A/N: Okay same preface message here from the original chapter 1. First off, I'm not going to be using the name of the protagonist that is used in the anime or the manga. Why? It's because I believe that people gain a certain vision of how they see a character and attach it to that name, so when somebody comes along and characterizes them differently it can be hard to separate it. So the protagonist here is named Ichihara Tadashi. The meaning of his name also fits him a lot better for who he is and the story as a whole.
With that out of the way, a little explanation for the restart. Generally it does have to do with Royal coming out and some things I wanted to change. But also in general I made a lot of changes, including the fact that the first chapter is now completely different! I've also done quite a lot of edits and revision of the early chapters. But without further messing around, here is the new chapter.
Chapter 1 / Bitter Beginnings
Saturday / April 9th, 2016 / Train Arriving in Tokyo / Early Morning
Ichihara Tadashi
I jolted awake, the train seemed to be full of individuals minding their own business. Even the guy sitting next to me was just busy on his phone, without really caring if the people next to him could see what he was doing. I certainly didn't care. You know, for being someone on parole, I found it odd that they had me ride a train, alone to the new place that I would be staying at. You would think they would have escorted me or had my parents take me. Not that I'd expect my parents to do anything for me now that I've "shamed" them. Assholes.
An announcement came over, saying we'd be arriving soon. Shibuya station. Guess I was finally in Tokyo. Fucking hurray to that. Thanks, you bald headed fucktard for ruining my life. I get entangled with some rich man with enough influence that the cops buy his shit face value and arrest and convict me within a matter of days. Then I get held in a detention center for a couple months before they let me out, but by that time my life had basically been ruined. No Summer Koshien, people who I called friends hate me, and my own parents buy those damn fucking lies they are told. Alone. That's what I fucking was.
"Seriously, a mental shutdown?"
"It's the truth!"
"To a person though? That's gotta be a joke."
"You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"
I glanced at a pair of girls that seemed to be talking about something. Whatever, got nothing to do with me. Thankfully the train came to a stop. I quickly exited and made my way out to Shibuya, pulling out my phone as I quickly left the stop and up some stairs to get to central street from there I would…
I stopped, I was looking out into Shibuya Crossing. Considered the world's busiest crossing intersection. As if that was an appealing reason to visit it. Maybe if I was in Tokyo for a different reason, I might give a shit. But at the moment, I just wanted to get to my new place. And coming to the big city after living in Takayama my whole life was disorienting.
A ping from my phone, I looked down to see… an icon? Red and black, with the black showing something like an eye, with a star in the middle. Then it enlarged to cover my screen. The fuck? I tapped it a couple times, but nothing happened. At least I thought it did. Then for some fucking reason everyone stopped moving. The noise of the crowd and everything died off to silence. I spun around, looking for someone, anyone, to be moving. But no… everywhere I looked they were frozen in place. A man on his bicycle was at a dead stop.
I turned again, seeing something just as crazy… rising above the crowd was a dark blue flame that started to take the shape of something. Then wings sprang out from it and for a moment I saw orange flames appear to make a visible face. Then I saw… me? Me but with golden yellow eyes. Then the next moment… everything was moving again. The flames were gone, the image was gone. I looked around but everyone seemed to be back to normal.
"Fuck, I know I'm not sleeping well but hallucinations induced by sleep depravity? That's a bit much," I mutter to myself. Bitching about what I had just experienced wasn't going to get me anywhere. I shook my head and looked at my phone. That creepy eye thing was still there. Was it some kind of app? No thank you.
I dragged the icon to the trash bin on my phone and watched it disappear. Okay… to the next train. Going to forget all about this shit.
After a little bit of wandering I made my way to the next station and took the train. Thankfully, no more crazy delusions happened and I arrived at Yongen-Jaya station. From here it was just a bit of a walk to the backstreets area where my residence for the year was supposed to be. The home of Sakura Sojiro. The man who had agreed to house me for the year. I wonder what he'll be like. Then again, I'm a convicted delinquent as far as anyone else is concerned, so I can't imagine that my treatment is going to be any better than I had seen everywhere else.
I made my way down the backstreets, looking at my phone for reference to where the address was.
"Was there another, um, a-ack-siident? I see a policeman over there," The voice of a young girl.
"Oh, he's just watching to make sure everyone's safe. It'd be scary if something like that happened again, though. Let's hurry home," the girl's mother assured her.
Accident? I've heard a lot of shit like that since I've entered Tokyo from people just talking near me. Either way I walked past the Mother and child as I saw a house at the end of the path. Checked the nameplate, Sakura. I guess this was the place. I hit the doorbell and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I looked over the gate and noticed that none of the lights seemed to be on in the house. Raising an eyebrow, I was starting to wonder if I was wrong.
"Looks like no one's home," a delivery man held a package and approached the house. "Oh, yeah… Sakura-san's usually at his café around this time." He looked at me. "If you're looking for him try Leblanc Café. It's in the back alley, if you head back that way."
"Right, thanks," I gave him a nod and went the other way. Also a brilliant move on everyone's fucking part is not giving me a phone number I could reach the guy I'm supposed to move in with. And… are those batting cages? I raised an eyebrow as I heard the familiar sound of aluminum hitting a ball, although it wasn't loud I could faintly hear it. If I was living around here, it wouldn't be a bad way to unwind. Not that there was any real point in… I shook my head and kept walking.
There were only a couple other alleys it could be. The one next to a shutdown movie theater had a clinic and went to a street. Not that way. Went another alley and found my destination very quickly. It had a few plants out front and a red and white overhand over the door. On it it said, coffee & curry, with the word "Leblanc" underneath it. I suppose this was the place.
I opened the door and walked in, and was greeted by the sound of the news from a TV towards the back.
"A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it! The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up," the news reporter said.
More news of accidents? From the sound of it, this was far from being the first type of incident of this nature. No wonder I heard so many people talking about it. Shit like this wouldn't happen in Takayama. No buses for one, but even if there was, not enough traffic for it to be that crazy of a problem. Welcome to Tokyo, I guess.
"How frightening," an older gentleman sitting in one of the booths spoke up. Looking around this place was pretty nice. Had a rustic feel to it, and had places to sit at the bar-like area as well as three booth areas for customers to sit. And despite being in the afternoon now on a Saturday, it seemed like there were only two customers, an elderly man and woman.
A man with a receding hairline and glasses sat on a stool holding a newspaper. Tan-like slacks and a light pink button up shirt, and an apron on him. Was little doubt that this was the man who ran this place.
"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" the old lady asked. I presume the two customers were married.
The owner of Leblanc seemed to be working on a crossword puzzle though, "And down is… the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming…"
"That would be bivalve, probably. Technically there are two offshoots of bivalve mollusk that are primarily used for pearl farming. But I doubt the crossword is asking for anything that complex," I supply an answer without thinking.
He looked up, surprised and then seeing that I was currently dressed in what would be my new school uniform he realized who I was. He looked down, "Well, I'll be damned." He scribbled in the answer and then placed the newspaper on the counter. "Looks like you're here. They did say that was today."
"We'll be going now. The payment's on the table," the elderly couple got to their feet.
"Thanks for coming," the man nodded.
"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here," the old man smiled.
"What now?" the man blinked. Yeah… that was my response too. Going to a place to eat shouldn't be accompanied with the concern of 'I fucking hope some dumbass doesn't drive their vehicle through the building.'
"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that nothing happens around here," the old man said.
"It's none of my concern," the owner shook his head.
"Haha, we'll see you next time," the elderly couple then took the moment to exit the café.
As the door closed the owner sighed, "...Four hours for just a single cup of joe. Anyway, you're Ichihara Tadashi, huh?"
"Yeah, I supposed that makes you Sakura Sojiro then," I answered.
"...Uh-huh," he eyed me for a moment. "You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?"
"I'm sure you've only heard the most flattering tales about me," I shrugged.
"Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and-" he stopped as I looked away glaring at the mention of my parents. "Well, not that that matters… Follow me."
I thought we were going to be leaving to go to his house but he led me to the back of the shop and up some stairs. What I found was basically like an attic. Large, spacious… dusty, full of junk and seemed to be like a thing to pass as a bed in the corner.
"This is your room," Sojiro told me as he indicated the space. "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."
"Isn't your house like… a block away though?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"That's fair. Due to some issues I don't have room for you there. And this place doesn't see any use, as you can tell. Honestly, a lot of this stuff has been here since I bought the shop and I haven't bothered," Sojiro scratched his head. "Feel free to clean it up and we can arrange to throw junk out. Anyway, I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. I'm giving you the run of the place at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble."
I averted my gaze, "You have nothing to worry about. Still, I appreciate the illusion of trust by letting me stay here regardless."
Sojiro eyed me, "I got the gist of your situation. I don't know the details but you protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right? That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?"
"If you mean watching a drunk man stumble and hit his head on a guard rail and then get falsely accused of assaulting him, where you never even hear the name of the man you supposedly injured, then yeah sure, a fantastic recreation of my situation," I recount sarcastically.
"Look kid, I get it. Even if it was false, you've got a criminal record. As a result you were expelled from your high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved," Sojiro was likely trying to get a read on me by stating the shit I already knew.
"My parents would drop me off a cliff since I'm not their golden boy anymore," I looked at him.
"Then, it's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know. Besides, no one else should know about your situation. And if you get through the year without issue, then your probation will be lifted," Sojiro noted my only real silver lining to this arrangement.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind when looking over college applications and I get rejected by them all due to a criminal act I didn't commit," I shook my head.
The man looked me square in the eyes, probably trying to size me up or see if I was lying to him in some fashion, after a moment he spoke, "We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone with an assault charge on his rap sheet, you know. What a waste of my Sunday..."
This is a complete waste of my life and future that was taken from me. But hey, I'd probably act the same to some punk kid with an assault charge that you have no way of knowing they actually committed or not. As much as I wanted to be pissed off, I had to be grateful that this man would put any amount of effort to give me a place to sleep and to be able to go to school. So no, I didn't want to take anything out on Sojiro for my situation. He was doing more for me than anyone else as far as I was concerned.
"Oh, your luggage arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you," he indicated to the large cardboard box that I had stuffed full of my things. It was full of clothes and not much else. It had my baseball mitt and bat though. Don't know why I bothered, but I also wasn't sure I could go without it. Even if it just sat in a corner of this room. "Anyway, the shop is still open for a while longer, so why don't you get situated here."
Sojiro then left, leaving me alone in my new room. I looked around. Sure, it was full of cobwebs, boxes, junk, bags of rice, some minimal food storage likely for the café but this attic was like 3 or 4 times bigger than my room in Takayama. Lots of space to potentially move around and be comfortable in. Honestly, I was kind of looking forward to it.
Sitting on a blue tarp were a bunch of items, a ladder, bicycle, empty gas canisters, a space heater, and a houseplant. There were some things in boxes and bags too. I'm sure I can find a better way to store this stuff. Looked like there was space up on the other side of the stairs. I can clean up and organize the space to properly store things. Next to it were shelves with a lot of old books, stacked all over and even on the floor. An old fan covered in cobwebs at the top. Shelves looked like the frame was made of metal and rusting in some spots. Most of these books were old reference material. Unlikely to be up to date with information.
First things first though, I opened my cardboard box which held my wardrobe and changed into some more comfortable clothes. No reason to get my uniform dirty. After which I did some dusting, shuffled the rice bags on the shelves near the stairs and was able to put the cardboard box there. I cleared off the table and then noticed some supplies and was able to scrub the floor some. I hadn't realized how long it had been until after I had put some things away, Sojiro came walking up the stairs.
"I heard you making all sorts of noise up here but I didn't think you were cleaning," he looked around. "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad. Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy."
"There is still a lot to go through. You don't mind if I move things around? Also these books are pretty old, is there someplace we can maybe donate them?" I asked him.
"Sure kid, I know a place that can take them. I'm not really looking to keep anything on those shelves or that desk in the corner. Just keep the stuff on the tarp there. But feel free to move it around," Sojiro said.
"Got it," I nodded.
"Maybe you want to call it a night. Coming from Takayama and adjusting to a new environment probably has got to be tiring. Plus we need to go to Shujin early in the morning. I want to be able to get back and open Leblanc, after all," Sojiro explained. "Anyway, I'm closing up shop and heading home. I made some dinner for you so go on downstairs and eat before it gets cold. Oh, and before I forget. Bathroom is on the first floor. If you want to bathe, you'll have to use the bathhouse across the way. Also there is a laundromat next to it for when you have to do your laundry. If you need any money for that stuff just let me know."
"Thanks, Sakura-san," I said after a moment.
He looked at me and paused as if thinking about something, "Just do as your told kid." He then headed down the stairs.
I sighed. I had to imagine that this was frustrating for him too. I'm sure it would be easier to manage if I was the delinquent kid they probably made me out to be. Probably saying shit like, prone to violent outbursts and as bad as they come. That was how my "trial" went. I was framed like some violent kid and said to be a liar. Some kid who cries wolf, averting blame from himself or some shit.
I went downstairs to find on the counter of the bar a plate of curry. Guess that was the specialty here. I sat down and took a bite and my eyes widened as the taste hit my tongue. Oh boy, I could definitely get used to this.
? / ? / ? / ?
Ichihara Tadashi
After deleting that creepy app off my phone for the second time. I had fallen asleep. Seriously, maybe I had some sort of virus or something. I mean sure, add it to the list of dumb shit that targets me. It isn't like I've had this phone for very long. It was a replacement for the phone I had broken in front of Takayama High School.
I had expected the next time I opened my eyes to be looking at the ceiling of the attic of Leblanc, but instead I was surrounded by blue and… chains? The fuck!? Not only that I was in a… prison cell. The bed I woke up on was one of the worst things ever. Also is a toilet in the cell? Umm, excuse the fuck out of me, but where the living hell am I? I sat up… there were binds on my hands. I'm chained up? The hell?
"Hahaha," a voice laughing. I turned to see not one but two young girls dressed in blue uniforms.
I got up and faced them… but what bothered me more was something I saw past them. I noted the weight attached to my legs as I came to the bars that held me in this cell. So I'm locked in, chained up, and have a weight chained to my leg. Talk about fucking overkill. I'm sure whoever that asshat is that sued me would enjoy this sight.
Looking past the two girls I saw a man sitting at a desk, under a spotlight, he looked up at me and… Holy hell is that his nose? Bizarre. He smiled and when he spoke his voice was much deeper than I expected it to be, "Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room."
"So you've come to, Inmate," one of the girls said.
"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream," the other girl told me.
"You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight," the other tacked on.
"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance," the old man spoke up again. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."
"Between dream and reality?" I shook my head. "What are you even talking about? What important matters?"
He ignores me and surveys the surroundings, "Still, this is a surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."
"You're telling me that my life isn't already shitty enough that something else is going to happen?" I laughed, this was fucking ridiculous.
Igor chuckled as well, "Worry not. There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated toward freedom. That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"
"Distortion of the world? What the fuck are you talking about?" I was blunt.
"You didn't decline, hm? Very well, that is enough. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation," Igor said as the two girls turned towards me. "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; your left, Justine. They serve as wardents here."
"Hmph," Caroline spoke up first. "Try and struggle as hard as you like."
"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. That is, if you remain obedient."
"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion," Igor spoke and the two girls turned to face him. "Now then, it seems the night is waning. It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually."
I heard an alarm, I looked up trying to find its source.
"Time's up," Caroline said. "Now hurry up and go back to sleep."
Then something washed over me… it was like I was being pulled back… I collapsed back and onto the ground as my consciousness faded.
Sunday / April 10th, 2016 / Leblanc - Attic / Early Morning
Ichihara Tadashi
I shook my head as I slipped on the Shujin Academy jacket and started to button it up. Ruin… Rehabilitation… The Velvet Room… What kind of fucked up dreams am I having now? Isn't it bad enough that my everyday life is just a shit show that now my own dreams want to get in on the action. Oh nice room you got there Tadashi, how about you dream yourself being in a fucking prison. Goddamn, I'm an asshole even to myself.
I slipped on my glasses and saw Sojiro coming up the stairs. He eyed me as I got to my feet.
"Looks like you're up. Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. It'll take a while to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Since I need to be there anyway. Let's go," Sojiro said and then muttered something else that I couldn't really tell.
The drive to the school wasn't too bad. It did take some time due to some traffic that hadn't been expected. We parked in a nearby parking spot that was in the Aoyama area and we walked the rest of the way, but I didn't see a subway station so I'd have to figure out where it was later I guess. More walking around with a pedestrian nav app to figure it out.
We arrived at the front of the school Shujin Academy, huh?
"Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right?" Sojiro stated. "Don't get me wrong. I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble."
Translation: Don't give the staff shit because they are treating you like a no good delinquent.
As far as they were concerned I was precisely that. After entering the school we ended up being led to the principal's office. A few awkward introductions to the meat of the meeting happened.
"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems," The principal, a large bald and plus-sized man, looked at me with a stern look. "In my opinion, you're nothing but a liability, but we had our own circumstances to consider. Whatever you might've gotten away with in your hometown… Those days are over."
What the fuck did he think I did? I was the ace pitcher on the baseball club and top of my goddamn class. You couldn't fucking ask for a better student. Oh, and seeing someone in trouble, I went to help. Now I'm somehow public enemy number one and people have this fucking made up fantasy that I'm some kind of gang leader with a history of violence or some shit. Respectfully, you can fuck right off, sir.
"If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind," the principal added.
Yeah I do. It's called juvenile detention… no wait, its juvenile correction center. That is where I would go. Trying to threaten me with that shit is such a waste of time. But I'll keep my mouth shut for the sake of Sakura-san. I'm not going to come all the way out here just to waste the time of the man that had taken me in when my parents would rather throw me to the curb.
"This is the teacher in charge of your class," the principal indicated to the woman next to him.
"I'm Kawakami Sadayo," She sounded tired. "Here's your student ID."
She slid it towards me on the desk and… wait, is that some sort of flier underneath it? Kawakami noticed it and swiftly snatched it up. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. But she simply cleared her throat before speaking.
"Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by any chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all. That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?" Kawakami looked to the Principal.
The phrasing of it caught my attention. I won't be able to protect you at all. That made it seem like she wasn't immediately assuming the worst out of me.
"He is responsible for all his actions," Principal Kobayakawa looked at me for a moment.
Okay, yes and how is anyone my age not responsible for their own actions? I don't understand a lot of adults, especially after that farce of a courtroom that sentenced me so quickly that my head should have been twisted off by the force of it. What the fuck ever.
"But really though, why me? There should've been better candidates," Kawakami protested. Fair complaint if I really was the teen delinquent that I was being out to be. More than that, I was a male student. She probably would have preferred a male teacher to get me instead. It made more logical sense. But really, she looked exhausted. As if she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks, or longer.
"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening," the principal explained.
Yeah, that was true. Even though things were rushed, it took time before the official arrangement was made and they decided that I would be put on parole and come out here. A lot of that apparently was due to the juvenile corrections center being rather… full of capacity. So even Shujin Academy had to scramble to get things ready to accommodate the request. And from the statement Kobayakawa said earlier, they weren't in a position to refuse. Curious that they couldn't reject me like all the other schools that had done just that.
"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to," Sojiro spoke as I grabbed my student ID and put it in my pocket. The Student ID also doubled as the subway pass. Stations between Yongen-Jaya and school would be free. Any other places outside of that I would have to pay for.
"Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble outside," Kobayakawa spoke to Sojiro as if I wasn't standing right next to him.
"Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in," Sojiro was probably saying this more to appease the principal so we could leave though.
"Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom," Kawakami said to me. I nodded and then Sojiro and I left.
When we got to the entrance hall of the school we stopped.
"Everyone's giving you the cold shoulder. That's what having a criminal record does to you. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go. By the way… if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?" Sohiro turned to me.
"If I get myself expelled, then please by all means, kick me out," I gave a defeated sigh.
"Hmph," Sojiro seemed concerned about my response but looked around and sighed. "School never changes, huh? Come on, we're going home."
Home, huh? I suppose Leblanc was my home now. I looked around the school for another moment. Shujin was a prep school, so maybe the education here would challenge me better than Takayama was able to.
I followed Sakura-san as we made our way back to the parking lot to get in his car. Now just to drive back to Yongen-Jaya and basically do nothing for the day. That was the plan, but shortly after getting into traffic, we were at a standstill. Eesh, at this rate Sakura-san won't be able to open Leblanc.
"Uuugh. Traffic's not moving at all…" he shook his head. "You're taking the train starting tomorrow."
Didn't we cover that already? I suppose he was just frustrated at this horrid traffic.
"So how was it? The school, I mean. You think you can manage?" he asked.
"Sure. I mean it's basically a prep school, but I was taking advanced courses in Takayama, so I doubt I'll have to worry that much about being caught up. Not that it matters. Even if I were to be the top of the class most colleges won't think twice to reject me," I answer honestly.
"I guess you have a good idea of what your situation means," Sakura-san said.
"Despite what you've likely been told. I was the top of my class at Takayama High," I clarified.
"Is that right? What a troublesome kid I've taken in," He said tapping the top of the steering wheel with his index finger.
"And why did you take me in?" I asked.
"I was asked to do it, and I just… happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all," he answered with surprising honesty.
"Can't blame you there," I looked out the window. The money he received had to be a good amount. It was a year's worth of taking care of someone after all. It was a financial burden he had to take on.
After a few moments of silence, Sojiro turned on the radio and changed to a news station.
"..today's top story. A subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all of…"
"...Another accident?" Sojiro couldn't believe it. "So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately."
"Yeah, just getting to Yongen-Jaya yesterday, that was all I heard anyone talking about," I said.
"I can imagine. In fact, there was a really sad one just last month. If I remember right, the girl that passed away was only fifteen. I could only imagine how painful it was for her parents…" Sojiro sighed.
"...traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets," the newscaster on the radio said and Sakura quickly turned it off.
"Only my second day in the big city and already experiencing the wonderful traffic jam I've heard about," I can't help but say sarcastically.
"Hmph," Sojiro chuckles. "Just watch who you give your comments to, kid."
Time seemed to drag for an eternity before we were able to get through the mess. Hours later and the sun was already setting by the time we were walking back into Leblanc.
"Thanks Sakura-san," I said as we came into the café. "Sorry you couldn't open Leblanc."
"...Whatever. No use thinking about it," Sojiro had his phone out, looking like he was checking his phone. "Talk about a gruesome accident… Eighty people were involved. Oh, right." Sakura pulled something out from the inside of his jacket and handed it to me. "Here's a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date."
"Diary, huh?" I took it. "So record my daily activities then?"
"That's right. You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I want you to record your daily activities," he explained.
Made sense, it seemed like they were playing real loose with my parole though. Honestly, everything around my conviction and how fast it all happened was strange. Not that there was a use in thinking about it.
Sojiro's phone started to ring, and he turned away and answered, "Hey, what's up? I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time. Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." He hung up. What did he have a date or something? He looked back at me. "Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops."
I blinked and then sighed with a shrug.
"You have school tomorrow. You better head off to bed at a decent time, all right?" Sakura then turned around and left Leblanc, locking the door, and then he disappeared.
I brought up the diary and flipped through it. Pocket sized calendar type diary, I guess. Best way to record things was by bullet point, or I might run out of space to write on a given day. I sat down at the bar and grabbed a pen from the other side and flipped it open. Today's date… and quickly put today's glorious events. Best to make it a habit. Explaining why it isn't up to date would be a pain.
Day two of Tokyo. All adults think I'm a delinquent piece of trash. Sakura-san has no reason to trust me yet and somehow I'm allowed to stay alone at night in Leblanc with free reign. I dunno about you but some of that doesn't add up. Well, whatever. Just no dreams of me waking up in a prison with ten year old warden's and an old man with a cartoonish long nose. God its creepy as fuck.
Not long after, Sakura-san called and asked me to flip the sign from Open to Closed, because he had forgotten. Simple task, door unlocked from the inside so I could open and flip it over. Other than that I looked over the stops I'll have to take to get to school by train, but who knows what kind of unholy mess that will be if the train derailment isn't sorted out by the morning. And… hold on. It's that fucking app again. I've deleted the damn thing twice now.
My phone had a fucking virus didn't it? Mother fucker. I swiped it to the trash bin for the third time and then I loaded up a virus scan app. But when it finished, it said it found nothing. Bloody hell. Does the universe fucking hate me or something?
A/N: Eesh, how long has it been? Damn near 3 years? My life has been a roller coaster, but it isn't like I stopped writing. I just stopped posting anything. My personal life has seen a lot of changes, but the growth in my career kinda came out of nowhere so a lot of what I did outside of work had to be reprioritized.
Writing is something I love to do, but I have a good friend that keeps pushing me to post on here again. So here I am.
So what to expect? I'm going to start with a monthly cadence for now. So expect Bitter Fool to get a new chapter every month. I also do plan to go back to my Chrono Trigger Fic and finish that up as well. Though the release of that won't replace monthly releases for Bitter Fool.
Anyway, glad to be back and hope you look forward to the journey of a Bitter and often Angry Fool, Ichihara Tadashi.