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"K-Kazutora-kun!"
He gave a toothy grin in return, arm hooked around Hanagaki's neck as he brought him closer. To anyone else, it would look like he had a leash on the younger man and was yanking on it mercilessly. He laughed at the absurd picture that was made in his head. He wasn't some sadistic asshole, after all.
"Hey, hey, Takemitchy! Whatcha up to?"
"J-Just walking!" Sweat broke out on Hanagaki, and Kazutora laughed at him. It rang in the street and he felt like Hanagaki needed to work on not being such an easy target. Lucky for him, Kazutora was here.
"You hot, Takemitchy? You're sweating so much!"
"W-What?" his voice trembled in his throat, making him look even smaller as Kazutora, "N-no, I'm not." His voice was so high he could barely hear it.
And Kazutora could smell fear seven miles away. His grin grew bigger, and he moved so that his lips were even closer to Hanagaki's ear.
"Really? I'm sticking right to you though, you know? You're sweaty and sticky! Sticky-mitchy!"
"L-Let me go then!" Hanagaki shouted out, his face an explosive red, and Kazutora laughed right back.
"Make me!" he teased before pulling his arm around Hanagaki's neck and catching him in a chokehold.
His backside was against his chest as he pulled him even closer. He could feel Hanagaki's panicking heart pounding away. Any minute now, the theatrical tears would start.
"C'mon, Takemitchy! You gotta try a little harder than that!"
"W-Wha-" he was wheezing around now, the drama queen.
And Kazutora laughed and laughed. Hanagaki was such a simpleton.
–
If Kazutora had to explain it, it was like seeing a cat stretched out underneath the sunlight. The way Peke J stretched before rolling over to catch the sunlight on their belly. Kazutora remembered how Peke J purred, a satisfied look on their face as they fell asleep like that. He remembered the excited way Matsuno and Baji whipped their phones out to change their wallpaper.
It was a strange thing to be suddenly reminded of.
He remembered, and wondered if Baji knew how much he looked like Peke J in that moment, with his arm around Hanagaki and Hanagaki laughing until tears ran down his face.
Kazutora didn't get it then. And if he was being honest, he didn't really care. Baji was free to make all the friends he wanted, and Kazutora knew Baji. He was a good guy. He attracted a lot of people, like Mikey, but with a different kind of charisma forged from his fists. It made sense that people liked and respected Baji.
But Hanagaki was easy to forget. Like how people forget about the sun until it's shining directly in their eyes and it was an annoyance. Sure, his reactions were great and Kazutora would never turn down an option to make him cry, but he was just Hanagaki. He wasn't strong. He wasn't special. He didn't go looking for him like he did Baji and Mikey.
Still, Baji always walked to Hanagaki's classroom when it was time to go home. He waited, a bored "yeah" when asked what they were planning on doing after-school. Not even ten minutes later, they were all walking together to go eat and start a fight. Which was normally what they did anyways, but now they had another person with them.
Hanagaki was in front of him, bent over his knees as he laughed and wheezed. The image wasn't anything special, even if the whole world faded away from the moment Kazutora saw him. His feet went without him realizing it. It was only normal. It was only natural.
He had no choice in the matter. He walked up to Hanagaki and socked him in the face. He gave a sharp cry as he covered his face with his hands and fell over to the side.
"Augh!" he yelled out, and Kazutora still felt like something was wrong.
Abruptly, Baji grabbed him by the collar and punched him right back, and Kazutora gave a sigh of relief.
"Kazutora! What the fuck is wrong with you!"
And the world was righted.
–
"Block it! Block it!"
"Dodge it!"
"Get him! Get him good!"
Kazutora smashed several buttons while the other screamed around them. The buttons creaked and his hands were starting to cramp up.
"Punch! Punch! Punch!"
"Oh my god! Oh my god!"
"Takemitchy, if you lose, I'm going to pants you!"
"Takemitchy, if you win, you're buying lunch tomorrow!"
"Nail him, Kazutora!"
"Oh! Oh! And-"
But Hanagaki did a backwards roundhouse kick, snapping Kazutora's character's head off. Kazutora's screen turned red with the "GAME OVER" flashing before his eyes.
Around them, everyone was screaming. There were several more groans on his side, and his eyes found Hanagaki. The young man looked more shocked than anyone else that he won, but when their gazes locked, Kazutora felt his breath catch in his throat as Hanagaki gave him a big grin and lifted his hand up in the peace-sign.
"Take that!" he said. "But you know, I'll never turn down a re-match!"
Kazutora climbed over the machine, a wide grin on his face as he swung at Hanagaki. He could double it and give it back. When the brawl kicked up, Kazutora felt like no one was enjoying it more than him.
–
"Kazutora, do you hate Takemitchy?"
"Huh?"
Kazutora stared at Mitsuya, who he normally didn't really talk to, and then frowned.
"No? Why?"
"Because you punch him every time you meet him," Mitsuya deadpanned back.
"Pft, Takemitchy's clumsy," he replied back. "Just runs into my fist."
But Mitsuya wasn't laughing, and if Kazutora was being honest, he never liked Mitsuya to begin with. Sure, he was grateful for the uniform and all that, but really, he was fine without it too. He didn't need clothes and shit to know who his friends were. Mitsuya could be cool and mean in a fight, but that didn't mean that they were suddenly best buds either.
So it annoyed Kazutora. Who the hell did he think he was, to tell him how to treat his own damn friends? He could do whatever he wanted to Hanagaki. They both knew what Hanagaki was like. If Hanagaki really wanted him to stop, then he would have. But the fact that Hanagaki never stopped him made it obvious in his head.
Hanagaki liked him.
So Mitsuya wasn't just wrong, but fucking wrong. To begin with, what would a kid who grew up with an abundance of love understand? They were delinquents, who cared? They were delinquents, no one cared. That was the whole point. He was wrong.
Oh right, Mitsuya had people that cared.
Just the thought of it made his stomach churn and his frown grow. That bitter feeling started to well inside of him, burning inside of his gut and threatening to drown him from the inside.
And suddenly, Hanagaki's face popped up in his mind. The face he had when Kazutora and he (and a few others that Kazutora didn't bother remembering) had ramen a few days ago. He remembered because Hanagaki tried to speak without chewing and swallowing so some of the noodles came up to slap him in the face and splash soup everywhere. Kazutora was too busy laughing to even care, his chest bursting because of how silly Hanagaki looked, with his eyes shining like stars and soup smeared across his face.
["Whoa! This is delicious!"]
He turned away and thought about Hanagaki. Come to think of it, Hanagaki's face when Kazutora took a bite of his taiyaki was so funny. He wondered what Hanagaki was eating today. Knowing that stupid kid, he was probably out for a snack run with Mikey anyways. He might as well stop by and say hello. With his fist.
He needed to leave here. Find him. Get some entertainment. Anything to wash this entire scene off his hands like it never happened. Why did Mitsuya even bother anyways? This wasn't the first time that Kazutora made a friend. Why now?
"I mean, it's not like Takemitchy ever asked me to stop. Or what? You're going to stop me?"
Mitusya stared at Kazutora for a long moment before he gave a long sigh. "I swear," his longtime comrade said, "I can't believe Hanagaki is surrounded by assholes."
"Huh?" Kazutora frowned. Hanagaki was surrounded by assholes? And Mitsuya was just letting it be?
What an asshole.
Kazutora scowled, he better make it even more obvious so that even assholes understood that Hanagaki was off-limits. He was Toman, after all. And no one liked it when Mikey got into a Mood.
"And you're just going to let it happen?"
Mitsuya gave a long, suffering sigh, and if Kazutora had to list another reason why he didn't like Mitsuya, it would be this. He always acted like he was so much smarter than the rest of them. Like he knew something they didn't. Kazutora didn't like that at all.
If in-fighting wasn't a problem at Toman, he would deck Mitsuya right now.
"Well, I guess I tried," Mitsuya sighed. "But if Takemitchy ever wants it to stop, I'll be the one you answer to."
Pft, Kazutora had seen Hanagaki fight. He knew what he could handle. And it wasn't like Kazutora was going to kill Hanagaki or anything. They were just messing around. It was just a joke.
Kazutora was just killing some time.
–
"Takemitchy!"
"Whoa!"
"Where ya heading to?" he asked, because he didn't see Chifuyu and Baji nearby. It couldn't be Mikey or Draken, since they would have gone and picked him up. He felt like there were some other flies that spent a lot of time floating around Hanagaki too, but he couldn't be bothered to remember who they were.
Whatever, it didn't matter. Kazutora was here now. And he'd get back at Hanagaki for going around behind his back again.
What would it be today? Okonomiyaki? Fried chicken? The new Chinese Buffet by the station?
Kazutora didn't understand how Hanagaki ate ramen and burgers and all sorts of junk food every other day and still never gained any weight. At least the rest of them could put up a good fight. But Hanagaki?
Maybe getting beat up burned calories or something. Or crying, since he was such a crybaby.
If that was the case, then Kazutora knew how to help. He was so smart. Damn, no one was a better friend than him. With a wide grin, he tightened his arm around Hanagaki's neck and yanked him even closer to him.
"Don't worry, Takemitchy!" he declared with a wide, if feral grin, "I'll make sure you never get obese!"
"Huh?!"
When someone grabbed his shoulder. He paused, and turned over with a frown because whoever thought that they could just grab him was going to get another thing coming. He was fucking busy.
"This guy bothering you, Takemitchy?" and one of the leftovers from Tenjiku drawled out, "I never thought I'd be the one to save you, Crybaby Hero."
"K-K-Kaku-chan?!" Hanagaki gave that gasping squeak like he was one of the squeaky toys they got Peke J once.
"Heyya," the man replied, but his eyes never left Kazutora's gaze and at once, Kazutora hated him. "We still good for that yakitori after this?" he asked.
He laughed, but he understood. Kazutora was certain of it. This must be the asshole that Mitsuya was talking about. He was probably going to drag Hanagaki by the short and shitty hair to get himself a free fucking meal. Kazutora wouldn't let him. Hanagaki was his free meal card and this bitch can go find someone else.
"Huh?" he slapped Kakucho's dirty hands off of him, "What the fuck are you going to do about it?"
Swinging at Kakucho's face was just the pre-workout exercise he needed.
–
"Takemitchy, you weakling!" he shouted out, "Get the fuck out of here!"
No one other than Kazutora would know better. Once, he punched Hanagaki so hard the young man rolled into a trashcan. He knew, Hanagaki was light and flew when he was hit too hard. He knew better than anyone else.
"Go away!" he shouted out, before another foot sank into his gut and he groaned.
There was no fucking way Hanagaki would last, when even Kazutora was getting wiped out.
"Aaaah!" giving a pitiful excuse of a war-cry, Hanagaki rotated his arms like pinwheels and came running straight through the crowd.
Kazutora stared up as Hanagaki stood right in front of him.
"I-I'm not going anywhere!" he yelled out.
15 to 1 wasn't great, but having Hanagaki here made the odds closer to 15 to 1.1.
That's how weak Hanagaki was. He was so useless, and he was also stupid. Anyone else would have run away. Everyone else, who couldn't put up a good fight, would have left Kazutora. It wasn't a good combination for any person, but it made for an especially pitiful combination because Hanagaki always ended up in these kinds of situations.
Kazutora knew that very well. Hanagaki was a weakling crybaby who couldn't even get out of his chokeholds. He knew that.
"And if you want to get to Kazutora-kun, you're going to have to go through me!"
Those words would be frightening from anyone but Hanagaki, Kazutora thought. He scowled as he spat blood out. It would be a cold day in hell before Kazutora needed to be saved by some weakling like Hanagaki. What could Hanagaki do with those twig-like arms anyways?
And Kazutora held Hanagaki a lot of times, he didn't have a weight-class advantage in most fights. He was dumb, almost as dumb as Baji, so he had nothing going for him in that either. He was so stupid that he jumped into a fight he was too weak to win. They were now two losers.
"W-Why are you here, Takemitchy?! Go away!"
He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't have come. He should have called for help, and he should have stayed hidden. How could a single person be so dumb? How could a single person be so stupid and still be alive?
Hanagaki shouldn't have been here at all. It wasn't like Kazutora treated him well or anything. Kazutora knew. Hanagaki had a lot of friends and he had a charisma made from something that Kazutora didn't have and couldn't take. He knew.
Somewhere, deep in his heart, he knew this whole time. His eyes burned, probably because it was raining or it was a head injury or something other than the fact that his throat felt like acid and his heart slammed against his breastbone so hard it hurt.
"Of course I came!" Takemitchy yelled back, his voice a roar that echoed in the alleyway. "We're friends, aren't we?!"
Hanagaki's back looked unnaturally large. His mind was probably playing tricks on him. It happened when he got hit in the head too much.
He turned his head. Those stupid eyes of his were bright, drowning in unshed tears and he sniffled loudly like the ugly bastard he was.
"Kazutora-kun, of course I came!"
And Kazutora had always hated that about him.
–
"K-Kazutora-kun!"
Kazutora stared at Hanagaki.
The bruises on his face made him look even uglier. The swelling mess made his face misshapen, and the array of colors from purple to green. He stared at him, watching at how his split lips stretched and he showed all his missing teeth when he grinned, but then winced because it hurt him to grin that widely.
What an idiot.
Kazutora's lips twitched. It pulled on his healing wounds. The brief flare of pain didn't do a thing to crush the fluttering feeling inside of him. It made his chest swell out, and with a wide grin, he pointed at Hanagaki and laughed.
"Takemitchy!" he cried out, "You look even uglier than usual!"
"Sh-shut up! I can't help how it swells!"
Kazutora came skipping up to him, his heart thudding as fast as his feet could take a step. Making it next to him, he gave a toothy grin. He grabbed one of Hanagaki's shoulders and lifted his fist up.
"What was that? You want my help in making it even?"
Hanagaki gave his favorite, "eek!" sound, and Kazutora laughed back. Throwing his arms around Hanagaki, he grabbed him around the waist and hauled him up and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Whoa! Kazutora-kun!"
And with a loud laugh, Kazutora started to spin in a circle. Faster and faster. This way, Hanagaki would feel the way he did, when the world spun too fast and came up too fast. When all his organs felt like it would turn to mush and he wasn't sure which was up or down.
Whenever he met Hanagaki's eyes.
"Ugh, I'm going to puke!"
"You'll regret it if you do!" Kazutora promised.
There was something else he wanted to say, but he couldn't put a word to it. There was something else he wanted to do, but holding Hanagaki Takemichi on his shoulder was more important.
-
"Kazutora-kun," Hanagaki said, passing him a popsicle that he bought. He placed the plastic bag of the rest of their snacks between them. "Uhm…"
"If you don't spill it, I'll hit you," Kazutora replied and the other teen grimaced.
"Aren't you going to hit me anyways?"
Kazutora kicked him, gently, in the shin. Ignoring how Hanagaki yelped, he stepped over him with a smile. The streetlights during the night probably helped accent the shadows around him, and he wondered if Hanagaki knew how he looked, trembling like a frightened puppy.
"Aw, Takemitchy, you'll make me blush," he laughed.
"Huh? Why would that make you blush?!" Hanagaki spluttered back, and Kazutora, who didn't know why his face burned whenever Hanagaki smiled too widely, like it did when he stood under the sun for too long, clicked his tongue.
Hanagaki reeled backwards, and Kazutora wanted to laugh.
"Well, still," Hanagaki said, "I guess I'm special to you, right?"
"Huh?"
"Chifuyu told me that you've never gone after someone like me," Hanagaki started, "I didn't really get it at first, but when we fought together, you really covered for me."
Kazutora stood there, the inkling feeling that Hanagaki knew too much, that he had messed up somewhere, started to seep inside of him. He paused, staring with wide eyes.
"Thanks for the help!" Hanagaki said at last, "I know it's because we're Toman, but I-"
The rest of his words were cut off when Kazutora's fist came sailing across his face.
"It's not!" he screamed out, "It's not because of Toman!"
A bristling anger he couldn't describe came bubbling out, but he didn't know how to categorize it. His eyes burned and the inside of his throat felt like it was torn to ribbons, like he had eaten glass.
Hanagaki, holding his face as he rolled on the ground, looked stupid.
And Kazutora, who had no words to describe the way Baji and Chifuyu cooed over Peke J. And Kazutora, who had no words to describe how Hanagaki was always surrounded by assholes. And Kazutora, who had no words to describe how he felt when the world didn't fit into the apartment made of bloodied belts and the crying of weaklings.
And Kazutora.
He lifted his fist up again, because he didn't know what else he could do.
-
Matsuno had a big frown on his face as he stopped his steps. Baji stopped afterwards, and annoyed, Kazutora turned around. What? What could possibly be more important than them stopping before their got their manjus?
"T-Thanks for the ride, Inupi-kun!"
"Yeah."
"Hit me up when you decide on what you want to eat. It'll be on me!"
"Yeah."
"You don't take me out for food," Matsuno said, immediately stalking up to them.
"Yeah, Takemitchy, take us out for food," Baji immediately dogpiled.
"Huh?!" Hanagaki whipped around, like he really thought no one would be in the park at this time or something. "W-What? Chifuyu? Baji-san? Where did you guys even come from?!"
His eyes caught Kazutora and then he grimaced.
Kazutora replied by smiling.
"Yeah, Takemitchy!" he yelled out, "But us manju too!"
"Oh, come on!" Hanagaki whined loudly, "You're kidding me, right?!"
But Kazutora could only see the fact that Hanagaki had been on Inui's bike. He had never had Hanagaki on his bike before. He never rode Hanagaki's bike either.
"Why were you guys even together?" Baki asked, "I could have given you a ride."
"It's at our shop," Inui rpelied back, voice frosty and gaze cold. "We were going from the same place anyways."
"It's not going together if you stalked him," Matsuno snapped back, narrowing his eyes.
Inui spat at his feet.
The tensions rose. This was good. Kazutora, fists at the ready, launched himself at Hanagaki first. This was the only language they could speak anyways. He laughed, loud and proud. If he knocked Hanagaki out, he could ride behind him, after all.
"Why me?!" Hanagaki cried out, tears brimming his eyes again.
–
"You're dating her now?" Matsuno asked for clarification.
Hanagaki's cheeks burned a bright red.
"Y-Yeah," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Hehe."
Baji laughed, and Kazutora always knew that he was stronger than him, but seeing it in person like this was another thing altogether. He kept his eyes on his glass, looking like he was bored with the news and playing along, but Kazutora could see that his fist was balled under the table until his fist was white. Matsuno slowly leaned against the back of his chair, a small smile on his face.
"Poor Hina," he called out, and the others started to laugh.
"Treat her right, Takemitchy," Mikey called out, but there was a slump to his shoulders that didn't look right on their Invincible Mikey.
The laughter and ambience returned, but Kazutora felt like the world was becoming too small. It felt like something was being taken from him. His eyes burned and his throat became constricted, like he swallowed something sharp.
So Kazutora did the only thing he could at the time, and climbed over the table to sock Hanagaki straight across the face.
He didn't even realize that he was the one crying until Draken dragged him out of the room.
"I know," Draken told him, when he didn't actually know shit about Kazutora. "I know. I get it." He was speaking for himself, and not Kazutora, because Kazutora wasn't some weakling that would wait for someone that didn't want him.
He wasn't.
He was better than his garbage mother, waiting for a fantasy. He was better than his father, who hit the person he promised his life to. He was better than that, because he didn't even get a promise. It was never a promise. And Kazutora knew and there was no reason why he would ever believe in something that never happened.
He had been so certain that he was better than the shitstains he called his parents. He laughed, because of all the things he grew up to become, he didn't want to become pitiful.
Crying was pitiful, so he had to laugh. Kazutora had to laugh.
He couldn't cry. He wouldn't cry.