𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - s. ᴍᴀɴᴊɪʀᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

𝟏𝟎𝟐: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭

You sat patiently on a foldable chair and waited as Chifuyu stood beside you. The sound of the building's air conditioning is the only thing audible amid the tense silence.

And then, you hear an officer announce a specific jail number before the door opens, revealing Hanemiya Kazutora.

He sits down in front of you, a glass panel separating you from him. It's been three years since you last saw Kazutora. His tiger tattoo was still visible above the collar of his shirt. His hair had slightly grown out, his blonde streaks showing his roots from the top.

Kazutora looks at you, then his eyes shift over to Chifuyu before he looks down at his lap. You decided to speak first.

"I know you probably don't remember me," you started, "But I was hoping you'd answer some questions I have." Kazutora looks back up at you, "If it helps, I'm a friend of Draken's as well..." You added as an attempt to help the guy feel somewhat at ease and trust you enough to speak to you. You knew this visit was probably confusing for him, and you didn't blame him for feeling that way.

"Draken's...?" Kazutora finally spoke, the sound of his voice slightly muffled through the glass. "What questions...?" He asked warily.

"About Bloody Halloween..." You answered. You felt a little nervous, knowing you had to tread carefully with your words, as this was a very sensitive topic, no matter how many years had passed since the incident.

"I... Wanted to hear your side of the story," you continued, "I was hoping you could tell me... What it was like to go up against Mikey, from an opposing gang."

His eyes widen slightly, "My side...?" Kazutora repeated after you once again. He pauses before speaking, "Why would that be relevant to you?"

You let out a sigh. This visit was limited to less than an hour, and you knew it would just confuse him more as well as take too long to fully explain why it was relevant. You think for a moment before giving him a decent enough explanation.

"Takemichi's starting a new..." You trailed off, looking over at the door that's in Kazutora's side, realizing there might be an officer who could be listening. "... 'Group'." You used instead of 'gang', "During the last three years, Mikey hasn't been the same since he disbanded Toman. And... Long story short... We're going up against him. I wanted to know what it was like for you back then."

Kazutora stayed silent as he listened to you. You can tell he was hesitant to talk about this in front of you, probably more so with Chifuyu also being with you. "In all honesty... I overestimated myself," Kazutora spoke, not looking you in the eyes, "I thought ambushing him with other members of Valhalla would tire him out before ultimately hitting him in the head with a metal pipe. I also got those members to hold him as I hit him repeatedly."

You listen to him in silence, despite the emotions running through your head. Back then, your control over your foresight wasn't as smooth. So you never witnessed much of Bloody Halloween through your visions, other than when Mikey almost killed Kazutora with his own hands. So hearing the incident being recounted, especially by someone who played a big role, was almost... Jarring. But you let him continue speaking.

"I had convinced myself that it was his fault I was in juvie for two years after killing his brother... So, when I was released, I sought out to kill Mikey," he says, "With that same mindset, Kisaki manipulated me by getting Hanma to convince me that Baji only joined Valhalla to act as an undercover Toman member... Which resulted in me stabbing Baji during the fight."

His eyes shift over to Chifuyu before looking back at you, "But... This isn't me trying to... Excuse what I did," Kazutora clarified, "I thought, at the time, 'killing the enemy' made me a 'hero'. But that was just a load of bullshit... I was just a coward to face the truth that I committed a crime all those years ago... And I was scared of being abandoned by someone who I trusted the most."

As you listened, there was a thought that kept coming up in the back of your mind. A thought you were also having before you had requested this visit. In an attempt to protect Baji from getting caught by the 'bike shop owner', Kazutora killed Shinichiro. In an attempt to save him from the feeling of being betrayed, Kazutora attempted to kill Baji.

These impulsive decisions had to come from something. But you weren't about to ask Kazutora about his past after already getting him to talk about Bloody Halloween.

But you knew Mikey. And what you know of Mikey is that many things that have happened in his life resulted in these impulses to worsen. No matter what changes Takemichi had tried to alter the future, Mikey had always drifted off due to these dark impulses. That, apparently, had slowly been eating at him since childhood. Considering what happened to Haruchiyo Sanzu.

What you've already been assuming was dark impulses must've been a result of some sort of trauma... Not that you assumed Kazutora had them, but his admittance to convincing himself Mikey was at fault for his brother's death and wanting to kill him after being released, didn't sound like a 'normal' thought process...

"Can I ask... Why you're going up against Mikey?" Kazutora asks, snapping you out of your thoughts. Chifuyu, after staying silent the whole time the visit started, finally spoke up. "He's not the same Mikey from before." You looked up at Chifuyu, surprised he was speaking to Kazutora at all, since he seemed reluctant to come to this visit.

"Think, the Mikey you went up against during your fight with him..." Chifuyu continued, "He's become exactly that." Kazutora blinks a few times as he takes in the information, "What do you mean...?"

"After disbanding Toman, he cut everyone off, even the founding members," Chifuyu tells him, "And, in an attempt to get us to resent him and not follow after him, he beat us up. That was only two years ago."

"All that stuff about making a 'new era for delinquents', is all gone," the blonde continued, "He's made a new 'group' that's beyond riding bikes and fighting now."

You nodded as Chifuyu spoke and you looked back at Kazutora, "Yeah... He's got some pretty shady people in his new... 'Group' now," you added. "Takemichi wants to put a stop to it. But... It's only a matter of time before Mikey and his team will find out and stop us before we even get to him."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you... Since... You had a glimpse of how Mikey can be when..." You nearly say 'his impulses take over', but you stop yourself, "... He's not entirely himself."

Kazutora listened as he took in the news. Though his expression had been almost empty the whole visit, you can see the corners of his lips turn in a slight frown. His eyes look down at his own lap, "I don't think... Baji would've ever wanted it to come to this..." He muttered.

There was a beat of silence before Kazutora spoke again, "... He didn't sacrifice himself just for Toman to go against each other."

Kazutora stays silent for another moment. Until, "After Baji stabbed himself..." He spoke again, "There was a different... Aura... Around Mikey when he walked up to me and declared the fight was over. I put up a front, as if I could keep up with him, but I knew I would lose... If it weren't for Takemichi, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Just as you were about to say something, the door opens from Kazutora's side of the glass. "Time's up!" The officer's voice echoed through the glass. Kazutora stood up from his seat and you followed suit.

"Kazutora..." You addressed him and he turned to look at you as he was about to leave. "... Thank you. And... Good luck with everything."

He nods at you in response and then looks over at Chifuyu to nod at him as well before fully shifting on his heels to walk away. As he disappeared through the door, it closed behind him.

Chapter one hundred-two, end.