Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mikey was covered in blood.

Mikey was crying.

Screaming.

Shouting for someone to wake up.

Why? Always. It was as though it was fated to end that way.

Why them? They were delinquents, just boys in the street, like any other in the entire country. So why couldn’t they live? Why couldn’t they simply exist? In simplicity, without any death, any surreality, without any curse. Why them?

Answer me! He wanted to cry, as the hands that had slipped in his was growing colder. The tears flowed down his cheeks, his chin and onto blond hair, blood everywhere, and he yelled in urgency as though there was still time, but there was none, he was already gone, they, all of them were already gone. Why is this so unfair? Why couldn’t we have it all? Just… just life.

Why did it have to turn like this?

His voice broke. He could still hear screaming, as he himself ceased his vain pleas.

He could feel his consciousness… float away…

The last thing he felt was that hand in his, frozen in a deathly grip. Just a flicker of warmth, before he was taken under.

That was when he saw it.

The dream.

It was as though they were back. Back to Shinichiro, back to a time where they were but children, and they were all alive. A time when there was no curse, nothing, and two children ran with laughers and they felt the winds in their hair, the firm ground under their feet, and finally time going by slowly, as they ran, as it should be. A time where everything could be fixed.

Creating gangs, where nothing could go wrong. Conquering Tokyo, without only fist fights and friendship. The feeling of family, of having accomplished a dream. Adult life, growing and marrying, or watching as friends stuck close, happy together, warm… Everything as it should be.

As it should have been.

As it could never be.

This… is a dream…?

Then, he was taken under, further behind, before, somewhere… swallowed up in an endless flow that took all his sensations, his concerns, his griefs and memories…

By the time he woke up, there was only confusion. The feeling of forgetfulness, of a normal life, and one concept that edged at his consciousness.

Time is not linear.

Chapter Text

When Mikey opened his eyes again, he felt confused.

Where am I?

What happened?

What was I doing before?

He remembered a scream, cries, and blood on his hands, something still weighing on his lap… But he couldn’t remember. He turned around, scanning his surroundings. That place looked familiar.

He looked up to see the clear blue sky, shielding his eyes instinctively when he caught the light of the bright sun shining above his head. Strange. He was certain the sky had been covered in grey clouds just a few moments ago… Or was it a day before?

He heard noise behind him. Upon looking back, he was met with a crowd, cheering. How had he not noticed them before? Even now, it was as though he could only hear them as though underwater. Then, suddenly, they seem to have quieted down, and Mikey let himself contemplate what they had been watching all this time.

His eyes widened.

Takemichi…?

…And me.

It was them. Right there on the ground, a few feet away, looking at each other, one crouching, from above, the other kneeling, breathing fast.

What was this…?

“What’s your name?”

“H-Hanagaki… Takemichi.”

“I see… …From now on…”

Oh.

Mikey watched, as though frozen, as the scene played on slowly in front of him.

This was their first meeting.

The first…

This was their starting point.

Mikey wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It felt like a dream. Would he wake up soon? Had he traveled back in time? Why did those words feel familiar? But no, that wasn’t possible. He was… looking at history. He was looking at himself. As though Mikey wasn’t actually there.

Am I… Dying?

…Am I dead?

He extended his hand… as though he could touch it.

But before he could react, the scene he was reaching out to disappeared in front of his very eyes, leaving him floating away in a blurry darkness…

Until he wasn’t, once more.

For the next few moments, he didn’t know what he was witnessing. Sometimes it was him and Takemichi, riding on a bike by the river. Sometimes it was Draken, walking with him, and sometimes it was Hinata in a school he didn’t quite remember.

Then, at last, the world stopped turning around him. He felt himself touch the ground with his feet, he felt everything move, from the air around him to the train he was him… But at least, the world stopped moving.

He blinked a few times, feeling the vertigo catch up to him. The blur left his eyes, and he confirmed that was where he was: a train station.

“Shibuya, you’ve arrived at Shibuya. …”

The door of a train opened. A train he was in, for some reason.

Mikey didn’t understand. But as he looked in front of him, he found himself transfixed by the view he was once again greeted with.

“Oi, Takemichi! Takemichi!”

“Eh?”

“What are you doing? We’re going.”

There, right in front of him, were five boys he knew rather well by now. Or at least, one of them he knew well.

Takemichi’s back was turned toward him, following the voices of his middle school friends.

Urgently, Takemichi ran through the doors of the train to get out with a small shout of panic.

Mikey gasped, then, seeing him go away, leaving him alone. He ran right after him.

“Wait! Takemichi, wait!”

Takemichi didn’t wait, he passed through the closing doors just before it closed, somehow followed by Mikey who couldn’t even feel the solid matter as it almost bit his back.

“Takemichi!”

But Takemichi didn’t turn back, didn’t wait. It was as though he could not hear Mikey.

Mikey could not understand.

“Please wait!”

Takemichi almost fell to the ground but quickly followed his friends as they spoke amongst themselves. Mikey could not believe it. Did he really not hear Mikey? What was happening? Someone had to have an answer?

Had Takemichi dragged him here earlier? Why could he not remember?

He ran ahead of the group as they entered the escalator. He stopped at the end of the mechanic stairs and turned to stop them, extending his arms to block their way.

“Takemichi! Stop ignoring me, hey!”

But he was forced to step away quickly when none of them casted him a glance, as they kept on walking toward him as though he wasn’t there at all. Before they could entirely leave, he grabbed Takemichi’s shoulder.

“Answer me, you-! Ah!”

His grip was easily undone as Takemichi moved forward. When did Takemichi become so strong? Or was it him who turned weak?

Mikey felt his breathing accelerate. He stared at his hands, uncomprehending, then the people around him. He starting moving around, yelling to attract their attention.

“Hey! Someone! I’ve a question! Please! I swear I won’t take much of your time!”

No one answered. It was as though he didn’t exist. He couldn’t stop that man from checking a fancy watch and muttering to himself, or that woman to buy chocolate to her two very cute children, or even those teenage girls walking together in that pathway.

“Please!”

Why couldn’t they hear him? Why didn’t they see him? Why couldn’t they feel as he shook them?

…What was happening to him?

He realized he was all alone now, in the middle of a train station. What was he doing? He wasn’t being rational. He should look for a solution. He searched himself. No phone. He couldn’t call Draken. Where had Takemichi gone? Logically, if he followed him long enough, then they should meet one of Toman’s members at some point and surely they would notice him? Or he would find out himself then.

He needed an anchor.

There, they were walking right, he could still see them. He ran to catch up to them. Strange, why were they still so close? He had felt like yelling at people for at least ten minutes straight.

He had to calm himself down. He was obviously messing himself up purposelessly.

When he caught up to the Mizzo Mid group, he saw that Takemichi had stop to look at himself in a mirror. The guy with chestnut hair had ceased walking and was waiting for him. Mikey stopped at their level, taking a deep breath and observing them more carefully.

Takemichi was in front of the mirror, watching himself with some sort of horrified expression. In any other circumstance, Mikey might have made fun of him for that, but now wasn’t the time. Mikey kept on watching Takemichi’s straight behavior as he searched himself just like Mikey had done earlier, finding some small pocket money and a cellphone. Mikey’s attention zeroed on the cellphone, wondering if he could borrow it for a moment…

“And it’s a flip phone!” he heard, and raised his head to Takemichi in confusion. “How nostalgic!” Takemichi added as he opened said phone.

Wow. Somehow, Takemichi seemed as lost as Mikey.

“July 4^th, 2005?”

…

Wait what?

Mikey’s mind went blank.

“Erm, if I remember correctly…”

Mikey tuned his friend out for an instant. Hadn’t that date… already come around quite some time ago? He didn’t remember when exactly… This was stupid. Something was so obviously wrong, yet he couldn’t figure out why.

Takemichi’s yell brought him back to the world just then.

“It’s today, twelve years in the past!?”

…Huh?

Mikey blinked, confused, unable to understand the words for an instant. Twelve years in the past? Today? That was perfectly impossible, Mikey would remember it if so much time had passed. Wait, then what were they doing here?

If even Takemichi was right… then perhaps Mikey was right in his bad feeling. There was a mystery in there, for both of them, that wasn’t just about space.

Takemichi also really didn’t know that Mikey was there, the dark-eyed boy realized that instant.

Nothing was clear in that moment but one thing.

Mikey wasn’t supposed to be here.

The blood ran cold in his veins as his situation finally dawned on him. This was simply unnatural. There was no other way to explain it. Had Mikey turned into some sort of ghost? That was the only thing that made sense. He felt the denial ebb at his consciousness, but for the sake of remaining lucid, he pushed it down.

What the heck was he doing here?

Mikey followed Takemichi and his friends to a fast food restaurant. The boys asked their orders, and just to check, Mikey remained some more time in front of the cashier to wave in front of her face, in case she noticed him. She didn’t, unfortunately.

Then again, what would Mikey have done exactly if the only person who could see him was a random cashier in Shibuya?

He sighed and went back to where Takemichi and his mini gang had sat down. As there were no extra seats on which to set himself, he rested his back against the wall behind his dyed blond friend.

“Seriously Takemichi, just fries?” the black haired one that actually looked like a hoodlum growled.

“And it’s the small one!” said another one.

“Well…” Takemichi explained himself embarrassed, “I need to save for my train ride back home.”

That was a good idea considering he only had five hundred yen on him, Mikey thought idly. He had nothing else to do but observe for now. If this day really was in the past, then he should see proof of it at some point. Earlier, hadn’t he actually seen himself? Everything was so blurry in his memory, he tsked in annoyance.

“C’m’on, that’ll work itself out!”

The leader, with the auburn pompadour, changed the topic.

“Takemichi, I’m so glad that your cousin is the leader of Shibuya Third Mid,” he said happily.

Mikey frowned. Was there something like that in Shibuya? He looked at Takemichi, who looked just as surprised.

“If the 3^rd years come out, we can just bring out Masaru-kun’s name,” said the seemingly intelligent one as he ate.

Mikey glanced at the group as they went on speaking about it. He could piece some of the puzzle together now. These guys were going to another gang’s turf to… fight, he assumed? And their back-up was that some guy in Takemichi’s family was a higher-up in said gang’s hierarchy. Alright. How did he meet Takemichi again? It shouldn’t be too far off from the 4^th July, now, was it?

At that time, Takemichi was getting beaten up…

He was brought back by loud exclamations. It seemed that Takemichi was, once again, just as lost as Mikey. Mikey should perhaps find it concerning, because if anyone, Takemichi should know what was happening.

Perhaps Takemichi was like him? But Takemichi incarnated himself in this time, while it seemed Mikey was literally disincarnated. How strange.

“We’re going to start a fight!”

As he had thought.

“It’s a war between us Mizo Mid 2^nd years and Shibuya Third 2^nd years!”

That guy was loud. Well, he would soon be part of the gang, and it wasn’t like this was formal context, so it was alright. It just didn’t help at all with Mikey’s thought process. He felt annoyed at how slow his brain seemed to be working at the moment.

He forced himself to follow the conversation once more. The calm one was explaining something.

“Takemichi, they’re looking down on us. We have no choice but to fight.”

Mikey tilted his head, thinking about it for a second.

Mizo Mid was a very small gang, wasn’t it? Mikey hadn’t thought about it before, but now he wondered why it existed. Most of these boys didn’t seem very strong, and the loud spoken one was probably more bark than bite. Why would people like this get involved in delinquency? It wasn’t Mikey’s place to judge, after all, he himself had started a gang with his friends to defend one of their own from the Black Dragons.

“Looking down on us? Just for that reason?”

It would make sense, then, that the reason the Mizo Mid existed was to protect their own too, or some variant of it. Mikey could understand, if he tried. That other gang they were talking about was probably a threat to them. If they didn’t appear strong, then others would think they could be walked upon easily, and that could trigger a territory invasion. They were speaking of preemptive action. But then again, Mikey thought, in their case it could be more useful to lay low. Perhaps then they would be forgotten and no one would come looking for a fight on their side.

It seemed they didn’t see it that way, though.

“No need to act like a coward!” said the seemingly intelligent but actually far too excited one. “You gonna give them the backfist as soon as you see them like always, right?”

Mikey cracked a smile at that. That was indeed like Takemichi. Just go and punch it before you can think about it. Takemichi didn’t know how to fight, but he sure had the courage to try. Mikey could see how it might work with small threats, as an intimidation tactic, but he didn’t imagine Takemichi knocking someone else out cold.

Had Mikey actually seen Takemichi punch someone before? Oh, yes, right. Kisaki… Mikey frowned. When was that again?

“Backfist?”

“You’re full of energy after all.”

“Our charge commander!”

“Hooray!”

“Hey, you spilled that!”

No matter, he thought as the table burst out laughing. The point was, Takemichi might be weak, but he was still admirable. Which was why he was always surrounded by people.

Still. Mikey had a bad feeling about it.

Faster than Mikey could process it, the mini gang was already at the gates of the offending school, aggressively asking their way inside. Mikey had no choice but to follow them if he didn’t want to lose sight of them.

Objectively, he knew he could just wait at the gates, since they would most likely come back the way they came, but… Takemichi looked like he might need moral support? Mikey laughed awkwardly.

“Good luck~” he murmured to his friend, even though the other couldn’t hear him.

Hopefully nothing bad would happen, but Mikey wasn’t stupid. These boys were weak. Perhaps they could go against 1^st years and 2^nd years, but there was little chance they could take on stronger than them. Mikey didn’t know them very well, but they were members of his gang… at least he had the feeling they were.

So! He went to cheer for them, until he figured out what the heck was happening to him. Who knew? They might be his best chance to figure it out! But mostly… he needed not to think about it for a minute. If he kept wrecking his brain for something that had no visible solution, he would work himself up for nothing with no way to let it out.

“It’s weird…”

They had stopped in a yard, waiting.

“There aren’t any 2^nd year here.”

“Everyone we talked to were either 1^st or 3^rd years. What’s going on?”

Nothing good, Mikey felt like saying.

“Gang boycott?”

Good shot, but probably no.

“Or maybe they heard we were coming and got scared?”

No, just no. Perhaps that one wasn’t as intelligent as he thought.

Mikey turned to Takemichi, who hadn’t said a word yet. The boy looked scared, unsurprisingly… but more than before. Like some realization was creeping up on him. Looking at him like that, Mikey’s bad feeling accentuated significantly. Soon, not just Mikey, but all the members of his gang were staring at him strangely.

Takemichi looked like he wasn’t all there.

“Oi!”

They all turned to meet the gaze of the newcomers. Mikey sighed upon the confirmation of his intuition. This wasn’t going to go well at all. Mizo Mid should have just left. Perhaps the adversary would be honorable and let them go with only some intimidation, but Mizo Mid were the ones to have invaded the other’s territory this time. Some punches were at least going to get thrown.

But then, as he looked closely at the opposing faces, he narrowed his eyes.

He knew that person… didn’t he?

A slow sort of anger crept over him… but he didn’t know why. This person was familiar.

“So is it you guys who have been meddling with our 2^nd years?”

That guy with the cigarette…

“The 2^nd years are on a ‘school trip’.”

…Mikey just wanted to hit him.

There were seven big guys in front of Mizo Mid. Strength was obviously not on their side. This didn’t look good for them, especially with these guys’ attitudes.

“Anyway, we will beat you all to a pulp one by one. Line up.”

Mikkey glared at the newcomers, disdainfully. Those were the kind of delinquents that he could not stand. Those people were the ones ruining the image of street gangs around the country. How he wished he could smash their heads to the ground to teach them a lesson. They were asking for it.

Mizo Mid gathered closer, on the defensive. Mikey felt bad for them.

“You guys are the 3^rd years, right? We already talked our way through with the 3^rd year leader, Masaru-kun.”

Mikey winced seeing their opponents’ reactions. They laughed, mocking, and one of them called out to the frail boy behind. Threatening him and ordering him around. The situation was obvious. Mikey wouldn’t like being in Mizo Mid’s position… that was, if he weren’t as strong as he was. If he were there with them, he would get rid of these guys for them. They were friends after all.

Takemichi didn’t look very surprised.

Mikey didn’t have much time to think upon it before the massacre began.

And it wasn’t necessary violence, as the one he personally exacted on his enemies. It was pure, simple cruelty, violence for the sake of violence.

Mikey witnessed Shibuya Third 3^rd year’s hit down the weak boys who were his protegees, with an intense and dark look. His eyes never left the leader of the barbarian group, memorizing his features. Anyone who hurt what was his would suffer the consequences.

The five teenagers were down at Mikey’s feet by the time it took for that Masaru loser to come back with drinks. And even them, none of the older hoodlums ceased the beating. In that, it was a massacre. Had they already been part of Mikey’s gang, this would have been provocation enough to destroy their entire turf and burn it to the ground.

Unfortunately, they weren’t. And Mikey had, somehow, no influence on this reality, whatever this was. His fists were clenched in his pockets.

It felt strange, to be helpless as he stared at a friend being beaten to the ground against his consent. There was no reason for it but pure violence. Mikey could not tolerate this. But he wasn’t moving, because he knew there was nothing he could do as things were. It was a mess, he thought. Usually, Draken would be here to hold his impulsiveness back, but now Draken wasn’t there, and Mikey was forced to reign himself in because even if he let himself be angered to the point of throwing punches, there was nothing to throw punches at.

It went on for a long time. The sky had started to darken by the time those punks were done. Mikey felt nothing but contempt for them, who beat the weaker than them even when they were down. He gritted his teeth even more when he saw Takemichi and his leader apologize on their knees to the assholes.

“Don’t apologize to these shits!” he yelled at them when he saw it, but he reined himself in.

 Draken wasn’t there. He had to be the mature one. He bit his lips.

“All of this… This is all so stupid,” he muttered. “What the hell am I here for!”

No one could hear him. He didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing. A leader could not lose his composure in front of his subordinates. But right now, there was only a world oblivious to his woes and himself, no friend or subordinate, no one to look up to him. But these thoughts only helped to remind him that he was alone in this godforsaken joke of a reality not knowing what had happened to him.

He shouted.

“AARGH!”

He breathed harshly. And then, he got himself back under control. No matter that he couldn’t intervene. If this was temporary, then he only needed to accumulate all of his wrath to unleash it more strongly in the future. If this was his last perception of the world before he died, then all of that emotional charge would fuel his will to live and he’d survive. If he was already a damned ghost, then he’d keep on enabling that anger until the sheer force of it would propel him back to the next life.

He turned to glare at the group of 3^rd years that were already leaving.

“Lame punks with no guts like you have no right to call yourselves delinquents,” said the man with the scarred eyebrow and everlasting cigarette.

Mikey’s eyes narrowed on him. He would make that man swallow back his words sooner or later, that he promised. But that was not what caught his attention. His focus zeroed on the crazy one that spoke next:

“From now on, you shits are the slaves of the Tokyo Manji Gang. You better work hard.”

The Tokyo Manji Gang… These ‘lame as fuck punks’ dared to summon their name to enable such weak and low activities as using people? Mikey didn’t even remember them! Draken was the one who took care to remember all the low rank bad-smelling people that had to be followed around. It was Mucho and Sanzu’s job. If they really were a part of the Tokyo Manji Gang, then sooner rather than later they would meet their ends… probably at his fists. Mikey smirked darkly at the thought, even though he would rather end this right then and there with a kick to the temple… He could wait. He would.

Mikey let his anger ooze from all the pores of his body. There was no one to stop him from manifesting his disdain, right now. Even as he did so, he turned to the young ones. Were they alright?

He winced. Bad question, of course not. The five boys remained in the position they were left in, crooked on the ground or shielding themselves from the world like children would do to protect themselves. It was a sad sight to watch. All Mikey could see there were some kiddos.

He walked back to Takemichi at a slow pace, knowing there was nothing he could do as it was to interrupt that saddening moment, to cheer them up even a little bit. He crouched down to look at his face from the same level, his eyelids drooping slightly as he considered the misery on their features.

Takemichi was a crybaby, he remembered, but not that kind of crybaby. He was a crybaby hero. So right now, in this situation, Mikey willed him not to cry.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll be here next time. When do we meet again, Takemicchi?”

Mikey turned his anger to his memory, that couldn’t seem to work right since he entered this awful situation. Takemichi was his friend, he was certain of that. He also remembered who he was, who all his friends were, but somehow the circumstances that should have been marked one way or another in his brain were missing from his memory now, leaving him scrambling to pick up lost pieces in a vast blank only filled with impressions, feelings and instantaneous thoughts. Just a feeling of affection.

Mikey looked forward to seeing more of this reality. Perhaps then, it would help him remember what seemed to be missing. Everything that was relevant would be back where it should be: at the forefront of his mind, helping him direct his thoughts.

The first to move was the leader, that Takemichi called Akkun. Atsushi stood up and walked to the others with difficulty, inquiring about their conditions, like a true big brother. Mikey smiled as he saw the boy’s priorities. It was very cute, he thought. Mikey could admire that kind of person.

As for Takemichi, he was unreadable. Until his features broke down into a useless struggle with himself, and his forehead hit the ground, his arms’ muscle clenching and untensing in an almost convulsing manner as he scrambled for countenance.

And there was only Mikey, in front of him, watching him. With a sad sort of respect. An uncomprehending sort of respect. Because Mikey couldn’t understand.

But he tried.

And he watched too, as Takemichi raised his voice to the sky and yelled.

“I got it, God! You’re saying my life totally sucked, is that it?!” and then he cried again.

Mikey watched, taken aback by the yell, and at that moment, he smiled, even as he thought he could feel it. The feeling of loneliness that enveloped the both of them just then. But even then…

“Man, you never stay down, do you?” Mikey teased gently, resting his cheek against his palm as he stared up at his hero. “You really are an idiot.”

They remained there, sitting on the ground in their loneliness, for a very long time. At least, that was how it felt to Mikey. It was a small eternity as Takemichi silently gathered his thoughts and sat down properly. Mikey patiently waited for him. He felt like he had done that before, one or twice. It was an inevitability, he noticed, how no matter how much Hanagaki Takemichi would get pushed to the ground, no matter how long he would stay down, he would always gather himself up and stand again at the end of the day. It was admirable.

Of course, Takemichi was admirable, but he was also a weird kid. So, when he sat up, Mikey paid attention again as he started to speak to himself again.

“Tachibana died because of those guys in the future…!” Takemichi whispered.

That got Mikey’s undivided attention.

Tachibana… Hinata-chan? Hinata was Takemichi’s girlfriend. She was alive. Was Takemichi talking nonsense? But Mikey had established earlier that the time was wrong, both for Mikey and Takemichi. It was never 4^th July 2005, for either of them, was it?

But why was Takemichi talking about the future? And when he said ‘those guys’… Who, exactly, was he designating?

Takemichi gritted his teeth, staring ahead angrily, and disturbingly right at Mikey. It felt wrong, somehow, so Mikey moved to look at him from the side. Of course, hit didn’t last long, and only a second later, Takemichi’s head was down once again, as he mumbled to himself:

“Even if I know that now, it has nothing to do with me.”

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something.

Mikey raised an eyebrow.

Tachibana’s death? Nothing to do with Takemichi? Even if Takemichi could somehow see the future and predict Hinata’s death, even though that potentiality left Mikey slightly dubious, the idea that Takemichi wouldn’t care about Hinata’s death could not be believed, it was perfect nonsense. Who did Takemichi think he was kidding?

Himself, most probably.

“You’re an idiot,” Mikey repeated, just because he could.

But then, something seemed to click in Takemichi’s mind and he blinked.

“Eh? But Tachibana is…”

He didn’t say more than that, even though Mikey was waiting for him to finish his thoughts. How annoying, he thought, that Takemichi only seemed to express half of his thoughts aloud. Granted, it was probably better for Mikey than no speaking at all, but this way was so much more frustrating.

Night had fallen on the city as Mizo Mid picked themselves up from the ground and walked home.

“O-ouch…”

“Are you okay, Takuya?”

“Don’t you dare tell anyone that I cry,” said the usually excited one in the somber mood.

Atsushi swore. Mikey felt inclined to agree with him, looking at the state of their bodies.

“I’m so hungry.”

“I’m craving katsudon…”

“My mouth is all swollen, I can’t eat anything,” one protested.

Their voices faded somewhat as Takemichi, and therefore Mikey, distanced themselves from the main group. Mikey remained next to Takemichi as the younger boy stared at the ground with a defeated look. Or was it defeated? Takemichi was always weird after all, what looked like defeat in someone else could be a show of hesitation between resignation and re-fire up in Takemichi.

“Takemichi…” his friends noticed him trailing behind.

“What’s wrong, Takemichi?”

Takemichi didn’t take that long to answer. Mikey saw the moment where his expression changed into something more… resolute? Something determined, at least.

“Sorry. I gotta go.”

Mikey smiled lightly.

“Then let’s go. Got anywhere else to get beaten up at tonight?”

“Eh, where to?” the others yelled after their other member as Takemichi left running in the opposite direction.

Mikey ran a hand in his hand, fondly exasperated as he realized this meant he’d have to catch up.

“Well… when you’ve got to go…”

He ran after him.

What came from it was that Mikey had a better handle on his breath than Takemichi… or that Mikey’s incarnation in this reality couldn’t not get winded. Mikey was still 90% convinced that Takemichi was bad at running anyway. They arrived in front of a building that Takemichi seemed to recognize. They entered, Mikey following Takemichi dubiously as the said boy checked the lockers at the entrance.

“Tachibana, Tachibana…”

Oh, Mikey got it then. Takemichi was visiting his girlfriend. Was it where she lived? He followed the 2^nd year to the appropriate stories, then stood slightly aside as Takemichi stood in front of the door, his finger on the ringer… and not doing anything.

“Seriously?” Mikey teased him, “all this running and you’re not going to do anything? Wow. Oh, sorry, spoke too fast…”

Takemichi pressed on the ringer.

“Yes?” Hinata’s voice came off of it. “Eh? Hanagaki-kun?”

Wah. She was strong! She could tell it was her boyfriend even when he didn’t say a word. Or was there a visual function to the security device? More likely. She sounded too surprised for his visits to be a usual occurrence.

“Y… Yeah.”

Yes, definitely not a regular occurrence, just listen to that awkward greeting. Mikey sighed. Even Draken had more tact with Emma. Well, Draken wasn’t lame, so there was that.

There were only a few instants to wait before the door opened and the girl appeared to the two boys.

“Hanagaki-kun,” she called out to him, “Did you get in a fight again? You shouldn’t go fighting all the time, you know? You just fought like last week over small stuff!”

Mikey only spared an instant to look over at Hinata before he focused on Takemichi once again. He was just a bit surprised by the awe he found in that gaze. The other boy’s eyes were roaming all over Hinata’s face as though he hadn’t seen it for over a decade.

Mikey took a step back.

“Are you okay? That looks painful. Have you disinfected it already? You’re swollen all over the place… Should I bring you some band-aid?”

“What a caring girlfriend,” Mikey commented to himself. “What am I doing here again?”

“Tachibana… Hinata.”

Mikey narrowed his eyes. Right. What was happening with Takemichi. And him. Takemichi was acting strange, and if Mikey could tell that even with his memory all over the place, then something was seriously wrong, and it was his best chance at figuring out what was happening to his own person.

And if Takemichi had looked like he might need a friend, even if invisible, then that was Mikey’s problem.

He was right in any case. Takemichi began to cry once more.

Both Mikey and Hinata remained silent, leaving him a moment to gather his thoughts.

“Are?” Takemichi smiled through the tears, and it hurt to watch. “Why am I crying?” he raised his hands to his face. “Sorry, it’s nothing! I’m going home now.”

Mikey resisted the urge to roll his eyes, remaining neutral by sheer habit, only moving out of the way when Takemichi passed by him. What was the point of coming all this way if it was only for a staring contest, idiot?

Well, that was all Takemichi, he could guess… He sighed, not at all surprised when Hinata, the brave woman, called him back.

“Hanagaki-kun!”

Takemichi stopped, also unsurprisingly. It might seem like he was a coward sometimes, but Mikey knew better, didn’t doubt it.

“Well… I just wanted to see your face, that’s all,” such a bad liar, though.

“No way,” Hinata wasn’t having it. “Did something happen? You’re acting different from usual.”

She walked slowly toward him, Mikey had to sidestep her hastily so she wouldn’t knock him over, and took Takemichi’s face in her hands, forcing him to look down at her stubborn gaze.

“Alala!” Mikey whisper-exclaimed teasingly.

“Eh?” Takemichi was taken aback.

“Tell me! I want to know everything about you. I’m your girlfriend, you know?” she added when he seemed dubious.

Mikey whistled. Maybe he should leave? Nah. It’s not like they could see him anyway.

“Dummy.” Damn right.

“Sorry.”

They both withdrew into their own thoughts, leaving Mikey behind them looking at both of their skulls. Well, it wasn’t long before Takemichi was holding back tears again, leaving so as not to embarrass himself more. Mikey huffed, amused, and left alongside him as Hinata waved her boyfriend goodbye.

“Bye bye!” she said cheerfully. “See you at school tomorrow!”

They walked alone along the lightened-up street for a while before Takemichi stopped and wiped the tears off his face with a choked out swear.

Mikey patted a hand on his shoulder with a comforting smile.

“Now, now…”

What a crybaby. Well, it was Mikey’s friend, and friends were friends. How annoying, he thought playfully.

They went to the swing, in the park, and simply waited for time to pass. Mikey had no problem so. It was as though he could feel sleepy in that form, but he couldn’t say the same for Takemichi. After the eventful day he had, Mikey hoped he went to sleep soon. No matter how depressive he was feeling out to be at the moment.

That plan, either to remain depressed or to go to sleep, was quickly interrupted by shouts not so far off. Mikey turned, noticing a group huddled up around a young boy, obviously being bullied.

“That’s not everything, is it?”

“Don’t lie to us!”

“Jump up and down!”

Mikey walked closer before Takemichi even looked in their direction. The child did as he was told, and it was audible how he still had something metallic in his clothes.

“See, you still got something.”

Mikey threw a look of disdain at the bully, before turning back to Takemichi. The boy was obviously going to do something. What was he waiting for? That definitely would raise his spirits.

At least, it raised Mikey’s spirits to beat bad guys up.

“So goddamn noisy…” he heard Takemichi growl in the distance, looking really annoyed, and Mikey smiled triumphantly. “Can’t they see someone here’s trying to have a moment?”

“Take it out already!” the little bad boys couldn’t hear him from where they were, resuming on their stealing business without a care.

“Stop dilly-dallying!” said one of them threateningly.

“Oi!”

They looked at Takemichi as he ran to them threateningly, and very suddenly threw a punch, under Mikey’s cheering.

“Shut the hell up, you dimwits!”

“See!” Mikey clapped, “that’s what I’m talking about! You go, Takemicchi!”

But oh, Takemichi looked like he finally snapped. Mikey laughed at his face.

“All you ever do is yapping and yapping around like some broken toy!” he took an empty bottle of alcohol and broke it on the nearest surface, even Mikey winced a bit at the display. “I’m super pissed right now,” he said dangerously as he brandished the glass remains of the bottle at the kids.”

“…Huh. Maybe that’s going a little far?” Mikey laughed.

Well, he had no doubt that Takemichi would not hit anyone with this deadly weapon, but it was still an amazing bluff. Turned out, when he wasn’t scared, he was ten times more impressive.

“Disappear. Or I’ll kill you.”

Needless to say, the bullies ran with their tails between their legs, helping their fallen friend away as they escaped.

“W-we’re so sorry!”

“E-excuse us!”

As soon as they had disappeared, Takemichi threw the bottle away, leaving it to break up in even more damaged pieces of glass. Just as Mikey had predicted. He almost left too, if it wasn’t for the kid calling him up again.

“Ano! You shouldn’t leave sharp stuff on the ground like that!”

“…Ah… sorry.”

Yes, Takemichi wouldn’t last long in any kind of impression of a bad delinquent. He was too reasonable. But that was how Mikey and his friends liked him.

Once the bottle’s sad remains were packed away on the side, the young boy once again called out for Takemichi by thanking him. He must have realized too, that Takemichi was a nice one.

Takemichi, in fact, seemed to have more to say to the boy. He started lecturing the child.

“Listen well. When you cross people like them, you need to have some guts. Be prepared to be punched. But don’t flinch.”

“You mean like you did just now?” Mikey made his best impression of a listening kid as well; he found it funny.

But Takemichi was right nonetheless. Bluffing was one of the best weapons to the weak. The best form of defense is attack, as they said.

He was just as surprised as Takemichi when the child took out a notebook and something to write on it, as though Takemichi was really giving a lecture.

“You don’t have to write it down… Anyway, face them head on! Half-assed guys will definitely be scared by that.”

“Okay!”

Mikey smiled.

“See, Takemichi. This is why you’re a hero.”

To top it off, people naturally followed him. It was astounding.

“Well… What’s your name?”

“Tachibana…” answered the boy surprised, and in turn surprising Mikey. “Tachibana Naoto.”

“Eh? Could you be Tachibana’s younger brother?”

“That’s exactly what I was about to say! I didn’t know Hinata-chan had a younger brother.”

“I do have an older sister,” Naoto answered, though only to Takemichi.

“Really? You should have just said that earlier!”

“Could you be one of my sister’s friends?”

“And this is how friendships are born, people.”

And apparently, who said friendship said spending time together in silence on the swing in the middle of the night.

How depressive, Mikey thought with a flat smile.

That was quite the silence.

“Is either of you going to say something?” he threw at them, a bit bored.

He didn’t think Takemichi was that awkward. Well no… Mikey knew Takemichi was awkward. Actually he didn’t think Takemichi would be the kind of guy to be satisfied with heavy commiserating silence.

Finally, the boy opened his mouth.

“I’m Hanagaki Takemichi,” he introduced himself, looking up dazedly at the moonlit sky. “Takemichi’s fine.”

“Uh, no thanks, but okay.”

What a polite child. Put them all to shame, Mikey smiled to himself. Nevertheless, Takemichi had a strange power to transcend awkwardness like it didn’t exist sometimes. Only sometimes.

Such a mystery.

“You like your sister?”

Immediately, Naoto blushed, crying out:

“Huh? Where’d that come from? No, I don’t!”

Takemichi seemed surprised.

“Is that so?”

Ah, the ignorance of an only child.

“Because… She’s always bossing me around and telling me what to do.”

Right. Emma did that too. Mikey didn’t care much about it, apart from the fact it was annoying sometimes. He was still the big brother, despite what she and Draken said. But he could understand where Naoto’s frustration came from.

It was sort of endearing, actually.

Takemichi seemed to empathize with the boy, grimacing, even though he also looked amused.

“I see,” he said, lightheartedly, before dark thoughts seemed to once again breach his mind. “Still, though… You should take good care of your sister.”

Naoto looked at him, intrigued. Mikey remained silent. Eventually, Takemichi admitted, earnestly:

“I love your sister.”

He looked down, with a soft look.

“I love her so much that I don’t know what to do with myself… I just remembered that today.”

Mikey watched him, knowingly. There was, in his friend, a sober, subdued sort of strength which shone gently with hard-earned maturity. It was something precious, yet slightly jaded. Something Mikey could confidently call love. And maybe…

Maybe regret, too.

Mikey had noticed it before. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember any specific instance, his memories a blur that he could not decipher. But the knowledge was written into him.

Right now, and often enough that Mikey remembered the sight of it, Takemichi’s hunched back was wide, and it was that of an adult.

A tired adult.

If Takemichi was right, and Tachibana Hinata had died in a future Mikey had no conception of…

Mikey didn’t really know what to make of it. But he was starting to think that maybe, it would make sense.

Then, Takemichi laughed it off. After all, Naoto was only a kid. Kids, at this age, had trouble understanding all the nuances of grey in the world, in the emotions of people around them. They were still wondering, at that age, whether the color was closer to black or to white.

But Naoto seemed to be a mature child, for in his countenance, he didn’t comment on Takemichi’s helplessness.

Naoto was only a child. And maybe that was why Takemichi decided to confide into him, in the end. Mikey perked up, when Takemichi said…

“This is gonna sound crazy, but… on this day in 2017, I fell off a platform onto the train tracks.”

Mikey blanched.

What.

What.

How?

This was it. This was what he had been waiting for all day long. An explanation. Something that would make sense. Something that would explain why both his and Takemichi’s perceptions of time seemed to be so warped up.

And it was true Mikey had been suspecting, for some time now, whether something as incredible as time travel was involved in this particular story. But it couldn’t be true. It didn’t make sense. And yet it would, it would make so much sense in this situation. Nothing else could explain it.

But hearing it directly from Takemichi felt so different to simply theorizing in his head.

Fell off a platform.

Onto the train tracks.

In 2017.

It shouldn’t be possible.

Because- even if that was true- that meant Takemichi should be dead.

It would mean they were both caught in a stupid dream.

Was any of this real?

It would explain the ghostly state of Mikey. But…

His friend was dead.

Most likely, the both of them were dead.

Confusion and horror mixed in Mikey’s mind as he processed all of this. Was this why he couldn’t remember any detail? Was this why Takemichi, or anyone else, couldn’t see Mikey at all?

But, if Takemichi had died twelve or eleven years into the future, then…

When had Mikey died?

What about Toman? What about Draken?

What about Emma?

“I thought I was dead, but suddenly I was in middle school. It was me from twelve years ago again.”

What happened to them?

“What do you call that?” Takemichi casually asked Naoto as Mikey turned toward him, pale as a sheet.

Naoto readily answered.

“Time-leap!”

That, or the seven minutes before death, Mikey thought grimly, morbidly. Shell-shocked.

“Yeah! That.”

Takemichi had the answers. So long in the future… He must have the answers.

Only Takemichi could clear Mikey’s fuzzy memories. He had the key.

“I might just be having a long-ass dream…” Takemichi admitted, unknowing of Mikey’s desperate eyes on him. “But you know,” he said, standing up. “I think God just let me see Tachibana one last time.”

Please tell me, Takemichi.

If I’m dead, if Hinata-chan is dead…

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Then who else died?

But Takemichi couldn’t answer anyway. He couldn’t see Mikey, couldn’t hear him, couldn’t even feel him. Mikey was a helpless spectator, no matter how much he could shout and kick and shake, this world ignored him like a roaming ghost.

And apparently this might as well be what he was now, he realized in disturbed shock.

“On July 1^st, twelve years from now,” Takemichi began, not looking away from the night sky, “Your sister… will die.”

Naoto’s breath hitched in horror.

Mikey felt like, in his own terror, he had stopped breathing altogether.

He needed to know.

He needed it.

“Takemicchi, please. What happened to Toman? What happened to the rest of them?”

Takemichi heard nothing.

“And that’s also when… you’re going to die as well.”

If this was a dream, then all of this was only Takemichi speaking to himself, Mikey thought. Just Takemichi, revealing what had happened in his past, in his present, while Mikey remained ignorant and ignored. If this was not a dream, he had just revealed a horrible truth to a child that didn’t deserve such cruel words.

But Mikey could not care less about it at this very moment.

All he needed were those answers. Those answers which weren’t coming.

“Takemicchi!” he begged.

Mikey never begged.

With strength, Takemichi repeated:

“July 1^st, 2017,” he turned to meet the boy’s eyes. “Make sure to remember this date, Naoto. And protect your sister.”

On the 1^{st of} July of 2017, Mikey committed to memory, Tachibana Hinata and Tachibana Naoto would die. Three days later, on the 4^th of July, Takemichi supposedly followed them in death.

Following that same logic, Mikey must have died years and years ago. And he couldn’t remember why, or how, or where or even when.

Had he failed them all?

 Was this what it was?

If only Takemichi could hear him, could give him a clear answer!

But instead of doing that, Takemichi proceeded to brush off his own words, with self-deprecative humor that Mikey had no patience for.

He had to know.

Because if he had died then, that meant…

He had to save them.

“I’m counting on you,” Takemichi said, like a favor, like a prayer, as he extended his hand.

Mikey came closer, and closer, as Naoto nodded firmly, promptly accepting this favor and taking the boy’s hand.

“You can’t just say that and not explain! Tell me, for fuck’s sake!”

They shook hands.

And, as fast as a flash, Mikey felt something leave. Right in front of his eyes.

He lunged forward, taking his friend’s wrist in his own palm, in a bruising grip, unwilling to let him go back to peaceful death so easily.

“You can’t just leave! Takemicchi!”

And just like that, the swing was gone.

Not just the swing. In an instant, the night sky, Naoto, the whole park and even Takemichi’s lame blond wounded face were gone, in just a flash. Mikey blinked, and he was elsewhere.

He was…

He was in a fucking infirmary.

Before he could process what had happened, something moved behind him. He whipped around, alerted, but it was just a black-haired man, small and skinny, with far too familiar blue eyes, sitting up on the hospital bed.

Takemicchi?!

That couldn’t be him.

Was this not all a dream? This…

This couldn’t be…

“He’s awake!” someone said close to them, in relief.

“Um…” the person who was presumably Takemichi – wrong color, wrong size wrong hair wrong clothes wrong age- stuttered. “Where am I?”

“The infirmary at the station,” someone formally dressed answered him seriously. “You fell from the platform onto the tracks.”

I fell off the platform onto the train tracks.

It couldn’t be true.

Weren’t they both dead?

Why- why was Takemichi back there?

Why was Mikey with him!

But Naoto couldn’t have been right.

It was simply impossible.

Time leap was…

“Wait. I actually survived that? I don’t have a scratch on me!”

Takemichi hadn’t died.

But then… What did that make of Mikey?

Fuck, what did that make of the both of them, goddammit!

The answer came in the form of a soft-spoken, calm and serene male voice.

“Could I have some time alone to speak with him?” someone asked politely, and the voice, while unfamiliar, gave Mikey a strange sense of déjà-vu.

He turned to stare at the newcomer.

The very recognizable newcomer.

“Sure,” the worker said before turning to Takemichi, while Mikey remained frozen in place at all the possibilities playing out in his head. “This man saved your life,” they explained to Takemichi.

But Mikey could have guessed that.

The pieces were reconstructing, and a larger image was forming.

The worker left, and the familiar man walked up to Takemichi.

“It’s been a while,” he said formally, and Mikey watched him pass by him unknowingly with eyes too wide, too scared.

Because surely he would wake up soon, and it would turn out that this was all a dream, and time leap couldn’t be real.

“Who are you?”

“Tachibana Naoto.”

But it was.

“That day, you changed my fate.”

It fucking existed.

“Huh? That day? But… wait, you died…”

Time leap was real, and Tachibana Naoto was the fucking living proof of that.

As was Hanagaki Takemichi.

“You time leaped through time.”

Did this Hanagaki Takemichi even know Mikey? The thought pierced him fast as lightning, leaving him even more lost as before.

Was this hidden inside his own reality all along?

“That’s how I survived and saved you.”

But it made no sense.

“You changed the present by leaping through time.”

It didn’t explain why Mikey was there now!

But Naoto didn’t know.

All he knew were Takemichi’s words from back then. All he knew was that one conviction that should have been completely unreal, and which made him change his whole life just for that one moment. A conviction that made him become a police officer, just for the words of one person he didn’t even know before then.

Just on the off chance that this person was right.

Mikey laughed hysterically, because hell, Takemichi had been right.

“Then Tachibana is…!”

Mikey watched, too stunned to do anything else, as Naoto lowered his head, complicated emotions crossing his grey face.

“I’m truly sorry, Takemichi-kun. My sister…”

Somehow, this was time leap. Somehow, Mikey was there as well.

And somehow…

“…has died.”

…Everything was connected.

“I did everything I could think of! But… but…!”

That knowledge, too, was imprinted in Mikey, like a brand to his soul.

“Please lend me your help. If it’s you, I’ll know you’ll be able to save my sister.”

“Me? Save Tachibana?”

As expected, Mikey thought numbly.

Takemichi was the key.

The key to understanding everything.