𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - [ʜɪᴀᴛᴜs]

𝟎𝟔𝟏: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞

"You what?!" Both you and Chifuyu say in unison. His tone was confused, yours was angry.

Chifuyu puts his hand on your shoulder, "Let me handle him," he tells you, noticing the tension.

Chifuyu walks up to Takemichi and turns the boy's body around, lightly pushing him over. Takemichi turns back. "No! I need to say this to both of you!" He says seriously.

"I... I timeleaped ten years instead of twelve. Through Mikey," Takemichi informs.

"MIKEY?!" You yell. Chifuyu looks at Takemichi with concern, "If he's the trigger, how are you going to go back?" Takemichi's eyes widened in realization, "You're right! What's Mikey up to right now?"

Chifuyu turns to you. You frown, "Mikey left..."

"What?" Takemichi says in shock. "Whatever he's like in the future, is probably similar to how he is now," you tell Takemichi, "Since you left, Mikey's become colder. He's in a new gang now too..."

"Already?!"

"In the future timeline, he's in Bonten, right?" Takemichi nods in response to your question. "He's in the Kanto Manji Gang right now." You look at Takemichi. Scared of what his answer will be. "Say... What happened to you...? How did Mikey become your trigger to timeleap anyway?"

Takemichi looks down at his feet, "I... Died..." Chifuyu was shocked, "You died?!" The blonde repeated.

"I died trying to save Mikey! You did too!" Takemichi says, he looks at you determinedly, "We can't let that happen again!"

You were distraught. "Even after 12 years... I failed...?" You mutter.

"I'm not gonna sit here and apologize for doing what's right!"

"And what exactly is that?! Lying to your friends that you're over Sano? Self-sabotaging your own life to save Sano?"

"What about you? You have friends and a career. But no, you're still stuck on Mikey!"

"Not only are you still attached to Mikey, but you're also killing people?! Are you saving him or becoming him?! What even is your goal anymore?!"

The future flashes before your eyes in an instant. Snippets of what appear to look like arguments. With Naoto, Takemichi and Chifuyu.

"We can fix it!" Takemichi tells you, "That's why I'm here! That's why I timeleaped! You must know where he is now, right?"

You clench your fists and look away from the boy, "It's not that easy to get in contact with him..." You say sternly. "If the both of us died saving Mikey in the future, what makes you think we can save him now...!"

"Hey, the future can change right?" Chifuyu says, noticing you were feeling discouraged, "There's no need to-"

Your mind suddenly goes blank. Flashes of bodies on the floor invade your mind, interrupting your focus on the two boys. All bodies were dead. All because of you. Two, of which stood out to you. Mochizuki Kanji and Sanzu Haruchiyo's. The images horrified you.

What the hell?!

The images of corpses continue to play in your head. Your breathing starts to become rapid.

What... What have I done?!

Chifuyu bends down in front of you, "Hey, hey! Look at me! We can figure this out," he tries to reassure you.

You look at him "Can we?!" You say, panicky. "What am I supposed to do...?! Every time I get close to Mikey, I fail!"

You cover your eyes in hopes the images of those you kill in the future stop appearing. You start to feel overwhelmed with emotion. You still had anger in you about the interaction you have with Akashi Takeomi. Frustrated that Takemichi timeleaped back. Saddened that you failed, not only in saving Mikey but also failing Takemichi for somehow getting him involved. And you were both confused and conflicted about what you were even doing up to this point.