Updated chapter :P some extra stuff included now
Baji was nice, a brute and very blunt, but Takemichi would be lying if he said he did not like the kid.
Draken at his side chuckled as if perfectly understanding what he meant. Mikey just hummed while staring at the window. If Takemichi guessed, the intimidating leader of Toman was still sulking.
"He's angry you left," Draken spoke up, "with Baji." He then added, grabbing the glass of milkshake and shaking the straw around. Takemichi blinked in confusion, glancing at Mikey, who refused to look back.
Takemichi looked back at Draken, who even while sitting towered over him. "It's not like I had much of a choice..." Takemichi reminded him. If you ignore the horrifying horror movie-esque sequence at the very end of the night, the day had not been that bad. Well, it had been, but Baji was not part of the bad. Not exactly good either, but anything compared to Sanzu was preferable.
Draken chuckled at his remark. "Baji and Mikey are very alike, in that they both act like toddlers." Takemichi bit back a laugh, not wanting to get a plate smashed in his face. "Seriously though, I've had to deal with his insufferable attitude all day now, complaining that you left without a goodbye. Honestly, a saver that we saw you today."
It was such a little thing to get angry at, Takemichi though. He just chuckled nervously, looking at Mikey, who took no notice of Draken's comment about his behavior or simply did not care enough to point it out.
It had always been so hard to read Mikey's expressions, or what he was thinking. That is where Draken usually stepped in, voicing what seemed to be Mikey's opinion while also slightly making fun of him. Takemichi wondered if that is what having a sibling is like.
"Oh, I didn't know... I'm sorry, I could have said something, but my phone broke down yesterday." Takemichi gulped, finding himself to be struggling with words. He had no idea just how much to divulge, what to keep hidden and how to give a good enough answer to please Mikey
There was also the struggle of navigating the world without a phone. Ever since he time leaped, it had been hard to say goodbye to what had become basic commodities in his time. Now, all his phone could do was call, message, and keep plenty of pictures. To put it simply, he felt disarmed and out of the loop.
"Is that so?" Mikey hummed, lifting his head to look at Takemichi. "We could go buy one now."
"Are you done with eating?" Draken asked.
Instead of answering, Mikey stood up and stretched, not too dissimilar to a cat, and subsequently marched off to the entrance.
"I still have to pay-" Takemichi said while Draken left as well. Well then. The blue-eyed blond stared at the empty plates on the table, dreadfully realizing he will be the one paying for all the food.
Seriously. Fuck Sanzu.
"Hurry up, Takemitchy," Mikey whined, waiting impatiently at the cafeteria's entrance. Despite already paying, Takemichi stood still, playing with his sleeves, and looked indecisive over something.
"Just a second, I have to go to the bathroom." He replied and quickly scurried off before any further questions. His steps felt too loud, his breath felt too loud, and the beating of his heart was leaving him fucking deaf. However, he had to do this and do it quickly.
Takemichi entered what seemed to be an empty hallway, each side of the wall leading to the male and female bathroom. He stared ahead with a frown, his fists clenched in poorly concealed frustration.
The time limit for any conversation was short, and there was the probability that Sanzu scurried off during his conversation with the Toman leaders. Takemichi bitterly acknowledged that Sanzu never gave him any sort of clue on how to contact him, as if he wanted to always be two steps ahead in their interactions. Looking back, all their conversation had been forced upon him with little chance of escaping. Sanzu had the element of surprise completely mastered. If Takemichi wanted some sort of advantage, or at least to reach Sanzu's level, he needed to reach out first.
