Chapter Text
Presley Cole’s vision blurred as her friends surrounded her. Her eyelids were fluttering. “Stay awake. You have to stay awake.” Miguel holds her hand as he begs. A school riot broke out. She tried to break up Robby and Miguel’s fight. The boys didn’t realize how close they were getting to the railing. While doing that, what she feared for them happened to her. She fell over. Her body landed on the first set of steps, and her head on the middle railing.
“I love you, Presley. You've got to hold on, babe.” Eli’s voice sounds far away, even though he was holding her other hand. She tried to hold their hands, but found she couldn’t move her fingers. What scared her was that the pain was numbing and her body felt cold.
She opened her mouth wanting to tell them she loved them, but choked as blood came up. “Don’t try to speak.” Demetri’s tears hit her face. She heard their scream fade out as her eyes shut.
Lee let out a scream that burned her lungs. She was sticky and being held in the air. She was carried to a sink to be washed and dried off. She was placed on a woman’s chest. She followed the instinct to suckle when the nipple was shoved in her mouth. She looked up at the stranger as milk filled her. She had been reincarnated with memories of her past. She wondered what life had in store for her this time.
Years had gone by. She was excited to find that she lived in Tokyo, Japan. Her mom, Lee Amaya, was Japanese. Her family had been in Tokyo for generations. Her father, Lee Kimo, was of Chinese descent and from Hawaii. Her parents own a restaurant, Hawaii Grinds. They lived in an apartment above the place. They took turns manning the restaurant so they could spend time with her. Her mom would take her to Parent and Child classes. Her dad takes her bike riding around the neighborhood. Her favorite was Wednesday when the restaurant was closed, and they spent the day together. It was a good time even when they were running errands. It is what she imagined having a mom and dad would be like.
It wasn’t until she started school that she realized she was an isekai. She stares with a slack jaw at the pink-haired child with a birthmark on the left side of her chin, who was sitting next to her. There was no denying it when she introduced herself to the class as Tachibana Hinata. She shook her head, shaking off her shock. “My name is Lee Ichika.” She stood up to introduce herself. She sat down quickly after. She should have known she was in an anime world when she kept her features despite being of Asian descent. The unnatural hair colour that some people had should’ve been another hint. Why did it have to be Tokyo Revengers? Her tendency to attract and be attracted to bad boys would land her in a world of trouble. If she ran into Hanma or Ran, she would melt in their palms. She wished she were in the Haikyuu world, then she would be able to break her toxic cycle and be with a sweetheart like Kurro or Bokuto.
She told herself that she didn’t need to engage with any of the main players. She could continue living her peaceful, normal life. She could grow up, learn her family recipes, and take over the business. But Lee should have known better after reading so many isekai fan fictions. Fate had already gotten her involved in the main plot, whether she liked it or not. It was impossible not to make friends with her seatmate, Hinata. The little girl was so sweet, offering to share her large packet of crayons and snacks. She pulled Lee along to play with other children during recess.
Hinata and Lee were ten and entering cram school. “Are you okay? You've been zoning out all day. Are you nervous you won’t be the smartest kid there?” Hinata teased.
“No, I'm getting a head start on my daydream for when I’m bored. I’ll just be keeping you company. I’m not going to learn anything.” Lee had decided that she was going to save her friend by befriending Kisaki. She would take on his obsession so that she could live happily ever after without having to die multiple times.
“You’re so arrogant.” She punched her shoulder.
She cried out in pain while rubbing her shoulder. “Come on, Hinata, don’t do that.”
“If you don’t like it, then don’t be rude.” She opened the classroom door. Lee spotted the mop of black hair and thick glasses sitting in the back.
They had to take a mock exam for the teacher to see where they were at. The next day, the test scores were up. She had a perfect score next to Kisaki. “Told you I didn’t need to be here.” She smirks at her friend.
“Don’t get cocky; it was a basic-level exam. You heard the sensei.” Hinata stuck her tongue out.
“Then why did you only get an 80?” She points at her score.
“Why you?” Lee laughs while dodging her hit. “Not everyone is freaky smart like you.”
Lee smiles and turns her head to look at the other kid who got a perfect score. “Hey, you’re Kisaki Tetta, right? I’m Lee Ichika. I never met anyone who could keep up with me.” She gave him a slight bow.
“Huh?” He was shocked by the blonde. He never saw anyone wear their brain with such pride. Her smile was welcoming and cocky at the same time.
“Do you want to come with us to get dango before going home?” She invited him.
“Ahh…” He found that he couldn't form words.
“Come on. I never get to spend time with someone as smart as me. If you hate it, you don’t sit next to us in the next class. We won’t speak to you again.” She put her hands together.
“You can come along and teach Ichika to be humble.” Hinata cracked her knuckles while glaring at her friend.
“So scary.” She shivers.
“I’ll come.” He stood up after putting his things away.
“Hurray.” Lee put her hands up.
She skipped while leading her friends out of the school. “Ah… Lee! Hinata!” A girl from their class screams and waves for them to come over. “Kisaki, you stay there. It’s girl talk.”
“We’ll be back.” Hinata nods to him as they walk over to the girl.
“You guys shouldn’t be hanging out with him. People who are that smart are heartless. He doesn't have emotions. He’s creepy and may do something creepy to you guys.” The girl does a stage whisper. Lee glares at the girl whose name she couldn't remember for the life of her. She was one of the girls from their school who latched onto Hinata because she was popular. This catty girl's favorite tactic was the stage whispers. She would say nasty things about people in front of them to humiliate them. If anyone called her out on it, she would play innocent, like she didn’t mean for them to hear. She would pull some fake tears about not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings.
Lee snorted because she had the same scores as him. No one was accusing her of being heartless, but she did wear her emotions on her sleeves. “Shut up. You don’t know him. Don’t make up fake rumors about him. We invited him to hang out with us, unlike you, who invite yourself to our hangouts.” Lee made sure to be just as loud as her. She scoffs when she stares at the ceiling as she forces herself to cry. “Don’t do that fake crying bullshit. No one buys it, so stop giving yourself a headache.” She walks over to Kisaki. She grabs his hand to guide him out of the building.
“Lee, you can’t make someone cry and leave them in the hallways.” Hinata runs after them.
“Screw her. You know she is a mean girl. You’re too nice to tell her that you don’t want to hang out with her.” She stopped a block from the school to put her hands on her hips. “She was tarnishing Kisaki’s reputation. He has done nothing to her.”
“Still… you could have walked away from her. You could take the high road for once.” Hinata sighs at her hot-tempered friend.
“I’m scared of heights.” She smirks while Hinata huffs. Lee looks at Kisaki. “Don’t listen to that stupid girl. She’s jealous of you.”
“Jealous?” He raised his eyebrows.
“We’re a part of the popular crowd because of Hinata.” She pointed at her friend. Hinata was surrounded by friends in the anime, so she assumed she was popular.
“Huh? You’re the one everyone talks to.” She never understood why Lee thought it was her that people gravitated to. People watched the anime she did, so they would have something to talk to her about.
“Anyways, she is trying to make us a trio, but we’ve been a duo for years.” She continues to walk, making her friends follow after her. “Honestly, I can’t remember her name, so that shows how much of an impression she leaves. So, don’t pay attention to her. She’s a damn NPC who only programs to talk shit.” She was telling the truth. She was a background character who only got a few panels in the manga.
“Lee!” Hinata whines. She didn’t like talking badly about people.
“I’m sorry, Hinata, but I’m not going to be nice to someone who is being nasty to my friends.” She claimed Kisaki. “Finally, we’re here.” She looks up at the dango stand. His brain froze. Friends? He thought he had heard wrong. “Hey, Kisaski, what are you getting?”
“I’ll have the same.” He didn't want his new friend to think he was spacing out on their first hangout.
“Okay, we’ll have three mitarashi dangos.” She put up three fingers. She paid for them before passing them out.
“You didn’t have to pay.” Kisaski’s eyes went wide when he realized what had happened.
“Don’t worry about it. We take turns paying. Today was my turn.” She wiggles the stick at him to take it. Hinata nods to assure him of how they did things.
“Okay.” He took the stick. “Tomorrow, it’s my turn.”
The three hung out almost every day after cram school. Lee felt like she had made a good friend in Kisaki. At first, she was worried that his crush would still be towards Hinata. She couldn't find a reason to ditch her friend. Lee found that her bad boy curse followed her to this world. Hinata said he made excuses to not hang out when she couldn’t make it to cram school. He was extra talkative on days that Hinata wasn’t there. She found herself liking his company. She was hopeful that he could have a normal future.
“Come on. Come on.” She dragged him by the wrist into her family restaurant.
“I’m coming along. I don’t see the need to run everywhere.” Kisaki huffs at his impatient friend.
“Hello, Ichika.” Her mother greeted her. “This must be Kisaki. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She smiles at her daughter's friend.
“Hello Lee-san. Thank you for welcoming me into your home.” He bows to her.
“Of course. All of Ichika’s friends are welcome anytime.” She points at a table. “You can sit over there, and I’ll bring you something to eat.”
“We want to shave ice with the works.” She orders.
“You can’t only eat sweets.” She shook her head.
“When you order at a restaurant, they are supposed to make it with no back sass.” She tilts her head with a smile. Kissaki gasps and looks at her like she lost her mind.
“Ichika, if you don’t sit down and be quiet, you won’t have sweets for the next two weeks.” She had a tight smile. It was her scariest expression. It chilled Lee to the bone.
She nods and waves for Kisaski to follow her. She sometimes forgot that she had a more traditional relationship with her parents in this lifetime than in her last. Her parents were lovely and liked to joke around. Her mom loudly daydreamed about her daughter falling in love, while her dad claimed it was physically painful for him to think of her growing up. But, when it got down to it, they were her parents, not her friends.
She had mourned her old life and the people in it. For the most part, she was healed enough to move on with her new life. But thinking about Tom Cole, her past dad, who was more like a friend, would still bring her to tears. She could only hope that all her past loved ones were able to heal from her loss and move on to live a full life.
“You have to learn to have fear.” Kisaki pulled her from her depressing thoughts. “Seriously, I thought you were going to die.”
“I know she threatens my life. Two weeks without sweets would have killed me.” She plays around to hide the pain of thinking of her past dad. It was more depressing as the years went on because it was getting hard to remember his face.
He hummed while looking at her, unimpressed, but inside, he was sighing dreamily as he thought of how she needed him as much as he needed her. She helped him get out of the shadows to enjoy the sun. He would stop her from flying directly into it.
“Enjoy.” Her mom put two poke bowls in front of them.
“Thank you, Mom.” She bows her head.
“You’re welcome.” She pats her daughter’s head to say all is forgiven. “Have you had this before, Kisaki?” He shook his head no. “It’s raw yellowfin tuna marinade in a shoyu-based sauce with onions over rice.”
“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.” He bows his head.
“It's a wonder how loud and rude you can be, that you make polite friends.” She teased while going to serve other customers.
“I tell you, my mother will never forgive without getting even.” She pouts.
“The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” He snickers.
“Huh? You shouldn’t make fun of a lady when you’re on a date, Kisaki.” She laughs when he turns bright red. He mutters under his breath that she proves his point.
“You alright?” Lee walked alongside Kisaki. He was being unusually quiet today.
“Yeah, thinking about today's lesson.” He lied. A group of girls cornered him to tell me that Lee pitied him. He stood no chance with her. She was into bad boys. “So what anime are you watching now?”
Lee was happy that this world had the same anime. “Bleach, Grimmjow back in the picture, so things are great. I love the rivalry-romance between him and Ichago.”
“You like the cocky tough boys. I’m going to have to watch out for you.” Hinata was ready to protect her.
“That is not true.” She pouts.
“Vegeta, Zoro, and Doflamingo.” She lists.
“I’m not into them. I enjoy them as characters.” Hinata was amused by her denial, while Kisaki scoffed when he realized the girl was right about her liking bad boys. He was self-aware that he wasn’t the toughest guy around. He was aware of his limitations. It was why he avoided confrontation. He told himself that when he got older, he would become a businessman and be the boss of all those who bullied him. He could feel the way he feels with Lee all the time. She made him feel invincible. No one would mess with him as long as she was there. She would spit venom at them and even fight them if she had to. He thought he would be able to keep her by his side because she seemed so attached to him. It was a blow to find out that she would eventually leave him to be with a bad guy.
A cat's cries made them turn to see three teens kicking it. “Future serial killers,” Lee mutters.
“I’m going to give them a tongue lashing.” Hinata ran up to them.
“Hinata.” She ran after her friend. Kisaki hides behind a building.
“What are you doing, hurting that harmless cat?” She demands an answer.
“Huh? You want to replace the cat.” The high school boys tower over them. Hinata teared up when she realized the danger she had dragged her friend into. “You think we’re going to let you go because you're crying.” He grabbed her arm.
“Why don’t you pick on people your own size, losers?” Lee shoves him back. He stumbled back in surprise.
“Why are you little…” He raised his hand to hit her when he got drop-kicked by a boy wearing a red cap.
“The hero has arrived.” He put his hand on his hips. Hinata stared on in amazement while Lee smiled at Takemitchi. “I won’t stand for some older boys beating up little girls.”
“Hero? Huh?” The boys beat him up. They were kicking him while he was in the fetal position.
“Will you knock it off already?” Sano Shinichiro walks over to them. Lee always wondered why he had bad luck with the ladies. He was handsome and cool. She could feel her heart beating faster just looking at him.
“What the hell do you want, Bastard?” One of the punks had the guts to shout at him.
Shinichiro punched a light pole, making a fist-sized dent in it. Lee stares at him in awe while the bullies run away. Kisaki watched the whole thing with narrow eyes from his hiding place.
“Are you okay, kid?” He looks down at Takemichi.
“How can I be strong? I want to be like you. I want to be a real hero.” He looks up at him with tears in his eyes.
“It’s alright. You’ll definitely be strong.” He looks at his hand before grabbing Takemichi’s hand. “Hey, little boy. If there’s somebody that you want to protect, you can use this power.” He gets up. “See you around, kid.” He walks away, leaving behind three confused kids and one beaming at his back.
Hinata covers her crying face. “What are you crying for?” Takemichi looks up at her. He was covered in bruises and scrapes to keep her safe. The damsel wasn’t supposed to cry after being saved by the hero.
“I can’t help it. You got hurt because of me.” She sobs into her forearm.
“Don’t worry about it.” He got up on shaky knees. “That is what heroes do. I’ll see you later.” He ran away.
Kisaki came out from behind the building. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, because of our hero.” She smiles at the spot where he stood.
Lee let out a laugh. “Yeah, our crybaby hero.”
“You should be grateful. It’s because of him we didn’t get hurt.” She screams.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to insult your man.” Lee put her hands up. “It’s really because of that older guy. Crybaby was going to get his ass kicked along with us.”
“Shut up.” She looked away, blushing. Lee let out a barking laugh. “He’s truly brave. He saved us even though he knew he would have been hurt.”
“I guess that's true. But you have to admit the older guy was badass. Do you see the dent in that lightpole?” She threw a punch.
“We should get out of here. In case those guys circle back.” He grips his backpack straps.
“Yeah. I want to get mochi ice cream before we have to go home.” Lee grabbed her friends’ hands before she took off running when she realized the time.
“Hey, Kisaki.” Lee beams at him, being in his usual seat at cram school. She was worried that he would be gone like in the canon, especially when he canceled their weekend plans.
“Hello, Lee.” He did his usual monotone greeting.
“Did you have a good weekend?” She sat next to him.
“Yes, I got a lot of work done.” He had been researching her crush so that he could take his place. He had found that Sano Shinichiro died a few days after he saved them. Since he could no longer stalk him, he did research. Sano used to be the leader of the Black Dragon. The number one delinquent in Tokyo at the time. It explains the dangerous aura he had around him and why Lee was attracted to him.
“Boring. Come on, Tetta. You’re all caught up. Did you do a tenth version of your history essay?” She pouts at him for ditching her to do homework.
Kisaki sighed at her calling him by his first name. She used it when she really wanted him to do something. But there was nothing he could do about the past. “What would I have done in Roppongi? Take pictures of you at the art museum? Follow you around the shopping district holding your bags?”
“He's right, Lee. It’s not something boys like to do.” Hinata tried to help Kisaski get off the hook.
“And homework is something boys do for fun?” She arched an eyebrow.
“He said work, not homework.” She points out.
“Does he have a job I don’t know about?” She scoffs before turning to him. “What kind of work did you get done?”
“Lee, Kissaki doesn't have to tell you everything.” Hinata tried to correct her rude behavior.
“Why? I tell him everything.” Which was a half-truth. He knew everything about Lee Ichika, nothing about Presley Cole. As time went on, she felt like the two were more different than the same. Presley was a support character and love interest. She was happiest on the sideline helping the main characters move things along. Ichika was a force that was going to change the main plot line. She demanded attention and didn’t take any crap. She was a character that Presley would have admired.
“So people have different boundaries. You’re always so pushy with Kisaski.” She knew Lee was excited about being friends with another academic prodigy, but she had to let the other big brain breathe.
“I’m sorry, Kisaki.” Lee sighed because she knew she was right. She would get desperate to know where he was. She needed to steer him back to the light if he went down the dark path.
“It’s fine. I’m used to you being obsessed with me.” He snickers at the irony of that statement. Lee’s jaw dropped while Hinata cracked up.