My Sanity | Tokyo Revengers [Sano Manjiro x OC]

Interlude

•••

The room was empty of any decorations. White and grey were dominating the place as two black-haired men entered the talk room. One was dressed in a suit, and another one was dressed in a hoodie.

The atmosphere was a bit tense, full of anxiety and stress. The monotony of the room was not helping the racing heart of the one wearing the hoodie. A frown was plastered on his features as his lips were pressed in a thin line. It wasn't the first time he was visiting. The place was actually not scaring him nor making him uncomfortable. Actually, he was quite happy to be able to see his old friend while he still could. But what scared him was what he would find out; what the soon-to-be executed man would tell him about the new past he created. Although, the new information he would acquire would be of great help to prevent Hinata and Atsushi from dying.

The hoodie man, who actually looked more like a boy despite being 26, walked over the piece of thick glass that was splitting the room in half. A bald prisoner entered as well, but on the other side of the room. Hands cuffed and dressed in a grey suit, he sat on the chair, before the boy. A dragon was tattooed on the side of his head.

"Sorry to bother you again, Draken," the visitor said as he sat down.

"I told you to leave Tokyo, Takemichi" the bald prisoner only said.

"I wanted to ask you something," Takemichi said. "Do you remember Valhalla, the leaderless gang, from 12 years ago?"

"Hmm," Draken nodded, waiting to hear more before saying anything.

"The boss, was it Kisaki?"

"No," he shook his head. "The boss of Valhalla, it's Mikey,"

"Eh?" Takemichi frowned, as he blinked a few times in confusion.

Draken knitted his eyebrows a bit, quite confused seeing Takemichi so lost at the news.

"The gang was created for Mikey to lead it,"

"But...," Takemichi breathed. "No, it's impossible! Mikey is Toman's boss!"

"Impossible? Did you forget?" Draken frowned, even more confused. "During the Bloody Halloween, 12 years ago, Valhalla took over the Toman and gave birth to the new Tokyo Manji kai, the current one,"

"It was the day Valhalla and Toman fought?"

"Yeah. It was Toman's first defeat,"

"Eh? Toman's lost? With Invincible Mikey fighting?" Takemichi exclaimed.

"No... it's his fault if we lost,"

"What... Mikey's fault?"

"If only... I figured it out sooner...," Draken muttered. "He was only 15, but the burden on his shoulders was too great... that day Mikey lost it... he killed Kazutora,"

"Eh...?"

Takemichi only stared at Draken. He searched for any sign of joke or lies. But Draken was too serious to be joking. The scowl on his face, the hurt in his eyes, all of it was too real to be a lie. But it couldn't be... Mikey wasn't the type to kill... he wasn't like that... so how? How did it go so bad? When did it go so south?

Flashes appeared in Takemichi's mind. Memories he never knew he had. Memories of Mikey in his Toman boss uniform, beating to death an already very beaten Kazutora. But what was so dreadful and blood-chilling, was the unfazed and blank expression on Mikey's face.

"Mikey didn't go to prison because Kisaki framed someone else," Draken continued. "Mikey fell into darkness. Valhalla took over Toman with Mikey as the boss and Kisaki Tetta as the second, giving birth to a new organization. Thinking about it, when Kisaki joined Toman, he already had plans for Mikey,"

"Wait a second!" Takemichi exclaimed once again, trying to process what he just found out.

But it was too much. It was too out of character. But then, did he really know who Mikey was? He just started hanging out with him a few weeks ago. And their friendship was quite unbalanced. The power dynamic was completely messed up. Mikey was more interested and stronger to the point that Takemichi wouldn't dare to oppose him. Yet, Takemichi still trusted the blond boy. Mikey had strong morals. When someone was his friend, it was for real. It wasn't just an empty word. He would do anything to protect them. And avenge them.

"Mikey killed Kazutora? It's impossible! He's not the type to kill people,"

"If you were in his shoes, would you have spared Kazutora's life?" Draken asked.

That day was the worst of his life as it marked the downfall of the gang. He wished Mikey wouldn't have done what he did. And yet, Draken still quite understood why Mikey completely lost it. Mikey lost the person he cared about the most. The person he cared for more than his own life. Anyone in his shoes would have lost it.

"He's the guy who killed his older brother," Draken said. "And a week before the fight, he had killed Saki-chan in front of him,"

Silence.

Takemichi stood still, frozen, paralyzed. He stared blankly at Draken. Saki-chan? As in Yamashita Sakiko? The girl that was always helping him when he was with the gang? Emma's best friend? Mikey's protegee? Mikey's sanity?

"Kazutora... killed Saki-chan...?"

"You were there too, Takemichi," Draken frowned.

New flashbacks flooded Takemichi's mind. A brown-haired girl was standing on the edge of a building, tears falling from her eyes. Fear was clear in her eyes. She knew. She knew that one move, one wrong move, and it was the end for her. Body trembling, she stared at Mikey a few feet away from her. He was on his guard, though ready to dash and catch her. His eyes were glued on her wrist on which Kazutora's hand was tightly holding her. A wicked smile plastered on his face, Kazutora was enjoying this delectable look of fear and anxiety on Mikey's face. This fear of losing the person he cared for the most. And when their eyes met, that's when everything went wrong. The next thing they all knew, the girl widened her eyes and reached her hands forward as she felt her body falling backward. Mikey dashed and dived, stretching his hand to grab hers. He touched the tips of her fingers and only her fingers. They all stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the sidewalk. Looked down at the lifeless body that was drowning in a pool of blood.

"The tragedy of the 22nd of October."