Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

145 • Resolution

"I was about to catch you and then beat those assholes up, but you beat me to both of them. That was a nice throw and an even nicer landing."

Reina had seen his face and had heard his voice before. But the last time she did, it was full of concern and contempt, two emotions that shouldn't have mixed. Right now, in this timeline, she met him again. He was smiling, radiating the casualness and freedom he had lost in the other timeline, and it made her heart squeeze.

"I'm Ryuguji Ken by the way. You?"

Kenny. He obviously looked younger, but it was weird seeing Draken without that half-bad hairstyle of his that showed his dragon tattoo. Still, the sight of him made her tear up that Reina had to stop breathing and blinking lest she burst into tears in front of him.

"Rei." If her voice cracked and she tucked her hands behind her back, then Draken made no mention of it. "You can call me Rei."

"Nice to meetcha, Rei—holy shit, is that a snake?" Draken leaned forward, invading her personal space to gush at the snake that had now started to slither out of her shoulders. He got the memo and remained deathly still until the snake was now wrapped around his shoulders, and Reina couldn't stop herself from chuckling. "Wow! This is so cool! What's its name?"

"Marseille."

"Awesome." Grinning when Marseille rubbed his head against his jaw, Draken turned to her with glimmering eyes and jabbed his thumb behind him. "I'm starving. You wanna hit the convenience store?"

Her growling stomach answered before she could.

Snickering, Draken shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded to the side. "Well, that settles it. I know a cheap convenience store nearby, so let's go, Rei."

Draken talked her ears off about his endeavor in delinquency, but never once mentioned her name even though Reina knew he must've already heard about her. After all, her appearance wasn't exactly common in Japan, especially in the world of delinquents.

"Won't your parents get worried if a little girl like you jumps building at night—ah, this bento box is better than that one. Cheaper too."

"Don't have parents." She wasn't entirely wrong in that matter, and Draken didn't question her. Reina took the barbecue beef Draken recommended off the shelf. "And you don't look that much older than me, do you, Kenny? How old even are you, Kenny? Hey, Kenny, have you at least graduated kindergarten, Kenny?"

"Don't call me that." Draken scowled, and Reina belatedly realized that he must not have the 'Draken' nickname yet since that nickname was associated with his tattoo. "I'm gonna be in my prime fifth-grader self soon! I'm different from a kid like you!"

"We're only a grade apart." Reina deadpanned. She and Draken weren't so far apart in age that they would call the other a kid or an old fart. That was, unless, Reina counted her mental age. If it was a matter of mental age, then Draken was the kid. But physically, they were around the same age.

"That makes you the kid."

Deciding to just go along with his logic, Reina shrugged and made her way to the cash register. Draken has always been levelheaded and patient, so seeing this demanding part of his was refreshing and fun.

"Isn't wearing gloves uncomfortable?"

"Not if you invest." It wasn't like Reina wanted to wear gloves, but she was scared that if she shook hands with someone, she might either pass on the power of time leaping to them, turn them into her trigger, awaken some kind of dormant memory of the other timelines, and many other unlikely scenarios. The gloves were for her own ease of mind, if anything.