𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑. || 𝐓𝐎𝐊𝐘𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒

PART 19.

AUGUST, 2005

"Why'd he do it?" Mikey spoke up while standing in front of Y/n's hospital bed. 

He'd already been speaking to her for about an hour but, he'd finally brought himself to ask the question that's been lingering in his mind. He just couldn't shake Hanma's words that they would "no longer know peace". 

"Who?" Y/n questioned from the sudden topic change and noticed the serious expression that came onto Mikey's face. It wasn't one of anger or hatred towards her in particular but, he couldn't help himself from seeing Hanma in her. 

Now that he had seen the twins side by side, their appearances were completely identical. 

"Hanma. Why did he try to tear down Toman? Why did he try to use Kiyomasa to kill Draken? I just can't understand it all," Mikey admitted to her and she swallowed hard from the question. 

She opened her mouth to speak but, no words came out. Y/n knew what she wanted to say. She knew the exact words she'd hoped would come out. She just couldn't bring herself to go against her brother, to go against her loyalty to him. Regardless of what had happened the night of the festival, Shuji would always be her first priority. 

"I-I don't know. I'm sorry, Mikey," she finally said and casted her head down to avoid his eyes. 

"It's alright!" he cheered happily. "At least you and Draken are okay. That's really all that matters to me right now." His smile was bright and entirely genuine. It was almost as if he knew that she'd lied to him but, he respected her decision as to not cause conflict with someone he considered a friend. 

"Why are you so nice to me? I've done nothing to deserve it and we haven't known each other that long. Plus, having me around would only cause more issues for Toman," Y/n tried to think of more reasons why he should cut ties with her. She knew that somehow or someway she'd eventually betray him. Maybe it wouldn't be her present self but, her past self who did it. Y/n was well aware the kind of person she was and found that her word was fickle if not held with her brother alone.

The one time she'd promised to hold her word with someone else that Y/n thought she truly loved, he died right in front of her. His blood stained her hands as she held him in her arms. That was the consequence of being selfish. 

"Why don't you want me to trust you, Y/n?" Mikey spoke. 

"Cause you'll regret it," she answered simply.

"I already hold plenty of regret on my own. What's a little more?" 

**

As the day passed, Mikey's words stayed in her mind and his strength became apparent not only physically but mentally as well. He probably lost so much and somehow he was able to never stray away from his beliefs. 

Y/n couldn't exactly say the same. 

"You can be discharged today but, since you're a minor I need your family or guardian to sign you out before I can let you go. Do you need a phone to call them?" The nurse informed her kindly with a clip board in hand. 

"What if they can't make it here?"

"Then we can make arrangements for you until they can, dear."

The nurse was trying to be courteous to Y/n's situation without realizing that she really just wanted them to kick her out at this point. She was sure that the guardian they were waiting for wasn't coming or would realize that he was already here in the hospital and out of his fucking mind. Either outcome was terrible. 

"Well, my guardian is--"

"Here," Shuji as he strolled into the room after lazily knocking on the door when coming in. "Sorry, our parents are a little held up but, I can check out my sister, right?"

"Well, I don't know.." the nurse pondered. 

Shuji gave a quick wink to his sister that went unnoticed by the nurse before he came up with a sib story about their parents working three jobs each to keep their poor family afloat which soon moved the poor gullible lady to tears. It ended with her blowing into tissues and Shuji being able to sign his sister out of the hospital for discharge. 

"What would you do without me?" He said with a grin and chuckled. Shuji went over to the window and pushed it open to let in the air. He then lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out while leaning on the frame. 

"Do you really want to know?" Y/n taunted and flipped over in the bed, so her back faced him. "If not for you, I wouldn't have been stabbed in the first place."

"Don't fret. I evened the score with Kiyomasa. Even some of his guys while I was at it," Shuji said without much explanation which made Y/n turn to face him.

"What do you mean?"

"I would kill for you. I told you that night."

Y/n stared at him for a moment in slight shock though it quickly subsided to indifference. She tried to read her brother's intentions and pulled the cover closer to her body. "If you came here to convince me to go with you then you're wasting your time. I'm not going with you, Shuji. Not when I'm this close to changing our future."

"Okay."

"Look, just hear me out--what?"

"I'll trust your word for it. Do you really think I'm so stubborn that I'd try to persuade you? I'm not you," he teased which earned him a stuck out pierced tongue from his sister and a middle finger.

He was sincerely content, the less his sister was involved with what he was doing, the better.

After Shuji had long left her after getting an impatient call from Kisaki, she had been discharged and payed a visit to Draken on her way out. He was still mostly bedridden in comparison to herself and she tried not to let her guilt be written on her face. 

He seemed to immediately recognize it despite her attempt to hide it since he scolded her. "Don't look at me like that, Y/n."

"I'm not looking at you in any specific way," she said trying to feign ignorance. 

"Yes you are. Your face is saying 'I feel guilty and I wish I could do something'," he said while imitating her voice the best he good before staring at her with a blank face. 

"I wasn't thinking that," she corrected proudly.

"You were thinking something similar."

"Whatever," she muttered in defeat and Draken let out a light chuckle. Without warning, he stood up from his bed to move in front of her and bowed his head the best he could in his condition. 

"Thank you, Y/n."

She was caught off-guard and held her hands up with her cheeks red with embarrassment. Y/n urged him to lift his head since the gratitude wasn't necessary but, he stayed down for a while after. When he raised his head again, Draken placed a hand on her head. "You played a part in saving my life. That's enough to earn my trust and I'm sure others too."

a/n: and kiyomasa was never heard from again ♡ 

it's canon, ken wakui told me himself.