𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - s. ᴍᴀɴᴊɪʀᴏ

𝟎𝟏𝟒: 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

You forgot how fast Mikey drove. You squint, feeling the wind drying your eyes. You beat yourself up a little. Regretting ever getting the idea of meeting Kazutora. Regretting following through with the idea at all.

As your arms were wrapped around Mikey's waist, you still couldn't wrap your mind around that vision. The reason for meeting Kazutora was so you could get leads about Baji. To help Takemichi to bring him back.

Even more so, why would Mikey go to such lengths? You couldn't even recognize Kazutora at the end of the vision. You shudder at the thought that we might've killed him.

Mikey makes a harsh stop, you look up to see the front of your apartment. You take your hands off him. You stayed seated behind him. Neither of you uttered a word. You check the side mirrors to see if he was looking at you and he wasn't. But you felt like he had something to say.

Or maybe it was you that wanted to say something.

"What were you doing with him?" Mikey finally breaks the silence.

"I..." You couldn't think of a lie.

"Why did you even owe him money?"

You look down, still unable to say anything to him. He falls silent again. What were you supposed to tell him? You couldn't think of any answer to give him. At least not a logical or believable one.

"I'm sorry..." You sheepishly say. You put your feet on the ground and shift to get off the bike.

"Sit."

You get back down. The air around you felt thick. You desperately wanted out of this situation. Even though he wasn't looking at you directly, you can feel his eyes dagger into your soul. "What were you doing at the fight with Moebius?" Mikey suddenly asks. You wished he'd stop asking you questions you can't answer. You stayed silent.

"I don't get you," the blonde says out of the blue. "One minute, you act like some nonchalant, bashful chick. The next minute, you're hitting guys in the dicks with an umbrella!"

You couldn't tell whether to be confused or embarrassed he was bringing this up right now. You couldn't even tell if he was joking or not.

"Seriously," he continues, "Who are you, really?"

Your eyes widen at his question, fully taking in what he's said. Those were the same sentiments you had about him. All this time you've been trying to figure him out, he's been doing the same.

"I..." He turns his head to the side, finally looking at you, listening to what you're going to say.

"... I don't know who I am," you look down. You started to confuse yourself. Did you want to mind your business or help Toman? Were you just an extra hand for Takemichi? Will you always be a bystander? What exactly did you want? Who exactly did you want to be?

Mikey gets off the bike, shifting his body to fully face you before sitting back down. He leans over to you and wipes your face with both his hands. You didn't even realize you were crying. Why were you crying?

You started to hiccup, attempting to stop yourself. But it kept going.

"Hey, I'm sorry... I'm sorry," Mikey repeats, wiping your tears as it keeps flooding. "I didn't mean to upset you," Mikey's voice became more panicked, unsure of what to do or what to say to you.

The blonde brings you in a hug, caressing your head, shushing you to calm down. Your tears wet the shoulder of his hoodie, your sobs muffled as you bury yourself in his neck.

Everything was so overwhelming for you. All this time you were confused about Mikey, about Toman, the most confusing thing was yourself. You felt like you've been contradicting yourself this whole time.

After a few minutes, Mikey noticed you were finally calming down. "Let's go inside, yeah?" He pats your leg before getting off the bike. He helps you off. You continue to stare down at your feet as Mikey leads you to your suite, holding your hand. He stops at the door. You take your keys out of your bag and unlock the entrance. Opening the door, you feel his hand loosen. You tighten your grip and look at him, he stares back.

"Stay..."

-

The both of you have been sitting on the couch in silence. No talk, no TV on. You haven't even looked at each other since you walked in. You don't know where to start. You don't know what you should even say to him. You wonder if he's thinking the same thing.

"You... Don't have to answer," he turns and listens, "But, what happened between you and Hanemiya?"

"We used to be pretty close, actually," he responds to you. You weren't expecting him to.

"He, Ken-chin, Mitsuya and two other guys formed Toman almost three years ago. One day, my older brother told me to visit his bike shop after closing once I was finished at the dojo with Gramps. When I got there, Kazutora and Baji were in handcuffs, being escorted into a police car. I ran through the crowd of people to go into the bike shop. Policemen yelled for me to stop. I saw Shinichiro get covered up by tarp. As they lifted his body, a pool of blood was the only thing left by him."

You look at Mikey in horror. He's mentioned his older brother briefly to you, but never like this. Mikey looks you dead in the eye, "I can't forgive Kazutora for killing my brother." You were speechless. Calling Kazutora 'bad news' was an understatement. "The bike I have now," Mikey speaks again, "Was supposed to be my birthday present. It's the only thing I have left from Shinichiro."

You had no idea how hard he's had it. The betrayal of a friend leaving the gang they made together. Seeing the murderer of someone he loved. And worst of all, both of them siding with each other. You can't imagine how hard that is to bear. Though it was morally incorrect, you couldn't help but understand why he would brutally assault Kazutora to such a degree. You worry such an action would affect Mikey even more if he goes through with it.

"I'm so sorry," You tell him, almost at a loss for words. The boy smiles at you, "It's okay, you didn't know who Kazutora really was." You look away from him, and you wish he didn't remind you that you were just with him, but you felt you deserve the shame.

"I... was trying to help Takemichi look for more answers," You finally respond to his question from earlier. "Answers?" Mikey repeats.

You nod, "He... couldn't figure out how to get Baji back," you confess. Mikey looks further confused, "Why would he ask you?"

"Desperation?" You say immediately. Even though you wanted to be honest with Mikey, you still didn't want to out Takemichi or yourself. Mikey lets out a deep sigh, "I gotta speak to that guy soon." You apologize to Takemichi in your head.

You scoot closer to the blonde, "Thank you," you say. He furrows his brows. "Thank you for telling me your story."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I understand you better now."

Chapter fourteen, end.