"Oh? No Draken today?" The man asks. Though he grinned, his eyes looked empty. Soulless.
"Rokuhara Tandai's commander?!" Inupi exclaims.
This... This isn't how it's supposed to happen... You say to yourself. Observing the situation.
You had already foreseen how these few days were going to go. You weren't supposed to meet South now. Yet here you are.
Takemichi just came back and he's already changing the course of the future...!
You slide your right foot back in and take your fists out. "What do you want with Draken?" You ask the man, expecting a fight.
South notices your battle-ready stance, "Are you the girl who was involved in the Kanto Incident?" He asks, "The one they call 'Untouchable' nowadays?"
You turn to Inupi, "I hate being called that..." You say, somewhat groaning. "What do you want with Draken?!" Inupi repeats your question from earlier to the man.
"His location," South answers, grinning, "How about you help me with that!!"
South reaches for Inupi. Lunging his large hand at him. You take a wrench from the counter and quickly force it onto South's hand. He instinctively grabs it. Using the wrench, you pull the man down, forcing him to lower himself. You raise your leg, kicking him harshly in his jaw with your heel. As South's face gets pushed to the side, Inupi ducks under and uppercuts him in the chin. You quickly pry the wrench out of South's hand as he loses his balance.
You chuck the wrench behind. It was clear those two attacks weren't enough. South adjusts his chin and starts to laugh, "How about I ruined that little title you've garnered for yourself?" He says, grinning at you specifically.
His stare was intense. Terrifying. There was no doubt that he wouldn't think twice about killing you. You keep your cool and read him.
South's fist travels to you at a rapid pace. It wasn't enough time for you to get a vision for his future moves. You try to shift your body away but his fist was too close. You raise your left arm to block him. Using your right hand to help your left keep steady.
You get pushed back, feeling your sneakers screech on the wood tiles. You keep your feet firmly planted on the floor. Feeling your legs tense up as you keep yourself steady.
This is definitely leaving a bruise... You say to yourself, looking at your arm. You stare at him again, finally able to read him.
You quickly move your left arm under South's fist and grab his wrist. With your right hand, you grab onto his shoulder. Using all your strength, you try your best to pull him down. You kick him in the shin as hard as you could, but his body barely lowers. You can hear him chuckling under his breath, enjoying your struggle.
Guess I'm reverting to my old ways...
You move your leg back, gathering momentum, and swing forward. Your leg hitting him under his crotch. His smirk leaves his face as he yells and groans, kneeling from the pain.
"Inupi! Help me restrain him!" You call for the blonde. You push South down to the floor and put his arm behind his back. Inupi quickly goes over and takes his other arm. Both of you were now on South's back. You try to look around to see if there was anything that'll keep his hands tied. You knew you had no chance against South, even with Inupi's help.
South starts laughing again. Both yours and Inupi's hands start to shake as South continuously tries to break from your grip. Keeping South still was getting increasingly difficult.
South stretches his arms out powerfully. Pushing both you and Inupi off of him. The two of you roll on the floor, on opposite sides. Is he even human?!
The large man walks up to you and grabs you by the collar. Lifting you. He then goes to Inupi and picks the boy up by his belt. "Let us go!" You demand. Trying to pry out of his grip. South exits the shop. There was a hoard of other men on bikes outside.
He throws you onto a bike, stomach first. You cough from the pain. Still holding onto Inupi, he hops on his own motorcycle.
The Rokuhara Tandai member starts driving. You grab onto the tail light and the member's jacket. Gripping as hard as you could, in fear of falling off as the bike moved. You bend your legs, and lift yourself, getting one foot on the seat. You place your other foot on the foot peg.
"The hell are you doing, girl?!" The Rokuhara Tandai member yells, feeling you rustle from behind him.
You take a deep breath in. You knew if you made one wrong move, both you and the Rokuhara Tandai member would fall off the bike. You take a deep breath out.
You fully get yourself onto the seat and step on his foot, forcing him to brake harshly. As the bike makes a stop, you grab him by the hair and roughly push him off. "Sorry!" You say disingenuously. You scoot yourself closer to grip on the handles. Immediately speeding up to catch up with the crowd
"CATCH!!" You hear from ahead of you, as you approach the rest of the Rokuhara Tandai members, you hear Inupi yelling. His body was in the air.
DID HE JUST THROW INUPI?!
Takemichi hits the brakes on his bike and South drifts past them after finally seeing Draken. The large man gets off his bike. "Draken. Partner up with me," he proposes.
You drive in between South and Draken. You look over at Inupi, "Nice landing," you compliment. South smirks at you, seeing that you were able to steal a bike from one of his members. "Impressive! Maybe I should recruit you as well!"
"Both me and [Y/N] will never join Rokuhara Tandai!" Draken yells, declining South. You get off the bike and stand next to Inupi, who was dusting himself. You lean back to look over at Takemichi, who looked terrified. Looking at South's large and brooding figure.
"I've retired," Draken tells South, "That said, I don't want to be involved in whatever business you guys are up to." South looked pissed at Draken's reply. He picks up the motorbike in front of him with one hand and shoves it aside.
Holy shit?! You exclaim in your head. He chucked that bike like it weighed nothing!
"Oi! Draken!" South gets in Draken's face. "FORTE!!" He knocks Draken down in one punch. Making the boy skid off the rough concrete.
"Draken!" Inupi calls out in worry. You make your way to Takemichi, who looked like he was going to try to step in. The blonde looks over at you as you have your hand on his wrist. "Don't try!" You discourage Takemichi. "But...!" The blonde mutters.
Draken gets up. Without wasting time, South rushes over to him and punches him on the side. Sending Draken flying from the impact. As Draken is in the air, South punches him down.
You look over at Takemichi and Inupi. Should I step in...? I couldn't even handle him with Inupi by my side... But to stand here...? And watch?!
South starts yelling at Draken, who was struggling to get back up. Telling the boy it was unforgivable to retire. And that they shared the same goals. 'To make an era for delinquents.'
Takemichi looks at you in concern, feeling your hand quiver while still on his wrist. You were getting agitated at the things South was spitting. South turns his head towards the two of you, smiling wickedly. "How about you... Former first-division captain?"
"Huh? Me?!" Takemichi exclaims. You pull Takemichi behind you. "Don't even try it, South," you say, taunting. South slowly walks to you. You take a stance and look into his future, to read his moves.
Oh! I don't have to do anything, you say in your head, letting your body loosen up.
South notices your sudden lax demeanour but continues to walk toward you. Suddenly, a body of a Rokuhara Tandai member gets thrown next to South's feet.
It just had to be that guy though... You look behind South in disappointment. It was Akashi Takeomi as well as the rest of Brahman. "Ah, come on," South says to Takeomi, "Don't ruin the fun."
"Am I? I thought the party was just getting started," Takeomi replies. You start to feel droplets on your face. It starts to rain. South and Takeomi share a short, but loud exchange for a bit. "I'm not here to deal with Rokuhara Tandai!" Takeomi yells, "The one I want to deal with..."
"Is Hanagaki Takemichi!" The man concludes.
You've got to be shitting me...
Takemichi was getting increasingly confused. "Your fight against Tenjiku inspired a lot of people, you know," You say to Takemichi quietly, "You're famous."
"I am?!"
"Hey, hey!! We can't allow you to do that..." Kakucho starts to step in. So does Mochizuki Kanji and Madarame Shion. Who you can't look in the eye, after those future visions you got.
The Haitani brothers start to walk in as well. In a different coloured uniform, but still with the Rokuhara Tandai logo on them.
"Tacky much?" You yell over as the two get closer. They chuckle, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ran starts. "Ms. Untouchable," Rindou finishes. You look over at Inupi and throw your hands up in annoyance after being called that title once again. He gives you a slight pitiful look and shrugs.
Takeomi puts his cigarette back in his mouth, "Being young sure is nice... Right, Senju?"
An umbrella shoots right in South's direction. The man smacks it away on time. Senju quickly rushes in, jumping up and kicking him on the top of his head. Making South lose balance. She lands on her feet and picks up the umbrella. Opening it up in front of you. Shielding both of you from the rain.
You raise a brow at the girl, "Is that supposed to impress me?" Her eyes light up a bit, "Did it?" She asks quietly but eagerly.
"A little," you admit. The girl smiles cutely at you before turning back to face South. "So... You guys want Hanagaki Takemichi too?" She asks. Her voice became slightly deeper compared to when she talked to you.
There's no way the Three Deities are all meeting today... You observe the crowd. You take a deep breath. Phew... We won't see the Kanto Manji Gang...
The two gangs begin to bicker amongst themselves even more. Slowly getting closer, crowding you and your friends, who were in the middle.
Arashi Keizou, AKA Benkei, appears. Hitting Madarame from behind after the boy was boasting about being a former Black Dragon's leader. Kakucho runs at Benkei and punches him in the side. Benkei gets thrown back, his back landing on the concrete.
How strong did Kakucho get?! You could tell Takemichi was thinking the same thing. "If Takemichi wishes to return to the world of delinquency, he belongs to Rokuhara Tandai," Kakucho says, looking over at Brahman. The tall boy then looks over at Takemichi, asking for his answer.
Takeomi chuckles, smoke coming out of his mouth, "Tough bunch aren't ya, Rokuhara?" He talks to South. "I didn't recruit the strongest in Tenjiku for nothing!" South boasts. Takeomi smirks, "This gets the blood pumping... Doesn't it, Waka?"
"No, it doesn't," Imaushi Wakasa says laxly. His presence went unnoticed until he spoke. Swift enough to make his way behind Kakucho, startling the boy. Kakucho backs up scarcely.
Wakasa remained calm. "If I cared enough, this guy wouldn't be standing alive," the long-haired man says. His uninterested-sounding voice not matching his overconfident sentence. Senju walks away from you, going to Takeomi.
Brahman and Rokuhara Tandai are now divided into their select groups. "These guys are crazy!" Takemichi exclaims, looking at you. "Yeah..." You say in awe, looking at Wakasa. You've seen how the man fights, it was something you wished to achieve. You admired him. Not only was he great at fighting, but great to look at.
Draken pounds his fist into his palm, grinning, "It's been a while since this engine has been fired up! How about we finish where we left off, South!" He challenges.
"I was planning to bring Draken along to destroy you guys... But you know what?!" South yells, "LET'S JUST SETTLE THIS HERE AND NOW!!"
Senju groans, "I don't give a damn about you guys. I'm just here to get Takemichi and [Y/N] on board before the Kanto Manji Gang arrives..."
She's still trying to recruit me... You say to yourself in disbelief.
Draken was getting increasingly agitated. "Don't just go around and decide things for us!" He shouts at both gangs, "We're not gonna do whatever you guys tell us to! Right?" He looks back at you and Takemichi. You nod at Draken. "Shared goals or not, I refuse to work under any of you!" You say loudly, "None of you will ever achieve the Tokyo Manji Gang's success!"
"I have no interest in Brahman or Rokuhara Tandai...!" Takemichi joins in meekly. "I... I'm only here to defeat the Kanto Manji Gang's commander, Sano Manjiro!!"
You side-eye Takemichi, glaring at the boy intensely. Time and place...! You say in your head, facepalming.
You weren't the only one bothered by Takemichi's words. South stomps over at Takemichi, "Are you trying to interfere with the Three Deities?!" He says, almost like he was about to foam out of his mouth. To think his smile was menacing, his face of rage was worse.
Draken hits South harshly. The large man flies up a bit but lands on his feet. "If you want to get to Takemichi, you have to go through me!" Draken tells South, waving his hand over to the man, challenging him.
Everyone starts to hear police sirens approaching. Most members of both gangs were disappointed. South turns his back on Draken, saying they'll settle this fight another time. South walks away.
"I left the old me in the Tokyo Manji Gang!" Draken yells over at South, "I'll never join Rokuhara Tandai!"
Both Rokuhara Tandai and Brahman start telling their members to start leaving. "Draken!" Takeomi calls out, walking toward the blonde, "Sorry for just standing there." The man walks away.
"So that's the girl you tried to recruit the other day?" Wakasa asks Senju and she nods in response. Brahman and Rokuhara Tandai leave in separate directions. "She said she'd give me an answer depending on a sparring match between us," She tells Wakasa.
"Takemichi, let's go!" Draken calls. Takemichi starts up his bike. "Do you two have a way to get back to D&D?" Draken asks.
Inupi looks over at you, "Where's the bike you stole?" You sigh, "It's been stolen back. Let's just walk..." You wave at both Draken and Takemichi. You turn to Inupi, "You okay?" He was rubbing his arm, "Yeah... I'll be fine..."
"Need a ride?"
You jump and accidentally bump into Inupi. You apologize to the boy and turn back. Imaushi Wakasa was beside you, as well as Senju and Benkei.
Jeez, I didn't even hear him approach! You say to yourself frantically. He's so... He's so handsome up close...! You feel your face warm up a bit. Feeling bashful around the man's presence. Wakasa points over at a car.
"What do you think?" You look back at Inupi, asking for his opinion. "Uh..." Inupi shifts his gaze, feeling indecisive. "We'll only be driving you to D&D Motors, trust," Senju says. You read her.
She's telling the truth.
"Fine," you accept their offer, walking past the Brahman members and toward the car.
Chapter sixty-three, end.