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A silver motorcycle pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the hospital, and Takemichi grimaced as he sat behind Mikey onto the bike. Draken and Chifuyu helped him maneuver himself securely onto the ride, and wrap his arms around Mikey’s waist. As Takemichi stretched his arms forward, he held back a grunt of pain when the movement pulled sharply against his injured ribs.
Chifuyu must have noticed his discomfort though because his brows quickly furrowed. “Are you sure you should be out of the hospital yet, partner?” The blond worried.
Takemichi huffed and pouted. “Yes, I can be out of the hospital! The nurses said that I can leave, and that I only need to call back tomorrow to do one last check in. I know you guys are worried, but jeez, this is like the hundredth time you asked me”, Takemichi complained.
From his side, Draken walked up close to make sure the helmet Takemichi had on was wrapped securely. The dragon tattooed teen snorted in amusement. “We know, Takemichi, but you can’t blame us for worrying. By now we know that even if you say you’re fine, there’s an 80% chance that you’re very not fine”.
Well, Draken wasn’t exactly wrong. And Takemichi couldn’t really deny what he said, so he ended up turning his head away from the blond. Toman’s vice commander just crossed his arms in response, and Chifuyu and Mikey decided it was better if they didn’t point out the unhappy frown covering his face.
Once Takemichi was secured onto the bike, Mikey revved the engine a few times. “Come on guys, let’s hurry and leave already!” he whined. The blond twisted around to look Takemichi directly in the eye and said, “Make sure to hold on extra tight, ‘Mitchy” with absolutely no shame.
Mikey cackled when a blush rushed up Takemichi’s face, followed by a small yelp when he got pinched in the side. “Mean~” Mikey huffed out.
“Don’t act like you didn’t deserve that,” Takemichi stammered out. He winced again when his ribs ahced, and studiously ignored the concerned glances that were sent his way.
“How did you get all the way to the harbor and hunt Kisaki down, with your ribs and head battered like that?” Draken asked.
“Um,” Takemichi started, “I sort of have an insane pain tolerance? Because of everything that’s happened, I just like, can handle a lot of pain now”. He felt more than heard Mikey’s sharp inhale of air through his back, and he could see Draken and Chifuyu go through the five stages of grief in a grand total of five seconds, which was concerning.
Takemichi shifted awkwardly. “Ah, it’s okay you guys…”
Two hands set onto his shoulders, and Takemichi looked up to see Chifuyu staring straight into his eyes. “This is not okay. And we’re going to talk about it. But probably not today, because I feel like punching you and wrapping you up in bubble wrap at the same time”.
Both Draken and Mikey nodded their heads in agreement, and Takemichi resigned himself to the fact that he’ll probably have someone stuck to his side at all times to “keep him safe from his worrying self sacrificial tendencies and nonexistent will to stay safe”. Which isn’t fair at all.
“Oi Takemichi, you’re not thinking about going anywhere by yourself right?” Draken demanded.
Ugh. Takemichi just wanted to say he called this. “I’m actually thinking about visiting the pet shop sometime soon,” He replied. “But Baji, Chifuyu and Kazutora will be there and it’s not a far walk from my house!”
At the mention of the pet shop, Chifuyu perked up. “You totally should! Kazutora and Baji started working there recently too, and they’re always saying that they want to see you. If you came and visited, it would get them to finally stop nagging”.
“Eh, but you’re going to visit me at the dojo first, right Takemichi?” Mikey whined.
Behind him, Takemichi stilled. “I’m not sure… The dojo is pretty far and my parents wouldn’t be able to bring me to visit”.
“Don’t worry about it! I can bring you over on my bike”.
“Oh, I couldn’t bother Emma like that, she already has to deal with so much and-”
“Are you saying that I’m a burden on Emma Mitchy”
“No of course not! It’s just-”
“Are you sure it’s not because you’re scared of Izana?” intercepted Draken.
Takemichi froze, then hunkered down and burrowed into the back of Mikey, who began shaking with laughter. “Stop laughing at me!” he spluttered. “Izana is terrifying, okay!”
“Don’t worry Takemitchy,” Mikey snorted out. “I’ll protect you from the big bad Izana”.
“ Stop laughing !”
Even though Takemichi wasn’t happy about the others laughing about his (very justified) fear (thank you very much), at least it got the others off his back about his pain tolerance. This wouldn’t be an issue right? Maybe if Takemichi tried hard enough, he could avoid talking about it completely, and it’ll just fade away.
That will definitely happen, right?
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#1
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“Ohayooo” Takemichi called out as he walked into XJ Land. He carefully maneuvered around the aisles of the pet shop before walking up to the counter where Kazutora was, and setting a bag of steamed buns onto the counter.
The shop Takemichi got the buns from opened at 7 am and Takemichi had to get there by 6:30 am to beat the long line of customers who always wait outside of the store, so Chifuyu, Baji and Kazutora had better appreciate the buns. He got up early! Just for them! Their gratitude needed to meet the sacrifice of his sleep or else he would be very upset.
“Oh, hi Takemichi,” Kazutora greeted. “Chifuyu should be in the back, do you want me to get him for you?”
“No that’s okay, I just wanted to drop off these buns for you guys,” responded Takemichi. Baji’s head popped out from behind an aisle, and his charcoal gaze locked onto the back of buns. The black haired teen walked towards the counter and yanked a bun out before stuffing it into his face.
“These are the best buns ever,” Baji grinned toothily. Kazutora shyly took one out too and bit into it. “Dang, these are really good! Thank you for getting them”.
“It’s no big deal! Since I brought you guys food, can I, y’know, see some of the cats?” Takemichi inquired.
Baji snorted loudly while eating a second bun. “Yeah, of course. I don’t know why you keep on trying to be friends with them though, maybe you should just accept that cats don’t like you”.
It was well known that cats absolutely hated Takemichi for some reason. Whenever Takemichi walked up to one, they would always hiss and run away as fast as they could. Chifuyu said that it was because he was too similar to a lost, sad puppy, whatever that meant.
The only cat that did like him was a black and white one that was a stray named Po that lived in the alleyway next to Inui and Draken’s bike shop. However, Chifuyu said that he was 99% sure that it was a raccoon and not a cat that liked him. Which, maybe Po had raccoon characteristics, but it would always be a cat in his heart.
It was tragic, really, because Takemichi absolutely adored cats, even if they decided that he was the bane of their existence. And he wouldn’t give up on them.
So, he headed over to the cages that housed the cats and worked on opening the cage to the least aggressive cat. The cat was a white Siberian with the name Marshmallow. So far, it had not bitten or scratched Takemichi.
“Here kitty,” Takemichi cooed from outside of the cage. He reached inside and gingerly placed his hand in front of the cat so that she could smell him. Marshmallows sniffed at his hand, and cautiously walked forward while mrping quietly.
Takemichi brightened up. What if today was the day that an actual cat liked him? The blond moved his hand forward a bit more in his excitement, and startled the cat. Marshmallow swiped at his hand and Takemichi pulled back his hand when a sharp burst of pain exploded on his palm.
Despite her actions, Marshmallow jumped down onto the ground and rubbed against his legs, as if it was an apology for the scratch. Takemichi leaned down and the cat even let him pet her . The blond sat down onto the ground, where Marshmallow could then climb onto his lap and lay down.
Silently, Takemichi began crying. He was just so happy . A cat finally liked him, enough to even climb onto him . This was it. Takemichi could officially die happy.
From the doorway leading into the backroom, Chifuyu popped out. The turquoise eyed teen looked around before his gaze narrowed in on Takemichi sitting on the floor.
“Takemichi, are you injured?” Chifuyu demanded.
Well. That’s not good. “...No?” tried Takemichi.
“That was the least convincing no I have ever heard. Okay, get up and let me check over you,” sighed Chifuyu.
“I can’t get up, Marshmallow is sitting on my lap! There is no way I will ever move while she is there,” Takemichi protested. His best friend glanced at the cat laying on him before sighing again and walking towards him.
That’s when Chifuyu saw the large amount of blood pooling from the scratch on his hand. Takemichi noted the wide eyes focused on his hand, and looked down before wincing. Yikes. Takemichi focused all of his attention on Marshmallow so that he didn’t have to look into Chifuyu’s fiery gaze.
“I knew it! I fucking knew it!” yelled Chifuyu. His loud voice called the attention of the other two workers in the store, and soon enough his disappointed aura partnered up with the disappointed vibes of Baji and Kazutora.
“What the heck Chifuyu,” whined Takemichi. “Do you have some kind of sixth sense for this or something?”
“I’ll go get the first aid kit,” Kazutora offered before walking away.
“No I don’t. What I do have is an innate sense for when you’re doing something stupid,” scoffed Chifuyu. “And you can’t say that it’s not bad either! You’re literally crying!”
“No,” Takemichi countered, “I’m crying because a cat finally likes me. Not because of the pain”.
Baji snickered and said “Of course you would start crying about that”.
“It’s very tears-worthy!” protested Takemichi.
“Right, right,” placated Kazutora as he returned with the first aid kit. The tattooed teen kneeled down next to Takemichi, then pulled out some bandages and alcohol wipes. A few paper towels were grabbed by Baji to help clean up the blood, and Chifuyu picked up Marshmallow into his arms despite Takemichi’s protests.
“People who refuse to put their own health above their love for cats don’t have rights for petting cats,” tsked Chifuyu. “I also can’t believe you decided to sit down with Marshmallow instead of wrapping your hand”.
“It was worth it,” Takemichi mumbled.
Chifuyu glared at him, then proceeded to grab Marshmallow’s front paw and boop the toe beans onto Takemichi’s nose. “No. Petting. Rights”.
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#2
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“YEAHH it’s the mizo middle five all back together again!” Yamagishi shouted in the middle of the barbershop after he slammed the door open.
Suzuki walked forward to flick Yamagishi in the forehead, who cowered in pain afterwards, while Takuya merely leveled him with the Disappointed Mom glare. Yamagishi flinched even harder after he saw the glare, ensuring that it was as effective as always.
“Oi, don’t startle me like that while I’m working!” Akkun yelled out, annoyed. He was standing behind Takemichi who sat in the black, cushioned chair in front of him getting a haircut. There were a lot of fancy scissors and razors that Akkun was using to trim Takemichi's hair, half of which Takemichi honestly couldn’t even name.
“Hey, stay still! Stop fidgeting around so much or else I’ll mess up,” Akkun sighed. He moved Takemichi’s head back into position and began cutting again.
“You won’t mess up, I trust you Akkun”, Takemichi soothed. “Besides, even if you do, it’ll be good practice for you to fix it”. The only response he got was a stuttered grunting from Atsushi, and a voice that sounded suspiciously like Yamamoto whispering out a “too pure”.
“Mah, mah, Takemichi, you need to visit us more often!” ground out Yamagishi. “Toman is stealing you away too much, we miss you too!”
From the chair, Takemichi let out a small laugh. “Why don’t you tell Toman that instead of me?”
“Because they’re terrifying obviously!” Yamagishi grumbled with no shame. “They wouldn’t listen to us anyway, they only take you seriously”.
Before Takemichi could dignify that with a response, Suzuki threw a towel at his face. “He’s right,” the black haired teen backed up.
It seemed that by now, Akkun finished cutting his hair because he was running his hands through the blond locks. Takemichi tilted his head back to look up in confusion. Startled by the motion, Atsushi pulled his hand back and walked towards the cabinets leaning against the wall of the barbershop for some dye.
“Why did you decide to bleach your hair blond, Takemichi?” Akkun asked. “Your hair is practically crying out for help right now”.
Laughter filled up the room, and Takemichi felt himself flush red. “I know that it was a mistake, okay! That’s why I’m dying it back to black now, I’m going to grow back my natural hair color, and this’ll stop it from looking weird”.
Yep, Takemichi was dying his hair black. In the future, he used to always cringe when he remembered the hairstyle he had back in his middle school days, so now that Takemichi had the chance to change it, he was going to take it and run. He always thought that the natural black hair brought out the blue in his eyes more anyway.
“Yeah, and your hair used to be super soft too. Now it’s still soft, but more like grass-soft rather than feather-soft”, Yamagishi piped out. To prove his point, the brunet ran his hands through Takemichi’s hair thoroughly.
Exasperated, Takemichi crossed his arms. He still let Yamagishi play with his hair though because it was comforting, at least until Akkun smacked his hands away. “I don’t know why you’re all so focused on my hair though, it’s obvious that Takuya has the softest strands”, the blond grumbled.
“Really? I wouldn’t know, Takuya never lets me touch his hair,” Yamagishi sulked.
“And for good reason,” Takuya explained, “You always touch the weirdest things. I do not trust your hands”.
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY-” the red haired teen called out in outrage.
While the two continued bickering, Akkun walked back over to Takemichi and grabbed a pair of plastic gloves. He squeezed out some black dye onto his hands, and began lathering it into Takemichi’s hair. Inky black coated sunflower blond slowly, but surely.
The dye was pretty cold, and Takemichi couldn’t help but shiver a little before relaxing fully into Akkun’s ministrations.
“This is really nice,” Takemichi voiced out loud. His friend just hummed in response as he continued working the dye through his head. Eventually, every blond strand was fully covered, and Akkun took off his gloves to wash his hands.
“The dye will take around 30 to 40 minutes to fully settle in, so we can do something else now while we wait,” Akkun informed.
“Finally,” Suzuki grinned. He pulled out a pack of uno cards from his pocket, and held it up tauntingly. “Are you guys ready to get absolutely destroyed?”
“Not if I ruin you first!” Yamagishi cheered.
The group quickly gathered into a circle, and Suzuki began dealing the cards. There were tears. Shouting. Cries of desperation. Begging. Declarations of war. And the occasional victorious shout. Friendships were strengthened and also irreparably broken.
“Plus four,” Atsushi declared confidently, as he looked expectantly at Yamagishi to pick up four cards. However, Yamagishi followed him up with a +4 card of his own, much to his disappointment.
Next up was Takuya who was on his very last card. Everyone was pretty confident that he would have to draw eight cards. The chances of him having a +4 were slim to none, after all. The group waited with bated breath for Takuya to make his move.
“Damn it,” Takuya sighed. The other four players began cheering as he moved his hands towards the stack of cards, but then Takuya continued with a “For you guys at least. I win”. The blond threw down his last card, revealing the cursed multicolored card for everyone to see.
Yamagishi screamed out loud, while Suzuki slammed a hand over his mouth. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to stop the distressed sounds coming out of Yamagishi’s mouth. Akkun had his head in his hands, clearly questioning every moment in his life that led up to this moment. Takemichi was rocking back and forth in a ball, trembling in fear.
“Hand over the victory crown,” Takuya told Takemichi, gesturing at the Burger King crown that sat atop his head. Takemichi handed it over with defeat covering his every motion.
By the time the thirty minutes were up, Takemichi was seriously considering bruning the Uno cards. The deck had to have some kind of spirit or something in it that made the game as chaotic and existential crisis-y as it was. It was definitely cursed. Takemichi glanced around the room cautiously, and the distraught state of his friends only proved his point.
Atsushi sat Takemichi down in the chair in front of a large sink, and pushed his head into the sink. The faucet was turned on, and water flowed down onto Takemichi’s scalp. Water that was way too hot, holy shit . Takemichi flinched hard, and scrambled up fast enough to bonk heads with Atsushi.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck”, Akkun swore as he rushed to turn off the water. Once he accomplished that, he hurried to check on Takemichi. “Dude, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I forgot that the handles work differently on this sink”. The other three members of the mizo middle five hurried overe too to see what was wrong.
Takemichi hissed in pain, but tried to wave off the others’ concern. “I’m okay, I don’t think it’s that bad.”
Takuya carefully inspected Takemichi’s head, and frowned. “I don’t know about that, it looks like the spots the water got you left behind really red marks. We should dress these at least a little bit,” advised the blond.
“Ah, I’m sure it’s okay you guys, I don’t want to make you all take care of me because I got injured again,” objected Takemichi.
“Stop thinking you’re a burden, ‘Michi,” Suzuki opposed. “You’re our friend, of course we’ll care for you and worry over you”.
“Yeah,” Yamagishi added, “You’re always worrying about us! It’s not fair if we can’t do the same”.
“So let us take care of you,” Akkun concluded.
Takuya grabbed a soft cloth from one of the cabinets and wet it with cool water, which he carefully applied onto Takemichi’s skin. At first, Takemichi voiced a few feeble protests, but after some time, he accepted his fate. It was nice to be looked after every once in a while.
As soon as the group made sure he wouldn’t blister, Akkun moved Takemichi back over the sink and gently rinsed out the dye using lukewarm water this time. He gingerly blowdried the now black locks, and styled it a bit.
“Tada!” Akkun declared once he was finished.
Takemichi looked into his reflection in the mirror, and reviewed his new look for a second. Then, he focused on his friends standing around him in the mirror. The new hairstyle was good. It really did bring out his eyes more, and looked less like a hot mess. But his friends were better. This was better.
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#3
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Bright lights lit up Takemichi’s figure as he stood in front of a three way mirror. The now black haired Toman captain focused on remaining still as Mitsuya carefully wound his measuring tape around his waist and chest. He had already shifted around too much for Mitsuya’s liking, and faced the violet haired teen’s wrath. He wasn’t going to risk that again.
To his right, Hakkai stood stock still in front of the mirror in a similar fashion as him. The scarred teen donned a scarlett suit with a golden lace that covered the entire suit in intricate stars. From behind him, his sister Yuzuha was carefully inspecting his outfit.
“Why do I have to do this too,” Takemichi grumbled out as Mitsuya moved on to measuring the length of his legs. “Hakkai is the one who actually wants to be a model! I could be seeing Marshmallow right now or finishing my puzzle”.
Mitsuya snorted as he grabbed a pen and jotted down some notes into his small notebook. “You know why you’re here. I need to do two outfits for my next project, and Hakkai can’t model for both of them. After you dyed your hair black too, you look a lot better, and you’re the only one who has free time”.
Before Takemichi could protest that no , he did not have free time, because he was very busy looking for a job that he totally would work at, Mitsuya grabbed a suit from a rail and shoved it at him.
“Here, try this on in the changing room over there”. Mitsuya gestured vaguely at the back corner of his studio, where two flimsily hung sheets around a corner stood, acting as makeshift curtains for a dressing room. Takemichi sighed and grabbed the suit, knowing better than to argue.
He headed over to the corner and made sure to pull the sheets closed fully. The suit was similar to Hakkai’s in that there was a clear solid base of color, and an intricate design covering all of it. However, Takemichi was a royal blue with silver thread that formed detailed designs of planets. He had to admit, this outfit would look incredible paired with Hakkai’s.
Once the suit was fully put on, Takemichi stumbled out and back to his place in front of the mirrors. Hakkai let out a low whistle when he saw the outfit, and Yuzuha nodded her head in agreement.
“Damn ‘Mitchy, you’ve been holding out on us!” Hakkai remarked. “You could look so good if you just changed your wardrobe”.
Takemichi flushed bright red, and stuttered. “I don’t think that I dress that badly!”
Mitsuya just hummed in thought and interjected. “Your usual outfits are that bad though. I would change every piece of clothing you have if I could”.
Okay, Takemichi thinks that it’s fair if he’s offended now. He knew that he didn’t have the best clothing and had terrible choices for what went together, but that didn’t mean that it was completely horrible!
“I can’t believe I’m getting ganged up on like this,” Takemichi huffed. He didn’t mean for the others to overhear him, but they clearly did when they started chuckling.
“Alright you two,” Mitsuya smiled, “You can take those off now. I’m going to make some minor adjustments to them, but then after that the only thing we need to do is take some photos. Thanks for helping out”.
Takemichi practically sprinted towards the “changing room”, ignoring Hakkai’s shouts of unfairness. The world was unfair.
When he finished changing back into his normal clothes, Takemichi walked out and set the suit on the hanger that Mitsuya originally grabbed it from. He yawned and stretched his back out, letting out a groan of satisfaction when it cracked a bit. Along the wall of the room sat a large beanbag chair that looked like the most comfortable thing on earth at that moment.
Takemichi moved to dive into the beanbag chair when Mitsuya noticed his actions. Mitsuya’s eyes widened and all he could get out was a “Don’t sit in-” before Takemichi face planted in. The second division captain flinched and moved cautiously over to Takemichi who now lay eerily still in the chair, still face down.
“Are you okay?” Takemichi carefully prodded. His only response was a soft, muffled noise of pain.
“Okay then, so not okay”. Mitsuya gently lifted Takemichi up and put him into a different chair that Yuzuha had pulled up when she saw Takemichi’s state.
In Takemichi’s arm were three sewing pins that were stuck. Thankfully they weren’t stuck deep, but it still looked incredibly painful. By now, Hakkai finished changing too. He took one look at Takemichi’s arm, and grabbed some bandages and disinfectant from a small first aid kit in the wall without saying anything.
“Sorry for not warning you sooner,” Mitsuya apologized. “I lost a few pins there the last time I sat there for work, and I forgot to tell you beforehand”.
Takemichi tried to reassure him by saying, “Don’t worry about it! They’re not that deep, so I’m sure it’ll be okay. It’s a good thing that only three of them hurt me, and they were all in the arm too, so it’s not as bad as it could have been”.
Mitsuya frowned. “That’s not as reassuring as you think it is. And you shouldn’t have gotten hurt at all”.
Using the supplies Hakkai brought over, Yuzuha began working on taking out the pins. “Is this okay?” She checked in first. “I want to make sure you’re okay with us doing this here rather than the hospital or something”.
“I’m good with this,” Takemichi responded. He let out a light hiss as Yuzuha wiped down the injured area with a disinfectant wipe, and began pulling on the pins. The brunette murmured out apologies as she worked, all of the way until she completely finished her work and wrapped up the injury.
“I think you should be okay from infection, but I would still be on the watch for it,” advised Yuzuha.
“And if anything happens, you need to go to the hospital and let someone know, rather than trying to keep it all to yourself,” Hakkai demanded.
“I will,” Takemichi promised. “I’m not that reckless though”. And if Takemichi ignored the resounding “yes, you are’s” that echoed around the fashion studio, well, no one else needed to know that.
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#4
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A hand ran through slightly damp hair as Takemichi leaned against the wall of Draken and Inui’s bike shop. Draken was out right now on some business for the shop, but Inui was there working on a CB250T. The two had just opened the shop, so they were very busy trying to make a profit. And with Inui was Koko, who insisted that he was here to help with the finances of the shop, but everyone knew that he was really here to see Inui.
A black cat wound itself around Takemichi’s legs, and he smiled as he reached down to pet her. In the corner of the shop sat an older, blond havanese dog that curled up against the heating vent under it. The cat was named Runa, and the dog was called Yuki.
Yuki showed up first, as a gift from Koko who said that the dog looked exactly like Inui and that “it would be a crime to not adopt Inui’s dog form”. Then Runa popped up one day in the alleyway behind the shop, and after Inui had fed her for a few days, he decided to keep her. The striking similarities between Runa and Koko went mostly ignored (except by Inui, who didn’t fear Koko’s wrath).
Even though it was the beginning of May, the skies were already raining heavily across Tokyo. It had been pouring when Takemichi came to the shop, so he was pretty drenched. Thankfully Inui offered him a towel without even asking.
Takemichi ran the towel through his wet locks again. He sighed as his t-shirt and shorts stuck uncomfortable to his skin. It was the feeling of having wet socks, but everywhere across his body. The black haired teen picked at his clothes.
“Ah,” Takemichi reminisced, “This sort of reminds me of when I used to run out in the rain as a kid and jump in puddles. Mom always got really mad at me, saying how I would catch a cold, but that never stopped me”.
Inui glanced over at him before returning to the bike he was working on. “I never ran out much into the rain when I was younger”.
At this, Takemichi’s eyes widened in shock. “Really? You must’ve ran out at least once. Dancing in the rain and getting soaked was like the peak of childhood. It was so much fun!”
“I didn’t do it either,” Koko shrugged. “I never really saw the point in it, you would get wet and dirty. Why would anyone want to participate in something like that?”
Takemichi gaped and looked around at the other two. “ No way , you gotta experience it at least once!” Determination filled his eyes. “Come on, let’s do it right now. It’s raining and it’s not cold out, so it’s the perfect time to do it!”
Koko let out a disgruntled sound and edged back. “No. I will not get wet out there”.
However, Takemichi widened his eyes as much as he could and turned the full force of his puppy eyes on Koko. And Koko, well, he was a weak man, okay? Who could say no to someone that looked that vulnerable and cute?
“Fine, I’ll do it”, Koko choked out.
Right after his agreement, Takemichi turned his eyes onto Inui. Inui looked back, seemingly as impassive as ever. Takemichi continued looking at him. A few minutes passed before Inui looked away and grabbed a towel to clean his hands with. In the background, cheering could be heard from Takemichi.
Once Inui finished wiping his hands and Koko straggled up to the front of the store, the trio walked out of the store to the awning that covered the entranceway. Koko glared at the rain that thundered by and poked a food tentatively into a puddle that formed on the road, where the awning didn’t quite cover.
“Are you sure this will be fun?” Koko asked.
“Yes!” Takemichi replied. “You have to do it at least once! It’ll become a core memory, I promise”.
“But will it be a fun memory or bad one?” muttered Inui.
Takemichi just laughed and jumped out from under the awning. “Come on! Oh, wait, Inui, you should probably take off your heels, they shouldn’t get damaged”.
“Alright,” Inui agreed. “I need to get my other pair of shoes from inside though”.
“Oh I can get those for you,” Takemichi insisted. “I’m the one dragging you out here anyway so it’s the least I can do”. With that, he grabs the heels that Inui just slipped off and runs back inside, reappearing with a pair of flip flops.
“Um, okay let’s go!” Takemichi declared.
Inui stepped out first, and Koko followed soon after. They let Takemichi grab them by the hands and lead them in a light run around the road. There was a particularly big puddle that Takemichi jumped in, and the water splashed all over Koko’s outfit. At first he looked terrified of the soaked state of Koko, who valiantly tried to stay mad.
He soon started laughing though at Takemichi’s terrified face, who let out a shy smile and started laughing too. “Mah, Takemichi, aren’t you a little too worried about how I’ll react?” Koko prodded.
“I wasn’t really worried about your reaction I think,” Takemichi answered. Koko raised his eyebrow and Takemichi shrunk down a little. “Okay, maybe I was worried about that, but I was more scared for your outfit! I’d feel really bad if I ruined it, the clothes look expensive”.
Koko glanced down at the designer coat and sailor pants he was wearing, then shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. They cost a lot, but I can always get more”.
Takemichi let out a few incomprehensible sounds from his throat, then decided that it wasn’t worth delving further into. The Toman captain led them around a few more times, and made sure to twirl them around with surprising strength. It was mostly just his laughter filling the air with the sounds of the pouring rain, but fond smiles were present on Koko and Inui’s faces.
It was more fun than Inui and Koko would like to admit. Unfortunately, everything ended when Takemichi stepped into a puddle that was deeper than he thought and rolled his ankle. It was pretty bad based on the swelling that began to form on his ankle. At first Inui and Koko hadn’t even noticed it, but then Takemichi began limping, and that’s when they knew something was wrong.
Takemichi insisted it wasn’t bad, but then again it was Takemichi who said that, and his words were taken with a grain of salt. Inui looped an arm around Takemichi’s left side to help him stand up while Koko supported him from the right side.
“I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised that this happened,” noted Inui.
Takemichi spluttered, affronted, before deciding on a “Mean, Inui!”
“Is he wrong though?” countered Koko.
“No, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t mean,” grumbled Takemichi.
Once they were safely inside of the store, Inui carefully eased Takemichi’s shoe off his foot while Koko went to grab some ice from the little kitchen in the store. When he returned, Koko let out a low whistle at the sight of the ankle.
Inui prodded around a little, giving apologies whenever Takemichi flinched. “It looks like nothing is broken, so it should be okay as long as you don’t put any pressure on it for a while and constantly ice it,” Inui observed.
“‘Not bad’ my ass” Koko scoffed as he sat down next to Takemichi and handed over the ice.
“I get it, I get it,” whined Takemichi. “Wasn’t being in the rain fun though?”
“It was, but you should take better care of yourself,” Koko said while nudging him with his elbow.
“Yeah. We can do this again sometime if you want,” Inui added.
Takemichi smiled brightly at his offer. He was definitely going to count on Inui to keep his word.
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#5
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“MIKEY GIVE ME THE GODDAMN KNIFE OR SO HELP ME GOD -”
“NO THIS IS MY KNIFE NOW-”
“YOU WILL STAB SOMEONE WITH IT SO IT IS NOT -”
Takemichi did his best to ignore the yelling as he turned nervously towards Draken, the calm in the eye of the storm as Emma chased Mikey around the kitchen, who was wielding a knife. In the corner of the kitchen stood Hina who looked shocked still by the chase, and mentally, Takemichi apologized for bringing her into whatever hellscape this was.
Currently, Draken was mincing chives perfectly as he seemed completely unbothered by the chaos surrounding him. It was strangely concerning, as he seemed calmer than any other time Takemichi had seen him. Suddenly Emma let out a “Watch out!” and Hina screamed as a knife flew by, but Draken just tilted his head to the left, dodging the knife that had just impaled itself onto the cabinet mere centimeters to the right of him.
Draken just grabbed the knife with his hand, tossed it in the sink, and calmly told Mikey to wash it because it would be needed later.
“...Is it always like this?” Takemichi questioned warily.
Draken snorted. “Yeah it is, I’ve gotten used to it by now so this doesn’t really phase me anymore. Sorry I didn’t warn you beforehand”. Takemichi couldn’t help but think that that was done on purpose, because there was no way he would have come to help cook the food if he knew earlier.
Right now, him, Draken, Hina, Mikey, and Emma were all at Mikey and Emma’s house’s kitchen to cook a big meal. Everyone in Toman was meeting up tomorrow at the park to congratulate the end of the school year and the recent all-okay healthwise from Takemichi’s doctor. Considering how everyone would be there and they were all growing teenagers, a lot of food would be needed. Hence the large amount of people needed to help prepare.
While Draken gave his explanation, Hina had wobbled over to them. “I honestly don’t know how you do it Draken”, the red haired girl grumbled.
Draken snorted. “I don’t know how I do either”.
“Hey, I heard that!” Mikey pouted. The blond slid into one of the chairs by the island of the kitchen, followed by Emma who stood behind him. Brandishing a newspaper that appeared out of nowhere, Emma wacked Mikey on the head.
“You need to actually help Mikey, or leave the kitchen,” Emma sighed as she massaged her head. She handed her brother a peeler and he dutifully began to peel off potato skins with a scowl. Now that it was finally calmer in the kitchen, Takemichi felt like he could actually help out. Everyone began doing their own separate roles to prepare for the meal.
One of the planned dishes included kinpira carrots, so Takemichi began to chop some large carrots he brought over that morning. All of his attention was directed towards making sure the pieces were small and thin, so he didn’t notice when Mikey got sidetracked again.
The blond leader of Toman glanced around to make sure that everyone was fully immersed in their roles before he set down his peeler and stalked away to grab his water gun. It was a hot day, and he thought that soaking Draken in water would be the perfect way to cool him off. It was just a harmless prank, right?
Unfortunately, no, because Mikey did not account for how Draken would react like a cat when hit by water and his close proximity with Takemichi. What resulted after a stream of cold water hit Draken’s back was a series of unfortunate events: Draken screeched, threw his arms up and jumped, bumped into Takemichi’s elbow, and then Takemichi’s elbow shoved his hand with the knife too far forward, where the knife then cut into Takemichi’s fingers.
Everyone stood in shock for a few moments before Takemichi let out a small “ah” as blood began to pool from his hand. The sound broke everyone out of their trance, as Hinata rushed Takemichi to the sink to run his hand under the faucet and Emma hurried to grab some bandages. Draken apologized exactly once before turning onto Mikey and demanding an apology from him as well, as he was the one who caused the mess.
Mikey didn’t exactly apologize, but he did show some remorse so Takemichi deemed it as good enough.
Emma returned quickly and forced Takemichi into a chair so that she could care for his wound. She ignored his protests that he could take care of the wound himself, and eventually his voice petered out. It was pointless to try and argue against a determined Emma.
“That looks really painful,” Hina murmured. Her gaze traced the sliced skin on his hand, the torn cut that traced itself onto the first knuckles of Takemichi’s fingers, and the iron red that oozed from it. Takemichi glanced back up at her, and she met his eyes, asking a silent question.
The blue eyed teen bit his lip and looked downward. “It hurts but… it’s really not too bad”.
Draken huffed at his statement. “It might not be too bad, but you still don’t have to act like it doesn’t hurt. It’s okay to show your pain”.
“Mhmm,” Mikey agreed as he watched Emma carefully bandage the digits.
Takemichi let out a small smile. “I know,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to downplay the pain or anything like that. It really is okay, because you’re all here”.
It quickly hushes quiet in the kitchen. Hina pulled him into a tight hug after a brief moment of hesitation, and soon enough everyone else got pulled in too. No words were exchanged. Sometimes, words aren’t needed.
Eventually, everyone began to cook and chop again, save for Takemichi who was banished to the dining table, on account that moving his fingers more would only worsen the wound. Takemichi still tried to help in small ways though, by packaging the food, tasting the flavors, and cleaning up a bit.
Soon enough, everything is packaged and ready to go. The food was put into white boxes and labeled with little drawings, courtesy of Takemichi and Hina.
The group plopped down onto the couches that filled the Manjiro household’s living room.
“Are you excited to see everyone, ‘Michi?” Mikey asked.
Takemichi smiled brightly. “Yeah. Yeah I am”.
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+1
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When Takemichi shared his story, no one knew how to react. It was hard to believe at first, after all. Time travel? Multiple times, and he was saving them every time? How did the science work out, was there a butterfly effect, and how was it even possible? But most of all, why would he work so hard to help them?
Despite all of the questions though, and the vast impossibleness of it all, it made sense. And maybe that was the worst part of. It made sense, because it explained how Takemichi just knew about certain things, it explained why he did so much for them, why he risked his life so many times. Just for them.
Maybe knowing the why was worse than not knowing at all. But that thought was quickly pushed out of all their heads.
Because now, they could help Takemichi fully. They knew where to start to help him, and they knew how important he was. They knew how much he loved them. And that was more valuable than anything else.
When Takemichi looked at the members of Toman with tear streaked cheeks and shining eyes after he finished telling his story, they knew. They didn’t know what to do with the love or how they could have earned so much of it, but they knew it was there.
They knew, and that was good, because they could make sure that Takemichi knew they loved him too.
It was a late spring afternoon.
The sun was shining brightly, and it’s light reflected sharply off of the white blocks of checkered tablecloths that covered multiple wooden tables. Paper plates sat placed on the tables, accompanying a wide variety of fruits, from grapes to watermelons, to sliced apples. A faint sizzling sound could be heard, and the smell of cooked meat wafted in the air.
There were barely any clouds in the blue sky, which was both good and bad because it was warm, but there would also be no shade. It shouldn’t be too big of a problem though, Emma thankfully had the foresight to bring a few umbrellas that could be placed on the tables.
It was the sixth reunion of the Tokyo Manji members.
The first reunion wasn’t much of a reunion to be honest. It was a celebration of “holy shit we’re all still alive and not severely maimed in some way” more than anything else. It was also right after the end of the final battle against Tenjiku, so everyone was a little high on being alive.
The second reunion was a little more chaotic, where it was more like everyone just decided to go to the park where the last reunion was on the same day as last time, and saw each other there. The third reunion they actually did plan out, and by then the gathering was confidently dubbed as a “reunion”.
By the 6th reunion, things went smoothly. Everyone knew to take the day off so that they could come, they knew to contribute somehow or face the wrath of Emma, and they knew to not bring 31 animals without warning as a “fun” bonding activity (ahem, Baji).
Inui was sitting in a patch of grass, making a flower crown with small daisies and dandelions. He quickly finished the last few folds that connected the ends together, and set the completed crown on Koko’s head, who sat next to him. Koko protested at first, but eventually huffed in resignation as Inui snorted at his reaction.
Chifuyu plopped down next to them in the grass and took some time to stretch out his arms. He cackled when he saw the flower crown, and ignored the middle finger Koko held up in front of his face.
“Draken says that the meat is almost ready,” notified Chifuyu. He picked at the strands of viridian.
Inui hummed for his answer, and Koko stood up to brush the grass off of himself. “We should gather the others then, and start setting the table”.
The trio made their way around the clearing the picnic was at. They collected Mikey who was aiming a rubber band at Izana (Mikey and Izana talked by the insistence of Takemichi, and mostly were on okay terms. Emma was really glad of this at least, as they decided to run the dojo together. They still fought more often than not, but it was a less lethal fighting now), and Hakkai who was trying to convince Mitsuya to let him model for him again. Baji and Tora were found playing with a stray cat by the edge of a small pond.
The group made its way over to the tables where Emma and Hina were finishing setting up food with Smiley and Angry’s help. One person was missing though.
“Where’s ‘Michi?” Mikey frowned.
Hinata chewed on her lip. “I think I saw him head down to the pond by himself earlier, but I’m not sure if he’ll still be there. Maybe we could check there first?”
A soft wind flowed through the air, and Mitsuya frowned at the slight chill. “It’s getting a bit cold too, so it’s better to find him sooner”.
Everyone showed their assent, and as soon as Draken finished putting the last piece of barbeque on the table, they headed over. At first the pond looked like it didn’t have anyone accompanying it, but Chifuyu let out a small noise when he spotted a head of dark hair under a Japanese maple.
The pet shop owner quickly directed the other’s attention to Takemichi, who was sitting leaning against the tree. Takemichi’s hand was rubbing against ribs, like a small sign of comfort.
“His ribs are probably hurting again because of the cold,” noted Smiley. The usually upbeat twin scowled and turned around. “I’m going to bring some blankets and heat packs, does anyone want to come with me?”
Mitsuya, Hakkai, and Emma decided that they wanted to get some stuff too. “I can prepare some tea for him too,” Emma hummed in thought.
As the group walked back towards the picnic area, the rest of the people who decided to stay started making their way over to Takemichi. Chifuyu sat down next to Takemichi and ignored his partner’s look of surprise.
Wordlessly, Chifuyu grabbed Takemichi’s hands and rubbed them between his own to warm them up. The others quickly joined him beside Takemichi, with Mikey going as far as to lay his head on Takemichi’s lap. Soon enough, Smiley, Emma, Mitsuya, and Hakkai returned. They piled the blankets onto Takemichi and Emma practically forced the cup of tea into his hands.
Takemichi looked around at the group that had gathered around him, the blankets piled high on himself, and then stared into his own rippling reflection in the cup of his tea. He froze at first, but then slowly melted into those surrounding him.
“Thank you,” Takemichi expressed hoarsely, pushing back the lump in his throat. He didn’t think he could ever show how grateful he was. But maybe he didn’t need to, because Chifuyu squeezed his hand in response, Mikey gripped onto his legs harder, and everyone shifted a little closer.
And Takemichi, who’s alive and who’s friends are living, can’t help but think to himself that this is love, and this is healing.