"Hey, are you sure we should be dragging him with us?"
Makoto was not satisfied with Tomoyuki's presence along with Takashi and Jiahao. Just getting ready, they walked toward the karaoke club at Tomoyuki's expense.
"We may not have enough money without Yamashita-kun," Jiahao replied. "I'll tell you right away, Yamashita-kun, I don't think we'll have any fun there, so stay out of the conversation and be quieter than water."
"You will pay for us combined," Takashi added, "for this will be the first step for you in becoming our friend."
At what he heard, Makoto laughed inexplicably.
"That's right, we're going there to meet some acquaintances."
It wasn't long before they reached the karaoke club. In the meantime, overcast clouds kept thickening, shrouding the surroundings in a grayish pall. Dampness crept in from every crevice, making the apathetic Tomoyuki's mood worsen. They met acquaintances near the entrance to the karaoke, and one of the five new faces to the young man was Akiko, a schoolgirl with pink hair and dark red eyes. Standing next to her was a tall guy, clearly expecting a difficult conversation with Takashi and the others by his face. Behind them were three other guys, and one of them, as far as Tomoyuki could see, was looking at Takashi with a depressed expression on his face. This teenager was the youngest, both in age and height.
As they approached, Takashi adopted a sly smile and stood in front of the tall guy next to Akiko.
"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Araki-chan," Takashi began the conversation without even saying hello. The teen across from him didn't see any emotion. "Seems like ever since the fight at the port?"
"Don't call me that," Araki answered him with mild rejection. "I only agreed to come at Akiyama-chan's request."
There was a heated atmosphere between the two teenagers, so much so that it seemed to Tomoyuki that they had had a close relationship before.
"Ah, yes! Akiyama-chan, thank you for inviting us too. How are you doing?"
Akiko stepped forward and greeted Takashi and his friends with a smile.
"I thought it would be nice to have a get-together with friends," she pouted, causing Takashi to scratch his head.
"I see. However, you didn't make it exactly one year when we were really friends."
"No, I wasn't! It was only my obsession to see your faces again."
Akiko looked back at the schoolchildren standing behind Takashi, and found only one unfamiliar face. She gave a little jerk, looking up at his grim visage. Eventually, they greeted each other uncomfortably. She was silent when she heard his unimpressive tone of voice, and thought he looked rather strange; she felt sorry for Tomoyuki.
"This is our new kohai," Takashi clarified, and the girl involuntarily mooed.
Tomoyuki took in the guy standing behind her, looking at him with pitying eyes.
"However," Takashi added as he approached this teenager, "who do we have here? Is it Tamaki-kun? And where have you been — I've missed you!"
Tamaki immediately trembled and looked at him with a look of hatred and fear. Araki, on the other hand, blocked Takashi with his hand, emphasizing that Tamaki was no longer his property and never had been.
"Oh, really? You took him into your custody? I didn't expect that from you, the man who left the game he himself created."
"What you continue to do is no longer a game," Araki sharpened his gaze, which pierced the provocative Takashi right into his soul.
Akiko immediately quelled their negative fervor by telling them it was time for them to go into the karaoke club. Takashi agreed and quietly called Tomoyuki over to get the money ready. Tomoyuki nodded, and Tamaki, hearing their conversation, shockedly recoiled.
They sat together in the same VIP lounge, where the lights were on and all sorts of karaoke peripherals were hanging. As they sat comfortably across from each other, their predilection for mutual hatred continued unabated, and Akiko, to lighten the mood, said optimistically: "Well, shall we sing something before the drinks come? I can start first."
"Good idea!" the feigned smile never disappeared from Takashi's face. "Just in time for Araki-chan to calm down. So, Araki-chan, why don't you sing for us after Akiyama-chan?"
"Stop it!" Akiko pouted her lips. "Better help me choose the right song."
She was advised a female pop song to her liking, and she began to sing in her sweet voice, which sent a wave of relaxation into the teens' ears. She sang very well, though she was at an amateur level. During this time the waiter came in and served several glasses of mojitos. After Akiko finished singing, she seemed a little tired, and Makoto clapped her hands.
Takashi, taking one glass of mojito, said: "Honestly, I don't understand why we're here when we could do just fine here without us. Akiyama-chan, you knew that Araki and I weren't on the best of terms, and despite that, you invited us. The only thing that worries me is what you were thinking, Akiyama-chan, when you decided to do this."
"Nothing exorbitant, all I did was arrange a friendly rendezvous like I used to."
After taking one sip, Takashi began to summarize, "I understand, but that was your mistake, for we will never renew our friendship with Araki-chan again," and placed the glass back on the table. "Because he left our midst, rejected all ties, and joined the life he used to hate. The Araki Okada I knew is gone."
"I began to live the life," Araki nonchalantly charged him, "that I redefined. My life has grown, unlike yours, and no longer clings to the past."
Takashi was hurt by his words, feeling offended.
"Do you think you've accepted your present self? Simply put, you put on a different mask. The man who loved his life and his position more than any of us, just decided to give up? I will never believe such nonsense. By tucking your tail you've come to that conclusion — nothing more."
"You exaggerate your dignity."
"There's not even talk of a carefree life here! We've been building all this for years, we've lived it! I guess it's all because of your submissive Satomi-chan that you've turned into such a jerk?"
Araki snapped, for Takashi's last speech was the last straw in a stream of total hatred.
"Don't bring her in here, you bitch!" he became angry and punched Takashi in the face with his fist, which had seen debilitating pain. Immediately reacting, Takashi got up from his seat and began to dodge his next blows.
"Couldn't resist and decided to settle things the old-fashioned way? Who else is living in the past here?"
Everyone else in the room rose sharply from their seats and prepared to join the fight.
"Shut up!" said the stalwart Araki, who had already taken a couple of punches to his body.
"It must be hard trying to forget your sins!" a straight punch went through the brown-eyed teenager's face at Araki. "We can never get a fresh start in life, for our burden will not allow us to suppress all the horror we have created!"
The schoolboys exchanged hard blows, gutting their VIP room. Akiko and Tomoyuki watched with open mouths. Tamaki hid behind the couch to avoid being in the middle of the argument.
Tomoyuki, glancing over at the teenagers beating each other, misunderstood.
"And you call this friendship?" he thought mentally. "Bullshit. You can't have that kind of friendship if they're settling issues with brute force."
"Wait…" Akiko's trembling lips barely uttered a word, but no one heard.
The managers entered the room and soon kicked the schoolchildren out of the establishment, making them all pay for the damage they had done.
After leaving the club, Akiko was the first to leave without saying anything back, and the meeting ended on a negative note. Takashi, along with the others, also turned and walked away. At last, Araki noticed the indifferent look on Tomoyuki's face, which reflected the hopelessness of his situation, as if by his presence he was asking for help from those around him to get out of the bully's grip.
Under the influence of the overcast weather, the merriment on the teenagers' faces was in no hurry to come out, being imprisoned in sadness and anxiety at the same time. Glancing around the karaoke club, already out of sight, Makoto slowed his steps in time for Tomoyuki to approach him.
"Let me get this straight," he leaned into Tomoyuki's ears without stopping to walk, "Araki Okada was one of us, and at the same time the man who created his gang in this county. Even if we were only a gang of hooligans in the past, over time we gained experience both in life and in the street. Now a lot of people have heard of us, so I'll ask you once: do you realize who you're walking with now?"
Araki was really close to Takashi and the others, and Tomoyuki thought to himself that there was a rift in the course of some circumstance that caused him to cut ties with the gang. However, Tomoyuki couldn't catch up with his naive head as to why they decided to feud with each other as former friends.
Remembering how pityingly Akiko, Araki, and Tamaki looked at him, he clutched the shoulder pad of his bag and mentally shouted out: "Why were you looking at me like that? I don't need your pity! It's not my fault! What other choice could I have had but to follow?"
Makoto awoke him from his mental wanderings by patting him on the back.
"It would be time for you to grow up, too," he said with a firm voice and cast a straight look. "That's obvious advice, don't expect anything more."
Had Makoto been concerned about Tomoyuki's state of mind, or was he pretending to be a righteous knight for ulterior motives, Tomoyuki didn't matter. He silently took his advice for granted.