At the hospital's urgent care clinic, Sora and Mizuki were yelled at for destroying evidence, or at least scolded harshly.

Mizuki's wounds were declared minor and well treated. They also gave her a morning after pill, to her surprise. She felt guilty over what she had put Sora through, until she read about the chances of its success. Eighty percent was good odds, but no guarantee.

Mizuki was forced to obediently agree to visit a therapist later, before being released to go to work, but her father had arrived with her work clothes before she finished the paperwork. After changing her clothes in a restroom stall, she found that she was actually feeling pretty normal. She was a little late when Sora and her father dropped her off, but only a few minutes.

Sora stopped her before she went in and asked anxiously, "Does that creep know where you work Mizuki?"

"Not that I know of," she assured him with a quick hug. "I didn't start this job until fall, and he graduated last spring."

"Okay." He kissed her gently before letting her go.

--

After Mizuki was gone, Sora turned to her father and asked uncomfortably, "How much did the police tell you?"

Junshiro sighed and informed him, "Not much. They called to ask if I wanted them to process the rape charges my daughter filed the night before," he gave Sora a hard look, "or if she had cooled off."

"I hope you said 'hell yes'," Sora replied angrily. "I wish I'd killed him!"

Junshiro looked startled. After a moment he replied calmly but firmly, "I did tell them to process it."

Sora heaved a relieved sigh.

Junshiro added, "Afterward they asked about where they should get the records from. When they realized that I didn't know, they tried to end the call, but I convinced them to let me contact her first. They didn't want to give me any details though."

Sora took another deep breath before asking in a calmer tone, "What did they tell you?"

"That when they went to check on Mizuki's ex this morning, he had vanished from the hospital he had been taken to, so they were ready to consider processing her charges," Junshiro replied unhappily.

"Fuck," Sora cursed sharply, and took a step toward the doors before stopping himself.

Junshiro looked at his clenched fists and asked, "What actually happened?"

Sora took a deep breath and said achingly, "I couldn't protect her. I didn't even know there was anything wrong until she screamed. It was so faint that I half wondered if I had imagined it, and was about to get in trouble when I opened the door to the women's bathroom."

Junshiro reached out hesitantly and placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. Sora didn't shake him off, but he didn't meet his eyes.

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"He had her pinned to the wall…" Sora took a shuddering breath, but he described the way he had kicked the man while he was down, and how Mizuki had been the one to stop him.

Junshiro said hesitantly, "It's not your fault."

"It kind of is," Sora objected bitterly. "She didn't tell me who he was or ask to leave because she didn't want me to cause a scene and hit him when I found out."

Junshiro took a sharp breath and asked, "What did he do to her before that would have made you hit him? All I know is that she dated some kid from her school for a while. He would never take her invitations to come to our place, and her sister referred to him as 'that jerk' after they broke up."

Sora replied angrily, "She told me that he called her a slut and demanded a blow job in public!" After a moment he added more calmly, "I think I'd rather you don't tell her I just told you that."

"Okay," Junshiro agreed. "Let's go home Sora-kun," he suggested gently. "If we are really letting her go to work normally, we can't hang out in the parking lot all day. She'll get mad."

Sora protested anxiously, "But you said that they don't have him in custody anymore!"

"I will call back the officer who called me, and inform him that she went to work after her hospital exam," Junshiro assured him. "They had better damn well not let anything happen to her here after letting him go!"

Junshiro called, and the officer answered the older man's sharp words in tired tones. Both he and Sora were relieved to hear that they had at least verified that the young man had already taken a train out of town.

The officer told Junshiro a little apologetically, "It seems like maybe he was guilty of the charge after all."

Junshiro replied sharply, "My daughter wouldn't lie. I knew he had done it when you told me she had filed the charges."

When he ended the call he looked at Sora and admitted wryly, "I just wasn't positive that you weren't the ex in question at first."

Sora eyed Mizuki's father for a moment, and assured him "I'll never intentionally hurt her." The guarded promise felt weak, but he had already made her cry so often that he couldn't promise more.

Junshiro assured him simply, "That's all you can do." As he got into the car, he asked more hesitantly, "Do you think she's in denial, insisting on going into work like that?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know. Last night was kind of awful, at first she kept apologizing like it was her fault, and she cried for a long time. After that she was much calmer, except she was afraid to be left alone while I got ice. If I have to guess, I think she's proving that she can still go to work?"

Junshiro gave him another wry smile and agreed, "That sounds like Mizuki."

When they got home Junshiro stopped Sora outside, and recommended, "I think you should go into the therapy appointment with her, or at least schedule your own. You are probably almost as angry and scared as Mizuki is."

After a minute Sora agreed quietly, "I already planned to go with her if they'd let me."

--

Sora spent an uncomfortable day with Mizuki's family.

When he got ready to go to work Junshiro asked Sora, who was trying to avoid being left alone with the baby while Shizune and Minori went and did some shopping, "Do you want to come to the bar with me instead? I could teach you a little if you're interested."

Sora looked at him gratefully but hesitated for a minute. "I'm not sure…"

"Mizuki said once that you limit yourself to one drink a day, do you have a drinking problem?" Junshiro asked directly.

Sora shrugged and replied honestly, "Not yet, but it was becoming a habit and I don't want to develop a problem."

Junshiro smiled. "The first secret to being a good bartender is: don't drink on the job. Want to come along?"

"Yes," Sora replied immediately. After they exited the apartment he added, "Thank you for inviting me."

Mizuki's father grinned up at him. "This is all just a plot to make you useful to me later, when I need someone to fill in, and you're hanging around the house."

Sora laughed.