Chapter Text
9/06/2016
Cafe Leblanc
The Attic/Akira’s Room
Akira had been trying to figure out how to tell his friend’s for the last two days but had not wanted to put a damper on their excitement. After all, it was not often a school had the funding to plan a trip out of the country. So he sat in silence drinking his coffee while everyone talked about what they were hoping to do once they reached Hawaii, or in Yusuke’s case, Los Angeles.
He listened with a smile on his face as Yusuke promised Makoto he would try and get some pictures of the sets from her favorite international Mafia films, and Ann berated Ryuji when he mentioned wanting to try and ‘chat up some foreign chicks on the beach.' He nodded his head when Morgana expressed disappointment he could not go, and the others promising to get him, Futaba, and Sojiro some souvenirs. Then Ryuji turned his attention to him and asked the question.
“What about you man, you looking forward to doing anything?” He asked. Akira looked at him out of the corner of his eye, half his best friends face blurry in his peripheral vision and placed his cup down.
“I can’t go.”
The statement was met with a silence so dead, they could hear the building creaking. Then the silence was broken.
“WHAT!?”
His friends were so loud Akira almost jumped out of his seat. He had expected some kind of response, but not shouting. His friend's eyes were wide and they all looked like he had just told them the worst news in the world. “You’re not going?” Makoto asked, the shock in her voice giving way to sadness. Akira shook his head.
“Why not?” Ann asked.
“Because my probationary officer is a pain in the ass and got pissed when I told him about it,” Akira said. The others looked at each other and Ryuji let out an annoyed grumble. Sometimes they forgot Akira was on probation for a crime he never committed.
“Seriously?" Ryuji asked, "What’s the guy's problem? It’s not like you’ve done anything for him to say no.”
“Official statement: I did not give him enough notice.”
His answer left his friends confused. “When did you tell him about it?” Makoto asked.
“I asked him if he got me clearance two days ago because he was supposed to have been informed about it last month,” Akira said. “Boss reports to him twice a month, so I asked at the beginning of August if he could tell my officer to give me the okay to go on the trip. Well, he told me the school needed to report it. So I asked Kawakami-sensei about it and she informed the principal.”
“And I’m going to guess the principal never contacted your officer,” Makoto concluded. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”
“All those hurdles sound like a guarantee for miscommunication,” Yusuke said. “Why wasn’t Boss' word enough?”
“Something about needing verification from Shujin because it was a school activity and other legal stuff. I don’t know.” Akira said, giving a small shrug.
“Sounds more like like the odds were stacked against you on purpose,” Morgana said.
“Yeah, that whole setup was guaranteed to be a mission failure,” Futaba said in agreement.
“It’s bullshit if you ask me,” Ryuji said and while Akira did not say anything out loud his best had more or less voiced his own opinion on the matter. The difference was after having two days to absorb it, he had gone from angry and upset at the news to somewhere between indifference and a mild bitterness, similar in taste to the coffee he had made himself. He took another sip of his drink as he leaned back in his chair. “You sure he can’t do something about it?”
Akira shook his head. The officer had been vehement in his refusal. Whether it was because it was too late to pull any strings, or just out of spite he had no idea.
“That sucks. You’re gonna miss out on all the fun.” Ann told him. Akira let a smirk cross his face as he tried to play off the disappointment.
“Knowing my luck, I’d spend half the trip in interrogation. I guess they can do that or something. It’s probably better for me to stay here with Futaba and Morgana.”
Akira watched his friend’s faces. He had been trying to make it sound like his absence would not be a big deal. He was also trying to not sound like he was bitter about the whole ordeal. He had a feeling he was not succeeding.
“Dude, you’re way to laid back about this.” Ryuji told him, “It’s a once in a lifetime trip, how often is it we get to go out of the country? Hell Yusuke’s going to the capital of all places.”
Yusuke cleared his throat and Makoto and Ann exchanged looks but did not say anything. They had long given up trying to explain to Ryuji that Los Angeles being the capital of the entertainment world was a figure of speech, not an indicator the city was the United States’ actual capital. Akira let a weak smile cross his face.
“Well maybe if I get into college I can study abroad for a year or something.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this Akira?” Makoto asked. She seemed unconvinced by his act, so he tried to give her a reassuring smile.
“Positive. You guys have a good time. Take plenty of pictures, tell me everything that happened, it’ll be like I was there the whole time. Except not really.”
His friend’s looked unconvinced. He might have sounded a little too bitter in his last statement. His coffee tasted more bitter than the last sip too. He needed to add more sugar to it.
His friend’s left in the evening, including Futaba, who said a new anime was coming on she wanted to watch. Akira decided to read and figure out what he would be doing the next few days. There was no school because of the trip, which left him with a large list of things he could do in his free time. He had a feeling even as he looked at the list he would spend most of his time hanging out with Futaba or picking up an extra shift or two at the flower shop in the Underground Mall. Maybe Takemi needed some help at her clinic, she always liked having him around to do menial tasks. Or sudden tests.
The next day came and Akira ended up helping Sojiro in the cafe for a good part of the morning before going upstairs to read a book he had gotten a week ago. It was a few hours later he realized something was amiss. Futaba had not come to visit the cafe yet, she normally was around by the afternoon. Morgana had also taken off while he was working downstairs. He looked at his phone, zero text messages. He decided to send one to his their main chat room.
Akira:
How’s the packing?
To his surprise, he got a response in a few seconds.
Ryuji:
Ugh, it’s a pain in the ass!
Ann:
Yeah seriously.
I can’t decide how much to pack or what I
want to wear for the trip.
Yusuke:
I would suggest summer clothing and a
few bathing suits since you’ll be at the beachside.
Ann:
...thanks, Yusuke.
Yusuke:
You’re quite welcome.
Akira frowned.
Akira:
Aren’t you supposed to wear your uniforms?
A brief pause followed as Akira noticed the small ellipses in the corner and the message ‘several people are typing’.
Ryuji:
Well, not all the time?
Makoto:
We’ll have a few hours each day where we can
walk around in street clothes.
Ryuji:
Yeah, what she said.
Makoto’s got all this together.
Yusuke:
Well since she is a chaperone she should
have it all together. The trip might fall
apart without her.
Futaba:
And we know how quickly things fall apart
when Queen isn’t around.
Right, Ryuji?
Ryuji:
I’m gonna pretend I was not just singled out
for something I don’t remember doing.
Ann:
I should get back to packing. I don’t think
I have enough clothes.
Ryuji:
No no, trust me. Whatever you’ve packed
for clothes is fine.
Ann:
You don’t even know how much I packed.
Ryuji:
No, trust me. I’m sure the eight pairs of shorts
you’re taking is more than enough.
Ann:
...I only packed six.
Ryuji:
Still more than enough. Trust me.
Futaba:
Isn’t there a limit on how much luggage
you can take?
Akira:
Usually less than your full closet.
Ann:
Very funny.
Ryuji:
Just don’t pack too much crap. We don’t
wanna get stuck on the train.
Plane! Sorry. Autocorrect.
Akira raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure plane could not autocorrect to train. At least last he checked it could not.
Makoto:
Just remember you are representing the
school.
Ann:
Of course!
Ryuji:
Relax. We’ll be on our best behavior.
Futaba:
That sounds positively frightening.
Yusuke:
I can’t believe I'm saying this, but I
agree with Futaba.
Futaba:
>:(
Akira waited to see if anyone else would type anything, but after Futaba’s message, the conversation went dead. He went back to his book only for his phone to go off again a few minutes later.
Ryuji:
Think he suspects anything?
Shit!
Akira’s eyes widened and he was about to reply back but then both messages vanished and were replaced with the automatic ‘this message has been removed from the conversation’ notice. He frowned then put his phone back down. Whatever his friends were scheming could wait until after they got back from the school trip. Either that or Ryuji just really put his message in the wrong chat, in which case now he was curious what he was up to.
He pushed the thought from his mind and went back to his book. After another hour of reading, he put the book down and massaged his temples. His head was starting to hurt so he dropped his glasses on the windowsill and put his hand over his eyes as he closed them. He needed a break and a long nap.
Akira was woken up when he felt something rough shake him back to consciousness. His eyes fluttered open. Without his glasses his vision was blurry, but he could tell there was someone in the room with him.
“Sheesh, you sleep like the dead.” The voice was Sojiro’s. Akira blinked a couple of times and sat up. He reached for his glasses only to find they were not in the spot where he thought he put them. “Here.”
He looked at Sojiro’s hand to find the man was holding his glasses. “Get downstairs, there’s a surprise for you.” Akira took his glasses and put them on to see Sojiro smiling. “You’re either going to love this, or hate it.”
Akira looked at him, confused in his half asleep state, but got to his feet and followed him downstairs. He stopped when he entered the cafe area and he stopped in his tracks when he saw his friends sitting in the restaurant's booths. The bags they claimed they had been packing for the school trip rested against the door.
“There he is!” Ryuji said, “Wow you look tired, you just wake up or something?”
It took a second for Akira to process what he was seeing. Once he did he had one question. “Shouldn’t you guys be at the airport?”
“Observant as always,” Yusuke said, a smile on his face. “You always know when something is amiss.”
“Why are you guys not at the airport?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ryuji asked and Akira frowned. It was obvious and he could not help but feel a mix of annoyance and a large amount of guilt if his friends were planning what he thought they were planning. Ryuji's accidental text message made a lot more sense now.
“If you guys are thinking of skipping the school trip because I can’t go, don’t. Please.”
“Too late. We already called off and Makoto found someone to chaperone in her place.” Ann said, a cheeriness in her voice as she motioned for him to join them. Akira sighed and did so, taking a seat next to Makoto. “Take a look at this.” His blonde friend held out her phone showing a picture of a large lake with a mountain overlooking it. There was another picture of a decorated shrine he had sworn he had seen in one of his history books. He did not quite recognize the area, but the name was familiar. He was sure he had seen it in passing on his way to the city.
“After we left last night, we thought, the school trip wouldn't be very fun if most of us were absent." Makoto explained, "So we thought we should see if we can just do something in Japan instead.”
“We didn’t really get a chance to do anything over the summer anyway, so why not instead of getting split up because of the school trip, we all ditch it and have a trip of our own,” Ryuji said. “Yusuke found the place and honestly it doesn’t look bad.”
“That is the town of Nikko,” Yusuke said. Akira pulled his phone out and ran a search for the name. “It’s a popular tourist area. The home of the Toshogu Shrine, beautiful mountainous landscapes, lakes, waterfalls; it has a classic, serene beauty one cannot see in the city alone. Not even in the local park.”
“Plus the hotel we got has great internet,” Futaba added. Yusuke twitched in annoyance and Sojiro shook his head.
“It was also expensive as hell...” Sojiro said getting Akira’s attention.
“You helped?” He asked.
“We all pitched in, but Boss was the one who covered most of the cost. And a good thing too, last minute bookings aren't cheap.” Makoto said.
“The chief likes to act tough but Futaba and I know how to bring out his soft side,” Morgana meowed, a grin on his face as Futaba nodded in agreement and patted the feline on the head. Akira's looked at him a little hesitant.
"You're sure?" He asked and watched as Sojiro tried to shrug his question off.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll pay me back eventually if you keep helping in the store.” He said. Akira nodded in understanding, he had a feeling there would be a catch, but he could get behind helping the restaurant more often. “Just make the most of it okay. Go with your friends, have a good time, and don’t break any bones if you decide to go on one of the hiking trails.”
“Well, that settles it then.” Morgana said, “I hope you don’t mind if I sneak along in your bag. I’m not missing out on this just because I’m stuck on four legs you know.”
Ann giggled, “We wouldn’t think of leaving you behind for this Mona. You’re part of the gang too.”
Ann’s comment left Morgana swooning. “You’re so sweet Lady Ann.”
Akira looked back at his phone, and the website he had found for the town. For a second he wondered if he was having some kind of dream, but considering enthusiastic everyone sounded he was positive he was not dreaming. His friends had gone and ditched their school trip just to go on a different trip with him. He was at a loss for words as he found himself smiling, only for that smile to drop as he realized something important.
“I need to pack my bag.”
Ryuji was the one to help him with most of the packing. Makoto reminded them because they were going by train, they needed to try and pack light, or as light as possible when remembering part of Akira’s luggage included a ten-pound cat. They climbed downstairs and his friends picked up their things.
“Alright, we ready to go?” Ann asked.
“Mom gave me cash for the trip so I’m set.” Ryuji said, “No one else needs to grab anything on before we take the train?”
No one needed to, everyone had what they needed or money to get anything they forgot if they realized they needed something when they reached their destination. Akira smiled as he and his friends said their goodbye’s to Sojiro and left Leblanc.
The next few days were going to be great. He had a good feeling.