Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

113 • Bullseye

It was fascinating as much as it was infuriating how the cut that bled the least caused the most pain.

"It's your body, Rei Rei," Akise explained softly, dabbing alcohol onto her split knuckles. "Unlike these injuries, paper cuts aren't dangerous enough to make the body react and heal, so they're left injured for time to do the work...because they're so superficial."

Akise must've lost it because she didn't have a paper cut.

"I'm not talking about the paper cuts, though we do need to do something about your abnormal pain tolerance."

"I wish I couldn't feel pain."

"Rei Rei, that's a curse."

For normal people, yes, it would be a curse. Without pain, one would have a hard time differentiating between danger and safety. Pain was a necessary part of life, but there was only so much someone could take for it to become too much.

However, Reina had crossed that border a long time ago.

"You don't have to do this, you know," the surgeon murmured as if he was talking to a child who just got saved from a human trafficking ring and not his boss. He was talking with the same tone he had used on Elina back when she was still Eliana Sanchez, Reina realized. "It's not too late to turn back. I'm sure if it's you, you can think of another way."

But Akise didn't know that Reina had thought of other ways, and she had attempted to do them before ultimately realizing this was the only way to guarantee a bright future for everyone. Did she enjoy the life she's living now? Even if she didn't, Reina had no choice but to live through it.

"One day," she said, standing up from the sofa. "One day, I won't need you anymore." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she squeezed it as she walked past him towards the open door. "And when that day comes, I hope you'll forget ever knowing me."

Left alone, Akise couldn't help but sigh. Now that Reina had successfully made sure Harui and Mirai were safe from Hokkyokusei, she severed ties with them. She severed ties with him as if she hadn't saved his life in more ways than one. She severed ties with all of them as if she hadn't become part of their extended family of mishaps and mistakes—the mishaps and mistakes weren't the children, but the adults. 

"I told you." He sighed again, glancing at the door. "You love too blindly."

ﾟ❁.｡.:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*卍*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*.:｡❁

"She made us hate her."

Lifting his shorts, Mikey displayed the scar on his thigh for the time leaper to see. "I can't abandon Reichin, but I don't wanna go against her either." This was the first time Mikey feared someone, and that someone just had to be Reina. "Tell me, Takemitchy. How was Reichin in the future? Not what she's doing, but how was she?"

Mikey would turn a blind eye to many things. Whether it be the murder, the blood, or the crimes, he would turn a blind eye to them all if it were for Reina. If it was for the person who took the pain in his place, then pretending to be blind was an easy task. As long as Reina was fine, he would turn a blind eye to everything else.

"She...she was so thin, Mikey-kun." Takemichi looked so close to tears that Mikey immediately discarded all hopes. "Her eyes were red and tired and she...she had horrible eye bags like she hadn't been sleeping. I...I think she's been...been hurting herself."

Takemichi could remember it clearly, the sunken cheeks and bloodshot eyes, the ashy skin and raspy voice, the disheveled hair and cracked lips, the bandages around her wrists, and the rope marks around her neck. He shivered involuntarily.