red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter ix: savior

august 3rd, 2005.

the supposed battle against moebius is today, and takemichi intended to keep himself away from kiyomasa's little gang, but he still ended up here.

he's in the middle of their group, getting kicked and punched all over. his body feels weak, new bruises forming here and there.

"gosh, i still suck at fighting. i should've taken classes." he groans.

he had to find a way to escape now, or he might actually be too late this time. he might not be able to save draken, and he fears that mikey will go insane if he fails to change the outcome of this battle.

"you're just a punching ba--"

crack!

before anyone knew it, one of kiyomasa's men was sent flying back, the sound of his shoulder cracking echoing around the rainy forest.

everything froze as the third party revealed themselves, standing just a little behind the circle that formed around takemichi when they were beating him up. they wore a black baggy hoodie with flared sleeves, the hood pulled up to conceal their face. cherry blossoms were decorating the bottom of the jacket that went down their knees, baggy pants concealing her legs while their feet were covered in heeled boots.

"who the hell are you?!"

"don't interrupt if you want to live!"

they didn't hesitate, zooming right towards kiyomasa with a powerful kick that plummeted him down the ground in an instant. their body was swift and light, bouncing on their feet lightly as they moved from one toman member to another until they were all knocked down the ground.

takemichi was left staring in awe, still covered in mud. he slowly rises from the ground and kept his eyes on the hooded person.

"uhm, thank you..."

"it's weird."

"h-huh?"

the person faced him, slowly taking the hood off with one hand to reveal their appearance. black hair kept in a bun with a red hair stick, dull onyx eyes, and a black facemask that his the rest of her face.

then, the string wrapped around her wrist.

"she's..."

"i keep meeting you somehow. this is the third time." she muttered. "there is no one i bump into three times out of coincidence. you're someone....special."

"what is she talking about? me? special?" takemichi's eyes widened. "did she figure me out?!"

"who are you?" she asked. "an enemy? a friend? a mediator?"

"uhm, i'm hanagaki takemichi." he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "y-you can fight, and you know mikey-kun, right? i really need your help right now! i can't go into de--"

"anything that concerns sano isn't my concern." she sharply said. "i'm talking to you for yourself, not for him. who are you?"

"i..." takemichi sighs, shoulders slumping a little. he should take this as his chance. she has fighting prowess that can match the invincible mikey himself. he should be grateful that he got a lead on someone who might be connected to toman too. "...i'll tell you more about me if you help me out. draken is in danger tonight, and i need your help."

"the battle against moebius." she mumbled. "i know that, and i don't wish to tangle myself in that mess. you're on your own."

she turns her back on him and walked away until her figure disappeared within the darkness of the night. takemichi cursed at himself for failing to convince her. he should've thought that it won't be that easy for her to trust him out of a whim. he didn't even explained himself to her.

"i can't waste any time. i need to find them."

***

"so, how'd it go?"

kazua adjusted the earpiece on her left ear, pulling her hood up to shield herself from the rain. "didn't get anything." was her response to the person on the other end of the line.

"you sound like you didn't even try. what happened, kazzie?"

she began to unwrap the bandages around her left palm, humming to herself as she thought of better words to describe what she just got herself into. the rain continues to fall hard on her, the multiple droplets bouncing off of her hood rather playfully. it was the complete opposite of her mood.

"saved the kid from a bunch of toman's corrupted, i guess." she sighed. "i could've been enjoying taiyaki at the festival if it weren't for you tricking me into coming to this damn forest. you're so foul for that, frosty."

"oh, come on! i was curious of the kid too. you already met him twice." the latter argued, but it was obvious that she's more cheerful than argumentative. "and knowing you, nothing is a coincidence if you meet them thrice. i didn't even know he'll be there, so he is someone important."

kazua tossed the used bandages to the side and began unwrapping the one on her right. she hates to admit it, but senju could be right about this. she never met the yellow-haired kid she just saved. she only knew about his name now, for pete's sake.

but somehow, she keeps on meeting him.

the first was at the train. ignoring his presence is rather hard since he was openly gawking at her when she put the pervert on his place. his face made an impression on her, and seeing her again when she accidentally bumped into mikey the other day was her second hint.

"toman's brawl with moebius is tonight." she broke the silence in the line. "the kid sounded like he's in panic. he said something about draken being in danger."

"draken?"

"tall guy with a dragon tattoo on his shaved head."

"ah, vice commander."

"yeah, that guy." kazua nipped at her bottom lip, tossing away the second wrap of bandages that she took off. "i have a bad feeling too. do you think i should intervene?"

"well, it's your call. you heard the kid. was he honest?"

she stops on her tracks, a few of the mud on the ground splattering on her boots. looking over her shoulder, she finds takemichi running the opposite direction hurriedly.

"he was."