Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Akira hadn't left his room much ever since the incident. A few days ago, the family had received a phone call from his school, and after a meeting with the principal that involved maybe too many heated words and ended with a plea, Akira's expulsion had become official. As a teacher himself, Jun knew what a heavy weight a conviction could carry and what sort of stigma it could leave on a student. But he had hoped maybe it could be different. There were always kids labeled delinquents who deserved better. He couldn't help but think back to an old friend.

Jun had tried to bargain with them. He had offered up Akira's scholarship for the chopping block. Let him loose that and they'll pay all of his expenses—out of pocket if need be—but it was all moot. All of the hard work Akira had put towards his education ended up meaning nothing just because he was found guilty of assaulting a couple, despite all the suspicions surrounding it. It didn't matter. The boy was guilty and a reputable school couldn't have a criminal enrolled that could endanger the other students.

“Damn—” Jun hissed as he nicked his finger with his knife. He brought the cut up to his mouth, and had the thought that maybe chopping onions while still engrossed with what those people had said about his son wasn't the best idea. He couldn't leave it be, but there was nothing else to be done.

Jun took a deep breath through his nose, his fingertip still in his mouth, and held it.

There were bandages in the bathroom cabinet behind the mirror, he reminded himself. Letting the breath go, Jun looked over his finger. The cut wasn't deep but was still stubbornly bleeding. His brow twitched and he felt his annoyance with himself grow.

Leaving to go to the bathroom, the mirror cabinet opened with a soft squeak and Jun glanced over the few bottles and packages lining the small shelves before he finally found the box of bandages. It was a careless mistake though he supposed he had a valid excuse for the distraction. He bit his lip as he held his bleeding finger under the running faucet, wrapping it afterwards.

How many schools had he contacted? How many times could he be told “no” before it simply became too much? He wanted to think he'd do what was best for Akira, for all three of them. But as he found himself stumbling, doubt started to settle in. Maybe he didn't know what was best.

As he reentered the kitchen, Jun paused when he noticed Akira sitting at the table, hunched over his laptop. His glasses were reflecting the glare from the screen.

“I didn't know you were awake,” Jun said, smiling as he walked back to his cutting board. His hand gave Akira's shoulder a gentle pat as he walked past to get back to chopping the green onions. Eventually he could feel Akira staring at his back, but Jun made no comment. If Akira had something he wanted to say, he would say it. It reminded him of Tatsuya. Jun smiled at the thought.

“You were in the bathroom a while. I didn't want to bother you.”

Jun stilled his knife. He hadn't been aware he spent that much time in there. They needed to find a solution soon.

“Ah, I'm sorry about that. I guess I got caught up in my head again.” Jun glanced over his shoulder with a reassuring smile and saw Akira looking over at him, chin resting in his hand. He could see the slight hesitation in the way his mouth opened to speak, but closed soon after.

“Don't worry about it,” Akira settled with and went back to his laptop. The occasional tapping of keys and the soft hum of the fan melted into a pleasant white noise in the kitchen. A small glimmer of normality. Though Jun was just pleased to see Akira out of his room.

“Tatsuya and I were thinking of going out tomorrow for dinner,” Jun said offhandedly, checking the pot on the stove as he added some thick noodles to the broth. From the corner of his eye, he could see Akira glancing his way. Jun had to fight off the urge to smile. “Would you care to join us?”

“Will you guys be gross?”

The sudden playful bluntness of it made Jun suddenly laugh, bursting out before he even realized. Hearing Akira start to come back to himself was more refreshing than he knew he needed, a comforting warmth blooming in his chest. Jun smiled brightly back at his son.

“Wouldn't that be up to Tatsuya?”

There was a small, genuine smile on Akira's face and Jun could feel a little of the weight he had been carrying start to lift off his shoulders.

“Alright.”

And just like that, it started to feel normal again.

Jun prepared two bowls of the udon with their own pieces of tofu and chopped green onion, and set one by Akira as he sat on the opposite side of the table. Akira gave a small “Thanks,” before scooting the bowl a little closer to himself and started digging in.

It was quiet between the two as they ate, but Jun felt more at peace than he had the entire week. Akira, slighted hunched over his bowl as he ate, was still focused on whatever was on his laptop, occasionally typing one-handed. Something on the screen seemed to have caught his attention and made him pause. Jun noted the way Akira's eyes kept skimming over the same thing and as he gently started to gnaw on his lower lip.

“I know you've been stressing about finding a new school for me,” Akira said, still looking down at his laptop, and it made Jun pause. He couldn't deny that. Akira was a perceptive kid but it wouldn't take a detective to fit the pieces together. Jun was afraid. He was terrified of failing Akira as a parent and that gnawing guilt was quick to build up.

Jun almost looked sheepish as he watched his son, who finally looked back. “So... I've been looking into it the past few days myself, too.” With that, Akira turned his laptop around so Jun could see the screen, and he was surprised by what he saw. There was a map on display, with a list of schools and their locations plainly pointed out and color coordinated. Jun almost immediately recognized the city those schools were in.

“I know it's a bit out of the way, but...” Akira started again, his voice softer than before, “One of these schools might be willing to let me transfer there. It's better than nothing.”

“Tokyo is a little more than 'a bit out of the way...'” The commute back and forth would be completely unreasonable for a student to make every day, but when Jun looked back to Akira, and saw resolve set in his eyes, Jun couldn't fault the thought. Akira wasn't wrong.

There was a chance, and with a new resolve Jun reached for his phone across the table and started to make notes of each school's name, location, and contact info.

“I'll get in touch with them and see what we can do,” Jun said, glancing between the map and his phone. There was a nagging worry that they wouldn't be able to afford a dorm or apartment in Tokyo of all places, but if one of these schools would accept Akira's transfer then he would figure something out. It was just one year, he assured himself.

“Thank you,” Jun said sincerely. It was hard to keep the swelling pride down he felt for his son taking initiative. Standing up, he placed a quick kiss to the top of Akira's head.

Akira went back to his bowl of udon, a little bashful, and muttered a quick, “It's no problem.”

It was a couple days later that Jun received a call from one of the schools he had been emailing back and forth regarding the possibility of a transfer. There was still the underlying tone of disapproval over Akira's new criminal record, insistent and discouraging, but they eventually accepted the transfer. Jun almost started crying from relief.

He had already started knocking on Akira's door just after the phone call ended. When he finally answered, Jun couldn't hold back his bright smile.

“I just got off the phone with someone from Shujin Academy.” Akira's eyes grew wide. “They're willing to let you transfer.”

Chapter Text

“It's nothing personal, Suou-san.”

It felt extremely personal.

“Please try to look at this from our perspective,” the police chief said sympathetically, and Tatsuya had tried it. It had made his stomach drop. There was something deeper going on and he wanted to expose every single one of them who was trying to cover it up, but the possibility of being arrested for disorderly conduct was very real at this point. His family had enough to deal with. Tatsuya's hands clenched tight at his sides as he waits impatiently for the man to continue.

“You treat that boy as your own child, correct?”

Tatsuya nodded without hesitation.

“How do you think it would look if we had an officer who couldn't even keep his own child out of such trouble?” The gruff man leaned forward on his desk, hands folded in front of him. His eyes were unflinching and daring Tatsuya to say something, but Tatsuya didn't budge. He glared right back. “The boy's legal guardian... He's a teacher at a local school, correct? I would assume you know.”

It was like ice shooting down Tatsuya's spine and clenching at his heart. This man was going to play that card so casually, and it made Tatsuya feel physically ill.

“It's a shame what happened, really. I'd hate to see more misfortune befall him.” The chief sounded almost genuinely concerned and that was the worst part.

“Leave him out of this,” Tatsuya growled. It was the first time he had spoken since he had been summoned to the office. There was too much bitter and protective anger boiling over, and he fought to keep a tight hold on it a little longer. His hands were itching to punch that smug face. The feeling of his blunt nails digging into his palms kept him level.

“Suou-san, you had been warned a fair number of times to leave the case be. It is done and Kurosu-kun will serve out his probation for the year. Any backlash is no fault of mine.” The man sits back in his chair, the leather creaking, and he stares down his rough nose at Tatsuya.

It was true, through. He had lost count how many times he had been warned over the week that his digging would result in backlash. Even Takeuchi, who had suspicions from the very beginning, had backed off after one too many warnings. She even started to warn him, though hers had felt more out of genuine concern for his safety.

It felt wrong to just accept the false accusations. Tatsuya knew Akira was a good kid. Why wouldn't anyone else give him the benefit of the doubt?

“Look, you're a good officer. You've never caused any problems in the past, and everyone else here respects you.” Tatsuya's eyes narrowed. “But if it gets out that we excused an officer's poor behavior, the populace would lose faith in us. We cannot let that happen.”

“Because that's what this is about.” Tatsuya quickly spat out. All he received was a cold stare, the other man unfazed.

“Pack your things, Suou-san,” the chief finally said, reaching out to grab a pile of paperwork and shuffling it into a neat pile, “I want you out of here in fifteen minutes and I do not want to see you here again.” He started writing on one of the papers and made no other indications he even cared Tatsuya was still in the office.

Tatsuya steeled himself, held himself high as he walked out of the office and slammed the door closed behind him. Every pair of eyes were following him as he gathered his few things together, and it felt oppressing. He left the station feeling a heavy weight of guilt.

When he stepped outside, Tatsuya took a shuddering breath and hoped Jun wouldn't be too disappointed.