Archive of Our Own

He wanted to save him.
Save him at any cost.
Even if he would sacrifice his own life for him.

Exhausted from their already too long onging fight, Takemichi wiped the blood and sweat drops from his face. His body began to tremble as he looked directly into Mikey's empty eyes. Not only because of the suddenly gloomy aura that surrounded him and made his blood freeze in his veins even for a brief moment, but also because he could barely stand on the ground. But now he would put an end to all of this, once and for all. Forever.

The Dark Impulse took completely control over Mikey. The devilish grin on his lips made him look like a soulless being of darkness. Distracted by the phenomenon taking place before his eyes, Takemichi realized just at the last second how he picked up Sanzu's katana from the ground and was running straight at him. He managed to avoid the sword blow, but Mikey still managed to give him a small cut on his left cheek.

The desperate shouts of all the people present only came through his ears muffledly. Takemichi was having more and more difficulty dodging his attacks, especially as his attacks became more unpredictable and he himself could no longer get timely visions to dodge them.

The curse turned his friend into an uncontrollable puppet with only killing in mind.

"Hanagaki!" Sanzu's scream resounded throughout the scene. The fear in his voice was clearly audible, leaving goosebumps on his already wounded arms. "Listen to me! You can't break the curse! Everyone...without exception, everyone who tried to save Mikey has been swept to their deaths because of it!"

He didn't want to hear that...he didn't want to hear that!

Takemichi focused on his fight with Mikey while Sanzu told to him the people who died because of trying to save him: Shinichiro...Baji...Emma...Draken...they had all given their lives.
No wound Mikey inflicted on him with the katana would be deep enough to begin to describe the pain it had taken to forfeit their lost.

"Shut up!"

Without thinking, he ran at his friend, who rammed the katana into his chest with all his might. The searing pain was omnipresent and immediately spread throughout his entire body. His vision began to blur...the voices to fall silent...even the triumphant grin of the caused demon seemed to fade more and more.

No! It couldn't end like this! He had taken so much on himself and now it should all be over?
Not with him!

With a jerk he had made the distance between Mikey and him disappear. The relief of holding his friend in his arms made him forget for a brief moment that the katana was still stuck in his chest and had caused a life-threatening injury.

"I...I'm not going to lose Mikey! It's going to be okay...I'll take care of your Dark Impulse..."

Takemichi would do everything he could to put his friend out of his terrible misery, for all his time travels had made him realize one thing: They either contained tragedy or direct death for Mikey. This time ... this time he would save him, even though he was well aware that he would most likely not live to see it.

But for him, he was happy to make that sacrifice.

"You will be my friend forever...Mikey."

Now, of all times, just before his passing, the memory of his former words flashed through his mind. Even in this situation, he was a sentimental Crybaby...how ironic.

He could feel his strength leaving him and blindly searched for Mikey's hand. "G-give me...please give me your hand. You're the trigger, that's why...-"
As if in a trance, he finally grabbed it and, much like a broken doll, repeated the same words over and over again. Ignoring the shouts of his friend.

His vision was now completely engulfed in darkness. The life gradually drained out of him, yet Takemichi felt the darkness disappear from his heart and no longer exert any power over him.

The last thing he heard was the soothing warmth that flowed through Mikey's body and transferred to him. A beautiful feeling, which he was allowed to experience with his last breath.

And so...the story of the hero came to an end...

"Takemichi?"

The curse was broken. The evil had finally left his body, but at what cost?

Covered in blood, Takemichi lay in his arms, repeating the same words over and over.

"Takemichi! Oi, Takemichi, stop!", Mikey pleaded with him to stop his pain from getting worse, but it didn't work, he wouldn't listen. So he gripped Takemichi's hand tighter and got his last words, which came through to him like a breeze.

"You...and the others...you will laugh together again...I promise you..."

Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as he realized Takemichi wasn't moving. Everything in his head began to rattle in slow motion until he finally embraced his friend's lifeless body with both arms and screamed his name from the bottom of his heart.

Not his nickname, but the one with which he had come into the world and also left it.

What had he done? He had wanted nothing more than to protect his friends from himself. But instead Takemichi lay dead in his arms with a smile on his lips.

Somehow, all the people he had ever felt more than pure friendship for were dying: his siblings...his two best friends who had been like his brothers to him, and now him. Their bond had been very special since their very first meeting. In some way, it reminded him of Shinichiro. Maybe that was why he had always wanted to be near him and had always felt comfortable. There was almost something familiar about him.

But now Takemichi was no longer alive and would never come back. Unlike before with Draken, this time it tore him apart inside - he could feel the pain of losing his friend again and it was indescribable. The Dark Impulse had captured all the emotions, not allowing him to feel anything but anger. But now the raindrops pelted down on him as heavy as lead. At last his emotions allowed him to grieve for the people he had lost in all this time, and guilt overwhelmed him.

"You're not strong just because you don't cry, Manjiro" Now he understood his mother's words as tears ran down his cheeks.

In his grief, he didn't notice footsteps approaching him at first. It wasn't until someone came to a stop a few feet from him that he realized it was Hanma.

"Those who play with time...well, they will be punished with death sooner or later." He sounded different than expected, not amused or even pleased at Takemichi's passing, but almost...melancholy.

Something he seemed to know, but what?

"What do you mean by that? Out with it," Mikey said coldly.

Hanma took a quick drag from his cigarette before blowing out the smoke and gazing into the distance. As he did so, the two signs "Sin" and "Torture" on the backs of his respective hands were clearly visible to everyone. "Each of us has a certain role to play in life...just as it was Hanagaki's job to save you...I have...shall we say...the role of the Shinigami."

At this point, at the latest, all the sobs fell silent. Partly out of shock, partly due to utter disbelief, everyone stared at Hanma, with Mikey taking precedence.

Shinigami? The god of the dead?

"Oi, what are you talking about bullshit!?", Chifuyu wanted to know angrily, now standing next to his former leader.

Amused at the appearance, Hanma grinned and continued to smoke with relish.

"Time travel is a good thing, isn't it? You can influence the present and try to bend everything the way you want, can't you? But something like this also demands its price or do you seriously believe that someone gets away unpunished? Everything is predestined by fate...every role in life...every task...and whoever breaks out of the circle and doesn't follow the rules has to pay penance for his sins. And that's why...-" he interrupted himself, pointing his cigarette at Takemichis direction. "...the realm of the dead has his soul as well."

Bewilderment spread among those present. Mikey's gaze, on the other hand, seemed blank and almost creepy. He carefully lowered Takemichi's body to the ground. With his head held high, he stood up and stared blankly at Hanma. "How was that?!"

Before he could do anything rash, Chifuyu held him from behind with all his might, which of course proved to be a difficult feat. "I can understand you...really! But do you seriously think Takemichi would have wanted that for you? During all his time travels, you died several times in front of him...or even in his arms. That's why he wanted to save you at all costs! Do you want his sacrifice to have been completely in vain!"

Chifuyu's words triggered something in him and Mikey's eyes filled with life again. He was absolutely right in what he had said. Just as he was about to answer him, he paused. His eyes went straight to the two people standing a little apart from the action, looking his way: Yuzuha and Hinata.
Everything inside him contracted. In all his grief, he had forgotten that she had been waiting for Takemichi's unexpected return. How could he look her in the eye now?

Both girls entered the battlefield and were greeted by sad expressions. Either they suspected what had already happened or clung to the last thread of hope. But when they saw Takemichi's body, the expression in their eyes changed. While Yuzuha pressed her lips tightly together and was embraced by her younger brother and Mitsuya, Hinata quietly continued walking toward the lifeless body. She bent down to her dead friend and hugged him tightly to her chest. Silently, tears ran down her face.

No one dared to say anything. Absolutely no one.

Mikey didn't know how to face her now. He didn't know how to explain to her that the blame for Takemichi's death rested on his shoulders. Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his upper arm and turned around so that he was looking directly into the eyes of Chifuyu, who was holding him.

"Takemichi touched your hand with his last breath, didn't he? He knew he couldn't travel further into the past, but you can. Fulfill his last wish."

The burden was enormous. After everything that had happened, could he save everyone? Even those who were long gone from among them?

"Manjiro!" Hinata slowly stood up and moved toward him. "If you are indeed able to travel back in time, then do it! Takemichi can't have died in vain!"

His eyes turned first to her, then to all his comrades and friends, who looked at him with sadness, but also with hope. Mikey nodded in understanding. "I promise...I'll fix everything."

He didn't care if one day he would possibly pay for it. What mattered was the here and now.

In front of him stood Chifuyu and Hinata, both of whom were also looking at him with determination, but also encouragement. When both pressed their hands into his, he was struck by lightning before everything went dark around him.

The wind gently stroked his hair. The grass under his palm felt soft. All in all, he enjoyed this moment of peace before he would make his way to the temple to meet with the division captains and their viziers.

He would have preferred to remain seated on the hill and watch the sunset that was soon to come. This place brought back many memories in him, both negative and positive. Because right here, he had run into Kisaki for the first time, with which everything had taken its course. However, the good times with Takemichi were more present and pushed the unpleasant thoughts to the back.

After Mikey had started the time travel at that time, he immediately returned to the moment when he stood together with Shinichiro in front of the shop window in which the cursed flying model was located. At first, individual tears had run down his cheeks from joy at seeing his brother again, whereupon Shinichiro had looked worried and wanted to enter the store with him, which Mikey had immediately acknowledged.

Years later, he and his friends had founded Toman -with Draken as his vizen, of course- and left the takeover of BlackDragons to Izana. Events had changed from the ground up, if only because drastic conflicts such as those with Kazutora or his adoptive brother had not arisen in the first place.
The same was true for Sanzu, who was the division captain of his team and apparently had no memory of any of Shinichiro's time travels.

Chifuyu had also become a member again, though not as vice-captain of the first division. This post remained in the possession of the founding member Kazutora, which is why there were sometimes verbal disputes between the two, which Baji always had to deal with.

The joy of seeing all his former friends alive, however, could not disguise the dark shadow that had cast a deep shadow over his heart. Perhaps it had been fated not to meet again at this time, which in retrospect was for the best. Takemichi should lead the life he had always dreamed of - together with Hinata. Without conflicts. Without violence.

As much as it pained Mikey, for him Takemichi's happiness had absolute priority.

"Hina-chan! Don't you think I'd better push your bike?" That voice...

His eyes widened all at once, squinting up at the sidewalk. This couldn't be reality...or could it?!
His heart knew better, as it thumped against his chest with full force of joy. An old familiar warmth returned inside him. It was really him!

Together, Takemichi and Hinata walked along the path and had not noticed his presence. Happy with this state of affairs, he was about to walk toward them, but something stopped him.

Since his time travel, he had wondered if Chifuyu or possibly Hinata was the trigger. Since both had grabbed his hands at the same time then, he had no choice but to speculate. Or...

Mikey rose from his seat and made his way to the meeting place. He could feel both sets of eyes on him and finally turned to face them.

Their eyes crossed.

"Do you know each other, Takemichi-kun?" He hesitated with his answer and continued to stare at him wordlessly. Mikey could tell he was struggling with something. But then answered her question as expected. "No...I've never seen him before...but..."

Not wanting to know more, he continued on his way with mixed feelings. Takemichi deserved a future away from crime or brawling.
It was better that way.

Meanwhile, he now stood before the long steps to the shrine. Sighing, he climbed them, thinking of his previous encounter. Maybe that's why whichever of them was the trigger hadn't revealed his or her identity, to protect him and...-.

"Hey!" Mikey's call hit him right in the heart. Was it within the realm of possibility that...-?

Astonished, he turned around, only to catch sight of Takemichi at the foot of the long staircase, staring at him in a rushed manner and taking two steps at a time up, at least until they were face to face. Completely out of breath, he put his palms on his knees and struggled for breath.

But how...?!

"Say...", Takemichi said exhaustedly, wiping the drops of sweat from his chin. "Do we know each other? I feel like...we've met before."

A smile formed on Mikey's lips and he closed his eyes for a moment. Apparently, fate wanted to give them a very last chance.

"May well be," he replied, relaxed. "My name is Manjiro. Sano, Manjiro."