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𝟑𝟗 || 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 ||

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KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!!!

"Mitsuya! Mitsuya! Are you home?!"

Takemichi keeps pounding on the apartment door, hoping his purple haired friend would appear. It took some time, but–eventually–Mitsuya opens the door with an exhausted look painted over his face. Takemichi winces at the dark circles that decorate the skin beneath his eyes and the deep furrow in his brow as the older kid looks down at Takemichi.

Guilt swarms Takemichi's stomach he watches Mitsuya rub tired eyes, a constant frown tugging on his lips. Perhaps Takemichi should've banged on his door a different day...Well, what's done is done–Takemichi will just have to see his mission through!

"Takemichi...come in..." Mitsuya grumbles, his purple eyes distant and clouded as he steps aside to let Takemichi into his apartment. "Please excuse the mess..."

Takemichi takes a step inside and levels Mitsuya with a quirked up brow. "A mess? I don't see–" Takemichi cuts himself off as he surveys the small apartment.

His blue eyes go wide.

Before him stood not an apartment, but a dirty dungeon.

It was as if a bomb exploded inside the small living space. Clothes and Trash could be found in every direction–the low kitchen table is covered in smashed ceramic bowls and plates, and–off the side–Takemichi spots Mana and Luna curled up into a ball in the far corner of the apartment, covered in only two pink and orange blankets.

"What–What happened?!" Takemichi cries out, his head nearly doing a one eighty as he tries to get a good look at the messy apartment. "You're normally so clean and tidy, Mitsuya! What changed?!" the older kid slams the door shut with an exhausted sigh.

"My old man came by last night drunk and threw a fit over something stupid," he explains tiredly, pushing away a stray plastic bottle as he ushers Takemichi towards the only clean part of the apartment; the kitchen. "Mom wasn't here last night so I had to deal with him by myself–it took a long time and, when I finally got him out, mana and luna wouldn't stop crying."

"And he did all of this? In one night?"

"Yup."

"You shouldn't have dealt with him all on your own! Why wasn't your mom here with you?" Takemichi questions, his eyes raking across the terrible mess tat is Mitsuya's apartment.

The older boy doesn't answer right away. Instead of responding, Mitsuya pushes past Takemichi to grab a few trash bags from the kitchen cabinets. Finally, when he reels back, he catches Takemichi's eye and offers him a forced smile. "Just stay in here while I clean up the mess, ok?"

What?!

Did–Did Mitsuya really expect to clean the apartment up all on his own?!

"AS IF!" Before Mitsuya can react, Takemichi snatches a trash bag from the kid's hand. "I wanna take you somewhere today and I can't do that if you're here all day cleaning up after your old man!" Takemichi declares, eyeing the trash and clothes that litter the area with a deadly glare.

"Ah–Takemichi, you don't have to do that–" Takemichi whirls around and fixes Mitsuya with a glare.

"I know I don't–but I want to help you, ok?"

Mitsuya's expression, which was once riddled with exhaustion and anxiety, softens upon hearing Takemichi's words. A smile–a genuine one–breaks out across his face as he stares at Takemichi, his face seemingly full of wonder.

"Thank you Takemichi."

Takemichi sends him a smile before getting to work, his eyes set on throwing every bit of trash away.

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It took awhile, but eventually both Takemichi and Mitsuya managed to clean the apartment up.

Along the wall outside the apartment were stacks of full trash bags full of plastic, broken glass, and small things that Mitsuya decided were worth chucking. When Takemichi had asked Mitsuya on how they would throw the bags away, the older boy raised a brow and laughed.

"Don't worry about that! My mom's boyfriend will take them out if I ask him to–he's been doing whatever I ask because he wants to please my mom."

The apartment is still far away from being sparkly and clean, but it's in a much better state than what Takemichi found it in.

Once they managed to clean and reorganize the apartment, the two boys were able to safely move Mana and Luna to the couch. Takemichi has no idea how the two girls were still sound asleep during the cleaning process.At first, He chalked it up to them being tired from staying up crying the night before but–as they were moving the girls to the bed, Takemichi saw the littlest of movement from Mana.

They were awake the entire time...

Rather than call them out, Takemichi kept his mouth shut and continued to work until the apartment was clean.

And they did it–after a few long hours of doing nothing but clean, they managed to get the apartment to a state that would bring hotel lobbies to shame. The floor sparkled, the air was fresh, the furniture was neatly arranged, the kitchen wasn't littered with broken plates, and Mitsuya was smiling big and proud as he took in his surroundings.

"What the hell? I can't believe we actually did it!" Mitsuya exclaims, his purple eyes still wide from shock. Takemichi can't help but laugh at his reaction–the older boy looks delirious and one moment away from nearly fainting.

"Of course we did! Did ya think we'd fail or something?"

"Yeah–I did."

"Eh?! Cmon now, Mitsuya, do you really think that lowly of us?" Takemichi asks, letting his body slump lazily against Mitsuya's. The older boy catches him in his arms and holds him tight–bringing a blush to Takemichi's cheeks. Distantly, Takemichi is reminded of the day they both met Draken when he declared his need to date Takemichi.

Does he still feel that way? With Takemichi willing in his arms, does he still want to date him and make Takemichi his...boyfriend?

The smaller boy looks up, hoping to sneak a glance at Mitsuya's face and try to take a guess on what's going through his head.

His eyes meet Mitsuya's–purple clashing with blue.

A faint blush is dusting the older boy's cheeks.

His smile is shy and bashful.

And his face is awfully close to Takemichi's–

Before Takemichi knows what he's doing, he's jumping back and away from Mitsuya's embrace.

"H-Hey! You should take a nap, Mitsuya! You still look really tired!" Takemichi nearly shouts, his gaze anywhere but on Mitsuya. Sure, the curly haired boy can feel his eyes boring into his soul, but he'll do everything in his power to keep himself from falling into those enchanting purple irises...

He hears Mitsuya shuffling his feet, hopefully taking the hint Takemichi's throwing his way. "Nah, I'm pretty awake right now," Mitsuya protests, his voice far away and distant despite being just a few feet away from Takemichi. "You–You said something about wanting to take me somewhere, right?"

Huh? Did he–?

Everything crashes into Takemichi, reminding the boy why he even bothered showing up at the older boy's apartment.

Takemichi spins on his heel and faces Mitsuya, his smile wide and blinding. "Yeah! I did!" Takemichi exclaims cheerfully, forcing himself to keep himself from jumping in excitement.

"Ok? Then where do you wanna take me, Takemichi? I'm yours for the rest of the day."

Takemichi reaches forward, grabs ahold of Mitsuya's hand, and–

"I'm gonna take you to meet my friends!"

"...huh?"

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Earlier that morning, Takemichi, Keisuke, and Mikey all planned to bring their new friends to this old place called the "Musashi Shrine."

At first, the three boys were in a small argument on who had the most friends and–very suddenly–Keisuke declared "Fine! Let's all bring em to that stupid shrine so we can see who has the most friends!"

Takemichi pointedly ignored the challenge and changed Keisuke's words with a bright smile, "Yeah! I wanna introduce you guys to Mitsuya!"

"That's not what i–"

"That's a great idea, Takemitchy. I'll bring two of mine, too!"

"Eh?! Seriously, Mikey?! But i'm the one who came up with the idea–"

"Shush, Keisuke. The grownups are talking."

"TAKEMICHI'S LITERALLY YOUNGER THAN US??"

And thus the plan begins with Takemichi leading Mitsuya by the hand to an old shrine that Keisuke declares is stupid and too plain.

"So what are your friends like?" Mitsuya asks nonchalantly, but Takemichi can still pick up the small hint of curiosity that laces his voice.

Takemichi giggles at Mitsuya's attempt to act suave and cool. "They're like wild animals!" Takemichi exclaims proudly, oblivious to the confused look Mitsuya is sending his way.

"W-Wild animals?"

"Yup!"

"huh...That's–That's strange..."

"Meh, not really! They've got some manners."

"Like..?"

"They give me a heads up before they decide to beat someone up! In the beginning, they wouldn't even bother warning me before jumping someone."

"They sound like gangsters...So why did you think it would be a good idea to introduce me to them?"

Takemichi properly faces him and gives him a soft smile. "Because you're important to me and I want them to see how awesome you are!"

A dark blush spreads across Mitsuya's face at Takemichi's words. "ah–Really? You really think I'm important and awesome?" He repeats, nearly breathless despite having walked a short distance from his apartment.

Takemichi tilts his head, confused by his flustered expression. Is he suffering from some sort of heat stroke? "Well yeah! You're basically an adult, Mitsuya with how you take care of your younger sisters everyday!" Takemichi explains.

"O-Oh! Thanks Takemichi–"

"Mitsuya? Takemichi? What are you guys doing here?!"

Takemichi and Mitsuya look away from each other to peer over at the new familiar voice. From a distance, Takemichi catches sight of Ken only this time he's sporting a mohawk and a dragon tattoo on the side of his head. Beside him stands Mikey, a cat-like grin gracing his lips as he leads Ken towards Takemichi.

Takemichi and Mitsuya visibly light up at the sight of Ken. On instinct, the two start running towards the pair of blonde, blinding smiles spread across their faces.

"KEN!!!" The two boys exclaim at the same time, causing the tattooed boy to turn embarrassed and bashful.

"Aye, you don't gotta make this a big deal–" Before he can even finish his sentence, Takemichi is flinging his arms around the taller boy. "Woah! What's up Takemichi? I haven't seen you since Katsumi–"

Takemichi doesn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. "You got a tattoo!!!" Takemichi exclaims in surprise, his hands immediately reaching up to touch the beautiful ink that decorates the side of his head. Ken laughs and leans his head down, allowing Takemichi to trace the tattoo.

"Sure did! And I'm not the only one."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ken looks past Takemichi and points at Mitsuya, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "That idiot over there decided to get the same damn tattoo in the same damn place."

"EH?! REALLY?!"

Takemichi whirl's around to face Mitsuya. The purple haired boy looks away, his face tugging into an embarrassed expression. "Maybe.."

Takemichi makes his way towards Mitsuya and squints his eyes, trying to catch sight of the matching tattoo. Mitsuya laughs, most likely amused by his efforts to see the permanent ink. "Ah, I'm covering it up with my hair–that's why you haven't seen it?"

"Huh? But why–"

"AH HEM!"

The three boys spin around to face the interruption or–in this case–Manjiro Sano.

Brushing past Takemichi and Ken, Mikey strolls up to Mitsuya, his dark gaze sizing the taller boy up. The purple haired boy takes a step back, definitely thrown off by the smaller but intimidating boy.

"What's your name?" Mikey asks bluntly, not bothering to smile or soften his gaze in the slightest.

"I–I'm Mitsuya Takashi, Takemichi's friend..."

Takemichi watches with bated breath as Mikey narrows his eyes and rakes his gaze from top to bottom, as if he's trying to spot some kind of flaw.

"How long have you been friends with Takemitchy?"

"Um...About three years."

"Hm..."

Then, catching everyone off guard, Mikey grabs Mitsuya's hand and tugs him in close, eliciting a yelp from the taller boy. "Nice ta meet you, Mitsuya-kun! I'm Mikey and–from this day forward–we're friends!"

"Oh! Uh..ok..."

Both Takemichi and Ken heave out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Mikey approves of Mitsuya–not that Takemichi was even worried about such things! Mitsuya's a very likable person and it's hard to resent him for anything–he's just that cool.

Mikey then turns to face Draken and Takemichi, a playful pout sitting cutely on his lips. "Takemitchyyy!!!" He whines, letting go of Mitsuya's hand to place his own hands on top of Takemichi's shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me you were already friends with Ken-chinnnn?!"

"Eh? How was I supposed to know that you were also friends with him?"

"You're the one who's supposed to have a sixth sense for these kinds of things!" Takemichi rolls his eyes at Mikey's dramaticness.

"That's stupid, Mikey..."

"No its not–but seriously, how'd you two meet?" Mikey asks, his tone openly curious as he switches his gaze from Takemichi to DRaken.

Takemichi glances over at a sheepish Mitsuya and reluctantly begins the story of how he and Mitsuya were bombarded by Draken. Mikey laughs during the entire story and Draken has an embarrassed flush across his cheeks by the time Takemichi finishes.

When Takemichi sums up the story, another pair of voices joins the conversation, both of them awfully familiar.

Peeking over Mikey's shoulder, he sees Keisuke striding towards them with a hefty boy following in his footsteps.

Takemichi doesn't bother to hide his gasp and bluntly points at the newcomer, his face instantly pulled back in shock.

"Hey bitches! I brought Pah–"

"IT'S YOU!!!" Takemichi and Pah say at the exact same time, each sporting a grimace.

Keisuke, bless his soul, reels back–confused–while Mikey hugs his stomach and throws his head back, laughing at the terrible coincidence.

Pah also points a finger at Mikey, His eyes narrowing in suspicion. "And what's that small fry doing here?!"

Mikey smiles cheekily at the question. With the ease of someone who has no enemies, Mikey walks up to Pah and pokes his nose.

"Nice to see you again, Pah! I hope you've gotten stronger since the last time we've seen each other!"

Takemichi gasps, fully prepared for Pah to jump Mikey right then and there, but Pah surprises the boy by simply knocking Mikey's hand away, a visible vein popping out from his forehead in rage. "Of course I have, Mikey! Hell–I've gotten pretty fucking good at arm wrestling!" He boasts proudly, the menacing aura he once brought to the group immediately dissolving into thin air.

"Eh? You arm wrestle?" Ken questions the bigger boy, striding up to him with his hands in his pockets, dark eyes glimmering with excitement.

Pah openly looks the tall boy up and nods, a proud smile gracing his lips. "Hell yeah man! Do you?"

Ken brings his arm up and flexes it, earning a laugh from MItsuya. "Yeah–but I doubt you're as good as me," Ken declares cockily.

Pah narrows his eyes and takes a step closer to Ken, a menacing smile breaking out across his lips. "Hah? Is that a challenge, Beanstalk?"

Ken takes another step closer, basically closing the distance between the two boys. "Damn right it is."

Mitsuya butts in with a mischievous smile. "Pah versus Ken–the loser has to treat all of us to lunch!!!"

Both Pah and Ken nod their heads, their smiles radiating nothing but violence and excitement.

"You got enough money to treat us all, Pah?"

"I should be asking you that, Kenny!"

Takemichi takes a step closer, ready to start placing bets on who'll win, but two sets of arms stop him from getting closer. Looking back, he catches Keisuke's and Mikey's eyes, their hands keeping a steady grip on Takemichi's arms.

"Who's that purple haired kid? That your friend, Michi?" Keisuke asks, earning a proud nod from the smaller boy.

"Yep! Sometimes I go by his place to help watch his younger sisters," Takemichi explains, making Keisuke and Mikey grind their jaw in...frustration?

"Is that why you barely hung out with us this year?! Because of that–that Queer?!" Keisuke balks.

"Eh?! You can't go around calling people queers, Keisuke!" Takemichi looks over at Mikey, hoping that he'll back Takemichi up.

Instead, Mikey is removing his hands from Takemichi and crossing his arms in front of his chest, tutting disapprovingly. "Queer people can call other queer people queer."

Takemichi tilts his head–confused.

"...Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Both Mikey and Keisuke groan in annoyance. "Ugh!! He doesn't get it, Keisuke!!!"

"Yeah...no kidding..." Keisuke grumbles with a roll of his eyes.

Takemichi brushes it off as some sort of weird code word and turns his attention back to Pah who is in the middle of an arm wrestling contest with Ken. "So, Keisuke, how'd you become friends with...Pah..." Takemichi grumbles with fear laced in his voice. Despite them meeting a year ago, Takemichi still vividly remembers the boy–hell, sometimes he makes guest appearances in his childish nightmares.

Keisuke scoffs at Takemichi's attitude and sticks a thumb over in Pah's direction. "Well, while you were off playing house with that queer, Pah kept challenging me to fight everyday on my way home," he explains, a cocky smile soon gracing his lips. "Of course, I won every one of our fights, but he aint that bad–he just wants to be a hoodlum like us."

...Huh?