Authors Notes: so this chapter anime-wise is nothing but the Draken back story and bonding between two mom characters, EI Draken and Meiko... and the next part two unlikely characters. This gotta do more with tone though, so enjoy as once the next part is done and edited we shall get Yayoi's Character Bio dropped for well, reasons.
July 20th, 2005 Takemichi
Exiting the hospital, the trio of Mikey, Meiko, and Draken seemingly were unaware of one Takemichi following them close behind as he hid behind one of the building entrance's many pillars. Standing there for a bit, Meiko rubbed her arms a bit with a slight hiss. 'Definitely gonna bruise.'
"You okay?" Mikey asked, frowning looking directly at the girl's covered arms as she nodded to him. His cheeks slightly colored from even just this, as the girl's words from within the hospital still muddled his mind.
"Yeah. It's nothing, really."
Draken frowned at this and gave the girl a slight bow, "Sorry Ei, that's my fault. I should have stepped in when the guy grabbed ya. I didn't think he'd hold you that tight."
Mikey glared at his friend at this, "Yeah, well if you'd just let me–"
"Hey, hey!" Meiko cut in, waving her hands as she stood between the two, "That's enough. I wasn't expecting it either so it's fine." She gave Mikey a particularly stern look as if to imply to drop his glare. "Besides the man was grieving and obviously distressed, I'm sure even he didn't realize just how tight he was holding onto me."
"Still..." Mikey tried to grumble as the girl sighed.
"Look if anything, Kenny here," she gestured to Draken who blinked a few times, surprised at the sudden new nickname that had now been thrown at him in english. "Can just make it up to me if you really feel like it's such a big deal. You don't mind helping me run some errands, right?" She looked to Draken and he nodded realizing this was her attempt to help pacify Mikey.
"Yeah, I got nothing better to do today so I'm good." Draken nodded, just as from down the road Mitsuya drove towards them on his motorcycle.
"Ah, he's here." Meiko waved as the teen pulled up, "Hey, Mitsu-kun." Mitsuya nodded at her in greeting as Mikey moved to get on the bike.
"Hey, Ei. Didn't know you were hanging out with these guys."
"Yeah... You can blame Mikey for that." Meiko shrugged, as Mikey pouted in her direction.
"You weren't complaining earlier."
"And I still ain't." Meiko shot back, flicking the boy in the forehead, "So stop pouting you, big baby."
"I'm not a baby!"
"Can you get Pah-chin to come tomorrow?" Draken asked Mitsuya, deciding to ignore the playful banter between Meiko and Mikey.
"Yeah. I'll have Peh go, too." Mitsuya agreed as Meiko looked between the two boys.
"Intervention?" She casually asked as Draken nodded.
"You can say that."
"Does the warehouse near Second MS work for you?" Mitsuya asked as Draken thought it over with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah."
Nodding Mitsuya gave Meiko a quiet farewell nod, before pushing on the gas so that he could drive forward a bit and U-turning to drive back in the direction he had originally come from with Mikey. Said blonde waving to Meiko and Draken with a "See ya."
As Meiko waved back with her own, "Bye-bye."
Silently watching the scene, Takemichi quickly hid behind the pillar he hid behind when Draken took a second to glare back towards the pillar he hid behind. Seeing where the teen glared at Meiko herself frowned, already knowing what the teen was looking for. "Ne, Draken." She watched as the teen's gaze snapped back towards her, "Should we go?" She pointed to leave, and the male frowned unsure if she realized they were being followed. As she turned to start to walk away though the blonde shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pocket and deciding to simply follow along.
"Yeah... About these errands you wanna do–"
Watching the teen's walk away, Takemichi slowly exited his hiding spot to watch as his sister and Draken left. His mind a mess of information and puzzle pieces as he stared after the pair, specifically Draken who seemed attentive and active in his and Meiko's conversation as they walked.
'There's no way Mikey and Draken would ever fight each other.' He silently thought staring after them. 'Draken dies on August 3rd. I need to find out everything I can about Moebius by then!' He determinedly thought, a plan already in his mind as he ran in the other direction to the teens. 'I need to time leap! I need to go see the young Naoto.'
July 20th, 2005 Draken
"Is this all?" Draken asked as he and Meiko wandered around the grocery store.
"Hmm..." She nodded, "There was a sale today, so I wanted to try and benefit from it." She explained, "Is there anything you want?" She asked, pointing towards the snacks and junk food aisle, "I'll get it for ya."
"Alright sweety, remember you can grab one treat from the aisle." A random mother nearby cooed as her young child cheered with joy.
Draken could not help but twitch as he realized a strange parallel occurring with how the mother spoke to her own child, and with how Meiko smiled up at him as she pointed towards the very same aisle the child ran into. "I'm good." He grunted out, "I'm not some baby needing to be coddled with treats just for behaving at a supermarket."
Humming at this Meiko tilted her head, "Okay... But, I was just meaning there seems to be a sale happening on stuff like Dorayaki and shit and I thought I'd help out with your feeding of Mikey."
Draken blushed at this, realizing that indeed there was a sale like that occurring and that if Mikey heard about it or was even still hanging around with them. 'My wallet would be crying.' Draken thought pale as Meiko giggled by his side.
"Well if that isn't a mood, I don't know what is." She laughed, as Draken sent her a small glare.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Winking at him, Meiko teasingly said, "The look on your face, it literally screamed. Damn! He'll bitch at me if I don't get this, my wallets gonna cry."
Draken stared at her for a bit before chuckling under his breath, "Alright. You got me there."
"Thought so." Meiko laughed, walking into the aisle. "Michi's the same way if I don't get him chips when I go shopping. Speaking of which, I think I just saw his favorites on sale. Better grab those too. By the way, what flavor do you like?" He stared at the girl for a bit before looking at the options, grabbing at one of the flavors before tossing it into the basket he carried for her.
"I don't mind these."
"Oh~ Black pepper, nice. You and Yai share a similar taste I see."
Paying for the purchase, Meiko split some of the Dorayaki and chips between her own bags and one for Draken. "Here you go, I'll take half the Dorayaki for myself and you can have some of the chips for you. Seem's fair?"
Looking at the bag Draken frowned, "Wasn't this supposed to be me making up for what happened in the hospital. How does buying me chips and Dorayaki for Mikey translate to me making up for that?"
Unwrapping a lollipop she got from the store, Meiko placed the treat in her mouth with a hum of delight, "Matcha Strawberry Smoothie! So good!"
"Oi!" Draken angrily snapped, as Meiko blinked up at him a few times.
"Oh... That... Honestly I don't really care about you making up for what happened. I mostly said that so Mikey wouldn't get mad. It wasn't really your fault that happened after all."
"Yeah but..." Draken frowned as he watched the dark-haired girl continue to walk ahead without much a care in the world. 'What's with this chick?' He silently began to wonder, 'Ever since we met it's always been the same shit.' He thought, 'She doesn't look it, especially with how she is sometimes. But she's strangely aware of others and their emotions... scratch that.' His eyes narrowed, 'She's oddly aware of Mikey and his emotions.' He noted, before smirking slightly. 'Well most times.' He recalled the aftermath of Meiko's proclamation.
"I really like these delinquents who have kept their hearts. Especially you Mikey."
"Huh?" The blonde's eyes became wide as he gapped at the girl.
"You definitely seem to struggle, sure..." Her eyes sparkled, and Draken silently watched in awe as a blush seemed to actually form on his friend's cheeks. "But I think you've certainly got a real big heart underneath it all, Sano Manjiro-kun."
He struggled not to snicker at the memory, recalling how Mikey had to look away covering the bottom half of his face. The boy even sent him a panicked look as he seemed to struggle, for once, at a proper come back against the smiling girl. Meiko seemingly unaware of the effect her words had on the boy, as she just gestured for them to leave.
Even Draken himself could not help but feel a sense of pride and joy knowing someone else saw the good Mikey had underneath all the aloof air the guy put out. 'If nothing else... I'm really starting to like having Ei around.' He thought, recalling how Emma and Mikey both seemed to gravitate to the dark-haired girl whenever she was around.
'Especially seeing how much those two seemed to like having her around. Plus it's nice to have someone else help manage those two.' He smiled nodding to himself, recalling how now not only today at the restaurant but even back on the beach, he was not left alone in dealing with Mikey. Meiko actively seemed to take a role in helping keep the boy in line or even giving Draken a break during both occasions where he hadn't had to worry about the blonde either stealing his or other's food, or making a major scene.
"So Draken..." Meiko cut in, drawing the teen out of his thoughts. "I know this might seem late or out of left field, but tell me about yourself."
"Huh...?" Draken stared at Meiko confused. "What for?"
Pouting Meiko looked up at the sky as they walked, "I don't know." She shrugged, "I just thought, hey me and this guy are sorta friends, but like we don't know a lot about each other." She looked towards him, "So why not... You know, share a bit about one another."
Draken hummed at this, "Okay... I guess I get what you're saying. But what would you even want to know?"
At this Meiko hummed to herself, "Hmm, that's a good question... Oh!" She snapped her fingers before pointing to herself. "I got it. How about we share a bit about ourselves! You know like where we were born or, like how we grew up. Oh!" She pointed to the side of her temple where Draken's own tattoo sat. "You could tell me about your tattoo! Oh oh! Or even, how you and Mikey met!" She cheerfully rambled as Draken hummed to himself.
"I guess... So like, in turn, you would share..." He frowned trying to think of anything that he'd want to learn about her, "... How'd you and Yai met?" He asked, "More importantly how'd you two become friends? Cause no offense, outside..." His mind wandered to the bat situation from the night before, and the fireworks from the beach. "This and that... She doesn't seem like the type of person to... uh..."
"The type of person to really make friends with trouble," Meiko smirked amused as Draken smirked back towards her equally amused.
"Hey, your words, not mine."
"Hey, I'm not blind. I know what I am." She shrugged, before nudging the taller boy. "You first Pete's Draken, spill the tea. How'd the hell you get the permission to tatt half your skull and meet Mikey? Cause if we're talking about unlikely friendships, then you two could definitely count for that too."
"Who's Pete?"
"Pete's Dragon."
"...What?"
She gave him a blank stare as though he spoke in some foreign language or somehow insulted her backhandedly, "...Okay, dear sir. You and I are gonna have to have a movie night and correct this."
"Wha–"
"But that can wait! Tell me your story!"
Humming to himself, Draken decided to not question the girl's madness. He wasn't repeating that same mistake again. So instead, he thought it best to just recount his tale. Closing his eyes as the memories of his youth and past slowly washed over him as they walked. "Alright, let's see... I was born in Shibuya's red-light district. No idea who my dad was. My mom was a prostitute. She up and left when I was two. My home is a brothel."
Meiko stared up at the boy heartbroken, "Draken..."
"If you'll sign, please." Draken recalled one of the many times in his youth he had to sign for a delivery of towels.
"Sure." He was young, yes, but the delivery men knew him by then, never giving it a second thought if he were the one to sign for things.
"You're getting taller, Kenny boy." They were so used to him in fact, that he could safely say that even back then they were on friendly terms with him.
"Well, I drink milk every day." He remembered replying without much care as he handed the clipboard back, the man checking the papers over before nodding approvingly.
"Well, see you later."
"Okay." Hearing the elevator doors for the floor open, two of the brothel girls stepping out as they returned home.
"Mornin'." They greeted as they acknowledged the delivery man.
"Hey there." The man in turn greeted, this was the norm for young Draken. This was the norm even now.
"Hey."
The woman noting him smiled at him teasingly, "Get to school already, Ken Boy."
"Need a tug before class?" Her friend teased, as he remembered simply grabbing his book bag without so much as blink of the eye at what she suggested.
"Nope." He simply jogged past them, even as they smiled as he left.
"See you later."
"Yeah."
"That was my fifth-grade experience." He recounted, "I grew up around pink towels and the smell of lube." He noted how silent Meiko was, giving her a quick glance. He was a bit surprised to see that she held no pity in her eyes. Sadness, sympathy, sure. The girl's face was an open book for those emotions, yet as she looked up at him as they walked he also noted something else. Awe, perhaps even respect. "Too dark for ya?" He asked as the girl simply shook her head.
"No..." She simply said before smiling up at him. "Just realizing you gotta be a real tough son of bitch to have grown up that way and still be a respectable young man."
He laughed at this, "Respectable, now that's a word I never thought I'd hear thrown at me."
"Oh come on!" Meiko huffed, "Sure you don't look the part, but like from what I've seen you're a real sensitive and nice guy." Meiko pouted, "I mean even just today, you sympathized with those parents over their pain, and tried to teach Mikey to be more aware of other people's plights."
He couldn't help but scratch the back of his head at that, "...Maybe. I'll admit if there was one good thing about being raised in that place." His mind wandered to the many times the women of the brothel would give him legit advice or even open up to him about their issues. "It definitely made me more aware of people's issues, especially women."
"Why do I get the feeling you've had to buy some of those girls tampons or pads?" Meiko jokingly snickered as he simply snorted.
"Probably cause I have."
"Seriously!"
"Hey, I was five! They tricked me." He snapped as Meiko just laughed at his embarrassment.
"Ahahaha, well... At least it's nice to know when you get a girlfriend you'll be able to do stuff like that for her."
"Seriously..." He growled, as Meiko then snorted.
"Ne, ne. Tell me, did you have to give Mikey a talk when Emma started–"
"DON'T YOU EVEN GO THERE!" He yelled with a red face as Meiko laughed harder.
"Oh god, you did! Didn't you!"
"No!"
"Ahahaha!" She only laughed harder, smacking his back. Draken, unable to do much outside glare at the girl, who found amusement at his own embarrassment. Still, the annoyance he felt was far from unfamiliar or even bad, if nothing else, Draken found comfort in knowing that his supposedly tragic backstory did not change anything between him and the girl he was starting to consider a friend.
"So... You wanted to know bout my tattoo?"
"Oh!" She stopped laughing and smiled up at him curiously. "Yeah! Tell me about that."
"Okay, here's a nice little tidbit. My name of Draken and my tattoo..." He pointed to his temple with a proud smirk, "I got in the fifth grade..."
"Good morning!"
"Good morning, Ken-kun."
"It's not Ken. The name's Draken." He remembers dubbing himself one day in front of all schoolmates when he came in one day. It was that very day, in fact, he would visit the City Light Tattoo parlor to get the dragon tattoo.
"You sure about this, kid?" The owner and artist of the parlor asked when Draken came in with no more than the money and picture for his soon-to-be signature tattoo.
"Hell yeah." He'd confidently said, with his arms crossed as he sat in the chair, ready to get himself inked.
"Temples are pretty painful." The man tried to warn, in hindsight, he should have listened to the man's warning more.
"Just do it already." He'd simply ignorantly and excitedly said, as the man simply got his machine ready with a deadpan expression.
"Don't come crying later." He'd abruptly dropped the chairs back down to have Draken lying down, and placed the work light directly over top of his head and face making Draken wince at the bright light that harshly blinded him. "Let's do this." He tried to keep a straight face though, refusing to play the part of a big baby and cry like the man alluded. So even as the man tilted his head aside and prepared to begin tattooing, Draken thought he could handle it.
He thought wrong.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!!!"
"Quit fussin'. You're a man, ain't ya?"
"Ow!!!!"
He cried like a bitch. He'd never deny that, at least to himself.
"There, all done."
When the tattoo was done, he'd hadn't even realized that the guy had stopped till he spoke and brought up his chair. Looking at himself in the mirror that first time after he got tattooed had been a life-changer. He remembers staring in awe, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at his new ink and the realization that he'd done it. That he'd really gotten himself tattooed on the temple in the fifth grade slowly sank in. He bursted in joy like a kid in a candy shop, "Yo!! This is awesome!" He'd excitedly shouted, having to get closer to the mirror just to try and get a better look at his tattoo.
"Tatted in the fifth grade." The man sighed, "Damn you're gonna be one rotten adult." He joked, and Draken could feel nothing but gratitude to the man for doing what no other parlors would.
"Thanks! I'm gonna go show this shit off!" He moved to leave the shop quickly even as the man called out to advise him on the new marking on Draken's temple.
"It's gonna take a while for the swelling to go down."
"Got it!"
"I still go back to that same shop now and again to get this baby a touch-up." Draken proudly explained.
"Woah~" Meiko gaped, "That's pretty cool." She gushed, "I wish I could get a tattoo."
"Why don't ya?" He curiously asked as Meiko paled.
"Ah... Well..." She rubbed her arm embarrassedly, "I'm... Maybe... Sorta... Kinda... Afraid of needles."
"..." He stared at her a good bit, "Like... Hospital needles."
"Yeah..."
"... Tattoo needles aren't even like those!" He yelled as she only blushed.
"I know!! But my brain can't tell the difference! I hear needles, and freeze up! And besides, I don't know what I'd get! Maybe a butterfly or some shit, but like I don't know where I'd get one and I don't wanna get one alone! They sound painful and I'd wanna hold someone's hand!" She comedically cried and whined to him and Draken could not help but laugh at this.
"Seriously! Man, you are such a cry baby!"
"Shut up! I bet you cried like a bitch when you got yours!"
"I did not!" He lied, but couldn't help but laugh at the face she made at him as she glared up at him with a pout. "Okay, maybe I did a little, but it's really not that bad." He decided to try to pacify the girl, "If you want, I'll help you look into getting one if you're serious about wanting to get one."
She blinked up at him, surprised, "Woah, seriously."
"Yeah." He shrugged, "Mitsuya and me can even go with ya to hold your hand if you really need the comradery."
"Huh?" Meiko tilted her head a bit confused, "Mitsu-kun...? Why him?" Meiko asked as Draken smiled down at her.
"Simple, you can't really see it since the guy let his hair grow out. But he's got the same tattoo as me on his temple too, in fact, he was the one who gave me the design for mine. So maybe he could help you figure out one for yourself."
"Woah!" Meiko exclaimed, "Plot twist!" She nodded to herself though, "Then again I guess, that sorta makes sense if you guys are friends. Plus the guy just drips style." She muttered before pouting, "Uh... But I still would feel super awkward if I was the only one getting a tattoo."
Draken shrugged at this, "I mean... if you're really that worried why not ask Yai."
Meiko shook her head, "No... Yai already gets herself pierced as is, I don't think she'd really vibe for getting a tattoo."
"You could still ask her." Meiko hummed at this.
"I guess... I'll think it over if nothing else." She smiled in the end, as the two now waited at a crosswalk. "So that's a bit about your past, the nickname, your tattoo..." She counted down her fingers as she named off the list of things they planned to share. "So what about Mikey and you..."
Draken smiled nostalgically at that, "Oh that... Funnily enough, fifth grade turned out to be the year of all the big changes for my life."
"Oh..." He nodded and looked to the sky.
"I was taller than most of the middle school kids."
He remembers the days where he would pick fights in playgrounds. Grinning and cracking his knuckles at any punk who dared to pick a fight with him. Charging at them to knock them out with a single mean punch.
"I'm Ryuguji Ken from Fourth Elementary! Call me Draken!" He remembers arrogantly proclaiming when he'd take some guys down. "You better hide when you see this dragon."
"Since I got my tattoo in the fifth grade. Most of the middle school kids didn't mess with me after that. Though even still..."
"Ken. You're gettin' a bit too cocky lately."
"You need to lay off the middle schoolers."
"Don't make us have to kick your ass."
"Sorry."
"The Sameyama Gang dominated this neighborhood back then. They had literally beat the pants off of me before, so I couldn't disobey them."
"No way..." Meiko quietly gapped, "I can't believe that."
"Yeah, well believe it." Draken shrugged, "I was just some snot-nosed punk back then, even if I was tall for my age that didn't mean I was immune to defeat."
Meiko nodded at that, "Fair... But like... What does this have to do with Mikey?"
He smirked at this.
"You know who else is a cocky little shit?" The gang's leader had cockily exhaled his cigarette smoke as if he was some top boss. "The kid from Seventh Elementary."
"Oh, Mikey?"
"The kid who made a name for himself after he beat down Vatican's leader?"
He remembers hearing this had caught his attention, how the leader was unamused by this as he dropped and put out his cigarette before ordering him.
"Ken. Drag Mikey's ass over here."
"No..." Meiko gasped.
Draken grinned proudly at this, "Oh yeah..."
"They fucked up."
"Oh, believe me, they did." He laughed, "Though I hadn't really realized it at the time."
"Oh~ Do tell."
'Who is this kid?' He remembered himself excitedly thinking as he ran to find his soon-to-be best friend. 'Even I don't think I could take down a high schooler, especially a strong one! As soon as I take him over there, he's a goner! Before that happens, I wanna throw hands with Mikey first!' He'd arrogantly thought, finding the first kid around his age he could at the time in hopes to find Mikey. "Hey! You're from seventh Elementary, aren't ya?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"I'm looking for Mikey. Know where he is?"
"I just saw Mikey-kun." The kid admitted, looking in the direction he came from before shouting out with a wave as he saw the boy. "Mikey-kun!"
He'd gotten so nervous then, for all his hype and all his arrogance as soon as he knew he was gonna meet Mikey, Draken remembered his younger self almost freezing up. His gaze turning towards the direction the kid waved to, to see the very aloof young Mikey standing down the path without a care in the world.
"Hm? What?"
'That's not what I imagined at all!' The shock that followed, would be hilarious in hindsight later on. Yet at that time, all he could do was stare at his future friend in complete and utter disbelief. 'I figured he was a stacked beast way bigger than me! This dude's a runt! He's just a kid!' He'd thought as Mikey casually walked over towards him. 'He's comin' over here. Shit! Should I fight him?'
"Hey." Mikey began from around a lollipop he ate. "A bunch of the 48 positions overlap, don't they?" There was a moment of silence between them, the other kid having already ran once he realized he had a chance to escape. The only actual sound between Draken and Mikey then was Mikey's loud sucking and biting of the candy in his mouth as he boredly stared up at him.
"Huh?"
"I keep trying to count them and never get to 40. Thoughts?"
"Wh-what? What even is that?"
"So he was like that even back then." Meiko deadpanned as Draken nodded in agreement.
"The guy really needs to learn to give context."
In the end, he'd just tried to brush the strange boy's words. "Uh... You're Mikey-kun, right?"
"Yeah, I am. So what?"
The confirmation though did little to reassure him at the time, remembering how he almost seemed to stutter when speaking to the blonde. "Some middle schoolers I know wanted me to get you."
"What?" Mikey's eyes had narrowed at this, and Draken remember how that back then had made him nervous. Perhaps even back then subconsciously he knew, there was more behind the small and aloof form of Mikey.
"I mean... I'm not gonna force ya."
"Sure."
"Huh?" It was such a blunt and unhesitating response from the smaller kid, Draken remembers it throwing him off so much.
"You're the one who asked, so sure." Mikey had simply explained, "I'm gonna go set my stuff down at school." And then he turned and left Draken confused and unamused.
By the time Mikey had come back to walk with him to meet the Sameyama Gang members that wanted to confront Mikey. Draken was all but chalking up the smaller kid as a lost cause. 'What a frickin' weirdo. I don't even know how to react. I bet this pipsqueak is gonna get the stuffing kicked outta him instantly.'
"Wow..." Meiko snickered. "So young Draken, was dumb Draken." She laughed as Draken sent her a glare.
"Look, I didn't know better." Draken tried to argue. "How was I supposed to know what was about to occur?"
"Heya." He called out once he'd led Mikey to the parking lot these members liked to hang in. Behind him Mikey had been aloof, refusing to even look in the direction of the older males.
"Yo."
"I brought the kid. This is Mikey—" He stopped mid-sentence as a blur of black and blonde ran past him. Watching as Mikey charged the older males.
"At that moment, Mikey made a beeline for Sameyama..." A grin broke on his face as the memory replayed in his mind, Meiko listening in silent anticipation as the two now stood outside her home, "And jumped."
He watched as Mikey's kick landed directly at Sameyama's face, the older male being knocked clean out with only one kick. He and the rest of Sameyama's crew being left aghast, as Mikey slowly stood back up without so much of a care for what he'd just done.
Simply pulling out the lollipop he ate to better address them all, "So what do some mama's boys who gotta gang up on others want with me?" The look he sent then, had Draken shivering where he stood. A cocksure smirk, and a challenging look in his eyes that warned them all, he would take them down without effort. Sameyama's face was so swollen and bloody, Draken was almost sure Mikey had broken some of the guy's teeth with how much the male had gargled and spit out blood while on the floor. Mikey though, didn't care and Draken himself at the time...
"I'm Mikey-sama from Seventh Elementary."
Was in nothing but aw at this kid who had taken down one of the guys who'd kicked his ass.
'Holy shit!'
The rest of the Sameyama crew ran away, not even trying to grab their downed boss as Mikey walked up to Draken. "You're Draken from Fourth Elementary, right?"
"Huh?" It had surprised him as he hadn't even shared his name with the blonde back then.
"Why's a badass like you hanging out with those pieces of shit?" Mikey had seriously asked, seeming to look straight through Draken's nervous form before smiling up at him. "Let's be friends, Ken-chin! What do you say?"
"And ever since then..."
"You've been the best of friends." Meiko smiled warmly, looking up at Draken who smiled nostalgically at the tale. "Toman's big two."
"Yep."
She giggled softly, "How cute. I can see why you two stuck together for so long now." She hummed moving to unlock her front door.
"Oh yeah...?" Draken hummed in return, following the smaller girl, "And why would that be?" He asked, curious of what his small tale could have even hinted at to the girl.
Taking off her shoes, Meiko stopped to hum to herself, "Well..." She smiled as she turned back to face Draken. "You found a kindred spirit."
Draken blinked a few times in shock. "Yeah..." Slowly he smiled, "I guess we sorta did." Nodding to himself he then asked the girl, "So... What is your's and Yai's tale?"