Chapter 04: Sumire - Dangerous to Know I

Later on that same night, I lay on my bed.

My Tokyo Manji Gang jacket hung pridefully on the wardrobe door, now out on full display since I saw no point in hiding it from my brother anymore, considering how he'd discovered my little double life. The jacket was made by Mitsuya, holding the words Assistant Leader, H. Sumire. I could still remember the day we received them, feeling great pride in Mitsuya's handwork and how well they turned out to be. The first time I wore it, it felt almost surreal that it was all becoming a reality.

Being part of a gang wasn't for the weak. One had to be strong in body, mind, and heart. This was a lesson I had to learn fairly early on. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lasted this long nor gained the reputation I have now. If Toman wasn't the sort of a gang that protected their own and helped others in times of need, I wouldn't have agreed to stick around, no matter who the members were. Even if it meant losing Mitsuya's friendship over time.

Although I wasn't handing out my family name to strangers, I felt pride in being part of the Tokyo Manji Gang AKA Toman. It was what defined me, to an extent.

I glanced at the wall, behind which was my brother's room. Everything I told Draken and Mikey was true. I didn't want Michi to be part of this world, I wanted him to be free and safe. Then again, had I been more honest with him about what I did outside home and school, Michi might not have been dragged in with us. Or, as I heard from Akkun when I called him to ask for an explanation as to how the hell they ended up as Kiyomasa's slaves, they may have used my name instead of Masaru's.

Masaru.

Michi really should've known better than to believe anything our cousin said, or at least done their research before challenging people they had no idea about. It was their luck that they weren't killed, or something worse. I would have to find a way to give the five idiots a talk about what they could expect from being affiliated with Toman, especially Mikey. That was, if Michi stopped avoiding me so I could apologise for the slap, even though I had no idea how to start that chat.

Upon arriving home, I didn't see anyone since mom was out and Michi wasn't at home, probably still out with his friends. I had no idea where dad was, he was always either working or doing whatever it was he did. Sighing, I'd headed to the showers, glad I'd decided to get a quick dinner with Draken and Mikey before I attempted to work on my homework. It took me barely half an hour before I couldn't focus on the textbooks and threw myself on my bed — where I am now.

I groaned and buried my face into my pillow, almost missing out when my phone rang. I craned my neck to see where I'd left it, finding it on my desk, buried underneath some math and science textbooks. The white charm on my phone was how I ended up spotting it. Cursing, I forced myself out of bed and grabbed the phone, blinking when the screen read Mitsuya Takashi as the caller.

"Yo, Sumire." Mitsuya's voice sounds tired, I thought with a frown as I put the phone to my ear.

"Hey, Takashi." My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my cheeks redden. It was a good thing that no one was around to witness it, because I wouldn't have lived it down.

Hakkai had once asked me why I never called Mitsuya 'Takashi' despite knowing him practically my entire life and being somewhat a couple with him. Somehow, he'd managed to question me despite his heavy stuttering, his curiosity winning over his difficulty with the opposite sex. That day, I'd been hanging out with the Second Division, chilling and watching boys being boys, as I had nothing better to do. I remember humming, watching Mitsuya talking with his subordinates, a content smile on his face and when he looked back — I couldn't help but grin back at him.

In the end, I smiled secretively at Hakkai and whispered that I only called him Takashi when we were alone. I used to call Mitsuya by his given name before Toman was founded, but since then we'd agreed to keep our relationship as low-level as possible, as neither of us wanted to bring trouble to the other or the gang. Of course, most of Toman still knew that I was pretty much Mitsuya's girl. Even so, there was some confusion regarding it since there were still some people who thought I was with Mikey.

I took great pleasure in watching Hakkai turning beat red and the way he stuttered, trying to form words. It was almost comical and had become a memory I treasured.

"So, did you manage to sort things out with your brother?" Mitsuya asked, referring to the Fight Club incident. I blinked and fell back on my bed with a small bounce.

"Not quite," I admitted, playing with a stray burgundy violet lock. "But at least I now know the cause of his bad mood and why he kept showing up, all beaten up."

Normally, I kept my hair up in a fashionable ponytail or in a bun since it was quite long and got in the way when I fought. By long, I meant that the ends of my wavy burgundy violet hair reached past my hips. It was a habit I'd gained over the years, keeping my hair up whenever I wasn't at home and letting it loose when I wasn't dealing with Toman business, or in public.

Whenever I was with the founding members, I kept my hair down. It was a way of showing the boys the comfort and trust I felt towards them. There were moments when Mitsuya would try and style my hair and I felt my face heat up.

"So Kiyomasa was the reason?" Mitsuya asked, referring to the earlier text reports I sent to the division Captains and Vice-Captains about Kiyomasa's illegal Fight Club.

"Yeah, I guess that losing to him was a blow to his ego," I said, frowning as I recalled Akkun's explanation. "On top of that, being a slave and forced to fight cannot be good for anyone's mentality."

"No, it isn't," Mitsuya agreed, voice quieter than I expected.

"…Takashi, I slapped him," I whispered, running a hand down my face. "After everything Michi's been through, I went and –"

"You couldn't have known, Sumire," Mitsuya cut in, sharply. "I know you feelbad about it, but communication goes two ways."

"Still…"

"The best way to solve it is to talk to him, Sumire." I sighed at Mitsuya's persistence on this topic. There hadn't been a day in which he hadn't tried to make me talk with my brother, whether it was subtly or bluntly.

Michi's behaviour - our constant fights - was what pushed me to spend more time at Mitsuya's place, practically living there, than at home. Thinking about it, I sort of missed waking up and finding him asleep near me. To many, our relationship might be either easy or weird since we refused to put a label on it, but it worked for us.

We both knew how we felt anyway; we'd spent hours talking about it and came to an understanding that flaunting it in front of others wasn't a good idea. As long as I called Takashi mine, and he called me his, we were good. There was no need to make things more complicated, especially since we were a bit too young to fully understand how a proper relationship worked, but that didn't mean we weren't working on it.

"You know it," Mitsuya finished.

"…Or maybe it's better if I let him come to me?" I said, slowly. "Since Mikey's gone ahead and decided Michi's his pal now.."

"You're trying to take an easy way out of it, aren't you?" Mitsuya chuckled, having been briefed about what happened earlier.

"Can you blame me?"

"Considering how you were practically living with us, no," he said, I could imagine him grinning. "Which reminds me, Luna and Mana were disappointed when I told them you'd be spending time at your place - asked me if we fought or something."

I chuckled, "Tell the girls that I miss them, and will see them soon."

"Already did."
"And that we're not fighting?"

"No reason for us to fight," I detected something in his voice. It was almost as if he didn't fully mean that. It felt weird.

I glanced around my dimly lit bedroom, eyes falling on the small table beside my bed, and the wall next to my bed. It was full of various pictures taken with me and my friends: me and Mitsuya; me and Draken; me, Mitsuya, and Draken; me with Mikey and Emma and Shinichiro…the day Toman was founded. There were more memories, each revolving around the members of Toman, and a few of my family. Rainbow-coloured fairy lights usually decorated the room, however, they weren't lit today.

My room was fairly big, with enough space to move and not feel cramped. It was a replica of Michi's, only differing in decoration and position of where the desk was. I'd pushed it near to the window, wanting to feel fresh air when I studied. In the middle was a small table I liked to sit around whenever I wasn't studying or was reading. A couple of notebooks were scattered on it, with paint and brushes laid near them. Here and there, a few paintings had been laid out, each done by me. Drawing was something I'd picked up to calm my nerves, and more recently, I'd helped Mitsuya with his designs when he asked.

Or I'd ask him for help if I got stuck on my work.

"Say, Sumire," Mitsuya's voice brought me back to the present.
"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, let's go somewhere." Mitsuya's voice was soft, almost quiet. I imagined the way his lavender eyes gazed at the night sky, not that I knew what he was doing right now. For all I knew, he might have been working on his home economy sewing assignment, or homework, or was preparing food for tomorrow. But there was something familiar in his voice that made me blink and smile.

"Like…?"
"A date," Mitsuya said, almost immediately, a strange tone in his voice.

I wondered what sort of face he was making right now. It wasn't like we'd never gone anywhere together, but he'd never called it a date. At least not straight out like this, nor had he ever asked me out on one so bluntly. It was always 'let's hang out' or 'wanna go somewhere?' but never this. Then again, friends didn't share a few simple kisses here and there. Nor held hands in the way we did…

"Mhmh, let's do that," I said, closing my eyes with a smile.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Before or after school?"
"Both."

I couldn't help but feel giddy. My face felt hot and my heart skipped a beat. We continued to talk a bit more before Mitsuya noticed how late it was, and told me to get a good night's rest. After exchanging I love you's, we hung up. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep with a silly smile on my face, clutching my phone as I dreamed of Mitsuya Takashi.