Chapter Text
little things grow over time. that’s what takemichi knew. that’s what he learned.
when he first dyed his hair blonde, his black slowly came back in. but no one would hire someone with piss blonde hair, so he shaved it all off.
his affinity for smoking grew. with every rejected job interview. with every job he got fired from. everytime he said “i’m sorry.”
so, he dabbled in smoking. it relieved some stress. doesn’t mean he loved it though.
when he first time leaped, he only remembered little inklings of hina. but he remembered enough to know that he still loved her.
(hah… says the 26 year old virgin.)
but when he saw her, he realized that he truly did in fact love her. from the bottom of his heart. he loved her.
to when he gave her the necklace, from when he clutched it on christmas. her fists meeting his face when she beat him to a pulp. her whisper of “i love you.” when he wanted to give everything up.
it didn’t solve everything.
hell, it didn’t solve a lot of things.
but it was enough.
enough to keep going. enough to keep fighting. his motivation always shook, always trembled. with every death, every light going out in someone’s eyes.
he’d put his hand up, ready to give up.
but hina kept it steady. hina would pull him up when all he ever wanted to do was to let go.
he was a withering flower and she was the doting woman that always watered him no matter what. no matter how useless it seemed. no matter how sad the flower looked.
she always did. and he’ll always be grateful.
hina was enough for him. more than enough actually. and he only prayed that one day, he’d be enough for her. for her smile. for her sunkissed hair.
he dropped smoking altogether when he first time leaped and his mission to save her started. he’d rather die than for hina to hug him and all she smells is cigarettes. she deserves better.
(he wasn’t better.)
all of the little things grow. that’s what he learned. it’s what he learned in the first few time leaps, it’s what he’s learned now.
now that he was back all the way again.
“hey takemitchy, why do you do that?”
he blinked as he brought himself back to reality. he was walking with draken and mikey, just trailing with them. wherever mikey wanted, he supposed.
his heart ached whenever he saw mikey and draken. for one losing his one love. for the other losing everyone he ever loved.
“ah do what?“
honestly he had been spacing out so he didn’t really know what mikey was talking about. both draken and mikey didn’t even look at him as their shoes scraped against the side walk.
“come on takemitchy, you have to notice right?“
draken says as he picks up a wrapper on the ground and throws it away. takemichi snorted, and made a joke in his head about the big bad delinquent against littering. before remembering said boy asked him something. he cleared his throat and masked his cool voice with nervousness.
(he wasn’t scared of either of them anymore. not after lifetimes of talks and seeing them both vulnerable. but it wouldn’t make sense if he wasn’t right? did that make sense?)
“no actually, what are you guys talking about?”
mikey sighs dramatically before stepping on his heel, his jacket spinning wildly but not off his shoulders. takemichi blinks as he stops in his tracks.
mikey’s eyes bore in his, they looked curious. he can see draken’s also stare at him in slight curiosity. the shorter boy’s finger comes up to point at him.
“whenever you hear a motorcycle when we’re not at a meeting, you always put your hand on the person next to you.”
he blinked before smiling confused.
“huh?”
draken is the one who speaks up now as he turns to face takemichi as well.
“yeah, both of your hands go up. as if…. hmmm…”
he seems to be pondering it for a moment. it takes him a second before pointing at him as well.
“sorta like you’re gonna push them out of the way.”
memories flash through his mind now. of a girl with blonde hair being pushed to the ground. of blood dripping down her face.
‘take of mikey for me, ‘kay?’
his heart is caught in his throat as he can’t bring himself to look at either of them. a default smile is brought on his face as his fingers ball at his sides.
he can’t hear mikey and draken laugh as they say, “like the motorcycle is gonna kill you or something!”
he tries not to remember.
(but he’ll always make himself remember.)
he tries not to think about it.
(he always thinks about it.)
she’s not dead in this timeline. she’s not dead in this timeline. she’s not dead in this timeline. she’s not dead in this timeline. she’s not dead in this timeline. she’s not dead in this timeline.
shut up.
never let anyone know. never let anyone know. no one can ever know.
he brings his head back up and scratches the back of his neck. he lets out his nervous laugh as he looks around.
“come on guys, you know me. everything scares me. i feel like someone’s gonna sneak up on me, yknow?”
their eyes look confused before mikey scoffs.
“why the hell are you scared? we’re strong enough to back you up.”
draken rolls his eyes as he starts walking again.
“you really need to grow some balls, takemitchy.”
the youngest (oldest) boy only chuckles as he starts walking again also. he lets out a silent sigh of relief.
they don’t need to know.
but unbeknownst to him, the two boys in front of him look at each other. having a silent conversation in their eyes.
‘there’s definitely more to that.’
‘i know but drop it.’
‘but i’m curious.’
‘me too. but not now.’
mikey grumbles before breaking the eye contact. he crossed his arms and dramatically sighs once again. slowing his pace, he wraps an arm around takemitchy.
“you wanna get some food, takemitchy?”
draken doesn’t skip a beat.
“oi! i’m not paying for that shit, mikey!”
he yells as he smacks the boy on the head. takemichi can only laugh as he watches the two of them.
“OW OW OW OW OWWWWIEEE KEN-CHIIIIIIIN!!!”
takemichi loves watching them honestly. it’s like having siblings he never knew he needed. not joining in but laughing on the sidelines until they eventually pull him in.
when mikey whines that he’s hungry and he’s being starved, draken smacks him on the head again. takemichi only sighs before smiling tiredly at them.
“i can pay, if you guys really need.”
mikey throws his hands up as he cheers.
“yayyy!!! takemitchy will pay!”
draken grunts before looking at takemichi.
“are you sure?“
the boy in question only smiles. he doesn’t have much money but he picked up a job. might as well get started now right ?
(learn something so his past self can actually land a decent job this time.)
he has enough for them.
“sure, you paid last time right?”
he wouldn’t have his first time around. he usually just let them fight it out before draken relented. but after losing so many, after everything.
it’s the least he could give to them. as an “i’m sorry.” as a “thank you.”
as an “i love you.”
“i don’t mind really.”
mikey cheers as he happily starts talking about what he’ll get. draken is still smacking him and threatening what he’ll do if he orders the entire menu again.
and takemichi smiles. he would never his first time around. but things grow. and his love for the both of them always grew.
threatening to spill blood from his heart if it was the last thing he could do. after seeing draken on death row, after mikey begged takemichi to kill him.
‘i swear i’ll make a timeline where you’re both happy.’
draken was empty after emma died. his heart extinguished and burned after seeing her body on that table. mikey was also empty but something else filled his heart with something awful. something that controlled him and nothing could hold back.
so they ate and he kept to himself as he ate the smallest meal he could manage because hell, he couldn’t stomach a lot of things anymore. he never had the same appetite after leading that depressing life a long time ago.
(or maybe he thought he didn’t deserve it. when so many people couldn’t even eat or breathe because of him.)
(he didn’t know. he wasn’t smart enough for this.)
he only sighed as draken pushed over some of his own food and mikey let him take a sip of the sweetest milkshake he’s ever tasted. they always forced him to talk in conversations, always looked at him if he didn’t say something.
he’s so blessed really. he’s a terrible liar after all.
(he’s a terrible person after all.)
he’s selfish.
so he allowed himself to laugh. to have fun and be a kid with them. not that they’ll ever know that he knows there’s a difference. between feeling like a kid who’s mature and being an adult.
he laughed all the way home and when he laid on his bed, he stared back up at the ceiling.
‘i’ll keep those smiles on their faces. they should never go through what they do in the future.’
his fists balled on his stomach, he couldn’t go to sleep. haunted by ghosts of another life.
and when hina let her thumbs run over his eyebags in the morning, he thinks it’s worth it. he knows her berating is worth it. because he loves her. he loves her so much.
and she knows something is off when she quiets down as she walks next to him. her hand slowly wraps around his as she tangles their fingers together.
“you can talk to me whenever you need, okay takemichi-kun?”
she softly smiles up at him and he can never say no to those eyes. she knows it, of course.
“i’m not your girlfriend for no reason.”
of course. he’s exhausted as he smiles. but he does for her. his fingers lace around hers as his thumb runs up and down her hand.
“of course hina.”
….
he realizes he knows what draken and mikey meant. because while he’s with the two (and hina and emma because it was originally a “double date” but not that draken knew that.); he hears a motorcycle. it’s loud. and they’re walking down the street.
it’s coming fast and he doesn’t even know who’s on it. but it doesn’t matter. because it’s fast, loud, and emma’s on the street.
that fact blares in his head like a big red alarm.
emma’s on the street.
emma’s on the street.
move.
move.
MOVE.
he wasn’t thinking, only acting on instinct. there wasn’t room for thinking. he couldn’t think of anything else other than-
‘please god let them be safe let me be fast enough please don’t die don’t die don’t die don’t die don’t die don’t die’
he grabs hina’s arm and with the strength of only someone desperate, he pulls her to the side. theres only a few seconds and he runs next to emma and shoves her to the side with his whole body.
this effectively creates a domino effect that knocks her over onto draken and mikey as they yell at him. hina’s also yelling at him. he falls to the sidewalk, the bruise absorbing on his side. before scrambling back up and looks both sides.
he can’t hear their yelling as he hears the motorcycle whir past them. they didn’t stop? is that it? was it over? are they okay?
emma’s on the ground with her finger pointing up at him, berating him. that her clothes and hair is ruined. mikey and draken asking (yelling) why the hell he did that. hina coming up behind him to yell that it hurt when he pulled her arm.
hina stops when she sees his haunted face. she bites back the words she was about to yell when he whispers something under his breath.
“WHAT?! HANAGAKI SAY IT LOUDER! IT BETTER BE AN APOLOGY“
emma yells as she gets back up with draken’s help and is readying a slap. mikey holds back her wrist and draken has his hands on her shoulders. they’re simultaneously talking her down while yelling at him.
“you’re not hurt?”
he forces out of his throat. he’s not looking at her. he can’t bring himself to.
“no duh! but you ruined my outfit- HEY! are you even listening?!”
she tries to walk to him to slap the absolute hell out of him. she hasn’t known him long but he didn’t have a right to do that. no matter what the reason is-
“you’re not dead?”
she blinks as her slap is stopped by her own will. the two blonde boys behind her have their own shocked faces as they stare at him.
it’s only then they process how truly terrified he looks. how he’s pointedly avoiding looking at them. how his voice is shaking, threatening to be broken down.
“no?”
she replies slowly and she can see hina behind him drilling holes into her eyes. begging. asking for her to stop. this is serious.
“there was no bat?”
he asks quietly. none of them know what he’s talking about as draken and mikey give each other a look.
“no… there was no bat, takemitchy.”
mikey decides to say as he releases emma’s wrist. takemichi’s breathing starts to pick up as he looks back at emma.
they see him physically force his neck to turn as his eyes are so wide open. they’re terrified where they stand. and as he looks at emma’s form, he sees it.
there’s no blood. her hair is a little tousled and her outfit is wrinkled. but it’s okay. she’s okay.
he doesn’t focus on how confused she looks. or draken and mikey’s looks to each other behind her.
there’s no blood. there’s no blood.
he feels tears slip down his cheeks as he slowly drops to the ground. he wraps his arms around himself as he starts chuckling to himself. sad little watery laughs as draken, mikey, and emma stare at him.
he doesn’t care though.
he’s chanting that she’s okay. she’s okay. she’s okay. she’s okay. she’s okay. she’s okay.
hina is right beside him trying to console him. he’s crying as he apologizes. over and over again.
hina is crying herself as she leans herself on his arm and rubs his back.
it’s okay. you’re okay. emma-chan’s okay.
the other three slowly crowd around him. emma is squatting in front of him.
“yeah.. i’m okay takemitchy..”
he keeps his eyes closed before peeking a look at her. like he was scared of what he’d see.
(she doesn’t think she wants to know what he thinks he’d see.)
he smiles and tries to control his breathing. she tried smiling back but she’s so confused, scared, and concerned.
after a while, he stops and he slowly gets up. all of them follow as he wipes his tears.
“i’m sorry.”
he says, his voice raspy. they slowly start walking again because it’s only been about 15 minutes. they have time to eat, emma reluctantly thinks. she then decides that it only fits if she replies to him.
“it’s okay, takemitchy. but um…”
she trails off as she keeps walking. takemitchy sees that she’s nearing the edge of the street again and gives her a tap on her arm. she looks at him quizzically before her mouth goes into an O shape.
she moves between draken and mikey and takemichi smiles as he moves hina so he’s closer to the road. when he’s satisfied with their arrangement, he holds hina’s hand and sighs.
“but what? sorry, what were you saying emma-chan?”
he smiles softly and emma could only smile nervously back. it was terrifying how he could just smile after something like that.
“ah…. what made you do that?”
takemichi can only look up at the sky as he tries to think of a good answer. he wishes naoto was still here because at least naoto could think of smarter lies.
‘you died-‘ nope.
‘i’m terrified you’ll die again’ another nope.
‘you were hit with a bat so hard that it killed you-‘ even worse takemichi, you idiot. THINK.
(he can hear chifuyu’s groans as he tells takemichi that he’s an absolute idiot.)
and he knows if he doesn’t say anything, he’s implanting suspicion in them. it’s making him look mysterious and they might not trust him if he keeps too many secrets.
“one of my relatives died from a motorcycle drive by.”
they all go silent. the only sound was cars and their own steps. he grips hina’s hand in remembrance and guilt for lying. his other hand fingers the four leaf clover necklace that he so adoringly wore.
“it happened when i was little. they were getting a drink from a vending machine and coming back to me from across the street.”
he grips the necklace with his whole fist and hina squeezes his hand tighter. he keeps his eyes trained on the ground so he can’t see their pitying stares. so they can’t see his eyes that are terrible at lying.
“then someone hit her on the head with a steel bat at such a fast speed that she died minutes later.”
he’s not wrong really. it’s not really lying right?
“i held her in my arms. and she died.”
no, he’s not wrong. that’s what’s wrong about it.
“i guess when you and hina were too close to the road, i just…. lost it i guess.”
he decides to play up his normal act a bit. he takes both of his hands back and stops walking. he sees their shadows looming over him. draken, mikey, emma, and hina.
i’m sorry.
he bows deeply.
i want to save all of you.
“i’m sorry for pushing you guys. i’m sorry for pulling your arm hina!”
hina stutters as she tries to make him stop bowing. that it was totally fine. emma is just telling him to stop bowing because it’s okay.
“we all get why you did it! please stop bowing!”
it comes down to draken and mikey who saunter over to him. they straighten him out and mikey slaps him on the back. they push him to start walking as he coughs from the hardest slap on the back ever.
“that was super cool man, you have some senses!”
“yeah, super manly!”
emma and hina smile as they walked together now. they made sure to walk on the inner sidewalk. and he forced draken to stand in the middle as he took being on the outside.
“c’mon man! i’m not gonna die from something like that!”
takemichi only woefully smiles as his tired eyes look back out on the street. draken sounds insulted but not to the point of hating him so he doesn’t care much.
“it’s always better safe than sorry.”
(anyone can die from something like that.)
that seems to quiet him down and they go back to normally talking to each other. they get lunch and laugh along the way.
when draken, mikey, and hina are in the bathroom at the restaurant; emma gives him a look. he chooses to just pretend he doesn’t see her as he clicks around on his phone. maybe if he doesn’t acknowledge it, she won’t say anything.
(and he knows if she’s about to ask something… he might not be able to lie about it.)
“why can’t you look at me?”
ah.
she’s noticed.
he doesn’t think he can help it. he can’t bring his eyes to look at her correctly. he can only stare at her heels or straight behind her. he chooses to look at the person next to her.
he can’t bare to look at her face unless he absolutely has to.
it’s for obvious reasons. because he can’t bare to look at blood dripping from her head down to her shirt. always thinking about her body being thrown like a rag doll across the street.
(he’s sure guilt for watching her die is also there too.)
(her warmth in his hands as she reeled back from the pain.)
“not all motorcycles belong to toman.”
he decides to say. it seems to completely bypass her question but he’s really trying to answer it. in the best way he knows how.
she cocks her head at him.
“i know…i’m not stupid..”
he lets a sad smile slip as he replies. she’s smart, caring, and sweet. she’s just a teenage girl but she’s so mature.
but she doesn’t know. she doesn’t pay enough attention to it. she thinks she’s surrounded by protection because everyone around her is strong.
“no you don’t.”
but it doesn’t take someone physically strong to kill.
she doesn’t know whether to feel annoyed or insulted. but the more she thinks about it, she realizes she doesn’t know. she doesn’t think twice about motorcycles because it’s what she grew up around.
“you’re the undefeated mikey’s sister, toman has a lot of enemies you know?”
he says as he slumps back in his chair. he sighs like he’s trying to unload something from his heart.
emma is reminded of grandpa. when he’d sigh loudly and slump down in his chair in the living room.
she’s mikey’s sister. mikey probably has enemies. she’s mikey’s sister.
it doesn’t take much to deduce. hell, she’s always known it. the fact being shoved in her face everytime she saw the manji symbol.
but it’s still shocking to her. that she didn’t process this before. that she was never concerned about it before.
“emma-chan... i know we don’t know each other well.. but promise me one thing.”
she nods as she swallows down how terrifying his implications are. he turns to face her, his eyes closed. he gives her a wide smile that’s meant to comfort her.
(but she can see the bags under his eyes. see the face that looks far too old for his age. for a fourteen year old.)
“always be careful when you’re walking in the street.”
it’s so simple. she learned it when she was young. she suddenly sees shinichiro’s face flash in his. comforting and so so kind. telling her to always be careful in the road.
but it’s so ominous and cryptic.
what happens if i don’t? what happens if i let down my guard for even a second. what happens? do you know takemitchy?
do you know what would happen to me?
she doesn’t have a moment to say anything because hina, draken, and mikey come back laughing. and takemichi immediately sits back up and his face goes back to normal. to that default state of an innocent teenager.
she blinks and drinks in the difference. before she also smiles and greets the group back.
and they leave the restaurant. hina and takemichi go one way, waving goodbye. the three of them go the other way, mikey whining about something.
they don’t question her about anything. they just carry on normal banter. if they do know takemitchy asked her something, they decide against saying anything.
and when takemichi and hina are alone, she hums and he wraps an arm around her shoulders.
little things grow over time and he can tell that hina’s concern is. but he can’t think about that, he has to figure out how to save everyone. he doesn’t have time.
and when it’s far too much, he stands alone next to his house. he has a cigarette in his mouth. it brings him comfort, remembrance of a time long ago.
he hasn’t picked one up in so long but he can’t help it anymore. he’s so stressed. he doesn’t even have naoto to talk to. he hasn’t told chifuyu. he hasn’t told hina.
he can’t tell anyone.
lighting the cigarette, he sighs deeply and slides down the front of his house. puffing out the smoke, he wryly smiled and imagined what would happen if anyone found out.
“hey, partner!”
he nearly choked on the cigarette. he stumbled while standing up and looked around quizzically. he saw chifuyu’s dark silhouette. it was so late, what was he doing here?!
“wh- i- uh- chifuyu?!”
he quickly stomps out the cigarette under his shoe.
chifuyu is walking up to his house, waving his hands around. he’s grinning and smiling, nursing some bruises from probably a scuffle he had.
takemichi is trying to think of every way to hide the cigarette smell. because hell, if he knew anything then it’s that cigarettes are easy to pick out. and delinquents part of a gang could definitely pick out cigarettes.
he’d know.
and as he’s fumbling with his pockets uselessly, he realizes something.
he can’t do anything about it.
he’ll look suspicious either way.
he can’t even do something as simple as this.
so he sighs and slides back down the wall. his hands running down his face, eventually flopping next to his sides.
he feels tears prick in his eyes.
stupid stupid stupid stupid. stupid idiot. you’re supposed to be smarter than this. wait ! you’ve always been this stupid haven’t you? not a damn thing has changed. nothing ever changes. why am i even doing this.
is this what a hero looks like, naoto?
“hey takemitchy-“
chifuyu borderline yelled as he walked up to the boy. seeing his partner’s appearance, he quickly silenced himself.
chifuyu can’t really see his face buried inbetween his his knees. usually takemitchy responds fast and doesn’t ever ignore someone.
“takemitchy?”
he baited out. clutching the bag of snacks in his hand, he squatted down in front of the boy. he can vaguely smell cigarettes wafting in the air but takemitchy doesn’t smoke. right? it had to be his parents or something.
it was an hour after dark and he doesn’t know why takemitchy is sitting outside alone. he just wanted some company for the night.
(definitely not because he got in a fight on the street and needed some first aid and someone to talk to.)
“hey i got ramen. wanna eat half?”
food always works, with anyone really. so he tries that. because he’s never seen takemitchy like this and he’s getting concerned. he can’t even see his face but it’s likely that he’s crying right about now.
(if he knew anything about the boy, it’s that he cries. he cries and sobs with such heartfelt desperation that it scares him.)
the boy still didn’t answer. he lightly put a hand on his shoulder. shaking it, he tried to get the boy to open up.
before he can call his name out again, he hears his voice call out to him.
“hey…chifuyu..”
he blinks at the voice. it sounds so.. tired and raspy. it doesn’t really sound like takemitchy. but he still smiles at his partner because maybe that’s what he needs.
“yeah, takemitchy?”
…
“do you… not remember me?”
he’s stunned. he doesn’t really know what to think when he hears the muffled question. should he remember him?
“what do you mean?”
takemitchy seems to wrap more around himself. his body starts shaking as he mutters out through his teeth.
“do i not look familiar at all?”
he grunts out. he sounds angry as his face turns up to face him. he’s frozen as he’s never heard him mad before.
sure, mad when he’s on the verge of tears. anger leaking off into desperation. anger that isn’t directed at anyone, only at the situation.
never truly angry at someone.
(he kinda feels bad that it has to be him who experiences it first.
“do you not remember anything at all? tell me you do. tell me you recognize me, partner.”
he’s bordering on desperate as his eyes starts building tears. his eyes are shining with that sad desperation that you’d see in an adult. chifuyu feels that he’s being cornered by his presence.
his hands aren’t even on him but he feels like he’s stuck there. being held down by some unknown force.
“no- no. i don’t, takemitchy. believe me. i only met you a few months ago.”
he knows it’s not the answer takemitchy is looking for but it’s the only one he’s got. he’s never met him before. never saw his face, never went to the same school.
takemitchy slumps down, obviously disappointed. he doesn’t know why. is it because they do know each other from somewhere?
no, he’d definitely know. he’d definitely remember someone like takemitchy.
but when he looked in his eyes with that fierce determination, he feels chills. it feels… nostalgic. something that clings to the back of his throat that makes him cry. a pull to his heart.
breathing out a sigh, he smiles at takemitchy’s face. shuffling next to him, he sits down against the wall with him.
“but sometimes…”
the boy next to him perks up, his eyes pulled to his green ones. those wide blue eyes. shimmering with unshed tears.
“sometimes i feel that i’ve met you before.”
his eyes widen a certain amount as tears fall down his eyes. chifuyu grins and knocks an elbow against his arm.
“in another life or whatever! i don’t really believe in all that stuff honestly.”
takemitchy is silent as more tears fall down his face. he’s sobbing and is trying to wipe his tears away.
same old takemitchy.
“now c’mon, it’s getting cold and i have food!”
he gets up and is jumping for takemitchy to open the door. the boy only stretches as he gets up.
“my back hurts..”
“what are you? an old man?”
“hey! shut it!”
he grumbles as he swings open his front door and walks in. before chifuyu can follow, the door slams in his face.
…
no way.
“takemitchy…”
he tries the handle and he can turn it. but when he pushes his body against the door, it doesn’t budge.
this asshole.
“open the door you five-year-old!”
forget about takemitchy seeming older than he was. he’s acting five years younger! he hears takemitchy’s voice through the closed door as he pounds on it.
“this is coming from the guy who refers to manga for love advice!”
“gh!”
his pounding on the door is stopped as he’s rendered speechless. how the hell did he know that?!
“wh- i- YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.”
he hears takemitchy cackle and he feels annoyance building up.
that’s it.
“WHOA CHIFUYU I WAS KIDDING OH MY-“
the door is now open. with takemitchy on the floor with an absolutely fuming red chifuyu standing in the door way. he’s sure his arm is bruised now but oh well.
…
“you uh… you still wanna share those noodles?”
he rolls his eyes.
“sure takemitchy.”
the blonde boy cheers and stands up to boil some water. he only sighs as he closes and locks the door.
he decides against bringing up the smoking. the smell that’s sticking to takemitchy when he’s around the kitchen. that’s for another day and that’s something for him to be serious with takemitchy about.
unbeknownst to him, takemichi knows. he can smell it too. it makes him cringe and he knows that chifuyu can smell it also.
he decides to not let anything else be amiss as he patches up chifuyu’s scratches and hears a very detailed (maybe too detailed) story of what he did to the guys who jumped him.
(he always forgets how unhinged chifuyu is and how funny it is sometimes.)
chifuyu’s suspicion of him has definitely skyrocketed after tonight. even after a bunch of goofing off and jokes. even laughter hours of laughter and snoring on a futon on the ground and his bed.
he couldn’t help it. his heart is getting overloaded. he wants his partner back.
(deep down, he knows he doesn’t.)
(because he only thinks of a gunshot to his thigh and the sound of a chair hitting the floor next to him.)
(he only thinks of a man smiling with a gun pressed against his forehead. putting all of his trust into takemichi for no good reason.)
but he can’t, and he doesn’t want to be selfish.
so he grins back at chifuyu’s eyes that are looking for any sign of anything that is wrong. he does his best to mask the pleading look in his eyes and they go on playing video games in his room.