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“So…”
Sano--Mikey--Manjiro, turned around and looked down at the bottom of the steps where Seishu Inui stood. It had barely been a day after the Battle of the Holy Night and Inui, fully clad in his Black Dragon uniform, stood before the Tokyo Manji leader.
“Why are you here,” asked Mikey. He wanted to spend the quiet winter night by himself for a bit when he noticed the Black Dragon guard captain trailing behind him.
Inui looked up into those bottomless, black eyes--eyes that matched his idolized hero, Sano Shinichiro. He squeezed his fists a bit before opening his mouth.
“Taiju has decided to retire.”
Mikey cocked a brow up at the statement and then turned around, staring at the dark shrine that was covered in white snow.
“Mikey,” Inui continued. “The Black Dragons will follow Toman from now on.”
This caught the other’s attention and Mikey turned halfway to look at Inui. He stared at the man, taking in his appearance and thinking back on his character. This was a man who had dedicated himself to the Black Dragons, who didn’t hesitate to raise a weapon to Mikey’s members, all for the sake of his gang. While Mikey was still mad at what the Black Dragons had done in the recent and far past, he still couldn’t deny that by having their gang under Toman, he had effectively brought back Shinichiro’s group under his wing. In some sense, it felt nice. Still, that didn’t answer Mikey’s question about why the Black Dragon’s dog had come sniffing after him.
“So are you going to be the next captain for the Black Dragons?”
The scarred teen looked down at his feet for a moment. Then quietly he replied,” No, it won’t be me.”
He pulled his blue eyes up, a fire alight in those orbs,” The next leader of the Black Dragons will be Hanagaki Takemichi.”
Mikey flinched and then turned his body to face Inui head-on. “Takemitchy?”
His Takemitchy? As the 11th leader of the Black Dragons?
Inui continued,” When he stood up against Taiju, he resembled ‘The First.’”
Inui lifted his head up, looking into the clear, night sky. The stars dotted across the darkness and Inui wondered if Shinichiro was looking down on them right now, smiling that lofty, awkward smile of his.
“Hanagaki Takemichi… He was like the first captain. Everything about him made me feel like I was seeing Shinichiro-kun again. That’s why,” Inui looked back down at the other leader, his eyes burning with determination.
“That’s why Hanagaki Takemichi has to be the 11th leader of the Black Dragons. No one else can bring the Black Dragons back to its former state of glory when Shinichiro first founded the gang. Under Hanagaki, Shinichiro’s will can be realized again. That’s why I’m here to ask: please give us Hanagaki. With your permission, it’ll be easier for him to join us.”
Mikey felt his frown growing darker and darker. Mikey knew that Takemichi was like Shinichiro--they were totally different people obviously, but the way Takemichi stood by his morales, the way he carried himself and guided others--especially in times where it felt like everything was going wrong--it was as if Shinichiro was there in the form of Hanagaki Takemichi. Mikey saw that in the younger man, straight from the get-go. But now the Black Dragons wanted him? His Takemitchy?
“No way,” Mikey immediately replied. He stepped forward, his boots stomping onto the snow with hollow crunches.
Inui looked up, taken aback by Mikey’s sudden change. Moments ago, the air around the smaller man was calm and quiet, but now as he was trudging up to Inui, the aura surrounding the Sano was oppressive and dark.
“N-no way?” Inui stuttered,” Toman’s leadership positions are all filled, so if Hanagaki continues to stay in Toman, he’ll just be some low-class member. You and I know that he deserves a much higher position--one where no one can look down on him.”
“No way,” Mikey repeated, now descending down the temple steps.
“B-but, if Hanagaki is the leader of the Black Dragons, he’d still be a subsidiary to Toman! It’s not like the Black Dragons will bump heads with your gang. I’m sure Hanagaki would never allow that to happen--”
“Hey!” Mikey stood in front of Inui, atop the last step, in order to look Inui dead straight in the eyes.
“U-uh,” Inui felt himself step backwards, trying to get away from those pitch black eyes.
“Who do you think you are,” Mikey snarled. “You weren’t the one who found Takemitchy first!”
“I--eh?” Everything came to a standstill in that single moment. The cold, oppressive aura that had wrapped itself around Mikey felt different--suddenly it felt like there was more to all this. Inui tried to put a finger on this feeling as he tried to think of what Sano Manjiro meant.
“O-of course I didn’t find him first,” he began slowly, hoping to diffuse the situation at hand.
“Exactly,” Mikey huffed. “It was me!”
He shoved a calloused finger right at Inui’s chest,” I found Takemitchy first!”
He spun around and grumbled under his breath,” Who are you to say that he’s like my brother?! Of course I know that!”
Inui felt a cold drop of sweat going down his face. He stuttered again,” I--but, Hanagaki he--”
“First of all,” Mikey turned around and jabbed him again. “Takemitchy ain’t yours!”
Mikey’s hand pulled back and he pointed back at himself with his thumb, declaring out loud,” Takemitchy is mine !”
‘Oh.’
It finally dawned on Inui: the reason why the Toman leader was acting like this.
‘ This guy… so were the rumors true…?’
“Do,” Inui started. “Do you like Hanagaki?”
“Ha? Of course I do. Who wouldn’t,” Mikey growled. “Are you saying you don’t like him? Huh?”
“N-no, why would I not like--”
“So then you like him?”
“I--Y-yeah, I guess--”
“Ha?! You like my Takemitchy?!”
“Wait, n-no--not like that,” Inui put up his hands, feeling his knees shake at the sudden spike of hostility being thrown his way thanks to one jealous Sano Manjiro. “It’s not like I like Hanagaki, what the hell--all I’m saying is that he’s better off with the Black Dragons! He’ll be in a position that suits him better than by being some random member in Toman, is all--”
“Who said he’s some random member in my gang,” Mikey barked. How dare this outsider act as if he knew the intricate ways in which Toman was divided and ran? Sure, all the captain positions were filled (besides Pah’s, who was still in juvie), and sure, all the vice-captain positions were taken as well--but that didn’t mean his Takemitchy would be delegated away as some ‘ random member’ .
Inui blinked. And then blinked again. His mouth opened and he suddenly challenged,” Then what is his position in Toman?”
For some reason, Inui decided that he wasn’t going to let Mikey off that easily. Sure, the man was insanely powerful and sure, Takemichi would follow this guy straight to hell if that was what Mikey wanted--but that didn’t mean that Inui would let Takemichi accept any old position in Toman.
Hanagaki Takemichi deserved to at least be at the captain rank. That was the bare minimum that he deserved. Any less and Inui wouldn’t have it--his commander deserved the best of the best.
“If you don’t have a position for Hanagaki that isn’t anything other than at the captain’s level, I won’t allow him to stay in Toman. He’s the 11th commander of the Black Dragons--I’ll only peacefully allow him to stay in Toman if he’s in a rank that’s worthy of him.”
Mikey felt a vein pop. This guy! Who the hell was this guy? He really lived up to being the dog of the Black Dragons with the way he was barking and yapping at Mikey. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, puffing it up a bit as he looked down on Inui.
“He has a high rank in Toman.”
“And that is?”
Mikey snorted and turned his head away, scoffing,” Why should I tell you? I haven’t even told Takemitchy himself. I was gonna break the news to him and the rest of the gang next week during our first meeting of the year.”
Inui stared at Mikey suspiciously. “Why does it have to take that long? It’s just an announcement of rank. What’s the reason for this delay?”
“Gah, you damned Black Dragon-otaku--”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“--the reason why I’m delaying this announcement is cuz this is a special rank that’s fit for only my Takemitchy! It’s the first and only rank of its kind, so of course I have to make this announcement special. After all,” Mikey shoved his face up in front of Inui, jabbing at the other again.
“ My Takemitchy deserves the best, right?”
Inui frowned up at Mikey and then slowly nodded.
“Hmph, since you finally get it, why don’t you scram already? You’re cuttin’ into my alone time with Mother Nature.”
Inui blinked before slowly backing up and then bowing slightly. As he turned around, he sent one more glance back at Mikey and asserted himself, saying,” You better not be lying to me. If it turns out that whatever you have planned for Hanagaki isn’t good enough, then I’ll be doing everything in my power to bring him over to the Black Dragons.”
Mikey scoffed and jutted his chin towards the exit,” Whatever, you’ll see when it happens.”
Inui gave Mikey one last stare and then turned around, trudging his way through the snow back to his home.
As the steps of the Black Dragon’s attack guard captain faded away to silence, Mikey pulled out his phone, swiping it open and then scrolled through his contact list. Upon reaching Mitsuya’s number, he tapped at it and began calling his second division captain. On the third ring, Mitsuya’s voice came up through the receiver.
“Yo, Mikey. What’s up?”
“Mitsuya, are your injuries really bad? Like, would it be difficult for you to sew something up for me?”
“Sew? Uh, no, my hands are good. I got hurt mostly around the head and ribs, so I can make something.”
The line went quiet between the two and Mitsuya asked slowly,” What… do you want me to make…?”
Mikey smirked, looking up into the dark sky. Sure, he might not have had anything in mind when he boasted to Inui earlier, but that didn’t mean that Mikey was gonna let Takemichi go off to the Black Dragons. Hanagaki Takemichi was a Tokyo Manji member through and through--no ifs, ands, or buts. Not from anyone in Toman or the Dragons, not Seishu Inui, not even God himself could make Mikey give Takemichi up.
“Do you have a pen on you?”
“Uh--” There was a shuffling sound on the other end of the call. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Right, this is what I need you to make. Oh, and I’ll pay you overtime to get this done before next week’s meeting…”
Inui, clad in his white Black Dragons uniform, shuffled a little in place with his matching partner Kokonoi right next to him. Koko looked at him and then over at the other man who was walking up to them, his black Toman uniform covered up by a large winter coat.
“Hanagaki,” Inui greeted.
“Hey there Inupi-kun, Koko-kun! Happy New Years!”
Koko nodded to the younger blonde making space in between himself and Inui for Takemichi to stand in. Takemichi shivered, stuffing his hand into his pockets. They talked amongst themselves for a moment till they heard the heavy steps of Ryuguji--Draken--kun echoing the shrine. With Draken’s arrival, Mikey was sure to be behind the taller. The gang members greeted their commander and vice-commander loudly,” Good evening, sir!”
“Happy New Years~,” Mikey sang back.
As the two ambled up onto the platform in front of the group of delinquents, Mikey paused in front of Mitsuya, hand out. From where Inui was standing, Mitsuya looked exhausted . It seemed that his wounds from fighting Taiju had healed perfectly fine, but the bags under his eyes suggested that he had gone through a much different ordeal.
From behind the second division captain came a large paper bag. Mikey peered in it, beamed and pulled the bag by the handles up. Inui couldn’t hear what they were whispering about, but the commander looked pleased. Mikey trotted up next to Draken, the bag resting against his hip and a small grin on his face.
Draken glanced over at his commander and then turned to the crowd,” The first meeting of the year of all members of the Tokyo Manji Gang will now begin!”
With Draken’s booming voice, the area became immediately silent, the men in front of the commanders standing still and at attention.
“Toman and the Black Dragons faced each other in conflict. We originally had a peace agreement, but that failed. It was caused by discord between the brothers Shiba Hakkai and Shiba Taiju. Toman clashed with the Black Dragons on Christmas, claiming victory after a hard-fought battle,” Draken narrated.
A cold wind blew through the crowd and Inui felt the presence next to him shift uncomfortably. He vaguely wondered whether or not Takemichi knew about Mikey’s plan to promote him, especially since the other looked a little nervous.
“Tonight,” Draken’s loud voice cut through the air again. “Three people here will discuss this matter with everyone. The first person--Shiba Hakkai, to the front!”
Inui looked up and saw that tall sibling of his former Boss tromp up to the podium. His face was sober, but there was no fear in his eyes. He looked down at them with determination--similar to the one he had that night when he brandished a knife towards his brother, but without the killing edge. As the Shiba began to recount the night and confessed his sins to his gang members, Inui’s mind wandered away a bit.
He had been too young to witness a meeting of the first generation of Black Dragons to know what their gatherings entailed. He had come later, when the gang was fully corrupted to the bone with drugs, assault, and robbery--a gang where the first generation’s will had completely disappeared from. During their meetings under Kurokawa Izana’s reign, it was always a tense situation full of dangerous people. A cough could send a person to the hospital if Izana or any of the leaders were mad. Looking at them wrong meant that you could lose a finger. It was hard to even breathe during those moments--Inui hated having to stand there, stiff as a statue, devoid of emotions.
At some point however, he also began to change; he grew more violent, angry, and was always ready to deck anyone who stood in his way. It was especially worse when someone tried to go against the Black Dragons. When faced with a traitor, Inui never hesitated. He beat them and beat them, and beat them till they were broken and bleeding. Perhaps the real reason he was so brutal when dealing with these people was because the Black Dragons were so precious to Inui--betraying the Black Dragons was like betraying the memory of Shinichiro and the first generation.
But looking back on it now, perhaps the reason why Inui dealt so harshly with traitors was because they, at least, had the guts to rebel against the stray gang. Perhaps Inui was jealous of their courage, while he was a coward who lost sight of the original reason why he was there in the first place.
Was that why, when the Black Dragons died, he was scared? Because if the Black Dragons were gone, then in meant that everything Inui had done, all the blood he spilled, and all the tears he shed… all of that was for nothing? Perhaps. Maybe that was why he sought help from Shiba Taiju--perhaps a man that strong could bring back the glory that the Black Dragons once had?
Well, obviously that didn’t happen in the end anyway. The Black Dragons were revived but they stayed the same as they were under Kurokawa--a group of criminals who fought for dirty money. Nothing had changed.
A loud applause and shout broke Inui out of his thoughts. The gang members were cheering on the youngest Shiba, shouting,” Hakkai! Hakkai!” over and over again. Their shouts echoed throughout the shrine and Inui wondered if the first generation of the Black Dragons had meetings like this; instead of beating down their members for their mistakes, they would raise them up--cheer them on and support them.
Inui felt a small smile twist on his face. Perhaps joining hands with Toman would finally bring back the first generation’s will. He looked over at Takemichi who wore a bright grin, shouting out Hakkai’s name with cheer.
Yeah, if Hanagaki Takemichi was the one who led the Black Dragons, there was no doubt in Inui’s mind that this man would lead them back onto the path that had led the scarred boy into the gang in the first place.
“Alright, alright--enough you crazy idiots.” Draken silenced them. He looked again at Mikey, who gave him a sleepy nod to continue.
“Now, we’ll bring up the second person. Seishu Inui, to the front!!”
Takemichi jumped at the name, looking at him with wide eyes. He nodded to Takemichi and then looked at Koko. The dark haired man rolled his eyes, pocketing his hands into his white uniform. They both climbed up to the stage where Hakkai had been standing at the moment before.
Loud whispers broke out amongst the ranks of Toman members,” The Black Dragons?”
“Why are they here?”
“I thought they got crushed and disbanded?!”
Inui cleared his throat and introduced himself loudly to the gang,” Seishu Inui, from the 11th-generation Black Dragons.”
“Hajime Kokonoi, from the same gang.” A smirk was on Koko’s face.
As the mumblings died down to a tense silence, Koko continued,” The 10th-generation of the Black Dragons lost to Toman. Our former leader, Shiba Taiju, has retired--”
“I still can’t believe that guy’s gone now…”
“Does that mean that the Black Dragons are retiring too?”
Koko raised his head over the crowd, adding,” We are here to succeed the gang as the leaders of the 11th generation.”
Before another wave of whispers ripped through Toman, Inui cut them short,” And, after discussing it with your commander, Mikey… We’ve decided to follow Toman under one condition.”
Inui’s dark blue eyes landed on Hanagaki’s. Takemichi stared up at Inui, his mouth slightly ajar. Inui smiled again.
“We will follow Toman if, and only if, Hanagaki Takemichi becomes the 11th-generation’s commander of the Black Dragons.”
Silence reigned for a moment in the area, before a loud eruption ripped through the night.
“Hanagaki--that scrawny blonde kid under Baji-san?!”
“That crybaby?!”
“Eeeh?!!”
Takemichi’s mouth hung open, his eyes blown wide open at Inui’s declaration. Atsushi nudged him, shock painting his face. “What the hell did you do?!”
“I don’t--I don’t know,” stuttered the smaller.
He looked back up at Inui and Kokonoi, the two looking down at him with a proud look on their faces. Quickly, Takemichi’s head snapped over to Draken and Mikey. Draken looked like he was tired, trying to hold down an angry, pouting Mikey.
“What do you say, Hanagaki? Care to be the new commander for the Black Dragons? We need guys like you to make this gang better,” Koko mused.
“Wait--I? H-hold on a second, Koko-kun--”
“Yeah, wait right there, you Black Dragon dogs!”
The temple grew quiet as their commander stomped over to the two Black Dragon members. He huffed, poking at Inui,” You said that you’d steal Takemitchy away if I didn’t come through on my end, so hold your damn horses!”
Mikey snapped his head towards Takemichi and thundered,” Hanagaki Takemitchy!! To the front, right now!”
Takemichi jumped, his face turning red at the unwanted attention that was brought onto him. “M-mikey-kun--I--”
“Now!!”
“Yes, sir!” Takemichi stumbled up to the podium, his knees shaking under his long coat. Mikey glowered at the offending piece of clothing but turned back to his gang.
“Due to the recent events in the last few months, Toman has gone through a few changes in the captains’ ranks. We’ve had some close calls and we’ve even added another division to our gang.”
His dark eyes landed on Kisaki and Hanma, the two raising their chins up a little.
“With the addition to the Black Dragons under Toman, we will be, again, adding to our ranks. But as you’ve heard,” Mikey glared at the two Dragons. “They’ll only comply if Takemitchy, here, is their commander.”
A series of whispers came from the gang, the captains looking expectantly at Mikey. Mikey crossed his arms and huffed,” But Takemitchy is mine !”
A loud groan rumbled out of Draken and the captains, as a loud ‘eh!’ echoed amongst the other gang members and Takemichi. Inui and Koko glowered at Mikey’s proud declaration.
“Therefore,” Mikey continued. “I’ve decided that Hanagaki Takemitchy is hereby promoted to the rank of captain.”
Takemichi’s eyes bulged out, but Mikey paid him no attention. Instead, he shoved his hand into the bag that he had received from Mitsuya, pulling something--pink?--out and throwing the paper bag down onto the ground. In a split second, Mikey held up something that looked exactly like the black Toman jacket, but there was a startling difference.
In Mikey’s hands was a perfectly fitted Toman jacket but in a very soft pink shade, the shade reminding everyone of the cherry blossoms that bloomed every year. Atop the pink fabric, they caught a glimmer of gold thread stitched onto the back and the arms of the jacket.
‘Mikey’s Wife’ the center back kanji read.
‘First Commander’s’ on the left sleeve.
‘Ultra Cute Lover’ on the right sleeve.
“Hanagaki Takemitchy! You are hereby assigned to the zero division, The ‘Waifu’ Division!!” Mikey declared.
The shrine exploded with noise, gang members screaming and blushing--some even pulling out their phones to record the entire thing. While it felt like this entire farce had to be some sort of bad prank on the poor boy, Draken and the other captains knew that their commander was serious. You could tell just by looking at him very closely first of all--the way Mikey’s eyes were shimmering with hearts and the light pink blush that dusted his cheeks… Mikey was the most excited they had ever seen him. That wasn’t even taking into account the amount of shit that the guy had put his captains through even before all this--all for the sake of one crybaby blonde.
Mitsuya sighed at the sight of his creation being held up for the world to see. When he had first heard Mikey’s request to make a special jacket for Takemichi, Mitsuya wanted to lay down for a week. He had called Draken right after receiving Mikey’s specific instructions, groaning,” Isn’t this too much? Takemitchy’s going to think that Mikey’s bullying him, not favoring him.”
Draken had sighed on the other end of the call,” Hopefully he doesn’t show it off to the others in the next meeting. If he does it in private, that’ll save us all a bunch of problems.”
But nope, Mikey proved everyone wrong. Not only did he bring it up during the meeting, but now he was clawing at Takemichi’s coat and black Toman jacket, ripping them off of the scrawny body. The poor boy was already red with tears, trying to cover himself up from the cold and the sheer embarrassment.
Mitsuya sighed, rubbing his forehead. He made eye contact with Draken who only shook his head.
‘Good luck, Takemitchy. ’ They prayed.
A moment later, Mikey pushed forward a newly dressed Takemichi who was redder than his new, pink Toman jacket. Mitsuya eyed the gold threading on the jacket front.
‘Above and below the heavens, I, alone, belong to Sano Manjiro.’
Choosing to ignore the obvious dilemma of the wearer, Mitsuya peacefully smiled at the sight. He was really proud of the stitching and over the fact that he had completed the entire thing in just a week. He’d never say it out loud, but it was actually a little fun making Takemichi’s jacket. It was a little difficult to explain to Luna and Mana when they saw it, but overall the challenge proved useful to Mitsuya. Perhaps some new, customized Toman uniform pieces were in their future?
“M-m-m-mikey-kun,” Takemichi sobbed. “Is this harassment? Are you h-h-h-hazing me?!”
Draken stared at the pathetic boy, pitying him. He could completely understand why he’d think that--but Mikey was a different breed of possessive and clingy. This was just Mikey’s way of declaring his claim over Takemichi.
“I don’t accept this!”
Silence suddenly prevailed over the loud gang.
Inui stood, faced head to head with Mikey. In a flash, he stepped forward, tucking Mikey’s newly dubbed wifey behind his broad back. He looked down on Mikey, a glare prevalent on his face.
“How dare you treat this like a joke and embarrass our commander?”
“Embarrass? Who,” growled Mikey. “Who’s joking about this? Takemitchy is mine . I did what you asked and gave him a rank that is worthy of him--”
“Rank? Worthy? ‘Waifu Division’? ,” sneered Inui. “The rumors about Toman’s leader being obsessed with Hanagaki seemed fake, but it seems that they’re actually true. I just didn’t think you’d be humiliating him in public however!”
Mikey glared at him, his oppressive aura spilling out from within him. He took a step forward and ordered,” Takemitchy, come over here right now.”
The flushed boy gave a small squeak, slowly stepping away from Inui’s protective hold.
“Get your cute, fat ass over here, right now, Takemitchy, or so help me God if you don’t.”
That got the bleached blonde running over to the angry Sano.
Inui growled,“I trusted that you would take this seriously, but you’ve proven me wrong, Sano Manjiro. Hanagaki Takemichi will be going to the Black Dragons--”
“I-inupi-kun!”
“Ha? Are you insane? You’re trying to take away my wife? Can’t you fucking read,” Mikey spun Takemichi in his grasp and shoved him up to the scarred boy. He poked a finger at the threaded phrase on the front of Takemichi’s jacket.
“ ‘I, alone, belong to Sano Manjiro.’ My wife ain’t goin’ nowhere, he’s staying with me.”
“As if I’d let him stay with someone who can’t truly appreciate Hanagaki!”
“Ha?! Are you tryna start a fight with me right now?!”
Inui reached out, grabbing the front of Mikey’s shirt and hissed,” If you were really serious about this, then you should’ve prepared a ring as well! As the top leaders of the Black Dragons, we won’t accept this arrangement until you show us that you’re completely serious!!”
A second passed and was then broken by Mikey grabbing Inui’s collar as well. He snarled,” I will , don’t you worry!! I’m just hard on cash right now!!”
“Then you should’ve asked us--”
“Why should I ask you lot when I have Kenchin !! I don’t want your money--”
Takemichi gently pried Mikey’s hands off of him and carefully slinked over to his abandoned coat and jacket. As his tears, heavy with embarrassment, flowed down his face, a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the peaceful face of Draken.
“C’mon Takemitchy, let’s go grab some food. I have a feeling these two will be at it for a while.”
Takemichi sniffed, following his vice-commander and captains as Draken quietly dismissed the meeting. Kokonoi trailed behind Takemichi and slung an arm over his shoulder,” Your husband sure is a handful.”
And to that, the 11th commander of the Black Dragons and newly dubbed captain of the Waifu Division, sobbed.
“And why pink?! Hanagaki would look 10 times better in red, you coward!”
“Ha?! The pink accentuates his cute blushing face and his eyes!!”
“No, red would!”
“Then we can make the second version red if you’re so keen on it!”
“Fine!”
“Then you need to make an adjustment to his Black Dragon’s uniform!!”
“What the hell do you want then?”
“A cute skirt would look nice on him when he wears his jacket!”
“You’re not wrong--it’d probably look really good.”
“Obviously, Takemitchy looks good in any clothes and he looks even better naked!”
“ Excuse me , when the hell did you see my commander naked you bastard--”
“ Your commander? Takemitchy is mine--”
~the end