Summary: Takemichi was never close to his step-sister, Kagome, during their teenage years. It's one of his biggest regrets, especially after her abrupt death at 25. Going back 12 years, he found himself looking into her eyes again, and he realized that saving Hinata wasn't his only purpose. He'd do anything he could to ensure he'd get to see his sister again in the future.

Pairing: Mikey/Kagome

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Prologue

It felt strange, and the feelings he felt were clawing deep into his chest. The face in the photo was one he hadn't seen since… well, he really couldn't remember the last time he'd been face-to-face with his step-sister. She looked just like she did when they were younger, just more… mature. Her eyes were still as kind as they'd always been.

He could remember the first time he met her. She was friendly and outgoing, but he'd been dismissive at best. She'd been patient when he brushed her off, giving him time. His friends liked her- they'd made it more than obvious when they kept flirting with her. It irritated him, and he figured it'd be better if she didn't hang around them. But even when it was them at home, he still avoided her. She tried so hard to forge a bond between them, to try and feel like family, but he rejected her attempts nearly every single time. Why had he done that? Takemichi squeezed his eyes shut to bury down the sting in them.

Dammit! He really was an idiot back then, wasn't he?

She'd always tried to treat him like family, but he never bothered to return the same to her. She always wanted to make sure he was included, yet he never did the same for her. It was no wonder she stopped reaching out to him after high school.

He stood there frozen as more and more people trickled out of the room. He stood with his head bowed and with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm glad you made it," a familiar voice from his side spoke softly. He picked his head up, and at that moment he realized how empty the room had become. A second later, he shifted his focus to the younger boy beside him. He, too, was someone he'd gone years without seeing. "I know Nee-chan is happy, too."

The comment, meant to be comforting, was like a stab to the chest. Guilt gnawed at his core. "Souta," Takemichi said, "h-how have you been?"

"I'm okay as I can be, I guess," he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's hard, but I'm just trying to be there for Mom, y'know?" he said. "Make sure she's eating and all."

Takemichi nodded. The thought of his stepmom made his heart clench in his chest. He looked down at his feet in shame. "I really should've caught up with you guys sooner, huh?" he muttered. God, he was such an idiot. He didn't think something like this would happen so soon, but doesn't everyone?

Souta shrugged. "Don't kick yourself too hard," he stated. "Nee-chan wouldn't want that for you."

But maybe that's what he deserved. His hands tightened into fists in his pockets.

He looked up at Souta, but he saw him looking around the room. It looked like he was searching for someone, but when he didn't see them, he sighed and shook his head.

"Guess Mikey decided not to come after all…" Souta muttered under his breath. There was something in his voice, but Takemichi couldn't gauge if it was rage or disappointment.

"Who?"

Souta shook his head, "nevermind," he said. "Don't worry about it. I should go find Mom and see if she needs help with anything."

"I-I'll come to!" Takemichi offered suddenly. Souta looked back at him with a grateful smile.

"Thanks," he said. "Mom will appreciate it."

Takemichi nodded, feeling like he'd made a choice he could be proud of for once in his life.

"If you don't mind, grab the vase from the table by the door," Souta said as he left the room to go find his mother. "I'll put some fresh water in it in a minute," he added.

"Okay!" Takemichi called back as he walked the short distance over to the vase in question. As he grabbed it a figure walked passed his turned back. Takemichi tried not to stare at the new person present, figuring it must've been a friend of hers whom he never met. He hadn't recognized most of the people there, after all.

As he followed out the way Souta went, he walked passed the newcomer. His hair, blonde, went to his shoulders and it was brushed back out of his face. His eyes were black, and there was a tattoo of a black dragon visible on his neck.

He didn't acknowledge him as he walked by him. Takemichi let the door close as quietly as he could behind him.

The garbage in his small apartment had really gathered up, but he didn't bother to move to clean up any. It was a warm day, adding to his incentive of being lazy, and he lounged in bed with the television on as he absentmindedly ate from the bag of chips in front of him. He was only vaguely paying attention to what was on the news as he gazed at the screen in boredom.

"Now for our next story." The broadcast on TV swapped from the weather abruptly. "The escalating dispute between the Tokyo Manji gang has now claimed innocent victims."

"Wait, seriously?" Takemichi mumbled. "Insane…"

"Six were injured in the accident, with one being sent to the hospital, but they are in cardiopulmonary arrest. The ones who died at the scene have been identified as Tachibana Naoto, age twenty-five, from Shibuya, Tokyo…-"

"Tachibana Naoto?" The familiar name made him reach for the remote to turn the volume up.

"A second victim also from Shibuya, Tokyo, Tachibana Hinata, age twenty-six. The MPD is on high alert."

As the story changed, he set the remote down and sat stunned by the sudden information. A face from his past flashed through his mind.

"No way," he said as he sat up.

His ex-girlfriend from middle school- the only girlfriend he'd ever had, in fact, was dead? He wasn't sure how to feel about it, but he couldn't ignore the sting in his chest as the realization dawned on him. Things like this happened all the time, he knew, but for it to happen to someone he knew was different. It wasn't just her, but her little brother as well. They both were gone.

"Hey! I know you're in there!" Furious banging at his door made him jump. He turned blue eyes towards it, recognizing the voice easily. He sighed and stood up, going over to the door and tugging it open enough to poke his head out. Standing on the other side was his neighbor- a short, plump woman with curlers still in her brown hair.

"Yes?" he said once he opened the door.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" she screeched at him while jutting a finger in his direction. "Your TV is too damn loud!"

He bit down on what he wanted to say, but his own annoyance at her presence was clearly expressed on his face. "Sorry about that," he stated.

"Kids these days!" she scoffed as she turned away from him. "Always so arrogant…" she continued to mumble as she walked back around the corner and to her own apartment. Takemichi sighed and shut his door after she was gone.

He looked at the time and moved to get ready for work.

000

"How many times do I have to tell you the same thing, Hanagaki Takamichi-kun?" His manager stated in a flat, condescending tone. She didn't even bother looking at him as she set the DVDs back on the shelves. "DVDs need to go back on the shelves as soon as they're returned." Once she was done, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "I've told you this before, haven't I?" she questioned with a glare on her face.

"Right," he responded. "Sor-"

"Yeah, yeah I know," she cut him off as she turned to walk away. "All you ever do is apologize. Maybe if you put as much effort into your job as you do apologizing, I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself."

000

A few hours later he was finally able to leave. He walked down the same street as always to get to the subway. It was the same process every day, it seemed. As he made his way down the street, he glanced at a group of kids gathered around an expensive-looking car.

"Hey, old man!" the one in the middle called out to him, taking him by surprise. He came to a halt.

"Huh?"

"You gotta problem?" the kid continued.

"Uh, no," Takemichi responded. "Sorry."

As he tried to keep walking, the three reacted. They moved away from the car to circle around him. As they did, the leader of the three removed a coin from his pocket. A second later, he drug the coin across the pain of the car, leaving a harsh, obvious line across it. As he stood surprised, the kids took off running, laughing as they did.

"Dumbass!"

He stood frozen until a new figure came up to him- this one clearly the owner of the now-scratched car.

"What're you doing?!" He shouted at him, and Takemichi jumped. He bolted before he could see the damage to the car, but he certainly heard him yelling about it.

000

By the time he made it to Shinjuku Station, Takemichi was mulling over how his life had gone. It really seemed like he was doing it more and more these days, but this time he was dwelling on the information of Hinata's death.

He never thought his life would turn out the way it had. He lived in a small, crappy apartment with walls thinner than paper. He had a manager that was younger than him who constantly treated him like an absolute moron. Even when those kids from before picked a fight with him, he submitted and ended up apologizing for it. He'd only ever had one girlfriend, and that was way back in middle school. He'd never even so much as had a one-night stand with someone.

Where had everything gone wrong? What had he done wrong to get to the point he was currently at?

So preoccupied with his own thoughts, he was ignorant of the figure approaching him from behind. By the time he realized they were even there, he'd felt the hand pressed against the middle of his shoulders and he was shoved forward. He stumbled, taken by surprise, and he fell onto the tracks below. As he process what had happened, he heard the clamor from above. He looked up, but all he saw were bright lights speeding towards him. It was like time slowed down as the subway barreled toward him.

No way…

He was frozen. The only thing that went through his mind at that moment was a face from his past- Tachibana Hinata.

The ground below him changed as he thought back to those days from middle school.

He was suddenly standing as a passenger on the train, and, as he picked his head up, he could see his reflection in the glass across from him. His middle school self was looking back at him. A jolt raced through his system as the train came to a halt.

"Shibuya. We've arrived in Shibuya."

The announcement over the intercom caused people on the train to start moving. As they clamored through the doors, he heard someone calling for him. He searched for the source of the voice, spotting his middle school friends waiting for him outside the doors.

"Please make sure you have your belongings as you exit to the station."

"Takemichi, hey!"

They had stopped outside the doors, the four of them looking back at him. "Huh?"

"What're you doing?" Akkun asked. "Get off the train already."

His comment pushed him to move, and Takemichi managed to get off the train right before the door closed. He stumbled until he caught himself.

As he stood back at his full height, he found himself stuck as nostalgia plagued his chest.

Auroua-chan: I've been working on this for a little while now. I need more TR/IY crossovers in my life.

That's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

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Bye for now!