Chained Trickster

The vibrating of his old phone awoke Arashi. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, his back aching. The forsaken bench had really hurt, but it was honestly still better than cold, hard concrete. He was going to be sore that day, no doubt, but it wasn’t like he was doing much in the way of physical activity unless one counted the Metaverse. He still wasn’t sure if he and Sakamoto were going to go that day or not, as they hadn’t the previous day. Honestly, all the better for him since hedesperatelyneeded tutoring. The Metaverse really cut into time he could be using for other things… Like studying. He got up and went over to the bed where he spoke to Morgana and Takamaki. “Hey, time to get up,” he said. It was loud enough they could hear. Morgana didn’t move a muscle, but Takamaki sat up and rubbed her eyes. She lightly petted Morgana and that was enough to get him to wake up. He stretched and yawned, then shook his fur out. “Oh, morning already?” Morgana asked. Arashi nodded. “Yeah.” Although he mentally swore when he realised that he hadn’t told Sakura about this entire setup. Last night had just been such a whirlwind that he hadn’t thought about telling the man that someone was staying over. Well, he knew that something bad had happened but…that was it. Arashi hadn’t told him that Takamaki was staying over the night at all. He’d been so focused on making sure she felt supported and not alone that it hadcompletelyslipped his mind. He would probably get inmajortrouble for this. “We need to get dressed and head out. Though I forgot to tell Sakura-san about you staying over.” Takamaki frowned. “Do you think he’ll be mad?” “I don’t think so,” Morgana said. “I’m not sure, but Morgana thinks it’ll be okay.” Sakura was still playing some form of 4D chess that Arashi couldn’t figure out. The manactedsweet and kind, but Arashi knew better. Somehow, him being semi-outed as queer by Lala hadn’t made the man toss him out. Sakurasaidthat he wouldn’t toss Arashi out, but heseverelydoubted that. He had crossed a line and let a stranger stay over without prior approval. Sakura would no doubt bepissedand want to throw Arashi out. This had to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Sakura. He really didn’t think it’d be okay. “Let’s get changed and do what we did last night?” Takamaki asked. Arashi nodded. One of them stood slightly in the stairwell with their back turned, then they exchanged places. It was a quick process but it did give each of them as much privacy as possible, given the circumstances. Morgana just stood near the bottom of the well. Once done, Arashi sighed and looked at her. “Let’s get this over with.” He knew better than to trust Sakura to not toss him out on the streets for an infraction like this. He hadreallycrossed a line by inviting somebody over without prior approval. They walked down the stairs where Sakura raised his eyebrows when he saw the pair of them. “You didn’t tell me someone would be staying over.” Arashi braced for anger, but there was only an observation there. Takamaki clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly. “Forgive me for the intrusion. Something…really bad happened last night and I didn’t want to be alone.” Sakura nodded. “Honoka did mention something happened to somebody. In the future, kid, just drop me a text if you’re having someone stay over, okay? That’s all I ask.” Arashi blinked and stared. That…was it? That was all? Tell him someone was coming over? No explosion of anger? No nothing? Something about this feltverysuspicious, but he didn’t say anything. So he just nodded. “I will. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Things just happened and it slipped my mind.” Thatwasthe bare truth of the matter. He wasfarmore worried about Takamaki than he was his own hide. She’d been through something awful andtraumatic,so it really had slipped his mind to tell Sakura. “And by the way, if you need somewhere to discuss your phantom thievery stuff, you can use the upstairs, okay?” Arashi blinked again but nodded. Why was Sakura being sonice?He didn’t understand. Adults were rat bastards, the lot of them. There was no such thing as a good adult. What could Sakura gain out of it…? He was struggling to findanyreason Sakura would allow them to do this. It made no sense whatsoever to him. And go upstairs… It would keep them out of earshot. It would give them some level of privacy. Why? Why was he doing this? Arashi didn’t understand. He was trying, but Sakura didn’t makeany sensewith what Arashi knew of adults and how selfish they were. “Oh, okay, thank you, sir,” Takamaki said, offering another polite bow. Sakura smiled. “Don’t worry about it, little lady. So what’s your name?” “Takamaki Ann.” She did shift closer to Arashi which…he couldn’t blame her for. Sakura was a tall man and kind of intimidating. Plus after what had happened last night, she would probably be anxious around men…for a long time. Arashi’s heart really did go out to her. He understood her anxietyalltoo well after he’d been harassed and assaulted numerous times. “How about some curry for both of you and Morgana?” Sakura asked. “That sounds fine.” Takamaki sat at the counter, though further away from Sakura. Morgana hopped up as well while Arashi sat down. Thankfully, Sakura didn’t force them to talk and just put the plates in front of them when he was done cooking. They ate in silence. If Takamaki wanted to discuss anything, she didn’t want to do it in front of Sakura. Again, he could hardly blame her. An adult man had been the one to accost her last night and that wound was still fresh and raw for her. He hated that she’d had to go through that, but there was nothing any of them could’ve done. It wasn’t like they could’ve known Kamoshida would attempt to assault Takamaki like that… Once done, Arashi got Morgana into his bag and they headed off for the train station, Arashi leading the way. Takamaki looked at him. “Um. Thanks for everything, Kurusu. I know we only just met a few days ago…but this was nice.” “I just know what it’s like to be alone after an event like that. I wouldn’t wish it onanybody.”Once again, it was the bare truth of the matter. Nobody deserved to be assaulted and treated like they were a toy for somebody else’s pleasure. The men in his town had chosen him because he was an easy target…it was probably the same for Kamoshida with Takamaki. “Are you sure you don’t want to be called by your given name? Although there was what Lala said… You have two names?” Arashi sighed. “I don’t discuss that.” He adjusted his backpack which was heavy due to Morgana especially since the cat had just eaten. “I know what happens when I do.” He got ostracised and pushed to the edges. There was no way for him to live the way he wanted to, not until he could start getting hormone therapy. And that was still a bit off. He was taking the prescriptions and supplements that Takemi-sensei had given him. He still needed to use the pill box, though… It was frustrating to have to remember when each and every individual pill had to be taken. Though he was pretty sure he was already gaining weight which would be good. He was skinny as was and a very skinny man wasn’t something that was convincing. “Like I said, I don’t care if you’re queer, Kurusu. I won’t tell anybody. I promise.” He shook his head. “I just don’t want to talk about it.” He knew he was stonewalling her, but he justdid nottalk about his queerness with people. He wasn’t sure he’d even discuss it with Lala or the people at Crossroads. He still didn’t buy what Kiragami said about asexuality; it sounded like a load of shit to him. Granted, Arashi had never experienced sexual desire before really, but that probably came down to the fact that he justdid nothave a stable life. Things fell to the wayside when people didn’t feel safe or have stability in their lives, so that was probably it. Not to mention how he’d been treated and accosted by different men in his town… “Okay, that’s fine. But seriously, thank you for being so willing to help me. It…means a lot.” She brushed her bangs out of her face. “Like I said, been there and don’t want anybody else to feel the same way.” He used his tone to make it clear he was shutting down the conversation. Thankfully, she caught on and they approached the subway station. They got on the subway and went to school. Arashi let Morgana out of his bag in the alleyway in front of the school, then headed into classes. The first class was quiet and normal but about halfway through the second class, students started gathering toward the windows in the hallway. Arashi’s heart fell through his stomach as they also got up and walked over. On the roof of the athletics building, a girl stood past the fences and on the edge of the building. Oh no. No, no,no. no no. That was Shiho. He could see Takamak with her hands over her face and then… Shiho fell. Takamaki screamed and ran past him, elbowing him in the process. He grunted and flinched, but he didn’t blame her whatsoever. There wereno wordsthat Arashi could do to put this into perspective. Takamaki’s best friend had justtried to kill herself. Sakamoto walked over. “C’mon, man, we gotta get to the courtyard too!” “This way.” Arashi had learned the building’s layout pretty well so he knew some of the less trodden paths. They managed to fight to the front of the crowd where Takamaki stood near Shiho. The EMTs were demanding someone come with her in the ambulance while the teachers dithered and said they should let Principal Jabba handle it. Other teachers demanded that the students get back to their classrooms. Takamaki jumped into the ambulance and it sped away several minutes later. However, he noticed someone flee through the crowd and grabbed Sakamoto’s arm, taking off at a headlong hurtle through the crowd. His much lither, smaller form sailed through the crowd while Sakamoto slowed him down, but there had to be areasonthe person was fleeing. All he’d caught was a glimpse of blue hair. He had no idea what was going on, but therehadto be guilt by association or something. They needed answers and they needed themnow.Theycould notwait. He kept a tight grip on Sakamoto's shirt, the much taller teen flailing around in the crowd. Arashi was far too used to sailing through crowds like this. He had to avoid cops and find a way through crowds and streets when going at top speed. He had to keep up this pace. Though, normally, it was him that was being chased rather than the one doing the chasing. It was strange to have the tables turned like this, but he needed to find out what was going on. Guilt was a reason people would run like this. Then again, there were a hell of a lot of reasons people would run from a suicide attempt... Maybe it had hit them deep, but something told him it wasguiltthis person was feeling rather than anything else. The blue-haired person made their way into the athletics closet and looked around. His face was pale and he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Hey." Arashi stopped and looked at the boy, Sakamoto still flailing behind him. The blue-haired boy practically jumped out of his skin. "W-Why did you follow me?" "Why were you running?" Arashi asked. "Seriously man, what the hell?!" Sakamoto finally spoke up and glared at the boy. "Mishima, right? Why were you runnin' from the scene?!" Sakamoto loomed over them and Arashi felt his breath catch in his chest. Mishima shrunk away and started trembling. His eyes were wide and his body language spoke to the fact he was clearly trying to be as small as he possibly could be. "Sakakmoto-san, relax. I get it. There's a reason I gave chase, but getting mad and yelling isn't going to help anything. Can't you see he's terrified?" Arashi asked. He knew better than to yell at people who acted like this. It was honestly how he acted half the time...though he didn't want to admit to it. Anger and yelling put him on edge more than anything. It was hard to not react to people spewing negativity. He still didn't know what Sakura's angle was. The man had acted gruff and mean and then turned around and acted kind and generous. That man was playing 4D chess of some sort. Honestly, maybe he should consult the cards over it... Granted, right now wasn't the time nor place to be thinking about Sakura; he'd worry about that later. He had a situation on his hands now that required hisimmediateattention. "That girl just tried tokill herselfand you want me to be calm about it?!" Sakamoto balled his fist and Arashi tensed. Then, Sakamoto looked down at his fist and sighed. He forced himself to relax. "You'd probably handle this better than me, Honoka." Arashi still hated that name, but he knew better than to out himself. Again, not the time to think about it; he had to focus on the situation at hand. "Mishima was your name?" Arashi asked. The blue-haired boy nodded, body laguage still small. "Y-Yeah... Mishima Yuuki..." Arashi blinked. "Wait, aren't you on the volleyball team?" He remembered trying to talk to him after the volleyball rally. This kid was so unassuming that he'd completely vanished from Arashi's memory. How crazy. He was a bit surprised he was calmer than Sakamoto was... Then again, he didn't really have a goat in this race. Kamoshida was a bastard, that was for certain, but he hadn't done anything to Arashi...at least not yet. The only reason he was doing this was because Sakamoto would likely get himself killed in the Palace and then he'd let Takamaki in. She needed someone to protect her since she didn't have a Persona either... It was rough, but somehow he'd become the defacto leader of this small band of plucky thieves. How washethe calmest of all of them...? Mishima nodded. "Y-Yeah, I am..." "Why did you start running?" It definitely wasn't to get help. This was the furthest location from getting help. If he had run to the teacher's room, that would've been one thing...but the athletics closet? Something was definitely afoot here, but getting mad at Mishima wouldn't result in anything constructive. They needed to remain as calm as possible and talk this out. Mishima wasclearlytrying to hide, though he had no idea why. Mishima rubbed his arm. "Promise you won't get mad at me...?" Arashi shook his head. "Not on my end. I can't speak for him—" He thumbed at Sakamoto. "—but for me, I won't get mad." Mishima had been abused by Kamoshida. Making him feel guilty for something that wasn'this faultwouldn't help them in any shape, way, or form right now. He knew better than to guilt somebody that already felt like that for no good reason. He clearly felt guilty about this and making it worse wouldn't aide them right now. Arashi just had to keep calm and make sure Mishima didn't feel any worse than he already did. He really just wanted to get to the bottom of this and why Mishima had run like that. It just...wasn't common to run away from the scene of an attempted suicide. “I…saw Kamoshida pulling Shizui along… He lookedreallyangry. I don’t know what happened, but it was obviouslybad.He took her to his office. That’s…all I know…but I saw it. I don’t know what to do… I should’ve stopped…whatever was happening…” Mishima gripped the sides of his head and shook violently. He started breathing quickly and Arashi held a hand out to him. “Hey, it’s all right… There was no way you could’ve known what would happen.” Unfortunately, he was pretty sure she knew what had happened to Shiho. Kamoshida had attempted to make a move on Takamaki…so when she had fought back… His blood turned to ice. He had probably taken it out on her best friend to hurt her. Damn it all… That man really was a bastard. He didn’t have a goat in this race, but that man was a right bastard. He needed to godown.Anger roiled up inside of him, but that anger wouldn’t help them right now. Just like it usually didn’t. So he shoved it down and kept up the smile on his face. Mishima looked at him tentatively, then put his hand in Arashi’s. The kid shook violently and Arashi could feel it. “Hey, I know somewhere we could probably go tonight after classes if you wanted to relax for a while.” Crossroads hadn’t been good last night, but maybe it’d help Mishima. The atmosphere had been nice, though it was hard to fully understand it when he’d had everything with Takamaki hanging over his head. There were people there Lala wanted him to meet, but he just couldn’t, not with how upset Takamaki had been. Mishima shook his head. “I can’t… I can’t leave my little sister.” “All right.” “What about what Kamoshida did to her though?!” Sakamoto piped up. Arashi looked at him. “And what do you think we candoabout it?” There was nothing in the real world they could do about it. “We need to go after him!” “That’s astupididea and you know it!” Unfortunately, Sakamoto didn’t listen and started running. Arashi sighed and looked at Mishima. “We better follow him.”