red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter xxiv: saved

"i'm not gonna die."

baji took the knife out of his pockets.

"so don't worry about it."

"he really is the most stupid person known to man." kazua sighs.

"you..."

stab!

without a moment's hesitation, baji stabbed himself through his abdomen, surprising everyone else that was left present in the vicinity. "...are not gonna kill me."

"BAJI-SAN!!!"

"quick,"

takemichi blocked chifuyu from the others as he hurriedly began to stop the bleeding around the knife. like what kazua told them, they didn't take the knife out of his abdomen to block the massive wound that baji made to himself.

kazua anxiously waited at the sides, her leg bouncing in anticipation as she watched baji talk to both chifuyu and takemichi with blood oozing down his mouth.

as his eyes closed, takemichi glances up and met her gaze easily. he gave her a shaky nod, telling her that it's her cue as he stood from the ground and turned to mikey.

"now,"

"i'll..." chifuyu struggled to carry baji, leaving him beside the heap of cars to let kazua take him away. "...please."

kazua kept an eye on the crowd as she sneaked into the space betweens mountains of cars. cautiously taking him in his arms, she carried him out of the junkyard and to the ambulance that was waiting outside.

"man, what the hell is this man eating? he's heavy."

"that's him?"

kazua pulled a bright smile from her display of fake smiles, nodding at the nurse that was waiting with a stretcher. the rest of her co-workers took baji from kazua's arms and immediately rushed him inside the ambulance to check his vitals.

"don't forget your promise, kazua-chan."

"not a problem, emi-neesan." she continued to smile. "whoever stabs the victim has to be reported to the police, right?"

"mhm, that's the only reason why i agreed to this." the brunette sighed. "seriously, i was relieved when you stopped dropping by the hospital, but then you hit me up with this?"

"thanks for the favor, by the way. i owe you a lot."

"if it's you, then i know it's for a good cause." emi sighs. "wanna come?"

"i'll head there soon. i need to keep my end of the deal, right?"

"right," emi finally smiled at her. "stay safe out there, kazua-chan."

"you too."

***

a few minutes after the ambulance left, the police began to drive their way to the junkyard. it left toman and valhalla to leave even before kazutora and mikey were able to clear things up.

kazua did call the police.

as a certain two-toned was heading out of the junkyard, kazua pushed herself off of the wall and caught his wrist. she was strong enough to stop him from escaping, and when he turned to face his captor, his eyes widened.

"k-kaz..."

"long time, huh?" kazua grinned. "kazutora, i know you just got out, but what happened back there is unforgivable. you're coming with me whether you--"

"okay."

"you leave me no choice the--what?"

kazua looked at him, wide-eyed. she didn't expect him to surrender so easily. she was ready to throw hands if she had to just to keep her promise to emi. "you..."

"what i did today and three years ago are unforgivable." he smiled sadly at her. "this isn't enough to atone, but i'll begin here. kaz, take good care of them for me."

her shoulders slumped. kazutora's eyes were back to the way they used to be before, so kind and free. there still is a hint of fear in them and heavy regret lingered along, but the clouds were no longer there to overshadow his mind.

"well," kazua smiles, "i'll be waiting for you. i hope to see you in a better setting, tora."

"ah, you never changed, kaz!" kazutora grinned back. he pulls her to him, hugging her close for the first time in awhile. "you probably want to kill me right now after i did that to mikey."

"i do, i really do." kazua gentle hugged him back, resting her chin on his shoulder. "but that's not up to me. it isn't too late, tora."

"right," kazutora smiles softly. "go now. the police are coming."

she nods, slowly letting go of him. with her smile still intact, kazua bolted away.

***

"what do you mean baji was just at the side?!"

draken stood in front of chifuyu and takemichi, stopping his advance towards the two. after escaping, the founding members stayed at musashi shrine. smiley and angry also stayed a little while to know what's going on since mikey's anger began to fuel up again.

baji keisuke's body was gone when they looked back one last time before the police came, and to say that mikey's frightened is an understatement.

"where is he? you said he's dead!"

a beaten up takemichi glances at one-eyed chifuyu, receiving a light shrug in response. to be frank, both of them are too relieved to even worry about mikey's wrath right now.

the plan is half-way through success, and all they need now is an update from kazua.

"baji-kun..." takemichi raises his head to face them all. "...is in the hospital."