Walking into Leblanc, the bell above the door chimed, cutting through the silence. Ren had to hold back his surprise when he saw a haggard-looking Sojiro sitting on a stool by the counter, with his sleeves rolled up. He'd half-expected the man to be home by now.
"Ren!" Sojiro called out the moment the door clicked shut. The relief on his face was instant, his shoulders sagging as if a weight had been cut loose. "I thought you'd still be at the clinic. That doctor… Takemi? She said she was going to keep an eye on you for the night."
"Ah, Dr. Takemi ran a few tests. Apparently, I'm mostly fine, just battered. She gave me the option to come back here, so…"
Sojiro let out a long, shuddering sigh at his words. His body relaxed for a split second before tensing right back up, his eyebrows knitting together as he snapped.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Sojiro shouted. "I told you yesterday to stay out of trouble! I told you I'd call the police if you stepped a toe out of line! And what do you do? I had to close the café early today because the school called to tell me you were being rushed to a clinic!"
Sojiro sounded less like his probation guardian and more like a terrified, frustrated parent. He stormed into the kitchen, and a moment later, Ren heard the aggressive clanging of pots and pans.
"Sit your ass down. I'm making you something to eat." Sojiro ordered from behind the counter, his voice muffled but stern. Ren heard him muttering to himself as he worked. "I swear, this kid is going to give me a heart attack before the week is out."
Ren had to hold back a chuckle as he gingerly sat down at the counter, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. Yet, here was Sojiro, staying late just to make sure he didn't starve.
"Thank you." Ren said, his voice a bit more quiet than he intended. He was being surprisingly honest for once. "I mean it."
Sojiro simply gave him an annoyed grunt, keeping his back turned as he focused on the stove. With surprising speed, he walked back out holding a bowl of simple, warm soup, probably assuming that his signature curry would be too heavy for someone who had just had their head kicked in.
He set the bowl down, then sat on the stool opposite Ren. He watched him eat for a moment before letting out another massive sigh.
"I heard about what happened at your school." Sojiro said, his voice softer now. The anger had drained away, leaving only exhaustion. "I also got a chance to talk to the girl you helped out. Suzui."
He paused, hesitating. He took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily before setting them on the counter. Without the lenses hiding his eyes, he looked older. Sadder.
"Listen… I get it." He began, his tone surprisingly genuine. "Back in the day, there was someone I knew. A woman. She was… well, it doesn't matter. One day, she told me she was afraid she was going to die soon. And I took it as a joke. I brushed it off. By the time I decided to take it seriously… it was too late."
Ren's spoon froze halfway to his mouth. His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't expected this, not the story, and certainly not the vulnerability.
"It's my biggest regret to this day." Sojiro continued, staring at the wood grain of the counter. "I get it. Wanting to do the right thing. No matter how stupid or dangerous that 'right thing' might be. Look, I can't really be angry, because you did save that girl. But take a moment to try and think things through next time. Try to see it from my perspective. I can't watch another person throw their life away."
Ren couldn't help but shrink back slightly. He could deal with anger. He could deal with insults. But he didn't really have a mask for this. He even felt an uncomfortable wave of guilt as he looked down at his soup to avoid eye contact with Sojiro.
"I know I haven't been the most… welcoming host." Sojiro muttered, putting his glasses back on and returning to his usual gruff demeanor. "But please, next time you think of doing something stupid, reach out to me first. You're under my care, kid. Act like it."
Once again, Ren felt that strange, ethereal sensation wash over him. Like a chain breaking in the distance. And when he looked up, he saw Sojiro shaking his head.
"Do you know what happened to Kamoshida?" Ren asked quietly, breaking the silence.
The frown deepened instantly on Sojiro's face.
"Not yet. The moment I got there, I was ambushed by some lawyers." He grumbled, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve. "They said they would handle the internal investigation, which usually means they're trying to figure out how to sweep it under the rug. But…"
He trailed off, sighing heavily before continuing.
"Don't worry about it. I'll make a few calls. I have some… old friends who practice law. If Shujin tries to bury this, we'll dig it right back up. I don't know what they're planning to do with him yet, but I won't let them silence you."
The air grew tense for a few moments, the gravity of the situation settling between them. Then, unexpectedly, Sojiro let out a short, involuntary chuckle.
"Sorry, but really, kid… Just thinking about it…" He began, a nostalgic, almost teasing smile tugging at his lips as he looked back at Ren. "You do know there are easier ways to a girl's heart, right?"
Ren choked on his soup, coughing violently as the liquid went down the wrong pipe. He grabbed a napkin, wiping his mouth, causing the smile on Sojiro's face to grow.
"Listen… I've been around the block a few times." Sojiro added, leaning back with a smug yet tired expression. "If you ever want some advice on how to charm a lady without ending up in the ER, well, all you have to do is ask."
Then, Sojiro stood up, groaning slightly as his knees popped. He shook his head again, grabbing his keys.
"Clean up the bowl before you go to bed, and put some ice on those bruises. I'm sure you need the rest, so I'm not going to bother you anymore. Lock up tight."
Once he was alone, Ren reached for his pocket to try to call Shiho, only to find out that his phone was missing.
"Ah…" He muttered, in hindsight, he hadn't thought that part through entirely. "Hopefully Shiho has it."
In the end, he was too tired to think about it, so he just headed to his bed.
— — —
Arriving at the train station the following morning, Ren was catching the stares of a lot of strangers. He'd probably be annoyed if it were any other time, but when his face was as bruised as it was now, he definitely stood out. Part of him considered taking the day off to rest, but he couldn't wait to go back to the castle.
There was so much that he wanted to find out, so many questions still left unanswered, that he decided it would be better for his mind if he just pushed himself. Otherwise, he'd probably end up pacing in circles in Leblanc. Hell, even just going to the castle again would give him access to Caroline and Justine, and more possible answers.
So far, every meeting he'd had with them had been short, too short. Maybe if he met them in the castle, he would have more time to ask his assistants for answers.
It was while lost in thought as he stood near the train station, that he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yo, are you Amamiya?"
Turning around, Ren saw a boy around his age, with striking blonde hair, wearing a yellow shirt instead of the standard school uniform. After he nodded in response, the blonde man smiled.
"I'm Ryuji Sakamoto. Saw what happened with Kamoshida yesterday. Man… that was brutal." Sakamoto introduced himself, sounding both uncomfortable but also excited. "I've had my own fights with the bastard before. It was about time that someone else stood up to him."
"Sakamoto?" Ren echoed, the name feeling familiar. "Ah, yeah, I remember Kamoshida mentioning you when he was beating me up. Something about you 'not being able to get a word in.'"
"That bastard!" Sakamoto shouted, drawing the eyes of a few of the other passengers. But he didn't seem to care. "When Kamoshida came to our school, all he wanted was to be able to focus on that damned volleyball team. So he did everything he could to get rid of the school's track team. When I spoke up, the bastard trashed me. And instead of getting fired, I was the problem?!"
Really, Sakamoto's "liveliness" was quite different from the usual silent train rides he had started to expect. It was almost funny, seeing everyone else on the train giving the boy death stares as he committed one of Japan's cardinal sins, being loud on the train.
Still, once they were out and walking the road to the school, Ren couldn't help but notice that the stares were shifting from Sakamoto to him, even as the blonde boy continued his rant over their "common enemy."
Perhaps he should have expected rumors to spread fast in a school, but, well…
"I heard that Amamiya was trying to flirt with Takamaki. My friend saw them exchange 'a look' when he showed up to school. And after hearing that Takamaki was Kamoshida's girlfriend he went over to try to fight for her love."
"Nah, this is prison rules! He wanted to take on the biggest meanest person in school to try to show how strong he was, but then he got beat up instead." Another student interrupted.
"I heard it was because of the volleyball team?" A girl from his class butted in. "I saw him walking around with Suzui, and she's one of the… you know? I mean, you've seen the team, they are always so…"
Maybe he should have expected the rumors to be on Kamoshida's side. Even with the few people that appeared to be on his side, the large majority of the whispers he heard were implying that Kamoshida was innocent, and that he was just a psychopath who ran at him with a knife or something like it.
That did bring up a few more questions… but for now, he could only really get the answer to one.
"What happened after lunch?" Ren asked the blonde man next to him.
"Classes got cut short." Sakamoto answered with a frown. "Before I left school I heard all the teachers arguing with each other in the teacher's lounge, but I don't know what happened with Kamoshida. If you ask me, the bastard deserves to be in jail."
Not the answer he hoped for, but it was something.
The two of them walked up the stairs leading to Shujin, but before he could ask more questions, or even search for Suzui, he saw Kawakami notice him. Her expression swapped from concern to frustration in a second, and then, she quickly approached him.
"Teacher's lounge, now." She ordered, grabbing his arm before leading him through the crowded hallways of the school.
It was only inside that her frown gave way, showing just how worried she really was.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, reaching her hand to try to softly touch the bruises on his face. "You need to rest after…. After what happened. I was worried we were going to lose you."
Her hand felt warm as she gently checked his face, yet Ren couldn't help but flinch back slightly causing her to pull her hands back worried that she might have hurt him.
"'Tis but a scratch." Ren tried to joke, but that only made a frown appear on her face.
In hindsight, he should have known it was the wrong move. Someone like her probably thought he was traumatized from the beating, just using humor to try to hide the discomfort he was feeling.
To be honest, he wasn't all that bothered. Sure, it had hurt like hell, but Ren had been asking for it. Though Ren wasn't a masochist, he also was willing to do what he thought was needed…. Even if he probably could have gone about it a few hundred different ways… or thought about his plan a bit longer.
Was he being more impulsive? What if Justine hadn't healed him? How long would he have been out for?
Hm…
"What happened to Kamoshida?" Ren asked, placing those intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind for later.
Kawakami flinched slightly at the question, letting out a tired sigh.
"He's been placed under unpaid leave for now." She muttered clearly unsatisfied with the punishment. "Principal Kobayakawa is trying to smooth things over at the moment. For now, he's keeping everything quiet to… well… he says it's to protect the school."
She slammed her hand on the desk, opening her mouth to speak and hesitating before finally blurting out her thoughts.
"A teacher beats a student to the point an ambulance needs to be called, and all he gets is a vacation. Can you believe this shit? —erm, sorry, I mean, uh, this crap." She muttered, even slipping in a swear before remembering that she was with a student.
Ren couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her answer. Though that did put more things in perspective. Maybe the reason Kamoshida had been so sloppy, the reason he'd felt like he was untouchable in the school was because… well, because he actually was untouchable here.
"What about the police?"
The question must have hit his teacher quite hard, because he saw her deflate as she took her seat.
"Principal Kobayakawa is dealing with it. The school has a bunch of lawyers that he hired after… after the Sakamoto incident." She muttered holding her head as if she were having a headache. "Either way, they are the only ones allowed to deal with the aftermath. I tried to call the police, but, if I did then…" She trailed off, giving him a guilty look before sighing. "I'm sorry, I can't lose this job."
"Thank you." Ren told her, trying to give her his best reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure Kamoshida will get what's coming for him. Karma's a bitch… just don't tell her I called her that."
Kawakami's tired eyes softened slightly at his words, and after a second she regained some of her energy.
"Language." She 'rebuked' him with a slight smile.
It was then that the school bell rang, signaling the start of classes. So while he had wanted to find Suzui, he'd been forced to follow his Home Room teacher to class. Thankfully, the classes passed by fairly quickly, even if he was getting a lot of stares from all of the other students around him.
Rumors that were getting weirder and weirder by the second.
"I heard that Amamiya is in a gang that sells performance enhancing drugs, and he tried to blackmail Kamoshida since he's been pumping that stuff ever since he was in the Olympics. But Kamoshida freaked out and that's why he beat him up."
In the end, it was only when the bell rang again for lunch that Takamaki rose from her seat and walked up to him.
"Shiho wanted me to tell you that she has your phone. They made a copy of the recording… and she's waiting for us on the rooftop. She wants to talk to us." Takamaki whispered, glancing back in annoyance at all of the other students trying to eavesdrop on them.
"Us?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you also…"
"Of course I am!" She raised her voice, causing the other students to start whispering amongst themselves. Realizing what she'd done, Takamaki shrunk slightly, whispering the rest. "The whole school is going crazy, and my best friend is in the middle of it with you. I have no idea what's happening, but she promised to explain everything that was going on."
"Let's go then." Ren answered, standing up and walking out with her by his side.
Arriving at the rooftop, he finally saw Suzui, who had been pacing in circles up to the very moment they walked in.
"Ren!" She shouted when she saw him, running up to him before reaching her hand up to his face, to the bruises, her hand hesitating in the air before her eyes turned back to him. "Why the hell didn't you tell me your plan? Do you have any idea how worried I was? If I'd known I never would've let you go through with it."
She raised her hands up in frustration, her mouth opening and closing for a few moments as she tried to find the right words before finally approaching him and wrapping him in a short hug.
"You're a freaking idiot." Shiho added, trying to maneuver between her concern and her annoyance. "Do you have any idea how bad concussions are? No, do you know how bad it is to fall asleep after getting hit in the head? You could have never woken up!"
Ren averted his eyes at her shout, his eyes landing on Takamaki's awkward expression. Thankfully, when she saw him looking at her, she let out a few awkward coughs to remind Suzui that she was also there.
At the reminder, Suzui blushed slightly, taking a few steps back before finally shaking her head to clear her mind.
"Ah, right… Here's your phone." She began by returning it to him. "I haven't gone back to the castle yet, but I think we should bring some reinforcements. If we get surrounded again just the two of us, then we don't stand a chance. We got lucky last time."
"The castle?" Takamaki echoed with some confusion.
"That's… fair." Ren admitted, ignoring the blonde's question.
He had also been thinking of who to recruit, but so far he didn't have any connections in the school aside from Suzui. And, if the rumors were anything to go by, Takamaki also had her own grudges with Kamoshida, which could give her the extra motivation she'd need to not run away after the first battle.
And if he thought about it, wasn't Takamaki the first connection to Shujin he'd made? Wasn't she the reason he met Kamoshida so quickly? Wasn't she the first domino to fall?
Perhaps he was reaching, but what if Igor had placed her on his path?
Really, he wished he had so many more answers.
"Do you think she'll be able to deal with the knights?" Ren still had to ask.
"Yes, you don't know her yet, but Ann's not the type to run away." Shiho reassured him.
Hearing him and Suzui talk about what must have felt like nonsense, Takamaki finally snapped.
"Alright, that's enough with the secrets. Tell me what's going on!"
Ren and Suzui exchange a final glance. She gave him a nod, almost as if asking him to trust her. Finally, returning her nod, Ren looked at the time on his phone.
"Alright, let's show her the world there and then return quickly. She'll understand once she sees it." That would give her time to process everything during the remaining classes, so then they could begin planning for what came next with a clearer mind.
~Confidants~
Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) Rank 1