the lap cat || WIND BREAKER FANFIC ||

s e v e n || "the bofurin top vs the shishitorens top"

"the bofurin top
vs
the shishitorens top"

- × -

⚠️ — mentioned of flesh being bitten.

/f l a s h b a c k s/

"togame was trying to protect me?" chaine repeated his words, umemiya's phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear. in one hand, he held a mug, twirling a spoon with the other. he chuckled. "yep! just a theory of mine though," he chirped, sounding far too lively for the early morning, a contrast to chaine, who wasn't fond of rising early.

"just get on with it," chaine deadpanned. she had woken up early just to call umemiya (albeit, reluctantly if she admit it) and apologize for her brash behavior yesterday, which somehow led to this conversation, courtesy of a certain raven-haired male. his speculation-that togame might have sent her away to protect her-was something she hadn't considered before.

sure, she and togame had been close in the past, but the way their relationship was abruptly severed left her with no answers. she'd never gotten the chance to know the reasons behind his motives. now, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been the one at fault all along. unanswered questions lingered, and the weight of them made her feel like she'd condemned herself for something beyond her control.

still, she found the idea of togame's intentions hard to believe, almost absurd."do you even know what you're saying? what made you jump to that conclusion?"

umemiya took a careful sip of his coffee before answering. "you mentioned how he did it out of the blue, right?"

"yeah."

"just think about it. ever since the shishitorens changed, togame's behavior changed too. his first priority was doing what he thought was best-not just for tomiyama..." he paused, glancing out the window to the baby blue sky above."...but for you as well."

"your point?" chaine pressed.

"he might not want you to get involved, so you can live freely without him worrying about you. he'd do anything for the people he cares about, even if it means making you hate him in the end."

[/e n d o f f l a s h b a c k s/

"protect me?" chaine thought with an internal scoff. "i've always known this guy as a goofball, so I figured whatever he said last night was truly absurd but... "her hands subconsciously clenched hard.

/f l a s h b a c k s/

"choji..." togame weakly called from where he had collapsed, attempting to lift himself off the floor. "let's... stop. we're not in the right... there's no justice in this fight," he stated, carefully standing to his full height and trudging over to choji. "we're-no, i was in the wrong."

"hey, come on! ume-chan!" choji urged, his excitement uncontainable.

"choji..." togame reached out, desperate to catch his attention.

instead, he was met with a harsh kick to the face.

"shut up! you already lost. now stay quiet!" dark, listless eyes watched togame's body crashed against the wall, dust billowing up around him, indifferent to the fact that he had only worsened his injuries more than already is.

"back then, sakura-kun wasn't only the one who got angry."

"togame-!" triggered by choji's brutal treatment of his companion, a wave of anguish surged through her, like a tsunami drowning her in its depths. it felt as if her emotions were being clawed at by some hideous, unseen creature, its presence mocking her, trying to tear apart what little restraint she had left.