This story happened before the main events of Tokyo Revengers. GIF not mine. Credits to the owner.
Warning: Cussing.
SOMEWHERE IN YOKOHAMA, JAPAN. JULY, 2004.
One year later...
"Morning sucks."
13-year-old Hanagaki Akari yawned quite loudly and slumped her school bag over her shoulder as she groggily left the apartment complex she was living. She wasn't really an A-person so waking up at six in the morning for school was a total pain in the butt. And fixing her bed hair with a hairbrush and a quick iron on her wrinkled school uniform wasn't doing any justice either.
"Akari-chan, good morning!" her newfound friend and also her classmate for a few months, Miyazawa Nanami, greeted her with a bright smile as the girl waited for her alongside the pavement. They always walked together to school since their houses were only a few blocks away from each other. She was nice and Akari reminded her of her best friend back in elementary days at her hometown in Shibuya before she got transferred to Yokohama when she started middle school.
Akari smiled back. "Good morning to you too, Nana-chan."
"It looks like it's going to rain soon," Nanami stated as she looked up at the sky.
Akari followed her gaze and saw dark thick clouds forming across the blue sky, almost covering the sun. "You're right. Let's get going," she said and they both quickened their pace.
"By the way, have you decided to join any school clubs?" Nanami asked her as soon as they reached the school gates along with the other students at the same time. Some stole a glance at the two girls chatting their way towards the school building, most specifically on the short raven-haired girl wearing an adorable blue headband, and blushed. All of them had thought the exact same thing: she was cute.
Akari shook her head. She never thought about it and wasn't really that much interested. "Have you?"
"Yeah. I planned to join the music club," she answered shyly, twirling a few strands of her long brown hair with her index finger. Cute.
"Well, you have a very beautiful voice. Joining them will be just a breeze for you," Akari then encouraged her. "You should go for it, Nana-chan."
Nanami blushed a little, embarrassed. The girl gave her a closed-eyed smile. "Thanks, Akari-chan."
Once they set foot on the school entryway, Akari replaced her outdoor shoes with her indoor ones and placed them inside her shoe locker.
Nanami also did the same. "Why don't you also join the music club too? It will be more fun especially with you there."
She shook her head once more. "I think I'll pass. My voice sounded like a squeaky door hinge every time I tried to sing. So no, I'm not qualified for that."
Her friend giggled. "You're so funny, Akari-chan."
The class started at exactly 8:30 am. Akari tried to listen intently to their Math teacher, Arai-sensei, who was discussing numbers and algebraic expressions, jotting down all the formulas on her notes while not letting herself fall asleep. She might be a diligent student but she had a hard time keeping her eyes wide open. She kept on yawning each time their teacher turned his back on them. It was her fault she was this sleepy anyway. She just binge-watched an entire season of her favorite TV show that she slept really late last night, completely forgotten she had classes the following day.
Oh, how she hated Mondays.
She nearly jumped out of her seat when her phone suddenly vibrated inside her pocket. Who in the right mind would text her in the middle of her class? She took a glance at their teacher who was still busy with his lecture before taking out her phone carefully and flipping it open just to see his number on the screen. She scoffed and rolled her eyeballs. She just answered her own question. Of course. There was only one person in whole wide Japan who had the balls to disturb her concentration during class hours.
Conceited King: Where are you? You busy?
She typed on her keypad.
Me: Duh. I'm in school.
Conceited King: Ditch your class. I'll pick you up.
Me: What? No! You crazy? My aunt will kill me.
Conceited King: Alright. After school. We're going somewhere.
Me: Where?
Conceited King: You'll know later.
Me: Taiyaki? 🥺
Conceited King: No. Go buy yourself.
Me: Meanieee! 😡 Hmph! Then I'm not coming. No taiyaki, no Akari.
Akari could imagine him rolling his orchid irises already because of her childish antics while clicking his tongue. Yet, she knew better he can't actually resist her.
Conceited King: Fine. I'll buy you one.
See? She sneered. Victory!
Me: Make it five.
Conceited King: No. I can only buy you two.
Me: Four.
Conceited King: Three. That's the last. Or do you want me to go to your school right now and drag your ass out? I mean it.
Her smile quickly melted into a grimace. That would be the very last thing she wanted him to do. She knew he will surely do it. He was that type of person. Ugh. There goes her karma. This jerk.
Me: Don't you dare! Geez. Fine. Three. I'll see you after school.
Conceited King: K. I'll meet you at the gates. Don't make me wait.
"HANAGAKI-SAN!"
Akari was startled and nearly dropped her flip phone to the floor as she heard her teacher's angry voice calling her attention. She frantically hid the gadget back in her pocket and quickly shot up from her seat, almost hitting her knee under her desk. "Y-yes, sir!" she blurted out.
Arai-sensei was glaring at her through his huge eyeglasses. "What on earth are you doing back there? I already called your name three times!"
Akari lowered her head in shame and was fiddling her fingers. "I-I'm sorry, sensei."
Some of her classmates snickered at her behind their opened textbooks. All the while, Nanami quietly glanced at her with a worried expression.
Their teacher just shook his clean-shaven head. "Nevermind. Just go to the board and solve this equation," he stated and pointed his ruler at the only mathematical problem written on the blackboard.
Akari stared at the board for a moment then sweatdropped, knowing how freaking dead she was.
Shit.
What's the damn formula again?
And before she knew it, she was kicked out of the classroom; standing across the hallway carrying a water-filled bucket as punishment for not paying attention to class.
THE NEXT FEW hours went like a blur until the last afternoon class ended with a bell alarm. After saying goodbye to their teacher, everyone in class sprang up from their seats and was ready to leave. All the while, Akari remained in her chair and didn't bother to move. She just lazily stretched her aching arms to the air and released a huge yawn at the same time. Finally, classes were so damn over! God, she badly wanted to go home right now and sleep on her comfy bed. But unfortunately, she still had somewhere else to go. Great.
"Are you going to the club now?" she asked Nanami as they walked out of their classroom together. Some of their classmates were still inside and were on cleaning duty for today.
Nanami nodded. "Today's the audition for those who wanted to join the club," she simply answered.
"I see. Then good luck! I know you could do it!"
Nanami smiled cheerfully. "Thank you, Akari-chan! See you tomorrow." She waved at her and ran in the opposite direction of the hallway.
Akari only silently waved back at her friend and strode her way out of the school building, only to be met with a lot of gossiping students gathering around outside. The girls were squealing and blushing profusely.
"Who's that guy?"
"Don't you think he's hot?"
"Who is he waiting for?"
"Does he have a girlfriend here?"
"That girl sure is super lucky!"
And so on and so forth.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What the heck's going on?
Amidst the commotion, she just shrugged and dragged her feet towards the school gates where they were supposed to meet without a care of who these people were talking about and minding her own business. Her light blue eyes were searching for his figure but can't find him anywhere except for some random biker guy with his helmet on, leaning against a CBR400F motorcycle.
Where on earth is he?
Akari fished out her phone and was about to call his contact number when she heard a covered male voice.
"C'mon. Let's go."
She raised her head from the phone screen and saw the same biker guy from earlier standing right in front of her. She noticed all eyes were on her most especially the girls like she was some sort of an important celebrity and wanted to know every single juicy detail of her personal life. She was now even more confused. Why were they looking at her like that?
"Are you deaf or what? I said let's go."
Eh?
Akari had her attention back to this mysterious stranger and arched an eyebrow at him. "Uh, who...?"
The biker guy cursed under his breath and lifted his visor. She was met with a pair of familiar purple orbs. "It's Izana, you idiot."
Oh... Wait, what? ...huh?
Akari eyed his whole being briefly from head to toe then back to his face and blinked a few times. He looked quite different from his usual get-up. He always wore his gang uniform every time they met. She wasn't used to seeing him in his casual wear of black bomber jacket with a plain white shirt inside and sweatpants. Her jaw dropped. "How the heck should I know it's you?!?" she exclaimed. He was wearing a damn helmet for crying out loud! The last time she checked, he didn't own one.
Izana just rolled his eyeballs on her and snorted. "Now you know, dumbass. Whatever. Here. Wear this." He simply shove a spare helmet over her head without bothering to ask her permission and fastened the strap together. He then seized her wrist with his hand and pulled her to his motorcycle, ignoring all the curious spectators around them.
"So that's why it looks so familiar," Akari mumbled as she was staring at his bike.
"What the hell are you still dozing off for? Hop your stupid ass here already," Izana told her impatiently and started the engine with a loud roar coming from the two-wheeled vehicle.
Akari pouted and scowled. She almost forgot how rude this annoying jerk was. Nevertheless, she carefully mounted on his bike and sat behind him in a side-saddle position. She tucked her knee-length skirt under her legs and wrapped her arms around his waist. She remembered the first time she rode on his bike, she nearly fell off because she was just gripping his shoulders lightly while he drove off so freaking fast. And being an asshole he was, he only laughed at her and even called her stupid. But despite that, he still taught her how to hold onto him properly and securely while riding with him. "Where's Kaku-san?" she asked suddenly, referring to his so-called 'servant', Kakucho, who always stuck to him like glue.
"Busy," was the only word that came out of his mouth.
"Oh." She was kind of disappointed. Well, she liked Kakucho and his personality. He was way nicer and a true gentleman. Actually, he was the polar opposite of this guy. "My taiyaki?"
"Later," he said. They drove away from the school premises and sped up as they entered the roadway. "I'll give it to you when we get there."
She smiled excitedly behind her helmet and tightened her hold around his torso. "Okay!"
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