red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter xxv: reason

"you actually got him arrested?"

"well, it was more like him surrendering to his mistakes." kazua scratched the back of her head, her tongue clicking out the corner of her lips as she looked away from the nurse. she arrived at the hospital in less than thirty minutes, making sure that kazutora surrendered himself to the police before leaving. she doesn't break her promises, after all.

"kazutora was given a third chance at life. i wonder how different he'll be when he gets out in a few years." emi planted an elbow on the desk, resting her chin on her palm as she studied the latter's facial expressions. she always does whenever kazua comes over, but not once did she actually read what was on the girl's mind. it's always a guessing game with her, and emi would sometimes be lucky because kazua would willingly tell her what's on her mind.

sometimes, she lies.

kazua took her mask off and shoved it inside her pocket.

"we got him in the operating room as soon as we got here, so he's being treated quick. his vitals were pretty stable, too, when we hooked him in the ambulance." emi said. "let's hope that there won't be complications in the surgery, though. things could still happen in there. it's terrifying, to be honest."

"you're not wrong there. surgeons are on another level for taking on such tasks." kazua smiled back. she tucked her hands inside her hoodie pockets and leaned back a little, letting her body loose.

"how's that kid going to be arrested, though?" emi asked again. "he technically didn't stab him, right? the knife was in a reversed grip."

"well," kazua looked away, whistling innocently."i talked to the police and said that i'm a witness to attempted murder."

"you what?!"

"shh, a hospital's meant to be quiet. you should know that, emi-neesan!"

"what are you on, kazua-chan? why'd you reveal yourself like that?!"

"chill, i'm just going to talk as a witness in their office two days from now. kazutora turned himself in, so there won't be complications in aligning our alibis."

"but you can't trust that kid. he killed--" emi stopped herself from saying it out loud, but kazua knew what she meant.

"i know, but kazutora looked...different."

"you trust people for the stupidest reasons."

"sorry, i guess."

"that's not genuine at all!"

slide!

the hospital doors automatically opened, disrupting the two's conversation. kazua looked over her shoulder, eyes widening when she found both takemichi and chifuyu scratching the back of their head like they didn't do anything wrong. behind them were toman's founding members.

mitsuya, draken, and mikey.

"oh, good heavens." kazua groaned. "what did i do wrong in my past life?"

"hehe~sorry, sada-san."

"hey, hey, kazua-chan." emi tapped her shoulder, making the girl lean against the counter to hear what she has to say. emi cupped a hand to kazua's ear and whispered, "who's the cutie with his hair tied?"

good heavens, someone save her.

***

"you were there?!"

"geez, a thank you would've been nice."

mikey and kazua are outside the hospital, one leaning against the wall beside the doors while the other had one of his hands just beside her head. mikey angrily looked down at her, his baby fangs showing from the corners of his mouth. though, kazua was looking away just to avoid his infuriated eyes.

one look at it and she'll crumble.

she's aware of that, and she hates how she would instantly go weak when it comes to mikey. not even her parents were able to make her this vulnerable around them, but he has quite the effect on her. it annoys her down to hell.

"why the hell are you even there? you're not supposed to—"

"and who the hell are you to decide where i'm supposed to be?" she mustered up the courage to shove his bare shoulder, pushing him away from her to keep their distance. kazua walked around his body and tried to go back inside the hospital, but her wrist was caught by his hand. coincidentally, his left hand caught her right. the sight of the strings still wrapped around both their wrists after all these years made mikey's insides churn. "she still has it on."

he always thought that she got rid of it a long time ago, on that very day when he hurt her and left her to dust. mikey wouldn't be surprised if she did.

what he did to her cannot be fixed with a mere apology from him.

and it was better off this way, he believed.

he tugged at her hand and pulled her back close to him, forcing her to face his fuming figure. but the girl was stubborn. she instead looked down at her feet to avoid his eyes.

"he's still shirtless." she thought, biting her lower lip to suppress her out of place thoughts.

"sazu,"

"what,"

"look at me."

"if all you're going to do is fucking give me a lecture like a little kid, then no thanks." her head snapped up, eyes glaring into his own challengingly.

doki

doki

doki

doki

doki

doki

her heart rapidly hammered down her chest, and she swore she can feel it pulsating through her ears. kazua could only hope that he can't hear it too.

"why..." mikey took a deep breath. "...were you there?"

"she couldn't have known that baji will get himself stabbed." he thought. there's a reason why she was there, and he needed to know.

how did she know that baji was going to be in danger when he himself didn't?

as much as he would love to gain an honest answer, kazua already had something else prepared for him. she hoped that this wouldn't happen, that she will be able to avoid mikey when she saves baji, but there will always be something that doesn't go according to plan.

kazua could only be thankful that this is the part of the plan that messes up, nothing major that involves baji's life.

"kei talked to me a few weeks prior." her head dropped down. "he went to valhalla....to save the founding members of toman."

"what..." mikey's hand began to loosen around her wrist, but he continued holding her.

"he didn't want you to blame kazutora, and he wanted to stop kazutora from his own madness." she muttered. "he stabbed himself....to save both of you."

she carefully took her wrist from his grasp, tucking both of her hands in her hoodie pockets this time. "that's what i think." she continued. "you can ask him yourself when he wakes up."

"you went there to save baji?" he asked. "even after...?"

"my relationship with toman ended three years ago, when sano manjiro left me behind without a reason given." her eyes refused to back down, and she held mikey's for as long as she wanted to. "the only reason i saved baji keisuke is because of a favor that i have yet to return that time. it's paid off now."

"she's making excuses." mikey's expression softened at the sight of her care. "how kind can you be, sazu? even after i hurt you, why?"

he takes a deep breath, giving a light nod to agree to whatever nonsense she just told him.

"getting rid of you never came off easy, and a part of me wished for you to stay longer every single time i try."