Notes: Hello everyone :)
Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger and not updating for a month but you know, the ever loving graceful presence of writer's block hit me so it was quite the challenge but yah, that's it, that's the reason why I went MIA for a bit
Story time though, I had this presentation for my psychology class and we were supposed to make it at least 18 minutes in length for marks but guess who the bitch that cried like a baby in front of the class because she was too overwhelmed with nerves... It's me, I'm the bitch. It was embarrassing but you know I managed through it and apparently I got one of the highest marks on it so yay :D
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Hanagaki Takemichi sometimes wishes time travel isn't as conplicated as it actually is. If it were the case, every single mission he's come to acconplish would have been finished with relative ease, lacking the unfortunate loss and heartbreak that have happened along the way.
It hasn't even been 24 hours and yet he's already faced with another problem. (Not that he's calling his apparent 'friend' a problem, just a mystery that he wants to solve. After all she wasn't involve in any of the other timeline, why now would she be present?)
Shuffling in his seat, he watches with rapt attention as the faces in front of him turn from serious, surprise and then confusion, each one almost identical to each other he would have laughed if it were in any other situation.
Draken furrows his brows, exchanging a glance with Chifuyu. "Could you elaborate some more, Takemichy?"
Takemichi shakes his head since there really isn't anything to explain further. That was just that, far too little information to piece together the big picture.
The black haired male noticed that it's a common occurence whenever he travels back to the past, conflicts of feelings no where recorded to tell him why people do what they do.
Draken nodded in understanding, gaze shifting to the table, obsidian hardened and making it difficult for Takemichi to read what exactly the taller man is thinking.
A tiny cough and the attention goes to Hina, pursed tinted lips and exhaustion from the wedding reception clear in her expression. "Did Mikey-kun and Y/n-chan meet before in the past?" She asks, mostly to the tattoed male who shakes his head as a No.
The question had Takemichi frowning in confusion.
Surely, if Draken is friends with Y/n then Mikey would be as well, wouldn't he?
Hina said that his other self met Y/n just a few months after he himself left for the future so Takemichi doesn't see any reason for Y/n and Mikey to not know each other.
So why?
Why do they seem so surprise at the mere idea of them being acqquainted?
---
Tachibana Naoto huffs angrily, a hand carding through his messed up hair, lithe fingers untagling the knots caused by his constant tossing and turning.
He regards the phone on his other hand a glare, annoyed at having his rest be interupted by a certain time traveling guy.
"Takemichi-kun." He says first after picking up. Luckily, the male on the other side quieted down, understanding that now really isn't the right time for him to be calling the detective, especially so late into the night. "Do you have any earthly idea on what time it is?"
Naoto hears fumbling, probably because the cry baby is flustered at having been called out and then he sighs, adjusting his seating position on his bed.
Getting angry now would be of no use since he's awake already so he might as well hear out what Takemichi has to say. "It's fine." He says once the older apologized in a blur of words.
"What did you call for?" Naoto carefully stands up, a yawn leaving his mouth as he trudges through his apartment and towards the direction of his kitchen with a squint to his eyes, hopeful to retain some of his tiredness so he could just go right back to sleep after.
"Naoto,..." The other muttered his name, pausing as he thinks of how exactly he should phrase his question.
The detective hums, patiently waiting as he pours himself a glass of water, downing the entire thing to rid off the raspiness of his voice.
"Do you happen to remember anything about Y/n from the other timelines? If you knew her, that is." He finally asks.
Naoto blinks in surprise, the name familiar in his ears. "Y/n-san? Why do you ask?"
"Well,... it's just that Mikey-kun mentioned that name last time." Takemichi hesitates as he says this, words careful and quiet.
Furrowing his brows, Naoto slid his fingers against the rim of the glass in his hands, a small comfort in the darkness of his kitchen. "Last time? The timeline where we went to Manila?" A swallow and the detective finds himself wanting the warmth of his bed again, instead settling for leaning his hips against the kitchen counter.
"Yeah." Takemichi confirms.
Uneasily, Naoto shifted his eyes across his kitchen, absentmindedly nodding into the empty air.
A sigh leaving his lips, he ignores the heavy feeling weighing down on his index finger, the inkling sensation of cold metal still lingering against the skin.
Naoto shakes the feeling away. "I didn't know her personally but she somehow always makes it onto the news along with the Tokyo Manji Gangs name." Naoto pauses, letting the information sink in before continuing when Takemichi indicated for him to go on with a hum.
"Just like Nee-chan, she dies every single time and it's always because of Toman. Police had made assumptions that she was connected to either one of the higher ups and that she was targeted because of that belief."
"Wait-- Naoto, are you saying that Y/n and Mikey-kun knew each other during the other timelines?"
"Might, Takemichi-kun, it's just a hypothetical situation to try to explain why she died the way she did." He corrects. "Based on what you told me earlier, however, they might have been close if Mikey were to think about her during his last moments." Naoto finished, shifting his body weight to his left side.
A breif silence overtook the call before Takemichi spoke again. "What about now?"
"Hm?" Naoto let out a confused noise from the back of his throat.
"Are they close now? In this timeline?"
"Shouldn't they? If the other you and Draken-san are friends with her then it's only natural to assume that Mikey would be as well, isn't it?" Naoto questions back, wondering where all these inquires were even coming from.
"That's what I thought too but Draken-kun and Chifuyu were acting super surprised earlier, like the idea of the 2 of them being friends was impossible. Hina, too, since she was asking Draken-kun about it."
Naoto glances downwards, teeth chewing on the insides of his lips as he contemplates his words before finally sighing tiredly when he couldn't piece together a reasonable sentence. "I don't know what to tell you, Takemichi-kun, I'm still just as clueless as you are about this timeline."
He hears a disappointed sigh from the other side and Naoto wonders if this really is as important as he makes it to be, Takemichi already achieved the best future so the younger can't quite comprehend why this was even on his mind still.
Hina is alive, they achieved that, shouldn't that assure him?
"I understand, thanks anyways, Naoto."
The older begins to say his goodbyes but Naoto interrupts him before he could end the call. "Takemichi-kun, if I may ask, why is this bothering you so much?" Naoto can see where exactly his senior of 1 year is coming from, he just wants to understand his reason better.
Said time traveler hesitates. "It's... It's not bothering me, per se, I just wanted to know of Y/n's connections with Mikey-kun since it's strange, isn't it? How it seems like Mikey-kun and her knew each other during the last timeline but not now currently."
"... What do you plan to do about it?"
"I want to talk to Y/n-- I won't reveal anything I'm not supposed to, I just want to have a conversation with her."
The detective tilts his head, tired eyes roaming around his kitchen. "Why not just ask Mikey, himself? You're not familiar with her, are you not?"
"That's the thing, apparently Mikey-kun owns a restaurant overseas and I don't have his current number on my phone so I'll just try my best to act normal around her."
Naoto relents, shoulders sagging. "Well, good luck on that."