Chapter Text
Takemichi was many things.
People called him a Cry baby, a Stubborn person, A hero, And a great friend.
To deny any of those claims would be false. It's true. The boy does have the waterworks of a newborn fresh out of the womb, He was indeed stubborn enough to challenge God himself, And to others and many themselves he was most definitely a hero and great person to rely on, one you can and would call a true friend, There for you at your worst and best moments, If the entire world were against you he'd be the one person to stand by your side.
But to say the least, Hanagaki Takemichi was a shitty boyfriend. Not the shittest but still pretty shitty.
Coming from a woman dating the man for over a year, Hinata Tachibana was fully aware that when she got into this relationship she couldn't be treated and protected as much as she was when they were little. Well, at least at the start.
From just accepting her confession out of sheer curiosity and smugness, to cheating on her (or about to) on more than two occasions, She wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to find out anymore to make her keep the sake of Hanagaki, a little purer. Furthermore once Takemichi joined a Tokyo Manji he seemed more or less invested in his friends business rather than Tachibana since he was practically stuck to them like gum on their shoes. Every once a week he'd come knocking on her door exclaiming he wanted to walk with her or just simply tell her he liked her with the most flushed face despite them having already kissed once, And to say she cherished these moments was true, Before he wouldn't even spare her a glance, let alone hold her hand. So these very few but heartwarming simple things would make her anger and resentment topple over.
Some may call her a pushover, after all she was currently friends with the girl that nearly took her boyfriends virginity, And she was still dating the dude who isn't exactly the type of person you would expect a popular person like her too settle for, And if someone ever where to tell her this well lets just say she'd simply give them a friendly punch of "minding your own business", WITH class and elegance of course!
Hinata loved Takemichi more than she loved herself, she'd do anything for him. If there was a truck headed straight for him she wouldn't hesitate to jump, If a knife was by his throat she'd sprint to be in his place. She loved Takemichi. She really did.
This is why exactly she is currently standing in front of his apartment door, knocking on the wooden slab as if her life depended on it.
She didn't know what happened to Takemichi in the last weeks, He has always been a confusing person to understand. His personality would switch off and on like a light switch, she hadn't ever really gotten used to it, but she learned to live with it the more they stood by each other.
But, This. This was something completely different.
She barely even saw her boyfriend. At their school, she'd continuously check his classroom to see if he was there, But to her misfortune, he was never there. All that'd she'd receive was a side-to-side shake from Akkun, a pitying glance from Makoto and Yamagashi, and a borderline distraught look from Takuya. She knew the boy was just as worried as her.
Each day she would come to the same result, the more that she felt the bundle of dread build.There was something wrong. Greatly wrong.
Hinata watched at the end of the door was a shadow cast under it. She pulled back her knocks, knuckles stinging from the rough treatment of her actions.
The door opened with a loud creak, Hinata felt the weight lift off her shoulders as she saw the familiar fluff of hair peek through the slit of the door. Nearly jumping she smiled, her eyebrows still furrowed as she felt the bubbling feeling of something that just wouldn't leave.
"Takemichi! My gosh where have you bee-"
Hinata stopped abruptly as the door opened more widely. It was Takemichi, It was most definitely Takemichi. The baby-faced cheeks, the small nose that she loved to peck, the ugly blonde hair that she grew to love, and the cerulean eyes that shined ever so brightly.
It was Takemichi, He was Takemichi.
Yet, Why did something feel so horribly off about him?
His baby face cheeks were practically raw, the streaks of dried tears marked his face, the pink nose and puffy eyes that unpleasantly adorned his fair skin. His ugly blonde faded to a very light blonde, Jet black roots that sprouted into the color mending unproportionately. His posture was completely flipped from his usual high standing one, Shoulders hunched over slightly, almost as if he were trying to make himself smaller.
And god, His cerulean eyes. They didn't shine, so dull and dark that if she had just met him she would've mistaken them for black.
Hinata saw how Takemichis eyes could barely meet hers, constantly whipping side to side for the short moments he glanced at her; Hina pursed her lips as she felt the small tremor of her fingers as she reached towards her beloved, feeling the stab in her heart rip it apart as she felt him flinch back in avoidance. He looked far more distressed than her. Perhaps even on par with each other.
Opening her mouth, she whispered quietly, but just enough for Takemichi to hear.
"Michi...W-W..What happened?" Her voice drew out with a slight crack at the end, she watched as Takemichi's lips trembled. His fist clenching in anxiety rather than anger like he usually does. His eyes, finally met hers as he whimpered out a small spoken breath.
"A lot."
Mikey knew that Takemitchy was going through some shit the moment he saw him. It'd take a blind 12-year-old from the Victorian era to not see what everyone else was noticing. Takemitchy was losing a part of himself, something that Mikey could know about all too well.
Mikey wasn't stupid, due to common misconceptions, He was extremely observant. It was something he had picked as a child. He always had a knack for picking on those with big egos and looking down on ones with small ones.
Mikey hated weak people. He hated people who would pity themselves, and cry themselves a river and He never quite understood the concept of someone hurting themselves, Why do something like that when you could easily just hurt another person? If Mikey was ever feeling particularly horrible a day, he'd simply walk around until he found someone dumb enough to mess with him, And even then, it was pretty hard to distraught Mikey unless something gravely horrible had happened. This is why he does everything in his power to avoid certain situations that seemed like they'd do just that.
When Mikey first met Takemichi, he was intrigued. It was like a cat watching as the mouse tried desperately to fight for its life. Not once stopping, even if the chances of surviving were so little, its hope far outshined that.
Takemitchy was the exact opposite of what Mikey was as a person, And yet, somehow, Takemitchy still managed to be able to understand him more than anyone could. A parallel line that some managed to intersect with his.
Mikey loved Takemitchys will, It was something he was heavily jealous of, The light in his eyes that would sparkle at each given time. The laugh he gave as though there were no worries in the world. The wide smile that'd reach his eyes, one he didn't have to fake, unlike Mikey's.
Mikey knew he wasn't a good person, He knew that deep down in his heart that there was something wrong with him. No matter how much happiness he may feel in the moment or euphoria. There would always be the building feeling of something dark in him that'd grow every day. Something he didn't know how to get rid of.
So it was a fresh breath of air, whenever he'd meet someone who was as pure as Takemitchy was. Which was yet to happen since the blonde was the only one who managed to catch his eye.
There was no one quite like Takemitchy. There was no one in this world that was as much as Takemichi, as he was Shinichiro.
It was an unsavory thought. Mikey's mind dreaded the thought of replacing one with another, but yet it found such comfort in switching and combing both the two into his own nest of solace.
Takemichi was stronger than he'll ever be. Many would laugh at the sentence if they could. But it was something Mikey knew. The reason why Takemichi was Takemichi was that he was simply Takemichi. A funny saying yet understandable when given the proof.
He wasn't physically strong at all. A blind 12-year-old Victorian child would be able to body-slam him before he could even blink. Nor was he incredibly handsome, He was pretty but not enough where he'd get the name for himself using his beauty.
Takemitchy was not many things, But he was Hanagaki Takemichi. And that was enough to show everyone just how strong he is, just who he is.
It was something that Mikey loved, Something that Mikey craved, and something that Mikey hated.
Mikey never loved himself. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't.
So to suffice, he would use others' love for him. To just feel something. To repent for the fact that he could never do for himself, because even if he didn't love himself, At least someone did.
So the day that Mikey had finally caught Takemitchy, was the same day he finally saw just how much of a parallel the blonde was to him. The drifted look in his eyes, empty and dull. The covered displeasure hidden behind the poorly drawn smile.
Mikey saw the way Takemitchy had flinched away from his touch, The way he heavily shuddered as he grabbed at his wrist. Mikey felt his fingers grab something more plush than human skin under a piece of clothing.
Bandages.
Mikey had thought he was probably overthinking it, That he was being too overboard at his thoughts. It was Takemitchy after all. The boy couldn't last a week without getting into a fight with someone who was ten times his size.
It was just that. It didn't seem right.
When Mikey has a feeling in his gut, he always listens to it. And for this situation, He most definitely is giving it his ear. There were way too many things that he couldn't just simply pass off. The second that Takemitchy had stared back into his eyes, Mikey knew that there was something he needed to do about his friend. To save him from the dread, To save him from becoming like Mikey.
Mikey needed to do something.
And it was something that he needed to do quick.