[ Today, the Nishikiyama Family finally receives recognition for its rapid growth and contributions to the Tojo Clan. Months and months later, and after having tediously weeded away at the bad apples, Nishikiyama's men have pulled their acts together.
His new path as a yakuza had done plenty in providing them an incentive to obey; first out of fear, then out of respect. Shindo and Kanda do plenty to keep their fellow members in lineβ not out of selflessness, but because the two of them are actively clamoring for the title of their patriarch's captain. Meanwhile, Mine's funding ensures their family's not doomed for the dirt. Strange, though, how Nishikiyama himself avoids spending any more of Mine's money than he has to. He's been extremely careful with the amounts that Mine's deposited and even leaned on him to stabilize the cash flow that's attained organically and independently.
After applause rises from the Tojo Clan congregation, Nishikiyama returns to his seat at the tail of giving a speech. He's been placed somewhere in the rows dedicated to the Tojo family patriarchs; separated from Mine by protocol, but certainly not by choice. The seat beside him frees up quickly, and Kazama soon replaces Nishikiyama in front of the gathering to speak in turn.
It's when Kazama is speaking that Nishikiyama locks gazes with Mine from where he sits. Far across the venue, over a sea of yakuza, Mine only one in hundreds of them. His patriarch's eyes are sharp like a cat's are. Shoulders back and poised. The corner of his mouth faintly pulls upwards, bizarrely derisive and pleased at the same time. Nishikiyama is in a position where he needn't explain or make much sense to his subordinates. He knows that. The smirk he spares him is for Mine to do what he will with, and as fleeting as it'd been, Nishikiyama turns to face the front, listening as the meeting comes to a gradual close. ]
[ The assembly features powerhouses of the Tojo Clan. Members of groups Mine has quickly learned to recognize the crests of, but not met their eponymous patriarchs, are several among the men. The scale of it is something he's familiar with, even looking at the rows of people from the back, but certainly not the atmosphere.
He watches Nishikiyama, fixated on the man giving his speech that graciously accepts praise. Nothing lets him expect mention of his contributions, higher ranks like Shindo and Kandaβwho's heads sit at the rim of Mine's view far in frontβwill need to be considered first. He is, however, distracted from the words spoken. Despite seeing the Nishikiyama Family's growth on paper, as a businessman, satisfied that their income is increasing beyond the sum of his donations, Mine remains curious about the money their patriarch chooses not to invest.
He gives applause along with everyone else. With certain focus his gaze remains on the one figure returning to his seat, though, even as Kazama begins. Nishikiyama'll find him looking, while Mine is surprised to be met. Already sitting up tall he finds himself mirroring the details of Nishikiyama's posture, a subconscious lock step. At another time, Mine knew that look as something dangerous, now he imagines it lasting longer than it does, displacing his reply. Maybe Nishikiyama still catches the smile twitching at Mine's mouth before he turns back around.
Rank and order dissolve when the seats are given up and people quickly collect at the back of the room. Mine, instead, is eager to close the gap left by procedure, moving against the current of men leaving. He stands just more than a pace away from Nishikiyama when he bows his head to him. He's thought of what to say. ]
[ Nishikiyama observes how many are moving to the doors and chattering about the izakayas or hostess clubs they'll be hitting up later this evening. Similarly, he observes that Mine is moving away from the glob of Nishikiyama Family members who pool together and in aims of waiting in the courtyard. He finds that charming for some reason.
Mine only seems to watch him, most of the time. Maybe because they're the same age, or because they've seen some of the truth of one another. Whatever the reason is, Nishikiyama's found himself sort of fond of it, and after the exit wave of patriarchs allows him, he drifts a little closer. Looks from Shimano and other family heads pass over Mine as he bows, wondering why he'd fallen behind and strayed from his pack. They don't mind enough to stop or say anything, though, seeing as how Nishikiyama himself doesn't mind it; after all, he's half learned to expect it from Mine by now.
It's not a terrible thing to have someone glued to his hip again. He'd missed the companionship he'd taken for granted in the past. ]
Who're you?
[ Nishikiyama's words are playful and sarcastic when he is eventually close enough to be heard. There's too much familiarity in them to suggest to anyone he doesn't recognize the person before him. ]
[ Yakiniku with the Nishikiyama Family. With Mine's patriarch now having deposited him near the front half of the dining space, there's a shift in atmosphere that's strong enough to make what intimacy had happened between them before feel as if it hadn't at all. The most human thing about Nishikiyama in front of the others is that he takes off his shoes alongside the rest of them. His men don't speak to him unless they're spoken to first. Things had eventually turned out that way after the incident with Matsushigeβ not that anyone has the nerve to take an issue with it. ]
Well, well, well, Mine!
[ By the time they've settled for the grills and Mine has taken his seat near the end of the table, he's no second left short until Kanda swings his hand to clap the man's shoulder. ]
You sneak off somewhere after the assembly? Why didn't you stick with us?
[ Kanda is gawking, obnoxious, and somewhat offended by the slight. Mine should stay with the group. He'd been fine enough before the assembly, in the right place at the right time, but something's off now. ]
You go get your baby from the daycare or something?
[ Mine'd asked the question directly, but been left with an answer vague enough to let him spend time until now thinking over how they'd go onβ Until the minute Nishikiyama sat down and he elsewhere, in fact. The clarity of his act and the rest of his men surrounding is a relief on its own; what does their intimacy mean after all, though? Mine doesn't have time to ponder. He quite literally flinches away from the thought when Kanda slaps his shoulder and has to turn to him at the same time. The man's a fucking brute. ]
My apologies.
[ But he's easily placated, Mine figures, dips his head. While his eyes are cast down they search for what made Kanda complete his assumption, though. His eyebrows pinch together, his lifestyle doesn't spell fatherhood and he can't imagine it'd make a difference to say this or thatβ No, Kanda should be happy with any kind of explanation. ]
I received a call from ourβ [ His white-collar company, not the Nishikiyama Family. ] βEuropean creditors, making an offer on stock in San Francisco. The time difference makes negotiations challenging and the scheduling critical...
[ Mine lies without getting red in the face and talks as if he can keep going, but expects the other man doesn't care to hear the details. ]
[ Kanda, as expected, gets stuck on the mention of Europe. He being him, he can hardly think past what goes on within the family, let alone consider what might be going on outside of the country. Shaken off by Mine's lie, his mouth twists like he's still trying to understand what the other means. ]
We got Europeans helping us make cash? I thought San Francisco was a country in America.
[ Kanda looks around the table, but the other men are about as confused as he is. Only someone without a name to Mine corrects Kanda to let him know it's a city in California. ]
Haβ, why Europe then?
[ This conversation isn't worth having. Kanda will certainly not follow any stock market talk, and avoiding it is advised. Trying his best to participate and be interested in Mine's life, he scratches just above his ear with his fingernails. His face has scrunched like a wad of someone's unwanted draft, and his brain has smattered into muck at the thought of other countries simply existing in a continuum. ]
[ More than 24 hours later some blanks have filled back in. Mine hadn't been the one to drive them to Nishikiyama's place, he threw up at the restaurantβ he forgotβ then a second time at the apartment. No wonder, then, that he'd woken up with an ache. He'd worked a full day after.
Not coming in to the Nishikiyama Family office the same night ended up tactical as much as necessary. Mine takes his walk past cluttered workstations in the middle of the room. The place does much to look like a simple department. The lamborghini some of the men here saw their patriarch take off in is parked outside, again.
Nonetheless a reset; this is what Mine considers it as. Not all the way, only to where he remembers. Thinking back to their lunch, though, Mine remembers the want he'd carried into the night selfsame. Ultimately just going around and around, it's been like this since he woke up yesterday. His composure frays at the edges nowβin reality something that can hardly be seen, his expression as strict as everβbut the suitcase shifts up some as he squeezes his grip around the handle. There'd just been the assembly to recognize what the Family has gained, but at the beginning of a new month, Mine brings in his investments without delay. It's a welcome excuse that he'll never admit to taking as suchβ he's here to see Nishikiyama. ]
[ As Mine enters the room, he finds Nishikiyama seated in his usual chair with another man, face recognizable but maybe not name, bent over another table. White cloth sprawled, a tanto in handβ he's hesitating to cut the joint of his own pinky. Nishikiyama's eyes move to the door when Mine enter; a brief flicker, like the embers of a fire, before they go back to the person in front of him. Yubitsume shouldn't take this long. If a yakuza is remorseful, he'll cut it without a struggle. ]
You can't do it?
[ Coldly. His voice is cruel and mocking. Sweat and tears drip from the subordinate trying, but he hoarsely chokes out that he can and will. That he's sorry. Nishikiyama doesn't believe him, though, and his interest in the display is dwindling with Mine now present. ]
I can make it easier for you.
[ It's a dark offer, but just as it's put out, the yakuza cranks his tanto down. Cartilage and sinew give beneath the blade, and there's a disturbing thunk on the table. Breath hissing. The man quickly bundles his dismembered finger, staunching the joint and bleeding with what's left. ]
[ He's let in without the attention he anticipates. Mine barely catches the glimpse Nishikiyama throws him. He stands just past the door and looks like he's in shock at the scene. He'd heard about all this, apart from the man to do it, babbling and crying, told dry as can beβ it'd have been ludicrous of him to join the yakuza without knowing yubitsume was a consequence of fucking up.
Mine gathers that, rather than giving this man more stage timeβ he thinks he'd seen him at the dinnerβ that Nishikiyama would rather he see the end result. It happens just so, the patriarch's threat enough that he doesn't need to force the knife down himself but can observe from his chair. Mine watches the finger separate and the blood pool on the cutting board. Belatedly, he realizes that he didn't even flinch at the sound. Nishikiyama's command, on the other hand, has him put the suitcase down immediately. ]
Of course.
[ He finds Arase in the open office. Arase's rough with the man who'd committed the infraction; likely how Nishikiyama would've been if he'd stood out of his seat. Mine can only watch him be dragged out now, sweat and tears on the man's face, getting somewhat pale.
He himself takes a step aside, putting him closer to the low table that'd been used than the suitcase he'd brought with him. The door just slams shut. Patently Mine is looking at the bundle of cloth; it tugs on the frown that's already got permanence on his face. ]
[ Mine knows enough about extravagance and atmosphere. What a gaudy placeβ is the first thing he remarks about Kamurocho's underground upon gaining access; realistically he could never have guessed. There's a moment where Mine almost forgets he'll be in the ring, Nishikiyama's invitation would have let him into the audience alone.
Trying to get an overview of who else is participating, Mine looks around. Is Kanda here? He must be pissed off about losing his spot. Mine'd watched him, slow and large and bumbling about, then made his decisionβfighting and winning against Kanda'd been more strategy than luck, even though Mine'd deferred to that explanation. For perhaps the first time, he relishes being underestimated, and is decidedly cruel to let Kanda think he'll have a chance next time.
He doesn't know if Nishikiyama is impressed yet. Thinking his atonement had been in having the patriarch sit with him for the colors of his tattoo, he'd run up criticism after. What made him think he could take any time away from getting prepared? Given the cold shoulder after the only time Mine could remember, he'd found the circumstances of the tournament were Nishikiyama's only objection though. A single-minded thought of what the end of the event should mean got planted. Obsession with the idea grows silently behind the absent glare Mine places on the ringβhe could watch a few fights, first. Drifting over to Nishikiyama's side, it gains focus. ]
Boss, [ He's found reason to be less careful about sitting close. ] I'll be going in soon.
[ His turn, before Arase and Shindo as his seniors. Mine's tailored ensemble does a lot to slim him down. He doesn't need to show muscle when he sits behind a desk all day. Announcing his absence, Mine waits for an answer. ]
[ Nishikiyama initially doesn't realize he's being talked to. With Mine's presence a comfort he's taken for granted, his eyes are locked on the body now being dragged across the floor of the ring. A power washer and blow dry follow to carry away the blood puddles; teeth that've been knocked loose. He observes in silence. Pupils move to Mine after he senses his reply is being waited for. Nishikiyama should say something. ]
Oh, right.
[ Like he's surprised, but he's been counting the rounds for Mine's turn in specific. There's a thoughtful pause before he says anything. He has to send him off properly. ]
βWin.
[ Because if anything, Mine is obedient. Nishikiyama stares firmly at him. The days apart have only accumulated and made an unspoken conviction stronger. Rather than a suggestion, what Nishikiyama says is an order.
[ Then, neither will have realized the intense look of the other pointed at the octagon. Blood splattered across the white floor each round. Mine hasn't even flinched at what might be his in turn or even he one of the men getting dragged out unconscious. He suppresses the idea, the anxious expectation, to justify his confidence and Nishikiyama's lack of comment on it confirms him in that method.
Mine waits patiently and only stands up from the booth seat when his patriarch seems willing to let him go. With a grave, look his pulse jumps at the chance even so and after all, knowing he'll be in the ring. He bows down into his shoulders. ]
Of course.
[ Nishikiyama's send-off is perfect for all those reasons; Mine's dutiful need to excel and the passion that has been pooling in his conscious, too. Although he doesn't look up to find it matched in Nishikiyama's eyes, his gaze flits past when he stands up straight again. ]
βIn that case, I'm leaving.
[ It'll only be moments before Nishikiyama sees him again. Mine takes fast-paced steps down the stairs leading out of the viewing ranks, gone backstage soon. ]
[ For Kazama, saddled with injury more than age, making his way down the levels and stairs of audience seating is patently arduous. Each step is just one at a time, with first his left leg, then the right and his cane to follow. His gaze is placed, with seemingly mellow aim, on the next tread in front of himself. His true motive, though, is to reach Nishikiyama.
Within two years, distance between Kazama and the young man he still kept under his Familyβs name has already become as difficult to cross as his walk down. Withdrawing from early confrontation back at Tojoβs headquarters the opportunityβd delayed itself until now. Nishikiyamaβd signed up as his own entrant into the competition, spurning Kashiwagiβs invitationβhis right as the patriarch of his own groupβbut there are manifest reasons that Kazama disapproves of it. ]
What were you thinking, Nishikiyama?
[ He finally appears when Nishikiyama has had time to think about Mineβs absence. At a calm tempo, paternal judgment still reveals itself in Kazama's tone. ]
[ Mine, because of an expectation that hadn't been surely promised, has held his focus elsewhere for two weeks. Diligent and wanting. Now, briefly, he wonders if itβll bring back anything from the night they were too drunk to remember, when he and Nishikiyama enter the room. The hotel has a purpose this time, deceiving only with its facade out onto the street. No dinner and no wine.
He feels skin stretch tenderly everywhere, now that he undresses again. The short drive'd been enough to flush out the last of the rush he'd felt fighting, then numbing him comfortably. It makes movements look brusk, not smooth enough but hurried anyway. Nishikiyama'll finally stand close enough to observe his tattoo. The kirin's scales in full color ripple down Mine's back. Smoke cascades in the backdrop and settles at the back of his hipsβdetails that'd been too faint to show in the linework. Mine's clothes pile on one of the chairs.
Is it that easy to keep going where they'd left off? Mine's decision to leave that morning (afterβ) threatens to haunt his desire. Again, he lets Nishikiyama herd him to the edge of the bed. ]
I want this. [ You. The thought intrudes, almost disorienting. It'll be the same, Mine comforts himself. ]
[ It'd fallen flat the last they'd tried. Nishikiyama can remember bits and pieces of their night together, the following morning when Mine had vanished and left him alone with nothing but the note. Now should be different. Nishikiyama had noticed that Mine had reserved the room for the night, rather than for a few hours' rest. His skin bared and easing the two of them onto the mattress, Nishikiyama catches the side of Mine's face in his hand and wonders if he will understand what he means. He's not so unprepared this time either.
Two weeks with nothing between them had felt like longer; maybe because they'd tasted just a little bit, left only to guess at how more could be. Without realizing it, Nishikiyama's eyes pass to the lubricant and condoms left out in the open. There's even a discreet touch panel there for ordering any additional supplies. It's plenty. Things this time around won't be so sloppy or clumsy. More importantly, both of them will remember. A thumb traces Mine's bottom lip when Nishikiyama's eyes find him once more, the tip of it just barely grazing the surface of saliva-wet teeth. It coaxes him. Nishikiyama is surprisingly gentle. ]
[ It is 2:30 pm. Kiryu is allowed to make two phone calls a week. Always at the same time. On the same days of each week. For each call, he may only speak for thirty minutes. He calls the same number every time. He's called the same number for two years now without hearing from the person on the other end. Still, he cannot forget the sound of his oath brother's voice. His heart and mind are heavy. Loneliness is bearable, but what's worse is his worry. Kiryu doesn't know if Nishikiyama is okay without him. Years later now, without both Yumi and without Yuko... he doesn't know.
He wants to hear it from Nishikiyama himself. As the phone rings, he expects another day of reaching the Nishikiyama Family's voicemail. Of leaving a brief message for Nishikiyama to listen to, if he even does, and probably delete. Rrrring... Rrrring...
Kiryu's index finger tangles idly in the phone cord when someone on the other side picks up. There's no voice. He thinks he hears someone breathing. His heart stutters in his throat, and there's a sinking feeling in his stomach when the ringing's usual rhythm is disrupted. ]
[ Unsure of when exactly he'd started noticing the regularity of the phone calls the Nishikiyama Family office received, Mine remembers making the decision to adjust his own schedule. Bringing the money in, offering his reports, he's also come up with private reason to see Nishikiyama more often. Twice a week, though, he's here to hear the phone ring and not be picked up. A few times he'd seen Nishikiyama's expression warp with displeasure after it stopped, others he'd waited and observed the spiel from further distance.
Mine arrives without a reason to expect today's any different. Yet, the moment the phone rings again he's alone in the back office. Seconds feel like minutes in which he makes the decision to pick up the receiver, silence on his end as he reads the number on the display. No name has been saved to give the caller an identity.
Nothing on the other end either, Mine thinks about what or who it is he'd suspected. Has he just been working himself upβ? He barely finishes the thought before Kiryu speaks up. Any rationale he has tempered to fit the mold of this non-conversation melts back down. ]
Who is this? [ Mine tries not to sound impulsive, but his decision to answer is. ]
[ Mine waits for Nishikiyama to put down his stamp where he indicates. Paperwork to complete the purchase of the properties he'd sought to buy out. After finding no further issues, Mine'd informed him of the go-ahead. Everything is laid out on the desk in order. He's put a white-collar shine on it. ]
Here, as well.
[ His times are regular, but Mine defers to a busy scheduleβnot untrue, when he's looking for Yumi and Hiyoshi stillβand business matters outside the yakuza to go back to his office. When Nishikiyama calls, he comes, but goes again soon. Lunches that could have been three or four between them are just one time in almost two weeks. Etcetera. They're physical. Mine's confessed something that seems one-sided but is true even so. He's devoted. It doesn't match how he acts at the moment. He thinks that staying too long will make him blurt out a question he keeps on his mind. Whether it's even appropriate or not. However, what Mine does to guard himself makes him seem distant rather than sensible. ]
It's good that you decided to buy when you did. [ Business small talk. ] That should be all.
[ Mine's gaze finally strays over to Nishikiyama. Is he sitting more slumped in his chair? Mine speculates whether he looks paler today, too. Ultimately, he means to leave right away, but nebulous guesses like that make him slow down, gathering the finished documents into his briefcase. ]
[ Nishikiyama puts his hanko back in its case. Though the two of them have been able to spend some time together lately, it's been different since their time in the love hotel. There's gloom in that. Nishikiyama's paranoia is frayed, and as suspicions rise, he wonders if it's time for the other shoe to drop. Maybe things had been going too well for them, and he'd expected too much after all. Maybe Mine is having second thoughts. Is he really that busy? His eyes watch as Mine shuffles the papers away. They go to his face, too, recognizing that he's being searched for something.
What's strange is that he doesn't sense resentment. Mine looks... cautious. Worried, perhaps. But he doesn't look at Nishikiyama as if he's disliked. Nishikiyama's learned to notice that from others by now.
His eyebrows furrow when he's looked at too long. ]
[ Mine seems to have reached home before 8pm, because when Nishikiyama arrives, there's someone there to greet him at the door. He lets himself into the vaguely familiar space, removing his shoes and his coat, and then making his way to the mansion suite. Mine has the sort of view that Nishikiywama wantsβ a clear view of Aoyama-ku and its lights. He accepts a white wine glass, but rather than going to the living room, he wanders into Mine's living quarters, where he hadn't ventured before. ]
Your bed's too big for one person.
[ He says. With heated carpet under his socks, he realizes that he really is somewhere expensive. He doesn't see a single wrinkle in the sheets, and the air smells clean too. Doesn't Mine smoke? Nishikiyama wonders how it's even possible to minimize the scent like that.
[ Mine's apartment is so high up that there's no need to draw curtains and blinds for privacyβall for the view. He can afford to open two bottles at once, as if he doesn't flaunt his wealth otherwise, drinking red where Nishikiyama picks white. They got comfortably buzzed the last time he was here, nothing else to do. Mine doesn't want that this time.
He follows Nishikiyama when he ambles past the couch, down a hallway that makes the rooms either side feel more private. Mine's bathroom and his bedroom are spatially divided from the living and dining area, so it's no wonder Nishikiyama hadn't been in. At first glance the furnishing is sparse; at second it doesn't lack anything. A wardrobe and mirror sequestered to one end, an armchair in the other corner. The bed is the centerpiece, the footboard aimed at the door but with a wide walkway between. ]
I suppose it is.
[ Mine only sleeps on one side, and it's hard to tell which with how the bed is immaculately made. When he walks to the right of Nishikiyama he discloses it though. Eyes stay with him. ]
But something smaller wouldn't be comfortable for two people.
[ He'd given himself some leeway when he said the time. The faint hint of citrus and galbanum, easily eclipsed by his cologne, reveals itself as he sits on the edge joining Nishikiyama's on the corner, and close to him. That Mine is still in a button-down shirt and slacks is deceptive. He'd showered, and just like the room, his new clothes are clean. ]
[ Mine wakes up to the typical view of the ceiling, but the fact that he shares his bed isn't usual. He senses the weight next to him and knows that they must be lingering somewhere past midnight. Rather than find a clock, though, he turns his head over to Nishikiyama's side. When they're having sex there's not a lot of time for it, so long before getting upβhe does, after a whileβis when Mine concludes that it's alright to stare while Nishikiyama is sleeping.
Eventually, he thinks to gather the items of clothing scattered about. At the foot of the bed is where Mine picks up his own shirt, pants and socks off the floor, and layers them in the crook of his elbow. Nishikiyama had left his strewn about the same. Mine looks down, the pieces divided apart from his and not suggestive of how tangled up they'd become mere minutes later. The shirt is laid with one of its sleeves folded out from the rest, like Nishikiyama'd merely let it slip off his shoulder this way, as things got hot and heavy. Mine's eyes flicker to and from. Nishikiyama's body shapes the duvet he sleeps underneath. Mine picks up the shirt, fingers tucked underneath the stiffer crescent of the collar. He knows it to fit Nishikiyama's shoulders more tightly, lacking the padding of his suit jacket. He doesn't even think as he raises the handful of fabric up to his nose. With an inhale that's no deeper than normal breathing, he still draws up the smell of Nishikiyama's cologne mixed with the cold smoke of his cigarettes into his lungs. Mine's shoulders sag in response. He'd closed his eyes to hone in on the scent, realizing that when he opens them again. His own clothes hang as a fig leaf off of his arm. His gaze stays, settled as he wallows in the conclusion. He can imagine Nishikiyama's body close to his own as he smells him, even though the man himself lies with his head at the other end of the bed.
He drops his hand down, suddenly noticing what he is doing. Mine pulls away from the view in saccades, searching the rest of his bedroom. There's the thinner sheet Nishikiyama'd wrapped himself up in to go smoke, on the corner of the mattress. Briefly, Mine wonders if he'd had it on him long enough to take up anything. He leaves it, though, figuring it just smells like his own Cabins, of the little bit of smoke that'd slipped back inside past the window. Nishikiyama's shirt is folded up onto the pile on his arm. Mine finds Nishikiyama's briefs still tucked into his pants. He makes his decision while upright, and only bends down to pick up one of the pieces. Without starched rigidity, he can just crumple it within his fist. Mine raises it up to his face.
What's possessing him? His eyes widen, impossible to tell in the unlit room, but this time Mine understands, as he pushes his nose into Nishikiyama's underwear and takes a deeper breath, that he's doing something bizarre. Still, his gaze doesn't dart away. ]
[ Mine's weight in the mattress beside him has been lifted. With one as expensive as this, Nishikiyama shouldn't feel it and yet there's a sense that something has changed. At some point, he'd rolled away. Now, though, he turns in the bed to face where Mine had formerly been back down. An arm cradles the bottom of a silk-covered pillow. Foam, or somethingβ supposedly to help prevent with sagging skin? Neck support.
Nishikiyama isn't seeing a dream. He's not as deep into sleep as he'd like to be either. He feels that Mine is missing and curls forward some to push into the empty space left behind. It's still warm beside him. There's no thought. He doesn't hear anything. Too stubborn to wake, Nishikiyama remains as he is and settles for the other man's absence. His arm reaches and outstretches beneath another pillow; the one that'd been Mine's. ]
[ A familiar jingle of a bell chimes when Nishikiyama enters the bar Serena. With the barmaid's attention caught, Reina can be seen leaning forward over the counter, ready for him to have a seat. She starts making her way to one end before seeing that a guest is there behind himβ another man in a suit, with a Nishikiyama Family pin on the lapelβ he's new. Maybe the only other yakuza Nishikiyama has brought here since Kiryu. ]
A friend? [ She suggests. Nishikiyama's face, colder nowadays, flickers with some kind of reaction to the word. Almost like a cringe. Maybe the guest will introduce himself. As Mine lets himself in behind Nishikiyama, Reina is eager to take a good look at his face. ]
This is the first time in a really long time you've brought a guest along with you.
[ Just as he'd mapped the walk from the Nishikiyama Family office to this unassuming spot, Mine readily takes in first impressions when the door opens, like the faint smell of cigarettes lingering cold in an ashtray. The woman at the bar counter lifts her head, not a face he recognizes, and Mine keeps decently behind Nishikiyama making a beeline for one of the high chairs. Nishikiyama's old acquaintance, Mine guesses, is her and this bar he'd frequented often to match.
She launches her assumptionβ Mine doesn't see Nishikiyama's dismissal but wills himself to sense it. Without waiting for more of an answer, he finds his hand brushing over his lapel and the crest pin there, awkwardly. Not too many details; he wonders if he should have taken it off when he knows he's being looked at with intent. Mine steps up, placing a hand on the back of the seat to Nishikiyama's left. He feels tongue-tied. ]
Mine Yoshitaka. Pleased to meet you.
[ She flatters him and evidently he doesn't mind, though Mine might as well be handing her a business card while inclining his head. ]
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His new path as a yakuza had done plenty in providing them an incentive to obey; first out of fear, then out of respect. Shindo and Kanda do plenty to keep their fellow members in lineβ not out of selflessness, but because the two of them are actively clamoring for the title of their patriarch's captain. Meanwhile, Mine's funding ensures their family's not doomed for the dirt. Strange, though, how Nishikiyama himself avoids spending any more of Mine's money than he has to. He's been extremely careful with the amounts that Mine's deposited and even leaned on him to stabilize the cash flow that's attained organically and independently.
After applause rises from the Tojo Clan congregation, Nishikiyama returns to his seat at the tail of giving a speech. He's been placed somewhere in the rows dedicated to the Tojo family patriarchs; separated from Mine by protocol, but certainly not by choice. The seat beside him frees up quickly, and Kazama soon replaces Nishikiyama in front of the gathering to speak in turn.
It's when Kazama is speaking that Nishikiyama locks gazes with Mine from where he sits. Far across the venue, over a sea of yakuza, Mine only one in hundreds of them. His patriarch's eyes are sharp like a cat's are. Shoulders back and poised. The corner of his mouth faintly pulls upwards, bizarrely derisive and pleased at the same time. Nishikiyama is in a position where he needn't explain or make much sense to his subordinates. He knows that. The smirk he spares him is for Mine to do what he will with, and as fleeting as it'd been, Nishikiyama turns to face the front, listening as the meeting comes to a gradual close. ]
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He watches Nishikiyama, fixated on the man giving his speech that graciously accepts praise. Nothing lets him expect mention of his contributions, higher ranks like Shindo and Kandaβwho's heads sit at the rim of Mine's view far in frontβwill need to be considered first. He is, however, distracted from the words spoken. Despite seeing the Nishikiyama Family's growth on paper, as a businessman, satisfied that their income is increasing beyond the sum of his donations, Mine remains curious about the money their patriarch chooses not to invest.
He gives applause along with everyone else. With certain focus his gaze remains on the one figure returning to his seat, though, even as Kazama begins. Nishikiyama'll find him looking, while Mine is surprised to be met. Already sitting up tall he finds himself mirroring the details of Nishikiyama's posture, a subconscious lock step. At another time, Mine knew that look as something dangerous, now he imagines it lasting longer than it does, displacing his reply. Maybe Nishikiyama still catches the smile twitching at Mine's mouth before he turns back around.
Rank and order dissolve when the seats are given up and people quickly collect at the back of the room. Mine, instead, is eager to close the gap left by procedure, moving against the current of men leaving. He stands just more than a pace away from Nishikiyama when he bows his head to him. He's thought of what to say. ]
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Mine only seems to watch him, most of the time. Maybe because they're the same age, or because they've seen some of the truth of one another. Whatever the reason is, Nishikiyama's found himself sort of fond of it, and after the exit wave of patriarchs allows him, he drifts a little closer. Looks from Shimano and other family heads pass over Mine as he bows, wondering why he'd fallen behind and strayed from his pack. They don't mind enough to stop or say anything, though, seeing as how Nishikiyama himself doesn't mind it; after all, he's half learned to expect it from Mine by now.
It's not a terrible thing to have someone glued to his hip again. He'd missed the companionship he'd taken for granted in the past. ]
Who're you?
[ Nishikiyama's words are playful and sarcastic when he is eventually close enough to be heard. There's too much familiarity in them to suggest to anyone he doesn't recognize the person before him. ]
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Well, well, well, Mine!
[ By the time they've settled for the grills and Mine has taken his seat near the end of the table, he's no second left short until Kanda swings his hand to clap the man's shoulder. ]
You sneak off somewhere after the assembly? Why didn't you stick with us?
[ Kanda is gawking, obnoxious, and somewhat offended by the slight. Mine should stay with the group. He'd been fine enough before the assembly, in the right place at the right time, but something's off now. ]
You go get your baby from the daycare or something?
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My apologies.
[ But he's easily placated, Mine figures, dips his head. While his eyes are cast down they search for what made Kanda complete his assumption, though. His eyebrows pinch together, his lifestyle doesn't spell fatherhood and he can't imagine it'd make a difference to say this or thatβ No, Kanda should be happy with any kind of explanation. ]
I received a call from ourβ [ His white-collar company, not the Nishikiyama Family. ] βEuropean creditors, making an offer on stock in San Francisco. The time difference makes negotiations challenging and the scheduling critical...
[ Mine lies without getting red in the face and talks as if he can keep going, but expects the other man doesn't care to hear the details. ]
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We got Europeans helping us make cash? I thought San Francisco was a country in America.
[ Kanda looks around the table, but the other men are about as confused as he is. Only someone without a name to Mine corrects Kanda to let him know it's a city in California. ]
Haβ, why Europe then?
[ This conversation isn't worth having. Kanda will certainly not follow any stock market talk, and avoiding it is advised. Trying his best to participate and be interested in Mine's life, he scratches just above his ear with his fingernails. His face has scrunched like a wad of someone's unwanted draft, and his brain has smattered into muck at the thought of other countries simply existing in a continuum. ]
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Not coming in to the Nishikiyama Family office the same night ended up tactical as much as necessary. Mine takes his walk past cluttered workstations in the middle of the room. The place does much to look like a simple department. The lamborghini some of the men here saw their patriarch take off in is parked outside, again.
Nonetheless a reset; this is what Mine considers it as. Not all the way, only to where he remembers. Thinking back to their lunch, though, Mine remembers the want he'd carried into the night selfsame. Ultimately just going around and around, it's been like this since he woke up yesterday. His composure frays at the edges nowβin reality something that can hardly be seen, his expression as strict as everβbut the suitcase shifts up some as he squeezes his grip around the handle. There'd just been the assembly to recognize what the Family has gained, but at the beginning of a new month, Mine brings in his investments without delay. It's a welcome excuse that he'll never admit to taking as suchβ he's here to see Nishikiyama. ]
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You can't do it?
[ Coldly. His voice is cruel and mocking. Sweat and tears drip from the subordinate trying, but he hoarsely chokes out that he can and will. That he's sorry. Nishikiyama doesn't believe him, though, and his interest in the display is dwindling with Mine now present. ]
I can make it easier for you.
[ It's a dark offer, but just as it's put out, the yakuza cranks his tanto down. Cartilage and sinew give beneath the blade, and there's a disturbing thunk on the table. Breath hissing. The man quickly bundles his dismembered finger, staunching the joint and bleeding with what's left. ]
Mine, call Arase.
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Mine gathers that, rather than giving this man more stage timeβ he thinks he'd seen him at the dinnerβ that Nishikiyama would rather he see the end result. It happens just so, the patriarch's threat enough that he doesn't need to force the knife down himself but can observe from his chair. Mine watches the finger separate and the blood pool on the cutting board. Belatedly, he realizes that he didn't even flinch at the sound. Nishikiyama's command, on the other hand, has him put the suitcase down immediately. ]
Of course.
[ He finds Arase in the open office. Arase's rough with the man who'd committed the infraction; likely how Nishikiyama would've been if he'd stood out of his seat. Mine can only watch him be dragged out now, sweat and tears on the man's face, getting somewhat pale.
He himself takes a step aside, putting him closer to the low table that'd been used than the suitcase he'd brought with him. The door just slams shut. Patently Mine is looking at the bundle of cloth; it tugs on the frown that's already got permanence on his face. ]
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Trying to get an overview of who else is participating, Mine looks around. Is Kanda here? He must be pissed off about losing his spot. Mine'd watched him, slow and large and bumbling about, then made his decisionβfighting and winning against Kanda'd been more strategy than luck, even though Mine'd deferred to that explanation. For perhaps the first time, he relishes being underestimated, and is decidedly cruel to let Kanda think he'll have a chance next time.
He doesn't know if Nishikiyama is impressed yet. Thinking his atonement had been in having the patriarch sit with him for the colors of his tattoo, he'd run up criticism after. What made him think he could take any time away from getting prepared? Given the cold shoulder after the only time Mine could remember, he'd found the circumstances of the tournament were Nishikiyama's only objection though. A single-minded thought of what the end of the event should mean got planted. Obsession with the idea grows silently behind the absent glare Mine places on the ringβhe could watch a few fights, first. Drifting over to Nishikiyama's side, it gains focus. ]
Boss, [ He's found reason to be less careful about sitting close. ] I'll be going in soon.
[ His turn, before Arase and Shindo as his seniors. Mine's tailored ensemble does a lot to slim him down. He doesn't need to show muscle when he sits behind a desk all day. Announcing his absence, Mine waits for an answer. ]
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Oh, right.
[ Like he's surprised, but he's been counting the rounds for Mine's turn in specific. There's a thoughtful pause before he says anything. He has to send him off properly. ]
βWin.
[ Because if anything, Mine is obedient. Nishikiyama stares firmly at him. The days apart have only accumulated and made an unspoken conviction stronger. Rather than a suggestion, what Nishikiyama says is an order.
And if it's an order: Mine will not lose. ]
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Mine waits patiently and only stands up from the booth seat when his patriarch seems willing to let him go. With a grave, look his pulse jumps at the chance even so and after all, knowing he'll be in the ring. He bows down into his shoulders. ]
Of course.
[ Nishikiyama's send-off is perfect for all those reasons; Mine's dutiful need to excel and the passion that has been pooling in his conscious, too. Although he doesn't look up to find it matched in Nishikiyama's eyes, his gaze flits past when he stands up straight again. ]
βIn that case, I'm leaving.
[ It'll only be moments before Nishikiyama sees him again. Mine takes fast-paced steps down the stairs leading out of the viewing ranks, gone backstage soon. ]
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Within two years, distance between Kazama and the young man he still kept under his Familyβs name has already become as difficult to cross as his walk down. Withdrawing from early confrontation back at Tojoβs headquarters the opportunityβd delayed itself until now. Nishikiyamaβd signed up as his own entrant into the competition, spurning Kashiwagiβs invitationβhis right as the patriarch of his own groupβbut there are manifest reasons that Kazama disapproves of it. ]
What were you thinking, Nishikiyama?
[ He finally appears when Nishikiyama has had time to think about Mineβs absence. At a calm tempo, paternal judgment still reveals itself in Kazama's tone. ]
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He feels skin stretch tenderly everywhere, now that he undresses again. The short drive'd been enough to flush out the last of the rush he'd felt fighting, then numbing him comfortably. It makes movements look brusk, not smooth enough but hurried anyway. Nishikiyama'll finally stand close enough to observe his tattoo. The kirin's scales in full color ripple down Mine's back. Smoke cascades in the backdrop and settles at the back of his hipsβdetails that'd been too faint to show in the linework. Mine's clothes pile on one of the chairs.
Is it that easy to keep going where they'd left off? Mine's decision to leave that morning (afterβ) threatens to haunt his desire. Again, he lets Nishikiyama herd him to the edge of the bed. ]
I want this. [ You. The thought intrudes, almost disorienting. It'll be the same, Mine comforts himself. ]
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[ It'd fallen flat the last they'd tried. Nishikiyama can remember bits and pieces of their night together, the following morning when Mine had vanished and left him alone with nothing but the note. Now should be different. Nishikiyama had noticed that Mine had reserved the room for the night, rather than for a few hours' rest. His skin bared and easing the two of them onto the mattress, Nishikiyama catches the side of Mine's face in his hand and wonders if he will understand what he means. He's not so unprepared this time either.
Two weeks with nothing between them had felt like longer; maybe because they'd tasted just a little bit, left only to guess at how more could be. Without realizing it, Nishikiyama's eyes pass to the lubricant and condoms left out in the open. There's even a discreet touch panel there for ordering any additional supplies. It's plenty. Things this time around won't be so sloppy or clumsy. More importantly, both of them will remember. A thumb traces Mine's bottom lip when Nishikiyama's eyes find him once more, the tip of it just barely grazing the surface of saliva-wet teeth. It coaxes him. Nishikiyama is surprisingly gentle. ]
Let me see your back.
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He wants to hear it from Nishikiyama himself. As the phone rings, he expects another day of reaching the Nishikiyama Family's voicemail. Of leaving a brief message for Nishikiyama to listen to, if he even does, and probably delete. Rrrring... Rrrring...
Kiryu's index finger tangles idly in the phone cord when someone on the other side picks up. There's no voice. He thinks he hears someone breathing. His heart stutters in his throat, and there's a sinking feeling in his stomach when the ringing's usual rhythm is disrupted. ]
Nishiki?
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Mine arrives without a reason to expect today's any different. Yet, the moment the phone rings again he's alone in the back office. Seconds feel like minutes in which he makes the decision to pick up the receiver, silence on his end as he reads the number on the display. No name has been saved to give the caller an identity.
Nothing on the other end either, Mine thinks about what or who it is he'd suspected. Has he just been working himself upβ? He barely finishes the thought before Kiryu speaks up. Any rationale he has tempered to fit the mold of this non-conversation melts back down. ]
Who is this? [ Mine tries not to sound impulsive, but his decision to answer is. ]
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[ Mine waits for Nishikiyama to put down his stamp where he indicates. Paperwork to complete the purchase of the properties he'd sought to buy out. After finding no further issues, Mine'd informed him of the go-ahead. Everything is laid out on the desk in order. He's put a white-collar shine on it. ]
Here, as well.
[ His times are regular, but Mine defers to a busy scheduleβnot untrue, when he's looking for Yumi and Hiyoshi stillβand business matters outside the yakuza to go back to his office. When Nishikiyama calls, he comes, but goes again soon. Lunches that could have been three or four between them are just one time in almost two weeks. Etcetera. They're physical. Mine's confessed something that seems one-sided but is true even so. He's devoted. It doesn't match how he acts at the moment. He thinks that staying too long will make him blurt out a question he keeps on his mind. Whether it's even appropriate or not. However, what Mine does to guard himself makes him seem distant rather than sensible. ]
It's good that you decided to buy when you did. [ Business small talk. ] That should be all.
[ Mine's gaze finally strays over to Nishikiyama. Is he sitting more slumped in his chair? Mine speculates whether he looks paler today, too. Ultimately, he means to leave right away, but nebulous guesses like that make him slow down, gathering the finished documents into his briefcase. ]
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What's strange is that he doesn't sense resentment. Mine looks... cautious. Worried, perhaps. But he doesn't look at Nishikiyama as if he's disliked. Nishikiyama's learned to notice that from others by now.
His eyebrows furrow when he's looked at too long. ]
Okay.
[ He stands from his seat. ]
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Your bed's too big for one person.
[ He says. With heated carpet under his socks, he realizes that he really is somewhere expensive. He doesn't see a single wrinkle in the sheets, and the air smells clean too. Doesn't Mine smoke? Nishikiyama wonders how it's even possible to minimize the scent like that.
He sits on the end of the bed. ]
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He follows Nishikiyama when he ambles past the couch, down a hallway that makes the rooms either side feel more private. Mine's bathroom and his bedroom are spatially divided from the living and dining area, so it's no wonder Nishikiyama hadn't been in. At first glance the furnishing is sparse; at second it doesn't lack anything. A wardrobe and mirror sequestered to one end, an armchair in the other corner. The bed is the centerpiece, the footboard aimed at the door but with a wide walkway between. ]
I suppose it is.
[ Mine only sleeps on one side, and it's hard to tell which with how the bed is immaculately made. When he walks to the right of Nishikiyama he discloses it though. Eyes stay with him. ]
But something smaller wouldn't be comfortable for two people.
[ He'd given himself some leeway when he said the time. The faint hint of citrus and galbanum, easily eclipsed by his cologne, reveals itself as he sits on the edge joining Nishikiyama's on the corner, and close to him. That Mine is still in a button-down shirt and slacks is deceptive. He'd showered, and just like the room, his new clothes are clean. ]
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Eventually, he thinks to gather the items of clothing scattered about. At the foot of the bed is where Mine picks up his own shirt, pants and socks off the floor, and layers them in the crook of his elbow. Nishikiyama had left his strewn about the same. Mine looks down, the pieces divided apart from his and not suggestive of how tangled up they'd become mere minutes later. The shirt is laid with one of its sleeves folded out from the rest, like Nishikiyama'd merely let it slip off his shoulder this way, as things got hot and heavy. Mine's eyes flicker to and from. Nishikiyama's body shapes the duvet he sleeps underneath. Mine picks up the shirt, fingers tucked underneath the stiffer crescent of the collar. He knows it to fit Nishikiyama's shoulders more tightly, lacking the padding of his suit jacket. He doesn't even think as he raises the handful of fabric up to his nose. With an inhale that's no deeper than normal breathing, he still draws up the smell of Nishikiyama's cologne mixed with the cold smoke of his cigarettes into his lungs. Mine's shoulders sag in response. He'd closed his eyes to hone in on the scent, realizing that when he opens them again. His own clothes hang as a fig leaf off of his arm. His gaze stays, settled as he wallows in the conclusion. He can imagine Nishikiyama's body close to his own as he smells him, even though the man himself lies with his head at the other end of the bed.
He drops his hand down, suddenly noticing what he is doing. Mine pulls away from the view in saccades, searching the rest of his bedroom. There's the thinner sheet Nishikiyama'd wrapped himself up in to go smoke, on the corner of the mattress. Briefly, Mine wonders if he'd had it on him long enough to take up anything. He leaves it, though, figuring it just smells like his own Cabins, of the little bit of smoke that'd slipped back inside past the window. Nishikiyama's shirt is folded up onto the pile on his arm. Mine finds Nishikiyama's briefs still tucked into his pants. He makes his decision while upright, and only bends down to pick up one of the pieces. Without starched rigidity, he can just crumple it within his fist. Mine raises it up to his face.
What's possessing him? His eyes widen, impossible to tell in the unlit room, but this time Mine understands, as he pushes his nose into Nishikiyama's underwear and takes a deeper breath, that he's doing something bizarre. Still, his gaze doesn't dart away. ]
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Nishikiyama isn't seeing a dream. He's not as deep into sleep as he'd like to be either. He feels that Mine is missing and curls forward some to push into the empty space left behind. It's still warm beside him. There's no thought. He doesn't hear anything. Too stubborn to wake, Nishikiyama remains as he is and settles for the other man's absence. His arm reaches and outstretches beneath another pillow; the one that'd been Mine's. ]
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A friend? [ She suggests. Nishikiyama's face, colder nowadays, flickers with some kind of reaction to the word. Almost like a cringe. Maybe the guest will introduce himself. As Mine lets himself in behind Nishikiyama, Reina is eager to take a good look at his face. ]
This is the first time in a really long time you've brought a guest along with you.
[ Nishikiyama lowers into his seat. ]
Just don't bother him too much.
He's so handsome, Nishikiyama-kun! Who is he?
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She launches her assumptionβ Mine doesn't see Nishikiyama's dismissal but wills himself to sense it. Without waiting for more of an answer, he finds his hand brushing over his lapel and the crest pin there, awkwardly. Not too many details; he wonders if he should have taken it off when he knows he's being looked at with intent. Mine steps up, placing a hand on the back of the seat to Nishikiyama's left. He feels tongue-tied. ]
Mine Yoshitaka. Pleased to meet you.
[ She flatters him and evidently he doesn't mind, though Mine might as well be handing her a business card while inclining his head. ]
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