Chapter Text
You’re running.
You like running, to be honest – you like the feeling of moving your body, of the wind in your face, and the freedom of it all.
But even though you like running, you really wish you weren’t in this situation right now. You don’t even know how you always end up getting roped into things like this (your brother always did tell you you’d end up in trouble, and you guess that’s been partly true since you arrived here. Still, you wouldn’t change it for anything).
Well, anyways, there are people following you, and you’re pretty sure they’re not doing it with any friendly intentions. You always want to believe in the best in people, but even you can see that now’s not the time for that.
After all, the pub is still waiting for the sake you’re supposed to bring back. You were just going to the brewery nearby since the pub had run out of sparkling sake – why anyone would want to drink that is beyond you, but each to their own, you guess – but of course, you’ve just got the worst of luck.
And you don’t even know what these people want with you.
At first, you’d been ready to take them all on. It was only a handful, and they would’ve been easy to handle – and your new uniform makes it a lot easier for you to move around and fight.
But then, the rest of the gang had joined, and you really didn’t want the poor shop-owners to deal with a brawl that was bound to smash all the expensive sake bottles (you already witnessed that once, and it wasn’t pretty) and you also didn’t want to risk smashing the two large sake bottles you’d just purchased.
So instead, you opted for running, trying to lead them away.
So far, you’ve scaled multiple walls, jumped down a roof, and tried to shake them off by going through narrow alleyways. You know you’re fast so you’d been certain that you could outrun them, but so far, that hasn’t been the case. And, to make matters worse, the five who initially chased you have now been joined by around a dozen more, and they just keep coming.
And even though you usually like running, you must admit that you’re growing a little tired of it. The sake bottles are surprisingly heavy, after all.
Sakura, Suo, and Nirei stand in front of the gate to Keisei Street, craning their necks and squinting their eyes at all the colourful signs and blinking lights filling up the street in front of them.
They were supposed to meet up with Tsubakino at a restaurant he recommended, but surely, there’s no way that their upperclassman would lead them to a place in Makochi’s red light district…right?
Tentatively, they enter beneath the gate ahead, feeling very out-of-place in their casual clothes.
“Hellooo!” a girl in what looks like an illegally short maid uniform croons as she jumps in front of Sakura. “Would you like to visit us, Master?”
Sakura yelps and jolts back, face turning red. “M-m-m-m-master?!”
“Are you looking for something?” a man asks, pointing to the sign he’s holding. “We have a discount on beer and sake!”
“No, thank you,” Suo declines politely, refraining from pointing out that they’re all under the legal drinking age.
“H-hold on, you two!” Nirei squeaks as he tries to drag Sakura and Suo to the side. Not for the first time today, he wishes that you were here with them because if anyone could keep tabs on these two, it would definitely be you. But you’d told them that you had work today, so he guesses he just has to do his best.
“L-l-let’s leave for now!” he begs. “I’ll contact Tsubaki-san and check the address again!”
“You said we’re close, right?” Sakura scowls. “Let’s just go!”
“Seriously, Sakura-san, this isn’t a place high school students should step foot into!” Nirei insists. “And we’re not even on Furin turf anymore! This place belongs to Roppo-Ichiza, and although they’re on friendly terms with Bofurin, it hasn’t always been like that. And…”
Nirei continues his lecture on the history of Bofurin and Roppo-Ichiza’s relationship, but Sakura has already tuned him out. He doesn’t get how you always seem capable of keeping up with Nirei’s ramblings and, not for the first time today, he wishes you were here so that Sakura didn’t have to pretend to listen just to spare Nirei’s feelings – not because he doesn’t try, he really does, it’s just because Nirei always talks so damn fast.
Meanwhile, Suo is busy taking in his surroundings. He’s always liked observing people, and people here are interesting. They wear different clothes, they walk differently, they hold themselves differently, they look different. Although, he also has to admit that after meeting you, observing mere strangers going about their business has lost some of its appeal.
Not for the first time today, Suo wishes you were here with them – because as much as he enjoys observing people, he has found that lately, he just enjoys observing you. Because you are one of the most – of not the most – interesting person Suo has ever come across. You never do as he expects, and Suo thinks he could spend the rest of his life observing you, learning about you, being with you…
A loud crash snaps the three boys out of their respective daydreams, and they all look up towards the direction of the sound.
Sakura jerks backwards with a yelp, Nirei jumps a foot into the air, and even Suo raises his brows in surprise.
Because the sight that meets them truly is an unusual one.
A girl is falling from the sky.
A girl wearing a much more modest maid outfit than the one flinging herself at Sakura mere moments ago had been wearing, since this girl is wearing shorts underneath her dress and all – which is a good thing, since said dress is now fluttering somewhere around her shoulders as she falls towards the ground.
No, not falls.
Because she didn’t just trip and fall.
No, she jumped.
She jumped, and now, she’s soaring.
She laughs as she twirls in the air just before landing lightly on her feet, right in front of Sakura, Suo, and Nirei, her back turned towards them. She’s clutching two sake bottles, one in each hand, and there’s a certain fire in her eyes – one that seems strangely familiar.
The three boys freeze.
Nirei keeps opening and closing his mouth, like a fish on land, as he tries to wrap his head around what he just saw. Because who in their right mind would willingly jump from third floor while laughing? And making it look like a breeze at the same time? Nirei clearly has to make some space in his notebook for this girl – if he’ll ever muster up the courage to talk to her, that is.
Suo’s eye has by now widened to the point where his eyeball is in danger of popping out of its socket. Because he has only ever seen one person move so gracefully before, and that’s…but no. It can’t be. This girl and the boy who holds his heart are clearly two different people.
Sakura, meanwhile, immediately recognises the girl – even if he couldn’t really get a good look at her face while she was in the air. The way she moves, her laugh, the fire in her eyes…there’s no mistaking it.
He’s just about to open his mouth to ask what on earth she’s doing here, wearing a maid outfit in the red-light district of all places, when shouting and the sound of running footsteps can be heard, and at least a dozen of young men emerges from a side-street.
The girl sighs, sounding slightly annoyed, but not scared at all as the men approach her, knuckles cracking and cocky smiles on their faces.
“Tired of running, bitch?” one of them asks in a mocking tone.
But she just rolls her shoulders and places one foot in front of the other, balancing on the balls of her feet. “What a bother,” she mumbles to herself, shaking her head. “I thought for sure I’d shaken them off with that last stunt.”
“You’ll be coming with us,” one of the men declares and, as one, the whole gang charges at her.
Dodging the hand just about to grab her, she pivots on the spot, ending up behind the first man to attack. She kicks him in the back, sending him face-first onto the hard pavement. Before he hits the ground, she twirls again in a doble round-house kick that sends two more men flying.
All of this happens so fast that Suo and Nirei both have to blink several times, just to make sure that what they saw really did happen. One moment, this girl was sighing and muttering to herself, the next, three men are on the ground. And on top of that, she took them down without using her hands which are still clutching the two fragile bottles of what looks like some kind of fancy sake.
Sakura, however, doesn’t hesitate. As soon as he spotted the men approaching and you taking on that familiar fighting stance, he knew what was about to happen. With one big leap, he has closed the distance between you, landing right on top of one of the men who had gotten a bit too close to you for his liking and kicking him out of the way.
And first now do you notice him.
At first, you look surprised, but then, your face splits into a wide grin – a grin that’s so much you that Sakura can’t believe he didn’t recognise you before the evidence was practically shoved in his face not too long ago.
He returns it with a crooked smile of his own and, together, you turn to face your opponents.
You’re hit with a strong sense of déjà-vu as you stand there, back-to-back with Sakura, two against two dozen. But this time, you know that Sakura actually has your back, and you throw yourself into the fight with renewed energy and vigour. The two of you are so in sync that it’s as if you were made to fight together. Two loners, who have been fighting their way through life without relying on others – until now, that is.
You kick and spin and dodge and twirl, but no punching – wouldn’t wanna risk the sake, right? But there’s no need for you to use your hands. You’re plenty skilled with your legs and besides, now that Sakura has joined the fight, you know you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Because he has your back.
And you have his.
When the last of the gang members are either sprawling on the ground or have fled in the direction they came from, tail between their legs, you finally notice that you and Sakura aren’t the only ones left standing.
No, both Suo and Nirei are there too and, unbeknownst to you, had both joined the fighting. Suo took care of some of the escapees while also taking the opportunity to get Nirei some real-life fighting experience – because nothing beats a real street brawl when it comes to learning how to defend yourself.
During any other occasion, you would’ve been thrilled to see your best friends. But right now, all you can feel is your stomach plummeting to somewhere at the level of your feet.
Because if both Sakura, Suo, and Nirei are here, in the red light district, on a Thursday…then, that must mean that Tsubakino’s Thursday and Shizuka’s Thursday are the same day, and that today was the day Tsubakino meant he would invite your friends to Show Pub Ougi.
Oops.
You once thought that if Suo ever saw you as you, he’d know immediately. But it seems like you gave him too much credit, because with the way Suo looks at you…well, there’s no way he’d ever look at Ryo like that.
He’s smiling – of course he is – but somehow, his smile is cold. Guarded.
“And who’re your little…friend here, Sakura-kun?” Suo asks, although he isn’t looking at Sakura. He’s looking at you. Eye boring into you, as if he could stare into the depths of your soul to figure out the enigma that you are.
Suo doesn’t understand it.
There’s only supposed to be one person this captivating, one person this amazing, one person this…beautiful.
And it’s not supposed to be the girl in front of him, but the boy who took Suo’s heart and ran with it, so early on in their relationship that Suo doesn’t even remember when it happened. Why, oh why do you have look so much like him?
It messes with his head, and he doesn’t like it. Of course, he knows he’s not being fair to this girl he’s only just met, and who – in some miraculous way – seems to be friends with Sakura, of all people. Not that he doesn’t think Sakura can make friends, but because Suo thought Sakura didn’t have any friends outside of Bofurin.
Nirei also looks at you, but his eyes are fixed on the small tie clip you’ve attached to your shirt. He knows that insignia. It’s…
But Nirei doesn’t get to finish his thoughts, and Suo doesn’t get answers to any of his questions. Not just yet, at least.
Because just then, another boy comes charging at them, knocking first an unprepared Sakura out of the way (who’s standing closest to you and thus, constitutes the greatest threat according to the newcomer), then swiping at Suo who jumps back just in time to avoid being thrown to the ground, then swinging his leg at Nirei.
“No, Otowa-kun!” you shout, placing yourself between Otowa and Nirei with your hands outstretched.
“You assholes!” Otowa roars. “You were sniffing around for our waiter, weren’t you?” He sends each of your friends a glare that promises nothing but death and despair to those who dare touch you. “Too bad for you that she’s not going down so easily! Just you wait till I--”
“Otowa-kun, listen here--”
“What the hell, what happened to you?” he asks as soon as he spots the condition you’re in – your uniform ruffled, your hair all over the place, and your knuckles scraped from having shielded the bottles of sake.
“Oh no, I lost the ribbon Tsubaki-chan gave me!” you suddenly realise as you reach up to touch your tousled hair.
“I’ll get you a new one, don’t worry,” he reassures you before again turning to your friends. “How dare you lay your hands on--”
“Ritsu, just listen to me already!” you scream at his face, hair ribbon again forgotten as Otowa tries to wriggle out of your grasp so that he can go beat up your friends.
And you won’t have that.
But Otowa doesn’t listen, so, in your panic, you do the only thing you can think of doing at the moment that won’t hurt him.
Not too bad, at least.
You slap him.
With a loud smack that echoes in the now empty street, making Otowa’s head jerk to the side from the impact.
Oops, maybe you put a little too much strength into that.
Well, at least it seemed to work, because Otowa snaps out of it and finally, finally calms down enough to listen to you.
“Listen, they were helping me, alright? I was chased by some other guys – those guys,” you say, gesturing at the heaps of bodies on the ground. “But Sakura-kun, Suo-kun, and Nire-kun were just helping me! So, you better apologise right this moment and thank them for helping me! Me, and Roppo-Ichiza!”
Otowa is staring at you with wide eyes as you glare at him. He’s never seen you this agitated before. But it doesn’t take long before you smile again – one deep inhale and exhale to rid yourself of any lingering frustrations, and you’re right back to your usual bright self.
“Thank you so much for helping me! I’m so sorry about Otowa-kun, but he means well,” you say, bowing to your three friends.
If it’d been Nakamura making such a mistake, he’d probably already be doing a dogeza right now and beg your friends for their forgiveness, going on and on about how harakiri would be a suitable punishment for his offenses. But, alas, Otowa isn’t Nakamura, and he just continues to glare suspiciously at your friends while you apologise on his behalf.
“I thought you said he was supposed to apologise,” Sakura points out, scowling.
You just shrug. You’ve already put that little hiccup behind you now that you know Otowa isn’t going to hurt your friends.
“Uhm, sorry to ask, but…” You all turn your attention to Nirei, who’s holding up his hand as if asking for permission to say something in class. “B-b-but you guys…you’re Roppo-Ichiza, right?”
Otowa scowls. “What of it?”
“The Roppo-Ichiza of Keisei Street,” Nirei continues, now turning towards Sakura and Suo. “I already told you guys that they fought against Furin many, many times before we were united!”
“Oh?” Otowa’s scowl intensifies. “Did you say…Furin?”
Nirei immediately slaps both hands over his mouth.
Shit shit shit, he thinks, panicking. He didn’t think Roppo-Ichiza and Bofurin were still on bad terms…”
“Don’t stress so much, Nire-k–, I mean Nirei-san,” you reassure him. To Otowa, you say, “And Roppo-Ichiza doesn’t have any beef with Furin. Right, Otowa-kun?”
Otowa purses his lips before reluctantly agreeing with you.
An awkward silence falls over your group. Otowa is impatient to get back to the pub with you, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei all have so many questions that they don’t know where to start, and you are torn between staying with your friends in case Otowa decides he wants to beat them up again, or fleeing home with an excuse so that you won’t have to interact anymore with Suo and Nirei than you already have.
It’s Nirei who breaks the silence first because, now that he has calmed down, he finally gets to ask one of the many pressing questions that’s been on his mind ever since he saw you for the first time.
He turns towards you. “S-s-sorry, but, uhm…h-h-how d-d-do you know our names, uhm, miss…?”
Oops.
When you tried to calm down Otowa earlier, you had momentarily forgotten that you weren’t supposed to be Ryo and thus, weren’t supposed to know Suo and Nirei.
You hurry to introduce yourself before letting out a nervous chuckle. “Well, Sakura-kun’s told me so much about all of you, hehe…”
Neither Nirei, Suo, nor Otowa look very convinced, but before they can ask more questions, you quickly turn your back to them. “We better clean up here! These guys are blocking traffic, and I’d rather they don’t get any more hurt than they already are.”
Then, you proceed to carefully place the sake bottles on the ground beside a streetlamp, then haul one of your attackers over your back before carrying them to the side of the street.
Sakura shrugs, then starts helping you. Otowa follows suit and lastly, Suo and Nirei. They’ve decided to let your strange behaviour slide, for now at least, because they all suddenly realise that there are much more pressing matters to attend to at the moment:
That you were chased through half the red-light district by a whole gang, and that you’ve got no idea why.
After having put all the unconscious boys in the gang safely away, propped up against a building, Sakura moves to stand beside you. “Do you have any idea why those guys were after you?” he asks, making Otowa’s eye twitch in annoyance. He was gonna ask that question!
“Nope,” you shake your head. “I doubt it was the sake they were after,” you add, lifting the two bottles from the ground and eyeing them critically.
Otowa snatches the bottles out of your hands, marvelling fleetingly at how heavy they actually are.
“Wait, that’s really not necessary--"
“Just let me carry them for you.”
“Do you think…” Sakura starts, making eye contact with you.
You know he’s asking you if you think this has something to do with the men who broke into your apartment – but of course, he can’t say that out loud without making the others suspicious of you (more than they already are, that is).
Slowly, you nod, telling Sakura that you know what he’s asking. “Yeah, it’s probably connected.”
“Excuse me, but what’s connected?” Suo interjects, eyeing your little interaction curiously, but warily.
Before you can answer, Otowa grabs you by the wrist and begins walking in the direction of your workplace. “C’mon, let’s get back,” he urges you, not wanting to have to deal anymore with these three minors who have no business on Keisei Street, meddling in Roppo-Ichiza affairs.
You let him drag you with him. You have to report this to the rest of Roppo-Ichiza, after all, and maybe, you can call in sick and avoid Sakura, Suo, and Nirei for the rest of the day.
You haven’t gotten very far, however, before Nirei shouts after you, “H-h-hey, wait!”
You skid to a halt, forcing Otowa stop too. You turn around to see Nirei hesitantly tiptoe on the spot, fingertips tapping against each other. “Uhm, did you mention, uh, Tsubaki-san?”
“Yup! He told me you were coming to visit,” you say, not untruthfully. You’ve already decided that the best course of action is not to lie – not with Suo there, at least. He’s probably seeing right through every little lie you tell them, either directly, or by omission.
Mentally, you let out a deep sigh. You’re going to have a serious talk with Tsubakino about the difference between Thursday and next Thursday when you get him alone one of these days.
Otowa also sighs, but very loudly and not mentally at all – because does this mean that he’ll have to put up with these three Furin boys for the rest of the evening?
It turns out that it does, because Sakura, Suo, and Nirei decide that they might as well follow you to Show Pub Ougi.
When you step into the pub, Tsubakino is in the middle of one of his performances. He swings himself around a pole, elegant as always, his muscles straining and gleaming with a very thin sheen of sweat while the audience is whooping and shouting his name.
When his performance is over, he spots Sakura, Suo, and Nirei, and winks at them. Nirei’s eyes are sparkling with admiration, and Suo claps his hands together in applause. Sakura meanwhile…
“What the hell…is this?” He’s standing frozen in place, eye twitching as he glares at Tsubakino.
You, however, immediately make a beeline for Tsubakino as soon as his performance ends.
“Huh, what are you doing here, sweetie?” he asks you as soon as he spots you. You hadn’t been there when he arrived for his shift today.
“I thought you said next Thursday,” you scold him in a hushed voice.
“Oh, well…” Tsubakino holds up his hands up in apology, “Maybe I did. I’m so sorry, dear! I just never know when it’s the next day of the week, and when it’s this day of the week, it’s so confusing!”
You pat him reassuringly on his arm. “Don’t worry, it’s alright. I’ll just try to…I dunno, hang out in the kitchen, maybe, so I don’t have to spend too much time with them. Although, Sakura-kun already knows, so it’s mostly, to avoid Suo-kun and Nire-kun--”
You pause when you see the way Tsubakino’s jaw drops. “…since when did Sakura-chan find out?!” he whispers, a little too loudly.
Oops again.
You’d completely forgotten to tell that little detail to Tsubakino. You send him a look that says later before taking the sake bottles from Otowa and hurrying to the back of the pub.
You’ve fought hard for that sake, so you might as well be the one to deliver it safely.
Meanwhile, you wonder how on earth you’re going to survive the rest of the evening.