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You were a dreamer.

You dreamed of a lot of things as a child, and you dreamed of a lot of things as a teen.

Reality sucks, so you try to find an escape.

One of the things you often dream about is experiencing a fateful encounter.

Like perhaps, meeting Shrek. Or something more realistic, like unicorns.

If someone were to ask you about your fateful encounter with someone, you'd definitely tell them about that one time you made a precious friend after school. He listened to your woes and never once judged you.

He died the following day, sadly.

The class weren't too fond of him because he was a spider so they whacked him.

But you have another fateful encounter. One that doesn't involve spiders and a horrible death.

You were walking your dog around the neighborhood. Nothing was out of the ordinary – you were holding the leash, and your dog barked at everyone he meets like the angry gremlin he is.

You always felt safe when you're with your dog because no one dared to approach you. That includes the delinquents that loiter around the neighborhood.

Call it scary dog privilege.

This time, something happened.

During the walk, you came across a group of boys on the playground. They were mocking and jeering at another boy, who was the shortest among them with blond hair. Though for someone who was ganged up on by a bunch of older boys, he looked pretty calm.

So, you did what any sane person would do.

You stepped in like it was your business.

"Hey! It's not fair to go against a single person when you have a whole group with you."

They all turned to you, a girl in her gym uniform with a pet dog.

They broke out into laughter like the fools they were. Probably at the fact that a girl is intervening.

"Does it like we care?" One of them sneered.

"Yeah! Why don't you just walk away and go play with your dolls or something?" This made them laugh louder. What a lame comeback.

"Sure!" You grinned, pointing a finger at the boy they were bothering. "But he's coming with me."

This shut them up. Now, they're looking at you in shock, the blond boy included.

One of the boys stomped towards you, fuming. "Hey, who the hell do you think you are!? Why should we listen to you?"

Yikes. What have you done, [y/n]?

You continued to feign ignorance while he continued to yell at your face, enraged by your complacent behavior.

You tried to politely ask them to let the boy go with you once more, but he simply didn't budge. If anything, he got even angrier.

At last, you decided on calling them out for picking on a kid who's two times smaller than them and in a large number at that, and this set them off.

The boy roughly grabbed your collar. Wrong move.

Wroof! Wroof!

Your dog glowered at him, baring his teeth. Startled, the boy hastily let go of you and scrambled back to his group.

"H-Hey! What's with your dog!?"

"That's just how he greets people. Don't mind him." You shrugged.

"Control your dog, bitch. AAAH!" The bullies all trembled when your dog slowly approached them. One was even crying out of fear.

"Don't worry. It don't bite."

"YES, IT DO– AAAAAH!"

They left.

It was just you and the boy. You briskly gave your dog a grateful scratch on his neck before asking the boy if he was okay.

He didn't respond, only staring at you with wide eyes as if you were Santa. His lifeless eyes threw you off a bit; you thought he was gonna suck your soul out.

"Um... Are you okay?" You repeated your question, and he snapped out of his daze.

He nodded. "Yeah..."

"That's good to hear! Seriously, those guys must be out of their minds. They look like they're my age and yet, they're picking on an elementary kid like you!" You threw your hands up in exasperation. "You... are in elementary, right?"

"I am!" His lips curled into a smile. "Nee-san, are you in highschool?"

"Nah, I'm still in middle school."

"Well, those people before... they're highschool students, y'know?"

You blinked in surprise. You just told off a bunch of highschool boys!? Since when were you this ballsy!?

Unaware of your internal turmoil, the boy crouched down and made grabby hands at your dog. "C'mere, boy!"

Your dog stared at him at first, but after deciding that he was no threat, he pressed his nose to the boy's palm, letting him run his hand around his fur.

"Who's a good boy? You are! You... are a boy, right?" He did a quick check. "You are! Thanks for earlier! You just saved my ass." He babbled to your dog, who barked happily in response to his praise. "Nee-san, what's his name?"

You smiled wryly. "-ckie..."

"Huh?"

"Jackie. That's his name."

"Jackie, huh? That's a cool name!" He scratched Jackie harder until he fell over. The boy went full on scratch mode, laughing while he did so. But then he suddenly stopped. "Ah, sorry about that. I got carried away. Nee-san, can I know your name?"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first then?" You replied playfully.

The blond boy looked at you in amusement and smiled. "I'm Sano Manjiro! You can call me Mikey!"

"Mikey?" You tilted your head. "Are you a foreigner?"

Your comment made him rub his nose sheepishly. "Ah, do I look like one?"

"Yeah. It's the blond hair."

Mikey giggled as his cheeks flush pink. You didn't get why he looked so content, but you didn't comment on it. "Wait! Nee-san, you didn't tell me your name yet."

You did a mock salute, beaming. "[l/n] [y/n] here! Nice to meet you, Sano-kun!"

"Eh~ that's too formal. Just call me Mikey." He puffed his cheeks, and you resisted the powerful urge to pinch his cheeks.

"Alrighty! In return, feel free to call me [y/n]!"

Mikey mirrored your smile.

The two of you dove into a full-fledge conversation afterwards. You found out that Mikey was in sixth grade and lived with his grandpa, brother and half-sister in a dojo, and in return, Mikey found out that you were in your first year of middle school, and you live with your mom.

"You're really in middle school, nee-san? I thought you were older since you're so tall."

"Pfft– trust me, I'm not that tall. You're a boy. You'll catch up to me in no time."

In the end, you volunteered to walk Mikey back to his home so the bullies won't bother him again.

"You're really considerate, [y/n]-san! Thanks for walking me home." Mikey chirped.

"Don't mention it. Since I'm walking Jackie, might as well use this opportunity to walk you home. Did you see those bullies' face when Jackie barked at them? They looked so scared!" You laughed, wiping a stray tear from your face.

Your contagious laugh infected Mikey. "Yeah! I think one of them was close to pissing themselves."

Your laughter died down, and you peered down at the boy. "Why were those guys after you, by the way?"

Mikey hummed thoughtfully for a while and then said, "I don't know either. Probably just wanna pick a fight with me."

"Why though?"

He shrugged. "To prove themselves, I guess? I mean, it's not like it's the first time I've been confronted by guys in highschool."

Your face turned worried. As if reading your mind, Mikey clarified, "I'm not bullied or anything. I just happen to be an awesome fighter." He flexed his arms for emphasis.

You mulled over his words. "Wait, you said you grew up in a dojo. Does that mean you know how to defend yourself?"

"Yep."

"You can fight."

"Uh-huh."

"I stole your thunder, didn't I?"

Mikey laughed. "If they got scared by a dog, then they aren't worth the fight."

You stared at the road ahead, fiddling with the leash in your hand. You didn't know why, but a feeling bubbled in your chest. Something fizzy akin to excitement.

Fateful encounter.

"That would've been a cool fight to see."

The boy stopped in his tracks.

"I mean, just imagine you whooping their butts and sending them crying  to their mommas." You chuckled. "You said you live in a dojo, right? You must've had training then. Oh, it's just like those action movies! This one guy turns out to be some martial arts genius and defeats everyone!" You squealed a bit at the thought.

You glanced at him to see his reaction. He was grinning smugly as he basked in your praises.

"Of course I'm cool! I'm the invincible Mikey, after all!" He released a haughty cackle with his arms on his hips. "[y/n]-san, you're way too kind. By the way, that's my house."

The two of you walked to the front gate where you said your goodbye to him. Unlike you, Mikey was reluctant to leave your side. He thought you were fun to hang out with. You seemed like you'd tell great stories. Plus, your dog was adorable.

"Nee-san, do you live around here?" Mikey asked.

To his dismay, you shook your head. "My house is a bit far from this neighborhood. I came here 'cuz I wanted to take a long walk with Jackie."

"Oh."

You gauged his reaction, confused as to why he seem dejected. After racking your brain, you thought of a certain possibility. And so, you told him you'll go there again tomorrow.

When his face lit up, you knew you hit the bullseye. You added, "I'm in the mood for long walks lately. Plus, Jackie here seems to like you. So, I'll definitely come here again!"

Mikey grinned. "I can join you, right?"

"Dude, of course! It's always nice to have a friend! I'll be here same time."

His smile widened.

After giving Jackie a quick pat, Mikey jogged up to the front door, stopping to give you one last wave.

The next day, Mikey came to the playground alongside two other kids, a girl and a boy.

"This is my friend, Baji Keisuke. And her – she's my sister, Emma." Mikey had said.

His introduction was followed by a chorus of greeting from the two. The boy wore a wide grin as he did so while the girl stared at her feet.

Baji piped up, "you can call me Edward if you want."

Mikey revealed that he got caught by them when he tried to sneak out. In return for not blowing his cover, they ordered him to bring them along.

You just laughed at his irked expression.

But it was fine. You didn't mind extra company.

And so, after making them promise not to leave your side, the four of you set off.

During the walk, the kids had a lot of fun with your dog. Jackie himself seemed awfully happy with the presence of Mikey and the two other kids. The sight of them laughing exuberantly as they interact with an equally happy Jackie warmed your heart.

"Nee, [y/n]-san, why did you name him Jackie?" Baji had asked at one point.

You rubbed your neck and glanced down at the trio whose eyes now twinkled in curiosity. "Haha... Funny story actually. The one that named him was my mom. She took the name from this Hong Kong actor she likes who does martial art called Jackie Chan." You tittered, reminiscing the day you just got Jackie, and your mom was quick to jump on the opportunity to name him after her favorite actor.

You were waiting for them to laugh at the choice of name, maybe poke fun at your mom's naming skill a bit, but turned out their fondness for Jackie outweighed everything.

"So, Jackie here is named after someone famous, huh? That's cool!" Mikey gushed as he rubbed Jackie's back.

"This Jackie Chan does martial arts? So, he's like Bruce Lee?" Baji glanced up at you, eyes gleaming giddily.

You pursed your lips in surprise. You weren't complaining, but you sure didn't expect this reaction.

Emma didn't say a word like the two boys did, but you weren't bothered. The soft smile playing on her lips when she stroked Jackie's fur was enough to let you know she's having fun.

Fateful encounter.

This was definitely one.

Just by seeing them, you could tell something huge is going to happen.

You just didn't know it involved gangs and time travelling.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

『ɑ/ղ: ✎ • • •』

hi! thx for reading the first chapter of this story! hope u guys enjoyed it

it might take a while b4 the story catches up to the original plotline since i plan on fully portraying [y/n]'s past and how her bond with the characters came to be

hold on tight cuz it's gonna be one hell of a ride ;)