red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter xlvii: loss

"i think i figured out the way to save mikey from the dark path that you talked about before."

she surely chooses her words wisely. takemichi was immediately intrigued by her opening statement. he nodded for her to continue, taking a step closer to the edge of the bed.

"the people we've been saving, the scenarios we've been avoiding, and the past actions that we're changing are all connected to mikey." kazua explained. "when draken died, you said that mikey's gonna turn evil in the future. when baji died during the fight against valhalla, mikey went berserk and killed kazutora. do you see the pattern?"

"no...?"

"it's loss, hanagaki-san." kazua's cat-like eyes looked at him attentively, focusing on what his reaction may be. "the thing that has been triggering manji's dark impulsivity is loss. it all began when his big brother was killed by a close friend that he trusted his heart with."

it does make sense to him now. no matter how much he tried to change the past, someone always ends up dying and mikey in the future automatically becomes evil.

"manji isn't one to show weakness, which is why you don't see the pain he's going through. he's fooling everyone with a stupid smile." she continued. "which is why...i think this is the best solution for us."

"which is...?"

"to disband toman," kazua determinedly said, "and stop manji from getting involved in gangs and violence. as long as he stays in this dangerous lifestyle, someone will die and it will fuel his dark impulsivity to take over.

"come to think of it, maybe that's why shinichiro-niisan told me to protect him."

she bitterly chuckled to herself, her hand coming up to rest on her forehead as she stared down the crispy white sheets that covered the lower part of her body. "he knew. he always knew, and he believed that i'll be able to save his brother." kazua fought the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "but i don't know how. manji's focused on creating this new era of his. even if we save everyone, it won't stop him from following the delinquent's path. he'll just think that it's okay to move forward because he hasn't lost anyone other than his brother. all these would've been easy if shinichiro-niisan's still here."

takemichi couldn't say anything.

how could he?

he doesn't know mikey like how kazua does. she knows how the young sano thinks and reacts to certain things. she got to the bottom of the problem before he did even after he time leaped so many times.

"mikey-kun did disband toman in the most recent timeline i tried saving." takemichi said. "everyone was alive, but mikey-kun wasn't. that was the timeline he tried to kill himself."

"that must be because he pushed everyone away. was there a death before the disbandment?"

"yes, but he isn't really close with him, so i don't understand why."

"it doesn't matter to manji whether or not he's close to the person. if he sees them as someone who doesn't deserve to die, then it will negatively affect him." kazua muttered. understanding mikey's actions became a habit of hers when they were children. it was mostly because she wanted to keep him happy and avoid any conflict between them that she did, so figuring out what goes on in mikey's mind and his intentions is child's play to her.

"uhm...what about therapy...?"

kazua looked up at the boy, an eyebrow raised. "what?"

"i-i'm just saying! therapy could be a good solution to all this! you said mikey-kun's dark impulsivity must have began when his brother died, right?" takemichi flinched as he explained, frightened by how the latter was sharply looking at him. "it could be a sign of mental illness. maybe he hasn't moved on from his brother's death and constantly thinks about it, fueling the darkness in him that strays him away. there was a future..."

he gulped heavily, but mustered the courage to voice the memory he remembers. kazua needs to know if he wants this mission to be successful. "...there was a future when mikey-kun and i met. it was the worst possible future there is. mikey-kun killed everyone, and we've met. he died in my arms, and you know what he said?" kazua only stayed silent, urging him to continue. "mikey-kun admitted that his whole life has been nothing but pain and suffering to him. he needs help, sada-san. we need to make mikey-kun happy again and let him see hope!"

"goodness, a lot of us need fucking therapy." kazua grumbled in her mind. she seemingly can't deny the fact that mikey does need professional help. they need to gain access to it while he's still young and has a tiny but of light in him. they can't allow him to be too far gone.

because kazua has been experiencing these dark thoughts as well, she has a bit of understanding as to why this could possibly work on mikey too. however, she can't be too sure.

the problem is, help won't be enough save someone who doesn't want to be saved.

there are so many things to consider before they convince him to have a diagnosis to pinpoint what he really needs.

there's toman, a gang that he was encouraged to lead with the original six to create a new age of delinquents. come to think of it, the sole purpose of that gang's existence is rooted to his brother.

after that, there's mikey's dark impulsivity that seemingly convinces him to create this new age. in a way, he may see it as a promise to uphold with shinichiro, to give what the former leader of the black dragons the era of delinquents that he envisioned himself.

with dark impulsivity slowly activating, it will be difficult to convince mikey to ask for help. he's already not one to show weakness, and adding that little push from the dark will only pull him away from them more.

"i got it." kazua's eyes sparkled. "this will take a long while, and i will need to know the next mission to fully prepare. but with this, there's a chance..."

"hanagaki-san?"

"i'm sorry! i shouldn't have said that! it was offending!"

"what?" kazua blinked at his direction. "no, it wasn't. thank you for actually opening that option to me. i'll be sure to keep that in mind for the next steps.

what i need you to do now, is to tell me what happens after this. what went down after new years? how will it go down, and how will we be able to intervene at the best possible moment?"

takemichi pursed his lips together and thought back to this moment in a different timeline, remembering the details he needed to tell her.

"sada-san," he sighs, "this was the last mission i did before time leaping and finding myself in the future where mikey-kun saved everyone."

"which means that after this, you're going back to the future." kazua nodded, understanding very well. "i'm all ears."

"well—"

"hold on."

"hmm?"

"i have one important question."

"o-okay...?"

"is manji still hot in the future? do you have a photo? i wanna see!"