Chapter Text
The club room door slowly slid open, and Takemitchy poked his head into the room. When he saw Mitsuya, he immediately brightened up and entered the sewing club’s base. Mitsuya smiled as he saw Takemitchy carefully maneuver around the girls and occasional guy who were working hard on their sewing. Mitsuya himself carefully tied the last knot of his stitching on the black Toman uniform.
“Mitsuya! You called for me?” Takemitchy inquired.
“Yeah, give me one moment. I just finished up your new Toman uniform. You’re the only person aside from the captains who has received a handmade jacket from me, so you better take good care of it, okay?” Mitsuya mused.
Takemichi blubbered out a response and his eyes shined with unshed tears. Mitsuya laughed and leaned his hip against the table while he carefully removed the uniform from the sewing machine.
“Here, try it on. I need to make sure the measurements fit you”. Mitsuya handed the uniform over to Takemitchy, who slid the jacket on.
Once the uniform was properly put on, Mitsuya hummed in thought as he examined the outfit. He had tried to make some areas baggier than others so that Takemitchy could move around easier, and it seemed like the uniform fit him properly.
“Damn, the uniform really doesn’t fit your style,” Mitsuya finally laughed. Takemitchy’s baby blue eyes and light blond hair completely contrasted with the black gang-style shirt he was wearing. The new Toman member looked confident in the outfit though, which was a rare sight to see.
Takemichi chuckled and sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. A light blush dusted his cheeks as he replied “Yeah, I’ve heard that I don’t look much like a gang member before”.
“Looks never determine if you’re a good fighter or not. Just showing people Mikey proves that point. Alright, everything else looks good. Hand me the uniform, and I’ll put it in a bag so that you can take it home with you later,” directed Mitsuya.
“Thank you so much for making me a uniform Mitsuya! It must’ve taken a lot of time and energy, and I don’t really know if I can-” stammered Takemitchy, before Mitsuya cut him off.
“You definitely deserve the uniform. You have already done so much for Toman Takemitchy, by helping Draken and taking a knife for Baji. Really, this was bound to happen at some point,” chastised Mitsuya.
“Besides,” Mitsuya added, “I’m pretty sure you have half of Toman’s captains and vice captains wrapped around your finger. They would be willing to do anything for you after the latest stunt you pulled with the Black Dragons”.
Takemitchy’s entire body flushed and he looked like he was one comment away from passing out. He chewed his lip and fiddled with his hands a little bit before shyly asking “Are you one of those captains?”
Mitsuya almost dropped the bag he was holding in his shock. He definitely did not expect the blond to ask him that outright. When Mitsuya didn’t respond to him for some time, Takemitchy started fidgeting around. Right, he should probably give him an answer.
All Mitsuya did was reach up to pat Takemitchy’s head, who then blushed even more deeply.
“Come on, we should head on out. Mikey-kun wanted me to bring you somewhere to show you something he prepared for you”. With that, Mitsuya handed the bag to Takemitchy and walked towards the door of the classroom.
He didn’t tell Takemitchy if he was one the captains, but he didn’t tell him that he wasn’t one either.
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An orange tabby slunk up from behind a crumpled pile of cardboard boxes that leaned against the garage of the Sano family The cat strolled up to Chifuyu, and began purring when he scratched it under the chin.
“I swear Chifuyu, you’re like a cat whisperer,” Draken snorted from the side of a motorcycle.
“For real, somehow a cat always finds you and ends up liking you,” Mikey agreed from the other side of the bike.
Chifuyu grinned as he continued petting the stray cat. “I don’t know, they just seem to like me for some reason. What are you guys working on anyway?”
“It’s a bike for Takemitchy! It’s the CB250T, or the Babu,” Mikey answered cheerfully.
“The engine came all the way from the Philippines, and it’s a twin with Mikey’s,” Draken added on.
“Damn, that’s really impressive. You guys made this whole bike for him?” Chifuyu wondered out loud.
“Yeah. We had to scrounge around for some spare bike parts, but it came together nicely. Takemichi deserves the bike,” Mikey answered.
“He definitely does”.
As though speaking his name would summon him, Takemitchy appeared behind the corner that led to where Chifuyu, Mikey and Draken were. Mitsuya was covering his eyes and carefully pushed Takemitchy in the direction of where he was supposed to go. When Mitsuya saw Mikey, he smiled widely. “I brought him just as you ordered, boss”, he reported.
“Um, Mitsuya, where exactly are we?” Takemitchy asked nervously.
“It’s a surprise. Can I let him see now Mikey?” Said commander did another glance over the bike and wiped off some of the oil coating his hands with a rag. He then proceeded to give a thumbs up in assent.
Chifuyu watched excitedly as Mitsuya removed his hands from Takemitchy’s eyes. Having a bike be made by the commander of Toman and going as far as have it match with Mikey’s was an incredible honor. As a matter of fact, he’s positive that Mikey would only ever do this for the sixth division captain.
Once Takemitchy opened his eyes, he was startled by the bike in front of him, “This is the Babu, the bike with the twin engine to my bike,” Mikey explains. “My brother found it in the Philippines, in a ruined, old building. He says that its engine alongside mine were perfect for each other. So now one of the engines is yours”.
Takemitchyi promptly burst into tears after he heard Mikey talk.
“Woah, partner! Are you okay?” Chifuyu panicked.
“Yeah, I am, I’m just really happy,” Takemitchy sobbed.
Chifuyu grinned and draped himself over the back of the blond. “That’s just like you, partner. Come on, get on it, you gotta try it out! It’s so cool!”
After looking at Draken and Mikey for permission, Takemitchy climbed onto the motorcycle. His hands gripped onto the handles of the vehicle, and he started the engine to gently rev it. Sitting on top of the bike, Takemitchy looked like he was living in his element.
“We should do a test drive around the neighborhood, and I could give you directions on how to drive it. You haven’t ridden a bike before this, right?” Mikey asked. He grabbed two helmets from a rack inside of the garage, and threw one at Takemitchy.
“Erm, no?” Takemitchy replied.
The commander tilted his head at his questioning tone. He blinked. “Well, even if you do, we should still do a test”. Mikey sat on the seat behind Takemitchy and wrapped his arms around the other blond’s waist.
Chifuyu was not jealous of Mikey’s current position, and if anyone asked him, he would deny it with fervor. He was not.
Once situated comfortably, Mikey tapped Takemitchy on the shoulder. “How does it feel?”
“It feels like coming home,” Takemitchy returned honestly.
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Inui coughed heavily as he slowly woke up. He blinked his eyes open, and squinted in the dark room he was trapped in. So far, Inui knew that his arms and legs were tied back to the chair he was sitting on.
He shifted his arms slowly to test how loose the bindings were, and to his dismay, it seemed like whoever tied the knots knew what they were doing.
The first thing Inui needed to do was check his surroundings, so he gazed around the room slowly. Koko was tied up to the chair left of him, similar to how he was bound, and Inui was surprised to see that Takemichi was tied up in the floor in front of him.
At first Inui thought that this was a gang who held some sort of grudge against the Black Dragons (Inui couldn’t even say which gang though because the Black Dragons screwed over a lot of people), but with Takemichi here, it was clearly something different.
“Oh Inpui, are you awake?” Inui whipped his head towards the source of the question, which turned out to be Takemichi. When Inui turned to look at Takemichi, Takemichi visibly brightened up.
“Perfect! If you’re awake, this will make things a lot easier. I’m working on getting us out of the binds right now, and I also contacted Akkun to let him know where we are so that he can bring back up to take us out of here,” Takemichi explained.
“How are you getting us out of the binds?” Koko’s voice rasped out. Apparently he woke up too.
To answer his question, Takemichi shifted around so that Inui could see the knife he was using the cut through the rope holding his wrists together. Half of the binds were already cut through so it wouldn’t take long before he completely freed his wrists thankfully.
Unfortunately, their captors picked that moment to walk into the dilapidated room. Inui was surprised to see that it was Mucho and Sanzu who walked in. He’s never really interacted with the 5th division before, and while he knew that they took care of the… shadier business of Toman, there shouldn’t be a reason for them to kidnap him, Koko, and Takemichi.
The blond on the floor managed to slide back enough to prevent Mucho and Sanzu from seeing his knife, but Inui knew that that would only buy him a few minutes before the duo decided to turn their attention onto him.
“All right, I’ll skip the formalities and cut to the chase,” Mucho grunted. “We want Kokoni. With his financial prowess, Izana can grow Tenjiku to a height that no other gang has seen before. And since Kokoni follows Inui and Inui follows you Takemichi, we’ll have to kill you two to get him to join Tenjiku. I won’t hesitate when it will help grow Tenjiku into the biggest criminal organization. That’s your first option”.
“Your second one is to hand over Kokoni without any fuss or struggling, and that way we’ll leave you with only a few bruises and scratches. So, I’ll say this once and only once. We want Kokoni. How we get him is up to you,” Mucho demanded.
Damn it, Inui couldn’t let Koko leave him. For his entire life, it was always him and Koko, together. His sister used to joke that to find one of them, all she had to do was find the other and there was a near 100% certainty that they would be together. Koko was the second half of him.
From the floor, Takemichi let out an angered growl. “Do you really think that I’m going to hand over Koko that easily? There’s no way in hell I’m doing that”.
“Well, it’s your funeral,” Mucho shrugged. He lurched forward to kick Takemichim in the stomach, but Takemichi managed to roll out of the way just in time using his surprisingly freed arms and legs.
In his hand, Takemichi gripped tightly onto the knife and wielded it in front of him. He charged towards Mucho and aimed to hit him, but was knocked off course by Sanzu. The knife clattered from his hand, and Mucho kicked it away from him.
“That’s pretty unfair of you isn’t it? Bringing a knife to a fist fight,” Mucho snarled. “What are you going to do now that you don’t have a knife to do the fighting for you?”
“First of all, you’re the one who’s rude for kidnapping us,” Takemichi retorted. “And second of all, bold of you to assume I don’t have more knives”.
Inui was surprised to see Takemichi grab a second knife from the inside of his jacket and use it again to fight off Sanzu and Mucho. Unfortunately, two against one was still incredibly unfair and this time, Sanzu held back Takemichi’s arm while Mucho forced the weapon out of his hand.
By no means was Takemichi a bad fighter. He even landed a few great hits against Mucho, but it wasn’t enough. Soon it became a one-sided pummeling on Takemichi. Inui was just about to beg them to stop when Koko beat him.
“Enough Mucho! I’ll do what you say so please let them go!” cried out Koko.
“Shut up Koko! I’m not letting you go!” shouted Takemichi back.
He used Koko’s momentary distraction to grab a third knife from the inside of his sock and drove it forward hard towards Mucho. The latter was able to stop the knife from hitting his chest, but he wasn’t able to stop it from hitting the thigh of his right leg.
“What the fuck,” whispered Koko, softly, with feeling.
“Shit,” Mucho swore as he stumbled from the injury. The stab wound looked like it hadn’t hit any major arteries, but the bleeding was still bad enough to requirement treatement, and soon. Inui gazed worriedly at Sanzu, and wondered what he might do.
“Sanzu, I know how much you care about Mikey. And if you really support him, then you wouldn’t force Koko to leave either. You know how much Koko could benefit Toman, and you know that that would make Mikey very happy,” Takemichi warned.
From behind his long strawberry hair, Sanzu gazed at Takemichi with interest. The pink haired vice president stepped back and crossed his arms. “You’re right of course, but forcing Koko to leave would have been much more amusing,” hummed Sanzu in interest.
At that, he shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the exit of the door with a wave of his hand.
“Aren’t you going to take your captain with you?” questioned Inui.
“Hm? Oh him. No, he’s not worth the effort,” answered Sanzu, as he disappeared through the doorway.
“Fuck you,” ground out Mucho. After looking over him, Takemichi decided that he wouldn’t be able to cause any more harm so he pulled out a fourth knife and began using it to cut Inui and Koko free.
Right when Takemichi finished cutting through Koko’s wrist binds and Inui was already free working on his ankle ones, red, blond, and black hair popped up from behind the edge of the door. When the new people found who they were looking for, they collectively let out a sigh of relief and walked in.
Inui tensed up at the sight of them, but Takemichi patted his shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry! These guys are the people I called in for backup”.
“Takemichi!” one of the red haired individuals called out. “The next time you need help, don’t just text us that you’re in an abandoned warehouse. That barely helped, do you know how many abandoned warehouses there are in Tokyo? This is like the eighth warehouse we checked! We also had to fight a couple of gang members of something just to get inside.”
“Ehehe, sorry Akkun,” Takemichi sheepishly apologized. “We should bring you to a hospital. Those injuries look bad,” a long blond haired teen followed up with.
“Should we do something about him?” Yamagishi (Inui thinks) wondered out loud. Takemichi looked at Mucho and said, “Nah. Just call an ambulance and tell them this location, and then they can take care of him”.
Inui and Takemichi finished slicing through Koko’s ropes, so soon enough Koko shakily stood up from the chair. Takemichi let out a large exhale as soon as they finished, and then quickly tilted sideways.
Inui rushed forward to prevent Takemichi from hitting the floor, with Koko quickly covering him from the other side. “Ah, sorry everyone. It looks like I was more tired than I thought”.
“You should stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault,” Ak(kun?) admonished gently.
“Also, please never, ever sacrifice yourself like that for me ever again,” Koko sighed.
“I’ll try, but no promises”, was the cheeky response.
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Black flowed up the stone steps of the shrine into the center clearing. Mikey had called for a gathering in response to the recent Tenjiku attack on Mitsuya and Hakkai. Takemichi worried his lip between his teeth. Now that Tenjiku had finally made contact with Toman, he was entering the most vital part of his plan.
He managed to save Baji and Kazutora this time around and stop the Black Dragon events from escalating too far, but that progress could all be destroyed if Izana and Emma died.
Takemichi mentally sighed as he thought about how Mikey reacted after he escaped with Koko and Inui. The commander’s overprotectiveness reached new levels, and Takemichi really had to do something about it soon if he wanted to continue hanging out with Chifuyu like he used to.
A firm hand shook Takemichi out of his thoughts, and he turned around to see Koko. He followed Koko over to the edge of the clearing under the shade of a Gingko tree. “What’s up?” Takemichi asked.
“...I think I’m going to join Tenjiku,” responded Koko. What? No. No no no no no.
“Why Koko?! Are they sending you more threats or hurting Inui? You shouldn’t join them unless you genuinely want to,” protested Takemichi.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just- Tenjiku went as far as to kidnap you and Inui and then injure a captain and vice captain of Toman. That’s as good as a declaration of war. If I go with them then, they might stop,” Koko explained. He ran a slightly shaking hand through his black hair, and drew in a heavy breath.
“Look Takemichi, I’m not meant to stay in Toman. Toman’s goal and ideals… Toman is too good. With what I’ve already done and will continue to do for money, I don’t belong here. If me leaving will help you and Inui too, well, that’s an added bonus”.
“You can’t leave Toman Koko!” Takemichi bursted out. Koko startled at his voice, and a few nearby Toman members began giving them weird looks so Takemichi lowered his voice. He was really glad that Draken had pulled Inui away to talk to him about something.
“You do belong in Toman. You have me and Inui and all of the rest of Toman to keep you on track, so you don’t have to worry about doing the wrong thing. We’ll keep you in line. And don’t tell me that you’re doing this to keep us safe. I’ll follow you to the ends of the Earth to drag you back, even at the risk of my own safety. And Inui would too. Don’t think that I won’t sic him on you,” Takemichi threatened.
Koko’s eyes widened and he gaped in shock. “Why are you willing to go so far for me?”
“I know that you don’t want to join Tenjiku just because you actually want to join them, especially since you would be leaving Inui behind. Besides, you’re important to me. Do I really need a reason other than that?” stated Takemichi. His voice left no room for doubt.
Koko stared at him. “You’re really weird, you know that Takemichi?” Koko inquired.
“Yeah, I know,” Takemichi grinned.
“And self-sacrificial too. I guess if it’s like that, then I’ll stay,” Koko scoffed. He turned away, but Takemichi could still see the light red that was creeping up on his neck.
“That’s great!!” Takemichi chirped. “Ah, also, I’m going to be pretty busy soon. I might do some weird things but I need you to have faith in me.”
Koko squinted at him. “Okay…” he replied hesitantly, “but if it’s something that will get you killed, I’m pulling you out of it”.
Takemichi nodded his head in assent.
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“Kakuchan!!!”
“Eh- Takemichi, is that you?”
“Kaku-chan, it’s been so long! I’m glad that you’re doing okay!”
“I’m glad you seem okay too. Wait why are you still running towards me? TAKEMICHI-”.
“Stop pushing me off! We haven’t seen each other since second grade in elementary school, a hug is obligatory. Also, I heard that you joined Tenjiku! And you’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings! That’s so cool!”
“You heard about that? Wait, how would you know? Only gangs know about it usually. Takemichi don’t tell me...”.
“Yep! I’m in the Tokyo Manji Gang, and one of its captains. It’s really not cool of your gang to attack us, you know?”
“I know, but that’s what Izana wanted. I’m sorry that you got involved in it. Takemichi, I’m sorry that this is really sudden, but you were my hero when I was younger. You haven’t changed at all either. But right now, Izana is my hero, and I promised that I would devote my life to him. I know that Toman and Tenjiku are enemies right now but… if there’s anyone that can do it, it’s you. Takemichi, please save Kurokawa Izana from Kisaki Tetta”.
“I will. I definitely plan on it at least. That’s actually part of the reason why I was looking for you. Kakuchan, could you get Izana to meet up with me? I need to talk to him about something”.
“I can try to set it up. I won’t promise that Izana will listen to you though. What exactly did you want to say to him?”
“It’s just something about what Kisaki’s doing and his family too.”
“Hmm, okay. Stay safe out there, won’t you? Don’t get involved in the darker gang stuff”.
“I’ll try”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Izana stepped onto the wooden dock of the harbor, and put his hands into the pockets of his Tenjiiku uniform. The wind tousled his white hair, gently blowing it to the side. The Tenjiku commander wondered who had requested to talk to him.
Kakucho refused to tell him who it was and practically begged him to “be civil”, so that wasn’t a good sign. He also said that he would stay nearby in case things got “out of hand”. It was ridiculous, when has Izana ever not been civil?
At the end of the dock stood a teenager with blond hair. Izana barely registered the Toman uniform the other was wearing and the fact that he was the sixth division captain before he was running forward and swinging his leg up kick the other in his face.
A leg stopped his swing, and Izana was surprised to see that the blond brought his own leg up to prevent him from hitting him.
At the commotion, Kakcho ran up behind them. “Izana, I asked you to be civil! And Takemichi, did you really have to wear your Toman uniform?” Kakucho sighed.
“Why are you here?” Izana demanded while narrowing his eyes.
“I want you to stop the conflict between Toman and Tenjiku, so that it won’t lead to an all-out brawl,” Takemichi said.
Izana tilted his head. Interesting. “And why would I do that?”
“Because it will end with people severely injured, including you. Taking over Toman because of Mikey isn’t worth it”.
At his words, Izana completely stilled. “What do you know about me and Mikey? It’s undeniable that we will beat Toman, Kisaki has told me everything about Toman already”.
“Kisaki” Takemichi gritted out, “Is doing this so that you will die fighting Toman, so that he can take over Tenjiku and become a powerful gang member just to prove his shameful worth to one girl”.
Takemichi clenched his fists and stared at Izana with clear blue eyes. “You and Mikey are brothers Izana, why would you risk that bond? Mikey would definitely welcome you with open arms. You already have him, and you could have Emma too.”
Izana moved forward as if he was going to hit Takemichi, but stopped. The blond stood his ground and continued to look at him with his steely eyes. “We’re not brothers! How could we be if we don’t even share the same blood in us?” Izana voiced out loud. All of the anger and resentment he usually kept gingerly wrapped up began bubbling out, for a stranger he didn’t even know.
“Do you think blood is what makes brothers brothers?” Takemichi challenged. “So many blood relatives disown each other, and so many people make a family with their closest friends. You and Shinichiro-san were brothers, and you and Mikey can be brothers”.
“Even if I could be brothers with him, I wouldn’t”.
“No. You don’t get a choice here!” Takemichi exclaimed, exasperated. “You will become brothers with Mikey and you will like it!”
Evidently, Izana quickly became fed up with Takemichi’s demands. The white haired teen lunged forward to punch the blond , only to be held back by Kakucho.
“Let go of me,” Izana ordered. “He doesn’t have the right to say anything when he knows nothing about me and the Sano’s”. Kakucho was nearly shaking with the effort used to hold Izana back.
“You’re right. I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything because my mom picked her job over me and my dad decided that I wasn’t worth his time years ago. I might be biologically related to them, but they definitely don’t love me. And because of that, I know exactly what makes up a family”, cut in Takemichi.
Takemichi walked forward until he was directly in front of Izana. Izana only leaned his head forward to shorten the distance between them even more in a silent challenge. Wide violet eyes met ocean blue through an unsettling gaze.
Seemingly backing off from Izana’s challenge, Takemichi gulped and shifted backwards a little bit. His face shifted into a downcast grimace.
“I didn’t expect to be able to change your mind completely today, but please think about it at least. Being a gang member is already lonely enough, you don’t need to cut off more bridges,” relented Takemichi.
“I don’t know how you ever thought that my thoughts could change, but I promise that they won’t”. With that, Izana turned his back towards the blond and walked off of the dock. He didn’t have the time or energy needed to deal with someone as stubborn and earnest at Takemichi. Some day, that brightness and naivety would get him killed.
While facing away, he missed the apologetic glance Takemichi gave to Kakucho, who gently shook his head in an understanding manner. He also missed the determined fire that lit up in stormy sapphire eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was it. This was the final stretch that would determine if Takemichi would finally (finally) succeed in saving everyone. It would go smoothly right? Heh, who was he kidding, nothing ever went smoothly. The blonde let out a shaky breath as he walked on a cobblestone sidewalk that led to a familiar grave stone.
“What’s the matter? Are you nervous for the upcoming fight?” Inui asked him softly.
“Yeah, I guess I am. Tenjiku is a really powerful gang, but I’m sure we’ll be alright". Takemichi waved his hand to dissipate Inui’s concern.
“Tenjiku is really powerful. They have the Haitani brothers and a bunch of the S62 generation members. They definitely won’t go down easy,” Koko pitched in from his left side. “Say, Takemichi, I was pretty surprised when you asked us to accompany you to visit Shinichiro-san’s grave”.
That’s right. Takemichi guessed that it would be pretty weird for him to make the request, considering how Koko and Inui haven’t told him about their relation to Shinichiro. Well, the best way to explain would be by telling the truth, wouldn’t it?
“Actually, Mikey told me about how Shinichiro-san was the first leader of the Black Dragons. He shared with me his brother’s dreams, and they aligned a lot with Toman’s. A lot of people have told me before too that I resembled Shinichiro-san, so I guess I wanted to talk to him and ask for advice before the fight, with your support. I don’t really see how I’m anywhere similar to Shinichiro-san though, he sounds a lot cooler than I am,” Takemichi stuttered awkwardly.
Koko gazed cooly at him for a moment before responding. “No, you are pretty similar. You both suck at fighting and have too big of a heart”. Inui nodded his agreement, and Takemichi stared back down at the floor, embarrassed.
By then, Takemichi and his two subordinates reached the gravestone. The blonde wasn’t surprised to see two Sano siblings already at the grave, despite Koko and Inui’s shock.
“Oh Takemitchy, I’m surprised to see you here. Though, I suppose I shouldn’t be,” greeted Mikey. From his side, Emma waved her hand and smiled at the familiar faces.
“Yeah, I wanted to stop by before the battle against Tenjiku,” explained Takemichi. He felt like he was going to jump out of his skin with how nervous, so he tried to steady himself.
Toman’s commander must have noticed his anxiety, so he took mercy on him and began talking. “I really want this confrontation to end well, Takemitchy,” he breathed out. A white cloud formed in front of Mikey in the chilly air as he spoke. “We’ve gotten into so many fights recently that it’s hard to remember what I made Toman for. Though somehow, we’ve pulled through every battle, and you’re always there to save me and those I value.”
“I’m worried that this will be the battle where our luck runs out”. Mikey looked back at the grave and traced Shinichiro’s name, etched in stone with his hand. “Do you think that my brother would be proud of me?”
“He would be. You made Toman to help others Mikey, and you’re still protecting that. You being worried about losing that ideal proves you’re good. Shinichiro-san would be so proud,” Takemichi answered confidently.
“Unfortunately, Shinichiro isn’t here so you’ll never know if that’s true. I doubt it is, anyway”.
Immediately, the five people gathered around the grave became alert as they focused on the newcomer.
“Izana, what are you doing here?” Mikey’s already black-brown eyes darkened into obsidian as he recognized the person.
“What? Can’t I visit my dear brother’s grave? Last time I checked, the grave can be visited by anyone”, Izana smiled. “Isn’t it funny? When I was younger Shinichiro saw me all the time and made me believe I was his brother. Turns out we weren’t though. And now he’s buried six feet under”. His lilac eyes turned towards Takemichi with mischief.
Shit, Takemichi really hoped that he would make some progress with their last conversation. It seems like his hope was wasted though. The sixth division captain ground his teeth together, but ultimately decided that it was better to not say anything for now.
“Takemitchy, take Emma and get out of here for now. I need to talk to Izana, and I don’t want Emma to get involved,” Mikey ordered. Murderous intent filled up his features.
“I was hoping to stay here actually, I wanted to talk to Izana too. I can have Koko and Inui stay with Emma though, to make sure she stays safe,” Takemichi requested.
Mikey, Koko, and Inui all looked like they were going to deny him, but Izana stopped them by saying, “Yes, stay! I wanted to talk to you too”.
Warily, Mikey agreed to let him stay. As Koko and Inui prepared to leave with Emma, Takemichi pulled the blond and black duo over, trying to avoid Izana’s interested gaze.
“You two, please make sure you don’t go to the road that’s just past the 11th block, no matter what. I know it’s a weird request, but I need you to trust me on this. Don’t let Emma go under the underpass three, and definitely do not leave her side,” Takemichi whispered urgently.
Inui cocked his left eyebrow, but he and Koko both promised they would do that. “Will you ever explain why you’re asking us to do these things?” Inui inquired.
Takemichi grimaced, but nodded his head. “I promise I will someday, but not right now”.
“Okay. Make sure to stay safe”. Koko and Inui walked over to Emma who finished gathering all of the items she brought with her to the grave, and together they left. Relieved, Takemichi let out some of the tension he was holding on to.
“So, now that they’re gone… Tonight, at 8’o’clock, come down to Yokohoma Bay’s 7th pier to finish Tenjiku and Toman’s final battle. Let’s end this today,” Izana declared.
“Izana…” Takemichi said heavily.
“Takemichi. It’s a shame that Koko decided to stay with you, but I’m sure that after today’s fight he’ll be more than happy to join Tenjiku”. Izana’s eyes sparkled. “I also thought about what you said a bit, and I decided you’re right. Shinichiro and I are brothers. However, I will never accept Mikey as mine. After all, how could I love him when Shinichiro always picked him over me?”
The blond he addressed faltered and couldn’t think of a response. Takemichi knew that Izana hated Mikey, so much so that he was willing to destroy all of Toman. He always thought that it was because of his strained bond with Shinichiro though, and not jealousy.
“I would have accepted you, Izana,” Mikey suddenly spoke. “Shinichiro used to always talk about you. He never told me your name, but he did say that they had white hair and violet eyes. Shinichiro considered you as family, and anyone who was his family was good enough to be my family too,” he snarled.
“And I don’t care!” chirped Izana. “Everything he did for me, he did so that it would help you in the future. It was disgustingly sweet”.
Just when Mikey’s eyes flashed and he prepared to punch Izana, a motorcycle whizzed by on the road adjacent to the grave. A motorcycle with the words “Fear of War” painted onto the back, and two black helmets gleaming under the partially covered sun.
“No,” Takemichi gasped. Ice filled his veins as he took off running after the motorcycle, ignoring the worried shouts from Mikey. Why would they be over here, so far from where they were the last time they tried to hit Emma? Takemichi thought that they had been waiting at the end of the road by the 11th block the last time, but… God, maybe they searched every single road by the graveyard.
The thought of Emma’s danger spurred him to run faster. Takemichi worked so hard to get here, and Emma. Emma can’t die so young again, not when Draken hasn’t confessed to her yet, and Mikey still relies on her so much. She can’t have her entire future stripped from her again.
In the distance, on the left side of a paved street, Takemichi saw Emma walking calmly with Koko and Inui behind her. But Emma was walking towards Hanma and Kisaki, who were speeding towards her.
Never again. Takemichi promised himself that he would succeed this time, and that it would be the very last time. He intended to keep that promise. The blond cut through a small grassy field and leapt over the fence dividing the graveyard from the road.
His shortcut put him a little bit ahead of Kisaki and Hanma, but just barely. Takemichi continued sprinting towards Emma, Koko, and Inui who noticed his presence. Emma called out to him in concern, but Takemichi barely heard her over the white static drowning his ears.
He didn’t have time to think. He didn’t have time to conceive other possible solutions that could get Emma away from the metal bat, and he was desperate. Takemichi always sacrificed himself first when he was desperate.
When he finally reached Emma, he pushed her to the side hard enough into Koko and Inui that they stumbled down too. The first thing Takemichi feels is a blinding pain bursting from his back, the part of his body that replaced where Emma’s head had been moments before. The last thing he hears is an earth-shattering scream and the deep rumble of a motorcycle speeding away.