A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

WARNING: This chapter contains MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! Proceed with caution.

edited on march 5th, 2022 @ 12:14pm

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

╔═══════════════╗

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍,
𝖠 𝖢𝗋𝗒 𝖡𝖺𝖻𝗒.

╚═══════════════╝

KEIJI COULD HEAR THE CONFUSION going around, wondering why Hanma was at a Toman meeting.

"Chifuyu, Keiji-kun, and Hanma... What's going on, Mikey-kun?" Takemichi asked himself.

"The Bloody Halloween... Valhalla had 300 men, and Toman had 150. Despite how much the odds were against us, because all of you did your best, we managed to claim victory. The vice commander of the fallen Valhalla, Hanma Shuji, will now say a few words." Mikey announced.

Hanma stepped forward. "I'm Hanma Shuji from Valhalla. Valhalla hasn't had a commander for a long time. So after losing this battle... We decided we'd fall under Toman." He announced.

"Huh?"

"What's that mean?"

"Valhalla is now affiliated with the Tokyo Manji Gang!" Hanma finished.

"What? All 300 members of Valhalla are going to be under Toman?"

"So Toman's going to have 450..."

"Dude, Toman's awesome!"

"Just how big are we gonna get?"

"This is hella exciting!"

"Yeah, Toman!"

Everyone started cheering, "Toman!" over and over.

"Hey, wait..." A flashback of Baji appeared in Takemichi's mind. "But... But Mikey-kun... We finally got around him killing Kazutora-kun. If this dude joins Toman... If Toman and Valhalla combine... It's..."

"So..." Hanma's voice snapped Takemichi out of his thoughts. "There's a guy who brought Mikey and me together. It's because of him that this all worked out."

Takemichi widened his eyes. "No way..." He thinks to himself.

"Come on up here!" Hanma shouted out out as everyone turned. "Kisaki Tetta!"

"Kisaki!" Takemichi exclaimed in his head, recalling what Baji had told him.

"Kisaki is the enemy."

Kisaki began walking forward as Mikey moved to the side so Kisaki could stand between him and Hanma.

"We're gonna get taken over!" Takemichi thought.

Mikey and Hanma shook hands as Kisaki clasped his over theirs.

"Baji-kun risked his life to protect Toman! And now Kisaki's gonna take it! Now Toman's going to end up evil in the future again! I messed up again?" Takemichi thinks to himself.

"You can say what you want to say, Kei." Mikey muttered towards the red head.

Keiji nodded as he stepped up. "A few months ago, I made the offer to Manjiro about having my gang and his form an alliance together. But I'm here to say that will no longer be the case anymore." He started to say, causing confusion from both Toman and the Scorpion Gang to arise.

Keiji glanced over to Miyasato, who only nodded to him, telling him that what he was about to do was the right choice. Keiji took a deep breath before shouting out.

"From this day forward, the Scorpion Gang will be affiliated with the Tokyo Manji Gang!"

"Huh?" Takemichi thought in confusion.

"What?!"

"The Scorpion Gang merging with us?"

"They have 80 men, right? Add that with Valhalla's, Toman will have 530 in total! Awesome!"

However, the members of the Scorpion Gang were not so pleased.

"Hey, President! What the hell are you saying?!"

"Vice President! Talk him out of this!"

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" Miyasato shouted in anger. "This is Kei's decision! Respect it!"

Keiji continued on. "I talked with Manjiro and he agreed. That's all I wanted to say." He concluded before he took a step back.

"There's one more thing I'd like to say." Mikey spoke up. "We may have gained things at the Bloody Halloween, but we lost some things, too. Our 1st Division Captain, Baji Keisuke, is dead."

Everyone stayed silent. "We have to deeply reflect upon this truth, and also accept it. You can say the rest, 1st Division Vice Captain Matsuno Chifuyu." Mikey finished, walking past Chifuyu.

Chifuyu closed his eyes. "I was thinking about quitting Toman, but then the commander said this to me... "Are you going to blow out the flame of the 1st Division for good?'" He began.

"Sorry, man... This must be the hardest for you." Takemichi thought.

"Taking over as the 1st Division Captain in Baji-san's place would be too much for me to handle. So I talked to the commander. We talked for days and finally came to a conclusion." Chifuyu continued on. "I'm gonna be the one who decides who I wanna follow!"

"Hanagaki Takemichi! I'm gonna have you take over as the captain of the 1st Division!"

"Hanagaki?!"

"No way..."

"Who's Hanagaki?"

"Hanagaki?!"

"What are you..." Takemichi trailed off.

"Takemitchy, I believe this was Baji-san's final wish. Baji-san chose you, and the commander and I finalized that decision!" Chifuyu announced.

Everyone turned their heads to look towards Takemichi.

"Hanagaki Takemichi!" Mikey shouted, making Takemichi flinch. "Lift your head up and greet everyone!"

"I know you'll be able to save my sister."

"Please save everyone..."

"Our crybaby hero."

"It's not..."

"I'm gonna become the head of Toman."

"I'm leaving them to you."

Takemichi clenched his fist tight.

"Please. I don't want someone important so important to me... to die, too."

Takemichi clenched his fist tighter as tears began to fall to the ground. "It's not over yet... I can still change Toman!" He told himself.

He then raised his head up. "Thank you!" Takemichi shouted out.

"Jeez, what gives? What the hell are you crying for?" Draken questioned. "How are we supposed to finish this?"

"Welp, guess I'm gonna have to redo his embroidery." Mitsuya commented.

"You're lifting your head too high, dumbass." Mikey stated.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

- NOVEMBER 18TH, 2017 -

Miyasato was standing next to Chifuyu near a window, looking out into the city.

"Sir! Thank you for having us over, sir!"

"Answer your damn phone, Takemitchy." Chifuyu spoke, turning around.

"Do you just ignore people when they try to reach you?" Miyasato scoffed.

"Chifuyu?! Miya-kun?!" Takemichi exclaimed, rushing towards the two. "Thank goodness, you two! I had no idea what was going on!"

"Huh? The hell are you talking about?" Chifuyu asked.

"Did you hit your head or some shit?" Miyasato grinned.

"The upper echelon's having a meeting. Let's go." Chifuyu informed as he began walking, Miyasato following close behind him.

"Upper echelon meeting? Who? Upper echelon of what?" Takemichi asked.

"Come on, partner! Who do you think we're talking about?" Chifuyu questioned. "You're Tokyo Manji Gang's top exec, Hanagaki Takemichi!"

"I'm in the upper echelon of Toman?!" Takemichi exclaimed in his head.

The three of them began walking up the steps to the meeting place.

"This way, sir."

The three of them entered the room, seeing all of the higher-ups gather around a large table.

"Who the heck ordered the jellyfish?"

"Man, the mapo is spicy! There's way too much pepper in it!"

"Hey, where the hell's my fried rice?!"

"Sir."

Takemichi looked over to see a chair was pulled out for him as he sat down.

"I can't believe it... I'm seriously an exec in Toman. And that means..." Takemichi looked towards the others. "I might be able to get closer to the core of present Toman, which we knew nothing about before."

He then scrolls through his phone. "Why the hell isn't Naoto's number in here?!" Takemichi wondered.

"First, I'd like to bring up our treasury funds..."

"More importantly, where's my goddamn fried rice, you jackass? And there are still some guys missing."

Upper Echelon.
Hayashida Haruki.

"Pah-chin-kun!" Takemichi smiled, glad to see him once again since the Moebius incident.

"Shut up, Pah! Just shut your mouth and eat."

Upper Echelon.
Muto Yasuhiro.

"I'm pretty sure he's the 5th Division's..." Takemichi trailed off.

"And who's still missing? Mitsuya?" Muto asked.

"There are others who aren't here yet, too, jackass."

"Where's my damn fried rice? I can't eat unless I've got my rice, damn it." Pah exclaimed.

"Dumbass. Fried rice comes last, baldy."

Upper Echelon.
Kawata Nahoya.

"He's the 4th Division's captain." Takemichi noted.

"Huh?! Dumbass?! Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to?!"

"Peh-yan-kun!" Takemichi exclaimed.

"Pah-chin's brain's made of air, you asshole!" Peh shouted.

"Hell yeah!" Pah agreed.

"Then go ask them to make the fried rice first." Smiley stated.

"Some things sure don't change." Takemichi thought. "Even twelve years later, everyone's still in Toman."

"All you do is yap, yap, yap, yap! Shut the hell up!"

"Who is that?" Takemichi wondered, noticing someone unfamiliar.

"You damn old-timers."

Upper Echelon.
Shiba Hakkai.

"Huh?"

"Old-timers?"

"Don't go gettin' a big head, Shiba!" Peh exclaimed.

"Shut up! Who do you think is putting food on the table?"

Upper Echelon.
Inui Seishu.

"You old-timers barely even contribute to the treasury funds, and just laze around because you've been around the longest." Inui continued on.

"The hell did you say?!"

"Uh, wait..." Takemichi finally spoke up, but was interrupted by a chuckle.

"You're way too honest, Inupi."

Upper Echelon.
Kokonoi Hajime.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Takemichi wondered.

"They keep talking like they're the shit. Damn ex-Black Dragons." Chifuyu muttered, getting Takemichi's attention.

"Black Dragons?" Takemichi questioned to himself.

"Where the hell is Mikey, anyway?"

"Who gives a fuck about him?"

Takemichi glanced over when he heard a new voice speak up, seeing an older ginger-haired male filing his nails.

Upper Echelon.
Sunada Raiden.

"He was a captain in the Scorpion Gang." Takemichi recalled, quite surprised. "I see... they never disbanded after Bloody Halloween, only merged with Toman, so their members are still around."

"Like he'd bother seeing your ass." Hakkai added on.

"Huh?"

"Mikey this, Mikey that... You old-timers always whine about Mikey whenever something comes up." Hakkai glanced up. "Clingy little bitches."

Pah suddenly knocked a nearby chair down and walked forward towards Hakkai.

"Step outside, Shiba!" Pah ordered.

"I'm exhausted." Hanma spoke as he pointed his finger down. "What is this, a playground?"

"Hanma Shuji!" Takemichi thinks to himself.

"Tch."

"So he exists in this present, too."

"What I wanted to discuss at this regular meeting isn't the treasury funds. Koko's public IT business, Shiba's cover business, and a few of our other businesses... were searched by the cops three days ago. Which means..." Hanma paused.

"There's a Judas among us."

"Judas?" Peh questioned.

"He means a traitor." Sunada answered in a bored tone.

"There's no traitor here! We might be trash, but we're all ride-or-dies!" Pah exclaimed.

"Are you stupid?" Pah turns over to Kokonoi. "If no one's snitching, then how the hell did we all get searched on the same day?"

Pah pointed at him. "Seriously, who are you calling stupid?" He questioned.

"Don't try to lessen the blow by calling him "stupid" instead of "dumbass"!"

"I'm the one who called you a dumbass." Smiley informed.

"Shut up!" Peh exclaimed.

"If you're lookin' to fight Koko, I'll be glad to fight you!"

"What?! You want a piece of me?!"

"Bring it, dipshit!"

"Looks like you're all having fun."

Everyone then stood up from their seats and bowed.

"Good day, sir!"

Takemichi glanced over, seeing that Kisaki had entered the room. "Kisaki!" He exclaimed.

Kisaki sent a closed eyed smile. "No need to be so formal, guys." He told them.

"Huh?"

"It's rare for you to show up at an upper echelon meeting, Kisaki-san."

"I have something to take care of." Kisaki stated as a nearby guard nodded to him.

"That's Kisaki? He seems... different somehow." Takemichi noted.

Kisaki walked forward towards Takemichi as he looked at him in confusion.

"Takemichi, Toru, Chifuyu... Could I have some of your time?" He asked.

Takemichi then stood up. "Uh, sure." He responded.

The four of them were in a fancy-like hotel. "Isn't this place great? I just had it built recently." Kisaki explained.

"Huh... Wow." Takemichi said in awe.

"Well, have a seat."

"Uh, sure."

Takemichi sits down while Miyasato and Chifuyu stayed standing up.

"You can sit, too, Chifuyu, Toru." Kisaki told the two of them.

"I'm fine." Miyasato said.

"It's better if I stand." Chifuyu denied.

Kisaki laughed. "Jeez, you've always got a stick up your ass." He commented.

"Kisaki Tetta... Currently one of the most important figures in the Tokyo Manji Gang, and its acting commander. The guy that the whole police force couldn't grab by the tail. Is this really that Kisaki?" Takemichi wondered.

"We've known each other for quite a while now." Kisaki spoke.

"Huh? Uh, right..."

"I never thought everyone from back then would still be together today." Kisaki continued on as Takemichi looked down. "Are you surprised to hear me say that?"

"Uh, no..."

"Takemichi, Toru, Chifuyu..." Kisaki paused. "What do you think about me?"

"Huh?"

Kisaki glanced over to Takemichi. "You hate me, don't you?" He questioned.

"It was right around this time twelve years ago that Baji died." Kisaki continued on.

Chifuyu narrowed his eyes at the mention of Baji. "That was all my fault." Kisaki revealed, shocking Miyasato, Chifuyu, and Takemichi.

"I'm the one who planned the Bloody Halloween."

"Yeah, I know that. Of course I do. But why would you say it yourself?" Takemichi wondered.

"I used Hanma to sweet-talk Hanemiya Kazutora, and formed an organization called Valhalla." Kisaki started pouring a drink. "And then, I had them clash with Toman."

"Why would you do that?" Chifuyu questioned.

"Because I wanted power. I wanted something that would get me praise. If I had stopped the fight, everyone would bow down to me. I was desperate. I didn't think Baji was going to die." Kisaki stood up. "I'm serious, Chifuyu!"

Kisaki then bowed. "I'm sorry. I've wanted to apologize all this time. After twelve years, I finally understand. It's my friends that are important." He said.

"So you regret what happened back then?" Takemichi questioned.

Kisaki straightened back up, giving the three a closed eyed smile. "Not a single day goes by that I forget it." He replied, pushing up his glasses. "You can continue to hate me. But... At least have a drink with me today."

Four glasses of wine were placed on the table. "All right..." Chifuyu agreed.

The four of them then raised their glasses. "Let's toast Baji." Kisaki said as Takemichi, Miyasato, and Chifuyu raised their glasses to their lips, drinking the wine.

"Um... You got any beer?" Takemichi asked sheepishly. "I just can't get used to the expensive stuff."

"Your taste in alcohol is disgusting, Takemichi. I'm never going out to drink with you." Miyasato insulted, making Kisaki laugh.

"Come on, now. We can't have a Toman exec talking like that." Kisaki responded.

"Right..." Takemichi muttered, taking another sip as he coughed.

"Don't force yourself." Chifuyu told him.

"I can't believe this is happening. Maybe this future is actually pretty awesome!"

Kisaki sets down his drink. "I haven't had this much fun in a while." He commented.

"Right..."

"Can I say just one more thing?" Kisaki suddenly asked, causing Chifuyu, Miyasato, and Takemichi to look at him.

"Huh?"

"When I said I didn't think Baji would die earlier... Yeah, that was a lie." Kisaki revealed.

Chifuyu and Miyasato widened their eyes as well as Takemichi.

"Huh?"

"I used Kazutora to kill Baji. And I'm about to finish what I started." Kisaki continued.

Miyasato felt himself losing consciousness before he finally collapsed to the ground.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

Miyasato soon regained consciousness. When his vision cleared, he saw that both Chifuyu and Takemichi were tied to chairs just as he was.

"Huh?! What the hell is this?!" Takemichi exclaimed.  "What's going on?!"

"Takemitchy..."

Takemichi looked up and saw Chifuyu with his face covered in blood with Miyasato in the same state as him.

"Chifuyu?! What happened to you?!" Takemichi asked.

"Looks like you had a nice nap."

Kisaki's voice grabbed their attention. "Hanagaki." He finished.

"Kisaki!"

"He drugged us." Takemichi thought as Kisaki rolled up his sleeves.

"Matsuno Chifuyu... You sure are one annoying little fly. You couldn't forget something that happened twelve years ago, and kept trying to bite. Trying to get revenge for Baji Keisuke?" Kisaki questioned.

"Huh?"

Kisaki then sent a kick towards Chifuyu's stomach. "Stop it, Kisaki!" Takemichi shouted.

"Spit it out already!" Kisaki ordered. "You three together are our Judas, aren't you? Huh?!"

Kisaki swung his foot to Chifuyu's head, sending him back from the impact.

"Seriously. You sure did tell the cops some stupid-ass shit."

"Stop it, Kisaki!"

Chifuyu coughed harshly as Kisaki turned his attention towards Takemichi.

"You're wrong!" Chifuyu exclaimed, his bangs covering his eyes. "The police acted on their own! My only goal was to run you out of Toman."

Kisaki sighed. "How long are you gonna chase after Baji's shadow? You petty little shit." He asked.

Chifuyu breathed heavily before responding. "Toman's rotten right now. And I want to change that. You're right. I'm Judas. Takemitchy and Miya-kun both have nothing to do with it!" He claimed.

"Chifuyu... Don't tell me that twelve years later, you were still trying to avenge Baji-san all alone!" Takemichi thought.

"Hey." Kisaki called out. A man stepped forward. "I'm the one who gets to decide if they have anything to do with this or not."

Miyasato widened his eyes as he saw Kisaki pull out a gun. "Say, Hanagaki. Why are you acting like you've got no idea what's going on?" Kisaki questioned.

"Huh?"

"Well?"

Kisaki then shot Takemichi's leg, before pointing the gun at Miyasato and shooting him in the shoulder, making him wince in pain. "I told you, Takemitchy and Miya-kun have nothing to do with this! They don't know anything!" Chifuyu shouted.

"Oh, shut up. You two are partners, aren't ya?!" Kisaki spat out.

"My leg! It hurts!" Takemichi shouted out in pain.

"You lunatic." Chifuyu insulted as Kisaki pointed the gun to his head.

"Anyway, any last words?" Kisaki asked.

"Takemitchy!" Chifuyu shouted as Takemichi was sobbing.

"Takemichi!"

Takemichi stopped sobbing. "Listen, Takemitchy. These are my last words. A lot's happened these past twelve years. Mikey-kun disappeared, and Draken-kun's been executed. Before we knew it, we got involved in some messed-up shit. We made a lot of mistakes. But... But deep down, we haven't changed!" Chifuyu shouted out.

Takemichi turned to look at Chifuyu. "Baji-san's feelings... And Toman... They're in your hands, partner." Chifuyu concluded.

With his final words, Kisaki shot Chifuyu in the head, his body was flung back from the impact of the gun.

"Chifuyu!"

Miyasato could only stare in shock as blood stained the floor from Chifuyu's head.

"No way... This has to be some kind of nightmare. There's no way Chifuyu could die so easily!" Takemichi thought.

"How's it feel to have the fate of Toman resting in your hands?" Kisaki asked Takemichi before pointing the gun to his head next. "Don't worry. You'll be following him soon enough."

Kisaki then made eye contact with him. "What are you?! Is that all you've got?! Huh?!" Kisaki then stood up. "That's too bad." A tear slipped down Kisaki's face. "See ya..."

"My 'hero.'"

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

A/N: Oh, that was a bit damaging. Not as much as my Matsuno Chifuyu fanfic, however. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3106 words.