"You go, I go."
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"Boss! Toman is coming! We gotta go!" A voice echoed throughout the nearly silent warehouse, the only noise being Akira's groveling and sobbing as he stared at one of the people he'd had with him his whole life, dead on the ground.
"KOTA! KO-KOTA GET UP! KOTA PLEASE- PLEASE!" Akira screamed, tears flying everywhere as he tried to move forwards but was held back by the boy behind him, his two dogs sitting next to him. He felt Kota's blood begin to dry on his face, it splattering from the bullet going through his head.
"Stop- or he'll kill you too." The boy warned into his ear before yanking him back.
"Ichiro, we should leave. We don't need to fight Toman just yet," the boy spoke from behind Akira, Ichiro didn't respond, instead, he stared down at the person he'd just killed, his red eyes being widened in seeming shock.
"Ichi!" The boy spoke up, catching Ichiro's attention. The captain nodded, letting the gun slip from his grip, clattering to the ground.
"You know... when I first met you guys, every time you'd talk he'd stare at you with more love than I've seen anyone show for another person," Kisaki mumbled, a sick smirk on his face.
"I'll see you around, lover boy." Kisaki snickered, palming the crying boy's head as he walked past, exiting the warehouse from the opposite end.
Akira stared at the dead boy in front of him, barely being able to breathe. There were a few moments of silence before a voice spoke out.
"Akira... Akira look at me." Asahi spoke, making his way over to his best friend who was still kneeling in front of Kota.
"Hey- look at me, don't look at him, just-" Asahi mumbled reaching out and grasping onto Akira's face, turning it towards himself. Akira's tears began to run over Asahi's knuckles.
"Just look at me, Aki." Asahi sincerely mumbled, staring into his best friends blue eyes, Akira lightly nodded,
"This is my fault, Asahi, all of it." Akira breathlessly whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to stop the tears from falling from his eyes.
"No, it's not. It's theirs, and we'll make them pay, I promise you, and I promise Kota, We'll make them regret this." Ashai mumbled, pulling Akira's face into his shoulder, hugging his best friend as tight as he could, worried that he'd disappear from right next to him, just as Kota did. Akira opened his eyes, staring forwards at the dead boy in front of him. Seeing the small smile that remained on Kota's face was finally the breaking point for Akira Baji.
All of the frustration, all of the pain he'd still held in from his brother's death, his chance of getting his old best friend back ripped from his grasp by someone he'd loved years ago, it all came undone. He took a deep breath as Asahi tightened his grip on him, knowing what was coming.
"KOTAAAAAA!" Akira heart-wrenchingly screamed, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt his throat burn with the volume of the scream. It was the most pained, broken scream his best friend had ever heard, it being insanely loud as it was right next to his ear, yet Asahi didn't complain. He just kept his eyes squeezed shut, trying to keep the tears from falling down his face.
"AKIRA?! ASAHI?!" A familiar voice screamed from the entrance of the warehouse, The first division rushing into the building. Neither of the two responded, Akira just took deep breathes as Asahi held him tightly.
"Oh thank god! We thought you'd be hurt! Akira! You're bleeding, are you okay?!" Takemichi asked, kneeling next to the two boys, not getting a response as Creed ran past him, Chifuyu joining his side.
"Guys?! Why aren't you talking? Was it Kisaki-" Takemichi asked staring at the two with confusion,
"Takemitchy, shut up." Creed sighed from beside the group, kneeling next to the corpse of the former Toman member.
"Wha- why?" Takemichi asked, looking over to Creed who patted his hand on Kota's hair. The two had only met a few times, but he'd seen Kota re-enter the circle of trust of his two captains. He'd watched as they began to hang out more and more, laughing together, living together. Asahi patted Akira's back, sighing as he knew he'd need to be the one who commanded their division during this.
"Fuyu, Get Akira out of here, take him to Mikey's. I'll join up with them tonight, I'm gonna get Kota out of here." Asahi mumbled, It was clear to Asahi that Akira blamed himself, Kisaki designed it that way. No matter who died, Akira would blame himself for their death. Akira's eyes widened as he stumbled forwards onto his hands and knees, making his way over to Kota, crawling through the pool of his blood.
Akira stared down at him, tears streaming down his face as he let his hand shakily reach out, stopping just before he reached the pink hair. He didn't want to touch him, what if it hurt him even more. Asahi reached out, lightly grasping Akira's wrist and guiding it down to Kota's head. Akira felt Kota's soft pink hair make contact with his hand, Asahi laying his hand over Akira's. The black-haired boy stifled a sob as he felt warm tears pour out of his face faster.
"I-I for-give yo-u, Kota... I'll s-settle your sc-ore." Akira sobbed out, remembering what Kota used to say to him when the two would spar different people at the gym. He shut his eyes before he felt a hand on his back, the boy looking up and finding a worried-looking Chifuyu.
"Let's get you home, captain," Chifuyu mumbled, Akira slightly nodding before looking down to Akira, placing a small kiss into the boy's hair before touching him one last time, saying his goodbye to Kota.
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The two boys stood in front of the Sano home. The ride over there had been silent, Chifuyu hadn't said a word to Akira, simply not knowing what to say. The blonde knocked on the door, glancing at Akira who's eyes were still wet, his tear stains being the only parts of his face that didn't have dried blood or dirt on it.
"Hello?" A feminine voice asked out, opening the door to the home. Chifuyu looked up to Emma who smiled down at her friend before her gaze shifted over to the bloody, bruised, dirty boy standing next to him.
"Akira? What happened?" Emma asked, worry lacing her words as she took a step forwards, reaching out to wipe some of the blood from his face, yet the first division captain of toman, the feared Demon of Toman flinched away from the touch. Chifuyu's eyes widened at the site, Akira beginning to tremble as he stared to the ground.
"Mikey- where's Mikey?!" Chifuyu asked, looking up to Emma who thought for a second before telling him that he said he'd be down by the river, waiting for Akira for their date. Chifuyu nodded, grasping the keys in his hand tightly.
"Can you take him up to Mikey's room?! I'm going to go get him!" Chifuyu asked causing the Sano girl to nod, opening the door wider, letting Akira slowly walk in, not saying a word to either of them, trudging up to Mikey's room.
Mikey sat on the ledge of the bank, looking down to the river with his fish cookie in hand, perplexed by the interaction he'd just had. He felt the ground begin to rumble as the roar of a familiar-sounding bike approached him, the blonde smiling as he realized that it was Akira's bike.
He looked over his shoulder, finding the book racing towards him. Mikey's smile dropped when he saw it was Chifuyu driving it, looking around frantically for his commander's face. He finally found it, pulling the bike over right next to him and turning it off.
"Chifuyu? Why're you on Akira's bike?! Did he let you borrow it? I can't believe-" Mikey frowned, folding his arms over his chest before Chifuyu did something rare, he interrupted him.
"Mikey! Something terrible happened! Akira's at your house, he's in bad shape!" Chifuyu panted causing Mikey's eyes to widen, the boy not wasting a second before hopping onto his bike, driving off without a word.
The boy felt his knuckles begin to turn white as he gripped the handlebars of his motorcycle, zipping through lights and going in between the cars on the road, many of them honking at him.
It only took him seven minutes to get home, just barely turning the bike off before rushing into the house, stress and worry rushing through his mind as he busted through the door.
"Aki?! Where are you?" Mikey shouted through the house, Emma popping her head out from the kitchen.
"He's in your room," Emma spoke softly, rubbing her forearm as she looked to her brother. Mikey nodded, going to walk towards the room before she called out to him,
"Mikey-" Emma started causing her brother to stop again, looking over his shoulder at the girl with furrowed eyebrows.
"Be careful with him, he's hurt," Emma mumbled, remembering the look of unadulterated brokenness on his face when she tried to comfort him. Mikey sighed, nodding before walking into his room, his hand lingering on the doorknob as he opened the door, finding his boyfriend staring at the ground while sitting on the bed.
He wore a jacket over a t-shirt with some dirty jeans, he didn't look up at the boy who had just come into his room. Mikey shrugged his jacket off, taking a few steps towards the boy and standing in front of him. He stared down at him, his eyes flying over the skin he could see, he was covered in dried blood, dust, dirt, and bruises as he sat on the bed. Mikey noticed that the boys whole body was slightly shaking,
Without a word, Akira leaned forwards, letting his forehead lean against Mikey's chest, staring downwards as the silent room was filled with muffled cries of pain. Mikey ran his hand through his boyfriend's hair as he felt his body jerk with each quiet sob Akira let out.
"Shh, it's okay, It's okay, I gotcha," Mikey mumbled, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he tried to figure out what could've happened to get his boyfriend in such a broken state. The two stayed like that for a few minutes, Mikey whispering things to the broken boy while Akira cried out to him.
"Okay, let's get you cleaned up, baby," Mikey mumbled, going to walk into his bathroom before Akira reached out and grasped onto his fingers, turning the boy around. Mikey sadly smiled at him, letting his thumb run over Akira's scarred knuckles.
"Don't worry, I'm just going to go get a washcloth and some water, I'll be right back promise," Mikey mumbled walking into his bathroom and getting some things to clean his boyfriend up. He returned to his boyfriend who hadn't moved, placing down the things on the ground. He reached over, carefully pulling the boy's jacket off of his body.
"Okay, arms up," Mikey mumbled, Akira slowly picking his arms up, allowing his boyfriend to pull his shirt from him, revealing the bruised body that remained after the fight with Ichiro. Mikey slightly sighed at the sight of the bruises scattered across his chest and abdomen. Mikey walked behind him, getting onto the bed behind him with the warm, wet, washcloth and began to run it across the dirt that was on his arms. It took a few seconds before Akira spoke for the first time since being there.
"T-They killed him." Akira shakily spoke, his voice extremely raspy from the screaming that he'd done earlier. He took a breath after talking, almost as if he couldn't believe what he'd just said himself. Mikey's eyes widened at the words, his movement stopping as he waited for him to continue.
"He put a gun to my head and made me choose between Kota and Asahi... I-I couldn't do it, Mikey. I couldn't protect them." Akira spoke, his eyes beginning to well with tears as the gunshot echoed throughout his mind again. Mikey felt his heart sink at the words, trying to think of who would go after his boyfriend and his friends so viciously.
"Kota said he'd take the blame from me, and he volunteered... He shot him right in front of me." Akira whispered, taking a deep breath to try to stop himself from breaking out in tears once more. Mikey moved more to Akira's side, his body facing the opposite direction. He let his hand make its way towards Akira's face, lightly positioning it to look at Mikey.
Mikey finally looked into his boyfriend's eyes, brushing his hair from his face. Something had changed in the boy's eyes, the light was a bit dimmer in them. Mikey lightly tilted his head at him before taking a breath.
"Oh, baby..." Mikey whispered as he noticed the boy's bottom lip trembling, his eyes beginning to well up in tears once again. Akira didn't respond, instead, he just stared into the only place where he felt safe, Mikey's eyes.
"I don't- I don't wanna lose you," Akira whispered, tears finally beginning to stream down his face at the thought of losing Mikey too. Mikey let his thumb caress the boy's dirty face.
"I'm not going anywhere, Akira. Wherever you go, I go. No matter what." Mikey whispered back, Akira closing his eyes as he leaned into Mikey's touch.
"I'm so in love with you, Akira," Mikey mumbled, the two of them finding comfort in each other. It was at that moment that Akira realized just how deeply he loved Mikey.
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Akira and Asahi stood in the small room, Akira having bandaids scattered along his face while Asahi chewed the piece of gum in his mouth. Neither of them were looking forwards to doing what they were about to do, but they needed to. A loud buzz got their attention the metal door sliding open with two people walking into the room.
Neither of them spoke a word as they watched the confused two-toned boy be uncuffed by the sorrowful-looking warden.
"Akira? Asahi? What're you two doing here?" Kazutora asked, rubbing his wrists as he folded his arms over his chest, remembering the last time he'd seen the both of them. He looked to Akira, noticing the small features that reminded him of his best friend, along with the new features, including a scar over his upper lip.
"You've been seeing Kota, right?" Asahi asked, looking to the boy who looked to him. Kazutora narrowed his eyes at the boy, slightly tilting his head.
"Yeah- I guess, why?" Kazutora asked, slightly shaking his hand in nervousness. Asahi looked to Akira who was biting the inside of his cheek, nodding to his co-captain.
"Listen- there's no easy way to say this. Yesterday, there was an attack from a new gang, they hit Me, Akira... and Kota." Asahi spoke, almost getting choked upon his words.
"They trapped us in a warehouse, said that they'd do a one on one fight, Akira against their captain, Akira won, but he took a gun to him. Then- he uh..." Asahi spoke, sniffling as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his best to stay calm.
"Don't," Kazutora whispered, his face staring at the boy. Asahi sighed, looking to the ground, as he saw Kazutora putting the pieces together.
"He said he'd see you in the snow," Akira spoke up for the first time in the meeting causing Kazutora's gaze to shift to the boy.
"I talked to his dad, he and Kota had been planning on trying to get you out on a working discharge. He's gonna take you up to Hokkaido, from that, it's up to you." Akira simply spoke, clenching his jaw as he shook his head. Kazutora took a breath before lightly chuckling.
"Of course he was, inpatient asshole," Kazutora muttered, rubbing his thumb and middle finger together while he remembered the boy's smile.
"He uh, he held your earring, in the end." Asahi mumbled, causing Kazutora to smile, his bottom lip trembling as he tried to keep his pain inside until the two left.
"Kazutora, just uh- just so you know, I forgave him, for everything. I forgive you as well, all I ask is that you go live a life that he'd be proud of." Akira mumbled, running his hand through his hair. Kazutora nodded, tears finally slipping down his face. Akira couldn't think of anything else to say, he couldn't comfort the boy, he was just as broken. So he did the only thing he could think of, he took a few steps forwards and pulled the boy into a hug. Kazutora hesitated for a few seconds before he wrapped his arms around the boy, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Don't worry, they'll pay... I'm going to make them all pay." Akira mumbled coldly, his eyes staring forwards with fury. The two hugged for a few more seconds before saying their goodbyes, Akira writing down his phone number for Kazutora just in case he needed anything, Asahi doing the same.
The two best friends now stood outside of the prison, staring out to the park across the street as cherry blossom peddles began to fall.
"What now?" Asahi asked, folding his arms over his chest as he chewed the gum.
"We're going to kill them all," Akira muttered, his nose twitching with determination at his new goal of slaughtering all those responsible for his friend's death.
"We need to do some things first, get more guys, strong guys, some weapons, and regroup. Then-" Asahi spoke, looking to Akira who had fury on his face.
"Then we'll kill them all." Asahi promised.