It's currently the time of the festival...and we're late.
"Emmy, we shouldn't have made the boy's wait."
"If they want to be the guys to have the best-looking girlfriends, they can wait."
Hina giggles as I sigh.
Upon arriving at Musashi Shrine, where the festival is taking place, we walk up the long flight of stairs. At the top, we spot two of the three guys.
"Sorry we're late!"
Upon hearing Hina's voice, Draken and Takemichi turn our way.
He smiles widely as his eyes lay on Hina. Draken, however, looked uninterested.
Damn, he's a hard nut to crack, Emma.
"We've been waiting here forever."
"Sorry." Emma apologizes. "But it takes time to look this good."
I look around as the four talked.
"Um...did Mikey go on ahead or something?"
"Oh." Draken faces me. "He has to do something real quick. So he'll be late."
"Oh...okay..."
The girls instantly saw how disappointed I become. Draken then smiles.
"Don't worry. He's actually finishing up a surprise for you."
"Surprise?"
"Yep, and I'm sure you're going to love it."
"What surprise?"
He eyes his girlfriend.
"Why do you need to know? It not for you."
"Ugh! So? I still want to know."
"..."
Draken leans down and whispers in her ear. Emma gasps out loud.
"Really?!"
"Yup."
"What is it?"
Emma secretly passes on the information to Hina. Who does the same to Takemichi.
"What is this? Does everyone get to know but me?"
"Yes." all four answer.
I shake my head.
"You guys suck."
"Trust me." Takemichi smiles. "You're going to love it."
"..."
"Anyway, let's go have fun."
Emma drags Draken away while the other couple follows.
"..."
Hina stops and looks back.
"Coming, Mare?"
"That's okay. I want to wait here for Mikey."
"...You sure?"
I nod.
"Okay."
The two leave me and I sit on the top step, waiting.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
"Where is he?"
It's already been an hour.
"..."
I shift to make myself more comfortable.
"Ow. Geez..."
I look down at my sandals. They form red marks on my feet, hurting me.
"I knew these were too small... But they looked so cute with the outfit."
I'm trying way to hard to look special for Mikey...but he's worth it. I just hope he doesn't act like Draken did. But, not gawking like Takemichi was either.
*Ping*
Taking my phone out of my small bag, I read the new text. It was from Mikey.
I'll be there soon. Sorry.
I text back.
Everything okay?
Yeah. Just didn't knew your surprise would take this long.
Draken told me about that. What is it?
It's a secret.
Aw~. Tell me. Pretty please?
You'll get it when I bring you home tonight.
...So, if I leave and go to my house right now, I'll find it?
:) No, silly. I still have to bring it there. Hopefully it won't be too long now.
Okay. Drive fast so you can get here already.
Aw, you miss me that badly?
...Yes.
...
Why'd you send that?
I didn't think you'd admit that. I thought you would blush and tell me to shut up.
Well, you don't know me very well. And here I thought you were my boyfriend. Looks like I got to find a new one at the festival.
You can try.
Oh?
I'll just walk right up to you and kiss you in front of everyone.
I blush at his words.
Moron! Don't do that!
Hahahaha!
Geez, what am I going to do with you?
Kiss me, love me, grow up with me, marry me, have kids with me, and then die with me.
"..."
Whoa.
What?
You're joking, right? Just Mikey being silly.
...No. I meant it.
"..."
I call his a*s.
"Hello, Mare~. Wanted to hear the sound of my voice?"
"Texts are hard to read. I couldn't tell if you were joking or not." I nervously giggle.
"..."
"...Mikey?"
"I meant every word."
I feel like my heart could just leap out of my chest any second now.
"...You're too good for me."
"Silly, Mare. It's the other way around."
He feels like that?
"Mikey-"
"Hey, the process is finalized. Go around and pick 'em up."
A deep adult male voice comes through his end.
"Alright, thanks." Mikey replies. "I have to go, Mare. Your surprise is ready. I'll see you soon, okay? Oh! After your surprise, I just need to take care of something else real quick."
"Really?"
"Sorry, Mare. But I got a call earlier. There's somewhere I got to be."
"A call?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll be there, okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
I hang up.
"...I can't believe he texted that... That dork, what kind of guy says that? Not anyone I know... Well, maybe Takemitchy, but he's weird."
I take a second to really think about it.
"Okay, it's cheesy, no matter what guy says it... But it's cool when Mikey says it."
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
Half an hour goes by. And I'm still sitting there. I didn't even notice the minutes slipping by. I was too busy smiling as I kept rereading Mikey's text.
"I'm glad Mikey's in my past."
"Mare?"
I look back to find Hina walking up to me.
"Hey, Hina. Having fun?"
"You're still here?"
"Yeah... I wanna wait for Mikey."
She couldn't help but smile.
"Mikey's really lucky to have you."
"I feel like it's the other way around."
Mikey's been so helpful to my past self. He'll never know how much he changed.
"Anyway, where's Takemitchy? Restroom?"
"No, um...I can't find him. He told me to stay and that he'll come back. But, he didn't. I've been looking for him. He didn't pass by here, did he?"
"No. I haven't seen him."
A look of worry washes over her face. I stand and take her hand.
"It's okay. We'll look together."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
The rain poured down hard as Hina and I run through the wooded area.
"Takemichi!"
"Takemitchy!"
We call out his name over and over again.
"Ah-"
I stop to help out Hina who slipped in a small puddle of mud.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yeah..."
"...Be careful. We'll find him soon."
"..."
Holding her hand, we continue to search. Another maybe, fifteen minutes over so, we found him. He was laying on the ground, all taped up. We sprinted right up to his body.
"Takemichi!"
He looks at Hina.
"What's wrong? What happened? Here, I'll get this off you!"
Sitting on the ground, above where his head was, Hina gently removes the tape from his mouth.
"...Sorry for leaving you alone." he instantly apologizes to her.
"Huh?"
"God, I suck. I did the best I could."
What is he talking about?
"It hurts, it sucks... But I did my best. And yet..." he begins to cry. "And yet, nothing's changed! I haven't been able to save anyone!"
What...does that mean...? Did...something happen? Is Draken going to die today? But, he stopped them from fighting, right?
"Of course it hasn't, though. How the hell is a complete and utter failure like me supposed to save anyone? How stupid can I be?"
"...That's not true." Hina speaks up.
"Leave me alone! I don't want you to see me being so pathetic! This would've been nothing if I was like Draken or Mikey! I would've just whooped his a*s! With style! But I'm...just a failure-"
To stop him from talking, Hina lean over and kisses him.
Pulling away, her eye doesn't leave his.
"That was my first kiss."
"...Why?"
"I gave it to you because you're that special to me. You're not Draken or Mikey. You're just you, Takemichi. You're able to break down crying for others. You can get so frustrated for them. That's who you are. There's no one cooler than you."
He begins to cry all over again.
"...Come on, Takemitchy. Time to get you out of that tape." I grin.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
Once free, he faces us.
"Thanks, Hina. Homa-"
"I didn't do anything. Hina's the real hero here. I just cut the tape."
"Please, I didn't do nothing either."
"I..."
"Don't worry about it. I know you can do it, Takemichi."
He weakly smiles.
"Could I be any lamer."
"No more crying now."
"I'm not crying! It's just the rain!"
"Ha, okay."
"Homare~."
"...Pfft."
Both Hina and I laugh, making the blond smile for real this time.
"I have to go."
"I know."
Turning away, he begins to leave.
"..."
I start following him.
"I'll keep him safe, Hina." I wave to her.
"Me?!"
"Yeah! I am the Invincible Mikey's girlfriend, after all. Plus, I'm way stronger than you."
"Who said that?!"
"Me."
"Thanks, Mare! Be careful you two!"
Leaving her behind, the two of us take off.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
"Kiyomasa is planning to kill Draken." Takemichi explains.
"He is?"
"Yeah, but I'll stop him."
"Look at you~."
"Shut up."
Running by the parking lot, the sound of a motor stops us.
"Takemitchy?"
"Mitsuya?" Takemichi looks back.
We walk up to the guy with the silver hair.
"You're silver hair." I point. "From that Toman meeting."
"Silver hair?" he weakly smiles. "What kind of name is that?"
"It's the name I'm going to call you if you don't give me your actual one."
"It's Mitsuya."
"Cool, I'm Homare."
"I know. Everyone in Toman knows your name."
"Aw~, shucks."
He looks over towards my friend.
"Are you two alone? Where's Draken?"
"Actually, he's going to be attacked!"
"Yeah, I know."
"Wait, you knew?!"
"Right back at you."
At the same time, they name the culprits they believe that will do it.
"Peh, right?"
"It's Kiyomasa!"
The two looked at each other, confused.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Mitsuya turns off his bike before explaining.
"Mikey wanted to pay to free Pah. But Draken was against it. How the hell did you stop those two from fighting when even our captains couldn't stop them?"
"Well, uh..."
"Two words. Turd boy."
"Shut up!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Well...whatever. Thanks, man. If you hadn't stopped them, Toman might've been finished."
"I didn't do anything."
"You're too humble."
"And besides, in the end..."
Mitsuya looks pass us.
"What's wrong?"
I follow his gaze to find another bike parked.
"That's Peh's ride."
"What?"
"Thanks to you, most of us at Toman came to an agreement that there wasn't anything we could really do about Pah getting caught. Everyone but Peh."
I grab onto both of their hands and start running.
"Come on! We got to warn Draken!"
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
Running around the wooded area once more, we try and search for Draken.
"Dammit!" Takemichi curses. "I hope we're not too late."
"Considering we saw Peh's ride, sh*t might already be going down." Mitsuya replies.
"..."
God, this is getting us nowhere. I try to think back to what Naoto told us.
"...!"
I stop running.
"Mitsuya!"
They both stop and look back at me.
"Is there another parking lot besides the one we came from?"
"...I think there's one out back."
"That's it! Where is it?!"
"That way- Hey!"
I start running in a different direction. The two follow close behind. With in five minutes, we turn the corner and find the parking lot...with a couple of bodies.
"They're from Moebius."
"Gah!"
We look to find Draken surrounded by a bunch of Moebius guys. He had blood running down from his head, but he was still holding his own.
"Draken!"
"Hey, Mitsuya... Takemitchy... Homare."
"You guys!"
Behind us stood Emma. She looked beyond worried. Mitsuya refaces everyone to only have his eyes land on Peh.
"Peh... The hell are you teaming up with Moebius for?!"
"Shut up. Or I'll kill you too."
"Oh?"
A few of Moebius' members mutter and whisper before Emma's voice drowns them out.
"Peh, you coward! You had them attack him with a bat all of a sudden! You brought all these guys with you, and you still call yourself a man?!"
"...Ugh... I'm tired."
Draken begins to sway side to side.
"Are you okay?" Takemichi asks.
"Yeah... I'll leave the rest to you, Mitsuya."
He steps forward.
"Yup."
"God, my head hurts."
Draken takes a seat, holding his head. I rush to his side and try to find something in my bag to stop the bleeding. I try to ignore Moebius' taunts as I do.
"You little sh*ts really think you're a match for all of us?"
Mitsuya just grins.
"Can it, dumba*s."
Pulling out a cloth, I hold it gently against his head.
"There. Hold that right there. If you put a little pressure on it, it should stop the bleeding."
"Thanks..."
"..."
He takes the cloth from me and listens to my direction. Once okay, I get up and stood next to Mitsuya.
"You should be next to Emma." he eyes me.
"I know...but I wouldn't be the girlfriend of Toman's leader if I did."
"...I like your spirit. But you should really stand back."
"..."
I scan the crowd, trying to see if I could spot Kiyomasa. But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Ha! You're going to fight us, girly?" one of the members laughs out loud.
I earn a few more insults.
"I never knew how dumb chicks could be."
"Watch out guys, she might nibble your ankles!"
"Make sure you don't get your clothes dirty!"
"Dumb b*tch."
"Go home and play with your dolls."
"..."
Kiyomasa isn't here...but you know who is? A random guy...holding a bat.
"Homare."
Ignoring Takemichi, I walk right up to the guy with the bat.
"Did you hit Draken with that?" I point.
"Ha! So what if I did? You gonna break my nose like you did to Jun?"
"...Draken. How hard did he hit you?"
"...It was a pretty good swing. I won't lie."
"Good. May I?"
I hold my hand out to him. He looks at it and bursts out laughing. A few other members did as well.
"Hahahaha! What?! You want to hit me with it? Do you think I'm that stupid? Think I would give it to you?"
"No. But since you're not, you're scared of me." I smirk.
He did not like the sound of that.
"Me? Scared of you? Don't make me laugh."
"Prove it."
"...Fine." he hands me the weapon. "Swing as har-"
With all my strength, I swing the bat as hard as I could against his head. I ended up knocking the fool out as blood begins to leak from his new wound. Everyone stopped laughing. I was no longer smirking. With a dead expression, I toss the bat to the side.
"If you're going to fight, don't use cowardly moves like this."
"..."
"..."
"..."
I sigh before facing my friends with a big smile.
"I feel so much better~. Who knew this was a good stress reliefer."
They all just stare at me.
"What?"
"That could've been a professional hit." Mitsuya speaks.
"Oh? Did I never mention I'd played baseball when I was little, little?"
"No." they all answered.
"Hehehe. My bad. Well, doesn't matter. He deserved that. I got revenge for you, Draken!"
"Ha... I didn't ask you to do that." he smiles.
"You little b*tch!"
Once back at Mitsuya's side, I face the enemy once more.
"Don't get mad at me. I was just in a pissy mood could your a*shole friend hit mine. It's as simple as that."
"You think we'll let you get away with that, princess?!"
"You'll be the first we beat the sh*t out of!"
"F*cking witch!"
I tilt my head.
"Mitsuya...they're all yours."
"Gosh, thanks. I needed them more riled up."
"Sorry. That rush I just had fainted real quick."
"Hiding now?!"
"You wanna fight, right?! Then fight us, f*cker!"
"Who just hits someone with a bat and walks away?!"
"Me." I grin. "...B-But, I'm not a fighter! Promise."
"Could've fooled me."
I huff in Mitsuya's direction.
"I'm not~."
"...Who cares if you are dating Toman's leader. We'll make sure you pay."
F*ck... Maybe that little stunt wasn't a good idea.
"...!"
The sound of a motor snaps me out of my thoughts.