blackmail; shuji hanma

four. deja vu

Perhaps the last few days were nothing more than a dream, (Y/N) thought one morning as she lay in bed, watching her ceiling fan spin over and over again. They certainly felt real, like when she would get a papercut sorting through her papers or smell Hanma's cigarette smoke whenever she bumped into him, but the whole concept of time travel still weighed heavily in her mind. Did she really travel in time? Or was her whole future the dream and she was just continuing her reality?

It was strange and time consuming the more she thought about it. That was why when the fact that she was really in the past finally hit her, she realized just how invincible she was. She had always loved information and now she had more than she could ever hope for; she knew the outcome of gang fights, she knew who would win elections and contests, she knew things that nobody else did. 

With this realization came the desire for more, as she was always one to be greedy to learn. Out of her stack of journals, she picked up the one labeled 'Shuji Hanma' on the front and opened to his list of affiliated organization. The first one on the list was a group called Moebius, and since she didn't know much about it, she decided to go out and investigate. 

As the day progressed, she learned Moebius was based in Shinjuku, which was the main reason why her past self hadn't learned much, and used to be under the leadership of Nobutaka Osanai. Nowadays, the one and only Hanma was the temporary leader of the biker gang, specifically for the upcoming fight against the Tokyo Manji Gang. It was strange, however, because the only fight she could remember around this time in the news was about Toman's internal dispute. Part of her wanted to be present at the fight to figure out what really happened, but information wouldn't get her very far in an all out brawl. 

Figuring she would have to wait until after the fight to get the full details out of someone, (Y/N) took the time to stop by a game store. She couldn't help but laugh in slight disbelief at the sight on Pokémon: Emerald on display, thinking about how in the future the only place to find it would be on the internet. For a bit, she admired everything on display from outside, thinking everything looked both old and new at the same time.

"I can't believe I'll have to wait ten years for Undertale though," (Y/N) said under her breath alongside a sigh, missing her favorite game from the future.  

"Did you say Undertale?" 

She had been so caught up in her thoughts she had not noticed the boy with dyed blonde hair in a strange hairdo that had been looking at the display as well. There was no way he knew what Undertale was, considering she doubted there was another time traveler in 2005 other than her, but she still thought it would be best to differ. 

A nervous laugh left against her will. "No, no, I said Umbreon. I was saying I wanted to catch an Umbreon if I play the new Pokémon game."

"Did you enjoy Ponyo when it came out in theatres?" he asked, looking back at the display.

"I loved Ponyo!" (Y/N) said before she could even recall what year the Studio Ghibli film had been released. 

"A-ha!" He pointed an accusing finger at her, "You're from the future too!"

Too? What, was there some sort of time travelling paradox happening?

He looked around for anyone else before introducing himself. "I'm Takemichi Hanagaki. I'm from 2017, what about you?"

"Aren't you being a little too trusting?" (Y/N) inquired, hesitantly taking the hand he outstretched. "I'm from 2017 too. (Y/N) (L/N)."

Takemichi brightened. "I know you! I read your articles every week. You're writing was always my favorite out of all of them."

"Thank you," she accepted, flattered. 

Someone exited the game store before any more questions could be asked, so Takemichi, obviously having somewhere he needed to be based on how often he glanced at the time, told her he would meet up with her sometime soon. She agreed, figuring navigating the past would be easier with an ally. With that, they split off, each going in their separate directions. 

(Y/N) watched as a member from a biker gang picked up Takemichi from the side of the road, whoever it was wearing a Toman uniform. If the other time traveler was aligned with the Tokyo Manji Gang, she bet she could get some good information out of him, but she would also keep to herself the concerning amount of blackmail she had on some of the members. On the other hand, she would keep investigating Moebius, wanting enough on both sides before coming to one conclusion or the other.

Leaving the game store behind, she set off to find a restaurant in the area for an early dinner. All the walking around she had done today had her hungry, so food was her main priority. Until she went to walk past an alleyway and a tattooed hand reached out and grabbed her by the back of her shirt, dragging her in. She immediately went limp like a cat when the scruff of its neck was grabbed, soon finding herself face to face with her other favorite person in the past.

"Hello again," (Y/N) greeted Hanma, gently taking her hand off her shirt and taking a couple of steps back from him, never liking to be too close to anybody. "What brings you into this dark, decrepit alleyway?"

He smirked, "I heard something interesting about you."

A bit of fear ran through her at the thought of him having overheard her most recent conversation. The fact that he knew about her blackmail was more than enough, she reasoned, any more would just be overkill - at least, she hoped so.

"I am pretty interesting," she agreed, keeping her tone light.

"Would you like to tell me why you're investigating Moebius?"