Amending Fences

Yuuki fiddled with his cell phone in his desk, glancing at the time. He had about twenty minutes to spare before catching the train to pick up his little sister. He managed to catch Akira’s eye, the other teen giving him a small nod before the bell rang. He swallowed before Akira approached him a few minutes later. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be paying attention due who he himself was and Akira was old news by this point. Shujin tended to move on relatively quickly and, plus, they were all still caught up in by what had happened to Kamoshida. Akira remained quiet as always and Yuuki gripped his pants, dropping his head as he hunched over a bit. “I know I never really did this so… I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry I spread those rumors and leaked your record but I never—” His throat caught and he saw Akira stiffen in his peripheral vision. Kamoshida had tried to get him to leak everything about Akira from his record to his birth name and sex. Even for as much of a doormat as he could be, there were lines even he refused to cross. The one chance Akira had to be treated for he actually was without that judgment… He had refused to breach that wall. He felt a hand on his head and looked up, seeing a faint smile on Akira’s face. The opaque lenses made it difficult to read him beyond that, but he still sensed a gentility that many people lacked nowadays. “You were brave; I appreciate it. I’m sorry you had to suffer because of me.” Yuuki winced a little and nodded. He couldn’t even deny the extra ‘coaching sessions’ Kamoshida had put him through. Even he had to draw the line somewhere …  “But that’s not what this is about, is it?” Yuuki shook his head. “No, it’s not. I…I wanted to help you and make it up to you, so I started a site for you.” He could never be sure if anybody was eavesdropping on him, so he kept it as vague as possible. After all the grief he’d put Akira, Ryuji, and Ann through, being the Phantom Thieves’ PR manage was the least he could do. Plus, it was something he could do from home without having to trust his little sister to neglectful caretakers. Akira went to speak again, but the small, pleading look thankfully got him to stop so he could continue. Yuuki pulled an envelope out of his backpack it to Akira, bowing slightly in his seat. “I’m not special and I can’t do much but… Please allow me to also offer you financial support. My parents allot me 200,000 yen per week. I know it probably won’t cover everything but…hopefully, it can help… Akira took half a step back, eyebrows raised and, for the first time he could recall, he could see his eyes. The other teen straightened up a little, returning to his usual posture and unreadable expression. “Are you sure, Mishima-san? That’s a lot of money…” “For my family, it’s just a drop in the bucket. Mishima Technologies is a large, multinational IT firm so…” It was always hard to admit he was so wealthy he could have saved up for a few months and bought a very expensive car in cash . Most people thought wealth bought happiness but… It didn’t. He barely knew his parents. He and his sister alike had been mistakes and treated as such in favor of his older brother. He’d been left with neglectful caretakers for his whole life and basically raised himself. Then his parents had dumped his infant sister at the house eight years ago. Given his own experience with so-called caretakers, he’d basically become a single father to his baby sister. She was his whole world and he refused to do anything that might harm her. A moment of tense silence passed over the pair before Akira took the envelope in both hands, bowing slightly. Yuuki released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and his hands fell into his lap. Akira gave him a faint smile. “I’ll definitely appreciate the extra in the budget.” “Just tell me when you need any and how much, okay?” Yuuki managed a small smile in return and Akira gave a faint nod. “By the way, would you like to join our chatroom?” Yuuki just blinked and stared up at Akira. He had not just made that— “You’re just as integral to the group as anyone else. How could we leave you out?” Yuuki’s throat caught at the words but he nodded, his smile growing. He wasn’t alone anymore…