren shrugged.

He noticed that the crowd had finally gotten out the door. He and Ryuji both went back to class.

The school day had been the same as ever for Ren. What had changed it was Makoto. Or, to be specific, Ren's thoughts about Makoto. She lingered on his mind for every class of the day. Except Kawakami's class. Kawakami was the one doing the lingering then.

Makoto had shown herself to be distrustful of Ren. She had quite literally walked out when he needed her most.

I guess it wasn't when I need her most, and more that I need her thereto hear my explanation.

Conflict had taken place during "The Great Lingering of the Niijima," as Ren had mentally dubbed it.

Can I really fault her for leaving? I never told her why I have the assault on my record. That leaves her free to make whatever assumptions she wants. But she chose to make those assumptions rather than asking. That's a huge fucking problem. She could've just asked. Or, did she not trust me enough to ask? I did joke around with her to much, to the point that 'Looking cool, Joker,' was necessary. But come on. It's stupid to not just ask "Hey Ren. Why specifically are you in Tokyo?" Even Ryuji did it. Maybe Makoto's not worth my time if she fails to do that. I guess Haru and Ann never asked. I've spent much less time with them, though. And I was actively flirting with Makoto. She definitely should'veasked. I need to stop this. It's unhealthy. I should just try and move on.

Ren thought back to Makoto checking her phone and not replying to his text. He felt a pang in his stomach.

She obviously wants nothing to do with me.

When classes had finally ended, he began the journey towards the nurses office. He made the conscious decision to hide his, what he thought, concluded conflict from Maruki. He reached the nurses office, and entered.

The room was simple. There were hospital beds in the back for students, and a desk for the nurse. There was a chair and a couch placed around a light brown coffee table. Maruki sat in the chair.

"Weclome, Amamiya-kun. Snack?" Maruki said as he held out a bowl of chocolates.

Ren took one. He unwrapped it and ate it as he sat down.

"What would you like to talk about today, Amamiya-kun? It can be anything you like."

While Ren thought that he was done going back in forth with himself about Makoto, he still found her on his mind.

But I don't want to talk to Maruki about that. Not yet. Maybe if things go well today, and if Makoto's still in my life, I'll talk to him about it another time.

"Maruki-san, this is kinda coming out of nowhere, but how does one solve conflict within themselves? Is it even possible?"

"I don't mind that it's out of nowhere. It's a great question. It's also a difficult one. Before I give my answer, I would like to hear yours."

I mean, I asked you. But fine. I'll talk.

"I'm pretty conflicted about something right now. I don't know what to do. Whenever I think that I've settled things, the conflict always comes back. It's like it can't go away without something else. Or someone else. I mean, like, an external force. I just feel like I'm going in circles."

Maruki raised his hand to his face, and had a very focused facial expression.

"An external force? Do you feel as if you need someone else to go in and just… solve the conflict?"

Ren pondered the question.

I've gotten nowhere on my own. Then again, it hasn't even been 24 hours since Makoto walked out. Maybe I should give it time. Even if I'm conflicted about my relationship with her in the long run, I should still talk to her. But if I do fix things, where do I go from there? I've got plenty of time to figure things out. I don't think I need someone else's help.

"I guess not. The conflict hasn't been around for long. And it's probably important for me to figure things out on my own."

Maruki made a questioning face, but quickly changed it back to a neutral yet thoughtful expression.

"Conflict resides within all of us. Some are more conflicted than others. When a stronger conflict goes unsolved, it eats away at the person, and things get bad. Look at Kamoshida."

I don't think Kamoshida was conflicted. He's just a piece of shit.

"I don't see your point." Ren said.

"Forgive me for not elaborating. Kamoshida abused students, yes, but he still made the efforts to hide his actions. He knew they were bad. If he wasn't conflicted about it, he wouldn't have tried to disguise his actions. Don't misinterpret this as me defending Kamoshida. He is a deplorable human being. My point is that when conflict goes unsolved, bad things happen. So, Amamiya-kun. Do you want to leave your conflict to fester?"

I disagree about Kamoshida. He only hid his actions because he wanted to keep abusing students. Despite that, Maruki's ideas are interesting. There definitely was conflict of some kind within Kamoshida, and that only worsened things. But I don't think that my conflict is anything like his. I just don't know what to think about Makoto.

"I don't think that it's that kind of conflict, Maruki-san."

"Any conflict is that kind of conflict. I can solve it, if you would like." Maruki said, leaning forward in his chair giving Ren a smile.

There's something unnerving about how he said that.

"Uh, how would you do that?"

"Just come here and speak with me more often." Maruki said with a chuckle.

Oh.

"I think I'll do that. Thank you for your time, Doctor Maruki."

"Thank you for yours, Amamiya-kun. I enjoyed our conversation. I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

After thinking about their conversation, Ren agreed with that sentiment.

"Me too. See you."

Ren had rushed back to his apartment and emptied his bag. He then filled it with Junpei's alcohol and was ready to sell it. He had to do it soon because he had work at Leblanc that night. He made his way to Central Street, and immediately regretted going there during the day.

Ren, you're a fucking idiot. You're a teenager carrying a bag of alcohol down the busiest street in Shibuya.

Ren was already there, and he wouldn't have time to go back to his apartment and then go to work, so he decided to carry on. He had trouble finding Untouchable until he stepped into a shady alley.

Figures. Shops that buy alcohol from teenagers wouldn't be front and square.

He walked down the alleyway to the entrance of Untouchable. The logo sat atop an awning. Both were green. Ren entered the door. He was shocked at what was inside. Model weapons lined the walls. Everything from grenade launchers to whips. Untouchable had it all. The store was empty besides the owner sitting behind the counter reading a magazine. His gray sideburns wrapped around the side of his face but were cut off by a gray hat. He had gecko tattoo on his neck.

This must be Iwai. That tattoo… shit. Is this guy Yakuza?

Ren's doubt inspired him to stare more at Iwai.

Iwai wore a gray coat over a black turtleneck. He also had jeans. Over his gray hat were ear defenders.

The hell does he need those for?

Iwai looked up from his magazine.

"Welcome to Untouchable. What can I get for you?"

Ren apparently wasn't able to speak fast enough, so Iwai did for him.

"There's no kids menu. If you're just here to stare, get the hell out."

Ren approached the counter, unzipping his bag. Iwai backed away from the counter.

"Kid, think about what you're doing before you pull whatever it is out of that bag."

Ren stopped unzipping his bag.

I don't know this guy. Junpei suggested him. Those are two big red flags. But I need to get rid of this alcohol.

He continued unzipping the bag.

"I, uh, got something to sell."

"Oh yeah?" Iwai looked Ren in the eye.

"Yeah." Ren placed the bag on the counter, fully opened for Iwai to look inside.

Iwai peeked through the opening. He laughed.

"You some sort of idiot?"

I gotta get to Leblanc. Maybe I can speed this up. Ren, you have to be confident.

"No. How much are you willing to give me?"

"¥1."

It was Ren's turn to throw out an insult.

"Are you some sort of idiot?"

"No. An idiot would give you an actual price. It's obvious that you need to sell this. You wouldn't have come to the shady model weapons store if you didn't. Take the deal, or get out."

He's smarter than he looks.

"Fine."

Iwai handed Ren the nearly worthless coin, and then emptied the bag. After he was done, he handed it back to Ren. Ren went to leave, but Iwai's voice stopped him.

"Hey kid." Ren turned back towards Iwai. "Why you got all this alcohol anyway?"

I don't have time to tell him the story. I need to catch him off guard and leave. Better use ol' reliable.

"I'm a dad." Ren said as he turned to leave, but Iwai's voice halted him again.

"A dad, huh?"

Oh no. He wasn't caught off guard. I've only piqued his interest.

Ren slowly turned around, nervously eyeing Iwai.

"You must be pretty good with children." Iwai turned his head to the door to the back of the store. "Kaoru! Get out here."

A boy only who looked like he was in middle school came out. He had glasses, and short black hair. He reminded Ren of himself. Kaoru wore a dark blue vest over a long sleeve collared shirt. He had black jeans on.

"Yes?" Kaoru said, standing next to Iwai.

I got a bad feeling about this.

"I got business tonight. Meet your babysitter."

Babysitter my ass. I have work.

"Uh, sorry Iwai, but I got a job to get to."

"Your job is to babysit Iwai." Iwai said.

"Uh, no. I have an actual job."

"Too bad. Take Kaoru with you. Think of it as a favor for me taking those valuables off your hands."

Fuck.

Ren turned to Kaoru.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ren Amamiya." Ren said begrudgingly.

"Skip that shit. Kaoru, call Ren by his first name. Ren, you do the same."

"Nice to meet you too, Ren."

"Alright, come on Kaoru. I gotta get to work."

Kaoru nodded, and stepped out from behind the counter.

"Bring 'em back here at 9:00 pm. No later."

Ren gave Iwai an ungrateful smile, and took Kaoru out of the store.

I fucked up. 'I'm a dad' fucked up. Maybe it's time to retire it.

Ren remembered how much he loved the look on Makoto's face when he had said it.

Maybe not.

He began the journey to Leblanc with Kaoru.

When Ren had walked through the door of Leblanc with Kaoru at his side, Sojiro gave him a questioning look.

"Don't ask." Ren said.

Sojiro just shrugged and went back to work. Ren pointed at a booth, and Kaoru got the idea. He went and sat down. Ren went behind the counter and put on his apron. Sojiro spoke to him in a hushed voice.

"Get the kid some curry."

While Ren had mainly spent his time at Leblanc trying to perfect his coffee making skills, he had also picked up on Sojiro's curry recipe. He had attempted it for himself only a few times, and wasn't too confident in his ability.

Iwai will probably shoot me, stab me, and suffocate me if I poison his… son? Is Kaoru his son? Iwai never mentioned it. Huh. Not my problem though. I'd really prefer not having anything to do with Iwai.

Ren put in his best effort to make curry that surpassed whatever he had done in the past. He tried a bite, and knew he had succeeded. But that didn't mean it was great. It was just decent. He took the curry over to the booth that Kaoru was sitting in. Before he set the curry down, he noticed that Kaoru was literally doing nothing. Just sitting and staring down at the table.

"Here's your curry, Kaoru." Ren said as he set the plate down. "Do you not have anything to do?"

"No." Kaoru said. He was obviously shy.

Iwai will probably also kill me for letting Kaoru get bored.

"You wanna use my phone?"

That made Kaoru look up.

"You got games on your phone?"

"Uh… maybe one or two. You can just surf the internet if you want. But don't mess around with anything else."

Kaoru nodded as Ren handed him the phone.

I'm giving my phone to a kid that I'm babysitting for a potential Yakuza member who bought my alcohol for ¥1.

Ren went back behind the counter to talk to Sojiro. Sojiro honored Ren's request to not ask about Kaoru, and brought up the next worse thing.

"So how're things going with that girl you brought here?"

This day has been a disaster for me. Except Maruki. That was interesting.

"They're definitely going."

"You sound like someone who didn't get the girl." Sojiro inferred.

"Bingo."

"Take a seat at the bar, Ren. Lemme make you some coffee."

Ren took off his apron and walked back around the counter. He took a seat.

"It may not look like it, but I was like you at one point."

Ren looked up and smiled at Sojiro for trying to comfort him..

"Ugly, dumb, unfunny… I had it all."

Ren's smile dropped.

Fucking Sojiro. I love the guy, but damn is he annoying sometimes. I just want my coffee and to take Kaoru back to Untouchable.

"Thanks, Sojiro. Great advice."

"I haven't given you that great advice yet. Anyway, I was like you. Things weren't going the way I wanted with a girl that I liked. So you know what I did?"

Made them some goddam coffee, that's what!

"What?"

"I moved on. Simple as that. Plenty of women in the world. It's rude to the others for me to be stuck on one. Better to just find someone else than wallow in your feelings." Sojiro said.

That's the worst piece of advice I've ever heard. But that last bit has me thinking. It's bad to just focus on the bad things that are happening, it's best to just find something to distract you from it. I need something to distract me from Makoto. School failed at that, as seen today. Maybe gardening would help. I should text Haru to go to Shujin during Golden Week.

"Thanks, Sojiro. You have the best advice." Ren tried to make his sarcasm obvious.

"I know, Ren." Sojiro didn't notice.

Sojiro handed Ren his coffee. Ren sat at the bar, sipping his coffee, and absorbing the atmosphere of Leblanc.

Golden Week's gotta be crazy. I gotta stay busy to distract myself. I guess I already am busy. Club Day is coming up. We probably have to bring our shit to the school during Golden Week. I'll have to text everyone about that. I should also try to hang out with Ryuji. It's been a while. Maybe I could visit Tae as well, but no guarantees. I'm already pretty busy.

Ren finished his coffee. That was when Kaoru spoke up.

"Hey Ren, who's Makoto?"

Ren turned around to look at Kaoru in the booth.

Did I hear that right? Yeah. Of course I did. I have perfect hearing. It's none of his business.

"It's your school teacher." Ren said sarcastically.

"Well my school teacher wanted to let you know that she won't be attending any club meetings. Whatever that means…"

"No more phone for you." Ren said as he got off of his stool at the bar and snatched the phone. If Kaoru was upset, he didn't say anything. Ren went behind the counter after Sojiro motioned him behind it.

"You think you're being too harsh on the kid?"

"Nope." Ren answered without hesitation.

"If you say so. Clean up the store and then you can leave for the night."

Ren got to work his chores. He started with cleaning his and Kaoru's dishes, and then moved on to sweeping the floor. Once he had finished, Sojiro motioned for him to leave. Ren took Kaoru and left Leblanc.

"So you work there?" Kaoru said as they exited.

"Yep."

"Seems kinda lame."

"Thank you for your opinion, Kaoru."

"You're kinda a douche, Ren. You know that?"

Listen here you little shit, I haven't had the best few days, so if you could shut your mouth so I can take you back to your Yakuza dad, it would be greatly appreciated.

"Yep." Ren said instead.

Kaoru said nothing to that. The two began making their way to the subway station. Once they had gotten on the subway, not a single word was exchanged. They got back to Shibuya and to Untouchable in the same fashion. Ren entered to find Iwai behind the counter.

Kaoru immediately went to the back room. Iwai looked at Ren.

"Looks like you two had fun."

"Yep." Ren said as he turned to leave.

"Hold it. We'll be working together in the future. Gimme your phone number."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you just sold alcohol. As a minor." Iwai said, leaning forward.

My turn to have the advantage.

"You think the cops are gonna listen to Yakuza?"

Iwai laughed.

"You're an idiot. A smart idiot, but still an idiot. Tell you what, I'll pay you to work for me."

"No deal. I already got a job."

"Maybe you're not an idiot. Eh. I don't care. Go outta here."

There was no way that Ren would protest that command. He left Untouchable.

That couldn't have gone any more poorly if I had tried. I have had really shitty luck since Sunday night. Maybe I should see a fortune teller… Nah. Those are bullshit. Everyone knows that.

Ren went back to his apartment for the night.

Life had been tough for Makoto since she left Ren's house. Sae hadn't been home to comfort Makoto, although that was for the best considering why Makoto had to be comforted.

Sae told me to stop spending time with Ren. If she knew that I went to his apartment, she would never let me leave. Even for school, She thought.

Besides the lack of Sae, Makoto had been going back and forth with herself since she closed Ren's apartment door. Every time a positive thought of Ren bubbled up from the depths, it was crushed by doubts and suspicion.

The conflict within Makoto was more of a full on war. "Ren's a criminal," and "Ren is your friend," constantly fought. Only one thing would make them stop. It was a question that both sides were asking.

"Why is he in Tokyo? How did he get his criminal record?" She asked herself aloud several times on Monday. She got a few dirty looks from her classmates, but she didn't notice.

Nothing could stop the battle except for the question. The problem with that is that the question would only lead to more battles. Makoto had considered seeing the new counselor at Shujin, but had decided against it.

Telling someone who's affiliated with the school that Ren has alcohol in his possession would send him straight to juvenile hall. Then again, I'm affiliated with the school, She thought.

Not replying to his message during the assembly was not something that she wanted to do. She just didn't know what to say. Or if she could say anything at all.

Texting Ren had also been difficult. She knew that she had to do it, out of respect for the rest of the club members. But she struggled with it anyway. The only way she was able to finally send it was by accidentally pressing the button. She tried to distract herself from Ren after that.

Even when she sat down at her desk to study that night, the battle did not cease. The thing that had calmed her down since she was a kid didn't was when she knew she needed to take action. On her own.

I don't know the answer to the question. I can't ask Ren. I just can't face him right now. I know what I need to do, She thought before speaking aloud to herself.

"I need to follow Ren Amamiya."

A/N: Some of you may have noticed that the rating changed. I refreshed myself on the ratings for this site, and I now believe that T doesn't suit this fic. However, the M rating does not mean that the content will become more adult. It will continue on the level that it's been at. Thanks for reading.