A Future Without You is Soon |Mikey x OC|

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Takemichi awakes the next morning with a start. The thoughts about the Black Dragons and the future spin relentlessly in his head. There's no way he can stop all this. Even with Shiho's help.

But he has to! He has to win, or everything will be wrong in the future. Takemichi sighs and starts mumbling distantly to himself until a voice snaps him out of it.

"What are you mumbling about?" Akkun asks.

"Creepy-michi," Yamagishi says.

His middle school friends are all in a circle playing cards. He stares at them a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to check on you," Akkun says.

"You're our captain, man," Makoto says. "Grow some self awareness!"

Wait. He's their captain?

"If you keep being reckless, you won't be able to hold the First Division together," Takuya continues.

Only after Takuya speaks does Takemichi process their words. "Wait, did you guys join Touman?"

His friends look confused. "Huh? Yeah, we did," Akkun says.

"You invited them yourself, right?" A voice says from the other side of the room. His gaze snaps over to that side of the room. Chifuyu sits there, unharmed and alive. Takemichi has to resist the urge to start crying. Chifuyu's okay. He knew that. But he's okay. "What's the pause?"

"It...it's nothing."

Being in the past after all the future's he's seen...it was almost jarring to him.

"Still, to think the Black Dragons would shatter the balance," Akkun says, leaning back and resting an arm against his knee.

"Things are gonna be rough," Yamagishi says.

"The higher ups are getting involved for sure," Makoto says. Takemichi doesn't mention that Shiho is more than aware of the situation already.

"Takemichi's a Captain in Touman now," Takuya says. "We grew to four hundred fifty after we absorbed Valhalla. Him getting beat up is sure to cause a conflict."

Takemichi sits there blankly. The conflict is probably what causes Taiju's death. Maybe not directly, but it's probably when it happens.

"If we get into a fight with the Black Dragons, it'll be nothing like we've dealt with before," Chifuyu interjects. "These guys are known for their active fighting faction, the Killer Squad. They've been the top gang in the Kanto region for generations. And the tenth is the most ruthless so far."

Yamagishi and Makoto parrot Chifuyu's words.

"There's one reason," Chifuyu says. "It's Shiba Taiju!" Takemichi grits his teeth a little. "Touman and the Black Dragons have an unbreakable connection, because the Black Dragons are the reason Touman was created. Two years ago, the Black Dragons fought Kazutora, and Touman was formed to help him. Then Touman fought the Black Dragons. We crushed them and became a well known gang everywhere. If you want more specifics, Shiho would know them," Chifuyu explains.

"Damn, Touman!" Akkun says.

"So this'll be easy peasy!" Yamagishi cheers.

"No," Chifuyu says grimly. "It won't be as easy as it was last time. That was the ninth generation. The Black Dragons should have faded out, but Shiba Taiju took over as leader."

Did Shiho know the Black Dragons because of the conflict with them all those years ago? Takemichi thought Shiho had been friendly with them.

Chifuyu continues, snapping Takemichi from his thin layer of thoughts. "The Black Dragons changed under Shiba Taiju's command. The uniforms were totally redone, he trained them to act like soldiers, and made them an impressive looking gang."