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 - Awakening - The Hand That Never Reached, Once More
He lay alone atop the rubble.
His breathing was shallow. Something deep in his chest felt cold. The tears had long since run dry.
The rooftop of Mugen. The old Tokyo Manji Kai meeting hall. The place where he'd once laughed with his friends was now nothing but a collapsed heap of concrete. Broken steel beams stabbed at the sky, and shattered window glass scattered the moonlight in every direction.
Takemichi lay on his back, unable to move.
His fingertips trembled, just slightly.
(Mikey.)
He called the name inside his heart.
Just that was enough to make his chest feel like it would tear apart.
(Chifuyu.)
Another name.
Chifuyu had fallen back then—he'd taken Mikey's kick head-on. He'd bled, and then he'd stopped moving.
(It's my fault.)
All of it, because I came.
Because I tried to reach Mikey. Because I did something unnecessary. Because I couldn't do a single thing.
Takemichi closed his eyes.
Mikey's face surfaced behind his eyelids. That innocent smile. But deep in those eyes, a black haze was wavering.
(If you want to be saved, then say it.)
That's what I shouted back then.
(I'll save you!)
But I couldn't save him.
Mikey shook off my hand. The black impulse swallowed him whole. And then he hurt our friends. He brought Chifuyu down.
(I broke Mikey.)
Mikey's words echoed over and over in the back of his ears.
"You're the one who broke me."
That voice. Those eyes.
Takemichi bit his lip. The taste of blood spread through his mouth.
(No.)
(I didn't want to break him.)
(I wanted to save him.)
But the result was this.
His friends were hurt, Chifuyu was down, and Mikey had sunk into the darkness.
I couldn't do anything.
Slowly, Takemichi raised himself up.
His whole body ached. His ribs creaked. The old scar on his left arm throbbed dully.
(Even so.)
Takemichi pressed a hand against the rubble and tried to stand.
(Even so, I—)
His knees buckled. His legs shook.
(I can't give up.)
That was when it happened.
With a clatter, rubble shifted.
Someone was racing up the stairs.
Ragged breathing. Footsteps.
Takemichi lifted his head.
Beneath the moonlight stood a single man.
Short black hair, neatly styled. Dark eyes holding a serious light. A calm air about him despite his youth. But his face was twisted now, as if in pain.
Tachibana Naoto.
The trigger for time leaps. The only one who could send Takemichi into the past.
"Hanagaki!"
Naoto's voice rang out across the nighttime rooftop.
Takemichi's eyes went wide with surprise.
"Naoto...? Why are you here...?"
Naoto, shoulders heaving, ran to Takemichi's side.
"Don't 'why are you here' me! What are you doing in a place like this?!"
Naoto planted himself in front of Takemichi and gripped his shoulders hard.
"I told you—the trigger is powerless in the past! I don't have the power to save you! And yet you went off alone, into this..."
Naoto's voice was shaking.
Takemichi noticed the tremor.
(So Naoto's scared too.)
No—that wasn't it.
(Naoto's hurting too.)
Naoto's hands clenched tighter on Takemichi's shoulders.
"What if you'd died?! You—the one who saved my sister! I won't allow you to break down in a place like this!"
His sister.
Tachibana Hinata.
The person Takemichi had first truly wanted to protect, back in middle school.
He'd repeated his time leaps over and over, saving Hina again and again.
And Hina's little brother was here now, gripping Takemichi's shoulders, trembling.
"My sister is still waiting for you! Because you saved her that day, she's alive! And yet, if you give up here, everything she owes you means nothing!"
Naoto's words drove straight into Takemichi's chest.
(Hina's waiting.)
(For me.)
Slowly, Takemichi lifted his tear-streaked face.
Naoto's eyes were fixed straight on him.
In them were anger, and sorrow, and—unmistakably—trust.
"Hanagaki. You saved my sister. You're stronger than anyone. I know it. I know how far you'll go, how much of your life you'll risk, for other people."
Naoto let go of Takemichi's shoulders and this time clenched his fist in front of his own chest.
"So please—don't break. If you break, neither I nor my sister can be saved."
Takemichi stared at Naoto's face.
(Naoto.)
(You really believe in me?)
(In me—someone who couldn't do a thing?)
Deep in Takemichi's chest, something began to warm, slowly.
It was a tiny ember, nearly extinguished at the bottom of despair.
"Naoto..."
Takemichi forced the words out.
"I want to save Mikey. But because of me, Chifuyu... everyone..."
His voice was hoarse.
Naoto looked steadily into his eyes.
"It's not your fault. The black impulse is controlling Mikey. You're just standing up against it."
"But I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop Mikey."
"It's not over yet. You have your time leaps. With a handshake from me, you can start over."
At Naoto's words, Takemichi caught his breath.
(Right.)
(I still have my time leaps.)
(I can try again.)
But the price was steep.
If Naoto—the trigger—died in the past, Takemichi could never return to the present.
"But Naoto, you'd be in danger. If the trigger dies, I..."
"I know. That's exactly why I've made up my mind."
Naoto gripped Takemichi's hand tightly.
"If you're going to risk your life to save Mikey, then I'll believe in you and risk mine too. That's how I repay you for saving my sister."
Tears spilled from Takemichi's eyes.
(Naoto.)
(You'd go that far...)
Takemichi squeezed Naoto's hand back.
"Thank you, Naoto. I'll try again."
"Yeah. You can do it."
Just then, another set of footsteps came from below the stairs.
Heavy, powerful footsteps.
Takemichi and Naoto turned at the same time.
The man who climbed onto the rooftop was tall, his blond braid swaying.
A dragon tattoo at his left temple. Sharp eyes. A massive frame—six foot one.
Ryuuguji Ken.
Former vice-president of Tokyo Manji Kai. Mikey's right hand, the one who held up his heart.
"Takemicchi."
Draken's voice was low and heavy.
Takemichi looked at him.
Draken's face was thick with exhaustion. His fists were clenched hard, trembling faintly.
"Draken... did you finish treating Mitsuya and the others?"
"It's done. None of 'em are in danger. But Chifuyu—he's still..."
Draken broke off.
The silence told everything about how grave Chifuyu's condition was.
Takemichi's chest tightened.
"Chifuyu... is Chifuyu going to be all right?"
"Don't know. He's been taken to the hospital. He hasn't woken up."
Slowly, Draken sank to his knees in front of Takemichi.
"Takemicchi. I decided I'd hold up Mikey's heart. That I'd stand at his side. But all I could do was be near him—I couldn't stop the black impulse."
Draken's fists clenched even tighter.
"I couldn't save Mikey. All I could do was watch him fall into the dark."
Draken's voice was shaking.
The fists of the man called the strongest were trembling.
Takemichi watched that tremor closely.
(Draken was suffering too.)
(It wasn't just me. Draken's been regretting all along that he couldn't save Mikey.)
"But you—Takemicchi, you're the only one."
Draken looked straight up into Takemichi's eyes.
Tears were welling in his.
"Please. Save Mikey for me. Deep down, he cares about his friends more than anyone. He's just lost to the curse."
Draken bowed his head deeply.
Takemichi stared at Draken's trembling fists.
(I wasn't alone.)
(Naoto, Draken—everyone wants to save Mikey.)
(I wasn't the only one carrying this.)
Deep in Takemichi's chest, the nearly extinguished ember grew a little larger.
"Draken. Lift your head."
Takemichi placed a hand on Draken's shoulder.
"I'll save Mikey. No matter what. For your sake, for Chifuyu's, for everyone's."
Draken raised his face.
"Takemicchi..."
"I'll get back up. Again and again and again. That's who Hanagaki Takemichi is."
Takemichi's voice was shaking, but his eyes were steady.
Naoto stood beside him.
"Hanagaki. Let's go. Back to the past, one more time."
"Right now?"
"Yes. I'm worried about Chifuyu's condition too. Let's return to the present first and check on things."
Naoto held out his hand.
Takemichi looked at it.
(If I take this hand, I can start over.)
(But this time, I won't fail. No matter what.)
Takemichi turned back to Draken.
"Draken. Look after Chifuyu. And everyone else."
"Leave it to me. You just think about Mikey."
Takemichi nodded.
And then he took Naoto's hand.
In that instant, the world burst white.
——
When he opened his eyes, there was a white ceiling.
The smell of antiseptic. A steady electronic beep.
A hospital.
Takemichi sat up in the bed.
(I'm back in the present.)
He looked at his own hands.
No wounds. No pain.
Only the memory of that rubble in 2005 remained, vivid and raw.
"You're awake."
Takemichi looked toward the voice.
Naoto was sitting in a chair beside the bed.
"Naoto... where am I..."
"Tachibana General Hospital. The wounds you take in the past don't carry over to your body in the present. Rest easy."
Naoto spoke in a calm tone.
Takemichi looked around.
It was a private room. Outside the window it was dark. Night.
"Chifuyu—where's Chifuyu?"
Takemichi pressed toward Naoto as he asked.
Naoto's expression clouded.
"...The room next door. He still hasn't regained consciousness."
Takemichi leaped off the bed.
"Hanagaki! You still need to rest—"
"I'm going to Chifuyu."
Takemichi bolted from the room.
The room next door.
He opened the door.
There, lying in a white bed, was Matsuno Chifuyu.
The two-block cut, blond and black.
Takemichi's partner.
The man who had once been Baji Keisuke's right hand.
Even after Baji's death, he'd stayed with Tokyo Manji Kai, always looking out for Mikey.
And now Chifuyu lay with a ventilator, eyes closed.
His chest rose and fell, slowly.
He was alive.
But he wouldn't wake.
Takemichi walked to the side of Chifuyu's bed.
"Chifuyu..."
Takemichi took Chifuyu's hand.
It was cold.
"I'm sorry, Chifuyu. It's my fault. Because I tried to reach Mikey, you..."
Takemichi's voice trembled.
A tear fell onto Chifuyu's hand.
"But I still can't give up."
Takemichi gripped Chifuyu's hand tight.
"You told me you'd carry on Baji's will—that we'd protect Mikey together. I haven't forgotten those words. So I'm going again."
Takemichi lifted his face.
"I'll save Mikey. No matter what. And I'll wake you up. Just wait for me, Chifuyu."
Just then, Naoto appeared in the doorway of the room.
"Hanagaki. If you die in the past, this future disappears too. But if you don't come back, Chifuyu will never wake up like this."
Naoto's voice was quiet.
Takemichi looked at him.
"I know. That's why I'm going."
"You have two people's 'you're the only one' riding on you—mine and Chifuyu's. Do you understand how heavy that is?"
Takemichi nodded.
"Yeah. It's heavy. But that weight is what pushes me forward."
Naoto held out his hand in front of Takemichi.
"Then let's go. Back to 2005, one more time."
Takemichi gently released Chifuyu's hand.
And then he took Naoto's.
The world burst white once more.
——
When he opened his eyes, he was in nighttime Shibuya.
Neon lights. Crowds. Car horns.
August 26, 2005.
Takemichi stood in a back alley.
(I'm back.)
(In 2005.)
That was when it happened.
A violent vision flashed through Takemichi's mind.
—A dim back alley.
—A man, collapsed.
—A homeless man. Filthy clothes. Gaunt body.
—Standing over him, another man.
—Black hair. Sharp eyes.
—Sano Shinichiro.
—Mikey's brother.
Shinichiro was looking down at the homeless man with no expression.
The homeless man, bleeding, gazed up at Shinichiro with eyes full of curses.
"I curse forever all who carry your blood."
The homeless man's hoarse voice echoed through the alley.
"Generation after generation, your line will be swallowed by the black impulse. You will destroy those you love with your own hands."
The homeless man's eyes pierced through Shinichiro.
"That curse will manifest most strongly in your little brother."
—The vision cut off.
Takemichi braced a hand again
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