Arashi got up and got into the fridge, taking out the food from last night. He would only be able to eat about another third of it, but he did not want it to go to waste whatsoever. It was frustrating that people threw out so much perfectly good food. Grocery stores threw out so much stuff that was still good just because it didn’t look appealing. Thankfully, the one grocery store in his old town didn’t seem to try to stop the homeless people from taking from the dumpsters, unlike the clothing stores that ran their clothes through some sort of knife or cutting machine that would stop people from being able to use the clothes. It was infuriating that they wouldn’t let people in need use those sorts of things… They threw out so much stuff that would be able to be donated or used by those in need.

  He sat at the counter, quietly eating. Despite the quiet inside, sounds from the outside leaked in. He’d heard the terms of cities that never slept, but this was an entirely new situation for him. He was used to a quiet mountain village where people were usually done with their business around eight or nine at night with pretty much everything closed by ten. But Tokyo was different… It was definitely a big culture shock… He was surprised he slept at all, considering he was so used to the quiet of the mountain villages at night.

  When he finished with eating, he cleaned up the plate and sat back at the booth. His clothes were so threadbare as was everything he owned. He sincerely had no clothes that would be nice to wear anywhere. He also had nothing to do really… The phone he owned was a decrepit old flip phone that didn’t have games or anything on it. It was the cheapest possible model he could get. Not that he even really used it… But he didn’t want to be completely left behind either…

  He looked at the counter and found some paperback books. Going over, he looked at them and picked one up, sitting down and reading it. Right now, it was the best way to pass time and wait for Sakura. He wasn’t sure the man would be too happy if he changed the TV channel or anything like that. This was just a place he was staying, not a home. He hadn’t had a home since he’d been nine years old. Not since his parents had kicked him out.

  Of course, he had to have the book pressed essentially to his face in order to make out anything. The only thing he’d done had been flip on the light since it was still dark out when he woke up.

  Eventually, he heard a key go into the door and he looked over, making out a vague shape in the doorway. The door opened and he could only assume it was Sakura. “Huh, you’re up already?” The voice was definitely Sakura’s.

  Arashi nodded, squinting a bit. It didn’t help much, but it did a little bit. “Yeah. I already ate too.” He paused. “And don’t worry; I cleaned up after myself too.” Even if Sakura was intent on throwing him out sooner rather than later, he’d at least respect the man’s space. There was no reason to not clean up after himself. Plus, Sakura had asked him to do it last night, so he might as well.

  “What ingredients did you use?”

  “I just ate the leftovers from last night.” He wasn’t going to let them go to waste. “I can probably finish them for dinner tonight.” Not being guaranteed any meals… It was going to be strange to have three squares a day. Or at least it seemed like Sakura was intent on giving him three squares a day. It was really odd… Why did this stranger care about him at all? Why had Sakura taken him in? He didn’t understand. Juvie would be better for everyone, though, as a female-presenting person, he probably would’ve been raped… Unfortunately, he’d almost been assaulted on more than one occasion by drunk men wandering home late at night from the one bar that remained open until about two in the morning. He’d learned to give a swift kick to the nuts in order to get those men off him… Yeah, he had actually assaulted people, but it was self-defense in those cases…

  “Are you sure you don’t want something fresh?” Sakura asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “All right then… I also think I found an optometrist that might allow some walk-ins. I also looked up how contacts work and they might have samples available on site if your eyes aren’t too bad. We’ll have to get a case and some solution while we’re out, but if your eyes aren’t too bad, you might be able to see today.” Arashi blinked. He hadn’t expected that. Seriously, what was Sakura’s game here? There had to be something he had to gain from this. Butter him up, then deliver him to the authorities for whatever infractions that he committed. He had to be careful around this man… He seemed like a master manipulator.

  Arashi nodded. “All right.” He stretched. “So where are we off to first?”

  “I figured we could just get the school out of the way.” Sakura paused. “Also, why didn’t you use your phone yesterday? You had instructions that were printed. Why not just use the GPS on your phone?”

  Arashi frowned and pulled out his decrepit flip phone. “I don’t have a smartphone.”

  Sakura sighed. “I guess we’ll have to get you a new phone too. I’ll get you on my plan.”

  “Really?” This felt like a step too far… Something was going on and he knew it. Nobody would get him something as expensive as a smartphone… There had to be some sort of catch. “And how do you expect me to pay you back?”

  Sakura waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it, kid. You’ll probably have a lower end phone, but I don’t want you to get bullied because you don’t have a smartphone.” They really were going to have a really long shopping day… Optometrist, clothes, shampoo, phone, mattress, school uniforms… Then meeting at the school…

  Arashi nodded, but he remained on guard. There had to be some sort of game Sakura was playing with him. This was way overboard for caring for some strange kid.

  “Well, we might as well head out. We’ll hit up the school, then the optometrist. C’mon.” Sakura motioned for him to follow and they headed out to the car where Arashi got in the passenger seat. He was silent the entire time, not sure how to carry on a conversation with someone he was suspicious about.

  The meeting at the school was short but sweet. The principal and his teacher, Kawakami, made it pretty clear that he was not going to be protected by any of them. Any infractions and he would be sent to the guidance office or possibly even the principal himself. He would definitely have to be careful and keep his head down as much as possible. He could not afford to be caught doing something bad. Not that he intended to do something that would get him in trouble. He was going to keep his head down… Granted, it meant he’d be back on the streets of his home town in a year if he kept everything squeaky clean, but…

  Once they got in the car, Sakura shook his head. “I didn’t think they’d be that unpleasant. I get it, but still. They could at least give you the benefit of the doubt.” Arashi was silent, looking down at his hands in his lap. He got it. He was used to it. It was how all adults treated him. Except Sakura for some reason, but he was trying to get something out of him. He still didn’t know Sakura’s angle, but he’d figure it out eventually. He knew he would. “That principal was ugly.”

  Arashi snorted. “Reminded me of Jabba the Hut,” he retorted, then froze. Damn it, he had said something stupid and he doubted Sakura would let it go.

  Sakura chuckled. “True there. Just don’t go calling him that to his face. Anyway, let’s get you to the optometrist.” The car’s engine roared to life and they peeled out of the parking lot.

  Arashi frowned. Sakura wasn’t going to yell at him for saying something disparaging to an authority figure? That… Something was afoot here and he knew it. Sakura was definitely up to something. He just knew it. What adult would let a kid get away with disrespecting an authority figure especially in Japan? There had to be an ulterior motive here. What was Sakura’s game? There was something going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

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  They pulled into an office building a while later and Arashi went through all of the steps to get his prescription upgraded. Surprisingly, they did have a pair of sample contact lenses that he could take home that day. They ran him through all of the instructions and he did well with them. He walked out with them in his eyes which watered from how absolutely sharp everything was. It actually gave him a headache with just how sharp the world was. He was grateful that he could see, of course, but it was like seeing the world for the first time, almost…

  They got back into the car and sat down, putting his head in his hands. “You okay, kid?” Sakura asked.

  “It hurts my head,” Arashi muttered. “Everything’s too sharp.”

  “Yeah, that happens sometimes… Especially when you’re used to not being able to see at all. I sometimes get headaches when I need to upgrade my prescription. I can usually swap between my old glasses and new, but considering you have contacts now…”

  “I mean I’ll still probably prefer glasses…” He had gotten frames, but it’d take a little while for them to come in. He only took the contacts because it was the only way for him to see immediately. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to see in school to take notes off the board. And he had to have his nose smooshed into the textbooks in order to see what problems the teachers were asking him. He probably would’ve gotten on the teachers’ nerves incredibly quickly if he couldn’t see. He just wanted to be able to see immediately and not cause anybody any further pain and frustration.Sakura nodded. “That’s perfectly fine. I’m surprised you took to contaccts so quickly. It’s usually hard for people to adapt to them. I tried at one point, but I just couldn’t jive with them.” His tone was entirely conversational as if he were talking to any other person, not a juvenile delinquent.

  However, a moment passed and he frowned. “Kid… I know you don’t trust me right now, but could you tell me what happened? You don’t seem like the type that could assault another person.” The question froze Arashi’s heart to its core, his whole body cold. He should’ve expected it sooner rather than later, but still… He didn’t want to talk about it. “You’re tiny. Not much bigger than— Well, anyway. I don’t see you as being able to hurt someone so easily.”

  He sighed. There was no getting out of this, was there? He wrapped his arms around himself. “I was just trying to get a guy off a woman. He was the one assaulting somebody. I was just trying to help the woman. He fell to the ground when I tried to get him off the woman. That’s all.” His voice was quiet and quivered. He hadn’t actually done anything this time. He was just trying to protect a woman from being potentially being raped. He should’ve known no good deed would go unpunished, but still…

  Sakura looked at him for a moment. “I see… You definitely don’t seem the type to want to hurt others. Plus, you’re skinny. I can tell you haven’t had enough to eat in a very long time.” He shook his head. “I’ll make sure you have enough to eat each and everyday. While you’re with me, you won’t go without.” He doubted that. All of this was just to soften him up so that way Sakura could dump him on the street and make it hurt all the more. He knew that was what it was. Sakura just wanted him out of his hair and wanted it to hurt. Yeah, that was his game. That had to be his game.

  But he was right. “I mean…I have hurt people before… But they were drunk old men…” He probably didn’t need to finish that sentence. The implication would be enough. And, true to it, Sakura shook his head and let out a noise of disgust.

  “I’m sorry, Honoka. You didn’t deserve the hand that was dealt to you. Well, we’re going to get your clothes next, so feel free to get whatever you want. You don’t have to stick to dresses and blouses.” Unfortunately, he would have to despite how much he hated it. It was just so much easier to get people’s sympathy when he played the demure little girl card. He felt far more comfortable in pants and shirts, but skirts and blouses would help him blend in better with all the women around him. Of course, not every woman was as hyperfeminine as he was, but it was just easier to come across as hyperfeminine when he was trying to keep his head down.

  They pulled into the parking lot of a large supermarket. “We can pick up some clothes here for you as well as necessities like shampoo and whatever else you need.” Sakura got in his wallet and pulled out a card. “Here. Obviously, don’t go crazy with it, but get whatever necessities you need.” Arashi could only stare dumbly for a moment. What? Sakura was just…giving him a card? He could just spend whatever he wanted to?

  Sakura put the card in his hand. “Go on.”

  Arashi nodded a bit and got out of the car, heading into the store. This was one of the first times he’d be in a store without intent to steal. He actually had money to buy stuff. This felt very strange. It wasn’t like he had an unlimited budget or anything by any means… A week’s worth of outfits would probably do him fine as long as he could wash them. Honestly…he hadn’t had anything clean and new for…a very long time.

  He grabbed a cart and went to the healthcare section and got the basics he needed: brush, feminine products, shampoo, antipersperant, soap, and others. Then he turned his attention to the clothes, feeling himself deflate. He really didn’t want blouses and skirts and dresses, but he knew it was what he needed to do to be safe. With a heavy sigh, he went to the women’s section and started finding some clothes. He picked out some things numbly that he knew would fit him and tossed them into the cart. He still had his long, ratty pigtails so he still looked especially effeminate, so nobody would pick him out of the store as transmasculine.

  He checked out, then went back to the car, bags in hand. He opened the door and handed Sakura the card as well as the recepit. “I tried not to go crazy…but I needed a lot of stuff,” he said. He didn’t have nearly enough necessities. “I…got a new backpack as well.” It had been one of the more expensive things.

  “That’s all right, Honoka. I told you to get what you needed. We can get rid of your old clothes when we get back to LeBlanc. All right?” His voice was gentle and he smiled at him. Arashi nodded a bit, but he still felt numb. He sat back in the passenger’s seat and buckled up, his head down. Buying feminine clothing felt awful but it was what he needed to do to stay safe. He hated it, but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it. Suppressing his true self left him feeling awful, but letting that out would cause trouble for everybody around him, himself mostly…

  “Is something wrong?” Sakura’s voice softened up even further and he was quiet, leaving room for Arashi, but Arashi declined to respond. With a sigh, Sakura started up the engine again and they headed to the wholesaler where they got him school uniforms and other supplies. Then they got him a new phone as well. And a mattress (which would be delivered the following day while he was at school).

  Then the arrived back at LeBlanc around three in the afternoon. “All right. How about I get us a late lunch then we can start cleaning?”

  “Shouldn’t you open the café to earn some money? I’ve just eaten through a lot of your account, no doubt…” Arashi looked down. He didn’t like people spending things on him, let alone so much money. It was hard to put into words. It just made him feel guilty for some reason. Sakura had just spent money on a new wardrobe, a new phone, and new school uniforms which weren’t cheap. What did Sakura get out of this? It made no sense to him.

  “It’s only one day and you need to have a clean living space. Just give me about fifteen minutes, then we can get upstairs cleaned up. All right?” Sakura smiled and Arashi nodded a bit, sitting down at the counter. Soon enough, he was eating a hot meal again and still had no idea what to say to the man. He was thankful, of course, but he just… He didn’t know how to handle being thankful to someone that was no doubt just going to dump him on the streets again as soon as all of this was over with. There was something going on here. Something. He just… He had no idea what.

  They finished up eating and Sakura cleaned their dishes and they headed upstairs. It was incredibly dusty and filled with all sorts of junk. The two of them cleaned for the next several hours until it was livable. Sakura didn’t attempt to initiate conversation, only telling him where to place things. The silence was incredibly tense and Arashi could feel it.

  But, once done, it was livable. There was a dresser where he could put his things and some storage space. “Sorry that you have to sleep on that old mattress tonight, but you’ll have a new one tomorrow night. Now how about dinner? It’s almost eight.”

  “That…does sound good.” Arashi headed downstairs with Sakura and, once again, found himself eating a hot meal. It felt…strange to have three hot meals in one day. His body almost didn’t know how to handle the amount of food he was getting into his system. He wasn’t used to so much in a singular day. He was lucky if he got five meals in a week. This felt like too much food to him, though he knew that, realistically, it was an average amount of food for average people.

  “Would you mind cleaning up?” Sakura asked. “I need to get home.” Arashi shook his head and Sakura left, leaving him alone in the café. He’d slept pretty poorly the night before, but it was probably because of the fact that he was in all-new surroundings. He’d gotten a sleep mask to go over his eyes and earplugs to block out the ambient noise of the city. Plus, there was the weird dream which still felt vivid in his mind which was…unusual for dreams.

  He put it out of his head and cleaned up the dishes and pots that Sakura had used to cook. Ther was still a little bit of food left over from his meal the previous night. He’d probably take that for lunch as he doubted Sakura was going to make him a bento. Ah well, everything worked out just fine in the end.

  He went upstairs and changed into his new pajamas. It felt odd to have clean, new clothes that weren’t threadbare and might actually keep him decently warm… Granted, Tokyo was a fair bit warmer than his mountain village… He took his contacts out then he climbed into bed. Even though the mattress was lumpy and uneven, it was a lot better than the ground. He put the sleep mask on and the earplugs in, drifting off to sleep.