3rd pov
"Guys, wait!!" A voice said causing both of them to stop running towards Taiju.
"Huh?" Chifuyu let out a noise of confusion.
"Mitsuya-kun!!" Takemichi said.
"I'm all right." Mitsuya said as blood dripped down his forehead. Yes, Mitsuya is still okay, but he still sways from the impact of the pipe.
"So cool it, will ya?" Mitsuya said as he tried to stood up and walked wobbly. "Taka-chan?! Don't overdo it!" Hakkai shouted as Mitsuya then sat on the floor beside a chair where Yuzuha is laying unconscious.
"Takemitchy, Chifuyu." Mitsuya called out to them. "Calm down and listen carefully."
"The situation looks hopeless. Taiju's a total beast, and the other two're probably insanely strong. Compared to them... Chifuyu, you're beat up. And I can't move, to be honest. Takemitchy, you're the only one of us still in fighting shape. But if we lose here... something worse will happen to Yuzuha. She might even get killed." Mitsuya explained.
Takemichi tells Mitsuya not to worry, as Mikey and the others will come to help, so all they have to do is stall for time until they arrive. Mitsuya asks if Takemichi called Mikey, which confuses him, as Takemichi thought Mitsuya called Mikey.
Mitsuya responds that he came alone to help Hakkai, an issue unrelated to Toman. He says the three of them alone will have to protect Yuzuha.
Overwhelmed, Takemichi falls to his knees, thinking that they're dead. He believes that there is no possibility that they can win against the Black Dragons, and they will be killed as he had hoped that Toman would come to their aid when Mitsuya arrived, but alas that didn't happen.
If only Allon is here right now, then maybe that hope wouldn't slip. But then again, he ain't here now because of personal reasons. Too bad that he's not gonna know this, he thought.
"Get up, Takemitchy! I'm kinda disappointed too." Chifuyu told him. "But with the way things are now, we've got no choice but to handle this ourselves!!"
"There's no way in hell we can handle this! I'm the only one who's not beat up!" Takemichi said wth tears being visible on his eyes. "Are you sayin' I have to take those three alone?"
"Takemitchy. I'm not tryin' to put all this on your shoulders. If you and Chifuyu can keep those other two outta the way... then I'll take care of Taiju!" Mitsuya said with determination, shocking Takemichi and Chifuyu.
"You're way too messed up to do that, Mitsuya-kun!!" Chifuyu told him. "Yeah. I've got no chance by myself. Mind helping me out? Hakkai!" Mitsuya said as Hakkai tense up from the mention of his name.
"You're a Black Dragon member right now. You don't have to help us fight... But Yuzuha... Hakkai, lend me a hand. So we can save Yuzuha!" Mitsuya said.
"I... I..." Hakkai was hesitating.
"I know Taiju's scary as hell. And I know you haven't been able to fight back! But... you still managed... to protect Yuzuha all this time!" Mitsuya said while Hakkai was sweating.
"Don't worry! I know you have what it takes to beat Taiju!" Mitsuya said standing up.
"Taka-chan... that's not..."
"You will, right?!" Mitsuya said before Takemichi starts screaming all of a sudden.
"SORRY FOR WHINING TOO MUCH! THAT WAS REAL PATHETIC OF ME!" he screamed, motivating himself in the process.
"Let's do this, Takemichi." Chifuyu said. "You're pretty beat up." Takemichi responded.
"I'll take birthmark boy. Takemitchy, you take the black-haired one." Chifuyu said, while Koko was internally glad that they are finally ready.
"The black-haired guy's the one who sold us the info about Taiju. If Taiju's at a disadvantage, he's probably the type to back off." Chifuyu explained to Takemichi.
"Yeah, I figured that too." he responded.
"We just have to hold out until Mitsuya-kun and Hakkai beat Taiju. Can ya do it?!"
"Yeah!!"
"LET'S GO!!" both of them shouted as they charged toward the two commanders, with Chifuyu facing Inui and Takemichi facing Koko.
"It's bean a while... since we teamed up!" Mitsuya said referring to Hakkai.
"Hm? Hakkai? Don't tell me... you're actually trying to stand against me?!" Taiju said as he glared at Hakkai which Hakkai trembled at.
Mitsuya patted Hakkai's back. "Hakkai! We've got this. You're stronger than Taiju!!" he said as Hakkai walk towards his brother, ready to fight.
...
Say, what happened with Team A?
Outside of the church stood numerous members of Black Dragons protecting the main entrance, preventing anyone from entering and fighting anyone who dare defy them. They were all just delinquents who follows the orders of their boss with admiration, like dogs following their master.
Near them are Team A themselves hiding in a few bushes; Mukuro with Mondo, Himiko with Tenko, and Yukimaru with South.
"Woah, that's a lot of degenerates out there!" Tenko whispered in a surprised tone to Himiko.
"Nyeh." said Himiko softly.
"Himiko, can you use magic to lift them up?"
"But Tenko, wouldn't people freak out over it?"
"Well, do we have any other idea?"
"Not sure. We can confront them, but we need to distract them first." said Mukuro on a walking talkie, as each of the members has a walking talkie for communication.
This is 2005, not 2019. Okay?
"Anyways, how is it going on, Mondo?" Mukuro said as she bends down to hide more efficiently.
"I'm literally near you, Mukuro. Doing good so far, but my height may give away our spot."
"Hey, at least you're shorter than me, Corn Guy." South groaned. "I'm struggling to fit inside the bush, even though it's longer on the sides."
"Corn guy?"
"Your hair reminds me of one."
"Mother-"
"At least the shortie can fit in it very well. The blondie's height helps it out." South said, before looking to see that Yukimaru does a middle finger on him. He responded by doing the exact same thing.
"Can we just focus now? Does anyone have an idea?" Mondo asked the group.
"...Maybe I can go." South suggested, as he's the closest to Taiju as his housemate.
"I know the boss of the Black Dragons, so he'd probably told them about me before." Sotuh explained on the walkie-talkie. "I can distract them by striking a conversation before you guys attack them."
"Sure! It's been a while since I have the chance to fight." said Yukimaru, clenching his fists. "Yeah bro, this is getting me excited!" said Mondo, feeling more excited than ever.
"Are you sure that this idea can work though?" Mukuro asked the others. "Well, its not like we have better options." Himiko sighed. "If any case, we can tell Mikan to come here to treat any injuries."
"Right, Himiko." said Tenko. "Let's hope your idea can work, degenrate male."
"Why does she call me that, magic girl?"
"It's a mage!" Himiko corrected South. "And as for that, this is just her. Defensive around boys, but becomes friendlier around girls."
"Oh. Tá bom." South said, as he comes out of the bush and hides behind a tree. "Tá bom?" asked Mukuro.
"It means okay in Brazillian, soldier girl." South whispered to his walkie-talkie.
"I know that. I'm just surprised that you know how to speak Brazillian, that's all."
"A Japanese immigrant growing up in Brazil, it does come handy back where I grow up." he explained, reminding him of the times of his youth in Brazil.
As he slowly got out of the tree, he then slowly approaches the church, marching toward the members. This didn't go unnoticed by the members, as expected.
"You there! Who's there?" one member shouted toward South, while the tall guy is just casually walking towards them.
"Ola, nice winter here am I right?" South speaks, acting like a nice and clueless person which is so out of character for him. "I'm here to visit the church today. Can you guys move out of the way?"
"What is this bitch saying?" whispered one of the members to the other. "I don't know."
"Um...Sir, you're not allowed to enter this church." another member said, in a deep voice and with black hair. "Not now anyway."
"And why is that?" asked South.
"Well... Let's just say that the boss is busy praying inside the church right now." he explained. "And we are in charge of guarding this place until the boss finishes his prayers."
"Boss, huh? What is this boss's name?"
"Taiju Shiba."
"Taiju Shiba. Oh, I know that guy. He's a friend of mine."
"A friend or a partner of his?"
"My amigo. And also his housemate."
"Wha-"
"I lived with him at his house. He told me about the Black Dragons, for your information."
"Wait, that means... you're the guest that our boss said to treat with respect?"
'Guest? Why didn't Taiju tell me about this?' South wondered, remembering that Taiju only told him about the Black Dragons, not this guest stuff.
"You can say that?" he said being confused. The member then bowed to him, apologizing for acting harshly towards the boss's guest.
"Don't worry, I won't bite ya. At least, not today." he smirked, scaring the other members with his glare.
"Anyways, shall I go inside?" South asked as he tries to walk through the members but to no avail.
"Seriously, even after I'm your boss's guest!?" groaned South. "Listen, you can visit the boss after he's done with his prayers."
"Really? Then can you explain why is it taking him so long to finish his prayers?" exclaimed South, getting more frustrated by the minute.
"How tf do you think I know, huh?" the member said before another member talk to the tall guy. "Don't question the boss's decisions!"
South then looks down for a bit before he glares at the members, more menacing than before with a huge smirk. He had it, they're seriously pissing him off.
As such, he decided to punch the member that talk to him the most, knocking him out unconscious.
"HEY, MOTHERFUCKER!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the members shouted.
"You bastards are pissing me the fuck off!" he exclaimed before calling out the others. "Team, come out right now!!"
All of a sudden, someone was screaming for help which catches the delinquents' attention. One of their members is floating in the air, which shocked the other members hard.
And then a fight breaks out, with a whole lot of chaos coming with it.
Meanwhile, Benkei and Senju manage to find the van that Mikan resides in. bringing along the Mitsuya sisters for help.
"Hello? This is Senju here!" she called while knocking on the van door. "Can you let us in?"
The car window went down to reveal a surprise Mikan. "Allon's friend, w-what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Takeomi." he reminded her. "So there are two kids that we just found and we wonder if we can bring them inside the van. Is that okay for you?"
"Random kids?"
"No, Mikan. Two kids that we found around the church that Allon recognizes. And frankly, they also recognize him as well." Benkei told her.
"Isn't that considered kidnapping?" she asked them. "Wait, where are the-"
"Ohayo, Miss! We're here to wait for nii-chan!" Luna said while holding her shy sister's hand.
Mikan then smiled after seeing the kids, the sight of which brings her a smile.
"Can we just come in, please?" Senju asked but Mikan didn't hear her words. Instead, she stares at the kids with awe, as she's used to taking care of little children. She likes to talk to children, as she feels more comfortable with their company.
"Mikan? Hello, can you hear us?" asked Benkei.
"O-Oh, sorry guys!" she apologized, before opening the van's door. "Come in!"
As the two adults and two kids enter the van, Takeomi asks Mikan where did Shinichiro go, but she told them that Shin has left the van to do something that Allon wants him to. Both Luna and Mana got along with the nurse, giving her the nickname of Mikan-san.
She really likes that nickname, better than the nickname that Hiyoko calls her.
Suddenly, a sound of someone requesting Mikan for help came from a walkie-talkie near the girl, revealing to be Mukuro needing help.
"Mikan-san, who is that person on the walkie-talkie?" Luna asked Mikan.
"Um.."
"Mikan, did I just hear some children coming from you?" Mukuro asked. "What's going on?"
"Hello, Mukuro." Senju smiled, taking the walkie-talkie from Mikan to speak to her.
"Senju, aren't you suppose to be with Allon right now?"
"Well, that was the original plan until two kids came in the picture, resulting in Benkei and I having to go back to Mikan." the white-haired girl explained.
"Okay, listen up. I need some backup for Team A. We have started attacking the members of the Black Dragons at the church's entrance, but we need all the help we can get." Mukuro explained, with Takeomi and Senju agreeing to help.
"But what about me?" Mikan asked. "What do I do?"
"You can prepare for the first-aid kit, expect injuries to happen." Mukuro replied. "And also take care of the two kids."
"O-Oh okay. Please be careful!" she told her.
"Gotta go now. Hurry up!" she finished before the walkie-talkie ends. Mikan then proceeds to drive as fast as she could, with safety in mind. Since the van is near the church, they would arrive there within a few minutes regardless.
As Benkei opens the door of the van, he and Senju to see a chaotic fight happening, as Mikan start preparing the medical supplies.
South kicks a member's face, Yukimaru tackles another one easily due to his height, Mondo is throwing punches toward the members, Mukuro uses her soldier training to good use, Tenko uses her aikido training to knock out the so-call degenerates, and Himiko uses her magic to confuse the remaining members.
Despite this, they will be easily overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the members, had Benkei and Senju not arrived. And so the two of them immediately help out the team, while Senju told Mikan to take care of Luna and Mana.
While Mana is easily taken care of due to sleeping from exhaustion, it's the opposite for Luna. So when she saw a glimpse of the fight, she asks Mikan why they are fighting. Mikan then explains that they have to do something, while she's getting ready the medical supplies.
"At least my sister's asleep." Luna thought before helping Mikan out, being the only available. Still, she wonders why do the others have to fight in the first place. After all, isn't fighting a bad thing?
...
Does that mean her nii-chan is in danger?
With Chifuyu already worn from his fight with Hanma and Takemichi's limited fighting skills, they struggle to hold back Inupi and Koko. Takemichi says that he cannot hold on to Koko for much longer, while Koko notes that they are stalling for time until Mitsuya and Hakkai defeat Taiju.
As Mitsuya rushes towards Taiju, Taiju begins laughing. Turning around, Mitsuya sees that Hakkai has not moved. Trembling out of fear, Hakkai apologizes to Mitsuya for his lack of resolve.
Taiju asks what Mitsuya was expecting from a person like Hakkai, then punches him. Just then, Takemichi is kneed by Kokonoi, and Chifuyu collapses on the floor withInupi remarking that he wanted to fight Chifuyu when he was in better shape.
Grabbing his knife and rushing towards Taiju, Hakkai tries to gain the resolve to kill Taiju. ButTakemichi puts himself between Hakkai and Taiju instead, still coughing and panting from the impact of Kokonoi's attack.
"Outta my way, Takemichi!" Hakkai shouted atTakemichi, who then grabbed the sharp part of the knife causing Hakkai to be surprised.
"Don't you get it, Hakkai...?" Takemichi told him. "If you go through with this... you'll become an irredeemable bastard! This isn't how you fight back."
"This is how you do it." Takemichi said facing Taiju.
"Huh? Still haven't learned your lesson, you little shit?" Taiju said glaring at Takemichi as Takemichi just stared at him furiously.
"I 'haven't learned my lesson?' That's my only redeeming quality!" he responded with a smirk.
Taiju easily counters Takemichi's attacks with punches to his face. By the time Taiju asks how many times he has to punch Takemichi until he gives up, Takemichi's face is swollen and bloodied, but he refuses to lose.
"Why... why won't you give up? You're too weak for this!" Hakkai exclaimed with a worried face. "You've done enough! Please, just stop already!!" he shouted.
"That's enough... Takemitchy. You did your best. We lost this one." Chifuyu weep, seeing the wounded face of his friend.
Takemichi grasps the necklace Hina gave him, asking for courage. He concludes that as long as a brother like Taiju and as long as Black Dragons exist, Hakkai won't be able to stand for himself.
So...
"Taiju. I'm gonna defeat you and take control of the Black Dragons!!" Takemichi bluntly said, causing an irk mark to appear on Taiju's face as Hakkai and Chifuyu's eyes widened.
In response, Taiju punches him once more, but Takemichi declares that he is not done yet. Hakkai screams for Takemichi to stop.
As the fight continues, Takemichi thinks back to his life before the time leap, about how he had nothing, how he had no friends to open up to, and nobody to love. He was all alone.
"You're wrong, Hakkai. You're the one who won't change." he told Hakkai after he stands back up from his tumbling.
'I'm gonna change the future. I first swore to do that when Akkun died.' he thought. 'On those dirty alleyway steps, I felt like I had to shoulder the entire burden alone.'
'I felt so anxious, afraid and helpless...'
'But little by little, bit by bit, they all accepted me.' he thought, as he gain the friendship of numerous people through his actions in the past.
Amidst these thoughts, Chifuyu implores Takemichi to stop fighting Taiju, telling him that he will die if he continues. Takemichi believes that the future may not necessarily change if he continues fighting, but if there is a small chance of that happening, he will continue to risk his life.
Just then, he and Taiju simultaneously punch each other in the face, causing Takemichi to be thrown backwards from the impact of the punch.
"Tsk! Didn't even hurt-" he said before suddenly falling on his knees, much to his shock.
As Takemichi unsteadily gets up, Hakkai begs him to stop. With a beaten and bloody face, he tells Hakkai that fighting on is not painful, what hurts more than anything is loneliness.
Takemichi tells Hakkai that he can talk to him about anything since they are friends. Just that sentence alone caused Hakkai to cry, causing him to bend down on his knees in tears.
"Takemitchy... Please help me." Hakkai asked him.
"Leave it to me, Hakkai." Takemichi smiled as he pats his friend's head.
Meanwhile, the others were hooked that Takemichi made Taiju take a knee. Starting with Koko and Inupi being genuinely surprised, Yuzuha wakes up to react in shock as well, Mitsuya says that Toman's captains are badass, and Chifuyu is impressed with his partner.
All of a sudden, a sound of a piano can be heard across the church, catching the others' attention. They saw a girl with blonde hair playing the piano, while another girl with blue hair standing beside the girl, looking like she was about to say something.
'Who are these two girls? What are they doing here?' Mitsuya thought as he didn't see them until now this entire time. Now that he thinks about it, how long have they been here this entire time?
'Hope that your idea works, Allon.' Sayaka thought, giving a sign of approval to Kaede before starting to sing.
"I~ don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need~" Sayaka sings with a mesmerizing voice. "I don't care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree~"
"Is that-"
"Yes, Inupi. This chick is singing that one Mariah Carey song that people like on Christmas."
"What's the song name again, Koko?"
"All I Want for Christmas is You."
"Oh." Inupi said as he choose to focus on the performance. In fact, every one of them is focusing on the singer, minus Taiju who is still on his knees.
"You~" she finishes before Kaede starts playing the piano in a fast tempo. As she does, somebody claps their hands as a sign of praise, catching the other's attention.
"Wow, Kaede. As expected of the pianist herself. Also, good singing voice Sayaka." the guy said, revealing his minty hair to be Allon himself. Besides him are Wakasa and Takeomi, walking towards the others.
"Who are these three?"
"More guests? Aren't the Black Dragons guarding the entrance by now?"
"Wait... Hakkai, I recognise one of them!"
"Hold on... Is that..."
"Looks like I'm late to the party. Sorry for my late arrival Takemichi and Chifuyu, but I'm grateful that you punch that Taiju bastard himself." Allon said as he claps his hand.
...
"Allon... Looks like you have finally arrived..." Takemichi said.
Author-kun here.
Finally, a new chapter has been finished, and that is while I'm desperately catching up with my homework!! Or, and reality too!
Other than that, hope that you enjoy this chapter, despite becoming lazy towards the end.
Till then, see you in the next chapter!
-Author-kun
𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕:
"Judas"
Song by Lady Gaga
Lyric Video by Taj Tracks