ㄒ卄乇 ㄒㄖ爪卂几 ㄒ尺卂丨ㄒㄖ尺
ㄒ卄乇 ㄒㄖ爪卂几 ㄒ尺卂丨ㄒㄖ尺
[An Unpleasant Memory]
August 10th.
One week after the fight between Toman and Moebius.
Draken had been saved, and was still alive, currently recovering in the hospital... All thanks to Takemichi.
Takemichi... Who had let all the praise go straight to his head.
It seemed as though every single person he passed on his way to the hospital knew of his act and thought he was badass; he had finally won a fight. And the fact that it was against Kiyomasa made it even better, Takemichi couldn't be any happier.
"Quit acting like a jackass." Draken snapped at the younger boy who had just walked into the room, his eyebrows furrowing in disgust at the outfit Takemichi had on.
"How am I acting like one?" Takemichi asked, stopping to stand in front of Draken's hospital bed.
"You've got it written all over you. When someone gives you an inch of praise, don't take it a mile, you moron. And what the fuck is with those clothes?" Draken couldn't hold himself back from commenting on Takemichi's outfit, finding it utterly horrible.
"You wouldn't understand what it's like to live in the shadows, Draken. This is the first time anyone's ever looked up to me, let me live a little, okay?!" Takemichi yelled out the last part making Draken's lips purse while trying to hold back his snickers.
"I can't believe you'd admit something that depressing at max volume..." Draken stifles his laughter with the back of his hand.
"Tsk... You're no fun." Takemichi grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards the window.
"Oh yeah, here." Draken beant down and picked a bag up off the ground, setting it on the chair behind Takemichi for him to open. "It's from Mikey, he said to give it to you." Takemichi opened the bag and pulled out a Toman uniform, turning to Draken and raising his eyebrows in confusion. "That's the uniform Mikey wore when he first started Toman. In Toman, that uniform is as important as life itself."
"Why does he want me to have this?" Takemichi asked, holding the shirt up so he could get a closer look at it.
"He said that whether you wear it or not is up to you, but he wants you to have it." Draken stood up from his bed, smiling down at the younger boy. "Takemitchy, you're Toman's savior, everyone knows that, including me. Let me show my gratitude once more." Draken bowed the best he could, wincing in pain from the wound that was still healing. "Thank you, and take good care of that uniform."
"Draken..." Takemichi put the uniform back in the bag and took a seat on the chair next to Draken's bed. He didn't bother making eye contact when asking his question, already having an idea on how it'll go. "What exactly happened between you guys and Y/N?" The heart monitor connected to Draken sped up at the mention of that name once again, letting out a large exhale Draken leaned back onto the bed and closed his eyes.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring her up?" Draken peaked his eyes open, glancing at Takemichi with a small glare.
"I know, but I can't help it. You said she was part of Toman, right? Why isn't she anymore, did something happen between her and Mikey?" Takemichi leaned closer, hoping that Draken would at least reveal a little information about the mysterious girl.
Draken clenched his jaw in anger, wanting to switch the conversation already, "Stop assuming things when you don't know the whole story." Takemichi sighed, leaning back on the chair letting his head fall back to stare up at the ceiling.
"I just don't understand why you're not 'allowed' to talk about her." Takemichi admitted, looking back at Draken only to find him already staring back.
"Just don't bring her up anymore, especially in front of Mikey. It's nothing to worry about anyways, Takemitchy. It was years ago." The younger blonde nodded his head, standing up from the chair and getting ready to leave. "Mikey's probably on the roof taking a nap, you should go see him before you leave. If you do, not a word about this conversation, got it?" Takemichi nodded his head once again, knowing that he should probably listen to Draken's words, but curiosity was going to end up getting the better of him.
"Thanks Draken."
~
"Mikey?" Takemichi approached the older boy who was laying down on his back, eyes closed as if he were asleep.
"I just can't relax." Mikey sighed, sitting up from his previous position, pushing his hands against the concrete he stood up, looking out across the city. "I can't shake this weird feeling. Why'd Hanma start a conflict with Toman? What exactly is he plotting? Why'd he try to get Kiyomasa's group to murder Ken-chin?" Mikey kept rambling off questions, confusing Takemichi even more than he had already been. "But here's the biggest mystery. You knew about the conflict and that Ken-chin would be targeted before everyone else, and you tried to stop both from happening." Mikey turned around, staring down at Takemichi with a blank look on his face, "Takemitchy, what the hell are you?"
Takemichi stood there frozen, his mind racing with thoughts.
Had Mikey figured him out?
"Pfft..."
Takemichi looked up at Mikey, his face falling at the sight of Mikey letting out small chuckles at him.
"What's up with that stupid outfit? I mean, you've always been lame, but..." Mikey jumped down from the ledge he had been standing on, sticking his hand out for Takemichi to take. "It's thanks to you that Ken-chin's still alive, after all. So... Thank you, Takemichy."
Takemichi's lips curved downwards, staring straight into Mikey's eyes, knowing this would be the perfect time to ask his question, but with the Draken's warnings...
"Mikey... Who's Y/N?" Takemichi immediately let out a loud gasp, his body collapsing onto his knees at the deathgrip Mikey had on his hand. "M-Mikey!" Mikey's other hand clenched into a fist, raising and swinging through the air, aiming right for Takemichi's face...
~
Mikey raised his fist, swinging it down and striking you across the face. You could feel blood fall from your bottom lip from the cut you had just gotten from his hit, tears were falling from your eyes, mixing in with the blood dripping from your chin.
"Why did you do it, Y/N?" Mikey asked, his eyes dark and void of any emotion he was once showing. A frown permanently painted onto his face as he swung his other fist, landing a powerful hit on your stomach and knocking you down to the ground.
You let out a strangled sob, your eyes clenching shut in pain as Mikey picked you up by the back of your shirt, dragging you to stand back up in front of him.
To look him in the eyes like you did before.
"P-Please... Mikey-y..." You begged for him to stop, the pain becoming too much to bear.
"Mikey, maybe you should sto-"
"Do you want to die too, Ken-chin?" Mikey asked, his head turning to look at the blonde standing a few feet away. Draken hesitated before shaking his head, looking back down to his feet, not wanting to speak out against Mikey again.
"No... Mikey."
Mikey's head turned to look at Pah, waiting for an answer from him.
"No, Mikey."
Then Mitsuya.
"No, Mikey."
And lastly, Baji.
"...No...Mikey."
That was just a small part of the day where everything had fallen apart.
If only they would have just listened.
~
Mikey's fist stopped just before it could hit Takemichi, his knuckled brushing against the younger male's nose, sending a shiver down his spine. His eyes were wide as he stared into Mikey's, waiting for the impact of the hit, but it never came.
Instead, Mikey moved away from Takemichi, gripping at his head in pain before sending a sideways glare towards Takemichi.
"Don't EVER mention that name around me again, got it, Takemichi?"
ㄒ卄乇 ㄒㄖ爪卂几 ㄒ尺卂丨ㄒㄖ尺
"Achoo!" Your arm lifted, tucking your face into your elbow as you sneezed, eyes watering slightly at the action.
"Bless you."
"Thank yo-" You cut yourself off, slowly turning around in your seat to see a familiar male sitting with sunglasses covering his eyes, a had placed atop his head to try and hide his messy hair.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" He spoke, voice deeper than it was before, almost as if he was trying to disguise his real voice. "Is there something you need?"
You stayed in your spot, eyes narrowing at the male behind you, noticing how he didn't even bother to try and cover the tattoo's on his hands.
"Hanma, what are you doing here?"
"Hanma? Who's Hanma? I don't know anyone with that name." You could see the corner of his lips turn upwards, a small smirk replacing his confused expression. You stood up from your seat, moving to sit at the table behind you, crossing your arms over your chest as you could only stare at the male in question.
"Did you follow me? I know we're friends and all, but stalking? That's a little creepy don't you think, Shu?" Leaning across the table, you flicked the hat off of his head, allowing you to hiss his hair which stuck to his forehead, pressed flat from wearing the hat for so long. "Aw, look at your hair." You cooed, fingers softly brushing through his hair, which was surprisingly soft, before returning back to your side of the table.
"How'd you know it was me?" Hanma asked, his cheeks tinted pink from the way you had touched him, eyes slightly wide as he tried to compose himself. Taking a deep breath he found himself falling back into place of his usual expressions, lips curved upwards into a smirk as he waited for your answer.
"It wasn't that hard, your voice is pretty recognizable, also, you didn't cover your tattoos. And I'm pretty sure you're the only one I know with those specific tattoos." You shrugged your shoulders, leaning back into your seat before looking around your surroundings like you had been doing before being interrupted by the familiar voice. "So what, did you follow me?"
"Nah, I wouldn't do that." He said, eyes following your gaze, landing on the outside crowd gathered near the streets, listening to the street performers playing their instruments. "I was with Kisaki when I saw you here, so I decided to pay you a little visit."
"And where is Kisaki now?" You asked, turning back to the male with raised eyebrows.
"You're in my seat." A new voice spoke, you looked up, locking eyes with none other than Kisaki himself, a drink held in his hand which he had most likely gotten from the front counter.
"My bad." You scooted over, creating enough room for Kisaki to sit down beside you. Hanma watched from across the table as Kisaki sat down next to you, a frown falling onto his face at the sight of you taking Kisaki's drink from his hand before taking a drink of it. "This is horrible," You said, tongue sticking out in disgust as you passed the drink back to the blonde beside you, "Why did you get that?"
"So no one else would try to drink it... But I see that it didn't even work." Kisaki sighed, pushing his glasses up before leaning back into his seat, glancing across the table at Hanma. "Baji should be joining Valhalla soon if things are still going right."
"Kazutora has talked to him, so yeah, things are still going as planned." Hanma added, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the table, trying to ignore the pnag in his chest he felt from seeing you so close to Kisaki.
"There won't be any surprises this time, right?" You asked, turning your attention to Kisaki, knowing that he was the one mainly planning things.
"No, how many times do I have to tell you, the whole thing with Draken had nothing to do with me." Kisaki said, keeping his expression straight as you studied his face, looking for any ounce of a lie. "Why can't you see that I just want to help you achieve your goal?"
"Because you're an asshole who has an even stupider goal than me." You stated, glaring at the blonde male before nuding him out of the seat so you could get up.
"Huh? Where are you going?" Hanma asked, his head rising from the table, looking at you with wide eyes as he watched you shuffle past Kisaki.
"Home, maybe, I don't know." You said, shrugging your shoulders, unsure on what you were going to do. "Eh, whatever I do, I'll see you later Shu. Kisaki... Ah... Maybe get a better drink." You waved at the two before leaving the small cafe, immediately bumping into someone as soon as the door closed. "Oh for fucks sake..." You groaned, looking up to meet the eyes of the person you bumped into.
"Eh? Oh h-hi."
"Oh, it's you." You sighed, "What are you doing, Takemichi?"
"Um... Just walking..." The blonde male said, nervously stepping back and forth.
"Uh huh... Okay, well I'm gonna go-"
"Ah! Wait!" Takemichi interrupted, holding a hand out to stop you before you could walk any further. "How about I walk with you?" He didn't wait for an answer before he trailed along behind you, blabbering on about whatever he wanted to talk about.
Through the window of the cafe both Hanma and Kisaki watched as you walked down the sidewalk with Takemichi, intently staring at the blonde male in particular.
"Well that could be a problem." Kisaki said, the corner of his lips lifting into a malicious smirk, his eyes locked onto both you and Takemichi.
ㄒ卄乇 ㄒㄖ爪卂几 ㄒ尺卂丨ㄒㄖ尺