Sunday, 8/14
"I like your attitude!"
"And I hate your dialogue," Ren muttered as he tried to have at least a little fun playing a game on his Switch before Makoto arrived. Unfortunately, the game he chose turned out to not be very good, and it had annoying characters and combat dialogue to boot. Lucky Ren.
Unbelievable that this game got solid reviews. This shit is garbage. I mean, just look at the main character. Why the fuck does he dress like that, and why can't I customize his outfit? What a waste of time, and Makoto's going to kick the door down any moment to make our breakup official. Oh well. At least I got to see some anime t-
Someone, who Ren assumed to be Makoto, knocked on the door to Ren's apartment. In a moment of bittersweet consideration, Ren turned off the god-awful game to invite his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend into his apartment.
Wonder why she's breaking up with me. Maybe I didn't take her out to dinner enough. Hard to do that when I'm making barely enough money to feed myself and a cat, but it is what it is.
Ren got up from the couch and walked over to the door.
She's probably not even here to break up with me. I'm sure she just wants to talk about Haru, or Sae, or whatever problem of the week that we have.
Ren opened the door to a surprise. Makoto looked quite a bit more enthusiastic than Ren expected and actually looked happy to see him. "Hi, Ren," she said, a glowing smile lighting up her face. Ren nearly fainted.
"Come on in," he said as he moved to the side of the doorway. As she walked in, he closed the door behind her. "Can I offer you a drink? Perhaps a glass of tap water? Or how about some spinal fluid?"
"Water's fine, thanks," Makoto said. Without hesitation, she went towards the couch in the living area. If anything, it reminded Ren that Makoto had a purpose in coming to his apartment.
Well, she looks a bit too friendly for a breakup, so now I'm truly lost on why she's here. If she wanted to just hang out, she would've just asked to hang out.
Ren filled two glasses of water at the kitchen sink, bringing them over to the living area as soon as he finished. He sat on the couch next to Makoto while setting the glasses down on the wooden coffee table. Junpei didn't own coasters, but Ren couldn't care less.
Fuck your table, it's getting water stains on it.
"So, Ren, there're a few things I wanted to talk about," Makoto began, alluding to more on the conversational horizon.
I gathered that after reading your cryptic text message, Makoto.
Ren just nodded for his girlfriend to keep speaking. "First," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, "is about your status for the second-year trip to Hawaii." She unfolded the paper on the coffee table as she leaned forward from the couch so she could look over the paper carefully. Ren matched her posture.
"Uh… what?" Ren didn't know he had a status for the trip. He just assumed that he was going.
In hindsight, it was kinda dumb to assume that, but at least I'm not being blindsided by showing up to the airport only to get left behind. That would suck.
"You never submitted the required paperwork for you to be eligible to go on the trip," Makoto explained. "I figured I'd bring it over to remind you. The deadline is coming in two weeks, so you want to do this now rather than later."
Ren shrugged in response. He looked over the sheet that Makoto brought. He needed a signature of his own, several dates, proof of identity, a signature from a guardian, and he needed to have his passport with him at the airport.
"What a list," Ren said flatly as he stopped leaning over the coffee table, inclining back into the couch. "Good thing I reforged my passport last week."
"Ren," Makoto chided. "You did bring your passport with you to Tokyo, right?"
"Yeah, it's somewhere in there," Ren gestured with his left hand over to his room. Besides his clothes, most of his personal belongings still resided in his suitcase. "I can get the paperwork done on my own unless you're really good at forging signatures…"
"You're out of luck," Makoto said as she laughed off the proposition. "Just bring this to me once you get it filled out and I'll take care of the rest."
"Aw. I wanted to see Kobayakawa over the summer."
"Don't we all?" Makoto's rare sarcasm caught Ren by surprise.
I am a trendsetter. Truly influential. Even the student council president is copying me. I, Ren Amamiya, invented sarcasm and now have devout followers of my faith in sarcasm.
"Moving on," Makoto said to pull Ren from his self-indulgent thoughts, "I wanted to talk about us."
Oh, she just wanted to ease me into the breakup by leading with the Hawaii trip. Clever.
"I love talking about us," Ren said in response. Makoto laughed, surely meaning that the assumed breakup wouldn't come to be.
"Alright, Ren, let's just be serious for once," she said, though still grinning. "Speaking of serious, just how seriously are either of us taking our relationship?"
For once, Ren dropped his usual tone. "Makoto, I do care about us, but why're you asking?" He wanted Makoto to know that he had actual conviction in his words. Still, he did partially know why she asked the question. They hadn't spoken much over the past week, and Ren kept to himself.
"You're getting distant again, even after we discussed it. You agreed to not withdraw from me or the rest of our friends."
Yet here I am.
"I know… it's just difficult." Ren didn't elaborate on that bit, but he moved on to a more concrete explanation. "I went to Tae Takemi's clinic again last week. I had another dream."
Ren heard Makoto draw a long breath. "And?" she asked.
"Nothing helpful, I guess. I signed a contract."
"What did the contract say?"
Ren, you idiot.
"Um, I don't know. I didn't read it. The whole dream, I just kept hearing voices pressuring me to sign a contract, and I just wanted it to stop." Ren oversimplified his hallucination, but the point remained the same. The reason he succumbed to Bob Ross Yusuke's demands was because of how overwhelmed he felt. He went into the hallucination wanting to discover what the future had in store for GRAVY. Instead, he lost the will to object to writing his name on a sheet of paper. "I mean, I know that the contract would let me have more dreams in the future, but I didn't read beyond that."
Talk about weak.
"So you're gonna go back?" Makoto asked, looking Ren in the eye. She placed her hand on his knee for support.
I'd rather not. I know that I'll have to at some point, but, for now, the motto is "Delay, delay, delay."
"At some point." Ren left the subject at that. He did want Makoto to know about the clinical trials, she deserved that much, but he hated being reminded of his responsibility.
"Are the clinical trials are the only reason you've been withdrawn?" Makoto asked, pressing him. "You've just stayed inside, besides going to the clinic and working at Leblanc?"
Ren shrugged. "Mostly. I hung out with Kasumi the other day. She asked me to help her buy some glasses."
Makoto's wide eyes told Ren that he'd made a mistake in telling her. "You and Yoshizawa-san?"
"Yep. We ended up getting some red glasses for her dad."
"And… um… Ren, do you like her?"
Hoo boy.
"Like, like-like her, or just like, liking her?" Ren joked around with Makoto a bit considering the hilarity of the situation Makoto put him in. He did find it a little amusing that Makoto believed he'd be cheating on her with Yoshizawa. Still, he did want to assure her of his loyalty. "Seriously though, she's just a friend. She's always seemed a bit lonely to me, so I wanted to help her out."
Well, and I originally thought she was hot when I forgot about you, Makoto, but I'm not going to say that aloud.
Makoto's worried expression flattened as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for telling me. I just heard that Yoshizawa may have some… romantic interest in you, and I-"
Really? That's great and all, but it does make me regret hanging out with Kasumi. Maybe she thinks I like her back. Fuck. I'm going to have to shoot her down eventually, aren't I?
"And you wanted me to prove that I'm still yours," Ren said as he scooted closer to Makoto. Her face went red.
Makoto brushed her hair back as she avoided eye contact with Ren. "W-well, I just needed to make-"
"How's this for proof?" Ren said as he leaned toward Makoto and kissed her, just as he did on the bridge that night in Iwatodai.
That was a zinger of a one-liner, I must say. Truly one of your corniest, Ren Amamiya.
Just like their kiss on the bridge, Ren caught Makoto off guard, but she quickly matched his enthusiasm. They continued kissing for what should've been an eternity. Instead, Makoto pulled her lips away from Ren's after a few seconds, yet they remained close together and held eye contact.
"I'm not sure if that was enough proof," Makoto said, a teasing smile on her face. "I think you'll need to do a bit more to prove it to me."
"Yeah?" Ren raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah."
With Makoto's confirmation, Ren leaned in again.
Monday, 8/15
"So then I said, 'How's this for proof?' and I kissed her," Ren explained as he cleaned off one of the tables in Leblanc with a wet rag. Sojiro listened to the story from the other side of the counter.
"Smooth, kid," Sojiro said as he chuckled.
Ren's duties at Leblanc recently expanded to more vigorous cleaning of the building. Because of the summer heat, usual customers weren't interested, so that left Ren with a lot of empty time on the job. Sojiro, the generous boss that he was, decided that Ren should have the building spotless by the end of every shift.
Not only this, but he still had to visit Futaba. He'd gone twice over the past week, mainly just making small talk to get through inconsequential visits. Futaba being able to converse now did strike Ren as strange, but he couldn't question it without getting a confused answer from Futaba herself. He'd asked about Maruki, too, but Futaba only told Ren that they continued their sessions together and that Maruki was a big help.
"Then she said, 'I don't know if that was enough proof,' so I just did it again," Ren continued eagerly. The validation that Sojiro provided encouraged Ren to delve into details that he normally wouldn't share with the older man.
"You've learned well, kid," Sojiro said. "But there's more for you. This girl you got is just the first of many. Now, it's time for you to learn how to assemble a ha-"
A jangle of the entrance bell alerted Ren to a new customer. He dropped the wet rag onto the table so that he could properly welcome the customer to the finest coffee shop in Tokyo, only to look over at the door and see the kind of person least likely to drink coffee.
Short, bad posture, young, and with long, bright orange hair, the girl paid Ren no mind. "Sojiro! I hunger!" she declared firmly.
Huh… kinda sounds like-
"F-Futaba?" Sojiro said as he took off his glasses. He immediately walked out from the counter and went up to his adopted daughter. "What are you doing here?" Ren heard actual disbelief in Sojiro's tone, which surprised him quite a bit because Sojiro only showed emotion when recalling his tales of debauchery.
Futaba looks nothing like what I expected while looking exactly like what I expected.
Futaba shrugged, seeming confused at Sojiro's question. "I wanted some curry," she said, tilting on her green high-top shoes to see past Sojiro. She noticed the pot of curry that Sojiro had been working on until she came in. "Ooh, is that almost done?"
That has to be the ugliest color of green I've ever seen. I know Futaba doesn't have much social experience, but my god, those shoes are fucking ugly… Ren, not the time. Futaba just left her fucking house and is standing ten feet from you while you think about how ugly her shoes are. You should be celebrating.
"Hey, Ren," Futaba said way too casually as she walked past Sojiro and then Ren before she took a seat at the counter. When no one spoke or moved for a few seconds, she turned in her chair. "Sojiro! I hunger!"
"Uh, yeah, sorry," Sojiro said as he quickly walked back behind the counter and resumed his work on the curry pot. "It'll be done in a few minutes."
With Sojiro preparing curry and Futaba egging on her adoptive father to work faster, that left Ren just standing in the middle of the shop like an idiot. Insecure as always, he spoke the first words that came to mind to escape his perceived embarrassment. "So what brought you here, Futaba?"
Shit, shouldn't have asked that.
Futaba turned around in her chair but her mood hadn't soured at Ren's choice of words. "Whaddya mean?" she asked.
"Well, um," Ren hesitated as he looked at Sojiro to make sure the man wasn't staring daggers. When Ren confirmed that Sojiro wasn't listening to the conversation, he continued speaking with Futaba. "You didn't really go out before. Why now?"
"Oh, that's easy. Maruki helped," Futaba said as she turned away from Ren and back towards Sojiro, sending the message that she believed her answer was enough.
"He just… helped?"
I know that Maruki's good, but I could barely get this girl to text me, let alone come out of her room and act like a normal person.
"Ren… therapy has confidentiality, you know," Futaba reminded with a snicker.
Well shit. That's great. Maruki just fixed Futaba like it was nothing and I have no clue how he did it. He must be a genius.
Ren looked up just as Sojiro finished preparing the curry and scraped some onto a plate for Futaba. He looked at Ren, using his eyes to ask if his pupil wanted some food. Ren nodded, and Sojiro put together another plate of curry, setting it down on the counter at the spot next to Futaba. Ren occupied the stool, feeling strangely awkward and uncomfortable next to someone half his size and bodyweight.
"So, Futaba, any more plans to go out?" Sojiro asked. Ren could tell that Sojiro was just as baffled about Futaba coming down to the shop, and he hoped to receive an answer on how far Futaba's ambition would go.
"Eh, maybe," she said through grossly chewing her curry. It reminded Ren of her little social experience, resulting in her poor etiquette and chewing with her mouth open.
"What about the beach?" Sojiro suggested. "You could meet a lot of new people there." Futaba stopped chewing.
"Like… a public beach?"
"Yeah… if you're starting to get out into the world, the beach is a good way to start. Lots of people, and you can have friends with you," Sojiro explained.
But how can Futaba go to the beach with friends if she has no fri- ohhh, I see where this is going. Good idea, Sojiro, but it'd probably be better for Futaba to just spend all her time with Maruki. The man might as well be a god with how helpful he has been for Futaba.
"Um… I don't know…" Futaba's uncertainty erased the enthusiasm she entered Leblanc with. "Meeting people isn't exactly easy…"
"What if you had people to help you?" Sojiro continued his suggestion by elaborating further. "Maybe Ren and a few of his friends could go with you."
"...Even Inari?" Futaba asked.
Sojiro chuckled. Ren figured that his boss had likely grown used to Futaba's nicknames and the like. "Sure, Futaba. Why don't you just try it?"
Futaba's caution remained obvious. Knowing that now was the time to speak up, Ren fixed his slumped posture into sitting up straight on his chair. "You don't have to go immediately, maybe a few weeks from now. That'd give you time to meet the others and get to know them a little," Ren suggested. Sojiro nodded while Ren spoke.
"Mmmm… fine, I'll do it!" Futaba proclaimed while speeding through her words. She went back to tearing her curry apart. "But only if someone takes me to Akibahara soon!"
"Ren'll go with you," Sojiro said.
I will?
"Thanks, Ren!" Futaba said in between bites of curry. Her bad habit of chewing with her mouth open remained. "I'll let you know when I can go!"
"Uh… great," Ren said. Seeing Futaba still weirded him out, especially with all that occurred in his life recently, so he now regretted rushing forward with Futaba into things that would be new to her.
Oh well. What am I gonna do about it? Nothing.
Tuesday, 8/16
With an empty schedule and a few hours to ruin, Ren called his favorite person in Tokyo.
"General Iori, speaking," Junpei said from the other end.
Oh. He's drunk and it's not even three in the afternoon. What did I expect?
"Hey, Iori-san. It's me, Ren, the kid you're supposed to be looking after for a year." Every time Ren contacted Junpei over the phone, he had to use that greeting or else Junpei would have no clue about Ren's identity. "Just calling to let you know that I need some paperwork signed for the school. Think you could stop by later today?"
"Huh?" Junpei always paused for a few seconds to refresh his memory. "Ohhh! Rinshinhinbin, how ya been?"
He deviates from my name more every time.
"Fine, but I need this paper signed soon. Can you come by tonight to do it?"
"Yeah, I'll figure something out," Junpei mumbled. "But anyway, what've you be-" The line went dead as Ren hung up.
Time to kick back and wait for him to bust the door down. Better enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.
Seven hours came and went since the phone call and Junpei still didn't show. Ren partially expected the absence, but not for seven hours. He spent most of that time playing video games, taking breaks to text about trivial things with Makoto or Ryuji. The only interesting thing Ren did during the seven hours was receive an update on Hifumi from Ryuji, who hadn't made much progress. According to Ryuji, Hifumi kept their meetings on a strict shogi diet, with barely more than a greeting, in terms of conversation. She would also leave immediately after beating Ryuji, so he had basically no chance to speak with her and make his move.
Ren grew tired of waiting and of hearing Ryuji's struggles, deciding to go to bed early for the night. Tucked into bed with Morgana taking up the end of the bed, Ren closed his eyes. He drifted off into sleep.
Wednesday, 8/17
"So then I told the bitch to shut up because my son was crying, right?" Ryuji explained from his swivel chair. "That's not hard to understand. No one wants gabagool, you know?"
Ren looked down at Ryuji from his perch atop the cherry blossom tree. He occupied something like a wooden watchtower, crouching at the edge to look down at his friend.
"I'm deaf!" Ren yelled down, his hands cupped around his mouth.
Ryuji nodded. "Grains of salt, chocolate raining malt!" he yelled back up at Ren.
Ren stood up from his crouch and backed away from the edge of the perch. He surveyed the horizon, an empty mass of blackness. He put his hand over his eyes to shield them from nothing because there was no sky to hold the sun.
"Horses on the horizon," Ren said to himself. "I'll take one!"
Ren heard a banging noise, like someone trying to kick a door down, but he couldn't tell where it came from.
"Dash-dot-dash-dash, dash-dash-dash, dot-dot-dash, space!" Ryuji yelled from the bottom of the cherry blossom. Ren nodded along as Ryuji continued his detailed explanation of the horses on the horizon. "Dot-dash-dot, dot, dot-dash, dot-dash-dot-dot, dot-dash-dot-dot, dash-dot-dash-dash, space! Dash, dot-dash-dot, dot-dash, dash-dot, dot-dot-dot, dot-dash-dot-dot, dot-dash, dash, dot, dash-dot-dot, space!" Ryuji's yells grew louder with every passing word. Ren continued listening. "Dash, dot-dot-dot-dot, dot-dot, dot-dot-dot, space! Dot-dot, dash-dot, dash, dash-dash-dash, space! Dash-dash, dash-dash-dash, dot-dash-dot, dot-dot-dot, dot, space! Dash-dot-dash-dot, dash-dash-dash, dash-dot-dot, dot, dot-dot-dash-dash-dot-dot!"
"Rey! Watch me…" A new voice joined in the yelling, but it faded in the middle of its sentence. Ren looked around the void to see the source of the voice but saw nothing.
"Where are ya?!" the same voice yelled. Ren still couldn't find its owner. He continued his search as the voice continued yelling at him. "There's someone I want ya to meet!"
A new banging noise joined the mix, this one much louder than the previous one. Ren felt himself slip from his perch, falling into emptiness until he sat up. He blinked his eyes into the darkness a few times.
What a fucking dream…
"Hey, buddy-o," a voice said in the darkness. As Ren's eyes adjusted, he realized a dark, looming figure stood over his bed.
To say the least, Ren freaked out. "What the fuck?! Get the fuck out of my room!" The intruder reached out to calm Ren, but Ren's violent flurry of waving hands slapped the intruder away.
"Ronald, relax, it's me, your trusty general, Junpei!"
Oh my god…
Ren paused his panic and looked over at his clock.
Bro, it's three in the fucking morning…
"Junpei…" Ren muttered in a raspy voice as grabbed his phone from the nightstand and turned on the flashlight. "Why the fuck are you here?"
The now illuminated Junpei shrugged. "I figured now would be a good time to sign some paperwork. Oh, and I brought someone over for you to meet."
"Unless you brought Christ himself to my apartment, I don't care. The paperwork is on the coffee table in front of the TV, just let me go back to sleep…" Ren said as he looked up at Junpei. He did his best to make his aggravation known, but Junpei, being Junpei, grabbed Ren by the arm.
"C'mon!" He dragged Ren from the bed and out the door to his room. He let Ren go, leaving him stumbling forward. Ren barely regained his footing just in time to not slam into the couch. Now, he just had to let his eyes adjust to the bright lights of his apartment. He groggily rubbed his eyes, wishing upon every star in the universe that he could kick Junpei out a window.
Finally, Ren looked up to see the reason that Junpei woke him up at three in the morning: Ren's homeroom teacher sat on one of the stools at Ren's kitchen counter.
Maid outfit included, and now with a bottle of liquor in hand. She looked over at Ren, squinting to get through whatever dizziness she must've had.
"Ren? Wait…" She looked around the apartment, setting down the bottle. "Oh, fuck… you've gotta be kidding me…"
Junpei walked around Ren and towards Kawakami. He turned back to Ren while still walking towards the maid, smiling at Ren. "I bought a maid for ya, Rwanda!"
I vaguely remember Junpei meeting Kawakami at the start of my time in Tokyo. I'm sure he's too drunk to notice right now, but it would be very, very bad if some sudden instance of clarity hit him over the head.
"Thanks, but, again, it's three in the damn morning." Saying that made Ren feel like he'd aged sixty years and was telling a kid to get off his lawn. "I'll pass, but you could sign that paperwork on your way out," Ren said as he pointed over to the coffee table.
Kawakami and Junpei both looked over. Junpei, actually listening for once in his life, walked over to the table. He sat down on the couch, reading over the paper. Extending his left arm over the back of the couch, he gestured for Ren to join him. Ren looked at Kawakami, who definitely had a lot of questions that Ren would hopefully never have to answer.
Ren ventured forth into great danger, sitting down next to Junpei on the couch. Junpei seemingly conjured a pen out of thin air, considering that Ren forgot to leave one with the paper. Junpei wordlessly set the paper down on the coffee table, hunching over and pressing the tip of the pen to the dotted line for his signature.
Suddenly, he pulled the pen away before dropping it onto the coffee table. Still hunched over, he looked to his left at Ren. "Ren, before I sign this, I want to make sure you're going to be responsible while you're in Hawaii."
Wow… he's talking clearly, upholding his status as my guardian, and even got my name right… it's enough to make a Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness cry. Bravo.
"Of course," Ren automatically replied.
"You promise to be responsible?" Junpei asked, not giving Ren a chance to respond before he sunk back into his typical Junpei behavior. "You promise to fuck all the hoes while you're there?"
Uh…
Ren heard Kawakami make it very audible that she took offense to Junpei's antics, but she said no actual words. Instead, Ren heard the sound of liquid swishing.
Rather drink than experience Junpei? Me too, Becky. Me too.
"What?" Ren asked, still caught off guard by Junpei even if he knew what to expect with his so-called guardian.
"Ren, I want you to make sure that you bang every last Hawaiian hoe there is," Junpei said, putting a hand on Ren's shoulder. It was a beautiful moment between an experienced elder and a gifted prodigy.
Encouraged by Junpei's usual idiocy, Ren slipped into old habits as if it was muscle memory.
"Your mom's a hoe."
Fucking dammit, Ren. Really? Now?
After Junpei didn't immediately react in anger, Ren knew he could never be surprised by anything ever again. Not even Kamoshida taking off a mask and revealing himself to be Beyonce would surprise him more than Junpei's graceful acceptance of the insult.
"Ren," Junpei said as he squeezed Ren's shoulder to bring the point of his words home, "I would be honored to have you fuck my mom."
"Jesus Christ…" Kawakami muttered from the kitchen counter. "I'm never drinking with a client again…"
"Okay, that's great," Ren said. "Just hurry up and sign the paper." Finally complying, Junpei grabbed the pen and jotted his signature down on the paper. "Time for you to leave," Ren said, pushing Junpei a little to encourage him to get off his ass.
"Alright, alright, I'm goin'," Junpei said as he stood up. He brushed off his pants for no reason, then quickly walked out the door. Ren was left a little disappointed that his idol and reason for living didn't say goodbye, but he realized that he had another problem to deal with.
Ren stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. He stood on the opposite side of the counter that Kawakami sat at. She hunched over the counter, holding her body up by gripping the bottle of liquor in her hand and pressing it to the counter's surface.
Ren rested his palms on the counter and looked Kawakami in the eye. She struggled with maintaining eye contact, likely because of her inebriation and exhaustion.
"Sensei." Even in Kawakami's poor state and what may have been rock bottom for her, Ren wanted to show his teacher some respect. After all, she did have to put up with Junpei all night. "Are you able to get yourself home?"
"Jusht need…" Kawakami said as she straightened herself up and held the bottle in the air. "...A few more drinksh…"
Ren reached forward and easily took the bottle from Kawakami's clumsy and weak hands. He set it out of her reach in the back of his kitchen. "Okay, so here's what's going to happen: you can sleep on my couch tonight, but you have to be out of here by ten. The bathroom is down that hall," Ren said as he pointed to his left, "and at the very end. Please don't puke on my couch, or else I'll have to blackmail you into giving me an A next semester."
"You little… shit…" Kawakami mumbled. She stood up from the stool, immediately stumbling. Ren went around the counter, then grabbed her under the arm to support her. He walked with her to the couch, barely making it before Kawakami flopped down onto the soft surface. Luckily for Ren, Kawakami's head landed close enough to the pillow that he needed to do barely any more work besides tossing a blanket over her. Within seconds, Kawakami lay dormant and snoring on Ren's couch.
All in an early morning's work.
Ren took one last look at Kawakami, full maid costume and passed-out drunk, and walked back into his room. Morgana slept through the whole ordeal, leaving Ren in a precarious situation of sneaking into his bed or waking up the cat and witnessing his wrath.
Ren successfully got under the covers. Doing his best to not worry about the possibility of someone coming over in the morning, he fell asleep with ease.
Ren's eyes opened as the light piercing through his window became too much for his formerly sleeping consciousness to ignore. The sore burn of exhaustion crept into his eyes as he blinked a few times. He wanted to roll back over and go to sleep, but that's a difficult thing to do when one's homeroom teacher is sleeping in the other room.
Instead of rolling towards his wall and going back to sleep, Ren took the hard path. He got out of bed on unwilling legs, anxiously stepping out of his room and into the rest of his apartment. Not surprised in the slightest, Ren shook his head at the sight of Kawakami still asleep on his couch. Her right arm hung over the edge of the couch, with the topside of her hand pressed to the rug beneath the couch. Her face smushed itself into the couch cushion.
Well, she definitely owes me some decent grades now. I won't even have to blackmail her!
"Good morning!" Ren yelled. Not getting much of a reaction from the sleeping maid, he repeated his words even more loudly. " Good morning !"
"Mmmmm…" Kawakami groaned into the pillow. "Gimme a few minutes…" she mumbled from her awkward position. Ren could barely make out the words she said, mainly because her mouth remained smushed into a pillow.
"It's ten, and I told you to leave by now," Ren said. It wasn't actually ten, but Kawakami didn't know that and wouldn't stop to check until she was out the door. "C'mon, get up and get out."
Kawakami rolled over and sat up. She didn't realize that she still had her maid outfit on, stopping to look down at herself. Whatever dignity she woke up with faded with her realization of where she'd slept.
"Dammit…" she mumbled as she rubbed her forehead. Ren walked over to the couch where she sat and stood over her.
"I could always call security, you know."
"And who will that look worse for?" Kawakami thought she had a snappy comeback and would get Ren to ease off. "Me or you?"
She was wrong.
"You. You will definitely look worse. You're in a maid outfit, hungover, and you'd be leaving the apartment of someone who everyone knows as a drunken fool," Ren explained with much more harshness than Kawakami deserved. He realized that, backpedaling so he could try a different approach. "Look, I let you sleep here because you were out of it. Now, I have people who could come knocking at any minute. There aren't many hiding places for maids in here, so you better get out while you still can." He also added a little extra encouragement for his teacher to leave. "Oh, and the student council president is only a minute away, so you may want to leave before she comes over."
Makoto's not coming over today, but Kawakami doesn't know that. I'm sure Kawakami would prefer that Makoto knew her secret rather than me.
"Alright, fine…" Kawakami said as she stood up. The maid outfit lost its emboldened flair, with most of it being flattened or wrinkled from Kawakami's rough night. "Could I at least get some coffee?"
"No coffee here, only bread." Ren smirked.
"No coffee? We live in the twenty-first century. Who the hell doesn't have coffee?"
"People who sleep well at night. Time for you to leave, sensei."
"Yeah, yeah. You better not tell anyone about this."
"How could I? It being a secret makes it so much more fun."
"I don't know why I put up with you."
"Because you get a bonus if I do well while you're my homeroom teacher."
"Good point. Be seeing you," Kawakami said as she walked out the door.
Ren relaxed now that his biggest problem had left. He sat down on the couch, pulling his phone out. While Makoto wasn't coming over, Ren did have other plans that held some significant weight to them.
I'm working at Leblanc tonight. I can probably get out of work if I get some of my friends to hang out with Futaba. We can prepare her for the beach, or something like that… I don't know, I just want to get out of work. Leblanc is cool and all, but cleaning and standing around for five hours is too much.
GRAVY
Ren Amamiya:
-I need a favor from you all.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-Anything for our glorious leader.
That's the enthusiasm I've been looking for all year long, god damn! Yusuke, you're getting promoted to… uh, shit. I forgot the other positions in the club.
Ren Amamiya:
-That's the spirit.
Ren Amamiya:
-Anyway, I have a friend who I want us to help. She's a bit shy of people, so I think we should all do something nice for her and take her to the beach.
I'd rather not give out the more revealing details of Futaba's condition over text, considering that she's probably hacked into all our phones and is reading this message conversation.
Ann Takamaki:
-Makoto's not that shy though.
Ren Amamiya:
-Different friend. You guys haven't met her yet.
Ryuji has met her, but he probably shouldn't know that. If he knew that Futaba and Alibaba are the same, she'll have no chance of making friends with him.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-She cute?
Ren Amamiya:
-That's beside the point. I'm just wondering if you guys are down to help someone out. We'd hang out with her a few times just to warm her up to us, then take her two the beach in two weeks.
Ren Amamiya:
-Right before school starts, too.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-So you're saying that this beach trip is like an end-of-summer party?!
Ren Amamiya:
-No, it's us going to the beach. No party involved.
Ann Takamaki:
-Who's the girl?
Ren Amamiya:
-Homeschooled. You wouldn't know her.
*11037 has been added to GRAVY*
I can guess who that is…
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-The eff is a 11037?!
Makoto Niijima:
-It's a number.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-Indeed, Makoto is incorrect. 11037 is truly a number. Intellectualism prevails.
I cannot tell if that is the single most sarcastic statement I've ever heard, or if it's unironic.
11037:
-Sup.
Ren Amamiya:
-Could you change your name in the group chat to something normal, please?
11037:
-Fiiiiine…
*11037 has changed their name to Futaba Sakura*
Futaba Sakura:
-Yo. I'm the one Ren was talking about.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-HOW THE EFF DID YOU ADD YOURSELF TO OUR GROUP CHAT?!
Futaba Sakura:
-Ryuji, you need to come up with a better password than "Rise80085" for all of your accounts.
Futaba Sakura:
-That's all I'll say.
Futaba Sakura:
-Mweheheh.
Ren Amamiya:
-So, Futaba, are you able to hang out tonight?
Futaba Sakura:
-Ren, you already know the answer.
Ren Amamiya:
-True. Who else is free tonight?
Ann Takamaki:
-Cover shoot got canceled. I'm available.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-I always clear my schedule for the sake of GRAVY.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Quit sucking up!
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Not free tonight, tho. Mom's forcing me to interview for some job.
Ann Takamaki:
-Oh, where are you interviewing?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Lil' Putters Golf Class.
Futaba Sakura:
-You're shitting me.
Ren Amamiya:
-I'm 91% sure you don't know how to play golf, Ryuji.
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Neither do the kids who go to the camp, so I'll make some shit up.
Makoto Niijima:
-How are you going to get past the interview if you can't golf in the first place?
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Shit!
Ryuji Sakamoto:
-Well, now I'm definitely not free. Gonna study some golf rules for a few hours.
Futaba Sakura:
-He's lying. He's gonna watch knockout compilations all day.
Futaba Sakura:
-I can send his internet history for proof…
*Ryuji Sakamoto has left GRAVY*
Hah. Ryuji really isn't risking the embarrassment, huh?
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-Exposing a man's internet history is a cardinal sin, Sakura-san. You have much to learn.
Futaba Sakura:
-Try me, Inari.
Yusuke Kitagawa:
-Inari?
Futaba's definitely not going to respond to that.
Ren Amamiya:
-Refocusing, is it just Ann and Yusuke that are free tonight?
Ren Amamiya:
-Last call for Makoto and Haru to join the fun.
Makoto Niijima:
-Sorry. Dinner with sis tonight.
Should've invited me. Then things would've gone swimmingly.
Futaba Sakura:
-Ann and Yusuke it is!
Ren Amamiya:
-Alright, guys. Meet at Leblanc at 4:30.
Confirmation messages came through Ren's phone. He silenced it and tossed his phone aside. Whatever he spent his next few hours doing, it needed to be something relaxing. Something told Ren that he didn't have an easy task in helping Futaba grow out of her shell. Something also told Ren that he needed to be concerned for GRAVY's most silent member.
Haru didn't send a single message during that whole conversation. I haven't spoken with her since we got back from Iwatodai. I should call, maybe ask again if she can come tonight. If I haven't spoken to her, I wonder how she's been with the rest of the group. It'd be good for her to hang out with us.
A knock on the door. "Haru-chan?" the housekeeper said from the other side of the door. "Breakfast is served."
"I'll be down in just a minute," Haru said. She finished dressing and took one last look at her room. It had grown to be her true home over the past week. She did leave the mansion, or else she would go stir crazy. Most of Haru's excursion led her to the GRAVY rooftop where she would work on her garden.
In her time on the roof, Haru practiced a new method for agriculture, which focused on sustainability over higher output. She meant for it to be a challenge for her, rather than anything else. Based on the new method, sixty percent of her yields should be compost, 30 percent should be high-calorie crops, and ten percent should be vegetable crops with high vitamin and mineral levels. Following this plan, and if expanded to a larger bed, Haru would be able to, in theory, feed herself for a year.
Alas, the bed on the rooftop remained tiny, though Haru didn't mind. She would go insane if she actually had to only eat vegetables for a year.
That meant that she still ate the food served at the Okumura estate.
Sometimes with her father.
Haru left her room. She descended down the staircase that she hated more every day, as it felt taller and taller with every step she took. The winding stairs took her down past the entrance, and she finished her journey by emerging into the dining room. The black, minimalist table only had places set at opposite heads of the table. Haru's food waited for her on one end, her father at the other.
Did the servants put the places far apart because they know what's going on? Haru asked herself. If she was honest with herself, she already knew the answer. Haru's disdain for her father had grown since Iwatodai, likely becoming obvious to everyone in the building. Kunikazu surely knew as well, as his demeanor towards Haru changed. He'd become more solemn, only speaking to Haru when it would be questionable not to. None of his words went beyond small talk, even with his own daughter.
"Sleep well?" he asked. He'd already started eating before Haru took her place across the long table from him.
"Fine."
"Good. You need to be rested to go back to school."
It's strange to think that at the beginning of this season, Father didn't even plan on me returning to school. By now, he wanted me married and harmless , Haru thought. Now, she'd ended up in a place that neither she nor Kunikazu expected or wanted. Aika's fate shook Haru's perception of her father to its core, festering until even just looking at him became bitter.
However, Haru didn't dare confront her father about the past. If he had had some hand in killing Aika as the hidden room in the Iwatodai mansion suggested, he was too far gone for Haru to truly converse with. She'd save her breath for something better.
For now, she didn't know what that something would be. Her friends had reached out to her, with Ann dropping her a few texts and calls here and there. Yusuke sent her a photo of a painting he did. Ryuji sent her motivational quotes from athletes.
Haru didn't give them much in response. Only compliance and agreement. She couldn't truly interact with them, and she didn't think she could ever again. Before Iwatodai, Haru thought she'd be taking them on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Instead, she pulled them into her family history and all the drama that came with it. Haru preferred keeping her personal, more emotional business to herself, but her friends were forced into intervening, and this wasn't even the first time.
Sugimura's death thrust Haru into the position of GRAVY's most talked-about member, and her mother's death did that once again. Haru's personal business continued to be played on a silver screen for her friends whether they wanted to see it or not.
And all of that came from her father. His ambition, his sins, and his greed had brought Haru to the lowest point in her recent memory.
Even when she spent the morning reading through texts from her friends about someone new joining the club, she didn't know if she would ever emerge from that low point. She certainly wouldn't do it by spending all her time on a lonely rooftop balancing plant ratios.
Haru kept eating her food, but, for the first time in a week, she began to consider rejoining her friends.
A/N: Made a slight change to chapter 35. Ren said that his birthday is in August. I forgot to plan Ren's birthday for August. In 35, I changed August to September.
Don't translate Ryuji's morse code into plain English. It actually spoils the ending of the fic. Kidding… unless?
There will be a chapter next week, but it may be delayed. I have finals, and I have an all too vivid memory of failing my precalculus final last winter because I spent my morning editing and posting chapter 27 instead of doing the review packet. I won't be failing any finals this year for TKOSA, but I will still be working on the next chapter.
56 may end up being very long. I'll be aiming to get all 3 of Futaba's beach prep scenes into one chapter, as well as including a few other scenes. May take me longer than 7 days to post.
I legitimately took a sustainable agriculture class in school because I thought it would give me some ideas to write into the fic and flesh out the gardening scenes. Instead, it's the class that drags my GPA down. It's unfortunate, but at least I put some of my surface-level knowledge to use in this chapter.
Thank you for reading. Have an awesome day!