𝐘𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚 - 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐱 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨!𝐬/𝐨

⊱---𝟐𝟖---⊰

He walked in with a small 'excuse me' before heading over to the desk with drawers she usually stored her books in. The lamp was on and glowed down atop the wood table brightly, illuminating the area with a warm ring of light. In the middle of the light rested an open book, its dark words contrasting against the light parchment. It was unfamiliar to Takemichi and didn't look like any of her schoolbooks.

"What is this...?" Takemichi mumbled as he looked down at the open book, the structure of it looking much like a diary.

'Dear Xiao...'

He averted his eyes immediately after reading those words, shame crossing his face. It looked more like a letter addressed to someone rather than a diary. 'Xiao' was a name he had heard her mention a few times before and he knew it was someone from her previous world. She never talked much about those in her past, but he had a sneaking suspicion this Xiao person was much more than an acquaintance.

Was this book something [ Name ] crafted specifically for this 'Xiao' person just in case she never sees him again? It tugged at his heartstrings, a wave of sympathy washing over him.

His eyes unintentionally dropped to the bottom of the page after only reading who it was addressed to. Curiously, he read the last few words, and saw that the name signing off the letter was 'Astrus'.

He heard the creak of floorboards, her light steps being as hard to pick up on as always. Quickly stepping away from the table, he stood inconspicuously as he looked towards the door. As [ Name ] walked in, he smiled and raised his notebook to put it in her line of sight.

"Hey, I just wanted to see your school notes," he said from behind the book.

[ Name ] walked towards the desk and moved around Takemichi, nodding her head as she said,

"Ah, I moved it to the drawer on the right."

She closed the book atop the desk discretely and slid it in the drawer while pulling out her school notes. She was quick to hand it over to Takemichi before she pulled out the chair that was tucked under the desk and sat down with a relieved sigh.

Takemichi fumbled with her book, placing it atop of his before he looked over at her. His eyebrows furrowed as he registered her condition-- downturned features, dirtied palms, and lazy voice.

"Are you alright? You look exhausted. Have you been out?" he asked.

When he got no response, it quickly clicked in his mind that she was out pursuing demons once again.

Takemichi frowned. "I told you I was tagging along from now on."

[ Name ] shrugged nonchalantly, knowing she had no intention of letting him tag along. No offense to him or anything, but against demons, he would just be a burden. And if anything ever happened to him while he was with her, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Looking at him now, there was a clear tone and attitude switch from earlier. One that she could only correlate to the more mature version of Takemichi.

"So, you're back to being you?"

Takemichi sighed, a puff of air seemingly coming out from his mouth at the change of subject.

"Yeah."

With his free hand, Takemichi raised his hand up to the back of his neck and held it gently. He looked from [ Name ] to the open doorway, re-calling what Mikey and Draken had told him earlier in the bathhouse. Which was how they expected Takemichi to show up at the Toman meeting tonight.

"Anyways, I have somewhere to go tonight, so I may not be back until late," Takemichi informed.

To his surprise, [ Name ] nodded her head and told of her similar plans of leaving the house tonight.

"I do as well. Remain safe Takemichi, and if you need me, just call out my name."

"I know I know."

——————♡——————

The motorcycle roared loudly, though it went deaf to Takemichi's ears as he stood beside it with his eyes popping out of their sockets and his jaw dropped open. Mikey burst out laughing at the face he made as he shut off the vehicle that he and Takemichi had arrived on.

It seems [ Name ]'s plans were much more similar to his than he initially thought. After all, it couldn't just be a coincidence that they were both standing outside the Toman meeting spot, waiting to be allowed entrance.

"[ Name ]?!" he shouted, making her turn around curiously.

She stood tall wearing the uniform of those belonging to Toman, something he himself had yet to be granted. He wasn't even a member yet, just told to come to the meeting because Mikey felt like bringing him along.

[ Name ] wore a surprised expression as she looked over at Takemichi. "What— oh, I had assumed you were going to Hina's place. We could have traveled together if I had known."

"How did you even— why is that—"

"Mikey invited me to join Toman, don't you remember?"

Takemichi does not remember. He's sure the past him was thrilled with that information, but he wasn't. [ Name ] tends to forget the fact that the memories of his past and future self can't combine, so this was shocking to him.

But unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last of the shock he would experience tonight.