Judgment

Goro shifted and stretched, glancing at the clock and blinked when he realised how much time had passed. Last he remembered, it’d been about three-thirty and now it was seven. Where was Sae? She ahdn’t turned off Featherman, but he overheard soft laughter in the nearby dining room. Rising, he peered around the corner and saw a girl about his age with Sae. It wasn’t difficult to tell Sae was trying to teach her to sign, but her motions were so clumsy it set both of them laughing. “Makoto, you’re absolutely abysmal.” “Well, excuse me for not be as kinesthetic as you are!” Despite the emphatic tone, he failed to detect any actual heat behind her words. So this was her sister Makoto… He hadn’t expected such a significant age gap. Sae rarely talked about her home life due to the unspoken agreement they had to not get overly personal while at work. The woman blinked and smiled when she saw Goro, raising a hand in greeting. Did you sleep well, Akechi-kun? Makoto made a face at obviously not understanding and Goro shifted a bit. “I slept quite well, yes. I’m taking it this is your sister?” It was easy enough to slip back into his usual polite mask. He was just meeting her for the first time and the polite distance made it easier to speak since it was entirely impersonal. Makoto’s reaction got a stern look from Sae, though, and the girl gave a sheepish smile. “I know it’s difficult for you to be yourself around others, Akechi-kun, but you have nothing to worry about here. And I know it’s doubly hard for you to do so while speaking, but you don’t have to hide around Makoto. In fact, I think you’ll find you have quite a bit in common.” Sae offered him a gentle smile and Goro returned it hesitantly. She looked up at the clock on the wall and swore, standing up. “I’ll get started on dinner.” She headed into the kitchen and Goro shifted again, keeping pressed against the wall. It took all of a single heartbeat for awkward silence to cloud the air. Makoto reached into her backpack and pulled out her homework, starting on it. Goro looked back over his shoulder at the living room, tempted to return to watching Featherman. He really hated meeting new people. Plus, he had Y version and other games waiting for him… But dinner started soon and it would be beyond rude to not be at the table when Sae brought it in. He settled in a chair against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest as he played with the metal band in his glove. It was all he could do to keep from panicking. He hated being left alone with people he didn’t know. Plus, there was something about Makoto’s movements—even subtle as they were—that betrayed some underlying sense of power and danger… He shifted his gaze to her textbook, then away when he saw the kanji. It wasn’t difficult to see the fact it was honors work even with his severely limited knowledge. English was easier in a lot of respects… A movement from her made him tense and she looked at him, offering an awkward smile. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, but honors work and student council isn’t easy.” “Neither is honors and being a detective.” His voice shook a bit, worried she’d take it the wrong way. He wasn’t trying to one-up her it was just a simple statement of fact. Thankfully, it seemed she understood that and rested her hands in her lap. God, this was so awkward. “So, um. What sorts of things do you like, Akechi-san?” “Well… Featherman, biking, bouldering, Tarot… That’s…about it…” He’d never really had a chance to develop any interests due to being thrown around the system so much. Featherman and crows had been the only constants in his life. He’d seen it pointless to try to develop interests since he was uprooted so much. By time his life had stabilised, he’d been so busy just trying to make ends meet while keeping up with school, it’d only been more impossible. He’d only picked up bouldering since it would help in the Metaverse… Makoto was silent for several moments before she looked at him. “Have you ever seen any Disney movies?” Goro shook his head. He’d heard they were good, but that was about it. Sae popped her head out of the kitchen a moment later. “No Tangled.” With that, she withdrew and Makoto smiled at Goro as if nothing had happened. “I think you’ll like them. Come on.” They headed back to the living room and Makoto popped out the Featherman DVD before opening the side of the TV stand. Rows and rows of DVDs and VHSes squished together like sardines, revealing the Nijima sisters apparently really liked movies. The collection of Featherman was almost entirely completely and Goro couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Sae would let him borrow them so he could fully catch up… “So, Akechi-san, what sorts of stories do you like? They’re generally fantasy but on a bit of a sliding scale, of course. Or maybe you’d be more inclined to sci-fi since—” Makoto started rambling and Goro kind of just tuned her out since all of the genres and plots flew over his head. He didn’t watch much TV outside of Featherman and avoided reading, so his knowledge of genres were cursory at best. Eventually, though, Makoto seemed to catch onto the fact he wasn’t following and pink dusted her cheeks. “…How about you choose what looks good to you?” She stepped back from the case and he skimmed over it for several minutes. Fantasia, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp caught his eye immediately. Makoto smiled warmly at him, clapping her hands together. “Those are all great choices. How about Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, then Fantasia? Fantasia’s just a wonderful spectacle that—” More color rose in her cheeks and she stopped herself from rambling again by putting the movie on. Sae soon entered and served dinner, settling between them. Both teens leaned against her instinctively while they ate. Goro couldn’t help but smile in wonder as the magical stories unfolded and he signed excitedly into Sae’s palm. How had he never seen them before? They were absolutely spectacular! He could see why Makoto loved them so much. It was similar to why he liked Featherman; the line between good and evil was clear and there was no grey morality. They were simple, wholesome stories for any age to enjoy. He’d definitely have to come over again to watch more…if they would let him, of course. He doubted they would but… The next thing he knew it was past midnight and both Nijima sisters’ heads lolled. He signed into Sae’s palm and she stirred. I…should probably leave, shouldn’t I? It’s late and I’ve already imposed enough… He looked down and away, but Sae placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a warm—if tired—smile. “You’re more than welcome to stay for the night, Akechi-kun. I want you to feel safe here. We have an extra room you can stay in.” Sae shook Makoto who stretched and yawned, then excused herself. He followed Sae to the extra room and she hesitated for a moment, resting a hand on his shoulder as she looked at him. “Akechi-kun, I know your life is hard, but if you ever get into a situation you need to escape from, please come to me. I’ll do whatever I need to to get you out of it.” Her voice was soft, meant only for him, and wavered with an unexpected amount of worry, fear, and care. He tensed when she pulled him into a hug, but he ragdolled against her a bit, tears stinging his eyes. “…I’ll try.” He couldn’t endanger her by pulling her too deeply into this, so it was the best he could offer. He’d still rely on her a lot, there was no doubt about that, but…