A Crow and his Flock of Robins

Arriving in Tokyo

Akechi Goro did not like the train going to Tokyo. There were too many people. Too much heat. Too much noise. Too much silence when it got silent. It was all too much.

In fact, he didn't like going to Tokyo at all. All she had over there were bad memories. But unfortunately, he was being forced to go to Tokyo for probation.

It's so stupid. Being forced away from home, away from Mama, just because he wasn't going to let some asshole assault a woman in the middle of the night. The court is so stupid. He didn't even touch the man. Rich people are annoying to deal with. He needs a reminder not to interact with rich people ever again.

Akechi Goro did not notice when two people sat on either side of him.

"Excuse us, could we have a moment of your time?"

He looked up to see a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. They were quite a bit younger than him— elementary age, if he had to guess. The two of them were dressed in clothes that were a bit more formal than what others their age would wear. The girl was holding a clipboard.

He realized they were waiting for him to answer.

"Ah, yes?"

The boy was the one who spoke. "We were wondering if you'd like to sign our petition."

"Oh? What is it for?"

The boy continued to speak. "Our orphanage. We're trying to get more funding for it, but we need to show that a good number of people support the cause. We and a few others have volunteered to go out and have people sign. Would you like to help us?"

Ah, his weakness. Many of Their friends had been orphans. He almost became one. It was embarrassing to say that he caved quite quickly. "Of course. I'd love to help out."

The girl was the one to pass him the clipboard. There were already a large number of names on it.

The contract was presented to him. He read through it carefully. He really was just like Them.

It took quite a bit of time for him to find a place to sign. The two children must've gotten a lot of people to sign before him.

"I take responsibility for all of my actions."

He finally found a spot for him to sign his name. Thankfully, the girl had gifted him a pen to sign with. He clicked it.

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." A̶r̶i̶

Akechi Goro signed the contract.

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"Alright kid, you'll be staying with me for a whole year. My name is Kikuchi Muhen, and I'll essentially be your caretaker for the time you're here. I'm an old friend from your mother's family, so please trust me when I say you'll be safe in my care."

Kikuchi Muhen looked pretty nice, if Akechi Goro had a say.

He was only a bit shorter than the teen himself. He had tan skin and a nice build for someone his age (an age he didn't know). He had on a black fedora with a white stripe. His shirt was a loose white button up with the sleeves rolled up. He had on some black slacks and nice dress shoes. The only thing he didn't like about this man was that his sunglasses covered up his eyes completely.

He gave the man a bow. "Thank you, Kikuchi-san. I'll be sure not to cause any trouble for you."

Kikuchi Muhen only laughed. "None of that, kid. As long as you're not causing any trouble, I think we'll be fine. Of course, I do have a few rules for you to follow since you are on probation. Tell me when you're going out and for how long, try to be back by 10:00 p.m.; no doing illegal things, and do not tell the cops anything if you get involved in an accident. Tell the paramedics everything. Oh, and please try to be a kid."