"Great idea, that would be a really good demonstration."

"Awesome!"

And soon enough they're back at Leblanc.

"Talk with Dr. Takemi go well?"

"Yeah, it really did." Akira sits down at the bar and taps her fingers against the bartop, her nervous energy spilling over a bit. 

"I have a couple things to share that I'm a bit anxious about... Let me start from the top. Yes, I did go talk to Doctor Takemi about my headaches, but the point of the visit was different. It turns out she's trans, and that made me willing to go to her for advice on an issue that's come up at school..." 

She takes a breath. "Ann's being harassed by her gym teacher. I saw him hovering over her on the way to class in his car, so I pretended I was lost and asked her for directions. She opened up to me about it afterward and explained that she's been being pressured for a while."

Akira looks down at the bartop. "Now, I know with my record you're probably concerned that I'll do something stupid about this, but from my last incident I've learned a hard lesson about making accusations without proof. I talked with Doctor Takemi about it, and we both agree that if I tried to gather evidence myself or otherwise get involved I'd probably just make things worse for everyone. That said, I think Ann could really use a friend right now as she weathers this, and so I want to help support her through it, even if I can't get involved directly. I'm going to pass on Doctor Takemi's advice about it to her - apparently she's seen a situation like this before - and then just try and make sure she has a friend to talk to about it. Part of me wishes I could do more, but I think that's what's best for everyone."

She sighs. "That's the main thing. I was nervous about bringing this to you since you told me to keep my head down and all, but Doctor Takemi told me you were trustworthy so I'm trying my best to be forthright."

First surprise, then shock, then anger, then concern flicker across Sojiro's face, one after another, before finally he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"God damn it, kid."

He looks away for a long moment, muttering, "Of course they would," under his breath, before finally looking back at Akira.

"Why'd you have to get sent to the school that has trouble waiting for you even when you're trying to keep out of it, huh kid?"

Akira sighs as well. "Just lucky I guess. I know it's hardly what you wanted to hear from me on my first day back from class, but the last thing I want to do is end up hiding things from you. That doesn't lead anywhere good in the long run." 

It still weighs on her, keeping the airsoft guns and the metaverse a secret. But if she told Sakura-san about those, he might stop her from fixing Kamoshida. Priorities.

"No, it doesn't."

He sighs again.

"He's probably doing something to other students, too, isn't he?"

Akira nods. "I've heard rumors he's been beating up the men's volleyball team as well, yeah. And Ann says he pressures her by threatening the starter position of her friend Shiho. Overall he really sounds like a nasty character."

"And he's probably taking pains to keep it all deniable, too."

Sojiro buries his face in his hands for a long moment.

"I wish I didn't believe you," he says when he looks up, "but I do. I'm proud of you for keeping your head down, and I'm prouder that you're supporting your friend as she gets through this, but I hate everything else about it."

He turns and starts making a curry, shaking his head.

"Still listening, kid, but you've had a hell of a day and you need to eat, so I'm going to work on this too."

"That pretty much covers that, I think. It's a mess but mostly the only thing to do is cope with it and move on. The other thing is not so much good or bad as just plain weird. Morgana, could you hop up on the bar?"

The distinctly cat-shaped non-cat bounds up onto the bar. "Hi, Sakura-san!"

"A cat?" He looks over his shoulder for a moment. "Surprisingly obedient for a cat, though."

"I'm not a cat!"

"Morgana says they're not a cat. That's the weird thing." 

Akira ducks her head. "I met them on the way to school today. They can speak Japanese but only me and Ann can hear them, anyone else just hears meowing. I know I'm not crazy because Ann can hear them too. If you want proof, I can go out of the café and you can tell Morgana something while I'm not here, and then they can relay that to me when I come back in."

"You're telling me that the not-cat sitting on my bar told you they weren't a cat? And that only you and your friend can hear them?"

"Morgana, can you do three times four in taps of your paw against the bar?"

"Sure." Have twelve thumps of their right front paw, Sakura-san, nice and firm and against this convenient magazine to make sure they're easy to hear.

"Damn. Well, that's evidence enough to at least try the passphrase test. Scoot, kid. I'll call you when I've talked to Morgana."

She smiles and heads out of the café. It's working!

He looks at Morgana over his shoulder, still cooking. "Can you read? Give me a nod or headshake."

"Yep!", they reply with an unmistakable nod.

"Okay, we'll do this thing proper, then. I'm going to type something on my phone, then you look at it, then I'll delete it, then I'll call Akira back in."

"Okay!"

And a moment later, he gets the curry to a pause point and taps something out in a text message to himself.

"Okay, Morgana. Done, come look. Meow when you've got it."