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Shinjiro Aragaki scouted the entrance of the Iwatodai Dorm as the sky grew dark out. Everyone, except for Shinjiro and Ken, were on a special vacation today. In addition, Ken had football practice and he was yet to return, which led to Shinjiro feeling increasingly concerned. Did Ken get lost on the way home? Shinjiro’s thoughts raced, but there had been no chance of Ken getting lost. The flip phone he’d borrowed from Akihiko had a built-in GPS; his peers were jealous of the fact that he even had a phone in the first place, it led to him being the talk of his class.
“It definitely wasn’t a bullying problem,” Shinjiro mumbled to himself, growing more restless by the minute, “He’ll be here soon enough, excited to tell me all about his day, like he always does.” He let out a small chuckle accompanied by a smirk and instantly ran over to the TV, turning it on. Featherman R was on, this was Ken's favorite TV show. Shinjiro knew that Ken would never willingly miss a new episode of Featherman R, making his absence feel out of the ordinary.
Just as Shinjiro was about to head on out and see if anything had happened in front of the dorm, the door was flung open and a series of stomps quickly followed; Ken was home, and he wasn’t happy. Shinjiro stopped facing the TV and instead looked toward Ken’s direction, noticing a look of anger on his face. Shinjiro stared intensely, watching Ken toss his shoes to the side and not bothering to put them away properly. Something had definitely happened.
Shinjiro slowly approached Ken, who was still kneeling down on the floor. Shinjiro stared silently, reaching out and trying to get some words out before Ken quickly interrupted him: “I know you’re there, Shinjiro. I don’t want to talk to you right now.” He then stood up, turning around and looking Shinjiro directly in the eyes and continuing to walk up the stairs, “I’ll be in my room, goodnight.” Shinjiro had not managed to get a single word out during the interaction, it’s not like he was an expert at dealing with kids. Although, he did not want to fail Ken; he wanted to see him successful and happy. Ken certainly was upset about something, but at this rate he would never fess up about it. Unless… there was a way to show him that his feelings mattered.
Shinjiro quickly ran to the kitchen, scouring the fridge for various materials: “What food would make that kid happy… Eggs, milk, butter, baking powder, and sugar…?” Shinjiro listed the ingredients as he pulled them out of the fridge, pancakes could easily be a fun dish for Ken. Utensils, bowls, and dishes were scattered all over the kitchen. It wasn’t a tough dish, but Shinjiro wanted to ensure that these pancakes were the greatest ones he ever had. He then ran to the TV, instantly beginning to record the brand-new Featherman R episode that Ken was currently missing. Then back in the kitchen, Shinjiro brewed a hot cup of coffee; Ken would be so happy to taste it.
After some time, Shinjiro had everything complete: the perfect TV show, a cup of coffee, and Featherman R shaped pancakes. He placed the food in front of the TV and silently walked up the stairs, ready to comfort Ken. He knocked quietly, not receiving a single response from Ken. He put his ear on the door, realizing that there were no sounds coming from Ken’s room: “You in there, Ken?” Still, no response. Shinjiro wouldn’t accept that. He forcefully opened the door, but Ken wasn’t there, “Hey, Ken?!” Shinjiro shouted, growing worried because of Ken’s absence, “Calm down Shinji, he’s gotta be up here. You know you saw him walk up the stairs…”
Shinjiro quickly exited Ken’s room, checking every room except for his own. Akihiko’s room, Makoto’s room, Junpei’s room, and even all of the girls’ rooms. He rushed to the roof, control room, and Ken wasn’t even in those places either, “Ken, I don’t know where you are but I’m done playing games.” Shinjiro angrily shouted, rushing back down to Ken’s room. Although, this time when he arrived there, he noticed that a sound was coming from his room, the one room he hadn’t checked, “Ken…?” Shinjiro walked up to his door, slowly opening it. Unexpectedly, Ken was there in a fetal position.
“Everyone hates me.” Ken cried as quietly as possible, not realizing Shinjiro was in the room, “I wish I still had my mom.” He then rolled over, staring at his arm and yelping as he touched it. Shinjiro, terrified, quickly crouched down so that he wouldn’t be spotted. Although he felt guilty; Ken clearly needed comfort, or even possibly medical attention. As Shinjiro questioned what to do, Ken got up and walked toward a window, “I know you’re there, Shinjiro.”
Shinjiro gulped at the sudden confrontation, it only made him feel more guilty, “Hey kid, uh… I’m sorry for saying nothing but I didn’t wanna piss you off.” He noticed that Ken only seemed to be hurt by this response.
“I…I don’t care. You should have left me alone; I don’t need your help!” Ken shouted, defensively.
Shinjiro sighed, “You do. I was like you too; I know somethin’ is going on with you.”
“No, you don’t know what it’s like to be me at all. My mom is dead, I don’t even know where my dad is, and all of my friends hate me!” Ken was getting more aggressive by the second, but there was a visible trail of tears underneath his eyes, “I can’t even play football anymore without being teased. I try so hard to be like my classmates and friends but I just…”
Shinjiro instantly butted in, interrupting Ken: “Is that what this is about? Ken, school wasn’t easy for me either. Plus, don’t ya have me and Akihiko?”
“You don’t know what it feels like! Plus, it’s not the same. You aren’t my dad, or dad’s… I want my real parents back.” Ken crouched on the floor. When he crouched, Shinjiro couldn’t help but notice that he resembled a tiny bug. His thoughts were instantly interrupted though because while Ken was crouching he gripped onto his arm and yelped once again.
Shinjiro only grew more concerned, running over to Ken, “Show me your arm, now.” Ken listened, slowly lifting his arm toward Shinjiro, “Huh, this got bruised pretty badly. You tripped?”
Ken shook his head in shame, “No. My friends thought it would be funny to push me around after football practice. It hurts, Shinjiro…” Ken’s eyes were watery at this point, as he stared right at Shinjiro.
“K…Ken. I’ll help ya, but you’ve gotta listen.” Shinjiro crouched down, trying to be at eye level with Ken. He wanted to ensure that he had his understanding no matter what. Ken simply nodded in return, as Shinjiro continued giving his instructions, “We’ve gotta get this bruise cleaned up first, understood?” Ken once again nodded, and then Shinjiro tried to pick Ken up.
“I’m not a baby, you know!” Ken shouted, embarrassed. He wanted to seem tougher than he really was.
Shinjiro chuckled, taking Ken to the bathroom, “Yeah, I said the same things as you when I was your age.” He then placed Ken on the bathroom counter, taking a closer look at the bruise, “Did you report the kids who did this to you?” He then touched the bruise, resulting in Ken yelping louder than before.
“I can’t do that. Everyone will laugh at me.” Ken sighed, tears in his eyes, “It would’ve been helpful if my mom was still around, just to guide me…” He then paused, “…and maybe she would take care of the bullies for me, too.”
Just then, a fist slammed on the bathroom counter, right beside Ken, “Yeah, I know that.” Shinjiro was visibly angry, not at Ken but at himself, “Don’t pretend that me and Aki don’t wanna help you, though.” Shinjiro then reached into a nearby cabinet, grabbing a bandage, and he turned the sink on.
“I’m not pretending, I know that you two only pretend to care about me.” Ken scoffed.
Shinjiro stared at Ken in shock, “Hah, yeah… I definitely would’ve run all over the dorm, screamin’ your name, if I didn’t care about you.” He then dabbed a towel in water.
Ken kept trying to get the upper hand though, “You just didn’t want to get in trouble if I got lost.”
Just then, a loud yelp followed. Shinjiro dapped the towel on Ken’s bruise, “You really think that’s true? Ya don’t think I care about you?” Ken didn’t respond though, “Sometimes you remind me of myself.”
“I don’t want to be like a murderer.”
The silence grew loud between Ken and Shinjiro, one small remark was enough to shock Shinjiro, “Okay, what kind of bandage do ya want? Regular, princesses, or superheroes?” He avoided responding to Ken’s statement; he knew Ken had every right to be upset, especially after having such a tough day.
Ken looked at the bandages, and then back at Shinjiro, “You didn’t respond to what I said.”
Shinjiro simply sighed, “I can’t argue with ya, kid. My job here is to guide ya, not to argue with you.” Then, he pushed the bandages forward, “Pick one.”
“Fine, I’ll take the superheroes bandage…” Ken looked to the right as Shinjiro placed the bandage, he suddenly felt nervous to talk, “Do you really mean that?”
“Mean what, kid?” Shinjiro asked, knowing exactly what Ken was going to say, but wanting to hear it out of his mouth.
“You… want to guide me. Like, how my mom was supposed to.” Ken looked down at the bandage, slightly smiling.
Shinjiro simply smiled in return, “You did say I’m a murderer; it’s my job to take care of you from where your mom left off.” He put an arm on Ken’s shoulder, noticing that Ken began to cry again, except this time it wasn’t because of his classmates nor because of his bruise.
Ken nodded in return, jumping into Shinjiro’s arms while sobbing, “I hope y…you’re not joking around with me.” Ken’s words came out shaky, as if he was struggling to speak his mind. It was obvious that he envied a familial love.
“Maybe Aki would, but I wouldn’t mess with ya, kid.” Shinjiro’s face was bright with joy, he patted Ken’s back, “Now, do ya wanna see a surprise I got set-up for you downstairs? Maybe tell me some things about those bullies too?”
Ken instantly nodded, hugging Shinjiro tighter, “Mhm… that would make me happy.”
“Then let’s go, kid.”
The rest of the night, Shinjiro and Ken watched the newest episode of Featherman R together, while simultaneously enjoying Shinjiro’s homemade Featherman R themed pancakes. Ken still felt upset by the absence of his mother, but he discovered that he had a new supportive parental figure who he could discuss his problems with, including the issue with his school bullies: Shinjiro Aragaki.