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The transition to defense attorney hadn’t been too radical a change for Sae. The bulk of the job was the same: Meeting clients, reviewing the details, assembling the case, arguing in court… Well, maybe not that last part so much. A lot of plea deals. Sae tried to take as many genuine innocents as she could as opposed to futilely handling actual criminals making a desperate last gambit for freedom that was doomed to fail, but the Japanese court system was what it was, and not everything that passed her desk was a surefire win. Still, Sae thought she was doing pretty well for herself, all things considered. She didn’t have a bunch of old men breathing down her neck all the time. She wasn’t obsessed with climbing the ladder of success anymore. She was pulling fewer all-nighters, although she still tended to work a little late most evenings. And that was for the best, because it meant less time at work and more time with her sister.
Or at least that was the theory. In reality, Makoto was off at college. And sure, the University of Tokyo was still in the city, but Makoto had decided it would be best for her own growth if she stayed at the dorms and engaged in campus life instead of commuting to school everyday. Sae couldn’t blame her. She was a young woman striking out on her own for the first time, working hard chasing her dream of joining the police and eventually rising to the rank of Commissioner. In a way, it was funny. Sae never got to do the dorm life thing. Having to take care of Makoto meant she couldn’t leave home, even though before her father’s death she had always dreamed of doing just that when she started college. And now Makoto was the one whose long-term plan involved ascending through the ranks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, as opposed to Sae who, as an independent defense attorney, had nowhere to climb up to. Makoto was going down the kind of path Sae had always imagined for herself, and now Sae was in uncharted waters. A couple years ago, Sae would’ve been envious of her younger sister, but now she was just happy for her.
And Sae was especially happy now that Makoto was on break, which meant she was actually home for a couple weeks. Sae had made sure to plan her schedule accordingly so she could spend some quality time with her sister. And tonight, more than any other, she was looking forward to one of Makoto’s home-cooked meals. She had a very difficult meeting that forced her to miss lunch, so she was feeling ravenous that evening.
“Makoto, I’m home!”
Sae stepped through the door to their apartment and took a deep sniff, inviting the delectable scent of a fresh, lovingly-prepared dinner into her nostrils. Or rather, she would be if such a scent were actually in the air. Which it was not.
“Makoto?”
“The electronics world was shocked today when Kirijo Electronics, a subsidiary of the Kirijo Group, announced that they would expand their reach into the home entertainment market with their very own game console.”
Sae stepped further into the apartment, looking to the news broadcast on the TV. She couldn’t see Makoto sitting on the couch, and a quick look to her left revealed that the younger Niijima sister wasn’t in the kitchen either.
“Did she fall asleep on the couch?” Sae mumbled. She made her way over to the furniture in question, peeking over the back of it expecting to see Makoto lying on her side.
Instead, she saw her sister’s Buchimaru plush, eyes trained towards the TV, the remote lying next to the strange bear/dog hybrid. Sae rolled her eyes as she bent down, hitting the off button on the remote and picking up the stuffed creature.
“Gets home from school and the first thing she does is watch TV with her doll.” Sae stared into the stuffed animal’s eyes for a moment and shook her head. “Figures.”
By Sae’s estimate, Makoto started watching cartoons (which she always did with her doll for some silly reason), switched to the news at some point, then probably retreated to her room to get her clothes unpacked and put in her dresser. Maybe she was even taking a nap. All Sae knew for sure was that Makoto was home, so she decided to check in on her.
“Makoto?” Sae rapped her knuckles on the door to Makoto’s room gently, her voice soft. “Are you asleep?”
There was no answer.
“Makoto?” Sae opened the door slowly, peeking in. “Are you- Oh.”
Makoto was in her room, but she was not alone. Ren was also present, and the two were making out fiercely. Sae doubted they were able to hear her gentle summons over the sound of their impassioned face-sucking.
One of Ren’s eyes popped open at the sound of Sae’s voice, and he pushed away from Makoto. Makoto opened her own eyes, giving Ren a confused look before noticing their new observer in her peripheral vision. She scooted away from Ren and looked at Sae, blushing.
“Oh, hi Sis.” Makoto gave a little wave. “Welcome home.”
“I could say the same to you.” Sae smirked. It wasn’t the first time she’d walked in on Ren and Makoto kissing, but Makoto always seemed so flustered every time it happened. Sae directed her eyes to her unexpected visitor. “Ren-Kun.”
“Sae-San.”
“Are you staying for dinner?”
“That’s… Uh…” Ren looked to Makoto for an answer, but got none. He shrugged. “I guess?”
“Very well then. I suppose I’ll be handling preparations tonight.” Sae waved the hand holding Buchimaru, the doll flopping around with the motion of her arm. “You two just relax. The semester just ended, after all.”
Sae received no response from the young lovers, both of them feeling too awkward to give a proper reply to what was going on. Sae left the room, closing the door behind her. She dropped Buchimaru by the door and headed to the kitchen, wondering how long it would take for the pair to stop being so awkward about simple kissing.
“They’ve been dating three years already” Sae thought. “What’s the big deal?”
Sae set the package that was under her arm down to unlock the apartment door, wincing slightly as she leaned down to pick it up again. “I need to work in more exercise if this is getting to be enough to throw my back out.”
Her thoughts musing on that, Sae entered the apartment, double-checking that the package was indeed addressed to Makoto. “Makoto, I’m home! I have a package you ordered!”
No response, but she could faintly hear the TV in the living room.
“I’ll just put it on your bed for now,” Sae said, making her way to Makoto’s room, gently opening the door.
The package slipped from her hands as her eyes met Makoto’s nearly bare back, Ren’s hands quickly pulling away from where they were fiddling with the strap.
“S-Sae-san!” Ren gasped out as he broke the kiss he and Makoto were engaged in.
“S-Sis!” Makoto spun around to face her, quickly scrambling to pick her shirt back up. “Um, w-welcome home, and- oh, my books came in today! Th-thank you for getting it for-”
“Um, yes, right,” Sae said, leaning down to pick it up, wincing at the cramp in her lower back.
“Are you okay, Sae-san?”
“Am I okay watching you feeling up my sister?”
“Fine.”
“...Sis, it, um, wasn’t what you were thinking,” Makoto said. “I was just changing into something looser. To show Ren my… exercise routine.”
“...I see,” Sae said slowly, not looking at them as she set the box down on the table in the middle of the room. “Well, I… think I’ll be making myself some coffee. Do either of you want a cup?”
“...Thanks, Sae-san…” Ren said quietly as he pulled his own shirt back on.
“...Great,” Sae said, quickly retreating from the room and shutting the door.
“Final Feather Arrow!” a voice called out from the TV, prompting Sae to pause enroute to the kitchen to check the couch.
Just as it was when she caught them kissing a few days ago, Makoto’s Buchimaru plush was on the couch, staring at the TV, the remote sitting beside it.
Sae slowly walked over, staring transfixed at the doll, the gears in her head turning. “...Oh my god. That’s why they were so flustered. That’s why she left it out here! So she and Ren-kun could…!”
She dragged her hands down her face, letting out a breath. “Okay, not going to think about it. They’re both adults.”
Sae grabbed the remote, giving a quick glance at the hall leading back towards Makoto’s room, before changing the channel to the news, turning the volume up slightly.
“You like the news, right? You were watching it last time.”
Being inanimate, the Buchimaru plush did not respond.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She sighed to herself. “Sorry if it’s loud, but we don’t need to hear their… ‘exercise’.”
Setting the remote back beside the plush, Sae made her way into the kitchen to start the coffee maker, slowly shaking her head. “I can’t believe I’m talking to my sister’s stuffed animal…”
It took another three days for Ren to come to the Niijima apartment after that. It wasn’t that he was unaware of the risk of getting caught by Sae again, but there really weren’t many other options. Ren and Makoto didn’t have a lot of space for intimacy in the dorms at college. LeBlanc was very obviously not an option (at least not until night, and Ren was tired of Morgana’s smug questioning when Makoto went home), and spending money on a love hotel just seemed really unnecessary. Besides, Sae seemed to be cool with the situation. At least, as cool as she was capable of being. She seemed to respect the fact that he and Makoto were both adults now and this was a component of adult relationships.
Of course, not everything about these trysts was grown-up.
“Ren, not yet!” Makoto whined as Ren embraced her from behind, kissing her neck. She covered the eyes of the Buchimaru doll on the bed. “Not in front of Buchi-Kun!”
“I don’t think we have to worry about that” Ren said. “Your sister isn’t supposed to be back for hours. We don’t need to put out Buchi-Kun.”
“What are you talking about!?” Makoto stood up, scooping up the doll in her arms. “We can’t have… do… I mean…” Makoto covered Buchimaru’s ears and whispered. “We can’t do grown-up things in front of Buchi-Kun! He’s innocent!”
“What?” Ren couldn’t keep himself from laughing. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Of course I am!” Makoto scowled at Ren. “It’s like I told you the first time! I don’t want Buchi-Kun to see me doing certain things!”
“I thought you were kidding” Ren said. “Isn’t the whole point of putting him out there so your sister knows not to bother us?”
“What are you talking about!?” Makoto stomped her foot. “Buchi-Kun is pure, maybe even the last truly pure thing in the world! He can’t bear witness to what’s about to happen in here!”
“Ok then…” Sometimes Ren found Makoto’s odd behavior pertaining to Buchimaru cute. This was not one of those times. “Then let’s just put him in the closet and-”
“He can still hear in there!” Makoto turned around and headed out the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Ren stared at the open door flabbergasted as Makoto disappeared around the corner. He could hear her footsteps getting further away, followed by the sudden blasting of some idol music. Makoto came back in and closed the door.
“What was that?” Ren asked.
“I turned on the TV so Buchi-Kun can’t hear us” Makoto said. Almost instantly, her face transmogrified, forming into a lustful grin Ren had rarely seen. “Now we can get back to the matter at hand.”
Ren decided not to question what had just happened. It’d only delay the fun, and as a young man who’d been blueballed twice recently, he had his needs. Ren wasn’t paying attention to anything except Makoto, so he wasn’t really aware of his environment. Meaning he didn’t really notice the very brief rolling blackout that lasted only a second. Nor did he notice the fact that the music coming from the other room never returned when the lights did.
Sae stepped off the elevator, making her way to the apartment with the tiniest of bounces in her step. She knew the prosecutor on the case she was working today and was expecting hours of arguing her point, only for him to concede after Sae presented only a single alibi for her defendant. Perhaps he was going soft and took pity on the young woman. Or perhaps Sae’s old prosecutor reputation still held an intimidation factor.
Regardless, her client was found not guilty and Sae could return home early. The sun hadn’t even set yet. She and Makoto could go out to eat and finally enjoy some time together as sisters.
“I’m home!” Sae called out as she entered the apartment. She paused as she took a step, noticing Ren’s shoes on the rack beside the door. “Ren-kun… I suppose he can come, too. But more importantly…”
Sae paused, her ears trained carefully towards the living room for any sounds of the television. After two times accidentally interrupting Ren and her sister’s… adult activities, she had learned her lesson. If the TV is on for Makoto’s plushie, then she should steer clear of her sister’s bedroom.
Silence met Sae’s ears and she sighed in relief, making her way to the bedroom door. “Perhaps that teppanyaki restaurant I pass every day?” Smiling, she reached up to knock when a resounding smacking sound came from inside the room, giving her pause.
“Makoto? Ren-kun?” Sae spoke softly, leaning her ear closer to the door.
“The crime of attempting to corrupt an innocent like Buchi is severe, Ren…” The muffled sounds of Makoto’s voice reached Sae, the door not doing enough to repress the sultry tone. “Tell me, do you think you’ve been punished enough?”
“No, Queen…” Ren sounded breathless. “I need more…”
Makoto could be heard giggling. “Good answer…”
The smack that followed finally snapped Sae out of her shock and she swiftly pulled away from the door, rushing off into the living room. She let herself fall back onto the couch, face pale. “I… I had no idea that’s what they… That was her Phantom Thief code name, wasn’t it? Is that why he called her that?
Sae looked down to see she had sat next to Buchimaru, the remote beneath its stuffed paw. “...why didn’t you have the TV on? You were supposed to be warning me!”
Again, the plushie gave no response.
Sae turned the TV on for him and gave a weary groan. “I need to drown out that… memory.” She stood up, making her way into the kitchen, and searching the cabinet for where she kept the alcohol. She found the sake, and pulled it out, frowning at the shot glasses beside it. “...Not enough alcohol in this to drink shots…”
The whole bottle in hand, Sae returned to the couch, sitting back beside Buchimaru and taking a swig, the two of them keeping their gazes fixed on the idol concert the TV was showing.
The sound of a door opening jostled Sae awake from dozing off, finding at some point she had moved the plushie to act as a pillow. She straightened up, blinking a few times and licking her lips. It had been years since she drank that much.
“-get some ice on that,” Ren’s voice said.
“Yes, good idea,” Makoto replied, the two stepping into view and stopping. “Oh, Sis! You’re home early!”
“Did your trial go well?” Ren asked, clearing his throat slightly.
“Trial…?” Sae repeated, blinking. “Oh, yes, it did. I was coming home to…” She trailed off in a yawn and gestured around her. “Um… take a nap, I suppose, before asking if you both wanted to go out and celebrate.”
“Oh, I was about to make dinner myself, but a restaurant sounds great!” Makoto smiled. “Just let me bring Buchi back to my room and-” She stopped, staring at the sake empty bottle by Sae’s feet. “...Sis…?”
“...Oh, I know I shouldn’t drink that much,” Sae mumbled, “but-”
“You drank in front of Buchi-kun?!” Makoto snapped, rushing over and scooping the panda/dog up. “He’s too young and impressionable for that!”
“...You’ve had him your whole life, he’s not-” Sae began.
“Don’t you talk back to me, Sae Niijima!” Makoto chided, shaking her head before holding the plushie up to stare into his eyes. “Are you okay, Buchi? Don’t worry, it’ll be okay. Come on, let’s go unwind. And remember, alcohol isn’t cool…”
Ren and Sae both watched as Makoto headed back to her room, whispering sweet nothings to the stuffed animal.
Ren gave a slight chuckle. “It’s hard to believe just a few minutes ago she was…”
“Was what?” Sae asked, her tone dropping.
“...Studying university-level stuff…” Ren awkwardly finished, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced over at her.
Sae let out half a laugh and half a sob as she stood up, shaking her head. “Yeah, I’ll just pretend I completely buy that.”
“...You holding up okay, Sae-san?” Ren asked nervously as Sae walked past him.
“Just fine… my sister is home for break, after all…” Sae said. “I’m going to… freshen up for dinner. You get your ice or whatever.”
Makoto gave Sae an odd look as they passed in the hall, the elder Niijima sister heading into the bathroom as Makoto returned to Ren.
“I’m… a little worried about Sae,” Ren said.
“As am I,” Makoto nodded, before frowning. “Drinking so recklessly like that in front of Buchi-kun. I think I’ll need to have a talking to her after dinner!”
“Just don’t let Queen shine through too much,” Ren mumbled.
“Why shouldn’t I? She clearly needs it!”
“...For Buchimaru’s sake.”
Makoto blinked in surprise before smiling and pulling Ren into a hug. “...Yes. For Buchi’s sake… I’m so glad you understand now.”
“Yeah,” Ren said, giving a nervous smile as he returned the hug, gaze over towards the bathroom where he could hear faint sounds of Sae being sick. “I understand completely.”