Chapter 5
[9]
When Ren made it back to Leblanc the sun had long since gone down, he was surprised to see the lights still on, walking in he saw his guardian Sojiro Sakura as well as Sojiro's daughter Futaba Sakura watching news coverage of the attack on the cafe's TV.
When they heard the bell ring, both turned to the entrance and saw Ren standing there, bruised, covered in dust, and hands caked in dried blood.
"Ren!" The two said in unison, an emotional burden visibly lifting off of their shoulders.
The Sakura family had taken Ren in as his guardians for his year of probation in Tokyo, a frequent customer to Sojiro's cafe, Leblanc, was good friends with Ren's parents and when word came that Ren would need a guardian for his stay, Sojiro had offered to watch over him.
Sojiro Sakura was a gruff man somewhere between his mid 40s to early 50s (Sojiro refused to give his exact age when asked), when Ren had first met him 2 months ago, he thought the man was pretty strict and wouldn't give Ren the benefit of the doubt, but as time passed and Ren began to work in the cafe, Sojiro had realized that the boy posed no threat to him or his daughter and eased up, treating Ren as a valued apprentice and allowing him much more freedom in his everyday life.
Futaba Sakura was the adopted daughter of Sojiro Sakura, she was a year younger than Ren but appeared much younger due to her small stature. Futaba was what one would call a shut-in, she spent nearly all of her time in her room on her computer and Ren wasn't even aware of her existence until a month into his stay.
Futaba was adopted by Sojiro due to the circumstances of her mother's job which had her constantly travelling across the country. Wakaba Isshiki, Futaba's mother, didn't want to force her daughter into her lifestyle, so to give her some stability, she entrusted Futaba's care to her closest friend, Sojiro.
"We were so worried!" Futaba rushed up to Ren and wrapped her arms around his torso, the top of her head resting beneath his chin.
"We tried calling you but you wouldn't pick up!" Ren patted her back in reassurance and glanced back to Sojiro, who chuckled at the display. Getting a good look at Ren's condition, Sojiro's eyes filled with concern, his inner parent coming out.
"Kid are you alright? How close were you to the damage?"
"I'm fine, I just fell to the ground from the shockwaves." Ren decided it best not to worry his guardian with what had actually gone down earlier that day, he'd barely had any time to think about it himself.
Sojiro gave him a skeptical look but didn't say anything. Futaba released him from the hug and looked up at him with an angry expression while pushing up her large glasses.
"If it was only that, why didn't you answer your phone?! I sent you like a million texts!"
Ren pulled his phone out of his pocket, displaying the shattered screen and pressing the power button several times to no effect.
"I kinda landed on it when I fell. Which reminds me, Sojiro, do you think I can get an advance on my next paycheck?"
"I don't pay you."
"Sojiro, do you think I could borrow some money? I promise I'll pay you back."
"Kid, you're lucky I let you live here. Don't push it."
Futaba snatched the broken phone out of Ren's hand and jammed it into her hoodie pocket.
"I'll fix it! Just give me til the end of the week." She said, already heading towards the cafe door to head home. As she was part way through the door she turned around and ran to Ren, giving him another hug. "I'm glad you're safe."
"Me too." He replied smiling, returning the affection. Futaba immediately turned back and ran out the door.
As Sojiro made his way out of the cafe, he turned to Ren, "I know you said you're fine, but go see the doc tomorrow, just to be sure."
"I will. Thank you."
Sojiro gave a comforting smile and patted Ren's shoulder as he walked past. "Get some rest." Were his last words as the door shut behind him.
[10]
Naoto Shirogane comforted Rise Narukami as the two sat on the balcony overlooking Shibuya. Moonlight barely peeked out through the thick layer of clouds above them. The cake sat on the table, long since forgotten as each of the guests sat inside all with the same thought repeating in their minds. 'Where is he?'
Naoto was never the best when it came to comforting others, that was something that was usually left up to Yu.
The attack had ended hours ago and now the only sounds from the city were the sirens of the emergency services who were still searching through the rubble and providing first aid to those who were injured on the scene.
"He's probably just caught up helping everyone like always, there's still a lot of work to be done down there." Came the voice of Dojima, Yu's uncle and surrogate father. Though he wasn't speaking to the two of them but rather his daughter who wore her worried expression much clearer than anyone else.
Naoto could tell that Rise took little comfort in his words, even if they weren't meant for her.
Naoto was about to say something to the worried wife when her phone buzzed loudly, interrupting the somber mood in the apartment. Checking who it was, she was disappointed, but not surprised, to find that it was work calling her.
"Detective Shirogane."
"We need you down in Shibuya, something important came up."
"Did forensics find anything on the explosives? Any idea as to who manufactured them?"
"No it's not that, there's something else. Something big."
"What is it?"
"Just get down here." With that, the phone call ended. Naoto turned to Rise who, having gathered the situation, gestured that Naoto was okay to leave and that she would be fine, even if the look on her face said otherwise.
Naoto left the apartment in a hurry and arrived on the Shibuya streets within minutes. In that time, the clouds over Shibuya had grown too dense and rain began to pour onto the city below.
Finding one of the officers, she asked where the chief was and was pointed where she needed to go. Making her way past the line of police tape she saw the man she was looking for facing away from her.
The Tokyo chief of police stood over a pile of rubble outside of what used to be a hotel, smoking a cigarette with an umbrella in one hand and a red rag clutched in his other. He turned to her as she approached and offered room underneath the umbrella.
"What is it?" She spoke loudly over the sound of the downpour slapping against the pavement around them. Without speaking, the chief handed her the rag in his hand which Naoto accepted carefully, holding it out in front of her she found it was something very familiar to her.
The mask was missing one of its lenses and the other was cracked, but its appearance was unmistakable. With her mouth agape she turned to the chief to ask him where he'd found it but saw that he was pointing towards the partial building in front of them.
Naoto walked closer to it to get a closer look as to what was inside, stepping past the collapsed wall and over the rubble she got a clear view of what the chief had wanted her to see. The once bright color scheme of the suit now covered in dust and barely visible, dark red blood pouring over the rocks surrounding him.
Her knees gave out beneath her and her eyes blurred with tears as she stared at the broken, impaled, lifeless corpse of her best friend. As thunder roared in the sky it drowned out the sounds of the detective crying out in the cold night.