A Future Without You is Soon |Mikey x OC|

Chapter Fifty-Three

   Takemichi stands with Hina in front of her apartment. He isn't sure why he came to her house. Comfort, maybe. Etsu had called him the other day. She told him about Shiho's threat. Takemichi doesn't want to admit it, but the threat scares him.

He knows what Shiho can do. He's seen it first hand. Shiho meant every word she said.

The two lean over the barrier in front of her apartment. Neither of them say anything for a while. They just stand there silently. Takemichi doesn't mind. But he feels Hina deserves some sort of explanation. So he talk.

"You know...the first time I leapt through time, I thought I was watching my life flash before my eyes. I wondered why I was having visions of the worst day of my life. I couldn't do it anymore. I had come here because I wanted to save you. I was a coward. I wanted to run from my life. From reality. I'm...but I'm different now. I can hold everyone's feelings on my shoulders now."

Takemichi doesn't realise he's been clenching his fists until Hina grabs his jaw and turns him to look at her.

"That's wrong!" Hina says. "You should say what you feel. It'll only weigh you down if you keep them bottled up like that. You can say it. You can say you're scared."

Hina pulls him up to the roof. She gestures to the railings and smiles. "Scream it for everyone to hear!" Takemichi talks over to the edge and stares out at the skyline.

Takemichi bites his lip for a moment. "I'm scared! I want to run away! I don't want to die!"

Takemichi takes a deep breath and look out in the direction of Kantou Manji building.

"How do you feel?" Hina asks.

Takemichi grabs the pendant on his necklace. "Better. Thank you, Hina." Takemichi smiles at Hina. He studies her smile. Just in case.

Just in case he doesn't get the chance to see it again.

"I'll be back!"

"I'll be waiting here."

~*~*~

"Dammit, Takemichi," Shiho snaps. "I warned Etsu. I thought it would be enough to persuade you."

"We knew this would happen," Mikey says. "It's okay. Everything will be fine."

Shiho grabs her jacket. She imagines it's a Touman jacket for a moment. She'd been thinking about Touman a lot recently. Since she saw Baji in her mirror.

She hadn't told Mikey about it. He had already been worried about her. So she had patched up her hands, gritted her teeth, and moved on.

She guesses that's what she'll have to do with this. Just like with Draken's death.

Just another cut. It'll be much larger than the last one. But she'll survive. It'll be shallow enough she'll survive.

"Right." It's all she can manage to say. All she really needs to.

Mikey turns and looks at the other Kantou Manji members. "Let's go!"

~*~*~

By the time everyone arrives at the cargo bay, it's already dark out. Takemichi stands in front of the fifty or so Touman members. It's measly compared to the five hundred Kantou Manji members in front of them.

Mikey and Shiho stand at each other's side a few paces ahead of the executives. Their expressions are frosty. It looks like Shiho's jaw is clenched.