𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - s. ᴍᴀɴᴊɪʀᴏ

𝟎𝟗𝟒: 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥

You park your bike, locking it before getting off. You had just arrived in Shinjuku.

If Senju didn't want to talk to her big brother, maybe she'd talk to me.

You felt that it was unfair to Senju that you got to have a conversation with Takeomi last night. Though you were sure you and Senju were upset about different things regarding the battle. You thought she deserved to get her feelings heard.

You take a deep breath before entering the building. You were surprised that it was still even open. Considering Brahman disbanded a month ago.

You open the door and see her at the bottom of the steps of the arena.

Senju looks back to see who entered. Her cold gaze shifts to surprise, "[Y/N]?!"

You start to walk down the steps. "Did Takeomi send you here...?" She asks. You sit down beside her, chuckling a bit, "You think I'd listen if he told me to do something?"

"I came here on my own," you tell her, "I wanted to see you."

Senju puts her head down, "If you're here to try to console me, leave..." She says. "Brahman's over... And it's my fault."

You frown, "No, it's not." You scoot closer to the girl.

"It is!" She shouts, startling you. "If I hadn't taken Takemichi out on Tanabata, Rokuhara would've never targeted him... And the battle wouldn't have started!"

"You didn't know that would happen," you say. "You couldn't control that..." You felt guilty that Senju blamed herself. When both you and Takemichi were aware of the consequences during Tanabata.

"It's not even just that..." Senju continues, "I was stupid to think that I could face South! I couldn't even bring myself to go against Mikey!"

You lean forward, looking into the girl's eyes. "You're not the only one who overestimated themselves..."

Senju looks over at you. "I wasn't using my head entirely during that battle. Especially when I was against Mikey..." You admitted, looking down. "Of course, I wouldn't win against him. Yet I still provoked him."

You look back at Senju, "But I don't regret it," you said seriously. "I'd rather lose than not even try!"

Senju's eyes light up at your statement. "And that's what you did too," you added. "Fighting South. You might've lost..."

"But what girl can say that they could keep up with that guy, right?" You smile, hoping to cheer the girl up. "So don't beat yourself up over what happened," you say. "You're not at fault for any of it."

"Actually..." Senju's voice sounded sadder, "There is something I am at fault for..." You look at her puzzlingly. "The reason Haruchiyo's gone mad... Mikey's impulses..."

"I'm responsible for that."

Your eyes widened. You take a second to process what Senju said. "Who's Haruchiyo?" You asked.

"Sanzu..." Senju answered. "Haruchiyo took up a different last name after he left," she explained.

"How would you be responsible for that?" You questioned out loud. "Those two made their own choice to leave!"

"Except I was!" She raised her voice again.

You see her fists shake in her lap. "There's this secret I've been holding onto... Something, not even Takeomi or anyone else knows..."

A secret...? You repeated in your head.

You only used your foresight earlier to find where Senju was. You weren't expecting her to admit some sort of secret. Especially not about Mikey and Sanzu.