4/28

"Dammit!" Ryuji shouts and slaps his legs. He is hunched over and takes deep, dry breaths. "I'm slow as shit."

Akira, soaked in sweat, leans against the courtyard's wall. At Ryuji's protestation, Akira regards his friend from behind his fogged-up glasses. "You call that slow?"

Near the end of their jog, Ryuji had taken off at a pace Akira's mind had quickly dubbed, 'lightning-like.' He'd blown ahead of Akira, legs and arms pumping in an almost mechanical fashion, breathing synchronized.

Ryuji shakes his head. "This is nothing compared to how I used to be. The me from a year ago could run circles around the me now."

"Geez," Akira says. "You must've been fast."

Ryuji shrugs and straightens. "I guess."

It is the second day of Kamoshida's leave of absence, and the school continues to buzz. After school, Ann had gone to visit Shiho - still comatose - in the hospital. Morgana had taken to wandering around the neighborhood, and Ryuji, unable to cope with his nerves, had insisted Akira join him in another bout of training. Akira had been more than happy to run with Ryuji, anything to keep his mind of Kamoshida’s fate and the conversation he’d had with Sojiro the previous night.

"Want to grab something to eat?" Akira asks, then discreetly sniffs himself. "After a shower, of course."

"Nah, man, we gotta stretch first," Ryuji says, grinning. "Can't let your muscles stay tight and all."

He barely recalls Ryuji's instructions from the day before, so Akira has his friend walk him through each stretch once more. Admittedly, it feels good.

Once done, Ryuji plops onto the ground, spread-eagle on his back, and stares up at the sky. "It's going to take me a long ass time to get back into shape." Akira, figuring that they won't be moving for a time, sits in the grass alongside him. "That was one great thing about being on the team. Daily practices. You couldn't help but develop good habits from that."

"Do you miss it?" Akira asks.

"What, the track team?" Ryuji asks. Akira nods. "Sometimes. I mean, I don't miss the crazy shit Kamoshida made us do. But before that? Yeah, I kinda do." He lets out a long sigh. "Oh well. All that's in the past, dude."

"And if we changed Kamoshida's heart, no one will have to go through that again."

Ryuji grins. "Hell yeah! But this waiting is wrecking my nerves! I had some crazy nightmare last night where Kamoshida was chasing me through a forest."

Akira recalls his own recent nightmares. "It's hard for all of us. The other night, I-"

"Hey!"

The two friends glance in the direction of the shout. A trio of lean, grimacing boys stalks towards them from across the courtyard.

"Ah, crap," Ryuji groans.

"What's going on?" Akira asks.

Ryuji sits up, then stands, a frown on his face. "Old friends," he mumbles.

The trio reaches them as Akira gets upright, and the lead boy, tanned and chestnut-haired, glares at Ryuji. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Sakamoto?" He spits Ryuji's name like a curse.

"Yo, Nakaoka," he says, then nods at the other two. "Guys."

"Are you seriously running?" Nakaoka asks. "Here? At school?"

Ryuji lets out a sigh and turns his eyes to the ground. "We really gotta do this?"

Nakaoka takes another step forward, and Akira tenses. "The track traitor's got no business running around here! Not after everything you did."

"Yeah," says one of the other boys. "You're not welcome on the team, and you're not welcome here. This is where we train now."

Ryuji blinks. "The team? The hell are you talking about?"

Nakaoka spreads his hands and rolls his eyes. "What a surprise, Sakamoto's got no idea what's going on. Listen, jerk. Ever since our team got disbanded, because of you, we've had to train where we can. And it just so happens that this spot is ours."

Akira opens his mouth, but Ryuji speaks up before he can reply. "Fine, we'll find somewhere else on campus to train."

Nakaoka shakes his head. "You're not getting it. The whole campus is ours. We train when and where we can. So we'll take any spot we can get. And we better not see you running anywhere around here."

Akira's face is red, but he keeps quiet. His hands have balled into fists. Then the third boy - the one who hasn’t said anything - notices him.

"Hey," he says. "Isn't that the transfer student? The one with the record?"

Nakaoka looks Akira up and down and frowns. "Oh, yeah. You look like you've got something to say. You gonna assault us too?"

Ryuji's eyes narrow a fraction. "Don't talk to him like-"

"I might." The two words tumble from Akira's mouth. He regrets them the moment they've escaped. Shit.

No one says anything for a time. The three instigators look at each other in quick, darting glances, their faces just a bit paler. Then Nakaoka barks out a laugh. "Birds of a feather and all that shit. Come on guys, let's go. Don't train around here anymore, Sakamoto. Like we said, you're not welcome."

The three turn and march off.

Ryuji is quiet for a few moments and watches their backs retreat. Then he sighs. "Aw man, why'd you say that, dude?"

Akira frowns and dips his head. "Sorry. I just didn't like the way they were talking to you."

"I appreciate you having my back, man. I do. It's just, I don't know. Those guys used to be my friends. I know it sounds weird, given how much shit they were just talkin', but I do kinda get where they're coming from."

"Seriously?" Akira asks. "They can't just ban you from training around the school."

Ryuji nods. "You're right. They can't. But I'm still going to respect what they want. It's not like they're wrong. If I had kept my cool against Kamoshida, none of us would be in this mess."

"You said Kamoshida wanted to take down the track team no matter what," Akira says. "So if it wasn't you, it would've been something else."

"But it was me, Akira," Ryuji replies. "I hear what you're saying, but I still threw the punch."

He disagrees, but what can he say? "I'm sorry. I should've kept my mouth shut."

Ryuji rolls his neck and shrugs. "Well, it's not like it would've mattered. Those guys were going to think the worst of us anyway."

"Still. I didn't make things any better."

Ryuji cracks a small smile. "It got them to shut up for a few seconds. So there's that." He looks askance at Akira. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What about your friends? From back in your hometown. You ever keep in touch with them?"

Akira answers without thinking. "I don't have any friends back in my hometown."

Ryuji shakes his head. "Nah. You're a good guy. I'm sure you had some pals back there."

Now it is Akira's turn to shrug. "I thought I did. Then the trial happened. Then no one wanted anything to do with me."

Ryuji's eyes widen. "Didn't you tell them what happened?"

"I never got the chance. They told me it was because their parents didn't want them talking to me anymore, but I know that's bullshit."

Ryuji nods. "Yeah, with phones and the internet and stuff..."

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry, man."

Akira smiles and shakes his head. "Me too."

They nod at each other, and that is that.

Ryuji stretches his arms over his head. "Man, we were supposed to work off this stress from Kamoshida. Instead, everything got all heavy."

"Yeah. We should work on that."

#

Morgana squirms in his bag and pokes his head out of the little gap. "Wow. Look at all this stuff."

They cut their way through Shibuya's Underground Mall, a colorful, mobbed collection of storefronts. Despite the evening hour, people pack the halls, from the elderly peering curiously in every direction to students doing much of the same.

Their destination, Rafflesia, is a flower shop. Akira had found some ‘Help Wanted’ ads on some local boards and figured a small-time job in a flower shop was the kind of thing no one from Shujin was likely to find out about. Morgana remained evasive about what the ‘endeavours’ he’d mentioned earlier were, but besides that, living in Tokyo was beginning to get pricy.

When they arrive, Hanasaki, the shop owner, regards him with a discerning eye. "I see," she says after he explains his presence. She peers at his bag, which he has set at his feet. "And that cat in your bag. Are you interviewing as a team?"

Akira pales a bit, leans down, and zips the bag shut, with Morgana inside. "He's well-behaved. I, um, kind of have to keep him with me. He won't mess with anything, I promise."

She nods. "I suppose I'll hold you to that promise. People do tend to find cats cute, so perhaps if it becomes known that we have our own, foot traffic might increase." She shrugs. "And you said you attend Shujin, yes?"

Akira nods. "Yes, ma'am."

"I just hired someone else from Shujin. What a coincidence."

So much for that, Akira thinks.

Hanasaki turns back into the storefront, ornamented as it is with a spectacular array of tulips, roses, and flowers Akira cannot name.

"Oku-chan, could you come out here, please?"

Near the back of the storefront is a slightly ajar door, and at the sound of Hanasaki's call, it opens just a bit further, and a girl steps out. "Coming!" Comes a high, sweet voice.

The girl wears denim overalls over a dirt-dusted white shirt. Cheap sneakers caked in what looks like dried mud sit on her feet. On her head, pulled tight over her brown, curly hair, she wears a New York Yankee's baseball cap. She pats down her legs and straighten, then stares at the two.

When she sees Akira, she stiffens, pales, and bites her lower lip. "Um, hello," she mutters.

Akira frowns. The girl looks familiar, but he can't place her. She probably recognizes me as the transfer student. Great. Just great.

"Look here, Oku-chan," Hanasaki says with a smile. "We've got a new potential employee. And he goes to Shujin. Do you know him?"

"In... in a way," the girl mumbles.

Akira fights away his sigh.

"Well then, it might make it easier for you two to work together. Would he be a good hire, Oku-chan?"

Here it comes, Akira thinks. The 'No, he wouldn't because he's a dangerous criminal' part.

The girl nods. "I have no reason to think otherwise."

"Oh, good," Hanasaki says.

"Huh?" Akira asks.

The manager accepts Akira's proposal, cat and all, and has the girl show him into the back storage room. It is there that - with the two of them secluded - she turns to him and frowns. "I suppose you'll be telling everyone at school that I'm here." Akira opens his mouth to reply, but the girl turns her gaze to the floor and asks, "Did Makoto at least like her gift?"

He imagines her in another outfit—a pink cardigan over a Shujin uniform. "Hey," he says. "I do know you! You're that girl that was in Niijima-senpai's class."

She looks back up at him. "You didn't recognize me?"

He shrugs. "You seemed familiar but dressed differently." He rubs the back of his neck. "But, um, why would I tell people you work here?"

She frowns. "Please don't play dumb. I know that someone like me working in a place like this would be prime fodder for the rumor mills."

"Sorry, but I don't know who you are."

She blinks. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. I don't know who you are. Is there some reason why people at school would freak out about you working here?"

Her jaw works soundlessly for a few moments. Then she says, "I'm Haru Okumura."

"I'm Akira Kurusu."

"Yes, I know. But I'm Haru Okumura." Akira just meets her eyes. She tilts her head. "Oh. You don't know."

"Sorry."

A smile lights up her face. Akira nearly takes a step back at how vast the difference in her is. "Oh my. I'm so sorry. Please forgive my silliness." She bows. "My name is Haru Okumura. It's very nice to meet you, Kurusu.”

The girl's pleasantness is infectious, and Akira can't help but smile back. He bows as well. "It's nice to meet you too, officially that is, Okumura-senpai."

She straightens and waves her hands dismissively. "Please, there's no need to be so formal. Call me Haru."

It feels like a breach, but the girl seems insistent, so he cannot help but feel obligated to do so. "Then, you've got to call me Akira."

"Agreed. Let's both work hard." She turns back to the flowers and points to a stool near the wall. "You can set your bag down there. There's little work done in that area, so it won't get dirty." She turns back and looks at him. "Akira?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is your bag, um, shifting?"

"Oh," Akira says and unzips the bag.

Morgana pokes his head out and takes a big gulp. "Don't zip me up in there! I can't breathe!"

"Oh," Haru says, blinking. "You have a cat in your bag. That's, um, new."

Akira sets his bag in the spot and opens it a bit wider so Morgana can step out. "Yeah, this is Morgana. Mona for short."

Morgana regards Haru as she walks up to him and crouches down. "Who's this?" The cat asks.

"Aww, he's so cute," Haru says and holds out a finger towards his nose. "Mona-chan."

Morgana makes a face. "Seriously, who is this?"

"This is Haru," Akira says, in a sing-song voice. "She's our new co-worker. Be nice, Mona-chan."

The cat's eyes narrow. "Your face will meet my claws tonight, Akira. Mark my words."