You hide behind a bench, watching them and listening in on their conversation.
"OI... ELI... WHERE'S MY MONEY...?" one of the guys demands. He has black hair and a cut on his lip.
Eli coughs and tries to stand up, but one of the guys kicks him back down.
"I don't... have any money on me..." Eli fumes.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE THE MONEY? I GAVE YOU A WARNING YESTERDAY!" the guy with the scar yells.
"I still don't have the money." Eli grumbles.
"Then I'll beat the money out of you."
The guy with the scar kicks Eli again while another guy grabs him, holding him down. Then scarred guy then punches Eli in the face repeatedly.
They eventually let go of Eli, causing him to fall to the ground. Eli coughs and spits up blood. The rain quickly washes it away but more blood drips from his mouth and into his hair.
You cling to the bench and kneel down, thinking about what to do. You pull your hair back and put the hoodie over your head, tying the laces together.
"HEY!" you yell as you walk toward them.
The guys stop and look at you. Eli looks up at you too.
"And who the hell are you?" the guy with the scar asks, squinting at you.
"Don't worry about who I am... Leave him alone." you say in a low tone.
They all start laughing as they slowly approach you.
"Look at little trying to be badass over here." one of the guys mocks.
"Don't tempt me." You reply.
The guy with the scar scoffs before swinging at you. You block the punch, feeling the direct impact against your arm. It stings.
He swings at you again, and you block it once more.
You look for an opening.
Eli tries to slowly get up, but one of the other guys punches him back down.
The scarred guy swings at you again, but you drop down and sweep his legs out from under him. He falls backward, hitting his head against the ground.
The other guys stare at you.
"Oi... who do you think you are, punk." one of them asks.
He charges at you, swinging wildly. You duck underneath his punch and slide your leg back, knocking him off balance and sending him to the ground.
Another guy grabs you from behind, trying to hold you down. You slide your foot to the side, shift your weight, and use your body strength to throw him over your shoulder.
After kicking and knocking them down several times, they finally stay down on the ground.
You pant lightly, realizing this body hasn't done anything physical in a long time.
Eli stands up and looks you directly in the face. His expression is irritated.
One of the guys looks up at you, clutching his stomach before throwing up. You quickly look away.
"Who... are you...?" the guy grunts.
You hesitate to answer.
But then you decide to say something.
"V, my name is V."
Eli's eyes widen as you say that.
The guy grunts as he tries to get back up. Eli kicks him in the face, knocking him unconscious.
You slowly look at Eli, who's glaring at you.
He grabs your arm and leads you out of the park.
He takes you far away from the park before you yank your arm away.
Eli turns around to look at you.
"WHAT THE HELL, YUKI?" Eli fumes.
"What do you mean 'what the hell'? I helped you..." you seethe.
"I DIDN'T NEED YOUR HELP! YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME ALONE!"
"So, you would've preferred me to stand there and watch you get beaten up?" you ask irritably.
"... Why did you follow me anyway?"
"I didn't."
You pull his phone out of your hoodie pocket.
"You forgot your phone, and I wanted to give it back... so I ran towards the direction I last saw you walk in so I could return it." you explain wearily as you slowly hand him the phone.
You start to shiver and feel sleepy.
Eli notices and helps you walk back to the bakery.
Once you both get there, you sit down at a table and lean back in the chair.
Eli takes off his hoodie and unbuttons his uniform.
"Dammit... this is my only uniform, and it's covered in blood." he huffs.
You sit quietly in the chair, still shivering.
Eli looks at you and sighs.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier... It's just... I don't want you getting in that kind of situation. You don't want to get on Toman's bad side." he says.
"I don't care about Toman... I'll beat them all if I have to..." you quietly respond.
Eli stares at you for a moment, saying nothing.
"It's not that easy, Yuki... Yeah, you're very skilled, but Toman is stronger..."
You look up at him when he says that.
"They didn't seem professional in fighting. Just a bunch of street fighters..." you remark.
"Maybe them... but then there's their leader and vice leader, who can easily beat you in a fight. And who knows... they probably beat on women, too, so I doubt they'd go easy on you." he states.
"Their leader and vice leader?" you question.
"Yeah... Draken and the Invincible Mikey." he answers.
You zone out to those names.
Your main question has finally been answered.
Somehow, you're in a world where Toman exists.
A world where the events of Tokyo Revengers are actually happening...
Eli stares at you.
He slowly walks over and places his hand on your forehead.
"Are you okay, Yuki... You're turning red." he asks.
You nod and sigh.
"I'm turning red because I'm finally warming up." you respond.
Eli slowly nods and looks toward the bakery door.
"You should dry up and change clothes." he says. "You don't want to get sick..."
You look at the cuts and bruises on his face.
"What about you?" you ask.
Eli shrugs and walks toward the exit of the bakery.
"Eli... It's probably not safe to walk home after what just happened."
Eli sighs and nods.
"Yeah, I know... but what am I supposed to do?"
You look towards the back of the bakery and then back at Eli.
"You can stay over for tonight... You can sleep on the couch."
"Are you sure?" he asks.
You nod.
Once you both make your way upstairs, you go through Yuki's dresser to find a dry outfit for Eli to wear.
After finding a big T-shirt and a pair of shorts, you hand them to him.
He takes a shower while you clean his and your clothes, doing your best to remove the blood from them.
After you take a shower and put your clothes on, you and Eli silently sit on the couch.
"Thank you... Yuki..." Eli says softly.
He looks down at your arm, and his eyes widen.
"Your arm, it's bruised..."
You lift your arm to examine the bruise.
"Yeah, they punched me in the arm... I had forgotten." you say, gently rubbing the bruised area.
"Yeah, but that bruise looks bad." he responds.
"Well, he did punch me really hard... so..."
You start to feel pretty tired and decide to get ready for bed.
You say goodnight to Eli and fall asleep in Yuki's room.
The next morning, you wake up to whispering.
You slowly open your eyes to see Aimi and Hana staring down at you.
"AHHH!"
You scream and jump backward.
"What the hell are you both doing here?" you ask.
Aimi smiles, while Hana laughs at the scared look on your face.
"We were supposed to hang out today... Since we can't call you, we all agreed to meet at your place. Don't you remember?" Aimi asks.
You slowly shake your head.
That was Yuki who agreed to that... not me, you think to yourself.
"Who let you in?" you ask.
Both Hana and Aimi point toward Eli, who's eating the bento you were supposed to eat for dinner last night.
"Sorry..." Eli mumbles through a mouthful of food.
"Why didn't you tell us you were going to have a sleepover with Eli...?" Hana groans. "You could've invited the two of us..."
Hana sighs and lays her head down on your lap.
"Why did Eli sleep over?" Aimi asks.
"He got jumped again..." you answer.
Aimi and Hana look at Eli, then back at you.
"I don't see a difference." Hana sighs.
"They were beating on him... so I jumped in to protect him." you quietly explain.
"That's badass." Hana giggles, playing with your hair.
"Yeah, they asked her for her name... but she told them her name was V." Eli adds.
"V?"Aimi and Hana say loudly in confusion.
"Why did you use that name?" Hana asks.
Now that you think about it, you have no idea.
What exactly made you want to use a fake name, and specifically that one?
Then an idea pops into your head.
You smile at the thought.
"It's a code name."
Aimi, Hana, and Eli look at you in confusion.
"What do you mean by a code name?" Aimi asks.
"A code name... Like for a spy. Spies don't tell people their real names because they don't want to reveal their identity." you explain.
Hana's eyes glisten, and she smiles widely.
"You seem to be up to something, and I'm starting to like it." Hana says excitedly.
"I'm confused." Aimi sighs.
"I want to know more about this Toman group..." you hum.
"What?" Eli stares at you in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"I want to know the ins and outs of Toman. They have been bothering you a lot... right, Eli? And they have probably been bothering a lot of other innocent people, too. So, if we get information on them, we can end Toman." you answer.
Hana smiles widely and nods several times.
"Yes, yes... I like this idea..." Hana says excitedly.
"Are you serious, Hana? Doesn't that idea... seem a little too extreme?" Aimi says, raising an eyebrow.
Hana stares blankly at Aimi before mimicking her expression.
"Yeah... same with you, Yuki. Don't you realize that's a bad idea? I told you about the leader and the vice leader last night. If those guys feel threatened by you, then you're a goner." Eli states.
"If they put their hands on a girl, then they deserve to be locked up." Hana comments.
Aimi nods in agreement.
"I agree with Hana... If guys like that are walking around beating on women and children, then they don't deserve to be walking around freely." Aimi adds.
Eli sighs and scratches the back of his head.
"I'm in on this blackmailing idea..." Hana says with a smile.
You smile and look at Aimi.
She smiles before looking away.
"Fine... I'll join in on it too." Aimi says, her face looking slightly flustered.
"Are you guys STUPID?! Doing this can get the three of you killed!" Eli shouts.
"Yes... I am very stupid..." Hana giggles. "But at least I can die fulfilling my childhood dream of wanting to be a spy." she hums.
Aimi softly laughs at Hana's comment.
"Yeah, I know you're an idiot. But I thought Yuki and Aimi were smarter than this." Eli says.
Hana furrows her eyebrows and squints at Eli.
"I'm usually not down for something like this, but Yuki does have a point... If we don't do something, then someone else will become a victim next." Aimi responds. "I don't want someone getting hurt... like you."
"Besides, didn't you say the police won't help...? Might as well help instead." you say.
Eli sighs and walks over to the couch before sitting down.
"Yuki... If your code name is V... then mine is ... uh... Dango ..." Hana says.
"Dango?" Both you and Aimi ask at the same time.
"Yeah... Dango.... It's my favorite..." Hana purrs.
"Of course, you would name yourself after a food." Aimi says, shaking her head.
"What about you, Aimi?" you ask.
"Hmm... How about Ai?" she answers.
"Ai? Why?" Hana asks.
"I don't know... I just like it. Is there something wrong with the name?" Aimi asks.
"No... I think it's a good code name." you say with a smile.
"Mmmm.. I thought the name was kind of weird..." Hana mumbles quietly.
"Are you guys joking, or are you three really going through with this?" Eli asks from a distance.
"We're being serious." you respond.
"Yeah... Why, Eli? You chicken?" Hana teases.
Eli rolls his eyes and looks away.
"So... V, Dango, and... Aiiiii... The three awesome hot-girl spies..." Hana hums.
"Why did you say my code name like that?" Aimi asks.
Hana doesn't respond. She simply looks away, still smiling.
You smile at the idea you've come up with and at the fact that Yuki's friends are joining in on your crazy plan.
But truthfully, the real reason you came up with this idea is to get closer to Toman...
"Let's go get ourselves some spy stuff..." Hana says.
"Good idea, Hana... Should we go, Yuki?" Aimi asks.
You nod.
"Yes... Let's go." you answer.