red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter lxxx: proposition

"you're gonna be nothing."

her eyes turned to slits, glaring down sanzu's entirety as she told him the truth of what would happen in the future. her aura filled the room, and the latter found it a little suffocating to remain under her gaze. even when he had the advantage right then and there, when he could just kill her in that poor state she's in, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

what was stopping him?

"and when you feel nothing, you will fall into the same abyss that i'm trying to pull him out of." her voice was cold and heartless, letting the truth in her words pierce through his heart like a sharpened dagger. "what do you think you'll do in that abyss? hmm?"

kazua straightened up from her slacked position on the bed. "the abyss is hard to escape from. take this situation for an example." her fingers intertwined with each other, resting on her lap. "five longs years...i dedicated my life into saving him. right now, i can't even confidently say that i'll be able to pull him out of the darkness corrupting his mind. thing is, he's the only one who gets to decide whether he'd save himself or not. sanzu, you'll feel dead before you actually are once you fall into the edge of that trap. deciding? it'll be more difficult than you thought.

"and when all hope is lost, if we were to fail to pull you up from the void without your cooperation, what do you think will happen?"

she didn't need to tell him directly. sanzu can figure it out quite easily. having a real situation setting as his example right now allowed him to imagine how scary it really is.

he claimed that he's an only child, abandoned his only family left.

if he were to give in to the abyss that kazua kept talking about, there will be no one to save him.

there's won't be a kazua to bring him hope and light in his life again.

he will be alone with his own destructive thoughts, convincing him that he should end it all right there while he still could. a spiral of talking to himself. a process to make someone go insane.

"i know about it." kazua suddenly said, bringing his attention back on her. "that you made a deal with takeomi. between senju and mikey during the battle of the three deities, you were betting that senju would lose.

"and if she did, takeomi-niisan brings brahman under kantou manji gang's wing to add your numbers. takeomi surely agreed. he's on the side of the victor, after all. it didn't matter to him if he had to betray his sister. it's all business in his eyes."

"how..."

kazua chuckles, lightly tapping on her temple instead of voicing out her answer. she had her ways, and she had to make sure that no one gets to stop her own plans.

"you and hanma were in cahoots all along, trying to merge the three deities to create the most powerful organization in japan."

that meant destroying everyone else's, but she didn't mind tearing them all down.

after all, her determination to save sano manjiro is incomparable.

"you still have a family, sanzu." kazua's smirk slowly turns into a small smile, letting sunshine glaze through the windows and brighten the room. the suffocating air was lifted, and his body felt lighter. her words were so comforting, like a gentle lullaby soothing him to tranquility. "takeomi-niisan and senju, they're waiting for you to come home."

"how can you be so sure of that?" sanzu took a step back. he was hesitating.

her words got through him.

"senju still talks a lot about you." kazua grinned. "she's like, i wonder when he'll come home, or, i only cut my hair cuz sanzu-niisan's not here to tie it for me anymore."

she giggled, letting herself lean back on the pillows again. "ah, she was so cute, but it was obvious how much she misses you." she said. "so, why not let yourself have the chance to feel happy with them again?"

kazua never meant to tell anyone, but it wasn't just mikey she was trying to save. there were several people important to her that are secretly suffering the same fate, and she wants to save them all.

sanzu, to save him from his own madness before it actually unleashes and show him that he can still change his path while he can.

senju, to save her from the sorrows of her own heart that was left burning within her after her family was torn apart.

izana, to save him from death and the regrets that linger with him.

kazutora, to save him from his own dark thoughts corrupting his mind and letting him see the light once again.

and mikey, to save him from his dark impulsivity that will eventually guide him to an undeserving life.

"it seems like too much to change in a short amount of time, right?" kazua held her hand out to him. "it's okay. take little steps in getting there. we'll be here to help you."

no, unlike the image that she portrays, sada kazua is anything but a selfish person. she's merciful, one who can understand and see through people's intentions so easily. there is not a hint of judgement within her hollow eyes, and a kind smile even graced those around her to tell them that they will be alright.

she was comfort through the storm of life.

sanzu sighs, letting a genuine smile appear on his face for the first time in a long while. he walks to the edge of her bed and took her hand in his, accepting both defeat and hope.

"seriously," he breathlessly chuckled, "what is wrong with you? being too nice to a person like me. i tried to kill you, you know?"

"as if you could kill me~"

***

"what are we doing here?"

kazutora follows baji and chifuyu inside the tokyo police station, curious as to why they came here in the first place. after all, they were supposed to visit kazua at the hospital today.

are they gonna turn him in?

he didn't know, and he was a little anxious. the possibility of baji considering to pull out his statement and charge kazutora of attempted murder entered his mind.

"kaz told me to run an errand today." baji shrugged. he went to the desk and talked to the officer in-charge while chifuyu and kazutora stood a few steps behind him.

the blonde noticed his kazutora's body tensed. figuring that he should do something about it, he patted the guy's shoulder and smiled comfortingly. "we're not here to turn you in." he said. "as if baji-san would do that. we're here to pick up someone from their sentence."

"they'll take him here soon." baji walked back to the two, tucking his hands in his pockets. "damn that girl, though. i told her not to get into the three deities' business and she completely ignored it."

"kazua doesn't listen to anyone." chifuyu chuckled. "have i told you guys the first time i met her?"

"nah, why?" kazutora asked. "did she do something stupid? i bet she did."

"more than stupid." chifuyu sighed, smiling a little now that he thought back at the memory. "she literally slit her palm and told me to stop the bleeding. while i was trying to, she was shopping for clothes online."

"that sounds a lot like her." kazutora and baji nodded, chuckling together as they remembered the first time they met kazua. baji didn't say it out loud, but he assumed that chifuyu's story was when they were planning to save him from his own death during the bloody halloween.

it has only been two years, but a lot of things already changed. he underestimated it too much.

even mikey changed a lot, and kazua's fighting to bring him back. though, not back to the old mikey but back to the way they were all happy together.

he felt guilty, wishing that he could have done something to help the girl through her tough battle. yet, kazua wouldn't allow him. this was the only time she did, and it's to run an errand for her plan to be pieced together.

"here he is."

the three turned around, facing a familiar face that they haven't seen for a long while.

"pah-chin!"