The first time Sano Manjiro met L/n Y/n was at a hospital, somewhere in the middle of August in 2003.
Clearly not the most ideal place (or time) to meet the future love of your life but it was theirs nonetheless.
Mikey doesn't remember much of the things that happened during that time, any minor ones at least, far too busy in his own world hurting and grieving and helping Emma and Grandpa from the lost of his precious elder brother, Shinichiro (courtsey of one of his best friends, might he add) but he knew he made a friend that month depite it all, a friend that he would be romantically involve with in a near future.
---
Sano Shinichiro, just 2 weeks after his 23rd birthday and just a week before Mikeys 13th dies from a devestating blow to the side of his head.
Mikey remembers heading towards his big brothers bikeshop, ready and curious from being sent out by his Grandpa.
He asked about it once but when the older man didn't give him a clear reply he didn't pry for more, instead choosing to see for himself after being sent off by the grinning face of his sister.
What he didn't expect however, was for the ringing of police sirens to assualt his ears with grating sounds, flashes of blues and reds swirling about and around the area before his stomach drops.
Mikey rushed over, pushing and shoving at the strangers surrounding whatever was out of his view, ignoring the small noises of complaints as he pushed up front, eyes searching and searching but he can't see his brother anywhere and then he catches sight of them.
Their figures were dressed in black, hoodies of the outfit they wore pulled taut to dangle in front of their foreheads and almost obscurring his view but he catches a small glimpes of one of the face anyways.
"Baji!" Mikey calls out and almost immediately, the face of his childhood friend snapped towards him, wide eyed and panicked at the sight of him. "What happened?" He asked, voice abnormally calm but his shoulders were tense.
"Mikey!" Baji calls back, tears springing from his eyes and cascading themselves a mess down his cheeks and to his chin and Mikey finds himself conflicted because Baji never cries, not since they were little children who constantly fought with each other with fists and legs before making up anyways after being fed up of ignoring each other for a while and then they go back to being friends again (not that they ever stopped to begin with).
"I'm sorry!"
Mikey blinks, staring with wide eyes as his friend was pushed inside the police car.
If this was any other time, Mikey would have already been fighting tooth and nails to get his friend back but the situation he's currently in prevent him from doing so.
'Sorry?' He remembers thinking that night, 'What for?' His gaze drifted themsleves back to his brotehers bikeshop once more, waiting and waiting and waiting for his brother to come out.
He was supposs to be here, wasn't he? So why? Why isn't he out yet? He should be.
Baji was in there with another person, that much he could tell but why? Why were they being escorted out? Shinichiro was in there so why isn't he here outside? Why isn't he out here explaining whatever the hell happened inside?
Shinichiro has known Baji since the younger boys have been training their martial arts when they were 4, he was practically another one of his younger sibling, so why? Shinichiro should be out here complaining and demanding and asking for them to be let go because his Keisuke was being detained, his hands being chuffed by the heavy metal holding together his wrists, surely expected to bruise purples and greens if pulled or left on long enough and there must have been a mistake.
Mikey steps forward, hesitant but persistant and a Cop nearby notices and places a hand on his shoulder, gruff voice telling him he's not allowed to step any closer but he should be. This is his brothers shop, he's the owner and Mikey's his younger brother so he should be allowed to, shouldn't he? Why was he being stopped?
"This is my older brothers shop." He tells him, eyes still trained at the front entrance and waiting and waiting and waiting and expecting to see the familiar mop of raven hair that his brtoher possessed that he missed the way the Cop's eyes widen in surpirse, only being able to feel the way the hand on his shoulder tightened their hold on him.
"Kid, you can't be here." The cop says again, softer this time as he tried to gently coax him away from the scene but stopped short when Mikey pried his shoulder away from his grip, taking another step, then another when a stretcher finally emerged, the body laying on it covered in a white blanket and briefly, he sees a large part of it soaked in red and then he stops, feezing in place as he stares.
Staring and staring and finally letting that Cop tug him away, dragging him along to another Officer, his higher up, he thinks but he couldn't care less at the moment.
Mikey hears them exchange a few words but they don't register as he watches the paramadics close the ambulance doors and drive away, further and further from his sights.
Mikey can't help but feel relieved.
Shinichiro's alive as far as he knows so there is no need to panic.
That's right, he thinks, Shinichiro's alive, he is so there's no need for him to rush because Shinichiro's still here.
Isn't he?
---
A knock made Mikey look up, his attention from the report he was previously going over snapping like a thread in favor of directing it to where the noise came from.
"Boss." A muffled voice came from his office door, ones of which he regocnized to be his second in command, Sanzu Haruchiyo.
"Come on in, Sanzu." He called out, voice leveled in their usual mellow tone but loud enough for the pink haired man to hear before he turned back to the report Kakucho gave him not too long ago, eyes meticulously going over each and every detail as he listened closely to Sanzus steps getting closer to his desk.
"Mikey." The scarred man called again.
"Yes?" Mikey hums, giving him a small glance to let him know that he's listening.
"It's them again." Sanzu said simply, hands tightening into a fist behind his back.
"You have to be a little bit more specific than that, Sanzu, otherwise I won't have much of a clue on what you're talking about." Mikey tutted.
"It's Nirvana, Boss, they've been causing troubles in our territories again."
At that, Mikey pauses, brows furrowing the tiniest bit as his grip tightened on the paper he's holding, surely causing a wrinkle to form in the formerly pristine conditioned sheet, nerves straying off from the calm they had before. "Are they close to her shop?"
"They are, some of their members were spotted causing meyhem just a few buildings down today by one of my men." Sanzu added, watching as his boss' face grew more frustrated after each word he uttered.
Mikey clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, standing up from his desk and preoccupying his hands with the other document reports he still needs to go over. "Sanzu, send your men closer to her shop, if there are things to go wrong today I want her and Sachiko to be gaurded immediately."
"Already on it, Sir." Sanzu said, preparing his phone in his hands and making a move to leave Mikeys office before said white haired man stopped him.
"On your way, help Kokonoi on getting into contact with Nirvana. They've been getting a little too cocky lately and it's time for us to put them back in their place." Mikey placed the neatly stacked papers on the side of his desks.
Sanzu grins widely, blue eyes lined with thick lashes turning crazed and manic. "Yessir!" He replied enthusiastically, holding in a loud cackle and instead settling for a small snicker before finally taking his leave.
Mikey sighs, carding a hand through hair as his other hand occupied themselves with unlocking his phone and going into his contacts.
He pressed the phone right against his ear, waiting impatiently at the ringing sound.
The call got accepted and a rush of relief flooded him once her voice reached his ear drums.
"Manjiro." She says and all of his growing agitation settled into the pit of his stomach because she's there, here and with him still.
Breathing, moving and talking to him.
"Y/n."
---
Notes: Omg I've always wanted to write that scene in Mikeys Pov and I'm so proud of it actually