"I'm surprised we didn't see any Brahman members today," Koko comments.
"I don't give a shit," Mikey cruelly replies, "How's Babu?"
"I'll call the mechanic on the way," the dark-haired boy assures. Koko lets Mikey into the car first, before he goes in.
God, never a talker, this guy.
A newer and smaller gang in Shinjuku picked a fight the other day. They damaged Mikey's CB250T in the process, attempting to aggravate him. Which worked, seeing that their faces were more damaged than the bike now. Either beyond repair, or a very very slow recovery.
The Kanto Manji Gang went out today to either weed out any competition in the area or recruit new members. Mikey's group hasn't found anyone he deemed 'decent' yet. After the last small gang they just beat up, he called quits for the day.
The car starts to drive off. "Cocky little shits..." Mikey mutters in anger, still thinking about his precious bike.
Funny coming from your mouth, Koko says to himself, looking at Mikey from the side. The mechanic finally picks up and Koko starts to ask about Mikey's bike. Just as he said he would.
Mikey looks out the window. His elbow leaning on the door and his palm on his mouth. Looking out at the street.
Pedestrians out in flashy clothing. Already starting their nightlife. The evening had barely even begun.
He continues to think. Not only about his bike but the battle. Things are definitely bound to change, now that he's here too, Mikey says to himself. He lifts his head to look at his palm. Guess I'm stuck here if I'm dead in the future.
The blonde looks up from the window again, "What the..."
"I had a short shift, thought I'd spare you the extra minutes by giving you a ride," Chifuyu answers. You smile at him, "Thanks. Shinjuku station is always packed! Hate to go on the subway alone."
Mikey taps on Koko's arm. "What?" The dark-haired boy turns to his commander. "[Y/N]... What's [Y/N] doing in Shinjuku?" Mikey asks him.
Koko furrows his brows, "How would I know? Am I supposed to keep tabs on her?" He asks. Both sarcastically and genuinely. "No..." Mikey says slowly, "But what's she be doing here?"
Koko sighs to himself, he looks out the window. He watches as you sit behind Chifuyu and the two of you start to drive off on the boy's bike. Koko looks up from the building you were in front of.
"Looks like she was at the Gojo Gym," Koko tells Mikey. "Isn't that Wakasa and Benkei's gym?" Mikey asks, Koko nods. "Seems to me that Brahman successfully scouted her."
"You knew Brahman tried to recruit her and didn't tell me?" Mikey says, upset at the information his subordinate has given him.
"I wasn't aware that I had to keep tabs on her every move, sir," Koko retorts sassily, annoyed at his commander's question.
Mikey stays quiet. "When I went to compensate her for that little misunderstanding, Brahman showed up as well," Koko starts, "Offered to pay her more if she joined them."
"She didn't accept it though, even said she wasn't interested in joining any gang," Koko finished.
Mikey scoffs, "I bet you that blonde bastard changed her mind."
"Which one?"
"Takemichi," Mikey answers. "Ah, thought you meant the one she's behind," Koko says. Pointing at Chifuyu's bike from up ahead. "That's possible too..." Mikey thinks out loud.
And apparently, I'm hard-headed... Mikey thinks. Did she not read my letter at all?!
"Let's follow them."
Koko already expected him to say that. He orders the chauffeur to follow the bike.
Chifuyu stops at a red light. "I don't know, I'm drained..." You say. You just finished telling Chifuyu what you did for training. "Can't use my own bike since Draken and I had a little fight..."
"Fight? After I left?" Chifuyu was shocked to hear the two of you had a disagreement.
You explain that Draken wasn't exactly supportive of you joining Brahman. And even though you understood where he was coming from, you didn't like how he said some of the things he said. "It felt like he was underestimating me, you know?" You added, "It felt like Mikey calling me weak all over again."
"He's just worried," Chifuyu tries to cheer you up, "You should talk to him tomorrow." You groan, "We'll see..."
"Speaking of Draken actually..." You just remembered, "I got a vision of him while he and I were talking."
The light turns green. As Chifuyu drives, you tell him about what you saw. Draken lying on the ground, pale and bloody. Takemichi and Senju were there too.
"It was like Deja vu..." You said, "It was the same way I first saw him. Raining, bloody, on the ground."
"It happens before the fight. July 7th."
"Why don't we just tell him that?" Chifuyu asks. You shake your head, "It's not that simple," you state, "He was already telling me about how he'd risk his life to protect others. In the vision, it was clear he saved one of us, telling Takemichi and I not to feel guilty."
You take a deep breath, "If I tell him, he might still go through with it. Thinking it's the only way to go..."
Chifuyu stays silent, thinking. "Do you think he's being targeted?" He asks you. "It was Kiyomasa the first time, right? You think another person got upset with him?"
"South!" You realize. "He was pretty pissed to hear Draken say he retired from being a delinquent!" You think more about the vision, "But he wasn't in the vision... He wasn't mentioned either."
Chifuyu leans one of his shoulders back to pat your leg, "We'll figure it out when we get back to your place," he reassures you.
Mikey glares, "Why is he touching her?"
We're literally following the girl but that's frowned upon? "Why are we following them?" Koko asks. Mikey looks over at him blankly, "I want confirmation if she's really in Brahman or not," he answers.
Sure, sure... Koko stares at the blonde in disbelief. Clearly, you want an excuse to see her again without actually seeing her.
-
You and Chifuyu finally pass by the busy streets of Shibuya and into the neighbourhoods. Getting closer to your apartment. You tilt to the side and lean forward, looking into the side mirrors of the bike.
I swear that car has been tailing us for the past 15 minutes... You think to yourself, wounding if you were overthinking.
"Do you think that car's following us? It's been behind us the whole time," you tell Chifuyu. The blonde looks behind him, "An Infiniti G35? That thing's like thirty-two million yen."
"Expensive," you comment. You look behind your shoulders to get a better view. You notice the windows were tinted, seeing that you couldn't even see the driver.
"Chifuyu, pull over," you tell him. He complies, pulling over at a street, a few blocks away from your home.
The car pulls over a few feet in front. "I swear to God..." You say irritatedly, getting off the bike. You turn to Chifuyu, "Stay here. Knowing that it's an expensive car, it's probably Kokonoi."
Chifuyu raises a brow, "Koko?" The blonde Parks the bike, still sitting on it, "If the Kanto Manji Gang is giving you trouble, I can step in."
You shake your head, "He might be petty enough to get you fired, Chifuyu," you tell him sternly. "I can handle it. I'll signal if I need you, promise." Chifuyu nods and you start walking toward the car.
"Hurry, go talk to her," Mikey orders Koko. The black-haired boy looks over at his commander, "Outside of the car?" He exclaims. "Yes?" Mikey says as if Koko were an idiot to think otherwise.
Just as I thought, Kokonoi thinks. Why must I be in the middle of this lovers quarrel...
Unsurprisingly to you, Koko comes out of the backseat of the car. You stop walking as he closes the car door, "May I help you?" You asked.
Koko smirks, "You're the one coming to me."
"And you're the one following me," you reply immediately, staring at him oddly. "I'm not following you. I'm following orders," he answers your question.
You exhale through your mouth sardonically, "Oh, so Mikey's telling you to stalk me now?"
Basically, Koko honestly says in his head. "That's beside the point," he says out loud. "No," you say, "Why is he telling you to follow me? Has he been-"
"If you let me finish, you'd know, wouldn't you?" He cuts you off. You scoff at him and stay silent, letting him speak. "What were you doing outside of the Gojo gym?" He asks
You roll your eyes, "Oh, God forbid I have hobbies, Kokonoi," finding it stupid that he followed you just to ask that question.
He chuckles, "Oh? You have hobbies? Other than thinking of Mikey?" He playfully insults.
"Better than having money as a personality," you clap back. "At least I have a personality. Why don't you buy one with the money I gave you?" Koko says, grinning at you smugly.
"And how about you buy yourself a new haircut?" You insult back, "If you wanna look different, adding one more shaved section isn't gonna help."
"Oh, you wanna bring up looks?" Koko replies, seemingly taking offence to that comment. "I dare you, to say something about mine," you taunt.
"You know what?" Koko says, "I won't. 'Cause I'm civil." You squint your eyes at him, "You're literally in a gang, how can you be civil."
"And you're not?" Kokonoi questions back. "If going to the gym really was a hobby, why choose one in Shinjuku? Specifically, owned by Brahman members?"
So he saw me come out of the gym... What's the Kanto Manji Gang doing in Shinjuku? You wonder. "What are you trying to say?"
"There's been rumours floating around that you joined Brahman, is it true?" Koko says. Using 'rumours' as an excuse, which isn't true.
"And what if it was? What would the Kanto Manji Gang benefit from knowing one person joined an opposing gang?" You question back.
Koko smirks, "Hearing Ms. Untouchable joining a gang in general makes interesting news," he tells you. Using your title mockingly, which annoyed you to hear. "Are you calling me a hypocrite or something?" You ask another question.
"I didn't say you were," he crosses his arms and cocks his head to the side, "Unless... You really are a Brahman member."
"What did you say before? Something about gangs being childish?" He recalls the last time the two of you talked. The same day Takeomi offered to pay you into Brahman.
"Okay... I'm a temporary member," you give in, answering him, "I'm only with Brahman until the battle." The dark-haired boy chuckles, "The Three Deities battle? I wonder why," he says sarcastically.
"I doubt you care though," you tell him, "If Mikey wants to know so much about me, why doesn't he talk to me himself?"
I wish he did... Koko says to himself. Tired of doing various tasks that Mikey could do himself. "Just say you miss the guy and get it over with," he replies snidely.
"No, I mean it. Why go through the trouble of ordering someone else to ask me that? Is he scared?"
Koko exhales, astonished at your attitude. "Scared? Of you? Now you're just being arrogant."
"Then how come he hasn't faced me?" You say, "After all, we're adversaries now." Koko stays silent. Unsure of what else to say to you.
You shift your body away, "Tell your commander if he wants more information, he should use his own mouth to ask," you say bitterly. You start to walk away but stop.
You turn your head to face Koko again, realizing something. "This isn't the first time you've followed me, is it?"
Koko opens the car door, "It is." You roll your eyes, not believing him, "Sure, sure."
"No, it is, [Y/N]," he said seriously, "I wouldn't waste time on you unless I had to."
"Then..." You remembered when Chifuyu's bike fell out of nowhere. It wasn't him? "Never mind then."
"Have a good day!" Koko smiles, waving at you. You already know he's faking friendliness.
You flip him off as you continue to walk back to Chifuyu's bike.
Koko puts his seatbelt on and the driver makes a U-turn, going back to the Kanto Manji Gang's base. "Happy?" Koko asks Mikey.
The blonde stares out the window, still watching you. Is she trying to fight me or something?
I have to face her again?
~
"Don't... Don't jump..." She pleaded. Her voice was quiet and slightly strained but I heard her. I definitely heard her.
"What...?" I turn my head. Eyes widened in shock at her words.
"I know what... What you're thinking," she shakily told me, "Don't jump..."
~
How did she know that? How would she know that?
Your last words to Mikey before your death had left him to have sleepless nights thinking of it. Thinking of you.
I didn't tell anyone I was going to jump. Not my members. Not even written. How the hell would she even know that?
Mikey exhales, trying not to think too hard about the future again. "Let her believe she can face me," he finally replies to Koko.
"I know she's not able to."
Chapter seventy-two, end.