And In Another Life

Chapter 3: We Seem Inevitable

Takemichi can leap through time. I can see the future. He puts himself through hell to save us all. I live through hell to save myself from heartbreak and in the end, I can't even do that. My best chance at life is to live without you, but I don't know how to do that. No matter who I love or how far you push me, I don't want to. In this life and the next, you always pull and I push too deep then I fall right back to you.

Chifuyu stretched his arms behind his head with a yawn before turning onto his side to—

Bang! Bang!

"Chifuyu! Get your ass out here. You're not tired."

Chifuyu yawned again, mostly to himself. Mostly to say that yes, he was tired. He dropped from his bed anyway, and stumbled to the door. The second he opened it, Baji flew in, Peke J hooked under his arm. The black cat meowed appreciatively when he noticed Chifuyu in his pajamas and struggled from Baji's grip, flying to the floor and straight to his cat bowl beneath the window.

"I don't understand girls at all! They're so confusing it's actually insane." Baji says flopping down on the floor beside the cat, facing Chifuyu's bed as if Chifuyu had made it there already, instead of being still dazed by the door.

I figured this would happen eventually, Chifuyu yawned again, rubbed his eyes and walked over to his bed. he dropped down and gestured for his friend to continue, "What did you do?"

Baji paused a vein popping in his forehead, "Me? I didn't do anything! We were just kidding around like normal and she just—gets weird and stops talking to me!"

"Then you probably said something." Chifuyu deadpanned, "What else could've happened?"

"Uh, I don't know. She sure was still talking to Mikey and Draken. I thought she'd be mad since she hates getting dirty, but she didn't seem to mind at all!"

Chifuyu shook his head, "Wait. Rewind. Why would she get dirty? Yukari's never dirty."

"I don't know what happened just that she and Mikey were—talking I guess and—he pulled on her and she fell on top of him."

Chifuyu stilled, eyes widened. "Did she land on his chest?"

Baji narrowed his eyes, searching his memory, "Yeah, I think so."

"You're in some deep shit."

Startled, the First Division captain lurched forward. "Why?"

"What happens in every shoujo manga ever written when a guy and girl bump into each other?"

Baji ruminates on this, eyes flying open, he points right at Chifuyu's chest. "They end up on top of each other!"

"Right! And if I know this troupe like I think I do, I know what happens next! And if you don't want to Yukari to be holding hands with Mikey in the next couple chapters, you better suck it up and put your game face on."

Baji shot back, face blazing and eyes staring at the window. "I don't know what you're talking about, Chifuyu. Yukari can hold hands with whoever she wants. I don't care."

Chifuyu sighed, "Be serious, Baji."

"I am serious." Baji insists, "I don't have some weird feelings for her, okay? She's just cool. We're friends."

Chifuyu swung back around to his pillows, and yawned, "Then I can't help you."

"Chifuyu, I'm not done. I still need for you to tell me what I supposedly did." Baji said, reaching back behind him to grab a book from Chifuyu's makeshift desk. In one swift movement, it sailed through the air and wacked Chifuyu on the head. The blonde boy shot up, glaring, "What the hell?"

"There. You're awake." Baji said, leaning back on his hands, "Explain this to me."

Reluctantly, Chifuyu turned back around, "What happened?"

Baji went through the events with ease, how all four of them walked into the park laughing at some joke that couldn't have been that funny, how Mikey was acting like he'd known Yukari forever when he hadn't, their falling on the ground, him helping her stand, their conversation….

Yukari suddenly sits up, holding her phone to her face, but relaxes once she sees the time.

"What's wrong?" Emma asks, leaning around Draken.

"Nothing. The trees block out the sun, so I thought it was later than it is." She says, scooping Tora and Mikey from her lap.

Baji's on her right, he leans toward her, "Did you ever ask your parents about keeping them?"

"Yep." She says, stuffing the discarded cans into a plastic bag before tying it tight. Her eyes focused on the task.

He blinks, eager, "Well?"

"Yes." She says, and moves to stand up, stopping only because she notices Mikey has curled into her side, sound asleep.

Baji bites down on his lip. "Just yes?"

"Does he do this a lot?" She asks Draken.

Draken sighs, reaches over and smacks the top of Mikey's head, "Hey! Wake up! We've gotta go. It's getting late."

She takes that as an affirmative.

Mikey's nose twitches, and his brow furrows slightly, but he doesn't move.

Draken groans, "Well, I guess this taiyaki is going in the trash—"

Mikey shoots up like a vampire released from his coffin. "It's not mine, is it?"

"No. It's not." Draken deadpans, pulling himself to his feet, popping his back like an old man before offering a hand to Emma. She readily takes it, blushing slightly when she does, not that Draken's cheeks remain white either. Now those two were being ridiculous. Baji had no idea why they kept skirting the obvious. If he ever liked a girl, he was sure he'd just come right out and say it. There would be no point pretending otherwise, would there? "We're supposed to be taking the girls around, remember?"

Mikey blinked, slightly puzzled. He turned his head, spots Yukari and then grins. "I almost forgot. Are you hungry?"

Yukari looks from Mikey, to Draken, and then to Emma, hesitant. "Yes?"

Mikey leaps up, and hauls her to her feet, surprising her so much she yelps.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" he doesn't say, continuing to pull her along like he's on a time crunch. "You'll see!"

She protests barely at all as he sprints through the underbrush, looking over his shoulder ever now and then like he doesn't have his hand locked around her wrist.

That was so unlike her it was laughable. If Baji had tried to pull something like that, she'd be complaining the whole time, whacking his arm every chance she got. It was weird.

"Hey, watch it you little—ugh! Come on, Emma." Draken says, "We better catch up before he hauls her off the planet."

"No kidding." Emma says, "I can't even see his head anymore."

None of it made sense. Sure, he'd only known her for a little over a week, but she was easy to read. Her moods were consistent. He always knew what to expect from her and what she would and would not stand. This counted and yet….

"Draken," he calls the taller boy just before they make to chase them.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?" he asks, the corners of his mouth tight. He feels his lips pull down, a strange anxiety shift like loose gravel in his stomach. "How long have you known her?"

Draken shrugs, "Not long, but, you know Mikey. When he meets someone he's interested in…he can't get them out of his head. He hounded me for days after we first saw her and she wouldn't return his messages. Now she's here and I guess he's making up for all the time he missed."

Baji nodded, "Huh." That does sound like him. Still….

"How long have you guys known each other? You seem," Draken paused, tilted his head in a way Baji found strange. "close."

Baji wouldn't dissect the look, he was sure he wouldn't like what he found there. "A week, I guess."

"Huh." Something passed before Draken's eyes as he continued to observe Baji.

Baji, meanwhile, couldn't fathom why he was looking so deeply. He was the one asking the questions. "She's cool."

Draken's eyebrows drew together as he said, "And really pretty too."

Baji lifts his brow at Draken, feeling something amiss, something buried beneath his assumption. "I haven't really noticed." And he hadn't. besides, most girls were pretty for some reason or another. Emma's pretty, but that meant nothing to him. That was all Draken. "She seems off today."

"Yeah?" Draken scratches his chin, a sliver of disbelief in his voice, "How so?"

Baji admits scratching behind his ear, "She's not talking to me like normal. Did something happen? You guys offend her or something?"

"Not that I know of. She seemed fine."

"Hm. I must be imagining it."

But he wasn't, as they made their way to the bikes, Baji's not parked far from theirs, she could see Mikey and Yukari laughing at something. She clutched her stomach, her eyes flashing and bright. He knew this mood. They had the most fun when she was like this.

Good, Baji thought. She's back to normal.

"What's so funny?" he asks, walking up to them, smirking.

Just like that, the smiles gone and she's formal, her head high. "Just Mikey being goofy."

"What did he say?"

"It's passed." She says and swings around back to Mikey, "Where're we going?"

Like a little kid, Mikey exclaims, "The diner!"

She shakes her head, stubborn, "No way."

"Oh, come on you like that place!"

Yukari blushes, and looks away from him, toeing her shoe into the ground. "Not anymore, not after I embarrassed myself."

"It wasn't an embarrassment. It was cool!" he says and then grins at her, "And kinda hot."

Baji feels his eyes widen, his mouth opens wide to ask, just what the hell happened when she lurches toward him.

Frowning she pinches his cheek, " Haha! You jerk."

Mikey swatted her hands away, laughing, "No I mean it. Ken-chin, what did I say when she left the restaurant?"

Grinning too, he nudged Emma who hid her smile behind her hands, "You said, 'wow, that girl sure was cool…and really hot.'"

"See!" he says and reaches forward to grab one of her hands. She stills, her face coloring slightly, "Grab on. I'll even treat you!"

"You don't have any money, dumbass," Draken said, "which means I'll be treating her."

Finally, she gave in, slipping onto the back of the bike and looping her arms around Mikey's waist. "Fine, but you don't have to pay for me."

"That's right," Baji cuts in, trying again to insert himself back into the conversation. "She's a rich girl."

She turns her head to him, blinks and turns back.

What's that look? What the hell is going on?

Mikey leans back and shoots him a look, "Nice going, Baji."

"W-what? I call her that all the time! She's not offended!"

Draken whistled, "She sure looks offended. I've never seen a girl frown so much."

"Real nice, Baji." Emma commented, wrapping her arms around Draken.

"Want me to hit him for you?" Mikey asks her.

She only laughs, snuggling close to his back. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "That's okay." Yukari says, "I'll let it go."

Baji throws his hands up, "What the actual hell, Guys!"

"Okay, so after you basically told her that Kiki was way better than her, she stopped talking to you?"

"I didn't say that."

"Basically, yes, you did." Chifuyu sighed, "Have you ever noticed how happy she gets when she sees you? Or the way she's always touching your arm or trying to tickle you? When you talk she doesn't break eye contact—ever. She's always pulling shit out of your hair (not that you don't always have shit in your hair because you do)? She laughs at almost everything you say, even when it's not that funny."

"Screw you, I'm funny."

Chifuyu was dealing with the impossible. "That's your takeaway? Really?"

"What's your point?" Baji asked utterly exasperated, "what are you trying to say?"

"You're an idiot." Chifuyu says, "And Yukari has a crush on you. She likes you. And you just broke her heart. That's all."

That…just didn't make sense. "No way."

"Yes way.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"…yes."

"Then why didn't she say anything?"

"I guess she thought she was being super obvious, but you're just so dense."

Baji held the bridge of his nose, "Well, shit. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Do you like her back?"

"I don't know. Haven't thought about it."

"Baji, it's me. Don't lie."

"I'm not. I'm being serious." He shrugs, "I just thought we were cool."

Chifuyu observed him for a moment, taking in his distress and how his brows knit together. He was definitely serious, alright. And if he didn't know whether or not he liked her, there was nothing more for Chifuyu to do. "Okay, well, first of all. Talk to her, apologize for whatever you did. Yukari knows you're dense, she's probably already forgiven you already."

Baji nodded, perking up. "Good."

"Next, come out and ask her." Chifuyu suggests, "And if you don't like her back tell her you just want to be friends."

"Okay, cool." That seemed like a lot for one person, but girls were so, so much work. Who knew being friends with one could cause you so much trouble? Is this what Draken deals with everyday with Emma? No wonder. Well, I'm not Draken, Baji decided, I'm gonna need some help. "You want to come with me?"

Chifuyu laughs, "Sure. Whatever."

Earlier that day

Yahara Tamura is a lightweight. She's fully aware of this as she sits in the circle of her new acquaintances, Mikey throwing his head back with a laugh beside her, heading turning into her, so close she stills because he may brush her arm on accident. Her whole body is on high alert, waiting. The moment passes and he just misses her. She breathes out and looks over to Emma, allows her chatter to pull her to the surface.

A lightweight. She feels, very strongly, that she should give warning. Let him know that if he kept up his actions she would twist them and ruminate, bedazzle them in her mind until all her moments with him shine like stars.

That's what happened with Baji. It was unintentional. He was affectionate and not weighed down by social norms that dictated that he not sit so close or look so intensely. He took her hand and allowed her to baby him, pulling things from her hair, calling her at night to promise to meet tomorrow. It all felt very…romantic, dreamy.

And Baji, believe it or not, was very dreamy. From the way his pretty lips lifted over his teeth when he grinned, tiger like and daring. From the way his hair moved over his shoulders like water, the way he held the strands back when the wind blew through his locks. Cool. Debonair.

One time, the second day of their friendship, she told him, "You're really annoying."

He blinked, nose wrinkled, "How so?"

"You're so handsome and you don't even notice."

He'd flushed scarlet, eyes blinking rapidly. "I—only girls think about that kind of stuff." He chewed his words out, made hesitant and clumsy.

"Hm." She hummed, and then feeling an impulse, reached over and pulled his hair behind his ear. "I guess you're right."

Now, that was a true come-on.

The next, more obvious one was yesterday, the day before she'd run into Draken.

Chifuyu was teasing Mitsuya with a feather he'd found. Baji had pulled his hair up for some reason or another. And the light had decided to fall on him just then. With a hand, he carelessly pulled his hair free, throwing the strands around. They fell around his shoulders, eyes closed, lashes extended.

Yukari had been watching him, not intensely, mind you, but she almost couldn't help it. She pictures herself leaning toward him, placing a hand on his knee and then kissing his cheek. He'd be too surprised to react properly, but he would undoubtedly understand, wouldn't he?

"Baji?"

His gaze turns to her, curious, waiting.

She makes her way toward him, almost crawling on her knees, shuffling without a care for her school clothes. She puts her hand on his knee (as planned), then takes her other hand and places it against his cheek. His brows rise—

"I'm sorry Yukari," Baji says, eyes on the floor, apologetic.

"I just don't feel that way about you."

Yukari hits the ground. Damn.

"Woah!" Baji scrambles toward her. "Are you okay?"

"Did you just push me?"

"No. You just…fell. Are you good?"

Yukari pursed her lips, cursing her power to the ends of the earth. She hadn't seen anything in days, now it decides to show her something. Something she never ever wanted to see. The truth, plain as day. "Yes. I didn't get a lot of water."

Chifuyu is just looking at her, knowing immediately that something is amiss. "Right."

She glares at him.

He relents with a smile, knowing what Baji can't seem to grasp. "Baji you should carry her back." He says and then shrugs, "Or I will—"

"I got it. Here," he bends down with his back to her, "Jump on."

Yukari almost falls over again.

Since then, with her new disappointment fresh in her mind, she has learned not to trust those visions of hers because they only seem to show her bits and bobs, things scattered along the timeline. And none of it she wanted.

She tells herself this when Mikey passes his fingers over hers, not once, but twice. When he talks, he turns his body to face her, and grins like he's on the news. She holds her breath when he nudges her with his arm and the vision she knows is coming…comes.

She's not so surprised when she finds him at her door, soaked through the bone.

"I—"

"Shut up," Yukari says, and throws her arms around him. "I love you."

Damn it. She sighed, peeking over to the smiling blonde, the boy with stars in his eyes. Her eyes then slid to Baji who stared off into nothing.

Was the future really that black and white?

Better question: would she really be complaining if she hadn't dodged Mikey's text messages for so long? Probably not, but on the down side she probably also wouldn't know Baji. And for all his not liking her, he's been such a good friend. Better than a lot of friends she's had over the years.

She had no right to be angry at him, but still…

If what she saw was true, she needed to accept it. She and Baji just were not meant to be, crush be damned. They were meant to be part of each others lives, obviously, but nothing more, nothing romantic. She'd have to give her a few days to come to grips with it, and that meant, spending less time with him, to ease herself out of it. To lessen the sting.

And this one…she found herself looking at Mikey again, what am I going to do with you?

Kiki had just started walking toward the front doors of an building when three motorcycles pulled up to the curb. She turned, confused, until she spotted a familiar head of dark hair. "Oi! Baji! What are you—" Kiki paused, blinked, once, twice, three times as one blonde haired boy turned his head. From behind him, Yukari slipped off, whacking him on the arm for some comment he'd made.

He laughed at her, "Don't be that way!"

"Yeah," another taller guy said, "nothing wrong with being prissy."

"You can't help that your family's loaded." The blonde boy, the one who looked frighteningly familiar.

Yukari flipped the other boy the finger and then stepped toward the familiar one. She pulled at his ear and he winced like a baby, "Hey!"

"Thanks for the lift." She says, patting his arm, "it was fun. You're not so bad."

The boy had dark, dark eyes, and they held onto Yukari almost possessively. "Anytime."

Feeling satisfied, she gave a nod, "Well, see you around Draken. Emma? We should hang out some time. Just the two of us. I promise I won't write my name on your arm."

This Emma beamed, waving at her from behind the Draken guy. "I'd like that."

Yukari turned from them, and then started when she noticed Kiki. "Hey! You're early."

Blonde one kept his eyes trained on her, Kiki doubted he even noticed how is eyes wouldn't leave her. Poor oblivious fool.

"My parents wanted to get started on their 'date night' early." She shivered. "knowing my luck I'll probably end up with another sibling soon."

"Gross." Yukari says, and then hits her with the sarcasm. "I'm glad you were so specific."

"You're welcome!" she says and then starts up the drive. Mischievously, Kiki cuts her eyes at her, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Don't start." Yukari warns.

"Kari!"

Kiki stood back as the blonde boy from the restaurant bounded up behind them. "Definitely who I thought it was."

Yukari stepped back slightly, tilting her head to give him her full attention.

Shy Yukari was all gone. Whatever happened between the two of them, kicked that girl way to the curb.

"Yes, Mikey?" She answered him like she did it a lot, an old pro.

He bounced toward her, jumping with energy, "Can I see your phone?"

She hesitates but shuffles it out of her bag. This annoys the hell out of Kiki. because she never just gives into to Kiki's whims at all! She gets a smack on the forehead or a pinch.

He bobs his head along when he takes it, pressing buttons and pressing down on his tongue. "There!" he drops it back into her hands. "All set. I gave you Emma's number and unblocked mine."

"Did you give her mine, Mikey?" Draken asked.

"Nope!" Mikey says, practically skipping down to him. "She doesn't need it."

"Wouldn't she need it to get into contact with you?" Draken says, then sighs, "because you never answer your damn phone?"

Mikey paused, eyes widened, spun around, "Shit. That's right." He hit his fist into his open palm, "Can I get it back?"

More surprised than anything, Yukari allowed it, looking over his shoulder to Draken and Emma who shrugged. Exhausted.

More clicking and, "There. He's listed as Mikey's friend."

Yukari looked toward the sky, already used, apparently to dealing with the impossible boy and his strange habits. "Why wouldn't you put his name in my phone instead?"

"You don't know his name.'

"His names Draken, Mikey. I've said it five times already."

He blinked, and then ran off toward his bike, "Anyway! See ya later! Don't forget to text me back! Don't block me again!"

He quickly turned on his bike and accelerated.

"Wait! Get back here you little shit!" Draken gave Yukari and Kiki a head nod before zooming after him. Emma screaming at the boy to slow down.

Finally, after a moment of watching them fade away, Kiki decided to state the obvious. "I think he likes you."

Yukari shook her head, "I think he likes attention." She shrugged, " I don't know what it is, but I just feel that. And you know me. I give attention like it's my job."

"Yeah you do."

"It's a problem."

"Yeah, it is." Kiki blinked, "did Baji ever notice you have a crush on him?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Maybe. But, don't you like him?"

"Not my type. I couldn't like someone you'd like. That's the worse betrayal ever for a girl. Like worse than making out with your brother."

"Oh."

"Why you sound so sad?"

Yukari shook her head, and locked their arms together, "I just remembered why I love you so much."

Kiki frowned, "And it made you sad? That's kinda messed up."

"Just come here."

Shortly after Hina arrived, Yukari decided to tell the girls.

"So, basically, Baji doesn't like me and Mikey and I somehow end up together, only I just get this feeling like us being the together isn't necessarily a good thing. In fact, it'll probably end in disaster."

Hina raised her hand, "How do you know that?"

"I see the future." Yukari says, "Next question?"

Author's Note:

We have a few different perspectives here. Chifuyu and Baji were my favorite to write. The rest was a little messy, so I'm not entirely satisfied but I just wanted to update.

One of my theme's for Yukari and Mikey is Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes.

In fact, listening to that song is what inspired me to write this so...you guys know where this thing is going.