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Wakasa's eyebrows arched to his creased forehead as he spotted more pairs of feet trailing after Shinichirou and Takeomi, bright tuffs of hair adorning their small heads peeking from behind those two's legs. Beside Wakasa, Keizou tipped his head to the side in silent interest, but chose to not say a thing until their so-called leader began.
"Did you kidnap two kids or something?" Wakasa spoke up first, feigning folly, and Shinichirou spluttered from surprise while Takeomi face-palmed, fast and loud enough to be perceived as painful.
"What?! No! Waka, this is my little brother I told you before! Manjirou! And that's Takeomi's little sister, Senju!" Shinichirou explained in a haste, his free hand that wasn't holding the blond kid's hand flailing around as if to emphasize his means.
"Oh." Wakasa nodded, indifferent. He did remember bits of Shinichirou talking about the two younger siblings he had, sometimes in an aggravated manner, sometimes incredibly fond. One boy, one girl. One related by blood, one adopted, as per his own words. As for Takeomi himself, Wakasa couldn't recall the time when the long-haired teen spoke about his family, so he wasn't sure. Takeomi was rather an aloof individual who listened to no other but solely Shinichirou.
Who could blame Wakasa for not knowing? Shinichirou had glinting black hair that he liked to keep in neat pompadour, while his little brother's was in dense blonde and unruly as if he just woke up from a nap. On the other side, Takeomi's hair was a glory of jet-black strands cascading all the way to his back, while his little sister's was the absolute contrast of stark white with hints of pink.
If Wakasa didn't know better, he'd assume that Shinichirou and Takeomi did snatch two whimsical looking kids from the streets (or someplace else) and drag them to their meetup.
(Though, Wakasa noted that Shinichirou and his little brother owned the same lightless beads of eyes. Perhaps it was genetic)
"Why did you bring them along?" Keizou asked, and Wakasa noticed the way Takeomi's little sister (Senju, wasn't it?) recoiled a bit at his voice, tiny hands fisting her brother's trousers tighter. Poor girl, it must be her first time seeing someone as menacing as Keizou.
"She'd be home alone if I left her, and since I couldn't afford her burning the whole house, I decided to take her here." Takeomi elaborated with the tone of a man above forty years old with salary below normal standards and sagging shoulders. At that, Senju puffed her cheeks, seemingly displeased for some reason.
Wakasa hummed, now slightly intrigued. So this little girl has some fight in her too, huh?
"Manjirou insisted to come along, otherwise he'd crash my motorcycle to the wall." While Shinichirou spoke as if he was cornered by the police after being accused of a crime he never did. Manjirou countered him then, his voice boyish but clear as crystal.
"Because I won't believe Shin-nii having delinquent friends unless I see them myself!"
Shinichirou mimicked Takeomi's loose shoulders and heaved a long sigh, Manjirou grinning wide to his nonverbal response. As Shinichirou lifted his gaze up to the pondering Wakasa and observing Keizou, his smile was laced with guilt and jitter. It was a smile unfitting for his face, Wakasa figured.
"I'm sorry guys, if you want to leave and gather in another day, I understand..."
"It's alright." Wakasa didn't expect Keizou to answer, so did Shinichirou and Takeomi, evident from their widening eyes. It didn't help that Keizou stood right next to Wakasa either, his voice as if booming in his eardrums. If only Wakasa wasn't used to the cries and screams of his enemies, he might jump in a very uncharacteristic way.
"We won't do anything gang-like today, anyway. We can just talk and goof around like we always do. It's fine with me." Keizou affirmed, his expression and tone final.
"Is that so?" Shinichirou visibly brightened, and Takeomi curled a grin of his own. "How about you, Waka?"
Wakasa flinched as he was addressed, too focused in the sudden turn of events, moreso when all gaze turned to him. Shinichirou's expectant one, Takeomi's awaiting one, Keizou's flat one, and the kids' curious ones. Wakasa clamped onto the lollipop stronger in his mouth, until it cracked and the blueberry flavour exploded inside.
Spending time with children sounded like a waste of time to him. Why should he? Kids were downright tiring to deal with, and they demanded too much things from elders. Spoilt and noisy too when ignored, kids were like that in his eyes. Wakasa would even prefer fighting Keizou for ten hours straight rather than that. As an only child, Wakasa didn't think he wanted to know all the tribulation Shinichirou and Takeomi had to undergo every day with their siblings.
Wakasa slumped and plucked the now spent lollipop from his mouth, flicking its stick to a nearby garbage bin. It went in, thankfully, or Shinichirou would berate him about the bad of littering and public hygiene.
Yet majority won favours often, and his chances against them were already low from the beginning.
"Fine, yeah. Whatever."
As the kids' eyes lit up, Wakasa had a feeling that he was in for a very, very arduous ride.
Okay... Maybe the kids weren't that bad.
For a young brat, Manjirou knew about motorcycles candidly well, he even surprised Wakasa with his already vast knowledge regarding the matter. Shinichirou taught him well, it seemed. Manjirou took a great liking to Shinichirou's own bike, the CB205T that tore the streets wherever it went, carrying the core arsenal of Black Dragon with him as they raced and frolicked around the town. Manjirou wanted to have it, but Shinichirou messed his hair into a greater nest of blond locks and snickered at him.
"You're still too young, Manjirou." Shinichirou said, and Manjirou would pucker his lips in displeasure. Though, if he were to throw a tantrum, Wakasa would just have to bail out.
Manjirou was difficult to handle, but the brat got eldritch kicks that brought him flying on the sky and struck his skull with a gust of sharp air. It was such a close call, Wakasa swore his heart skip a beat when Manjirou grazed Wakasa's temple with the sole of his shoe in split seconds that his eyes barely discerned. He leaped backwards and shot a glare to Manjirou, who landed on one foot before the other, flashing Wakasa a pompous smirk that might pop the veins on his forehead at any given time.
"You really as fast as Shin-nii told me, Wakasa-oniichan!" Manjirou exclaimed, mirthful, and Wakasa scoffed from his nose.
"Heh, who could've thought that your little brother could fight hundred times better than you, Shin!" Wakasa declared with a maniac grin, vigour fluxing beneath his skin, and Shinichirou massaged his temple from somewhere near the shrine staircase.
"Wakasa, don't boost Manjirou's ego further. He can get super cocky if you continue to praise him like that."
"Like older brother, like younger brother." Takeomi piped in nonchalantly, and Shinichirou slapped his arm in retaliation.
"Omi, shush."
"I'm not wrong, Shin, and ouch, that hurts."
"You don't sound like you're hurting."
"Because I'm not."
And there they went with their usual banter.
Nonetheless, Wakasa enjoyed his small "brawl" with Manjirou, though it was mostly a flaunt of mid-air maneuvers (from Wakasa) and swift kicks (from both of them). When wasn't on air, Manjirou swung his leg in an almost immaculate arch to reach his neck (though it required him to make a small jump first since he was a chibi). Wakasa concluded that the strength lacing it was enough to make an adult's head spin.
If harnessed right, Manjirou could be an important figure in the gang world. Just hope he wouldn't end up as a crybaby like his older brother. Most likely not, judging from his bratty personality alone.
Manjirou was fine, but Senju...
Unlike Manjirou, Senju was timid with strangers, or maybe the correct term was wary. She often chose to hide behind Takeomi's legs and observe the situation, but Wakasa could recognize the glimmers of wonder and amazement anywhere, and Senju had them in her eyes when she watched him and Manjirou fought earlier. She didn't look like she was afraid, a fearful person's eyes had a different kind of sheen in them, so Wakasa figured she just shied off from people she barely knew.
Honestly, it was a good move. Young kids shouldn't hang out with delinquents like them, people usually said, but who was Wakasa to oblige to their empty words? Besides, Takeomi wouldn't bring Senju here if the brat herself refused to.
As Keizou went to engage a conversation with Manjirou, since the brat said he wanted to know more about his strength, Wakasa took the chance to approach the Akashi siblings below a lush tree that occasionally landed green leaves onto their hair. The tiny girl noticed him, green eyes perking up, and she pulled at the sleeve of Takeomi's shirt to get his attention.
"Hm?" Takeomi looked down and crouched to be on her eye level. "What is it?"
"Can I talk to Senju, Takeomi?" Wakasa asked before Senju could say something, and Takeomi's gaze flicked back and forth between them, inquisitive.
"You're done playing with Manjirou?"
"Nah, the brat's with Keizou now, and since I'm bored, I'd like to talk to your little sister."
"Well..." Takeomi gave her a sideway glance. "Is it fine with you, Senju? I can promise you that Wakasa is a good guy. Just don't pull on his earring, okay? He could scratch you like a cat if you bother him too much."
"Oi." Wakasa retorted, but Senju bloomed a cheeky smile to that and nodded.
"Got it, Takeomi-nii."
Senju walked up to him, neck craned upwards as to curiously gaze on him, and Wakasa squatted in front of her so she wouldn't strain her neck any longer. "Something on my face?"
Senju shook her head, Wakasa noting the way she seemed to focus on his hair. "Is your hair colour natural or dyed, Wakasa-nii?"
"Guess." Wakasa sniggered, and he was quite astonished of how Senju seemed to take it into serious account, especially when she crossed her gangly arms over her chest and pursued her lips forward, eyebrows scrunched from deep thought.
"Natural!" She announced moments later, arms hoisted up high to the air. Such bright excitement she had there.
"Ding ding, correct." And to see Senju's eyes glittering at his confirmation, akin to dewy leaves soaking in morning's gleam, managed to tilt Wakasa's lips to a sincere smile.
"Can I touch your hair, Wakasa-nii?" Senju bounced on her toes, enthrallment boosting more than ever, and Wakasa hooked his chin around his forefinger, giving a gesture of drowning in solemn consideration.
Wakasa adored his hair, really so. It stood out in throngs of people (like a sore thumb, according to Keizou that gifted him a kick on the shin from Wakasa before Shinichirou separated them) and was buoyant enough to flutter at every punches and kicks he delivered. Though maintaining it wasn't an easy task, Wakasa never troubled it. As long as someone didn't grip and pull at it, then he didn't have to stain it with splatters of their blood bursting to his bangs.
"Only under one condition." Wakasa wiggled his forefinger in front of Senju's face, and she nodded silently with the seriousness of someone answering a final test in school.
"Don't call me with niisan." Because I can't unhear Manjirou calling me Wakasa-oniichan with his annoying voice if you do, Wakasa groused internally.
"Then... Waka?" Senju tried, and Wakasa tested how the name roll in his tongue.
Waka, huh? Short, simple, easy. Nice.
"Yeah, that's better. Go on, little one." Wakasa ducked his head, and he was greeted with small, excited hands ruffling and fluffing his hair in an awed manner, Senju's giddy noises chirping close to his ears. She marveled about how soft and smooth his hair was, mouthing appraisal after appraisal that further broadened his grin.
"How much shampoo do you use everyday, Waka?"
"Not much. Got to save money, you know."
"Heeehhh... You could use my shampoo if you want to! Takeomi-nii always buys us a well-known brand since Chiyo-nii only wants the good ones for his hair!"
"Then, could you steal a portion of Takeomi's shampoo for me? I'm curious of what rich people's shampoo could do."
Wakasa tilted his head as he noticed Senju's hands ceasing in motion on his hair, and he was met by the young girl's askew, promising grin, ladened with callow mischief that knew no fear of its consequences.
"Just leave it to me, Waka! I'll get it for you!"
"Sssshhh, don't be so loud. It's a secret between us."
"Oh right! Sorry, sorry."
They shared a mirthful high five as the six of them parted ways for dusk had breeched the horizon above, and Takeomi scrutinized his eyes at him in suspicion.
"You didn't teach Senju anything weird, did you?"
"Nope."
Wakasa stressed the 'p' on his word, though his snickering lips indicated anything but. Senju caught on his expression, and she flashed him a wink that went unnoticed to her brother and others.
Manjirou was fine, but Senju...
Wakasa liked her better.
"Do you have nicknames for others, Waka?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Well..." Senju pointed at Shinichirou who was fixing his pomp with the hair gel Takeomi supplied. Takeomi always brought one everywhere he went, though reserved for Shinichirou only since the other teen fancied to keep his hair as neat as possible despite Manjirou saying that hair style was lame. This time, Wakasa agreed with the brat.
"Shinichirou-aniki calls Takeomi-nii with 'Omi', and nii-san calls him with 'Shin'! I think it's really cute of them to have nicknames for each other! Do you have one too for them?" Senju's round, innocent green eyes blinked up at him from the seat of his bike, and Wakasa mulled over his lollipop.
Takeomi was a guy too prideful and fearsome for a silly nickname such as that. Probably the reason he let Shinichirou give one for him was just because they were childhood friends and he got a crush on Shinichirou (which was very obvious, by the way, to any other Black Dragon members except Shinichirou himself. For someone so attentive, he had one hell of a dense skull).
But nicknames for the others? He didn't see any need for that. Wakasa did get along with those three (even he shared several harmless laughs with Keizou, something he never thought could have with him), but should he really get nicknames for them?
"Never thought of one." He admitted. Senju's response was immediate beside him.
"Really? I thought Waka likes your friends so much!"
"Who said so?"
"Me!" Senju patted her own chest, her confident resonating with Takeomi's own. They were really siblings, huh. "I could tell from how often you smile around them! We smile when we're happy, so it means you're happy when you're with your friends!"
Wakasa had to bite a snigger at that. A child's mindset was so simple. People didn't always smile because they were happy. A smile could be forced, a smile could be faked, a smile could be hidden, a smile could be hurting, and a smile could be forlorn. There were many reasons why people smiled, and whilst Wakasa wished to counter her with what he got in mind, he had a hunch she would stay stubborn to the end.
Spending several days with her taught him such.
Then again, there was no mistake in her words.
Wakasa had never felt so happy with his friends and fellow fighters whenever they were together, and he thought he had known true happiness in glories and victories of fights. Turned out happiness was much, much more simple than that.
Headbutting with Keizou in a playful manner that meant only jests and no harm, sharing his lollipops with Shinichirou since he couldn't stand cigarette smoke, and even learning some new martial art tricks from Takeomi which further eased his movements in fights, all of it managed to get Wakasa smiling more often than he ever had in life.
Adding it with the novel, boisterous presences of Manjirou and Senju, Wakasa might say that yeah, he was happy with them.
"Spot on deduction right there, Senju." Wakasa grinned, the stick of his lollipop bobbing by the tilt of his lips. "Then, could you call the others for me? It seems thinking nicknames for them isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Don't take too long."
"Aye aye, captain!" Senju jumped down from his bike and ran over to the boys, waving her arms around and saying that Wakasa had something to tell to them.
She has the natural skills to gather people, Wakasa mused as the others obliged to her words with no question asked.
"Is something the matter, Waka?" Shinichirou asked, head slightly tipping to the side.
"Nothing much. Just want to announce that I got nicknames for you all, thanks to Senju." Wakasa winked at her, and Senju giggled as her hand gave him the peace sign.
Takeomi blinked, amused. "Didn't think you're the type to give people nicknames, Waka."
Only for you guys though. Wakasa shrugged, deciding against it. "Just feels like it, and I'll start with our crybaby commander."
Shinichirou's eyes glittered in expectation, completely ignoring the jab, and Wakasa's smirk grew as he drawled out the first nickname he immediately had in mind for the one and only Sano Shinichirou.
"For you, it's Shin-chan."
And wasn't it ludicrous to see Shinichirou spluttering in surprise as Manjirou doubled over in laughter next to him. Wakasa was glad Senju coaxed him to get them nicknames. Those reactions were priceless.
"What's with the 'chan', Waka?! I'm not that character from that children anime!!" Shinichirou protested, only thriving in making Manjirou's laughter louder. Even Takeomi coughed a titter to his own fist.
"That fits you, Shin-nii!!" Manjirou pointed out, and Wakasa felt like his cheeks would go sore if he kept on smirking this wide.
"Don't get too happy too soon now, because for you, little brat, it's Manjirou-chan."
The world might be crumbling under Manjirou's feet right now, judging from the absolute look of disbelief and betrayal in his eyes.
"What?! Why do I get the 'chan' too?! I'm not a lame crybaby like Shin-nii!"
"Because, Manjirou-chan~." Wakasa bopped the noisy brat's nose with his forefinger, and he barely escaped the kick Manjirou aimed for his temple. "Brothers should have similar nicknames, you know~."
"I'm starting to worry for myself." Takeomi murmured under his breath, and that tore Wakasa's attention away from the still blabbering Sano brothers.
"Aww, worry not, my dearest Vice Commander. For you, it's Takeomin."
"Oh thank God it's not something weird like Shin's. But why does it makes my name sounds softer...?"
"Because I know Takeomin is a big softie for his siblings~." Takeomi blushed, and so Wakasa continued, his expression turning devilish.
"And because Senju told me that you keep a bunny headband in home just because she bought it for you."
Wakasa dodged Takeomi's mortified fist in time, another close call, and he seamlessly turned to Senju who waited for her nickname with excited hands fisting before her chest. "What's mine, Waka? What's mine?"
As the younger sister of the honoured Black Dragon's God of War, would it make her a goddess? Nah, the title sounded too heavy for a little girl such as her, no matter how powerful she really was. Thus Wakasa decided on a nickname that would fit a girl as pretty and brave as her. "For you, sweet little one, it's Princess."
If anything, the sparks in Senju's green eyes as Wakasa revealed hers resembled stars adorning a streak of aurora over eventide's spanning sky. How sweet, he felt like having his own little sister. Just don't let Takeomi know that though, it'd be an arduous fight just to win over "Senju's big brother" title.
"Then does Keizou-nii get one too?" Senju asked, and Wakasa snapped his fingers.
"Thank you for reminding me, Princess. I've saved the best nickname for my one and only rival, Keizou."
Every head present there swiveled to the aforementioned male as Wakasa pivoted on his heels, lollipop stick hanging by the corner of his lips, and he plucked it out to point its cerise bulb of strawberry to Keizou. They must be wondering and agog, if not anticipating for the worst, to hear what kind of nickname Wakasa had for the one he fought most of the times back then.
"For you, it's Brick Wall."
And Wakasa swore he saw a vein pop on Keizou's forehead before a fist descended onto his head.
He avoided it, don't worry. He couldn't possibly damage his beautiful head, could he?
Of course, they had Shinichirou to separate them as always before they could break into a greater fight. Although, it required a harsh kick to hit Shinichirou's arm once before he managed to wrench them away from each other. Manjirou merely cheered his brother with the new nickname ("You're not helping at all, Manjirou!!"), while Takeomi nodded like a proud parent. "Good job, Shin-chan."
"Shut it, Takeomin." Shinichirou pursued his lips at his best friend, and he sighed as he flashed Wakasa and Keizou his most reprimanding stare. He was looking more and more like a mother hen this way.
"I thought we had an agreement to not fight each other again?" Shinichirou prodded at Keizou's chest then flicked Wakasa's forehead. If he was someone else, Keizou and Wakasa would've flung him to the moon with a single attack, but well, this was Shinichirou, their revered commander. They couldn't do such thing to him. "How many times should I tell you that you should work together from now on?"
"Keizou started it first, Shin-chan."
"Don't throw the blame to others like a five year old, Waka. Besides, you called him with that nickname first."
"Fine, it's my fault. I'll apologize."
"Yeah." Keizou nodded, and for one second, Wakasa was taken aback that he complied to Shinichirou with less resistance. Usually he had more words to utter as his rebuttal, and they'd spend longer just to settle this.
Not that it bothered him. It was good to know Keizou had gained more sense than a wall should be getting.
"I'm sorry for swinging my fist to you, Kitten."
Silence, not even a single breath rolled.
And Wakasa exploded.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT'S WITH THAT DISGUSTING NICKNAME?! EXPLAIN, BRICK WALL!!"
"You are the White Leopard, and leopards are still related to cats." Keizou easily elaborated as he stepped aside and lifted his arm to block Wakasa's attack, and Wakasa growled.
"DON'T YOU DARE TO CALL ME 'THAT'!!!"
"My life is tiring as heck..." Shinichirou sighed before he screamed again at those two to stop. This time, Takeomi offered his assistance since it clearly had been a while since those two got into a brawl this intense.
Unbeknownst to the scuffling teenagers, Senju leaned over to Manjirou and whispered to the boy's ear.
"Manjirou-kun, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Manjirou grinned. "What are you thinking, Senju-kun?"
"This is just like the enemies to lovers trope I read once in books!"
"Haha!! They definitely are!!"
And the two kids shared a series of chuckles that went past their brothers' hearing, for they were too busy splitting the White Leopard from climbing the Redcliff and biting his head off.
This is a good afternoon, the kids eventually agreed on as Wakasa's roars echoed throughout the shrine.