red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter lxxv: make it

"see you tomorrow, kazua-chan!"

"have fun with your boyfriend~"

kazua chuckles under her breath, waving lightly to her classmates as they leave the classroom first. she finished packing her own things and shouldered her messenger bag before making her way out of the building. there were a few students who gathered courage to greet her as she passed by, and she greeted back despite not really knowing who they are.

there is something with her aura that is so welcoming to others. the school knows of her, but she never really understood why. there is nothing she did to make the school recognize her either. other than being a part of the school orchestra and being a part of the judo team, there is nothing else to take note of her.

"hmm? where is he?" kazua stood outside the gates, confused when she failed to see the blonde sitting on the curb like usual. "he must be busy today, then."

she didn't wait for him and began her walk home. recently, mikey has been coming late because of baji's idea to form a gang. they pushed through with it, and kazua had nothing against it. mikey is free to do his own thing, anyway.

"they must be having a meeting." kazua sighs.

she turned to the corner, unexpectedly stopped by a group of men smoking while sitting on motorbikes. "oh, no."

they all noticed her immediately, and smirks popped on their face. one of them pushed themselves off of the motorbike they were leaning on to stand in front of her, taking his stick between his fingers to blow smoke right on her face.

kazua's face scrunched and turned to the side, stopping her breath to keep herself form inhaling the polluted smoke. "disgusting."

"what's a little lady like you doing...walking all alone?" he bends to her level. "aren't you a pretty one?"

"thanks. i can't say the same to you, though." she smiles sweetly. "you reek, mister."

"sharp tongue too." he whistled. "why don't we have some fun with you?"

kazua kicked his balls the moment he finished talking, sending him back a little at the pain she inflicted. the rest of his lackeys immediately got up and surrounded the girl.

"you—!"

two of them grabbed both of her arms while another took a knife out and swiftly plucked off all of her school blouse's buttons in one swing. her undergarments were revealed, and they were aroused at the thought of her squirming under them as they violate her.

"let me go!" kazua tried to release herself from their grip, but they were too strong for her. "looks like i have no choice...again."

as she was about to jump and kick the first guy in the head, someone else did it for her. she was freed from their grasp, pulled by her waist away from them.

"what are you doing to her?"

his voice was low and dangerous, a tone that kazua hasn't heard in so long. she turned to the person who saved her and found his hollow dark hues glaring at the adults before them. "manji..."

"sazu, i'm sorry." he smiles sheepishly. "i wasn't here to protect you from these shitheads."

kazua shakes her head, wrapping her arms around his neck despite her blouse unbuttoned. "you're here now." she whispered. "thank you."

mikey took his jacket off after carefully pulling away, wrapping it around her and zipping it up to cover her body.

"wait here, okay?" he continued to smile at her. "i'll go deal with them."

"this is it."

senju fixed her uniform, turning to the taller male beside her. there was not a glint of excitement in their eyes. they were more determined than elated. this is the day kazua's plan will all fall into place, and they will do anything they can to follow through even without her.

the members of brahman are already at yokohama bay with the other gangs, simply waiting for their leaders to arrive. senju made a stop by the docks to meet with takemitchy and draken for a bit to discuss the plan. and after they went through it all, both senju and takemitchy turned to draken to see if he was ready.

"you will be representing brahman because of kazzie's unavailability. you ready for this, draken?"

draken stretched his neck on both sides, producing a cracking sound. "we got no other choice." he said. "we can't let kaz down."

"draken-kun, we'll be there if things go south." takemitchy reminded with a comforting smile. "don't worry. we can do this!"

the taller nodded.

"then, let's get going."

senju leads the two to the bay, easily spotting the crowd that consists of the top three gangs of japan as of now. a few of them are arguing, but they didn't let it lead to a brawl to respect the supposed battle of the three deities.

this day is dedicated to them, and no one will be stopping the battle.

the brahman members made a path when they noticed senju approaching, letting the three reach the very front of the circle. in front of the other two gangs, their leaders stood with their executives behind them.

"on this day, july 14th, the battle of the three deities will end in a final showdown between each gang's strongest members!"

someone from a gang different from the three stood at the center of the fighting area, opening the battle officially.

"no rules will apply, and the last one standing will be announced as the winner!" he said, hyping up the crowd. "and the victorious gang will take over all businesses affiliated to the defeated two.

"representatives, step forward."

south terano was the first to move forward, followed by mikey. he had his hands tucked in his commander coat's pockets, dark orbs expectantly looking at senju.

"here we go."

as draken was about to take a step forward, a hand wraps itself around his forearm and stopped him. time slowed down for everyone, and the brahman top members all turned to her with wide eyes.

"sorry, i'm a little late." she grinned up at the braided blonde. "no need to worry now. i'm here."