red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter ii: back to the past

"good day, sir!"

"good day, sir!"

takemichi's eyes opened, and he found himself in the middle of a clear field. there were occupied benches at his left, and he now felt the pain that his body has been carrying due to the blows of a certain someone nearly killing him.

his eyes widened.

"i'm back!" he thought. "but...back to when i first time travelled? i thought i'll go back to march 21st of the past."

ahead of him, he realized that draken and mikey have already made their appearance. it was just the same as before, both of them having their eyes on him. while draken was ahead, mikey was licking crumbs left on the side of his lips.

he was relieved to see them, to say the least.

"mik--" takemichi immediately stopped himself. during this time, mikey and draken don't know who he is.

which means that they have no idea about him being a time leaper too.

"this is going to be harder than i thought."

mikey proceeded towards him, not interested in anyone but him.

when kiyomasa tried to introduce himself to mikey, draken only kicked him right in the gut.

just like before.

everything went just as how he remembered them to.

mikey reached takemichi, and him leaning up to get a closer look on him made takemichi lose his balance and fall.

"hey, what's your name?"

"h-hanagaki takemichi." he didn't hesitate to reply, but his throat was burning. they knew each other already, technically. however, he needs to play along right now.

"i see. takemitchy."

takemichi couldn't help but sweat drop. "that also doesn't change, huh?"

mikey crouched down in front of him and grabbed the back of his head with his right hand, pulling him close to have a better look at his battered face. "are you...really in middle school?" he asks.

takemichi's eyes widened in realization.

he knew.

mikey always knew, always had an idea that takemichi isn't who he said he was.

only now did he realize how sharp mikey really is. takemichi didn't know how he did it, but with how he said that statement, it showed that he was doubting who takemichi really is.

"takemitchy, starting today, you're my bitch, alright?" he smiles.

"right," takemichi chuckles under his breath, watching as mikey stands to head towards kiyomasa.

"are you the one running these matches?" without a moment's hesitation, he kicked the said man down the ground with his earth-shattering kick.

it never fails to surprise takemichi. his strength is out of this world.

"who the hell are you?" mikey continued to punch kiyomasa in the face until he drops unconsciously on the ground, showing little to no mercy at all in punishing his supposed member of toman.

"this isn't what toman was made for." takemichi remembers.

they were delinquents, but they don't cause havoc unless provoked.

"okay, then." mikey stepped on kiyomasa's head, smiling over his shoulder to his friend. "let's get going, ken-chin. taking bets on this little school fight is lame."

"stop tainting toman's name, dumbass." draken said to kiyomasa as he walked past the said man's unconscious body.

"takemitchy,"

he looks up from kiyomasa's body, finding mikey's smile directed to him. his hair changed back in the future, but his eyes have always been the same. no matter if it was in the past, present, or the future, his eyes testified that he has always been the same sano manjiro he made himself to be.

"see you later." he waves his left hand at him before walking off.

"see you...." takemichi waved back weakly, but his eyes were focused on something else. he could barely see it now that his jacket was on the way, but the red shoestring, the same one he's seen with him time and time again until the future, was still intact around his wrist.

"a shoestring?"