"Hey, Daju," Sayu started as we made our way to the gym.
"Yeah?" I replied, looking away from my now-healed tattoo and not so healed hand.
She quickly stopped and bowed, dishevelling her unnatural hair. "Can you please help me study?! Math is totally killing me right now!"
Huh, I actually forgot that she had trouble with math, I thought with a chuckle. "Yeah, of course." She sprung up with a big smile. "You owe me some ramen though."
"A small price to pay for freedom."
"Yeah, your parents are kinda strict," I recalled as we resumed walking.
"Strict is an understatement. As long as I get good grades, I can do pretty much whatever. A single bad grade, and..." She shivered. When we were thirteen, so last year, she got a 70 on her finals, and her parents made her go back to her natural hair color for a whole two months and only let her go out for an hour after school. She certainly looked hideous at the time. In the present time, though, she wouldn't look right with unnatural hair.
"Definitely."
"Traumatizing memories aside... How's the whole coyote among wolves thing coming along?" she asked with a new glint of curiosity.
"That's what we're calling it now? I think it's the other way around."
"Well, whichever," she waved off. "So?"
"I'm gonna do it tomorrow."
"You gotta give me all the tea."
"You think I wouldn't?"
~
The hours went by and we ended up skipping the gym, opting to get more study time in. I had always gotten good grades in school, but I still needed to brush up on some things. Then, soon after some fireworks started, everything went black before I found myself staring at a somewhat familiar ceiling. On top of that, my ears were filled with a familiar cry of despair.
"What the heck, Take?" I asked as I sat up, interrupting his cries.
"It's not my fault!" he exclaimed with tears still in the corners of his eyes. "It's his!" He pointed to Naoto. "What were you doing there, Man?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naoto asked, just as confused as I was. "Well, anyway, at least we know my hypothesis was correct!"
"Yeah, good for you, I guess."
As Take explained what happened on his end to Naoto, I looked at my phone to see that Sayu had tried texting me at least twenty times during my "inspirational vacation," as I had told her. Technically, that wasn't wrong. Most of the texts were her asking about certain parts of the story that I drew running on no sleep.
Sighing to myself, I stood up. "I'll be back, I have to make a call." I went to the bathroom and closed the door before calling Sayu and explaining everything the best I could while looking at the pictures I had thankfully taken of the pages.
After about half an hour, I cleared up everything and was finally able to see what was going on. "Sorry that took so long," I said as I stretched my aching arms. "So, what now?"
"We're going to my place to find Akkun's number. Turns out he's part of the upper echelon of Toman," Take said. "Wanna come with?"
"Pfft. Not a chance. I know what your place is like." Seriously, it's a trash heap. "I gotta do some stuff for work anyway."
"But this is more important," Naoto said as I grabbed my light jacket.
"As a mangaka with ADHD, I'll either never forget these ideas, or never remember them. At least if I get them written and drawn, I'll remember," I continued as I slipped my shoes on. "Let me know how it goes!"
With that all said and done, I left and hitched a taxi, writing notes as we went. Eventually, thoughts of what happened and what is happening stopped my work. Tetta Kisaki and Manjiro Sano are the leaders of Toman. The Toman that is so deep in crime, that they're untouchable. What happened that drastically changed the Mikey I knew? Even though I've known him for a few days, it's obvious that this isn't the direction he would've wanted Toman to go. Did something actually happen to Kenny?
I took out my phone and opened up the web browser. "Ken Ryuguji..." I muttered as I typed. My eyes widened as I saw the first article. Kenny... was dead. As soon as I found that out, the taxi came to a stop. I quickly paid him and went inside my small house as I read the article.
Two weeks, I thought as I sat on the couch. "Two weeks to change everything..." I stood up and paced the length of the living room. "That is... as long as Kenny's death is the trigger... If his death sets Mikey over the edge, then Kisaki, who's probably the cause of today's Toman, could easily take Mikey in and possibly steal his authority... If Kenny doesn't die then Mikey could be more immune to Kisaki's influence... But, if Kisaki isn't the bad one..." I stopped with a sigh. "I'll figure this out after some sleep.
~
"Sorry, I'm late. I had to get a couple of chapters done, and on top of that traffic was atrocious," I groaned as I slipped off my shoes. Take had called me about two hours ago, telling me to meet up here, but I was in the middle of illustrating a chapter and lost track of time finishing it. "Oh! August third. Remember that."
"Huh? How did you know?" Take asked, looking a bit confused.
"Know what?"
"That August third is the day Draken died."
"My phone?" I questioned. "The internet is a very handy tool. Ever used it?"
"Uh, um, yeah... I guess I never thought of looking it up..."
"Typical," I sighed as I shook my head. "Well, what are we waiting for? We aren't gonna save Kenny and Hinata from here. We can fill each other in as soon as we meet back up."
"Right," Take nodded. "We'll save Draken and come back," he said with a determined look as he held out his hand to Naoto.
"You guys can do it," Naoto said before grasping Take's hand.
In the next moment, I was by the park. I was jogging and slowed to a stop. The third time makes it real, they say. I sighed as I rubbed the sweaty nape of my neck. As my head was lowered, I noticed that I was wearing one of my older white tanktops that had a couple of holes and had my white school shirt tied around my waist, I also still had my backpack, so I must've been jogging since around the time Sayu went home. Someone must've pissed me off, I thought as I slipped my shirt back on and sat on a nearby bench to catch my breath. I definitely have to start going out at night again...
After a few minutes of relaxing, my pocket began buzzing. Taking out my phone, I saw "Kenny" on the caller ID.
"Yello," I answered.
"Danny, what're you doing right now?"
"Just taking a breather after a run. Why?"
"We're all meeting at Musashi Shrine. Get on over here."
"Sure thing," I said as I got up, the call ending right after. "Joining might have to wait then," I sighed as I started walking to the shrine. It was actually one of the places I went to quite a bit for scenery drawings, so I knew the way well.
Soon enough, I made it to the shrine's entrance, and not too long after, Take and Hinata came into view.
"Hey, you got called over too?" I questioned when they got close enough.
"Yeah, Draken didn't even give me any time to say anything," Take replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sounds about right," I chuckled. "How're you doing, Hinata?"
"Not bad," she replied. "Are you cooled off after that fight earlier?"
"Yeah, jogging does wonders."
A moment after, lights came from down the road, accompanied by the low roaring of motorcycles.
"Are you sure about this?" Hinata asked, standing behind Take now.
"Yeah, totally," he answered, sounding just as nervous, if not more, than her. Most of the bikes had come to a stop now, making the pair a bit more worried, and entertaining me in the process.
"They look pretty scary to me."
"Yeah, but no need to be afraid. Just don't stare. They won't dare bother you if you're with me. Who wears biker gang outfits anymore, huh? And look how many of them there are."
"Hey you!" an older guy with black hair exclaimed from next to us. "Quit your staring. What's your problem? You wanna die?! Get out of here while you still can."
"Is that any way to talk to guests invited by the vice-captain?" I asked with an annoyed sigh, diverting their attention away from Take.
"Haaa?"
"Like some scrawny kids would get invited," a second guy around my height but definitely heavier than me said.
"Yeah, as if we'd believe that crap! A few pissants like you ain't nothin!" He grabbed the collar of my shirt and tried to lift me up before I grabbed his wrist.
"I wouldn't do that," I said with a smile as I tightened my grip, making his loosen.
"Aren't you Takemitchy and Danny?" Someone from not too far away asked as I let go of the guy's arm.
"Yeah/ Yep," we said in unison.
"What're you doin scaring the commander's guests?" he asked as he shooed the two guys away. He was taller than both of us with silvery short hair and an earring on his left ear. He also seemed more tamed than a lot of the Toman guys I've met so far. "Come with me," he said, motioning us toward the middle of the group of bikes.
"Sure thing/ yeah, sure," we said at the same time again. I swear twins are more in sync than any other two people. With talking, at least. Brains, not so much.
He led us past a few motorcycles before stopping as we reached Mikey. "Hey, Takemitchy, Danny," he greeted.
Yeah, there ain't no way that he, the hot cinnamon roll that he is, caused all the future griefs on his own terms.
"Sorry for the surprise invite."
"So, why'd you decide to bring your wifey along?" Kenny asked.
"Sorry about that," Take said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just had no idea it was going to be like this."
"Hello again, Hinata. I'm sorry for scaring you the other day."
"Oh, it's fine. That's all forgotten now. Besides, I'm sorry for my behavior too."
"Hey, Mikey," I said, stepping away from the trio as they continued.
"Yeah?" he questioned with a bit of a smile still on his face.
"About what you said the other day... were you serious?"
"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?"
"Just wanted to make sure," I chuckled. "I've decided to take you up on that offer, as long as you'll have me."
"Sure thing," he said, his smile widening a bit. "Just give me a few days to get things ready."
"Yeah, no problem," I nodded. When I looked back at Take, he had a freshly beaten face.
What the hell did he do this time? I thought as Hinata stormed off.
"Alright, gather round everyone!" Kenny announced. "Meeting's about to start."
Everyone filtered to the shrine and they made a path for the four of us. "Good evening Commander! Welcome, Sir!" They said in unison as they bowed.
Take and I stood to the side as Mikey stood at the top of the smaller staircase with Kenny behind him.
Well, he can certainly shut up a bunch of rowdy boys. God, and I'll be a part of them soon! Sayu was right, this is like a coyote among wolves kinda thing... Well, aside from the fact that this coyote is stronger than a good portion of the wolves.
"I brought you here today to talk about Mobius. If they go up against us, it'll mean war. So, I want to know what you all think."
As he spoke, I could hear two people coming up from behind us. They abruptly stopped before I felt what was probably a foot hit my back. Unfazed, I looked back at the pair. The one who just lowered his foot from my back was a guy taller and rounder than me and next to him was a tall skinny guy. "And what did I do to you?" I asked, a lot calmer than what I would actually be at this age.
"Heeeeh?!" the skinny guy exclaimed. "Problem?"
"You're those Hanagaki punks, right?" the other guy asked.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" I flatly replied.
"You're the little shits that got our boss, Kiomasa, put out of commission!" the taller one practically snarled.
"Yeah, and I'm thinking you're gonna have to pay for that," the other said.
"Uh, pay for that how?" Take questioned, unsure.
Oh, I don't know, maybe an ice cream party, I thought with an internal eye-roll.
"Back off, Pah," the silver-haired guy from earlier said as he came up to us. "You know full well we're supposed to drop the whole Kiomasa issue now since he used Toman's name to promote his little fight club."
"Huh, well I'm stupid, I guess, 'cause I don't know what any of that means," Pah, as I now knew said.
"Yeah! Remember Pah's got the brains of a sand flea!" the one whose name I still don't know added.
"Who asked for your opinion, ya dipshit?!"
"Hey! Pah, keep your mouth shut," Kenny said with an authoritative tone.
"Sorry, Draken..."
As they walked to the bottom of the stairs in front of Mikey, Take asked if I was alright, to which I nodded.
"Don't hold it against him, Danny. Pah's just pretty pissed off right now."
Yeah, I'd say. "No worries."
"He's sorta outta control, isn't he?" Take asked.
"His best bud got worked over by Mobius. That's what ignited all of this," silver-head explained.
"Huh? What do you mean? What happened?"
"It was Osanai, he's the leader of Mobius and a rough dude. Pah's pal crossed him and got the shit beat out of him, then raped his girlfriend right in front of him. To top it all off, they took his money and later beat his parents and siblings too.
"Brutal..."
That guy must really be messed up in the head to do something that horrible.
"That's just the way the whole Mobius gang operates. They're two generations above our gang, and they run Shinjuku."
"I thought Toman ran this whole area?" I questioned.
"Toman runs Shibuya, Shinjuki is seperate. Our whole gang is still a relatively new one."
Huh. I definitely didn't know that. If the war Mikey's talking about is the one that takes place August third, then...
"Well, then, Pah... war?" Mikey asked as Pah continued bowing.
"Mobius are experienced fighters... Some of Toman's guys aren't gonna survive, and I'd be making you guys fight my battle. But I'm... too pissed off to let it go..."
Well, at least he's pissed off for a good reason. If someone had done that to Sayu or anyone else I'm friends with, I wouldn't hold back.
"That's not what I'm asking. Are we gonna fight... or not?"
"... Yes, I wanna fight! I wanna murder all those sons a bitches!"
"Thought so. Anyone here think Pah's beef with Mobius is too much for us to deal with?!" Shouts saying no echoed throughout. "Anyone here scared of getting beat up? Anyone scared of Mobius?" he continued, gaining more shouts from the crowd. "There! You see! Mobius is gonna fall!" Cheers erupted from everyone this time, and even I felt myself getting hyped. "August third! At the Musashi festival! That's where it's all gonna go down!"
I hate it when I'm right...
~
Soon enough, everyone dispersed, leaving Take, Hinata, and me at the entrance to the shrine. Even with the lingering feeling of being excited to be joining Toman, I was a little nervous. August third was only two weeks away. The day Kenny is supposed to die. And it was against a group I knew nothing about. I cursed myself for only being interested in the delinquent's looks before.
After walking Hinata home, Take and I headed to our own.
"You know..." I started, catching Take's attention, "I hate it when I'm right..."
"What do you mean?"
I sighed. "After Mikey said something about war and Silver-head said Pah was pissed at Mobius, I kinda figured that the fight would happen on the third."
"Oh...So, what should we do...?"
"Protect Kenny, duh."
"I know that! But, how are we gonna protect him?"
"Haven't worked that part out yet. Oh, and what did Naoto tell you about the incident?"
"Huh? Oh, right... I don't know why, but Mikey and Draken ended up fighting."
"Really? We'll have to figure that out too."