note: WE’RE ALMOST DONE! so sorry for the wait but life has been hectic for me and i’ve had zero energy to write until this week. like always dark content ahead so minors can not-so kindly fuck off! feel free to reblog, drop me an ask, and comment <3
If someone had asked Kakucho what the most impactful event in his life had been, he might’ve once responded with the day he met Izana Kurokawa, the man who had been his friend, master, and brother all at the same time. Now a man grown, Kakucho recognized it hadn’t been meeting Izana but rather losing him, Tenjiku, and her, on that frigid February afternoon.
Where his relationship with Izana had just made sense, his relationship with Kisaki’s sister never did. From the moment Tetta Kisaki weaseled his way into Izana’s life, Kakucho hated him. He hated everything about the bespeckled teen who held himself up like some bigshot gang leader. Well, everything except the girl who stubbornly trailed after him.
She called herself Kisaki’s sister even after he bit out the word ‘half’ to amend the title. She was vivacious, kind, caring, and everything Kisaki and Tenjiku weren’t. She didn’t hold back her laughter, didn’t blink away tears; all of her emotions shone on her face–raw and unfiltered.
At first, Kakucho chalked her up as a silly spoiled girl rebelling against her parents by chasing after her gang-member half-brother. It made the most sense given her age and upbringing and not just because Kisaki said so. But as the days went on and Kisaki’s sister continued hanging around Tenjiku, Kakucho accepted the fact that her presence went beyond teenage rebellion to something deeper and more intimate. A reason that mirrored his devotion to Izana– love for her brother.
Kakucho didn’t realize cared for Kisaki’s sister until he found himself gravitating toward her during meetings, escorting her home after Kisaki berated her, and thinking of different ways to clumsily comfort her. He didn’t realize he liked her until he stuffed her cold hands in his pockets, shielded her eyes and ears from Tenjiku’s violence, and held her close after confessing his fears regarding Izana, Kisaki, and the impending war against the Tokyo Manji gang.
And by the time Kakucho realized he loved Y/N, it was toward the end of Kisaki’s memorial service and he had been dragged outside to a dark alley by a seething Hanma.
