Living A Dead Dream (Baji x OC)

22

After a little while, Baji came up the slope and leaned on the railing next to Danny. Neither spoke as they looked out over the city. They just basked in one another's presence. After a few short minutes though, Baji moved over behind Danny, snaking his arms around her waist and gently resting his chin on her shoulder. She was a bit stiff at first, not used to this sort of thing, but slowly relaxed. This didn't go unnoticed by Baji as a small smile made its way to his face. 

"You've been quiet all day. Somethin' wrong?" Baji asked as he shifted his grip slightly.

"Mm. Just been thinking a lot," she replied, feeling a bit of heat rush to her face and ears from the close proximity. 

He hummed in response, nuzzling against her neck a bit, which made some goosebumps spread around the area. "It's not your fault either. Even if we got there sooner, it wouldn't have done anything." Despite this Danny not being the one he's known for the past twelve years, he could still tell what she was thinking. Though he didn't know that this girl was any different from the one he loved so much. In his eyes, she had just been quieter than usual, and he knew how she got when she was in her head too much. Her deep blue eyes would always look as if they were looking at something that only she could see and she would always bite at the inside of her cheeks when she was lost in her thoughts. 

She was surprised. She thought herself to be hard to read most of the time, so she wasn't used to many people being able to tell what she was thinking. "I know," she quietly said after a moment. 

Before anything else could be said, the unmistakable sound of someone getting the shit beat out of them came from below. They could both tell that Takemichi was awake now. Baji let out a light snigger at the sound. "Wonder if that'll wake his ass up," he commented as the noises from below died down.

Danny nodded her head lightly. "Hopefully." She still couldn't believe that this timeline's Takemichi had become such a huge asshole. To the point that they had cut all contact too. The last part she assumed because she didn't have his number in her phone at all. She didn't even have a single photo of them together on the wall like she used to. Whatever he had done really pissed her off.

As the sun began to rise, Takemichi's voice could just barely be heard from where they were standing. Danny relaxed a bit at his tone. It was the unmistakable sound of the brother she knew and tolerated. It wasn't some darker version of him down there, which she knew it wouldn't be. It just relaxed her to have confirmation that it was him.

She looked down over the side of the bridge, seeing the pair. "Oi!" she called out, gaining their attention. "Mind if I talk to him before we go?"

"Yeah, just make it quick," Kazutora called back. 

Taking the hint, Baji unsnaked his arms from around her but took her smaller scarred hand in one of his bigger rougher ones. "If he says anything, give him a good punch, yeah?" He grinned.

"Mhm," she rolled her eyes, "sure. We'll be up in just a minute." She slipped her hand out of his and went down the hill.

"Don't take too long," Kazutora said as they passed each other.

"Gotcha," she replied with a nod before making it to the bottom a few moments later. Once the sound of two car doors came, she closed the distance between her and her brother. "Rough night?" she asked with a small sympathetic smile.

"Yeah," he replied with a sigh and a downcast look. "What're you doing here?" he asked, changing the subject as she sat next to him.

"Turns out I've been trying to bust Toman for a few years now along with Baji and Kazutora," she said as she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them.