an announcement; un. @invinciblemikey

[invinciblemikey]

the sano dojo is currently closed for now. we will resume activities later down the line.

trespassers will be treated as such, so i strongly suggest you do not come unannounced - anyone who does not respect these guidelines will be shown no grace.

signed manjiro/mikey sano, president of the tokyo manji gang.

Comments

[crybabyhero]

[...oh. So he's really mad.

What could have happened? Why now?]

maybe it is

or maybe i just don't like seeing my friends be miserable

[invinciblemikey]

fuck off, takemitchy.

[crybabyhero]

i may not be as strong as you, but even i can kick a door open

if you don't open the door, i will

okay?

[invinciblemikey]

ill kill you if you do. is that what you want

cant you listen for once

[crybabyhero]

if you want me to listen then talk to me!!!

don't just tell me to buzz off for no reason!

aren't we closer than that?

[invinciblemikey]

i already did. go to summers' or yu's or kototan's place or wherever you wanna go. stay there until i tell you.

until then, don't.

you said i am still your president, don't defy that, takemitchy. or are you going to ignore that too.

[crybabyhero]

[This isn't talking. Mikey isn't telling him anything.

Again.

And now, if Takemichi goes in there, Mikey will take it as a coup, a direct threat to Toman and everything he's built. A direct threat to everything Takemichi has worked so hard to preserve.

Suddenly he's glad that Mikey refuses to meet him face to face. If he could see Mikey right now... There's no way he could hold back the tears.]

when you start acting like a president, i'll start listening like you're one

[For now, he'll step away from the door, but he doesn't leave the dojo. He slumps down against the outer wall with his depressingly untouched pancakes and starts scrolling through Mikey's contacts.

He has some texts he needs to send.]

[invinciblemikey]

(on the other side of that same door, manjiro's back rests while he looks at that last message. he could and would be in his right to kick the living shit out of takemichi for that alone.

being a president means protecting your own. when you don't even feel fully there, a dark blur behind his pupils and an urge for destruction - the wisest thing is to withdraw. it seems, however, he underestimated how much people would give a shit. he can't run in here, not too far nor too deep.

fortifying seems like the way to go until he can get his shit together. until he can get whatever it is that ruins him back under control. how is that not being a president, to preserve the lives of his people? even more so when the threat is himself.

he sighs. technically? takemichi didn't come in, but nor did he leave. his tone is devoid of emotion, brightness - just a hollow expression when he talks.)

... You're going to be the death of me.

[crybabyhero]

Mikey?!

[Takemichi nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears Mikey's voice. What the hell is he doing at the door if he doesn't plan to open it?!]

I-I'm not trying to be the death of anybody! [He shouts as he scrambles back to his feet.] I just wanna help!

[invinciblemikey]

(making sure michi doesn't die??)

You can help by letting me be.

[crybabyhero]

[An impossibly lofty goal.

Takemichi's shoulders sag instantly.]

That doesn't help you.

[invinciblemikey]

(a few years between them, a few universes, and that's what keeps manjiro from closing off completely. if he knew what he had done, what he's truly capable of, it wouldn't change a thing aside from the fact that he'd leave faster.

it's hard, but sometimes, being who he is doesn't allow for anything other than firmness. takemichi said he isn't being a president, but he's making sure the other breathes. the warnings are there, and he'd be flabbergasted to know takemichi has been ignoring all of then for so long.)

It's my decision, Takemitchy. Why can't you respect that?

[crybabyhero]

Because!

[Because, every square inch of his body screams, Mikey's decision is always to sacrifice himself. Somehow, someway, despite everything he does to protect everyone else around him, Sano Manjiro cannot conceive of a future in which he is allowed to be happy.

And he'll kill everyone he knows and loves just to prove he doesn't deserve it.]

Because someone has to watch your back, and I'm the only captain here!

[invinciblemikey]

Since when do I need someone to watch my back? It's the opposite, Takemitchy. You're mine, I take care of you. I'm trying to do that, so I need you to leave.

(takemichi might have experienced this a million times, but manjiro? manjiro hasn't. he doesn't know that asking nicely doesn't work, disappearing doesn't work - surrounding himself with drugs, violence, crime and a gazillion horrible people? also doesn't work. takemichi doesn't stop, he doesn't give up, no matter how difficult manjiro makes it to reach him.)

[crybabyhero]

I know. I know!

[There are so many things he wants to say. Shout. Scream. He'd promised to save Mikey too. Just because he's weaker doesn't mean he's completely useless. He's allowed to care too. But Mikey isn't called "invincible" just because he's strong. He's also impossibly stubborn. Takemichi knows that if Mikey has made up his mind not to open that door, nothing he can say will convince him otherwise.]

But I can't do that. Even if you kick me out of Toman.

[If Mikey still hasn't pieced together why Takemichi would start a Second Generation Tokyo Manji, this bit of defiance makes it pretty damn clear.]

[invinciblemikey]

(no, his stupid ass hasn't really gotten it - not fully, anyway. he knows something must have happened. the fact that there is a second generation is somewhat telling, but he can't really see everything. his best guess, considering the reflection he saw in that house when he arrived, on a date with yu of all times... the tattoo he had on his neck tells him kenchin must have died. maybe that's why this whole thing happened, and now, he's starting to think... was he the one who spilled the man's blood?

so close, so far. the puzzle misses too many pieces, and he still doesn't want to know. it'd hurt.)

So you'll just stay there, in the freezing cold? Don't be lame, Takemitchy. I already told you - go to Yu's, or Summers', or Kotone's. They're good people and they'll take you in.

[crybabyhero]

[They are good people. That's why Takemichi has already started to send them texts. He's not asking to stay with them though. He's asking for a lot more than that.]

...At least take the pancakes.

[invinciblemikey]

You need to eat, too, Takemitchy. Take them with you.

(not that he has any hope that the other will listen.)

[crybabyhero]

Guess I'll just stay out here forever then.

[The most determined and yet pathetic pout in history goes here.]

[invinciblemikey]

... Suit yourself.

(he's so upset. he hates this. why does he have to force him like this...)

[crybabyhero]

[Well, fuck. Back to stubbornly texting again.

He'll be there for at least another hour, frantically texting until his fingers are too cold to hit the right keyboard buttons.]