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19 November 2017
SUNDAY
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𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐈'𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 peeled open, blinking a few times as he recollects the last few moments that transpired before he passed out from sheer blood loss.
The first he noticed was the dull throbbing that climbed up his leg, before seeing that the wound was bandaged followed by the lingering sting of cleaning alcohol. Scanning his surroundings, Takemichi soon saw a figure a few feet away, hidden in the shadows. His heart leapt into his throat, preparing himself to fight for his life once again.
However, giving the figure a second look over, he felt a strange feeling of distant nostalgia about him.
Without processing who he was looking at, his lips seemed to move on their own, "Baji-san?"
The figure shifted, and light then cascaded over his face. It wasn't in fact Baji, but someone else Takemichi wasn't expecting.
Hanemiya Kazutora.
Takemichi's eyes widened at his appearance, hair grown out with dyed blonde parts framing his face.
"Kazutora-san," Takemichi started, staring up at the glowing golden eyes that pieced something deep within his soul.
The moment Kazutora's name left Takemichi's mouth, Kazutora stepped forwards, and sent a hard right hook into his already battered face. Kazutora reached forwards to pick Takemichi back up by his collar, before kneeing him in the stomach and leaving him to drop back down to the hard concrete floor.
"Augh–" Takemichi yelled out, the new onslaught of pain that rattled through his body threw stars across his vision, "Kazutora-san!" He called out, voice begging him to stop, and Kazutora seemed to then listened to his wish.
Kazutora stared down at Takemichi's writhing form, "recently, I saw a bunch of guys beating a woman just like that," Kazutora spoke, voice rasping, and Takemichi could hear the development behind it, "when I intervened, I noticed that they were Toman members. Tell me Takemichi; when did Toman become an organisation that hurt women?"
Takemichi stayed silent as he hung his head low, unsure of how to respond to his question.
"I didn't want to save you–" Kazutora then states, and Takemichi's head shoots back up, "I... I just wanted to save Chifuyu," his voice began to crack, Kazutora's features falling into a melancholic state as tears began to slip.
"Chifuyu – he fought alone all these years, and what the fuck were you doing?" Kazutora continues, tone becoming angry and accusatory, "Toman got bigger and became all wrong, while you just became servile to Kisaki."
Takemichi felt the shame build, weighing him down like a sack of bricks, realising that he had become so warped in between time leaps that Chifuyu couldn't rely on him.
"After [y/–," Kazutora states, however unable to finish her name as his voice broke, eyes watering as he sucked in a harsh breath, "after [y/n]... the only hope was Draken, but he ended up on death row and then Mikey disappeared," Kazutora explained, as Takemichi's head clouded over with the day of February 22.
"Mikey wanted to create a new age for delinquents," Kazutora says after a paused, voice hushing down to a whisper, "but then he wanted Toman to grow – drugs, prostitution, gambling, illegal casinos and money laundering... Toman committed every crime you could imagine."
Kazutora's eyes hardened into a glare onto Takemichi, "but this isn't... this isn't what Mikey said he wanted to create! This isn't the Toman [y/n] and Baji wanted to protect!" Kazutora then yells, tears now free falling from both of the males, "the Toman I loved wasn't like this, it wasn't what the founders envisioned... it was supposed to be beautiful."
Kazutora took another pause, shifting his gaze towards the sunrise across the city, clouds becoming soft shades of orange and pink.
"Yeah... it was going to be beautiful," Kazutora spoke dreamily, heart aching at what could've been.
Takemichi followed to where Kazutora was watching, the morning sun washing over his face and bringing back the warmth that was lost, "let's take Toman back," Takemichi declares.
Without looking away, Kazutora replies, "yeah, let's take Toman back," he vows.
And so, Kazutora and Takemichi stared off at the rising sun, although both making different plans on how they're going to restore Toman.
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Takemichi now sat in the passenger seat of Kazutora's van, taking short glances at the male driving.
There was a heavy silence that seemed to grow between the two, until Takemichi decided to break it, clearing his throat, "Kazutora-san... my head is a bit muddled, so can you tell me how things got so bad?" Takemichi questions, playing off the odd request.
Kazutora continued to focus on driving as he spoke, "it's Mikey's fault," he responds, and Takemichi let out an audible gasp of shock, "Toman is the way it is because of Mikey."
Takemichi furrowed his eyebrows, "but... there's no way Mikey would do such a thing! There must've been someone pulling strings – like Kisaki," he accused, once again shutting down the idea that Mikey was truely behind the horrific occurrences caused by Toman.
"While you were held captive Pah-chin and Peh-yan were killed, which was ordered by Mikey himself," Kazutora countered, shaking his head as he frowned, "and Mitsuya has been missing for months. From what I've heard from Chifuyu, Emma was believed to be the cause of [y/n]'s death, and Mikey never trusted a soul again – not even his friends," he continued.
The revelation had Takemichi clenching his jaw, turning to glare out the window of the van.
Kazutora carried on after a brief pause, "Mikey began purging everyone; went bat shit crazy. He's dangerous... but I want to talk with him, tell him that he needs to leave those people," he confesses, and Takemichi turned to him in surprise, "if he doesn't, he'll completely loose himself. I want to save him – I want to do what [y/n] would've done."
Takemichi's lips parted, feeling a sense of empowerment, "I want to save Mikey too."
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The next few hours that proceeded felt like a lucid dream. One moment Takemichi was watching the scenery from the window of Kazutora's van, and the next he was staring down at his cuffed wrists, now situated in an interrogation room.
Takemichi had been arrested by Naoto, who was seated adjacent him, silently typing something on his laptop before swivelling the device to face him.
"This is a video captured secretly by Chifuyu," Naoto explains, index finger tapping the space key to play the video.
Takemichi instantly deduced that the person seen in the video was none other than himself.
Naoto then continues, analysing Takemichi's expression as the audio of the video began to ring through the room, "we haven't spoken since middle school. Your actions have dramatically changed the future; Hinata was still killed by Atsushi's car. Chifuyu and myself have been working together to avenge her death," he explains.
As Naoto spoke, Takemichi could hear his own voice, who seemed to order something as he slammed his fist down onto a table.
"I had no choice but to arrest you, Takemichi," Naoto states, tone dropping, "you had Atsushi carry out the assassination ordered by Kisaki, although you don't specifically say the target's identity in this clip."
Naoto then paused the video, flicking across to the next tab to show a different recorded video, Takemichi now seeing himself disheveled and on the floor. His black hair was now raked out of place, tie loosed around his neck, and a crazed look adorning his features.
Pressing play, Naoto began to clarify the situation, "you later found out that the target was Hinata," as he explained, Takemichi felt the sensation of bile growing and tears forming in his eyes at watching himself having a meltdown, "although the videos give evidence of Kisaki's involvement, Chifuyu hid these to protect you."
At the revelation, Takemichi began to break, "I'm so fucking useless – all their deaths... they're all my fault," his voice croaked at the emotions rising, his nails cutting into his palms from balling his fists.
Naoto jumps forwards at Takemichi's response, wrapping his arms around his neck in an embrace, "you're not useless," he states firmly, hiding his own tears that began to fall, "not only did you save my life, but you also shaped Toman as it is now, from the influence of Draken, [y/n], Chifuyu, Kazutora, Baji..." he listed out names, each sending a pang through Takemichi's heart.
Pulling back, Naoto looked directly into Takemichi's eyes, "change the world, Takemichi. I believe that you are the only one who can change the future," he declares, confidence shining through every word.
"I thought things would be different if I was closer to the top of Toman; but Hinata was still killed," Takemichi says, revealing his thought process.
Naoto nodded his head, "I believe that Kisaki has an obsession over Hinata as he's killed her in every timeline," he divulges.
The idea sent a wave of shock through Takemichi, but before he could respond, a sharp knock was heard at the interrogation door.
"We don't have much time, you're going to be taken to a detention centre making these meetings difficult," Naoto states hurriedly, lifting his hand up in a gesture for Takemichi to shake.
Takemichi nodded his head in understanding, "find what happened between you and Kisaki," Naoto orders as Takemichi manoeuvred around the cuffs to take Naoto's hand.
The familiar sensation gripped at Takemichi's consciousness with a new determination setting in as he thought over his enemies; Kisaki and The Black Dragons. As he felt his world tip backwards, Takemichi swore to remove them from Toman and save those he cared for.
| 1613 words |