ᴍᴇɴʜᴇʀᴀ // ᴍᴀᴛꜱᴜɴᴏ ᴄʜɪꜰᴜʏᴜ

ɴɪɴᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ

TWO BIRDS MET EACH OTHER atop a branch. They seemed to be interacting with one another, before a very humanly scream forced them to fly away together in surprise.

"Argghhh, why was I doing!?!?" Chifuyu yelled from his bedroom, his face red with embarrassment, scaring poor Peke J from its nap. It hissed ― with Chifuyu muttering an apology ― and left the room with much sass. Chifuyu cringed horribly as he was reminded when he caressed your cheek.

He just recreated a scene from a manga. In the manga, the female lead was supposedly upset about something, and the male lead tried to cheer her up. Which, by the way, was a romance manga. He cringed everytime he recalled that moment with you. It was so cheesy, why did he even do that!?

I wanna crawl in a hole and die... He sulked, the redness from his face slowly dissipating. The good thing is that you didn't mind it and probably even enjoyed it. That thought makes his humiliation less worse, he supposed.

He left his bedroom and saw his mom there chilling in the dining room. "Chifuyu, what were you screaming about?" His mom asked, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, well... You see..." The male laughed awkwardly, not wanting to have to explain to his mom that he did something so embarrassing and weird to a girl.

The mom sighed, changing the conversation. "Anyway, how's school recently? And how are you holding up with your friend's... death?"

Chifuyu froze for a second, before his expression turned grim. "School's fine Studies are going okay and... I met this girl and we became good friends afterwards. And Baji-san..." He tried to collect his words together. "I think about him every now and then. If he sees me like this, I bet he'll say not to worry and just live happily." With a grin on her son's face, she smiled too.

"That's good to hear that you're slowly getting better over his death. More importantly―" She patted on the empty seat next to her, telling him to sit with her. "Tell me more about this girl."

"....Huh!?" Chifuyu stepped back in surprised. "Wait, wait, wait―"

"Chifuyu, don't lie to your mother now." His mom sternly scolded. "This girl of yours, is she nice?"

"Mom!!"

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You're at the hospital with your aunt. Once you got home that night, she scolded you for getting into a fight and although she understood your situation for defending Mr. Froppé, slashing someone on the face is a big no-no. You both were outside of room where Killer's supposedly be. Similar to Chifuyu's words, your aunt had told you to go apologise after he was done getting stitches.

Once you were given permission to go in ― your aunt waiting outside ― you head in with Mr. Froppé. You bowed and sincerely apologized for injuring him. "As much as I hate to say it... that was pretty damn awesome."

"...What?"

"You don't know?" He looked surprised before he explained. "You suddenly got all badass and shit after I kicked your rabbit. The cut hurts like hell, but it'll heal." He shrugged it off like it was nothing. "But you've got my respect, lady." He said.

After a while, you exited the room and met your aunt. "Did you properly apologise?" An eyebrow rose from her expression while you nodded. "He said I looked cool when I got all violent... I think he got a fetish or something." You pouted, your aunt sighed heavily. "Don't make jokes like that, [Name]. Anyway, we should talk about Tokyo Manji Gang."

You cocked your head, interested.

"The members might not trust you even moee after hurting another member. Are you fine with all that slander?" Your aunt makes a good point, and you hung your head low. "They'll talk behind your back, or even start acting aggressive towards you. You won't be respected nor welcomed there."

You stayed silent and she continued. "Did you consider the consequences of joining a gang? There's a lot of unpleasant people there." She paused to let that sink in. "You hate violence, don't you? So why did you join a gang?"

Your aunt asked, genuinely wanted to know. You lifted your head, your eyes locking with her. "...I don't want to cower anymore." You spoke with confidence, and you saw the surprised flickered through your aunt's eyes. "I don't... want to die. The idea is terrifying to me. If I want to survive... I have to fight."

You felt your shoulders eased up, the corners of your lips quirking up into a smile. "Because... Uncle would want that for me. And... that was why he taught me how to fight."

Your aunt stood there shocked for three or four seconds, before she smiled and nodded. "...Typical of him."

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"You know..." Draken spoke, letting his eyes stay on your form from the table. "How did you like Chifuyu?"

"What do you mean?" You answered, passing Mikey a pair of chopsticks before he completely dug into his meal. Mikey and Draken had invited you out to eat together. During that, you also apologized to them for hurting one of their members. Which they forgave you for it, but Draken was more strict and gave you a half an hour lecture while you sat seiza-style.

After letting bygones be bygones, Draken brought up Chifuyu.

"Even when we told ya we were a gang, and he was a member of ours, you still stick by 'em." Draken pointed his chopsticks at you while you thought for a while. "Um... Chifuyu-san didn't yell or scold me when I accidentally headbutt into his butt―"

Mikey spat out his noodles, making a mess everywhere. "What!?" He dramatically shouted. You flinched and leaned away from him. "Well, he accepted my apology and even helped Mr. Froppé up." You said, before going back to your previous sitting position. "He was really nice to me. Always smiling at me and... stuff."

"People would always complain why I have to breathe in the same air as them. I can't blame them. I mean, I'm just a gross, pathetic piece of human garbage that shouldn't exist." You looked to see their weird but concerned stares on you. You pulled on Mr. Froppé's ear uncomfortably. "Um... overall, I just really like him. He's a gentleman, I... guess." Okay, you weren't the best in describing people, but you tried.

"S'that so?" Draken hummed. "So you're not afraid of him even though he's a delinquent?"

"No. Because Chifuyu-san's a really special friend." You announced, and both of them grinned at you. Draken plopped a hand on your head. "Glad to hear it. I wish the two of you good luck then."

You nodded, but then perked up and leaned in. "You know, Draken-san. You really remind me of my uncle." You said and he looked mildly intrigued. "Uncle was like a real father to me, so I sometimes call him dad instead. So can I call you 'Papa' then?"

For a moment, he grinned―

"No."