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𝟑𝟒 || 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒 ||

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You know that feeling when you're away from a certain someone for so long to the point your heart starts to tighten and tug in every direction, hoping to find the one it yearns for the most?

    Well that's the feeling Keisuke wakes up to today—fingers twitching to be in close proximity to a certain crybaby that sets his heart aflame.

    It's hard to explain the feelings Keisuke has for Takemichi, but he can sorta understand them in some weird way. It's the same feeling he gets when he's around Mikey—his heart will pump excitedly upon seeing the blonde do something really cool, his cheeks would flush loud and proud when the blonde compliments him, his mind would  constantly distract itself with images of the blonde boy at random parts of the day. But now it's happening when he's around Takemichi and he doesn't know how to handle it.

    The answer to Keisuke's problem is probably hidden in a book somewhere in a library, but reading is too much work, so he'll just try to figure it out the hard way: by doing whatever the hell his heart wants him to do.

    And, right now, his heart is aching to be with Takemichi.

    In Keisuke's haste to be with the boy as soon as possible, he almost forgets to brush his teeth and change out of his pajamas. The boy can vaguely hear his mom laughing at his clumsiness, but—instead of getting all defensive like he normally would—he ignores it in favor of getting ready.

    The sooner he gets ready, the sooner he can see Takemichi and his bright smile and his flushed cheeks and big blue eyes that light up every time Keisuke approaches him—

    Keisuke shakes his head, getting rid of the blush that appears across his nose.

    How can Takemichi still be a distraction to Keisuke when he's not even present?! That small boy must have put some weird spell on Keisuke when the boy wasn't paying attention.

    After combing his hair, brushing his teeth, and picking out an outfit to wear, Keisuke runs back into the living room, passing by his busy mother who's going over paperwork at the kitchen table.

    "Ima go see Michi! Bye mom!" Keisuke calls out before opening the door.

    His mom looks up from her stack of papers and smiles. "Ok, Keisuke. Be safe and be back before nightfall!"

    "Got it!"

    With that, Keisuke storms out of the apartment, slamming the door noisily behind him. As Keisuke turns to head towards Takemichi's apartment, the boy begins to form a plan of how they are gonna spend their day together. If Keisuke isn't mistaken, a new store opened up a few days ago, selling cool video games for the GameCube. Maybe Keisuke can drag Takemichi to the new store so they can look at all the cool games!

    Maybe, if they're lucky enough, they can steal a game or two without the workers noticing.

    Keisuke reaches Takemichi's apartment in no time. Taking out the spare key Ms.Hanagaki gave him all those years ago, Keisuke shoves the key into the lock and turns the doorknob, opening the door.

    The boy swings the door open, excited to finally see Takemichi's adorable face with his curly strands of hair and bright blue eyes that stare at Keisuke like he's the most important person in the universe—

    And finds no one there.

    Keisuke freezes up at the entrance of the apartment, taking in the empty living room that's usually bustling with music.

    Where did everyone go?

    Wanting to discover the answer for himself, Keisuke begins to scavenge through the apartment in search of a specific blue eyed crybaby.

    The radio that Wakasa bought is completely silent.

    It's dark, every light in the apartment has been turned off.

    The kitchen doesn't smell of freshly cooked food like it normally does whenever Keisuke visits.

    The Television screen is cold.

    And, when Keisuke bursts into Takemichi's room, he doesn't find a single living soul. All of his toys and stupid puzzles are scattered across the floor, stuffed animals sitting nicely on top of his small desk, the little trinkets he buys at flea markets decorate the shelves around his room, and his bed is messy—the comforter having been thrown lazily to the side.

    Keisuke grips around the apartment key tightens as he thinks, and thinks, and thinks—

   And, like a magic spell, it dawns on him. Within Takemichi's messy room, Keisuke remembers a conversation he had with the boy a few days ago:

    "Wakasa is signing me up for martial arts!" Takemichi exclaimed excitedly, his bright eyes filled with twinkling stars.

    Keisuke had huffed out a laugh, finding his friend's excitement amusing and adorable at the same time. "About damn time! Maybe now you'll win half the fights you throw yourself into!!!"

    His words had their desired effect, making Takemichi tense up and pout in annoyance.

    "Hey! I never start any of the fights I'm in, ok?"

    "Yeah, that's because you're a trouble magnet!"

    "Watch your mouth, Kei-Chan!"

    Keisuke's face brightens up in a matter of seconds.

    Turning on his heel, Keisuke leaves the boy's room, runs through the living room, and out of the Hanagaki apartment. He scrambles back into his home, startling his mother, and dashes into his room with cheerful giggles escaping his lips.

    "Hey! I thought you were gonna hangout with Takemichi!" His mother yells from the other room while Keisuke rummages around through his closet, looking for his white uniform.

    "I am! I'm just grabbing something!"

    "Oh? Like what?"

    "My martial arts uniform!"

    "Eh? But why? You don't have classes on saturdays—"

    Keisuke bursts out of his room, dressed nicely in a white uniform with his hands on his hips. And, with a bright smile sitting wildly on his lips, he makes a declaration.

    "Because ima train with Takemichi at the Sano Dojo!"

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When Keisuke arrives at the Sano dojo dripping in sweat, Emma greets him at the entrance with a scrunched up nose.

    "Jeez, you reek..." Emma mumbles, one hand pinching her nose in a dramatic like fashion.

    Keisuke rolls his eyes at the girl's antics. What's with girls and their sensitive noses? All of them are just a bunch of drama queens who need to grow up—especially Emma!

    "Jeez, you look ugly—Oi, watch it!" Keisuke exclaims as he barely dodges Emma's fast punch. The blonde haired girl huffs out in frustration like a raging bull, cheeks flushed in anger.

    "What was that, Baji? Who's ugly?! SAY IT!!!"

    Keisuke takes one look at Emma's frightening form and decides, right then and there, that he wants nothing to do with her.

    He side steps Emma and makes his way deeper into the dojo with the annoyed girl hot on his heels, squabbling about who knows what. Keisuke makes a couple of turns here and there, knowing his way around the path by heart. In fact, not to brag of anything (ok,who is he kidding! He's totally bragging!), but keisuke can make his way around the place with his eyes closed.

    Keisuke listens to the sound of kids punching bags, swears after being hit with a hard blow, And the shouts of excitement when they manage to do something right with a smile on his face. He'll never admit this outloud, but he enjoys the sounds that radiate inside the dojo. It helps him concentrate, focus on learning something new. It keeps his body calm and relaxed.

    And now he can be calm and relaxed with Takemichi by his side.

    Keisuke is about to turn a final corner where he knows for sure Takemichi will be, when a small hand on his shoulder stops him from taking another step. Whipping his head around, Keisuke glares at the girl who has the damn audacity to keep him away from his Takemichi.

    "What?!" Keisuke snaps at the blonde girl, easily shrugging the girl's hand off his shoulder.

    "I won't let you interrupt Takemichi's first lesson, you idiot!" Emma shouts, her body taking a more defensive stance, like—

    Hold up, is Emma squaring up to Keisuke? Him? Of all people?!

    Keisuke can't stop himself from cackling loudly like a wild hyena. The boy clutches his sides in a hug, trying and failing at getting a hold of himself. He nearly folds himself in half from laughing so hard at the mere thought of Emma wanting to fight Keisuke, him, of all people! It's just ridiculous! Just the idea of seeing Emma in a white uniform has him tearing up.

    "Y-YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!!!" Keisuke manages to laugh out amidst the cackling. Keisuke watches with crinkled eyes as Emma glares at him, her yellow irises glowing with something dangerous yet amusing. "YOU GONNA FIGHT ME OR SOMETHING?!"

    Emma's eyes narrow at Keisuke's words. "If I have to, then I will!" She shouts, adjusting her body into a proper fighting stance. Keisuke can't find the strength to not gawk openly at the insane girl. Does she seriously think she can take him in a fight? Keisuke? Who has defeated people almost twice his size?

    Well, he shouldn't be too surprised by Emma's behavior—she is a Sano, after all—and Sanos are known to be hella stubborn.

    (Cough, cough, Mikey, cough, cough.)

    With a grin plastered across his face, Keisuke mirrors her and makes the same fighting stance.; he brings his fists up to shield his face, slightly bends his knees, and glares at his new victim.

    "Then so be it! Just don't go crying to Mikey when I kick your ass—"

    In just a matter of seconds, Keisuke finds himself blocking a rather harsh kick with his forearm.

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Keisuke and Emma are heavily bruised by the time they decide to call it quits.

    Keisuke will grudgingly admit that he definitely underestimated Emma. He figured that the blonde girl would back down the moment he shifted into a fighting stance, weeping and begging for his forgiveness as she groveled at Keisuke's feet, but instead she held her ground.

    She's fast on her feet and a quick thinker, catching Keisuke off guard with her clever fakeouts. Of course, Keisuke's fighting isn't anything to scoff at either! Even though he wasn't fight at a hundred percent to ensure that Emma didn't end up in the hospital, Emma did really well against him.

    And, to be honest, fighting Emma reminded him a lot of Senju—

    He immediately pushes the thought to the back of his mind.

    "I didn't know you took lessons!" Keisuke says after a few seconds of catching his breath. The blonde girl turns to look at him, her yellow eyes narrowing in suspicion.

    "I don't. I learned from watching you and Mikey."

    ...huh, now that's really cool...

    Keisuke straightens his posture and puffs out his chest, huffing with triumph. "Of course I'd be an incredible inspiration to you! Y'know, since I basically taught you, you should start calling me your sensei—" the boy is cut off by a small hand that clamps down hard over his mouth.

    "As if! The day I call you sensei is the day I drop dead!" Keisuke licks the girls palm, making her remove her hand from his mouth with a disgusted Yelp. "Ew!!! What are you, five?!" She shouts, her yellow eyes twitching uncontrollably.

    "What's that supposed to mean?" Keisuke questions, his head tilting like an owl. Emma scoffs and rolls her eyes in typical dramatic girl fashion.

    "Use that small brain of yours and figure it out!" Ah, and there it is—the rude remarks that are completely uncalled for...

    Keisuke resists the urge to smack the girl in the back of the head. Instead, he sends the girl a mischievous smile.

    "You should be nicer to your sensei—"

    "You're not my sensei!!!"

    "But you learned how to fight by watching me which makes me your sensei!!!"

    "No it doesn't!"

    "Yes it does!"

    "Nuh uh!"

    "Yuh huh—!"

    "Keisuke? Emma? Are you guys here to watch Takemichi's first lesson too?"

    Keisuke tenses up and snaps his head around at the new voice. As expected, he's met with the sight of a confused Mikey, his dark eyes switching from Emma to Keisuke. Like Keisuke, Mikey is also wearing a white uniform, his black belt wrapped tightly around his waist.

    "Obviously—!" The younger Sano shoves Keisuke out of the way, effectively cutting him off.

    "No!" Emma shouts in protest. "I'm trying to stop Baji from interrupting Takemichi's first lesson! Baji will just make Takemichi mess up."

    Mikey furrows his eyebrows at Emma, a small pout slowly forming on the blonde's lips. "Eh? How would Keisuke mess Takemichi up by watching him?" He asks, and Keisuke has the pleasure of watching Emma gulp nervously.

    "B-Because he's Baji! He'll probably want to fight him or something!!!" Keisuke hawks at Emma, offended at the lies spilling out of the girl's mouth.

     "I would never do that!!!" Keisuke exclaims, earning him a raised brow from Emma.

    "Oh really?"

    "Yeah!"

    Then, very abruptly, Emma turns back to Mikey. "Tell me Mikey, what did Baji do when he first met you?" She asks, a hand firmly placed on her hip as she gazes up at her brother.

    Mikey stays quiet for a few seconds, his face thoughtful and serious, before answering Emma's question with a smile.

    "Ah, I remember now—Keisuke jumped me!"

    Keisuke gasps, absolutely devastated by Mikey's bitter betrayal. Sure, Keisuke might've gotten carried away at the time, but he's totally different now! He's matured over the past few years, ok—?

    "And he tore some of the hair off my head!"

    ...ok, maybe Keisuke did that too, but that's pretty much it as far as attacking goes—

    "And he threatened to beat up Gramps if I showed up at the Dojo!"

    Wait, hold on, Keisuke did what now?

    "I never said that!" Keisuke shouts, shortening the distance between Mikey and Keisuke.

    "Yeah you did—you probably just don't remember—" keisuke throws an arm over Mikey's shoulder and draws him in close. With his arm locked around Mikey's neck, he pulls him in and sneers in his face, sick and tired of the lies that escape past his best friend's lips.

    "Now you're just tryna make me look bad, you bastard!!!" Keisuke exclaims, spit flying in every direction, but Mikey's face remains unphased.

    "You're doing a pretty good job doing that yourself, Keisuke~" Mikey mocks, smirking up Keisuke as he grabs ahold of the feral boy's arm wrapped tightly around his neck.

    "Damn you—"

    Mikey's Grandpa pops up from around the corner, a tall broom grasped tightly in his hands, and begins wacking the two boys with the wooden end.

    "NO FIGHTING IN THE HALLWAYS!!! THERE ARE CLASSES GOING ON, CRAZY BRATS!!!" he shouts, emphasizing each word with the smack of his broom. Keisuke immediately releases Mikey and covers his head to stop the broom from doing more damage. Mikey mimics Keisuke, grunting with every smack that rains down upon his arms.

    And, Out of the corner of Keisuke's eye, the injured boy catches Emma watching the exchange from afar, an evil smirk tugging on her ugly chapped lip.

    "W-What about Emma! She was fighting too!!!" Keisuke calls out, making the girl feign a surprised gasp.

    "Don't listen to him, Gramps! I would never do such a thing—"

    "Go to your room Emma."

    "Eh?! But I didn't even do anything—"

    "Room, now. We'll talk later!" With an annoyed huff, Emma brushes past Mikey and Keisuke, heading in the direction of her room, but now before sending Keisuke a nasty glare, revealing her true colors.

    Keisuke can't help but feel a swell of pride at seeing Emma walk away with her head hanging in shame. It serves her right for getting in the way between him and Takemichi!

    Speaking of which...now that Emma's gone—

    Keisuke begins to tiptoe away with Mikey trailing closely behind him, but a loud Ahem stops the two boys from going any farther.

    "And where do you think your going, hmm?"

    Keisuke and Mikey slowly pivot their bodies around till they're back to facing the crazy old man with the dangerous broom.

    "U-um...we were gonna go watch Takemichi's first lesson?" Keisuke says, accidentally phrasing it as a question, and curses himself at the evil glare he gets in return.

    "You boys really think I'll let you disturb Takemichi after all the shit you just pulled?"

    It's a rhetorical question—yknow, a question you're not supposed to answer cause the answer is so obvious?

    (Like that; that's a good example hehehee!)

    But Mikey—with his tiny brain and big mouth—decides to piss the old man by fucking answering...

    "Um yeah? You let Shinichiro go all over the dojo and he doesn't do shit—"

    With one swing, the old man effectively knocks Mikey out.

    Keisuke stands still, frozen on the spot, and gapes at Mikey's unmoving body sprawled out across the hallway floor. Then, he moves his gaze up, knowing that—because of Mikey's idiocy—he'll suffer the same fate.

    Keisuke watches it happen in slow motion; The menacing glare sharpens, the broom reaches the sky—ready to strike down its next victim—and Keisuke closes his eyes, waiting for the inevitable...

    But nothing happens.

    He doesn't feel the hard wood smack onto his head.

    He doesn't pass out onto the floor.

    And he's still conscious...so what the hell is happening?

    With a silent prayer to his mom, Keisuke opens his eyes and comes face to face with the end of the broom. The old man is pointing the weapon at Keisuke, nearly poking his nose with the wooden broom. Keisuke gulps nervously and resists the urge to take a step back.

    The old man is obviously testing him, right? That must be why he hasn't gotten smacked down like Mikey...so maybe all Keisuke has to do is stand his ground and try not to piss his pants???

    "When do you have to be home?" The old man asks, probably so he can properly schedule his execution.

    Keisuke thinks about lying, telling him that he needs to leave at midnight, but he shakes his head, ridding the thought from his mind. If he truly wants to survive, then he must answer honestly!!!

    "Um...before nightfall?"

    The old man heaves out a sigh of release. Then, surprising the hell out of Keisuke, the old man throws the broom at Keisuke who