Chapter Text
"Oh good! Looks like you can hear me! Tell me what you mean by "in the past"."
Takemichi sat up in bed and blinked several times before laying back down. Clearly the events of the day were weighing so heavily on his mind that he was now beginning to hear the late Baji Keisuke's voice in his head.
"You ARE hearing my voice! Get up now!"
Takemichi instead opted to pull the covers over his head.
"Stop ignoring me! What the hell do you mean by "in the past"!?"
As Takemichi began to debate asking his mother to call a doctor, he felt a sudden chill. It didn't feel like the normal chill of autumn, either; he felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on his face. He sprung up in his bed once more, only to come face to face with what appeared to be an intruder. Startled, he let out a scream as he attempted to pull himself out of bed to get away... only for his leg to become tangled in the blanket, resulting in him falling to the floor.
His mother shouted from downstairs, demanding to know what was going on up there. Takemichi rushed to the light switch, flicking it and illuminating the room. The intruder was still there, and what's worse, he looked very familiar to Takemichi.
"B-Baji?"
"Fucking finally!" Baji, who Takemichi realized seemed transparent, let out a bark of satisfaction.
The sound of footsteps told Takemichi that his mother was coming upstairs to see what the commotion was.
"S-Sorry, Mom!" He shouted before he could stop himself. "I hit my leg on the table before I got into bed and it really stung!"
He heard his mother let out a sigh before warning him to be more careful. The footsteps retreated back downstairs. Now that the possible interruption was gone, Takemichi forced himself to look at Baji.
'He really is transparent.'
"Yeah, it looks like you can see right through me."
Takemichi hoped that Baji hadn't just read his mind.
"I did. I mean..." Baji paused, thinking it over. "It's really more like I HEARD your thoughts, rather than reading them."
Neither option sounded very reassuring to Takemichi. Then again, if Baji knew what he was thinking, then wasn't that more evidence that he was just a figment of Takemichi's imagination?
"I'm not!" Angered, Baji took a swing at Takemichi. Unsurprisingly, his fist simply passed through Takemichi's face. The freezing sensation that followed it, however, did suggest that he wasn't merely a guilt-induced hallucination.
Baji seemed frustrated at not being able to hit anything.
"Can you tell me something only you would know?" Takemichi suggested. "Like your birthday or...?"
"Baji Keisuke, First Division Captain of the Tokyo Manji Gang. Born November 3rd, 1990. My blood type is AB, and my mother's name is Ryouko."
It was true that Takemichi didn't know those things, and there wasn't really a way to verify most of them with Chifuyu without looking suspicious, but it was likely that he'd be able to at least meet Baji Ryouko at her son's funeral.
"Can you at least act like you believe me before then!?" Baji grumbled. "You're some kind of time traveler, right? Is it that hard to believe in ghosts?"
"How much of my mind have you read?" Takemichi whispered.
"Not that much. You were thinking about what would happen if you died "in the past", and it seemed like you had an idea of what was going to happen today. It's not hard to connect the dots."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Takemichi said sheepishly. "I guess I should tell you everything, huh?"
At some point during the explanation, Takemichi's mother called upstairs telling him to get off the phone and get to bed.
"Try talking to me in your mind."
'Can't you hear all my thoughts?'
"I'm... not sure, actually. I was able to hear pretty much everything earlier, but that was before you knew I was there." Baji frowned as he contemplated this. "Plus, I hadn't fully regained my mind. Maybe I actually WAS part of your mind for a bit?"
'I wonder if it's something you actually have to try to do?'
The two fell silent before Baji asked Takemichi to continue with his story. When Takemichi was finished, the mood was melancholic.
"I did think it was odd that some twerp who seemed to come out of nowhere was suddenly everywhere when it came to Toman." Baji sighed. "I guess I should have been more suspicious about why that same twerp I'd met twice would come up to me teary-eyed begging me to not get killed."
Neither interaction had even been good, now that he was thinking about it; His first interaction with Takemichi had been punching him the face without even speaking directly to him. The second had been when he'd used him as a witness to infiltrate Valhalla after beating up Chifuyu.
'What are you thinking about?'
"I didn't make much of a good impression on you, did I?"
'That's what's on your mind?' Takemichi stifled a laugh. 'Baji, that doesn't matter to me. My main goal today was to keep Mikey from killing Kazutora, but I still wanted to save you and bring you back as well.'
The fact that he'd failed was his biggest regret since he'd first discovered his ability to time leap.
"Well, that might explain why I'm haunting you and not Kazutora or Chifuyu."
'Haunting!?'
"I'm a ghost, I'm attached to you... The only thing backwards is which of us has regrets." Baji shrugged. "Sure, this wasn't the outcome I wanted, but I can't say I'm sorry with how things turned out."
...That was a load of shit and they both knew it.
Baji certainly hadn't forgotten about his mother. For all he called her terrifying, she was the most important woman in his life. Was an outcome where she was now planning his funeral when she'd been preparing his birthday gift a day earlier truly acceptable to him?
And would a man who loved Toman as much as Baji did truly be fine with being the reason Kazutora was going back to juvie, likely for an even longer time? Was he okay with his death being the catalyst for Mikey almost crossing a line he wouldn't be able to return from? Could Baji honestly say he was fine with forcing Chifuyu to hold him as he died when his vice-captain's loyalty wouldn't even permit him to strike him in an attempt to get him out of harms way?
Really, the only thing that would have made this particular outcome worse would be if Mikey HAD killed Kazutora.
"I should have just gone for Kisaki at the start. Dammit!"
'What?'
"My main goal was to bring Kazutora back... but I didn't have that knife on me so I could stab myself."
Baji gave Takemichi a wry smile as his words sank in.
'You were planning on stabbing Kisaki!?'
"Well, you and Chifuyu confirmed he was bad news. Figured it was worth a shot."
'So what was your plan for after that? Take responsibility and go to juvie yourself?'
"If it got down to that."
Any trace of regret was gone from Baji's face. Takemichi sighed before a thought occurred to him.
'You got the idea to stab Kisaki and brought the knife with you because Chifuyu confirmed your suspicions?'
"Yeah...?" Baji gave him a puzzled look, not understanding why Takemichi was so concerned with that fact. It didn't take long for him to realize what the issue was, however.
'We take this to our graves.' Takemichi declared.
"Way ahead of you."
When Takemichi left the abandoned lot that afternoon, he didn't think he'd be getting much sleep that night. As it turned out, he'd been right, but not for the reasons he'd thought. While the events of the day were indeed still weighing heavily on his mind, his night was spent examining what Baji Keisuke's new form was and what it was capable of. The results were interesting.
Baji was capable of hearing Takemichi's thoughts, but only when Takemichi's mind was "open", so to speak. If Takemichi truly wanted to keep his thoughts hidden, it was possible for him to do so. On the other hand, he couldn't hear Baji's thoughts at all.
It was possible for Baji to possess Takemichi, but it required a lot of concentration. Furthermore, both parties had to be willing; if either of them rejected the possession at any point, Baji would be ejected from Takemichi's body.
Baji could not go more than a few meters away from Takemichi. Each time he tried, he found himself back by Takemichi's side. At least that meant Takemichi could get SOME privacy when necessary.
The only thing that had yet to be tested was how this translated into Takemichi's time-leaping. Would Baji remain in 2005? Would he end up in 2017 with Takemichi? Or... would he simply disappear?
"Well, I'm not gonna head back to 2017 for at least a few weeks." Takemichi reassured him as he finally settled into bed for sure. "I want to make sure things are... at least somewhat okay here first."
As Takemichi drifted off to sleep, Baji thought about how things were going to be for Toman going forward; it thankfully wasn't going to be absorbed into Valhalla, which would hopefully dampen Kisaki's influence on Mikey. The First Division was going to need a new captain. Baji had his suspicions as to who Chifuyu would pick, but decided to keep them to himself. His biggest concern was what his current state meant.
If his becoming attached to Takemichi was related to Takemichi's time-leaping ability, what did that mean? What was the point of him remaining tethered to Takemichi when he hadn't been able to save him despite his best efforts? Was it possible that Takemichi was going to end up coming back to 2005 again? If so, didn't that mean that the future waiting for him in 2017 was also going to be a terrible one?
It was an unpleasant thought, but Baji understood that for now, all he could do was wait and see.
By the end of what should have been his 15th birthday, Baji Ryouko's son was reduced to ash and bone.
Takemichi quietly paid his respects to her, then took a seat next to Chifuyu.
'Are you sure you don't want me to say anything more to her?'
"If you were Mikey or Chifuyu, I might have asked you to pass on a message, but you've never met my mom before. She'd probably think you were pulling some kind of prank." Baji shook his head. "Just let me watch her until the end."
He had never wanted his mother to cry over him again. Now that he had done so in the worst possible way, however, he had an obligation to witness her tears, especially since he could no longer speak with her. The sight of his grandmother comforting her when she couldn't keep her head up filled him with a sadness he hadn't truly felt since that night in August two years earlier.
'Hey, what...' Baji turned to look at Takemichi, who already looked like he was about to burst into tears. He'd heard that the guy was something of a crybaby, but the funeral had barely started.
'Why do I feel like this?' Even while sharing his thoughts with him, Takemichi voice still sounded barely above a whisper to Baji. 'These emotions don't feel like mine.'
Fuck.
Were his own emotions leaking into Takemichi? Was that another thing they were going to have to deal with? Then again, it hadn't happen until he'd seen his mother crying. Did he have to be feeling the emotions really strongly?
"Sorry, I... don't like my mom crying."
'Am I... feeling what you're feeling?'
"Maybe? You said it didn't feel like the emotions were yours, so... That leaves mine."
Fortunately, the funeral passed without incident. When Takemichi turned to Chifuyu to ask if he was alright, he was brushed off.
"I'm... fine." He said flatly, sounding as though he hadn't slept well the past few nights. "I'm gonna check on Baji's mom. She's my neighbor, you know."
Takemichi attempted to press the issue, but Chifuyu again told him he was fine.
"You should check up on Mikey." Chifuyu shook his head. "He's probably in worse shape than I am."
He gave Takemichi a knowing look before grinning at him.
"Really, don't worry about me. I'll call you later tonight."
Chifuyu walked away, leaving Takemichi to wonder what that was about.
"You think he might have heard what you said to me the day before the fight?"
'Huh?'
"Mikey. You were worried about making him sad."
'Hmm... Maybe.'
By that point, it was clear that Mikey had already left. Just as Takemichi was about to ask Baji for suggestions on where he might have gone, he was spotted by Mitsuya.
"How are you doing?" He asked before Takemichi could say a word.
"I'm doing fine." Takemichi said with a smile that he hoped didn't look weird. "I'm more worried about you guys. I didn't really know Baji as well as everyone else."
Mitsuya reached out to ruffle Takemichi's hair.
"And yet you ended up being the one to stop the whole fight. If you hadn't jumped in when you did, there might have been two deaths instead of one."
He looked away with an almost hesitant expression, as though worried that his next words might change how Takemichi saw him.
"I don't think I would have been able to stop it. Especially since Draken couldn't."
There was a strange subtext behind Mitsuya's words that Takemichi couldn't decipher, and he honestly wasn't sure he wanted to. In the short time he'd known him, Mitsuya had come across as the epitome of a caring older brother, the kind Takemichi had wished he either had or could be during the days he'd begged his parents for a younger sibling. What's more, it was obvious that Mitsuya was fully aware of how everyone saw him. Perhaps that was why he was trying to keep whatever darker emotions he was feeling concealed from the new recruit.
"I... didn't want Mikey to kill someone."
"Huh?"
Mitsuya turned back to look at him, his uneasy face giving way to surprise and confusion.
"Mikey told me a few days ago that he couldn't forgive Kazutora for what he did to his brother, but I'm... sure he would have regretted killing him."
Takemichi wasn't sure if Baji could see the image of Mikey's sorrowful expression from the timeline where Kazutora died, but he quickly received an answer in the form of a soft gasp. Whether or not the tears that were once again threatening to leak out were his own or Baji's, he couldn't say.
Mitsuya was still staring at Takemichi with a stunned expression. The emotion that Takemichi couldn't identify began to creep back in, but Mitsuya quickly shook it off.
"I see. You were thinking about Mikey." He finally smiled (though Takemichi could see tears forming at the corners of his eyes). "You know, at first I was thinking how terrible it was that you ended up getting dragged into something that we as Toman's founders should have handled ourselves, but... maybe it IS for the best that you did."
He laughed softly as he gave Takemichi a slap on the back.
"You made the Second Division proud."
Mitsuya left, and Takemichi was now feeling even more befuddled. Baji had been able to provide a possible explanation for Chifuyu's words, but Mitsuya's left him just as stumped.
Takemichi looked around; the other Toman members he knew were all gone, and he still had no way of knowing where Mikey was.
"There's a number of places he might be, but he might have just gone home."
'Nothing I can do in that case. It'd be weird if I knew where he lived without anyone telling me.'
In the end, Takemichi wouldn't see Mikey for nearly a week. His messages went unanswered and his stupid early 2000s phone made it impossible to tell if they'd even been read. Fortunately, on the fifth day after Baji's funeral, Mikey called him.
"Can I come over?"
"Yeah!" Takemichi answered before he even thought about it.
A click let him know that Mikey had already hung up.
"That's unusual. If Mikey wants to hang out he usually just shows up uninvited." Baji sounded concerned before letting out a chuckle. "My mom yelled at him so many times."
When Mikey arrived, he was finishing up eating some dorayaki. He grinned as he laid eyes on Takemichi.
"Hey-a, Takemitchy!" His tone was light, but it was obvious to both Takemichi and Baji that he hadn't been sleeping well for at least a couple days. In fact, he seemed to be swaying a little as he walked into the Hanagaki home and removed his shoes.
"Sorry I haven't been in touch." He said before Takemichi could speak. "Haven't really felt like talking to anybody the past few days."
"It doesn't look like you've felt much like sleeping, either."
Mikey turned to look at him in surprise. Baji, meanwhile, began guffawing.
"Damn, Takemichi!" He said in between breaths. "I know this is your own home, but that's still pretty honest!"
"When did you learn to talk to me like that?" Mikey also seemed amused. "But you're right. Sleep has been kind of... hard, lately."
"I don't blame you." Takemichi said with a kind smile. "I'll get you something to drink. You know where my room is, right?"
"Yeah, yeah." Mikey nodded as he went up the stairs.
Takemichi considered preparing a cup of tea, but Baji advised that he'd prefer something sweet, so Takemichi grabbed a small juice box.
'What do you think he means by "sleep is hard"?'
"There's really only two ways to read it, right? It's hard to get to sleep, or it's hard to stay asleep. Worst case scenario, it's both."
He'd almost expected to find Mikey asleep in his bed, but he was simply sitting on it while looking around the room. He thanked Takemichi for the juice, and for a few minutes, the two sat in silence while Takemichi waited for Mikey to finish his drink. Even when he did, he simply placed the empty box on the table and sat for another minute or so before speaking.
"...I keep having dreams." His voice was quiet.
"About?" Takemichi gently gestured for him to continue.
"A lot of things." Mikey smiled back. "Baji, Kazutora, my brother... I've even had a few about you and Kenchin."
"Me?"
Most of those people, he could understand. It had only been a few months since Draken's own brush with death, after all. It didn't really make sense for Takemichi to be part of those anxiety and grief induced dreams, however. His confusion must have shown on his face, because Mikey's next words offered an explanation.
"...I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't managed to get me to stop." His smile faded. "Would I have killed you too?"
His words should have sent a chill down Takemichi's spine, but they didn't.
"Dreams can be scary like that." He reassured him. "...Maybe sleeping somewhere new might help?"
Mikey gave him a pouting look, but it didn't last long.
"Takemitchy's offering up his bed, huh?" He said with a smirk. "I might take you up on that offer if you do one more thing."
"What is it?"
"...Can you hold my hand?"
"Huh?"
The lack of a blush on Mikey's face told Takemichi that he wasn't embarrassed by the request. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure Mikey could get embarrassed.
"When I was little, my brother would do this on nights I had a hard time sleeping."
Ah. Mikey had said that Takemichi reminded him of his brother.
"Your personality's a bit like his." Baji explained. "Shinichiro was cooler, though."
'That's what Mikey said, too.'
"Okay."
Mikey lied down and shut his eyes as he held his hand out. Takemichi lightly placed his hand in his. Mikey smiled, and it wasn't long before Takemichi heard a quiet breathing that told him that Mikey had fallen asleep.
'He already kind of has a baby face, but it's really obvious when he sleeps.'
"Yeah, when he first met my mom she thought he was adorable until he opened his mouth."
'That kind of sounds like him.' Takemichi swallowed the laugh.
The two fell silent for awhile. Outside the window, the sky slowly turned from blue to red. Finally, Takemichi decided to ask Baji a question.
'Do you think Mikey will be okay?'
Baji didn't reply right away, but Takemichi knew he was thinking about it. It was kind of hard to come to a conclusion about such a thing, even (or perhaps especially) with someone you've known for most of your life. If anything were to happen to say, Takuya, Takemichi wasn't sure he'd be okay for a long time.
"I think it'll be awhile, but I think he will." Baji finally answered.
'You think?'
"Yeah. I'm hardly the first person he's lost, but he's surrounded by people who love him. Plus, he's got you looking out for him, so I'm sure he'll be able to take care of both himself and Toman."
'I hope so.'
A soft groan drew Takemichi's attention back to Mikey, who was opening his eyes with a groggy expression.
"Takemitchy...?" He mumbled before looking around. "This is... your room?"
When his gaze moved to his hand still holding Takemichi's, he ripped it back like it had burned him.
"Were you holding my hand this whole time!?" To Takemichi's surprise, Mikey's face was as red as Osanai's uniform.
"Yeah? Did you... not want me to?"
"It's... not a problem, it's just..." Mikey, for once, seemed to have trouble finding the right words to say.
"It's kind of weird to keep doing that after the person falls asleep, dumbass."
'Then why didn't you say anything!?'
"Because you didn't think Mikey got embarrassed, and I knew this would do it."
"Not even Shinichiro held on after I fell asleep." Mikey laughed suddenly. "You're pretty weird, Takemitchy."
Takemichi decided to brush the comment off and ask Mikey how he felt.
"I feel like I've slept better in the past couple hours than I have in years." Mikey gave Takemichi his familiar grin. "I can't even remember what I was dreaming about."
"I... guess that's good?"
"I'm pretty sure it was about Baji, though." Mikey mused as he looked toward the ceiling. "In fact, I think it might have been about him telling me to get my shit together and that I'd be okay."
He fell silent, and Takemichi gave him a moment to gather his thoughts.
"My head's still kind of a mess." He said, still not looking at Takemichi. "I still haven't decided if I'm really going to forgive Kazutora or not."
There was a certain somberness to his words that didn't quite match the thoughtfulness of his expression. Takemichi suspected that he might have already forgiven Kazutora in his heart, but his mind wasn't there yet.
"I don't think we should tell him that. He needs to figure that out on his own." Baji advised, and Takemichi found he agreed.
After exchanging a few more words, Mikey excused himself, saying he needed to head home.
"I need to start getting stuff out for dinner, anyway." Takemichi said as he walked Mikey to the door.
"You cook?" Mikey gave him a curious look.
"I'm... competent. Mom's job has her working weird hours, so she's not always around to cook. I'll make something for you next time."
"I'll look forward to it."
When Mikey finally stepped outside, he called out.
"Takemitchy."
"What is it?"
"Thanks again."
Without another word, Mikey left.
A few weeks later, Takemichi received a call from Draken, saying that he wanted him to accompany him somewhere. His tone was serious, so Takemichi had a good idea of where it was.
"...they said I should expect at least ten years. Considering what I did, that's still pretty short." Hanemiya Kazutora said to his visitors. "But I won't run away anymore. I've got to face up to this, like he taught me."
Despite his promise to go through proper rehabilitation, however, Draken wasn't convinced.
"Don't die, Kazutora."
"Huh?"
Draken warned Kazutora not to try atoning by committing suicide. Kazutora looked down at his hands, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
"I've got a message from Mikey." Draken continued. "Now and always, Kazutora is part of Toman."
Kazutora's eyes widened.
"And... "I forgive you"."
As tears filled Kazutora's eyes, Takemichi spoke up.
"And if you really want to make it up to everyone, then maybe you can start by letting us be there for you when you get out." He said gently. "I think... part of the reason things ended up the way that they did is because no one else besides Baji reached out to you earlier."
Kazutora and Draken shared a quick glance that Takemichi didn't notice. The latter hadn't mentioned his meeting with the former before the "Bloody Halloween", but it was true that from Kazutora's perspective, it had felt like too little, too late.
"So... maybe the rest of Toman can forgive you... if you can forgive Toman for not being there for you. At least, that's what I think Baji would say."
Kazutora made a sound that resembled something between a choke and a gasp before rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.
"That was pretty profound, coming from you, Takemitchy." Draken said as the two departed the juvenile detention center.
"I guess I was just sorta trying to think of what Baji would say to Kazutora." Takemichi said sheepishly.
"No, you were repeating what I wanted to say to Kazutora."
Takemichi opened his mouth to reply, only to clamp it shut as he realized who had just been speaking to him.
"It's been weeks. How have you not already gotten used to talking to me in your head?"
'Because even if Draken wasn't here speaking to me (which means I have to switch between speaking in my head and speaking out loud), it's still a little hard to get used to having a dead person speaking inside my head.'
"Sounds like a personal problem to me."
Takemichi narrowly avoided rolling his eyes as Draken turned around to tell him that Mikey had a message for him.
"He said he has something important to tell you at the next meeting, so you better show up."
Takemichi mused over the news.
"You seem worried."
'I am. I couldn't do a damn thing during the "Bloody Halloween" in the end. You died and Kazutora got arrested.'
"You saved Kazutora and hopefully prevented Kisaki from taking Toman over in the future."
'I guess we'll just have to wait until the next meeting to know for sure.'
Upon realizing that they'd arrived in Shibuya, Takemichi wondered aloud where Draken was taking them. To the surprise of both Takemichi and Baji, Draken said they were heading to his place. That wouldn't normally be too strange, if not for the fact they were in the middle of Shibuya. Upon discovering that his home seemed to be a building housing a number of businesses, Takemichi seemed impressed, calling Draken lucky for being such a "city boy", though Draken didn't see what the big deal was.
When they arrived on the fourth floor, they discovered that Draken's home was, in fact, a brothel (though a cursory glance at the posters showed that it was officially a "massage parlor"). Draken needed to speak to the man who was apparently the manager of the establishment, so Takemichi was told to take a seat in the waiting room. Another man was already seated and was in the process of clipping his fingers. Before long, however, the man stood up and entered the restroom. Almost immediately afterwards, a woman calling herself "Remi" entered and thanked Takemichi for requesting her.
"Right this way! ❤"
"Huh!? Um... okay."
"Hold on a second!" Baji spoke up. "She said someone requested her, and it definitely wasn't you."
Takemichi paused. That was certainly true.
Remi stopped and gave Takemichi a puzzled look.
"Something wrong?"
"I... I think there might be a misunderstanding here. I was invited here by Draken."
"Ugh!" Takemichi nearly got whiplash at how quickly Remi's demeanor changed. "You're one of Ken-chan's friends?"
Fortunately, the waiting customer exited the restroom and spotted them. After a quick back-and-forth (the man was evidently a returning customer), the two departed, and Takemichi was left alone in the waiting room until Draken returned.
"I don't have any real parents." He explained as he walked down the hallway. "So I was raised by the people working here."
'He said that so casually...'
Draken's room seemed normal enough, but there was something off about the sounds.
"I'm hearing lewd noises from the next room... Is this a sex room?"
"Yeah, once you get used to it, it's a real nice place!" Draken, who earlier had referred to his home as a shithole, told Takemichi to take a seat.
Before doing so, however, Takemichi took notice of a bulletin board filled with pictures. It was mostly of the various members of Toman, but both Takemichi and Baji took notice that a handful of pictures featured a certain girl.
"You must really care about Emma!" Takemichi couldn't help but tease him.
"Shut up!"
"Ah geez, he really held onto that picture, huh?" Baji's voice took Takemichi's gaze back to the pictures. It didn't take long for him to figure out which picture Baji was referring to; it was one of Baji himself, with Draken standing back to back with him.
"Baji..."
Sensing the change in mood, Draken spoke up.
"Every single one of them is precious to me. If anything were to happen to any of them..."
He paused, and looked down, wearing an expression that made it impossible to tell what sort of emotion he was feeling.
"I... also wanted to kill Kazutora."
As Takemichi processed his words, Draken explained that he knew that it was wrong.
"I want to thank you for stopping Mikey. I don't think I could have done it myself."
Whether because of an inability or an unwillingness, Draken didn't say. Perhaps he himself didn't know and didn't WANT to know.
Baji was silent as Takemichi left the building.
'I guess I can understand how Draken feels. I'm trying to save the people I care about.'
When Baji didn't answer, Takemichi awkwardly tried to think of a different topic. It really wasn't fair that the mind-reading thing didn't go both ways.
'But you know, it really looks like Draken cares about Emma.'
"Oh yeah!" Baji sounded almost grateful for the opportunity to move on from what Draken had told them. "It's an open secret among the captains. We try not to give him too much shit about it."
In an odd coincidence, the girl in question also appeared to be out on the town. Encouraged by his earlier discovery, Takemichi decided to let her know that her chances were good. As he rounded the corner he just saw Emma enter, he was met with a surprising sight: Emma had her arms wrapped around the neck of someone both he and Baji knew well: Mikey.
"I love you, Mikey." She said sweetly. "Hug me tight?"
It was obviously a very intimate gesture, and Mikey slowly reciprocated the hug. Takemichi's mind was reeling at the implications. Had Emma given up on Draken and moved on to Mikey? If Draken were to see this...
"He'd laugh and make fun of Mikey for taking his little sister out for... Huh. It IS Emma's birthday, isn't it?"
...what? Little sister?
"Yeah, they have different moms, but they're siblings."
As Takemichi tailed the two in secret, Baji explained that Emma's mother left her with the Sano family several years ago. He couldn't remember what Emma's previous surname had been, but Mikey's mother and grandfather both agreed to adopt her into the family and she changed her name to "Sano Emma".
"Emma is actually why he calls himself "Mikey"."
'Really?'
"Yeah. From what I heard, Emma's mom was a foreigner. Mikey didn't want her to feel alone, so he started calling himself that."
'Wow. Mikey's such a good brother!'
"Yeah. He's basically got her and Draken's whole life planned out."
"This smells like a scandal." Hinata mused curiously, sounding surprisingly invested in what Mikey and Emma were doing.
"Hina?"
To Takemichi's surprise and confusion, his girlfriend was hiding behind a flower bed with her younger brother in tow.
Naoto explained that the two of them had been shopping together when they spotted him.
"I realized that we hadn't spent much time together lately... Is this what you've gotten into?" Hinata gave Takemichi a suspicious look.
"No!" Takemichi shook his head fervently. "I just spotted Emma and Mikey and wanted to say hi!"
"So... you weren't spying on them because you thought Emma was a two-timer?"
"They're siblings!"
Hinata's eyes widened slightly. Then they widened more, in a way that felt oddly deliberate.
"Oh! Of course!" She declared. "That makes far more sense! A-Ah look, they're stopping at a cafe!"
Mikey and Emma ended up stopping at a cafe, taking seats in the outdoor section. As their three voyeurs debated their next move, they were joined by Yamagishi.
"So how did you know it was Emma's birthday?" He asked when Takemichi finished explaining the situation.
"I-I heard Mikey mention something about doing something for Emma's birthday and figured it was something like this!"
None of his companions seemed to fully believe his words, but none of them chose to comment on it.
Emma, for her part, seemed to enjoy having her brother taste her parfait when it arrived.
"I don't think we really need to be watching this." Baji finally spoke up.
"Maybe we ought to head on our own way." Naoto, unaware that he was agreeing with the unknown fifth person in their group, turned to his sister.
"Yeah. I'm glad that's all it is." Hinata laughed. "I'd feel really sorry for Draken if it turned out to be something else."
"Who would you feel sorry for now?"
Takemichi nearly let out a yelp as Draken walked up to them with an irritated look on his face. As his mind struggled to find an excuse for Hinata's words, Draken spotted Emma and Mikey. As Baji predicted, Draken simply laughed while Mikey looked away with an almost embarrassed look on his face.
"Taking your little sister out for her birthday, Mikey?" He said in between gasps.
"Shut up." was Mikey's only reply.
Draken placed a stuffed animal on Emma's head as he wished her a happy birthday. It was a pink bear that looked like it came from a UFO catcher machine.
"Isn't that the one you wanted from the arcade last time?" Mikey helpfully answered that question.
"That's all. I'm outta here." With a grin, Draken departed, leaving every man save Mikey in awe of his coolness.
Emma, for her part, seemed delighted at the gift, squeezing the bear tightly with a warm smile on her face.
As the group quietly departed the cafe before Mikey could take notice of them and start asking awkward questions, Hinata noted that she'd never seen Emma look so happy before.
"Draken's always been able to get her to smile like that." Even though Takemichi currently wasn't looking at him, he could practically see the cheeky smirk on Baji's face.
"I hope things work out between her and Draken." Hinata continued. "And... I hope things work out for you and me, too."
"...Yeah." Takemichi smiled as he took her hand. "I know they will."
As the two began to set off for wherever their hearts took them, hand-in-hand, Hinata turned her gaze toward Takemichi... and abruptly released her grip.
Takemichi gave her a confused look as Naoto and Yamagishi walked up to them.
"Sis, we still have some errands to run for Mom." Naoto said in annoyance. "Did you forget?"
"J-Just for a second!" Hinata's laugh was weak. "Takemichi, maybe we should hold off on this for another day. After I finish with this, I think I'm gonna head home and lie down."
"Sure." Takemichi nodded, now concerned that Hinata might be ill. "Are you sick?"
"Maybe?" She shrugged. "It's just... for a second..."
She hesitated for a few seconds before finally looking Takemichi in the eyes.
"I thought I saw someone behind you."