Chapter Text
The Shiobana District Juvenile Correction Center. A small facility that, as it's name suggested, was a place for the youth of Japan to go when they beoke the law. It looked like any other prison, really, although Johei admittedly didn't know much about other prisons. And after these last two years, he wasn't in any hurry to find out.
Just three more days, Johei thought to himself as he laid on his cot, staring at the ceiling. Three more days and I'm outta here. Outta here and never coming back.
Truth be told, Shiobana wasn't terrible or anything. He had three meals a day, two hours outside for recreation, he was given free lessons, so he'd be at the minimum on the same level as the average high-schooler. He got along decently with most of his cellmates and the guards rarely bothered him. But one could only stand being trapped in one place for so long.
"Hey, Tojo!" a guard called out, slamming his nightstick against the bars of Johei's cell. Johei turned his gaze to the man, annoyed that his quiet time was interrupted. "Visitor!"
Johei rolled his eyes as he got up from his cot and began walking with the guard to the visitor room. Mom, he thought as he walked. Wonder what she wants this time?
Johei entered the room and found the seat with a middle-aged woman with black hair and blue eyes like his. This was Mayami Tojo, Johei's mother. Johei took the phone on his end and reluctantly put it against his ear.
"Johei!" she exclaimed cheerfully, making her son roll his eyes and smirk at once. His mom's boundless energy was too infectious for its own good.
"How have you been, sweetie? Your father and Sawako are doing well, we're almost finished packing, did you get that package I sent you, you haven't got into any trouble have you-"
"Mom," Johei interrupted his mother with a deep voice. She blushed, realizing that she had gotten carried away again. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. I'm just bored counting down the days. Until I get as far away from here as possible."
"So are we!" cheered Mrs. Tojo. "Just think! My little JoJo's finally coming home..." She turned to wipe a tear from her eye, making Johei feel significantly worse than he did earlier. He never meant for any of this to happen, but it did. He made a stupid mistake and now he was facing the consequences.
"So!" his mother chirped, getting her eldest's attention. "I've got some good news. I got a call from Horihiko High and guess what?"
"I can start next week," Johei nonchalantly answered.
"You can start- oh, ruin my fun why don't you!?" Mrs. Tojo pouted like a small child which got her son to lightly chuckle at her antics.
"That's good to hear," Johei said. "Hope my PO finally gets off my case about it."
Part of Johei's parole meant that he'd have to finish high school, despite being eighteen and the year already underway. Johei wasn't thrilled about this, but he didn't have a lot of options, and Horihiko was one of the few schools that would let him in on such short notice and with his record no less.
Mother and son continued their chat until the clock struck three in the afternoon. "Oh, is it three already?" Mrs. Tojo asked, disappointed about having to leave.
"Sawako's not gonna pick up herself, Mom," Johei reminded her.
"I know, I know," she admitted.
Johei smiled at his mom. "You'll have plenty of time with me when I get out. I'll see you in a few days."
"Okay, honey," Mrs. Tojo relented. "We'll see you on Sunday. I love you."
"Love you too, Mom. Bye."
Johei walked back to his cell and sat back down on his cot. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. After looking around his cell, Johei noticed something on his table, an unopened envelope.
Now, what's this doing here? he thought as he opened the package. It couldn't have been what his mom sent him, that was a week ago and it was much different than what fell out of the envelope.
It was small, about the size of a guitar pick with a matching shape, colored gold and had a chain attached to it. A necklace, the former delinquent deducted. He looked inside the envelope to see if anything else was in there and saw a letter. Johei put down the necklace and took out the letter.
The letter simply read, "You'll need this."
"That was well worth a whole piece of paper," Johei sarcastically said, putting aside the letter. He took another look at the necklace and curious, he put his finger on the tip of the charm.
"Ah, fuck!" he swore, pulling his finger back. "That a fuckin' shark tooth or something?"
"Hey, watch the language, Tojo!" a nearby guard yelled. Johei apologized and decided to check if he was bleeding or not and to his relief, he wasn't. He did feel a little light-headed however and opted to take a nap.
He laid down on his cot and quickly fell asleep, his last thoughts being about the necklace and just where it came from.
"You must be mistaken, Officer," Mr. Tojo insisted, shaking his head in disbelief. "My son would never-"
"That's enough, Dad," Johei interrupted. "I did it. I stole the guy's car. It was all me."
"There you have it," the cop said with a sneer. "Mr. and Mrs. Tojo, your son confessed to everything, but the thing is we know that he wasn't alone. Punks tend to travel in groups. But for some reason, he won't give up his accomplice."
"Trying to act all noble after stealing that car," scoffed his partner.
"It was only me," Johei insisted.
"JoJo, please," Mrs. Tojo pleased, "tell the officers who the other boy was. We won't think any less of you, honest! Maybe they might even-"
"I'm telling you the truth," Johei insisted. He hated lying to his parents. He knew what he was doing wasn't right. But Kaji couldn't afford going back to juvie. Not after everything that had happened. So he knew what he had to do, even if it pained him.
"Not enough that he's a liar, a thief, but now you're tellin' him ta try and get in out good graces?" asked the second cop. "What kinda parent-"
BAM! Johei's fist connected with the smug bastard's face in an instant and just as quickly, he was being restrained by his father.
"Assaulting an officer of the law," the first cop sneered. "That's not gonna look good on you either, JoJo."
"Don't you ever talk about my mother that way, you stupid pig asshole!" Johei yelled, ignoring his parents' pleas to control himself. That fuckhead Kaji had better be greatful for this...
A week or so after the interrogation, Johei found himself in court. Things were not going so hot with the car's owner and the officers who had arrested him testifying, the one he punched still sporting a slight shiner from where Johei punched him.
"Your Honor," the prosecutor said to the judge, "while I know that we have more than enough evidence to send this young man away, something has come up these past few days."
"Has there?" the judge asked, stroking his beard. "And why am I just hearing about this?"
"My apologies, Your Honor," she smoothly replied. "You see, a young man claims to have seen the defendant commit the crime and wishes to come forward, if it please the court."
As the old man debated over this, Johei couldn't help but wonder just who this surprise witness was while his lawyer cursed under his breath.
Eventually, the witness was allowed in and Johei's eyes widened at who it turned out to be.
The witness took the stand and when asked for his name, spoke, "Kaji Tanaka. I'm a student at the school Tojo goes to."
"And why have you only just now decided to come forward and testify, Mr. Tanaka?" the judge asked.
"Well you see, Tojo is a... good friend of mine. And I didn't want to snitch on him, y'know?" Kaji looked so guilty that if Johei didn't know any better, he might have been fooled. Might have.
"And what changed your mind?" the old fart asked.
"Well, you see, I used to be in the same situation as Tojo is now, Your Honor," Kaji explained. "And I learned the hard way that I had to face the consequences for my actions. I don't wanna say it, but Tojo needs to do the same."
The fucking prick. He did everything he could to protect the guy, and he... and he...
He sold him out. To save his own ass.
The next few days were all a blur, but Johei remembered it clearly. The "Guilty" verdict, getting sentenced to three years at Shiobana and just 'cause God really loved him, Kaji himself showed up to kick him out of the gang.
"Why?" Johei asked.
"'Cuz we can't wait forever for you," Kaji cool responded, acting as if he wasn't cutting ties with the one person who actually gave a damn about him.
"You know what I meant," Johei snarled, thankful that their was a wall of glass separating him and Kaji Tanaka's neck.
"This gang is all I've got, man," the older boy said, looking at Johei right in the eyes. "I can't afford to go back, you said it yourself."
"I stuck up for you!" Johei all but yelled into the phone. "I did everything I could to keep you off the hook-"
"Which is why I got cornered by those piglets, right?" Kaji scoffed. "Face it man, you'd have done the same thing."
"Like Hell!" Johei couldn't believe this. This couldn't be happening!
And then, without a single word spoken, Kaji Tanaka hung up the phone and walked away from the room, the prison and Johei Tojo's life...
Johei woke up after that, barely holding back the anger he was feeling. He slammed a fist at his pillow and took deep reaths to calm himself down. He took a look at the clock. 5:30. Dinner was in half an hour.
"Fuck," Johei muttered as he cracked his neck and fingers, musing about what happened after that.
After he was cut off from the gang, Johei was at a loss on what to do. No school in town would take him in after his stint and the only people who hadn't abandoned him were his parents and sister. And for a while, he was certain they weren't far away from leaving too.
Eventually, he gained an epiphany. Maybe this was a sign. A fucked up sign, but one nonetheless. That he shouldn't be throwing his life away hanging out with gangs and spending time screwing around with bikes and fights and shit. He saw that this was his chance to turn his life around. He caught up with his school work, he followed the Center's rules and did his best to avoid any trouble with the other kids and the staff. A few months ago, he was granted six months parole for good behavior. He vowed that as soon as he was a free man, he'd be a new Johei Tojo.
Better yet, his family was moving to his father's hometown of Horihiko. It apparently wasn't much different from Kirai, which was fine with him. It would be perfect, a new start at a new place where nobody would know who he was. In just a few days, Johei's life would change forever.
When it came time for dinner, Johei moved to leave his cell when he noticed the necklace he left on the table. After a brief look-over, Johei put it on, doing his best to avoid pricking himself with it again. He wasn't sure where it came from or how it got in his cell, but it looked cool.
After three agonizingly slow days, Johei was finally able to walk through the doors of Shiobana and never come back. His threw his bag ver his shoulder, put on his necklace and walked outside the facility, waving goodbye, hopefully forever.
"MY BABY!!!" Mrs. Tojo cried, grabbing her son in a giant hug, nearly choking him. The sight of the tall, muscular young man being grappled by his tiny mother amused the people around them. "I MISSED YOU!!"
Johei tried to tell his mother to let him go, but it only came out as gargled noises. Eventually, a small girl around elementary school age took pity on him.
"Mommy, JoJo can't breathe!" she cried, startling the woman enough for Johei to escape her grasp.
"Thanks, Sawako," Johei said to his sister in-between breaths. The younger sibling smiled and hugged her brother as well, which he returned.
"I missed you, big brother," she said, nuzzlng into his chest.
"Yeah, I missed you too," Johei said, a small smile coming across his face. Sawako was only eight when he left and she seemed so much bigger than she really was.
A cough interrupted the two and Johei let go of his sister to face the man who had done so. He looked very much like an older version of Johei, with his hair starting to gray at the sides and a pair of glasses on his face.
"Dad..." Johei mumbled. While he knew his father would be here, the ex-delinquent was still nervous. Takeru Tojo hadn't seen him nearly as often as his wife and a part of Johei believed that it was because of the whole "juvie" thing.
"Johei," Mr. Tojo evenly replied. Johei hesitantly stretched out a hand when his father grabbed him a hug like his wife and daughter before him.
"I missed you," father whispered to son, who returned the gesture.
"You too."
It had been two long, grueling years, but Johei Tojo was finally home. And he hoped he'd never leave again.