Murder III Chapter 31
A/N: oh my god it exists! Bask in the glory of this update! This chapter is dedicated to the thumping upstairs. I'd like to say that perhaps it inspired the shower scene but I'd already started editing when it began...and the thumping was more terrifying than anything else...
Title: Murder III
Rated M for mature situations and violence
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Chapter 31
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The door opened, but the person only took a few steps inside before stopping. Their footsteps sounded different too, like the person was wearing heels. The last time Genji looked, Atasuke didn’t have a fetish for cross-dressing.
He looked up and froze.
“Get out of my office.” Genji swallowed.
“Let’s talk.” Tokiko whispered shakily. “Please…just listen.”
Genji didn’t want to talk. There were many things he wanted at the moment, but none of them involved talking to the woman that had abandoned him.
Briefly he noticed that she looked gaunt, as if she hadn’t been eating or getting enough sleep. He hated himself for caring-even the tiniest bit-because all he should feel for her was hatred and betrayal. She was clutching her purse, manicured nails digging into the leather strap. He focused on her hand so he didn’t have to look at her face anymore.
Despite the fact that he hated her he was a sucker for a crying female, even if it was the one that had left him.
He wished that his men would come in with something important for him to do. How had she gotten past them in the first place? Why wasn’t Atasuke there to deal with her?
“Get out.” Genji ordered softly, and he was surprised his voice was so level.
Tokiko winced but continued forward, taking another step bravely. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want to tell you what happened.”
“I don’t want to know.” Genji swallowed and curled his hands in his lap. He wanted to hit something. In this kind of situation that was what he usually did. When he was angry he would shout and fight. He didn’t know how to solve these kinds of things any other way.
But this was a girl. His mother and even if she was a bitch he couldn’t go and hit her.
He needed to get away. He couldn’t just walk out of his own office to escape her, though. “Gorobei! Get in here!” he shouted out the door. He’d have one of his men kick her out for him, he could do that.
“Just listen!” Tokiko snapped, even as she trembled.
“I don’t care what you have to say.” He was surprised at how calm he sounded. Atasuke seemed to have been rubbing off on him. “Leave now.”
The door opened and Gorobei walked in, “You called, bosu?”
“Escort this woman out of the building and make sure she doesn’t appear in front of me again.”
Gorobei paused, “Bosu…this is your-”
“Do as I told you!” Genji roared.
Gorobei flinched and walked over to Tokiko. “I’m sorry ma’am.” He grabbed her arm. Tokiko tried to wrench herself free, “I need to talk with him! Let go!” But Gorobei began leading her toward the door, even as she struggled.
“Let go! Genji! Genji!”
Genji had turned away. He didn’t want to look at her because she was probably sobbing at this point. He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle that.
“…you’re just like your father.” An incredulous laugh that shook with tears and then the door closed and Genji found himself turning, hoping that she was still standing there. But he was alone in his office once more.
---
Tadao took a sip of his coffee and walked toward the window booth. “Can I sit here?”
The man sitting there pushed down his glasses and gave a gruff nod.
Tadao sat and stretched, “You didn’t order anything. That’s a bit suspicious, don’t you think?”
“What do you want?”
“My resources have just informed me that Jomei is in Tokyo.” Tadao watched Dong-Yul’s expression turn stonier than usual as his jaw tightened and his lips thinned in annoyance.
“Should I kill him?”
“We don’t know if he’s dangerous yet.” Tadao shook his head. “He isn’t part of the plan but if he gets in the way we’ll have to take him out.” Jomei had always been weak, like Kuma. The two of them had ruined everything. “But I have some good news.”
“What is it?”
“Izaki has moved into the Takiya residence.”
“It’ll be heavily guarded.” Dong-Yul’s eyes narrowed behind his lenses. “How is that good news?”
“Takiya Hideo is no longer the leader, so security is a bit more lax. But even if he’s no longer the leader…all of the men are still loyal to him. Just think of how angry they’d be if he were to be killed?” Tadao’s smile grew, “It will keep Renjiro off of our trail as well.”
“How?”
“He’ll be too worried about the yakuza war that will break out when his yakuza is accused of killing Takiya Hideo.”
---
Atasuke had entered the building only to see Gorobei escorting his mother out. He started forward but his eyes met hers and she shook her head and stumbled down the stairs by herself.
Gorobei stood at the door, looking uncomfortable with what he’d just done and more than a little worried at Atasuke’s reaction. Atasuke watched his mother disappear around the corner before turning to the older man, “What happened?”
“She tried talking with bosu.”
By the looks of things it hadn’t ended well.
He would call his mother later, to see how she was doing and ask if there was anything he could do to help. Perhaps if he talked to Genji later…? Right now he had to go deal with some business at one of the mahjong parlors and then drop in on Tamao’s training session.
Or maybe he’d go and talk to his “father” and tell him to tell his son the truth because he obviously wouldn’t listen to reason. Not that he expected Hideo would care, or do as he asked, but it was worth a shot.
“Atasuke-san, are you going to tell bosu?”
“I don’t have time for that right now.” Atasuke answered back steadily, reaching for his phone. He began walking into the building.
“He never meant that when he said it.”
Atasuke turned around boredly, “What?”
“Hideo-san never would have killed you. It was to keep her there. It didn’t work, but that was his intent. Your father was afraid that she’d leave.” Gorobei had been with Hideo long enough to know what his former boss was feeling. It hadn’t taken much insight to realize he’d cared for Tokiko.
“He loved her?” Atasuke seemed unconvinced, although that was understandable.
“I don’t know if Takiya-sama is capable of love. There was certainly affection. I think it was the first time that Takiya-sama ever actually cared for someone. He didn’t know the difference and so he wanted to keep her with him because he was worried she was the only one he would ever care for.” Gorobei answered truthfully.
“Does he love her now?” Atasuke didn’t know if he wanted the answer, not that he believed whatever shit Gorobei was spewing anyway. What had brought about this odd confession he wasn't sure, but he didn't want it to continue. The last thing he wanted was to believe that Hideo had a soul.
Gorobei shrugged. “I can’t say for certain. I doubt that he does. Any love he held for her has faded. But the affection, I think it’s still there.”
Atasuke snorted. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you. I’ll be going now.” Gorobei may have been one of Hideo’s most loyal men but he was obviously getting old. What he’d just said was pure bullshit. Hideo wasn’t the type of person to care for anything at all.
---
The music thrummed through his veins, the bass crawling into his brain and mixing with the alcohol to make a pleasant buzz. Kang-Dae downed another shot of vodka and let the alcohol burn down his throat. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes and tried to forget who he was and why he was there.
He wished that he had some soju.
Truthfully he wished he were back in Korea…that he’d never left and that he’d never met Izaki and Tamao and ended up this fucked.
But there wasn’t much he could do about that, was there? So he might as well drink himself to death and enjoy a good night of clubbing before a rival gang-or heaven forbid, one of his own-decided to take him out. Or Renjiro. He didn’t know how long Renjiro was going to let him stay.
It wasn’t like Renjiro liked him anymore, or was loyal to him. It was only pity that kept Kang-Dae alive at this point, or perhaps Renjiro was plotting some painful revenge. Kang-Dae wouldn’t put it past him. The other man was a sly bastard.
Kang-Dae downed another shot.
There was nothing to do at Renjiro’s home. Renjiro was rarely there which meant that Kang-Dae could walk around freely, but the entire place seemed eerily quiet, as if to remind him that he was alone-and would be for the rest of his life.
His growing paranoia of Renjiro’s betrayal and his need for company had led him to sneaking out to go clubbing. He knew Renjiro would get angry at him when he found out…or maybe not. He probably didn’t care. He certainly didn’t care if Kang-Dae was in danger, did he? No, of course not. No one cared anymore.
Had any of them cared in the first place?
He reached for his glass again but the bartender stopped him, looking slightly worried. “Should I call a taxi for you, sir?”
Kang-Dae blinked drunkenly and pulled the glass out of the bartender’s hands and slammed it back down against the counter. “Get me another!”
The bartender looked ready to protest when he spotted something over Kang-Dae’s head and hurriedly bowed. Kang-Dae stared for a few moments before he turned to see what the bartender had seen.
Kang-Dae wanted to laugh. Renjiro looked so comfortable here, weaving in between the writhing bodies on the dance floor in his immaculately pressed suit.
He should have known. This club was one of Renjiro’s wasn’t it?
Renjiro got to the bar. “A gin, rum, and tonic.” As the bartender scrambled to get his order, Renjiro leaned against the bar nonchalantly and looked out at the crowd. His voice was low, but Kang-Dae heard it clearly. “Do you have a death wish?”
Kang-Dae didn't answer.
“If you were suicidal you should have told me sooner. I wouldn’t have spent so much money flying you over.” Renjiro murmured.
“The only reason you’re keeping me alive is because you want to continue friendly relations with my father and further your influence in Korea.”
“True.” Renjiro answered back readily, and the ease with which he spoke hurt. Kang-Dae had hoped that maybe Renjiro had still cared. “So don’t do anything like this again. If I have to make a new alliance because you die and your father gets pissed off, it would be troublesome.”
Kang-Dae rolled his eyes and reached for his drink when his phone began vibrating. He fished in his pocket for it and placed it to his ear, “What?”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
Kang-Dae blinked, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Who is this?”
“You can’t even remember my voice? It hasn’t been that long, hyung.”
His eyes widened and his throat clenched tightly and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. “…Jomei?” He turned around in his seat and began frantically scanning the crowd.
Renjiro noticed his behavior and raised an eyebrow, “What’s going on? Who is it?”
Kang-Dae continued looking, but all of the faces were blending together. “Where are you?” He asked into the receiver. “Are you here?”
“Goodbye, hyung.”
Kang-Dae looked up to the balcony and froze.
Jomei pulled the trigger and the gunshot cut through the techno beat and the throbbing bass, only to be replaced with screams.
---
The house was quiet. Too quiet. Izaki was used to his mother bustling in the kitchen and his sister chattering loudly as she changed the TV channel and Momo’s excited yips. Even the hospital had provided hallways filled with bustling nurses and doctors and the constant beeping of monitors. The place was eerily silent. Dead. Death was something Izaki didn’t want to dwell on at the moment, and the oppressive silence was deafening.
He supposed that Genji’s father was somewhere in the house but Izaki would rather face more chemotherapy than the all-knowing smirk of the former yakuza boss. A shower, he needed to wash off the smell of the hospital and the running water would ease the silence. He grabbed his duffel bag of clothing and headed down the hall toward the only bathroom he knew of. He figured there had to be more than one in the large house but he didn’t trust himself to go gallivanting around in search of it.
It was empty, which was a relief. The last thing he needed was to walk in on Genji’s father taking a piss. He dropped his bag by the toilet and glanced up briefly to check to see if there was a towel close by. The closet next to the sink had plenty.
He sat a set down on the toilet seat and crouched down next to the tub. His knees creaked and he felt slightly dizzy from the sudden movement. He swallowed, angry and embarrassed by the weakness as he grabbed one of the nozzles harshly. The water began to gush out of the spigot, scalding, and he spent the next two minutes adjusting the temperature to a comfortable one. He turned on the shower head and stepped back to undress.
His sweatpants came off too easily for his liking. All he had to do was untie the cord and they slid to his ankles. He refused to look in the mirror as he pulled off his t-shirt, too afraid to see his ribs and his spine protruding from his back. Even after regaining a bit of his appetite he’d been unable to regain any of the weight he’d lost during chemotherapy. He reached up a hand to his beanie and paused. His throat tightened and he set his jaw, ready to pull it off when the door to the bathroom opened.
Izaki turned and his eyes locked with Tokio’s. Tokio’s eyes widened in shock and if Izaki hadn’t been so tired-or himself-he was sure his expression would have been similar. There was a long moment of silence before Tokio shot him an apologetic grin. “Sorry, I thought you were still sleeping.”
“I’m not.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so coldly but he felt oddly vulnerable standing naked in front of the other man. Before it wouldn’t have bothered him. They were both guys after all. But right now he was thin, weak-so unlike his usual self and Tokio had already kissed him so it felt different. He had to resist the desire to grab a towel and wrap it around his hips. The water was running in the background and it reminded him that he was there for a reason. “I’m going to take a shower.” Leave was the unspoken order.
Tokio merely grinned cockily and began unbuttoning his shirt. “I’ll join you.”
Izaki bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping. He could do this. It was fine for two guys to shower together. This had nothing to do with the fact that Izaki was as weak as a newborn kitten and that Tokio was looking at him like he wanted to remind him about that stupid agreement he’d signed (there’d been no paper, but their lips had worked well enough) in excruciating detail.
He stepped into the shower and the water that his hit chest was hotter than he’d expected. He flinched and apparently Tokio saw.
“Hey, you ok?”
“I’m fine.” He answered tersely and ignored the mole on Tokio’s chest as the other man began unbuckling his belt. Izaki grabbed for the soap.
“Hey be careful, you might slip.”
“Chemo hasn’t damaged my sense of balance, idiot. I’ll be fine.” Izaki grunted. Tokio, of the three, had seemed to treat him the closest to normal. He’d wanted to keep it that way.
“But your legs might give out-fuck!” Tokio tripped over his jeans bunched at his ankles and pitched forward. Izaki tried to grab him but felt his feet slide against the slick bottom of the tub and fell backwards.
Tokio’s knee hit the side of the tub with a painful smack before he tumbled over the edge and found his nose jammed into the space between Izaki’s ribs, one hand bracing himself on the tub floor and the other on Izaki’s knee. The water pounded against his back and he heard Izaki curse.
He tried to sit up and paused, seeing Izaki wince and reach up to touch his head and the beanie that had been pushed up in the fall and was now bunched awkwardly between Izaki’s head and the tiled wall.
“Fuck, sorry!” Tokio managed before taking his hand off of Izaki’s knee, but made no move to slip out from between his legs.
“Get up.”
But Tokio didn’t want to, not when he found the spot rather comfortable-despite the throbbing in his knee and the knowledge that Izaki was sick. Tamao and Genji made have had an unspoken pact that Izaki was to be untouched because he was unwell but Tokio didn’t ever remember agreeing to it. Besides, Izaki would feel gratified knowing he wasn’t being coddled, right? Right. This was all for Izaki’s mental health, not Tokio’s own gratification.
Oh, but it would certainly be gratifying.
Izaki’s lips were chapped and parted slightly-whether he’d opened them to take a breath or yell at Tokio didn’t matter at the moment. He tasted like he hadn’t brushed his teeth but Tokio found himself not caring. He also tasted like sweat mixed with hot water which Tokio blamed on the shower. It made Izaki’s lips slippery and their teeth clacked together as Tokio fumbled against the downpour.
Izaki didn’t respond at first, but then he bit Tokio’s lip-hard-and Tokio jerked back at the pain. “What the hell?” He gasped out.
“What the hell are you doing?” Izaki shot back, glaring. He tried to sit up, but Tokio was still pressed against him. He could see blood welling at the corner of Tokio’s mouth where he’d bit him, the water already washing it clean.
Tokio reached up a hand and brushed some hair out of his eyes. “I thought it was obvious.”
“Don’t think that just because I said yes to your half-assed agreement that you can be a bastard and try something like that.” You’re not allowed to kiss me without my permission sounded like something a girl would say.
Tokio eyed him for a moment, his face unreadable. “Usually when people agree to a foursome, kissing is understood.”
Usually when people agree to a foursome one isn’t dying of leukemia, Izaki wanted to say, but settled for, “How many foursome’s have you been in before, because I didn’t think there was a rulebook for this.”
Tokio grinned, and then winced as his lip throbbed. “You’re going to be a hardass about this until someone backs out but we all decided on this as a whole and you’re the only one whose trying to get out of it.”
Izaki was rather certain that Tokio had decided it by himself and the others had gone along with him without really understanding what was going on. Tamao wouldn’t have agreed to something like a foursome willingly-actually, neither would Genji. Tokio was the only one who could have come up with something so ludicrous. But he’d agreed to the stupid foursome, hadn’t he?
He still didn’t know why. It wasn’t just because he was dying. He supposed unconsciously he’d decided that the bond the four of them shared was strong enough that it might work-not really, but they were all too fucked to have an actual meaningful relationship, right?-and if he really wanted to be truthful, he didn’t mind that much. He was attracted to Genji and they’d been through too much for something not to develop between the two of them. Tamao…once, perhaps, he’d loved him. He didn’t know anymore. He wasn’t sure if he was capable or not. And he was physically attracted to Tokio, although he couldn’t figure out why.
But despite all of that, he was not going to start making out with Tokio in the shower.
Tokio had other plans, of course. “If you don’t say something I’m going to take it as a sign to give you a handjob.”
“What the fuck-”
Tokio kissed him again, and Izaki could feel his smile against his lips. He pulled away a second later and murmured against his lips, “If you don’t want everyone to continue treating you like glass then stop acting like a girl.”
Izaki’s eyes flashed angrily before he let out a soft growl and grabbed Tokio’s hair, jerking him forward. Briefly he realized that he was doing exactly what Tokio wanted but he couldn’t find it in him to care. Izaki could taste the blood in Tokio’s mouth, swirled on his tongue as the other man grabbed for his beanie and threw it behind him out of the shower haphazardly. It hit the floor with a sodden splat.
It was getting hard to breathe. Water was streaming down his face and clogging his nose and he felt he were swallowing more of it than was healthy as Tokio pressed him further up against the wall. His elbow hit the faucet and he winced. It was probably going to bruise.
Tokio pulled away first, still grinning like a cat that got the cream. He was practically purring. “I’ve been waiting to get you naked for quite a while, you know.”
Izaki rolled his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
“I’ll admit that Genji has the best legs, but I’ve been wanting to touch your abs for a while now.” Tokio glanced down suggestively, “And my my, but you’re quite well endowed, aren’t you?”
“Are you some kind of fucking girl?” Izaki kneed him in the stomach and Tokio doubled over, letting out a pained groan. He ended up falling on top of Izaki before the other man pushed him off and he was half-sprawled on the floor of the tub on his back, staring up with the same grin as before as water pelted his face.
His legs were draped over Izaki’s lap, one foot planted against the wall.
“I was afraid the steroids were going to shrink your balls, good thing they haven’t, right?”
“Fuck you.”
Tokio began laughing, and then started choking on the water.
Izaki pushed his legs off of his lap and tried to sit up. “I thought only turkey’s were stupid enough to drown during a downpour.”
“I know when to close my mouth.” Tokio winked, still coughing, and it wasn’t as sexy and alluring as he probably had meant it to be. In fact, Izaki found it both amusing and uncomfortable.
“If you’re not going to actually take a shower then get out.” Izaki stood, but then Tokio shifted and he tripped over his leg and found himself falling out of the tub onto the bathroom floor with a crash.
“Fuck! Izaki, are you alright!” Tokio scrambled out of the tub after him and tripped over his own jeans that were still around his ankles and landed beside him.
The two laid there for a few moments, panting. Izaki didn’t want to think about how many bruises he was going to have by the end of the night. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and swallowed. He didn’t like sounding sentimental, but he figured this was something that needed to be said, even if this wasn’t exactly the right moment to do it.
“…I feel like a fucking leper.” Izaki whispered. “You’re the first person to touch me without being afraid I’ll break.” It was tiring, since the incident at the hospital Genji and Tamao had skirted around him, too afraid to even breath as if it would cause him to relapse. It hurt, that they didn’t see him as someone dependable anymore. He’d become a weak little thing for them to protect. He wasn’t their equal anymore. Would he die being thought of as a weak, pathetic boy that no one could save?
The thought of never fighting alongside them petrified him. It scared him badly. Suddenly, he realized that no matter what, he couldn’t let himself die.
Not like this.
Tokio rolled onto his back and stretched, wincing as his elbow hit the toilet rim. “I can assure you this is all for my own personal gain.”
There was something comforting about how Tokio hadn’t changed. The others had become different, but Tokio remained the same perverted, immature constant.
“Hey, Izaki?”
Izaki had laid back down on his back as well and was staring up at the ceiling. He turned to look at the other man. “What?”
“When did you get an ass tattoo? Is it some kind of tramp stamp?”
Izaki grabbed his sopping wet beanie and proceeded to hit Tokio with it.
Title: Murder III
Rated M for mature situations and violence
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Chapter 31
---
The door opened, but the person only took a few steps inside before stopping. Their footsteps sounded different too, like the person was wearing heels. The last time Genji looked, Atasuke didn’t have a fetish for cross-dressing.
He looked up and froze.
“Get out of my office.” Genji swallowed.
“Let’s talk.” Tokiko whispered shakily. “Please…just listen.”
Genji didn’t want to talk. There were many things he wanted at the moment, but none of them involved talking to the woman that had abandoned him.
Briefly he noticed that she looked gaunt, as if she hadn’t been eating or getting enough sleep. He hated himself for caring-even the tiniest bit-because all he should feel for her was hatred and betrayal. She was clutching her purse, manicured nails digging into the leather strap. He focused on her hand so he didn’t have to look at her face anymore.
Despite the fact that he hated her he was a sucker for a crying female, even if it was the one that had left him.
He wished that his men would come in with something important for him to do. How had she gotten past them in the first place? Why wasn’t Atasuke there to deal with her?
“Get out.” Genji ordered softly, and he was surprised his voice was so level.
Tokiko winced but continued forward, taking another step bravely. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want to tell you what happened.”
“I don’t want to know.” Genji swallowed and curled his hands in his lap. He wanted to hit something. In this kind of situation that was what he usually did. When he was angry he would shout and fight. He didn’t know how to solve these kinds of things any other way.
But this was a girl. His mother and even if she was a bitch he couldn’t go and hit her.
He needed to get away. He couldn’t just walk out of his own office to escape her, though. “Gorobei! Get in here!” he shouted out the door. He’d have one of his men kick her out for him, he could do that.
“Just listen!” Tokiko snapped, even as she trembled.
“I don’t care what you have to say.” He was surprised at how calm he sounded. Atasuke seemed to have been rubbing off on him. “Leave now.”
The door opened and Gorobei walked in, “You called, bosu?”
“Escort this woman out of the building and make sure she doesn’t appear in front of me again.”
Gorobei paused, “Bosu…this is your-”
“Do as I told you!” Genji roared.
Gorobei flinched and walked over to Tokiko. “I’m sorry ma’am.” He grabbed her arm. Tokiko tried to wrench herself free, “I need to talk with him! Let go!” But Gorobei began leading her toward the door, even as she struggled.
“Let go! Genji! Genji!”
Genji had turned away. He didn’t want to look at her because she was probably sobbing at this point. He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle that.
“…you’re just like your father.” An incredulous laugh that shook with tears and then the door closed and Genji found himself turning, hoping that she was still standing there. But he was alone in his office once more.
---
Tadao took a sip of his coffee and walked toward the window booth. “Can I sit here?”
The man sitting there pushed down his glasses and gave a gruff nod.
Tadao sat and stretched, “You didn’t order anything. That’s a bit suspicious, don’t you think?”
“What do you want?”
“My resources have just informed me that Jomei is in Tokyo.” Tadao watched Dong-Yul’s expression turn stonier than usual as his jaw tightened and his lips thinned in annoyance.
“Should I kill him?”
“We don’t know if he’s dangerous yet.” Tadao shook his head. “He isn’t part of the plan but if he gets in the way we’ll have to take him out.” Jomei had always been weak, like Kuma. The two of them had ruined everything. “But I have some good news.”
“What is it?”
“Izaki has moved into the Takiya residence.”
“It’ll be heavily guarded.” Dong-Yul’s eyes narrowed behind his lenses. “How is that good news?”
“Takiya Hideo is no longer the leader, so security is a bit more lax. But even if he’s no longer the leader…all of the men are still loyal to him. Just think of how angry they’d be if he were to be killed?” Tadao’s smile grew, “It will keep Renjiro off of our trail as well.”
“How?”
“He’ll be too worried about the yakuza war that will break out when his yakuza is accused of killing Takiya Hideo.”
---
Atasuke had entered the building only to see Gorobei escorting his mother out. He started forward but his eyes met hers and she shook her head and stumbled down the stairs by herself.
Gorobei stood at the door, looking uncomfortable with what he’d just done and more than a little worried at Atasuke’s reaction. Atasuke watched his mother disappear around the corner before turning to the older man, “What happened?”
“She tried talking with bosu.”
By the looks of things it hadn’t ended well.
He would call his mother later, to see how she was doing and ask if there was anything he could do to help. Perhaps if he talked to Genji later…? Right now he had to go deal with some business at one of the mahjong parlors and then drop in on Tamao’s training session.
Or maybe he’d go and talk to his “father” and tell him to tell his son the truth because he obviously wouldn’t listen to reason. Not that he expected Hideo would care, or do as he asked, but it was worth a shot.
“Atasuke-san, are you going to tell bosu?”
“I don’t have time for that right now.” Atasuke answered back steadily, reaching for his phone. He began walking into the building.
“He never meant that when he said it.”
Atasuke turned around boredly, “What?”
“Hideo-san never would have killed you. It was to keep her there. It didn’t work, but that was his intent. Your father was afraid that she’d leave.” Gorobei had been with Hideo long enough to know what his former boss was feeling. It hadn’t taken much insight to realize he’d cared for Tokiko.
“He loved her?” Atasuke seemed unconvinced, although that was understandable.
“I don’t know if Takiya-sama is capable of love. There was certainly affection. I think it was the first time that Takiya-sama ever actually cared for someone. He didn’t know the difference and so he wanted to keep her with him because he was worried she was the only one he would ever care for.” Gorobei answered truthfully.
“Does he love her now?” Atasuke didn’t know if he wanted the answer, not that he believed whatever shit Gorobei was spewing anyway. What had brought about this odd confession he wasn't sure, but he didn't want it to continue. The last thing he wanted was to believe that Hideo had a soul.
Gorobei shrugged. “I can’t say for certain. I doubt that he does. Any love he held for her has faded. But the affection, I think it’s still there.”
Atasuke snorted. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you. I’ll be going now.” Gorobei may have been one of Hideo’s most loyal men but he was obviously getting old. What he’d just said was pure bullshit. Hideo wasn’t the type of person to care for anything at all.
---
The music thrummed through his veins, the bass crawling into his brain and mixing with the alcohol to make a pleasant buzz. Kang-Dae downed another shot of vodka and let the alcohol burn down his throat. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes and tried to forget who he was and why he was there.
He wished that he had some soju.
Truthfully he wished he were back in Korea…that he’d never left and that he’d never met Izaki and Tamao and ended up this fucked.
But there wasn’t much he could do about that, was there? So he might as well drink himself to death and enjoy a good night of clubbing before a rival gang-or heaven forbid, one of his own-decided to take him out. Or Renjiro. He didn’t know how long Renjiro was going to let him stay.
It wasn’t like Renjiro liked him anymore, or was loyal to him. It was only pity that kept Kang-Dae alive at this point, or perhaps Renjiro was plotting some painful revenge. Kang-Dae wouldn’t put it past him. The other man was a sly bastard.
Kang-Dae downed another shot.
There was nothing to do at Renjiro’s home. Renjiro was rarely there which meant that Kang-Dae could walk around freely, but the entire place seemed eerily quiet, as if to remind him that he was alone-and would be for the rest of his life.
His growing paranoia of Renjiro’s betrayal and his need for company had led him to sneaking out to go clubbing. He knew Renjiro would get angry at him when he found out…or maybe not. He probably didn’t care. He certainly didn’t care if Kang-Dae was in danger, did he? No, of course not. No one cared anymore.
Had any of them cared in the first place?
He reached for his glass again but the bartender stopped him, looking slightly worried. “Should I call a taxi for you, sir?”
Kang-Dae blinked drunkenly and pulled the glass out of the bartender’s hands and slammed it back down against the counter. “Get me another!”
The bartender looked ready to protest when he spotted something over Kang-Dae’s head and hurriedly bowed. Kang-Dae stared for a few moments before he turned to see what the bartender had seen.
Kang-Dae wanted to laugh. Renjiro looked so comfortable here, weaving in between the writhing bodies on the dance floor in his immaculately pressed suit.
He should have known. This club was one of Renjiro’s wasn’t it?
Renjiro got to the bar. “A gin, rum, and tonic.” As the bartender scrambled to get his order, Renjiro leaned against the bar nonchalantly and looked out at the crowd. His voice was low, but Kang-Dae heard it clearly. “Do you have a death wish?”
Kang-Dae didn't answer.
“If you were suicidal you should have told me sooner. I wouldn’t have spent so much money flying you over.” Renjiro murmured.
“The only reason you’re keeping me alive is because you want to continue friendly relations with my father and further your influence in Korea.”
“True.” Renjiro answered back readily, and the ease with which he spoke hurt. Kang-Dae had hoped that maybe Renjiro had still cared. “So don’t do anything like this again. If I have to make a new alliance because you die and your father gets pissed off, it would be troublesome.”
Kang-Dae rolled his eyes and reached for his drink when his phone began vibrating. He fished in his pocket for it and placed it to his ear, “What?”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
Kang-Dae blinked, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Who is this?”
“You can’t even remember my voice? It hasn’t been that long, hyung.”
His eyes widened and his throat clenched tightly and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. “…Jomei?” He turned around in his seat and began frantically scanning the crowd.
Renjiro noticed his behavior and raised an eyebrow, “What’s going on? Who is it?”
Kang-Dae continued looking, but all of the faces were blending together. “Where are you?” He asked into the receiver. “Are you here?”
“Goodbye, hyung.”
Kang-Dae looked up to the balcony and froze.
Jomei pulled the trigger and the gunshot cut through the techno beat and the throbbing bass, only to be replaced with screams.
---
The house was quiet. Too quiet. Izaki was used to his mother bustling in the kitchen and his sister chattering loudly as she changed the TV channel and Momo’s excited yips. Even the hospital had provided hallways filled with bustling nurses and doctors and the constant beeping of monitors. The place was eerily silent. Dead. Death was something Izaki didn’t want to dwell on at the moment, and the oppressive silence was deafening.
He supposed that Genji’s father was somewhere in the house but Izaki would rather face more chemotherapy than the all-knowing smirk of the former yakuza boss. A shower, he needed to wash off the smell of the hospital and the running water would ease the silence. He grabbed his duffel bag of clothing and headed down the hall toward the only bathroom he knew of. He figured there had to be more than one in the large house but he didn’t trust himself to go gallivanting around in search of it.
It was empty, which was a relief. The last thing he needed was to walk in on Genji’s father taking a piss. He dropped his bag by the toilet and glanced up briefly to check to see if there was a towel close by. The closet next to the sink had plenty.
He sat a set down on the toilet seat and crouched down next to the tub. His knees creaked and he felt slightly dizzy from the sudden movement. He swallowed, angry and embarrassed by the weakness as he grabbed one of the nozzles harshly. The water began to gush out of the spigot, scalding, and he spent the next two minutes adjusting the temperature to a comfortable one. He turned on the shower head and stepped back to undress.
His sweatpants came off too easily for his liking. All he had to do was untie the cord and they slid to his ankles. He refused to look in the mirror as he pulled off his t-shirt, too afraid to see his ribs and his spine protruding from his back. Even after regaining a bit of his appetite he’d been unable to regain any of the weight he’d lost during chemotherapy. He reached up a hand to his beanie and paused. His throat tightened and he set his jaw, ready to pull it off when the door to the bathroom opened.
Izaki turned and his eyes locked with Tokio’s. Tokio’s eyes widened in shock and if Izaki hadn’t been so tired-or himself-he was sure his expression would have been similar. There was a long moment of silence before Tokio shot him an apologetic grin. “Sorry, I thought you were still sleeping.”
“I’m not.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so coldly but he felt oddly vulnerable standing naked in front of the other man. Before it wouldn’t have bothered him. They were both guys after all. But right now he was thin, weak-so unlike his usual self and Tokio had already kissed him so it felt different. He had to resist the desire to grab a towel and wrap it around his hips. The water was running in the background and it reminded him that he was there for a reason. “I’m going to take a shower.” Leave was the unspoken order.
Tokio merely grinned cockily and began unbuttoning his shirt. “I’ll join you.”
Izaki bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping. He could do this. It was fine for two guys to shower together. This had nothing to do with the fact that Izaki was as weak as a newborn kitten and that Tokio was looking at him like he wanted to remind him about that stupid agreement he’d signed (there’d been no paper, but their lips had worked well enough) in excruciating detail.
He stepped into the shower and the water that his hit chest was hotter than he’d expected. He flinched and apparently Tokio saw.
“Hey, you ok?”
“I’m fine.” He answered tersely and ignored the mole on Tokio’s chest as the other man began unbuckling his belt. Izaki grabbed for the soap.
“Hey be careful, you might slip.”
“Chemo hasn’t damaged my sense of balance, idiot. I’ll be fine.” Izaki grunted. Tokio, of the three, had seemed to treat him the closest to normal. He’d wanted to keep it that way.
“But your legs might give out-fuck!” Tokio tripped over his jeans bunched at his ankles and pitched forward. Izaki tried to grab him but felt his feet slide against the slick bottom of the tub and fell backwards.
Tokio’s knee hit the side of the tub with a painful smack before he tumbled over the edge and found his nose jammed into the space between Izaki’s ribs, one hand bracing himself on the tub floor and the other on Izaki’s knee. The water pounded against his back and he heard Izaki curse.
He tried to sit up and paused, seeing Izaki wince and reach up to touch his head and the beanie that had been pushed up in the fall and was now bunched awkwardly between Izaki’s head and the tiled wall.
“Fuck, sorry!” Tokio managed before taking his hand off of Izaki’s knee, but made no move to slip out from between his legs.
“Get up.”
But Tokio didn’t want to, not when he found the spot rather comfortable-despite the throbbing in his knee and the knowledge that Izaki was sick. Tamao and Genji made have had an unspoken pact that Izaki was to be untouched because he was unwell but Tokio didn’t ever remember agreeing to it. Besides, Izaki would feel gratified knowing he wasn’t being coddled, right? Right. This was all for Izaki’s mental health, not Tokio’s own gratification.
Oh, but it would certainly be gratifying.
Izaki’s lips were chapped and parted slightly-whether he’d opened them to take a breath or yell at Tokio didn’t matter at the moment. He tasted like he hadn’t brushed his teeth but Tokio found himself not caring. He also tasted like sweat mixed with hot water which Tokio blamed on the shower. It made Izaki’s lips slippery and their teeth clacked together as Tokio fumbled against the downpour.
Izaki didn’t respond at first, but then he bit Tokio’s lip-hard-and Tokio jerked back at the pain. “What the hell?” He gasped out.
“What the hell are you doing?” Izaki shot back, glaring. He tried to sit up, but Tokio was still pressed against him. He could see blood welling at the corner of Tokio’s mouth where he’d bit him, the water already washing it clean.
Tokio reached up a hand and brushed some hair out of his eyes. “I thought it was obvious.”
“Don’t think that just because I said yes to your half-assed agreement that you can be a bastard and try something like that.” You’re not allowed to kiss me without my permission sounded like something a girl would say.
Tokio eyed him for a moment, his face unreadable. “Usually when people agree to a foursome, kissing is understood.”
Usually when people agree to a foursome one isn’t dying of leukemia, Izaki wanted to say, but settled for, “How many foursome’s have you been in before, because I didn’t think there was a rulebook for this.”
Tokio grinned, and then winced as his lip throbbed. “You’re going to be a hardass about this until someone backs out but we all decided on this as a whole and you’re the only one whose trying to get out of it.”
Izaki was rather certain that Tokio had decided it by himself and the others had gone along with him without really understanding what was going on. Tamao wouldn’t have agreed to something like a foursome willingly-actually, neither would Genji. Tokio was the only one who could have come up with something so ludicrous. But he’d agreed to the stupid foursome, hadn’t he?
He still didn’t know why. It wasn’t just because he was dying. He supposed unconsciously he’d decided that the bond the four of them shared was strong enough that it might work-not really, but they were all too fucked to have an actual meaningful relationship, right?-and if he really wanted to be truthful, he didn’t mind that much. He was attracted to Genji and they’d been through too much for something not to develop between the two of them. Tamao…once, perhaps, he’d loved him. He didn’t know anymore. He wasn’t sure if he was capable or not. And he was physically attracted to Tokio, although he couldn’t figure out why.
But despite all of that, he was not going to start making out with Tokio in the shower.
Tokio had other plans, of course. “If you don’t say something I’m going to take it as a sign to give you a handjob.”
“What the fuck-”
Tokio kissed him again, and Izaki could feel his smile against his lips. He pulled away a second later and murmured against his lips, “If you don’t want everyone to continue treating you like glass then stop acting like a girl.”
Izaki’s eyes flashed angrily before he let out a soft growl and grabbed Tokio’s hair, jerking him forward. Briefly he realized that he was doing exactly what Tokio wanted but he couldn’t find it in him to care. Izaki could taste the blood in Tokio’s mouth, swirled on his tongue as the other man grabbed for his beanie and threw it behind him out of the shower haphazardly. It hit the floor with a sodden splat.
It was getting hard to breathe. Water was streaming down his face and clogging his nose and he felt he were swallowing more of it than was healthy as Tokio pressed him further up against the wall. His elbow hit the faucet and he winced. It was probably going to bruise.
Tokio pulled away first, still grinning like a cat that got the cream. He was practically purring. “I’ve been waiting to get you naked for quite a while, you know.”
Izaki rolled his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
“I’ll admit that Genji has the best legs, but I’ve been wanting to touch your abs for a while now.” Tokio glanced down suggestively, “And my my, but you’re quite well endowed, aren’t you?”
“Are you some kind of fucking girl?” Izaki kneed him in the stomach and Tokio doubled over, letting out a pained groan. He ended up falling on top of Izaki before the other man pushed him off and he was half-sprawled on the floor of the tub on his back, staring up with the same grin as before as water pelted his face.
His legs were draped over Izaki’s lap, one foot planted against the wall.
“I was afraid the steroids were going to shrink your balls, good thing they haven’t, right?”
“Fuck you.”
Tokio began laughing, and then started choking on the water.
Izaki pushed his legs off of his lap and tried to sit up. “I thought only turkey’s were stupid enough to drown during a downpour.”
“I know when to close my mouth.” Tokio winked, still coughing, and it wasn’t as sexy and alluring as he probably had meant it to be. In fact, Izaki found it both amusing and uncomfortable.
“If you’re not going to actually take a shower then get out.” Izaki stood, but then Tokio shifted and he tripped over his leg and found himself falling out of the tub onto the bathroom floor with a crash.
“Fuck! Izaki, are you alright!” Tokio scrambled out of the tub after him and tripped over his own jeans that were still around his ankles and landed beside him.
The two laid there for a few moments, panting. Izaki didn’t want to think about how many bruises he was going to have by the end of the night. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and swallowed. He didn’t like sounding sentimental, but he figured this was something that needed to be said, even if this wasn’t exactly the right moment to do it.
“…I feel like a fucking leper.” Izaki whispered. “You’re the first person to touch me without being afraid I’ll break.” It was tiring, since the incident at the hospital Genji and Tamao had skirted around him, too afraid to even breath as if it would cause him to relapse. It hurt, that they didn’t see him as someone dependable anymore. He’d become a weak little thing for them to protect. He wasn’t their equal anymore. Would he die being thought of as a weak, pathetic boy that no one could save?
The thought of never fighting alongside them petrified him. It scared him badly. Suddenly, he realized that no matter what, he couldn’t let himself die.
Not like this.
Tokio rolled onto his back and stretched, wincing as his elbow hit the toilet rim. “I can assure you this is all for my own personal gain.”
There was something comforting about how Tokio hadn’t changed. The others had become different, but Tokio remained the same perverted, immature constant.
“Hey, Izaki?”
Izaki had laid back down on his back as well and was staring up at the ceiling. He turned to look at the other man. “What?”
“When did you get an ass tattoo? Is it some kind of tramp stamp?”
Izaki grabbed his sopping wet beanie and proceeded to hit Tokio with it.