Nanao smiled as she followed her friends around the street, looking around at all the festival booths around them. There were food stands, tiny popup shops, and games. The sun had set, and lanterns were lighting up the streets while the sounds of music and chatter had filled her ears. She followed the girls around until she reached a booth selling hair ornaments.
She stopped as she looked around the table. There were combs, clips, sticks, and ribbons. She was going to walk away when she saw an elegant long yellow ribbon with a white baby's breath embroidered on it. It seemed simple but beautiful, and it reminded her of the one her sister bought for her when they were children.
She went to go buy it before looking at the tag. Hand-stitched, ¥5000. She sighed, ¥5000 was too much. She couldn't justify buying it. She could barely afford the necessities. She sighed, putting the ribbon back down.
"A beautiful ribbon for a beautiful woman?" A voice asked from behind her making her jump slightly in surprise.
She looked over her shoulder to see a man standing behind her. He wore baggy black pants and a white buttoned shirt. His blonde hair was short and styled neatly. His smile was wide and genuine. He held out his hand for her to take as he continued speaking.
"It's a lovely ribbon Nanao, it would look wonderful with your pretty kimono. Let me buy it for you."
Nanao politely shook her head as she denied his offer to hold his hand, "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you, Osanai."
She turned to leave, but he stopped her by grabbing her hand lightly, pulling her towards him. "Oh, come on, Nanao, don't be like that," he smirked, not letting go of her.
Nanao narrowed her eyes as she forcibly pushed him off of her. "Back off Osanai. You of all people know I don't interact with delinquents," she snapped.
She glared at him, not moving her gaze away from him. Osanai stood smirking as he crossed his arms, "Oh come on now. Heard you and Natsu are done. Why don't you come with me and let me treat you right."
"Fuck off, Osanai. I'm not interested," she rolled her eyes, walking past him.
As she walked past him, Osanai grabbed her arm, stopping her. "You're cute, but damn, you can be a real bitch," he teased.
"I said fuck off Osanai," Nanao took one step closer to him and slammed her foot on top of his.
Nanao smirked as he let go of her arm a went to nurse his foot.
"Ow!" Osanai yelled, rubbing his foot where she had stepped, "That fucking hurt you bitch."
"Good," she smirked, "Now stay the fuck away from me," she warned before leaving him by the booth and started looking for her friends.
After a while of walking, she found her friends sitting around a patio bar. As she approached, she watched a group of girls cheer as they took a shot of sake. She chuckled, walking up to them. They all looked at her as they raised their shot glasses.
"Hey, guys!" She greeted happily.
Everyone waved excitedly. "Hey, Nanao! Glad you made it," Hinoka shouted as she threw her arms around Nanao. Nanao wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
"Thanks for ditching me," she joked.
Hinoka just shook her head as she handed Nanao a shot glass filled with sake, "Sorry about that. We thought you were behind us," she laughed, "Don't worry though, we lost Hana and Yue along the way also."
"No worries. I found you didn't I," Nanao laughed, taking the shot. She downed the drink, grimacing at the taste, looking down, "This tastes awful."
"Well, it's free, so suck it up," Hinoka laughed. Nanao stuck her tongue out at her playfully. Hinoka giggled in return, "One of my regulars saw us walking down the street. I told him that if he bought us a few bottles, I'd give him a discount next time he came over," Hinoka laughed as she wiggled her eyebrows, pouring the group another shot.
They laughed with her for a bit longer before getting caught up in another conversation. Nanao looked around, watching everyone. She saw some of the girls who seemed to have already finished their drinks playfully dancing to the street music under the lanterns. The lights made their skin glow pink and made their hair shine brightly. They swayed in a circle, laughing joyously.
"Come on, Nanao, dance with me!" Hinoka cheered, taking Nanao by the hand leading her to the group of drunk women.
The other women all looked at her as she grinned at their playfulness. They started singing loudly, holding each other close and swaying around the circle. Nanao moved her hips and tried to get into the swing of things. She danced around with the others. She felt embarrassed for being out in the street, drinking and dancing with her friends, even though she knew they wouldn't judge. But after a few more shots and seeing the street performers joyfully playing for them, she no longer cared.
Soon enough, more people joined their little dance group, men, women, couples, and even children, pretty much anyone that was looking for a playful night. They laughed and sang together. The atmosphere of celebration was contagious, and Nanao couldn't help but join in. As she spun around, she accidentally knocked into someone.
"Shit, sorry," she apologized, trying to move away, but the person grabbed her hand, causing her to stop.
She gasped, turning to face whoever it was who grabbed her. It was Draken. Nanao was shocked to say the least. Her cheeks blushed red, realizing it was him.
"Uhm, hi Draken," she awkwardly drunkenly waved at him.
Draken smirked at her as he steadied her, "Hi Nanao. Having fun?"
Nanao blushed as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, "Oh, yeah, you know..."
Draken chuckled as he playfully nudged her shoulder. "Oh, I know," he winked at her making her blush harder in embarrassment.
Draken then looked behind him and called out to his friends. "Hey Mikey, Emma. Look who I found," Draken called out, smirking as he grabbed Nanao by the shoulders and turned her toward Mikey. "Found princess here having the time of her life dancing her heart out," Draken joked as Nanao flushed even harder in embarrassment.
Mikey walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Princess, you look like you're having a good time," he winked at her teasingly. "Too good of a time if you asked me," he laughed as he smelled the sake on her breath.
Hearing Mikey tease her made Nanao blush even harder than she already was.
Emma giggled and came forward, pushing Mikey to the side as she wrapped her arms around Nanao tightly.
"Nanao, you look so beautiful," she smiled as she hugged her.
Nanao looked down in embarrassment at her friends seeing her drunk.
"Thanks, Emma, you look beautiful as well," she smiled at her shyly.
She went to say something else when she heard her name being shouted across the area.
"Found you," Hinoka cheered. "Hey girls, I found her," Hinoka was waving at them.
They all followed her as they walked over to her, each of them holding their own bottle of sake in their hands.
"I was so worried I thought I lost you again," Hinoka smiled as she pulled Nanao into a drunken hug before looking up at the group behind her.
"Hey, Kenny, is that you?" Hinoka asked as she let go of Nanao and stumbled over to Draken. She slung an arm around his waist as the rest of the girls followed suit, "Look, ladies, it's Kenny!" Hinoka yelled.
Soon enough, the girls were surrounding him too. Draken sighed as he tried to walk away from the group of drunk women.
"Aren't you guys a little young to be drinking? How'd you even get that?" He asked them. Annoyed that they didn't leave him alone.
Hinoka laughed as she took another swig of her drink, "Oh, don't be like that, Kenny. It's a festival, we're allowed to have fun. Besides, I know a guy," Hinoka laughed as Draken swatted her away from him.
"Is this your girlfriend, Kenny?" One of the girls asked, pointing at Emma.
"She's so pretty!" The other women all announced at once in agreement as Emma embarrassedly looked away from the women.
"No, she's just a friend," Draken replied bluntly, ignoring the other women's questions.
Hinoka chuckled amusingly, watching Draken. "That's not what it looks like, Kenny," giggles erupted from the girls.
"Yeah, Kenny, we see through ya. You got a lady and a pretty one," another woman laughed.
Draken rolled his eyes as he stepped away from the women. "Oh fuck off," he groaned, annoyed with them. He then grabbed Emma's hand, pulling her towards him.
"Umm, who are these women?" Emma asked curiously, still holding onto Draken's hand.
"Just a bunch of drunks. Let's go back," Draken sighed, irritated.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kenny," Hinoka whined, "We work at the massage parlor Kenny lives at. He's like our sweet baby brother," she added teasingly as she walked over and poked his chest.
The girls laughed as they continued to tease the two of them. The girls were clearly drunk and not thinking straight, but to be honest, even if they weren't drunk, they'd still tease him about it.
"Oi, oi, just drop it," Draken rolled his eyes at Hinoka. He then looked over at Nanao, "I didn't realize you were such good friends with them?" Draken questioned, afraid that she also was a part of the same industry as them. Mikey also now nervously looking at her, thinking the same thing.
"Oh um... Well, I guess I am..." Nanao told them awkwardly, shrugging as she stared down at the ground.
Hinoka looked at Nanao and then back at the boys before throwing her hands on her hips, "Chill out, Kenny, we went to high school together. She's not a prostitute," she shook her head.
The other girls laughed except Nanao as they playfully played with her hair and kimono.
"Not that she wouldn't make a pretty one," one girl joked.
"Yea, that's true. She really does look adorable," another agreed as she playfully pushed Nanao's chin up.
Then another girl walked up behind her and groped her boobs, "And damn, look at her rack."
Nanao just stood there blushing furiously while trying to push herself away from them. She could feel her ears heating up as the girls kept messing with her head.
"Oi, leave her alone, you drunks," Draken stated, annoyed as he grabbed Nanao's hand, pulling her with him. "We're taking her to see the fireworks now. Leave her alone," Draken added, dragging her off before they could tease her any further.
Nanao didn't complain as she let Draken pull her away from the group. She followed him over to Mikey and Emma before leading them to the grassy hill to watch the fireworks.
"Sorry about them," Draken mumbled as he walked up to Emma, leaving Mikey and Nanao to follow behind them. "Those girls can be a lot sometimes," Draken explained quietly.
"Haha, it's okay," Nanao smiled as she walked next to Mikey. "They're my friends," Nanao added reassuringly. "Plus, we're just drunk," she let out a toothy grin as she skipped beside Mikey with her hands behind her back.
She then looked over at Mikey and smiled, "I'm glad I got to see you guys today. Sorry I'm a little drunk, though. I normally don't do this," she admitted.
Mikey laughed, "Don't worry about it. It seems like you are having fun, and that's all that matters," he added, winking at her.
Nanao blushed as she hid her face behind her hair, covering her blushing cheeks as she nodded in confirmation. They continued walking until finally reaching the edge of the hill, where the hill opened up to a large field. The four of them walked around and found a spot where they could lean against the grass and watch the sky light up.
Nanao slowly sat down next to Mikey as Draken and Emma sat in front of them. She felt happy and comfortable as she gently rocked herself back and forth. She playfully bounced herself as she saw the fireworks start to get ready. She squealed excitedly as she started clapping her hands in the air happily. Mikey smiled proudly at how enthusiastic she was, especially since he knew she was slightly drunk.
"You're so adorable, Nanao," Mikey exclaimed happily as he watched her smile brightly as they got ready to watch the fireworks. She seemed to truly love it.
Nanao smiled as she leaned her head on Mikey's shoulder. "Wanna hear a secret?" She whispered to him softly, making Mikey tilt his head to give her more room to whisper.
Nanao leaned forward slightly as she whispered the secret that only the two of them would hear, "I love fireworks. My favorite part is when the sky lights up. I always try to guess what colors are going to come next. Like, purple, pink, blue, or white." She listed off as she glanced over at Mikey, who gave her a curious smile and a nod for her to continue.
Nanao grinned as she continued explaining her dreamy daydreams. "And the best part is when it goes super fast and explodes into millions and billions of sparkling pieces in front of us. Like the most beautiful meteor shower imaginable," she told him excitedly.
Mikey grinned. He loved hearing her talk passionately about her favorite things. He loved her enthusiasm for everything she liked. Before he could comment back, he heard a loud whistle followed by an explosion of lights that lit up the night sky.
Mikey turned to see Nanao completely transfixed, staring at the fireworks. Her eyes sparkled and danced with the bright flashes as the light reflected off of them and shone in her eyes. Her smile was wide, showing her dimples. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, making Mikey chuckle quietly as he looked at her.
Mikey was taken back when he saw her expression. A look of pure joy and happiness, like she had never had a reason to smile before. Seeing her smile made him happy. He wanted her to smile forever. He looked up towards the sky with her. His eyes followed her gaze until he felt her place her shoulder against his and gently rested her head on his. Her head leaning into his and her warm breath on his cheek.
"The next one's going to be white and blue," she whispered to herself.
But as the next one shot up and as the fireworks exploded, Mikey noticed the color change to a bright red as the firework exploded in the sky, making Nanao cheer loudly as she clapped her hands excitedly.
"I have to run to the bathroom," Nanao told the group as she ran off.
Nanao ran off down the street, trying to return as soon as possible, not wanting the others to wait on her. Once out of the bathroom, she went to walk back. The festival was still in full swing. If anything, it was getting more crowded now that the fireworks were done. So wanting to avoid them, she made a cut across the parking lot when suddenly someone stood in front of her blocking her path.
"Well, well, what a lovely surprise seeing you again, Nanao."
Nanao narrowed her eyes as she took a step back. Putting distance between the three men in front of her. "What do you want, Osanai. I told you to leave me alone," she hissed through gritted teeth.
He just shook his head before running his hand through his hair, spitting the gum out of his mouth. "Why do you have to be so hurtful, beautiful?" He turned and laughed with the men behind him.
"Fuck off, Osanai," she rolled her eyes, walking away from him.
The other men laughed at her snarkiness and Osanai's failed attempt to woo the girl. Pissed off with embarrassment and anger, he walked over to her and gripped her arm, jerking her towards him. She glared up at him and tried to yank her arm free but to no avail.
He leaned down so his face was close to hers. She could smell the scent of alcohol on his breath. "You really are a bitch aren't you?" He growled into her ear, causing her to flinch.
Her glare intensified as she struggled to get herself out of his grip. "Go fuck yourself," she hissed back at him.
His hold grew tighter on her arm, and she could feel pain spreading throughout the limb as he squeezed it. "You're acting pretty brave for a girl in your situation," his voice filled with amusement.
The other men laughed as she tried to twist out of his grasp.
"You're drunk, Osanai. Just let me go, please," she hissed, trying to reason with him.
He let go of her arm and laughed at her, "It's funny, you know. You think that you're some bad bitch. Thinking that just because Natsu's gone, you can go around and tell everyone what to do."
She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, ignoring his jeering remarks, and started to walk away. As she turned to walk further away, he grabbed her shoulder, making her stop dead in her tracks.
"I'm going to give you one chance to apologize to me," he told her slowly as he turned her around to face him.
"If I wanted to apologize to you, I would've done it already. What is there to say sorry for?"
Before she knew it, she was pinned against a car. "How about you apologize for being a bitch to start with," he leaned down, so his nose brushed against her neck, sending shivers all over her body.
She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves as she fought the urge to scream. But as she turned to tell him to let her go, she heard the steps of someone walking into the parking lot. Her breathing hitched as she looked over to see who it was. Standing there at the other end of the lot stood Mikey. But instead of having his childish grin, he had a serious look on his face. A serious expression she'd never seen on him before, and it was a look that scared her.
Mikey's eyes met hers before looking at Osanai and his crew. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, Osanai?" His voice hardened with each word.
Osanai smiled smugly as he pushed Nanao to the ground and turned his attention to Mikey. "This has nothing to do with you, Mikey. I'm just teaching this girl a thing or two about having manners. So do us a favor and just go on your way," Osanai smirked at him.
Mikey's face showed nothing but anger and disgust as his stare fell upon Nanao. His glare darkened. "So, what, you think I'm gonna stay here while you harass my friend? Nanao, get out of here," Mikey demanded.
Nanao slowly nodded as she tried to pick herself up, but before she could get up, Osanai turned and shoved her back down with his foot.
"Oh, I don't think she should leave."
The smile on Osanai's face only infuriated Mikey more. With every passing second, the fire inside of Mikey got hotter.
"You know Nanao," Osanai looked down at her, gently tapping her with his foot, "for someone that doesn't want anything to do with delinquents, you sure are pretty close to the Invincible Mikey, President of Toman," Osanai sneered.
Nanao's eyes widened as she looked over at Mikey. This was the Invincible Mikey? She had heard stories about him from Natsu and some of her friends, but she could have never guessed that this small, childish 16-year-old boy was the unstoppable leader of Toman, and that scared her even more. She bit her lip as she kept staring at him. She couldn't look away even though she wanted to. He was no longer a small childish 16-year-old boy. The person in front of her was now a fierce and dangerous man.
Osanai laughed, and as he was about to mock Nanao again, Mikey ran forward and jumped up and kicked him on the side of the head, throwing him to the ground. Nanao watched with wide eyes as Osanai dropped to the ground cold next to her as blood bled from his broken nose. Mikey went to pick Nanao up, but before he could, the other two members of Moebius ran forward, going after Mikey. Mikey quickly dodged the other two, attacking them with his foot just as he had done with Osanai sending them flying.
He quickly spun around, turning to Nanao once they landed, "Let's go."
He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her along with him as they left the scene. Once they had cleared the area, they slowed their pace. Nanao soon halted, not taking another step towards him.
"Are you okay?" Mikey asked, looking down at Nanao, concerned.
Nanao stayed silent, staring off into the distance. Mikey looked over at her, noticing how pale she looked.
"C'mon, we need to get you home."
Nanao turned her attention towards him as she shook her head, glaring down at him. "Who are you, Mikey, and don't lie to me?" She questioned.
Mikey's expression became neutral, but he continued to look over at her with concern, afraid to say anything.
"Are you really the leader of Toman? The Invincible Mikey that takes down grown men with one kick? The Mikey that can single handily take down 50 men by himself?" She asked him. Her voice shook with each word that came out of her mouth.
He didn't answer her for a few moments before nodding at her. Nanao sighed as she looked down at the ground.
She shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him quietly.
He sadly sighed as he walked closer to her and held Nanao's chin between his fingers, tilting her face so that she would meet his eyes, "I didn't want to bother you with such things. You never asked so I didn't think it was important for me to tell you." He told her honestly. "Why does it hurt you so much?"
Baji had told him that she wasn't a fan of delinquents, but he never imagined that this would be her reaction when she found out.
Nanao stared at him in silence before removing herself from his hold. After a while, she finally spoke. "Delinquents are trouble, but delinquents in gangs are dangerous," she told him seriously with hurt laced in her words.
He reached out, grabbing her hand pulling her back towards him. "I'm not going to hurt you, Nanao," he whispered, holding her hand as he gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb.
"If I had a yen for every time I've heard that," she mockingly chuckled softly to herself as she remembered the exact words that came out of Natsu's mouth, I'll never hurt you.
"And why exactly do you think that I would believe you? For all I know, you could be the next guy that takes advantage of my innocence when I'm vulnerable," she snapped angrily, looking back up at him, pulling her hand away from his hold.
"All it takes is one day when you lose a fight and get hurt. Or a friend winding up in jail. So you take your anger out on me," she accused him coldly as she recalled the many nights Natsu came home frustrated because of something that happened with his club and took his frustration out on her because he couldn't do anything to his brothers.
She took a deep breath calming herself down before continuing, "What if one day you come home with a black eye and a broken nose and you're so angry you beat the shit out of me because you can't control yourself. Or someone comes after me because of something you did, and they beat the shit out of me. Because that's what happens to people in gangs. They get beaten and hurt because of the gangs' actions," she paused briefly and glanced around.
"I refuse to get hurt because of something like that again," she admitted before dropping her gaze to the concrete floor.
Mikey watched silently as she finished speaking. He felt sadness fill him as he watched her cry. He knew those examples weren't random. Mikey knew that they were personal experiences. Experiences that she had unfortunately been through. Her resentment now made sense, but it frustrated him that she would associate those experiences with him.
He didn't want Nanao to fear him or anyone else for that matter. He just wanted her safe and happy and loved. He hated seeing her in pain, and knowing that she had been abused like that made him sick and hurt. She deserved better than that. She deserved love and happiness. Nanao deserved to wake up every day smiling and not worrying about being hurt because of something she had no control of. She deserved to live a healthy and joyful life. And Mikey was going to give that to her. He was going to make damn sure that she gets it.
He reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her hair lightly. "I would never hurt you," he promised.
Only when she felt tears pricking her eyes did she realize she must have cried during her rant. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, just standing there, not returning the hold.
"Please don't cry," he whispered into her ear.
She shook her head slightly as she felt another tear escape from her eyes. She gently pulled herself out of his grip as she took a step back. A small whimper escaped her throat.
"Mikey, I need to leave," she whispered, looking down at her feet, not making eye contact with him. She didn't want to see the look on his face, so she just focused her eyes on the ground.
"But-" he started to say but cut himself short as he watched her take another step away from him, "Okay..." he whispered quietly, trailing off.
Nanao bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself together as she refused to look at him, knowing that she wouldn't be able to leave if she looked into his eyes.
"Will this be the last time I see you?" His question made her snap her head and look at him. His gaze bore into hers almost painfully.
"I don't... I don't know. I just...I just need some time to process everything," her voice cracked with every breath she took. "Okay? Please just give me some time to myself," she pleaded to him.
Mikey sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Okay… okay. I'll give you time," he whispered, looking down, avoiding her gaze for a moment before he looked back up at her. "Just call me when you're ready. I'll wait as long as I need to," he swore to her, lightly smiling. Trying to reassure her that he wouldn't give up on their friendship. That he wouldn't give up on her.
His eyes burned with a strong emotion that Nanao had never seen on anyone before. It was as if he was afraid. As if he was terrified of losing her. Of letting her go. Nanao nodded before turning around and walking off, leaving Mikey behind her. She didn't dare to look back even after a while. She could still feel his burning gaze piercing through the back of her head.