Chapter Text
Mayura didn’t waste time hurling her empty cup of coffee at the person grabbing her first. “Little shit- hold on! What’s the plan now!?” she demanded, pushing someone out of her way.
“I call it the running away tactic!” Rinji answered.
“Shut it!”
Takemichi stepped up on the chair that was on his way and nearly fell when he landed. His head hurted, his crown throbbing. Loud upbeat music played from the arcade games mingled with the chaotic sound of the unknown gang members trying to get to them. He prayed that he would get out of there fine. “Where did we go wrong!?” he then yelled over the voices of other people who got shoved off their seats.
“We fucked up big time!” Rinji answered unhelpfully.
Amidst the chaos, Takemichi heard Aozora scream. “What the hell?” he muttered to himself.
Yeah no, he decided. He had to get out.
A member of the other gang suddenly sprung from the rows of arcade games and he also screamed. His legs froze, forcing him to watch everything in slow motion. Then, a blur of blue knocked them aside into the machine. A loud bang followed while Mayura wiped her chin.
“There’s a back door somewhere,” she said, cracking her neck. She caught another punch and flipped the person over her shoulder. “Get out of here and split up!” she ordered.
Takemichi didn’t need to be told twice.
As Rinji hurled himself at the opposing gang members, Takemichi ducked and burst through the door into the lobby. There were a lot of people staring in his direction but he quickly spotted the exit. Cursing, he threw himself against the door. Just as he was about to go out, he saw Aozora and urged the other to run out with him. Soon he realized that Mayura and Rinji were still inside somewhere, with no sign of coming.
“Don’t worry about them! They aren’t division captains for nothing!” Aozora said, massaging his arm.
“A- alright…”
Takemichi hoped he could trust those words as they sprinted without looking back. There were even more people at the back but since it was becoming evening, more people were there. Aozora squeezed along the walls and Takemichi followed him. Unfortunately someone spotted them and alerted the others. They started running again.
He knew it wasn’t the right time but he couldn’t help thanking the heavens that he decided not to wear his heels. If he was he was sure that he would be saying goodbye to his spine and feet. The street suddenly curved left and Aozora ducked inside an alleyway.
“There’s a bit more until the train station!” he announced.
“We’ll be dragging bystanders into this!” Takemichi sputtered. “What if they got hurt because of us!?”
Aozora whipped back at him like he had gone insane.
“That’s what you’re focusing on!? It’s not like we have much choice!”
“Sorry!”
“Just keep running!”
They were almost by the gate leading down when Takemichi stumbled over a slightly elevated tile. He remembered something about that bad luck of his as he fell down hard.
Well fuck, he thought.
When he laid there groaning, the enemy made a grab for him. Out of reflex he instantly threw his foot up, knocking them aside hard. He scrambled to get to his feet. The person howled but Takemichi continued running. There was another person in front of him and he ducked to avoid their swinging hands aimed at him. Then something happened.
“Don’t touch him!” Aozora roared.
Takemichi turned to see the other launching a side kick at the enemy. The person flew back almost a meter.
His eyes bugged out.
Then he felt himself go light.
“Move!” Aozora yelled, bodying Takemichi away. In a blink of an eye he slugged a person across their face. He went back fighting the gang members, cursing loudly. He unceremoniously launched his leg to a person’s side and made them keel over.
Takemichi snapped his head before grabbing a nearby empty glass bottle. With a loud shatter, he broke it on the ground.
Gang members snapped their attention to him. He dropped into a split and knocked down a row of guys. They toppled while the others were surprised, Takemichi using that as a chance. He grabbed their shirts and pulled them down while avoiding blows. Stepping away, he felt his teeth shake when he was nearly blown down by a hook.
But he got to his feet just as fast, blocking the next strike with a squeal. Another one tried to grab him. He reached into his pocket and threw the candy wrapper at them.
They relfexively ducked when it came their way.
“Gah-!”
Takemichi’s foot found its way to their chin.
He screamed again when three ran after him. “What the hell did I do to you!?” he sobbed.
“Fuck off! Don’t touch me!”
Across Takemichi, his blue irises shrunk when he saw Aozora fall down.
The silhouette was holding a brick.
“Ao… zora?” Takemichi asked softly, lips trembling. He watched as blood steadily oozed out.
“Die!” some yelled behind him.
Crack!
Takemichi had their face pushed down into the ground. He grabbed the nearest person and nearly snapped their neck, abruptly pulling their head in the wrong way. They fell down shrieking in pain. A second ran at him only to miss as Takemichi fell into a split. Another scream was heard when he punched their face, probably breaking their nose.
Someone tried to throw him off but he easily maneuvered, legs going around their waist and arms around their head. Hands flailed to grab him but Takemichi choked the person. They spun around, accidentally smacking their comrades which kept them at bay.
“Don’t fucking mess with me,” he mumbled. The grip tightened.
“Die, you bastard.”
The person slacked and dropped.
With speed too fast to see Takemichi jumped off to grabbed the nearby pipe as a weapon. His eyes were zeroed on Aozora’s unmoving body. A vein popped on his forehead.
He screamed as he plunged the rod into a stomach.
“I’ll kill you!” he growled.
He swung his weapon when a blur of black and yellow obstructed his view. The next he knew was the hold on his hip and he was in someone’s arms; hovering in a princess carry. He blinked and looked up to see Wakasa.
“Hold on to him.”
Wakasa gave him aside.
“Waka!” Beinkei yelled as he held Takemichi, “Leave some for me!”
It was almost only a flurry of white and black. It seemed like Wakasa jumped, spun midair before landing on someone’s shoulder on his hands. With a loud sound, he shoved them to knock down someone else. He proceeded to land down gracefully with only a grunt.
“Shut up,” he muttered, muffled from biting on a stick.
“Asshole!”
Beinkei looked one step away from murder.
After being put down, Takemichi watched Benkei slam himself and nearly sent the person flying. The two of them moved perfectly, avoiding the other as they exchanged kicks and blows. It was a sight for Takemichi as he sat there staring. No wonder they were called the best duo in Black Dragon. But he soon remembered what he needed to do. Aozora’s breathing was still labored when he ran to his side.
“Damn it, what do I do?” Takemichi muttered to himself. He took off the scarf around himself.
Somehow he managed to make a makeshift bandage wrap crefully around the wound. Eyebrows scrunched up as Aozora groaned in pain. That made Takemichi panicked even more.
That was his mistake for being too focused because someone had snuck up on him.
Takemichi himself was about to get the same fate as Aozora when a shadow flew above him. Then the next second there was a foot in the guy’s face, pushing him backward as the attacker got down with him. It all happened so fast that Tale,ichi was confused until he saw the figure. It didn’t take a second for his face to turn perplexed.
A kid!? He thought in shock. He looked up and down.
And he isn’t half of my height!
“Oi, are you an idiot?” the said kid asked.
A vein popped on Takemichi’s head and he was about to throw hands with his savior.
Blonde hair ruffled in the wind as the kid went ahead to join the fight. Takemichi could only watch in bewilderment. It was later after the gang was defeated and they sent Aozora to the hospital that he was startled to see pure black eyes staring through him.
He looks like Shinichiro, was his second impression of the kid.
They all went back to where the Black Dragon was with bikes. Takemichi’s hair whipped back and forth in the wind. On the horizon he saw the golden sun dipping down as night creeped in the sky canvas. From what he had heard, Mayura and Rinji had gone back earlier since they were first found. The hideout was silent when they arrived.
“Waka! Benkei! Are you okay- Takemichi!” Shinichiro exclaimed in panic when he saw them. He got up from the floor to run up to them. Rinji was muttering something foul as Honami worked on his nose and split lip. Mayura was leaning back in her seat with a black eye.
“Michi-kun! Are you okay?” Shinichiro asked, touching Takemichi’s face.
“Yep!” he grinned. “You should be more worried about Aozora, he got his head knocked by a brick.”
“He’s in the hospital right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then that’s good. I’m really sorry that you’re involved with our rivalry,” Shincihiro sighed.
“No, no, it’s fine. Speaking of which,” Takemichi pointed at the kid sucking a lollipop. “Who is he?”
Shinichiro blinked. “Ah. That’s Manjiro, my younger brother.”
Everyone snapped their heads to them when Takemichi shrieked. Shinichiro had a confused, dumbfounded look as he was dragged into a more private corner of the warehouse.
“How old is Manjiro?” Takemichi deadpanned.
“Ten,” Shinichiro replied with the same seriousness.
“What.”
“He is a karate prodigy I mean.”
A pause. Takemichi leaned in to whisper in Shinichiro’s ear as the other slightly stooped down. “Hey, what does your brother like to eat? He saved me so I wanted to thank him.”
“Ah, sweet things. Dorayaki with red bean paste especially.”
With that Takemichi told Shinichiro to keep Manjiro where he was and ran to the nearest Lawson to purchase one.
He returned out of breath and saw a mop of light blonde hair now on the other side of Black Dragon’s hideout. Takemichi squatted in front of Manjiro. “Here.” He gave it to him. “I heard from your brother that you liked eating this. Let’s get along, yeah?”
“No way. You’re lame.”
Manjiro didn’t even hesitate to say that.
An imaginary knife stabbed Takemichi and he spat blood out.
“Michi-kuunnn!” Shinichiro wailed.