Mitsuya POV
After the horrible playtime is over, Luna joins Mana in bed and falls asleep. I was doing the dishes, well trying to do the dishes but what I'm hearing from behind keeps bothering me.
"Ne~ Can't you say my name just once?" I can hear a playful Aoi teasing Hakkai. 'I've never heard her use that kind of tone before. Why is she so fond of him when they've only just met?' I sigh at myself for feeling these kinds of complicated emotions when I hear the unexpected..
"Please stop it, Aoi-san."
'Did Hakkai just say a full sentence to a girl?! And he called her by her name!'
"Ohh!! You called me by my name. Yayyy!" Aoi cheers triumphantly. "Since you requested me, I won't bother you anymore." She smiles and is about to move away when Hakkai shockingly speaks again.
"N-No! You're not... b-bothering me. I'm just not that u-used to talking... with girls."
.
.
'The Hakkai I know would never speak to someone, moreover a girl who he's only seen once. But how is he speaking so much right now? Is that what I'm supposed to do? Will ignoring Aoi make her curious and then she'll talk to me in the same way she's doing with Hakkai? Was Hakkai actually an expert on girls?'
I groan in frustration at my thoughts and angrily do the dishes. 'Tsk..whatever.'
Aoi POV
'Wow.. expected the unexpected really came true...' I'm currently sitting here, feeling shocked at the number of words Hakkai spoke to me.
"You're speaking to me! That makes me so happy Hakkai-kun." I say in a genuine manner and he smiles back. 'He smiled back!'
Takashi comes back from the kitchen and sits in between me and Hakkai. "Hey Aoi, you seem really fond of Hakkai over here." He says in a joking manner.
"Eh? Is it that obvious?" I laugh.
I don't know why but Takashi's expression suddenly looks gloomy. "You do?" He asks in a low tone. 'Is it because he thinks I'm trying to steal Hakkai away from him? I won't Takashi ㅠㅠ, please don't be angry at me..' I silently beg in my mind.
"Yeah..." I sheepishly smile, scratching the back of my head, pretending as if the person we're talking about is not present here. "To be honest, I've always wanted a little brother and if I had one, I feel like it would be fun to tease them like Hakkai."
"Little brother?!" Takashi says loudly all of a sudden.
"Uhmm.. yeah?" I ask a bit confused as to why he suddenly seemed so bright.
"So you're telling me that you think of Hakkai as a little brother?"
"Hey! Don't say that so suddenly in front of him!" I protest. "It's embarrassing..." I mutter while covering my face with both of my hands.
"Is that so? So that's what it was!" He seems a little too enthusiastic about it while Hakkai seems to be giving a knowing smile.
'Am I the only one who's confused here?'
"I actually have an older sister. Her name is Yuzuha." Hakkai says and I have to act like it's my first time hearing this information. "If you're okay with it, would you like to meet her someday?"
"Is that really okay? I'd love to meet her!" I speak with excitement. 'Getting to meet such a pretty girl like Yuzuha would be my lucky day.'
"You're talking quite a lot now Hakkai." Takashi says at the side.
"I g-guess I'm starting to feel a bit comfortable." He answers. 'Yes, still as adorable as ever.'
"I'm so glad to hear that, hehe. If you want to, you can call me Onee-san." I joke, doing a victory pose for having conquered the quest of talking with him.
"I don't think I wanna do that." He replies, making the three of us laugh out loud.
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A few days have passed since that day. As the days go by, I'm slowly starting to remember a lot of things from my past life. Trying my hardest not to smoke, especially after that one encounter, I searched up ways to quit the smoking urges. There I see, "Sucking on a lollipop may help you resist the temptation to reach for cigarette." 'So that guy Hanma actually knew what he was doing that day..'
I then decided to buy an entire stack of lollipops to help with my urges.
Not all memories of my past life were bad for me like smoking though. Equations have become much easier, I suddenly know how to dance, and today I'm going to test out the one skill that'll make life easier for me in this world.
Martial arts.
It's around 7 in the evening. I make my way towards a sturdy tree nearby a convenience store. I'll just have to do it, to test it.
I start trying out different kicks that I remember. Compared to my past attempt of what was supposed to be a punch, my skills this time look a lot more promising. I lose track of time while practising hard, breaking a sweat.
Starting to feel a bit hungry, I go to the convenience store. There I see one last Peyoung Yakisoba left. 'This was the food that Baji enjoyed so much..'
I was about to grab it when suddenly a hand from the other side grabs it at the same time.
"Hey, I saw it first so let go." A dark voice threatens.
I look at the owner of the voice, and my tears threaten to fall.
It's Baji Keisuke.
Reading the Tokyo Revengers manga, I had cried many times. But, one of the saddest moments to me will forever be the part where Baji stabs himself to protect everyone. I remember having to bite my blanket so that the crying sounds didn't reach my parents' room.
So, when I see the very Baji Keisuke that caused me to cry like a baby for hours in front of me, I cannot stop my tears from falling.
"Oi Oi, are you seriously crying because I threatened to take the Peyoung Yakisoba?" He looks at me in disbelief. Not really paying attention to what he's saying, and just focusing on listening to his voice, I nod my head without thinking.
"Aghhhh you like it that much?" I nod again.
"I guess there's no other choice. You buy it and we'll split it in half."
'Huh?'
'Wait what?'
I'm currently sitting on a chair outside the convenience store, splitting up Peyoung Yakisoba with Baji Keisuke...
With my tears finally drying, I sniffle a bit and eat some of the noodles to satisfy my hungry stomach. "You sure you were crying because of the yakisoba?" Baji asks me. 'I was crying because of you existing in front of me, but I can't really say that now, can I?'
"Yeah..." I lie.
"You've got quite a kick there. Do some martial arts?" He asks while I look at him confused. He laughs at my confusion and says, "I saw you kicking the tree like your life depended on it out there."
'He saw me doing that. How embarrassing...'
"I..uhm.. I was just training for a bit." I say, taking another bite of the noodles. 'Now that I think about it, why is Baji talking to a stranger right now?'
"The night street is dangerous so get back home before it gets too dark." He suddenly advises me, having finished his half of the noodles.
"If it's okay, can I ask why you're talking to a complete stranger like me? And.. even telling me to be safe.." 'Was Baji always this kind of person?'
"Well you're talking to a stranger too, aren't you?" He replies. 'Oh right.. he doesn't know that I know him.'
"I guess..."
"Let's just say, it's the kind of day where you don't want to talk to anybody you know. So, getting frustrated at myself, maybe I was trying to talk with a random stranger. "
'Considering the date, the Valhalla arc is approaching. Could it be... he's thinking about his decisions right now? I need to stop him. But what do I even say to him without sounding like a creep? Should I even be stopping him... I want to prevent Baji's death but if I try to do something and the outcomes change, I won't know what happens in the future anymore. Then... I won't be able to help Takemicchi as a partner..' I carefully think about all my options.
"Uhm.. I know I'm just a random stranger passing by, but if you want to talk about something, I'll listen!" I loudly declare. "I know it may seem weird but talking to someone who doesn't know you and you'll probably never see again could be easier in a sense... maybe?"
He just laughs at my determination. "Thanks kiddo but you wouldn't understand even if I told you. It's probably better for you to not know about it."
He flashes me a toothy grin and all I can do is just sit and stare.
'I really don't want him to die.'
__________________
Back at Mitsuya's house, Aoi took her leave in the afternoon. Hakkai and Mitsuya were sitting in the living room when Hakkai starts laughing like crazy.
"Dude, can you get any more obvious?" Hakkai begins. "To think that you would be so relieved to hear that she thinks of me as a little brother."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mitsuya feigns ignorance, but deep down he knew what Hakkai said was true.
.
.
"Stop with the act Taka-chan, you're so in love with her."