Bittersweet ||Chifuyu x Reader||

Seven || Chamomile Tea

I placed a finger on my chin before my mind drifted back to so many years ago where it all began. "It was quite a while after Toman was formed- Takashi would always tell me stories about his gang and I thought it was really cool, especially since he's a year older than me and I really looked up to him. I was training in martial arts at the time so I was sure I'd be a good addition. Takashi tried to stop me but I ignored him and went to Mikey myself to show him how capable I was! I still lost to him in the end... but he let me join anyways, and I got to be the second vice-captain." Coming down from the flashback, I felt a certain sense of pride tugging my chest.

"I remember the day you came over to challenge Mikey," Emma's eyes brightened at the memory from her perspective. "It was also the first time we met." She finished her sentence by pulling me into a hug which I immediately returned.

Our hug was interrupted by Hinata's phone ringing. She apologised quickly before checking the message she had just recieved. Emma asked her who it was, to which the girl replied, "It's Takemichi. He sent me a cat meme..."

Smiling, I leaned over to take a look at the image on the screen, chuckling softly at the caption. "Hm? What's wrong, you don't look very impressed." I asked upon seeing the bruenette's unamused expression.

She sighed, tucking her phone away. "It's not that," She began. "Takemichi's been acting pretty weird."

"Weird? How?" Emma piped in.

"There are days where he's normal and acts like he always has, but then other times he's a lot more mature- it's like he'll suddenly switch personalities after a long period of time. It's really odd!"

I chuckled at her words. She must have been going crazy. "H-"

"And don't you dare say I'm going crazy, (Y/N)! I'm for real!" Hinata interrupted before I could even get a whole word out.

Emma hummed before pointing a finger at the girl, "Nope, you're definitely going crazy." I laughed at her words, high-fiving her as Hina just scolded us.

A pitter-patter came from the windows of the busy café and I looked at the glass panes to see water droplets running against them. It was beginning to rain.

"We should probably get going before the rain gets worse." I murmured, to which the two girls nodded in agreement.

Hinata stood up, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair before putting it on. "The sky's getting dark too. It's time to roll out, ladies!"

And with that, the three of us proceeded to the door.

~

A shroud of misery had taken over the sky ever since I left through that café door roughly an hour ago. It hadn't stopped raining since- not when I got on the train, not when I got off the train, not when I stopped by at a small grocery store to buy some taiyaki which were on sale, and certainly not now while I was running through the city trying to reach my neighbourbood.

The raindrops fell like daggers from above as I tried to shield the white plastic bag which held my precious taiyaki. I was completely soaked. But even if my wet hoodie stuck to my skin like a plaster, or the fact I could feel puddles forming in my sneakers, the least I could do was protect the desserts from the heavy rain.

My mouth curved into a smile at the sight of the park; once I passed it, my house would only be one street away.

But as I reached closer to it, I heard some voices speaking through the pouring sounds of the rain pelting against the environment. What sort of hooligans were out chatting at the park in this weather? Especially this late in the afternoon!? I shook the thoughts away, deciding I didn't care at all and my only priority was getting home and taking a nice warm bath.

Until I realised that I did care. Because those two voices began sounding suspisciously similar to a pair of morons the closer I got to the source of the sound.

When I reached the gate of the area, I peeked over the fence, just to make sure. And my thoughts were exactly right. There was Takemichi lying on his back as Chifuyu stood next to him. Pursing my lips, I was about to make an entrance and question what they were up to, until I noticed Takemichi crying. It made me stop dead in my tracks as I saw the boy sprawlled out on the wet ground with tears disturbing his blue eyes.

Instead, I stood at the fence, clutching the grocery bag to my chest, as I eavesdropped on the scene.

"How am I gonna save everyone? I have no idea. Chifuyuuuu," Takemichi croaked out, the sadness in his soul impacting each syllable. He brought his hands up to his eyes as he shielded his miserable and hurt expression from the world while he wailed, "It's so hard! I'm pitiful!" I watched as Chifuyu remained quiet and allowed the boy to continue. "Mikey died in my arms- I can still feel his warmth in my hands..."

Huh..?

Chifuyu dropped to the ground next to his friend, staring down at the floor darkly. "What a fucked future..." He mumbled just loud enough for me to hear. What on earth were these guys on about? I couldn't help but wonder if they were high. But then again, the pain in Takemichi's voice felt too real for it to be a joke. Mikey wasn't dead- Emma told me earlier that he was at home playing shogi against their grandfather.

The word that Chifuyu said rang in my mind. Future. What was he saying? A fucked future? Nothing made sense to me anymore. I could do nothing but watch with disturbance as Takemichi and Chifuyu were talking about who-knows-what at this point.

"We will beat Mikey." Chifuyu said punching the air. Something was going on and although I hadn't a clue what it was, I knew it was bound to be important.

My fingers twitched as I stood at the gate of the park, my mouth moved on it's own. "Hey." The two boys turned in my direction with shock. My eyebrows knitted upwards in concern as I recalled Takemichi's heartbreaking cries only minutes ago. "What the hell is this 'future' you guys are talking about?"

Their eyes went wide when they realised I had heard everything. Chifuyu stuttered while trying to think of an excuse while Takemichi scampered to his feet without a word. I looked at the two with determination, for some reason feeling the taste of the chamomile tea I drank that afternoon on my tongue.

"Takemichi. Chifuyu. Tell me what the hell is going on."