SHE FLATLY REFUSED

It was just a normal day but unfortunately, someone who wasn't normal appeared and ruined her afternoon.

She was sitting on a park bench, earphones on both of her ears as she was so engrossed in sketching something on her pad that she didn't realize that someone was walking up to her direction, not until they showed up in front of her feet.

(Y/N) glanced up, blinking rapidly due to the blinding light. If she was mentally ill, she would've called the guy in front of him as a holy spirit since there were lights around him.

"I need you to come with me," Baji spoke. His gaze fixated on the girl in front of him who only gave him a deadpan expression.

"...."

"I need you to come with me." Baji repeated, hands in both of his pockets as he gazed down at her. He began to feel impatient.

"...."

"...."

"...."

The two eyed each other until Baji was the one who broke it. He wasn't that good at making eye contact for a long time, and also because the girl's gaze was actually terrifying to stare at. It made him feel like she was taunting him.

"No."

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"I'm not coming with you since I don't know where you're going to take me. Also, in case you didn't notice, I'm enjoying my afternoon here." She stated, one eyebrow raising.

"Fine." The long raven haired man gave up as he turned his back on her and started walking away. She smiled triumphantly but soon it disappeared when she felt two strong hands grab her by her waist and carried her like a sack of rice. She was startled at this to the point she hadn't reacted, but soon after she came back to her senses, she immediately punched the man in the back who was holding her in his shoulders.

"Stop that or I'll drop you off this bridge." The man threatened and she scoffed. Not feeling threatened enough, but once she glanced over at the bridge, she just gulped. She doesn't know how to swim for pete's sake!

"Baji asked you to come and you still refused." Draken said as he kept on walking while carrying her like a sack of rice.

"He didn't tell me where we were going so why would I agree with him?"

"You're such a pain."

"Then put me down. I can walk by myself."

The man halted on his foot as he harshly put her down on her feet. She gave him a glare which he just ignored. Draken gave her a smug look since he was taller than the girl.

"Bean pole," she muttered. Draken heard it loud and clear but he resisted himself from punching her since she's a girl and they don't hit girls. "Where are you taking me anyway?" She looked around and saw Baji walking ahead. "You, fang teeth. How dare you agree with them like this!"

Baji stopped walking and turned around to face her. "You didn't even listen to me." He replied as he kept his chin up. "Let's keep going."

"Where are we going?" (Y/N) asked for a second time, and neither of the two responded.

They had been walking for about 20 minutes when she grew irritated. They were just ordered to bring her into that 'location' and nothing further, and neither of them wanted to answer her question. Draken was thankful that she wasn't the type to continuously pester them to tell her where they were going. Unlike her cousin Takemichi, she was not a talkative person.

"If you're not going to tell me, I'm not going to follow you," (Y/N) said. Hearing her words, the two abruptly came to a halt.

Baji replied, pointing at the building in front of them, "We're already here. There's no need."

Draken had already entered the building, leaving the two outside.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "An arcade?"

"Mikey wants to talk to you," the raven-haired boy said, his tone different from his usual. Baji seemed to be disagreeing with whatever Mikey was about to say to her, and she could tell it by Baji's tone and expression. They've been friends for four years, so she's familiar enough with him to notice any changes in his tone or expression, as well as if something is bothering the raven-haired. Baji wasn't the sort to express himself verbally, but his tone and expression were enough for her to understand what he was thinking or feeling.

"Whatever it is, I hope it's worth my time, or else I'll kick your leader's ass," she said as she passed by the ravennette, her arms crossed across her chest.

Hearing her remarks, Baji's face lit up with a grin, showing his fangs as he followed her behind.

"I'd like to see you try. Mikey is quite tough," he said, not intending to imply that she wouldn't be able to defeat him because Baji knew she could take on anyone, even those twice her size. Baji had never defeated Mikey before, so he was exaggerating (or maybe not), but he still hopes to defeat his childhood friend one day.

They entered the arcade and took a few steps inside. She expected to see a swarm of high schoolers and a bustling arcade since there was a high school nearby this place, but she was surprised to see only five people there. In the far corner sat a shoulder blond male who was playing a shooting game. Draken was sitting behind him, looking irritated when he saw her walk in. Pah-chin, Peh-yan, Mitsuya, and Chifuyu were also present, but they were dispersed and too preoccupied with their games. They were completely unaware that she had already entered the room, accompanied by Baji.

Draken elbowed the shoulder blond, and it took him a few moments to take his gaze away from the game and look over at the two approaching figures.

Draken announced, "She's here."

Mikey got out of his seat and turned to face the person he had ordered to fetch and greeted her with a sly smile. "Hanagaki-chan."

She took a step back as she studied the blond in front of her with squinting eyes. She didn't need to hide her hate for Mikey; everyone could tell by her look, and she never tried to deny it. Mikey had something about him that she hated; she couldn't put her finger on it, but she just didn't want to be in his company.

Her (e/c) orbs were locked on his black, piercing gaze, and she wasn't batting her eyelashes because she felt she'd lose if she did.

"I refuse," she blurted shortly, catching the shoulder-length blond off guard by her abrupt answer, despite the fact that he hadn't asked or said anything to her yet.

Mikey added, "I haven't said anything."

"You're going to ask me to join your gang, and I declined," she remarked, keeping her head high with a stoic expression on her face.

Baji who was listening to them was surprised that she already knew that Mikey was going to ask her to join Toman— although he never agree with it when Mikey declared to them that he was going to ask her to join their gang and that if she refused, Mikey would be obliged to have a bet with her and that was Baji was most worried of. Mikey was capable of anything, and if he wanted something, he'd get it immediately. It actually irritates him at times.

Baji leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, as he listened to the two talk.

"If fang teeth here haven't already told you, I'm not a fan of gangs. I don't want to be a part of it," she replied frankly, "even though I enjoy beating people up."

Baji knew this, he knew she would say it. He offered her before to join Toman but she had always declined. Despite the fact that she had beaten up a bunch of gangsters and had been offered by various gangs around Tokyo, she had never found a gang that piqued her interest enough to make her want to join.

Piqued her interest?

That wasn't exactly true; there was one particular gang for which she had been hunting for years. She wasn't searching for it to join it; she was searching for it for a personal reason she hadn't told Baji or anybody else about.

"How about a bet? Whoever loses will do what the other person says," Mikey suggested as he waited for her response with one hand stuffed in his pocket.

"How did you get the idea that I'd say yes?" she remarked.

"Because I know you'll never back down in a fight." Mikey replied confidently, a smirk forming on his lips as he stared at her. He had just used the most persuasive words that would push her to accept the bet, and Baji knew this. "Unless you're scared of losing," the blond continued, prompting the (h/c) haired woman's brow to frown.

'This isn't good,' Baji thought to himself as he realized Mikey had already hit her button.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Chifuyu asked, worried about the two people who were currently standing on a cliff's edge. One had shoulder-length blond hair and piercing black eyes, while the other wore her (h/c) hair in a ponytail and had stern (e/c) eyes. Both of them were careless about their surroundings, seemingly unconcerned that they were only a few meters from the edge of the cliff.

"I think they'll be alright," Draken replied, his gaze focused on the two. He was worried, though, about the location that those two had chosen. What if one of them went over the edge? What if Mikey is the one who falls off the cliff? Draken was so absorbed with "what ifs" that he didn't notice that a few of their gang members had arrived, one of them was Takemichi. Mitsuya picked him up from his school after they left the arcade two hours ago.

"What's going on with them?" Takemichi wondered, his worried look growing as he spotted his cousin in a deep-eye staring contest with Mikey, the two of them appearing to be murdering one other in their heads.

"Their bet will be placed here," Chifuyu answered as he sat on his motorbike, which was parked next to the others.

'Bet?' Takemichi wondered.

"Mikey asked her to join Toman, but she flatly refuses, so Mikey proposes a bet. And whoever loses must do as the other says," Mitsuya explained to Takemichi, who was the only one who didn't understand what was going on, even though he already knew that Mikey wants to recruit his cousin to Toman.

"Why would Mikey-kun want her to join Toman?" Takemichiasked. He'd been thinking about this for days. His cousin despises gangs, and he was well aware of that. Takemichi found out she would never join a gang when he questioned her a few days ago.

"She's a tough one. Mikey is interested in her fighting skills and thinks that it will boost Toman's growth in strength." replied the silver-lilac haired.

"I know but," Takemichi murmured, pausing for a moment as the two on the cliff started to move as if they were about to hit each other. "(Y/N) isn't fond of gangs."

"We know that, but Mikey-san is persistent," Chifuyu added, his gaze set on those two.

"Let's just pray that neither of them dies," Mitsuya added, making Takemichi nervous. Mitsuya's mention of the word 'death' made him feel panicked all of a sudden. He's not going to let his cousin die, not after he went back in time to save her future.

Chifuyu noticed how nervous Takemichi became, so he patted his shoulder and smiled.

"Start praying, Takemichi."

•••

Everyone remained silent as the two continued to kick one other. None of them dared to intervene; in fact, one person attempted to stop the two, but was pushed away by Baji and the others.

"This is their fight," Pah-chin told Takemichi as he shoved him to the ground, keeping a close eye on him to ensure he didn't intervene in the fight.

How long have those two been beating each other, and neither of them has given up? They both got bruises, but Mikey took a lot more punches than she did since he refrained from hitting her too harshly and ended up being more beaten up. He, in fact, underestimated her. He hadn't expected her to be so skilled at fighting that it took an hour for them to catch their breaths.

(Y/N) stood panting, her hands on her hips, and her eyes were drawn to the dark sky. Mikey, on the other hand, was lying on the ground, his elbows resting to maintain his balance. Both were surprised to see that the sun had already set.

Though neither of them realized it was already dark until they grew exhausted, since they began fighting while the sun was still up that they didn't notice it. How long have they been fighting anyway?

Someone uttered, "No one gave up."

Takemichi's fists tightened as he suppressed the urge to rush up to his cousin.

"Their first bet is to see who of them gives up first, and your cousin suggested that they fight each other. Mikey's bet was to see who could beat up the most people," Mitsuya explained, noting that Takemichi appeared to be against Mikey's approach of attacking his cousin— not to mention the fact that she is a girl.

Even if she was their school's star in martial arts, Mikey shouldn't have fought her— Takemichi reasoned. However, after hearing Mitsuya's explanation of their bet, he became less furious. He was furious since he couldn't help his cousin, and even if he could, he'd be helpless against Mikey's fighting skills. So, what's the big deal?

"You should've told me sooner," Takemichi replied, his eyes nearly tearful with nervousness and frustration. Even if he was itching to interrupt them, he kept in mind that (Y/N) doesn't like it when someone interferes with her fight.

"Hehe our bad, Takemichi!" Chifuyu butt in, scratching the back of his head and smiling apologetically at the male. "Mikey declined her offer to fight, but I guess they have something in common. They know how to press each other's buttons."

"I still hate her guts!" Pah-chin added, his face contorted with disgruntlement.