Chapter Text
Mitsuya Takashi shouldn't be surprised at this point—but he still is and he can't quite stop.
"He was right again," Draken mutters beside him. "All the information was correct."
They are talking about the hideout of a rival gang. Or, well, a former rival gang. They've been completely wiped out and absorbed by Toman now. Normally, they wouldn't have bothered but that gang kept provoking their members and even beat some up. It didn't take long for the captains of Toman to decide they had to be dealt with. But the rival gang wouldn't accept a match and finding them was difficult.
Was .
Until they decided to hand the job to Takemichi.
Takemichi may be terrible at fighting but he's unrivaled when it comes to gathering information. His social network is insane too—whenever they hang out with him, no matter where they go he'll stumble upon a person he knows. Takashi can't even begin to guess how many people Takemichi knows. The number is simply too large. And that's coming from Takashi himself, who's got a good amount of friends as well.
(Though it makes him wonder how Takemichi met them all, even though he's still so young. Some of them look old enough to be working.)
Either way, Takemichi had the knack of getting any information he wanted—so he found them the location of the rival gang's hideout. All in one day. No matter how many times the boy kept coming with the requested information, Takashi probably will never fully stop being impressed.
"It should be scary," he says, gaze settled on the new first division captain. "And yet…"
He just can't bring himself to be scared of Takemichi.
"Yeah," Draken agrees. "I get it."
The first time Takemichi went to a hospital, fully aware of it, he was seven years old.
What should have been a quick check-up that time ended up with an immense dislike and avoidance of hospitals for many years to come.
His parents and friends scoffed at his fear and told him to get over it. Although their words affected him to the point they brought tears to his eyes, he ignored them. He was sure that if they could see and hear what he could, they wouldn't have uttered these words to begin with.
Could they have mustered the courage? To look at their ghastly forms, keep calm with all these eyes following them everywhere? Could they have stayed quiet? With something brushing against their skin but not being there? With loud screams that pierced through the air and caused pain? No, they couldn’t and neither could he.
That’s why he became eager to run and hide. To avoid and avoid and avoid people. To cry at every single noise. A coward at best, his family’s disappointment at worst.
They broke off all contact with him once he became an adult. Not that there was much to break off, in the first place. It was probably for the better. That's what he kept telling himself when he got a rundown apartment in a place full of lingering ghosts.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't escape them.
Takemichi would never be able to enjoy the silence.
Toman is getting good at gathering information.
That's the conclusion Hajime comes to, when he hears about the gang's new achievements from a member of the Black Dragons. Normally, he wouldn't care but whoever their new informant is, he must be good. To be able to find other gangs hideouts as well as schools they attend is no joke. So, yes, Hajime's interest is piqued and so is Taiju's. Gaining Taiju's interest is not a good thing though. It only speaks of bad luck.
Nonetheless, it's a good opportunity for him to go and check out the informant. Perhaps a deal could be arranged? The Black Dragons and Toman are supposed to be on neutral terms, after all.
"You look excited," Inui points out after glancing at his face. "Is it because of Toman's new informant?"
"It is," he replies as he slips his uniform coat off. It's not an official meeting, so he won't act like it is one. "I'm curious about how he gathers information. Toman has taken down three gangs last week alone."
He turns to face his childhood friend. "Plus Hakkai won't talk about him at all."
"... He's scared."
"Exactly."
Whoever their new informant is must be quite the person. Really, there's no way Hajime won't check him out.
"I'll come with you," Inui mutters after a few seconds of silence.
"Alright. Change into something more casual though."
"Shut the fuck up!"
Takemichi blinks, gazing at the transparent form of Baji, who's hovering in his bedroom.
"Are these assholes always this loud?" He asks, glaring at some ghosts that try to enter his room. Takemichi doesn't have to answer.
Shinichiro does it for him.
"Yep, haven't heard the silence since I died."
Baji huffs at that, crossing his arms over his chest. Then he stares at Takemichi.
"No wonder you're such a weirdo."
He decides to not acknowledge that. Takemichi has no doubt that Baji will find a way to punch him even when dead. Instead, he gazes at the ghosts trying to enter his room and sighs. Looks like a large amount this time. He probably won't sleep that day as well.
Shinichiro frowns at him, most likely knowing what he's thinking. It's been a while since he first met Mikey's older brother. During that time, both were able to learn about each other, and indirectly about the people surrounding them.
"Michi," Shinichiro mutters, "you shouldn't skip sleep. It's not healthy."
He can see Baji looking confused, so he puts on a smile. "It's fine. I'll just catch some sleep tomorrow."
Maybe. Maybe not.
Shinichiro sighs but doesn't say anything else. Baji, though, clearly wants to ask what's going on. "Hey, what the hell are you skipping sleep for? You already got the ugliest eye bags I've ever seen."
God, he feels loved.
"It's too loud," he answers. As expected, Baji doesn't reply to that.
The other ghosts though, keep on wailing.