There's a little bit of quiet bustle in the station, and in the streets above. On the way to Sakura-san's house, Akira overhears talk of a rise in psychotic breaks, and mention of "mental shutdowns". The weird app lets her delete it, and stays gone for like five minutes after that, but then the next time she checks her phone it's back. Is that the normal way malware behaves? Does she know? It's certainly persistent, at least.

She passes a little second-hand store, a grocery, a coffeeshop, a little medical clinic, and some entertainments like a bathhouse, batting cages, and even a little movie theater.

Eventually she finds Sakura-san's house, down a side street. It has a gate, and a buzzer at the gate.

It's probably in the firmware or something. Who knows why it even shows up as an app. Shitty government code job? Whatever.

She stops at the gate and presses the buzzer, and does the little shift in her throat that lets her sound properly feminine. It tires her to keep her voice in the right register, but she's going to try and put forward the best impression she can. 

Let's see who she's going to be staying with.

Apparently no one is answering the door.

Well that's a problem. If Sakura-san doesn't let her in she has nowhere to stay the night.

She presses the buzzer again, a little more insistently. 

Much as she'd like to go up and knock, she's on probation and the last thing she wants is to "snoop."

If that doesn't work for another few minutes, she'll check on her phone that this is definitely the right house, and then see if this gate opens and she can go knock on the door.

After another minute, a delivery driver steps back out from dropping something off at the small apartment building next door. "Looking for Sakura-san, miss?", he asks.

Miss!!!!!

She fights down her smile and tries to keep her voice steady.

"Yes, I am."

"You'll probably find him at Leblanc, his coffeeshop. It's a street or two over."

She did see a coffeeshop down a side street on the way here, didn't she?

"Oh! Thank you. I'll head over there right away." 

And that is about as much as she can hold her voice without it cracking. She just nods and doubles back as quickly as she can.

It's a small place, with a red and white awning over the door, and text printed on it.

coffee & curry

Leblanc

A sign hanging on the door announces that it's open.

She lets herself in and looks around. Is there anyone in the café?

Leblanc does a lot with the little bit of space it has. Chalkboards hang behind the bar announcing coffee blends and curry and prices, and there's a little payphone at the corner of the bar, and a bunch of little booths along the other wall. There's a TV on the far wall, and a clock just right of the door, and a staircase going upward in the very back.

There are no customers at the moment.

There is, however, this man, wearing a black apron over a collared shirt. He's cleaning up a few dishes from some customers that just left. "Four hours for one cup of coffee," he mutters to himself, not yet having noticed Akira come in.

Wow, this place is dead. The side street location clearly isn't doing it any favors. 

Akira steps over to the bar and gives her best smile.

"Excuse me," she says, stretching her voice again. "Are you Sakura-san?"

He turns to look. "Yes, I am. Welcome to Leblanc. What can I do for you, miss?"

She lets the smile show this time. It still feels so good to get seen as who she is, even if the circumstances are awful. 

"I'm, ah - Akira Kurusu." She fidgets with her glasses, adjusting the temple. "I'm here about the -" Her voice falls for a moment, cracks. "The program." 

She's still hurt about it, even now. She'd expected the system to be on her side, to help her against the cruelties of the world. She knew it wasn't kind to trans people, but for a real woman on the street - 

It's not worth thinking about. She shoves it away, tries to focus on the new start she's being offered. That's a good thing, isn't it?

"I'm sorry to trouble you," she says. Her voice is more ambiguous, now. It doesn't always clock her, but she's not confident in it and that makes it harder to be brave.

"The—"

"Ah. Yes, I'll be taking care of you for the next year. C'mon back, I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you."

She'll follow him. It's simple enough to do.

Up the stairs they go, to an attic. A few cobwebs lurk in corners of the ceiling. There's a workbench in the corner under a tarp, a bunch of books on a couch and table on the left wall, various junk on a tarp on the floor, some boxes next to that tarp, some cluttered shelves on the right wall, a rack of coffee bean sacks, and a serviceable-looking futon under a tarp in the back. There's no air conditioning and poor insulation, judging by the slight chill Akira can feel.

Not what she hoped for, but it is at least a space. She'll just have to get some blankets for wintertime. And maybe a hand fan or two. 

The books are a good sign about Sakura-san. Any titles she can make out? 

She ought to be grateful that anyone's taken her in, but honestly it makes her angry that this is what she's ended up with. It's not fair. If her family would have just supported her she'd still be -

Bad path for her thoughts to go down. 

She bows to Sakura-san. "Thank you for your hospitality." It's not actually his fault that it is this way. Just the way of the world.

"Don't need all that formality with me, I just run a coffee shop. Used to use it for storage space, but it's full of junk now. If you want to clean it out, be my guest. I'm too busy to do it myself."

He leans back against the rack of coffee beans. "Got the gist of your situation. Something about an assault? Wouldn't have guessed you were the type."

Should she say it. She doesn't know this man. It might just make her look petulant. Or like she thinks she knows better. 

She does, actually, know better, but Sakura-san doesn't know her either. He has no reason to trust her word. 

"... I was trying to protect someone." The words spill out anyway, the wound still raw. "But I don't expect you to trust that."

He gives her an appraising look at that. Something resembling sympathy flits across his face for a moment. "I'm sure you were."

Then he straightens up, looking her in the eye. "Now listen up. I agreed to take you in as a favor to one of my customers who knows your parents. If you behave and keep your head down, your probation will be lifted. Cause any trouble, and you won’t have anywhere to go, got that?"

Ow. 

She's still not used to being treated as a criminal.

"I understand."

Then his expression softens just a touch. "Also, your case worker told me about you being trans. The main thing you need to worry about this year is staying out of trouble, but the way I see it, you’re only going to be able to do that if you have support. So… if there’s a specific way I should or shouldn’t refer to you, or anything like that, let me know."

Oh. 

Maybe this guy's not so bad after all. 

"Please call me Akira. If you're using English, she and her for pronouns. I know my given name would have been on the paperwork, but..."

He nods. "But you don't want t'hear it. Simple enough, Akira. You can just call me Boss."

He looks around for a moment, then points to a box in front of the couch. "Oh, your things from home arrived yesterday, along with your school uniform."

Akira nods sharply. "Alright, Boss."

She has a lot of settling in to do, doesn't she. Well, best to get to it. 

"I'd like to get to work settling in, if that's alright."

"Look at you, all eager to go. Well, I'll leave you to it. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow to finalize your enrollment, so make sure you're ready for that."

"Alright. I'll do my best."

That's all she's ever done.

She goes over to the box of her things and starts to unpack. 

And Sojiro vanishes back downstairs.

There's not a lot to unpack. Just her old clothes - all for boys, naturally - her old binders from last year. No real personal items. She had a stuffie of a fox that she hid under her bed with her prescriptions, but her family threw it out. 

The new uniform is... scary and hopeful at the same time. It comes with a skirt, knee-length, demure. 

She'll see about uncovering the futon. She's going to need that to sleep tonight. Then she'll try and clear up the junk on the floor. 

Underneath the tarp, the futon is actually in quite decent shape. A little dust got on it despite the tarp, but that can be brushed off easily enough. It doesn't have any linens, but her family sent some basic sheets? 

As for the junk on the floor, there's a can of paint, a few old psychology and neurology books (that claim to be the property of one Wakaba Isshiki if looked inside), a probably-fake potted plant given that it's still green up here, some boxes, a few stacks of old wrapped-up magazines and newspapers, a ladder, and so on.

The ladder's going to be a pain, but maybe she can at least nudge most of this into a corner? The potted plant can go by her bed, it's nice to have something green in the space. 

She's okay. It's only physical work. 

She'll get the sheets on the futon once she's cleared a little space to move in.

There is really a lot of junk here. 

A bunch of stuff can scoot and stack off to the far corner, including the ladder, and that makes quite a bit of space. The boxes stack easily enough, the bags can go on top of them, the plant turns out to be surprisingly real and somehow still alive, what turn out to be a pair of jerry cans, thankfully empty, can go in the junk stack in the corner by the stairs with the boxes, is that an old CRT TV in the corner?, and now goodness she can see the floor.

Progress.

Oh hey, a CRT like the one she had in her room at home. Cool. 

The jerry cans are not good but fortunately don't even smell of fuel; they must have been sitting here a while, empty. 

She'll get the sheets on the futon and all. That's fine. 

Halfway through she's interrupted by another splitting headache. She sits down hard on the floor and just cradles her head for a bit as her vision swims a little. Is this what a migraine aura is like? 

Ugh. 

She eventually sits up and returns to dressing the futon. 

Even with the interruption, before long she's got everything handled that can be handled without cleaning supplies, throwing stuff out, or finding another storage place.

She has really got nothing much more to do with tonight, does she? 

Akira sits down heavily on the futon.

She supposes she's better try on her new school uniform. Since she'll be over there tomorrow. 

She'll change up here, and then go see if there's a washroom downstairs with a mirror she can look in.

It fits decently well, at least as best she can tell without a mirror. 

Heading downstairs, she finds Sojiro starting to wrap up the store for the night.

"Trying on the new uniform? Looks good, kid."

"Thank you!"

The "kid" is a bit annoying but she will cope. "Is there a bathroom with a mirror...?"

He nods and points behind him, toward a door. "Just through there. Cleaning supplies are down there too, if you need them. No shower, though. I can let you into my place to shower there if you need one."

That's going to be awkward long-term.

"Thank you," she says. "Is there any other storage space I could move some things to? It's pretty crowded up there, and, um, there's some jerry cans and things..."

"Ah. Hm."

He puts a few dishes away while he thinks.

"There might be room for a few things in the attic at the house, the ladder and the cans at least."

"That would be so helpful, thank you."

She's used to having to thank adults after every sentence, but also she is kind of genuinely grateful. It's not going to be fun to lug that ladder all that way.

He shakes his head. "Bring the cans down in a bit and let me know when you're ready, and I'll help with the ladder."

And he looks back down at the dishes he's washing.

Alright. Then she'll head into the washroom.

Simple little washroom, with a toilet and a sink and a mirror. There's a cabinet under the sink, too.

She's lucky, as trans people go. She knows she's lucky. She's only sixteen, so many people catch it far too late. 

It still takes a lot of effort to look at herself in the mirror.

She's been doing HRT by herself for a year, so her face is still smooth, no sign of hair growth. Her chin is sharp - nothing she can do about her bone structure. 

Her hair is longer, now. She's been ducking haircuts for a long time. It was worth it. 

The uniform suits her. Formal. Emphasizes her slight breasts. The skirt is long enough that it's not a problem. She looks... A lot like a regular girl. 

Her voice used to be better. Then they took her off blockers for a couple months in jail. She needs new medication, and fast. At least Sakura-san might actually help with that. 

She feels like she wants to cry, but the tears won't come. So she washes her face in the sink and gets out the cleaning supplies from the cabinet below. 

She finds a full assortment of all the usual cleaning products, and there's a broom and a mop just outside the bathroom, too.

Sojiro doesn't look up from his closing duties as she comes back out.

Should she ask the question. 

She really shouldn't, should she. She still doesn't really know Sakura-san. And it's not as if one more day will make a difference one way or another. 

- one more day of going the wrong wrong wrong direction, one more day of hurt and emptiness and dead feelings, one more one more one more - 

Akira doesn't look at him either, just goes upstairs and changes into her boy clothes again and gets back to cleaning. Can't stain the uniform. 

She's so tired. She just wants to sleep for a month. For a year. Forever, maybe.

She cleans anyway. It's what she's supposed to do.

The attic gets progressively tidier and cleaner, until soon it just looks rustic rather than filthy. There's still the stack of boxes, but most of them can be thrown out sometime soon, judging by the look of the contents. The rest will probably fit on the bottom of the coffee rack if she rearranges the sacks of beans enough. 

She's physically exhausted now as well as mentally, but there's still the ladder to deal with and the jerry cans. 

She takes the jerry cans downstairs with her. The ladder will have to be next.

"Hey," she says to Sakura-san. She doesn't have it in her to be cheery.

"Hey kid. You look tired."

He heads up to grab the ladder, getting a look of the room.

"Damn, kid," he exclaims, "you really put in the elbow grease up here. Good job. Mind grabbing the other end of this ladder with me?"

"Sure." Her voice is flat, dead. It's hard to fake enthusiasm.

She takes firm hold of the offered end of the ladder.

Sojiro takes the the front end, going backwards, which will be heavier going downstairs. When they get to the door, he sets the ladder down outside briefly to flip the sign on the door to "closed", then they continue back to his house. Once they arrive, he sets down the ladder against the wall just inside the gate. "I'll show you where the shower is, kid. I'll handle the rest of these."

"Thanks."

A shower is not exactly what she needs right now but she'll take it.

The shower is upstairs. It's simple enough. There are a variety of hygiene products. Sojiro says she can use any of them tonight and he'll give her some money to pick some up tomorrow at the store.

She'll deal. 

It's not comfortable, but at least the shampoo smells nice. She gets to run her hands through her lengthening hair. The hot water warms her aches a bit and that helps.

She still dissociates through the whole shower.

When she gets out of the shower, the ladder has vanished and Sojiro is just coming back down from putting the jerry cans in the attic.

"I left the shop unlocked this time. We'll figure something better out later. Just lock the door behind you when you get in."

"Alright. See you tomorrow, I guess."

She bows again out of long-ingrained habit.

"See you tomorrow."

The walk back is quiet. 

She lets herself back into the store and locks up. 

Time to sleep. 

The soft notes of a piano fill her ears as she wakes. It's colder than when she went to sleep, and when she opens her eyes she's in the kind of stereotypical black-and-white striped prison garb that hasn't been used in decades. She's in a bunk in a small room.

Wait, what? 

Is she dreaming...?

She gets up. The floor feels solid, but then it usually does in dreams. 

She doesn't seem to be experiencing any of the sensory blurriness she usually associates with dreams. She can see and hear fine. The notes of the piano are crystal clear. 

She can get up just fine. There is however a chain on her ankle. And behind her is a a wall, and door, of steel bars.

There are two little girls outside the bars. One is holding a baton.

The other is holding a clipboard. They each have a golden eye, with the other covered by an eye patch. 

There's a large desk, and a bizarre old man sitting there with a cartoonishly long nose. He speaks in a deep, rich voice. It sounds as though he's trying to be warm, but it comes off a bit menacing.

"Welcome, Trickster, to my Velvet Room."

She composes herself as best she can. Scary and difficult things are never made better by panicking. 

"What's going on?"

The girl on the right speaks in a soft, calm voice. "The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream."

The other girl speaks sharply, aggressively.

"You're in the presence of our master! Stand up straight!"

"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well."

He drums his fingers rhythmically on the desk, grinning at Akira.

"I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"A... contract?" 

She stands up as straight as she can. 

"Yes," he agrees, then looks around the circular room, with barred cells lining all the walls. "Still, this is a surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Ruin, huh." She scowls. "And why should I believe you when so many others have told me the exact same thing?"

"I speak of the end to everything."

He leans forward.

"However,  there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitated toward freedom. That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

A challenge, then?

She'll rise to it. 

"Yes."

Igor nods.

"Very good. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation."

The two girls step crisply back in front of the bars and turn to face Akira.

"Ah. Pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

Caroline glares at Akira, unimpressed.

"Hmph. Try and struggle as hard as you like."

While Justine gives her a softer expression, though her voice has a faint hint of condescension.

"The duty of the wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators."

A pause.

"That is... if you remain obedient."

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion."

The two girls turn crisply to face Igor and step back aside.

"Now then, it seems the night is waning...

"It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

He raises a hand and gestures upward.

A harsh bell starts ringing.

Caroline turns back to face Akira.

"Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep."

And Akira's surroundings fade to black.

The next thing she knows, she's waking up early Sunday morning.

That was no ordinary dream. 

But she doesn't know what to do with it. It's all ominous warnings of vagueness. The kind of thing she already expects. 

All she can do is carry on in her assigned role, at least for now.

She gets up, gets into her uniform, and heads downstairs. Is Sakura-san in the shop yet?

Not quite, but he walks in just after she gets down.

"Looks like you're up. Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. It'll take a while to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."

Lovely. 

Alright, she won't complain. She'll take it. She'll work the problem. Just like she always has. 

"Thank you, Boss."

He nods, leads the way to the car. It's a small sedan. The drive to school doesn't take very long. Sakura-san spends some of the time explaining which trains Akira will have to take to get to her new school, but other than that the trip is silent.

Soon enough they're walking up to the campus. It looks like an ordinary prep school, if somewhat deserted due to today being Sunday.

They head inside.

Okay, she has to put on her Talking To Adults face. She needs to be personable and kind and gentle and very, very sorry for her "crime." 

Akira straightens her back, adjusts her glasses, breathes a little. 

She can manage "happy for a second chance." She knows how it goes by now.

"Thanks for accompanying me, Boss."

"Needed doing. Bureaucrats like these brush off the needs of their students, sometimes."

When they arrive at the the principal's office, a tired-looking woman opens the door.

"...Yes?"

She sounds even more tired than she looks.

"We're here for a meeting." He nods his head at Akira. "This one starts tomorrow."

Honestly she can relate.

Akira nods to the woman.

She nods tiredly — whether at Sakura-san or Akira is unclear — and leads them inside.

Inside, a large man sits behind a desk. There are no other chairs in the room. A nameplate on his desk reads, "Principal Kobayakawa".

He looks them both over, before flatly saying, "Welcome, Ren Amamiya."

Ow. 

She shouldn't be surprised. It's not like she looks like a real woman. It's not like anyone cares about her. It's not as if she's a real fucking human being with feelings anyone takes into account. It doesn't matter.

The polite thing to do is smile and pretend she didn't hear.

Sojiro curtly cuts the man off, interjecting even before Akira has a chance to speak.

"Her name's Akira Kurusu, actually."

Wait, what, that is not how she expected this conversation to go -

Kobayakawa's eyes narrow.

"Really, Sakura-san? You're encouraging this perverted horseplay?"

His voice drips with condescension.

"She was allowed to enroll as a girl. Not sure I see what the big deal is, Principal."

Does Sojiro sound a bit... protective? Maybe?

"We agreed to have the gender marker on his ID listed as female, but the thought of allowing him to act out his perverse fantasies in the halls of our school—"

She winces despite herself. She's heard worse from her family but it hurts more every time.

Sojiro cuts him off again, stern-voiced and scowling, almost like he's scolding the principal.

"C'mon now. Does the kid's criminal record give you the right to treat her like trash?"

Kobayakawa's eyes narrow still further.

"Is this truly the hill you wish to die upon, Sakura-san?"

Sojiro sighs.

"Listen. I'm her guardian for the next year. That means I'm looking out for the kid. Either you can enroll her just like you would any other girl, or I can call her parents and explain how you're not holding up the bargain you made with their donation."

"Fine," the rotund administrator bites out. "We will... honor the agreement. Kurusu will be enrolled as a girl, and her... situation... will be kept between myself and Kawakami-san, her homeroom teacher."

She fixes her smile firmly back in place. 

"Thank you, Principal Kobayakawa. It's a privilege to have this chance."

"If you'll follow me, Kurusu-san, we can get your gym uniform and your student ID."

Has Kawakami ever not sounded tired? No one knows.

"Yes, Kawakami-Sensei."

She will be genuinely happy when she departs this principal's office. 

Sojiro gives her a little shooing gesture. "Go on, kid. I'll finish up the paperwork," he says with his usual casual gruffness.

And Kawakami tiredly leads her to the teacher's lounge. She steps over to an ID-making machine.

"Name?"

"Akira Kurusu."

She sighs.

"No, I need the spelling. What characters do you use to write it?"

"It's with 'truth' for the given name, 'to come', and 'nest' for the surname."

* That's 来栖明 (Kurusu Akira) for those who speak Japanese.

She nods, keys it into the machine, and then gestures for Akira to stand in front of a plain-looking backdrop. "Photo next."

She stands as still as she can for the photo, and doesn't smile.

There's a flash, and then the machine starts whirring away as it prints her ID.

"Do you know what size you need for the gym uniform?"

"I don't, sorry."

Accursed women's sizes.

Another sigh, this one more tired than frustrated, and Kawakami pulls a soft tape measure out of a drawer. Measuring is brusque, and feels a bit odd, but soon enough she has the information she needs and she heads over to a cabinet to locate the right size.

It is a hassle to be a hassle.

Still. She's managing. More or less.

And here's Akira's gym uniform, and her student ID, and some spare school uniforms. 

The ID lists her name, exactly as she gave it to Kawakami, along with her date of birth (2000/03/20), her gender (F), her year (2), her class (D), and that she's a student at Shujin Academy.

Good to see! Good to feel! 

Oh gosh, an ID with an F on it...

She can cry later. Right now Kawakami is getting the biggest smile that physically fits on her face.

"Thank you."

That gets something that might be a smile out of Kawakami.

She opens the door and leads the way back toward the principal's office.

Where Sojiro has just finished the paperwork a few minutes ago and is stepping back into the lobby. 

"Ready to go, kid?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am."

She gives Sojiro a genuine smile and stashes her new ID in her wallet, which goes in her pack with the gym clothes.

Then back to the car they go. The traffic is heavy on the way back to Yongen-Jaya.

After a few minutes, Sojiro speaks up. "Sorry about the principal. If I'd known he'd be like that, would've had you wait outside the office."

"It's alright." 

She pauses. 

"I've never had someone defend me like that before. You barely know me, but you still stood up for me..."

It's almost insulting to say thank you. But she can still put a little trust in this man. 

"I have to ask - is it possible for you to - help me get back on hormones? I - they confiscated mine and I need them and I know the last thing you'd want is for me to get involved with someone shady just so I can be myself properly. I saw a clinic in your neighbourhood, could we go there maybe?"

He harumphs for a moment, and nods. "Making sure you've got your feet under you is why I bothered fighting with that jerk in the first place. Can't expect you to keep your nose clean if everything's tearing you down, can I? Don't get me wrong, I'll still kick you out without a second thought if you step out of line, but... I was given some money for your care, so I figure your medication can come out of that."

"Thank you, boss. I really mean it. I didn't expect anyone would give me... a real second chance like that." 

She ducks her head and smiles.

He shakes his head. "No point half-assing a thing like that."

After another moment or two, he tilts his head. "How're you for clothes and supplies? Don't know what all they sent you in that box."

"There's enough school supplies, but I have absolutely no feminine clothes other than my school uniform. I have enough stuff that'll fit me, but..." She looks down at herself. "Wearing boy clothes is like - like being stuck under an ocean. There's this sense of weight. I can ignore it for a little while but the longer it goes the worse it gets."

Another harumph.

"Can't expect you to get through your probation feeling like that."

A beat. Two.

"There's a little second-hand store in the neighborhood. When we get back to the shop, I'll give you some cash. You can go to Takemi Medical for your hormones, then run by the second-hand shop with what's left over."

That is a far more generous offer than she ever expected to get. He's just going to give her money? While she's on probation? Her parents barely ever did that. 

Again, it feels stupid to just say thank you. Better to just put the money to good use. 

"Okay," she says. "I'll do my best to pick out something nice. I don't really - know women's fashion - but I'll try my best."

"Not sure how much they'll have at the store, nor how much you'll have after seeing Dr. Takemi, but there should be some workable options."

The radio mentions something about trains derailing, possibly to do with another mental shutdown.

"Hmph. Must be why the traffic's so ridiculous."

"I really hope that doesn't happen again when I'm going to school..."

Akira frowns. "What do you think is up with these 'mental shutdowns' anyway? It's a strange thing for there to be a lot of all at once..."

He frowns, shakes his head. "No clue. Strange is right."

A frustrated sigh, then, "Just be careful."

Usually she'd just promise and not really think about it, but to this man...

She thinks about it. 

"I will be."

It's not a promise, but she means it nonetheless. 

He nods.

The rest of the ride is spent with Sojiro grumbling at the traffic, and a tolerable sound track provided by the radio. Eventually they make it back to Yongen-Jaya, and Sojiro parks near Leblanc.

When they step inside, he starts on his opening duties, and pulls out a bit of cash. It's not a lot, especially after how much she expects the hormones to cost, but it should stretch for a few outfits at the second-hand store and some hygiene products from the convenience store.

She gratefully accepts it.

... now she just needs to go shopping for women's clothes. Alone. On a time limit. 

Okay, today is... going to be... rough.

"Might as well wear the uniform out," she says. "I'll be back as soon as I've got everything together."

He nods. "I'll be here."

And off she goes toward where she remembers the clinic is.

It's not comfortable wearing a skirt in public. What do the people she passes see? Any other girl, or some guy in a skirt and blazer? She feels like she's going to be clocked at any moment and it itches in the back of her brain. 

She straightens her back and takes brisk steps. She is in control. This is her. Everyone else can just deal with it.

All the passerby keep to their existing conversations, not really seeming to notice her very much. She does get one "excuse me, miss," though.

Soon enough she's standing outside of Takemi Medical Clinic.

Alright. She needs to do this. Deal with a fucking doctor. Answer shitty questions. 

It's not going to be a fun experience. 

She's going to do it anyway. 

Akira goes up to the door and lets herself in.

Inside is a small waiting room, with a few chairs, and behind a glass wall over a desk, a young-looking doctor with dark blue hair cut in a messy bob, a lab coat over a dark green dress, and a black choker with metal studs around her neck.

She looks up when Akira enters.

"How can I help you, Miss?"

... the doctor is kind of hot honestly. 

Okay, not having that thought right now. Hormone prescription. 

She lifts her voice, settles it back into the feminine range that used to come naturally to her. "I need a prescription for estrogen and an androgen blocker," she says. "I - well - I'm trans."

Her expression softens a bit. "Ah. We can handle that today, if you're up for getting your blood drawn. Come inside."

She gets up and heads toward the exam room. There's a door right next to the window.

A blood draw's not excellent, but she'll accept it. The doctor's got to get her levels somehow.

"Alright." She follows the doctor back.

Dr. Takemi steps into the exam room through a curtained doorway right next to the door into the waiting room. Now that Akira can see her standing up, it's clear the dress is rather short, stopping mid-thigh, and she's wearing strappy black platform heels.

There are two chairs, a desk, an exam bed, and various bits of equipment. Takemi heads for the chair by the desk and sits down, gesturing for Akira to sit in the other one.

"Have a seat. Who was your previous endocrinologist?"

She sits in the other chair. 

What to say to that.

When in doubt, go with the truth.

"I... didn't have one. I was DIYing. Due to... circumstances... it's been patchy, but I finally have an opportunity to get properly prescribed now. I haven't taken hormones in two months and my voice is starting to drop a bit and I - really really want to not have any more damage happen. I just moved here, you're one of the first things I'm doing." 

She takes a breath. "Sorry. I know you probably don't want my family history."

Takemi looks up from her paperwork and gives Akira a bit of a sly grin. "Not a problem. You're not the first trans person in Tokyo to self-medicate hormones, and you won't be the last."

She blinks.

"Wow, okay, I wasn't expecting that response. You have a lot of trans patients?"

The grin turns into a bit of a smirk. 

"No, I don't."

Her eyebrows rise again.

"Wait, you... Are you saying you're trans too?"

She nods. "I don't spread it around, but yeah. Nine years HRT, two post-op. I know it's hard to feel alone with this stuff."

"Oh wow." She smiles. "Congratulations."

I hope I can someday look as good as you do rises to her tongue and dies. She is not in fact that brave. But this is - really a big stroke of luck, honestly. It feels like the universe is looking out for her. 

"It really can be hard, yeah. My family wasn't supportive, and I don't really have any friends, period. But... today I got a temporary school ID with my proper name and gender marker on it and after this I'm going to try and get some feminine clothes that aren't a school uniform. I wish I had someone to shop with but, again, no friends..." 

She sighs and shakes her head. "Still, it's really really good to finally be making some actual progress. I wasn't presenting femme or anything before today, so suddenly making that social transition is... scary and big." 

Akira ducks her head. "Sorry. You're a doctor, not a therapist. I just - I've never had someone to talk to about this before."

"Thank you," she replies with a smile. "And yeah, it sounds like you've had a hard time of it, but you're making progress. Hopefully you can find a support system among your classmates, but... I'd rather you come bother me than try to do without anyone to talk to."

"Thank you, um..." She tilts her head. "Are you Ms. Takemi?"

She's practicing apparently alone, and it's the Takemi clinic, so...?

"Doctor Takemi, but yes," she replies with a wry smile.

"Right, yes, of course." Akira ducks her head. "I didn't mean to strip you of your education."

She wants to compliment Doctor Takemi on - her sense of care, she guesses, the fact that she helps people. Should she say it?

What's wrong with saying it. "I mean, you're going out of your way to help others - that deserves some respect, and all."

Takemi looks off to the side and huffs, then smiles a bit tiredly at Akira. "Thank you. I wish mor—"

Then she cuts herself off and shakes her head.

"Thank you."

Huh. Seems like she hit a nerve, there. 

She nods and gives Doctor Takemi her best smile back.

"Anyway. You wanted to do a blood draw?"

She nods and starts collecting equipment. "Have you ever had your blood drawn before?"

"Once or twice for routine tests. I'm familiar with the basic procedure - you find a vein in the elbow and draw a little blood from there. What you do with the blood I have no idea. I assume there's some spell you cast over it."

Tae snickers. "Yes, mass spectrometry is quite the magic spell. You've got the basic procedure correct, though."

She scoots her chair closer to Akira's. "Which arm would you prefer?"

"The right one." She offers her right arm.

It's a simple enough procedure. Takemi ties a strap around Akira's arm, takes a moment to find a vein, then there's a slight prick, then blood is flowing into a little vial. 

She hands her a little stress ball. "Squeeze this to help keep the blood flowing."

Akira's watched someone draw her blood once before, for curiosity's sake, and once was plenty enough times. She doesn't look. 

She does accept the stress ball and squeeze it, though.

Soon enough the vial is full and Takemi bandages up the draw site.

"All done."

She slots the vial into a small centrifuge on her desk, which starts spinning quickly. 

"Oh, cool! I've never seen a centrifuge in action before." 

Akira Kurusu has never read TVTropes, but even she knows everything's better with spinning.

Aaaaaaaaand then for a moment she needs to do nothing other than hold her head and wince as another shock of pain goes through her system. 

It's practically blinding and not at all pleasant. The headaches have only been getting worse lately.

Thaaaaat is concerning. Tae is concerned. 

"Are you okay?"

After a few more seconds the pain passes, gone as sharply as it arrived. 

"Migraine," she says when her breath has stilled again. "I started getting them a few months ago and they've been gradually getting worse. I usually have an attack or two a day now. They pass pretty quickly but while they're present I can barely even think through the pain."

Takemi frowns. "That's not good. It passes too quickly for painkiller to do much good, but we could try them anyway. Let's see what we can find out, though."

She does a few quick checks: pupil dilation, eye tracking, heart rate, among others.

"Hmm. It fits the symptoms a strong sudden-onset headache, but misses a few criteria for migraines. Strange. Does any of the pain linger afterward?"

"No, it seems to pass more or less completely. It still sucks - usually I feel pretty rattled after an episode - but it doesn't usually last long at all."

She shakes her head. "I don't like leaving you in this kind of pain, but this isn't an appropriate case for painkillers at all. By the time they've metabolized, the pain is long gone. Hmm. Maybe an extended release variant?" She plucks the vial from the centrifuge, slots it into a different machine, hits a button, then steps through the curtain back into her office. Pill-rattling sounds emerge.

Anything that could offer some relief is good news in her book.

She will wait patiently.

She comes back with three bottles of pills. She sets two on her desk, and hands the third to Akira with a paper cup of water. "Long-acting painkiller. Take one when you get up, and one twelve hours later. Doesn't need to be with food. Take one right now, start the normal routine tomorrow."

And then she turns to her computer to look at hormone test results.

"Thank you, seriously."

She takes it.

She nods at the computer. "Okay, Akira. I'm prescribing you estradiol and spironolactone. The former should be dissolved under your tongue, hold it there until it's all gone, while the latter should be swallowed. Take them on the same schedule as your painkillers: one each, twice daily. The closer you get to exactly twelve hours between each dose, the better."

She hands her the other two bottles.

"Thank you so much." She accepts the bottles.

"Glad to help, Akira-chan. Any other questions for now?"

"No, I don't think so. You've been a huge help. How much do I owe you?"

She digs in her pack for her wallet.

She checks the number on the system, then discounts it a bit and names that price instead.

Despite having to get a third prescription, Akira should still have plenty of money to get a basic wardrobe for her off days.

Things are really looking up. 

She pays, puts the medication in her pack, and heads out from the clinic. She has a secondhand store to get to. 

... Does she remember where the secondhand store was, or is she going to have to go back to LeBlanc to ask Sakura-san?

Conveniently, it's visible as soon as she emerges from the side street Dr. Takemi's clinic is on.

Then she will go there directly!

She's smiling to herself. She got to meet a real life trans person!

She did! A real life trans woman who is now a beautiful doctor in a tiny neighborhood clinic.

The store has an eclectic selection of skirts and blouses at low prices, along with a sparse selection of essentials like underwear and shampoo and toothpaste new.

It is actually weirder for her as she appears now to avoid the women's section. 

It is still so, so, so hard to actually go. Her smile vanishes. Somewhere in her hindbrain she expects someone to yell "pervert" at her. 

She... browses. There really are a lot of skirts and blouses here. It feels like she shouldn't touch them, like she's unclean somehow.

Very eventually she picks out some things that look... pretty basic and safe. And that fit her, obviously. She can check against the sizing of her gym clothes if she has to. 

There's a floor-length maxi skirt for sale. Just one. It has a pattern of green leaves on a black background. She covets it. 

She lays her hands on it. Is it her size? 

She's in luck. it is.

And it's not going to break her budget either?

No, it's only 800¥. Thrift stores are great.

Lucky lucky lucky!!!!

Okay she will get together her essentials and pay. 

She is a normal girl who is normally excited and nervous about these clothes, store clerk. Please do not pay any attention to how she is practically vibrating out of her skin. 

The clerk gives her a smile, takes her money, and sends her on her way. "Have a good day, miss."

That is her third miss in a row. 

Is this her life now???

She walks back home with a spring in her step.

Sojiro nods to her as she gets in. There's a customer, an older gentleman, so he doesn't talk much just then though.

She just nods to him and heads upstairs to try on her skirt skirt new skirt!

Her attic is just as she left it. The skirt fits perfectly. Does she twirl?

She so so so twirls.

The skirt must go spinny. And spin it does, twirling marvelously while still retaining modesty, as maxi skirts tend to do.

She flops down on the futon and grins grins grins. 

Today is a good day. She wasn't really expecting to... have a good day ever again, to be honest. But Sakura-san... 

Is this what having a parent who cares about you is really like?

... fuck, now she's gone and ruined it all with thoughts of home. 

She takes off her glasses and rubs her suddenly-teary eyes with the heels of her palms. 

She feels all jagged. It's been such an all over the place day. She's tired and hungry and feels like a jerk and doesn't know why. 

She... Has not actually eaten anything at all today. 

She should probably do something about that.

Akira changes into one of her more basic outfits and heads back downstairs. The school uniform and the special skirt can stay upstairs.

The old man has gone, and Sojiro is cleaning up a few dishes. "Looked like a good haul, kid. How'd everything go?"

"Even better than expected, actually. Not only did I get hormones, but Doctor Takemi prescribed me some long acting painkillers for these headache attacks I've been having recently. I was also able to get a good set of skirts and blouses and so on. I'm... really grateful and also really starving. Is there anything I could eat?" 

He nods, turns around, and starts bustling about cooking something. "I'll have it ready in just a moment."

"Glad to hear everything went so well. Should be a good foundation for you to keep your grades up and your head down."

Should she tell him about the dream she had?

No, it'd sound ridiculous. She's not even sure she believes it herself. And it's not like there's anything actually useful she could say.

"Yeah. I'll do my best."

"Good."

Soon enough, he turns around and slides a fresh plate of curry in front of her. It smells delicious.

"Here you go, kid. Eat up."

Akira's lucky she likes curry. 

And also incredibly lucky to have such a good chef as a - caretaker. This is really, really good curry.

She'll eat and think a bit. Mysterious destiny? Coming ruin? She barely remembers her dream now except for the chillness of the prison cell and the bite of the manacle on her ankle. 

She said she'd fight the distortion of the world... 

She'd meant... the way everything is set against people like her. People who don't matter get shouted down by the system. The cruel and the powerful take what they want. 

She's not sure how she'd fight that. She's tried already, and look how it went for her. But...

She's not so sure she'll be able to just keep her head down.

Sojiro sets a cup of coffee next to her as she eats — impressively good coffee, as well — but otherwise leaves her to her thoughts, handling some cleaning and prep.

She'll sit and finish off her curry and coffee - that really hits the spot - thank Sakura-san, and then head upstairs to unpack her old school materials and get ready for class tomorrow. She needs to organize her pack and her textbooks: she owes it to Sakura-san to be prepared.

The supplies are exactly where she left them, and soon enough everything fits neatly into her pack.

Honestly, now that she's prepared her materials there's not a lot to do. She could read her textbooks she guesses. Honestly she'd much rather spend the time talking to Sakura-san, in a bizarre twist. 

It's not like her to trust an adult this fast, but then, an adult has never given her a reason to trust them this fast either. 

She goes through her pack and fishes out her estradiol and spirolactanone and takes her doses. It is a bit early, but it feels calming to know she's getting back onto her proper regimen again. 

While her pill dissolves beneath her tongue she'll do a little more cleaning and think. 

Sakura-san cares about her grades. And... honestly she doesn't want to disappoint him. 

She'll read the first couple chapters of her textbooks, anyway.

She manages to tidy the place up a little more while she goes. It's really starting to look okay. Maybe a little decor and it would even be nice.

Her textbooks are straight-forward enough, and soon her pill is dissolved and she feels more prepared for tomorrow.

There's not much else to do. 

Might as well go make small talk with Sakura-san, if he doesn't have a customer right now. Tomorrow she'll be in school. Big step. Best to try and calm herself down a bit and get used to her living space.

He nods as she comes down, doing idle tasks while he waits for a customer.

"Hey," she says. "I've gone through and done study prep for tomorrow, and now I...  kind of don't have much to do. Would you mind if we chat while you don't have customers? I could maybe help you with prep work or something? Mostly I want something to do so I don't just sit around in the attic all day."

He gives her an appraising look, then nods. "Come back here and grab an apron, then, and I'll show you how it all works."

He gestures at a rack where another two aprons hang.

"Don't expect to get to start brewing straight off, though," he adds sternly.

"Alright!"

She comes and gets on an apron, and stands ready for instructions.

And Sojiro shows her all the various tools, the beans, the grinder, the different degrees of coarseness or fineness the grounds can be produced at, and so much more. This man clearly knows quite a lot about coffee. There are different brewing methods that bring out different things in the resulting coffee. Different grinds are better for different brewing methods. Grinding the beans the moment before you start brewing is always best.

And so on.

They can pass an hour or two like that easily enough. Sojiro's a surprisingly patient teacher, for how gruff he is. 

She follows along. It's interesting to see coffee as a science like this. Always more to learn, huh?

Attitude like that and she might just make it through her probation. 

She passes most of the rest of the day learning coffee, cleaning up the remains of the attic a bit more, and reading a few of Sakura-san's old books. 

Finally it's time to close up shop.

They put everything away for the night. Before they step outside to head Sojiro's place for Akira's shower, though, he tosses her a key.

Holy shit, that's a lot of trust. 

"Thank you," she says. She pockets it.

"You're already sleeping here, kid. Giving you the key doesn't add much more room for you to burn the place down, just makes it easier for you to lock it up if you go out."

He locks the door behind them as they head out to his house, and flips the sign to "closed".

She nods. That does make sense, she guesses.

She'll let herself be escorted for her nightly shower. She's got some nice peach-scented shampoo from the thrift store; that'll be nice. 

(She dissociates the whole time anyway.)

Then it's back to Leblanc to let herself back in and go to sleep.

Morning comes soon enough, as it does. No weird dreams tonight, at least.

She takes her daily pills as soon as she gets up, and a good thing too because she has a headache attack not ten minutes later while she's brushing her hair. It's a little less intense, but not by much. 

She gets on her school uniform, grabs her already-prepared pack, and heads downstairs to try and fix herself a quick breakfast before she hits the train. 

Sojiro's already downstairs and slides her a plate of curry and a cup of coffee as she comes down. They go shockingly well together, even this early in the day. It's almost like the curry recipe was designed to match the coffee. Or something.

Aw, Sakura-san's still looking out for her. 

She'll eat in a hurry. She's worried about those awkward transfers and the possibility of train delays. 

"Good luck, kid."

"Thanks, Sakur- Boss. Thanks boss. I'd better get moving. Tell you all about it after school today."

And off she goes.

She hurries off to the station, catching her train with time to spare. It's crowded, but she makes it all the way to her transfer, and catches the next train on time as well.

The school is that way from her phone map. 

(Malware's back again. Of course.)

She hurries. She's got to make class on time.

On the way, she notices a very pretty blonde girl in a Shujin uniform determinedly ignoring a car that is driving slowly next to her. 

"No, it's okay, Kamoshida-sensei, I can walk. I really don't need a ride."

She hunches a little and lengthens her stride.

The man in the car, Kamoshida apparently, leans out the window toward her. "Come on, Ann-chan. All that walking has to be hard on your feet, and we could spend some time together." His voice would sound strong and confident if he wasn't cajoling an unwilling student like this. As is, he sounds a bit petulant, entitled, despite it.

Ohhhhhhh boy.

She really shouldn't intervene. That's what got her into this whole mess in the first place. She should keep her head down. Be quiet. Like she told Sakura-san she would. 

She really, really shouldn't intervene. 

"Hey," she calls in her brightest, most femme voice. "Excuse me, do you know which way it is to the school from here? I've gotten a bit turned around but I recognize your uniform, so..." 

She looks to see who's calling to her. It's not a voice she recognizes. A girl? In a Shujin uniform?

No, you idiot, you don't know what you're getting into -

"Hi, uh, yeah, it's this way -" She points.

His eyes widen at the interruption. There's the briefest hint of a sneer, or maybe Akira's eyes were tricking her.

And then he's all smiles. "You always were a caring sort, Ann-chan, helping new students like that. I'll leave you to it."

And he drives off.

Akira falls in next to the pretty blonde student. 

"Well," she says softly. "That's the sketchiest thing I've seen all week. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ann looks Akira over, and then frowns.

New girl... black hair... glasses... 

This must be the one all those rumors are talking about. They say she tied her ex-boyfriend to the train tracks and he only didn't die because the police got involved. 

She's grateful and all, but she already has one really sketchy person involved with her and she doesn't need another. 

"No. Are you actually lost or...?"

"... No, I just thought you could use a hand. Just... girls sticking together, I guess."

Apparently this girl hasn't clocked her either. It's really, really weird being stealth. 

Yeah, she thought so.

She'll feel like a heel if she just lets this girl blunder into Kamoshida's arms. She - should at least warn her.

"Just - don't join the volleyball team, and try your best to stay away from Kamoshida-sensei. That's all."

Akira nods. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, seriously, you don't have to fuss."

She's not fine, but the less questions this girl asks the better it is for everyone.

A blond boy runs up, wearing a somewhat modified Shujin uniform, swapping a loud yellow t-shirt out for the usual dress shirt. He looks concerned and a bit out of breath. He glares angrily at the retreating bumper of Kamoshida's car.

Oh great, now it's Ryuji. If he hadn't picked a fight with Kamoshida she might not be in this mess right now. 

The last thing she wants is to get into a conversation with both him and this new girl right now. 

She picks up her pace towards the school.

"Hey! Ann! Wait up! You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." 

She can't put any feeling into the words, not in front of Ryuji. It comes out soft and flat.

She's not going to break out into a run. That would draw attention and that's bad.

She slows down. Ryuji will just make a scene if she flees.

She's Not Talking To Him though.

Akira looks over at the blonde-haired boy. "You know what's going on here?", she asks.

He scowls. "Kamoshida wants to be with Ann, the creeper. Ann puts up with it. Dunno why."

"Nothing weird is going on between me and Kamoshida, he's just... friendly."

She is not going to win any acting awards for her performance here but she has to try. If these two do something stupid again it's Shiho's starter position on the volleyball team that's in jepoardy.

"You're not a very convincing liar. Is he threatening you?" 

The principal of the school is a real piece of work from what she can see, so if a teacher came to him with some trumped up reason for expulsion... 

"Don't be ridiculous." 

Ann can't meet Akira's gaze.

"He is, isn't he!?"

Ryuji can't quite keep his voice down with how angry he's getting.

"Oh when I see him next I am gonna beat his ass."

"That's a terrible idea. If you so much as touch him you could be charged with assault. The police will definitely side with him, he's an adult. You'd be expelled at least."

She keeps her voice down. "I know it's outrageous, but you've got to - maneuver, with these things. If you rush in you'll end up in a really bad situation."

Ask her how she knows. The system's stacked against her and those like her, and it enables people like Kamoshida. That kind of behavior where he's hovering over this girl is blatantly stalkerish. 

Much as she'd like to take a direct option, like this blond guy seems to be pushing, there's no way she'd be believed with the charges that have already been filed against her. And she did say she'd try to keep her head down.

Think, girl, think. She needs - she needs more information, at least. And it seems this blonde girl needs a real friend. Like Sakura-san's been to her.

"Do you two have, like, names?"

"I..." 

This new girl is at least a bit more sensible than Ryuji, not that that's hard. And she did help her. And... she seems quietly confident, somehow, in what to do and what to say in this kind of situation.

She really, really, really shouldn't get involved with Train Tracks Girl, but it looks like Train Tracks Girl is going to investigate whatever she does. 

Shiho...

Ann takes a breath. "I'm Ann Takamaki."

Don't beat up the obviously terrible asshole? Sounds kinda sus, but okay. He'll listen to her for now.

Maybe if he listens it won't turn into another mess like when his leg got broken and the track team was shut down.

"I'm Ryuji Sakamoto."

"Look, I know you two have no reason to trust me, but could we meet after school and talk a little? I - don't know if I'll be able to actually help or not, but it sounds a lot like both of you could use a real friend."

She's as gentle as she can be with her voice. She knows how jagged she felt, her first few days in jail. These two deserve to be given the respect she never got.

He frowns for a moment, then grins. "Yeah, new girl. Let's talk after, maybe we'll think of something to stop this asshole."

She wishes she could, but if it got out Kamoshida would definitely ax Shiho's starter position. 

She looks at Akira. "Sorry, but I'm not interested. There's all kinds of rumors about you, and... It's just..."

She trails off.

"It's okay. If you ever do want to talk, my name's Akira Kurusu and my homeroom is D. I - I hope you have a good day."

She's lost her, at least for now. But she's got Ryuji to talk to and get more information out of, and that's something to start with.

"Hey, isn't that the same class you're in, Ann?"

"... Yeah, it is."

She's not sure whether to be happy or sad about that.

After a moment it mostly settles on "scared." She can feel the situation starting to slip out of her control.

She goes quiet.

"I see."

That's a little bit of a lucky coincidence, but Ann's not reacting the way she'd hoped. 

She's going to give her a little space for now. And really really hope that she's seeing shadows.

(She's not. Not with Ryuji reacting like this. But she doesn't see how pressuring Ann more right now would actually help.)

"I hope you're able to think of something. I'm sick and tired of Kamoshida treating the school like his own personal castle."

She nods firmly. 

"I think I have an idea."

She can't go to Sakura-san with this, it's the opposite of keeping her head down, but Doctor Takemi is trans and long-transitioned and said she'd DIY'ed. She probably would know what to do in this kind of situation. And she's a doctor: her word would bear some weight if Akira can just convince her the situation's real. 

"Lookin' forward to hearin' it."

As they make the last turn toward Shujin, they find... something else in its place.

The school has been replaced with an enormous — and ominous — castle.

Ryuji's the first one out of the alley to see it.

"Um. Guys?"

Akira's out of the alley a few minutes later.

"What the fuck."

This is definitely not the school she remembers from before. It's in the right place. But that is very definitely a whole damn castle.

"What the...?" Ann stares up at the huge edifice. "That's - that can't be real. What's happening?"

"I know we took the right turn, I take this alley every day!"

"We're definitely in the right place. Castles don't just appear out of nowhere."

She looks forward and steps towards the - it must be a mirage - 

The dream she had - was this what it was talking about? The coming ruin? It doesn't look like a ruin. It looks whole and intact. 

She has no idea what to do about her school being replaced with a castle.

She rubs her eyes, looks back up. 

Still a castle.

Ryuji shrugs. "Maybe someone'll know inside?"

"I don't have any better ideas. Spontaneous castles were not in my plan for today." 

She takes the lead. "Stay close behind me, this could be dangerous."

And she walks toward the castle.

This is such a stupid idea, but she's not going to just leave Ryuji behind.

As soon as they get across the drawbridge, the guards on the battlements cry out.

"Halt! Who Approaches the Castle?"

"We're students! From Shujin Academy. Do you know where it's gone?"

"Shujin Academy? Don't you mean Shujin Castle?"

While this conversation is happening, however, one of the other guards notices Ann.

"They've taken Princess Ann! Seize them!"

The drawbridge is promptly raised behind them, cutting off their escape, and they're surrounded by guards.

Okay that's really, really, really not good.

There's nothing to do but surrender.

Princess Ann? 

She has a really, really bad feeling about this.

Ryuji may in fact not be on board with this "surrender" plan.

"Hey! C'mon! We ain't done nothin' wrong! We're just students!"

And he shoves a guard.

This guy might not be the sharpest knife in the spoon drawer. 

Good of him to try, though.

The guard shoves back.

Hard.

Ryuji goes flying, bounces off another guard behind him, and crumples to the ground.

"Uuuhhggghhhh..."

They yank him roughly to his feet and hold him.

"Will you come quietly now?"

Ryuji nods sluggishly.

Ryuji...

He's trying to defend her but he's just made the situation worse. 

"We'll come quietly."

Akira just nods.

The guards escort them deeper into the castle. It's huge. Elaborate halls and grand chambers decorated with carpets and tapestries and chandeliers. They're led through more twists and turns than they can keep track of, and eventually brought into a receiving room.

Where they soon face the king, a very familiar-looking man wearing nothing but a luxurious red cape, a speedo, and a crown.

"Look at you runts, just barging into my castle."

What. 

Okay, first there's the incongruity of the giant cloak and the tiny speedo underneath. Secondly why the hell is Kamoshida king. Why Ann would be the princess if Kamoshida is king is obvious but why is Kamoshida king. 

Who fucking made him the king of this castle? Did he just - scoop them up into his private reality somehow???

And what the fuck is with the speedos, seriously. 

"I'm... sorry, king Kamoshida...? 

The apology sounds lame as hell. There's just way too many things going on right now.

This is literally something out of her nightmares. She's dreaming, right? She's going to wake up at any moment?

Ryuji struggles free of the guards. "Kamoshida!? The fuck? What gives you the right—"

And Kamoshida steps right up to Ryuji and punches him across the jaw with a right hook.

Oooh, that looked nasty. 

They're pretty fucked, aren't they.

He's fighting for her. And he's losing. 

... she's going to struggle too. Maybe, just maybe -

Ryuji struggles a bit on the ground where he's fallen.

"Looks like you've forgotten your place, Sakamoto. Between this trespassing, and now insulting the king? That's earned you a death sentence."

He tries to push himself up. "G-get outta here, you two."

She's not just going to leave him behind to die.

Fuck this asshole. Fuck every asshole like him who thinks he gets to rule the world. She's going down fighting. 

She gets between Kamoshida and Ryuji. "No," she says. "We're all getting out of here together."

She has no weapon and no hope of taking down all these knights, but some things are worth putting your life on.

"Out of my way, new girl." Kamoshida shoves Akira aside with a snarl, then steps harshly on one of Ryuji's legs.

Ryuji howls in pain.

She grabs Kamoshida from behind and tries to pull him off Ryuji. 

Ann goes for Kamoshida as well. It's not going to be easy but she's got to try.

At that, the guards lunge forward and grab hold of Akira and Ann, pulling them away from their king.

God damn it.

She fights the guards, but they're stronger than she is.

She's helpless, just like she's always been helpless in front of Kamoshida. It's awful.

He steps back off of Ryuji and turns to leer at the two girls. "And look at you. Two beauties, just strolling into my kingdom. It's like you're asking to go to the playroom."

He walks up to Ann and cups her cheek. "I always knew you had it in you to obey, Takamaki. About fucking time."

And then he strokes Akira's cheek with the back of his other hand. "And you, new girl, I haven't seen you before, but it looks like you'll fit right in. Can't wait to see you in your new outfit."

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

Oh, gross. That is - 

It is really fucking wrong that a little part of her is happy this asshole finds her attractive. She feels unclean.

She really, really doesn't want to find out about this dude's "playroom."

His oldest friend, and his newest, both about to be taken and violated because he's too fucking weak to stop this bastard.

No. No, he can't let that happen.

He starts pushing himself up.

Damn. Ryuji's really got nerves of steel.

He turns to Ryuji in surprise. "Oh? You still haven't learned? You can't stop what's happening here, boy. These girls are going to my playroom, and then you're going to be executed after you watch them get dragged off."

He spits at Kamoshida's feet. "You bastard!"

Kamoshida scowls.

A clear voice speaks in Ryuji's head. 

Are you a slave to this petty king?

Ryuji scowls and pushes himself to his feet, staggering and clutching his head in pain. "Aaaaggghh— No! I won't be a slave!"