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In the aftermath of the accident, and subsequent memory loss…
Takemichi notices more than they think.
Izana is almost suffocating in his affection; the way he constantly checks on him, the way he stares, hugs him tight.
There is a weight there, the weight of who he once was, of who they expect him to be and something else...
Sometimes, Izana looks as if he’s seeing someone through him; and though that doesn’t make his affection any less warm and comforting, it makes him wonder if he’s truly the one it’s meant for.
…He also knows there’s something they’re not telling him. Whether that be for his safety or what, Takemichi doesn’t really know.
But it shows in the way they monitor his coming-and-goings; constantly supply him with a bodyguard and how Izana smiles to himself sometimes, when he thinks no one is looking. A smug grin twists his pretty face. It’s vicious, and not at all like the smiles Izana blesses him with on a daily basis.
Sigh…He gets so frustrated he can’t remember. There’s some guilt as well.
Izana and Kaku-chan had had plans...They say they need him, to take back his place beside them, to rise like they apparently did before the accident. The position feels familiar but...off, somehow. He’s still unsure, and still off-balance.
Takemichi doesn’t want to worry them, the two boys who’ve been at his bedside caring for him ever since he’s woken up, so he tries his best to not let it show. ‘They’re kids, they’re young’, he thinks. Even though he’s the same age? He gets confused, sometimes.
+*+*+*+*+
There is something about Kisaki...Takemichi has tried to connect with him, as Izana had said that he was important to Tenjiku, but to no avail. Kisaki is distant and hesitant to even make eye contact with him. He doesn’t come off as condescending, really...Takemichi can’t explain it.
Did they have history of some kind with each other?
(He catches him one evening standing behind his room’s door, a conflicted expression on his face. Takemichi invites him in, but Kisaki scoffs derisively and walks off.)
The “Tetta-san...” he addresses Kisaki with the next day is met with a curl of disgust. But Takemichi is, if nothing else, persistent. There is something about Kisaki.
+*+*+*+*+
Scars.
They stand out when he examines himself in the bathroom mirror. There were quite a lot of them, and a few more he couldn’t see hidden by the bandages, still healing.
Faded bruising, stab wounds and gunshots.
What kind of life has he lead? If he concentrates, he can feel a phantom pain radiating from the healed wounds; the only memory of getting them he has left. But was it worth it?
…Did Kaku-chan and Izana have similar scars? He examines the line bisecting his left hand. Flexing it, Takemichi thinks that he must have been desperate, to receive something like that.
The only reason he can think of, is that he was trying to protect something. Someone? Could it have been Izana or Kaku-chan?
...If that were to be true, then each scar would be a trophy; proof that he had succeeded in protecting them.
If that were to be true, then his scarred body was a testament to his previous self’s character. Takemichi was a little proud, but mostly intimidated. He had some big shoes to fill.
+*+*+*+*+
One day, Kakucho accidentally lets that name slip within Takemichi’s hearing distance.
There is a flash; and his mind is suddenly fireworks, too many images, too many memories bursting and disappearing just as fast; cycling through his mind at blurring speeds. He shudders violently, the feeling is so intense.
Mikey...Mikey...He had something to do with Mikey.
Mikey was a key part to who he was, of this he was certain.
Still shaking, he asks Izana who Mikey is, what he experienced. And the look on Izana’s face...
Izana looks like Takemichi has just backstabbed him. Betrayal, horror, fear, and underlying it all, a deep rage...
A weak “You...” slips out of Izana. Silence falls and grows. Takemichi carefully watches as he slowly regains control of himself. When Izana finally meets Takemichi’s eyes, there is no longer fear, but pity.
(What was he missing here?)
“ ‘Mitchi, don’t you remember?
He was the one who caused the accident.”
+*+*+*+*+
Takemichi only sees Hajime in glimpses, and often from far away.
He would have accepted him as simply reserved and unsocial were it not for the lingering glances Hajime sometimes sends his way.
Perhaps he was just a little shy?
He takes it as an invitation to get acquainted; but every time he makes a move to go talk to him, Izana comes up with a new task or clings to him for hugs and snuggling.
After the third time, he asks Izana about it.
Izana maintains that he’s an essential member of Tenjiku, but that “You really didn’t like each other before the accident”.
Oh...He leaves it at that, the glances from Hajime still ongoing.
Izana and Kaku-chan are out one day, and Takemichi is about to head to the restroom when he is accosted by Hajime heading in the opposite direction. He’s guided to a more isolated corner, and Takemichi lets him, curious about what this is all about.
“Do you remember me? Koko? ”, ‘Koko’ whispers.
Takemichi shakes his head. “Izana said we didn’t get along...?”
He frowns angrily. “Of course...”
It takes a moment, and then: “What about Inupi...?”
Who?
Takemichi’s expression seems to confirm Kokonoi’s fears. His face twists in dejection, but he gets closer anyway, lips almost to his ear.
His hands grip the back of his neck and shoulder, squeezing, like what he is about to say is of utmost importance: « You’re a t— »
They are suddenly ripped apart.
Izana’s hand holds Koko by the cuff of his collar, the other pushing Takemichi behind him, and he looks absolutely furious.
When had he gotten back?
Izana orders the bodyguard to escort him to his room, and that’s the last he sees of Koko for a while.
From then on, Izana doesn’t take his eyes off of Takemichi.
Every moment of every single day, Izana stays around him. And when he is needed at gatherings, he brings Takemichi along under a disguise.
Takemichi ponders on the significance of their exchange. Once again, things were being hidden from him.
(Koko sneaks about, trying to get close to Takemichi, but Izana won’t allow it. He is an asset, but one too neutral for him to trust.)
+*+*+*+*+
It took time to cement Takemichi’s place with them, to suggest their version of what happened.
But eventually came the day where Takemichi accepted that Mikey might have been the one at fault for the accident, for a lot of things.
Izana liked to put blame on Mikey whenever he could, and Takemichi, ever so pliable and agreeable, couldn’t outright disagree with him.
Izana had been kind to him; he’d been deemed a good person.
They were blood brothers, Izana had said.
It was due time, as Takemichi was growing in popularity among the leftover dregs of Tenjiku; his ‘death’ wouldn’t be able to hold much longer.
But it had accomplished its purpose: to buy time for his grooming as admin.
Takemichi, formerly Toman’s symbol of perseverance and sheer will, paired with Izana’s charisma and strength.
With Kisaki’s intelligence and Koko’s financial sense...What couldn’t they accomplish?
Kakucho was certain that Tenjiku would rise from its ashes, coming back stronger than ever.
+*+*+*+*+
Izana was incredibly pleased with the developments.
This had been Mikey’s goal eventually, he knew. They’d stolen Takemichi and claimed him as their own!
He was completely Tenjiku’s now~
Izana couldn’t wait to rub it in Mikey’s face, to watch as despair gripped the members of Toman: to see their heart, their glue join what he was the first to condemn.
His confidence no longer needed buffers, now that Takemichi was by his side: His brother’s legacy was supporting him!
And what a treat his new brother was. So sweet, so kind, so chivalrous. So innocent and vulnerable... So moldable.
However, what started as playing along to satisfy an interest became the genuine article.
In that sense, in Kakucho’s eyes at least, Takemichi was becoming dangerous to their vision; Izana was under the threat of becoming too engrossed in Takemichi, forgetting time and plans by his side.
What would one get from greed for power when one’s heart is fulfilled?
It was a fragile happiness, only held afloat by Takemichi’s (hopefully permanent) amnesia.
+*+*+*+*+
(Mikey, in the wake of Takemichi’s “death”, becomes everything that Izana warns him about.
Takemichi doesn’t know it’s all for his sake, and that, of course, Izana has done worse.)