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A snowflake fell on the young man's nose and immediately melted, leaving behind only a wet trail and cold. He sneezed, impatiently drilling the crowd with his black eyes, which a little more and will absorb people scurrying back and forth into their abyss.
— Mikey!
He indifferently turned his head in the direction of the voice and noticeably perked up when he noticed a girl running towards him, who bumped into people and apologized, receiving dissatisfied exclamations in her address. The guy suppressed a light laugh when his friend tripped over her own foot and collapsed with all her weight into a snowdrift, shrieking.
—Are you hurt, Takemitchy? — He smiled, offering his hand to the girl as she spat out the snow.
— No, only the lips will crack now. — Takemichi began to wipe her lips with a damp hand, pursing them from slight disappointment — Now I definitely have to buy a balm.
Manjirou ignored the girl's lamentations, silently rejoicing at the opportunity to steal her lip balm again, which was not that he needed. He could have bought it himself or asked Emma for it. It was just that Takemichi's balm smelled like her and soothed him as much as the scent peculiar only to her that surrounded Mikey during their embrace.
In addition, it is very easy to steal the balm from the absent-minded Takemichi. It's enough to slip your hand into her pocket unnoticeably and you get your prize. The girl will then sigh tearfully for a long time, trying to remember where she could have put the loss, unaware of the true location of her balm. His little pranks were noticed only by Draken, who caught him applying the same balm on his lips.
— And what do you think you're doing? — Ken measured his friend with a dissatisfied look, but he was in no hurry to take the lipstick.
— I'm smearing my lips with balm, isn't it obvious? — Mikey shrugged, returning to the business he had interrupted earlier, as if it was something ordinary.
— Isn't this balm Takemitchy? She lost exactly the same one the other day.
— I don't know what you're talking about, Ken-chin.
— Listen, Mikey, whatever you're doing, but finish it already.She has a boyfriend, in case you haven't forgotten. — and left the blond man with his hand frozen a few inches from his lips alone. The smell of apple filled the room.
— Mikey, are you listening to me?
Takemichi's voice pulled him out of his memories, forcing him to pay attention to himself.
– No.
Mikey watched with a grin as Hanagaki frowned with slight resentment, sighing in resignation.
That's right, she already has a boyfriend. And it's not him. Caring, kind and understanding Hinata Tachibana, who treats her abrasions and scratches, scolds for new beatings and is not afraid to stand up for her in front of stronger opponents. This is the kind of guy the smiling Takemichi deserves, who receives blows of the same strength as the rest of the guys from Toman and still continues to rush into battle. She deserves someone like Hinata who can take care of her and make her happy, not Manjirou who can't take care of himself.
— Everything okay? — the girl puts her hand on his shoulder, carefully looking into his eye — You can tell me if something bothers you.
Yes, Hinata may be her boyfriend, but that won't stop Mikey from being around Takemichi and creating the false illusion of a date. Today he wants to be a little selfish.
— It's all right, Takemitchy. — no, it's not okay — Can we go already?
If there was one thing in life that Mikey was so tired of, it was his own lies. He continued to smile so widely that his cheeks began to pull from the pain, but Hanagaki continued to look at him, as if she was trying to gnaw a hole into his soul with her impossibly blue eyes and turn it inside out, to show the whole world how Invincible Mikey was rotten inside. At some point, something flashed in her gaze, but was immediately replaced by a submissive acceptance.
— So where did you want to go?
She didn't object when the guy grabbed her by the hand and dragged her somewhere, deftly bypassing people. This caused him satisfaction, which was replaced by childish playfulness.
— I don't know, we're just walking.
Takemichi just rolled her eyes, deciding to indulge his childish games.
To be honest, he really didn't have any specific route. He just wanted to hold Takemichi's hand as long as possible, so they wandered down the street, sometimes stopping at the shop windows, which attracted their lights.
— Buy me some taiyaki.
— But you can buy them yourself.
— Takemitchy.
Hanagaki wanted to say something else in defense of her wallet, which Sano terrorizes every day, but under the empty gaze of black eyes, she gave up, rushing to the baking counter.
It didn't take long to wait, and very soon he was stuffing the fifth cookie into his mouth, licking the viscous filling from his fingers.
Takemichi was wailing over her wallet, which had only a few Yen left at the bottom. The only thing that comforted her was the joy on someone else's face. Such a Sano was like the teenager he is. There are no responsibilities on his shoulders, grief and troubles do not breathe down his neck, clouding an already weak psyche. Now he is just a boy who enjoys eating his favorite taiyaki and does not think to share them, although they were bought with her money. Well, let him eat everything in one cheek. If it makes him at least a little happier, then she is ready to spend all her money and buy all the sweets on this street.
Takemichi shuddered when something sticky and warm touched her cheek. She lowered her gaze lower, meeting Mikey's pouting face.
— You're thinking too loudly and not paying attention to me, Takemitchy.
— I'm sorry, Mikey, from now on I'm only going to look at you.
The blonde smiled warmly at him, not noticing how Manjirou's eyebrows twitched slightly after her words. The guy pouted his lips and squeezed the girl's cheeks with two palms:
— You're stupid.
And calmly shoved the last taiyaki into her mouth.
Takemichi nearly choked, trying to chew cookies on the move, when Mikey pulled her away from the crowd, to where the children were frolicking in the snow.
— What now?
Mikey looked at the girl and immediately jumped aside when a snowball flew into her. Children playing snow war immediately apologized, continuing the game. He watched with laughter as the snowball slowly dripped down the stunned face of his friend, who clearly did not expect a sudden blow.
— It's not funny, Manjirou!
— You're just attracting trouble to yourself, accept it.
Sano shrugged, turning his back on Hanagaki. Something cold immediately flew into the back of his head.
— You're just attracting trouble to yourself, accept it.
Takemichi giggled, pleased with her brilliant revenge. Chifuyu will be jealous when she finds out that she hit Sano Manjirou himself with a snowball.
— Do you choose a quick or a slow death?
The girl froze.
— Excuse me?
Sano didn't need to be told twice, so the next second Takemichi was already running through a crowd of children, struggling through mountains of snow. Snowballs flew after her.
Drowning in a snowdrift, she tried to get out while the guy was too easily making his way to her through the snow. In desperation, the girl crawled to the nearest tree, deciding to set up a temporary base there and rest. Her body was not adapted to running through snowdrifts for a long time.
Thinking over a plan of retreat, Takemichi molded snowballs and stacked them next to her, ready to fend off other people's attacks. She will surely snatch victory from the tenacious hands of Mikey, who is surely already confidently celebrating his victory over her.
The blonde slowly poked her head out of her hiding place, scanning the area in search of an enemy. But there was no one around, only children laughing in the distance.
Hanagaki sighed, turning around when something heavy pinned her to the ground, burying her even deeper in the snow. She screamed in a voice not her own when the guy shoved a decent handful of snow behind her hood.
— Mikey, no!
— Mikey, yes!
Manjirou threw his head back, laughing heartily at the girl's desperate attempts to get out from under him. He didn't expect that she could take advantage of his temporary distraction and switch places. Now Hanagaki, straddling his torso, was on top, pinning the guy by the shoulders to the ground.
— Now it's my turn to roll you in the snow.
Sano obediently froze under her, greedily examining the red cheeks from the cold and the disheveled hair of the girl, which now stick out in different directions. There is something pressing in his chest, desperately asking to get out, but he restrains himself and this feeling, while the blonde from the heart is plastering him with snow.
The darkness of the night met the depths of the ocean as they looked into each other's eyes. It seemed like this moment lasted forever before Takemichi silently got off of him, causing him disappointment. The moment was interrupted, and Mikey successfully missed it.
Something deep inside him was scratching disgustingly against his chest and whispering to him that he had missed his first and last time, which fate itself had given him. Only now he got cold feet and now he will forever have to suffer, remembering this day with regret and pain.
Just what did he miss? Missed the chance to kiss Takemichi and get a slap in the face, because he knew she was busy? Or did he miss the opportunity to tell her that from the very first time they met, from one look at her, he was ready to whine and kiss her feet?
Grinning darkly, he did not notice how they had already climbed out of the snowdrifts onto the cleared path closer to noisy people and shops burning with bright lights.
— Mikey, come to me.
After that scene between them, Takemichi was unusually quiet for her optimistic and bright character. However, he also did not utter a word during the moral torture of himself, but this was more characteristic of him than of a girl who carefully shakes snow from his hair, although she herself now resembles a snowman.
— Your hair is unraveled.
He indifferently tugged at a strand of bangs that now covered his face.
— I didn't even notice.
Hanagaki frowned as she searched the pockets of her jacket, finding nothing like the rubber band that Sano had lost during their game. She unhooked a hairpin from her hair, which turned out to be surprisingly strong and is not lying somewhere with his elastic band in the snow now.
— Can I pin up your hair?
Mikey glanced at the bright pink heart-shaped hairpin and nodded, putting his head closer to her hands.
The blonde suppressed a joyful squeak, but could not restrain a smile when she was able to touch the golden strands of the guy's hair, combing them with her fingers to the side. The black eyes, free from the curtain of hair, blinked lazily in her direction while their owner fingered the hairpin with his fingertips. Cheeks began to tingle pleasantly.
— It suits you very well, now you look even more like a pretty girl.
— Shut up, Takemitchy, before you're in the snow again.
The girl raised her hands up in a conciliatory manner, not wanting to annoy the sulky guy even more.
— Give me your hands.
— What?
He measured her with a long and unblinking look, as if asking what nonsense she had just said. However, the friend was unperturbed and she clasped the guy's palms with her own, bringing them to her lips. Only now, standing under the nasty light of a lamppost, Manjirou realized how cold his hands were. But this was not surprising, because he was in such a hurry to meet Takemichi that he forgot both gloves and a scarf, for which his grandfather would certainly kill him.
It's good that didn't forget head.
Mikey silently watched as his friend blew on his icy palms and rubbed the reddened skin several times in a row before kissing the knocked-down knuckles of each and pulling her gloves on his hands.
Taking advantage of the hitch, she wrapped her green scarf around his bare neck, which caused his nose to be filled with the intense scent of the girl, forcing Mikey to press the fabric closer to his face.
— Now you definitely won't freeze.
And she smiled at him with her brightest smile, which made Manjirou come to his senses and drag her into the crowd of dancing people.
Yes, he missed his chance today, but he still wants to be a little selfish to the end and steal one dance from Hinata with Takemichi.
***
— Boss, did you call me?
Manjirou shifted his heavy gaze to Sanzu, who was patiently waiting at the entrance to the office. The man put the apple-scented balm aside, leaning back in his chair.
— Did you find out what I asked you to?
— Ryuguji works in his workshop with Inui, Mitsuya sews a large order for a foreign customer, Shiba enjoys success as a model, Hanemiya and Matsuno work in a pet store in the center of Tokyo, the Kawata twins still cook the best ramen in the capital.
— What about Hanagaki?
Sanzu grimaced as if he had swallowed a whole lemon after hearing her name. Back in Toman's time, this vile girl was a bone in his throat for him, who hung around next to the boss and prevented his ascension to the throne of a criminal organization. She clung desperately to Sano, trying to slow down the arrival of the inevitable. Invincible Mikey is designed for killing and more grandiose plans, but a stupid pig does not understand this. But now neither she nor any of his boss's former friends are able to stop them.
— Tachibana and Hanagaki will get married after Hayashida.
— You can go now.
Haruchiyo immediately bowed and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, ready to appear at the call of his king.
Sano opened a drawer of his desk, pressing the fabric of a knitted scarf to his face with trembling tenderness. But the smell from it had already worn off many years ago and no longer smelled like its previous owner.
However, he will never throw it away. Now the scarf and the heart-shaped hairpin are the only reminder of her.
— You lied when you said you'd only look at me.