This choice: Sae & Makoto’s apartment, where Makoto had no idea Akira was being released. • Go Back...Chapter #7In Which a Surprise is Poorly Planned by: Silverhammer   "I've decided it would be best to bring you to the apartment for now, and get you used to both your new home and your new size," Sae explained, parking her car in the garage next to her apartment complex and retrieving her purse and new shrunken ward. "You can meet with your friends later. I'm sure Makoto will bring you to visit whoever you wish."
"That's fair," Akira said. While he desperately wanted to see everyone again now that he was out of jail, he admitted to himself that seeing them all as giants at once was an intimidating thought. "And it'll be nice to see Makoto, at least. It's been weeks since she was able to visit me in prison."
Sae smiled with a hint of mischief. "I'll admit, I can't wait to see her reaction."
Akira frowned. "Niijima-san, does Makoto not know about... this?"
"If we're going to live together, you should probably call me Sae," Sae said with a smile. "I'll try to call you Akira."
"Noted. But seriously, does Makoto not know I'm released? Or tiny?"
"I..." Sae hesitated. "Akira-kun, while I'm sure she put on a brave face when she visited you, your incarceration was a blow to my sister. Between you turning yourself in without telling her or your other friends beforehand, and her finding out I'm the one that asked you to do it, things have been a little strained between us."
"It was necessary to take Shido down for good without endangering them, and I was afraid she and the others would try to talk me out of it," Akira said with a shrug. "Still, I'm sorry for that, Ni... Sae-san. But why not tell her I'm being released then?"
"I didn't want to give her or your friends false hope, and this wasn't a certainty until today," Sae explained. "They could have denied your parole, or rejected my bid for guardianship and sent you away from Tokyo, or the shrinking device could have melted your organs to jelly, or..."
"Wait, what?"
"The odds of that happening were very remote," Sae quickly assured him. "My point is, I didn't want Makoto to know until it was a sure thing." The giantess smiled again. "Besides, this will be a nice surprise for her."
---
Sae sighed in mild embarrassment and annoyance at the sight of her empty apartment.
"Admittedly, my grand plan to surprise Makoto with you depended on her actually being home."
"It's almost evening," Akira assured her. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."
Sae nodded and kicked off her shoes, setting Akira's portable cell on the coffee table.
"Well, I've been on my feet all day," Sae announced. "I'm going to take a shower and change. Feel free to get out and explore. Just stay where I'll see you when I come back."
"Will do," Akira agreed, watching his giant guardian retreat to her room. Taking her words to heart, he opened the door to his case and wandered around the coffee table. As the sound of Sae's shower started to echo around the apartment, Akira thought for the first time just how strange this whole situation was.
I'll admit, I haven't seen Niijima-san as an enemy in a long time, but living with her at an inch tall? That's going to take some getting used to, Akira mused. Walking over to the remote, he pressed down on the button to turn the TV on. Oh well. Beats the hell out of juvie.
As Akira settled on an X-Folders rerun he found while channel surfing, the front door opened.
"Sis?" Makoto called out. "I'm home..."
Akira looked back to see Makoto looming over him, looking at the television curiously as she wondered why it was on with apparently nobody watching it.
"Strange," Makoto mused. "I thought she hated this show."
"Hey, Makoto!" Akira called up to her. "Down here!"  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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