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Takemichi lets relief flood through his veins as the front door to his apartment opens and closes.
He’s been expecting Chifuyu for hours now. He’d promised to be back by 7pm to watch a movie Takemichi had picked up gotten from a local DVD shop but he’d never shown up.
Of course it had made him anxious and worried, his brother could be missing or injured, or who knows what else. He had sat on their couch for hours picking at the skin around his nails and pulling at his hair in aid to distract himself. It didn’t work, like it normally doesn’t, and so he finds himself cooking in the kitchen, preparing a meal for Chifuyu when he eventually finds his way back home.
Their mother is at work late tonight. She should be back at 3am, but Takemichi knows better than to take her word for it. He means that with no ill intent, he loves his mother, just as much as he loves Chifuyu, but she’s not the most involved parent ever. Takemichi also knows that it’s probably very hard to raise Irish twins, two growing teens, so he cannot blame her.
Back to Chifuyu: Takemichi knew his brother was supposed to be at a gang fight today, a large one at that — Yamagishi took it upon himself to explain it when he asked during school today.
And large gang fight means lots of chaos, and even more people who could hurt Chifuyu if he gets himself into bother, which not the most unlikely situation. And this is exactly why he feels such relief when he hears someone open their front door.
It’s just past 10pm now. Chifuyu is a couple hours late, but Takemichi won’t nag him for it, even though he’s become a sort of father figure for Chifuyu despite their closeness in age.
Takemichi turns down the heat of the stove, letting an egg he was cooking continue to stay warm on a simmer while he steps away for a second. He takes off his apron and neatly folds it on the counter opposite the stove. He then steps out the kitchens open doorway and into the hallway.
Turning to the left, Takemichi spots Chifuyu standing by the front door, still and almost lifelessly in a way that sends a bolt panic straight to Takemichi’s heart.
He takes a cautious step closer as his hands come out in front of him, nervous. “Chifuyu?” Takemichi calls, eyebrows furrowed in anxiousness and confusion, “are you..”
The elder finds himself trailing off as his eyes rake up Chifuyu’s black Toman uniform. He would have missed it if it weren’t for the light pouring through from the kitchen. There’s blood.. blood all over the uniform, tainting it with a red tint.
Takemichi gasps and walks over, suddenly urgent as he cups his brothers face in his hands, one palm on either of his cheeks.
He notices the patchy red around Chifuyu’s eyes before the light tear tracks raking down his face. There’s an almost unnoticeable shake in his shoulders and the younger curls in on himself, trying to hide his face from view.
Takemichi’s grasp on his face is unrelenting, refusing to move even as Chifuyu resists with what little remaining strength he has left.
“Look at me,” he demands softly, urging his younger brother to meet his eyes. Chifuyu does so with little reluctance, blue eyes meeting turquoise.
It’s as if a dam breaks.
Chifuyu throws himself into his brothers embrace and wraps his arms around his upper arms, trapping Takemichi’s arms by his side. His shoulders begin to shake more and more, until they loose tension and a loud noise escapes Chifuyu’s lips.
A sob. He’s crying.
Takemichi wraps his arms around Chifuyu’s waist, pulling him further into his embrace as he slowly inches them to the living room just across from the kitchen.
When they reach the couch, he pulls Chifuyu down with him, never once loosening his embrace on his brother, scared for what could happen if he does.
Neither speak as Takemichi rubs comforting circles on the expanse of his brothers back, ignoring the crust of what could only be blood that he grazes his fingers on as he does so.
It takes a worryingly long amount of time for Chifuyu to calm down, or for his sobs to turn into small, fast intakes of breath as the aftermath of crying wracks through his body.
They stay still like that for an unknown amount of time, Chifuyu pressed into Takemichi’s side as his face is in his chest, tears wetting the white fabric of his shirt.
Takemichi doesn’t mind. He never minds.
And an undisclosed amount of time later, Chifuyu pulls his head from his brothers chest and looks up at him, eyes blown wide with grief.
Sucking in a breath, Takemichi runs his fingers through Chifuyu’s hair, ignoring places where blood has begun to mat the blonde strands together. The other hand reaches up to wipe left over tears, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin of his brothers cheek, ridding the wet away.
They share eye contact for a second before Chifuyu looks down at his lap, shoulders high on the defence. Takemichi finds himself frowning, confused and slightly annoyed as Chifuyu begins to close off in front of him.
“Did.. did something has happen?” Takemichi asks, the hand in his hair dropping to take blood tinted skin of Chifuyu’s hand in his own, intertwining their fingers.
The younger screws his eyes shut again as tears begin falling again. Sobs wrack through his body and Takemichi can only stare in wonder. He was supposed to be the crybaby, not Chifuyu. He can’t begin to speculate just what made his brother like this.
Just as Takemichi begins to believe they’re back to the start again, all previous progress he’s seen falling down the drain, Chifuyu speaks.
It’s a short sentence, but it makes Takemichi’s heart fall out of his chest.
“Baji.. Baji is dead.”
Saying out loud must have been a relief for Chifuyu, to finally tell someone what’s happened in the couple hours he’s been away.
Takemichi wraps Chifuyu up in his embrace again, soothing him as he rocks him back and forth. The younger brother begins sobbing once more, nails digging into Takemichi’s shoulders as powerful emotions overwhelm him.
Of course Takemichi knows Baji — knew. He only lived a floor up. He was Chifuyu’s best friend, a leader, a rouge — unhinged — person who was a wonderful influence on his brother even if he used to set cars on fire.
He can’t pretend he’s not sad about it, because he and Baji had begun to form a friendship with all the time Chifuyu was with him.
But today is not about him, it’s about Chifuyu, his brother, who just lost one of his most important friends.
It takes a very long time for Chifuyu to finally calm down, for tiredness to get the better of him. In fact, by the time Takemichi has gotten his brother to eat something — the egg was long burned by this point so he had to fry a new one — it was past midnight.
Their mother came home around 2am, surprising them both, ready to shout at her sons (mostly Takemichi) for leaving the lights on and wasting energy. That changed as soon as she saw Chifuyu.
He was now in his pyjamas and looking lifelessly out the balcony window. Their mother drops her stuff and makes her way over Takemichi urgently.
She takes her eldest into her arms and hugs him firmly, whispering, “did you two get into a fight again?” She pulls back and through the sadness Takemichi displays in his eyes.
“Baji..” he starts, voice low, “Baji died tonight.”
She straightens up and her gaze moves to Chifuyu within the blink of an eye. She stands still for a moment before speaking. “I’ll go see how Ryoko is doing in the morning,” she states, ruffling Takemichi’s hair before making her way over to Chifuyu, sitting softly by his side.
Takemichi excuses himself then, emotionally drained and eyes aching in exhaustion. He makes his way to his bedroom and flops down on his bed, curling into a ball above the covers.
Later in the night, he’s awaken by a presence getting into his bed. He groans, in that state between acknowledgment and sleep, grasping onto the person.
It’s Chifuyu. He knows it from the amount of times they shared a bed as kids. He leans forwards and presses his forhead against his brothers own.
He feels Chifuyu let out a breathy laugh, the action causing air to wash down his face from their close proximity, and intertwines his fingers with Takemichi.
They fall asleep like that, comforting each other with their presence.
Chifuyu feels anxiety building in the depths of his stomach from where he stands behind Mikey — and next to Hanma — as their Commander speaks to his Toman members.
It’s the first time Chifuyu’s been seen by Toman since Baji’s death. Many people have come to give their condolences, and while he appreciates it, right now it’s just making him feel so much more worse.
He knows people have their eyes on him, watching his every move, waiting for him to crack, but he won’t give them — Kisaki and Hanma — the satisfaction.
“Bloody Halloween,” Mikey starts, a sadness enveloping his form, “despite the overwhelming disadvantage, each of you held your own and claimed our victory.”
Murmurs arise from the members of Toman as Mikey then asks Hanma to say a few words. They merge with Valhalla. Not exactly the idealist situation but there isn’t anything Chifuyu can do about it apart from grit his teeth and say explicits in his mind.
Then, “the first Division Captain, Baji Keisuke, died that day.” The shrine is plummeted into silence once more. “We must reflect deeply on this reality and take it seriously. I’ll let you say the rest.. Vice-Captain of the First Division, Matsuno Chifuyu,” Mikey says and takes a step back, turning away.
And suddenly, it’s his turn. All eyes are on him.
He takes a breath and runs his mind over the speech he created yesterday.
Casting his eyes over all the Toman members, Chifuyu starts to speak, “I considered leaving Toman.” He begins, looking down, “but our leader stopped me, asking me.. ‘you want to sniff out the First Divisions Flame?’ I don’t want that, and neither would Baji.. so I’ll name the person I want to follow.”
Chifuyu looks up to the sky and shouts, “Matsuno Takemichi, I nominate you as the First Division Captain!”
Murmurs echo around the shrine. “Matsuno Takemichi?” “Takemichi?” “D’you know a Takemichi?” “Matsuno? They have to be related.”
And at that moment, a boy with black hair shows up at his side. Almost the same height as him, just a little shorter, which Chifuyu pokes fun at him all the time for, striking blue eyes that hold the secrets of the world.
His brother.
The shrine hushes. “This is what Baji would have wanted,” he addresses his fellow Toman members, then Takemichi separately, turning to face him, “you knew him, you know he’d want this. My, our, leader and I decided.. that Baji left this responsibility to you.”
From the other side of him, Mikey shouts to Takemichi, “Matsuno Takemichi! Raise your head, and give us your response!”
“I’ll do my best, in honour of Baji!” He shouts, head high before bowing deeply to both Chifuyu and Mikey. A stray tear falls from Takemichi’s eye as he straightens back up, which the younger wipes away quickly before turning back to Toman.
“This is my twin, Takemichi,” he motions to his elder brother, “there is no one I would entrust with Baji’s position other than him.” He takes a breath before speaking again, “Baji always wanted Takemichi to join Toman.. it just sucks that it’s under these circumstances.”
The shrine is quiet for a couple seconds, everyone thinking in contemplation, before someone speaks.
“So,” Draken starts, amusement in his voice, “we got two sets twins then?” The atmosphere instantly changes from heavy to something lighter.
“Actually me and Chifuyu are Irish twins! We’re born in the same year but not at the same time! It’s quite cool really,” Takemichi beams, smiling at Draken, his blue eyes glistening. The Vice-Commander’s amusement doubles as he shares a look with Mitsuya next to him.
“That’s the end of the meeting. I hope all make Takemichi feel at home,” Mikey concludes quickly, ignoring Draken — shockingly — as he lets Toman’s members go home.
Division Captains and Vice’s walk over to Takemichi. Takemichi introduces himself once more, smiling, grinning like he always does and in a way that makes Chifuyu admire his older brother more than he already does.
Smiley slings his arm over Takemichi’s shoulder after the black haired male laughs at something he says, most likely to do with having to take care of younger brothers. Chifuyu can tell they’re going to become really good friends.
Chifuyu watches from a distance, staring at Takemichi as he excitedly exclaims in response to something Hakkai just said — he can already tell they’ll get up to mischief together.
By his side he swears he feels a presence, an invisible presence. He hears the wind whisper to him, “you made the right decision. I know you two will do great things for Toman, Chifuyu.” The wind ruffles his hair, such a comforting presence and such a familiar hand.
Black hair flows in the corner of Chifuyu’s eyes, waving as the air uplifts it, but when he looks towards it, it disappears.
A stray tear makes its way out of his eye as he looks back to his brother, who is now staring back — curse Takemichi for always knowing when he’s feeling sad.
Chifuyu smiles softly to himself as he whispers under his breath, “Baji, I won’t let you down.”