3rd pov
A week had passed since Naoto's arrival, and things have gotten pretty smoothly than expected. Toman's 6th division have seen some recent developments, especially with the inclusion of the Mitsuya sisters and Naoto himself in it.
Speaking of the guy, Naoto have gotten used to the environment of 2006, finding it nostalgic to relief the time when puberty didn't hit him like a truck. The old televisions, the flip phones, the constant appearance of teenage delinquents, the life of being a teen was simpler than the adult life he had. He can't help but remembered the memories of him and his sister.
His sister... Right, Hinata is alive here. That sheer thought alone made him shed a silent tear, he desperately wants to meet his sister despite potentially breaking the space continuum. But then again, Allon deliberately told him and Hina about his time-travelling capabilities, so why did his sister still die in the future?
Even passing by his sister was enough to remind him of the several deaths of her. Just how many times is he gonna hearing his sister die again until Takemichi can change the course of time? If anything, him being in 2006 serves as another method in saving her sister.
"Um... Earth to Naoto?" someone said that got him to snap out his thoughts.
"Hm?" he wondered, realising that it was none other than Allon who said that. "Sorry Allon. I was... daydreaming."
"Nah, its fine. Perhaps the coffee here does make you sleepy?" the guy wondered before sipping his lemonade.
"...Alcohol makes you sleepy, not coffee." Naoto facepalmed.
"...Right." responded an embarrassed Allon. The two of them were just hanging out at a café, dressing in some casual clothes. Allon wore a blue t-shirt with beige shorts and brown scandals, while Naoto wore a more formal attire, with his blue collar shirt that complimented his brown trousers and a pair of brown shoes.
"So... is there anything that bother you?"
"Well... I feel kinda odd about not being on a working schedule, that's one thing." he stated. "And the fact that I passed by my sister from the past does give me several Vietnam flashbacks."
"Eh? You're using Gen-Z slang?"
"Is that how you use it?"
"Well, maybe?" he awkwardly responded as the mint-haired guy took out his flip phone. "Still not used to the tech here?"
"Yep. Kinda forget that smartphones doesn't exist yet." he recalled, sipping his tea. "But I have a question to ask you."
"?"
"Why do you bring me here?" asked Naoto.
"So that we can have a time to relax?" responded Allon.
"That's not what I meant." he clarified. "I meant the reason for bringing me to the past."
"The present?" said Allon before putting his drink down. "Right... That question..."
"I've been wanted to ask that question for a week now, but my mind was occupied with... nostalgia." he added.
"..."
"Oh? You don't have an answer for that?"
"... Actually, I do." said Allon after standing from his seat. "I had a feeling that you have some questions that are left unexplained."
"I mean, if it is about helping Takemichi, I'd gladly help him out." said Naoto, raising his eyebrows. "After all, I will do anything to save my sister. You wanted to save her too, right?"
"Correct." said a confident Allon.
"Well, even though your decision will have consequences, bringing me here isn't as bad as I thought." he said before placing his finished tea on the table. "For the most part, that is."
"Uh-huh..." mumbled Allon before finishing his drink. He was glad to dodge a bullet from Naoto's question, that would be answered for another day and not today. Especially since telling him the truth would haunt him of that one image of a specific manga chapter, and he'd need more time to build that emotional barrier to numb the pain.
Fuck it, all the painful moments come from the manga chapters themselves, so it won't be an easy task.
"Well, we should go now. It's getting late anyway." said Naoto as he stood up to leave the table, paying their order at the cashier. He was lucky that there ain't a huge difference between price point between the two years, otherwise his income would've been a lot more wasted.
The two of them reached the train station, booking a train to go back to Shibuya from their current location of Yokohama. While the two of them were waiting for the train, Allon spotted a row of men in long red outer coat with a noticeable yin and yang symbol at the back.
He recognized those people. He recognized the gang. Likewise, he then remembered that Takemichi and his friends will encounter them soon enough, or rather now because of their presence.
But he also remembered that Naoto doesn't recognize them here, especially coming from a guy who was from the future out of all places. Really, he could only hope that they don't recognize him as a Toman member. Naoto ain't an official member yet, so his planning was easier to come up on the spot.
As the two guys entered the next train, so did the various guys with the red coat. With the train leaving the station, Allon noticed that he was holding a guy with a familiar pompadour hair, except he was covered with bruises.
"That's Akkun..." he softly mumbled, not wanting to attract their attention at the moment. Noticing his mumble, Naoto whispered to him about the guy's identity, who upon given the answer confirmed his suspicions. It still felt weird for him to see the guy who did the deed in his younger time, but that was from the future, not the present.
Or past? As he rubbed his head in confusion, he wondered about whether his confusion will affect things out of his control.
When the train came to a halt, the train spokesperson announced their arrival at Shibuya Station. The moment the train doors were open, all the men went out of the train with Akkun being held as a hostage. Both Naoto and Allon followed suit, acting nothing more than normal civilians.
Coming out of the train, they looked to see the sight of Takemichi being cornered by those hooligans. But as soon as Takemichi recognized Akkun with a shocked reaction, Naoto and Allon could only facepalm in their minds.
'Takemichi, you absolute moron. Why the hell would you give away your status?' thought an annoyed Allon.
'Even after everything that happened, Takemichi-kun is still... an idiot.' noted Naoto.
Thankfully, Chifuyu ran up to the guy and kicked him before he can begin his assault, saving Takemichi in the process. He then told his friend to get out as fast as he back, who proceeded to run with an injured Akkun behind his back against an army of delinquents.
In the heat of the moment, Chifuyu spotted the duo and tried to call their name, only to be met by the fists of a gang member that send him flying to the ground. His appearance towered over the other members, looking like a brute with his black hair styled into a rattail mohawk that contained a braid that extend to his lower neck. If he doesn't look menacing enough, then his angular eyebrows would indeed do the trick.
Why does this guy reminded him of some Chinese villain from ancient times?, wondered Allon after noticing the pigtail. Or are they kung fu fighters?
"Hey, what are you looking at!?" shouted the tough guy after noticing their presence.
"Nothing, just wondering why you beat up this fella." replied Allon, lying about knowing Chifuyu as to not draw too much attention.
"Oh? Does it look like I'd tell you that?" said the guy. "Mind your own fucking business."
"Allon?" said Chifuyu before passing out, accidentally giving away his friend's identity.
"Motherfu-"
"Language."
"Like you my parent, Naoto." Allon rolled his eyes. That certainly backfired, huh?
As the brute asked him about his connections with Chifuyu, Allon proceeded to lie while staring at the brute, stating that he wasn't part of whatever Toman was and explaining that Chifuyu was his friend. Finishing his answer, he then asked for the brute's name, who was hesitant until his underling said his name out loud.
Kanji Mochizuki, he learned. One of Tenjiku's Big-Four, albeit a forgotten one. Absolute;y not the face of Mochi, but an angry piggy-like one counts.
"So Mochi, can you go somewhere else and not bothered my friend here?" he stated, leading to the gang members laughing at such ridiculous request.
"As if I'll do that! You're funny." he responded, prompting Allon to answer back at him.
"Well, what if I tell you that a cop is with me right now?"
"Hah? You're kidding, there's no way that this absolute weakling is an cop!" he laughed out, making Naoto angrier by that comment. He doesn't want to be reminded of his timidness in the past, but this asshole was pushing his buttons.
So, he proceeded to punch Mocchi in the face with his bare fists, one that left a nasty bruise on the big guy. It was an act of defiance against his morals as a cop, but isn't helping a 'criminal' already defies that? Let alone one whose fate was changed with the constant time leaps?
"Shit!" shouted Mochi while holding his right cheek, since the pain was immeasurable and hurtful. Naoto the proceeded to took out his wallet, showing his police identification card that got Mocchi in stitches. Not wanting to mess with a cop again, he demanded his goons to flee into the train, thereby leaving Shibuya behind.
"Wow, Naoto. I did not expect that." said Allon.
"Did you think its easy to be a police offficer?" said Naoto. "Police training camps exists for a reason, y'know?"
"Still, good thing that you suggested me to use another verification card using my persona, otherwise suspicions towards me could've risen up." he continued, facing Allon carrying Chifuyu.
"Right..." he shrugged, before taking out his phone to call someone. But before he can even do that, a loud engine noise took the curiousity out of his bag, deciding to investigate the source of the sound. To his surprise, he saw two motorcyles accompanied by both Baji and Kazutora, who looked injured with a few bruises but were in good condition nonetheless.
As he came down form his motorcycle, Baji told Allon about the entire 1st-division getting attacked by a gang by the name of Tenjiku. With the help of Kazutora, both friends explained that they manage to put up a godd fight, albeit one that felt cornered by all directions.
After Allon explained his side of the story, Baji offered to ride Chifuyu back home, while Kazutora picked Allon up to look for Tenjiku's hideout. As the two motorcycles left, Naoto was left behin at the station. Despite the moment being kinda depressing, he jst shrugged it off and head back to Allon's home.
He remembered that the house was near, and the fact that he can access it made things more easier.
Back on Kazutora's side, he informed Allon more details of the situation. While Baji and Kazutora managed to fight tooth and nail the Tenjiku memebers, it wasn't without the help of some outsiders. He admited that they would've end up heavily injured with the other Toman members.
Mentioning that the fight startled the public, Kazutora then asked Allon about the guy that went by the name of Shion Madrame. The name alone sparked him to reveal that the guy was one of Tenjiku's Big Four, the four strongest fighters of the gang. Despite that, his tone changed to one of laughter when he learned that Shion got punched easily by the outsider thanks to his huge ego.
It won't be the first time that Shion be shamed like that, and it won't be his last unfortunately. He'd be dying of shame, Allon chuckled.
After telling Kazu about the location, both of them headed to Yokohama towards their hangout. To their surprised, they saw two guys with curly hair walking out of the hideout with thier Toman unifroms. The peachy-coloured hair guy harboured a grin on his face, while the blue-coloured one harboured an angry face instead, making it hard to tell their emotions at face-value.
"Hey, Smiley and Angry! You're here too?" called Kazutora after he parked his motorcycle.
'Yes, nii-chan managed to defeat Kakucho." replied Angry. "Got any band-aids?"
"Sorry, we don't have any." said Allon. "Who is Kakucho, anyway?"
"One of Tenjiku's Big Four." answered Smiley as he put his hands behind him. "Have to admit, he was a strong fighter. Heck, I'm impressed actually."
"But where are the Tenjiku members?" asked Kazutora.
"Turns out that this warehouse was nothing more than a trap by Kakucho. The fact he asked his men to leave the warehouse perplexed me." said Smiley, sounding more perplexed despite the grin on his face.
"Yeah, this isn't even their hangout at all." added Angry.
"Speaking of which, where is Tak-"
"KAKU-CHAN!??" someone shouted, catching the rest off guard.
"That sounds like-"
"Takemichi!" said Allon as he quickly run towards the familiar voice. Entering the warehouse, he saw an interesting sight of a blonde-haired guy talking to someone siting down with the familiar red coat. Seeing the guy's huge scar on the leftside of his face, Allon immediately recognised him as the so-called 'Kaku-chan'.
That, along with the events of the manga, burned his name into his memory. God damn it, Wakui... Just how more depressing does it get?
"Um... Takemichi? Who's that?" Kaku-chan asked.
"Kakucho, this is Allon. My friend." he introduced him, bringing him closer for the guy to get a closer look.
"Are you both childhood friends?" asked Allon, prompted the crybaby to asked him about finding out. Allon told him that him shouting 'Kaku-chan' was enough to perceive it as some sort of reunion.
"The name's Kakucho, by the way." said the mentioned guy before shaking Allon's hands. All while Takemichi got embarassed about his past actions.
Long story short, both Kaku and Mitchy were childhood friends from elementary school, until Kaku switched school around the 2nd-year. Both remarked on the fact that they remained the same since they last met; with Kakucho still picking fights with people and Takemichi being a hero.
However, the conversation switches up when Kakucho said that he's loyal towards Izana, thus making the two of them enemies. Allon then suggested the idea of the two of them having a reunion, leaving Kakucho confused that he'd make friends with an enemy.
Thus, Allon explained that a guy like himself doesn't give a flying fuck about enemy gangs, saying that those gangs don't defined who they are. As long as they both don't reveal too much gang secrets to be considered as 'traitors', he would let it fly over their head. Besides, if he did indeed apply what Kakucho said, then wouldn't Brahman and Rokuhara Handai be considered as 'enemies'?
Before the two of them left the warehouse and went back home, Kakucho said something that both of them promised to fullfill. Hell, that sentence alone was enough to be a grim reminder of his disagreement of the current conflict.
...
"Save Izana Kurokawa."
Author-kun here.
After trying to figure which direction should I go, I finally settled on this direction for this chapter. Honestly, I am satisfied with this chapter, as it is both faithful and different from the source material. I can't wait to write the next chapter, but do note that it may take longer.
Why? Because running two Youtube channels and two fanfics can have a toll on one's mental health, one that is mixed along the struggles of teenage life and the non-existent studies. Yes, I'm a high-schooler.
That being said, I would try to get the Danganronpa characters more involved within the plot. I have a habit of putting them on the sidelines, but I promised to put them on the spotlight soon. The only issue is figuring out the solution...
Till then, see you in the next chapter!
-Author-kun
𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕:
'Oh Ana'
Song by Mother Mother
Lyric Video by Hayden