Everything felt warm.
Mikey doesn't know how to describe it, but this particular warm feeling made him feel…safe.
Saying that is strange, but that's what he's feeling right now. His eyes were closed, his body felt so relaxed, and he was hugging something soft.
Wait—soft?!
Slowly coming back to reality, Mikey blinked a few times to clear his vision. When he finally succeeded the first thing he saw was the back of someone else's head. His nose being tickled by the black hair he was currently pressed up against. In fact his whole body was pressed up against another warm body.
Oh, that's right…
He spent the night over at Takemichi's place.
Closing his eyes, he nuzzled the back of the other teens neck. Last night was a blur. He vaguely remembers the two of them talking in his room, and then…at some point the two of them had fallen asleep in the same bed.
This is nice. Waking up like this everyday really wouldn't be so bad. Mikey sits up and just looks at the still sleeping Takemichi. His face looks peaceful, but Mikey can see some signs of stress. Guess he wasn't the only one that was bothered by what happened last night during the meeting.
Giving into temptation, Mikey runs his hand through those black curls and loves how soft it feels. Part of him was glad he agreed to sleep over because he finally got to be alone with Takemichi.
Emma's right (though he won't admit to that)—his feelings for Takemichi are different from how he feels towards his friends and family. Back then he didn't understand what this strange feeling was and asked Emma for advice.
"Eh? You don't know what you're feeling?"
"You dummy, it's obviously "love at first sight."
Damn, she really was right…he's…in love with Takemichi.
Question is…when should he confess his feelings?
Would Takemichi feel the same way?
Would he reject him?
Or—
"Meow."
Blinking, he looks down to see Mangetsu staring up at him with those innocent eyes. Poor little guy probably wanted to share the bed with Takemichi, too.
"Come here." He said, softly, holding his hand out.
Mangetsu sniffed his hand a few times before nuzzling it. Oh! The last time he came over the black cat didn't even bother to acknowledge him, but things are different now.
Too bad Takemichi wasn't awake to see this.
Leaning over a little, he scooped up Mangetsu and just held him. What almost made Mikey squeal was when the cat rubbed his head against his stomach.
"Sorry, looks like I stole Takemichy away from you last night." He whispered, not wanting to wake the other boy up.
Mangetsu didn't seem to care his master's attention was on someone else, let alone someone the cat had just met. This was just Mikey's own perception, but he believes Mangetsu is a lot smarter than he looks…for a cat. Well, cats are known to be Intellegent creatures compared to humans, so maybe he wans't too far off with that.
Maybe he sensed Mikey needed to be comforted by Takemichi and let him borrow the sleeping boy for the night.
"How nice of you." Mikey smiled, catching behind one of the cat's ears. He chuckled when the black cat leaned into the scratch.
Takemichi meanwhile slept on, his dreams becoming memories he believed long forgotten inside himself. There's a memory that sticks out to him more than the others.
"Snow, for example. The love and hate for its very existence still lingers within me."
"The day we met, where the snow continued to fall…something new stirred inside me."
Draken was leaning up against the wall of the Tofukuji Temple. He was dressed all casual, sporting a black jacket with long sleeves and matching boots. It was getting colder and getting sick wasn't on his list of priorities.
The events of yesterday's meeting were still fresh in his mind. Mikey allowing Kisaki (who was part of Moebius) join was a decision he wasn't really expecting. Just what is Mikey thinking? He doesn't understand what it is, but there's just something about Kisaki that has him on edge.
In the past he's never questioned Mikey's decisions, even if they gave him a headache sometimes. This time is different though.
"Hey, Draken."
His inner thoughts came to a halt at the appearance of Mitsuya and Pah-chin. Today was a gathering of the founders, no need to call all Captains here.
"Something's got you deeply thinking over here, what is it?" Mitsuya inquired, curiously. It wasn't like Draken to just space out like that, but he figured it had to be because of last night.
"Nothing. Surprised you guys got here on time." He teased in a good hearted manner.
"Shut up." Mitsuya teased back.
"How come you called us and not Mikey?" Pah-chin asked out of curiosity. Normally the one to call small meetings like this was Mikey. But since Draken's the Vice-captain it's really no big deal.
"Got a text from that glasses wearing guy from Black Dragon a little while ago—" Draken started to say.
"—His name's Yamagishi—" Mitsuya cut in.
"—he said Mikey crashed over at Takemichy's place last night." Draken finished saying.
Mitsuya was stunned by the fact that Mikey had spent the night over at Takemichi's. But he quickly got over it and smiled.
"He's more considerate than he lets on, huh?" Mitsuya said with a knowing smile. After the meeting ended, he noticed the two of them stayed back at the temple while everybody else left.
'Takemichi probably asked Mikey to spend the night as a way of cheering him up in his own way.' Last night really was a mess. Mikey letting Kisaki join Touman surprised all of them, but it was Baji leaving Touman that really shook things up.
"Takemichi looking after Mikey for the night was a good move on his part." Draken was grateful Takemichi went out of his way to do that. Plus this worked in Mikey's favor since he was constantly complaining about not being able to hang out with Takemichi all that much.
"After the shit that went down last night, Mikey should just look after himself." Pah-chin said, sitting down on a bench, "Kisaki joining my squad sounds like it's going to be a real pain in the ass."
Mitsuya's eyes narrowed at the mention of Kisaki, "You should keep an eye on him. I don't know what it is, but there's something about that guy…"
Pah-chin scoffed, "Ain't gotta tell me twice." He already didn't like the little prick and wasn't planning on being buddy-buddy with him anytime soon.
Draken frowned, "Mikey letting him join Touman still doesn't make any sense. Just what the hell is he thinking?" He really wanted to know what was going through Mikey's head.
"Good question. I'm curious to know, too." Mitsuya walked over to Draken, standing next to him and leaning up against the wall, "I've been asking around about him and didn't come up with much. Some of the guys I talked to claimed Kisaki mostly worked in the background."
Draken thought how fitting that sounded.
Kisaki doesn't seem the type to take initiative. If anything it's more like taking the observing role.
"That's not all. He also explained that Moebius—which started out as just another lower gang suddenly started moving strategically all of a sudden." Mitsuya continued, his tone becoming serious, "They started coordinating their attacks and going after specific targets that were directly connected to enemy gang members."
Like how they targeted Pah's buddy and girlfriend. That wasn't a random attack, but a planned out assault. Come to think of it, Takemichi said the same thing. Osanai doesn't have the brains to be a strategic leader, just all brawn and no brain. Everything that Moebius did up until that point was being orchestrated by someone else…
"Keh! Doesn't matter if Kisaki's joining us to deal with Valhalla, or whatever! He still looks like a snake to me!" Pah scoffed, still not liking that Kisaki was joining them, and being placed in his squad.
At the mention of the word "snake" Draken reacted. Wait, what did Takemichi say to him and Mikey that time again?
"Be wary of the one with the cunningness of a fox, and venomous words like a snake." Those were his exact words.
Cunning as a fox…venomous snake…
"Son of a bitch…" Draken whispered, eyes widening in realization that Takemichi's warning was about Kisaki.
Mitsuya raised a brow in his direction, "What's wrong?" It was strange seeing his friend react like this, but figured he must've realized something important.
"Mitsuya, last night when Mikey was introducing Kisaki—were any members of Black Dragon acting weird?" Draken questioned out of nowhere.
Instead of questioning why Draken would ask him that, Mitsuya thought back to last night. There was no reaction from Takemichi or any other members but two…
"Hina-chan and Shizuki weren't exactly happy to see him—in fact—Atsushi had to hold both their shoulders in order to calm them down." He thought nothing of it last night and wrote it off as the two of them expressing their dislike in an extreme way.
Only to now realize there was something more to it than mere "dislike."
"Seriously? I didn't notice the two were acting weird last night at all." Pah said.
"Why are you asking?" Mitsuya questioned.
Draken's serious expression didn't change, "Takemichi gave us a warning. He said, "Be wary of the one with the cunningness of a fox, and venomous words like a snake." He quoted.
Mitsuya's eyes narrowed, "You're thinking he was talking about Kisaki?" It would make sense if that were the case. But that would mean Takemichi must've known about Kisaki even before they did.
'Kisaki was already on their radar even before he joined Touman.' Meaning there's more to him than they realized.
Pah suddenly had a thought, "Oi…you guys think that prick had set up my buddy and his girl to get jumped?" He said the last part with a growl.
Mitsuya and Draken were both thinking the same thing. If what they're thinking is right, and it turns out Kisaki really was the one to orchestrate Pah's buddy almost getting beat up and his girlfriend nearly sexually assaulted—
—then he's one twisted bastard!
Draken opened his mouth to say more but something else got his attention, "Hey, over there," he was looking at something in front of him, prompting the other two to do the same, "Isn't that Shizuki from Black Dragon?" They were too far away to really tell, but it had to be him.
"Yeah, it is him." Mitsuya squinted and leaned forward to get a better look, "He's with two people…they look like twins."
Pah was the one to call out to him, "Oi, Shizuki! Over here!" He called out.
They all watch the other teen look over in their direction and wave. He walked over to them while being followed by the two teens with him.
Now that they were able to get a good look at them. The two teens with Shizuki really do look identical. A boy and girl with the same brown hair and eyes. They were even wearing matching checkered colored clothes.
"Hello, Mitsuya-kun. This is the second time we've met by coincidence." Shizuki greeted them.
"First on the street and now here. That's some coincidence." Mitsuya joked.
"One could say our unexpected meetings are fateful encounters." Shizuki smiled.
"Guess so." Mitsuya's eyes then look over the two teens standing behind him, "These two new friends of yours?" He asked.
"No, these are my siblings." Shizuki answered.
Draken let out a hum, "Siblings, huh?" The two have different features in contrast to Shizuki, but that might be because each kid takes after the parent in a way.
The boy spoke first, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kishinami Haruno." He introduced himself.
"And I'm Kishinami Haruna." The girl went next.
Pah blushed when his eyes met Haruna's. Girl's aren't a foreign concept to him, and he wasn't blind to them either. But unlike the rest of his friends, girls tend to find him unattractive and scary looking and he finds them to be annoying.
But there was something about Haruna that's different from your average girl. He had to look away when she looked over in his direction, his blush was still present.
"Sorry to call you all of a sudden, but we need to ask you some things." Mitsuya got right to the point like last time. If anyone would know more about Kisaki's connection to everything—then no doubt Shizuki would know what's really going on.
Shizuki seems to understand what they wanted to discuss and looks over at his siblings, "Sorry, but could the two of you give us some time alone for a while?" He asked them.
"Got it." Haruno grabbed his sister's hand and walked away from them. Shizuki watched the two leave with a smile. His siblings truly are understanding and considerate.
"Seriously, sorry about having to interrupt time with your siblings…" Mitsuya truly meant it.
"It's alright. Besides, I have a feeling you want to talk about what happened at the meeting last night." Shizuki waved off his apology, understanding what they really wanted.
Draken off the wall, "There's a bench not too far from here. We can talk over there." He suggested.
"Thank you." Shizuki thanked the tall blonde.
All of them found the bench Draken mentioned and sat down. No words were said for a moment as they simply sat there and let the quiet calm wash over them.
The three Touman members weren't sure of how to start off their conversation. Mitsuya could try just asking like he did last time, but this is different.
Now he felt a little uncomfortable.
As if sensing their inner turmoil, Shizuki decided to break the tension, "About last night, it was unexpected but at the same time it wasn't." He cryptically said.
"Huh, what does that mean?" Pah didn't understand what he meant. And he wasn't alone in his confusion, either. Draken and Mitsuya were also confused by his words.
"Kisaki eventually joining Tokyo Manji Gang," Shizuki elaborates, "We've been keeping a close eye on his movements after our fight with Moebius." He explained.
So they really were keeping an eye on him, Mitsuya thinks. Come to think of it, Moebius had been trying to move in on Black Dragon's territory, too. What was the purpose of that?
"As you already know, Moebius had begun acting strangely by planning out their attacks. Not only that, but they even began trying to take over territories that belonged to both Tokyo Manji Gang and Black Dragon." Shizuki had a feeling they'd probably deduced this much already.
"We were talking about that, too." Mitsuya said.
"You guys interrogated Osanai after the fight, right?" Draken questioned.
Shizuki looked them right in the eye, "After interrogating him for quite some time. He finally told us what we wanted to know."
Osanai was strapped to the chair Senju placed him in. He was surrounded by the captains, vice-captains, and the leader of Black Dragon himself.
Senju was brutal with her torture and interrogation, and finally after what seemed like days, but were only mere hours—Osanai finally decided to talk.
"At first, I thought he was a dull little brat." Osanai began, "But then, he started saying about how he could help me take over Tokyo if I joined up with him."
Senju's blank gaze didn't change, "And?" She prompted him to continue.
"He was saying all this weird shit. How he knows himself well, and the moon can't shine on its own. That was my first encounter with Kisaki Tetta." Osanai continued.
Hinata and Takemichi showed no visible reaction to the name, but on the inside it was a different story.
"I always beat the shit out of people I didn't like, and there was no one who could stand up to me. Eventually, there was no one left around me at all. And that's exactly when Kisaki approached me." He kept on talking.
Senju eyed Takemichi out of the corner of her eye, seeing her leader nod his head, she urged Osanai to keep talking.
"Surprisingly, when I did as Kisaki told me, everything worked out. In a single year, I went from a moron who didn't know how to do anything but fight to the commander who ruled over Shinjuku." He said.
"In a year…" Yamagishi couldn't believe it.
"How in the hell was someone like Kisaki able to pull that off?" Makoto frowned.
Atsushi had a guess, "This means that Kisaki's no fighter, but a brain. While everyone else does the fighting, he directs them on what to do—making them act more smarter." Shit! How in the hell did they miss someone like him?! Where the hell was someone like Kisaki hiding all this time?
"In other words, you were able to. Become the commander of Moebius because of Kisaki?" Takuya questioned.
"Yeah," Osanai lifted his head, "You can't bring people together just by being good at fighting."
Narrowing her eyes, Senju spoke, "Does this mean Kisaki was your trusted subordinate, or…was he the one using you to fulfill his own ambition?"
Osanai looked down then lifted his head, his facial expression looking pained, "I was basically just a stepping stone for Kisaki. I figured that out, and he's not down yet. He's got his next sword ready. Hanma Shūji—he's Kisaki's greatest weapon."
"Hanma Shūji…" Atsushi muttered.
"I've heard of him. People call him the Grim Reaper, no matter how many times you beat him down on the brink of death—he always comes back. Because of this, people started calling him the Grim Reaper." Yamagishi explained, helpfully.
Takemichi looked directly at Osanai, "If you already know that much, why not deal with Kisaki yourself? What's stopping you?" He questioned.
Osanai didn't say anything.
"Is it fear?"
That caused a visible reaction this time, "No way in hell…can I deal with someone like him! He's bad news! Kisaki's the kind of guy who'll try to kill someone without getting his hands dirty."
Takemichi and Hinata eyed each other.
"Who knows what he'd do if I went after him?" Osanai's voice trembled as he couldn't bring himself to continue.
The captains and vice-captains were a little unnerved by how fearful Osanai was behaving. Looks like Kisaki's influence over him had waned, but the fear he felt afterwards had come out.
Having heard enough, Takemichi stood up and stood before the bound Osanai, "Pathetic. You fear him for what he's capable of, but you didn't have a problem following his direction to make you commander of your own gang."
Osanai had nothing to say to that because it's true.
"True you were nothing but a pawn from the very beginning. But even so, everything you did under his advice is still your responsibility. You wanted power and it came at a price, but now you can't pay it so you want to run away and hide," Grabbing the back of his head, Takemichi leaned down till he was right by his ear, "No matter where you try to run, no one can escape a persistent snake when its already taken a bite out of you." He said in a low tone.
Osanai's eyes widened, his fear growing even more present.
Takemichi moved away from the terrified former gang leader, "You've already been bitten by temptation. I don't feel sorry for you, you reap what you sow." Turning his back to him, he walked away, "No point in keeping him any longer, he can leave."
"Yes, commander." Senju did as ordered and began to untie Osanai.
Shizuki stood next to Atsushi during the whole exchange, "He wasn't lying. His fear is real, no human being can fake that." Osanai is genuinely terrified of Kisaki because of what he's capable of.
"I know, but remember Osanai brought it on himself. I'm not gonna start feeling sorry for the guy just because he's scared." Atsushi refused to show Osanai any form of empathy. He's not a saint, none of them are.
Understandable.
"Besides, we've got a bigger problem to deal with right now," Atsushi said, tone sounding grim, "Kisaki's too dangerous to be left alone. We're not dealing with some "normal" delinquent who just watches the other guys fight." His brows furrowed as worry began to seep in his gut.
"Not only is he smarter than everyone else—he's using it in the most terrifying way." Atsushi grimaced.
That's also true.
"Going by Osanai's description, it also sounds like he's very manipulative and cunning." Shizuki was reminded of a fox that can be cunning when trying to outrun predators.
"And that's an even bigger problem," Atsushi groaned, "We need to make sure we keep a close watch on that creep."
"Yes." Shizuki wholeheartedly agreed.
Pah slammed his fist against the bench. His visible anger made his body tremble. Draken and Mitsuya were faring no better, the two almost looking feral with everything Shizuki explained to them. This whole time, everything that's been going on, the one pulling the strings behind the scenes…was none other than Kisaki! All this time that snake has been gathering his own little followers, and making plans behind the scenes!
"That fucker…I'll kill him!" Pah vowed, growling like a feral dog about to pounce.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shizuki gave them a worried glance, 'Maybe I shouldn't have revealed everything so soon. No, given the current situation telling them now was the right choice.' Especially with Baji Keisuke leaving Touman and Kisaki joining.
Coincidences don't exist. This world isn't filled with such a thing.
Baji leaving Touman right as Kisaki joined was a red flag. He may not know Baji all that well, but one thing he does understand is this—
—Baji would never betray Mikey.
So that means…
"Draken-san, can I ask you something?" Shizuki asked suddenly.
The tall blonde had pretty much come back to reality but was still pissed, "Yeah, go ahead." He said.
"Do you really believe Baji-san would betray Mikey-san?" He asked, taking the three of them by surprise by his sudden question.
Draken thought about it for a moment before answering, "No, he and Mikey have known each other for a long time. Baji's a dumbass, but there's no way in hell he'd ever betray Mikey."
"For real. I was pissed at Baji for pulling that shit last night, but there's no way in hell he was serious about quitting Touman and joining Valhalla!" Pah added his own two cents.
Mitsuya was curious as to why Shizuki was asking them about Baji all of a sudden, "Why are you asking about Baji?" He questioned.
"Because I don't believe Baji-san would ever betray Mikey-san, either." Shizuki answered, taking them by surprise, "There's more to his actions, and I believe he has good intentions."
"You think so?" Mitsuya didn't sound skeptical because he thinks there's more to Baji's actions, too. Was he trying to spy on Valhalla? If so, why?
"Also, aside from telling you about what we gathered from Osanai," Shizuki dug in his pocket and took out his cellphone and started tapping on it, "I've just sent you all a file that you'll want to hear."
All three members of Tokyo Manji Gang got the notification alerts on their cellphones. Looking at their text messages they saw the file Shizuki sent them and opened it. It was a recording so they brought their phones up to their ears and listened.
"[Yo, Kisaki! Last night sounded like it was really fun~!]"
Draken tightened his grip on his phone slightly at hearing Hanma's voice. And just now he mentioned Kisaki's name, so that snake really is involved with everything!
"[Shut up. Since all my other plans haven't worked out, I didn't have any other choice but to join Tokyo Manji Gang.]"
"[What's got you all pissed? You managed to gain the Invincible Mikey's trust and got in, right?]"
"[Yeah, but Ryōgi is the one standing by his side. I wasn't expecting Black Dragon and Tokyo Manji Gang to form an alliance. This wouldn't be a problem in the first place if you'd managed to kill both Draken and Ryōgi.]"
Pah looked ready to smash his phone to pieces but settled for gritting his teeth instead. Mitsuya looked equally pissed. Not only did Kisaki plan on killing Draken but also Takemichi.
That snake bastard!
"[Not my fault Black Dragon turned out to be stronger than we thought. Especially that Hinata chick, she's fucking mental—not even human! Same with that other guy who broke my arm like it was a stick]"
"[…I wasn't expecting her to be like that. Ryōgi should have kept her out of gang related business, but he lets her become like this.]"
"[He's strong. I really want to fight him and Mikey again~]"
"[Forget it about Ryōgi for now. In due time I'll be the one that kills him. For now, focus on making sure Kazutora's still hell bent on hating Mikey. We need him to be a useful pawn for a little while longer.]"
"[You don't need to worry about him. Wanting to kill Mikey is all he's thinking about.]"
"[Good. Make sure he stays in that mindset.]"
The recording ends there.
Shizuki could tell the looks on their faces were a mixture of shock and anger, "Last night, I placed a small recording device inside Kisaki's collar. That conversation was a recording of last night." He explained.
"What the hell? Kazutora's with them now? And they want him to hate Mikey?" Mitsuya couldn't even begin to understand why in the hell would Kisaki go so far as to do this.
Draken was furious, "So he wants Kazutora to hate Mikey and do what? Kill him?" If that was the case then why bother joining Tokyo Manji Gang and trying to gain Mikey's favor?
"No, we don't believe he wants this Kazutora person to kill Mikey. Rather, he wants him to hurt Mikey very badly to the point where he would pass out from his injuries. Kisaki would then use that opportunity to protect a vulnerable Mikey and earn more of his trust." Shizuki was telling them this, but in truth—this was probably what Takemichi was also thinking.
"That fucker—!" Pah was getting his teeth, "We should take his ass down right now!"
Mitsuya shook his head, "No, confronting him right now isn't the best idea. Besides we don't even know just how many of his own private members he has under him." It's too dangerous to confront Kisaki right now.
"Tch!"
"We also need to know what else that damn snake is up to." Draken added.
"Don't worry, we have an informant that's been acting as a spy ever since Valhalla first formed. They've been sending us everything about what Kisaki has planned next." Shizuki revealed.
"Seriously?!" Pah exclaimed.
"Yes, so you don't have to worry." He assured them.
Well, that's enough to put Mitsuya's mind at ease for now, but what worries him now is how they should act around Kisaki now.
As if reading his mind, Shizuki spoke up again, "Just try to act like you normally do. Kisaki won't suspect anything if you just be yourselves." While that may be easier said than done, they would try to pretend they don't know anything.
A few more hours went on before Shizuki went to get his siblings. All of them were now standing at the exit of the temple.
"I hope all the information helped." Shizuki said.
"It did. Thanks for telling us, and we'll keep the files on our phones just in case we need to use it." Mitsuya won't let this go to waste. When the time comes to expose Kisaki they'll have everything ready.
"Let us know if you find out anything else about that snake." Draken said seriously.
"Yeah, give us a heads up so I'll know when to beat the shit out of that lying son of a bitch!" Pah cracked his knuckles to emphasize his point.
"I'll do that." Bowing his head one last time, Shizuki left the temple with his siblings.
They watch him leave, feeling the gust of the wind against their faces. How in the hell did everything come to this? And more importantly, what happens next?
"Whatever happens next…we won't let Kisaki do what he wants any longer." Drake vowed.
"Yeah." Mitsuya agreed.
"We'll show that punk he messed with the wrong gang!" Pah promised impending pain for Kisaki in the near future.
Chifuyu found his current situation to be…strange.
After the disastrous meeting last night, Chifuyu was determined to bring Baji back. And sure he got the shit beat out of him by Baji of all people, but he knows why it happened.
What took him by surprise was when Takuya from Black Dragon came out of nowhere and proceeded to not only drag Baji-san off him like it was nothing, but just walked out of there.
Oh, and did he forget to mention he did all that while hauling Chifuyu over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes?
Just before they were about to leave though, that creep Hanma had something to say about a fight between them and Touman.
Chifuyu couldn't say anything because he was half conscious at the time, but he vaguely remembered Takuya's response.
"Hm? You want me to pass on your message to Mikey? Sure, but only because I'm in a good mood!" Takuya chirped, grinning.
To be honest, Chifuyu really didn't know how to process everything that happened but should count himself lucky that one of their allies helped him.
"Um…" He squirmed a little in his seat, feeling nervous suddenly. The two gang members were currently sitting together at a Family Restaurant at Takuya's insistence.
"Let me guess what you want to ask me right now," Takuya interrupted him before he could even speak, "You want me to help you somehow convince Baji to return to Touman, right?"
Chifuyu's eyes widened, "How did you know?" Actually, he really shouldn't be surprised since it was painfully obvious.
"It was obvious!" Takuya laughed, "That being said, trying to get him to come back might be easier said than done. He seems very determined to finish what he's already started, and judging by the look on your face you know exactly what it is."
Narrowing his eyes, Chifuyu answered, "Yes. Baji-san joined Valhalla to investigate Kisaki."
"I see, well some of us figured that's what he was up to when he pulled that little stunt last night." Takuya took another sip of his drink.
"You already know?! That Kisaki and Valhalla are connected?" Chifuyu questioned.
Setting his drink down, Takuya looks Chifuyu right in the eyes, "Not only do we know they're connected, but we also know that Kisaki is the true leader of Valhalla."
Chifuyu's eyes widened at the new information.
"Hanma's only acting as a shadow leader, just like he did with Moebius. The reason we know all of this is because we have a spy on the inside, and he's been sending us reports on Kisaki's movements." Takuya revealed, his friendly persona gone in place of a serious one.
"Seriously?!" To think that Black Dragon had been keeping an eye on Kisaki for a while now stunned him, but this made him all the more hopeful.
"So, what did you find out?!" Chifuyu had to know.
Takuya's serious expression doesn't change, "I'll tell you from the beginning…starting with Moebius." He said, ominously.
Chifuyu sat there, eyes determined, "I'm ready!" He declared.
"Very well."
To say Chifuyu was in shock would be an understatement. Kisaki had orchestrated for Touman and Moebius to clash, but things didn't turn out that way because Black Dragon took the initiative. He wanted Pah to be pushed over the edge and attempt to stab Osanai, but since this didn't happen he had to change his plans and wanted Osanai to kill Takemichi during the fight between Black Dragon and Moebius.
Not to mention, he was also the one who planned to have Draken killed so he could fill in his spot as being Touman's No. 2—in order to get close to Mikey and gain his trust.
"What the hell…?" Chifuyu didn't really know what else to say. Kisaki would go that far, would have an innocent civilian be viciously raped and attempt to kill someone…all for the position of being Mikey's right hand?
"Shocking isn't it?" Takuya was calm as he spoke, "That someone like Kisaki could exist? But what's really shocking is that he never used to be that way."
"What do you mean? Are you saying Kisaki was a different person than he is now?" Chifuyu could hardly believe it, and frankly, Takuya didn't blame him.
Takuya closed his eyes, "You probably don't know this, but me, Takemichi, and Hinata are childhood friends. We grew up in the same neighborhood and by some strange circumstances, me and Takemichi ended up having an unexpected encounter with a young boy." Chifuyu was silent as Takuya told the story.
"Three middle schoolers were trying to bully Hinata and the boy, but Takemichi ended up taking care of them. When the three of them ran away, Hinata introduced him to us…that boy was Kisaki." Takuya said.
Chifuyu kept quiet.
"From my memory of back then, Kisaki might have been a little introverted but not one to do things like this." Takuya continued, "The revelation of him being the mastermind of everything going on has hit them pretty hard."
"I bet." Chifuyu couldn't begin to understand how they must be feeling about someone who was once a friend suddenly becoming like this.
"But regardless of how they feel, they've already made up their mind to stop Kisaki no matter what. And the same goes for the rest of us." Takuya said.
Chifuyu smiled, "Thank you!" He bowed.
"There's no need for that, for the time being why don't you come to our hideout and I'll explain more about what else we found out." Takuya suggested.
"Yeah!" Chifuyu was determined to get Baji back to Touman no matter what! Lucky for him, he has some allies in the form of Black Dragon.
'Wait for us just a little while longer, Baji-san!'
Draken was in the middle of fixing up some of his bikes when he heard footsteps behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Why'd you wanna meet me here out of the blue," Kazuya inquired, "Draken?"
"It's been a while, Kazutora." Draken greeted, calmly.
Kazutora smiled, tilting his head a little as the movement jostled his earring a little, "You look good, Draken." He complimented.
Draken tilted his head at the compliment, "Takuya from Black Dragon gave us your message. We already passed it on to Mikey."
"I see." Kazutora said.
Looking forward, Draken spoke, "Why don't we stop this fight?"
Kazutora didn't respond.
"Whether we win or lose against you, I'm not gonna be smiling about it," Draken admitted, "Kazutora, you're being manipulated into hating Mikey."
There was a subtle twitch, but Draken caught it and decided to keep on talking, "Kisaki is playing you just like he almost played us. If this fight doesn't happen, you and Baji can come back to Touman. Mikey will forgive you both."
Kazutora looked down before letting out a small huff and walking ahead of Draken before stopping, "Nice to know that you haven't changed all that much, Draken. That's what I like about you."
"Kazutora?" Draken was confused by his words.
"So tell me," Kazutora tilts his head back to look him right in the eyes, "How much do you know about Kisaki and Valhalla?" He asked, smiling.
Draken was confused for a second before he understood what he meant, "Kazutora, you…"
Kazutora just kept on smiling.
Mikey and Takemichi were both sitting on Mikey's bike. The blonde had driven them to the beach so they could have some alone time and think about the upcoming fight between Touman and Valhalla.
The two sat there in silence, the silence doing them both some good right now. Mikey was grateful to Takemichi for accompanying him and just being by his side. This was more than enough.
"Takemichi, do you think things can go back to the way they were?" Mikey asked him. In his mind he knew it might not be possible, but his heart was still holding out hope. Ever since he was told that both Baji and Kazutora are with Valhalla, he almost snapped at Chifuyu, but luckily Takemichi was there with him.
Mikey, in his vulnerable state, had confessed that his brother had been in the hospital ever since Kazutora and Baji tried to rob his bike store in order to surprise him on his birthday with a new bike. The two didn't know the bike shop they tried to steal from belonged to his brother, and Kazutora, who panicked at being caught, hit his brother over the head with a wrench.
The wound may not have been all that serious…but it could have been.
Baji and Kazutora were arrested that night, and ever since then things haven't been the same.
Takemichi was quiet the whole time Mikey was telling him this and just leaned against his shoulder. Mikey was grateful to him for listening and comforting him when he really needed it.
"Who can say? The only one who can answer that is you." Takemichi replied.
Mikey leaned his head against him and Takemichi responded in kind.
"I'm going to hold another meeting and make my decision concerning Baji." Mikey said, sounding reserved.
"Whatever you decide to do, Black Dragon will support Touman." Takemichi promised.
Mikey smiled, "Mm."
The two decided to enjoy the silence for a little while longer before leaving. But one thing's for sure, both have already made up their minds about where they stand.
That night, Mikey and Takemichi stood before their respective groups.
"I can't fight my friend." Mikey decided, much to everyone's surprise with the exception of the Captains and Vice-Captains, but Kisaki didn't look all that happy.
"Well, that's my answer! I need you guys to help me out. Tomorrow, we're gonna crush Valhalla and bring Baji back to Touman! That's how this battle's gonna go down!" Mikey announced.
Members of Touman cheered and raised their fists in support of their leader. Even the members of Black Dragon joined in in support.
"As you've heard the fight will go down tomorrow! As Touman's allies, I will be there to be a spectator! I've chosen to bring with me the captains of Black Dragon to watch over the fight! What's your answer?!" Takemichi asked.
"YES, SIR!"
Takemichi looked over at Mikey, "There you have it. Looking forward to the fight tomorrow, Mikey."
Mikey smiled, "Yeah!"
Draken smiled at them both in silence.
Tomorrow, the epic showdown between Touman and Valhalla—
—will begin!
東京卍會 vs. 芭流覇羅
(Tokyo Manji Gang vs. Valhalla)
