red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter xxvi: who made you king?

"did you finish all the assignments i gave you yesterday?"

senju walks alongside her best friend as they exit the school gates, both relieved from the academic burden of the day. it has been two days since bloody halloween, and seeing the raven alive and well gave senju the relief that she needed to ease down her anxiety.

she was worried that the girl would do something that would get herself in danger. kazua does have a tendency to think so little about her life when it comes to her loved ones, and baji keisuke is no exception.

"yeah, i passed the last bunch earlier." kazua ripped the popsicle wrapper open and stuck the melon ice cream in her mouth, tossing the wrapper in a trash bin they passed by. "i'm taking a different train today, by the way. that alright with you?"

"of course. you're going to the station today, right?"

"mhm," kazua hums, "by the way, can you take the hair stick off for me?"

"sure, hold on." senju reached up ant pulled the hair stick that secured kazua's hair, letting her wavy locks bounce down her back. she slowed her pace a little to put the stick in senju's messenger bag.

the two silently made their way to the train station, both stopping at the intersection that separates their tracks. senju turns to kazua with a wide smile and opened her messenger bag.

"hold on." she says, stopping the raven from scanning her card on the rfid. "here!"

she takes out a small wrapped box from her bag and handed it over. it was simply wrapped in crispy recycled paper, just the way kazua likes it. since she's such an advocate for eco-friendliness, senju took note that she should use more recycled wrappers whenever she gives out presents to her.

at this point, it became a habit for her to use brown recycled paper in gifting not just kazua, but other people she cherishes.

"what's this?"

"well, you'll know when you open it." senju grinned, letting go of the box when kazua's hands grabbed it gratefully. "open it when you're home, though. it's not safe to take it out in public."

"what, is this a bomb or something? finally getting rid of poor little old me?" kazua teases.

"hmph, not yet. you're still pretty useful to me." senju played along with a light smirk. "happy birthday, kazzie! enjoy the rest of the day."

she watched as senju scanned her card and passed through the rfid, waving happily at her. kazua couldn't help but smile and wave back weakly.

"thanks, senju."

***

"who died and made you king, you bastard?!"

"i nearly did! so peel the apples already, dumbass!"

"just admit that you don't know how to cut apples!"

"i-i think we should all calm down and--"

"shut up, takemitchy!"

"this is no use, takemitchy." chifuyu mindlessly tugged at the hem of takemichi's shirt, pulling him back down his seat to stop him from interfering with baji and draken. he knows better than to get in the way of the two, and it's only wise to save takemichi from that path too.

yes, the operation was a success, and baji is now under recovery. his mother came over yesterday when he woke up, bawling her eyes out and nearly flooding the entire room he's resting in. because she had to work, she trusted the rest of his friends to keep an eye on him while he's in the hospital.