~ 3rd Division Captain ~
Senju had been over at the Imaushi's place with Naoka before they decided to make their way to Wakasa's gym. Senju had pestered her for hours and eventually she gave in. She had actually been wanting to get some training in too.
The two girls sparred in the ring, and Senju along with Wakasa noticed Naoka was a little more fired up than usual, though she wouldn't elaborate why.
She soon came to regret going though because after her little sparring session, her brother forced her to go for a jog with him.
Senju refused.
While she always wanted more time with Wakasa, she wasn't willing to go for a 'jog' knowing his definition of a jog is closer to a damn sprint even though he's a lazy bugger. So instead, she stayed behind to train with her own brother, Takeomi.
Along the jog, Naoka talked to her brother who had noticed that she seemed extra tense lately.
"There's a lot going on." She told him as they rounded a corner on the smooth footpath.
"Well, are you going to tell me about it or?" He asked, waiting for her to elaborate and she slowed her pace slightly.
"What are your thoughts on the Tokyo Manji Gang?" She asked and he abruptly stopped jogging, turning to give her a confused look.
"They're alright, I guess. How do you know about them?" He asked raising a brow.
"I'm friends with some of them." She said carefully, not sure how he would react, and a small smirk played on his lips.
"Oh? Let me guess, one of these 'friends' is Mikey, Shin's little bro, right?" He asked lighting up a cigarette and her eyes widened as she flinched. Not because he was smoking a cigarette during a jog, but because he hit the nail right on the head.
"How did you know?"
"Well, I know the little guy of course, I remember him being a pretty cool kid. A cocky little shit but-"
The sound of Wakasa's phone ringing interrupted them, and he answered it in a haste after seeing who had called. She could only hear incoherent mumbling before a sigh slipped past her brothers lips.
"Shit, yeah, I did forget." He said resting a hand on his hip and Naoka face palmed. She would bet money that he had forgotten his training time with one of his friends.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll meet you there in 15... yeah okay... later." He hung up the phone and she looked at her brother with raised brows.
"Uh, we gotta go back, I forgot I had training with Benkei." He said scratching the nape of his neck.
'Knew it' she thought.
"Actually, I might just jog home from here, it's not that far, right?" She asked and the lilac eyed boy shrugged.
"Alright, but be careful, it's going to get dark soon. I don't want you out here by yourself so go straight home. Don't stop for anything. Give me a call if you run into any trouble-"
"Yeah, yeah, mother. You don't need to lecture me, I know." She waved him off as she carried on her jog and Wakasa chuckled to himself. His baby sister really wasn't so baby anymore.
'God she really did grow up quick.'
Naoka ended up jogging past the Musashi Shrine where she saw a line of bikes and she cocked a brow.
'I know those bikes.'
A familiar blonde with dark eyes like the night sky spotted her, a smile brightening his face when he did.
"Red!" He called out to her, waving as he did and she slowed her jog, removing her earphones from her ears. "Come hang with us!" He invited her. She wasn't sure why, but soon realised there was a Toman meeting.
"Are you really sure that it's okay for me to be here?" She asked carefully and Mikey nodded, the two falling into step together. Draken and Mitsuya appeared next to her and she greeted them with a smile.
She remembered what Baji had said, about keeping an eye on things for him if she could, so she wasn't about to waste her chance.
When they entered, she went around the side and stood near Mitsuya as to not be seen with Mikey. She didn't want people staring at her, even though he had asked for her to enter with him.
She could hear some of the boys murmuring in excitement about a 'hot chick' being here, but she just ignored it even though it annoyed her. However, the boys stopped whispering when Mitsuya announced to them that she was in fact a guest of the commanders.
That shut them right up.
The silver haired boy filled her in on what was going on, yet from the loud chattering she already knew.
'This is what Baji was talking about. Will Kisaki really be appointed captain?'
"Do you know who it is?" Naoka asked as she leant over to whisper in Mitsuyas ear, but he just shook his head.
"No, but whoever it is, I just hope-"
"Third division captain! Step forward!" Mikey's voice rang out which caused everyone to quieten down, including Mitsuya.
Naoka's eyes scanned over the crowd, until she saw a parting in the middle. Her heart began to race for all the wrong reasons when she saw Kisaki walking through with that stupid look on his face.
She could see Mitsuya flinch beside her and she knew from that, he wasn't happy with the decision.
She looked around to the other captains, gaging their reactions. From them, she could tell they were all thinking the same thing.
Mikey made the wrong move.
Suddenly, the crowd began to argue. It seemed that everyone felt the same way. They wanted him out, but she knew just their words alone wouldn't be enough to sway this decision.
"Shut up! This is Mikey's decision! If any of you got a problem with it then step forward!" Draken's loud voice silenced the crowd as he challenged them to the commander's decision.
Of course, no one would stand up to him. Not only because they felt they couldn't win against him in a fight, but because they respected him, and ultimately his decisions.
Naoka tuned out after that, unable to focus as she felt this pit in her stomach. She knew everything was about to turn to shit.
To her surprise and amusement, she snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Takemichi run at Kisaki and punch him right in the face.
She gasped covering her mouth as she tried to keep herself from spluttering a laugh, though she knew he was going to be in deep shit for this.
'He's the only one who has any guts huh?'
Mitsuya disappeared from her side as he approached the situation. She could hear them arguing when a familiar black haired boy emerged to join in.
"Hey, what's going on here? Looks like I'm missing out on all the fun." His familiar voice called out, and Naoka didn't know what to do. She noticed him send her a look, the kind that told her to stay out of it and she clenched her jaw knowing she had no choice.
She promised to trust him, so trust him she would do.
Suddenly, Baji's fist connected with Takemichi's face, the sickening crunch reaching Naoka's ears and she didn't know if she would be able to watch. He threw blow after blow until Mitsuya stopped him.
The two appeared to be arguing about something until Baji called out to Mikey.
"I just punched this idiot. Since I ruined your precious meeting are ya finally going to kick me out?" He asked and Mikey turned to look at him.
"Baji." The commander said in a warning tone, though it didn't faze Baji one bit.
"I'll join Valhalla. You don't need any troublemakers 'round here, do you Mikey?" He announced, and Naoka could see the shock on everyone's faces, especially Mikey's.
"Baji!" Mikey called again, though this time it was more threatening.
"I quit. From here on out, the first division captain Baji Keisuke, is Tomans enemy." He turned away from everyone before leaving the shrine.
She could see Chifuyu emerge from the crowd as he watched the dark haired boy leave and Naoka felt for him, knowing that the two were close. She half expected him to follow after the dark haired boy but he didn't.
'Don't worry Chifuyu, it'll work out.'
She had to tell herself that Baji had a plan, she had to keep faith in him.
Her lilac eyes found Mikey. He looked emotionless, though she knew it was just a front as he had to look strong in front of everyone.
She wasn't sure whether to follow after Baji or go to Mikey. But then Baji's words rang through her.
"You gotta promise that you'll stay there with him and be there for him, okay?"
She walked over to him, and his shoulders seemed to relax a bit when he saw her. He had noticed her appearing off-settled throughout the meeting, though he wasn't sure if it was because she had come to a meeting for the first time or for something else.
"Are you okay?" She asked knowing that it was a question that everyone hated, but she genuinely wanted to know.
"I'm okay." He said and she gave him a questioning look. "Okay that was a lie, I'm not okay, but there's not really much I can do. If he wants to leave then he's going to leave."
There was a slight shake to his voice that she didn't miss. She felt her insides churn at the sheer sadness he was feeling. She bit her lip thinking of what she could do to help.
"Did you want to go somewhere to talk?" She asked and his face lit up, excited to spend more time together.
"Yeah, I'd love that." He beamed and she smiled back. "Are you okay though? I noticed you looked a little unsettled. Sorry if coming here was weird for you."
"Oh no that's not it, it's just..." She swallowed, her smile fading which caused him to fell concerned. "The guy you appointed third division captain, he-"
"Mikey." A voice sounded beside them, Naoka's eyes widened not ready to be so close to the asshole again so soon.
"What is it?" Mikey asked, not tearing his gaze from Naoka as he could see her visibly worried, and he kind of just wanted Kisaki to piss off so he could find out what was making her feel this way.
"There's something I would like to discuss." He said and Mikey looked to him finally.
"It's going to have to wait. I'm busy right now-"
"Its fine. I uh, have to go. See you later Blondie." The lilac eyed girl muttered quickly as she wanted to escape the situation as quickly as she could.
"Huh? But what about-"
"Another time, I'll catch up with you soon." She cut Mikey off before putting her headphones in and jogging off. 'Shit, Waka's totally going to kill me for staying out late.'
The blonde realised it was pretty dark now and chased after her waving his arm.
"Wait! I should give you a- ride." His arm dropped as he watched her disappear, headphones in her ear meant she couldn't hear him, and he was gutted to have lost an opportunity to hang out with her.
But also, he wanted to know what had upset her.
Instead, she ran to catch up to Baji who had just hopped on his bike, 'I'm surprised he's still here?'
She smirked as he was about to take off then jumped in front of him causing him to get a massive fright and nearly fall off.
"Fuck! Don't do that I almost ran you over!" He said angrily as he clutched his racing heart while she laughed. An irk mark appeared on his face, though he couldn't deny that he loved hearing her laugh. It wasn't something that happened all that often.
"Where are you off to?" She asked and he looked away from her which meant he was hiding something. "Well... are you going to tell me?" She asked but he remained silent.
"Baji?"
"..."
"Keisuke?"
"If I tell you then you're just going to get mad." He said and she rested her hands on her hips already knowing.
"You're going to meet Kazutora again, aren't you?" She asked and his eyes widened before he cursed, realising he had given it away. He forgot her intuition was sharper than a knife. "I'll go with you-"
"Not a chance." He cut her off. "I don't trust you around him."
She clenched her jaw and he laughed seeing her so pissed off.
"Aw I know ya just wanna spend time with me." He ruffled her hair and she shoved him which only made him laugh harder.
"Whatever then, bye."
"Wait..." He sighed reaching for her hand and she stopped turning to him, a genuine look on his face "I'll text you later if that makes you feel better."
She nodded at his offer, and he smiled warmly at her before nodding behind him.
"Get on. It's pretty late, so let me give you a ride home." He offered and she held her heart dramatically as if she was so honoured which made him roll his eyes.
"My, my, you're becoming more of a gentleman each day." She said dramatically and he smirked when she got on behind him. His large hands grabbed her smaller ones as he wrapped them around his torso, dragging them dangerously low.
"Maybe I just want your hands all over my body, princess." He whispered in her ear, and she lightly punched his stomach which made him let go and jolt forward.
"I take it back." She muttered.
"I thought you might."
~*~