✓ NEVER LEAVE YOU LONELY, s manjiro

11

the boy sniffed before nodding as his eyebrows furrowed with determination. Both teenagers began dragging draken on their shoulders away from the parking lot and through the neighborhood.

"takemichi! yuzana!" a high pitched voice cried from afar, a couple footsteps being heard approaching.

there seemed Hina and another blonde Yuzana didn't recognize at all.

the pink haired girl finally caught up to them, "we called the ambulance! don't worry." she tells both of them.

the unknown blonde had continuously streamed tears down the side of her face when she was met with the state of draken, showing to Yuzana that draken meant awfully a lot to this girl.

"put me down."

Draken muttered softly, his deep voice taking the small crowd by surprise before they quickly did as he said, making sure to lay him down carefully as the blonde girl had patted his head onto her lap as a pillow.

Yuzana ripped her eyes away from the crying girl as her attention was now on takemichi.

"we just need to wait here until the ambulance arrives, right?" he asks hinata, both of their faces full of worry.

"yes, but.."

her pause of words had made everyone's eyebrows furrow as they prepared themselves for the bad news she would say

"apparently it's really crowded around here because of the festival and rain.. so it'll be hard for them to get here quickly." she explains, putting her head down as she clasped her hands to one another and fiddled with them sadly.

takemichi's head was turned to hinata, but he had seemed to be looking past her in the distance, his eyes going wide which took Yuzana and Hinata by curiously which made them unconsciously look as well.

a group of people in black uniforms were approaching.

when they were about a meter away, one of them finally spoke. they seemed to be familiar with takemichi, seeing as how they even had a nickname for him. but, whatever relationship they had it looked as if it was anything but good.

"what do you think you're doing you piece of shit?" another one of the men speak before another insults takemichi and the entire group erupts into laughter.

Takemichi had seemed to be lost in thought. his eyes remained wide in the group of men and he wouldn't blink. He looked scared, no, terrified.

The blonde looked back at his friends behind him, seeing how Draken had attempted to get up and help, but couldn't.

"i'm tired of always running away." he mutters to himself, beginning to walk towards the group of men.

Yuzana watched from a distance as she could see both people conversing. Takemichi's words had seemed to have put the man in front of him on edge by saying a fight they had earlier wasn't finished and that he didn't lose.

"i bet a hundred million on takemichi."

draken voice once again is heard throughout the alley, taking everyone by surprise.

next, going along with it, Hinata says, "i bet 200 million!"

followed by the next girl, "i bet 300 million!"

although Yuzana kept quiet, making her earn looks from them as it seems they expected her to join in as well.

"i bet 400 million?" she says unsurely, seeming to be anxious about what she had said.

'i don't even have that much money.' she thinks to herself, rubbing the back of her head realizing how much debt she could be in if takemichi loses.

draken speaks again, contributing to edging the man on and getting him angry with his words just like takemichi had done a few minutes earlier.

"let's do this kiyomasa!" takemichi boasts, charging at the man as their fight with a lot of money at stake would now occur.