Work Text:
January 14, 2017 (Saturday Evening)
Sae Niijima stifled a yawn just outside the apartment she shared with Makoto in Setagaya. It was only eight in the evening, but it was also her first time coming home since Monday - trying to put Shido in prison while trying to get Ren out was a monumental task. She fumbled with her keys; she was tired enough at this point that even getting the door open was also a monumental task.
Eventually, she succeeded. “Makoto, tadaima . Did you eat already? I bought takeout, so…”
The silver-haired prosecutor trailed off, glancing down at the beaten up yellow sneakers in the recessed genkan neatly lined up beside Makoto’s boots.
She sighed. Makoto was supposed to be studying. The National Center exam was already done, and Makoto felt good about how she performed. But Tokyo University’s examination was just two weeks away. Toudai was Sae’s alma mater , so she knew how difficult the entrance exam was from first hand experience. The younger Niijima sister was already spending a lot of time trying to get Ren out of prison. She couldn’t afford to be spending so much time with… ...with her… ...with her boyfriend .
Sae grimaced, still feeling quite conflicted about the whole thing. For the past several years, Sae had barely been present as a roommate let alone an older sister slash parental figure. Even if Makoto had ended up dating some straight-laced bookish boy, Sae would have been thrown for a loop. Ryuji Sakamoto… Well. Sae didn’t even know how to begin approaching that. Apparently, his grades were improving. And his reputation was largely undeserved. But every time she saw his slouch, his trashy manga, or the increasingly obvious way he showed affection for Makoto, the lawyer couldn’t help but cringe inwardly. What the hell was she supposed to do , here?
Sae slid open the door that separated the entryway from the open plan kitchen and living room of their apartment.
Ryuji and Makoto were seated at the coffee table. Makoto had her books spread out on the surface; Ryuji was slouched comfortably and appeared to be reading manga, the volume propped open with one hand. The other was absently rubbing Makoto’s feet, which were still clad in her tights and propped up on his lap.
‘Three for three…’ Sae thought, eyeing the manga, the slouch, and the affection. As she walked in the room, she coughed loudly.
Makoto quickly sat up and put her feet on the floor, regarding her sister with a faint blush.
“ Okaeri , Nee-chan.” Makoto said.
Ryuji smiled sheepishly. “Hey, Sae-san.”
“Hello, Sakamoto-kun.” Sae said, cringing inwardly at the use of her given name. It was fair, of course - there were two Niijimas present. But it still sounded weird. “It’s a bit late, isn’t it?”
Ryuji blinked. “Is it?! Ma’s gonna kill me--... Oh. It’s only eight! Haha. I’m fine, Sae-san. Thanks for lookin’ out for me, though!”
Sae frowned slightly as Ryuji completely missed the hint. She glanced at her sister, deciding to take a different tactic. “Did you eat already, Makoto? I bought some takeout, but I didn’t know Sakamoto-kun was going to be here. So I don’t think there’s enough…”
Makoto looked up from her notebook. “Hm? Oh, that’s okay. I ate already, Nee-chan. But Ryuji, you said you were hungry, right? Why don’t you two go ahead?”
Ryuji perked up. “Oh! Sure. Hey, that smells great. Here, let me.” He stood up, helpfully taking the takeout bag from Sae and going to set the table in the kitchen. “Awesome! Ramen! Hey, you’ve got great taste. This is from one of my favorite spots.”
“Small world.” Sae mumbled, sitting down at the table. She watched as Ryuji casually retrieved utensils from her kitchen. Apparently he knew where everything was. The lawyer’s eyes flitted back to Makoto. Surely, her sister didn’t expect her to have an extremely awkward dinner for two with her… ...boyfriend.
Makoto was already back to studying, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Apparently, Makoto really did expect an extremely awkward dinner.
Sae stared down at the bowl of shoyu ramen in front of her. She looked up at Ryuji, who was practically drooling as he looked at the bowl of black garlic tonkotsu ramen that was intended for Makoto. Sae purchased it because she the chef said that garlic--
“Oh, this is great! I love black garlic. How’d you know?” Ryuji beamed at Sae. “You know, the chef at this ramen shop told me that garlic is great for the immune system. It’s super popular among students tryin’ to avoid gettin’ sick before exams.”
“You don’t say.” Sae said, flatly. She suppressed her sigh as Ryuji noisily slurped the noodles meant for Makoto.
What was she supposed to do about this?
>>>
January 15, 2017 (Sunday Afternoon)
Sae’s knuckles turned white on the ‘Player 2’ gun controller connected to the Time Crisis 5 machine in Shibuya Gigolo Arcade. Sae stuck out like a sore thumb; she was wearing her pantsuit and was at least five years older than everyone else in the place with the exception of the sweatpants-wearing guy behind the counter. Sweatpants-san still eyed her askance; she had terrified him earlier by threatening to have him arrested for his ill-advised attempt to hit on her. And Sae was certainly older than ‘Player 1’. She glanced sidelong at him.
Ryuji grinned. “Ready?! This is gonna be awesome, trust me.”
‘How the hell did things end up this way?!’
January 15, 2017 (Sunday Morning)
Sae slid her mouse back and forth on the Buchimaru mousepad decorating her desk. Usually, she liked the look of the goofy panda. First of all, it reminded her of Makoto and their late father. And second of all, the mascot had grown on her after she purchased that cellphone strap for her sister. Sae’s eyebrow twitched. Unfortunately, remembering the cellphone strap now also had the associated memory of how exactly her sister and Ryuji started dating.
‘How did you two even start dating, Makoto? He doesn’t seem like the kind of boy you’d even think twice about.’
‘Ah… He’s actually a hard worker. And… and surprisingly sweet. Though, we probably never would have ended up dating if it weren’t for the cellphone strap you bought me.’
Sae grumbled. Even she had to admit the story was terribly cute. And also mildly disturbing. While Shiho Suzui wasn’t a Phantom Thief, apparently she did have a super power for good-natured manipulation and mischief. Briefly, she wondered if she could convince the volleyball player to give up her medical aspirations for a career in law. If the average Special Investigations detective had even half of her talent, they’d probably be able to convince criminals to walk themselves into prison.
And also, giving the girl a constructive distraction would mean that Sae herself would never enter Shiho’s crosshairs.
“You’re kidding, Yuriko-chan!”
“No, not at all!...”
Sae looked up as voices drifted through her ajar door. She recognized them as two of the SID’s paralegals, standing at the photocopier across the hall. She stood up, moving to close the door respectfully. She wasn’t one to eavesdrop.
“...I’m telling you, Reina-senpai! That daughter of mine almost failed her Center exam because of that boyfriend of hers!”
Sae froze. This seemed relevant.
“So what did you do?”
“Well, I just sat him down and had a heart to heart discussion with him. I told him that if he really cared about Aoi, he’d give her some space so she can study for Osaki University’s exam properly. They’ll have all the time in the world to flirt after exams are over, after all--”
Sae slammed her door open.
Yuriko jumped; papers went flying everywhere. “Oh my! ...Ah! Niijima-san! I’m so sorry! Were we too loud?!” She stooped down, frantically picking up papers. “We’ll leave right away. I know you’ve been working hard, and--”
Sae caught Yuriko’s wrist. She looked at the paralegal with the same expression she wore when going into court.
“What exactly did you tell your daughter’s boyfriend? Can I take some notes?”
>>>
January 15, 2017 (Sunday Afternoon)
It seemed like such a good idea to make a beeline for the arcade where Ryuji was likely to be hanging out, according to Sae’s prior surveillance of the boy. She’d walk in, ask to speak with him privately for a moment, and simply paraphrase Yuriko the Paralegal’s words:
‘Sakamoto-kun, this is an important time for Makoto. She has just one exam left, and she’s already trying to do so much, especially with Amamiya-kun in prison. Do you think you could give her a little more space until exams are over?’
Somehow, that had turned into:
“Sakamoto-kun, this is an--”
“DON’T LET WILD DOG ESCAPE! ACTION!” The arcade console speaker boomed, followed immediately by explosions, gunfire, and shattering glass. Sae stopped, staring slack-jawed as Ryuji started clearing the game with the skill of a trained Special Assault Team member, standing in a perfect Weaver stance as he made headshot after headshot. His focus was otherworldly.
It wasn’t until a brief cinematic that Ryuji noticed Sae standing there.
“...Oh! Sae-san! What brings you here?!” Ryuji smiled, though he looked quite surprised.
“Er.. I…” Sae’s resolve fell apart. ‘How can I possibly have a serious conversation with a teenage boy holding a neon-green gun?!’ “I… ...I…”
Her mind drew blanks as to what she could say. Her eyes lit on the second gun controller.
“ ...I’m here to play, too!”
‘I’m what ?!’
Sae grabbed the ‘Player 2’ pistol. She took out her wallet, withdrawing her credit card. “Where do I…”
“...Uh, it doesn’t take credit cards.” Ryuji said, blinking. He handed Sae a game token. “Here, go ahead.”
“ACTION!” The cinematic was over.
Sae frowned, looking at the token. She couldn’t let some highschooler pay for her. She glanced at the screen. “It’s fine. Besides, it’s starting again. Shouldn’t you--”
Her jaw dropped as Ryuji fired without looking, nailing another terrorist between the eyes.
“It’s totally fine!” Ryuji popped the token into the slot, pressing the Player 2 start button. “Just step on the pedal to peek out of cover.”
“Pedal? You mean this-- How did I get shot already?!”
“You can’t just keep your head out! There’s snipers!”
“Snipers?! I’m using a pistol! What is this, a .45? There’s no way the range is good enough to--- I got shot again!”
“Just stay behind cover! I’ll carry us until you get used to this!” Ryuji said. Somehow, the sheer lack of frustration or malice in his voice was even more infuriating than if he had been annoyed. He was speaking to her like she was some little kid who had no clue how to play.
“Do you think I have no idea how to play!?” Sae yelled, getting a flashback to her interrogation of Ren. “Well, you’re right! I don’t! But have you ever fired a real gun before? My scores were at the top of the--”
“CONTINUE? 10...9...8…” Sae’s screen flashed, her life as VSSE Agent Mark Godart over almost as soon as it began.
“Heh. Snipers. Told ya--...” Ryuji trailed off, looking over at Sae. She was biting her lower lip; one fist was balled up at her hip. The other still clenched the gun. Her eyebrow twitched as Ryuji snapped off another shot (again without looking). She put the obnoxiously green plastic gun back into the console’s holster, marching over to Sweatpants-san.
“Er… can I help you--”
Sae slammed a 5000 yen note onto the counter. “Tokens.”
“...It’s 100 yen per token. Do you want change?”
Sae glared at him.
“No.”
>>>
A couple hours later, Sae and Ryuji sat on a bench at nearby Miyashita Park. Sae sipped at her coffee, her face still a little red from embarrassment. Ryuji worked on his mocha, eyeing his girlfriend’s sister sidelong. He smiled awkwardly and sympathetically.
“...Y’know, I’m sure plenty of people get kicked out of arcades--”
Sae nearly choked on her coffee. “Don’t. Just… don’t.”
“Right. Sorry. The mocha was for my silence until the end of time.” Ryuji said. He shook his head. “Heh. Makoto got pretty worked up about the game too, the first time she played with me.”
Sae stared at the lid of her disposable cup, trying to rebalance herself. “Right. You two have probably been here on a date?”
“Actually, no.” Ryuji chuckled. “I ran into her at the arcade last year in the summer, right before exams. I pretty much gave up on studying, so I went over to play a bit. Makoto was really curious about the game, so we played. And then she dragged me back over to Jonathan’s to actually study properly.”
“Oh? I hadn’t heard that story.” Sae said.
“Ah… It’s probably because I asked her not to talk about it too much.” Ryuji said, sheepishly. “That was when I told her that I want to be a teacher. Even though most of our friends know now, it’s still pretty embarrassing.”
“Why?” Sae asked, tilting her head. “That’s a respectable career…”
“Heh. Yeah. That’s the issue, really.” Ryuji shrugged. “Up until recently, everyone wrote me off, y’know? Just some good-for-nothing guy. Can you imagine what people at school would say if it was common knowledge that I was gunnin’ for something like this?”
Sae was a Shujin alumnae, so she could imagine. At the prep school, the high level athletes and academics were generally treated like royalty. Problem students were generally ignored. Even when they tried to shape up or improve their lot, they were still ignored - if not outright mocked and ridiculed.
Ryuji smiled slightly, looking down at his yellow Converse shoes. “I’m really glad I ran into Makoto that day. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think that was the day where I honestly started tryin’ to build a future for myself.”
Sae blinked. That was it - that was her in.
“...Speaking of futures, Sakamoto-kun. I think it’s wonderful that Makoto helped you so much. But right now… right now, she’s studying for the most difficult entrance exam in the country. This is an important time for her. It’s her last exam, and she’s already…” Sae looked up at Ryuji; she trailed off. He was looking at her so earnestly. Somewhat like an eager-to-please puppy.
“So there’s something I can do to help her?!” Ryuji exclaimed. “She’s so smart and independent that I haven’t been able to figure out what I can do. It’s not like I can help her study, right? I mean, I got her this good luck charm from the temple the other day, but if you have any other ideas…”
“...Er, yes. Well. She’s already trying to do so much , and she doesn’t have much time to spare. Between studying for exams, helping to get Amamiya-kun out of prison, and doing her chores around the house, she barely has time to sleep.” Sae continued.
Ryuji rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “...Right. Right! Sae-san, I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.” He stood up, nodding again. “I promise, I’ll do my best until after exams to make sure Makoto has lots of time to study!”
Sae blinked. “...Oh. Oh! Well, good, then!”
“Yeah!” Ryuji beamed.
“...Thank you, Sakamoto-kun.”
“You bet, Sae-san! You can count on me! See ya!”
Sae watched as Ryuji jogged off, strangely energetic and enthused about the prospect of staying away from his girlfriend for two weeks.
‘...Well. That went better than expected.’
>>>
January 18, 2017 (Wednesday Evening)
Sae walked up to the door of her apartment, stifling a yawn. It was just a little past seven in the evening, but this was actually the earliest she had been home for the past few days. The combined Shido/Ren situation was a lot of work, even though Ann and Shiho managed to convince Keiko Abe, the woman who initially corroborated Shido’s assault accusation, to recant her original testimony against Ren and testify against Shido.
‘That Shiho Suzui really is something…’ Sae mused. At least, Sae had proven that she wasn’t lacking in persuasion, either. After all, Ryuji Sakamoto was true to his word and hadn’t distracted Makoto from her studies for a few days, now.
She opened the door. Something smelled delicious.
“Makoto? Tadaima . Did you make dinner? That smells incredi...ble…” Sae looked down, seeing bright yellow Converse shoes lined up nearly with Makoto’s boots. “Son of a…”
She walked into the apartment. And yet again, her jaw dropped due to the actions of one Ryuji Sakamoto.
The aspiring teacher was once again making himself at home in her kitchen - this time, wearing the frilly pink apron he had fished out of a cabinet. A large pot simmered behind him on the stove; curry, by the smell. Just beside it, a pan with hot oil was waiting to caramelize the onions he was currently chopping.
He looked up, grinning. While wearing dorky goggles. Sae’s dorky goggles, purchased for the purpose of onion chopping.
“Hey, Sae-san! Okaeri ! Hope you’re okay with curry tonight!”
“Curry sounds fine-- I mean, what are you doing here!?”
Makoto was sitting at the kitchen table. She waved to her sister. “Oh! Ryuji told me that you bumped into him at the arcade and encouraged him to think of ways to help me. He’s been incredible, Nee-chan. All the chores are done and he’s made meals for the rest of the week. He’s freed up a lot of my time.”
“Eheh.” Ryuji grinned, still wearing the ridiculous goggles. “It’s not much. I just borrowed RenRen’s curry recipe and made a few other things. They’re nothing special, but they cover all the major food groups and they keep well. Kinda like how I ate when I was on the team.” He opened the refrigerator.
Sure enough, there were several plastic containers portioned out into individual meals. “There’s even enough for you to take to work, Sae-san. So that way you don’t have to worry about meals while you’re tryin’ to put Shido behind bars!”
Sae had no words. Well. She had two words.
“... ...Er.. … thank...you?”
“You’re welcome! Oh. I should check on the laundry. ‘Scuse me.”
Ryuji disappeared into the laundry room.
Sae watched him go. She felt Makoto’s eyes burning a hole in the side of her head.
Makoto slowly arched an eyebrow.
Sae smiled weakly. “I… ...was worried…?”
Makoto sighed. “Nee-chan… I understand. Really. Toudai’s exam is the hardest one in the country. But you just need to believe in me. Ryuji and I aren’t going out on dates right now. Even before your… talk… he mostly just came over and read manga, played games, or did his homework while I studied. If I fail, it won’t be because of him.”
Sae shook her head, sitting down at the table with Makoto. “Sorry, Makoto.” She smiled helplessly. “It’s difficult for me, still. The last time I really acted like a big sister to you was when you were still in middle school. I suppose some part of my mind still wants to remember you at that age.”
To Sae’s surprise, Makoto smiled back warmly.
“I understand that, Nee-chan. I miss those days, too. But we can’t go back. So… Why don’t we look ahead? After exams are over, and after Shido and Ren are dealt with, why don’t we catch up a little more?”
Sae smiled. “I’d like that. And I should get to know Sakamoto-kun better, too.”
Makoto nodded. She smirked. “Mmhm. We can hang out. Maybe at the arcade .”
Sae’s smile faded. “...He told you.”
“He tells me everything .” Makoto grinned.
“I paid for the gun that I broke!” Sae snapped.
Makoto nodded again, solemnly. Her lip twitched.
Sae’s nose wrinkled.
The two sisters burst out laughing.
“Haha… ha…” Sae shook her head, glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the laundry room. “...I can’t believe he came over and did all the chores and cooking. He must really care about you.”
Makoto blushed faintly. “Mm. He’s surprisingly sweet.”
“A little dense, though. Most boys would have understood that they were being told to back away for a little while.” Sae said, shaking her head.
“Ah, well. We have Shiho to thank for that.” Makoto said. “Apparently, she bumped into Ryuji at the supermarket when he was looking for ingredients. He was starting to feel a bit self-conscious and was wondering what you really meant. She convinced him fully that you must have meant for him to come over and do all of this.”
“...That Shiho Suzui is a menace .”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Makoto grumbled. She sighed, glancing up at the sound of the washer being opened. “...Say. You loaded the washer this morning, right?”
“Yes, why?” Sae asked.
“What was in that load?”
Sae blinked. “Oh, nothing special. Both of our things. Work clothes, your uniform, our under… wear…”
Sae and Makoto paled, looking remarkably alike. Both bolted for the laundry room.
“RyujI! Put those down !”
“SAKAMOTO! I swear to God, I'll have you arrested!"