Glaring at him, you continue to struggle at the rope tied around you with your arms behind the chair you were sitting on. Your shoulders shimmy up and down. Your wrists trying to bend further to touch the rope.
He walks closer to you, ever so slowly, pissing you off more than you already were. You began to move faster, your heart racing in fear. He raised his gun to cock it before pointing it at you. His eyes were dark, there wasn't a spec of light in them. His expression was dead, the only movement on his face was when he would blink.
You were disappointed, not only in him but yourself. How could you let yourself do something so reckless? Even after all these years, you haven't learned. Haven't gotten over it.
Staring right through your eyes, his lips finally moved, "Any last words?"
Your shoulders slowly drop and you let your hands dangle from behind. Not breaking eye contact, you think of every moment you had with him. Your friends. How your world changed because of them. Your eyes droop, now staring at him lidded and your tears couldn't help but fall.
"I hope Takemichi finds you soon."
The man's eyebrows now daggered. To be honest, you were glad there was even a hint of emotion in him at all. His forearm shifts fast, aiming lower than he was originally. His platinum-white hair shifts as the momentum of his arm moves back as he pulled the trigger. He shoots you in the foot. You scream in pain, his face went back to emotionless. You were more angry with yourself than ever. He walks closer, now inches from you, putting the gun right at your forehead.
You look up at him, trying to regulate your breathing. Panting as tears flow down your face. This time, he was glaring at you. "Don't ever say another man's name in front of me," he says viciously. You were shocked at the hint of jealousy but it didn't seem to matter anymore. You can feel the gun shake a bit.
"Any more last words?" He asks again.
"I'll miss you... Manjiro."
~
"Manjiro...?" You mumble, waking up. Your body felt sore. You looked down and you were put in new clothes. Laying on a bed. You slowly get up, feeling pain, as you forcefully sit up from the bed.
A dream? No... It was a vision.
Of my own future?
"Your friend's with Hanagaki, right?" You look up to see who spoke to you. It was the dark-haired boy from Black Dragons. He sat on a chair next to your bed. "Were you... The one who put me in this?" You ask, pointing at the new clothes you were wearing. It was a Tenjiku uniform.
The boy looks at you oddly, "Did you want to keep wearing dirty, ripped clothes?"
That answer was enough to confirm it was him. He introduces himself as Kokonoi, Koko for short. "Why am I still alive?" You asked. You saw his eyes widen for a split second, shocked at the second question you had upon waking up. "They're carrying out the original plan," he answers.
You were confused at first. Irritated too. You thought he assumed you would know what the original plan was. Then you finally remembered.
~
"With Emma dead, Mikey will be weakened. We don't want Toman to forfeit the match though, we want him to show up. That's why you're here, to make sure he does."
~
Your eyes began to fill. Tears immediately fall down your cheeks. "No... no..." You fall out of the bed. Koko was shocked at the sudden slump.
"No... no... no... no..."
You repeated. Your face was inches away from the floor as you were on your hands and knees. Kokonoi gets off his chair, lifting you from the shoulders. You smack his hands away.
"It should've been me!!!" You shakily cried out. You felt a lump in your throat. "Why... Why couldn't he take me instead?!" You started to repeatedly punch the floor. The harder you hit, the redder your knuckles became. You began to bleed. Continuing to shout.
Kokonoi obviously had no clue what to do with you. He starts to restrain you from behind, holding your arms back. You continued to scream. Still insisting it should've been you who dies, not Emma.
"I'm the one who got involved! I'm the one who provoked Kisaki! She doesn't deserve this!" You scream, trying to get out of Koko's grip. You can feel him dragging you backward.
He pushes you forward, your cheek squished to the floor. Koko starts wrapping rope around your wrists, restraining you even further. As he tightens it, he lets go of you. You plop to your side and sob. Koko sits beside you, rubbing your back. You could tell he felt awkward touching you.
"Sorry... Kisaki knew you'd fight back, so that's why there's rope under the bed," Koko informs you. You couldn't care any less about what happens to you. You were too busy thinking about Emma. Emma's fate was out of your hands now.
You start to blame yourself. If you didn't headbutt Kisaki, Emma wouldn't be targeted. If you had locked your door before leaving, Izana wouldn't have abducted you. If you hadn't been so adamant in helping and being involved with this conflict, maybe you would've been able to be with Emma and protect her.
Yet here you are. Wearing a Tenjiku uniform, restrained by rope and being 'comforted' by a complete stranger. All of this because you didn't lock your door.
"I wouldn't have minded working under him," Koko spoke again. Referring Takemichi. "Then why are you here...?" You finally respond to him. Your tone was intentionally rude.
"Izana wanted me to be in Tenjiku. Mucho concluded that if he took out Inupi and Takemichi, I wouldn't have a choice but to join. So I joined willingly," Koko answers.
You turn to look him in the eye. "It's not the same thing but I get your situation," he tells you. "There's someone I would exchange my life for too."
There was a small silence between you two. You wondered if he was talking about the Inui, his blonde counterpart back in Black Dragons. "Toman has no future," Koko harshly says, surprising you. You thought he was empathizing with you. But maybe not. "Toman won't make any money. Now that their leader has fallen, the team has no hope. No one to guide them. Tenjiku has already won."
You felt furious. Your fists clenched. Shaking as he claims victory when the fight hasn't even started. Then again, maybe he was right. There's no way Mikey would recover that quickly after his sister's death. Mikey was right about what he said to you before. If the leader falls, the team falls as well. And without Mikey, Toman's spirits will be down. Draken, too, will be absent.
You wished you could die right now. So you wouldn't have to see the battle. So you wouldn't have to see Mikey. The last thing you want to see was him in despair. It was hard for you to remain calm, the last time you had him in your arms. As he cried on your shoulder. His muffled sobs broke you. It was obvious he doesn't cry often, so others wouldn't see him as weak.
You lay there and continue to think about your life. What led to this point. If you had the power to go back in time, you felt that wouldn't change a thing. You've come to accept that this was your fate. You were fine with dying at this very moment.
No matter how conflicting, stressful or confusing things got. You finally had people by your side. It didn't matter if you were a bystander. Or an extra person. You finally had friends who cared about you. Loved you. You had a boy you loved as well. You never thought you'd ever think so fondly of someone.
You began to feel sadder. Maybe your life was worth living. Maybe the people you've made friends with will be sad if you're gone.
Maybe Mikey will lose himself if you're gone.
But what good are you, really? You were tied up at an unknown location with Toman's enemy. You didn't even have the energy to move, let alone speak. Maybe you're the one who's losing yourself. Maybe you don't deserve the friends you made. You don't deserve the boy you love.
The room door opens. You move your head and see that it was Sanzu, the former vice-captain of the fifth-division. So, Toman lost the fifth-division... You thought sadly. The pink-haired boy glares at you and you shudder. Though his eyes were beautiful, you could tell there was some sort of malice behind them.
"Koko, we're leaving to go back to Yokohama, take her to Kisaki," he informs.
Koko picks you up, getting you on your feet. Sanzu leaves. "Today at 8PM, Tenjiku will be facing the Tokyo Manji Gang," Kokonoi tells you. "The Haitanis already took out the second and fourth division last night."
"Mitsuya and... Nahoya?" Koko nodded at your observation. You asked who the Haitanis were and he tells you they were the brothers that had held you down and knocked you out. Rindou, the one who was behind you and Ran, the one with the baton. "Kisaki plans to bring you to the battlefield, if Toman shows up without Mikey, someone is bound to tell him you've been captured by Tenjiku. Especially since you've been missing for the last 24 hours now."
"So, I really am just fishbait?" You say. Your eyes lid and your head lowers. You felt pathetic. "Practically. Unfortunately, I'm unsure of what their plan is for you after the battle" Koko admits.
"That's fine," you say, "I hope I die."
-
This time, you were compliant with Kisaki's orders. You had no power, no energy and no will to fight back anymore. Is this what it's like to be held captive for ransom? You think to yourself. Remembering all the visions you got of other girls being abducted. They probably faced a worse fate than you.
To anyone, you were lucky to be alive. But at what cost? Emma's life? Mikey mental deterioration? Toman's end? You hoped Mikey doesn't show up at all. Letting down Kisaki and Izana.
Even with all these morbid thoughts, there was still a spec of you that wanted to live. For Mikey... Takemichi. Chifuyu. Hina. Everyone you cared for. Because of them, you never felt lonely anymore. All those years you've people-watched. All those years you felt like a bystander. Your friends made you feel like you were someone of importance. You were only 15. You haven't even gotten to experience teenage normalcy. You start to cry, as you were at the back of Shion Madarame's bike.
~
"Me, you, Draken and Mikey should go on a double date some time!"
~
I'm sorry, Emma... Looks like that double date won't be happening. I meant it when I said I would love that.
I hope you're okay... Up there.
Chapter thirty-four, end.