Chapter Text
His life had been simple. Red strings were rare, only an estimated quarter of the world’s population were granted one, and even less than half of people could actually see them. And Takemichi, despite all the unfortunate things that were thrown in his life, fate turned the tables on him when it tied him to a red string. The other person it was connected with, Takemichi had already met him when he was only 20. A pet shop owner, all heartfelt smiles and fondness for cats, the most loyal soul there ever was.
To Takemichi, he was his everything, his life, the only person in the world he’d die for.
But at the same time, he could be the one thing that was annoying in his life. “Chifuyu, close the damn curtains! I’m trying to sleep here!”
“It’s past 10 am, idiot!” His partner pulled the blankets off him. “Go have breakfast already!”
Stubbornly, Takemichi buried his face in the pillow. “No, shut up! Let me sleep in peace!”
“I’m gonna dump cold water on you!”
“Go away!”
“ Takemichi .”
“Fine, fine!” He scrambled to a sitting position. “Jesus, Chifuyu.”
Chifuyu chuckled. “C’mon, I cooked your favorite. I’m starving.”
He cracked an eye open. “Wait, you haven’t eaten yet?”
He smacked Takemichi’s head a little. “We eat together. A rule, remember?”
Takemichi smiled, and it’s all bright skies and sunny mornings, and the day could last forever if they wanted to.
*
If Takemichi was given one last chance to talk to Chifuyu, he’ll tell him this, I didn’t believe in red strings at first, but thank god, it led me to you.
He wondered if Chifuyu would forgive him for this, for not keeping his promise of dying together. He was getting closer and closer to death—
The lights of an approaching train blinding him—
He thought of Hina from the news earlier, thought of Akkun and the others, Chifuyu and—
“ I used to belong to Toman, partner. I used to, until someone died and I left and did not look back.”
Takemichi rubbed his eyes. Wait, how could he—
For some reason, he was in a train now, right after life flashed before his eyes. “Oi, Takemichi, hurry up!”
“Huh, you’re—” His eyes widened inexplicably. “Akkun?!”
No, wait, his middle school pals?!
Shit, he’s so fucked.
*
Takemichi had never met someone like Mikey before. He had the aura of a leader, sure, someone that deserved to be known, but Takemichi felt like he’d be able to see something else, maybe a darker history, if he could have a glance behind those layers of black in his eyes.
In the first timeline, Takemichi never had friends except for the Mizo Mid, now he was strolling around with the notorious Toman leader, one who would create his own empire underneath Japan in the future.
The one who’ll get Hina killed.
Takemichi had no idea what to do. Didn’t know what he was back in the past for, what his purpose was but—
He stared at the red string tied around his pinky finger.
—He’ll still die in the future, won’t he. On July 4, 2017, he’ll die. Would Chifuyu be sad?
Of course, he would. Losing a soulmate was no joke.
“Takemitchy?”
Takemichi perked up at the mention of his new nickname, catching Mikey’s dubious look at him. The shorter blond was sprawled over the riverside, nestling his head with an arm. And Mikey, he was staring at his— pinky?
“Mikey-kun, can you see it?” he asked.
The Toman leader looked up to him. A small thing he was, no one would have guessed all the strength hidden within that petite body, bearing a dream too heavy for a fifteen-year-old but who’s gonna tell him that? “I can. Guess you’re one of the lucky ones with a soulmate, huh?”
Takemichi smiled, and he could have ruffled his hair if he wasn’t scared of getting his hand bitten off. “I think I am indeed lucky with my soulmate!”
“…Uh-huh.”
If there was one thing he learned about Mikey was that his heart was a person, and it went by the name of Draken.
….Draken.
Draken.
That guy !
Chifuyu once said this: there was a guy in Toman, someone special to the gang and to the leader, and he was brutally killed. So then, the Toman leader, Mikey, lost his guiding light, and turned against almost everyone.
He had been stuck in this year 2005 for weeks that he didn’t have time to think about the future yet. He slapped his forehead. Besides, wasn’t Chifuyu supposed to be in Toman too?
He faced Mikey. “Mikey-kun, I’ve decided.” He paused to make a serious face. “I’ll join Toman.”
Mikey grinned, pleased. “Welcome to the gang, then.”
*
He had no concrete plan, really, nor any real reason why he did it. He just found Mikey at the back of the hospital, crying for Ken-chin after he was saved, hiding his tears from everyone.
“I knew because I came from the future,” Takemichi said, and Mikey, tear-stained face and too confused for the world, stared at Takemichi as he slid down next to him, their knees touching. “I knew Draken-kun was going to die.”
“You… what?”
So Takemichi spilled the truth of where he came from, not rethinking his split-second decision because he knew he’d immediately back out if he did (he was a coward that way). He explained to Mikey how he was now stuck in the past looking for his soulmate. Mikey gaped at him when he finished, bewildered and looking at him as if he lost his mind.
A small chuckle escaped from the back of his throat. Oh, maybe he really was . Takemichi didn’t know if he was still sane.
“That’s crazy,” Mikey said, at last. Then: “But what kind of leader will I be if I don’t believe you?”
Takemichi’s face lit up, and he didn’t know what he was doing, but he dropped to his knees and hugged Mikey, took him to his arms without an ounce of fear. And Mikey —who would believe it?— actually hugged him back, face buried in his chest, and it was something Takemichi refused to know the meaning of. Not everything had to make sense, Chifuyu taught him that.
Later, he’d realize his shirt will be wet there, full of tears and snots from Mikey, and if someone asked if he just witnessed the Toman leader breakdown, he’d willingly deny it if Mikey requested him to.
*
Hina was a sweet, charming girl, and Takemichi remembered having a crush on her once. Now that felt a little weird, because sometimes he still felt like a 26-year-old hanging out with a bunch of 14-year-olds.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had a red string, maybe, just maybe, Takemichi wouldn’t hesitate to fall in love with someone like her. They were close friends in the present timeline, and Chifuyu liked her as much as he did.
So her death… Takemichi wondered if this was his chance to change that. He was hanging out with her when Takemichi stared at his red sting, and lamented on the fact he hadn’t interacted with Chifuyu yet, even as Mikey told him he was 1st division’s vice-captain.
“You know,” she started to say, licking ice cream off her spoon. “One of my classmates also had a red string, and she hated it! Like, she kept saying how much she wants to curse her soulmate—”
“Let me guess, the string keeps hurting her?”
“Yeah! I found her yesterday crying at the back of the class because her pinky was bleeding.”
Yikes. Takemichi winced. Red strings were like a double-edged sword. The universe would give you the person suited the most for you, but hate that person and fate will turn against you. He remembered fighting with Chifuyu once, in the present timeline right after moving together, and the red string twisted and shortened, until Chifuyu and he couldn’t find space between themselves because of the lack of length.
“I don’t understand how anyone would hate their soulmate,” he said easily, taking a bite of his sandwich and thinking how the first time Chifuyu made him one, it was an egg with peanut butter and it tasted like shit.
“Like you’re one to talk,” Hina retorted, unimpressed. “You hated yours too.”
Oh. Right. He remembered now. He just didn’t use to have a crush on Hina, he used to love her, and his red string had gotten in the way of that. Takemichi shrugged. “I learned you shouldn’t hate things without knowing what’s behind it.”
“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow. “You sound mature just now.”
He chuckled nervously. “It’s the season.”
Hina laughed.
*
He remembered Chifuyu telling him once that he joined Toman for someone.
So here he was, playing cat and dog with his future partner, hiding his identity and the red string in his pinky. But who could blame him—
He was blond! Chifyu was blond . He always knew Chifuyu used to bleach his hair, but seeing the 13-year-old self of him, younger and cuter, with a light-colored hair and big, cat-like eyes, Takemichi felt like a stalker swooning after him.
“Takemitchy?” Draken called from behind him. He, like many people, didn’t have the ability to see red strings, so he wouldn’t know. “You staring at Baji or something?”
A blush spread on Takemichi’s cheeks, but at least Draken made a genuine mistake. “No, I—” He ducked his face away. “I asked Mikey to join me in the first division so I’m just checking who my captain is.”
“Oh. That so.” He didn’t sound convinced.
“Anyway!” Takemichi clapped his hands together, almost soundlessly. “Where are we going?”
They started walking. “Mikey wanted us to visit a bathhouse first before the nomination ceremony.”
“Oh! With other Toman members?”
“No, just us three.”
“Oh, right.”
When they arrived in the bathhouse, Mikey reached out and rested an arm on his shoulder. So they were going to do this a lot, huh. This touchy-feely thing, not that he’d ever complain about that. Ever since Takemichi hugged him and saw Mikey’s tears, the latter seemed to pursue skin contacts with him like he was starved of it, and Takemichi wondered, for a moment, if no one had initiated a hug with him before.
They entered the bathhouse, washed themselves and soaked in hot water, and this. Takemichi almost missed this, having friends and stuff, sharing smiles with them. In the first timeline, he only had Chifuyu, and Chifuyu only had him. The world was bigger, but at least they were each other’s.
He also learned that some of Mikey’s laughs were loud, but they were a little deceptive, those types of big grins, like sometimes Mikey wore those if he had something to hide or lie about.
Nonetheless, the bathhouse was fun, and he felt refreshed.
“Are you gonna wear my former uniform or not?” Mikey asked, and he sounded subtly offended.
Takemichi almost told him that it seemed too precious, and precious things weren’t meant to be used, not by someone who wasn’t meant to live, but— “I will. Actually, I’m going to wear it this meeting,” was what he ended up saying. Mikey beamed at that, and Draken smiled down to them, satisfied.
Takemichi, fully clothed in his Toman uniform —the president’s former one —took a bow before the raised dais when Mikey announced his name.
“Please take care of me!”
“Wait!” someone shouted. “Why are you putting a damn brat in my division!”
Takemichi didn’t have to look to know who it came from. The next voice that followed though —it was what turned his face, expectant and something wild in his chest, because Takemichi was never a showy sort of person but he wore Mikey’s uniform like a proud brand anyway, and stood with his spine straight pretending to be dignified just because that person will finally meet Takemichi in this timeline.
“You—!” Chifuyu said, eyes blown wide. “Your red string!”
When he was 20 and wondering about what to do in life, striking weird deals with weirder people and getting nowhere, he stumbled upon Chifuyu, the doorbell of the pet shop ringing in his ears like an echo of his mistakes. The first thing his soulmate said was welcome, and then a: looks like life had been hard for the both of us, huh .
For a long moment, they were locking eyes, and it felt like a lifetime before Baji, who seemed to have the eyes that could see red strings, rudely interrupted. “Well, fuck me. Chifuyu, that brat’s your soulmate!”
It stirred commotion and whatnot, because apparently, the most feared gang in Shinjuku had a penchant for theatrics, so before Takemichi knew it, he was being pushed forward by numerous hands from behind. The Toman members had seemingly paved a way for the two, and there was a lot of cheering and whistling as a reluctant Chifuyu was being shoved as well to meet him halfway.
“Wait!” Chifuyu protested, his cheeks blushing red. It was Baji who did the last shove that knocked him forward and bumped his forehead to Takemichi's nose. “W-hat the hell! We’re not some high school girls—”
Takemichi’s knees shook a bit, holding Chifuyu’s elbows to prevent him from falling. “Uhm, hello?” he said, none the conversationalist, nor a smooth talker. The red string was fervent in his pinky upon their first contact.
There were louder cheers from the gang, and some shameless asshole even screamed ‘kiss!’ like they were enjoying a fucking soap opera. Chifuyu mumbled a weak hi, and dropped his gaze.
They were both too flustered to talk.
Then after what felt like forever, he heard Mikey clear his throat. “Enough! We still have a nomination ceremony!”
The crowd dispersed instantly, not without giving their suggestive whistlings. Takemichi and Chifuyu promptly unlatched from each other, embarrassed and avoiding each other’s eyes.
When Mikey was sure the attention was returned to him, he faced Baji with a slightly darkened face. “Baji, what are you doing here? I put you in house arrest, didn’t I?”
Baji grinned, teeth sharp. “Aren’t you supposed to call forward the new 3rd division captain first, Mikey?”
Mikey’s eyes turned cold, then he shouted a name Takemichi vaguely remembered.
*
They didn’t have the chance to talk. Right after Baji walked out of the shrine, declaring the words ‘first division captain Keisuke Baji will be Toman’s enemy!’ Chifuyu took his wrist and maneuvered him down the stairs.
“We’re following him, our captain,” was all he said, and Takemichi had no time to ask questions.
Baji, of course, noticed them trailing his steps and turned around with the most menacing glare Takemichi had ever seen on a person. “Chifuyu, stop stalking me like a goddamn dog!”
They showed themselves from the bushes, and Takemichi had to remind himself that this Chifuyu wasn’t his partner yet, and that he shouldn’t hold his fist expecting this Chifuyu to unclench it. Takemichi buried his hands in his pockets instead.
“Baji-san,” Chifuyu said. “You can’t leave us like that.”
“Hmph, you even brought your soulmate here with you.” Baji grimaced. “Shut the hell up, Chifuyu. This is none of your business. If I see you again, I’m gonna bust your nose, got it?”
“I know you’re doing this because Kisaki—”
“Chifuyu,” Baji hissed. “If you badly want me back, meet me in the abandoned arcade shop tomorrow.” He showed a full grin. “It’s best if you don’t bring your soulmate with you.” He turned to his heels, indicated with his hand in a smooth gesture. “I’ll be expecting ‘ya.”
Takemichi watched him drift into darkness, mouth agape, before catching Chifuyu’s face. “I’m going with you,” he told him, decisively.
Chifuyu was snapped back. Scowling, he pushed back Takemichi half-gently, half-roughly. “You heard him. I’m going alone.”
“Well yeah, but he said ‘it’s best’, so it wasn’t the only option.”
“No. That’s most likely a Valhalla hideout.”
“More reason why I should follow.”
Chifuyu's eyes flickered to the lonely lamppost. “Let’s sit down and talk for a bit.”
He nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, let’s.”
They sat down on the nearest park bench, faintly illuminated by the streetlight, and Takemichi fidgeted with his fingers, unsure where to start. When he looked over, Chifuyu was checking out his own pinky finger, like inspecting it. He lifted his gaze and their eyes met. “May I?”
Takemichi blinked, and hesitantly stretched out his arm, revealing the other end of the string.
“So we’re soulmates,” Chifuyu concluded.
“Yeah, seems so.”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re cool.”
Chifuyu coughed, cheeks beat red and spluttered, “No, I mean—” He made frantic gestures between them, trying to spell out something. “I meant us being soulmates! I— you— we have our own lives, and—”
He tilted his head curiously. “Would this change our lives?”
“Of course!” Then Chifuyu paused, blinked, looked away, many emotions running in his eyes. “People said it would.”
Takemichi considered it. “I supposed this could change something, in a way. But I won’t ever deny you as my soulmate though.”
“I won’t either. You seem kind.”
“Seem?”
Chifuyu shrugged. “I want to take my time getting to know you.”
His heart sped up automatically. Chifuyu, no matter what timeline or age, really didn’t change at all. Those exact words, he was told that once too. Takemichi smiled, nostalgic. “Yeah. Likewise.”
“Great.” Chifuyu leaned back, then flashed him a cheeky smile that nearly stole all of Takemichi’s heart. “Let’s play a game.”
“What?”
“Two truths and a lie,” he said. “Game?”
He grinned, excited. “Sure!”
Takemichi ended up winning, because of course, he would.
*
“I think Baji-kun is going to die,” Takemichi uttered out loud. His wounds were still healing from when he protected Chifuyu from Baji, though in the end, the both of them got beaten up during his test of faith in Valhalla. Their enemy gang had watched, amused, as the rumored soulmates of Toman (word spread out quickly, apparently) were thrashed easily. Takemichi had carried Chifuyu home in a piggy-back ride, hearing his soulmate mutter ‘idiot’ repeatedly under his breath, idiot, I told you not to come with me.
“Huh?” Mikey regarded him with a wry expression. “Takemitchy, you shouldn’t joke about something like that.”
He had come to Mikey as soon as he left the Valhalla hideout to deliver their president the news. Abandoned car lot, their final fight against Valhalla. Mikey nodded and then Takemichi shared with him what Chifuyu told him long ago.
“I think Baji-kun is going to be killed in the fight.” Mikey’s eyes narrowed. “No, I’m serious! I just— I don’t know. I’m worried. Chifuyu seemed to have liked him a lot.”
“Takemitchy,” Mikey said, his face unreadable. They were sitting on top of the stairs of the shrine, nearly sunset on the horizon. “I wanted to ask you a favor yesterday, but you suddenly disappeared.”
“Oh. Chifuyu tried to talk some sense to Baji-kun and I followed him,” he explained. “What favor is that?”
“Baji is my childhood friend,” Mikey said, and smiled with an intent to look soft but it only made him look sad. Takemichi looked at Mikey, remembered the cat he and Chifuyu found next to the pet store that one time. It looked fine at first, a lost little thing, sharp claws and everything, but it stared at them and Chifuyu immediately knew it was trying to ask for help.
“I really love him,” Mikey continued. “If he was really going to die in the future as you said, then we need to do something about that. Can you help me?”
Takemichi eyed him, awed, and nodded profusely. “Yes, for you, I’ll do that!”
Mikey pulled up his knee and rested his chin on it. “But who’d kill him?”
“I have no idea… sorry…”
“Uhuh.” Mikey climbed to his feet, and extended an arm for him. “Let’s work together, Takemitchy.”
He took it, a determined smile on his face. “Yeah!”
*
They managed to save Baji on that Bloody Halloween, but Mikey almost killed Kazutora (who, now, was gone to a rehabilitation center), so the week after that, Takemichi dragged Mikey to his house, forced him to sit down in front of his desk.
“Takemitchy—”
He slammed a notebook and a pen. “You’re going to write your feelings here and I’m gonna read it and we’re going to talk about it.”
Mikey stared.
“I’m not joking!” He took a sharp inhale. “The kids at the daycare I used to work at, I made them do this a lot. It worked sometimes, so who knows, maybe it’ll work for you too!”
“I’m not a fucking kid!”
“I’m 26 and you’re only 15, so you’re a fucking kid to me!”
Mikey opened his mouth, stupefied, as if he had never considered the possibility of Takemichi raising his voice at him before. Takemichi sighed. Subconsciously, he reached for his red string, perhaps seeking some sort of guidance from his soulmate, even though he was miles away, and it was all but an attempt to know he was never alone.
“ Please .”
Mikey rolled his eyes, but he began writing.
*
Takemichi studied the notebook. “It seems like you have few triggers that can make you forget your principles. Like what happened in—”
“Are you my fucking therapist now?!”
“Well, you don’t want to seek the help of one so I have to sort your feelings myself!”
Mikey clenched his fists and looked him in the eye. Takemichi tried his best not to cower under the weight of his gaze. “You think there’s something wrong with me.”
“No,” Takemichi told him, and it was the truth. “I think you’re hurting yourself. You keep all your problems to yourself and then what? Expect them to disappear on their own? You think it’ll make you somehow more invisible if people think you’re all smiles and strength?”
Mikey scowled, low and dangerous. “You don’t know a shit about me.”
“I could,” Takemichi said, biting his lower lip. He gripped the notebook, pressed his thumb on the string of his pinky finger. “I could if you let me.”
Mikey didn’t scowl again, but he snatched the notebook from his hands and when he returned it again, two days later, there were more than ten pages full of messy handwriting.
Takemichi was awake until night reading them.
*
Sometimes Takemichi wished Mikey was given a soulmate, not because he needed it, but because he seemed like a someone who’d want it.