When the weekend came over, Ai originally had plans with Nami and Kairi, but when Mikey invited Ai to hang out with him and Draken, Ai's original plans suddenly popped like a bubble. Immediately, both Nami and Kairi pretended that they didn't have anything planned for today and that they could have Ai for all they want before scramming away.
"Me and Ken chin come here to eat! Eat with us, Ai!" Mikey says, softly prolonging the last letter of her name. And of course, who was Ai to deny an invitation from the boy she likes? Mikey didn't needed to ask her twice, because the moment he asks her to eat with them, Ai is already nodding her head.
And as Draken, Mikey and Ai enter Joying Sun (the three of them unaware of Takemichi trailing them from a good distance), sitting almost in the far corner near the window. Mikey pulled Ai to sit in the same booth as him, Draken sitting in front of them. A waiter appears and stood by their table.
"I'll be getting the curry katsu" Draken says, closing the menu pamphlet.
"The fluffy pancakes for me!" Ai says
"Kid's meal!" Mikey announces, happily pointing at his choice.
But even though Mikey chose the kid's meal with a flag, it arrived without one.
"What the heck is this?!" Mikey suddenly shouts. "I'll never forgive this!" He adds
It was the first time Ai saw him sulking over something. But she figured that Mikey must have really wanted a flag sticking on top of his food. She turned to look at Draken for help, immediately, he understood.
"I got the kid's meal because I was excited about the flag!" Mikey huffs, immediately deflating himself on Ai's shoulder.
"There, there, Mikey." Draken says, taking a flag out of his cardigan pocket, sticking it on top of his rice. "Your flag."
"You're so cool, Ken chin!"
As the three of them started to eat, Ai couldn't help but feel a burning look by her side. While chewing onto the fluffy pancake inside her mouth, she turned to look at Mikey who was pouting at her.
"I want to taste it too!" He whines, earning himself from a head shake from Draken.
But Ai found his pouting look to be an adorable sight. Cutting a bite size and leaning it close to his lips, Ai felt a little flustered when he moved closer to her. Looking away, Ai tried to calm her fast beating heart by stuffing her mouth with pancakes.
As soon as Ai finished her food, a gasp escapes her lips when Mikey leaned down to lay on top of her lap, sleep consuming him. She wanted to tap his shoulder, tell him to wake up and that sleeping inside a diner wasn't appropriate. But the way he looked so small while sleeping made her not want to wake him up.
"You're not going to wake him up are you?" Draken asks. Smiling apologetically, Ai shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Draken!" Ai chuckles softly.
"I've had enough of this!" Now it was Draken's turn to shout.
"He should really fix his habit of sleeping right after eating." Draken complains, getting up from his seat before going over to their side. Ai helped by gently lifting Mikey up and hoisting him in Draken's back.
"We'll be heading off somewhere. Are you sure you can go home alone?" Draken asks as he places his arms behind Mikey's knees.
Ai nodded her head. "Of course! I'll be heading home now. See you two again!"
Waving her hand at them, Ai walked out of the store and went to the direction towards home.
But on the way back, Ai couldn't help but feel like she's being watched. Every time she turned around to look behind her, there was nothing and no one in sight. Maybe because she's not used to going home alone? Or maybe her mind's playing tricks on her? Ai shook her head and disregarded the feeling.
But in reality, a man wearing a white uniform was really following her. A camera in hand, snapping pictures of her ever since she entered the diner with them.
. . . . . . . . . . ♡
As much as Mikey wanted to see and hang out with Ai the following day, he was needed somewhere else.
"We visited the girl's family yesterday. Though we lowered our head's and said sorry, they told us to never return." Draken explains. Pah chin couldn't help but grip his hands tighter, anger coursing through him.
What Ken chin told him yesterday was true. They have loved ones to take care, not wanting them to get meddled in their world. For Mikey, his now number priority is Ai. And it would pain him if ever something were to happen to her.
But what he didn't know was that it was happening already.
The sight of Takemichi standing in front of the run down made him lift his head up. "What is it, Takemichi?"
"Why are you here?" Draken asks
"You again?"
"Get lost, shithead!"
Mikey turned his head down to and slightly lifted the sleeve of his black sweater, there rests on his right wrist is Ai's pink hair tie.
"Please stop the fight with Moebius. I can't tell you why and how, but there's someone pulling the strings here." Takemichi says, feeling hopeful that somehow his words will get to Mikey. But Pah grasped and took a hold of Takemichi's hair, shoving him away.
"You really should stop goofing around." Peh urges him. Pah could only glare at Takemichi.
"Leave. One more word from you and I'll kill you."
Mikey looked away and trained his eyes back to Ai's pink hair tie, playing it with his free hand, twirling the small rubber around the pad of his index finger.
"Don't fight Moebius. It's going to be a trap for Toman."
"And why can't we fight Moebius? What bullshit are you spitting?" Pah chin says, throwing punches at Takemichi in the jaw and gut.
"I get it! But-"
"We will fight Moebius." Mikey declares, still playing with the hair tie before lowering his black sleeve, hiding it.
"I don't want Toman to end like this!" Takemichi tearfully says. "Not only will Toman will be done for. But A-"
"Sorry for interrupting your little group implosion." A voice boomed, entering inside the run down. "Moebius this, Moebius that. Could you stop yelling our name multiple times?"
"Osanai!"
"You..!"
"Hey, were two years older than you. Show a little respect to your elders, huh?"
Pah marched forward and attempted to punch Osanai, however, missed and got punched by Osanai instead.
"Babies like you all should be at home, being good little boys." Osanai says, his eyes turning to look around the run down place. "We heard that you guys were planning on attacking us." as if on cue, about fifty men arrived at the place, all wearing white uniforms.
"So we decided to come to you instead!" He maniacally laughs. "Mikey! I bet you'd love to see this!" Osanai says, shoving a hand inside the pocket of his gang uniform and tossing the brown envelope. The contents spilled in front of them and Mikey's eyes widened.
It was the developed photos of him and Ai.
Mikey stood up and walked towards Osanai.
"You will be dead in ten se-" Osanai was unable to finish his sentence as Mikey had already kicked him.
"You really shouldn't get any closer to her." Mikey whispers, "If any of you, get closer or touch Ai, I will kill you."
. . . . . . . . . . ♡
"I heard some delinquents were arrested in my neighborhood. They were inside this abandoned home, when my parents saw it, they forbade me to go out of the house for the rest of the day!" Kairi says before stuffing her mouth with food.
The three of them - Nami, Kairi and Ai sat down and ate lunch together inside their classroom.
"Really? What was it all about?" Nami asks in between chews of food.
"Apparently, one guy got stabbed and the other was arrested. But from what I heard, there were a few others who got away. Including the one who stabbed someone." Kairi confesses. "My parents really hated the part where a few others got away, especially my dad. He wants all of them imprisoned. Saying again how they're no good and causing disturbance yada yada." She shrugs, taking another bite of her food.
Ai could only continue eating as Kairi tells this story. She could only wish and hope that Mikey wasn't part of what happened yesterday.