tokyo revengers ; akogare.

𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳: 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.

"𝐎𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭?
𝐈'𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤
𝐎𝐫 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Misa had been staying over at Hanma's new place.
He was still a fugitive, but no one really ever searched for him.
He could walk by cops, and they didn't even recognize him as long as he kept his hands hidden.
She was too scared to go back home.
What if she became her old self again?
What if Taiju was there?
She had forced herself to forget about him, yet her heart still hurt so bad.
He hadn't even been there for her release.
But Hanma was.
If a boy that didn't love her cared more than the one that did love her, what did this mean to her?

"I got recruited for Kanto." Hanma said out of nowhere, while Misa was working out in the living room.
"What's Kanto?" She asked, confused.
At jail they didn't talk about males at all, it was all female gangs, so obviously she had no clue on what the current status of power was in Tokyo.
"Kanto is Mikey's new gang. As soon as Toman disbanded, three new gangs were born: Rokuhara Tandai, Brahman, and Kanto. They all lead Tokyo, they're called the Three Deities." Hanma explained to her, which made her sit up.
"So, is Toman still out there?" She asked, hoping that maybe Takemichi and the rest still were delinquents.
"Nah, it's just Mikey, he went batshit crazy, none of the Toman members are in Kanto I believe." He said shrugging his shoulders, a cigarette on his mouth as he watched Misa.
"Why are you more ripped than me? Maybe I should've gone to jail." He complained, staring at her defined abs, making her scoff, hitting him on his shoulder.

"I'm going home. I wanna get on my own path, so I wanna see if Taiju is still around." Misa explained, taking her bag in her hand.
"You sure you don't wanna stay? I'm down to datin' the new you." Hanma said with a smirk, pulling Misa in by holding her waist, but she pushed him away.
"I'm not a toy anymore." She replied, leaving his house, walking towards the train station, a smirk on her face.
She had waited years to say that phrase.

Misa unlocked the door to her apartment, walking in, just to find a dusty silent apartment.
A note was on top of the dining table, and she already knew what it was.
'For my dear Misa:
I am full of emptiness. You who I considered my hope and blessing, aren't in my life anymore. They keep rejecting my requests to visit you at the new prison, and my letters get no reply either. I don't know whether I have lost you or they're more strict, no matter how many times I ask they give me no reply.
My life isn't the same without you.
I can't live in this place anymore, it only makes me remember that you used to sit in this very table every morning and every moment we spent together in here.
I am moving back with my siblings.
If you ever come back, please come back to me.
               — with lots of love, Taiju Shiba.'
Misa fell to the floor, and her heart felt broken once again.
All of this time, she thought he had forgotten about her and hadn't requested to visit her, but seeing this letter just made her pain worsen.
Tears didn't fall from her eyes, but they filled them.
If she had learnt a lesson in jail, was that crying wasn't worth anything.
It was a weakness that showed empathy.
If you want people to fear you, you can't show any humanity.

Hesitantly, the next day, she found herself in front of the Shiba's house on her own new bike.
She had bought her first bike now that she was out of jail, using her savings.
She didn't even know what bike it was, because she had no idea. It just looked cool to her and ran fast enough for her.
She took her black helmet off, holding it under her arm.
She stared at the house, as if waiting for him to come out.
And as if destiny had decided it, Taiju came out running as soon as he heard the engine.
He stopped in his tracks to check if it really was Misa, and even though he wasn't sure, he ran towards her and pulled her into the tightest hug he ever gave, tears falling out of his eyes.
"I have been waiting for this day ever since the day I last held you." He said in a raspy voice, making Misa let out a few tears too, finally hugging him back.
They both pulled away, staring into each other's eyes.
"Why didn't you come when I got released, Taiju?" She asked sadly, remembering how disappointed she was that day.
"I'm sorry, Misa. The last time I sent a request, they told me you got into a fight and would probably get extra time for it." Taiju explained, wiping her tears away from her cheeks, a sad expression in his eyes as he talked about it.
"Those guards have been sabotaging me since day one. I only got in a fight in my first day and I got my ass beaten. Plus, everytime it was mail time, they told me I didn't get anything." Misa complained, sighing, filled with anger.
As soon as he heard that, Taiju ran inside and back out with a box in his hands.
"Look. I've been trying all this time, I've written everyday, even today." He said as he opened the box, showing it was full of letters for Misa.
Full of relief, Misa cried out for the first time in years, the last time had been with Taiju during the Kanto incident.
"I thought you forgot about me. Or maybe that you hated who I became." She said between sobs, reaching out for a hug again, but Taiju grabbed her wrist before she could.
"I'd never forget about the person who came to me like a guardian angel when it was supposed to be my death day. The person who gave me a home and taught me the meaning of family. The person I first had a crush on. I'll like you no matter how much you change. I couldn't expect for you to be the same after being in jail." He reassured her, pulling her in and hugging her tightly against his chest, making her smile once again for the first time in years too.
This was her home.
She didn't need to fake her character anymore.
She was safe with Taiju.