red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter l: taiyaki-kun

"sazu!"

toman's invincible leader stopped his motorbike beside the latter's, both of them waiting for the red light to switch to green. because of the red hair stick that locked her hair in place, he was able to easily recognized her when he was nearing.

kazua turns her head to his direction, taking off one earpod. "oh, manji." she smiled lightly. "on a date with babu?"

"mhm," he chuckled, "takemitchy told me you're helping him learn how to fight. you guys done with today's session?"

"yeah, i was just on my way home." kazua nodded back in return.

"wanna ride together, then? let's buy some taiyaki too."

as expected, he never gets tired of taiyaki. just a few days ago, kazua made him loads of it in his house. because draken, chifuyu, and takemichi were there, she made a lot of batches for all of them to stomach.

seeing mikey's pleading expression was enough to sway her. with a sigh, she tucked her earpods back in their case and nodded. "alright, then. i don't have anything else to do today, anyway."

***

after purchasing different flavors (most of them are red bean and custard cream) of taiyaki from the nearest bakery they could find, the two made their way to the port of tokyo and sat near the sea together.

they both sat cross-legged, their bikes parked behind them as they munched on their food.

"hey, manji?"

"hmm?"

"have you ever..." kazua paused, "...thought of what we could be doing in the future?"

"what's with that question all of a sudden?" mikey chuckles.

"it just got me thinking." she smiled back at him, biting on her taiyaki. "we've been through a lot for the past years and we're yet to reach our twenties. personally, i'd love to own a hotel."

"that's a little random for you." mikey raised a brow. he laid his head on her shoulder and asked, "why do you wanna own a hotel?"

"so i could live at the top floor." kazua grinned back. "well, i'll have a separate house. but when i want to overlook the city, i'd rather it be in a high place. investing on a penthouse is costly, but if i own a hotel, then it'll be free. i have a business at the same time."

kazua surely dreams big, and mikey has no complaints. he loves watching her talk about what she would want her future to be. the sparkle in her eyes are incomparable, and it's a rare occasion to see the girl ever emitting emotions.

"i don't really mind what i end up as in the future." he admitted. "but i can totally see myself inheriting the family dojo. i wanna teach other kids how to fight, you know?"

"that sounds a lot like you." kazua takes another taiyaki from the paper bag. "what, you're gonna teach the others's kids in the future? i'm pretty sure draken and emma would want their kid to learn."

"definitely! i'll be the coolest uncle they'll ever have." mikey smugly raised his head, folding his arms over his chest. "i am hoping that we're together in the future. if we have a kid, especially if they're a girl, i'd definitely teach her how to fight! just like her mom."

doki

doki

"imagine ken-chin and emma's kid having the coolest aunt and uncle. we'll spoil them more than emma and ken-chin ever would, then emma would scold us because we're giving too much to their kid. ken-chin would be the type of father to say that he's going to keep his kid's money safe, but end up using it for himself." he gleefully laughed at his own imagination. "of course, that's only possible if i marry you."