Chained Trickster Asides

Lala and Sojiro talking during Chapter 7 after Arashi leaves.

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Sojiro watched as Honoka left LeBlanc. He was really worried about her. He knew he probably should’ve talked to her a bit more when she’d been here, but it wasn’t everyday that Lala stopped by. They both knew the hardships of having a business in Tokyo and how things fluctuated and were so hard. The rising cost of everything definitely took a toll on both of them. But he did what he had to in order to stay afloat. It didn’t help this kid hadn’t had anything when she’d gotten here. He’d really blown his monthly budget this time, but she needed help. The phone and the mattress hadn’t come cheap and neither had the uniforms. But she needed bare essentials in order to go to school. She couldn’t go without shampoo or clothes… He just could not stand to see her suffer.  A throat clearing from Lala got his attention back on her. “So you think she’s queer?” Sojiro asked. Lala had owned Crossroads for two decades at this point and had been around queer spaces even longer. He still wasn’t entirely certain of her past or anything like that, but she was a good friend who had helped him open LeBlanc in a way that wouldn’t harm Futaba either. He did feel bad, leaving her alone all day, but he had hooked up inconspicuous microphones along the shelves as well as a few webcams so she could feel safe and secure about having him away from the house. “Oh, honey, she has the hallmarks of a queer kid, for sure. Her eyes… She’s known extreme hardship for years. Years longer than any kid her ages should have. There’s anger there—it’s just under the surface. She hides it well, but it’s definitely there.” He frowned. “I didn’t know that. She seemed so calm and gentle.” He thought he was usually a pretty good judge of character, but he hadn’t gotten a good read on Honoka. Being a café owner had opened him up to a lot more empathy and understanding of people than when he’d been working his government job. There was no care nor compassion for people there. Here… It was all about the people. He saw his regulars and got to know them well. He had only known Honoka for a few days, so he hadn’t gotten the best read on her, but she seemed so sweet, gentle, and demure.  “Honestly, I’d say more than just anger—a tempest. A storm of some sort.” Lala took a drink from her coffee again. “The way she moves… You’re good at what you do, So-chan, but I’ve been a bartender for way longer than you’ve been running LeBlanc. You just learn to read people when you’ve been at this as long as I have. She’s hiding something and I think I have an idea of what it is—but I’d rather not say. You’ll have to earn her trust first before she can open up to you.” Lala sighed. “I’m going to have to do the same, assuming she comes to Crossroads of her own free will. If I were you, I’d gently suggest pushing her to come. I don’t know if that girl’s ever had positive queer influence on her.” “So I’ll just have to figure it out for myself, huh?” He sighed. She seemed so unwilling to trust him that it was incredibly frustrating. Then again, it wasn’t like he could blame her at all, either, from what little she’d told him. Out on the streets since the age of nine…? He wished he didn’t know what sort of horrible parent would do that to their kid, but he knew all too well. Futaba’s family had treated her awfully despite the fact she’d done nothing wrong. He really just wanted to treat Honoka like his own, but he knew what dealing with a traumatised kid meant. Futaba had been beyond traumatised when she’d come to him… Now he had the Herculean task of trying to gain Honoka’s trust…and somehow, he just knew it was far worse than Futaba. If Lala were right about the storm Honoka harbored, then he’d have to weather it and try to get to the eye… He really wasn’t looking forward to it, but she was here for the next year. And he wasn’t just going to toss her out on the streets. “Unfortunately you will, darling. And if she does come to Crossroads, don’t expect help from me—you know better.” “Yeah, you respect queer confidentiality.” It did suck that he couldn’t expect support from Lala. But he knew how important confidentiality was to young queer kids. Especially those just seeking a safe place to be. Crossroads was open to anybody and everybody that needed a home away from home. Sojiro had ended up there more than once while trying to gain Futaba’s trust. He wasn’t queer himself, but Crossroads had been a great place to talk about his troubles and drink them away some nights. He knew that being drunk or hungover while dealing with Futaba wasn’t a great thing, but some nights, it just got too much and he needed an escape. It hadn’t been his main haunt while he’d been working his government job, but Wakaba had introduced him to Lala years ago… He still wasn’t sure if Wakaba had been queer or not, but she had at least enjoyed the atmosphere that Lala created. “Or just…general confidentiality. Which I appreciate.” Lala smiled at him and finished her coffee. “Tell little Futaba I said hi.” “She already heard.” He looked over at the coffee cabinet where he kept his roasts. Futaba had met Lala before as he and Wakaba had brought her to Crossroads numerous times before.  “Poor little bean. Hopefully you can get her some help sometime soon.” She pushed her cup and saucer across the counter. “Well, I ought to get going. If your little egg comes to Crossroads, I better be there instead of Kei-chan~” She stood up and paid the bill, heading out. Sojiro sighed and put his head on his hands. He had known there would be trouble with Honoka, but he had no idea it would be this bad. All he wanted was to have a quiet life where he could raise Futaba, but that wasn’t going to happen apparently. He was really trying, but Honoka felt like drowning. There was no trust there on her part. He really just… He had no idea what to do.  He locked up LeBlanc again and cleaned Lala’s dishes. What did ‘egg’ mean though…? He had no idea.