Chapter Text
When Ryuji found out he had to leave Futaba behind when he went to middle school, he got so upset that no one could calm him down, especially when Sojiro told him that Yusuke would also be going to a different middle school. This had actually been Yusuke’s choice, but Ryuji still felt a little miffed about it.
What this meant was that he had two siblings and still somehow felt all alone at school. It was awful. He had literally no friends. Mayumi kept telling him that he’d make friends in time, but Ryuji was miserable .
During his first week of art class - the track he was on alternated between a theater class, an art class and a music class - he was partnered up with some foreigner girl named Ann Takamaki who no one else wanted to talk to either. To his surprise, she was also blonde, but hers was natural. They were doing portraits of each other, and Ann kept bugging Ryuji to sit still. To be fair, he was really trying, but it wasn’t easy for him.
Suzui Shiho, who apparently was Ann’s only friend, kept wandering over to their table, offering commentary on her artwork. Most of it was pretty nice, but at one point, she scoffed and told Ann that she had gotten the color of Ryuji’s hair totally wrong. “You need to pay attention to this sort of thing,” the girl had said. “This looks nothing like him.”
“It looks fine!” Ann insisted.
“Maybe you should just paint him with black hair,” Shiho suggested. “That might be easier.”
Ryuji scoffed at the mention of his natural hair-color. “You can just use a darker yellow if you need to.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work-”
“Just trust me!” Ryuji snapped. “I swear, it’ll be fine.”
Ann took his advice and showed Shiho her finished piece. “It’s pretty good, but I think–”
Ryuji finally lost his cool. “Can you quit it and buzz off already? She’s doing her best!”
Both girls were a little taken aback. “Shiho knows I don’t mind her being honest,” Ann said. “I’m not upset, promise.”
“You sure?”
“Mhm! That’s how we first met.” Ann and Shiho told Ryuji the story of how they met the week prior, when Shiho offered a critique of the drawing Ann was working on.
“That… explains a lot, sorry.” Ryuji blushed, looking away from the girls. “Sorry for jumping to conclusions like that.”
“Hey, it's alright,” Ann said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I get it, I get it…” Ryuji’s voice grew quiet. “I just… you could’ve been a bit nicer to me about it…”
“I shouldn’t have been so blunt, huh?” Shiho guessed. “Should I work on that?”
“Definitely, please,” Ryuji said, just as bluntly.
“Alright, good to know!”
The trio had a fun time for the rest of the class, and at long last, Ryuji secured two new friends from it. All for the better, really.
Ryuji and Ann were becoming really close friends, but at one point on the way home from school, he asked her, “Hey, you’ve never met my parents, haven’t you?”
“No… why do you ask?”
“Well we gotta fix that then!” Ryuji exclaimed. “My Mom and Dad are awesome! And my baby sister and brother are great, too!”
“You have siblings? Do they not go to our school?”
“I wish!” Ryuji grumbled. “Futaba’s still in elementary, and Yusuke goes to some fancy art school… but it’s fine. I’ve got you and Shiho.”
Ann grinned and blushed a little at that. She let Ryuji drag her the rest of the way to Leblanc. When they got there, Soijro was behind the counter, washing some dishes.
“Hey, Ryu-kun!” he called. “Who’s this? Your girlfriend?”
Ryuji made a face. “Ew, Dad. Don’t be gross!”
“We’re just friends!” Ann stammered out just as quickly.
Sojiro chuckled. “Fair enough. You kids wanna hang out here until I close up? I’ll make you something small.”
“Yes, please!”
They spent the afternoon playing a card game called Tycoon with a box of cards Sojiro found under the counter. When Ryuji asked if he’d be able to come over to her house some time, though, Ann hesitated.
“Ann? You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice wavering a little. “My mom and dad aren’t home right now, but you can still come over. They won’t mind.”
“For real?” Ryuji cheered. “Hell yeah!”
It only got even weirder the day Ryuji was actually scheduled to come to Ann’s house. He called Ann in advance, figuring she’d be excited to hear about it, but he could hear Ann panicking on my phone.
“I’m sorry for picking up so late, Ryuji! I’m just trying to make things look nice for you!”
Ryuji just rolled his eyes. “Dude, Ann… you saw my room. There’s no way yours is gonna look any worse than mine does.”
“ Please , give me another thirty minutes. Then you can come over!”
“Oh, uh… okay?” Ryuji mumbled. He ended up going to the convenience store to buy some snacks, and the detour ended up taking about thirty minutes. He knocked on the door and called Ann’s name.
“Ann! Are you okay? Sorry if I took too long!”
Sure enough, a minute or so later, Ann flung the door open. She looked rather frazzled, despite the smile on her face. “H-Hi! Come in!” she said, grabbing his hands. “Everything’s clean now, and I even bought groceries!”
Said groceries ended up being a bunch of convenience store snacks, which were lying on the coffee table. Snickering, Ryuji lifted up his own bag of snacks, putting it down on the table. “We’re not going hungry, huh?”
“Obviously! I’m a good host,” Ann said, preening a little.
“Is it cool if I get a drink?”
“Yeah, I think there’s some juice in the fridge.”
Ryuji went over to the fridge, taking out some orange juice and giving it a sniff. It smelled kinda funny, and when he looked at the best before, he noticed it was weeks out-of-date. Looking through the rest of the stuff in the fridge, he found that pretty much all of the real food was out of date by a couple weeks. Why hadn’t Ann’s parents noticed? What if she accidentally ate something bad? What if she got really sick because of it?
“The juice is in the fridge door, if you can’t find it!”
“Yeah, I’m not that thirsty, actually,” Ryuji shouted back. “I’ll have something later!”
“Okay!”
Ryuji had the feeling that something was wrong with Ann and her family. He’d have to mention it to Mom and Dad when he got home; maybe they’d be able to help. For now, he was determined to have a good time with his friend.
And he and Ann did have a good time, playing video games together and eating (non-outdated) snacks, but when Ryuji got home, he was in a weird mood. Sojiro caught onto it right away. “What’s up with you, son?”
“I think there’s something wrong with Ann.”
“Watch your words, Ryu-kun. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with her, even if something bad is happening to her,” Mayumi interjected.
“Whoops… sorry, bad wordin’. Didn’t mean it like that. Yeah, I think Ann’s parents did something bad? Maybe? I just… they weren’t home when I went to her house, and all the food in her fridge had gone bad. And I just… I dunno how long they’ve been gone. If the food’s just been left there all this time… you know what I mean?”
“Ugh, I hate it when that happens!” Futaba called from the other room.
“Not now, ‘taba!” Ryuji told her.
Mayumi looked up from her laptop. “That is… concerning,” she mused, looking over to Sojiro. “Perhaps your father and I should pay Ann-chan a visit?”
“I dunno, probably,” Ryuji said, shrugging. “She asked me to wait for her to clean up the house, though, so she’d probably be on edge if we came to her. Maybe… maybe we could invite her here, instead?”
“I suppose that’s alright, as long as you give Futaba and Yusuke plenty of warning,” Sojiro said.
Ryuji ran up and gave Sojiro and Mayumi a hug. “You guys are the best.”
And he really meant it.
When Sojiro was nervous, he cooked. It was something Mayumi had always found endearing about her husband. Caring for those around him was second nature to Sojiro to the point that he found himself doing it subconsciously .
The good thing about Sojiro’s nervous cooking was that they’d have plenty of food with which to feed Ann when she made it to their house… and maybe a bit of leftovers for everyone else.
“Should I make some bread?” Sojiro wondered. “Ann might appreciate the extra carbs, if she’s hungry.”
“Jiji, my love, you have made enough food to feed a small army,” Mayumi said, keeping her voice firm. “You don’t need to make more. I will come over there and take away your spatula.”
Takeshi never would have let her speak to him like that. It was a testament to how different the two men were that Mayumi not only felt safe telling Sojiro no, but knew he appreciated it, especially when he was spiraling.
“... you’re right,” Sojiro said, dumping the spatula into the sink. “I guess we just wait now…”
“We can be patient,” Mayumi said. “I know it's hard, but they’ll be here soon.”
Sojiro made a vague noise of annoyance, looked over at the spatula in the sink, as though he wanted to start cooking again, then took a few large steps away and sat down next to Mayumi, putting his head on her shoulder.
Soon enough, Ryuji and Ann arrived. “Mom! Dad! We’re home!” Ryuji called, dumping his backpack by the front door and kicking off his shoes. “Ann’s here, too!”
Ann took off her shoes carefully, putting them neatly next to Ryujis. “Thank you for having me, Ms. Sakamoto, Mr. Sakura.”
“Of course, Takamaki-chan. We’re very happy to have you here,” Mayumi said. “Are you hungry? I’m afraid my husband’s been on a cooking spree, so we’ll have more than enough to eat.”
A little sheepish, Ann admitted, “I am pretty hungry…”
“Wonderful!” Mayumi said, ushering Ann towards the table. “Ryuji’s told us so much about you, you know?”
Ann looked dumbfounded. “He has?”
“Of course. You’re a very important friend to him,” Mayumi replied, as Ann sat down. “I hope you care about him in the same way.”
“Y-Yeah. I do, I suppose…”
Ann looked at the table, seeing just how much was there. Her mouth was watering, but she quickly closed it. “Are you sure it’s enough?”
“Honey, if there’s any leftovers, you can bring them home with you.”
“Oh, okay then.”
It was surprising how fast of an eater Ann was. So much so that she gave any of the Sakura kids, even Yusuke , a run for their money. Once she was finished eating, Mayumi spoke up. “Sweetheart, I have to ask you something.”
Ann looked up at her. “Yeah?”
“When was the last time your parents were home?”
Ann thought for a moment, counting on her fingers. Then, she paused and recounted. “Five months, I think? Maybe six?”
The silence in the room grew heavy instantly.
“Mother-frickin’ fricks!” Ryuji shouted, pushing his chair backwards with a clatter. Futaba and Yusuke jumped half out of their skins. “I knew it was bad, but half an effin’ year ?”
“Ryuji-kun! You need to–”
“I don't need to take a deep breath, Mom!” Ryuji snapped. “I don't need to calm down. I’m fricking angry! Ann’s my friend , and her parents are–”
“You’re upsetting your friend,” Sojiro interjected. Ann was obviously a little shaken up, and she sniffled, trying to not cry. “Lower your voice, please.”
Ryuji froze. “S-Sorry, Ann. I didn’t mean to make you sad. I just… I really hate your parents for pulling this shit.”
“ Ryuji –”
“I know. Swear jar,” Ryuji mumbled, sitting down again. “Sorry.”
“Though he could have said it in a better way, Ryuji is right,” Mayumi told Ann, keeping her voice patient and level. “It’s not okay for your parents to leave you alone for that long. That’s neglect .”
Ann shook her head slowly. “I’m looking after myself, I promise. I don’t wanna get my parents in trouble.”
“Be honest, kid, when was the last time you had hot food?” Sojiro asked. “A real meal. Not konbini junk.”
“... last time I was at Leblanc?”
“And before that?”
Her silence spoke volumes. “Kid… did they even tell you where they were going?”
“They do this sometimes,” Ann insisted. Tears started to slip from her eyes. “I wake up, and they’re gone, but they always come back. They always… they’re coming back, I swear. They wouldn’t just leave me .”
“Sounds like they did ,” Ryuji mumbled. “You don’t gotta deny it, Ann.”
“Of course I do!” Ann huffed. “They’re my mom and dad! I love them!”
“Sometimes, the people we love can hurt us,” Mayumi said softly.
Ann wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “But- But-” The poor girl crumpled all at once. “I’m sorry… Please don’t be angry at me!”
A gentle hand began wiping away her tears. “We’re not angry with you, Ann-chan,” Mayumi said soothingly, “You haven’t done anything bad.”
“Feels like it…” Ann mumbled. “I couldn’t look after myself, so I’m gonna get my mom and dad into trouble.”
“They shouldn’t have put you into that position in the first place,” Sojiro countered.
“I guess…”
Mayumi glanced over at Sojiro. “Ann-chan… I think you should stay here tonight, if that’s alright with you. I’ll try to call your parents tomorrow morning, and see if I can sort things out with them.”
Ann sniffled. “Alright…” The two of them could tell that she was starting to get tired by this point. “Sorry again…”
“There’s no need to apologize,” Sojiro said. “Come on, I think Futaba has some pajamas you can borrow…”
Before work, Mayumi called the number Ann gave her, which was supposedly her father’s phone number. When she got through to an answerphone, she only barely managed to stop herself from swearing. She left a very pointed message.
Your daughter slept over at my house last night. Am I right in assuming you don’t plan on coming back for her? If so, you need to let her know that. It isn’t fair to let her think you will if you don’t plan to.
The Takamakis didn’t respond for the rest of the day, only calling her back when she was in the middle of making dinner with Sojiro. Ryuji and Ann were playing videogames upstairs. “Crap…”
Sojiro paused in the middle of stirring a pot of pasta. “Is that..?”
“Yeah it's them ,” Mayumi grumbled. “Can you finish cooking dinner? I’ll come back soon, I promise.”
“Take all the time you need.”
With how often she cowered in front of Takeshi, Mayumi was used to keeping professional in front of people who quite frankly didn’t deserve it. The two of them didn’t even seem that bothered by the fact that they abandoned their daughter. In fact, they almost sounded thankful .
“Honestly, we never planned to have a child,” Mr. Takamaki explained. “We kept Ann around because putting her up for adoption would be disastrous for our reputation, but…”
“You never wanted her…” Mayumi gritted out.
“It's a rather crass way of putting it, but… yes,” Mrs. Takamaki said, nose wrinkling. “You’d be doing us quite a favor if you took her off our hands, honestly.”
Mayumi grimaced, resisting the urge to swear at the Takamakis until her face turned an unnatural color. They were doing what she sort of wanted, but she was so furious with them. She wanted them to love and be there for their daughter more than she wanted Ann as part of her family, even if the latter desire was very strong.
There was no winning that, though, was there?
Mr. Takamaki promised to send over a contract to transfer custody (and plenty of child support, thank goodness) before hanging up.
Mayumi went back into the kitchen and cried into Sojiro’s shoulder.