"Stop making fun of me!" You snap at Chifuyu as he's almost laying flat on the ground while having a laughing fit "I just- I just can't believe you talk to cats in a baby voice!!" "Oh, shut up" you snarl with a flushed face and let an orange cat jump on your lap while you two are literally surrounded by multiple stray cats because you both decided to feed them after you were shopping for some manga "As if you don't talk to them like that!"
He pets a gray cat and shrugs "I didn't know you love cats that much!" "I do" you nod before pouting a little bit "I even want one but Ran is allergic and Rindou is a dog person, so no cat for me", remembering how much you begged them to get you one when you were younger before you three found out about Ran's allergy. You shake your head "It was horrible when we found out that Ran is allergic.."
"What happened?" He asks curiously and you reply a bit hesitant "Well, as I said I really wanted a cat and uhm...when I was four I just took a cat from the streets home with me and tried to hide it in my room and stuff" "They found it?" "Yeah" you nod with pursed lips "Ran was sneezing and couldn't breathe properly. It got so bad that he ended up in the hospital!"
Chifuyu stares at you in slight shock as you go on "After the doctor ran some tests, he asked him if he was near any cats since that's the only thing he's allergic to but he said no...while I had that cat in my room for three fucking days already" you facepalm "I started crying and obviously had to confess what I did" "Ouh, did you get into trouble?" "Actually I didn't and Ran told me that he's going to be fine because we all literally didn't know he's allergic. But to this day, I still feel bad for what happened" you sigh heavily.
Nodding in acknowledgment before he smiles brightly "I have a cat tho! He's really cute!", your eyes widen as you gasp and grab his arm "Oh my god, why didn't you tell me that earlier?! Can I meet him, please?" "Sure!" He chuckles amused at your excitement and opens the rest of the food containers for the cats before getting up while you also get back onto your feet and take his hand "Let's go!"
"Wait- I live the other direction!" He exclaims when you just drag him with you without a plan. You gasp and turn on your heel "Oh!" "No, no! The other, other direction!" He points to your right, making you halt "Yeah, how about I just let you lead the way while I shut up for once?" "Keep talking while I guide us" he retorted.
You follow him up some stairs in the apartment complex he lives in "You're living with your parents, right?" "Just with my mother, my father is dead" he responds, causing you to look apologetically "Oh, I'm sorry" "Don't worry about it. He saved a little girl from getting hit by a truck when she just ran on the road" "Wow.." your eyebrows shoot up.
"Mom, I'm home!" Chifuyu yells as you two enter his apartment, causing your eyes to round a little "Oh shit, you didn't say she's home" "Welcome- Oh, who are you?" Mrs Matsuno walks out of the kitchen and looks surprised to spot you next to her son. You stand there a bit awkwardly and frozen on the spot because you didn't expect that you would meet his mother.
"That's [Y/n], she is-" "Your girlfriend?" She teases and Chifuyu turns bright red while your cheeks also heat up, "No!!" you both say at the same time and he shakes his head embarrassed "No, [Y/n] is just a friend, mom!" "Nice to meet you, Mrs Matsuno!" you bow your head, making her chuckle "You have manners! Chifuyu, you should take her as an example and be just as respectful as her"
Feeling Chifuyu shoots you a slight glare because he knows how you usually behave and it's definitely not as civil as you're acting right now. She smiles "Anyway, it's nice to meet you too, [Y/n]. Make yourself at home, okay?" "Thank you, ma'am" you nod quickly.
You take off your shoes before you follow him into his room and you immediately spot a black cat sleeping on his bed. He lifts his head and Chifuyu crouches down to greet him but gets fully ignored as the cat skips to you. You frown and pick him up "What are you doing here, Mister Midnight?"
"What?! Do you know him?" He exclaims and his jaw drops on the ground. You nod "Yeah, that's Mister Midnight!", the cat leans into your hand as you gently pet him and walk father into the room, sitting down on the floor. Chifuyu stares at you like you just killed the cat "Mister Midnight?! That's Peke J!!"
Shaking your head "No, I named him Mister Midnight" "I think you mistake him for another cat, [Y/n]!" He scoffs and scowls a little because he sees how much the cat must like you as he purrs loudly and doesn't seem like he ever wants you to stop petting him. You point at the scar on his cat "Nope, I remember that scar. I always pet and feed him after I was at Hina's place. He's often straying around close by her apartment complex"
He lets out a long breath and sits down beside you "What the- How many people know Peke J?!" "What?" "I found him when I was still a kid and I named him Excalibur-" "Excalibur?!" You snort "Like that magic sword from King Athur?! Why would you name him after that?" "Better than Mister Midnight!" "Mister Midnight suits him!!" You shout back offended.
"A'right, better than Ronaldinho at least" he huffs out and you stare at him in shock "What the fuck, who would name their cat after a football player!" "Ryusei Sato and he does like soccer, so I'm not surprised!" "Don't know who that is but that's a horrible name" you state.
Chifuyu stretches his hand out and pets the cat "He's actually the former vice president of the first division" "Oh, I didn't know there was one before you" you look at him surprised "Well, and who gave him the name Peke J?" "Baji did" he replies "We used to live in the same apartment complex and Peke J often run to him"
You nod acknowledging and remember how badly he cried while holding Baji's dead body in his arms on Halloween. An image you certainly wanted to erase from your memory because your (now) friend was suffering...but now that he mentions Baji, everything comes back to the surface.
"I'm sorry" you mumble, making him look up to you with a frown "Huh?" "Because of your friend, that probably wasn't easy for you" "Yeah" he hums faintly "You know, back then I used to always fight people and beat them up. I didn't care what other people told me to do but when I met Baji, that changed", you just nod acknowledged as you don't really know what to say since you never met Baji.
"He was the coolest person in the world to me and I admired him a lot" he adds and a moment of silence passes as you both just pet the cat before you smile "Peke J is a good name", and he chuckles and smiles brightly at him "It is!"
The two of you play a little bit with Peke J and talk about the manga you've bought earlier for a good while before you decide it's time to go home. Entering the kitchen, Chifuyu calls out to his mother "I'm bringing [Y/n] to the train station" "Take an umbrella with you, it's raining quite heavily" she states before turning to you "[Y/n], get home safely"
When you've bid her goodbye properly, you and Chifuyu walk beside each other under the umbrella. You glance up to the sky, grumbling "I liked the snow more" "With your lack of balance?" He teases, causing you to gasp "How dare you say that, Chifuyu?!"
You shake your head "Unbelievable..", noticing something to your right as you two pass a playground. Snorting, you nudge his arm when you spot a guy punching the tire swing "Get a load of this dude, Fuyu! I bet he'd rather do that in the snow too, not to mention that this is something Takemichi would do!"
Both of you stop walking as Chifuyu frowns "What the hell is that guy even doing?", handing you the umbrella and approaching him. You're a bit stunned that he goes up to strangers just like that but you silently follow him closely because you're curious too.
"I won't lose!" The guy shouts and Chifuyu calls out to him "What are you doing?", making him spin around and reveal his face.
Your eyes widen as you gasp and stare at him in confusion "Takemichi?!" "Chifuyu, [Y/n]! B-but what are you doing here?" He exclaims, being just as surprised as you are but you laugh "Dude, what are you doing?" "[Y/n] and I were hanging out. I just wanted to bring her to the station when we saw you punching the tires like a weirdo. Why are you doing this in the rain? That's creepy!"
"Shut up, I'm busy, can't you see? I'm not playing around here!!" Takemichi yells, making you and Chifuyu frown as he goes on and rambles about how he has to get stronger and that the future won't change if he doesn't get stronger than anyone else.
Placing a hand over your mouth "Oh my god...you're Takemichi from the future", Chifuyu also realizes that and stares at him in disbelief. Takemichi looks at you two with sad eyes and nods "I'm back again.."
In just utter disbelief, you listen to him as he tells you about how he directly leaped back to Mitsuya's funeral. Naoto visited him and explained that everyone is dead and Hina died again too. Chifuyu got shot dead, Mitsuya was strangled and Hakkai was burned to death while Draken got stabbed, just like Kazutora, Peh and Pah. Even Kisaki is reported dead.
"[Y/n]..." he turns to you and the way he is looking at you makes you shiver "W..what?", you instantly know whatever he's about to tell you is not good. He looks down on his feet "I was the only one alive, so I began searching for you with Naoto and his power within the police" "W-why would you search for me?" You frown, causing him to knit his eyebrows "Because we are friends, [Y/n], and like I said everyone is dead!" "Right...and- and did you find anything about me?"
"We didn't find anything"
You just nod your head slowly while Chifuyu frowns deeply "What do you mean, Takemitchy?" "It was like she vanished into thin air. There were no reports of her address, phone number, job or just anything" he explains and then looks at you again "You weren't reported dead nor missing...it was like you didn't even exist, [Y/n]"
"Do you think this has something to do with everyone dying?" You question but he shrugs "Maybe, I'm not sure" "But that can't be possible, I never was involved with you all or any other delinquent gangs...not really at least" you state and feel how Chifuyu is looking at you.
"You must be mistaken when you think that it has something to do with all of you" you stated, making Takemichi frown "And why else would you disappear just like that, [Y/n]?"
Staring back for a moment before you gulp and shrug your shoulders, looking away "It...was just a thought of mine, I don't know" "No, I know what I heard from Naoto" he said with knitted eyebrows "It has to do with the gang because there is no other explanation for that left!", you don't reply.
He runs a hand over his mouth "Mikey...he was the one who killed everyone. Maybe he has something to do with your disappearance, [Y/n]" "What?! Mikey killed everyone?" Chifuyu exclaims in shock while you're confused how Takemichi concludes that you'd have anything to do with Mikey since the two of you are not close "Do you have proof for that?" "He sent me a letter from the Philippines and I met him there. First I thought he didn't change at all" he stated "I also asked where you, [Y/n], are but he didn't answer and just looked away"
"'All my life, I've been suffering', that's what he told me after he admitted that he killed everyone and Naoto shot at him" he states while the wheels in your head start turning as you think all of this through.
Maybe there is a chance that you're involved when Toman has turned bad in the future, then..- But yet again, you're not that close to Mikey, not at the moment at least. Personally, you know what your future looks like but you can't make sense of the fact that it is supposed to be with him or anyone else in Toman when you're not even close to them. Yeah, you're friends with Chifuyu and Takemichi but that was going against the rules you set for yourself.
So what changed?
He resumes to punch the tires "So, that's why I have to get stronger. Future me left Toman and everyone stood up for me, letting me do it" "Takemichi, stop it. Your hands!" You call out to him as you see blood splattering on the ground but he doesn't react "I have to stay in Toman and get tough enough!", Chifuyu tugs on his arm "Show me your hands, man, they are all bloody! Have you been doing this all day?!"
Though he wiggles out of Chifuyu's grip and goes even harder than before "What can I do in the past that can make the future change and will save everyone?!", you have enough and toss the umbrella away. You stomp over to him and grab him by the back of his jacket, yanking on it and sending him flying backwards into the mud "Stop it, Takemichi!! You don't get stronger by punching like this and whining the whole time while you're at it!!"
"Y-you don't understand" he sobs "I went over it hundreds of times and I still have no idea how to save everyone. It's too hard! I held Mikey in my arms as he died and I felt his life go out of him!!", you open your mouth to argue but there is no point you come up with at the moment. Chifuyu sits down beside him on the ground while you turn your back to them, tipping your head back and letting the cool rain fall on your face.
"What a fucked future.." Chifuyu mumbles before smiling "But the present is pretty good, don't you think? I mean, we three are back together!", you chuckle and look over your shoulder "Yeah, I kinda thought I'm never gonna see you again, Takemichi"
More tears cascade down Takemichi's face and Chifuyu hums "I feel like I know what to do" "Really?" "Beat the crap out of Mikey!" "Huh? Are you out of your mind?" He asks "He'll kill you!" "Yeah, he's going to kill me anyway" "But not now?" "Oh, c'mon, Takemichi!" You laugh "We can't do anything about the deaths of your friends or that I'll dissolve into thin air now anyway, so fuck it. The least we can do is just try anything"
Chifuyu looks up to the dark sky "Ah, the rain has finally stopped", you stretch your hand out to Takemichi and help him get back on his feet as he says "Thanks, guys, I feel a lot better now", adding "Everyone said that Mikey has changed but that's true. He's my friend and before he died he said that all his life he has been suffering, so if he really is then I'll support him"
He looks at you and Chifuyu with a serious face "I've made up my mind. I'll never go back to the future until I'm the leader of Toman" "I'm with you!" Chifuyu smiles while you tilt your head "And you still like him even though he's bad in the future?" "He's my friend and when there's a chance I can stop him, then I'll take it" "But when he's like that in the future, then there must be a certain darkness to him now too" you point out but he dismisses you "He's not like that yet, so I can still prevent this from happening!"
"He's not like that yet, so I can still prevent this from happening!" it echoes in your head, making you stop and just silently nod.
"This is my last revenge!" He adds.
They bring you to the train station and when you open the door to your apartment, you are still kind of drenched from the rain when you threw the umbrella away to stop Takemichi from continuing hurting himself. You kick off your shoes and shout "I'm home"
Your brothers turn around to you and frown when they see that you're soaked but have a big smile plastered on your face. Rindou cocks an eyebrow "What kinda drugs are you on?" "High on life~" you chirp and skip to the couch they're sitting on before you just throw yourself on them "Group hug!!"
"Eww! Go away, you're drenched!!" "[Y/n], my hair!! My hair!!" "Fuck!! My glasses, man!!" "Get off me!!" they complain but you don't care and shift around a bit, squeezing yourself between them and still don't giving one fuck that you're drenched. Rindou fixes his glasses and grumbles "You're ruining the couch", trying to scoot away but you hook his and Ran's arm with yours, so they can't escape you.
"I have an important question!" You declare, making Ran raise an eyebrow while brushing through his hair to smooth it out again "Ask us" "Would you two still love me as your little sister if I was air?" You ask dramatically and it's silent for a moment before Rindou laughs out loud "What kinda dumb ass question is that?!"
"It's not a dumb question!!" you bark "Answer me!!" "We would die without air, so yes we would still love you. You are our little sister!" Ran replies and you grimace "You are so corny!" "I just answered your question!!" He snaps back and you laugh, leaning your head on his shoulder and mumble a small "Thank you"
Ran and Rindou exchange confused looks, probably thinking that you finally had lost it completely.
"Why are you asking us this?" Rindou questions "You're not trying to run away, are you?" Ran squints his eyes at you "No no, I was just theoretically speaking. We made a promise after all, we will never leave each other's side!" you shake your head, smiling at them.
"So you would follow us when we tell you to?" Ran asks and you frown "Of course, you two are my older brothers. I'll follow you anywhere if you need me, I'm already doing that all the time anyway, so that's not a change", he nods and smiles back before he and Rindou look at each other again when you look away.
"[Y/n], go take a bath and put on some warm clothes or else you will get a cold if you continue sitting here in your drenched clothes" he nudges your arm, making you jump up "On my way~"
They watch you close the bathroom door and Ran looks back to Rindou "She's not gonna drift away from us" "If she's really gonna stay with us..-" "She will. It doesn't have to be like Mishima said" he knits his eyebrows "He can be wrong too, you know", Rindou stares at him for a moment before he looks away "I don't want her to leave us behind and that what Mishi said becomes the reality"
"She won't. We just gotta make sure of that"
After a hot bath and having dinner, you're working on a new painting when your phone suddenly rings. It startles you a bit and causing you to whip around, spilling the turpentine for the oil paints all over your hands "Oh, fuck!", quickly setting the container down and wiping your hands before you grab your cell.
"H-hello?!" You take the call ("Hey, [Y/n], I was talking with Chifuyu and something was weird about the future") he states, making you frown while you scratch your hands "Tell me about it" ("When Kisaki got kicked out of Toman, he said that he's the darkness for Mikey but now that he's gone, Mikey burdens that himself. Kisaki might be the reason for Mikey's change") he says.
("Kisaki may know something") "About Mikey?" You ask and he hums ("Yeah, maybe") "Well, we can't ask him since he's fucking dead in the future and we most certainly can't ask him now" ("Yeah, we will have to figure out what we will do next") he states, causing you to nod agreeing "Yes!"
You hang up after telling him to let you know if he finds out something. Walking out of your room while scratching your hands, you look at your oldest brother "Ran, do we have some of this cream left for my hands? I spilled the turpentine", he sighs heavily and gets up to help you "Not again, [Y/n]!"
"There you go" he sets the cream on the sink counter as you wash your hands "Thanks. I'll leave earlier today, by the way" "Why?" He frowns "I thought you're meeting up with Mishima at 10pm, it's 7 now" "Yeah but there's something I have to do before that" you dry your hands and grab the cream as you walk back into your room.
He follows you "Like what?" "Nothing that should concern you" you start packing a duffel bag after applying some cream on your hands while he scoffs lightly "Anything you do concerns me, you're a menace", you stare at him offended before you quickly grab your stuff and rush out of your room "I gotta go, bye bye!!"
"When are you back?!" He yells after you and you answer "I'm not sure but I think at around 1pm tomorrow or something", then hurry out of the apartment to avoid more questions.
Your oldest brother sighs heavily before he walks back into the living room and sits back down on the couch while Rindou looks over to him "She'll be back tomorrow in time for the ambush, right?" "Yeah" he hums in response "I don't think she will protest too much when we remind her of our promise"
You impatiently tap your foot as you stand in the elevator of another apartment building in Roppongi and wait to arrive at the 6th floor. When the doors open, you speed walk down the hallway to Akuma's apartment and are about to ring the bell when the door already swings open and you're faced with him.
For a second he looks surprised like you do before he smirks "Oh? Little [Y/n] is visiting me again", stepping to the side and gesturing you to come in, seemingly disregarding the plan he originally had when he walked out. You enter the apartment "Yes and I'm honestly kinda glad you moved to Roppongi, I would've been too lazy to drive to Meguro right now and you would've come to me", curiously looking around his new place "Looks great!"
Akuma hums, walking into the spacious living room "Why, thank you! Costed me a shitload of money", watching you flop down on the couch "So? What gives me the honor to be graced with your lovely presence tonight?" "There I thought you'd dial it down with your flirting this year but I'm disappointed again" you cock an eyebrow "Not surprised but still disappointed"
"I have a proposal!" You declare and he immediately nods "Yes, I'll marry you!" "That's not- What??" You stare at him confused before shaking your head and just ignore what he said "I wanted to suggest you a little deal. I pay you to let somebody get jumped!" "We got the deal" "You didn't even hear who and how much I'd pay you yet" "I'm bored, so I'd say yes to anything right now" he shrugs and you nod "Understandable"
He takes a seat beside you, flailing his arms on the backrest of the couch "So who is it?" "Have you ever heard of Kabukicho's reaper, Hanma Shuji?" You ask and he squints his eyes at you "I actually did but what do you got to do with him? He's a delinquent" "You don't have to worry about that, you just have to worry about not getting paid because I won't pay you if your guys aren't successful" you retorted while also thinking about how it's way easier to find Hanma than Kisaki since you don't even know where the latter lives.
But he doesn't drop that topic and leans closer to you "Nah, I wanna know what's going on before I send my guys out", you snarl "Nothing...I just don't like him" "And why's that?" "Not your business" "Is he your ex-boyfriend or something?" He raises an eyebrow while your eyes widen "W-what? How do- No!" "Hah! So he is!!" He exclaims with a huge grin plastered on his face "Well well well, I heard that you were at a Valhalla party a few months ago, so it was with him!"
You look at him with an unamused expression and push him away, crossing your arms "He's an asshole!" "Aww, did somebody not get the princess treatment they deserve?♡" He mocks and squeezes your cheeks "Now you come to me because you can't tell your brothers about this!" "Can you shut up?" "No, let me have that moment of satisfaction" he shakes his head while pulling out his phone and cooing "What a poor little baby you are!"
"Do you want him dead or just jumped?" He asks as he holds his phone to his ear. You nod and slap his hand away from your face "Just a little hurt for now...maybe a week vacation in the hospital", he hums and then turns his attention to the call "Yo, gather 10 guys and find out where Hanma Shuji is right now. We meet in Kabukicho at Cine City Square"
A few minutes later, you sit in the passenger seat of Akuma's black 2005 Chevrolet Corvette and listen to 'Needles' by Seether. You watch Akuma exit a 7/11 after getting something to drink before you two drive to Kabukicho. He sits down beside you and tosses a pack of candy on your lap "Got your favorite ones", putting a beer and soda can into the cup holder.
Smiling, you open the candy "Thanks" "You're welcoming, doll" he puts the car into drive "So I wanna talk about Hanma Shuji again-" "Nooo~" you whine and slouch in your seat, stuffing some more candy into your mouth while he laughs "Aw, c'mon! I wanna know if he dumped you or you dumped him!" "I did" you stated, thinking like that anyway. Hell, you actually weren't even entirely sure if you both were really boyfriend and girlfriend. He after all never asked you if he can be your boyfriend.
"And he doesn't want to leave me alone now!" you add "I swear he's always on my back" "Do you wanna let him know it was you sending the guys?" "No" you dismiss him with a head shake and look at his side profile "Can your men just pick a fight with him and then beat him into the hospital?" "Gotcha" he hums and reaches over to you, also popping some candy into his mouth before he opens his beer.
When he finally found a parking spot, the two of you enter the streets of Kabukicho and make your way through the crowd to the Cine City Square to meet up with some of Akuma's men, "You wanna grab a drink after this?" He asks while having an arm around your shoulders, so you don't lost. You shake your head "Nah, I got training and work. Why the hell do you think I have this duffel with me?", pointing at the bag you're carrying.
"Ah, man, I thought you're sleeping over at mine" he said, making you grimace "No because you wouldn't watch Barbie movies with me"
Akuma greets a blond boy with a handshake while you eye the other 9 guys that stand there who are also checking you out "Yo, Aleks" "Hey" the latter nods his head to him "We found the guy but he's currently with some other dude" "What other dude?" You question, turning his attention to you "What does he look like?"
"Glasses, blond and not really tall, I'd say around 1,65m" Aleks replies, causing your eyes to widen as you realize that it's Kisaki. You tug on Akuma's sleeve, making him lean down to you "Yes, doll?" "I'll double the money when your guys get him too" you offer in a low voice and he nods back "A'right"
"Jump that guy too" he orders them and they all nod while Aleks looks up from his phone, informing him and you "They are coming our way now" "Do as I told you" Akuma reminds him before they all walk off.
You pull the hood over your head while Akuma takes your hand and the two hide behind a corner while Aleks and the other men get into position. Your heart beats a little faster in excitement as you can see Hanma and Kisaki walking down the street into your direction.
You frown but don't say anything as the two of them turn into an alleyway, causing Aleks and four other guys to follow them. Akuma snickers beside you "Don't worry, we'll be able to watch them. They will lure them out of the alley and they'll receive their beating in front of everyone while the other guys join in too!" "Mmh, that's exactly why I called you!" you giggle and don't mind when he pulls you closer to his chest as you have your eyes fixated on the alleyway.
Though neither of you and Akuma expected that not even one minute after the guys entered the alleyway, Aleks gets thrown out of there. Hanma steps back onto the street with a huge grin plastered on his face while people around them either scream or run away as he grabs Aleks again and punches him straight in the face.
The other guys run towards him to take him down but Hanma is fierce, having no trouble taking on them. You scoff "Looks like you're not getting paid, Akuma. I guess I have to jump him myself, that'll feel better anyway" "Well, you've got one hell of an ex-boyfriend" Akuma scratches his forehead as he watches his men get taken down one by one "I guess he won't leave your pretty ass alone for a while or next time just hire me to shoot him, that'll be easier and way quicker", you don't answer as you wonder where Kisaki and the other four men are.
Not being able to fully finish that thought when your heart completely sinks into your stomach upon seeing Kisaki walking out of the alleyway with Kakucho. The latter immediately goes to help Hanma while Kisaki just stands there with his hands casually stuffed in the pockets of his pants.
"What the fuck?" You whisper and Akuma also frowns "Oi, isn't that the guy you came with by my place when Ran was missing?" "Yes...but what are they doing together?" You ask, being honestly completely shocked to see them together and so you can't help but mumble once more "What the fuck"
In just utter confusion and shock, you watch Hanma and Kakucho take each of the men down with ease before they quickly hurry off with Kisaki as people are staring and you also hear police sirens. You quickly turn away when they run past you and you stare ahead with a blank face as you're genuinely so perplexed "What the fuck..", Akuma grabs your hand and just drags you with him as cops arrive and the other guys also start running away "Let's go"
How does Kakucho know Hanma and Kisaki?!
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AN:
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🎧:
1. Needles by Seether