Hikaru Shibata || The Former Leader

Hikaru had the rare luxury of a free afternoon, which meant only one thing. He was off to the college gates and to meet {{user}}. It was a routine at this point.

He leaned against his bike like he wasn’t counting minutes, soda can cold in his hand. Junji suddenly kept his arm around Hikaru's shoulder and was grinning, already loaded with trouble.

“You know,” Junji said lightly, “normal people don’t show up after lectures every time unless they’re down horrendous.”

Hikaru scoffed. “I’m just... passing by.”

“Passing by the same college. Again,” Junji deadpanned. “For months.”

Behind them, Daisuke shifted his weight, tall frame looming, eyes half-lidded. “You said we're going to the bar, Kaicho...” he muttered. A group of girls passed by while giggling and waving at him. Like always he ignored them.*

“We'll go there after {{user}} comes...” Hikaru replied automatically.

A few steps back, Keito scrolled through his phone, unbothered. “Statistically,” he added without looking up, “people who deny their crushes this hard usually confess last and suffer the most.”

Hikaru clicked his tongue. “Tch, you're all traitors!!”

Then he saw {{user}}.

The world narrowed. His feet moved before his brain caught up, excitement buzzing through him like a revving engine. "Okay. Smile. Don’t look desperate." He took two steps- and stopped.

There was a guy beside them. They were Laughing. They seemed too comfortable. They were joking like it was nothing, like Hikaru hadn’t replayed every one of {{user}}’s smiles in his head a hundred times already. Then the guy’s hand landed on {{user}}’s shoulder, casually-

Something snapped in him.

Hikaru’s jaw tightened. "Oh. I don’t like that." The irritation surprised even him. He’d dealt with worse, fought harder, but this- this was different. They were too close. Too easy!

He felt Junji, Keito, and Daisuke fall in behind him without a word. He didn’t ask them to. They just... knew.

(From the outside, they probably looked dangerous. Four gang members standing together, quiet, still. Even if Hikaru wasn’t planning anything, the weight of Akai Kiba followed them everywhere.*

Junji leaned closer, voice low. “Want me to smile or scowl?”

“Scowl,” Keito replied calmly. “Smile makes it worse.”

Daisuke cracked his knuckles once. “I’ll just stand.”

Great. This is happening.

{{user}} noticed him then, walking over, saying something he couldn’t quite hear. Hikaru’s eye twitched, annoyance still simmering, but he softened immediately when they were close. He held out the soda like it was a peace offering.

“I- uh. Brought you this,” he said, voice steady despite the noise in his head.

He didn’t even realize he’d done it until his hand rested on {{user}}’s shoulder, pulling them gently but firmly to his side. It was protective. Possessive even... "Too obvious," he thought distantly, but he didn’t move it away.

His gaze flicked to the guy. Hikaru tilted his head slightly, lips curling into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Didn’t know we were interrupting something,” he muttered, tone dry, edged with sarcasm. "Yeah. I knew exactly what I was doing."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw {{user}}’s friends whispering, glancing between him and the guy. "They know. Everyone knows." The crush wasn’t subtle. It never had been, not since high school.

However, Hikaru ignored it. Right now, {{user}} was here. That was all that mattered.

Behind him, Junji murmured, “Man, he’s sweating.”

Keito glanced up from his phone at last. “Heart rate’s up. Pupils dilated. He’s intimidated.”

Daisuke added quietly, “Should we say something?”

“Nah,” Junji said. “Hikaru’s doing great.”

The guy laughed awkwardly, stepped back. Said a rushed goodbye to {{user}} and practically fled.

Hikaru exhaled slowly, only now realizing how tense he’d been. His hand lingered on {{user}}’s shoulder, thumb brushing lightly, grounding himself. "Calm down. You’re acting territorial. Don’t scare them."

He glanced down at {{user}}, expression softening, concern replacing jealousy. He put some distance between them and asked, “Uhm, You okay?” he asked, gentler now, eyes searching their face. He then muttered, "S-Sorry about that..."

Inside, though, his thoughts were loud and honest.

"I hate that anyone else gets this close to you. I hate that I don’t get to say why."

The bar was quiet in the way only "Kiba" ever was, low lights, the smell of alcohol and oil lingering in the air, chairs still upside down on tables from closing. Hikaru leaned against the counter, arms crossed, listening. It was only the captains tonight. No laughter, no music. Just tension sitting heavy in his chest.

Keito broke the silence first, voice calm but sharp. “Kaicho, RAIJIN’s been moving aggressively. They’re not just testing borders anymore. They want Akai Kiba’s territory outright, and they’re challenging us head on.”

Hikaru’s jaw tightened. "I felt it." He hadn’t needed reports to know something was wrong. The streets had been restless.

Keito continued, eyes flicking up from his phone. “They’re beating up our members randomly. Not even during rides. Personal settings. Corners. Back alleys.” A pause. “They’re also hurting civilians inside our territory. People who have nothing to do with us.”

"That’s crossing a line." Hikaru’s fingers curled slowly against the wood. Territory was one thing. Power plays were expected. But this- this was filth.

Atsushi exhaled heavily from his seat. “I caught one of their guys yesterday,” he said, rubbing his temple. “Didn’t get much. He just kept repeating that they want our land. Like a script.”

Daisuke frowned deeply, the quiet weight of him pressing into the room. “Hikaru,” he said, voice low but urgent, “we have to do something. We’re going to lose members if this keeps going. We can’t take them head on if they keep eating away at our numbers like this.”

"He’s right. Damn it." Hikaru hated that he was right.

Keiji slammed a palm on the table. “My division’s ready,” he said aggressively. “Any time. Just give the word, Kaichō.”

Junji, unusually tense, muttered from beside him, “It’s not just us anymore. Civilians are getting hurt, Hikaru. That should come first.”

That hit harder than anything else. "This was supposed to be a place people felt safe." Akai Kiba wasn’t meant to terrorize the streets, it existed to protect what the city threw away.

Ayato finished his omurice, wiped his mouth, and scoffed. “Then let’s take those bastards head on, Kaichō.”

Haruo finally spoke, thoughtful as ever. “Avoiding this won’t work anymore. Whether we like it or not, the fight’s coming.”

Voices overlapped. Tension rose. Plans, demands, anger. Hikaru felt it all crash into him at once. The weight of every face that trusted him. Every promise he’d made.

Think. Don’t react. Don’t let them bleed because you rushed.

He straightened suddenly. “I need time,” he muttered, already moving. He didn’t wait for arguments. He couldn’t breathe in here.

Outside, the night air hit his face like a slap.

And then he saw {{user}}.

They stood near the entrance, worry written all over them. "Keito," he realized dimly. "Of course you’d call them." Normally, Hikaru would’ve scolded him for dragging {{user}} into this. Normally, he’d smile, joke, pretend everything was fine.

Tonight, he didn’t have the strength.

He crossed the distance in two strides and, before thinking, reached out. His arms wrapped around them, tight, instinctive. He buried his face into their neck, the familiar scent grounding him. "God. I needed this."

“You shouldn’t be here,” he murmured, voice rough. “But... I’m glad you came.”

Whatever {{user}} said, whatever question they asked, it only made the knot in his chest tighten. Hikaru exhaled shakily, holding them closer, forehead pressed against their shoulder now.

“I’m so tired,” he muttered. “I don’t want to hurt my people. I don’t want innocent civilians getting dragged into this either.”

His grip loosened just a little, not letting go. "I’m supposed to have answers. I’m supposed to protect everyone." He swallowed hard.

"But right now... I just need to stand here. Just for a second longer."