sinners and saints

a christmas bell and a not-so-big monster.

"i start the day so high and it ends so low."

"yup, you really suck, hakkai." mitsuya paused, wiping a bit of blood off his face. "i told you not to hate the situation you were born into, i was being a total show-off. i hated mine. once, i couldn't it, and i ran away from my little sisters and home. when i came back, my mom slapped me real good. lame, yeah? then, mom gave me a hug. she cried and said, 'i'm sorry you have to deal with this.'".  he kneeled down in front of the youngest shiba. " you aren't the only one who wants to run away. we're all weak. that's why we have family." you stared emptily at the floor, quietly listening.

maybe you were weak.

"no one's gonna abandon you over a lie like that! that's what toman's about!" you sighed, the best case of action right now would be to help take care of yuzuha. finally being able to pull yourself to your feet, you made your way over, simply dodging all the punches being thrown. "where the hell do you think you're goin'?" koko, oh beloved koko. "think you're jus' gonna walk out after what'ya did to boss last time?" you blinked, bored. "how do you.. get out of bed?" he threw a punch at you, but you moved out of the way. "the fuck are you talking about?" you smiled, tilting your head. "don't you.. miss her? is this what she'd want..?" it was wrong. it was wrong to use someone's loss against them, but you could only hope this would wake him up. his eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. you could hear people mumbling, you didn't even bother try to figure out what they were saying until you heard mikey's name. sure enough, as you lifted your head to look at the door, there he was.

"merry christmas. what are you guys doing.. on a day like this?" he was smiling, until he realized what was going on. "the black dragons?" mikey had large bags under his eyes, had he not been sleeping enough? takemichi bowed, apologizing. "this is all my fault. i broke the peace agreement with my own irresponsibility. that led to a fight with them." it was strange to see mitsuya taking the blame for this, but it wasn't necessarily surprising. "my big brother recognized the sound of your impulse."..what? " then baji said 'only mitsuya's bike sounds that sweet!' y'know? those two led me here." you head mumbles of confusion from mitsuya, understandably. you honestly weren't sure what to say.

"you're fighting these guys, right? why are you standing in my way? i just wanny ride with the guys again. if mitsuya dies... baji and my big bro will be sad!" you felt your breath hitch, what were you going to do? how could you fix this, how could you help him? your hand flew to your mouth as taiju threw mikey's head to the floor effortlessly. mitsuya and takemichi screamed. the bells went off. "hah! even the bells chime in my victory! i have defeated the invincible mikey!" you watched as mikey stood back up like nothing happen, you weren't sure why you were surprised. "just give it up. boss is way out of your league." you almost laughed at that. "is this all the invincible mikey is made out of?! how disappointing." everyone looked so worried. you sighed, completely walking past koko, sitting next to yuzuha. "you good?" she was smiling as she nodded. "that hit from you was me punishing myself."

you gently frowned, even as mikey easily slammed taiju to the floor. he'd be okay, mikey would be okay. you'd make sure he was okay. people chattered about it, but you were too deep in thought. you spent so long telling yourself that you'd help him, but you were completely lost on how. "i decided... to go riding with baji and shinchiro every christmas." he pulled out a charn from under his scarf, the one from when they first formed the gang. "i ride the memento my brother left, and i wear the charm baji left behind. when i'm out in the snow, it's like they're still with me." oh, thank god he wasn't hallucinating. "my brother and baji... they're here with me, with the stars."

oh.

"you're all here with me. that's what makes me strong." he turned around, eyes widening as if he hadn't even realized you were here. "n/n? what are you-" he turned to mitsuya, who raised his hands into the air. "i told her not fight." you smiled at the blonde's pout, waving him off. " 'm fine, mikey." he sighed, shaking his head. "well, christmas is over, but let's go ride!" "the fuck do you think you're going?! this isn't over yet, toman! koko, call our soldiers inside! we'll pit one hundred of our best men against them! none of you will leave alive. it ends here, i don't fucking lose!!" clearly, he does. "the black dragons are strong, but they can't create a new age. sure, you're good in a fight, but you've got no heart. toman's going to create a new age, so sit back and watch." taiju pounced out of inui's grip, pushing to see what the hell was taking so long.

"yo, mikey. finished up all the dudes outside, taiju lost and his soldiers are defeated. his will to fight completely disappeared." everyone made their way outside, chanting that toman had won. "h-he did this all alone?" you couldn't help but smile, looking at all the beat up men on the floor. "yep, two top guys of toman have always been the biggest monsters." mitsuya talked even while holding takemichi on his back, who had passed out. laughing, you nudged mitsuya's arm. "biggest? mikey's 5'3." the toman president shot you a glare in response, but you just smiled. mikey motioned for mitsuya to give him takemichi, who obliged. "great! c'mon, n/n!" you stared at him for a second, but followed him down nonetheless. "where're we going?" he didn't answer, but you were definitely confused as he led you to his bike. "mikey? all three of us aren't going to fit on there." he grinned, sitting in the middle of the seat with takemichi on the back. he pat the part of the cushion in front of him, letting the arm closest to you lie by his side. "you aren't gonna be able to see, dumbass!"

"yes i will! besides, so what if i couldn't?" you sighed, rubbing your head. it was times like these when you felt real bad for draken. "we could get pulled over, or crash, or- fine." what could you say, you were weak to the pretty boy. plus you wouldn't mind dying by his hands. it was slightly uncomfortable, not to mention you weren't sure where to put your head. "don't be so stiff." he was whispering. you could feel an arm wrap around your hips, pulling you closer too him, while his other hand guided your head to lean on his shoulder. he didn't let go though, he just held you there. you could hear mikey sigh before he rested his forehead in the crook of your neck. thank god takemichi had passed out, this was definitely too, well, intimate of a position for someone to see you in. "i keep having dreams where you aren't here." oh. "i'm-" you paused, fuck. you couldn't lie, you couldn't make promises you couldn't keep anymore. so, you wouldn't.

"i'm not going anywhere, i promise."