My Other Half

Part 25

"Kisaki's web just keeps growing and growing. If the Tenjiku gang was put together by Kisaki... then is it something he's putting together because I urged Mikey to get rid of Kisaki? Did my trying to save Toman just start another problem that never existed in the original future?.."

"Baji's sister doesn't exist in the new future... it's not something I want to be working towards."

Takemichi pauses, frowning at Chifuyu as he rubs at his head.

"I'm not really sure how to fix this future Chifuyu. I think... I might need a few more questions answered before I can tackle this head on..."

Takemichi keeps walking, undeterred as Chifuyu veers off to head towards the apartment building. He pauses at the stairs to watch Takemichi's back for a bit. Turning his gaze back towards the stairs, Chifuyu takes a deep breath before climbing them.

0_0_0_0

The door opening has you sitting up excitedly. Yang jumps off your lap, annoyed with the movement before heading off towards Chifuyu's room. You push yourself off the couch, phone abandoned on the couch arm as you make your way to the entrance. Your heart squeezes happily to see the familiar blond hair as he kicks off his shoes.

"Hey. How'd it go with—"

You cut yourself off when Chifuyu looks up at you. You blink a few times before letting out a small sigh. You turn your back to him and make your way towards the bathroom. He follows you wordlessly, letting you turn the light on and shuffle around the cabinets for what you're looking for.

"Am I allowed to ask what happened?" You asked, pulling an elastic off your wrist.

Chifuyu's turquoise eyes fall shut as you run your fingers through his hair, grabbing all the stray strands and pulling it out of his face to sit in a messy ponytail on top of his head. You tap the counter before you before the first division vice-captain jumps up to sit on it.

"Some guys picked a fight with us on the street. No big deal."

You hum as you grab the alcohol and a cotton ball. Chifuyu does flinch as you brush at the cuts gently. A flash of black hair and a grimace grace your vision momentarily and a chuckle escapes your lips.

"Kei was such a big baby when I cleaned his cuts." You mused, dropping the used cotton ball into the trash before using another.

Chifuyu hums to let you know he's listening, but that's about it. His turquoise eyes are still shut as you go about disinfecting his cuts.

"You didn't even flinch. I'm impressed." You mused, dropping the cotton ball in the trash before grabbing a few patches to cover Chifuyu's scratches. "Did you win?" You mused.

"In the end. Kinda."

You huff out another laugh as Chifuyu's eyes open. You're standing between his legs for easy access to the cuts on his fist. He's leaning forward a bit, hands sitting on his sides. A smile graces your features as you watch his fingers twitch. He's not sure what to do with his hands, but you're not about to put him out of his misery by telling him he's allowed to touch you. It's too cute to watch him stew over it.

"This means war... doesn't it?" You murmur, leaning your forehead onto his shoulder.

He shifts before his hand finds purchase in your hair. It's quiet as the two of you bask in each other's company. You know his silence means that this will indeed spell out war for the Toman boys.

"Just be safe... please." You murmur, bringing your arms up and wrapping them around his waist.

His hand slips from you head and lands on your back, returning the embrace.

0_0_0_0

After a meeting and a declaration of war in not so many words from Mikey himself, Chifuyu was sitting in his small living room. Takemichi had gone back into the future to see what he could find out about the upcoming battle. It definitely felt like they were cheating in some way, but Chifuyu would take what he could get if it meant she got to walk away scott free. Speaking of her, she was laying right next to him, out like a light. She was using his thigh like a pillow, gentle breaths pushing midnight locks out of her face. Smiling softly, Toman's first division vice-captain reached down and brushed those stray locks behind her ear. He let out a gentle chuckle as her noise scrunched up at the invasion of space. Yang was snoring at her feet, Pey not too far away on the arm of the couch. Chifuyu could definitely get behind this being a forever image. Course, it was completely up to her if she even thought he was worthy enough to stick around. He prayed to any entity out there that she did.

His phone chiming snapped him out of his reverie. Shaking his head to clear the fog, Chifuyu shifted, slowly as to not disturb her nap, to pull his phone out of his pocket. He found a message from Takemichi. He must have just gotten back from the future.

'Can you come out?'

It was straight to the point. Not very Takemichi like, but he wasn't about to ignore how awful the future waiting for him was. Nonetheless, it was still hard to talk himself into waking her up.

'Ya. Give me half an hour.'

After he hit send, he set his phone on the coffee table in front of him before turning his attention towards her. He reached out towards her, running his palm on her shoulder to rouse her. A groan of protest left her lips, jolting Chifuyu's guilt slightly.

"I know. Sorry." He chuckled slightly as she stirred.

Taking a deep breath, she set to wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Chifuyu watched as her long hair pooled over her shoulders and down her back. He watched as lazy, sleepy bronze eyes fell on him, silent question in them.

"I gotta go out for a bit." He offered, sheepish smile on his lips as her eyes seemed to focus almost immediately.

"Where?" She asked, voice gravely from not having used it in a while.

"Takemichi wants to talk to me. Probably for some Toman stuff."

Chifuyu pushed himself off the couch, immediately missing the warmth that came from cuddling with her and the cats. He was loathed to admit that aloud. It was far too vulnerable. He watched as her lips pressed together, probably holding back more questions that she wanted to ask but knew she wouldn't get a favorable answer from. Instead, she stood, making her way over to him. Chifuyu looked up at her, cocking his head slightly in questioning. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing. A smile painted itself across his lips as he returned the embrace. He was about to pull away when she turned towards him, pushing her lips against his cheek. Turquoise eyes widened as she pulled away with lightning speed. He watched as she, pink splashed across her cheeks, avoided eye contact.

"B-be safe!" She practically yelled, escaping into his kitchen.

It was his phone buzzing again in his pocket that brought him back down to earth. Even the brisk air that waited for him outside couldn't put out the fire burning in his chest. She had just kissed him! On the cheek, but that wasn't really the point! She had kissed him and told him to be safe... Chifuyu hadn't known that he wanted to have this particular element in his life until it happened. Now he couldn't help but wanting to be able to have this every day. Was that a possibility? Could he maybe... also kiss her on the cheek? Or maybe the lips? The thought alone had his own cheeks exploding with red that reached down his neck and to the tips of his ears. What kind of convoluted thoughts were tainting his brain right now? Shaking his head, Chifuyu tried to dismiss those type of thoughts and instead focused on preparing himself for the information that Takemichi will have brought from the future. With any luck, they would have a quick fix this time. Maybe this Izana guy would be less of an issue than Tensei had been... Kisaki alone was enough of a bloody problem. If he was a time leaper like both she and Takemichi had suggested at this point... hell... Chifuyu just hoped that this Izana character wasn't as tough as some of the other adversaries that Toman has faced.