Summary: you discover baji’s academic troubles have a root cause
“–did you see it?”
you jumped and gasped. baji had interrupted you so suddenly, and in such a panic that he had frightened you. the small adrenaline rush and thumping in your chest hadn’t eased yet when you glanced at him, about to ask what the hell his problem was. he was the one that asked you to come here and spend your time going over the class’s homework– and not for your benefit, either.
“…wh–? are you f– are you serious?” you snapped instead, “keisuke, you got me over here at ten thirty at night and you ain’t even been listening this whole time!? what the hell did you even call me here for if you’re finna just play around and waste my damn time?”
“did you fuckin’ see it or not!”
you flinched away from him when he yelled in your face, staring at him wide-eyed and in silence. his eyes were on you almost in pure rage, but… the second he really sees your face– sees how much he’s scared you, he sighs, bowing his head.
you can only watch him, watch as his hands go irately to his hair, clutching despondent at the thick silky pile of his ebony mane.
“it fuckin’ moved. it moved again!” he groaned. his voice was so frustrated and angered. more fed up than anything, but he sounded so anguished with something, and you didn’t know why. you couldn’t even piece together what he even meant so you could understand.
you asked him what he was talking about softly, not sure if he would answer, or if he was even still talking to you anymore.
“the writing. the writing flipped. it fuckin’ flipped around– you know the shit did! and nobody ever gives a damn, nobody ever says shit about it!”
your mouth fell open the more he unloaded. “how the fuck do you read this shit!? IT WON’T STOP CHANGIN’! ALL IT FUCKIN’ DOES IS JUMP AROUND!” he yelled at you again.“i’m supposed to just write kanji and know where it’s gonna move to and how it’s gonna turn around backwards so it makes what i want it to say!”
you said nothing. the quiet after that deafened the both of you. but what could you say to him? you were frozen. in realization, in shock… in what was starting to feel like heartbreak.
“baji, has it always done that?”
“don’t. fuck with me.” he warned, “if you were a dude i would knock your skull in. that shit isn’t fuckin’ funny, i’ll murder you.”
“baji, i’m being serious! has that always happened when you try to read?”
he slammed the book closed, sending it flying across the room and into his wall. you tried catching him by the arm when he stormed out, but he wrenched from your grasp, hard. and he left, cussing and calling your homework and school both bullshit before charging out of the front door.
“fuckyou.” you could hear him just as it crashed shut.
Summary: Baji meeting his little boo in highschool.
you felt like a delinquent, approaching the school out of uniform like you had. though, there was really no reason to don the blouse and skirt ensemble… not today at least. the scrap you’d ended yesterday had promptly earned you a week’s suspension. really– what work of destiny got its kicks out of throwing a mindless gaggle of schoolbitches in your face and starting all this? all you wanted was to escape the den of hell your life had become thanks to your older brothers and keep your head low in Tokyo with your mother, so what was the cosmos’ damn problem?
you didn’t know, and could only sigh. at least bestie had been the one party to come away clean from faculty. and your spirits were also lifted from her run down of things, given to you over the phone the night before.
“get the hell outta here, you slid her that quick?”
“oh yeah, you know i did. i know what i’m doing, trust me. she barely got that weak little hit in that she tried before i had her on the ground.”
“bitch tapped out?”
“tappedall the wayout.”
your head was thrown back by now with your laughter. you had been just as taken by surprise by it as her attacker evidently had been. “bitch, that’s my frienddddd!” you sang out, chuckling again as you tipped over onto your bed. she laughed along with you, beaming in her own pride about your performance that day before the mood gave a shift.
“i can’t believe they gave you a week and they only got three days,” she lamented. and she wasn’t alone in that. though you weren’t at all shocked that your punishment was harsher than anyone else’s, you couldn’t help but have your mind linger there. it worried you, too, but while she was fretting over your scholastic impact (too good for this world), your train of thought was still quite singular in all things considered.
on a sigh you admitted back to her, “yeah, that’s what i’m worried about.”
“how do you mean..?”
you clicked your tongue and whined, “i mean they’re some punk ass mean girl wannabes and they’ll try that shit on you again..!”
you could hear her touched gasp, then the endeared little coo on her end of the line, and couldn’t help but smile in return. “shut up.”
“you’re my best friendddddd.” she sang to you, mimicking your earlier tone.
“shut up!” you whined again, cheesing. she probably knew how grateful you were to have her, but the fuzzy feelings you had to put aside for now, “i gotta go anyway, i ain’t made dinner yet.”
“it’s so sweet how you cook for your mom.”
“i hate you, bye.”
you were antsy the entire day over your timing. tactical missions weren’t exactly your strong point, so you were sweating over when the right time would be to be waiting on the grounds: to intercept bestie immediately as school was out, but not so early as to be caught by a morals committee snitch or any other free faculty when you were fresh on a suspension.
when the anxiety had crawled its way high enough to be rattling your eyeballs, you left out for the school courtyard. the way you figured, there would be some place or another to hide out if you caught sight of any potential problems. the possibility of a rebound gang-up was too high in your mind– especially with the added confidence of your absence. those girls could’ve been anywhere. or sent anyone. they didn’t seem like the type to understand a lesson only given to them once anyway. you were so acutely paranoid of a repeat, that you’d spent the entire afternoon and evening adjusting your hair for round two. you hadn’t wanted to use your braiding hair to do feed-ins for a bun, you’d wanted to do box braids. but now they’d have to wait. the bun would be more practical. in the end, your disappointment was short lived. it wasn’t what you’d planned, but the style still was pretty. and this way, your newly gifted hair-tie wouldn’t go to waste.
you’d made it a little after the last bell, from what you could tell of things. students were just starting to come through the doors and spill onto the spacious plain of pavement separating the building from the street. with your eyes peeled, you hurried up the sidewalk to the school’s front commons, moving with light feet–
“oi.”
to be caught before you could even pass the steps.
turning to the intrusive voice, you matched stares with a short and dark-eyed blond, leaning against a motorcycle. and you were swiftly confused. this boy wasn’t on the morals committee, clearly. he wasn’t even in uniform. so what could he have wanted from–
“you’re baji’s girl, right?” his mellow voice asked. your forehead creased, and as precautionary measure, you looked around to see if there had been anyone else he may have meant. but he spoke again, after rubbing a pensive finger over his chin, like he’d known your name but forgotten it. “from yesterday.”
“…i’mwho?” you asked, glaring at him like he was undeniably crazed, before your neck nearly snapped to search the grounds behind you. you were here for bestie– this boy had distracted you far too easily.
“relax! hey,” he chuckled, far too chill. it reeled in your highly skeptical attention, and slowly, you turned to face him again. now you found him smiling, “i gave your friend a lift, she’s home already.”
your brows furrowed deeper than you’d ever felt them, and he responded with a closed-eyed grin before adding, “safe and sound.”
you had to interrupt your own careening train of thought with your voice, and when it came, it was a tad snappier than you’d presumed it would be. “–who are you..!”
he didn’t seemed fazed by it, when you were actually kinda positive you were starting to look insane your own self.
“i’m your ride,” he answered, still unnervingly chill… and cheesing his ass off. and your time to ask questions was being cut short, as he began to mount his bike just after that non-intro he’d given you. as bound as you clearly still were to cluelessness, he held out a helmet for you. with that, it seemed he was finished with explanations for now, save for one. “baji had something he wanted you to see.”
you stood, dumbfounded. maybe even with your jaw hanging. but he just gently nudged you a little further, voice still even and tepid– as though there were nothing at all troubling with a stranger offering a motorbike ride outside of school.
“come on, I’ll take you, it’s quicker by bike,” his heel nudged the kickstand free. and some unspoken force made you sure that there was no way to get out of going along. “i’ll ride smooth for you, that helped your friend.”
you wanted to decline, but some hypnotic inclination compelled you. this was the second mysterious boy to appear from nowhere before you, and your reaction was two for two. silently, you reached for the helmet he offered, and took a wobbly, unsure seat at his back.
“hold on to me, okay?” he said softly, waiting until your headgear was snugly secured. the engine exploded on, making your entire body rumble with its massive vibrations, “nice and smooth.”
your arms curled around his lithe waist, and you could hear him laughing when the sudden motion and building speed drew a squeal out of you. yet, to your surprise, he kept to his word of making the drive as smooth as possible for you. his braking was gentle and his turns easy. on top of that, the ride was shorter than you expected– maybe five or six blocks from the school.
what really caught you by surprise, though, was the destination. you’d expected to arrive outside of someone’s house, or a park… some sort of meetup or hangout spot. this dude stopped you both at a sidewalk just at the side of some random street. granted, it was a street you hadn’t been on, but still… you couldn’t really fathom what could be shown to you here that couldn’t have been shown to you at school.
it as only when you saw two other blonds– one far taller than anyone else present, and another with an undercut– both looking around your age, that you began to make any sense of this.
then, a bit ahead of the rest, you saw a head of raven tresses that effortlessly caught your eye.
“come on, come on,” your driver ushered you along with no real hurry to his tone, “he’s already gonna talk shit about me bringing you here late,” he cut the bike engine and cut through your scattered thoughts, letting down the kickstand and dismounting. the greetings of the others to him sort of flew over your head– you were too busy trying to not fuck up your brand new installed style with this fucking helmet to pay any attention to them. and trying to piece together who the fuck baji could be. but when the thing finally popped from your head, you inadvertently matched gazes with the same, amused set of golden eyes that had been grinning at your scraggly headed self slumped on the floor, just the previous day.
the look he wore changed almost immediately– from what looked like a resting bitch face, to some kick over seeing you, to a dazzled and taken aback double-take once he saw your hair. his reaction made you feel like you were blushing; below a surprised frown his lips formed a tight ‘o’ in a silent wolf whistle, while he smoothed a hand over his hair– gesturing just how much he liked your new braided up-do.
but he stood at a distance from the others, his body angled more up the street as he faced the bunch you were near. what was he doing? waiting for something?
“oi, baji. special delivery!” the blond called to him in english, making him chuckle lowly. you couldn’t help but think that he was referring to you.
“uh-huh. it took you long enough! what–did you two stop at the salon on the damn way?” he barked back.
“you’re one to fucking talk.”
you were already about to yell over their shit talking and ask what the hell you had been delivered here for, but the short blond addressed you again.
“baji told us about your fight at school yesterday.”
you felt your face crumpling in confusion– especially seeing the muted grins of the other two at the mention of the day before, but he kept on as though this were a normal conversation. “he says your brothers taught you well.”
that now counted two times that your brothers had been brought up by a complete stranger. it was well past uncomfortable to you, now.
“… what am i here for..?” you asked. a ton of dread suddenly hit you, feeling like a flush of ice. were you being auditioned for some sort of underground fight club? did these boys have a group of their girlfriends coming to jump you so you could replay the scrap yesterday to their satisfaction? or had your brothers somehow made enemies of a rival gang even overseas? because you certainly couldn’t recall ever seeing any of these faces at school before…
“to watch him put on a show,” the tallest blond of the trio droned you answer. his voice was low and mature, and though the sides and back of his head were completely shaven, vaguely like someone would do for a mohawk, he had a long plaited ponytail of the hair that was left. he sounded *over* whatever this was before it even started. but you were too distracted to be entirely certain, eyeing the dragon tattoo he had edging below his hair. “you impressed him so he wants to do the same.”
you wanted to ask more, but that familiar, deep voice caught your attention by calling out from down the sidewalk, drawing your eyes to him and maybe five other dudes approaching behind him from the other end of the street.
“gotta show you what kinda ass-kickin’ you can dish out when your hair ain’t in the way.”
his voice was only elevated enough to reach the four of you; aside from that, he seemed totally collected. and with five guys coming his way who looked more than hostile, you weren’t sure whether to be impressed or terrified by him. without even fully facing the approaching group, he pulled another hair tie free from his pocket. he chose then to look you dead in your eyes, making your heart stall as he bit down on the elastic to gather his hair. he looped it into a high pony more slickly than you’d ever seen done, releasing it with a chuckle leaving his lips just as the opposing boys had approached him. “eyes on me, punchy fights.”
that drew full chuckles from the others. you remained in the dark yet again, unaware of just how much you had been discussed by these four.
“so it was a good fight?” mikey asked, hearing baji bring up the scuffle the school grapevine had been murmuring over.
chifuyu pressed with his own questions, too, “at ourschool?duringschool?”
“and a two on one…” draken probed.
“hell yeah, american girl’s nothing to fuck with. stomped their asses pretty shittin’ good,” he continued to brag, cheesing til his cheeks were sore. “and got brothers, too. you can tell they taught her some solid shit.”
mikey hummed. highschool was boring on most accounts– having a girl or two around that helped things stay less mind-numbing was a prospect he welcomed. “damn. i’m kinda mad i missed it, now. i haven’t seen a good fight with girls in a long time. there’s too much hair pulling most of the time.”
“there’ll be another one. she embarrassed some girls that were trying to build a rep,” draken insisted. he knew of the levels of pride and pettiness in highschool kids wanting to make a name for themselves, even outside of the underground world.
“and with plenty'a punches,” baji assured, “all hers are gonna be punchy fights, guaranteed.”
he had barely turned when he took out the first one. it was an impossible act of physics: his arm extended straight out with a fist at its end, gripping the guy to snatch in for a headbutt and sending him to the ground, unconscious. now you were sure that the right response was to be terrified by baji. the next he took down while dodging a fist they threw, locking their arm to his side in a spin that turned his back to them, then throwing an elbow into their nose.
…he was fighting like how stuntmen performed choreography in action movies. none of it made sense– nothing like that should have: no strength level, no fighting technique, nothing conducive to a dude winning a five-on-one should have ever existed. but within the next thirty seconds, he had.
two he had taken out at once, too quickly for you to register just how it happened– but a beast-like throw of one he caught by the arm into the other laid the both of them out cold.
when the last lunged at him, he swung them round in a headlock, facing you with a thrilled grin shining on his face. it was the energy that belonged to a boy showing off a new action figure to his friends, not flaunting his next victim in a melee. this boy, you realized much much too late, was beyond dangerous.
“ne, punchy fights. recognize the face on this asshole?” he asked you, laughter clear in his voice. well, you assumed he had meant you, but you couldn’t make out any resemblance and could only shake your head 'no’, half in shock. he laughed again, socking the kid in his chokehold… once, then twice, then a third time. he kept at it, his cheshire grin stretching wider with each blow. when he’d crunched his knuckles into the bones of their face a seventh time, he stopped. “how 'bout now?”
you still drew a blank. but he didn’t keep you hanging too long.
“those two you took on yesterday. they got brothers, too. the girl your friend beat down’s got a cousin. and alllll three of 'em ran home and told on ya,” he finally announced, like you would get the grandest delight from it. “so these asswipes were on their way to try some bullshit on you for fuckin’ em up like you did and gettin’ their little sisses and cousin suspended. ain’t that right, you fuckin’ pussy?” he asked the pulped up face leaking in the crook of his elbow, “thought you could come fuck with some girls cause you didn’t teach your own blood how to fight for shit…” the guy didn’t answer– he’d been out since about the third or fourth hammer to his face.
with no further use for him, your twisted black haired vigilante threw him to the ground, no longer bothered with any of them now that they were smeared across the pavement, beaten.
when he’d reached the rest of you, none of the blonds acted as though this was out of the norm at all, and it put you I’ll at ease. truthfully, you had been rattled to your core just hearing that one word come from him, as buried as it was in the rest. it echoed in your head the second he said it, and wouldn’t stop. blood.
hearing it shook you like you’d seen a ghost. you couldn’t even place your attention where it should have been: whatever this plot was that had been foiled by baji.
his smile was directly on you now, close enough for you to see those sharp canines clearly. “you tied that up with the one i gave you?” he asked, nodding to your new feed-ins.
your face heated up in a blaze when you remembered you had.
“yeah,” you answered, “you said quit brawling like i had short hair.”
a feral smirk crawled into his lips slowly, and the drawn out chuckle he responded with made you terrified again. something about the consequences of gaining this dude’s attention boded negatively with you. it felt too familiar, and now, too close.
“looks good.”
“maybe you can help ken-chin, he braids sloppy,” the one who drove you said, making the tallest blond sneer.
“shut up, mikey.”
you observed the four of them as they fell into a banter among themselves, trying to make out their connections to one another. and it didn’t slip your notice that mr. five-straight-knockouts was closest to you, nearly shoulder to shoulder as you all collectively loitered there.
“that’s your name for me, now? punchy fights?” you asked him coolly, trying to stay below enough on the radar so as to not interrupt the others. he blinked, eyeing you sideways, so intensely that your heart kicked against your chest. he gave it a moment to calm, though, slipping the tie from his silky head and shaking out the tightness left behind.
there was no answer he gave. in fact, there wasn’t a word further at all that he directed to you. instead he called out “chifuyu” (who you learned to be the blond with the undercut), before suggesting that they go eat, leaving you bewildered as they all then left you alone with your ride.
“ah, no invites yet,” he turned to you, beaming with his hands in his pockets, “i’m still your ride. ready for me to take you home?”
you snorted, “i can walk home right from where you picked me the fuck up, mikey-san,” you answered with a brow cocked, causing him to blink. it caught him by surprise– but after a tense, quiet moment between the two of you, you could see to your relief that it was a pleasant surprise.
“you’re smart. i see why baji’s impressed,” he commended. you had just met him and been introduced to his delinquency, and thought that through before accepting his offer to take you home. why that didn’t offend him was beyond you, but he was very pleased.
“mikey,” you call mikey‘s name as you shake the blond haired man awake, checking the time as you run a hand through his damp hair. “mikey, baby wake up.”
the blond man groans at your call, yet rather than getting up and opening his eyes to answer to your call, he simply rolls his his left lazily and grabs the pillow above him.
“baby get up.” you say once again, this time, grabbing the pillow away from his face and lightly tapping at his cheek. “mikey—”
you get cut off when he holds your wrist in place. you sigh in relief, thanking the gods that he has finally awaken. but your prayer of thanks gets discontinued when he suddenly pulls you to his side causing a yelp to leave past your lips.
“mikey!” you hiss, your hand propping beside his head, effectively caging him down. however, he stays indifferent and still lays there, unmoving underneath you.
“too loud,” he whines softly, finally opening his eyes like a baby. his black eyes are down turned, as if he were sad, and his pouted lips do not help, his expression shows as if he were pleading. “come to bed, please,”
his sweet little plead leaving past his pouted lips almost make you give in. but you refuse to give in, if it means it‘s for his own goodness.
so you sigh, placing a hand on his cheek once again and caressing the supple skin lightly. “baby, you can‘t sleep with wet hair. you‘ll get sick.” you try to explain.
“but i‘m too tired to wait,” his lips purse together, eyes fluttering open and close. “can we please go to bed?”
you swear your heart skipped two— if not three beats. you find it hard to respond and deny when he leans a bit and kisses your palm. it‘s always hard to deny him when he‘s like this, all sleepy and pouty like a baby.
“baby i know you‘re tired, but you‘ll get sick.” you try to reason again but he once again whines, grabbing your hand and lacing it with his.
“it‘s okay, because if i get sick i‘ll be with you and you‘ll take care of me, then we‘ll spend more time together.” he says with a sleepy smile. “i love it when you take care of me.”
you can‘t help but chuckle, shaking your head lightly before leaning down and kissing his forehead. “well, i suppose it won‘t be that bad.” you say before you turn off the light by the bed and lay beside him.
“i‘ll be in your loving care for the next few days, okay?”
yes, he sure will be in your loving care for the next few days.
Muffled voices fill the background as you try to find your way through the mass of body in front of you: all swaying to the rhythm of music vibrating the room. The music which felt soothing to your ears had transformed into a painful banging. “Exucse me” You mumbled, elbowing another couple pressed against each other. Speaking of couples, where the hell did Baji go? You didn’t bother turning around to look. The room was too dark to see anyway.
summary:maybe she doesn’t need to become the person she used to respect and love. she doesn’t need to do what he did, complete what he left behind. she just needed to be happy. and somehow, someway, she would get that.
“Mikey! Wait up!” She calls out, waving her hand at her boyfriend. She’s running as fast as she can in these shoes, as well as holding her bag close to her. Mikey stops in his spot, looking around in a confused manner before his eyes land on Y/N. A smile. But Y/N is annoyed, frowning at him. “Why do you walk so fast?”
The blonde rolls his eyes and chuckles back at her, “You’re just too slow. Why do you look at every stall we pass?” Mikey grins at the gasp that emits from her, and the light hit in the shoulder. But allows Y/N to wrap her hand around his arm, hugging him closely as they walked.
She was having the time of her life, even though she was just a young teenager. Spending time with Mikey, with everything going on.
“Have you seen Emma and Draken?” She questions, glancing around again, “They said they were meeting with Takemichi and Hinata before.”
“I haven’t.” Replies Mikey, who spots a few games they could play. But he keeps walking, now having his mind set on finding his friends and sister. “Do you want to see them?”
She thinks for a moment. “Hm, I don’t know. I wanna’ spend time with you.” She states, smiling back at her boyfriend. A shrug of her shoulders. “You’ve been busy lately.”
That was right. He has been busy, he can’t deny it. Mikey nods his head, leading her towards one of the food stalls. After deciding what to get and finding a spot, the two set themselves into comfortable silence. She holds her skirt as she sits down beside Mikey.
“You look very pretty tonight.” Mikey claims, glancing towards Y/N. She places her drink on the table, a bit surprised by the comment. He turns away, rubbing his arm. “Sorry I didn’t say that earlier.”
“It’s okay, thank you, Manjiro.” She replies, holding his hand tightly beside her. Mikey watches her carefully. “You look great as well. Emma told me that you weren’t even planning on coming until she told you I was.”
He shrugs his shoulders and munches on his food. “Of course. She said that if I didn’t come then she would make Chifuyu take you.” He informs the girl, who in return slaps his arm with a frown. Mikey smiles again, leaning his head against her shoulder. “No, I wanted to come because you were. I have been busy.”
Y/N leans a cheek against him, using her other hand to brush fingers against his arm. It was nice to just be a normal couple of kids for once. Mikey was involved in so much drama and discourse that it made it hard for them to even pretend to be kids. And while she did deal with it, Y/N found it hard to keep up with him.
Mikey knew this himself. But he couldn’t afford to take a break.
“You’re sweet, Mikey.” She hums. He squeezes her back. “What do you think is gonna’ happen with Toman? Are you gonna’ stay with them forever?”
He halts himself for a moment.
What did he want?
He didn’t know, he couldn’t think about it.
So he didn’t. He keeps quiet.
And lifts his head, staring back at Y/N. “I don’t want to think about that right now.” He responds to her, hands falling on top of her knuckles. He looks serious, and his demeanour has changed now. Y/N gulps. “I just want to focus on right now. I want to be here with you.”
One of the only times he has been sincere.
Y/N then dawns a grin, pulling Mikey closer into a hug. “Alright, Mikey.”
A few minutes later and they’ve finished eating, ready to go find their friends. But as they walk through the stalls, they hear a call.
“Y/N! Mikey! Over here!”
Emma, holding up her phone, waves at her friend and brother. Draken stands beside her, hands in pockets and watching. As Y/N and Mikey turn around, Emma snaps the photo, gushing on about how cute the couple looked. The four grouped together.
The perfect day. All of them living and spending time with one another. What a nice life.
And now, Y/N stands with her weapon pointed at her greatest enemy, and her ex-boyfriend stopping her from pulling the trigger.
“Don’t tell me to wait.” She scowls, pulling her arm from Mikey’s grasp, “Don’t fucking tell me what to do.”
“I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t kill him.” Mikey responds, shaking his hand and turning towards Kisaki, “I want a hit first. Before you end him.”
Y/N knows she shouldn’t give him shit, because she’s so mad at the moment and the only release is putting that bullet through Kisaki’s skull. So Mikey doesn’t wait for an answer, just walks towards the guy on the floor and lines up a kick towards his jaw.
Kisaki gets knocked back once again, now holding his stomach in pain. He lets out a groan of pain, squeezing his eyes shut and laying on his side.
“I haven’t been here for a while.” Mikey hums out, tilting his head to the side, “It’s sad to see that everything has changed. But what’s worse, is to see that you haven’t.” He plunges a heel into Kisaki’s shoulder. The sound of impact makes Mikey blink. “You’ll never change.”
Kisaki looks up to Mikey. “All I’ve ever done was to try and make you powerful.” He complains, lifting himself back up with a hard scowl, “Why should I change when it’s benefiting you?”
“Did I ask for you to do this?” Mikey retorts, raising a brow. Kisaki only hardens his glare. “I don’t believe I did. Why bother yourself with my business if I didn’t ask?” He looks disgusted. “Fucking pathetic.”
“I DID ALL OF IT FOR YOU!” Kisaki shouts out loudly, making Y/N hold up her pistol again. She was so sick of this, of everything. She wanted to rest. “I THOUGHT OF TOMAN AND FOR YOU TO BE THE LEADER OF THE NEW DELINQUENTS! WHY ARE YOU REJECTING ME?”
Mikey, grabbing the hair of the boy in front of him, lifts him up harshly. “Because,” He begins, voice low and despising of Kisaki, “I’m not a little kid anymore. I can make my own fucking decisions.”
He looks horrified as Mikey drags him closer to Y/N. Up until her barrel is right at his forehead.
Kisaki has wasted his time. Has wasted his life contributing to some meaningless cause. If Mikey didn’t even accept it, then what was the point? Why did he do all of this? What was his goal? To gain power by outsmarting the enemy? How could he obtain such power when he always relied on someone else to act out his plans?
“Do what you want.” Mikey tells Y/N, watching as she sets her gaze on Kisaki. He lets go of him. This was out of his hands now. With how angry she was, Mikey doesn’t think that he can stop his ex now.
She sighs out slowly as her vision zones in on Kisaki.
She thinks how she should play this out. Maybe she could get some more information out of him. But why would she want to delay?
This scumbag who has caused so much trouble for her when she was trying her best to live, to be in control all the time. She’d never guessed that she’d have this chance, to talk to Kisaki before he dies, to make him confess to every little thing he’s ever done to hurt them all—
“You were useless to the end, Kisaki.” She mutters out.
He can feel his heart leap into his throat.
A loud bang sounds around the crowd. Followed by gasps and mutters.
Mikey watches as Kisaki’s lifeless body falls to the ground. Blood seeps through his hair and onto the cold concrete. His glasses discarded by his side, Toman uniform ruffled up and dirty. He is laying there. Alone. No one to die with him.
Hanma sits off to the side, his own hair dishevelled as he watches his best friend get killed by his boss. Nothing leaves his lips at that. He doesn’t look as upset as someone should; rather, he’s more annoyed that it has finally happened.
Didn’t Kisaki say he’d rule over all delinquents? That he’d be in power, with Hanma as his right-hand man?
So why in God’s name was Kisaki Tetta on the floor with a bullet through his eye and his blood splattered against the cold floor?
Hanma can’t believe it. He scoffs, “What a joke…”
Y/N lets out a breath, and falls to her knees. All that pressure and stress and build up, is finally gone. By the sheer relief, the sheer relaxation, tears bubble up in her eyes as her heart aches in pain. She holds her chest as she has her other hand, with her pistol, holding her up against the floor.
She has never killed someone with her bare hands before. Sure, people were sent to the hospital but no one has ever died because of her actions. What has she done? Is she now what she’s feared and hated the most?
A cough emerges from her as she clutches where her heart is. Tears are falling from her face and onto the concrete. It’s too much, it’s too much, it’s too much, too much.
Mikey takes a step away from Kisaki, and kneels beside her.
“Y/N.” He says quietly.
And she falls into him.
His arms quickly close around her and hold the Commander tightly. Head buried in his shoulder, she cries.
“I’m so tired.” She mumbles into his uniform.
Mikey pats her back. “I know. I’m sorry.”
A few seconds later, she lifts herself from him, and looks Mikey directly in the eyes. Everybody is on their toes about this interaction.
“I’m resigning as Toman’s Commander.” She states, making Mikey widen his eyes a little, “I don’t think I can do this anymore. I want to hand my position to you.”
He stops and rubs the back of his neck. “Are… you sure?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” She huffs, wiping her cheeks, “I think they were right, you’re better suited to this job that I am.”
Mikey nods his head, sitting up straight. He felt as if this was something he couldn’t turn down. “Alright. I’ll be Toman’s leader again. You did an amazing job.”
“While we’re on the subject,” Lemaire speaks up, waving his bloodied handkerchief in the air. His Vice-Commander stands beside him. “I should say that Clair de Lune has lost this fight. We’re now under Toman’s command, whether it be to Hanemiya or Sano. And I’m sorry for your loss, truly.”
Y/N glances at him. “Thank you.” She hums.
Nobody breathes a word. Until the sirens are heard.
“We have to go.” Mitsuya says in a solemn voice, staring at Draken laying beside him. He rests a hand on his shoulder before standing up. “Y/N, Mikey. Let’s go.”
The other two get up as well. Mikey takes Y/N hand to follow Chifuyu, Takamichi and Mitsuya to the exit way, but she halts.
“Wait.” She says, “What about Ken? We can’t leave him here.”
Mikey clenches his jaw. The sirens draw closer. “I know we can’t, but we have to.” He tells her, squeezing her hand back, “The ambulances will find them. Don’t worry, he will have a fine send-off with Emma.”
She only stares at him for a moment. And nods her head, allowing Mikey to tug her along.
Y/N just wanted Emma and Draken to be okay again.
And maybe she would be as well.
When Y/N held the funeral for both Emma and Draken the next week, she sat with Mikey at her side in front of the rest of the crowd. Everyone was there. Parts of Mikey’s family that they still kept in touch with, Toman members, Lemaire and Lemièux in the back, and even some teachers at their high school had attended the funeral. Y/N had kept quiet in her seat as people said their goodbye’s.
Draken and Emma’s photos were placed side by side, flowers tracing their frames. Even though Draken’s family wasn’t present, the workers from the brothel had attended. They were all so kind to both Y/N and Mikey, having known their history and all that’s happened between them.
Tears and loud sobs filled the room. The two sat by the side hands on their lap. The people who have apologised — Mitsuya and Takemichi — had spent the longest time talking to Y/N and Mikey. They were quiet, and telling them that they hadn’t done enough to protect either Draken or Emma. The only thing that the hosts could do was say that it was alright, and allow them to walk back to their seats.
It was a harsh few hours, and some people stayed at the Hanemiya-Sano residence to speak to others as well as Mikey and Y/N.
She is sitting outside at the small table by the garden. Inside, it is lit up with chatter that she can just hear. Y/N had only been in there for 30 minutes before she felt clustered, and left for outside. Maybe it was because of all the pitiful looks she was receiving from people she barely knew. But she needed to be out of there.
Kazutora and Baji sit on both sides of her.
“Do you feel better?” Kazutora questions.
“Not sure.” She responds, shrugging her shoulders, “I’m glad it’s all over though.”
“You can relax now.” Baji says, sending her a big smile. She looks to him. Same goofy smile on his lips as always. Here she was, 17-years-old and conversing with her older brother of 15 and his best friend of 14. She still thinks of them as her family, those who looked after her. The people she tried to look up to. “You’ve been working hard these past four years.”
“Strange how you two just showed up this year though.” Y/N points out, leaning back in her chair. Kazutora watches her carefully. “I think that leaving Toman with Mikey was a good call. Everybody misses him, and I’ll be able to finish my High School life with a somewhat normal life.” She tilts her head to the side, neck aching.
Kazutora plays with his earing. “What will you do after school?”
She blinks and then looks to the fence. “I’m pretty good at my job. Waitressing, y'know?” She states, “I’m good at customer service. And I can help plate up and cook. I might do something like that while I study.”
“You were always the better cook out of the three of us.” Baji jokes, tossing a nod towards Kazutora. He smiles. “You’ll be fine, you’re the strongest person we know.”
Kazutora agrees, “The fact that you’re really there, is enough.”
Y/N stares at the two of them. She loves them both, and misses them dearly.
Her face burns at the statement. So she looks down at her lap, using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes. “Thanks, Kazu, Kei.” She huffs out, “I’m… I’ll come back here every year. For you two.”
Baji knocks a hand on the table. “Hey, even if you can’t, live a little, okay?” He tells her, “Live for us.”
She holds her breath for nothing more than a moment. And nods.
Y/N held her drink close in her palms, staring at the way the wine tipped around the glass. It was bitter and she didn’t like it. But she couldn’t take having to walk back in there and grab another drink.
“You shouldn’t be consuming that.” Mitsuya hums, closing the door behind him as he watches her look his way. Y/N blinks at him and puts the glass down. “You’re still only a Second Year.”
She responds, rubbing her cheek, “I know. One of Draken’s co-workers gave me this to calm down.” She swirls the nearly full glass. “I don’t like it too much.”
He sits down in front of her and takes the glass for himself, gulping a large proportion of it down. Kazutora and Baji have already gotten up, standing in the driveway behind Mitsuya. Both of them wave once, bright grins on their faces, and leave. Down the road. Y/N blinks a few more times and returns her attention to Mitsuya.
“I get it. Wine isn’t for everyone. Maybe you’ll like Soju.” He comments before giving her a look, “But only after you’ve graduated.”
She nods her head. “How do you feel?” She questions, hands on her lap.
“I, um… I miss them both. A lot.” Mitsuya responds, placing the glass down on the cold table, “But we both know that they’re happier together than apart. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. I was gonna’ do it after the brawl, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of you.”
At this point, she knows what’s about to happen. The reason she’s shut herself in after the brawl was because she was trying to escape everything. Mikey was the only one in the house, other than her.
And she knows that this will be the last of everyone together.
“I’ve decided that I’m going to be moving away after Luna and Mana graduate from this year’s levels.” He states, looking her directly in the eyes with no hesitation, “We’re going to be moving to Chiyoda, I got an apprenticeship offer there a while ago, and they said I can still accept it before August. It’s… a really good chance for me and my sisters. I hope you can understand, I’m not trying to leave you behind.”
“I do understand.” She replies, sitting up straight, “I get it. You’re not leaving anyone behind, I hope the three of you are happier in Chiyoda. It’ll be better for you.”
Mitsuya doesn’t enjoy the way she says that about their circumstances. He sips some more of the wine. “I heard that the Twins are planning to move as well, and open up their own ramen place.” He states, “And Chifuyu is gonna’ be making this pet shop. I think he said he was going to move out to the city, since there are more abandoned animals that need saving there.”
Y/N hums out, the wind blowing against her skin, “Oh yeah? Hina and Takemichi are probably gonna’ move out to the city as well. And I bet that Hakkai would want to follow in your footsteps after he graduates as well.”
“Ah, graduation. You’re the last to graduate out of all of us.” Mitsuya comments, crossing his arms over his chest, “What do you want to do?”
“Well, the others said they’d come back for my graduation.” Y/N states, “I want one last dinner after that. Before we spend years apart.”
Mitsuya grins softly, nodding his head. “I can organise that for all of us.”
The two of them smile at the thought of where others may end up. It didn’t matter that they would be apart, only that they were happy.
“I’m sorry, Takashi. About… all these years.” She huffs out, dropping her head, “I was fucked up and I messed you up as well. I shouldn’t have relied on you to make me okay.”
That’s when he stands up and walks over to her side. With a gentle pull, he lifts her up to her feet and engulfs her in a tight hug. “No, you haven’t messed me up. And I’ll always be there for you, no matter what happens.” He states, smiling into her shoulder, “And no matter how you want me. I’ll always be your friend.”
She can’t help but let out a sigh, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Takashi, for everything.” She tells him, pulling away slightly, “I hope all goes well for you.”
“Mhm, and for you as well.” Mitsuya chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. He takes a step back. “I hope Mikey treats you the best. I think we all know you deserve it.” He checks his phone for a moment. “I’ve told my sisters, and they’re ready to say 'goodbye’ to their friends. I’ll find a school in Chiyoda for them, I’m sure they’ll enjoy hanging around some models for a while.”
She nods her head, placing her hands on her hips. “After I fill in Mikey on everything about Toman, we’ll send the Nagoya Division down to help you guys. Y'know, to make sure you don’t get into trouble and they can scout out some good schools.” She offers, pushing her chair in.
But Mitsuya shakes his hand with a polite smile. “Oh, that’s alright. I think from now on, I’d rather not be associated with any gang-related business.” He requests, making Y/N blink at him, “I’m leaving it all behind.”
Y/N doesn’t hesitate to nod her head. “Alright. Well, good luck on your own, Takashi. I know you’ll be fine.” She says. She feels her heart ache slowly.
“But,” He begins, holding out a hand to her. She tilts her head. “I would like to have possession over your pistol.”
It’s on the table. It’s been sitting there the whole entire time. She didn’t acknowledge it, or more like she didn’t want to. It’s a murder weapon. “You want my gun?” She hums out, furrowed brows.
Mitsuya nods his head. “Yes. I don’t feel comfortable with you keeping that.” He states confidently, “I’m sorry, I know it was a birthday gift, but I… I know you’re leaving this behind as well and you’re leaving Toman. So I don’t see the point in keeping it.” He keeps his eyes on the weapon. “I’m sure the others would agree, you don’t need this anymore. You… You can relax now.”
She clenches her jaw, but then swallows her fear and lets out a breath. “Okay. You can take it.” She says.
Mitsuya smiles at her. He watches as Y/N places the gun and the holster in his hand. And it’s finished. This was it.
The door opens, and Mikey walks through with two glasses of non-alcoholic drinks. He didn’t expect Mitsuya to be there with Y/N, as shown with his raised brows. He stops with the door closed behind him. “Oh… Sorry, I didn’t know—”
“No, it’s fine.” Mitsuya responds, grabbing the wind glass and walking up to the entrance. He pats Mikey’s shoulder. He eyes him carefully. “Please. Be careful.”
He stares back at Mitsuya as he walks into the house. Mikey turns to Y/N, who sits back down in her chair. She looks calm, sad. Hands on her lap as she plays with her thumbs. Mikey takes a deep breath, and steps towards her. He leans down on one knee, and holds her hands in his.
“Hey. Y/N.” He hums out quietly, the wind blowing in their ears a little, “It’s okay.”
“I know.” She replies, running fingers over her face. She looks to their hands. “ I think after high school, I’m going to change. For real. I don’t want to be this way forever.”
Mikey nods his head at that. “I understand. I’ll help you change, since you really want to.” He states, brushing a thumb over her knuckles, “You’ll have someone by your side during the process.”
She glances at him with a sad expression, for a second, and huffs out, “Everybody is leaving.”
“Well, not everyone.” He says, tilting his head, “I’m staying. For real. And we can figure out what we want to do later.”
Y/N, at this point, has accepted that everyone would leave for their own futures. After years of trying to keep everyone together and safe, she’s realised that maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do. They needed to grow apart in order to grow up. Not everyone works when they’re in a group, no matter how much they might think they should be. It’s better apart.
She nods her head, squeezing his hand. She brings it up to her lips, and presses a kiss to his knuckles. “There is only you, right?” She mumbles out quietly, looking at Mikey.
He’s turned pink, the light dusting only calling back the memories of how lovely Y/N had always been to him. He retorts, “No. There is only us.”
A kiss to her cheek as he stands up and pulls her to her feet. With strong fingers wrapped around hers, Mikey walked back into the house for the final speech, and the final goodbye’s.
Graduation would come soon for Hakkai, Chifuyu, Hina, Takemichi and Emma. Mitsuya and his sisters would have to board a plane. The Kawata Twins already had plans to open their shop. Sanzu is probably going to go wherever Mikey and Y/N asked of him. And the rest of Toman? Mikey would handle himself.
But all they need to do now, is to say farewell to their friends.
Five Years Later …
“Manager! There’s a phone call for you!”
She looks up from her notepad of incoming deliveries, to see one of her employees pointing to the restaurant phone in her hand. After finalising her count, she moves towards the worker and thanks him, taking the phone and holding it to her ear.
“Hello?” She speaks, “This is the manager speaking.”
“I would like to make a complaint.” Someone on the other side states, a voice turning serious. She blinked at the tone, looking at the worker who had handed her the phone. He only smiles. “I ordered a delivery from your restaurant and the driver has just left.”
She questions, moving to a quieter area of the restaurant in the back, “Was the delivery late? Or was something missing within the package?”
The other person sighs out, “No, everything was included and it arrived in an orderly fashion. I have a complaint about the driver themselves.”
She stops, now seeing the said delivery driver walk into the restaurant with a kind smile and waving. “Is that so?” She hums out.
“Yes.”
“And what is that complaint?”
“The driver wasn’t you.”
“…” She closes her eyes, sighing out slowly, “Mikey. What are you doing?”
“I just miss you, Y/N.” He chuckles back, voice now returning to how it usually sounded, “How much longer until you’re finished with your shift?”
She checks her watch and sighs out, “We should close in about an hour, but it’s a slow night. I’ll probably send everyone home in 30 minutes.” She sees some workers, who stopped to listen as soon as they heard the manager speak the name of her partner, pump their fists in the air with such happiness. “Do you need something at the office?”
The office being that building where Mikey held his meetings for his organisation, but it’s not like Y/N could explain that over the phone.
“Only you.” He replies.
“Hanging up now.” She says, shaking her head with a small smile, “I’ll be home by 9 tonight, okay? I’ll cook something for dinner before I leave.”
“Mmm, alright. Don’t take too long, I miss you.” He says sincerely.
Y/N faces the floor, her cheeks warming at that. “I miss you too. I have to go now, see you later.” She hums, pulling the phone from her ear.
“Bye bye!” He calls from the phone before she hangs up.
As Y/N turns around, she sees those same workers smiling at her. “What is it?” She questions.
“Was that Mr Sano, Manager?” One of them inquire, making a kissy face at her as she rolls her eyes, “What did he say? Is he proposing to you over the phone?”
She scoffs back, putting the phone back on the receiver, “Are you joking? Get back to work, you idiots.” She watches them scramble back to their stations as she puts the deliveries back in place. She can’t help but grin that little bit.
She’s better. She’s happier.
But there’s that part of her that thinks 'am I allowed to be happy when my friends aren’t around?’.
She might visit the Twins, Chifuyu, Inui and such with Mikey, but that was on occasions. For example, the last time they all met together was for Pah’s wedding, which was a couple months ago. For Y/N now, it was only her and Mikey in this part of Japan. The others were spread across the country. Growing apart. Growing up.
Even Mitsuya, who told her that he just wanted her to be okay, and that it would be fine if she didn’t love him the way he loved her. He was off in the world, making a name for himself in the fashion industry with both of his sisters becoming bright young women. The two did call each other to do check ups, but it’s been a while since Y/N’s seen him.
But they know that they’ll be fine.
Hours passed and the restaurant was closed, Y/N wiping the counter down before sighing out, taking off her apron and grabbing her belongings. She was happy to be going home. She was happy to look forward to going home. To have someone to go home to.
As she opened the door, her phone dinged and the screen lit up.
manjiro (ʘᴥʘ): chck rof
manjiro (ʘᴥʘ): check
manjiro (ʘᴥʘ): check roof
y/n ᓚᘏᗢ: what
manjiro (ʘᴥʘ): go to roof of restaurant
y/n ᓚᘏᗢ:why
manjiro (ʘᴥʘ): i own it, dont worry <3
She rolls her eyes, locking the restaurant door and walking towards the back of the building, where the metal stairs were. Mikey was like this, he’d spontaneously ask her to do something fun, especially when he knew she was having a bad day. It made her feel better.
Her bike is parked at the front, the tiger on the shining metal looking back at her. A quick look to the bike and she sees that Valhalla jacket, and another sight of long black hair beside. They never go away, truly. And at this point, she is thankful.
Climbing up the stairs in the winter was dangerous. But she had her coat wrapped tightly around her, the air only flowing slightly against her cheeks. When she reached the top, her eyes set on… Mikey struggling to keep a couple of candles lit.
“Shit, shit, shit.” He mumbles to himself, another fire going out.
“What are you doing, Mikey?” She questions, stepping onto the roof with a tilted head. He glances to her with wide eyes and matches in hand.
He stands up straight, walking in between the picnic basket and flowers and pillows, and towards her. “I, uh, you worked really hard this week and I thought that I could bring dinner to you.” Mikey says, clapping his hands together, “It was supposed to be well-lit, but the candles blew out just as you were walking up here. Sorry…”
Y/N smiles, pulling off her bag and walking closer to him. “That’s very sweet of you, Manjiro.” She hums, dropping her bag beside the picnic basket. Mikey blinks at her as she holds his hands in hers. “Thank you, but it’s not really that dark out because of the street lights. It’s romantic though.”
“I don’t know how to be romantic.” He states, shrugging his shoulders.
“I know.” She replies, leaning towards him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He only stares and pulls her back with a smile, sitting the two of them down on the picnic blanket. “It’s romantic enough.” Y/N picks up the wine glass, that she knows is from that set of glasses that Mikey keeps in his office for special occasions. “What’s so special about today?”
Mikey looks upset at that. So he pops open the wine bottle and takes her glass, pouring carefully. “You mean you don’t remember?” He hums out, passing it back to her, “It’s our anniversary.”
“What?” She gasps, pulling out her phone and checking the date, “That can’t be! It’s not even close to December!”
He smiles once again, sipping his own glass of wine and tilting his head. “I don’t mean the anniversary for, uh, after you left Toman. I mean from before I got out of town. It would be ten years from today.” He claims, opening the picnic basket and handing her a bowl of strawberries. She takes it carefully. “I know technically, it isn’t an anniversary because I hurt you, and left. But I’ve been celebrating it every year since, just secretly.”
Y/N puts the bowl down. “Really? Why… didn’t you tell me?” A sad smiles dawns her lips.
“It’s kind of been my own thing, you know?” He chuckles, looking over the roof of the restaurant and to the distant cars passing them by, “I started giving you gifts the year we got back together, after we moved out of our home town four years ago. I leave send out flowers to every place you visit and tell them to hand it to you. And I come home early to try and cook this three course dinner. I’ve… only been successful on that last part like twice though.”
She lets out a short laugh at that, squeezing his hand tightly. “It’s okay. I still love it all.” She tells him, head tilting to the side, “I wish I knew. I would’ve celebrated with you.”
Mikey only shakes his head. “I’m just glad you’re still here with me.”
The night goes on, and the food is eaten. Mikey and Y/N are there for hours, way passed what they really should be there for. The moon in high in the sky at 11:30, and Y/N is wrapped in a blanket that Mikey brought along. He had refused the use of it so that she could have it all. However, she has her hand out the side to hold his and keep him warm.
That’s when Mikey sits up straight.
“I want to marry you.”
She freezes up in her spot.
Y/N glances towards Mikey, who is already facing her. He looks serious. So she sits on her knees as he is, holding the blanket around her shoulders. “What did you say?” She mutters, “You… You want to marry me?”
“Yes. Without a doubt.” Mikey says confidently, nodding his head. “I’ve been in love with you for forever. And I want nothing more than to stay with only you.”
At this point, she knows that she can’t ignore the beating of her heart when Mikey says something like that. He’s done it before, as jokes most of the time. When they met up at Pah’s wedding with the others, and he said he’d take the thunder from the groom by proposing to his girlfriend right then and there. Takemichi advised against it. Another time being right after they found a house and moved in together. Mikey said they might as well have been married already, and Y/N agreed. The two laughed it off.
But Mikey was serious here, wasn’t he?
He didn’t look like it was a joke. So maybe it really wasn’t.
“I don’t think I could ever imagine marrying someone who wasn’t you.” Mikey states, no wavering in his tone or shifting hands. He had all his attention on Y/N, not to make a mistake. “I would never want to anyway.”
“Manjiro, you can’t… say that—” She begins, feeling her eyes burn and ache.
“Is it because I’m not down on one knee?” He questions, already shifting in his spot. Y/N watches as he nearly falls to the side trying to get on one knee. He looks ridiculous, all dressed up in this messy office get-up. His tie is loose and his suit jacket hangs off the picnic basket. Not to mention his shoes being untied for God knows how long. Y/N couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “How about now? Do you accept my proposal?”
“Manjiro!” She laughs out, covering her face as small tears form on her eyes. Even if he did look so stupid right now, it was tooth-achingly sweet. She had to admit that much. “You’re such an idiot… You can’t seriously be proposing to me without—”
Her hand leaves her face as she lays her eyes on Mikey. He smiles gently, holding up the winding golden band with that shiny diamond in the centre of it all. He holds it towards her.
“Hanemiya Y/N.” He says.
And that’s when the tears begin to pour.
A small noise leaves Y/N and she blinks the tears away. She doesn’t want to close her eyes or cover them. If she takes her gaze off of Mikey, he might disappear.
“Man, I didn’t even get to continue.” He huffs, his own face burning up at the moment.
Y/N waves her hand at that, using her other to wipe her cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, go on. I’m okay, I’m listening.” She claims.
Mikey then regains his posture, clearing his throat. “Hanemiya Y/N, I love you more than the amount of times the sun has risen.” He begins, “And I always wake up and wonder how I can make it up to you, and show you that you’re my everything.”
The ring deflects the streetlights as he turns in in his fingers. Y/N can only see Mikey.
“I don’t want to marry you because I feel guilty, no.” He shakes his head at the idiotic thought. “I want to marry you so that I can be with you endlessly, and love you unconditionally.”
She can’t wipe away all the tears dripping down her cheeks.
“Y/N. Will you marry me?”
He doesn’t get a response. Instead, she leaps forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him close. The blanket flows off her shoulders and back onto the picnic basket. Y/N buries her head into his shoulders and can’t help but hold tightly.
Mikey sits up properly, patting her back and kissing her cheek. “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t need to answer me now. The offer will always stand.” He informs her.
“Manjiro.” She sighs out, pulling away slightly. He closes his eyes for a second and opens them again, bringing a hand up to wipe Y/N’s tears from her cheeks. “I will marry you.”
He takes a deep breath in, and then lets out a short laugh. “That’s… Oh God—That’s great news.” He begins, kissing her forehead a few times, “I’m… I’m so glad. Thank you. That’s amazing, I—”
He stops, allowing himself to breath in and the tears flow out. They race down his skin and onto his lap, unable to contain himself. Y/N doesn’t say anything, only grinning and wiping away his tears. She kisses each trail and runs fingers through his hair.
“I love you too, Manjiro.” She responds, “More than you’ll ever know.”
She holds his shoulder before leaning forward, placing her lips over his gently and moving closer to him. Her eyes are squeezed shut as Mikey’s hands hold her back and bring her flush against his chest, reciprocating the kiss. He has this big smile on his face as he kisses her a few more times, before leaning away to admire his now fiancé.
He slips the ring onto her finger.
The two pack up, deciding that it was time to head home. It was so late already. As they make their way to their bikes, Y/N notices something by their rides.
“Such a cute couple, wouldn’t you say?”
“Duh.”
“Why can’t you be more excited for them?”
“It was bound to happen, what’s so exciting about something so expected?”
“Are you saying it was boring?”
“Eh… He could’ve done better at proposing.”
“Draken!”
Emma playfully punches her boyfriend’s arm before looking back to Y/N. She watches them in awe, wiping her eyes to see if it was really happening. The two were there, in front of her restaurant. Whilst not really… there, they were present.
She holds this beautiful smile. Emma’s always been so beautiful. She waves a hand at her best friend, other held tightly in Draken’s grasp. “You look gorgeous! And that ring, oh my God!” She quietly gasps out to her.
Draken smiles proudly. “Good job. I knew the two of you could do it.” He mentions.
Y/N plays with the ring on her finger, hopping onto her bike. She smiles at what they say.
“You be good, alright?” Emma calls, hugging Draken closer to her, “I want to hear all about it when you see me again!”
“And keep Mikey in line for me, okay?” Draken says, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders, “I can always count on you.”
Y/N nods her head, taking out her motorcycle keys. That grin plays on her lips.
Emma watches her with such pride and affection.
“We love you, Y/N.” She says.
Y/N starts her bike, glancing to the store again. They’re gone. But they’re not really. No one is ever really gone.
“Are you ready to head home now, Sweetheart?”
Mikey rests a hand over hers, watching as she plays with that specific scarf around her neck. This happens sometimes. She zones out when thinking about them. But he’s always there to knock her back into reality.
Y/N nods her head.
“Yeah…” She hums, “I’m ready to go home, Manjiro.”
“Can you aim it right?” 17-year-old Mitsuya questions, leaning against a tree a few feet away. He watches as Y/N examines her gun again, a silencer set right on the barrel. It was her birthday present that she unwrapped yesterday, from Sanzu himself. She rolls it on and checks her mag. “I don’t trust Sanzu to teach you. He just shoots off and hopes for the best.”
A newly 16-year-old Y/N glances to him from the targets set up by Draken. “I can aim just fine, thank you very much.” She retorts, tightening the silencer and holding out her weapon, “And Sanzu said I’m pretty much a pro at this point. You’ve seen me shoot things.”
“Yeah. You nearly shot Hakkai when he interrupted your practice.” He deadpans, tilting his head down to her, “Maybe you should leave the bullets to Sanzu.”
Y/N gives a large sigh, facing the targets on the tree stumps further away from her, “This puts me on the level beneath Mikey. If I have this, then I’m strong.”
Everyone knew how Mitsuya felt about violence. He stands there, arms crossed over his chest and holding onto his arms tightly. He never liked watching his friend be like this, so determined to be stronger than what she was. Y/N’s strength lived in her respect for and from others, and how she never gave up. He’s watched her get thrown to the ground by Draken and Chifuyu multiple times, just for her to get stronger. While she wasn’t strong enough to defeat the Vice, Chifuyu found it harder and harder to contain her. She was… admirable. But he never liked why she did what she did.
It was always Mikey. She had to be better than Mikey. She needed to be better than Mikey. She could never just be herself.
“Alright. Go ahead.” Mitsuya says.
A deep breath. And she shoots. There are seven targets, painted on different cans of empty cat food that Chifuyu kindly gave to them to use. Five of them get knocked over. The last two are dented in the side, slightly sliding in their spot. A click leaves Y/N’s mouth.
“Shit.”
“That’s good.” Mitsuya praises, standing by her with a hand on her shoulder, “At least you hit them. You don’t always have to be on target, as long as you do some damage.” He lifts his hand and walks over, examining the still standing cans. “Sometimes it’s better to do less damage.”
Y/N stares at the back of his head and his movement. She shoves her gun back into her holster and stands beside him. “Do you think that Toman is getting better, or worse?” She questions, holding the can in her palm and rubbing her thumb over the dent.
“Better. For sure.” He replies in no time, “You’ve grown the gang, and we’ve filled our Divisions to the max, we’ll have to wither shuffle people around or start a new group. And everyone who has belittled you, now works for you. I think it’s better.”
She puts the cans down as Mitsuya does, walking back to their spot as new targets take place. She lifts her gun. “But they’d rather work for Mikey than for his ex-girlfriend.”
One, two, three, four, five, six targets down. One hit.
“If I don’t get more valuable, then I’ll die out like he did.”
One, two, three, four, five, six targets down. One miss.
“I can’t let them down.”
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven down.
Mitsuya puts the damaged cans in the trash bag, seeing Y/N rolling off the silencer. It’s been an hour of practice. She puts her things away and makes her way with Mitsuya to their bikes.
“You know.” He begins, turning his bike on, “You remind me of Shinichiro.”
She feels her heart pick up when the name is mentioned.
“He was a weak king, but never gave up.” Mitsuya claims, seeing Y/N trace the tiger on her bike, “But the difference between you and him, is that you are trying to be Mikey. He was himself.”
Sometimes, Y/N hated how right Mitsuya was.
She found him staring and watching her, all the time. Almost like a constant analysation of his Commander. Even when she shut herself in after that Halloween, he was there to see how she was doing. Y/N could hate him, more like she wanted to hate him, just because he was so observant. She hated all of it.
Y/N shakes her keys in her hands.
“I’m going to visit Kazutora, I’ll meet you at home.” She says, driving in the opposite way as Mitsuya was.
17-year-old Hanemiya Y/N’s gun is smoking from the barrel. Yells have stopped as Kisaki Tetta falls to the ground. Hanma slowly turns to the person laying slightly behind him, watching as the blood pools around his body. Part of him is speechless, and the other part feels his heart beating faster than ever.
His eyes land on Y/N, who is wide eyed, watching Kisaki. Her gun is still aimed at him, not letting up just in case he would still move. Hanma grits his teeth, fists clenched.
“What an idiot…” He mumbles to himself.
“HANMA!” Draken shouts loudly, charging towards him almost immediately as the realisation falls upon him. Hanma steps back only for Draken to throw a punch to to his face. He grabs Hanma’s shirt, repeatedly punching his cheek. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU!”
Y/N’s eyes stay on Kisaki, palms hot against the handle.
Lemaire has his eyes on her as she stands in front of him, shoulders strong and gun still aimed at the body on the floor. He has never killed anyone himself, actually. It had always been someone else’s actions that he just so happened to be behind. Lèmeiux was older than Lemaire, and being Lemaire’s brother’s right-hand man, he was more experienced when it came to dealing with traitors and punishing them.
But killing someone with the blood on his hands?
Lemaire had no idea.
Lèmeiux is kneeling beside his Commander, being free of Draken’s hold. He places a gentle hand onto his shoulder. “Are you alright?” He mutters, facing him fully, “Merde… your nose is definitely broken.”
Lemaire waves him away, wiping the blood from his chin. “Who the Hell are those two?” He questions, nodding towards Hanma and Kisaki. He had no clue what they were up to, but he already did not like them at all. They seemed to be the reason why Y/N was going crazy. “I have never seen them before.”
“I don’t know, but I got a feeling that they got something to do with the two guys from the Second Unit.” Lèmeiux states, standing with his boss and looking at Draken currently tackling Hanma to the ground, and Y/N’s aim continuing to be on Kisaki. He was referring to the incident within Clair de Lune where two members from the Second Unit were sent to the hospital with their uniforms stolen. It leaves a bad taste on his tongue. “Toman is full of snakes, it seems.”
“It’s just them two.” Lemaire responds, his broken face turning serious, “Without them, Toman would be perfect.”
He’s never known about the civil wars in Toman. Kisaki and Hanma, they flew under their radar. Everyone’s radar. Except for Toman. How the Hell did two people seem to be so invisible? Either the two of them were incredible smart and sneaky, or they mattered too little for anyone else to notice. Lemaire had a feeling it was the first.
Mitsuya and Mikey are in the front of the crowd. Neither of them can believe what was going on. The sound of gasps all around them had rung out, along with the sound of the shot itself. But they can’t utter a single word, Y/N doesn’t waver. She still looks ready to go, but she’s holding herself back. Kisaki would have to be six feet under for her to stop.
“You asshole!” Draken shouts, drawing another punch with his already bloodied fists, “I fucking hope you survive after this, so that I can you the fuck up all over again. You’ll regret ever being born.”
Hanma laughs in his face, blocking a punch and kneeing Draken in the stomach, “Oh please, I’m living my fucking life so I don’t have to regret it.” The smile on his face makes Draken fume. He pulls back, hands burning. “You couldn’t fuck me up even if you tried, Ken.”
Draken throws his knuckles at Hanma’s jaw. “Don’t fucking call me that.” He scowls, lifting him up from his collar. Hanma falls a little at the sudden and harsh action, slipping on his hands and knees. “You took Emma from me. I’ll never forgive you or Kisaki. You two can burn in Hell for all I care.”
And he gives another smirk. Hanma pushes against Draken’s shoulders, hard. “You sending me off to see her for you?” He chuckles.
Draken swears that he is a good man, but Hanma… he is testing that.
“He’s gonna’ kill him.” Chifuyu mentions, his chest heaving as his body calms down from the fighting.
“Y/N might shoot if we move.” Takemichi says, gesturing to the leader in front of them, “She’s… angry.” There’s this feeling of fear that emits from him.
Last time Y/N looked this upset, it was because someone in her club ruined her nearly finished project. Instead of taking it out on them, she asked to fight Mitsuya and was so close to winning if it wasn’t for the fact that Mitsuya realised she was being serious.
“She won’t shoot us.” Mitsuya states, “She’s got good enough aim. And she’s only angry at Hanma and Kisaki.”
Still, that doesn’t make them feel any better. Mitsuya himself is scared. He doesn’t like how Y/N is still holding her weapon, or the fact that she brought it at all. It was this precaution that she always thought of, and always carried around with her where she needed. He hated that thing.
Mikey is keeping his eyes on Draken. While Y/N was in no way hurt, his best friend was in danger. Hanma was a sneaky little shit, and he always had something up his sleeve. Kisaki would tell him to have a plan B, C, D and everything after that. He didn’t trust those two one bit.
Y/N begins to take her step towards Kisaki as Draken launches another flurry of punches to his opponent. With a deep breath, she lowers her gun and walks over to him.
“I’ve always hated you, Kisaki.” She mutters out, pistol held tightly in her hand. She knits her brows as she glares down at him on the floor. Pathetic and unmoving. It makes her sick. “Ever since you became a part of Toman all those years ago, I’ve hated you. And I don’t hate a lot of people.”
She lifts her boot and shoves it into Kisaki’s chest. He lets out a bloodied cough. She looks disappointed.
“Fuck you.” She sighs, leaning onto the foot heaving into his body, “I wish I didn’t miss. Your heart is just a few inches away.”
Kisaki places a hand on around her ankle, weak and trying. He’s unable to push her off, the pain is too much. He can’t manage to get his breathing under control, and he is getting no mercy from the girl above him.
Shit.
He should’ve killed Y/N like Hanma said to do. He said that if they just eliminated Y/N, then they could take over Toman themselves. Hanma or Kisaki could’ve killed her whenever they saw her at school. She had no people around to protect her, no gun, no motorcycle to escape with. She was alone. And she was vulnerable. There were so many chances he could’ve taken. He should’ve shot her and Draken in the back of their heads while they waited for Emma. That girl wouldn’t have done a thing.
Killing Emma might’ve been a start, but Y/N was going to end him now.
Y/N leans down, grabbing a handful of his hair and tugging him up harshly. He winces as she lowers her voice. “Emma is better than the both of us, you didn’t deserve to even breath the same air as her. How dare you do this?” She scowls, lifting her gun. With a quick movement, she bashes the bottom of her handle against Kisaki’s jaw. “Pray for your life and apologise. Beg for me to let you live, even though I will never do that. Go out with some sense of respect.”
He’s heaving to get a decent breath, but the way her heel digs into his chest and her fingers wringing his hair is making it hard. Kisaki can’t think of anything. Anything to get him out of this alive. He looks to the side. Hanma is practically passed out with Draken kicking him in the stomach repeatedly. The two of them are beat.
Kisaki looks back to Y/N, who could kill him with that gaze. He sends a glare back. “You didn’t deserve everything you got after Mikey left.” He states, “Everything you were handed, you were just given all the power because Mikey had a thing for you. You… You are nothing without him. You’ll never be anything more than his ex.”
Everyone can hear them. And for anyone who didn’t know Kisaki before, they know what he can be like now. This manipulative, whining liar who never gets his way. And Hanma, his lap dog. But with everything they’ve heard about Y/N, there’s never been a worse thing to say to her.
Y/N stares at him.
Who the Hell did he think he was?
Who the Hell did he think he was talking to?
She stands up, tugging him up as she lifts her foot off of him. Kisaki grunts as he gets pulled to his knees. Y/N stands in front of him blood sprayed across her uniform from her run-in with Lemaire. He looks up at her, hand pressing against his shoulder and trying to stop the pain.
“You’ll be nothing more than the dirt beneath my shoe.” She responds, “You’re a follower, you think that having Hanma means that you’re invincible. You don’t do shit, and you aren’t shit. Don’t talk down to me like you’re better. I can be ten times the man you think you are.”
Without another word, she brings the end of her gun to his forehead. Kisaki holds his breath, staring right back at her, as if to challenge the girl. Y/N is having none of it.
The gun rotates until the barrel is in her palm. And she draws back her hand, striking his face with the gun as if it was a bat. She goes back and forth, swinging with all her might. Kisaki has no time to think, too little strength to stop. His glasses are broken on the floor beside him.
Mikey can feel some flashbacks coming through. The sight of Y/N and Kisaki, is the exact same one as Kazutora and himself.
It goes for a few more minutes before Draken finally lays his eyes on his Commander. Y/N is seeing red, this… dark impulse surrounds her. And he’s knocked back into reality, the fact that he can’t allow her to go on. He lifts himself up from Hanma, giving him one last scowl before walking towards Y/N.
His footsteps are heard from where she stands. “You want a couple hits before we end him?” She questions, voice without hesitation. She doesn’t think twice about what she implies. “I want him to suffer.”
She gets one last hit before her wrist is stopped, held by Draken behind her. She doesn’t say anything, looking over her shoulder to him, Kisaki still in front of her with his head hung low. Y/N’s expression doesn’t change, she still looks furious, fingers tight around the barrel. Nobody dares to breathe louder than the rest of the crowd. It’s too intense, with all eyes on Y/N.
“Let go of me.” She orders. She’s never used that tone before, and her wrist is straining against Draken’s hand. Her handle is bloodied and dropping with red from Kisaki’s face. Nothing can satisfy her thirst for revenge.
He shakes his head. “Stop that. Look at what you’re doing.” He retorts. The blood trickles down his wrist as well.
“Are you saying I shouldn’t kill this bastard?” She says, holding tighter onto her gifted weapon, “Why does he deserve to live? I have every right to split his skull open right now.”
A kick pulls back and launches against the side of Kisaki’s head.
“Stop to fucking think for a second, Y/N.” Draken demands, getting more frustrated by the second. Because she is right, they have every right to be mad at him and want him gone. He himself was ready to throw that guy in a dumpster fire. “He’s done. Emma… didn’t want this for you.”
She’s glaring at the top of Kisaki’s head. “Don’t tell me what Emma wanted.” She huffs back, pulling her hand out of his grasp, “She told me all of that. And none of it is gonna’ happen because this asshole took her away from us.” She places her boot against Kisaki’s shoulder and shoves him back. “You ruined my life, so I’ll take yours.”
“Y/N—” Draken begins, loud.
“What?” She shouts back, turning around with her gun barrel held tightly in her palms.
But as she lands her gaze on her Second-in-Command, her eyes widen and her tighten fists loosen that little bit.
Draken holds his breath, a sharp pain in his lower back. Once a second passes, he feels something get pulled out of his skin.
“Fuck…” Hanma chitters, dropping the bloodied knife to the floor as he takes a few steps back, “That was easier than I thought.”
Draken turns around, throwing an arm out and knocking Hanma onto his rear. A great huff comes from him, “I’ll fucking kill you!”
“You can’t do that if you’re already dead yourself, Ken.” Hanma retorts, laying on his back and looking to the sky.
“DRAKEN!” Toman yells, voices loud and booming across the area.
“Kenny…” Mikey says, pushing passed Mitsuya and gradually jogging towards his best friend.
Mitsuya stands still for a few seconds. “What the Hell….?” He mumbles to himself, “What is this…?” He walks towards him as well, soon picking up speed and running.
The Vice Commander scowls, shivers going up his spine as the pain surges through his body. A fall to his knee is what makes Y/N run step towards him.
“Draken?” She mutters out, gun back in its holster and placing her hands on his shoulders. The guy is coughing blood onto the floor, making her heart beat faster with anxiety.
She kneels in front of him, holding his shoulders up. He can’t sit up straight. Mikey comes to his side soon enough, panicked and not knowing what to do. Mitsuya is behind Draken, examining the stab wound. It’s deep, too deep. The kind of wound that you’d expect someone to pass out from because of all the pain. But Draken is here, awake. Slightly.
Mitsuya looks towards Mikey, a solemn expression. Mikey clenches his jaw and grips harder onto Draken’s sleeve.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, we’ll take you to the hospital, it’s fine. You’re fine. You’ll be okay.” Y/N states, looking him dead in the eye with her voice shaking. Draken stares back at her, blank, with blood dripping from his mouth. Y/N can’t help the way her eyes are burning, or how her chest tightens at the scene. “You’re listening to me, right?”
“Y/N.” He replies, lifting a heavy hand up to her. She furrows her brows with a frown, his palm now resting on top of her head. “It’s okay.”
“This is not okay! Emma’s not coming back, so you have to!” She retorts, shaking his shoulders frantically.
Mikey leans back in his spot. “Kenny.” He calls. Draken turns to his childhood friend. “I’m sorry.”
The taller man holds his laboured breath for a moment. And then smiles, letting out a chuckle, “You ass, waiting up until this point to tell me.” Mikey doesn’t say anything to that. In return, Draken tilts his head down. “I forgave you once I saw Emma hug you. You can rest easy now.”
Mikey lets out a long sigh, nodding his head once.
“Mitsuya.” Draken speaks up, making the 19-year-old behind him turn his head. The lavender-haired boy gives a short hum in acknowledgement. “Thanks for saving Y/N. Please continue to help her.”
“I will.” Replies Mitsuya, who wipes his cheeks from tears.
“Y/N—”
“Shut up.” She responds, punching a fist into the hard concrete beneath her. Tears pool in her eyes and she glares towards Draken. “I don’t want to hear it from you. I… fuck.”
Draken grunts, bonking the top of her head, “Listen to me, idiot. Emma’s funeral speech… Could you read mine for me?” Her expression softens, until her lips are parted and her brows are lifted. “It would mean a lot. To me, and to Emma.”
She can’t decline his request. If she did, it’d haunt her for the rest of her life. Y/N only takes his fist off of her head and responds, “I will.”
“Thank you—” Draken is interrupted by a fit of coughs. He covers it with his hand, now covering the skin with red. He doesn’t look regretful or panicked, not how Y/N, Mikey and Mitsuya look right at this second.
Draken only lays his hands on his lap, staring at his bloodied palms and knuckles. He wouldn’t want to leave any other way. His friends are beside him, and he will be seeing Baji, Kazutora… and most importantly, he’ll be with her.
“I’m on my way, Emma.”
Silence.
“Kenny?”
Silence.
Y/N holds her breath. And stands up.
Her tears are now dried along her cheeks, anything still wet being wiped off her face with the back of her hand.
She doesn’t look sad anymore.
Draken is cold and he sits there, blood etching from his back onto the ground around him. He can’t say anything to Y/N anymore. No more 'think before you act’, or 'at least look presentable’. Draken is gone now.
She doesn’t know what to do.
If the people she cares about are dropping one by one, then who will be the last person?
Next thing she knows, it might be Mikey, or Mitsuya, or Hina, or Takemichi, or Chifuyu… They could all be next.
“You’re fucking dead now.” She spits out venomously, sliding her handgun out from her holster. She walks towards Kisaki, who had sit up to watch the whole thing play out. Throughout their many years of planning and trying to gain control of Toman, they had never managed to kill any of the Commanders. Not even when Takemichi was a Commander. Y/N kicks him upside the chin, making Kisaki yelp and fall back. Her gun is aimed at his head. “I’d kill you with my bear hands, but I don’t want to get infected by a piece of shit like you.”
“Go throw yourself onto the highway.” Kisaki scowls back, scornful expression on his face. His glasses as sitting a few feet away, broken and bent. He doesn’t bother reaching for them.
Y/N squints at him. And lifts her gun to check her magazine. Half-empty. With a satisfied overlook, she clicks the mag back into her weapon.
“Your mother made the mistake of having you.” She tells Kisaki. He grits his teeth. Seething. “I’ll fix it for her.”
And just as she’s about to squeeze the trigger, a hand falls on top of her shoulder. Her finger relaxes, unwillingly.
SUMMARY → some people are in your life for a short amount, the hardest part of that is that most of the time you don’t really get closure. you just move on, but once in a while, things work out no matter how bittersweet it is.
PAIRING → hanma shuji x fem!reader
GENRE → drabble, hurt/comfort, closure of a broken relationship
MASTERLIST→ if you want to read other works of mine
A/N → first hanma drabble of the bunch starting with the worst so i set my expectations low ALSO, yes, i did re-watch the movie and it inspired me to make this!
UNEDITED!
SOME PEOPLE ARE IN our lives just to teach us something. To be there for a fleeting moment, just a season before they disappear again and get replaced by someone new. It happens all the time but every now and then a small thing will remind you of them. Depending on how the departure went it will leave you with a warmth or dread.
“This song reminds me of her.” the man said, taking a sip of the coffee you had just placed down. You didn’t have to strain your ear to know where the song came from, “It’s from a movie.” he adds on.
Nodding you take the previous cup he drank, “Five centimetres per second.” you say, naming where the song comes from. “She would always watch it and cry thinking it would happen to us.” he tells you. Humming you whip the table down, “Did it?” you ask, playing along.
“Yeah… but not by me.” he tells you. Nodding at his word you want to know where this conversation would go and as it’s not too busy you have to time to indulge in it, “Want to tell me about them?”
“She’s married now, has kids.”
“You don’t?”
Shaking his head he looks into his cup the heat condenses on his glasses, “Never really dated anyone after.” he says, so softly you wouldn’t have heard him if you weren’t focused on his words. Shifting his gaze back to you, “Do you… do you think if I called her then she would have come with me?”
Taking a deep breath, you think deeply on how to word your answer, “I had a friend when I was younger was absolutely in love with him. And without a doubt, if he had asked me to come with him, I would have.”
“But that’s as a teen, right?”
“Yeah, when you are married and have kids it’s no longer just about one person anymore.”
Humming, he leans back. Giving you his full and utmost attention, “What would you want?” he asks instead. Feeling a little flustered by his eyes roaming your frame in such care, you turn around to take the cups from a different table, “You should call her, Shuji. I bet she would love to hear from you.”
Wiping the table, “If I were too—“ turning back around you cut him off before he could finish his question, “You wouldn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because it’s selfish, you know I would. And you are anything but that.”
Placing your hand on his, “I know it’s you who keeps leaving the present.” you tell him. A soft smile comes to his face, which your eyes can’t help but follow, “How did you know?”
“You’re the only one who would remember me re-watching that.” you tell him. Pressing a small kiss to his cheek, smiling softly at the man that held your heart for so long, “Bye, Hanma-Kun.” you whisper, before leaving to the front again.
“Bye.”
And just like all those times before he watches it from afar.
note: this is my another piece for the friends with benefits collab from the lovely @kshira ✹ hope you all enjoy it
it was late at night, and the breeze from the small lake that was in front of you caressed your face in a lullaby. it has been your special place since middle school. a small remote spot under a bridge near some old buildings where you biked together after classes. shinichiro was there by your side, as always. you had your head on his shoulder as he whistled a song you remember hearing multiple times on his motorcycle shop’s radio, just looking at the reflection of the darkness in the water
the connection floating in the air you both inhaled went beyond what people commonly call friendship. because friendship has limits, limits that most of the time are broken to transform into something stronger, more intimate, a relationship. what everyone calls conventional, what people wantonly swallow, what fools settle for. but the things between him and you were about something far beyond that, more significant. two soulmates who didn’t necessarily needed to have a name to call themselves, to the things you’ve done
and indeed, there were strong emotions in every moment you have spent together, like in the kisses you shared in the privacy of an empty park at night, or when you showered together. but at the same time, there was the latent bond of an unbreakable friendship. after once succumbing to your deepest desires, things were never the same. and not because of the fact of surrendering, but because of what had changed that day. something unstoppable and loud, but at the same time so serene that never presented a disturbance
it has always been shinichiro and you, everyone knew it, everyone noticed it. but still, you always seemed to find a place somewhere in the corner, to hide. and enjoy every single second together without a the need of a label
just like in this instant
-what are you thinking about?- his voice rang in your ears and you felt the way his chest vibrated with the sound
-i’m thinking about you- he chuckled after your answer, and you played along, trying to keep things nicely. cause you knew deep in your mind that it will not last long after what you have to say. it’s been on your mind for weeks, bothering you
-you finally fell in love with me?- he always joked around with that. was he really in love with you? you weren’t sure. but it was the same for you. at this point, it was useless trying to make it up
-in your dreams, creep-
-no but for real, everything good?- and he always knew what to say too. as if he had some kind of external power that whispered your thoughts in his ear without you noticing, resulting basically impossible to hide things away from him
-yeah, i mean- so why hiding them? -i do have something to tell you-
-is it bad? or- his eyes reflected the most subtle concern and you already felt like drowing in the water that flowed before you, was the most suitable option
-no, well, i don’t know- an unfunny laugh escaped from your mouth, but it sounded more like a whimper. infecting it to shinichiro, as a mechanism to withstand the fear that grew within him
from being in a totally calm and common atmosphere for you, it seemed that time stopped for a moment to deprive you out of oxygen
-just spit it- so you did. took a deep breath in and
-i’m leaving to work with an aunt who lives on the other side of the country for a while, because she’ll do me a favor. this job it’s a great opportunity to achieve what i want to do in the future, but-
-you scared me to death! i thought you’d said something horrible!- shinichiro interrupted you, eliciting a little jump from your body in amusement. his hands went to scratch his hair in relief
-shin, but-
-i’m so glad for you. how long?- the bombardment of his questions made everything you wanted to say get bottled up on the tip of your tongue. growing, and growing
-shin, wait- and growing, and growing
-we are having goodbye sex, right? oh, and you have to send me letters or something cool like that, keep me updated. mikey too, you know he will get jealous, and emma-
-shinichiro! don’t say that!- until it all just popped off in a a mixture of laughter and high-pitched sobs -i don’t want to leave you- and then just desperate tears of realization came out. was he guilty about it? probably
-hey-his voice softened and his eyes looked down, thinking of something to say, but it was hard. and even if he has already dealt with hard things in his life, any blow he has received, as painful as it may be, has been expected. but this?
-the laces on your shoes is untied-
you lifted your head and looked at him with puffy, watered eyes, while he got up from where he was sitting, to kneel before your leg stretched out on the grass and start tying the messy laces
-i really don’t mind, shinichiro-
-but you should, cause if you don’t, you’ll fall and i don’t want that- certainly falling wasn’t the problem, because he will always be there to, probably not catch you, but maybe fall with you too. that’s how things were, how you always liked them to be
a couple of years was the answer you gave him. and no matter that an emptiness began to engulf his heart, he tried not to show it. a lot of things could happen in that period of time, but he will be okay, right? you are coming back to see him again, and he’ll be just fine
he snapped out of those thoughts from his head when he heard you bawling in your hands, trying to cover your face
it’s hard to even think about it because you’ve been together for so long
-hey! don’t go crying on me, you said it. it’s a great opportunity, go ahead- and he smiled, just like every single time. that grin so particular from him, gentle. because he genuinely was glad about it, he wanted nothing more than the achievement of your dreams. just like when you supported him with the whole thing of his gang when you were younger, full of concern, or when the opening of his store happened. together, always together -i’ll be just here, waiting for you. don’t worry about it, okay?-
and no words came out of you after that
he stood up and you did the same, in silence. two silhouttes by the light of the moon, staring at each other for a couple of seconds to finally mold into an embrace
— note. i havent been writing these days so its very rusty :(( i just really wanted to post this short thing i’ve had in my head dince last night
“you slapped me with a baton twelve years ago. don’t you remember?” sanzu palms the back of his head with a frown, one finger pointing at the odler haitani accusingly. ran merely rolls his eyes, the corner of his lips turning up to form a proud smirk that revealed his pearly whites.
“that i did, yes.” somewhere in the back, one could hear the muffled voice of his younger brother, trying his best to hide his laughter behind a pillow at sanzu’s poor choice of words. slapped, he wheezed, almost choking in the process
sanzu frowns, rubbing the back of his skull in a soothing motion as if he could still feel the imapct of his baton on his head. “you were rude,” he huffs, crossing his arms childishly before looking away. his actions earned a snicker from the older haitani who had no intention of ever apologising.
“you’re not one to talk, sanzu. you hit me with a metal pipe. that’s ten times more worse than ran’s plastic baton.” kakucho sends the pink-haired executive a glare, pointing at the spot where he was hit. “that one was different!” sanzu exclaims, sweat building up his forehead when he feels the burning glares of kakucho drilling holes on his form. kakucho folded his arms as he leans further into the couch, “how so?”
sanzu does not hesitate, “i did it out of love!”
“love! he did it out of love!” rindou breaks down laughing wildly, slapping his knee harshly at his friend’s proud answer. his older brother follows soon after, holding on to the wall for support as he holds his stomach with one hand.
kokonoi, who had been watching silently from afar along with takeomi, merely shook his head and walked away. i don’t know them, he thought. he was hit with a realizion that, without him, bonten wouldn’t last a day with these fools running the organisation.
“love? while yelling ’die, kakucho!’ like a madman?” kakucho raised na eyebrow at sanzu who only puffed his chest as if he was being wrongly accused for something. his fingers began drumming on the skin of his arm, rpetending to be losing patience when in reality, he was amused.
“have you not heard of the phrase kill them with love?”
rindou wiped a stray tear off of his cheek, “it’s kindness. kill them with kindness, sanzu.”
the pinknette waved his hand, “same thing. the point is!” he drmatically pauses, staring straight at kakucho’s eyes with a blank expression, making kakucho shiver at the duality. “my metal pipe is made out of love, kaku.”
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.7k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter— mentions of unwanted advances [nothing vulgar but i’m putting it just in case!].
the sound of y/n’s ringtone awoke them from their deep slumber at six in the morning. y/n sighed into their pillow before reaching over to decline the call. they moved to put their phone under their pillow but stopped as it began to ring again. without checking the caller id, y/n put the phone up to their ear. “yes?” they grumbled, eyes still closed as they spoke on the phone.
“our flight is in two hours and you’re still sleeping, l/n?”
y/n paused and checked the caller id, eyes widening as they realized that kokonoi was on the opposite end of the line. they silently cursed themselves before putting the phone back up to their ear. “i apologize. i must’ve pressed snooze on my alarm clock.”
“i figured. i’m in front of your apartment and i need you to be down here in less than 10 minutes. feel free to dress comfortably as we have a bit of flex time once we land,” kokonoi said, not giving y/n a chance to respond as he hung up as soon as he finished his sentence. y/n looked at their phone before scurrying out of bed to change into something more appropriate.
for the past few days, y/n had been acting as kokonoi’s interim assistant and they found that it wasn’t as daunting as they expected. it was less work than they were used to since kokonoi wasn’t passing his work down for them to do and their assistant duties only consisted of making appointments, filing paperwork, making spreadsheets, and other tasks that didn’t require too much for them. the only real downside of the job was how awkward and skittish kokonoi made y/n feel. his presence alone was enough to have them on edge, so having to eat meals with him, since he insisted on having lunch meetings, was the most nerve-wracking thing of the day.
y/n made quick work of their face, deciding to just wash and moisturize before putting their products in the bag that they packed the night before. they opted to wear sweatpants with a white shirt and a cardigan that matched the sweats, hoping that kokonoi wouldn’t think that this would be too relaxed. they did take off the scarf that they had on, opting to tie their braids back since the scarf would definitely be too relaxed.
they checked their watch and their eyes widened as 8 minutes had passed since kokonoi’s phone call. y/n quickly grabbed their phone, the charger still attached, their carry-on, and their suitcase before rushing out the door, not before slipping on a pair of slides. after securing their apartment, they ran to the elevator which was conveniently stopped on their floor and pressed the button for the ground floor, booking it out of the lobby once the doors opened.
as y/n looked around for kokonoi, they were surprised by the sight that greeted them.
kokonoi was dressed in similar clothes to y/n with his long hair in a ponytail and his hands in his pockets. he was leaning against the car with the driver standing on the sidewalk, waiting for y/n to give him their bags.
“you didn’t have to rush. you’re my acting assistant, i wouldn’t leave you if you took longer than ten minutes,” kokonoi said as he took in y/n’s appearance. he opened the back door of the car, motioning for y/n to get in. y/n nodded and handed the driver their luggage, keeping their carry-on so that they could prepare a few things in the car. “i must be paying you well if you can afford to live here.”
“my parents paid the original payments but my salary does indeed allow me to live comfortably. thank you sir.”
“you don’t have to… nevermind.”
“i forwarded you the itinerary for the flight as well as your schedule for once we land. i also emailed the flight coordinator at the airport to arrange breakfast items for once we get in the air. if there’s anything else you need, just let me know and i’ll do my best to arrange it for you,” y/n said once the car began to move, pulling out their ipad to fix the order of a few things.
“you’re even eager to please at the crack of dawn, hm?”
“just doing my job, sir,” y/n said, not looking up from the ipad on their lap.
“feel free to rest, l/n. i’ll let you know when i need assistance,” kokonoi said, pulling out his phone.
“i’ll rest on the plane. thank you for your concern.”
there was silence as the two paid attention to their devices rather than to each other. y/n would occasionally glance over to kokonoi to see what he was doing, but his phone was angled out of their view and it would be deemed nosy if they leaned over to take a peek. whatever it was must’ve been important or at the very least interesting with how hard the man was looking at his phone.
“do you drive, l/n?” kokonoi asked, breaking the silence that y/n was sure would last until they arrived at the airport. y/n was met with kokonoi’s stare as they gave him their full attention.
“not usually, but i do have my license. may i ask why?” y/n replied, leaning back from the hunched over position that they were in.
“i’m only asking because i wanted to know if i had to drive everywhere or if we could drive interchangeably. if you’re comfortable with that.”
“i can drive. it’s no problem,” y/n replied with a shrug, receiving a hum in acknowledgement before there was silence again.
y/n was beginning to regret their outfit of choice once they stepped off of the plane. spring in japan consisted of colder nights and warmer days and the same could be said about seoul as y/n was greeted with a faceful of warm air. it was warmer than expected for mid-spring, truly feeling like midsummer.
“we have a car waiting for us out front. it will be ours for the entirety of this trip. if you’d like, i can drive,” y/n said, speaking to kokonoi for the first time since the two of them boarded the plane.
“i’d actually like to drive. thank you for offering,” kokonoi responded, walking away from the terminal with y/n in tow. y/n was informed that all of their luggage would be arriving at the hotel soon after they would arrive, giving y/n one less thing to worry about.
there was a man standing in front of a sleek car, holding up a sign that had kokonoi’s name on it. y/n seemed to notice it before kokonoi did as he began to trail behind them as they walked towards the car.
“kokonoi?” the man asked, looking at y/n as their boss had yet to quite catch up to them. y/n confirmed their identity before the man gave them the keys which y/n relayed to kokonoi. y/n thanked the man before sitting in the passenger’s seat, waiting for kokonoi to get in the car which he did eventually.
the silence in the car was a bit awkward as neither kokonoi nor y/n made any effort to make conversation, mostly because y/n was still a bit tense around him and kokonoi could sense that. kokonoi was the man who controlled whether or not they kept their job and while this wasn’t their preferred field of work, y/n would still like to have a means of income by the end of this week, even if it meant sitting in long periods of silence.
“why are you working in human resources when you have a higher financial degree?” kokonoi’s voice stole y/n’s attention away from the view outside of the window as the car was stopped at the green light.
after turning their attention to the man in the driver’s seat and seeing him already watching them, y/n replied, “that’s the department that i was placed in when i first began working for you. i assume that the finance department was just as crowded back then as it is now.”
“you can transfer departments after a year of working, you know. i’m sure if you tried you could’ve gotten it switched,” kokonoi said, casually readjusting his position in the driver’s seat.
“i’m fine with working in the human resources department. transferring would include paperwork for me, my superiors, and those in the finance department.”
“i was just asking. i was curious, i guess,” kokonoi said, not sparing y/n a glance as the light changed back to green. y/n hummed in acknowledgement before pulling out their phone, forgetting about it as it was still on airplane mode.
y/n received a few messages in the time that they had turned airplane mode on. they ignored the one’s from their mother, figuring it was about their absence at breakfast despite having told her that they had a week-long business trip. they did respond to charity, who was currently splitting y/n’s workload with vaughan, who had recently received a promotion to a manager position after one of the junior managers quit. there was also a missed call from talia, one of y/n’s good friends, probably asking y/n why their mother had decided to contact her about y/n’s absence seeing as that was usually the woman’s first instinct when y/n refused to talk to her.
y/n suspicions were correct as they opened a message from talia asking y/n if it would be inappropriate to block their mother. y/n let out an amused breath as they read the string of messages that followed the initial one before replying with a simple “i’m sorry”.
the car came to an abrupt stop, prompting y/n to look up and notice that they had arrived at the hotel. y/n quickly exited the car while also pulling out their ipad to get the information for the rooms. “i’m gonna go check us in and make sure that our luggage is on its way.”
“i’ll be in the lobby soon. i have to wait for a valet,” kokonoi said, motioning to the empty valet stand behind y/n. y/n nodded before closing the door and putting the strap of their travel bag on their shoulder.
y/n made sure to get their own room to avoid the possibility of any awkward encounters that could occur if they shared a room. they even booked the room with their own money in case kokonoi view it as a waste of expenses. they quickly received the room keys and walked to where kokonoi was standing off by the side, waiting for them.
“i’ll reimburse you for your room. i was planning on going alone since i couldn’t find a replacement for my assistant and am only now realizing that you must have had to use your own funds for the room,” kokonoi said after receiving his room keys from y/n. y/n couldn’t even object as kokonoi walked away to the elevator, opting to just silently follow him.
y/n sucked at the whole assistant thing.
y/n was glad that the meeting that kokonoi was supposed to have was turned into a virtual meeting since that meant that they no longer had to dress in their work clothes and could remain casual after taking a shower. y/n wasn’t sure how long the meeting would last as kokonoi was directly informed instead of the information going through them first. however, the day after they landed proved to be busy as the man had two morning meetings as well as an early afternoon photoshoot and a late evening dinner meeting.
while y/n only worked for his stocks company, they were well aware of the man’s other businesses, which included the talent and entertainment agency that was being featured in a magazine, prompting for kokonoi to have to take a few pictures for the article. y/n was given the tasks of reviewing pictures as they were being taken and also calling for pictures to be retaken. y/n assumed since they could do as kokonoi asked while doing tasks for those on set, all would be fine. they did it at the office, doing what kokonoi asked while still receive assignments from the senior managers without the man’s knowledge, so there was no harm.
that was soon proved to be incorrect.
to say that y/n was not a fan of the photographer was an understatement. she made obvious advances towards them, which they indirectly rejected but she didn’t seem to get the hint as she proceeded to bother y/n as they reviewed the photos that were taken. in the intermission period of the shoot, the photographer switched cameras and asked y/n to be her test subject as she adjusted the settings on the camera. y/n, who was uncomfortable with taking pictures, reluctantly agreed after the photographer continuously insisted, sparing kokonoi a glance to see that he was less than pleased.
y/n was asked by a few of the staff to stay behind and help clean the set if they had time and, despite not wanting to, y/n agreed to stay, telling kokonoi that they would let him know when they returned to the hotel. he told them that he would just wait in the car and y/n took that as his approval as they began to collect accessories that had been carelessly disregarded by the other participants of the photoshoot. it didn’t take too long since they had an extra pair of hands and the staff thanked y/n for their kindness before letting them leave when the job was mostly finished. y/n hadn’t noticed until they went to grab their own things, but kokonoi left his blazer that had his wallet in it. y/n quickly grabbed it before grabbing their own things and leaving the site.
y/n approached the car and expected to see kokonoi in the passenger’s seat, but instead was greeted by the sight of him in the driver’s seat. they put their belongings and his blazer in the back before getting in the passenger’s seat.
“you left your blazer, so i grabbed it f—,” y/n started as they began to buckle their seatbelt, but was quickly interrupted by kokonoi.
“is it your job to help the crew or to assist me?” kokonoi asked, not moving the car from its spot in front of the building. y/n could tell by his tone that he was unhappy with something, but the amount of annoyance in his tone was a bit excessive for what they did.
“to assist you, but sir, i—,” y/n was cut off once more.
“so why did it seem like you were helping others more than you were doing that? is that a bad habit that you have?”
“no, i was just trying to be helpful. the shoot was already understaffed so i—,” y/n stopped talking as kokonoi opened his mouth to interrupt, growing tired of being cut off.
“being completely complaisant with whatever someone says despite it making you uncomfortable is not helpful, especially when i asked you to do something. that’s called being insubordinate and that’s annoying. it disrupts the flow that i have as i will have to make up for where you slack. no more of that. understood?”
y/n sat in silence instead of answering, not trusting themselves enough to not say something that would get them fired. their silence was also one of shock as they believed that his reaction was a bit much. sure, they should have been more focused on what he asked them to do, but they thought that helping everyone would make the shoot run smoother overall. his annoyed reaction to their actions was justified, however it was bigger than what y/n thought was appropriate. judging by the way that he tossed his phone in the backseat, they were going to assume that something happened whilst they were cleaning and they happened to receive the harsh end of it. that didn’t excuse anything, but y/n let it pass nonetheless.
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.2k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter— feigned naivety, cursing, y/n’s parents, cringy behavior?
they were usually punctual, made great contributions during department meetings, helped their co-workers and their superiors, and had no problem running early morning coffee orders. their work quality was above average and they had a pleasant and appropriate attitude in the work environment. they hadn’t received any citations since they began working for the company and they didn’t plan on getting any. in their mind, and many others, they were an ideal employee.
which is why y/n is confused as to why they were being summoned to the ceo’s office.
while they were creating a new spreadsheet for an upcoming department meeting, y/n received a curt email from kokonoi asking for them to come to his office when it was most convenient for them. though it may have sounded like he allowed them some time before their meeting, y/n knew that “most convenient time” meant right now.
y/n didn’t have much time to worry about their career being on the line as by the time the thought crossed their mind, they were already knocking on his office door.
“you may come in,” y/n heard from inside, mentally preparing themselves before opening the door to be greeted by kokonoi with his hands folded on his large desk and his eyes directly on them.
“you wanted to see me, sir?” y/n asked as they approached his desk.
“yes, take a seat,” he said, motioning to one of two chairs that sat in front of his desk. y/n sat in the chair, straightening their posture and their clothes before looking at their boss who was now staring at them. “as i discussed in the meeting, i’m looking for a new personal assistant. i have a few business deals in another country next week and i need someone to assist me with the tasks that i will have.”
“yes, i’m aware of your predicament. as the human resources department is usually in charge of hiring, though you have the final say, we’ve compiled a list of potential replacements that you could interview and choose from. i’ll be able to bring it to you if you’d like,” y/n offered, remember the list that her senior asked them to create for their boss. they spent almost a week sifting through applications and doing background checks. it was supposed to be a collaboration responsibility amongst the senior managers, but the work was given to y/n as usual.
“interviews will take too much time. i won’t be able to choose a proper candidate in less than a week,” kokonoi rebutted, looking at his employee. y/n nodded in agreement. it was hard to choose a good employee in two weeks so something as important as a personal assistant would definitely take longer than that.
“i can help you find a temporary replacement amongst current employees. it should only take a day or two,” y/n said, already thinking of candidates. there was kouki ōta in the media department who had personal assistant experience from his paid internship days or akemi satō in the technology department who was adaptable and compliant. or even—
“i’m requesting that you fill in temporarily.”
“…pardon? i’m not sure i’m understanding,” y/n said after a few moments of stunned silence. “i have no personal assistant experience and i hold a manager position in my department meaning that i have a larger workload than the average employee. someone will have to do my extra work. i’m not a fan of burdening my peers.”
kokonoi snorted at y/n’s statement. “but you’re a fan of your superiors passing their responsibilities to you? how selfless of you.”
“i just think that i lack the requirements, sir.”
“you have a bachelors in finance, are flexible, good at impulsive decision making, good communication skills, and have never had a write up that pertained to negative work conduct. you would be a temporary solution to a problem that i’ll fix eventually,” kokonoi said, leaving no room for any kind of argument. “you can start in two days as tomorrow is your day off and i’ll let your superiors know. i’ll have the office across the hall prepared for you by the time that you come in tomorrow. you will still have access to your current office, but as my assistant, i’ll need you to be easily accessible. you will receive a pay raise for the time that you act as my assistant. do we have a deal?”
y/n racked their brains for a reason to decline that didn’t wreck their pride or put their job in jeopardy. y/n had no negative feelings towards the ceo, but he made them feel small. he was intimidating and monotonous as he spoke, leaving no room for interruption or disagreement. y/n was honestly just extremely skittish around him and knew that would affect their ability to work properly in his presence.
unfortunately, y/n couldn’t find an excuse. “yes, sir. i’ll see you bright and early in the morning.”
taking his silence as their dismissal, y/n bowed shallowly before exiting his office and making their way back to the elevator. they were glad to see that no one else was waiting for the elevator meaning that no one would see their much needed elevator tantrum.
y/n silently screamed to themselves before sliding down the wall of the elevator. they wouldn’t last two weeks as his assistant. especially if they had to rely on his body language and facial expressions to answer their questions.
y/n quickly straightened out as the doors of the elevator opened, putting on a kind smile at the sight of their co-workers. they intended on dropping the smile once they hit their office door but the sound of their name being called made them pause and turn to face one of their superiors.
“yes?”
“we are having lunch amongst the managers. will you be joining us?” she asked. y/n nodded, seeing as all of the other managers seemed to be attending as well.
“just let me grab my wallet and jacket and i’ll be right out,” y/n said, opening the door to their office and doing exactly that. “i’m ready.”
“it’s a short walk. we’ve made a reservation.”
most of the older managers walked together, conversing about some humdrum topic that the majority of the junior managers found no interest in. y/n was walking alongside another junior manager who couldn’t have been much older than them. if y/n remembered correctly, her name was charity zhao. she was foreign, much like y/n, and started working with the company about a year after y/n joined.
“i hate these things,” charity groaned to y/n. y/n hummed in agreement as charity spoke again. “they don’t even ask us where we want to eat. they just pick a place and we go. no care for dietary accommodations.”
“y’know these aren’t required. we don’t have to come to these,” y/n reminded their colleague who brushed off their words.
“yeah, but if we don’t come, they’ll see it as disrespectful as they are our seniors. a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. i’m surprised that you aren’t more opposed to this kind of thing,” she said, continuing when y/n gave them a look of confusion. “every time we go out as a group, you end up paying for people who do nothing but give you a hard time. that doesn’t bother you?”
y/n shrugged, “i guess i never really noticed. besides, i don’t mind paying for other people.”
that was a complete lie. y/n did notice that they were the ones to pick up the bill or to pay for things that those around them wanted. it happened outside of work as well. of course they knew that people were mostly paying them attention due the fact that they had a black card, but they didn’t care because in their mind, it was still good attention. they’d get that anyway that they had to.
“let me buy you lunch sometime. instead of you spending your money on us, i’ll pay,” charity suggested, holding the door for y/n as they group entered the restaurant.
“we’ll see,” y/n said, still following the group to a table big enough to fit all of them. there were about 9 managers per department as the departments usually had just over 300 employees.
the lunch was pretty uneventful as everyone indulged in their own conversation as pairs of two or groups of three with y/n talking to charity and another junior manager for most of it. against charity’s advice, y/n offered to pay for the meal after seeing the price. before the waiter could take the check however, they were stopped.
“i’ll pay for it, instead,” y/n promptly looked away at the sound of kokonoi’s voice, not realizing that he took his lunch at the same time as they did. “this is a company meal, is it not? shouldn’t you all be using the company card for your department?”
“i forgot it on my desk, so l/n offered to pay instead, sir,” the head manager explained causing kokonoi to look at y/n who was looking away from the scene, drinking from the straw in their drink. y/n was inwardly cringing as they noticed the man holding their card for them to take back.
“thank you.”
“two days, l/n. watch your emails.”
“…her eldest son just became chairman after her husband stepped down from his position and a few of her other children have jobs in law enforcement. i invited them over for dinner next week so that you’d all be able to meet them. i expect you all to be here as soon as possible,” y/n found themselves listening to their mother rant about a new friend that she had made during one of her outings. their mother had the habit of meeting and introducing people to the family as a way to subtly brag about her children’s accomplishments. that was one of the only times that y/n was of any true importance to the woman. y/n doubted that their mother would give them a minute of her time if they were less accomplished.
“i have a business trip next week due to an impromptu and temporary adjustment in my position. i have been selected to act as the ceo’s assistant until he can find a better fit. i assume it’s because i have a human resources position and we are usually in charge of this kind of thing. i apologize for my potential absence at the dinner. i’m sure i’ll be able to meet them another night,” y/n spoke for the first time since they sat down at the dinner table. their mother looked at them disappointedly as she sighed.
“is a work vacation more important than spending time with your family?” their father asked, sitting at the head of the table. this was also the first time that the man had spoken to y/n that day. the two of them hadn’t seen much of each other throughout the day as they both go to work early and come home just before dinner time. y/n would be lying if they said that their overlapping schedules were inconvenient to them.
‘does spending time with my family pay my bills or help my sanity?’ y/n thought as they wiped their mouth to speak to the man. “it’s a business trip where i’ll be working most of the time. it is not a vacation. and i didn’t say it was more important than my family. i have to work so that i can live comfortably.”
“you wouldn’t have to worry about that if you tried to marry. many of my friends have asked me to introduce one of my children to theirs and you are the only one that is of age and unmarried. perhaps if you stayed and came to the dinner, that would change.” and there was the other reason that y/n’s mother put up with them. the promise of marrying off another one of her well behaved and high-achieving children. the thought of an arranged marriage made y/n want to gag.
“if you’ll excuse me, i have an early morning. i will see you for dinner tomorrow. good night,” y/n said, standing up from the table, their plate basically untouched as they walked away from it. this topic of conversation never failed to make y/n appetite disappear.
“y/n,” their father said, making them turn around to face the man. “don’t bother with tomorrow.”
“i understand,” y/n said, slipping on their shoes and coat before leaving without a second goodbye. y/n often told joey to go home to his family after he dropped them off at the family house, him never listening as it was a part of his job to wait for them. times like these were one of the few times that y/n appreciate joey ignoring their request from him to take an early leave.
“are you alright, y/n?” joey asked as he opened the door for them before they could reach for it. y/n gave him a small ingenuine smile as they nodded and got into the car.
at least, they didn’t have to worry about being late to dinner tomorrow.
➥warnings: cursing, mentions of violence, drug usage
➥summary: learning about smiley, king of the track, and his rival ran haitani.
➥wc: 1.4
➥author’s note: i’m not a slow writer, i’m just lazy & a perfectionist , and if you want to be tagged in series posting, you can find the taglist form on the masterlist
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.6k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter—feigned naivety, cursing, that’s all i think.
y/n was perfect in every way. well, more like in every way that mattered.
they come from a long line of generational wealth with their immediate family acting as the face of the legacy. they graduated summa cum laude from one of the best schools in the country, and had a picture perfect face with a personality to match. that’s all that society had to know in order to paint them as perfect. y/n would like to say that they didn’t care about how they were viewed by those around them, but they would be lying. y/n basked in all of the good attention that they received during charity events or public gatherings, eating up the non-stop praises that they’ve received from colleagues of their parents or their own.
y/n pretended to listen to what their mother was saying as they ate their breakfast fast enough to be finished quickly, but not too fast to avoid being scolded by their mother. everything that the woman was saying went in one ear and out the other with some phrases being caught in y/n brain so they could at least feign knowledge about what the woman was saying. y/n was grateful that they no longer lived with their parents as their mother sure knew how to talk.
“…do you think you’ll be able to attend? your siblings will be there so it’s expected that you will be as well,” y/n heard as they returned their focus to their mother. y/n checked their watch and stood from the table, stacking their dishes before a maid took over.
“if it doesn’t conflict with my work, i’ll be sure to let you know. i have to head to work now. i’ll see you for dinner if i don’t stay late. if i do stay later than usual, i’ll call you and see you for breakfast tomorrow. i love you, bye,” y/n rushed as they saw their younger sister walking down the large staircase, wearing her school uniform.
“work hard and be sure to get back to me about the event i told you about,” their mother said, giving her attention to her youngest child as the older one slipped on their shoes and jacket before leaving out the door, work bag in hand.
per their father’s request, y/n was driven to and from work by a driver that he had hired for them while they were in school. y/n still had their own car to get around on days that they didn’t work or if the driver had other things to handle. y/n tried to need the driver as little as possible, not wanting to take up too much of his time, but he insisted that they weren’t a burden as this was his job.
“good morning, joey. how are you?” y/n said as they saw him standing next to the sleek black car that he usually drove them in.
“good morning, y/n. i’m well,” he replied, going to open the door for them. y/n beat him to it, being closer to the handle than he was. “you’re still playing that game? after all these years?“
y/n smiled brightly at the man. they used to try and beat him to the door handle when they were young, often losing as they got distracted by something else. “old habits die hard, i’m afraid.”
y/n let him close the door as they buckled themselves in and sat their bag on the seat next to them, pulling out their cellular device. they hadn’t checked their emails or messages all morning and were sure that they had received an abundance of inquiries, requests, and casual conversations from their co-workers. a few of them were coffee orders which they were fine with getting as they usually did.
“are we stopping at the cafe this morning?” joey asked, peaking at y/n in the rear view mirror.
y/n nodded and looked up to meet his eyes in the mirror. “i’m ordering the orders right now. would you like me to get you something? i don’t see your usual cup of tea.”
“i assure you that i am fine, y/n. thank you for the offer.” y/n hummed and smiled before returning their gaze to their phone. y/n’s generosity was another reason why their colleagues spoke so highly of them. always willing to give and equally as reluctant to receive.
y/n picked up the orders with ease and was soon dropped off at their place of work, thanking joey as they usually did before heading into the building. they worked on the 19th out of 25 floors that were in the building, often using their associate’s degree more than their master’s. despite their desire to work on the financial part of the company, y/n was made a manager of the human resources department after their promotion. they were still somewhat satisfied with their area of work, but not as satisfied as they knew working with numbers would make them.
y/n made many stops before reaching their office, saying hi to a few of their colleagues and dropping off respective coffee orders. y/n was left with their own cup of coffee and two empty drink trays. y/n set them down by the trash before getting situated at their desk and starting up the computer. y/n sighed as they opened their emails, hoping to work on a few of the documents that they had been sent. before they could even begin typing, the door of their office swung open, revealing one of the senior managers.
“good morning, sir,” y/n greeted.
“morning. you don’t seem like you’re too busy, so i need you to do something. the ceo is requesting a huge meeting with at least one rep from each department. usually, a senior manager would be the one attending, but we all have a lot of paperwork to get through. i need you to fill in for me,” he requested, though it sounded more like he already made the decision for them.
“i actually have a few of my own doc—,” y/n said, trying to politely decline a duty that she didn’t feel qualified to do.
“thanks. you can send me whatever notes you take during the meeting. it starts in about fifteen minutes,” the man said, ignoring y/n’s attempts to decline.
“but i—,” y/n tried again, but before they could finish, their superior was out the door. y/n turned back to the spreadsheet that they had previously opened before groaning quietly and resting their head on the desk. y/n cursed under their breath, thinking about how this meeting would make them have to stay later and miss dinner at home. while y/n wasn’t totally opposed to not seeing her family for dinner, that meant that they would have to cook something themselves or order out, neither of which they felt like doing.
a knock on their office door had them straightening their clothes as they sat up. “come in.”
“hey,” vaughan, one of the general employees, greeted as he entered the room. “i’m assuming that somebody just gave you a bigger workload seeing as a senior manager just left out of here and you look seconds away from ripping out a braid or two. what’s up?”
“i have to go to the meeting with the ceo today and it’s about ten minutes from now. i have no clue what it’s about or how to prepare, but everyone else has paperwork and i have a lesser workload right now.”
“you have more files on your desk than i’m pretty sure all of the senior managers have combined. this is like a week worth of work,” he said, opening and closing a few of the files after getting a glimpse of it’s contents. he sat a pastry bag down on the desk. “i got you one of the strawberry glazed donuts. someone brought them in this morning and i thought i’d get you one.”
“thank you. and our seniors are probably working on more pressing matters so i’m fine with doing this. i’m more worried about meeting ceo,” y/n said, biting into the donut that he sat on their desk.
vaughan’s eyes widened as he looked at them. “you’ve never met him? not even in passing?”
“nope, i spend most of my time in my office to see him,” y/n replied, checking their watch and groaning again. “but, i will be meeting him in ten minutes. i have all of the documents that we’ve gone over in meetings on my company ipad, so hopefully i’ll be able to come up with something. wanna walk with me?”
vaughan shook his head. “i would but i have my own stack of paperwork waiting for me. are we on for lunch?”
“yeah, i’ll pay,” y/n said, gathering the ipad and notebook on their desk before walking out of the office with vaughan behind them.
“no, it’s my treat this time. you paid the last time,” vaughan objected.
“and i’ll pay this time as well. see you at noon!” y/n called over their shoulder, leaving no room for further objection as they left the department area. the bigger meetings were usually held on the 23rd floor and y/n hoped that they would be able to follow a few others to the room where it would be held.
y/n’s prayers were answered when they noticed a few department heads getting on the same elevator that they got on. they got a few hellos and looks of confusion from those who were probably wondering why they were seeing y/n and not an older manager. y/n could only hope that the ceo wouldn’t mind their presence in the meeting, sparing them of the explanation.
speaking of the ceo, it’s not like y/n didn’t know who he was, they were well aware that they worked for hajime kokonoi. he was usually only seen entering and exiting the building and y/n entered after he did and usually left before.
y/n followed the group into a meeting room and didn’t see the ceo yet. after choosing to sit in the seat furthest from where the ceo would be sitting, y/n looked around to see if there was anyone that they were familiar enough with to ask about the purpose of this meeting. there were only two people that they knew the names of and they were sitting on the opposite end of the table. y/n thought about asking the person next to them, but, before they could go through with that plan, the doors opened and kokonoi entered. many people sprung to their feet, y/n opting to do the same and bowing in the direction of his seat before sitting down like their seniors were.
“good morning, everyone,” he greeted, earning a chorus of ‘good morning, sir’s and ‘morning, chief’ from those who were more casual with him. he took a look around the room and furrowed his brow. “no human resources representative today?”
as he finished his sentence, y/n internal wished that the floor would open up and swallow them. as they felt a few pairs of eyes land on them, they stood up and spoke. “i’m here, sir.”
kokonoi met their eyes and his expression changed slightly, almost as if he was unimpressed with their presence. “i requested the presence of one of your senior managers. though i’m sure you’re just as capable as they are, may i ask why you are here?”
“they asked me to take their place as they are handling important paperwork,” y/n answered, maintaining eye contact with the man. he quirked his eyebrow at them before looking back at the paperwork before him.
“thank you for filling in, l/n.”
instead of verbally answering, y/n settled for bowing slightly and sitting back down in their seat, wishing that the meeting would end quickly.
thankfully, the meeting, which y/n quickly found out was about discussing his need for a temporary personal assistant as the usual one is pregnant, only took about an hour. y/n would’ve been the first one out the door if it wasn’t for kokonoi asking them to stay back for a minute.
“i don’t appreciate you allowing my employees to slack off and abandon their responsibilities,”he said, not looking up from the many papers that were laid out before him. y/n was lost for words at his accusation, not really knowing what to say as a response. “nothing to say?”
“i’m confused as to what i did that was wrong? my superior gave me an order and i followed it. i apologize if my being here complicated things for you,” y/n apologized, waiting for him to dismiss them as he didn’t speak again.
“it’s not their job to give you orders. it’s their job to follow mine. keep that in mind. you may leave,” he said, finally looking up at them. y/n opened their mouth to retort but closed it and settled for nodding.
“yes, sir. i apologize on their behalf as well then. have a nice rest of your day,” y/n quickly exited the room and sped to the elevator, hoping to be on it before he decided to leave the room himself. y/n wanted nothing more to bang their head into the wall of the elevator a few times but decided against it as that reaction would be too dramatic for the current circumstance.
as they made it back to their office, they were greeted by the unpleasant sight of more files stacked onto the pile on their desk. they groaned silently, shoulder dropping in displeasure before sitting down in their desk chair and working on the pile.
so much for going home at a reasonable time.
nine hours later and y/n was still seated behind their desk, sifting through complaints, inquiries, and spreadsheets that weren’t assigned to them. all of their co-workers had already left, even vaughan, who they had to push out the door when he insisted on staying until they were done. y/n appreciated the notion, but they wouldn’t get any work done with vaughan around.
two knocks on y/n’s door had them looking at the time and back at the door, “you can come in.”
y/n expression wavered as kokonoi walked in with his briefcase and coat in hand. y/n looked at the time again and realized that they were supposed to leave two hours ago, but were too caught up in their work to realize.
“you do know that you don’t get paid for overtime, l/n?” he said, standing in the doorway of their office.
“ah, yes sir. i was just finishing up some of this paperwork. i’ll leave now,” y/n says, turning off the computer and beginning to pack up their belongings.
“is this the paperwork that your superiors were so called swamped with?” he asked, causing y/n to freeze. if they lied, it would be too obvious for him not to notice, and if they told the truth, their superiors would be up their ass tomorrow.
“i’m not sure, sir. these were here when i came back from the meeting. you would have to ask one of them,” y/n answered, pulling on their coat. the two stepped out of the office, allowing y/n to lock it behind them. “i have to call my driver.”
“i don’t have to ask them to know where these came from. you don’t have to lie for them.”
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best school, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a master’s degree in finance and associate’s in human resources, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinkerbell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
potential warnings—cursing, bullying in a sense, suggestive phrases or scenes, violence, y/n acts oblivious but isn’t so feigned naivety?, unfair family dynamics, sensitive topics, & the usage of the ‘n’ word as y/n and other included characters are black!
major tr spoilers. major character death. reverse angst comfort
the silence in the bathroom wasn’t suffocating but it wasn’t comfortable either. usually you would be scolding the young toman leader about coming over at this hour injured. or he would be attempting to make you laugh regardless of your annoyance. there was none of that though.
“we should break up.” you hummed continuing to wrap his hand. “i disagree.” you were informed about draken before he arrived. you knew how much of a toll it was going to take on mikey so you decided to let him clear out his thoughts a bit before proceeding.
placing the bandages on the ground you began to place butterfly kisses on the injured knuckles only for him to snatch it away. “no we’re breaking up. i’ve lost too many people. i can’t-” letting out a sigh he ran his hand through his hair, pulling a bit at the strands. “i can’t lose you too. so please just-”
leaning forward you pressed your lips to his softly giving him the power to pull away if needed. instead he hesitantly returned it. pulling away, your hand found his face to which he immediately nuzzled into. “i know you’re worried about me. even though you’re sitting on my cold bathroom floor bruised and tired, your main concern is me. i love you for that but you need to allow yourself to be taken care of. will you let me do that just this once?” he stared at you for a bit before nodding slowly. the tears he’s tried so hard to hide from everyone silently slipped down his cheeks.
he couldn’t tell if your stubbornness amused or pissed him off more but god was he grateful for it right now.
–pairing:devil!ran haitani x f!reader, 17th century new england au, inspired by ‘the witch (2016)’ and the salem witch trials folklore
–content:dark content, corruption, loss of virginity, ritual sex, erotic horror,monster-fucking, breeding, oral (f!receiving), fingering, overstim, mentions of assault/abuse, archaic dialogue
–note:my shot at erotic horror featuring ran haitani for @semisgroupie’sheaven&hell collab bc i watched the witch and thought ran would make a good human!black phillip, dark content ahead so minors can f*ck off! feel free to rb, send me an ask, or leave a comment <3
You fled from the only home you knew since crossing the tempestuous waters of the sea after the demise of your parents, running as fast as your legs would carry. The events that led to your expulsion happened so quickly, you left with only the clothes on your back as your aunt chased you out of her home.
The resounding hammering of your heart was almost loud enough to overpower the cruel clamor of the villagers from behind the settlement’s walls. Their insults were all ones you’d heard before from the lips of the only family you had left–your paternal aunt. She had uttered them in passing as you dutifully worked on your morning chores while your uncle ogled at you, hissed them into your ear as she pulled you away from her husband’s wandering hands, and finally screeched them early that morning when she found the very same man hovering over you as he tore your bodice and pushed up your skirts.
“Whore. Slut. Witch.”
You were none of those things. Your virtue remained intact despite the attack in the barn moments prior. Your fingers had not breached your mound even when the sounds of your aunt and uncle’s couplings snaked into your ears and all of the warmth within your body pooled between your legs. Instead of falling prey to your innate sinful desires, you turned to prayer–to your faith–to dispel those corrupt thoughts. After losing your parents and your homeland, your love of God had been what kept you going. It gave you the courage to board a ship and sail to the New Land to reunite with the only family you had left, gave you the strength to work from sunrise to sunset completing household chores, and it would give you the will to press forward in hopes of finding a village or a family in need of an extra set of hands.
Hopes that wore thin after a day and a half of walking without the smallest sign of civilization. No matter how far you traveled along the edge of the dark, ominous forest, there was only a clearing of grassy rolling hills as far as the eye could see.
Throughout your journey, venturing into the wood had never been an option. Nothing good ever came from places shrouded in darkness where the lord’s light could not shine through. Darkness was what propagated all sorts of sin. That was the reason you fell asleep watching undulating flames dancing in the fireplace.
Night crept upon you, and you woke up to the sound of rustling grass and snapping twigs. Exhausted beyond anything you had ever experienced, you mindlessly followed the noises and collapsed next to a brook near the wood to quench your thirst. You cupped your hands and desperately drank your fill of freshwater until your belly cramped from the sudden intake. You were splashing water over your face when, suddenly, the faint smell of smoke wafted up your nose.
Despite the pulsating ache in your feet and calves, you leapt to your feet and staggered to the source of the scent only to find hot ashes over a bed of dead grass. It was the first sign of human life you had seen since leaving the settlement, and you could not help the breathless laugh that left your lips at the hopeful sign. Just as you wondered where the person behind the fire could have gone, you heard more rustling grass and snapping twigs and looked up to see movement in the tall grass and weeds leading to the wood.
It seemed to almost beckon you to enter it; a ray of light shining down just at the entrance before darkness engulfed the rest of the wood. Weary, hungry, and desperate, you clutched at your soiled skirts and stared at your adversary–the primeval forest–debating whether to enter or not.
In the end, you took the light as a sign from God and entered the wood, knowing that it would either lead to your salvation or perdition.
As you clumsily made your way through the forest, the little daylight that did squeeze through the thick towering treetops waned as another day in the wilderness came to an end, and your renewed hope with it.
Panic bubbled in your chest and your breathing become labored as you struggled onward. The deeper into the wood you traveled, the thicker the foliage became, until you were squeezing through vines, piercing yourself on thorned stems, running into wayward branches, and stumbling on the jutting tree roots that littered your path.
One nasty tumble, in particular, was what pushed you over the edge and had you sobbing, face down on the cold earth as hot tears spilled from your tired eyes. With your faith stripped, you were left vulnerable for sinful thoughts to cross your mind and you pleaded for death to the ground below.
But instead of death, you received another sign of life–the smell of chimney smoke–just ahead and only growing stronger. And like the survivor you were, you slowly rose to your feet and wiped your tears with dirty hands before trudging toward the miraculous smoke you weren’t so sure was a blessing from God anymore.
The difficult path eventually gave way to a clearing of dead grass where a cabin stood directly in the middle. It was a striking but strange structure of black wood panels, a steeply pitched roof, and glass-paned windows that emitted a blood orange glow from within. An intricate dwelling that was out of place yet matched the ominousness of the wood.
It wasn’t until the door creaked open that you stopped in your tracks and realized that the wood had been engulfed in uncanny silence except for the grass crackling beneath your feet. A shudder ran down your spine as you watched a tall silhouette appear from behind the door amidst the strangely tinged light.
The figure quirked its head to the side as if considering you, and blood pulsated in your ears as every fiber of your being told you to flee. But before you could take more than a step back, the figure took a step forward, and you found yourself unable to move or speak as the most handsome man you had ever seen approached you.
His appearance was unlike any other and that only added to his allure. His cropped short hair was dyed like a fine, patterned cloth and combed to the sides. His white chemise was without ruffles or puffed sleeves. His black clothing was long and form-fitting with little to no adornments save for golden buttons down the length of his waistcoat and coat and a flat and narrow red silken cravat. His black leather boots were also strange in that they stopped at the hem of his breeches instead of traveling up his calves.
It was not until you caught yourself admiring his pale skin, thin pink lips, high cheekbones, and lidded-lilac eyes that you realized you felt no shame in your libertine actions, and he too was not offended by them. On the contrary, his lips curled upward into a beguiling smile as he towered over you, his eyes catching the light as they too drank their fill of you in a way that made you feel naked.
“Thou art alone.“ It was not a question, but you were too enthralled by the melodic quality of his voice to notice. “Thou art weary, lost, and in need of shelter.”
He reached out for you, his long slender fingers picking out a dry leaf from your hair. Your breath caught in your throat as his warm fingers trailed down the side of your face to gingerly cup your cheek. Deprived of affection for far too long, you readily leaned into the strange man’s touch with a whimper, closing your eyes and pretending it was your father’s hand.
“Come unto me, Little Lamb, and thou shalt have everything thy heart desires.” He murmured, slipping his other hand behind your head and drawing you closer until his warm breath fanned over your face.
You opened your eyes and swirling orbs of lilac peered down at you, haunting and inviting all at once.
“W-what dost thou require of me?” You shivered under the intensity of his gaze, pressing your legs together as heat pooled between them.
“What canst thou give?” His head cocked to the side, and his eyes lowered to your torn bodice and further to your filthy skirt.
“I’ve only myself,” you whispered. A maddening flush spread from your cheeks up to your ears and down to your neck and chest. It pricked your skin and caused that familiar pulsating ache to build until wetness seeped past your quim.
His smile took on a sinister edge, but you had long since gone past the point of no return. “‘Tis all I ask, Little Lamb.”
He pulled you to him and his mouth pressed against yours in a fervent kiss. It was unlike what you had ever expected. It was violent and bruising, hot and wet. It overpowered you and forced you into submission. It tasted of sweet sin and set your skin aflame. It was everything you had been deprived of and you soon returned it with just as much ardor, snaking your arms around his neck and tangling your fingers in his hair.
If there was still any doubt that the stranger before you was the Devil himself, it vanished the moment your surroundings transformed into a bedroom with a crackling fireplace, dim blood orange light, and black luxurious furnishings.
The Devil’s hands slithered behind your back and ripped up your bodice and chemise until they fell onto the ground in ribbons. He did the same with the rest of your clothing until you were trembling and bare. His mouth moved down your neck and sucked on the flesh there, leaving a trail of marks in its wake. You gasped and squirmed but his hands grasped your arse and held you in place. His mouth journeyed further until he took a nipple into his wet warm mouth and suckled on it like a babe before giving the other the same attention.
Jolts of pleasure coursed through you and a throaty whine escaped your lips as the room shifted once more and you found yourself arching off silken sheets with the Devil naked and looming over you, lidded eyes aflame, swollen lips parted, and pale skin covered in a sheen of sweat. He was bewitchingly beautiful and all you could do was watch in awe as he settled between your legs and put his mouth on your dripping quim.
It was a dirty sinful act, but you cared not and reveled in your sin. His long forked tongue parted your folds and lapped at your slick. It traveled up to the throbbing nub atop your mound and flicked at it before drawing it between his lips and sucking until you were writhing underneath his hold. As his mouth and tongue worked your sensitive nub, A finger pushed between your folds, past the ring of tight flesh, and into your most sacred place. It thrust in and out of you with deliberate strokes that pressed against one fleshy spot in particular. One finger became two and then three and before you knew it, waves of molten pleasure built up and bubbled over, a wail ripping from your throat and blinding light clouding your vision.
You halfway expected the flames of hell to engulf you and send you to the deepest depths of Hell, but instead of death by hellfire, you were proven to be very much alive when the Devil pierced you with his cock and claimed your virtue.
He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you up onto his lap. “I have accepted thy gift, Little Lamb. Thou will want for nothing. I shall provide everything thou desires. I shall be thy lord, master, father, and husband.”
The blacks of his eyes expanded until they covered the entirety of his eyeballs and a set of ridged horns protruded from his scalp. He was a monster but you cared not for he had promised everything you had ever wanted.
“Ride my cock,” he growled into your ear before gripping your hips.
“Take my seed into thy womb,” he continued, picking you up and slamming you back down onto his length.
“And seal thy fate with mine!”
You kissed the Devil and did your new master’s bidding. Your hands gripped his horns and you met each thrust of his hips with your own, sobbing out in pleasure every time he hit the nerves near your womb that had you seeing stars.
“Yes, right there!” you cried, throwing your head back in ecstasy, “there, there, there!”
He rutted into you like the beast he was, stretching you out and working you toward another peak more intense than the first one. You turned into a babbling mindless mess with each forceful thrust, your walls contracted around the Devil’s pulsating cock. An animalistic growl ripped from his throat, and he bit into your shoulder, his sharp teeth drawing out blood and long tongue lapping it up.
Pain and pleasure–that was what drove you to completion and the Devil shortly afterward. Your spend gushed out of you and coated your conjoined bodies while the Devil’s shot his inside of your womb, filling you up until your belly swelled and cramped.
You squirmed underneath him and whined in pain, but the Devil paid you no mind, pinning you down on what was now the cold rumbling earth.
Back in his human form, he pulled out of your spent quim and pressed a kiss against your sweaty brow.
“‘Tis done,” he declared with a horrifying smile. “You are mine.”
At his declaration, his seed turned molten and burned your insides. You writhed and screamed as the Devil laughed above you, lilac eyes shining, and just when you were sure the mercy of death would befall you, the ground split open beneath you, and you fell to the depths of Hell with the Devil holding you for what would be all eternity.
featuring: mikey x reader, bonten, takemichi, kazutora
note: haha let’s pretend it didn’t take me almost 2 months to write this~ regardless, i hope you all like the ending. it’s the ending i had in mind since the beginning! a huge thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, and commented on this story~ you guys mean the world to me <3
A part of you had always known that your memory would come with a myriad of problems and emotions, but you never expected them to include the worst parts of yourself that had been buried in the darkest recesses of your mind. The putrid feelings that naturally arose in a child from a broken home. The kind that made you seek out others in similar situations just to make yourself feel better because misery really didlike a little company. Those were the terrible feelings that propelled you to look for your half-brother, the product of your father’s affair, and the only person that seemed to have it worse than you.
It was only after you found him, that you started to feel better about yourself. You appreciated the refrigerator at home that was always full, your clean and comfortable bed, and even the constant influx of toys gifted to you by your absent parents–all of the things Tetta didn’thave. And when you realized that the one thing he did have was a mother’s love, you selfishly weaseled your way into his home and took some of that love for yourself while replacing it with your warped affection for him. A transaction you considered to be generous compared to the material things your parents gave you instead.
And much like the constant influx of toys your parents sent you to make up for their absence, you showered Tetta with affection in spite of his scheming and terrible actions against those in his way. You knowingly turned a blind eye to his misdeeds and continued trailing after him like the good little sister you fooled yourself into believing you were. Because if you didn’t, then you would’ve been forced to face your true ugly self. The one you’d worked so hard to hide and forget. The selfish, miserable girl who had everything Tetta wanted and thought that being a clingy and annoying sister would’ve been enough to make up for it.
But in the end, it wasn’t. Tetta’s power-hungry spiral led him to an early and terrible death, and you coped the only way you knew how– burying your guilt and acting the part of the naive little sister whose only fault was loving her lost cause of a brother. It took everything you had gone through with Mikey and Bonten to strip the veil from your eyes and see that your brother had been a despicable person who had gone so far as to kill in cold blood.
As the faces of Izana Kurokawa and Emma Sano swirled around in your mind, you felt Kaku’s warm breath stutter behind you as his body shifted.
“Mmm can’t sleep?” His morning voice came out gruff as he tightened his hold on your waist and drew you closer until you could feel the calm beating of his heart over his warm chest. It was the middle of the night but your thoughts were running haywire and you were finally coming to terms with your past actions–or inactions–particularly when it came to someone the man holding you had cared for deeply.
“Did you ever hate me… after what he did to Izana?”
The question left your lips before you realized you’d been thinking aloud. It took him a moment, but he sucked in a breath when it dawned on him who exactly you were referring to.
“I hated Kisaki… but never you. I could never hate you.” He admitted slowly, tasting the words as they slipped from his lips to the shell of your ear. “I know you had nothing to do with his crimes.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to your temple before settling back into bed with a tired yawn, his thumb tracing circles over your hip. You knew it was meant to comfort you but his touch only made your skin prickle from guilt. You couldn’t help but feel that you didn’t deserve it. His comfort. His love. His faulty faith in your innocence. All of those things weighed heavily on your conscience along with the knowledge that you could have done something to stop your brother and perhaps prevented the tragedy that occurred on that frigid February day. The one that ripped two of Mikey’s loved ones–a brother and sister–and probably led him down that path of self-destruction.
And for the first time since your memories returned, you felt something other than fear and resentment toward the man who’d held you accountable for your brother’s sins. Your heart clenched with pity for Manjiro Sano and just like every night since you’d woken up from your accident, you fell asleep thinking of him.
The following morning, you woke up to a crippling fear when you realized you would have to face Mikey and pretend you hadn’trecovered your memories and were planning your escape. It swirled in your belly and scarcely let you keep down the couple bite of breakfast you did manage to swallow. It was all you could think about despite Kaku’s best efforts to distract you with plans for your future together.
He spoke of different places the two of you could visit, at home and abroad, but your mind kept going back to the penthouse and your white jail cell. He even talked about the childhood friend that would be hiding you in the meantime, Takemichi Hanagaki, but the only piece of information that stuck with you was that he’d been close to Mikey before Bonten’s inception. But it wasn’t until the two of you were in the back of a cab heading back to the penthouse, that your strained string of composure snapped the moment Kaku hung up on Koko and disclosed that Mikey and the rest of Bonten would return in the evening.
“I-I can’t go back there!” The declaration came out rushed and desperate. With your head tilted downward, you wrung your hands together over your lap.
Kaku’s concerned gaze weighed heavily on you. “What do you mean you can’t go back? You don’t have another option, Y/N.” He reached for your hands but you jerked them away and looked up.
“W-What if I can’t escape?!” you demanded, not caring if you had an audience. “What if Mikey finds out or what if I just can’t leave–”
You barely managed to stop yourself from giving yourself away, from voicing that dark and twisted feeling you’d been struggling to snuff out since last night. The ‘him’ was on the tip of your tongue, but you swallowed it and turned away, shame bubbling in your chest. You were sick. There was no other explanation for why you were having those feelings of regret when it came to Mikey, and you feared returning to his side because you weren’t sure you would have the strength to leave him if you did.
A choked sob ripped from your throat at the thought of sentencing Kaku to death over your betrayal. Hot tears welled up in your eyes and you clapped a hand over your mouth to muffle your cries.
Unable to see you cry, Kaku pulled you into his arms and held you close, tucking your head underneath his chin. He smelled of the hotel room’s soap and his signature musk. He smelled like safety and everything you should’ve wanted without a shred of doubt but didn’t, so you buried your face in his chest and cried even harder while he held you tighter.
“I’ll meet with Takemichi today so we can get you out of there tomorrow before first light, okay?”
You wished you had the means to leave on your own and not have to depend on a knight-in-shining-armor to come to your rescue. But you didn’t and you probably never would even with Kaku.
Unable to voice your response, you nodded against his chest and braced yourself for your reunion with Mikey, hoping you’d put an end to your traitorous feelings toward him once and for all.
For the first time since your imprisonment at Bonten’s penthouse, you were alone. Kakucho had left you there with a kiss on your forehead and the promise of freedom early the following morning. A promise that had lost its sweetness now that you had returned and were left to your own devices in facing Mikey. Once you retreated to your white room, an overwhelming sense of helplessness settled into your bones and made your escape seem impossible.
You tried working on a variety of tasks around your room to keep your mind off Mikey but everything you touched made you think of him and the things he’d done to you. The lies and manipulation he used to have you do his bidding. The encounters with the Bonten members he orchestrated that you now realized were meant to punish you but quickly snowballed into something messier. Something that had started off as a sick revenge ploy and contorted into an unhealthy obsessive relationship. Mikey wanted to make you his and you didn’t know if you could part from him in spite of everything done to you.
In the end, you gave up on keeping yourself busy and settled for a shower before heading to bed. It was a futile attempt to avoid him, much like a child covering its eyes and thinking they’re safe just because they’re blind to the dangers surrounding them, but it was all you could think to do in order to prevent yourself from going mad with worry. Perhaps if luck was on your side, you’d be able to avoid the reunion altogether and leave without ever facing him.
Unfortunately, it’d been some time since luck had genuinely been on your side, and you were stirred awake by the sound of the heavy door and Mikey’s strained voice.
“I know you’re awake,” he said as he approached you. “Why aren’t you greeting me like always?”
Your heart dropped at that, but you braced yourself before drawing the covers back and sitting up on the edge of the bed, slowly taking in the man you resented yet cared for. The person who was your enemy, captor, pretend brother, and lover. Seeing him dressed in black and covered in blood, you recalled the last thought you had before succumbing to your injury; a thought that likened him to the personification of death. And just like your first encounter, Mikey came to you–only this time you didn’t pass out. His hands, although clean, smelled like blood and gunpowder as they gingerly held your petrified face. As he searched your face. his pools of endless black widened before his brow furrowed and a glint of melancholy shone only to be replaced by a hardened look–one he’d only directed at his men but never you.
His lips twitched into a smile that didn’t meet his eyes and your throat constricted. You gripped the covers as you peered up at Mikey and to your horror, his thumbs wiped away tears you hadn’t realized you’d shed.
“Your memories are back, aren’t they?” It was a statement posed as a question that left no room for you to answer it. “You’re looking at me the same way you did when we first met.”
You opened your mouth to refute him, but you couldn’t form the words and just stared up at him in horror. His smile disappeared and he released your face, turning his back to you in what you could only describe as disappointment.
The plan had failed, and it was all your fault. You were unable to save Tetta and Hanma and now Kaku and Koko would be added to that list unless you threw Mikey off their scent. You wracked your brain for what to say or what to do in order to protect them and decided to ask the question you had wanted to ask him since you recovered your memories.
“Did you really want me dead?”
That caught his attention well enough. He paused halfway to the door before turning his head just enough to see his profile. The dark circles underneath his sunken eyes were more pronounced than you remembered, and you wondered if he’d gotten any sleep since the last time you slept together.
His mouth opened for a moment but he quickly shut it and looked down. Mikey had always been a force of power to you, but ever since you’d started recovering your memories, he seemed to have weakened. The Mikey that stood before you was a shell of what he had once been. Gone was the all-powerful and ruthless leader of Bonten who made grown men tremble with only a look.
He faced you head-on and you resisted the itching urge to comfort him, to make meaningless apologies and ignore the root of the problem. You’d done it countless times with Tetta and you’re subconscious forced the same habit with Mikey, but you were resolved to put an end to it all.
When Mikey seemed to realize you weren’t going to fall back on your old habits, a glimpse of panic crossed his face before he looked to his feet.
“I did… I was planning on killing you myself that day,” he looked up and gave you a rueful smile. “I didn’t think it was fair that Kisaki’s sister got to live while mine was dead.”
You repeated Sanzu’s words from that day. “An eye for an eye.”
He shifted his gaze and looked lost in thought. “Exactly.”
Silence filled the space between the two of you as you contemplated a world where your brother hadn’t delivered the blow that led to Emma Sano’s death. You eventually shook that fantasy from your head and stood up to face reality head-on.
“I’m not Tetta,” you declared, approaching a stunned Mikey, “and I’m not Emma. I’m just me.”
For the first time in your warped relationship, you had some semblance of control and didn’t hesitate in getting everything off your chest.
“I’ll admit that I did turn a blind eye to his schemes and crimes, and for that, I apologize. And while I don’t think I deserved to die for that, I do think my memory loss and everything else that happened was some sort of long overdue karma.”
He shook his head lightly, the remorse on his face as clear as day. “No matter what you did or didn’t do, what I did to you was wrong, and I want to apologize even if I don’t expect or deserve your forgiveness.”
You were speechless. An apology from Mikey was something you had never expected. He was the leader of Japan’s largest crime syndicate and apologies, let alone remorse, had no place with someone like him. Yet there he was, sorry for using you as an outlet for revenge against your brother’s crimes and with no expectation of forgiveness. You had already known reuniting with him would’ve weakened your resolve on leaving him but his lament was like a wrecking ball crashing into it and causing it to crumble with each forlorn look his midnight eyes cast in your direction.
You wondered if his remorse was enough to let you go. You licked your lips as you tried to find the right words to say, and his eyes darted to your mouth. Warmth spread across your cheeks under his intense stare. When you finally mustered enough willpower to breach the subject, Mikey beat you to the punch.
“And I’m also sorry because even though I don’t deserve you, I can’t let you go.” He went to you, retaking your face in his hands. You watched frozen in place as that familiar deranged expression peeked through his mask of sorrow, lips twitching, eyes glazed over, and pupils blown out. He backed you against a wall and, just like that, regained control.
“Just as I was unable to kill you.”
With his body pressed against yours–his warm breath fanning across your face–heat pooled in your core and goosebumps rose across the expanse of your skin. The power his touch, words, and gaze had over you was terrifying considering your memories hadreturned and you were well aware of his true motive behind your kidnapping and manipulation. It was as if nothing had changed between you–no, things had changed. You could love and be loved by him without that voice in the back of your head telling you it was wrong because he was your brother. It was now telling you something different altogether.
“Mikey, no, th-this relationship isn’t healthy.” You pleaded, pressing against his chest and ignoring the growing arousal pressing against your stomach. “We can’t go on like this… I-I need to leave.”
He chuckled at that and shook his head before pressing his forehead against yours, the smell of blood and sweat filling your nostrils. You watched as one of his hands pulled out a handgun from his back pocket and set it down on the nightstand next to you.
“Since we both know I’m incapable of killing you, the only way you’ll be able to get rid of me is if youkillme because I refuse to die by anyone else’s hand but yours.” He nuzzled against your neck, tickling the sensitive skin there as he inhaled your scent. “Otherwise, if you run away, I’ll keep searching for you. I’ll chase you until the ends of the earth if I have to.”
It was a threat that tasted like a promise, made only sweeter by the press of his lips against your jugular. You gasped at the sensation of his warm, wet tongue trailing up to your jaw, and that was all the invitation Mikey needed to seize the back of your head and draw you into a hungry kiss.
You wasted no time in reciprocating it and pulling him closer until you were also tainted with the blood he’d spilled. The possibility of this kiss, this encounter, being your last spurred your desperation and you matched his ardor, well-aware of where it would lead.
The two of you made your way to your bed amidst a series of messy kisses and fervent touches. His hands ran up your thighs, while you snaked them around his torso, the skirt of your nightgown bunching up around your hips in the process. When the air in your lungs ran out and he broke off your kiss, the intoxicating desire shining in his eyes coaxed a whimper from your lips. Your own lust fogged your mind and muffled the voice of reason begging you to untangle yourself from your captor and finally put an end to it all.
But how could you when Mikey’s lips quirked into that satisfied grin he wore whenever you surrendered to him before reattaching to your skin and leaving a trail of marks down your throat, while his erection pressed against your aching core just enough to tease but not satiate your need no matter how much your hips writhed against him? That voice’s pleas fell on deaf ears as you worked on removing the pesky bloodied clothing that separated you from what you wanted.
You took in his pale skin that shined underneath the moonlight and marveled at the sight of him. Your hands traveled up the expanse of his exposed skin, committing each groove and indent to memory while he rested his head against your forehead and watched. His breath hitched when your fingers brushed against his erect nipples. Emboldened by his reaction, you lowered your mouth to one of them and flicked at it with your tongue while your thumb mimicked the same movement on the other. He let out the needy moan when your lips wrapped around the now swollen nub and you rolled the other between two digits.
You reveled in the power you had over him and finished stripping him of his clothes by tugging on his briefs and releasing his erect cock, flushed at the tip and already leaking. You brushed the slit with your thumb, ready to pump his length, but he pulled away first, leaving you dumbfounded.
“No,” he hissed, seizing your wrists. “Your turn.”
Before you could ask what he meant, he pulled off your flimsy nightgown and captured your lips in another fervent kiss, making you dizzy with desire. He settled you on your back and helped pull off your underwear. Bare and lying on the bed at his mercy, you panted as his eyes greedily drank you in. You flushed and tried to cover yourself when you were all too aware of your current state only to have Mikey pin your arms down at your sides.
“Don’t. I want to see you.” He breathed and planted butterfly kisses down your shoulder to your clavicle. “And worship you.”
He returned your attentions tenfold by sucking and nipping at your nipples, taking his time with each until they throbbed and you were a writhing, teary mess underneath.
Clinging to his back, your nails dug into his shoulder blades. “Mikey, please. I want you–I need you.”
You felt him smile against your skin. “Patience, sweetheart,” he kissed down your sternum to your navel. “I’ll give you what we both want.”
Mikey held your thighs apart and put his warm mouth on your cunt, sliding his tongue through your wet folds and over your sensitive nub. You cried out from the delicious shock and buried your fingers in his hair, while he growled and closed his mouth around your clit, lapping and suckling at the throbbing bundle of nerves.
A series of whines left your lips from the pressure building in your core. “Yes, yes, yes, God, Mikey, yes…”
Your orgasm overtook you, your words trailing off, and you gasped, back arching and bright white dotting your vision.
For a moment the only sounds you could make out were your ragged intakes of breath and Mikey’s mouth devouring your cunt like a starved man. It didn’t take long for another peak to build before your first one subsided, but before you could come on his tongue once more, he moved above you, spreading your legs and burying his entire length inside of you.
It’d only been a couple of days since the two of you had last fucked, but it felt longer than that. Being stretched and filled with Mikey’s cock had been amazing the first time, but the pleasure you felt now was unlike any other. You chalked it up to the knowledge he wasn’t your brother at first, but quickly realized it was probably the possibility of never seeing him again after that night. Tears dotted your eyes and you had a harder time discerning the reasoning behind them.
Mikey readjusted your legs by placing them over his shoulders before he pulled out his cock and pushed it back in, black eyes watching in fascination as your cunt greedily swallowed him up.
“Fuck, you feel amazing,” he groaned, meeting your gaze with his smoldering one. “Such a good girl for me.”
His strokes were short and shallow, rubbing against that spot that made your toes curl and your hips roll against him, but after a while, you needed more.
“Mmmm Mikey, please.” You moaned, bringing a hand to where your bodies met. “Harder… faster”
Never one to deny you in bed, he gripped your hips and fucked you the way you wanted to be fucked. He dragged his cock against your walls, pulling out almost entirely before ramming his entire length back in and hitting your cervix with each thrust.
“God, I fucking love you.” He moaned before placing a kiss against the side of your leg. “I could stay like this forever and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“I-I love you too, Mikey.” You keened before pulling him down to seal your love with a kiss.
The delicious friction of your fucking and the added stimulation of your clit had your eyes rolling back as your orgasm washed over you. A wail ripped from your throat as your muscles stiffened and you gushed around his cock, coating your conjoined bodies with your release. Your cunt clenched around him until it was all too much and his hips stuttered as he came with a groan, filling you up with his seed.
With lidded eyes, you watched his entire body shudder as your cunt pulsed around his length, wringing out every last drop of his seed. The possibility of becoming pregnant with Mikey’s child crossed your mind, and you found you didn’t dislike the thought. You wanted to savor everything about him at that moment, his lithe body covered in a sheen of sweat, the tendrils of his white hair that stuck to his forehead, his pink parted lips drawing in ragged breaths from the exertions of your fucking, and the rise and fall of his chest and the erectness of his nipples, still flushed from your earlier attention.
The man you loved was so beautiful. You wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your days in bed with him, where you were both stripped away of your problems and past. The only place where you were just a man and a woman that loved each other. Not the enemies your turbulent past wanted you to be. And if you didn’t have other people involved in your escape, you might’ve just stayed with Mikey.
But you couldn’t betray Kaku, Koko, and their friends who were willing to risk their lives to hide you from Mikey. You couldn’t selfishly ignore the problems around you and pretend everything was fine anymore. So with tears burning your eyes, you gave him a forced smile before pulling him into an embrace. He settled his head against your neck and sighed in contentment, causing you to hesitate just for a moment before continuing with your plan.
With one arm slung over his shoulders to hold him in place, the other carefully reached over to the nightstand and picked up Mikey’s handgun. The cool metal weapon was heavy in your palm as you handled it–almost as heavy as the pit lodged in your throat–but you swallowed your guilt and held the gun out.
“Mikey,” you croaked as the beginnings of a sob broke through. “I’m sorry!”
Mikey’s breath hitched, and as soon as he lifted his head, you bashed the side of his head with the gun repeatedly until the iron tang of blood assaulted your nostrils and his head slumped against your shoulder.
It was only when Mikey laid unconscious on top of you, and his warm blood trickled onto your face that you dropped the bloodied gun and sobbed apologies into his shoulder.
Cleaned up and dressed in the only pair of pants you owned, you curled up on your armchair and waited for the first signs of sunrise. Clutching your knees, you glanced over at the bed where Mikey lay unconscious. You’d cleaned his wound and wrapped his head to keep it clean, careful to not move him too much. Every second that passed increased the risk he’d wake up, so you spent your time alternating between watching the night sky and his unconscious form.
When the warm glow of the sun finally peeked through the horizon, you stood up and walked over to where Mikey was. The moments when you got to stare at his sleeping face were rare. He looked at peace and you observed him for a moment before picking up the cleaned gun and tucking it behind your pants. With your heart racing in your chest, you walked to the door without looking back.
The penthouse was eerily silent as you shut the door behind you and made your way to the front elevator. It wasn’t until you rounded a corner that someone pulled you by the arm and slammed you against the wall.
You hissed in pain and watched Sanzu’s scarred mouth twist into a sinister smile. He looked like a mess. His skin was sallow and sweaty, pupils dilated to the point that his baby blue irises were barely visible, and his eyes were rimmed red. Even without the twitching and angry red scratches on his neck, you could tell he was high and having a bad trip.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He sighed, trapping you between his arms and pressing a knee between your legs. “You should be with Mikey,”
He pressed against you until you felt him harden underneath his slacks. “Unless you’re tired of him and want someone else.”
“N-no! Stop it, Sanzu.” You tried escaping his grasp but he only ground against you. “M-Mikey won’t like it if you do this!”
He laughed and pushed off you before gripping your neck and slamming you back into the wall. You cried out in pain while also managing to conceal the sound of the gun hitting the wall.
He glowered at you. “What Mikey doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” he snarled and took your lips into a bruising kiss. You pushed against him with one hand while the other snaked behind you.
“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment, Y/N. Ever since that day Mikey let me have you.” He worked his way down to your neck while you balled your hands into fists, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“You see this is how things were meant to be, Mikey having his fill of you and then letting me have a turn. After all, it’s thanks to me that he found you in the first place.” His free hand shoved inside of your panties and you bit back a yelp.
“I found you.” His fingers parted your dry folds.
“I killed Hanma.” He painfully forced two digits inside your unwilling cunt.
“I led you to him!”
He curled his fingers inside and you shifted your hips under the guise of responding to his ministrations to pull out the gun. And as he smirked at you while fingering your dry cunt, you switched off the safety and shot him in the stomach just as the elevator dinged.
“AHHHH!!!”
Staggering back, he screamed in pain as fresh blood permeated the front of his purple vest and spilled onto the floor. His hand covered his wound and soon enough the pale pink sleeve of his button-down turned crimson. You tried getting away but your legs gave out, and you collapsed on the floor, bile rising in your throat from the overwhelming smell and sight of his blood.
“You little bitch!” He lunged at you and managed to grasp one of your ankles. “I’m gonna fucking kill y-”
A deafening gunshot reverberated off the walls and silenced Sanzu for good, the bullet going right through the center of his head. Your blood ran cold, your ears rang, and your head pounded as Sanzu’s lifeless body toppled over.
There was a piercing scream and it was only when Kaku’s large hand covered your mouth that you realized it was yours.
“Shhh… it’s okay. You’re okay.” He pulled your quivering form into his lap and held you tightly until you managed to recollect yourself.
Footsteps coming from the front elevators caught your attention and you turned to see Koko rushing to you, his face pulled into a scowl. He briefly glanced at Sanzu’s corpse before shaking his head and helping you to your feet.
“We’ve gotta get out of here,” Koko seethed, pulling you toward the exit. “All of us. There’s no oth–”
He stopped mid-sentence when Takeomi emerged from the shadows, gun in one hand and gaze locked on his little brother’s dead body lying in a pool of his blood.
It only took a moment for him to put two and two together and avenge his brother’s death but it felt much longer than that for you. It was as if the scene was played out in slow-motion; you saw everything but could do nothing to prevent it. As Takeomi drew closer and aimed his gun, Koko wrapped his arm around your waist and dragged you away. Tears burned your eyes and a wail tore from your throat as you dug your heels into the ground and clawed at Koko’s arm. Kaku turned around and offered you a reassuring smile before closing his eyes. Takeomi fired his gun just as Koko lurched you around and shielded you from witnessing the death of your most cherished childhood friend.
As Koko dragged you around the corner, you managed to look back one last time to find Ran and Rindou holding back a weaponless Takeomi mourning his brother while Mochi appeared from the shadows, defeated, as he stared at the lifeless bodies of Bonten’s top two men. Led by Koko, you stepped into the elevator and descended to what would be a new chapter in your life. Even without Koko stating it, you knew that was the last you would see of them. And by the look your companion gave you once he passed you on to his friend, Inui Seishu, you couldn’t help but wonder if you’d ever see him again too.
Seven long months had passed since your escape, and in the meantime, it seemed like the whole country had forgotten all about the ruthless Bonten gang that had disbanded in a couple of days and disappeared off the face of the earth immediately afterward. The media blamed their fall on a power struggle between Kaku, Sanzu, and Mikey that left the former two dead and the latter missing along with the Haitani brothers, Takeomi, Mochi, and Koko. But while everyone else seemed to have forgotten Bonten, your protectors, Takemichi Hanagaki and Seishu Inui, didn’t, and they made sure you were always guarded in case Mikey ever did make good on his promise of finding you–especially in your current condition.
You sat out on the balcony above D&D Motors admiring the sunset as the ex-Toman members ate, drank, and chatted away inside Draken and Inui’s shared flat. The guys always got rowdy during their little reunion–especially when alcohol was involved–and while you normally had Hina’s company to distract you, she was running late and you were feeling emotional at the sight of Toman without its leader. You feigned nausea when Draken sent you a worried look and Inui stopped you before letting you go with a nod.
Leaning back on one of the wicker chairs, you closed your eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and focused on the sounds around you. It was an exercise your therapist had introduced you to months ago and one you found helped when you were feeling more emotional than usual.
The sliding door opened and Takemichi stepped out, taking a seat on the chair next to you with a sheepish look on his face.
“You okay? You were looking a little pale.” His cornflower-blue eyes were wide with worry as they trailed down your face to your swollen stomach.
“We’re okay,” you assured him. “Just feeling a little emotional seeing everyone together except…”
You placed a hand over your womb to find comfort in your baby’s gentle breathing and stirrings. Takemichi’s gaze lingered on your hand before smiling knowingly.
“It’s hard for me too. Knowing that he’s out there all alone after everyone he’s lost.” He leaned forward and placed a comforting hand over yours.
“Which is why I think we should find him.”
“Wait wha- Ah!”
At his declaration, your heart leapt to your throat and you jerked forward, surprising your baby and suffering the consequences.
Takemichi rushed to you with a look of panic on his face, hands lingering over your shoulders and stomach.
“Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”
You rubbed your belly and waited for your baby to settle before sitting back on the chair.
“I’m fine. We’re fine,” you said with a smile.“She’s just a kicker, this one.”
“Like her father,” he replied without missing a beat. A silence followed as memories of the man filled the void.
“So you know where he is,” you stated. “Who else knows?”
“Just you, me, and Tora, although I suspect Inupi has an inkling,” Takemichi admitted as he returned to his seat.
You chuckled. “Of course he does. Nothing gets past him.” He nodded with a grin, glancing inside to find Inui scowling at a drunk Chifuyu.
Your gaze followed his and trailed toward Draken who was deep in conversation with Pah and Peh. “Are you planning on telling Draken?”
“Not unless Mikey agrees to come back.” Takemichi tore his gaze from his friends to the orange sky. “I don’t want him to suffer through another disappointment.”
You nodded, peering down at your swollen stomach. “I understand. That’s also the reason why I haven’t told him my little girl’s name yet.”
“So does tha-”
“Yes, I’m going to Mikey, and I’ll only return if he agrees to come back with me and Emma.”
Takemichi opened his mouth, but his protest died on his tongue and said nothing, nodding silently instead.
“He’s up north in one of Bonten’s old resorts near some-”
“Hot springs,” you finished, recalling the time you declared your love for him all while recovering bits and pieces of your memory.
“You’ve been there?” He was understandably surprised.
“Yes, once,” you admitted. “Although I can’t say I know the exact location.”
“No worries. I have the address and everything. If I didn’t have to work this weekend, I’d take you there myself tomorrow.” He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, leaning back in his seat.
It was sooner than you expected, but you couldn’t waste any more time waiting for him to make the first move. You were done with just sitting around and waiting for others to make decisions for you. After months of healing and introspection, Mikey was still the one you wanted and you were determined to meet him and see if he still wanted you.
“I’ll go by myself. It’d probably be best if I did anyway.”
He wore the worried expression he’d adopted as of late whenever you did anything that would put a strain on your body, and his gaze lowered to your belly; the source of his worry.
“Are you sure it won’t be too hard on you?”
Resting a hand over your protruding stomach, you gently shook your head. “I’ve got two months left before I pop.” You shot Takemichi a small smile. “I’ll be fine.”
The following morning, you left with Kazutora so Inui wouldn’t ask too many questions, but from the lingering look he gave, you wondered if he suspected the purpose behind your outing and the possibility of never seeing you again. There was a tug on your heart as you exited the shop and gave Draken a wave that he replied to with a nod. You would miss the warmth and solace that Inui, Takemichi, Draken, and to a lesser extent the rest of the Toman gang, offered, but it would pale in comparison to the hollow in your chest you had been living with ever since you left Mikey.
“You okay from here?” Kazutora asked after walking a couple of blocks.
In the months you’d come to know him, Kazutora was the one Toman member you never connected with. He’d always been distant and reserved with you, and after a while, you stopped trying to break down walls you knew he’d only build right back up again. Takemichi chalked it up to pent-up guilt he still felt toward Mikey, and in some ways, you understood. Guilt was a major reason you never spoke candidly with Draken about Emma Sano or Tetta.
“Yeah, thanks.” You turned to face him while he looked away.
“I- tell him… never mind,” he sighed before running a hand through his long hair. You decided to be bolder and placed a comforting hand over his arm.
“Hey, I get it. Don’t worry.”
For the first time since you met him, it felt like Kazutora was truly seeing you and not Kisaki’s sister or Mikey’s girl. And when he walked away with his head tilted up and a lightness to his step, you vowed to bring back Mikey to give Kazutora the closure he still needed. The same closure you planned on giving yourself when you made a detour to buy a wisteria bonsai tree and headed to visit your brother for the last time.
It was only when you saw the untended state of your family’s grave that you spared a thought for your absent parents. Were they still so busy that they couldn’t spare some time to pay their respects and tidy up the grave?
A sharp kick from your baby stirred you from your thoughts and reminded you of the task at hand. With the plastic wrapping of the small potted tree, you cleared off the dead leaves and dirt that covered the gravestone and placed the pot on the ledge in front of the wooden marker with your brother’s name.
“Sorry it took so long,” you said, tracing the characters of his name branded onto the marker. “But here it is.”
Unlike your previous visit, tears didn’t well up in your eyes and your throat didn’t close up. Instead, all you felt was the relief of being released from a burden that’d been with you for so long you’d forgotten what it was to live without it.
“I hope it can comfort you in ways I couldn’t,” you took a deep breath before continuing. “I-I’m done living with regret. I’m going to live my life the way I want… fearlessly and next to the people I want… and I’m sorry… for all the ways I wronged you.”
You took a step back, inclined your head, and clasped your hands together. With your eyes closed, you wordlessly offered a prayer for your brother–the last thing you would do for him–before crumpling up the wrapping into a ball and leaving, not sure if you would ever visit again.
You stood in front of the derelict resort as the taxi you had taken from the train station drove away, mulling over how different the situation was compared to almost a year ago. Overgrown foliage covered the walls and sidewalks and no lights were on despite the late hour. Instead of sleeping most of the way, you’d remained awake and took in the sights during the train ride out of the city. And whereas the reason behind your previous visit had remained unknown, this time you knew exactly why you were here and what you hoped to accomplish.
Inside, the resort wasn’t in any better shape. It appeared to have been abandoned since the fall of Bonten and had been visited by looters. Most of the furnishings had been taken away or broken to pieces. Paper doors were torn. Glass shards littered dirty hardwood floors. The smell of mildew permeated the air. Bugs and small animals scurried out of your way as you made your way through the abandoned building searching for a sign of human life in a place that had once been filled with it. A sign that came in the form of a warm glowing light spilling from one of the suites. With bated breath and your heart in your throat, you nervously walked toward the room and peered inside.
Across the room, Mikey sat on the floor looking out at the neglected garden, leaning against the Shoji door frame with a shot glass of amber liquid. There was a small lantern next to him as well as a large bottle of liquor and countless others, empty and scattered across the floor. He looked different than you remembered him. His hair was longer and dyed black. His skin was sallow and his eyes wearier than before. His clothes were wrinkled, stained, and smelled of the same pungent liquor he drank. It was as if he’d stopped taking care of himself around the same time Bonten fell. He was a ghost of a person. A living person playing at being dead. A man that had lost everything including his will to live.
If he noticed your presence, he gave no indication. He turned away from the garden to look straight ahead and downed his shot. A cool gust of wind sent shivers down your spine and you adjusted your oversized cardigan before entering the room, trepidation in each and every one of your steps. You stood in front of him and only addressed him when he refused to even look at you.
“I got tired… of waiting for you to fulfill your promise.” His sunken eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the wood of the doorframe opposite to him, so you continued with just as much stubbornness. “Although I can’t say it was much of a chase… or that this place deserves the title of the ‘ends of the world’.”
At that, Mikey turned to face you, black eyes as dull and lifeless as coal and thin mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Are you finally here to kill me? To avenge Hanma, the woman from the store, and Kakucho? For what I put you through? The lies I fed you in order to manipulate you into doing my bidding? For fucking you while making you believe I was your brother?”
Each poison-laced word that spilled from his mouth was like a gash against your heart, reopening wounds you’d worked so hard to heal. Tears glazed your eyes and your throat closed up, leaving you unable to utter a word. You couldn’t remember a time when you’d seen so much anger and anguish swirling around in his orbs, weighing down on his brow, and tightening his jaw. It relieved and frightened you all at once. It gave you consolation knowing he was still capable of emotion even if it could lead to him breaking his other promise of being ‘incapable of killing you.’
But just like the other times you had been in need of grounding, your baby reminded you of her presence with a firm kick against your stomach. That was all it took for you to brace yourself against Mikey’s storm of emotions and find the words you needed to say.
“And leave my child without a father? I don’t think so.”
Anger and anguish molded into shock as his eyes lowered to your stomach. You shrugged off your cardigan and held your pronounced belly, leaving no room for doubt.
The empty shot glass slipped from Mikey’s hand and shattered on the patio, discarded and forgotten after your announcement. After recovering enough to move, he shakily rose to his knees and crawled the short distance to you, his wide eyes glued to your belly.
He sat back on his haunches when he reached you. “H-How long?”
“Seven months,” you replied, rubbing your belly. “She’s a perfectly healthy and active baby.”
His glazed eyes met yours and all you saw was warmth and amazement etched into his face. An expression you’d never seen on him but one you preferred to all the others.
“She…? Y-you mean?”
You nodded, tears welling up in your eyes. “We’re having a little girl.”
He exhaled sharply before breaking into a tentative smile. His hands trembled as they rose to touch your belly but only hovered over it in hesitation. You helped him along by taking his hands and pressing them against the front where your baby moved the most. Your daughter was as responsive as always and kicked not once, but twice for her dad.
Mikey looked up at you in wonder, causing a surge of affection to bubble in your chest. You were unable to resist the urge to caress his cheek and brought his head against your firm stomach so he could hear his daughter. He wrapped his arms around your waist and held you close while you ran your fingers through his hair. It might’ve been imperfect, but this was your little family and tears streamed down your face as you watched Mikey’s face light up with each movement your daughter made.
“I-I was thinking of Emma for a name,” you breathed as one hand cradled your belly and the other his cheek. “After her late aunt.”
At first you thought it was a trick of the light, but as you felt wetness against your belly, you realized Mikey was crying. You wondered how long it had been since he’d shed tears. Had he shed any for his fallen comrades months ago? Or had the last time been his sister’s death all those years ago? If he was embarrassed by the act, he didn’t show it and merely tightened his hold on you while his tears soaked your clothing.
“Thank you for coming back to me.” He said after his tears ceased and placed a gentle kiss over the swell of your belly before rising to his feet and cradling your face in his hands. “And for giving me a reason to live.”
You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch, relishing in the familiar feeling of his cool, calloused hands.
“Thank you for waiting.”
And just like that evening when you confessed your love for him and Mikey made love to you, he pressed a slow and gentle kiss to your lips. That same kiss that had seemed like a promise. A promise you now realized was a promise of love. A love that had patiently healed and was ready to begin anew.
why do so many ppl call him souta instead of souya. his name is souya :( you’d know it makes more sense considering smiley’s name is nahoya and their names are supposed to match, nahoya and souya <3
cw: mention of nudity at one point? idk if that counts as suggestive, it’s vague
it was quiet once you stopped the movie and returned to the home page of the streaming platform. turning around you faced your boyfriend mikeywhoseside you had been curled into the past hour. “soo,” you wandered off not really knowing what to say after just having finished watching a scary horror movie- although the clarification shouldn’t be necessary because all horror movies are supposed to be scary.
“soo-” he also started. “are you scared?” he looked at you pursing his lips.
you stared back at him for a second as if you had to think about your answer. “yes. are you?” asking him the same question.
he looked away from your eyes for a second running a hand through his- compared to the hair style he wore as a teen- short black hair. “maybe a little,” was all he offered, however when suddenly a random movie trailer started playing on the tv and both of you visibly flinched he quickly turned to you, “okay yeah i am too.”
you were not moving away from his side because admittedly feeling his presence right next to you gave you at least some comfort. you looked at the closed door of your bedroom, “i don’t think i can go to the bathroom right now,” you told him thinking about the darkness of the hallway that led there.
“yeah let’s just,” he looked around the room for a second, “let’s just stay here for a while?” he offered obviously fond of the idea himself.
you nodded. “do you wanna listen to some cringe, happy songs to lighten the mood?” you asked already looking through your music gallery. you did not need to see him nod in confirmation in order to proceed putting on bubbly pop songs which really did loosen up some of the tension in the room so you laid back down into his arms again.
after a few minutes and a few more pop songs you turned around to him again, “mikey i really need to go to the bathroom now.”
he looked back at you nodding in understandment, “okay, i’ll wait here. just scream if you need me.” after a short but intense staring contest he gave up and sat up with you, “or i’ll just go with you.”
you muttered a quiet ‘thank you’ because you really were grateful for his moral support considering you two were the only people in the apartment at the time. once you opened the door of your bedroom you took one of his hands and stepped outside into the dark hallway because the light switch was not directly next to your room. both of you quietly walked to the bathroom and once you got there mikey tried to not make it obvious how quickly he closed the door. you looked at your boyfriend before telling him to 'turn around’.
he looked at you straight-faced as if saying 'are you serious right now’ but you did not move until he sighed and faced the door. “you do know i’ve literally seen you naked before? more than once,” he said unimpressed. it was not like he was going to watch you take care of your business anyway, the extra measure just seemed a bit ridiculous to him considering the stage of your relationship.
you disregarded his comments explaining how this is 'different’. after finishing your business you both returned to your bedroom as soon as possible.
at last you both lay back down on the bed together, making yourselves comfortable in each other’s arms. you turned to mikey one last time pressing a loving kiss to his lips. “i feel safe knowing you’re here,” you said smiling looking into his dark eyes that still held so much love in them.
he returned both the kiss and your smile answering a quiet “me too” before closing the distance between your lips once again and then finally settling down to drift off to a peaceful sleep with you.
no u don’t understand. imagine you and mikey taking care of emma & draken’s baby so they can finally have a day off parenting. mikey loves children and he’ll gladly spend the whole day playing and napping with his little niece/nephew, but he cannot take care of children for shit. the baby starts crying? he’ll start panicking after a while because what does it want?? is it hungry? is it sleepy? or worse- does it have a full diaper?
he can deal with feeding it baby food (even if it ends up creating a huge mess in the kitchen and on the baby) but no one prepared him for changing a baby’s diaper. sure, emma showed him how it works more than once but suddenly he forgot all about it and just looks at you with panic in his eyes. you consider letting him suffer for a while but u feel bad for the baby so u take over and take care of that poor child to finally make it stop crying.
mikey just looks at you with heart eyes while you calm the baby down, glad that u came with him.
