red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter lvii: showdown

"sazu! look at me!"

"you're showing off again, manji."

"come on! pay attention! i made my new move!"

kazua put her book down and decided to entertain the enthusiastic blonde. she gestured for him to continue his martial arts practice and watched as he performed a new move that he probably spent an entire night working on.

he flew, gracefully sending a kick towards the dummy stationed in front of him. when he landed, he turned back to her with an expectant grin.

"that was great, manji." she smiled back, showing that she is indeed proud of what he just showed her. "with a jump as high as that, i think you can even kick shinichiro-niisan right at the face."

"ack! i'm right here, kaz!" the elder flinched beside her, pointing to himself as if he was scared for his own safety.

"he's pretty tall, though. say, why don't we test it out?"

"no way am i being manjiro's dummy!"

"oh, come on! it'll be good for his progress!"

"got any plans, mikey?" draken and mikey now stood together, eyeing tenjiku's numbers. "seems like there's still half of tenjiku."

"half, huh? two-hundred versus two is a bit..." mikey trails off.

"yeah,"

"you guys handicapped?" mikey bluntly asked tenjiku themselves.

"handicapped?!"

"don't fuck around, asshole!"

"are you stupid?!"

"it's you who's handicapped!"

mikey tucked his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to the side a little mockingly. "no, you guys are the ones fucking around. who do you two-hundred people think i am, huh?" he raised an eyebrow. "i can take down even twenty-thousand men!"

"twenty-thousand?!"

"mikey...!"

the other division captains came up behind the two, preparing for the final showdown of the night. "don't count us out yet!" baji exclaimed.

"right, i can still put up a fight or two!" mitsuya prepped his fist along with smiley.

"let's have some fun!" mikey smirked, cracking his knuckles to warm himself up.

"come on! yell out loud, toman!"

"you're too loud, ken-chin!"

"ah...there's ringing in my ears." izana whined to himself. "i don't know what kind of tricks you have done, but i'm guessing things didn't go as planned, kisaki? kazua died for nothing?"

he didn't wait for the latter to answer, sprinting right towards his target all along. izana sent a powerful kick right towards him, but mikey was able to block it in time.

though, he skidded a few meters away because of the sudden impact.

"shinichiro's dead. now, kazua is too." izana snickered. "so, you feeling empty yet?"

mikey glared back at him, remembering the fact that he's tied to kazua's murder. "you're quite strong, brother." he said. "let's settle this for good."

izana hums. "i wonder how you're still standing."

sano manjiro vs. kurokawa izana

a sibling fight that will be known for many years to come.

without warning, mikey delivered one of his famous one-hit kicks. izana was able to block it the same way mikey did on his move.

"woah!<3" he laughed. "that kick was amazing, mikey!"

another kick.

"having this much power even in such a bad state. when your precious kazua is dead! that's crazy!"

at the same time, they both launched roundhouse kicks that collided with one another, forcing them both back away.

"that extraordinary rebound and balancing! no wonder they call you the unbeatable!" izana continued to smile sadistically. "this is great! it's been awhile since i felt this motivated! <3"

while izana was yapping away, mikey silently launched attacks over and over to bring him down. "but you're too easy to read."

kick!

a clean kick right at mikey's face sent him skidding on the ground. everyone else was in a state of shock, unbelieving eyes drunkenly watching the fight.

"there's no way...!"

"mikey got knocked by one kick?!"

"kurokawa izana's senses is what makes him strong." kazua delightedly bit on her popsicle on her way home. "i wonder if he'll be able to see through me too. guess i'll find out when i meet him."

"i'll destroy everything down with my power." izana smirked. "since the initial plan didn't work, i guess i'll just have to kill you."

mikey got up to his feet again and launched another kick towards izana. "come on! didn't i tell you, you're predictable?"

the older sent his fist colliding with mikey's head. the impact should have been enough to send him flying, but he didn't waver. he stood right in front of izana with his face receiving izana's fist, bloodshot eyes recognizing lilac ones.

"let me ask you one thing." he said. "why were you planning to kill our sister? why did you kill sazu?"

"heh," izana stood close to the blonde. "i'll let you in on a secret of mine, mikey. since shinichiro can't be my ideal brother anymore, i'll kill all your friends. that's why i've decided to burn you down to ashes and turn you into shinichiro!"

he cupped mikey's chin with one hand, forcing his eyes to meet his violent lilac hues. "so, can you please be painfully empty already?" he grins.

"so that's why you killed kazua?"

hit!

mikey stumbled down the ground after izana punched him ahain.

"you took everything away from me, manjiro! that is why i'll kill you right here!" he yelled. "and sada kazua? you're so mad and for what? for a person who never cared about you?! you're pathetic!"