2005年 10月 31日

Day of the Battle

Today was the day.

Tokyo Manji Gang would go up against Valhalla. The location for the fight was at a construction site where some members from other gangs have already gathered.

Inui was eyeing all of them and recognized some familiar faces. Seeing all these people here reminds him of when Black Dragon went up against Moebius. Representatives and retired gang members had come out to see the once dead and now revived Black Dragon.

All of them eager to see who would triumph, a once respectable gang that turned to violence and bloodshed before being disbanded? Or Moebius led by Osanai?

They got their answer when the revived Black Dragon came out on top.

Today was no different.

Tokyo Manji Gang, a famous and well known gang are going up against the relevantly new gang Valhalla.

Whoever wins this fight will have control over Tokyo.

"There are a lot of faces here." Shizuki said, looking at the crowd of delinquents gathered here.

"Surprising, right? Reminds you of when we had our showdown with Moebius." Yamagishi had his cell phone out and ready.

Senju raised her brow at this, "You plan on taking pictures or something?" She asked.

"Nah, I promised Akkun and the others I'd record this fight," He grinned in excitement, "We'll see something interesting when it starts."

Senju shrugged her shoulders, "If you say so." She didn't sound convinced, but didn't say much more.

She decided to eye the various gang members that were gathered around. There were only maybe a few faces she recognized among them.

"We've got an interesting crowd this time." She observed.

Taijū, who was standing next to her grunted, "This fight will be different from ours. These guys are here to see who will remain the top dog of Tokyo." He said.

Senju hummed, "I'm getting a little sleepy, let me get on your back." She demanded.

"Oi, don't fall asleep. You'll miss the fight." Taijū protested, but found himself complying with her demand.

"Don't care…besides Yamagishi is recording the fight anyway…" She was out like a light.

"Honestly, this brat." Taijū sighed, but despite his complaints he was making sure she was secure on his back.

Hinata giggled at the scene, "You two are so cute. Like brother and sister." To anyone outside them it really did look like they were siblings.

He rolled his eyes, "Don't be stupid. There's no way in hell anyone would consider me a good brother." His words were honest and true.

"You've gotten better, Taijū-kun." Hinata assured him.

He gave her a half hearted smile, "If you say so."

"Um, I know that when it comes to the world of delinquents I'm not that knowledgeable," Shizuki spoke up, "But is there a reason for this crowd to be as large as it is?"

Koko chuckled at his question, "Not surprising you don't know all that much. So we'll have Yamagishi explain." Yamagishi took that as his cue to start explaining.

Yamagishi fixed his glasses while chuckling, "Allow me to explain. These gangsters you see standing before you are here to see this go down." He explained.

"Go down?" Shizuki questioned.

"Tōman versus Valhalla" Yamagishi elaborates, "The winner of today's conflict will be one step closer to running Tokyo."

"Oh, I see." Shizuki said.

"All the delinquent bosses around Tokyo are gonna be watching this." Yamagishi said.

"Yes, I can see there are a lot of dangerous looking people here." Shizuki was trying to determine which ones were the most dangerous.

Yamagishi looked elsewhere, "For example, those two over there." He gestures for Shizuki to look in the same direction.

Shizuki looks to see two males sitting on cars, "They're the Haitani Brothers. Charismatic brothers from Roppongi who can gather over a hundred guys with a single call."

"A hundred…" Shizuki couldn't believe that two brothers had the power to call such a force.

Yamagishi gestures his head over elsewhere, "And that fat dude over there, on top of the car. That's Leanman, and he runs Ueno. I heard he's strong as a beast."

Shizuki stared at the fat gangster who was in the middle of eating a burger. He certainly does eat a lot.

"Hahaha! Looks like it's party time. Tōman and Valhalla ain't shit." Said a familiar face with pointy ears.

"Good day, sir!" A group to the right bow to him.

The guy stands in the middle of the construction site, "I'll be the one overseeing today's fight. The name's Hansen, and I'm from the Ikebukuro Criminal Black Members." He introduced himself to the gathered crowd.

"That guy, he's one of the big guys from the 1988 group. He was the overseer for our fight last time, and now he's doing it for this one." Yamagishi said.

"I thought he looked familiar." Hinata hummed.

"By overseeing do you mean…" Shizuki trailed off.

"He's basically like a referee. Hansen, the Haitani Brothers, and Leanman are gonna keep cool and watch today. Of course, the same goes for Takemichi." Yamagishi explained.

Even now the commander of Black Dragon was keeping a calm expression. Takemichi sat on top of a car, while standing next to him were Inui and Koko. One thing Shizuki noticed was when Takemichi arrived to be a spectator for the fight, all eyes were instantly on him.

He theorized that ever since their overwhelming victory over Moebius, Black Dragon's once bad reputation had gone up once more. They were probably back in the the Top 10, but were probably behind Tōman—who were possibly ranked #1.

"Usually these guys are crazy and always butting heads with Tōman." Yamagishi added.

'But not today. Do they really plan to stay quiet?' Shizuki had his doubts, but Yamagishi assured him they would.

Hansen faced the crowd with a grin, "You guys ready?! Let's bring out the stars for today!" Time to get things started.

The gates open on one side, revealing Tōman's captains—with Mikey standing in front.

"Tokyo Manji Gang!"

On the other side stood Valhalla, the members were standing there grinning.

"Valhalla!"

Mikey walked towards the front, all present gang members were watching him like hawks.

"It's Mikey."

"The Invincible Mikey!"

A cascade of murmurs were heard amongst the crowd as just the mere sight of Mikey was enough to put some of them on edge.

Hinata smiled, "Such a serious expression. Makes him look a little more handsome." She admitted.

"Whoa! Hina-chan actually gave Mikey-kun a compliment! Could it be possible for a budding friendship to finally blossom?!" Yamagishi exaggerated.

Hinata gave him one of her smiles, "Yamagishi-kun, be quiet." She warned.

"Yes ma'am! Sorry, ma'am!" Yamagishi bowed, apologizing.

Koko snickered, god these two were hilarious.

Mikey stood before Hansen, "Hansen-kun. Thanks for agreeing to oversee this today."

Hansen scoffed, "If this fight sucks, I'm taking you both down." He threatened.

"Representatives from both gangs, step forward!" A random gang member announced.

Both representatives turned out to be Kazutora and Draken. The two faced each other as Hansen stared at them both.

"A five-on-five with your best guys…" Hansen looked at both of them, "Or an all-out melee with everyone. What do you guys wanna do?"

Draken answered, "Valhalla brought this fight to us. You guys decide, Kazutora."

"Huh?" Kaazutota responded.

"We only have one condition: Baji Keisuke's return." Draken laid out the condition of this fight.

Kazutora wasn't happy with this, however.

"If Tōman wins this battle, we'll be taking Baji back. That's all." Draken's tone sounded final.

"Huh? Baji came to us on his own. There's nothing to return." Kazutora scoffed at his condition.

Draken took a step forward, not backing down, "We'll be taking Baji back. That's all." He repeated, emphasizing this time.

Kazutora's anger hit a boiling point, taking his hand out of his pocket, "You jackass…Bring it on." He clenched his fist.

Hansen sensed something was off, "Hey, you guys gonna fight he—" He was cut off with a punch to the face, courtesy of Kazutora. He then proceeded to pinch him in the gut, knocking the delinquent out cold.

Yamagishi whistled, "Savage." His phone was already out and recording, too.

"Guess he got pissed off." Taijū stated the obvious.

"Obviously." Senju would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't in the middle of rubbing the sleep out of them.

"Good morning, Senju-chan. Did you have a nice nap?" Hinata smiled at the girl.

Senju yawned in response.

Back at the makeshift arena, Draken was visibly disturbed by the brutal takedown of the ref.

Kazutora took a deep breath, "Give me a break. Overseeing the fight? Conditions? You guys come here to play house or some shit?" He mocked them.

He turns around to gesture to the Valhalla members standing behind him, arms wide, "We came here to beat the shit out outta you until you're dead!" He declared.

The tension that was already threatening to blow over…finally erupted.

"Wanna get shit started already, Mikey?" Hanma grinned widely in anticipation.

A gust of wind blew against Mikey's face—his expression now becoming more hostile, "Let's go, Tōman!" He ordered. At their commander's call, they charged at Valhalla—with them doing the same.

The brawl has started.

"Time to crush Tōman!" Hanma announced, grinning like a maniac.

Hinata leaned back against a car behind her, "Smiley-kun's already taken down three members of Valhalla so far." All while smiling, she added.

"Sanzu-san's beating down another member without mercy." Shizuki was watching the long haired member mercilessly beat up the delinquent.

"Mucho's no slouch himself, guy's huge and looks like he'd pack a punch." Yamagishi saw the tall member take two hits to the chest but was unfazed and proceeded to smash two Valhalla members' heads together.

Senju spotted Hakkai holding his own against some thugs. She also saw Pah-chin and Peh-yan teaming up together. The two were back to back so there wouldn't be any surprise attacks.

"Oh, there's Chifuyu! Look at him go." Hinata saw the blonde jump in the air and kick a Valhalla member in the head.

"He's doing really well so far, they all are." Shizuki smiled at the sight.

Inui was keeping a close eye on the fight and unfortunately lost sight of Baji, "I don't see Baji Keisuke anywhere." That worried him a little. Where did he go?

"He's around," Takemichi assured him, "We can't see him because he's trying not to be seen, but make no mistake he is out there."

Koko was smirking, "Probably waiting for the right moment, is that his plan?" He asked Takemichi.

"That sounds about right." He replied.

Yamagishi noticed something, "Mikey still hasn't moved yet." He was just standing there, hands in his pocket with a calm expression.

"Do you think he's trying to keep his emotions in check?" Shizuki didn't know if that's what Mikey was trying to do, but it was a good guess.

"Oh, Kazutora's coming at Mikey fast!" Yamagishi's yelp got their attention, and all of them were looking over at Mikey.

Sure enough, Kazutora came charging right at Mikey, "Die! Mikey!" He yelled, but Mikey's calm expression didn't change. Kazutora's punch never reached Mikey for Draken interfered, blocking the punch with his arm.

"Like I'd ever let you lay a finger on Mikey!" Draken wasn't letting Kazutora lay a hand on his commander and friend.

"Draken?!" Kazutora's irritated smile expressed how annoyed he was by Draken's presence.

Draken kept his eyes on Kazutora but had to hurry and bring both his arms up to block a kick that came out of nowhere. It was strong and sent him skidding away from Mikey.

Grunting, Draken looked up and saw the one responsible was Shūji Hanma.

Hanma laughed at his expression, "You get to deal with me, Draken." He declared, walking towards him.

Draken stood upright, "Bring it on, Hanma."

"I'm leaving Mikey to you, Kazutora." Hanma said to Kazutora.

Kazutora grinned, while Mikey gave him a blank expression.

Hanma looked back over to Draken, "You'd better entertain me. Vice Captain."

Punching his fist in the palm of his hand, Draken responded to Hanma, "I'm thrilled. I don't remember the last time I got to go all-out."

Kazutora was grinning insanely at Mikey, "Mikey! I've been waiting for this day!"

Mikey's expression finally changed to a more serious one, "I'm not gonna hold back, Kazutora."

So far, the fight was going well for Tōman. Despite Valhalla having more guys, Tōman was holding their own. Sure there were little hiccups here and there, but Tōman wasn't going down so easily.

"Tōman aren't going down despite the sheer numbers on Valhalla's side." Yamagishi looked on in awe as members of Tōman kept on fighting.

"They've got some stamina, I'll admit. But after a while it starts to burn out." Koko was speaking from a logical point of view.

"True, but I doubt they'll lose." Inui held out hope their allies would prevail in the end.

"Draken's beating the shit out of Hanma, but that freaks still up and moving." Taijū didn't like Hanma, there was something about the guy that made the hair's on the back of his neck stand up.

Shizuki's narrowed gaze focused on Draken and Hanna's fight, "I felt something was off when we fought back at the festival. His body feels different than the average human. And his response to pain is non-existent." He remembered Hanna's dull response when his arm was broken.

"You're saying he's not human? Then what does that make him, then?" Senju asked out of curiosity.

Shizuki wasn't sure how to describe it, but if he had to compare him to something it would have to be:

"A living corpse."

Stunned silence was their response.

"I-Is that even possible…?" Yamagishi found his voice by some miracle to ask a question, "And you're sure?"

Shizuki's serious expression was all the answer he needed.

"That's why I called him a zombie." Hinata said.

They groaned, save for Takemichi who rubbed his temples.

In all seriousness though, Hanma is someone they really need to keep their eyes on.

When they turned their attention back over to the fight, they saw Tōman was starting to get overwhelmed. Koko called it, but what happened next took them off guard.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL WHINING ABOUT?!" Chifuyu hollered.

Everything became silent.

"I ain't going down! I'm gonna crush you all! Bring it on, Valhalla!" Chifuyu shouted.

Takemichi smiled, "They were whining just a second ago, but now they've got their heads out of their asses."

"Too bad we didn't bet on this, probably would have lost for once." Koko was joking but he was smiling.

Inui smiled, but said nothing.

"Chifuyu-chan sounded amazing. Baji really is lucky to have him around." Hinata complimented the boy.

"For real, that was so epic! And I got it recorded." Yamagishi bragged.

"What are you bragging about?" Senju questioned.

"In any case, it looks like Tōman's regained their fighting spirit." Shizuki's gaze then trailed over towards Draken, "Draken-san's doing stretches."

"Guess that means he's about to raise some hell. This should be good." Taijū grinned, eager to see what was about to happen next.

And good it was.

Draken took down more than 20 Valhalla members that tried surrounding him, but that did nothing to help them. Tōman's No. 2 plowed through them like they were nothing. After wasting no time in taking the last one out, he could finally focus on his main target.

Hanma was just casually standing there as he watched Draken take down 20 members of Valhalla all on his own.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hanma." Draken dropped a random Valhalla member and focused all his attention on Hanma.

"Hey, you good?" Hanma asked, tilting his head, "Looks like you're pretty exhausted there."

Draken smiled at him, "Just finished my warm-ups."

Hanma didn't look impressed by the response.

"Let's do this, Hanma!" Draken charged at him, fist ready.

"Let's dance, Draken!" Hanma grinned, holding his arm up to defend against the incoming punch.

WHAM!

While he did block the punch, he was still sent flying and crashed into some bags. This action shocked the Valhalla members who saw it happen.

Taijū laughed his ass off, "What did I tell ya?! This fights too fucking good! Draken sent him flying right on his ass!"

"Bet you Hanma wasn't expecting that." Senju smiled when Hanma was sent flying.

"Holy shit! I got that on film, too!" Yamagishi was grinning from ear to ear.

Draken stood there staring Hanma down, "I ain't finished yet, Hanma!"

Hanma let out a small laugh, "This sucks. I had my defenses up, and still…"

"Oh, where did Kazutora and Mikey go?" Hinata was looking around but she didn't see them.

"Over there. On top of the abandoned cars." Shizuki pointed, making them look over at the abandoned cars.

Yamagishi was still filming Draken's fight with Hanma. No matter how many times Draken hit or literally slammed Hanma to the ground—the guy just wouldn't go down!

Shizuki might have been into something when he said the guy wasn't entirely human.

"Yamagishi, Draken's fight with Hanma will take awhile. Focus on Kazutora and Mikey." Takemichi told him.

"Roger, boss!" Yamagishi focuses his attention all on Kazutora and Mikey. Kazutora was mocking Mikey and telling him how he planned to lure Mikey away on his own and make it harder for him to fight.

There were two guys along with Kazutora but only the two unknown guys were fighting Mikey. To his credit, the commander of Tōman did try to fight the best he could on top of abandoned cars, but he couldn't keep his balance.

Kazutora picked up a metal pole that was on top of one of the cars as the two guys managed to grab Mikey and hold him still. One of them grabbed his leg, while the other had his arms looped underneath Mikey's arms so he couldn't move.

Without saying a word, Kazutora slowly approached Mikey with the weapon in hand. Draken saw this and sprinted in their direction, "Mikey!" He shouted.

His path was blocked by Hanma, forcing him to come to a stop because he knew the creep wouldn't let him through. Draken could do nothing but watch.

Kazutora smirked, "Well, it's been fun…" He moved his leg and kicked the guy holding Mikey's leg square in the face. The unconscious thug fell back and hit one of the abandoned cars. Kazutora used that opportunity to get the other guy that was distracted. Using the metal pole stick, he used it to smack the thug in the back of the neck. Mikey stumbled forward, but Kazutora caught him as he casually watched the other one fall and land on the car behind him, "…but it really hasn't."

At his sudden action, the lot became silent.

Kazutora sighed as he helped Mikey sit right up. Cracking his neck, he tossed the metal pole stick away, "Man am I tired! At least this whole fucking thing is finally over and done with."

Hanma was staring up at Kazutora in absolute shock. While he may not be that smart, he understands at this moment something wasn't right.

"What's with that stupid look on your face, Hanma?" Draken mocked. His posture was relaxed and non-threatening with a smile on his face.

This left the delinquent even more confused, "What the hell…?"

"Oi, Kazutora! What the hell took you so damn long to drop the act?!" Draken yelled.

"Give me a break, Draken! I had to wait until the right moment!" Kazutora sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, right! Looked like you were enjoying yourself there!" Draken teased.

"Tch!" Kazutora clicked his tongue.

While the two of them were busy bickering, the battlefield had gone dead silent. No one so much as moved a muscle because they were too busy trying to understand the current turn of events. Kazutora's sudden action was confusing and left them with questions. Even the spectators were confused by what just happened.

The silence was finally broken by Mitsuya's soft laughter, "Cut him some slack, Draken. Kazutora did his part to keep up the act until it was time to drop it."

"Still took his ass long enough." Pah-chin grunted, standing next to him.

Kazutora rolled his eyes, "Screw you guys," He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, "Infiltrating another gang is stressful enough, but then there's acting all buddy-buddy and making sure not to get caught."

"My condolences." Draken faked feeling bad for Kazutora.

"Like you really mean that." He scoffed.

"Oi, Oi, Oi, what the hell is going on here, Kazutora?" Hanma had decided he was done being quiet, "What are you doing?"

Kazutora gives him a bored side glance, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Huh?" Hanma answered dumbly.

"Guess not then." Kazutora sighed, no longer interested in this pointless one-sided conversation.

Mikey had been quiet the whole time, but started getting annoyed, "What the hell is going on?" He wanted answers.

Kazutora looked at him confused, but then understood, "Oh, what the hell, Draken! You didn't tell Mikey a damn thing!"

"Can you blame me? Mikey's acting skills are absolute shit!" Draken defended.

Kazutora opened his mouth to say something, but opted not to. Damn, Draken was right on this one.

Chifuyu was confused about what was happening, "Acting skills…?" His eyes widened in realization.

Wait, was it possible…

Kazutora rolled his shoulders, "But seriously, white really isn't my color." He took off his Valhalla jacket and tossed it aside like garbage.

"If anything…" Someone tossed him an eerie familiar black jacket with wording on the sleeves and the back. Grabbing it out of the air, he put it on, "…black suits me much better."

At that moment, it sank in for everyone.

"Hey, is that…"

"It looks like…"

Kazutora took out a mask, "Black Dragons Fourth Division: Infiltration Unit 10th Captain—Kage!" He not only introduced himself but revealed his real identity.

Taijū bellowed out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. This was just too damn hilarious! Seeing their dumbfounded faces to Kazutora's big reveal had him laughing so hard he nearly choked on his own spit.

Yamagishi was shaking in place as he tried not to laugh, but it was becoming a challenge not to burst out laughing.

Deciding to take pity on him, Senju took his phone as the boy immediately collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter.

Hinata giggled as all eyes shifted in between them and Kazutora, "They look so confused. Poor things."

"Can't really blame them, but the fun's not over yet." Koko smirked in anticipation.

Putting his face mask on, Kazutora gives the surprises and dumbfounded gangsters a bored expression. His time with the Black Dragons had changed him. His old self was almost broken beyond repair, but fortunately for him—a guardian protector found him.

No one will shake his loyalty, and he will never betray Takemichi like he betrayed Mikey.

This time he won't repeat the same mistakes.

A bead of sweat fell to the side of Hanma's face, "Seriously…?" Even his grin looked uneasy.

The most hilarious dumbfounded expressions had to be from both Baji and Kisaki. Senju angled the phone on Baji first, seeing his jaw drop was interesting to see.

And she recorded it.

Next, there was Kisaki. She could see the snake's skin complexion begin to pale, his expression displayed fear and probably dread. A smirk appeared when he slowly turned in their direction—his fear and dread morphed into anger, but that was fine.

He won't do anything to give himself away just yet.

"What the hell?! You mean this whole time Valhalla had infiltrated and didn't even notice?!" Peh-yan exclaimed in shock.

Smiley was grinning, "We didn't notice anything, either."

"Shit." Angry said.

Mucho sighed, "They fooled us. But right now, Valhalla are the bigger fools."

Sanzu nodded.

Chifuyu couldn't believe this was happening. Takuya told him yesterday about all of the information they gathered on Kisaki, but he was so distracted by Baji that he didn't stop to think about how they knew.

A spy, that's how!

But why did Kazutora choose now to reveal himself? Was there some reason he chose to wait until the fight to make the big reveal?

Wait…

He did say "captain," right?

Kazutora focused on the crowd below, "Shadow Unit, go!"

At his command, half of Valhalla's members took off their white jackets and tossed them in the air. Instead of white, they now wore Black Dragon jackets. Some of Tōman's members had their jaws dropped. The hits just keep on coming as not only did Kazutora manage to infiltrate Valhalla–but his whole damn unit!

Chifuyu's mouth parted as he saw some of Black Dragon's members shed their white jackets and donned their black ones.

"Unbelievable, right?" Mitsuya's voice interrupted his thinking with a calm smile, "These guys just keep looking out for us, don't they?"

Chifuyu found himself smiling, "Yeah!" Yesterday before the meeting, Takuya told him something that he's just now starting to understand.

"What's hidden in the shadows eventually comes out of hiding."

'So this is what you meant.' Chifuyu smiled.

"We've got the rest of this covered, go find Baji and drag his stupid ass back here." Mitsuya ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Chifuyu complied, running off to find Baji in the middle of this chaos.

Kazutora kept his eyes on his subordinates, "Our time in the shadows is over! Valhalla is the enemy, take them down!" He ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

With the flip of a switch, those under Kazutora began fighting the lower members of Valhalla. While most Tōman members stood still at first, they soon joined in with the tables beginning to turn in their favor.

"And that's that. Pretty soon Valhalla's gonna have no choice but to surrender." Yamagishi managed to calm down from his laughing fit, phone back in his hand.

"Assuming that Kisaki brat will even consider it. Though with things as they are he's got no choice." Taijū had his doubts about Kisaki surrendering the fight, but maybe his humiliated pride will force his hand.

Senju was smiling, "This might be the most interesting fight in the history of gangsters."

"We'll of course it is. Never in the history of a fight between two opposite gangs has one had multiple spies hidden in plain sight, and then fighting against them." Hinata couldn't help but be amused by such a development.

"Kazutora performed his first mission well. He's more than proven himself worthy of being captain." Inui found himself impressed by Kazutora's skills as captain of his own squad.

"Not bad. Think I'll give him a 10/10 for this performance." Koko smirked.

Takemichi let out an amused huff.

Kazutora and Mikey were still standing next to each other on top of the cars. Many things were going around in Mikey's head. He's never been so confused as he is right now. Kazutora was a spy for Black Dragon this whole time, so then…

"You look even more confused now than when I finally dropped the act." Kazutora's voice brought him back to reality.

"Kazutora, you…" Mikey really didn't know what else to say.

The other teen had an amused expression before jumping down off the car, "We'll talk more later after all this is over. Right now, you need to focus and drag that dumbass Baji out of here and back home where he belongs."

Mikey didn't say anything for a moment before smiling in defeat, "Fair enough. You better be ready to explain everything."

"That's the plan!" Kazutora roundhouse kicked a Valhalla grunt in the face, while Mikey followed that up with a kick of his own towards another one.

Amidst the chaos of the fight Chifuyu was looking around for Baji and finally managed to find him. His excitement soon turned to horror as he saw Baji sneaking up behind Kisaki, lead pipe in hand! He took off running in their direction, trying to weave around the thugs that were in his way.

"Don't do it, Baji-san!" He shouted.

Before Baji could swing the pipe, he was knocked out from behind by someone from Kazutora's unit. The individual grabbed Baji and brought him over to Chifuyu, who gratefully took his captain.

"Keep him away from the battle," They voice sounded feminen, "Baji Keisuke has been removed and recovered. Valhalla's numbers are also slowly dwindling, they have no choice but to surrender."

Chifuyu had Baji on his back, but it was hard to move with the black haired teen being tall and heavy. Thankfully the blue eyed individual helped him get Baji far away from the fight.

Shizuki breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Baji was safely secured, "Baji-san's been taken away from the fight."

"And Valhalla's barely got any guys left. This fights over, might as well call it quits." Koko added.

"Judging by Kisaki's expression he wants to see if he can somehow turn things over in his favor, but that's not gonna happen." Takemichi observed.

Kazutora saw one of his subordinates give him the signal, "Mikey, Baji's safe!"

Visible relief was shown in Mikey's face, "Good."

"Valhalla's members are dwindling, too. This fight is pretty much over." Kazutora said.

Mikey agreed with him, "Yeah, time to end this."

"Already ahead of you." Kazutora whistled, getting everyone's attention. No one moved on either side as they stood in place.

"Listen up! Our main objective is now secured, stand down!" Kazutora ordered his squad.

As they listened to Kazutora's orders, Mikey himself spoke up, "There's no point in dragging this out any longer! We've done what we came to do!"

He walked towards Draken, who was half facing Hanma and him, "Ken-chin…" Mikey's tone was soft, "The fight's already over."

Draken relaxed, "Finally! I was actually starting to get tired."

Mikey smiled at him.

Hanma meanwhile was confused by Mikey's declaration, "Huh? Whoa, whoa, whoa! The fight's over?!" He stepped towards Mikey with a grin on his bruised face.

"Where the hell do you think we are, Mikey?" Hanma spread out his arms, "You don't get to decide that shit!"

Mikey looked at him boredly.

Hanma grinned.

SLAM!

Mikey used his signature kick to slam Hanma to the ground, face first. Funny thing about this was the fact Hanma was grinning while unconscious.

"There. It's over." Mikey said as a matter of fact.

Yamagishi snorted, "Burn!" He struggled not to laugh again.

Senju rolled her eyes.

Those among Valhalla who weren't taken down were shocked that Hanma was taken out by a single kick.

"Hanma-san?"

"N-No way…"

"This is some kinda trick."

"He took out Hanma-san in one blow?"

Letting their fear get the better of them, they ran away quickly.

"Run!"

"He'll kill us!"

One of them, who fell to the ground, looked behind him, "This wasn't the deal!" He hightailed it out of there.

Draken whistled, "That might be your most brutal kick."

"You think so?" Mikey said.

"Yeah."

With Hanma being defeated by Mikey and the rest of Valhalla running away—it was officially declared Tōman won the fight. This led to a round of cheers from Tōman as they not only defeated Valhalla but successfully took back Baji Keisuke.

It was over.

They won.

Draken went over to Kazutora, followed closely by Mikey, "You look tired, Kazutora."

Kazutora scoffed, "You would be too if you had to put up with infiltrating another gang for as long as I have. I need a vacation."

"Takemichi won't say no to that." Draken joked.

Mikey stared at Kazutora for a minute, "So, everything was a lie."

Kazutora didn't look away from Mikey and met his gaze, "Yeah. Almost had to change plans when Baji decided to pull this crap."

"It all worked out though," Draken reminded, "Baji's back with us, and Valhalla's beaten."

"I guess." Kazutora decided to let it go, "Mikey, you'll get your answers tomorrow. We'll be hosting a party at Takemichi's place, bring anyone you want."

Mikey wasn't expecting the sudden invitation but smiled anyway, "Sure."

Sirens were then heard from the spectators and the winning gang. That was the signal to get out of the area, which they did. By the time the cops showed up everyone had already cleared out.

Valhalla vs Tōman

Winner: Tōman

Casualties: None


Two weeks have passed since the battle.

Valhalla was annihilated by Tōman and Balck Dragoon's Infiltration Squad. No one had stopped talking about the crazy reveals during that fight. First, there was Kazutora revealing himself to be a spy for Black Dragon who had infiltrated Valhalla since the beginning. Second, his whole squad were also undercover and helped their allies in defeating Valhalla.

Baji Keisuke was successfully recovered and unharmed. After he woke up when all the fighting was over he was given an earful by not just Chifuyu, but the rest of the captains, too. He was still pretty shocked to know Kazutora was a spy the whole time. Deep down though, he was happy his friend wasn't serious about anything he said or did while being undercover in Valhalla.

Some voiced issues with the fight which was to be expected, but ultimately it was officially decided Tōman was the clear victor.


Within the Ryōgi residence there was a huge gathering of people.

Black Dragon and Tōman gathered at the Ryōgi residence in celebration of their victory over Valhalla. There hasn't been any recent news about them as of late, but some rumors had been flying around that some Valhalla members decided to quit being delinquents.

And while that was just a rumor for now, it could still be true.

But no one was thinking about Valhalla right now and were more focused on having a good time.

"You guys should have seen the look on his face! Priceless!" Yamagishi cackled like a madman.

Atsushi smiled, "Makes me wish Takemichi would have let us be there to see it in person."

"That little four eyed snake must be fuming right now." Makoto mocked.

"Or pouting in a corner somewhere." Takuya took a sip of his drink, smiling the whole time.

Hinata ate some snacks as she listened to them making fun of Kisaki. It certainly was amusing to see the look on his face when Kazutora revealed himself to be a spy. But she was no fool though. Kisaki isn't the type to simply give up, not that easily. He'll try something else but they won't let him do as pleases.

'Keep planning all you like, Kisaki. We will stop you.' She thinks.


WHAM!

"Kah!" Baji let out after getting punched in the face by Kazutora. Okay, he deserved that and then some, but that still hurt dammit!

"Baji-san!" Chifuyu, bless his heart, went over to his fallen captain and helped him sit up.

"Damn, that hurt like hell!" Baji complained, rubbing his cheek.

Draken rolled his eyes, "Serves you right." He said, unsympathetic.

"Kazutora let you off easy by just punching you in the face." Pah-chin chimed in.

"Even that punch to the face didn't seem like it was enough." Mitsuya added his own two cents.

Baji glared at all of them, "I fucking hate you guys!" All of them laughed because they knew he wasn't serious.

Kazutora crossed his arms, "You should be grateful a punch is all you're getting from me. Then again, an ass beating wouldn't be so bad right now, either."

"What the hell, Kazutora?!" Baji exclaimed.

"Shut up, dumbass. I almost blew my cover having to look after your ass so Hanma wouldn't notice anything." Kazutora shut him up.

Shizuki smiled during the whole exchange. It was decided the founders of Tōman would hear the whole story from them before telling the other captains.


"No sooner did Shizuki meet up with you guys, Draken called me out about calling off the fight. But he soon figured out I was the one on the inside and we started planning." Kazutora explained.

Draken took that as his cue to talk, "Kazutora would keep pretending to keep hating Mikey so Hanma and Kisaki wouldn't notice anything was wrong."

"Draken contacted Mitsuya and Pah-chin—which by the way Mikey was supposed to be in on it, too!" Kazutora was still irritated with Draken for not telling him anything.

"Again, Mikey's acting skills suck." Draken shrugged.

Mikey glared at him, "Screw you, Ken-chin."

"No thanks."

Kazutora ignored them, "All of us kept up the act until it was time for me to drop it. Finally, being around Hanma made me uncomfortable. Creepy bastard."

"He is unpleasant." Shizuki agreed with him on that.

Mikey had something to say, "Kazutora…did Takemichi…"

"He knows everything. I told him my sin, and he accepted me anyway. Trust me, I know being part of Black Dragon is more than I deserve, but this is my way of atoning." His words were honest and heartfelt that no one said anything for a few minutes.

Baji spoke up though, "Kazutora, you didn't kill Shinichiro-kun. He's still alive but in a coma. The doctors said he'll wake up soon, besides I was there too."

"But you weren't the one who hit Mikey's brother upside the head with a wrench, nearly killing him." Kazutora retorted.

"And I didn't react fast enough to stop you!" Baji countered.

"Baji-san…" Chifuyu could tell the other boy still felt bad about it even after all these years.

Kazutora shook his head, "Regardless, the one who held the weapon was me. Serving under Black Dragon and disregarding my name under "Kage" is my way of atoning,"' He smiled, "Takemichi said it was my choice and that'll respect it."

Mikey knows Kazutora is telling the truth. Seeing him wanting to atone for what he did back then would finally allow Mikey to move on.

"Kazutora…when my brother finally wakes up…make sure you apologize properly." Mikey tells him, smiling.

Hearing those words almost made Kazutora cry, but he steeled his emotions, "I will…"


Shizuki was happy for Kazutora.

Kazutora may not go back to Tōman, but he will always have a place there with them.

"Hey, Shizuki. Where's Takemichi?" Mikey asked him suddenly.

"Oh, he's sitting outside on the porch." Shizuki answered.

"Thanks." Mikey walked off to find Takemichi. The others could talk all they wanted without him anyway and now he knows to be more aware of Kisaki's movements.

He can let them all handle how to deal with Kisaki.

Right now though, he needs to talk to Takemichi.


He found him easily.

His black hair was a dead giveaway, but he was wearing a black kimono and staring up at the pitch black sky. Mikey wondered what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about the fight, or something else entirely.

Mikey sat on his left and looked up at the same sky, "Kazutora told us everything. You got to him before Kisaki could, healed his wounded and fragile mind and made him a part of Black Dragon."

Takemichi didn't look at him, "Are you angry? For not telling you anything about Kazutora being with Black Dragon?"

"No, I know what's going on now. Kisaki's a sneaky bastard that managed to worm his way into our gang. If you weren't looking out from the beginning, then I would have believed everything Kisaki told me." Mikey didn't even want to think about what kind of worthless bastard he'd turn into if he only relied on Kisaki instead of those around him.

Takemich closed his eyes, "In some futures…you're no longer the same person as you used to be."

Mikey looked at him, "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Takemichi showed Mikey his now glowing purple eyes. Seeing the changing eye color fascinated Mikey and drew him in.

"This is my secret. My mystic eyes—Mystic Eyes of Precognition." Takemichi revealed.

"Precognition, you mean…"

"My eyes allow me to see visions of the future," Takemichi explained, "There isn't just one, but many different futures that occur through certain actions. Like that night at the festival, if Draken did end up dying that night it would have been the first breaking point that changed you."

"The same with Baji Keisuke. If I didn't end up meeting Kazutora first instead of Kisaki, he would have killed Baji which would in turn make you kill him by beating him to death." Takemichi went on.

Mikey said nothing.

"I've seen your future, Mikey." Takemichi closed his eyes, deciding not to say anything more, "My Mystic Eyes would bring me nothing but headaches, but they also allow me the chance to interfere."'

Mystic Eyes are powerful but also very dangerous. One must not allow themselves to be enslaved by their Mystic Eyes, that is the rule for those who possess them must follow.

Takemichi felt Mikey lay his head against his shoulder. It wasn't rejection like he was expecting, but acceptance. Mikey was accepting that Takemichi wasn't normal and could see what his eyes wanted him to see. They didn't talk about the different future's Mikey would have had if Takemichi didn't decide to prevent them. Neither of them needed nor wanted to know.

Not right now.

"Call me by name."

Takemichi wasn't expecting that to come out of Mikey's mouth, but right now it doesn't really matter, "Manjirō." Huh, saying his first name feels different. It's not a feeling he hates, either. Takemichi understands what this feeling is now, and judging by the soft grip of Mikey's hand on his own, so does he.

They stayed like that for about a few more minutes. No more words needed to be said at this moment, just being in the company of one another expressed more than words ever could.


🍡何か新しいことの始まり🍡

(The Start Of Something New)