The air was thick with tension—one could cut it with a knife if they so wished.
Hanma was casually smoking his cigarette as a Moebius member stood behind him with an umbrella—protecting him from the rain.
Letting out a puff of smoke, Hanma sighed, "Man, I'm tired," he walked a little closer to Takemichi, only to stop a little further away when Mikey shifted a little towards the front of him, "It really doesn't matter who I am. But I'm sorta in charge of Moebius for now."
Mitsuya kept his eyes on Hanma. He's heard his name before, it's famous and well known. Damn, to think that Hanma of all people would be temporarily in charge of Moebius.
Next to him, Hinata hummed to herself, "So that's the famous "Reaper" Shūji Hanma. He's nothing like I'd expected him to be."
"What sort of image of him were you expecting?" Mitsuya couldn't help but ask. Seeing her look so relaxed despite their current situation was helping him stay calm.
Hinata took the time to think about it, "I was expecting him to look a little more…like a zombie."
…
…
"…eh?" Emma questioned, "A zombie? Why?"
"Well, look at his skin. He looks really pale, his eyes are lifeless and dull. Instead of calling him a Reaper, why not Zombie?" Hinata suggested.
No one said anything for a few minutes.
Was she serious right now?
"Creepy bastard does look pale," Draken could agree with her on that, "Zombie sounds on point."
"Really?" Mitsuya looked at him.
Draken shrugged.
Hanma tossed his cigarette on the ground, "I'm impressed. You're not only strong, but smart, too." He was referring to Takemichi.
Takemichi remained silent.
Mikey addressed Hanma, "So you're the creeper who's been pulling the strings?" The edge in his tone told them he was beyond pissed off. A silent, raging storm was brewing inside, waiting to burst.
"No, this guy's not that smart to plan something like this." Takemichi dismissed Hanma as being the mastermind.
Hanna grinned, "Oi, oi, what makes you say that, Blue Dragon?"
"You said it yourself earlier," Takemichi replied, "For the time being, you're acting as temporary captain of Moebius. On your master's orders." He emphasized the fact that Hanna was acting on the orders of someone else.
Draken and Mitsuya got the gist of what he meant.
Hanma's working for the mastermind.
Laughter was Hanma'a response, "Not bad, I'm impressed!" He grinned, "The rumors about you being a lot more interesting are true…" His eyes became slightly bloodthirsty, "…right?"
Takemichi moved quickly.
Gracefully evading the sudden surprise attack aimed at him in the form of a metal bat. Takemichi didn't give the attacker time to recover—sending a powerful palm strike to the other's gut, he grabbed the bat before tossing it over at Hinata.
Hanma whistled, "Nice dodge." He sounded genuinely impressed.
Takemichi stares at him before fully understanding the true intent, "I see, so that's how it is. What an arrogant master you have there, Hanma."
"Oi, oi, you talk like you know who it is." Hanma tried to get Takemichi to let it slip.
"Who knows?" Takemichi shrugged.
Hanma kept trying to get him to spill though, "Getting it out of you the other way sounds a lot more fun."
"Watch who you threaten, dog." Takemichi warned.
Draken smirked, "Takemichi's got some sharp fangs there." Takemichi was holding back against Osanai, that much was obvious. If he and Hanma where to go at it right now…that'd be one hell of a fight.
"I heard Hanma's a real pain in the ass to fight. Either Mikey or Takemichi might be able to deal with him." Mitsuya adds.
"More importantly, can I shatter his kneecaps?" Hinata asked innocently, still holding the metal bat.
"Hina-chan?" Emma questioned, surprised by her suggestion.
'She's a scary one…' Mitsuya thinks, nervously.
Mikey's silent anger was just about to blow up when Takemichi almost got attacked. It didn't matter if this guy wasn't the one responsible or not, but he needs to pay for almost hurting his friends.
"Just what sort of creepy master are you working for?" Mikey demanded, walking right up to Hanma.
The tall teen closed his eyes while smiling, "Wow, you're a pain in the ass, Mikey—" he was abruptly cut off when Mikey attempted to use his signature move.
But to his, and everyone else's surprise—he blocked it.
Takemichi's blue eyes narrow in on Hanma, 'Blocking that signature move of his isn't easy, even when you see it coming.' This means the mastermind has inside knowledge about how Mikey fights.
Useful to know.
"Ow…" Hanma said, dully.
Mitsuya's eyes widened in disbelief, "He stopped Mikey's kick?!"
Draken was just as shocked. No one has ever blocked Mikey's kick before.
Hanma shook his hand to lessen the pain, "Don't be in such a hurry, Mikey. Our goal is to crush Toman."
Some more members of Moebius gather around the group.
"Oh, Black Dragon, too."
Hinata smiled, "Ara, is that so?"
Takemichi said nothing.
"This wasn't the original plan, but it works out just fine for us. This just means that I get to," Hanma covered one of his eyes with his tattooed hand, "kill the Invincible Mikey and Blue Dragon with my own two hands!"
'So the mastermind's original plan had something to do with Toman, but we interfered.' Takemichi would figure it all out later.
Hanma spread his arms out wide, "Moebius has 100 men here! Toman has a measly three, while Black Dragon has two!"
"Don't you dare wuss out this time, assholes!" Hanma grinned at the Moebius members, "I'm not a softie like Osanai."
"Yes, sir!"
"Mikey, Draken, Takemichi," Hanma looks back at them, still grinning, "You're dead~❤️"
His declaration was met with silence. The only sound around them was the rain pelting the ground. Hinata then began to have a giggling fit, much to everyone's confusion.
"Y—You heard what he said, Takemichi-kun…!" Hinata was giggling so hard she could barely talk.
"I heard. Even I feel like laughing right now." He admitted.
Hinata calmed down a little, "That was amusing, Hanma-kun. Hey, why don't you become our little jester?" She suggested, "We'd keep you in a nice little cage and take good care of you. Oh, but if you misbehave…I'll break your bones and puncture an organ."
Draken and Mitsuya were both giving her looks of unease, 'She's serious!' They think in unison.
"Rejected." Takemichi automatically shot her suggestion down.
"Eh, why~?" She pouted.
"You know why."
"But—
—No."
"Pretty please?"
"That doesn't work on me anymore."
"Takemichi-kun—
—You are not kidnapping Shūji Hanma, and making him your personal pet." He finally said.
"Pet?!" Emma exclaimed.
Mikey didn't even know what to say.
"Why not?" Hinata demanded.
"Cause he won't even last a day," He replied, "He'd be dead in three days. Same thing happened to your hamster."
"I forgot to feed Wakui-san one time!" She defended.
"Try three days," He countered, "And the reason I know this is because your little brother told me himself."
She huffed before looking away, "I didn't kill him on purpose."
"I didn't say you did."
"But you're implying."
"I'm implying nothing."
Hinata's eyebrow twitched.
Emma tried to calm her friend down, despite the sudden turn of events, "Um, Hina-chan…?"
"Not to jump in or anything, but can you two wait till later to finish this?" Mitsuya wondered how they went from a tense situation to hilarity.
Mikey gave Hinata a look, "You killed your hamster in just three days because you forgot to feed it?"
Draken face palmed, "So not the point right now, Mikey."
Hanma remained quiet for a while now, but decided to say what was in his mind right now, "Is that chic of yours mental?"
Silence.
Takemichi rubbed his temples, "Shūji Hanma…you really are a dumbass."
"Oh?" Hanma tilts his head like a curious cat.
"Didn't your master teach you to keep your mouth shut?" Takemichi could feel Hinata's already killing intent grow worse. She was about to lose it.
…and he was right.
SNAP!
Everyone stared in utter disbelief as she snapped the metal bat in her hand in half.
Takemichi knew what was coming and ducked right as she threw the two half's of the metal bat right in Hanna's direction.
But they didn't hit him.
Instead, both pieces hit square in the forehead of two random Moebius members—knocking them out cold.
It all happened so fast no one had time to process what just happened.
Mitsuya blinked, "Well, shit…" what more could he say?
"Hina-chan, that was amazing! You hit two home runs!" Emma gleamed.
"She sure as hell did." Draken was impressed with her accuracy, even if it was random.
Mikey hummed in approval, "Not bad." He complimented.
Takemichi stood up, "She got ahead of everyone else by knocking two members out cold."
Hinata seemed pleased by the results herself, "Mm, that was my fastest time." Not that she was keeping count or anything.
"That being said…I believe we have enough for the two of us to go half, right Takemichi-kun?" Hinata's predatory smile returned.
He huffed, "Split and go 50/50? Well, there are 100 of these guys gathered here, so it's divided equally between us."
"Right? This reminds me of the time the two of us went up against another gang—just the two of us ." Hinata smiled at the memory.
Takemichi hummed, "Yeah, didn't you end up sending three of them to the ICU?"
She giggled, unbothered by the fearful looks she was getting from some members of Moebius.
"Anyway, the two of us don't need to start anything." He tilts his head up a little to hear the sounds of motorbikes in the distance.
Mikey looked behind him, seeing headlights in the distance. He relaxes when seeing it was members of Toman who finally showed up.
"Man…" Muto said, walking in their direction along with Baji and Smiley, and some other members.
"Look at this mess," Muto didn't seem to be very impressed, "Black Dragon wasted you, and you still have the nerve to pull this?"
"It's fine, this just gives us the opportunity to go all out against Moebius!" Smiley grinned.
Baji had a rubber-band and in his mouth, "Just means that the big showdown's tonight."
Mikey smiled at them, "You guys…"
"Tokyo Manji Gang's here, jackasses!" Baji announced.
"Not just you." A new voice entered the scene.
Standing next to the Tokyo Manji Gang was Black Dragon! Inui was leading them as they added to the numbers against Moebius.
"Black Dragon is here!" Inui announced.
Koko smirked, "Sorry we're late, Leader."
"Where should we start?" Shizuki asked.
Shadow was silent. Seeing every member of Toman—especially the Founders put him on edge a little, but focusing on the fight took a higher priority.
Akkun cracked his knuckles, "Listen up, you lot! Moebius didn't seem to learn their lesson last time, so let's remind them they should stay gone!"
Takuya's smile was bloodthirsty, "Time to have some fun."
Makoto and Yamagishi both looked ready to start throwing down.
Senju had her umbrella ready, while Taijū stood next to her. On Toman's side, both Mitsuya and Hakkai gave him wary looks, but opted to focus on more important things right now.
Inui's cold gaze could have frozen Hanma ten fold, "Shūji Hanma, you have a lot of nerve to boldly go after our captain! Don't expect to get out of this unscathed!"
Koko snickered, "Watch out, Inupi's mad."
Takemichi smirked, "Mikey, I know this is technically Toman's fight, but do you mind if Black Dragon gets in on this, too?"
Mikey was surprised by the request, but accepted, "Let's do this, Takemichy!"
Draken was now standing next to Mikey, "Listen up! Tonight, the color white is our enemy! Black Dragon fights with us!"
"Yes, sir!"
Despite the larger numbers on the other side, Hanma was grinning like a fool, "This is gonna be so much fun~!"
Mikey was the one to lead the charge, "Let's do this shit!" He declared, charging forward right along with the members of Toman and Black Dragon, while Moebius did the same.
The fight had begun.
Fists were flying and bodies were falling.
Toman and Black Dragon outnumbered Moebius, easily gaining the upper hand in the brawl. Hard as Moebius tried to turn the tide in their favor—alas, it was not meant to be.
Hinata stayed close to Draken, much to his confusion but he didn't say anything. If anything, he appreciated her having his back, and was impressed by how easy it was for her to fight in a yukata.
Mikey and Takemichi were also fighting together. The way the two of them synchronized well with each other—fighting side by side as though they've done it for years showed just how much they trust they placed in the other.
Takemichi kept his focus on the fight, while also glancing over at Hinata and Draken. Part of him knows not to worry since she's with him, but anything could still go wrong—
—case in point.
"Draken, move!"
He heard Hinata call out Draken's name and luckily Draken moved out of the way fast enough for the knife to graze his side a little. Hinata wasted no time making the surprise attacker bleed for that by smashing his head against the concrete ground.
"Tch," He saw Draken holding his side and knew that just because it was only a graze doesn't mean it wouldn't be serious later on, "Mikey!"
Mikey knocked down another Moebius thug, but heard Takemichi call out his name, "Takemichy, what's wrong?!"
Takemichi elbowed a Mobius member in the face, "Draken's holding his side! He was almost stabbed!"
"What?!"
"Hinata's covering for him, but we can't linger here for long!"
Mikey understood and tried to make his way over to his best friend, but every time he tried, more members of Moebius kept getting in his way.
"Let me through, jackass!" Mikey grunted as he kept trying to get to Draken.
"Irritating pests!" Takemichi slammed one mercilessly to the ground.
The two suddenly felt the back of their collars be grabbed before they were thrown further away from Draken's location. Sliding back, they saw it was Hanm—laughing at them like the clown that he is.
"Found you…Mikey, Takemichi!" He grinned.
Mikey glared at him, "Hanma!"
Takemichi frowned.
Hanma came at them, but was forced back as Shizuki came out of nowhere and kicked Hanma in the stomach—nearly sending him flying. Surprised, Hanma looked up to see Shizuki standing in front of him with a blank expression.
"Commander, I'll take care of Shūji Hanma. Please go to Draken-san." Shizuki urged them.
Takemichi grabbed Mikey's arm, "Make sure you keep him busy!" He proceeded to drag Mikey over to where Draken, Hinata, and Emma are.
Hanma didn't look all that amused, "Oi, oi, why are you suddenly interfering?" He questioned, standing.
"Because you were trying to stop them from getting to Draken-san," Shizuki answered, "I'll tell you now…you won't be getting past me."
Smirking at the challenge, Hanma came at him and tried to punch him in the face, but Shizuki merely tilted his head before counter punching Hanma in the stomach.
Coughing up spit, Hanma staggered backwards before charging once more—with another punch, but Shizuki grabbed his arm before kneeing him in the stomach, then proceeded to uppercut him. Spitting out some blood, Hanma staggered backwards once more, a little bit dazed this time.
Shizuki stood there with his still blank expression. There wasn't a scratch on him—Hanma was moving incredibly slow in his eyes, so he could easily see any move he makes.
Hanma smirked, "Man, I'm tired! Why are you so tough? Just what's your body made of, anyway?" How in the hell is someone of this runts size able to send powerful blows?
"I could say the same to you," Shizuki countered, "A normal person would have lost consciousness by now, yet here you are still standing. Looks like the title "Reaper" suits you after all."
Hanma rubbed his stomach, "Give me a break! You ain't exactly normal, either!" He pointed out.
Shizuki nods, "Mm, that's true. But, I'm afraid we have nothing else to talk about."
"Hell, yeah!" Hanma grinned, coming at Shizuki again with another attempt at punching the boy in the face. This time though, instead of Shizuki dodging, he promptly lifted his own arm up and broke Hanma's outstretched one.
Hanma's eyes widened as he stared at his bent arm, but surprisingly didn't howl in pain. Talk about an odd reaction.
"For someone who feels nothing, you seem pretty taken back by a broken arm." Shizuki didn't give him time to react to his words as Hanma was swiftly knocked out by a kick to the side of his head—falling to his side on the ground.
"He was a lot tougher than he looked." Shizuki sighed, staring down at Hanma's defeated form, "Shadow, you there?"
Shadow was suddenly right next to him, "Yeah."
"Where's the commander right now?" Shizuki asked.
"He and Mikey took Draken away from the fight, Hinata and Emma are with them." He reported.
'Looks like everything is going just as Takemichi planned, but still…' Shizuki still had a bad feeling, "Follow them just in case something happens."
"Right." And just like that, Shadow vanished.
Shizuki felt some kind of relief in knowing Shadow would be watching over their commander. Sure, Hinata was with him, too, but he still worries.
"Now then…" Shizuki starts eyeing some Moebius members that looked pale after witnessing him defeat Hanma, "…let's get started."
Takemichi had rested Draken against the wall.
They were successful in getting far away from the fight, both Emma and Hinata took a look at Draken's wound and stated that while it didn't look so bad, he could still possibly get an infection later.
Thankfully, Emma already called an ambulance and gave them their location, so they should be here soon. Right now, ther job was to stall for time.
"Kenchin…" Mikey was worried, of course he was. His best friend was almost killed, but barely got away from being fatally stabbed.
Takemichi bandaged Draken's side, "Don't move until the ambulance gets here." The last thing they need is for Draken to go into shock.
"Yeah…thanks…" Draken spoke slowly, and kept his breathing steady.
Emma was worried, too, "He'll be okay, won't he, Takemichi-kun?"
"He should be, the wound isn't all that serious, but the last thing we want is tempt fate." Takemichi knew just how fickle it could be, and didn't want to take any chances right now.
…unfortunately, fate seemed to hear him anyway.
Walking towards them from their front side were six members of Moebius. All of them had different weapons on hand, from a knife, to a wooden sword.
Mikey grit his teeth at their appearance, "Damn, how the hell did they manage to track us down this far?" Hanma probably ordered them to pursue their little group after they managed to get Draken away to safety.
Takemichi stretched his arm out, halting Mikey's attempt at fighting, "I got this. Look after Draken." He stepped forward.
Hinata smiled, "Ne, Mikey-kun, would you care to see why people call him the "Blue Dragon?" This was going to be so exciting to watch.
Mikey saw how relaxed she was and decided to let Takemichi handle this. He knows his friend is capable of holding his own in a fight, but wants to know just how wild he can be.
Takemichi stops a few feet away from the Moebius thugs, closing his eyes and entering a state of calm mind.
(Insert Song: M12+13)
Opening them slowly, the full moon beamed down on him—making his blue appear to be glowing in the rainy night. Without warning, he sprinted at the thugs so fast they didn't have time to even move.
In the blink of an eye, Takemichi was already in front of one of them—slamming his palm in the other's gut, blood coming out of his mouth. Tossing him aside, he attacked the one standing next to the one he just took out.
Grabbing the other's face, he then slammed the thug hard against the concrete wall. He watched impassively as the unconscious thug slid to the ground.
Behind him, two Moebius goons tried to attack him with their weapons, but it proved to be useless. Merely tilting his head to the side to avoid getting hit by a wooden sword—Takemichi roundhouse kicked the attacker, knocking them down on the ground with blood on the side of their face.
The other one tried to stab him, but Takemichi grabbed their wrist before slamming his knee in their gut. He casually dropped the Moebius member to the ground with disinterest. His eyes landed on the last two standing, who at this point paled and looked too afraid to fight.
Fear can be a powerful thing though. Brandishing a wooden stick, the one on the right let out a terrified yell before charging at Takemichi—who stood there, unfazed.
The unnamed Moebius member brought the stick up before swinging it down. Takemichi waited for a moment before bringing his arm up and using his hand to snap the stick in half like it was nothing. Caught off guard, the thug left himself wide open, which Takemichi used to his advantage by knocking the thug out with a chop to the neck.
Takemich approached the last one as the other fell to the ground. Trembling like a frightened animal, the last attacker could do nothing but stand there, shaking. It was almost sad to look at, but in the end—the prey fell to the superior predator.
Standing right in front of the frozen Moebius member, Takemichi lifted his leg and broke the other's knee. Screaming out in pain and leaning down to hold their shattered knee, Takemichi then brought the same leg up and brought it down on the last attacker's head.
And just like that…it was over.
(Insert Song: End)
Closing his eyes, Takemichi came back to his senses once the fight was over.
Behind him, Mikey, Draken, and Emma were in awe at seeing Takemichi take on six opponents without getting hit even once. Mikey was well known by his title—"Invincible Mikey," but right now, it feels like that title should go to them both. Their fighting styles were different, and that showed clearly during this fight, because while Mikey's was that of a martial artist—Takemichi's style was graceful and fluid.
"Wow…" Emma couldn't help but say, both hands close to her mouth.
Hinata smiled, "Right? It's amazing how calm he is when he's fighting no matter what happens." The sight always impressed her to no end.
Mikey felt his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of Takemichy taking on six opponents like they were easy prey. The way he looked when moving so fluidly like water and kept control the whole time…it was amazing to look at.
Draken was in similar agreement in his own thoughts. Should he and Mikey decide to fight one-on-one—he had no idea who would win.
Emma tilts her head up at the sound of the ambulance sirens, they sounded close, "Finally, the ambulance is here!" She breathed a sigh of relief.
Mikey heard it, too and was about to tell Takemichy when his eyes widened at the sight of Takemichy swaying before falling forward, "Takemichy!" He cried out.
Thankfully, he was caught in the arms of someone from Black Dragon. It was that one member who always dressed in black. What was his name again?
"Shadow!" Hinata sounded relieved to see them, and so was Mikey.
Shadow nodded, his attention more focused on Takemichy as he moved the male to a more comfortable position. Mikey ran over to them, kneeling down to see what was wrong.
"What's wrong, Takemichy?" Mikey asked, worried that his friend may have gotten hurt.
Grunting, Takemichi tried to keep his eyes open and was struggling to do so, "I'm fine…my eyes just hurt…" he sounded so tired and worn out.
Mikey smiled, lifting his hand up and sliding his fingers in those black curls, "Get some rest, Takemichy. You earned it." He said, softly.
Takemichi didn't need to be told twice. He finally let his eyelids close and willingly succumbed to the darkness.
🌸作業中止期間🌸
(Downtime)
