Tokyo Manji Kai: The Dawn of the End - The Last Handshake to Save Mikey
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"I'll save him. Even if it kills me again."
Hanagaki Takemichi, 26, part-timer, failure at life. He spends his days avoiding the news—because every broadcast brings another crime committed by Bonten, the criminal empire built by the man he once swore to save: Sano Manjirou. Mikey. The friend who gave a weak, worthless kid a name worth fighting for. The friend now soaked in blood.
But when Matsuno Chifuyu appears at his door with a confession—*"We've been lying to you, Takemitchy"*—the fra
Tokyo Manji Kai: The Dawn of the End - The Last Handshake to Save Mikey - Black Impulse - An Unreachable Smile
Takemichi had lost count of how many times he'd reread the note taped to his window.
"Takemicchi — I want to talk to you."
A scrawl in black pen. The handwriting was rough, but the final stroke of the last character stretched out strangely long. He felt like he could see the writer's hesitation bleeding into that line.
Chifuyu had said his piece the night before: "I'm not going."
" Mikey's calling for you. If I show up, it'll just make things worse."
And with that, Chifuyu had left early that morning to trace the old Toman contact network. Alone in the room, Takemichi clutched the paper and stared out the window.
The August sky was high, the clouds drifting slow. The air of 2005 Shibuya was so much lighter than 2017's. Even on the faces of the people walking the streets, there was still room to breathe.
(Mikey wrote my name.)
Every time he recalled the words on that paper, something stirred deep in his chest. Joy — and fear in equal measure. At the hospital that day, Mikey had looked at him like a stranger. So why did he know the name Takemicchi?
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.
But not going was never an option.
Takemichi folded the paper carefully, tucked it into his pants pocket, and stepped out into the streets of Shibuya.
The appointed time was night.
The place: the abandoned building "Mugen" — once Toman's gathering spot.
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Once the sun went down, the air of Shibuya transformed.
Neon light washed the streets, and the foot traffic only grew. Laughter of young people, shopkeepers calling out, the distant wail of a police siren. All of it blended together to make the summer night that was Shibuya.
Takemichi slipped through the crowd and turned into a back alley.
The moment he stepped in, the clamor fell away like a lie. Streetlights grew sparse, graffiti multiplied on the walls. The smell of rotting garbage and damp asphalt stung his nose.
The abandoned building "Mugen" stood at the far end of that alley.
A five-story relic. Every window was boarded shut, the walls layered thick with spray-painted words. The place that had once been Toman's gathering spot was now nothing but a ruin.
Takemichi stopped in front of the building and looked up.
The rooftop railing floated faintly in the moonlight.
(Mikey's up there.)
Takemichi clenched his fist. His fingertips were trembling. It was a summer night, and yet his palms were slick with sweat.
He was scared.
But more than that — he wanted to see him.
Takemichi set his foot on the rusted fire escape. One step, then another. The iron stairs groaned under his weight. The sound seemed to overlap with the beating of his own heart.
The door to the rooftop was half open.
Takemichi took a deep breath and pushed it wide.
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The night wind swept through.
The rooftop was wider than he'd expected, the floor littered with dead leaves and empty cans. The lights of the city blurred in the distance.
And there was a figure perched on the railing.
A small man with long blond hair pulled up in a careless half-bun. Black T-shirt, baggy black pants. His neck was still bare — not a single tattoo yet.
Sano Manjirou.
Mikey was there.
" Yo, Takemicchi. You're late."
Mikey laughed as he said it, easy as if they'd seen each other just yesterday. An innocent, childlike smile. His blond hair swayed in the night wind, catching the moonlight.
The instant Takemichi saw that smile, something deep in his chest throbbed hard.
(It's Mikey. Mikey's really here.)
" Mikey... you — you know who I am?"
Takemichi's voice shook so badly it surprised even him.
Mikey tilted his head. His droopy black eyes fixed on Takemichi.
" Know you? Takemicchi's Takemicchi. I'm the one who gave you that name."
At those words, Takemichi lost his voice.
At the hospital, Mikey had said, "Who was it again?" That Mikey hadn't known him. And yet this Mikey was calling him Takemicchi.
(What does that mean?)
(Are his memories... mixing together?)
As Takemichi stood there reeling, Mikey hopped lightly down from the railing.
" Anyway, whatever. We're here now. So, Takemicchi, the thing I wanted to talk about is—"
Mikey took one step toward him.
And that was when it happened.
Takemichi saw it.
Deep in Mikey's black eyes, something flickered.
A black haze.
As if a drop of ink had fallen into water, something pitch-dark spread through Mikey's eyes.
(What... is that?)
A cold thing ran down Takemichi's spine.
Mikey was smiling. Innocently, happily smiling. And yet only the depths of his eyes weren't smiling.
No — worse than not smiling.
(That black haze — it's looking at me.)
Takemichi had unconsciously taken a step back.
Mikey took another step closer.
The haze thickened.
With every step Takemichi retreated, the black in Mikey's eyes deepened. As if it were feeding on Takemichi's fear, growing fat on it.
" Takemicchi."
Mikey's voice dropped suddenly low.
" Don't come near me."
Takemichi's feet stopped.
" ...Huh?"
Mikey was still smiling. His mouth was smiling. But his eyes no longer saw Takemichi at all.
" Don't come near me. The me right now isn't the me you think I am."
The night wind blew hard.
Blond hair scattered, and shadow fell across Mikey's face. Within that shadow, the black haze seemed to swirl, churning round and round.
(This is the black impulse.)
Takemichi couldn't stop his body from shaking.
The news he'd seen in 2017 flashed through his mind. Bonten. Murder. The fact that Mikey had killed his own comrades.
(This is what broke Mikey.)
(This black impulse is what—)
But Takemichi didn't run.
He forced his trembling legs forward.
" Why?"
His voice was hoarse. Still, he wrung out the words.
" Why can't I come near you? I wanted to see you, Mikey. You're the one who called me here saying you wanted to talk."
The smile vanished from Mikey's face.
The innocent smile was gone without a trace. What stood there now was something else entirely, fixing Takemichi with eyes that held no light.
" I called you. But you shouldn't have come after all."
" Why the hell not?! I wanted to see you!"
Takemichi was shouting. Raising his voice as if to shake off the fear.
" I came here to see you, Mikey! I came here because I wanted to see you!"
In that instant, Mikey's eyes narrowed sharply.
And then—
The wind stopped.
Mikey's body vanished.
(Huh?)
By the time the thought crossed Takemichi's mind, it was already too late.
Mikey was right in front of him.
Distance: zero.
Blond hair filled his entire field of vision.
(A kick is coming—)
Takemichi squeezed his eyes shut on reflex. His body went rigid. He braced for death.
But no matter how long he waited, the impact never came.
He opened his eyes, terrified.
Mikey's right leg had stopped just a few centimeters from Takemichi's face.
The leg lowered slowly.
" ...You saw it, didn't you."
Mikey looked away from him.
" Just now, I was about to kick you. I stopped at the last second. But next time, I might not be able to."
Mikey picked up an iron pipe that had been leaning against the wall.
And then, without warning, he slammed it into the wall.
CLANG!!
A metallic sound that split the ears.
The iron pipe broke in the middle. No — it didn't break so much as shatter. Shards of metal scattered across the rooftop floor, glinting in the moonlight.
" I'm going wrong in the head, Takemicchi. I'm happy to see you — and at the same time, there's a me that wants to snap your neck."
Mikey tossed the shattered pipe away.
Clatter, clatter — the hollow sound echoed across the night rooftop.
" So don't come. Don't come near me. I'll end up breaking you too."
Mikey turned his back.
Lit by the moonlight, that back looked terribly small.
Takemichi's body was still shaking.
(If he'd kicked me, I'd be dead.)
(The iron pipe shattered to pieces.)
(Mikey could kill me.)
And yet.
Takemichi took one step forward.
On trembling legs, one more step.
" ...I'm not running."
Mikey's back twitched.
" I won't run. Even if you're going wrong in the head, even if you try to kill me, I won't run from you."
Takemichi's voice was still trembling. But the words shook the rooftop air, clear and certain.
" I won't leave you alone, Mikey."
Mikey didn't turn around.
After a long silence, he murmured, barely audible.
" ...You're an idiot, Takemicchi."
That voice sounded like it was crying, and like it was laughing.
And then Mikey walked away toward the rooftop door.
Takemichi just watched his retreating figure.
He couldn't chase after him.
No — he didn't think he needed to.
(Mikey's fighting with everything he has, just to keep from hurting me.)
That kick hadn't been meant to kill him. It had been meant to push him away.
(He's trying to protect me.)
Takemichi picked up a shard of the broken iron pipe.
The metal's broken edge shone cold in the moonlight.
(Even so, I won't give up.)
Takemichi gripped the shard.
The sharp edge bit into his palm. Blood welled up. It hurt. But right now, that pain felt good.
(Pain means I'm alive.)
(I'm still alive.)
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The next morning, Takemichi went to see Ryuuguji Ken.
Draken's house was an old single-family home on the outskirts of Shibuya. Two motorcycles sat in the yard, and a pair of shoes lay kicked off carelessly at the entryway.
When he pressed the intercom, heavy footsteps approached after a moment.
The door swung open with a click.
Standing there was a tall man with a blond braid hanging down his back. His hundred-and-eighty-five-centimeter frame looked even larger in the morning light. The dragon tattoo on his left temple, paired with his sharp gaze, radiated pure intimidation.
Ryuuguji Ken.
Vice-captain of Tokyo Manji Kai. Mikey's right hand — and his heart.
" Takemicchi... what's up, this early?"
Draken looked down at Takemichi, rubbing his eyes like he'd just woken up.
" Draken. I need to talk to you. It's about Mikey."
Draken's eyes snapped wide awake in an instant.
" ...Come in."
Takemichi stepped inside.
The living room was surprisingly tidy. An old sofa, a small table. A flag that looked like it had been used at Toman gatherings hung carelessly on the wall.
Draken pulled two cans of coffee from the fridge and tossed one to Takemichi.
" So. What about Mikey?"
Draken dropped heavily onto the sofa and popped his can open.
Takemichi told him about the night before.
Meeting Mikey on the rooftop of the abandoned building "Mugen." Mikey calling him Takemicchi. The black haze wavering in his eyes. The kick that stopped at the last second. The iron pipe shattered to pieces.
" ...Mikey told me not to come near him. Said he'd break me too."
Takemichi stared down at the can in his hands.
" He was fighting so hard to hold himself back. Keeping himself in check so he wouldn't hurt me. I've never seen Mikey like that."
Draken listened in silence.
He took a sip of his coffee and let out a deep sigh.
" ...I see. So Mikey met you."
Draken's voice was low and heavy.
" Takemicchi. Do you know what that black haze really is?"
Takemichi lifted his head.
(I know. I know, Draken.)
(The black impulse. The curse of the homeless man Mikey's brother Shinichirou killed.)
(I've seen the future — I know what happens to Mikey when it swallows him.)
But Takemichi couldn't say it.
" ...No, I don't really get it. But I know one thing — that wasn't a normal state."
He lied.
He couldn't tell Draken about the future. Not about Mikey becoming Bonten's leader, not about him killing his comrades, not about Takemichi himself being killed by Mikey.
(If I told him, Draken wouldn't believe me. And even if he did — who knows what Draken would do, knowing the future.)
Takemichi bit his lip.
Draken watched him closely.
" ...Fine. I don't fully understand what that thing is either. But there's one thing I'm sure of."
Draken set his can on the table.
" Mikey
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