Chapter 24

The meeting with Inaba went terrible. He’d been warned that it was pretty different to do them online, but since it’d been such short notice it had been the best they could do, since they usually met in Asuka’s office. Jun just hadn’t expected it to be that different. He didn’t like it at all, but according to Inaba, at least it was good to test out to see if it was something Jun would like or not. Now they knew not to do it again aside from if it was an emergency. They booked another physical meeting for the following day.

The day just went downhill from there. The police called and asked him to come back to the station later the same day. They’d already talked to Watanabe, though they would have to call Asuka themselves if they wanted her to be there, since she wasn’t his lawyer, just his friend. They had to be there by 15.30, and he did not look forward to it. He rubbed his face in frustration, staring down at the phone on the living room table, questioning his decision to go forward with this yet again. He'd only finished his call with Inaba an hour ago, and now he had to try and stay calm again. On top of that, what if Asuka wasn’t available? Misawa had already had to go to work, as had most of his friends. Juudai was here because he mostly participated in duel tournaments and maybe did some odd jobs here and there during his travels, but he wasn’t really much help legality wise.

Picking his phone up, he texted Asuka, asking if she was available. She wasn’t, but apparently, Mizuchi was. On the one hand, he’d get to know her better, which he wanted to. On the other, the not knowing her made him nervous about having her come with him. Still… he wanted to get to know her better. He’d only really interacted with her once after the whole Society of Light thing, with other people around, and it still made him think of it when he let his mind slip at the thought of Asuka’s girlfriend. He felt a lot of guilt over the mess he’d helped cause, even though he couldn’t remember most of it. In retrospect, being portrayed by the hanged man was kind of ironic now, considering his current situation.

He ended up accepting the offer to have Mizuchi come with him, the miko going to pick him up in Asuka’s car, and then they’d meet the lawyer at the office parking lot of Asuka and Ryo’s company so they could all go to the police station in one car.

When he hung up, he felt his nerves fray. He lied down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He’d found himself doing that a lot lately, in the last few days after he’d talked to the police. His body hurt too much to do anything but lie there, and he didn’t look forward to the moving he would have to do come time to leave. Juudai held his hand where he lied next to him, asking if Jun wanted him to come with. Squeezing Juudai’s hand back, Jun slowly nodded in agreement, thankful for the offer.

Thanks to Juudai’s presence, the trip over to the police station was a lot less stifling. Juudai kept the conversation flowing, encouraging Jun and Mizuchi to talk to each other as much as possible, knowing that they hadn’t really done that before. Once they got started, it was surprisingly easy to talk to her, and he found that he liked her. He’d thought he would, considering the time they’d played D&D together and going by how Asuka was dating her, but he had still been nervous about it. She even managed to get him to laugh once, even though he couldn’t stop staring at the cliff in the distance as they passed it. This time they didn’t have to stop, Watanabe looking pleased with him when they arrived at the police station without having taken any breaks, and she patted him on the back before heading toward the entrance.

Juudai squeezed his hand as they walked through the doors, but seeing the annoyed look on the receptionist’s face at the sight of their interlocked fingers made Jun withdraw it, wrapping his arms uncertainly around himself. Juudai looked between Jun and the man at the front desk, clearly about to say something before Jun pulled him back, whispering in his ear. “Don’t antagonise him. I don’t know which cops to trust right now as it is, you’ll only make it harder.”

Juudai looked dissatisfied, but relented. “Okay. As long as they don’t say anything, I’ll leave it.”

“I doubt they will, besides, it might just be the PDA in general.” Brown eyes stared at the man at the desk who was now talking to Watanabe, thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe. Feels kinda weird that you’re the one telling me that though.”

That made a small smile quirk Jun’s lips upwards. “Times sure change, huh?”

“How bizarre.”

“Very.”

“I hope you know I’m gonna hold your hand so hard when we get out of here.”

This time Jun actually laughed this time. “I’m fine with that.”

Just like last time, the time spent with the police was gruelling. Jun couldn’t stop himself from crying at least twice, but by the time they left the station he’d gathered himself enough to feel at least a little bit presentable. He’d washed his face in the visitor bathroom, so he didn’t feel as gross as he would have otherwise.

His body wasn’t the only thing in pain now; mentally he was exhausted as well. Early on in the car ride he passed out, resting against Juudai’s side, the other man holding his hand as promised. He slept for the entire rest of the drive.

When he woke up, it was to the light shaking of his shoulder. Drowsy, he met Mizuchi’s eyes, her lips quirked up in a smile. “We’re switching to Asuka’s car now. Do you want to do anything before I drive you back or are you going right back home?”

Jun ran his hand through his short hair, tugging at it to make it less unruly, though it didn’t help much. A bit flustered over having fallen asleep in front of her when they didn’t know each other that well yet, he shook his head, getting out of Watanabe’s car. “No, uh, home’s good.” Calling the apartment home made his chest feel warm. While he’d lived in his rundown apartment for years, it had always felt a bit empty, but now, with a life where he can reunite with his friends and not hide who he is, he felt like he had an actual home again.

Glancing at Juudai when the other man took his hand again, he was met with a bright smile, and he felt butterflies fill his stomach, turning away from his boyfriend with cheeks blazing red. He didn’t withdraw his hand though. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

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