Third POV
"What do you mean her safety matters more right now?"
Mikey's question seemed to stop everything that was going on in the room. No one dared to move, no one dared to speak. Everyone tensed up underneath the commander's hard gaze. And he didn't like the silence he received, his eyes narrowing.
"Speak up, I won't ask again," the pale blonde ordered, not giving room for anyone to brush any of this off.
Whenever it concerned the Hell's Angel, Mikey didn't want any details to be left out. He had almost lost her twice, and he would be damned that if there was even the smallest chance of her being in any sort of danger, he'd be the one to put a stop to it. And the Toman commander didn't care about how he had to get that information.
As for the girl in question, (Y/N) wasn't too happy now that Mucho had gotten Mikey all riled up now. Her eyebrow twitched a little bit as she used the back of her hand to smack the fifth division captain on the chest.
"Way to go, loud mouth," she hissed under her breath.
Did Mucho really care? He cared about her safety, that was his top priority over everything else. So if he had to kind of get on her bad side in order to fulfill that, than the fifth division captain would gladly do so.
The atmosphere was becoming almost too thick for Takemichi, he felt like the pressure was growing at a quickening rate with every second that passed where Mikey didn't get an answer. Not only that, but everything he thought he knew about Hakkai and his connection to the Black Dragons, and why he would eventually kill his brother, the crybaby hero couldn't help but to question all of it.
Clearly, there was a big chunk missing. And it would seem as if he wouldn't be getting that answer so soon. Because he didn't dare speak when the Toman commander and female vice commander were in such heated states.
Still not receiving an answer, the commander let out a sigh as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Even Draken straightened up a little bit too.
"Mitsuya, I'm leaving this to you. Now, all of you out except for Mucho, Hanma, and Chi-chin," the pale blonde boy ordered while the dual color haired girl let out a sigh through her nose.
Hakkai wanted to stay just to tell the commander everything that had happened between the Hell's Angel and his brother. He just wanted to spill everything out, because he knew it would keep her safe. But, he also knew that look on (Y/N)'s face as he quickly made eye contact with her while he began making his way out of the warehouse.
She was going to handle this on her own whether he wanted her to or not. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he wasn't about to stand up to her when she was this agitated.
Chifuyu and Takemichi both looked at each other as they made their way out of the building. They didn't know just how messy this whole thing was going to get. But right now, they both shared the same concerned expressions directed at the sole female member of Toman.
Once everyone had left, Mikey looked at the three standing in front of him. The (h/c) and white haired girl didn't really want to meet his gaze. Because this was not how she wanted her childhood friend to find out about everything. Clearly, her opinion on how she wanted to handle things wasn't quite the most popular one.
"Mucho, mind explaining what you meant earlier?" Mikey quickly got down to business, starting with the one who had brought this whole thing up first.
"I ran into Hachi and Hakkai while I was on my way home the other night and they were right on the edge of Black Dragon territory. I asked what happened and didn't quite get a straight answer," the fifth division captain started recalling the events that had happened the night everything went down.
Mikey then quickly looked over to the Hell's Angel, as did Draken. Both of them saw her do it. Whenever she didn't want someone to know about something, she always rolled her tongue over her teeth. And they had just caught a glimpse of her doing it.
"Go on," the commander nodded, wanting Mucho to continue.
The taller boy side eyed the Hell's Angel, seeing that she wasn't even trying to give him a death glare. Maybe she'd realize that he was doing this for her own good, it was time for someone to know so they could protect her. So that she didn't have to fight alone like she was so insistent on doing.
Looking back to Mikey, Mucho continued where he had left off.
"I heard a couple of rumors the next day while Sanzu and I were coming over here that Taiju had come onto Hachi."
And there it was. The thing that (Y/N) didn't want anyone to really know about yet. The only one was Yuzuha, but the dual color haired girl felt more comfortable telling her. Probably because she was a girl, and girl on girl conversations were more comfortable for her. She didn't know. It was just different when she told her guy friends things like this. And it didn't help because the dual color haired girl was one to deal with her problems on her own.
Mikey was trying his absolute hardest to stay calm and not go into a rage. More so for the Hell's Angel sake because he could tell that him getting angry was not something she needed right now.
"And where did you hear this from?" The commander continued with the questions.
"From a couple of Black Dragon punks in the area," Mucho answered.
Great, so when Hanma had said Taiju was talking, he really was talking. Again, the Hell's Angel shouldn't have been surprised, but at the same time, she just wished the blue and white haired boy would have some sense to just keep his frickin' mouth shut and not let his ego get the best of him. Was that even possible for Taiju Shiba? Probably not, let's be honest here.
"Hanma, I'm assuming you heard the same?" The pale blonde then turned to the other one who had brought up this issue.
"From the man, himself. We ran into each other yesterday and he was bragging up a hell of a storm," the lanky teen responded, putting his hands in his pockets, recalling his interesting little encounter the day before.
Hanma was just kind of taking a joy ride, visiting an old bar he used to hang around just to make himself feel better. And that's when he ran right into the Black Dragon's boss, himself. Of course, Taiju had recognized the zombie as the one who had gone from a vice commander to a third division vice captain. Safe to say, the blue and white haired boy decided to make that sound as embarrassing for Hanma as he could.
But the zombie only decided humor the larger boy by saying he didn't mind since he got to see a certain someone everyday because of it. And that was when Taiju began to open his mouth even more, his jealousy beginning to show quite a bit. Hanma remembered very distinctly that he about punched the shit out of the commander every second he kept going on about how he had kissed the dual color haired girl.
"You wish you could say something like that, don't you, Hanma? You wish you could feel her soft lips on yours, 'cause I have. And it was fantastic."
Hanma was usually not one to engage in something that had nothing to do with him. But like he had told the girl, he had come to like the Hell's Angel. She was such a badass, it was hot. She wasn't a typical girl, and her toughness yet softness when it came to others is what attracted him to her. That, and did he forget to mention her badass self was also very attractive?
Well, looks like Mikey had all of the information he wanted. From these two, at least.
"I see. You're both dismissed," the pale blonde told the two taller boys.
Both of them soon took their leave, leaving the sole female member of Toman as she closed her eyes and let out a sigh through her nose. She was pretty sure she had an idea about how this was going to go, so she might as well get it over with while she still could. When the sound of the door closing came to their ears, the commander then turned to the sole girl, who kind of had her back facing him.
"I didn't know you even knew Taiju," Mikey started very gently.
It wasn't like he was mad at the girl, it wasn't her fault this had all happened. But he did want to know why she hadn't brought this to anyone's attention yet. Taking a deep breath, the dual color haired girl slowly began to turn back toward her friends with one of her hands in her pockets. He was starting out easy, it seemed.
"He was in the same class as me in middle school. And like with every other freaking punk, he wanted to see if I was the real deal and all that fun shit," the Hell's Angel explained, waving one of her hands as she spoke.
She was going to try and make this not sound as serious as it was, even though it was serious. But she wasn't going to play victim when she could clearly show Taiju who was boss. And Mikey figured that was probably a reason why she hadn't brought this up, even if he didn't know the full story of their relationship. The girl had maybe brought his name up once or twice, but not long enough for either Mikey or Draken to remember.
"Has he always been like this with you?" the commander continued to gently press, not wanting to upset (Y/N).
And she knew he wasn't trying to, but this wasn't exactly something she particularly liked to talk about. Still, she wasn't going to hide it if Mikey wanted to know. Closing her eyes and letting out a sigh through her nose while rubbing her forehead, the (h/c) and white haired girl opened her eyes up once again before speaking.
"Unfortunately," she answered.
It was pretty obvious that this had been an ongoing thing judging by how tired the girl seemed of all of Taiju's bull. She had done a damn good job at hiding this. Usually, Draken was the one to pick up on something that was going on with the girl if Mikey hadn't first. And it was clear by the pale blonde's reaction from earlier that he had no idea about any of this.
The boy's dark eyes softened a little bit, not liking how the Hell's Angel wouldn't meet his gaze like how she usually would.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Mikey asked her, just trying to see how he could help her.
But she really didn't want his help, if she was being completely honest with herself. Because that would mean an even more brutal declaration of war and the girl didn't know if she could go through that again. Not when there was a chance of someone else she held dear dying.
The Hell's Angel soon ran her hands through her hair once again, finding this question a little harder to answer.
"Because I was more concerned about Takechi and Kai, and I didn't want to worry you guys since you've been worried about me enough," she responded in the most honest way that she could think of.
If she and Taiju were ever going to get into a fight, she'd be the one that'd come out victorious most of the time. She wasn't scared of him like Hakkai was, she could beat him, unlike Takemichi. She was more concerned about their safety before it came to her own.
Not to mention, within the span of about three months, she had literally almost died twice in front of her friends. And she was not about to do that to any of them ever again. Especially Mikey, because she knew his pain all too well and she wasn't going to put that on anyone else. She wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"Is that why you're wearing your hair down? You've been hiding that one side of your neck pretty well," Draken suddenly brought up.
While (Y/N) wore her hair down on the days when Toman didn't have any meetings, it was very odd for her not to be seen in her signature french braid whenever Toman had gathered. Plus, the dragon tatted vice commander had noticed her unconsciously fixing it on the one side, as if she didn't want anyone to see her neck. And she wasn't even wearing any of her necklaces, which was very unlike her.
Her silence was enough of an answer for both boys as they shared a quick look.
"Can I see it?" Mikey then requested her.
The (h/c) and white haired girl's eyes then shot open. Oh, god. That was the last thing that she wanted anyone to see because it looked just awful. She began fiddling with her hair a little bit, not meeting either of the boys' eyes.
"You're gonna be so mad," she finally let out as she looked back up at her old friends, not being met with the judgmental gazes she was expecting.
"No, I won't. It's not your fault he did this," the commander assured her.
Did she seriously think he was going to be mad at her? For something that she didn't even do? Mikey was not liking how this was playing out in his head. He wouldn't ever, ever be angry with her unless she did something that truly deserved it, which wouldn't ever happen in his eyes.
He just wanted her to be comfortable enough to come to him with whatever was bothering her. But the Toman commander also knew how this girl was. He had known her for a long time, and he knew she took on that older member role very seriously. He knew that she didn't want to seem weak when she believed she could deal with her problems on her own. Just goes to show how stubborn she really was.
"Fine, then Ken's gonna be mad," (Y/N) gestured over to the taller boy just feet away from her, still stalling so she wouldn't have to show them what the Black Dragon's boss had given her.
Though Draken thought her claim was a little ridiculous as he shot her a soft yet firm 'really' expression as he kept his hands in his pockets.
"Angel, come on now," he told her, trying to get her to see that he and Mikey weren't going to be mad.
At her, anyways. The Hell's Angel wasn't to blame here, but she was sure acting like she was. Which didn't sit well with either of them. Running her hands over her face this time, the dual color haired girl let out another loud sigh.
"It's so embarrassing...it looks so bad," the girl whispered, her last ditch attempt to keep her hickey a secret.
But she knew, a part of her knew that she would feel a lot better if she just got it out. Finally letting out one more sigh, the female vice commander soon went over to Mikey, standing in front of him while he stayed sitting on his makeshift throne. It only made him a little taller than the girl, but he kind of wanted to be taller than her for once.
She didn't even realize that her hands were trembling just a little bit as she started moving her long locks back. Draken came over as well, using his large hands to help move her soft hair back and over her shoulder. It was becoming more visible by the second as each lock of the girl's bi-colored hair was being moved. (Y/N) wasn't able to meet Mikey or Draken's eyes as she felt the taller boy moving the last bit of her hair behind her ear.
And there it was, the purple splotch with small red lines surrounding some of it. Mikey, with the calmest expression on his face, reached out and lightly brushed his fingertips against the tinted skin just as the Hell's Angel finally looked over to gauge her friends' reactions. The commander was calm, Draken, well. You could tell he was trying to keep calm for her sake. But the dual color haired girl could see right through him as she let out a small huff through her nose.
"See? Ken's trying not to yell out every cuss word possible," she pointed out, to which she only received the raised eyebrowed expression of the taller vice commander.
She wasn't exactly wrong when she said that. But Draken was very good at keeping his cool until he didn't need to keep it any longer. Taiju was really going to get it because this wasn't okay in any sort of way. If the dragon tatted boy hadn't made it clear already, he was quite protective of his angel.
But probably not as much as Mikey. That boy would literally kill someone over and over again if they had hurt the Hell's Angel. Even looking at her wrong made the commander's dark side come out a little bit. However, the pale blonde seemed to be doing a very good job of not letting his emotions get the best of him.
"Does it hurt?" he softly asked, making sure he wasn't applying too much pressure to where it caused her any pain.
It looked painful, like someone had smacked her right on the side of her neck. And the commander could feel the slight roughness of the small healing scabs that were around the bruise. (Y/N) shook her head as she moved back a little bit, throwing her long hair over her shoulder once again, prompting the pale blonde to take his hand away.
"Nah, not really. But it's there so it's hard for me to hide," she told him, sounding a little more annoyed than anything at the moment.
That quickly went away as the girl darted her eyes off to the side, looking to the ground while her hand traveled to the back of her neck. Mikey could tell what she was thinking, and he wanted to make sure she understood where they were coming from when it came to things she was struggling with.
The pale blonde commander of Toman reached out once again to place his hand on her shoulder. That got her to finally look back up and meet his gaze. She knew he knew what was going through her head. No matter how hard she wanted to hide her weakness from the world, those closest to her would always be able to find it. And sometimes, the Hell's Angel hated that.
Mikey soon drew the girl closer to him where she was now close enough for him to embrace her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders. The girl laid her head on the commander's chest, her hands gripping his shirt as the sleeves to the boy's long black jacket fell over his shoulders.
"I wish you wouldn't hide things that are bothering you from us," (Y/N) heard Mikey tell her, his chest rumbling whenever he spoke.
Closing her eyes and letting out another through her nose, the Hell's Angel stayed quiet. She knew it would eventually come to this. That was her whole issue, the girl was so set on solving her own problems that she forgot that she had people she could rely on. That was her stubbornness taking over. And she truly believed that her friends would only go so far when it came to her doing what she did at times.
"I've worried you guys enough. I don't want you to get tired of me because I'm constantly doing shit," she admitted, her voice slightly muffled from Mikey's shirt.
That was one of her biggest fears next to losing those she loved. Because she was always willing to risk her neck for her loved ones, the Hell's Angel was terrified that they'd all just leave her one day and it'd be her fault. Guess that was something that stemmed from her parents disappearing when she was younger.
There were times the dual color haired girl would think to herself, maybe she was the reason they had left. Of course, her family was quick to tell her that that was not the case whatsoever, but that doubt just lingered. And she didn't even know why.
Both Mikey and Draken were shocked to hear that as they looked to each other while the Hell's Angel kept her gaze to the ground, her hand on the pale blonde's arm.
"Okay, if you really think that, I'm gonna knock some sense into that thick skull of yours," she then heard the deep voice of Draken tell her, which actually kind of caught her off guard as she looked up to her taller friend.
And she was met with that smile that he only really showed her. She didn't know why she was so shocked by that answer. But the dragon tatted boy was really going to knock some sense into that thick head of hers if she really thought that.
Did she forget the time where she and Mikey had saved him from being an older gang's slave boy? Or when she had saved Baji's life back during the Bloody Halloween? Or even when the multiple times she had been there for Mikey during his deepest and darkest times?
This girl. This girl had done so much for these boys, did she really think they would leave her just because she wanted to make sure their lives were worth living? Utter nonsense.
(Y/N) had to pull away a little bit from Mikey as she looked back and forth between the two boys, a look of shock on her face. The pale blonde boy soon let out his bright, close eyed grin while placing one of his hands on her head.
"You're our precious Angela. We worry about you because we care about you. And that's never going to change," the commander assured her.
He knew there were so many people who she had impacted in a good way, so it was pretty safe to say that no one was going to leave her alone any time soon. Somehow, that made so much relief fill the girl's system as she felt some small tears come to her eyes. She peeped out a small 'sorry' before shutting her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose while taking in a deep breath.
Guess she really didn't know how much she needed to hear that. She wasn't alone in this world, and she had those she could rely on. But that didn't mean she would ever stop being a protector. Sometimes, though, this protector deserved a little break.
Glad that she was finally realizing just how much she was loved and cared for, the two boys smiled with Draken reaching out and placing his large hand on the girl's cheek just as she took her hand away.
"I told you, Angel. They're more people who care about you than you realize," he told her, feeling her lean into his palm as she grabbed the boy's wrist in order to keep his hand right where it was.
As much as she didn't want to cry, the Hell's Angel let a few tears as she opened her closed eyes once again, peering back at the smiles her friends were giving her. God, she was so blessed to have them.
"Even if I've got no fear sometimes?" (Y/N) inquired as her voice cracked just a tish.
Since that was often what got her into trouble in the first place. Mikey let out a small laugh before reaching down to pull her closer to him, once again hugging her while stroking her long hair as she leaned her cheek up against his shoulder, shutting her eyes as a couple more tears fell from her cheeks, feeling her fellow vice commander catching some of those strays with his fingers.
"Fearlessness and all," the commander reassured her.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, that was something she needed to hear more than anything. Her fearlessness was part of what made her (Y/N). No one would ever be able to change that about the Hell's Angel. In fact, despite it being one of the reasons why she had gotten into her deadly situations, that trait is what made her so admirable and respected in the gang world and her own personal life. It was all just a matter of convincing her that she didn't need to fight alone in things that she believed she could handle on her own.
It was funny, she had preached to the crybaby hero that he didn't need to fight this on his own, but here she was fighting some of her demons all on her own. She forgot sometimes how much she contradicted herself when it came to certain things.
When she had calmed down from that little talk, the dual color haired girl decided to call it a day for now and started heading out to take Becky back home so she could relax for the possibly little amount of time she had left to enjoy it. Things were going to start moving quickly when they had begun rolling.
The Hell's Angel kind of let her brain muscles guide her home since her thoughts were clearly elsewhere, thinking about how things were going to go down between Taiju and Mitsuya. Surprisingly, the two had never met despite how long the lilac haired boy had known Hakkai, the second division captain had never once had an encounter with his vice captain's older brother.
Speaking of Mitsuya, as (Y/N) began pulling up to her house, she spotted a very familiar and very stylish impulse bike parked in her driveway with its owner leaning up against her front door, his hands in his pockets, and his head perking up when he spotted the girl pulling up beside his impulse. The Hell's Angel shut off her bike and got off, ready for what was possibly coming next.
"I think I've got a very good guess as to why you're here," she told Mitsuya as she walked over to the lilac haired boy, her own hands in her pockets.
"And what would that be, Babygirl?" the second division captain inquired as he stood up, his tone making it seem like he didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
Nice try, Mitsuya. He could play dumb all he wanted, but the dual color haired girl wasn't buying it as she made it to her doorstep, giving her close friend a very exaggerated 'really' expression as she raised her eyebrows. The second division captain knew she'd catch on immediately since there had been a little bit of a scene back at the warehouse. Letting out a sigh while looking to the ground, Mitsuya finally looked back to meet the (h/c) and white haired girl's (e/c) gaze.
"Hakkai told me about what happened between you and Taiju," he revealed, thinking back to a couple of nights before this meeting.
Hakkai had called him in the dead of night, not that the lilac haired boy was asleep or anything. But his vice captain sounded very desperate and scared out of his mind. And that's when the indigo haired boy spilled out everything that had happened that day between his older brother and the sole female member of Toman.
The Hell's Angel pursed her lips a little bit before nodding to herself. Honestly, she figured Mitsuya would be the first one that Hakkai told about this.
"I figured he'd probably tell you eventually. I just...I know what goes on in that family and I won't stand for it," the dual color haired girl told the boy beside her.
She had been more involved with the Shiba family than anyone really realized, and she knew how their life functioned. What Taiju did to his brother and sister was unacceptable, and she had made sure multiple times that the blue and white haired gang boss knew that. And she'd made it clear to him too, hence why they got into screaming matches a lot of the time.
"I know that. But I can't exactly say that makes me feel better considering how Taiju is. With both you and Hakkai," the lilac haired boy responded.
He knew what went on in the Shiba household, and he knew more than the Hell's Angel thought when it came to her involvement with the family. Mitsuya also knew of the Black Dragon boss's obsession with his dear friend. He had found out what had happened when she had been kicked out of Toman too when he and Hakkai had gone to find her, the indigo haired boy was scared it was just going to progress from there. And none of that sat well with the lilac haired boy.
"He doesn't scare me, Kashi, if that's what you're thinking," (Y/N) stated in a slightly annoyed tone of voice as she began getting her house keys out of her pocket.
Taiju? Please, he hadn't scared her before and he wasn't going to scare her now. That's where she believed Mitsuya was going to go with this. That she was scared of the blue and white haired boy and that she needed protection from him. Utter bullshit, in her book.
The lilac haired boy let out a surprised gasp followed by a small laugh as he looked at the girl before him. That's where she thought he was going with this?
"I wasn't. Babygirl, I swear you've got no fear," he assured her with a smile on his face.
He knew very well that she wasn't scared of anything or anyone, no matter how much they wanted to intimidate her. That wasn't where he was going with this at all, he was a concerned friend that wanted to help in whatever way he could.
As the girl stuck her key into the lock of her door, she slowly turned back toward Mitsuya as he took a step toward her. He had that look on his face too, that soft expression that would always bring her peace and kind of show her that she really needed to let others help her out. That smile that would make other girls faint right on the spot.
Like he had done multiple times before, Mitsuya took the girl's face in his hands in order to get her to look at him. He saw her tired gaze look back at him, the redness of her eyelids from earlier, and the slight dark circles under her eyes were still there, though they weren't as visible as they had been.
"But I can tell this is wearing on you a little bit," he told her, seeing that whenever Taiju's name was brought up, she just looked like the life in her eyes would just drain until there was nothing left.
It wasn't something Mitsuya wanted to see after she seemed to be taking a turn for the better after the Bloody Halloween. Putting one of her red nailed hands on top of the second division captain's, she felt him caress her cheek gently with one of his thumbs.
"Let me handle Taiju, okay?"
His soft voice and tone were hard for the Hell's Angel not to listen. She didn't know why, it just always echoed in her ears whenever she heard it. Seemed like Mitsuya knew that too, which is why he spoke like that. He cared about this girl immensely, and he wanted to make sure she didn't suffer anymore. He just wanted her to be happy.
(Y/N) finally relented and nodded, not saying another word as she felt the second division captain take his hands off of her face, giving her one last smile before he went over to his impulse, got on, and drove off, leaving the girl at the doorstep as she watched him disappear around the corner.
The Hell's Angel wasn't so sure that Mitsuya would be able to handle Taiju, she wasn't sure anyone other than her could. Which is why she was coming up with a plan that she hadn't told anyone about yet. Because she knew exactly that those who cared about her were not at all going to like what she was going to pull.
Entering her home, the dual color haired girl closed her front door, staying near the entrance of her home as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She took a deep breath before opening up the device and going straight to Mikey's contact. The phone rang twice before the commander picked up.
"Hey, I need to talk to you. And I just want you to listen."
Timeskip
The next evening was when Mitsuya planned on meeting with Taiju, and he certainly wasn't going to be alone when it came to that. While the second division captain walked down the street quietly, Hakkai was walking behind him with the Hell's Angel at Mitsuya's side. Neither of them were expecting her to come and they really weren't sure how to feel about her coming with them.
The vice captain of the second division had kind of been letting his mind wander as he followed the two older members. He thought back to the time he had first met the lilac haired boy, it had been while he was beating up another young boy. And then Takashi Mitsuya showed up with his two younger sisters, giving Hakkai a smile while telling him the thing that always stuck with the indigo haired boy.
"Use your strength to protect others."
"Taka," Hakkai then spoke up as the trio continued walking.
"Yeah?" the second division captain hummed as he turned to look back at the younger boy.
Hakkai directed his gaze back to the ground as he thought of how he wanted to put this. He didn't want anyone else that he cared about to get hurt and feel the wrath of his brother. He wanted to try and stop this while he still could, so he could keep (Y/N), in particular, away from Taiju.
"I don't think you should talk with Taiju. No matter what you say, it won't end up doing any good. He's a piece of shit," the indigo haired boy hissed slightly as he glared at the ground.
There was no way Taiju was going to allow someone to tell him what to do, he wasn't the person to make deals with. The Black Dragon's boss was going to do what he wanted and he wasn't going to let anyone else tell him otherwise. And the blue and white haired boy was very serious when came to the Hell's Angel, so the second division vice captain knew there'd be no getting through to his brother when it came to her.
That didn't seem to bother Mitsuya though as he turned back around.
"Would you stop that? You've always tried to handle things all on your own. Also," the lilac haired boy started before stopping, prompting the girl beside him to also halt in her tracks as she looked to the second division captain.
It wasn't like he hadn't noticed the other two that had decided to come as well. Turning back around, Mitsuya saw the two blondes catching up to the three of them at a steady pace.
"Why are you two tagging along?" the second division captain questioned, referring to Takemichi and Chifuyu as they finally caught up to the others.
(Y/N) had a pretty good idea as to why they were coming along, after all, Takemichi had said something about how Hakkai would end up killing his brother in the future he had come from. But, she knew the crybaby hero couldn't exactly say that to anyone else at the moment since he didn't have any solid proof. So, he went with the next best thing that he could come up with.
"Huh? Because I'm the one who got beat up," the crybaby hero came up with on the spot as he pointed to his still bruised and bandaged face.
Chifuyu had a very different reason as he copied the first division captain's gesture.
"I'm here to keep an eye on him because he's a moron," the vice captain pointed directly at the crybaby hero while making his claim.
Okay, that was so uncalled for in Takemichi's eyes. The crybaby hero quickly glared over at his partner while clenching his fist the more he dwelled on the sudden insult.
"Hey! Who're you calling a 'moron'?! You're the one who came up with that stupid plan!" the first division captain yelled, thinking back to how much he had embarrassed himself the day before at the meeting.
Oh, so it was Chifuyu who had come up with that. Well, the Hell's Angel really wasn't surprised by that since the first division vice captain liked to think that he knew everything about everybody. And that got him into trouble sometimes. No, all of the times he had tried to do something like that.
Didn't seem to bother Chifuyu as he let out a light hearted chuckle while putting his hands in his pockets.
"But it turned out okay, didn't it?"
Best not to ask any questions, so that's what the second division captain decided as he let out a sheepish smile. There was also someone else he wanted to ask about their presence as well.
"Well, alright then. Now, (Y/N)," the lilac haired boy then turned to the dual color haired girl as the group started walking once again.
"Hm?" she hummed, figuring she knew what he was going to ask.
Especially after what they had talked about briefly the day before. In fact, everyone was thinking the same thing. Why would she want to be anywhere near the Black Dragon's commander's place when she clearly had nothing but disdain for the blue and white haired boy? Mitsuya then looked at her, though she didn't quite look back. Oh, (Y/N), you stubborn and feisty girl.
"I think you already know what I'm going to ask," the lilac haired boy hinted, knowing that she was able to connect the dots.
Hakkai, no offense towards her, didn't want the Hell's Angel here. He was scared about how this whole talk would pan out when the topic of the indigo haired boy was one of the main triggers of hers and Taiju's sometimes very explosive arguments.
Well, she wasn't exactly going to reveal why she had tagged along, though one of the reasons was to keep the gang boss in his place since she was one of the only ones to do so. But none of the boys probably wanted to hear that, so she was going with the next best thing.
"Welp, this is gonna be kind of snippy coming from me, but technically, Kashi, I'm your boss. So in this case, you can't really tell me what to do," she answered very bluntly, a forced smile on her face.
She wasn't wrong, but Mitsuya was hoping he had actually gotten through to her about him dealing with Taiju. Clearly, the lilac haired boy forgot that her skull was one of the thickest he had ever come across. Her answer really didn't put anyone else at ease, but they all knew there was no point in arguing with her since she really didn't seem to be in the mood for any arguing.
In fact, there was something about the Hell's Angel that seemed very off. None of them could really put their fingers on it, but it just didn't feel right.
About ten minutes later, the group of Toman members made it to a very tall apartment building that overlooked the city of Shibuya. Taiju was located on one of the top floors, so the elevator ride was very quiet. Tension and pressure seemed to fill up Hakkai's system with every passing floor. A few minutes went by when the dinging of the elevator snapped the younger Shiba out of his thoughts.
It was go-time. (Y/N) was the one who went up to the door and knocked, thinking if she were the one who did it, then Taiju wouldn't cause a fight right there in the hallway. And she was ready for what would greet her only seconds later when she heard his heavy footsteps approaching the door. And then, the lock clicked, the door creaking open.
There he stood, his red Black Dragon's uniform coat on, he was barefoot, and that smirk quickly appeared on his face as he leaned his arm up against the doorframe, peering down at the sole female member. Taiju didn't even take note of the others that were also in her company.
The Hell's Angel rolled her eyes when she spotted that smirk growing on his face. She was not in the mood to deal with this.
"Back so soon?" Taiju asked her, showing the others the side that she really didn't want to be shown.
Hakkai had to hold back a sharp gasp when he heard his brother ask the Hell's Angel that, as if he were hinting as to what had happened in their house that night. Because he could feel and hear the irritation coming from (Y/N) as she let out a small sigh through her nose as she looked up at the much taller boy.
"Don't start. I'm here for business, so you and I can deal with our shit later," she told him as calmly as she could.
The blue and white haired boy soon lost his smirk as he looked up and notice the other guests he now had. He was expecting Mitsuya, but surely not the punk he had beat up, someone he didn't know, and then his younger brother. Groaning slightly, the Black Dragon's boss moved away from the door and let the others in.
Takemichi, from just seeing the two seconds the Hell's Angel and Taiju interact, knew that this was going to be very interesting, and not in a good way. Nothing more was said as the Toman members entered, taking their shoes off and entering the very luxurious apartment. Koko and Inui were also there since they were the boss's right-hand men.
Once everyone had gotten 'comfortable', the group made their way into the living room where Taiju sat down on one couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table with his men behind him while Mitsuya sat down on the other couch across from the gang boss, the boy having a bit more manners than Taiju. All of the Toman members stood behind the second division captain as the conversations began.
"Nice to finally meet you, Taiju," Mitsuya started out with a smile on his face, being the polite person that he was.
Taiju, not the same story as he leaned back, his arms hanging from the back of the couch. There was a glare on his face as that same angry vein began to appear a little bit on his forehead.
"So, you're that Mitsuya bastard who's been brainwashing my brother all these years," the blue and white haired boy accused, which only resulted in a slight chuckle to come from the lilac haired Toman captain.
"That's one hell of an accusation," Mitsuya let it roll off his shoulders as he leaned his elbows down on his knees.
"I'll kill you, you asshole," Taiju growled.
He wasn't buying this nice-guy act that Mitsuya was putting on. In fact, this was the guy that had turned his family and possibly his love interest against him. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the two of them together in the past. So it was very much safe to say that Taiju didn't quite like Mitsuya.
The members standing behind the couches seemed to stare each other down, tension filling the room. Takemichi had never felt such heavy pressure like this before, and it kind of scared him a little bit. But he had to stay strong and not show any fear. This would literally be life-changing, the future was all going to be based on this conversation.
"So, what did you want to talk about? And make it quick," Taiju calmly demanded, not wanting to waste any time.
Now it was time to get down to business, so the lilac haired boy was going to get straight to the point.
"I'll let Hakkai join the Black Dragons and never get involved with him again," Mitsuya stated, which was practically the opposite of what he had said at the meeting the day before.
The crybaby hero felt his heart leap into his throat. He thought that this meeting was to make sure that Hakkai stayed in Toman, not the other way around.
"Wait, Mitsuya! That's not what you promised!" Takemichi tried to remind the second division captain.
Mitsuya didn't respond, instead keeping eye contact with the gang boss along with the serious expression on his face. (Y/N) kept calm as well, figuring that no matter what Mitsuya was going to say, it would all end in a very different way. Taiju let out a chuckle, not really thinking he had heard what he had just heard coming from the lilac haired boy.
"Now, that's hilarious. I thought you came here to prevent that from happening," the blue and white haired boy smirked, growing excited that he was beginning to get his way.
Oh, but he wouldn't be getting his way. Because there was going to be quite the twist to this whole negotiation.
"In exchange," Mitsuya began, which got Taiju's smirk to disappear.
"Hm?"
"You set Yuzuha free."
Everything in the room seemed to freeze for Hakkai as he began to tense up. The Hell's Angel then narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, knowing exactly where her friend was going with this arrangement. The second division vice captain was growing more afraid as the seconds ticked by, unable to hold back a gasp when he heard his captain say that.
"Taka, why are you asking for that?!" Hakkai desperately and urgently questioned the older boy.
Once again, Mitsuya had given a silent answer to his vice captain's question. The lilac haired boy knew more than some may have thought. And that included what had happened with the Hell's Angel in the past.
"Taiju, you're forcing Yuzuha to do something for you, aren't you? Hakkai has always protected his sister from your abuse," the second division captain stated as he narrowed his eyes at the gang boss.
Takemichi couldn't hold back a small 'huh' when he heard that. He knew that Taiju had hit his sister since he had seen it firsthand, but he didn't think it was that bad to where it was abuse like that. This simple story was becoming more complex by the second.
Taiju, in response to Mitsuya's 'accusation', let out a confident smile.
"Now that's a rich joke," the Black Dragon's boss brushed off the claim that he had abused his sister.
He didn't see anything wrong with the way he treated his sister, and Hakkai was very surprised that his brother hadn't gone into a rage when Mitsuya brought up his sister. Usually, Taiju didn't quite like it when outsiders got involved with the Shiba family affairs.
"Hakkai, have a seat," the second division captain told his vice captain, turning around and nodding with his head toward the empty spot next to him on the couch.
The indigo haired boy wasn't expecting the older one to say that, and it made him freeze in his spot as he slowly looked up, seeing his older brother's figure come into his sight. The Hell's Angel could feel and see the boy becoming more and more frightened as he stood beside her. The other two did as well, in fact, Hakkai looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Y-Yeah, sure," the second division vice captain eventually agreed as he made his way over to the couch, shakily taking a seat and trying not to make eye contact with his older brother.
All he saw were Taiju's large feet that were crossed on the table in front of him and Mitsuya. And then, in a simple movement, the older brother uncrossed his legs before seemingly slamming his heel down on the table. That simple movement made Hakkai flinch as he kept his eyes glued to the ground.
"Hakkai's not leaving Toman because he's afraid of you. He's doing it to protect Yuzuha," the lilac haired boy continued from where he had left off, his vice captain looking at him out of the corner of his eyes.
That was enough to set the gang boss off as his eyes went wide, the veins on his face bulging even more as his temper began to come to light as he quickly drew his fist back and threw it at lightning speed right at the second division captain's face. Mitsuya was fast enough to block it with his arm, but it didn't stop the others from showing their concern.
"Mitsuya!" Chifuyu called out as Takemichi grimaced from beside him.
The Hell's Angel wasn't in the mood for this, so she took a couple of steps forward from behind the couch to where she was standing beside Hakkai, a less-than-impressed look on her face as she narrowed her eyes and made them into daggers just as the gang boss peered over to meet her heated gaze.
"Taiju, you better cool it," she warned in a deep tone of voice.
It sent shivers down the first division leaders' spines. You could tell she was so not in the mood to deal with any shit from Taiju. Goes to show how she really felt about the commander of the Black Dragons. Seeing that there was someone other than her that could block his attacks, the elder Shiba brother grinned his evil grin as he stood up.
"Huh, you're pretty good," he complimented the lilac haired boy.
This might not have affected Mitsuya all that much, it definitely began to get to Hakkai, his breathing becoming rather heavy as if he were gasping for air. There were beads of sweat rolling down his face as he began feeling fear and utter terror filling every part of his being.
Then the flashbacks started.
Back to when he was younger, when Taiju was always around. The times where the older brother would yell at his younger siblings, grabbing their clothes and hair as he got prepared to deliver them their respective beatings. And then Hakkai saw the times when (Y/N) and the blue and white haired boy got into some very heated arguments.
One memory in particular that stuck out in the indigo haired boy's mind was when he heard her and his brother physically fighting and yelling at each other. When it had concluded, the youngest Shiba siblings saw the Hell's Angel in the bathroom of their home with blood running down her face, her nose and her lip were also bleeding. And she was crying.
Hakkai couldn't calm himself down, he was getting more and more frightened by the second. It was becoming even harder to breathe. His chest was tightening up, he wasn't able to get a good breath in. His sweating was becoming more profuse, his panic setting in.
That is, until he felt a gentle touch on his back, rubbing back and forth slowly in a soothing motion as the indigo haired boy felt his racing heartbeat slow down just a little bit.
"Easy, baby, easy," Hakkai heard (Y/N) say to him in a bit of a hushed tone as she kept her eyes on his older brother.
He had calmed down a little bit, feeling safer with her by his side. But his sixth sense was tingling. He felt like there was something more to this, but he didn't know what. And that kind of scared him even more. Mitsuya looked at the dual color haired girl, watching her nod as he turned back to the elder Shiba brother.
"I'll say it one more time. We'll give Hakkai to the Black Dragons, but you release Yuzuha. If you accept these conditions, Toman won't fight with your gang," the lilac haired boy proposed as he stood up from his spot.
"And if I refuse?" the gang boss questioned, not really seeming to be sold on this whole deal.
Now it was the (h/c) and white haired girl's turn. And she was ready to put her own twist on this whole thing, preparing herself for how her friends were going to react. So she decided to start out easy.
"Then I, as the second vice commander of Toman, promise an all-out war between our gangs. I guarantee it," the Hell's Angel finally spoke up as she walked out in front of the younger Shiba brother.
And she had a smirk on her face as the gang boss's golden eyes met hers. Taiju wasn't really surprised when she made that sort of promise. To the shock of Hakkai, his brother was staying quiet, but his eyes had narrowed just a little bit. The dual color haired girl knew she was intriguing him, so she narrowed her own eyes as her smirk grew.
"Told you I came here for business. And I have another deal I'd like to make with you, Taiju," she suddenly proposed as she put her hand on her hip.
Mitsuya then looked to the sole girl of the group, not having a clue as to what she was talking about. She hadn't said anything about a new deal, heck, he didn't even know she was coming today. Now the second division captain was starting to connect the dots as to why she was here.
And Taiju was definitely intrigued as he arched his eyebrow at the Hell's Angel before him.
"Do you, now?" he took her bait, wanting to know more about what her deal had in store.
This wasn't looking good on Toman's end. Takemichi didn't know what was going on, but he felt his stomach drop when he heard her say that she had a deal she wanted to make with Taiju. This could change everything he knew about the Black Dragons and Hakkai's future. Mitsuya figured now was the time for him to step in before this proceeded any further.
"Hey, (Y/N)-"
"You leave Yuzu and Kai alone, then in addition to your brother, I'll join the Black Dragons," the Hell's Angel suddenly stated, which made the jaws of all of the Toman members drop.
This, no one saw coming. In fact, they thought she'd want nothing to do with the Black Dragons, but here she was offering to join them. Like she expected, they all were definitely not in favor of her little plan.
"Woah, (Y/N), hang on-"
"Hachi, no, don't do it!" Hakkai cut Takemichi off as he grabbed the girl's arm, though his legs felt weak.
He was unable to stand, only grabbing onto her arm to maybe get her to change her mind. The second division vice captain wanted to keep her away from his brother, not have her actually join his gang. But, Hakkai wasn't so dumb to figure out the reason as to why she was doing this.
"Hachi..." Chifuyu managed to say quietly, his shock rendering him nearly speechless.
She just got over dealing with the Bloody Halloween where he had almost lost her, and now, the first division vice captain felt like he was going to lose her all over again. Unfortunately for the members of Toman, there was no changing the girl's mind at this point, and she wanted to make that very clear to them.
"I believe you boys know very well that I outrank all of you, so zip it," she turned back towards them, her growly voice snapping at them towards the end as her eyes narrowed significantly.
Which was another thing because she never used that tone of voice with any of her friends. It hurt a little bit that she wouldn't listen to them as she turned back toward Taiju and the other two higher-ups of the Black Dragons. And she wasn't even finished with all of her surprises. In fact, she was about to reveal something that only a few select individuals knew about.
"You've wanted me to join your gang ever since you took over the Black Dragons and I'm giving you this opportunity on a silver platter. Come on, Taiju, you don't want the former commander of the Second Generation Black Dragons on your side?" the (h/c) and white haired girl finally revealed her biggest bombshell yet.
Everyone's eyes, including the Black Dragon members, widened in shock and absolute stun. That's right, along with being a founding member and vice commander of Toman, (Y/N) Osaki was also the Black Dragon's second generation ex-commander. Back before the leaders started becoming more and more twisted, when the gang had its true glory days.
Takemichi, he was at a loss for words. He thought he knew everything when it came to coming back to the past, or at least had a general idea about who the Black Dragons were and maybe why Hakkai would end up killing Taiju. But this, he didn't expect this at all. The crybaby hero stared at the girl holding her ground in front of the blue and white haired boy.
Everything he kind of thought he knew was beginning to come into question, yet he was also learning new things that could possibly help him later on. Still, this new piece of information seemed to hit the others just as hard as it had with him.
When he had recovered from his shock, Taiju soon began letting out his confident yet maniacal-sounding laugh as he reached down and grabbed one of the Hell's Angel red nailed hands, holding it up toward his mouth. She was trying to stay on his good side for now, so the girl was sucking it up.
"Well now, it looks like I've finally gotten through to you, (Y/N). You've got yourself a deal there, sweetheart," the blue and white haired boy quickly agreed to her deal before placing a kiss on the back of her hand.
She had to try her hardest not to react, but that couldn't be said about the boys behind her. Hakkai looked to be taking the hardest as he began feeling his chest tighten up again, his breathing starting to become labored once again. Please, he just wanted this all to be just a bad dream. But it wasn't. It was reality.
As Taiju released the girl's hand, the Hell's Angel tried her best to wipe it on her pants without it being too noticeable. And she didn't want to be met with her friends' concerned expressions either, that would just make it harder for her to do this.
"In that case, let me alter our terms a little bit," Mitsuya finally spoke up once again as he got the Black Dragon's boss to turn his attention back towards the lilac haired boy.
As much as the second division captain didn't want to admit it, he knew there was no convincing the dual color haired girl to reconsider her decision to do this. So he wanted to make sure that her safety was guaranteed in this whole thing.
"In addition to keeping your hands off of Yuzuha and Hakkai, you don't touch her," Mitsuya stated firmly, refusing to back down until he got Taiju's word on it.
Of course, the blue and white haired boy lost his smile when he heard someone accusing him of hurting a loved one for no reason, but he kept his cool.
"Oh, trust me, I would never even think of it," the gang boss shot back at the second division captain.
Well, that was a lie since he had already done it, clearly. But no one was going to bring that up while the Hell's Angel had Taiju right where she wanted him. The gang boss soon went over to the lilac haired boy as he grinned his crazy grin, grabbing the boy's hand in order to solidify their agreement.
"It's a deal. Though I've never abused Yuzuha, but I'll leave her alone and never hit her again. Now, if you all don't mind, I'd like to have a word with the Baddest Woman in all of Japan," he told everyone, including his own men.
Oh boy, what could this possibly be about now? Well, (Y/N) was probably going to be spending a lot more time with Taiju, so she might as well get used to it while she could since it had been a hot second.
Hakkai was on the verge of freaking out. He was able to find the strength to stand, but he kept his grip on the girl's arm. She looked to him as he stood up, and she could see all of the desperation and every other emotion he was feeling swirling around in his eyes. The girl sent him a smile as she grabbed his hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
"Shh, I'll be fine," she tried her best to reassure him while speaking in a soft tone of voice.
It really didn't calm him down, but Hakkai had no other choice but to leave her if he wanted to keep the peace. Sparing her one last glance, the indigo haired boy reluctantly let go of her arm before following the other Toman members out the door. Koko and Inui also followed their boss's orders and stepped out of the room in order to give the two some privacy.
The dual color haired girl watched as her friends left while keeping her back to the Black Dragon boss. When they were gone, she let out a small sigh through her nose before turning back to the taller boy, seeing that grin on his face as he stood just a few feet away from her.
"You just keep getting even more interesting the longer I know you, (Y/N). A former commander of my very own gang," Taiju grinned as he thought blissfully about this whole blessing that had come his way.
He may have thought he knew why she was called Japan's Hell's Angel, but this new information just took her to whole other level. A woman with power behind her, now that was quite attractive.
Of course, the Hell's Angel wasn't too flattered with Taiju's words. In fact, she really didn't want to reveal this little secret to anyone for multiple reasons. And honestly, this was one of them. It wasn't something the girl liked to talk about because of all of the memories and emotions that came along with it.
As the girl stood in silence for a couple of moments, she looked to Taiju with an expression he had never seen her give him before. It wasn't one of anger, for once. Just, she was giving him an honest and almost pleading gaze.
"Taiju, please, this is the only time I'm going to say it. I don't want to talk about it," she requested as she looked the boy in the eye in order to get him to see that this was something she was serious about and that she didn't want it brought up again.
(Y/N) didn't even bother waiting for his answer as she began heading for the door. She needed to get home and make a couple of phone calls.
Meanwhile
Mitsuya had received a message from the Hell's Angel that the boys could go on ahead since she had couple of things she needed to do at her house. So the Toman boys reluctantly began to head on their way without their sole female member. It was a lot for Takemichi to take in. And he wasn't able to prevent anything once again, which sucked.
"Looks like Hakkai ended up joining the Black Dragons after all," Chifuyu said from beside him, also noticing that they weren't able to change anything.
But not all hope was lost in the crybaby hero's eyes. In fact, this didn't seem to put him down at all.
"Yeah, but I did learn a thing or two. Hakkai's gonna kill Taiju for Yuzuha's sake most likely. Still, I wasn't expecting (Y/N) to go and join them herself," he muttered the last part, thinking back to how she just made such a bold and risky deal with the guy that almost killed him just a couple of days ago.
Chifuyu had to admit, even though he wasn't showing it just yet, this was a lot for him to take in too. It felt the same as when Baji had left Toman for Valhalla, though the dual color haired girl wasn't exactly betraying her gang. Still, he had no idea what was going on through her head. And then for her to reveal something like being an ex-commander. It was just a lot.
Up ahead of the first division leaders, Hakkai was kind of trailing behind Mitsuya once again, his eyes glued to his feet.
"Taka, thank you. I..." the indigo haired boy started out, not really knowing what to say.
The two people he looked up to the most had just sacrificed so much in so little time. All for him. The words 'thank you' didn't seem like it was enough.
"Hakkai, no matter how tough things get, use your strength to protect others," Mitsuya suddenly reminded the younger boy as he turned back to his vice captain.
Well, technically ex-vice captain, but we won't classify him as that.
"Taka..." Hakkai let out, small tears coming to his eyes.
He remembered when he had gone over to the lilac haired boy's house for dinner the first time the two had met. Mana and Luna were running around and screaming while their older brother was making dinner. All of this seemed too much for a young boy to handle, but Mitsuya wanted to make one thing clear as he looked back to the indigo haired boy with a smile on his face.
"Don't curse the life you're born into, Hakkai."
Once the meeting was done and over with, Takemichi and Chifuyu went to a nearby park in order to discuss some things. Especially Takemichi, since he wasn't sure if he needed to do anything here anymore.
As he and his partner hopped across little stools in a nearby playground that had some water underneath it, the crybaby hero stopped on one as he looked down at his reflecting.
"I think I'm going to go back to the future," he announced as Chifuyu stopped in front of him and turned back around.
"Huh? How come? Hakkai joined the Black Dragons and you haven't completed any of your goals," the vice captain pointed out.
That was true, but some of the things that had occurred during the meeting, Takemichi wasn't so sure that they had happened originally that made Hakkai turned as rotten as he had.
"Hakkai killed Taiju to protect Yuzuha. In that case, now that Mitsuya and (Y/N) got her released, Hakkai has no reason to kill Taiju," the crybaby hero spoke, thinking maybe he really didn't have to do anything more.
Although, Chifuyu thought there was a very important detail that his partner was leaving out here. How could anyone forget something like that when it came to the sole female member of Toman?
"Did you literally just forget the fact that Hachi's now in the Black Dragons too?"
Hello, it was kind of the last thing Takemichi wanted to happen, so of course he couldn't forget about it. But he wasn't so sure the future (Y/N) had done that. So the crybaby hero continued on with this thoughts.
"I thought about that. I still don't know how to feel about it, but maybe she stopped Hakkai somehow. So, the maybe future changed because of that," he voiced his predictions and guesses.
But this whole thing with the Hell's Angel joining. It didn't sit well with Takemichi when he dwelled on it. Especially from what he had seen from the previous interactions between her and the gang boss. He just didn't want her to get hurt from that. Chifuyu could see where his partner was going with this as he reached back and scratched the back of his head, but he wasn't so sure.
"Maybe. But what if nothing's changed?" The first division vice captain brought up as he took a couple more steps forward before leaping onto the next largest platform on the playground.
"Huh?"
"That's just your assumption that Hakkai killed Taiju to protect Yuzuha, right?" Chifuyu clarified.
There wasn't any solid proof that Takemichi had to back his claim up, Hakkai hadn't said anything like that. Which meant there was also that sliver of doubt that could be raised.
"But that's the only reason I could think of," the crybaby hero muttered, not coming up with any other reason since the Hakkai he knew in this timeline didn't seem to want anything to do with any sort of money.
"Not to mention, you didn't say anything about Hachi being involved with the Black Dragons either, right?" Chifuyu then asked, not remembering a single thing about the crybaby hero saying that she had been involved with the Black Dragons.
Now that Takemichi thought about it, his partner was right. He hadn't seen her in any sort of Black Dragon attire, nor was anything about it ever brought up in that admins meeting. But there was one thing he remembered as his blue eyes widened in realization.
"Well, she did seem to know Taiju's henchmen, the ones that were standing behind him while we were there," the blonde revealed back to how she interacted with Koko and Inui then and now.
Clearly, they had some sort of history there. Whether it pertained to the Black Dragons or not, Takemichi wasn't so sure. But he knew she had to have known something about the infamous gang.
"See? So you're also assuming that she didn't do this beforehand," his partner pointed out once again, as much as he wanted to believe that the dual color haired girl didn't join Taiju's gang in the future.
That'd probably destroy him and a lot of other people as well. But clearly, the girl had disdain for the commander, so it wouldn't make sense to them if she just joined them willingly. Even if she was an ex-commander.
"I just don't see why she would though other than to protect Hakkai and Yuzuha," the crybaby hero argued slightly, trying to make his partner see where he was coming from.
"My point is, weren't you also arrested in the future? How are you going to be able to shake hands with Naoto Tachibana if you're in jail?" Chifuyu then brought up.
Oh yeah! How could the crybaby hero forget? He had only been scared out of his mind when those handcuffs were placed on his wrists.
"That's right! I might not be able to come back in that case," Takemichi realized as he brought his hand up and looked at it, remembering what it felt like to be arrested and to be a wanted criminal.
Definitely not something he would want to go back to. Plus, if he got stuck in the future, there'd be no way for him to change anything that had happened now.
"It's way too risky. And besides, it was Mitsuya and Hachi who set Yuzuha free, not you. If you haven't changed anything here, then I doubt anything in the future's changed," Chifuyu somewhat bluntly reminded the crybaby hero.
"Now that you mention it, you're probably right. That's pretty smart of you, Chifuyu," the crybaby hero complimented his vice captain.
Though, Chifuyu really only used common sense to figure out this whole situation. Seriously, how dumb could this guy be if he couldn't even see the clear picture here? Giving the crybaby hero a rather unimpressed look, the first division vice captain shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You're such a dumbass, Takemitchy. Are you really sure you're 26 years old inside?"
"Guess I'm not really thinking right," the crybaby hero admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Takemitchy!" A sudden call caught the boys' attention.
Turning to look behind them and to the left, there stood the second division vice captain as he panted from running all the way here.
"Hey, Hakkai, what's up?" Takemichi inquired once he let his new friend catch his breath.
Once he had, Hakkai took a seat on a bench in front of the slide, telling the two others that he had some explaining to do. And he wanted to make a request. Takemichi took a seat on another bench off to the side while Chifuyu sat at the top of the slide.
Both of them waited patiently for the indigo haired boy to find his words as he looked down at his clasped hands while he leaned down on his knees.
"Tell Taka thanks for me since I won't be able to see him as much anymore," Hakkai started out with his request.
"Uh, sure," Takemichi agreed, not really sure where this conversation was going to go.
But he figured that maybe he'd get some more information to help him decide on how he was going to change the future. There was silence for a few more moments before Hakkai started speaking.
"You see, my family's kind of messed up. We've got no mom, and since I was little, Dad was almost never home. So it was always Taiju who took charge since he was the eldest. He's been a 'boss' since he was a kid. He was bigger than everyone and just plain stronger too," he began explaining.
Taiju didn't just become a boss over the course of him being a delinquent, the boy was practically born a gang boss. He always had this authoritarian attitude going on. And because the Shiba siblings didn't have any parents, that sort of authority in Taiju only grew as he got older.
"But most of all, he was an expert on getting people to like him. All his cronies really admired him. He used violence with great skill. He didn't give you half-assed beatings, he'd beat the crap out of you. And he treats us, siblings, the same way," Hakkai continued, clenching his hands together a bit tighter as the memories started coming back to him.
His brother would always go full out with his beatings. There would be times when little Hakkai would wake up on the floor in a pool of his own blood, Taiju just mere feet away. And then, the oldest brother had the audacity to tell his siblings that he trusted and loved them more than anything, always saying he didn't want to punch them.
It was just his twisted sense of love.
"I always thought that love was supposed to be painful. Because that's how I was raised. That's the way it always was. But then Taka and Hachi turned my world upside down. They both should've been out playing with other kids, but Taka was looking after his sisters while Hachi was practically looking out for herself. It just seemed like they both had a tough life, but both of them were always smiling," the indigo haired boy reminisced as he thought of the smiles he had seen from the two of them the very first time.
It even brought a grin to Hakkai's face the more he dwelled on the good memories.
"When I ate the food Taka made, I'm not sure why, but I cried my eyes out. You know what he told me? 'Use your strength to protect others'. I made a promise then to protect my family and those who I care about the most."
That saying that Mitsuya always told him, the first words he had ever spoken to the youngest Shiba, it always rang inside of Hakkai's head whenever he needed a reminder of why he was fighting. So, when he finally did realize that, the indigo haired boy decided that he would begin protecting his sister right then and there. Of course, Taiju decided to make it even more twisted than it had been before.
Hakkai could still remember kneeling in front of Taiju to tell him that he didn't want his brother to beat his sister any longer. And that smirk, the diabolical look even at that young age was still as terrifying as it is now.
"From then on, I took Yuzuha's beatings instead of her. I protected Yuzuha this whole time. But then, he broke his promise. He beat Yuzuha just like he had before," the boy's story then took a dark turn.
He spoke about the time when Taiju had beat his sister for the first time after a long while of him taking the beatings for both him and Yuzuha. But his older brother, he never claimed he made a promise.
Instead, when Hakkai accused him of breaking it, the young Black Dragon's boss made it his little brother's fault for shielding their sister from her own family when he was simply teaching her a lesson. It was cruel and disgusting.
"That bastard!"
"That guy's a total asshole!"
Takemichi knew Taiju was bad news, but this was a completely different level of despicable. What kind of monster would simply beat their siblings and then claimed it was because he loved them? Taiju Shiba was a complete psychopath.
"I think you guys get the gist of it. That promise he made to Taka doesn't mean shit to him. He'll never release Yuzuha. And now he's got Hachi cornered. God, he just won't leave her alone!" Hakkai cursed as he glared at the ground, thinking back to what she had done earlier that day during that meeting.
That was the last thing the indigo haired boy wanted her to do. Now she would always be in Taiju's sights and his older brother would be keeping his promise that he made to him before.
The crybaby hero and Chifuyu could tell that this, in particular, was really bothering Hakkai. Well, Takemichi wanted to know more about their past, so he might as well take his chance while he had it. And he was prepared to listen to what he was about to hear, because he probably wouldn't be too happy by the end of the story.
"Um, Hakkai, if you don't mind me asking, what's (Y/N)'s relationship with Taiju?" The crybaby hero spoke up, getting Hakkai to turn and look at him.
Oh boy, where did the second division vice captain even begin with that? Guess there was no hiding it any longer since his brother made a couple of advances towards the Hell's Angel during their meeting that day. In order to give the two a better understanding of their relationship, Hakkai started from the beginning.
"It's funny. 'Cause she met Taiju before even meeting me and Yuzuha. They were in the same class in their first year of middle school, and she was still as well known back then as she is now. So, Taiju picked up on that and confronted her," the indigo haired boy started out.
He remembered the day Taiju came home, looking pretty disheveled with blood running down his face and everything. But he was also smiling, saying he had just met the one for him. Hakkai didn't know what that meant at the time, but a short while after that, he soon found out.
"She beat his ass. And from that day on, my brother became obsessed with trying to get her to be by his side. Because she was the only one to ever beat him at what he did best," he continued explaining.
Hakkai remembered times when his brother would try and go find the Hell's Angel but always came home unsuccessful. Taiju wanted a powerful woman by his side to run whatever sort of fantasy world he had in his head.
Chifuyu glared down to his lap, not even realizing that (Y/N) was dealing with any of this. She never spoke about the Black Dragons all that much around him, let alone know their commander.
"Damn, I didn't know they went back that far," the first division vice captain mumbled as he looked up while Takemichi nodded.
His mind was going back to that mark he saw on her neck. And this was only confirmation that it was what he thought it was. The crybaby hero also heard her mention she and Taiju would settle this 'business' later, which could mean a boatload of things. The point was, Takemichi wasn't really liking where this was heading.
"I think you can take a good guess that she doesn't like to talk about him. But when she met Yuzuha and me, that's when it all changed," Hakkai continued.
That day when she had come into their home for the first time was a pivotal one at that. It was the first time the younger siblings saw the two interacting, and it wasn't very pretty. Especially when she found out how their home life functioned.
"Taiju became even more obsessed, always trying to come onto her. But at the same time, he'd still beat the shit out of us if we tried to get in between the two of them. And you guys know Hachi, she always came to our rescue," the indigo haired boy relived as he glared at the ground.
The images of them yelling at each other. And there was that...one time. Shutting his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Hakkai then looked back up at the two blondes before him.
"She's always protected me."