Boku no Yakuza Aijin, Part 5
The arrival of July heat and humidity to Tokyo brought with it its regular, first nasty bout of summer colds. Sachiko had been lucky enough to avoid the bug going around so far, but a number of her friends and classmates, not to mention a few of her teachers, had been out sick. Jin, too, it seemed, had been taken down for the count. For a whole week the café scrambled, trying to find people to cover his shifts in the kitchen and still run the dining room efficiently. After taking so many sick days, she was surprised by neither the slightly sallow tone to his skin nor the heavy bags beneath his eyes when he returned to work. What had her gasping around her straw (and accidentally inhaling some of her juice, resulting in some rather embarrassing hacking to clear her windpipe) was, well...pretty much everything else.
She never would have pegged Jin as the type of person to change his entire appearance on a whim, but it was hard to deny when the evidence was right there in front of her. His long, wavy locks still framed his face, but gone was their natural dark brown shade, replaced by a surprisingly flattering hue of magenta. Two small diamond studs peeked out from newly-healed piercings in his full, lower lip. A drastic change though it was, the look suited him. Certainly it helped him fit in better with the rest of the waitstaff and the patrons of the café. Though, Sachiko couldn't help but wonder what had prompted the change.
It had to be Kamenashi. She thought that not because, in the time she had been observing him, he had changed his hairstyle at least twice (though it was true), but because he and his ties to the mafia introduced a new variable to the equation. The fact that he carried a lot of influence within both his crime syndicate and his relationship with the waiter forced her to consider the possibility that Jin had undergone a visual kei makeover for a reason other than because he wanted to. Just how deep was his involvement with the yakuza? Seeing him looking like this made her raise that question yet again. Had he even been sick the week he was out, or had that been a cover for something else that explained his mysterious new look? She kept an eye on him for the rest of the afternoon, trying to get another, closer look at him every time he passed by her table.
The longer she watched him, the more convinced she became that he had been absent for a reason other than illness. Although his body did have all of the tell-tale signs of fighting off a nasty bug, something about it seemed...off. For one thing, he walked with a noticeable limp, and he kept fiddling with something on his right shoulder, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a large gauze bandage, partially concealed by the fabric of his t-shirt. She noticed something shiny on his apron next to his nametag, but she wasn't able to figure out what it was until Jin came by to mop up a spill at the next table over from hers. His kneeling to wipe at the floor with a rag gave her a perfect view of him, and she couldn't stifle a gasp when she saw the beady eyes of a red turtle pin looking back at her from where it clung to his apron.
Jin glanced up at the sound, and Sachiko quickly looked away. Before she did, though, she took notice of where the collar of Jin's t-shirt had slipped down, revealing a suspiciously mouth-shaped bruise on his collarbone. The way Jin cleared his throat when he straightened gave away that he had noticed her staring, and he hastily adjusted the garment before hurrying away (whether to wait on another customer or simply remove himself from the uncomfortable situation, she wasn't sure). But the pin and the love bite confirmed in her mind that there was more to Jin's “illness” than met the eye. He and Kamenashi had clearly gone somewhere, or done something. Perhaps both. However, the fact that Jin looked tired and roughed up in addition to sexed up made her wonder if maybe they hadn't just played hooky from work for a romantic getaway. Could it be possible they'd had a run-in with some of the higher-ups in the yakuza clan? Or maybe some of Kamenashi's enemies? An elaborate plot swirled in Sachiko's head as she considered the possibilities. After throwing together a rough sketch of Jin's new appearance for reference, she made some new panels and started to draw.
Kamenashi glowers when an hour passes without so much as a phone call from Jin, but then he remembers that they still don't have each other's cell phone numbers. With the threat of the mole eliminated, he'd probably be allowed to switch back to his old phone, but that's not something he's gotten around to doing yet. Not having a way to contact Jin apart from seeing him in-person has been really inconvenient (but at the same time, really convenient, he realizes, thinking about what ended up happening the last time he went to give him an update on the situation). As nice as that was, for times like this, the lack of an avenue of communication really is a hassle.
He drums his manicured fingertips on the white linen tablecloth and lets a deep breath out in an aggravated huff. Oh, that boy is going to get it if he has the nerve to stand him up when he finally found the courage to make a move and ask him out. To dinner at an Italian restaurant, no less. Koki had given him so much crap for being so much of a romantic underneath his tough shell (or, “Rooo-man-ti~kku~!” as he had put it, which earned him a hard shove), so he had better show.
He glances around at the diners at the other tables, watching them flirt and laugh as they eat their meals and sip their wine. Their shy, happy smiles remind him of Jin's, which instead of making him feel good, sends a nervous shiver running down his spine. Although he can't say he knows Jin all that well yet, from what he's seen so far, he has a feeling the waiter would have done everything in his power to make it here on time, and if he knew he was going to be this late, he would have made some effort to let him know. Gotten a hold of the restaurant's number and called or...something. Or maybe he's flattering himself by thinking Jin likes him that much. He gives his head a little shake to clear that particular thought. No, it can't be that.
The more he thinks about it, the less of an appetite he has. Something must be wrong. While Jin doesn't give him the impression of being the most prompt person in the world, he also doesn't strike him as the type who would pull something like this. His mind fills with images of all the things that could have happened to the waiter on his way over here, each one more gruesome than the last, and his stomach churns. Five more minutes. He'll give Jin five more minutes, and if he doesn't make it by then... He originally said he would punish him somehow, but if it turns out Jin's already being punished, by someone who would actually mean him harm in doing so, it'll be a miracle if Kamenashi finds him alive. If that's the case...he really doesn't know what he'll do with him.
He fidgets in his chair, playing with the gold cufflinks in the sleeves of his white suit jacket to try and distract himself from checking his watch something like every thirty seconds, but he still only lasts three of the allotted five minutes before he's throwing his napkin down on the table and bolting out of the restaurant. Out on the street, he hails the first cab he can find and snaps at him to get him to Setagaya as fast as possible. His fingers fly over the keyboard of his phone as he sends an urgent message to Koki and Maru, telling them about his unsettling feeling (now making him feel a little nauseous) and to be ready to head out should he send further instruction. They both send worried messages back, and Koki tries calling, but he ignores everything, spending the rest of the cab ride trying to keep himself calm and force his brain to think about anything other than motorcycles, which proves to be a difficult task as they get closer to Jin's block.
The yakuza all but throws the money for the fare at the driver the second the car rolls to a stop at the curb, and he runs the rest of the way to Jin's building. As he scales the fire escape (much more efficiently than the last time he tried), he realizes he has nothing to go off of other than this hunch of his, and it's entirely possible that when he reaches Jin's apartment, he'll find him in his kitchen, singing to himself and happily baking. If that happens, he'll have to kick his ass. Partially for forgetting their date and making him worry, but mostly to stop him from asking why he came over in such a rush and making him admit that he was worried.
Kamenashi hates it sometimes when he's right. He clambers over Jin's balcony railing, and the sickening crunch of broken glass beneath his feet when he lands makes his stomach plummet to somewhere around his toes. Instead of a smiling, apron-clad Jin coming out to greet him, he's met with the sight of the sliding glass door shattered, a sign of either a very bad accident (not impossible with Jin) or, more likely, forced entry. Catching a glance at the ashtray in the corner, clearly unmoved from his last visit, he wants to rush in to find Jin and make sure he's all right, but years of dealing in crime help him keep his wits about him in dangerous situations. And this could very easily turn into a dangerous situation.
As quietly as possible, he moves to stand along the wall, pulling his gun from his pocket and loading a round of bullets into the chamber. Eyes and ears trained on the interior of the dark apartment, he clicks the safety off and waits for something, the slightest sound or movement, to alert him to a threatening presence inside. But all he hears are cicadas. Slowly, carefully, he steps over the threshold. Adrenaline pumps in his veins when more glass crunches under his shoes. If there is anyone inside, he'll know now that he's not alone, and any moment now, Kamenashi could be fighting for his life.
Thankfully, no one jumps out at him, but the belongings that lay scattered and broken across the living room floor suggest someone may have tried it on Jin. Kamenashi examines the remains of the living room the best he can in the dark, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that might resemble blood on the floor or walls. He relaxes slightly when he finds none, and further investigation of the rest of the apartment proves that the struggle didn't progress beyond the living room. But Jin is nowhere to be found.
Satisfied that the coast is clear, Kamenashi curses as he puts his gun away and pulls out his cell phone. “Akanishi's gone!” he sends to both Koki and Maru, “Check all of Ueda's haunts and interrogate the shit out of anyone you find there. Call me if you find anything. I'll be at headquarters.”
He slips his phone back in his pocket and removes his hat to run a hand through his hair, taking another look around the trashed apartment and trying to make sense of the jumble of thoughts running through his head. This seemingly random crime makes absolutely no sense to him. Without the necklace, no one should have had any reason to target Jin, and yet here he stands, alone among torn lampshades and broken picture frames. And then there's the question of Jin himself. Though the lack of spilled blood on the carpet and walls comforts him a little, that isn't to say that Jin isn't bleeding now. Or drugged, or chained up, or a million other things that could happen to him.
Standing there thinking about the unpleasant possibilities makes Kamenashi feel a bit like the apartment walls are closing in on him, so he steps back out onto the balcony and tries to calm himself by releasing a deep breath into the still night air. In any case, he's unlikely to find any answers if he sticks around here, as the remains of the apartment haven't offered any clues, and whoever did this isn't likely to come back if they have Jin, so the best thing it seems he can do now is head back to headquarters and wait for word from Koki and Maru. Hopefully they'll be able to find him, and then...based on what condition he's in when they do, they can figure out what they want to do from there.
When he gets back to the clan's building in Shinjuku, he heads straight for the roof, and he spends the next several hours pacing back and forth, letting the light breeze swirl the smoke rising from the end of his cigarette and tousle his unkempt bangs. He hasn't bothered to change out of his dinner suit, which he regrets now, as it serves as a reminder that just a few hours ago, he had a very different idea of how he thought this night would go. But now that he's out here, he doesn't want to go back inside and change. Up here on the roof, he feels as though nothing exists beyond himself, the breeze, and the lights of the city. No one can reach him, so he doesn't have to worry about anyone ringing him with bad news. The longer Jin's status remains in limbo, the longer he can hold out hope.
It's a delusion that only half works, though. In his pacing, he's managed to work a few things out, and none of them bring him comfort. At first he thought that the only way something like this could happen was if the kidnapper hadn't known when he attacked that Jin had already given back the necklace. If that's the case, the kidnapper will realize his mistake soon enough, and without a reason to keep Jin around, he'll let him go. Jin might end up unconscious somewhere, but at least he'd be alive. But he soon realized there was another possibility. This whole time, he had been thinking that whoever did this was after the pendant. But what if Jin himself was the target?
The very thought makes him feel like he's been plunged into the depths of Tokyo Bay in the middle of February. It's not impossible. It's happened before, after all. Someone very shrewd (like a mole, he bitterly thinks), could have caught on to his and Jin's budding attraction for each other and taken steps to end it before it really had a chance to get started. Considering that, his thoughts carry him to places he doesn't want to go. To dirty, dank warehouses on the docks, where Jin's tied up, struggling in his bonds and shouting for him as shadowed figures approach. The sound of sweet, innocent Jin, who dreams of nothing more than to live out of his guitar case in America, screaming like that echoes in his mind.
Only focusing on the steady, repetitive motion of raising his hand to his mouth to take long drags from his cigarette keeps a lump from forming in his throat. Once again, he hopes he's wrong. If he's right, and it turns out someone is using Jin as a pawn to get to him, he doesn't know if he'll be able to handle it. He barely recovered after he lost Hayato, and he doesn't know what he'll do if it happens again with Jin. He'll bear the burden of knowing a second innocent (well, not completely innocent in Hayato's case) life was snuffed out because of him for the rest of his days. Kamenashi isn't a very religious man, but there on the rooftop, he prays for good news from Koki and Maru.
He's nearly exhausted his pack of cigarettes when the call finally comes through, and it's just about the best outcome possible. “We've got him!” Koki's voice says, though the tell-tale static of a bad reception area distorts it slightly, “He's unconscious, but it looks like he's going to be okay. We should probably take him to the hospital just in case, though, so that's where we're headed next. It'll take us about an hour to get there, so in the meantime, have a drink, take a shower, and relax, Kame-chan. Your boyfriend's going to be fine.”
Kamenashi's so relieved, he can't even get mad at Koki for the nickname or the fact that he referred to Jin as his boyfriend. His relief doesn't last long, though, as certain details come back to him. What could have happened for Jin to end up unconscious and an hour out of the city? Would he really be okay after he came to? Would he still want to be with him after going through...god only knew what? He considers lighting his last cigarette to think some more about these new questions, but when he raises the stick to his lips, his stomach churns and he starts to feel a bit light-headed, both signs that maybe he's smoked enough for one night. Slipping the nearly-empty pack and his lighter back into his pocket, he realizes that perhaps the best thing he can do right now is follow Koki's advice.
When Jin first comes out of unconsciousness, it's dark, and it would seem he's been laid out in the backseat of a car. A moving car. He can hear the two blurry figures in the front seat talking to each other, and both of their voices sound familiar, but he can't for the life of him figure out where he's heard them before. The man sitting in the passenger seat must have heard him moving around, because he turns to look at him. Jin squints to try and make out his features in the dark, but quickly gives up when the effort sends pain shooting through his skull. Ow ow ow~ ...Where had that come from, anyway? He reaches a hand back to try and find the source of the discomfort, but the sound of the man speaking to him makes him stop.
More than his words, it's this guy's tone that helps calm him. Whoever he is, he has a very low, smooth voice, and it makes Jin want to go along with whatever he's saying. The fuzzy feeling in his ears makes it hard for him to hear, but he picks up on something that sounds like 'sleep,' and he's inclined to agree. He lets his eyes fall closed, which thankfully dulls the pain in his head, and the motion of the car slowly rocks him back to sleep.
The next time he wakes, it's to someone flashing a bright light in his eyes. He flinches and tries to turn away, but then there's a clicking sound and the light recedes on its own. A deep, unfamiliar voice says, “Dilation's normal. He took a bump to the head, but he doesn't appear to have a concussion. We'll keep him overnight for observation, though, in case his condition changes.”
Jin rubs his eyes a few times to try and clear the spots from his vision. The blurriness from before is gone, as is the fuzziness that prevented him from hearing properly. Now he can see he's in a hospital bed. To his right, the doctor he assumes was just examining him speaks to two men he quickly recognizes as Koki and Nakamaru. Hearing them speak in turn also helps him place their voices to the hazy car ride. So that's how I got here, he thinks, but everything that happened between when he got home from work and the backseat of the car is still a huge blank to him. He stays as quiet and still as he can in the bed to not interrupt their conversation, hoping to pick up on something that might help clue him in. They must have given him something for the pain he felt earlier, because even though he knows the back of his head feels tender and should hurt, he doesn't really notice it all that much. Plus, there's a dreamy, floaty feeling to everything, and even when he tries to focus on what's going on, it isn't long before something distracts him.
Eventually all three men bow to each other, and the doctor leaves. Koki follows shortly after, his pace urgent as he steps out to take a phone call, and suddenly it's just him and Nakamaru. The lawyer also seems to notice this, because the first thing he does after Koki leaves is pull a chair across the floor to sit at his bedside. Expression friendly, he asks in the same low, calm tone Jin heard in the car if he can get him anything, and Jin swallows around the dryness in his throat, trying to get his voice to work so he can ask for some water. He thinks he sounds a bit like a dying frog when he finally manages it, but Nakamaru doesn't comment on the grogginess in his voice, instead fetching it for him as efficiently as though his boss had ordered it of him. After thanking him and taking a couple sips, Jin remembers that Nakamaru reports to Kame, and he thinks he could have made a better comparison.
He clears his throat, both to kill the frog in there and hopefully break the awkward silence falling over the room. “So, um, Kame said you beatbox?”
A broad grin comes over Nakamaru's face, and he demonstrates his skills. Under the hospital blanket, Jin taps his toe in time with the beat, and he claps when the other finishes, clearly impressed. “Wow! I was excited when Kame told me you could, because I know how to do it a little bit, too, but he didn't say anything about how good you are!” His face goes a bit red as he contributes his comparatively mediocre talents. “I'm better at rapping,” he offers. “And singing.”
But Nakamaru claps a hand on his shoulder. “That was still pretty good, though. It's not like it's an easy thing to do.”
The praise makes Jin feel a bit better, but he still wants to show that he can do something well. “Hey, get that rhythm going again. I'll see if I can add something to it.”
The lawyer does, and Jin closes his eyes, listening to the beat for a few measures to get a feel for it before jumping in. “And what I'm saying is so super, so I guess that makes me super saying--”
Nakamaru sputters in the middle of his beatboxing and stops. “You know English?!” Clearly, it's his turn to be impressed.
Jin moves to scratch the back of his head, but stops quickly when he remembers he's got a baseball-sized lump back there. “Yeah...I'm only self-taught, though. How'd you learn to beatbox so well?”
“I'm self-taught, too.”
They stare at each other for a second. “I like you,” Jin says, plainly. “You're cool.”
“Likewise.”
They high-five.
Nakamaru scoots his chair a bit closer to the bed. “All right,” he says, trying to restore order when it seems they're both about to burst into laughter from how much fun they're having. “Is there more to that rap? I kinda cut you off before you could get going.”
Jin tries to sit up a little in bed, and Nakamaru presses the button that raises the mattress so he can comfortably sit upright. He's rewarded with one of the waiter's signature smiles. “Thanks. And yeah, there is. From the top?”
The lawyer nods and starts again. Jin counts off, “Five, six, seven, eight,” and jumps in. “And what I'm saying is so super, so I guess that makes me super saying, 'Super star, hide the lids so you don't know who we are.' So show me how we sipping parties tripping when we kicking it--”
That's how Koki and Kame find them when they enter the room ten minutes later.
The placement of the bathroom in Jin's room next to the door hides them from view of the bed, so they pause in the doorframe to listen. Raising an impressed eyebrow, Koki crosses his arms over his chest and turns to his charge, giving him a look that clearly says he approves. Of their duet or Jin as his...whatever they are now, Kamenashi's not sure. To play it safe, he rolls his eyes. Regardless of what he does, though, he's bound to get the same reaction from Koki. Sure enough, his bodyguard laughs at him, and he keeps that smile on his face as he steps forward into the room proper. “Sounds like someone's feeling better. You're a pretty good rapper. Much better than Kame here.”
And there's his introduction. He straightens his jacket a little and moves to stand next to Koki, not sure how to react to the sight of Jin beaming up at him from a hospital bed he essentially put him in. He scratches the bump on the bridge of his nose and nods at Maru, who returns the gesture, but then turns his attention back to Jin and Koki. Kamenashi thinks he's about to catch a break, with his lawyer looking like he's about to say or do something that'll divert attention from him when he's clearly struggling with the situation, but he soon realizes that he really should know better by now.
“Aw, come on, Koki, give the guy a bit more credit than that! He really is good, and saying he's better than Kame isn't really saying a lot.”
This catches Jin's interest, and he looks excitedly between the bodyguard and the lawyer. “Wait, Kame raps?” His gaze flickers back to Kame when the gangster groans in response to his question, burying his face in his hands, and his amused grin shifts into something more tender.
Nakamaru smirks as he, too, regards his boss, and he continues to prove that he's as good with words and reading the atmosphere as someone of his profession should be. “Oh, it was just the one time,” he explains airily. “We got him drunk, and...it wasn't pretty. We stopped him when he started going on about...what was it again?” He looks to Koki for help, clearly setting him up, and Jin starts to see where the comedy element of their relationship comes into play. “Yokohama, I think?”
“Yeah, Yokohama!” Koki chimes in, right on cue. “And boats. There was something about tuna, too.”
In his little corner of misery, Kame pinches the bridge of his nose. “Oh, my god, shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Jin's beside himself with laughter. He claps both his hands over his mouth, but he can't keep the sounds from escaping. Peal after peal of high-pitched giggling fills the room, and his legs kick with mirth under the blankets across his lap. He even snorts a little when Koki and Maru don't let up.
“Were we in Yokohama at the time?”
“Yeah, I think that's what it was. Still don't know where the boat thing came from, though. That certainly wasn't how we got there!”
“Kame seemed to think so, though!”
“How much had he had at that point, anyway?”
“Not sure, but too much, obviously!”
“Yeah, well, with him, it doesn't really take a lot, does it?”
Kame glares, but his efforts do very little to stop the sounds of laughter now coming from all three men. Thankfully at that moment, a nurse comes by to check on Jin, and Kame takes advantage of the opportunity to drag both of his comrades out of the room.
Koki and Maru keep snickering out in the hallway, but they quickly stop when they see the look on their boss's face.
“Sorry about that, Kame,” Maru starts, clearly thinking they're about to be scolded for making him look bad in front of Jin, but Kame silences him with a hand.
In a much quieter voice than either of them expect, he asks, “How's he doing?”
Oh. Instantly, all three of them slip back into business mode. As Koki technically holds the higher rank between the two of them, he offers his report first:
“We did what you asked. It took a while, but we finally got a lead from some punk thug tending the bar at one of Ueda's dives. He was pretty tight-lipped during his shift, but once he was off the clock, we bought him a couple shots and he started to talk. It turns out dear Uebo's losing control of his men. It's not surprising, really. Can't say he's ever been leader material. Why he wanted so bad to run a smuggling ring is beyond me.”
Maru cuts in. “He likes the pretty jewelry. And getting to crack a whip at people.”
“Yeah, that. He's a sadistic bastard, but he doesn't have the foresight or the decision-making skills to make his group a serious threat. Bottom line is that without a strong figure on top, they're starting to factionalize. The group turning on him doesn't have a name for itself, but its members are deserting Ueda in droves, and they're very quietly recruiting more before they get out. Naturally, that's sparked a response. Some of Ueda's most elite members have come together to form a group called FiVe, and rumor has it they're a vicious bunch. Over the last few weeks, they've been running around delivering sweet “justice” to not just the deserters, but also anyone who's ever wronged their leader.”
Kame nods once, solemnly. He has a feeling he knows where this is going.
Koki reads the understanding on his face. “So...yeah. Long story short, these FiVe guys planned an attack on Jin to punish you. After the dude we got our info from gave that up, we, ah...gently persuaded him to tell us more, and with his help, we were able to track FiVe to an abandoned warehouse in Saitama.”
The word 'warehouse' makes Kame think back to the horrible scenarios he envisioned on the roof, and he visibly flinches. Koki notices and trails off in his recounting of events. “Yo, Maru, wanna tag-team?”
When he wants information from them, Kame always says to give it to him straight, but both Koki and Maru care far too much about him to do that. So when it comes time to deliver news they know he won't like, it falls on Maru to do it, because he's always been better about wording unpleasant things gently. The only exception to that so far has been telling Kame about Hayato. Koki had tried handing Maru his phone after he dialed Kame's number from the emergency room, but the lawyer pushed it away, saying that if he were in Kame's position, the only person he would want to hear something like that from was his best friend. That had been a wretched day for all of them, but thankfully they haven't had to suffer through another one like it since then.
Maru starts off well. “It's not that bad. We're not sure what they intended to do with him up in that warehouse, but thankfully we got there before they had an opportunity to do much of anything. They had him tied to a chair and blindfolded, but we brought plenty of back-up, so we made quick work of their group and managed to free him before too long.”
He pauses when he sees one of Kame's fair eyebrows inching towards his hairline. Clearly he doesn't believe it was quite that easy. He's right. “Before we could take him down, their leader got a little desperate and tried to take a last stand. He held his gun to Jin's head, but it was only a move to scare him and distract us. Instead of shooting him, he clocked him once with the butt of the gun to knock him out, and then he tried to run.” He and Koki exchange a grin. “Big mistake.”
Kame nods again and takes all of that in, but he still doesn't look convinced. “And that's it?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” they say more or less in unison.
“What happened to the guy you got all the information from?”
Koki smiles again in a funny way, and Maru spells it out for him, just in case he didn't already know what that look meant. “We took care of him.”
“Good.” Digging his hands deep in his pockets and shifting his weight from foot to foot, he continues, much more quietly, “How's he been since you brought him back? Is it just me, or does he seem...far too happy for what he's been through?”
The bodyguard and the lawyer look at each other for a second, and eventually Maru says, “We've both been with him the whole time since he woke up, and he hasn't said a single word about it. The ordeal may not have sunk in yet. It's possible that right now he doesn't even remember that it happened. But that'll change.”
Koki nods in agreement and steps in to place a hand on Kame's shoulder. “It's going to come back to him, and he's going to need you when it does.” He squeezes gently. “Stay with him tonight.”
Kame looks a little lost at first as he meets Koki's steady, brown gaze, but he soon nods his understanding and places a hand over his friend's. “Thanks, you guys. You two are amazing, really. I don't know what I can ever do to repay everything you've done for me.” He lowers his gaze to the floor, as though ashamed that the stress he's been through and the exhaustion of the late hour can wear him down like this.
A soft smile finds its way to Maru's face at Kame's rare emotional display, and he winks. “A day off every once in a while would be nice!”
Kame rolls his eyes and smiles at the both of them. “Sorry, no can do. At the very least, go home and get some sleep. It's late, and you've both done enough for one day.”
“Damn straight!”
Both Kame and Maru laugh at Koki's sudden interjection, but they're interrupted by Jin's nurse slipping back through the door to join them in the hallway. In response to her pointed look and stiff reminder that visiting hours are long since over, all three of them glare right back. This is a hospital that caters to criminals. They make exceptions. Right away she pipes down, and she excuses herself back to the nurses' station with as much dignity as she can muster.
The three of them share another chuckle when she leaves, but the hint that they should be heading home does serve as a good opportunity for them to finish up their farewells. Maru copies Koki's gesture of clapping his hand on Kame's shoulder. “Okay, we're going now. Keep yourself out of trouble, all right?”
Koki flashes a peace sign. “Yeah, don't do anything we wouldn't do!”
Their boss grabs them both by the shoulder and all but shoves them down the hallway. “Get outta here, both of you!”
Part 6