Authors Note: Honestly I'm surprised with how short the chapter Is. Really its such a short chapter when you compare it to some of my others... and yet... this feels too perfect of a place to set the end of this chapter on. Enjoy~
August 3rd, 2005 Toman Vs Moebius
Within the crowd of brawling gang members, Meiko quickly ducked and side-stepped around the many, many brawling teens. Yelping, and squeaking every now and again as she barely avoided a stray punch, or kick, or even a random teen who'd been thrown back or knocked out.
'This is insane!' She mentally screamed looking around the crowd as she continued to try and avoid getting hit. 'I can't see Michi or Draken anywhere in here! How am I supposed to help Michi if I can't even find either of those tw–'
"Hey, look out!"
Quickly turning around at the panicked yell, Meiko looked back to a Moebius figure falling back towards her. Clicking her tongue, she twisted and kicked the unconscious male away into another Moebius member. Shocking an angrily appearing blue afro'd teen who seemed to have been the one trying to warn her, and a long bleach blonde haired male whose face was partially covered by face mask who'd just had his opponent knocked out by her accidental intervention.
"W...woah." The afro teen muttered in awe and shock, as the masked wearing teen narrowed his eyes in Meiko's direction. "Who are..."
"A friend!" Meiko quickly cut the teen off, jumping back as a random Toman member fell, and quickly dispatching the Moebius member that had done so when she noticed his attention tried to shift to her with a grunt. "I'm looking for Draken, and an idiot about yay big!" She held her hand up to try and show what she meant. "Probably been thrown around a bit, wearing a– Goldielocks behind ya!" She warned, the long-haired teen quickly turning around quickly disarmed a Moebius member trying to hit him with a pipe before hitting the member with their confiscated weapon. "Oh, thank goodness– ANGRY BLUE LOOK ALIVE! ON YOUR LEFT!" She then barked, the afro teen barely jumping out of the way from a charging Moebius member as he crashed into another member that had been sent flying towards them. "Uh! Never mind!" Meiko yelled in frustration, "I'm distracting you two too much, I'll find those idiots on my own. Good luck with kicking these bastard's asses."
"Wait–" The blonde had tried to call out, choking on air as he watched the girl not only run further into the chaotic brawl but also easily take down a few Moebius members that tried to stop her progress as she went along. 'Just who was that...?' He wondered, as his fellow Toman member looked at him in slight concern.
"U-um... Should we be worried about a girl being in the middle of all this?"
Ignoring the blue-haired teen, the masked teen simply returned to the fight at hand. 'If that dumb girl gets hurt, it's none of my concern. Just what the hell was that girl doing here to begin with...'
"Draken-kun!" Takemichi struggled to look or move around properly in the middle of this all-out brawl as he searched for the much taller teen. "Draken-kun! Woah!" He yelled as he found himself being bumped into from behind and sent down on his hands and knees. Looking back a bit fearfully, Takemichi almost sighed in relief at the familiar sight of a Toman uniformed member until the teen angrily scoffed at him.
"The hell're you just standin around for?!"
"Y-yeah! Sorry about that–" He'd begun to apologize until a shadow fell over him, quickly looking back Takemichi panicked as he noted another gang member being sent flying towards him. Scrambling to his feet as he tried to get away only to trip over a fallen Moebius member straight into a large puddle.
Grunting in pain, he struggled to get back up to his hands and knees as he stared into the murky water in frustration and anger. 'Damn it! This was all for nothing!' He thought, shaking. 'By the end of this battle... Draken-kun is still probably gonna be killed by Kiyomasa-kun.' He stared into his own reflection, 'But I gotta try! I've gotta protect Draken-kun in this version of the past.' He thought, recalling Akkun's final tearful smile in the future before he jumped. 'I want to save Akkun!' The accident that led to Hina and his sister's death, 'I want to save Hina!' The memory of his sister believing his claim of the future and her grave flashed through his mind as tears welled up at the memory of all the deaths, 'And I want to save Mei-nee!' Gritting his teeth, Takemichi forced himself back on his feet with his hands clenched tight. 'I'm going to stop Kiyomasa-kun, and...' Wiped away his tears, and refocused his resolve and his gaze ahead. 'I'll change the future!'
Meiko was becoming frustrated as she continued to be stopped and stalled by any and all Moebius members who caught sight of her and were not preoccupied. "Get out of my way asshats!!" Hand springing forward, Meiko kicked one delinquent in the face, before twisting herself so that she could sweep the legs out from a few others that tried to charge at her. "Don't you got something better to do than pick on some small–" She swiftly kicked another male away, "cute–" An uppercut towards another, "Kickass Bitch who is so done with all this bullshit!" She yelled, charging forward before she performed a flying kick into a much taller male as she flew past Chifuyu as the boy was getting up after beating up a Moebius member.
"Huh? Ei?!" He gapped, "What are you–" Only to be cut off by Meiko as she smiled at the boy.
"Chifuyu, hey! Long time no see. Have you– Hold on." Meiko quickly cut the boy off as the teen blinked at the girl a few times, jaw-dropping when he saw her elbow one guy behind her without looking before throwing the teen over her shoulder and punching the guy in the face to knock him out. "Okay. Have you seen Draken?" Meiko asked as Chifuyu stared at the girl in awe.
"Uh... Um..." Pointing off towards a direction he almost seemed to stutter, "I think I saw him round there... But like that was awhile ba– HEY WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Chifuyu yelled out in concern only to continue to gap as Meiko easily held her own while running through the all-out brawlers while shouting back.
"I'm grabbing princess Emma's dumb dragon and a Crybaby Hero!"
"H-huh?!" Chifuyu gap, "What the hell does that even– Woah!" He jumped as a few guys tried to grab at him. "Damn it...!" He shouted. "Wait!"
Giving his target one final punch, Smiley looked up at Chifuyu's shout as he noticed Meiko run by, "Hmm...? Who's..." He watched as the girl almost seemed to flutter through the fighting crowd, almost completely unnoticed save for a few Moebius stragglers that the girl quickly and efficiently immobilized or knocked out. "That girl?"
Mucho also caught sight of a quick flash of the bright kimono and a makeshift ribbon from the corner of his eye as he slammed a few Moebius members flying off his person. "Hmm?"
'He said around this direction right?' Meiko thought, trying to keep her breathing steady as she looked around. '... Come on, come on!' Meiko frustratedly thought, "Just where the hell are they...." She gritted her teeth, "Michi... Draken...." She shook as she continued to see neither of the two boys, "Just where the hell are you two?!"
"Peh!!" Mikey's yell of frustration caught the girl's ears as it almost felt like the whole world went silent around the area, looking back towards the direction it came from in shock Meiko hesitantly stepped back towards the direction she was almost sure Mikey was.
'Mikey...' She stopped and shook her head quickly, 'No... Don't get distracted, Meiko.' She thought, turning away, 'For his and everyone else's sake... You have to help Michi by finding Draken!' She continued forward, 'Now!'
Mikey cleared himself a path almost directly towards Peh-yan, his eyes trained solely on the once unmoving boy as Peh stood, still stuck within a group of Moebius members who were meant to keep the teen isolated and separate from his original peers. The dirty blonde-haired teen staring in stunned awe right back at his old commander as he muttered, "Mikey..."
"Hey, it's their leader."
"Perfect! Let's get 'im!"
"'Invincible Mikey', my ass!"
"You ain't shit!!"
Three of the Moebius members surrounding Peh-yan shouted, and taunted as they charged at the Toman Commander. Mikey narrowed his eyes in pure annoyance, as he quickly dispatched the three with two quick punches and a kick. "Peh! Why'd you attack Ken-chin?!" He yelled, hardly acknowledging the Moebius members as he focused solely on the other teen.
"You bastard!" Another Moebius member charged at him and Mikey broke the man's nose as he knocked him out without so much as a blink as he simply walked forward.
"You knew that Ken-chin and I had worked things out." He continued to shout towards the boy, knocking out another two Moebius members without so much as a flinch as they once more tried to charge at him. "You even brought Moebius into this... You got Ei-chan and Emma brought into this!" He continued to yell in frustration towards the other teen as he continued to take out any Moebius member that got too close to or attacked him. "Since when are you..." Another man down as he watched Peh become slowly more and more frustrated and angry as he spoke to him. "Such a damn coward!" He growled and knocked yet again another gang member out, nothing as far as Mikey was concerned would stop him from getting to Peh and doing what he should have from the start as he stared down Peh's furious glare as he continued to walk towards him.
"I don't give a rat's ass if you two made up! That shit's got nothing to do with Pah!"
"We're done arguing over Pah!" Mikey tried to keep his tone even as he finally finished clearing the distance between him and Peh.
"The hell we are!" Peh yelled directly in Mikey's face, voice cracking in both anger and pain ever so slightly that if Mikey had not been paying as close enough attention as he was, he may have very well missed it, and all the other subtle details occurring with Peh. From the strained anger in pain within his glare, his rapid breathing as if he were almost being suffocated from all the rage and pain, the clenching of his fist which shook ever so slightly by his side.
"Peh-yan is a friend and a member of Toman who needs you. He's obviously been hurting," Meiko's soft words to Mikey right before he left the festival for Peh rang through his ears.
"How do you figure we're done with it..." Peh spat, "When Pah got caught... and we didn't do a damn thing about it! Huh! That's bullshit!!" Peh cracked, "How am I supposed to be done–?!" He threw a fist and hit Mikey directly in the face. "Don't you get it!" He continued to throw hits at the other boy without issue, "Pah-chin was everything to me!" Mikey remained silent at this, hollowly staring off at the ground as he accepted Peh's pain and frustration with each hit and yell; and recalled his own pain and frustrations back during his and Draken's fight.
'I see...'
"If Toman's gonna abandon Pah-chin," Peh-yan's voice cracked as he shook in place. "Then what choice do I have then to be your enemy!" He yelled, "Come at me, Mikey!"
"No," Meiko's words once again replayed in his mind, "As his and Pah's friend. You should go to him and see what's going on." She said, "Maybe... Share with Peh how you feel."
"Share how I feel?" Mikey muttered, staring into the girl's bright blue eyes.
"Yeah," Meiko nodded. "If he really is as upset as you said... Maybe if you open up to him about your own pain and conflict on the situation, you can help Peh understand why you changed your mind on the issue."
"WHY THE HELL WON'T YOU FIGHT BACK?!" Peh voiced crack yet again with anger, "You could end me with one blow!" He yelled, freezing in shock as Mikey both gently but firmly grabbed him by the back of his neck and brought their foreheads close together as he hollowly stared into Peh's eyes with the rawest form of emotion he could.
"Look at me, Peh." Mikey whispered. "Am I smiling? Have I ever smiled... about Pah-chin getting caught?" He asked as he hoped to get across his true feelings on everything. "It hurts, man." He admitted causing Peh-yans eyes to widen in shock. "Takemitchy said it'd be sad if Toman broke apart because Ken-chin and I fought." He recounted to Peh, "I never thought that'd end up with all of us fighting. I think Ei-chan was right. She said... I should share what I was feeling with ya and everyone... because we are friends... you... me... Pah-chin... everyone." He continued to stare into Peh's shaken gaze as openly as he could. "Hit me until you're satisfied, Peh-yan."
Peh gasped in shock, "Mikey..."
"I don't want to fight with my own family." He confessed, "So let's just call it even... Let's start all over again..." Mikey requested, "Come back to us... Peh-yan." Silence fell between the two teens, as the rain continued to fall on them and chill them to their bones. The dam within Peh-yan finally broke and the teen's eyes welled up with tears as he stifled sobs and cries. Mikey silently watched the boy as he shook and cried before him, as he silently stood as the other teen's pillar, listening to his pain and regret.
"I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry."
August 3rd, 2005 Meiko
BAAAM
Breathing heavily, Meiko watched as another Moebius member fell slowly, dropping her leg down from the high kick position she'd used to finish the older teen off. "Damn... it..." She gasped out, "I'm losing... steam... again!" She tried to even her breathing. 'All this running around... All this non-stop fighting... I'm not used to this!' She thought, 'My endurance can only go so far, my reaction speed's even starting to drop.' She winced grabbing onto the slowly forming bruise on her side, 'This guy was even lucky enough to get a good hit.' Walking around the down, or groaning bodies of Moebius and Toman members alike, Meiko tried to keep her guard up as she continued to search for Draken and Takemichi.
"Draken-kun!"
She sighed, barely hearing her brother's continued calls for Draken over the raging brawl around them. "Well at least I know he's okay... But I still can't get a clear read on where he is!" She huffed, looking around again. "And neither of us have found Draken yet... The hell, how is it this hard to find one tall ass– Draken!!" Meiko's heart soared as she finally caught sight of the dragon tattooed teen. Sighing in relief she began to make her way towards him, "Draken! Hey!! Draken!!!"
Knocking a guy out with just his fist, Draken slowly turned to look towards the familiar sound of Meiko's voice to see the Hanagaki girl stepping over and around Toman members. While happily stepping, and even jumping onto the fallen Moebius ones as she made her way towards him. Blinking as his vision still struggled to remain focused, he stared at the now completely shirtless girl in shock and confusion. 'Ei...? What the hell is she still doing here?'
'Oh thank god! I finally found him!!' Meiko thought, 'And he's none too worse for wear!' She smiled to herself, 'That means we still have a chance...' She continued to think, 'We can still save Draken!' Sighing once more in relief she set her gaze into a hard glare as she barely avoided another gang member falling, even as she powered towards the taller boy. "Ryuguji Ken!!"
Draken winced holding onto his still throbbing head, "Shit! She actually sounds like a pissed-off mom." He muttered as he turned to face the smaller girl. "She used my whole ass name and everything." He snorted, moaning as he shut his eyes tight when his vision started to swim again. "Ugh... Crap... This headache really ain't playing..."
"You dumbass!" Meiko yelled over the fighting gang members, "Who the actual fuck! In their right mind! Goes into an all-out brawl! With a GOD. DAMN. HEAD INJURY!" She snapped, "You must have a serious death wish!!" She continued to yell, "Do you have... Any idea! Just how worried you've–"
Finally feeling the pain in his head settle for the time, and opening his eyes, Draken looked back up to annoyedly snap back at the approaching Meiko only for his dark eyes to widen and fear grip his heart as the glint of steel and a figure behind the girl caught his full attention. "EI!!" He yelled, Meiko head snapping up as she saw his panicked expression, tripping over her own two tired feet from the sudden shock and...
SLASH
"Ah..." She gasped in pain, eyes wide, pupils dilated in shock, as a hot searing pain slowly spread across her unprotected back as she continued to fall forward.
Blood flew through the air, as Draken watched in horror as Meiko barely avoided a more fatal strike and hit the cold wet parking lot floor on her face and stomach.
THUD
Barely even able to catch herself as she shook on the cold hard floor of the battlefield Toman and Moebius had created. Meiko trembled in shock, as the pain from the slash wound across her back had yet to fully register through her mind. 'Wha... What just...?'
"Tch, you damn woman!" Meiko yelped as she felt a large foot slam into her now bleeding back. "The hell did you dodge for!"
"KIYOMASA!!" Draken furiously roared, glaring murderously at the ex-Toman member, dressed in their gang's uniform, sneering down at a now badly injured Meiko, with a bloody blade in his hand, and his foot harshly dug into her back as the girl cried out in shock and pain.
Within the brawling sea of teens, Takemichi's head snapped up in fear, barely catching Draken's rage-filled yell. 'Draken-kun! Wait... Did he just say–'
Pulling back from the crying Peh-yan, Mikey's eyes frantically looked around the still raging and fighting gangs. "Ken-chin...?" Tension rose throughout his body, he gave a subtle squeeze to the boy's shoulder before diving back into the fray to search for his friend as his stomach twisted into knots. 'Something's not right!'
Outside of the battling gangs, Emma felt her stomach twist up in knots as she barely heard Draken's yell. "Draken..."
Yayoi anxiously gripped onto the younger teen's hand, Reina's own anxious touch tightly resting upon her daughter's shoulders as the two girls and woman stared into the sea of fighting gang members with unrest in their heart. "Please... Please be okay..." Yayoi whispered.
"Why did you dodge?!" Kiyomasa snapped, stomping down on Meiko's back, the girl biting her bottom lip as she tried to hold in her screams in pain. "You damn bitch! Die! Die!!"
'It hurts...' Meiko cried, biting so hard on her lip it bled again. 'It hurts so much!! I just want to scream and cry!!' She struggled to try and push herself up as Kiyomasa relentlessly continued to stomp down on her injured back. 'But I won't!!' Angrily she glared up at Kiyomasa from the corner of her eye as she struggled to try and move under his continued kicking of her down being. 'I won't give this bastard the satisfaction of my pain!'
"You were supposed to be the easy kill! Why did you dodge?!"
"Get the hell off her!!" Draken yelled, charging towards the growling Kiyomasa. "Kiyomasa!!"
"Huh..." Looking up at the charging Draken, Kiyomasa excitedly smiled. "Ah... There you are... Draken! I've been waiting for this!!"
Meiko's eyes widened in shock, as she noticed the unhinged look behind the male's eyes as he gripped his bloody blade more tightly. 'No!' She thought, trying to push the male off as she looked back up towards the charging Draken. "Stay back!! He wants to- KAHH!" Meiko coughed as she was roughly kicked aside, body rolling a good bit before she stopped on her back. She furiously coughed trying to regain her breath, struggling to roll herself back over and get back onto her feet, as she looked up to see Draken and Kiyomasa going at one another.
"Dra– ken... No..." She grunted watching as the tattooed male angrily threw his punches and kicks towards the other teen. Barely avoiding Kiyomasa's blade, "D... Don't..." Her vision blurred, "You're gonna... You'll..." She moaned as her vision swam. "Die... if this keeps up..." Eyes filling up with tears, she struggled to get herself even just back up to her hands and knees as she stared at the two fighting teens. "Please... You can't–"
"RAAGH!"
Her tears fell, as she tried to get to her feet. "You can't–"
"Die!!!"
She screamed out in agony. "DRAKEN!!!"
August 3rd, 2005
"Draken-kun!" Takemichi continued to call out as he looked at more and more of the fallen Moebius and Toman members lying about the still battle-heavy area as he walked. "Draken-kun!!" Yet, nothing came from his endeavor as he walked. 'Dang it! Where is he?! I know I heard him somewhere around this–'
"Up we go!"
"Ow...!" Takemichi exclaimed as a large body was thrown and landed on top of him. "Get off of me damn it!" He grunted, pushing the unconscious boy off him with some great effort. "I don't... Have time for this!" He grunted getting back up, he stared into the slowly dwindling fighters around him as his frustration with everything finally boiled over and he yelled into the sky. "GOD DAMN IT!!!" He roared before glaring into the sky, 'I can't find Draken-kun or Kiyomasa-kun!' He thought now glaring down to the ground, 'Just where the hell'd they go?' He continued to rage, 'I need to find them now! Before it's to–'
"DRAKEN!!!"
Takemichi's heart sank hearing his sister's agony-filled scream, his body frozen in shock as he slowly began to turn towards the direction he was all but sure was where the scream came from. "No... no way..." He whispered, as his gaze wracked around the area, eyes panicked and fearful. "Please... don't be–" He froze as a familiar large teen walked past him. 'Kiyo...masa-kun!' The sound of a thick splattering caught his ear, looking down, Takemichi's breath hitched at the small trail of blood from Kiyomasa's blade. His heart raced, the world around him seemed to go black and white, the only color he saw being the very blood on the teen's blade. 'Huh...?' His mind flashed to his sister's scream, 'No...' He stared in horror as the male-only seemed to continue to walk away in a trance-like state.
"I did it this time... I actually did it!"
"NO!!" Meiko's pained cry rang throughout the air once more. Slowly turning to look back from the direction Kiyomasa came from, Takemichi's heart stuttered to a halt at what he saw.
Further away, Mikey's head snapped up from the fallen Moebius members before him, as he tried to move towards the girl's scream. His heart almost came to a halt as he heard the anguish in the girl's scream. "Ei-chan!"
"Draken! Draken!!" Meiko sobbed, seeming to have almost crawled to the other teen's side as she laid almost half on the unconscious boy trying to shake the boy awake. "Please!" Her back was bloody from a large open cut that still continued to bleed, and large bruises with some footprint-shaped marks. "Please!!" But what truly had Takemichi gasping in full terror and horror was the blood he saw slowly starting to pool around Draken's body as his sister continued to call out to the boy. "PLEASE!!!"
Snapping out of his shock, Takemichi stumbled forward, "DRAKEN...! DRAKEN! DRAKEN-KUN!!" Takemichi finally screamed running towards his sister and friend, heart almost stopping as he noted his sister's body almost seemed to give as she slumped over Draken's body and her eyes fell shut. "ONEE-SAN!!"
Within the brawling crowd, Mikey's head snapped once again in the direction of the screams. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach, and his mind raced as Takemichi's cries rang throughout the whole battlefield.