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Takemichi comes to with a gasp, choking on nothing, the bitter taste of his own blood still thick in his throat.
He can still feel the phantom pain of his face collapsing in on itself as the crunch of his own bones breaking echoes loudly in his ears.
He died.
No he was murdered—beaten to death by the very man he swore to save.
The TV is white noise in the background of his despair, his recent failures fresh with the added new, horrible bonus of betrayal stinging painfully in his heart.
“The dispute between the Tokyo Manji Gang has been intensifying in the city. Recently, uninvolved civilians fell victim to the dispute.”
The sensation of déjà vu gives him focus, he surfaces from his spiraling thoughts to concentrate on the newscaster on the TV in front of him.
“Within the many victims, there were two fatalities. Those two are 25 year old Tachibana Naoto and 26 year old Tachibana Hinata.”
Takemichi stares at the newscaster in incomprehension. How can Hinata and Naoto be dead? How can the Tokyo Manji Gang even exist when Mikey disbanded them years ago?
The black haired man straightens from his lounged position, finally taking in his surroundings.
He’s in the same shithole, bachelor’s apartment from the original timeline. The same cheap beer cans and porno mags littering every surface. He’s wearing the same moth eaten sweatshirt and stained boxers—he’s even eating the same damn chips as he was when he first heard this same news report what feels like a lifetime ago.
A loud banging on his front door startles him from his dawning realization—his neighbor’s loud shout of “How many times I gotta tell you before you get it through your thick skull!!? Your TV is too fucking loud!!”—the same, exactly the same, as the original timeline.
He’s back—back to the very start of it all. He ignores his neighbor’s continued loud exclamations to put his head in his hands and laugh hysterically.
Oh god, it was all for nothing! All that pain, all that suffering and heartbreak, just to end up right where he started!
Though this is much, much worse than any other future he’s ever returned to. Everyone he’s ever saved is dead, every success he’s ever won nothing more than a fever dream.
And, oh, isn’t that a terrifying thought? Nothing triggered that final time leap, he just…died—no handshake from Mikey to send him back. So did any of that entire time travel adventure even happen? Did he just hallucinate the entire thing?
He grips his dark hair tightly in his fists, tears running down his face.
No, no he can’t allow doubt to suffocate him. Those memories and experiences feel like a brand on his soul, far too lucidly detailed to have been any sort of dream or nightmare.
So that begs the question, if he went through it all again, allowed Akkun to push him in front of that train, would he be able to go back and try again?
Does he even want to try again?
The exhaustion that hits him in the next moment is an overwhelming force—the feeling of it like an immovable weight blanketing his shoulders.
He’s just so damn tired—tired of trying, tired of failing.
Maybe this is a sign—a sign that if you mess with fate you end up making everything heartbreakingly worse. After all, that’s all he ever really did at the end of the day, right? Saved some people just to get others killed instead. Saved people just to have them tragically die at a later date.
Maybe where there is death, there will always be death, and there is no way to change or fix it.
So what was the point of all that then? Why did he have to go through all of that—befriend and love so many people just to lose them all!?
And he really did lose them all didn’t he?
Hinata, Naoto, Draken, Chifuyu, Mitsuya, Emma, Baji, Kazutora, Kaku-chan, Hakkai, Senju, they’re all dead.
The only person still alive in the original timeline is—
Mikey!
Mikey is the sole survivor of his loved ones in this time, though the other man is completely unaware of his importance to Takemichi or of Takemichi’s existence at all.
Could that be his purpose then? Was the reason he went through that entire time travel experience just so he could meet Mikey, befriend Mikey, love Mikey?
Yes, that makes sense, doesn’t it? Takemichi wasn’t satisfied with the future he made, the ‘perfect’ one that Mikey suffered so much to achieve—he went back just so he could try to save Mikey.
He failed, spectacularly, to save Mikey in that past, ended up murdered by the blonde’s own hand instead, but perhaps he was never meant to save him there, maybe he’s meant to save Mikey in this time, in the original timeline.
But Mikey is too far down that dark path for any hope of redemption, so perhaps Takemichi is meant to save him in another way?
Mikey is so devastatingly alone in this future but then again so is Takemichi. Takemichi has experienced every loss that Mikey has and has felt them just as deeply. Takemichi is the only one who understands Mikey’s pain, suffering, and desolation.
Maybe that’s how Takemichi will save Mikey—instead of fixing the past so Mikey is not alone, he’s meant to save Mikey from that terrible loneliness here and now.
Takemichi makes a vow then, tears staining his face, but hope blooming in his chest one last time.
In this final rebirth he will save Mikey—no matter what!
*
All his knowledge of the previous futures is of no use when if comes to locating Mikey. If anything, his insider information is only capable of helping him determine exactly where Mikey will not be.
He knows that Mikey will not be with the rest of the Toman executives in the skyscraper where Takemichi watched Kisaki murder Chifuyu because Kisaki is the main controller of Toman at this point in time, Mikey very much just a figure head.
.
He knows that Mikey will not go to Manilla because he never promised Takemichi he would take him there and he knows that Mikey will not end up in that run-down bowling alley because he is not waiting for Takemichi to come find him.
It takes Takemichi nearly a month to figure out where Mikey is, and as it turns out, it’s actually laughably easy to find him—no knowledge of previous futures required—all he needed was his knowledge of Mikey.
Lonely Mikey who has lost every single person he has ever loved.
So, of course, Takemichi finds him in his childhood home, in his elder brother’s old room, wrapped around that same aged, ratty towel.
“Hello Mikey-kun.”
Dark eyes, like volcanic glass, look at him blankly—no hint of surprise by the unexpected visitor nor is there any shock that someone has shown up in his bedroom unannounced—just a vacant void, so utterly, utterly empty.
“Who are you?” A bored and lifeless voice questions, no interest in the answer at all.
The question hurts more than Takemichi thought it would, he’s had time to prepare for this moment after all—he’s had time to come to terms with the fact that one of his closest friends does not know or remember him.
Takemichi smiles through the pain, “My name is Takemichi Hanagaki. I’d like to tell you a story.”
Some of that blankness fades from those fathomless eyes, a spark of interest barely visible in their depths.
“Alright.”
Just like that first time that Takemichi told him about his time leaping, Mikey sits there and listens quietly, deeply engrossed in the story.
He never interrupts, never asks any questions, just lets Takemichi talk his way through the entire course of events. Even as the story gets more emotional and heavy—Takemichi unable to hold back his tears and blubbering—Mikey still doesn’t utter a single word.
He doesn’t accuse Takemichi of lying or become angered by Takemichi’s failures, just sits there and accepts the information being shared.
Takemichi reaches the end of his recollection, the last bits he recounts are of his final moments in the past, his subsequent death, and coming to back in the original timeline.
Once he’s finished the silence is loud in the small, converted garage.
“That’s quite a tale there, Takemichi—”
“Takemitchy!” The dark haired male is quick to interrupt, “You call me ‘Takemitchy,’ Mikey-kun.” Takemichi insists stubbornly.
Mikey cocks his head to the side, so very reminiscent of the past Mikey that it makes Takemichi want to cry, “Takemitchy then,” Mikey concedes, “What is it that you want? What did you hope to accomplish by coming here?”
“Y-You believe me?” Takemichi asks hopefully.
Mikey shrugs, “Does it matter if I believe you?” Takemichi deflates, “Now answer me, Takemitchy, what do you want?”
Takemichi just looks at the man in front of him for a moment, taking in his disheveled blonde locks—much shorter than he remembers but still so achingly familiar—and meets the other man’s vaguely entertained stare as he answers honestly, “I just want to be with Mikey-kun—so you won’t be alone anymore.”
Mikey hums, nodding once as he accepts the answer easily enough. “Alright.”
“R-Really?! You’ll let me stay?”
Mikey smirks, “Why not? Life is so boring and you’re the first interesting thing to happen to me in a very long time.”
*
“Tell me something new, Takemitchy~”
Takemichi has been staying with Mikey for a little over three weeks now, just up and moved in in with him right after that ‘first’ meeting. Mikey is home most of the time but he does leave occasionally to fulfill his presidential responsibilities—always returning soaked in blood.
Every time he comes home he gives Takemichi an expectant look, like he’s just waiting for Takemichi to run away.
Takemichi always meets this look unflinchingly and welcomes him back with open arms, never shying away from the blood as he helps Mikey get cleaned up.
With each day that Takemichi stays, Mikey seems to relax.
They eat together, watch TV together, play video games together, but by far Mikey’s favorite pastime is to ask Takemichi to tell him something only he would know—to prove that Takemichi is who he says he is.
Mikey is clearly both fascinated and awed by Takemichi’s ability to come through each and every time.
The first time Mikey asks Takemichi to prove himself, Takemichi describes the photos that Draken used to have on his bedroom wall in vivid detail. He tells Mikey about who is in each frame and what they are doing—describes their expressions and outfits.
Mikey is immediately enthralled, though Takemichi can tell that he is still not completely convinced of Takemichi’s authenticity, a lingering doubt still hiding in his fathomless eyes.
Another time Takemichi tells him about Mitsuya’s very particular coffee order and other eclectic tastes—of how Mitsuya designed Toman’s uniforms and sowed the founding member’s jackets from scratch.
“You gave me your original jacket, Mikey-kun! I hadn’t even officially joined yet!” Takemichi laughs from his place across from Mikey on the couch, their video game paused on the screen in front of them. “I was so honored, I still am. It was the first time I ever read the inscription— Above the Heavens and under the heavens, I alone am the honored one— So inspiring! It’s crazy that you were only twelve when you came up with that.”
Other times, Takemichi tells Mikey about Emma’s eerily accurate aim with projectiles and her weird love-rival relationship with Draken’s bike, Zephyr. He tells Mikey about her obsession with fortune tellers and about the time Takemichi let her dress him up in drag.
"Don't laugh, Mikey-kun! I know you let her dress you up too! I remember that little red riding hood Halloween costume!!"
He tells Mikey about Baji’s obsession with cats and his dream of owning a Pet shop. He tells Mikey about the punch he received from Baji the very first time they met and about the jungle gym Baji and Mikey used to climb on when they were kids.
“Takeomi—Senju’s brother—told me that him and Shinichiro-san used to climb on that same jungle gym when they were little! Did you know that Mikey-kun? Apparently your brother was really fearless and used to stand straight up on the highest bar—didn’t hold on to anything!”
Another time, he tells Mikey about why the blonde started to go by the name ‘Mikey’ and Baji’s corresponding ‘Edward—call me Ed’. He tells Mikey about the reason why he started Toman and Kazutora’s home life problems. He tells Mikey about how the rest of the founders’ made fun of him for naming his gang the Tokyo Manjirou Gang.
Takemichi laughs with Mikey about Draken’s shampoo hat, Shinichiro’s hopelessness with women, Chifuyu’s embarrassingly obvious crush, and Mitsuya’s awkward birthmark.
He cries with Mikey recounting Emma’s tendency to sing on rainy days to entice the sun to shine and the tragic reason for Shinichiro’s death.
Today, when Mikey asks him to share something, Takemichi decides to finally tell Mikey about his motorcycle—the time finally feeling right for this very special and very dear-to-him memory, “You gave me your Babu’s twin,” He starts, Mikey’s attention on him becoming even more laser focused, “You told me that when Shinichiro-san found those engines he got a sense of destiny. He found them in an abandoned building in the Philippines, half-buried under a huge scrap pile…”
“You said that Shinichiro-san told you they called out to him beneath a suffocating gray sky…”
Mikey pulls him into a hug, crushing them together, “I never told anyone about that, not even Kenchin. You…you…” He trails off, seemingly at a loss for words.
Takemichi returns the embrace just as tightly, he can feel the moment that Mikey finally believes him—feels it like something that was missing finally slotting into place.
*
Like the final piece of a puzzle, everything settles after that. Mikey finally opening his entire heart to the other man and they become even closer than they had been during Takemichi’s time leaps.
They still eat together, watch TV together, and play video games together but now they also sleep in the same bed, bathe together, and Takemichi goes with Mikey whenever he leaves the house. They are inseparable, two sides of the same coin, and determined to never be apart again.
Mikey tells his execs that Takemichi is his bodyguard and gives no other explanation, daring them with his killer’s stare to question him—no one does, not even Kisaki.
Takemichi watches Mikey torture, pummel, and kill—never judging or flinching from the other man.
This is his life now—he lives for Mikey—he has no other purpose, and he is oddly fine with it.
“Wait, wait don’t eat yet Mikey-kun!!”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’ve got a surprise for you, so close your eyes!”
“But I’m hungry, Takemitchy!”
“Please do it!! You’ll enjoy it, I swear!!”
“Fine~”
“Okay you can open them!”
Takemichi watches Mikey’s expression excitedly as the other man stares down at the flag sticking out of his omurice. The blonde’s face is blank for a few seconds before it shutters through an array of emotions, finally settling on bitter sweet.
He pulls Takemichi into a hug—pulls the slighter man completely into his lap, “Thank you, Takemitchy, it’s perfect.”
After breakfast, Mikey kisses Takemichi for the first time and Takemichi is oddly fine with this too. It feels natural—like everything has been leading up to this—an a + b = c logical progression of events.
Mikey pulls away, “Did we used to do this too?”
Takemichi shakes his head, “No, but it feels like we did, doesn’t it?”
Mikey’s shark’s grin splits his face in half, the familiar expression that Takemichi hadn’t even realized he'd missed so much causing his chest to ache. The older man tugs them even closer together as he links their fingers between them.
Takemichi watches from up close as Mikey’s pupils constrict and then dilate—like Mikey is finally focusing on him and seeing him for the first time.
Mikey releases a breath, the rush of air ghosting across Takemichi’s face like a caress and he knows—Takemichi knows that Mikey has just remembered everything, that their linked fingers have brought with them all of Mikey’s memories from each past and future.
Mikey’s lip wobbles as tears pool in his eyes, “T-Takemitchy, oh god, I’m sorry, I—How could I have done that to you, to you—”
The dark haired man cuts him off with a soft touch to the crying blonde’s cheek, “Stop it, Mikey-kun. There’s no need for all that, I’ve already forgiven you.”
Mikey’s face crumples as he pulls Takemichi in, hooking his chin over the younger male’s shoulder so he can wrap his arms around Takemichi and crush him to his chest. “Thank you, thank you Takemichi, I'm sorry—I'm so fucking sorry. I love you so, so much—in every time I think I always have...”
Takemichi smiles through his own tears, hiding his wet face in Mikey’s neck as he returns the embrace, his heart feeling so very full, “I love you too, Mikey-kun.”
~fin~