The meeting ensued soon after Emma's departure. Takemichi had felt a bit bad after watching her try to get Draken's attention with little success.
She was not entirely wrong when she mumbled that his only interests were gangs and Toman. Takemichi was sure that nobody here had hobbies outside delinquency. However, Takemichi remembered that initial look of disbelief he received from Draken upon seeing them, making him doubt that the interest was one-sided.
Nevertheless, the ongoing meeting was far more intense than what Takemichi had imagined. Being the official guest of the night granted him the privilege of walking alongside Mikey and Draken while long files of delinquents bowed at their sides.
Takemichi had not been sure how drastic his life would change following his encounter with Mikey. He had never imagined it would go down this route, feeling as if he was intruding in some sacred ritual just by being there. It was hard to wrap his head around the fact that in the original timeline, while this was happening, he had been a mere slave to Kiyomasa.
The meeting went on as, what Takemichi could deduce, usual.
Although the invite had been sudden, he is satisfied by the outcome. Otherwise, he would have never learned seemingly crucial information, like the ongoing conflict between Toman and another group named Mobius. However, every new detail seemed to make the puzzle more complex.
Naoto never mentioned Mobius or any fights between gangs. All of this had to be essential in his mission to save Draken, no matter how muddled the answer seemed at that moment.
A shiver ran up Takemichi's spine. He wished he could better concentrate on the meeting and the information passed around, but a familiar tingling of fear settled within his stomach, this time with no visible reason why.
He looked around, just seeing a sea of black uniforms. Takemichi was not even sure what he was searching for, but he could not get rid of that notion of being watched. He eyed the crowd one last time before focusing back on Mikey.
Even after Mitsuya explained Toman's history with Mobius, which led to Pah's interruption and the announcement of the decisive fight, August third, Takemichi could not get rid of that feeling.
The crowd was dispersing, everyone readying themselves to go back home.
It must have taken more than half an hour, the meeting concluding once the sky reached its darkest peak. This should have meant that the bizarre feeling that had appeared from nowhere, should have been gone by now. Or at least dimmered down. Instead, it almost seemed to worsen with every minute, no matter how hard Takemichi tried to distract himself.
His next moves should be to analyze the conflict happening the day Draken died. It was bizarre that Naoto failed to mention Mobius even once. Concentrating, however, proved to be impossible as well once his skin prickled at that foreign sense of foreboding.
"You alright?" Mitsuya whispered, as he never left his side after Pah's little outburst. Takemichi did not flinch this time, just gulped, preparing for a believable lie. It would probably be condescending of him to complain about "a weird feeling" at the meeting Draken personally invited him to witness.
"Everything they just said, it's so shocking..." He said, not entirely lying either.
At that Mitsuya laughed, resting his hand on Takemichi's shoulder. He appreciated something solid that could ground him although Mitsuya's laughter made him feel a bit embarrassed.
"That's the delinquent world for ya'." He casually replied. "Not every meeting is as dramatic though. Mikey requested it to be like this today."
"He did?"
