Phosphorescent Lights: Chapter 4
Every secret has a price…
Title: Phosphorescent Lights
Summary: A photographer with no memories whose goal in life is to seek out what he has lost; a businessman who swore revenge for the death of his lover while desperately trying to escape his fixated reality. Two entirely different men with entirely different lives bound together by the threads of destiny. But little do the two know that they are bounded together by more than just simple destiny…
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairings: Akame (primary), Ryoda (secondary) mentions of Jinda, Pin, Ryopi, Kokame, Kamaki
Other Characters: Jin, Kame, Ueda, Yamashita, Ryo, Koki, slight appearances from Taguchi, Nakamaru, Shige, Ayase, Tegoshi
Content: Romance, drama, AU [Alternate Universe]
Author: Nerd-san
Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Johnny Entertainment
…are they willing to pay it?
Phosphorescent Lights: Chapter 4
“Are you not hungry?” Ryo carefully shoved the plate full of expensive Italian spaghetti away from himself and towards Ueda, who was more than reluctant to be in the posh restaurant, sitting directly across the one person who he had least expected to be seen with.
“…” Ueda said nothing and simply left the platter to get cold in front of him.
It was a waste of food, he knew, and he wasn’t brought up to squander food like that. But he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t hungry. How could he be? Jin, his Jin, was somewhere out there in the vast world. Without him.
The CEO was right. A. Jewelry was nowhere near suitable for someone as weak-hearted as Ueda. There was no light in his life. A. Jewelry had taken what little beam of false hope he had.
Ryo helplessly watched the disheartened secretary and even though it wasn’t his fault and he knew it, he still held himself slightly accountable. He didn’t ask Jin to go and so obviously fall in love with the man in front of him.
He didn’t ask anything of Jin. Ryo had deprived himself of that right four years ago.
“Look, I don’t like you and you don’t like me.” Sighing, he took the plate back and readily dug his fork into the western style dinner. “But we might as well make this livable for the both of us…”
Ryo scooped up what he could with the fork and then propped the threads of wheat into his mouth. “…until the president says otherwise.”
“You’re an asshole.” Ueda fumed angrily, no longer caring to keep his false façade of self-assurance. He didn’t care if he broke apart but he did care if he broke apart in front of this man.
Nishikido.
“Thank you.” The latter smiled misleadingly, slowly scraping down the remains of the pasta that was meant for Ueda. He was wearing his usual plain white dress shirt and dark noir pants, but even then his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows.
The reddening bruise just below his palm looked indescribably painful, but Ueda wrote it off. He didn’t care for Nishikido. “Why are you doing this? Ruining other people’s lives…is it that entertaining?”
He hadn’t even noticed himself voice the question, but before he knew it, it had come out in a low, meaningless drawl.
For the longest time, Nishikido said nothing. Why was he doing this? He could come up with at least a thousand plausible reasons, but in the end he settled with a small, “you…you of all people should know more than anyone else what it means to work in this hellhole.”
Ueda did know. He was the president’s personal secretary, if need mention. He watched at least twenty different faces shatter before him each day once he had told them the harsh decision of the president officially deeming them jobless.
“I can’t do anything,” Ueda blurted without much hesitation. He didn’t know why he was showing face in front of this man, of all people. He was finally cracking under the vicious pressure, he decided. “I can’t do anything to protect him.”
Nishikido sighed. “You’re doing the best you can.”
“What’s the point if this is the extent of my abilities?!” Ueda bristled, evidently angry with himself. “And what’s with you?!” He spat back, “being all sympathetic. I don’t want your charity, Nishikido.”
Ryo outwardly rolled his eyes, “don’t flatter yourself.” Looking at Ueda’s genuinely surprised face, he almost cracked a smile. Ryo didn’t know why, but it was apparent from the way he attempted to bite down on the inside of his mouth that he was trying to suppress a grin.
“You’re not worth my sympathy. I’m empathizing with you…this one time. Treasure it, ’cus I can sure as hell guarantee you this’ll be the last time I waste my breath on you.”
Ueda snorted crudely, wishing that more than anything he could just up and leave. But he couldn’t. It was as if A. Jewelry’s omnipotent presence was stopping him.
“Empathizing?” He repeated, merely to humor the latter. “Do you even know the meaning of empathy?”
Nishikido said nothing. He looked down and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding eye contact with the latter. Immediately, Ueda was beginning to regret his words. Perhaps that had been a little harsh.
Awkward silence hung ominously above their heads and just as Ueda was opening his mouth to offer some sort of apology, Nishikido spoke.
“More than you’d ever know…” he mumbled inaudibly.
Ueda questioningly turned to face Nishikido, missing his profoundly hushed exchange of words. “I’m sorry?”
Nishikido shook his head. “Nothing.”
Four years ago, he should have been there for Jin - he knew. But then again, it was the only way he could have. Sure, Jin hated him afterwards and refused to spare more than a passing glance, but Jin was still Jin. For that, Ryo was grateful.
So the price had been that he could only watch his good friend from afar now, but at least, more than anything Ryo wanted Jin to be happy. And he seemed to be. Until now.
“I don’t want to be here.”
Ryo snapped his head out of his daze and hurried to catch Ueda’s remaining words before they too vanished into the wicked nothingness. “I want to be with Jin.” He muttered.
“J…Akanishi will return.” Ryo assured the man.
“Sure he’s hardheaded but even he’ll come to realize that he needs A. Jewelry. He can’t escape it. You can run from fate, but you can’t hide. If it’s meant to be; it’s meant to be. He’ll act indifferent, but inside the fact that he belongs to the company will always be with him.”
He didn’t know why, but Ryo felt his hand crawl up Ueda’s shoulder, resting a comforting hand there. Ueda was rigid to the searing touch at first, but soon relaxed. “He’ll come back.” Ryo murmured, more to himself than anyone else. “Typical Ba…Akanishi behavior.”
“Knowing Akanishi, he tried to book a last minute flight out of the country. But I checked the airline’s flights - it’s not that hard to hack into computers when you’re in our line of work - he’s heading for Okinawa.” He felt his grip on Ueda’s shoulders tightening reassuringly. “I’ve already sent some security after him.”
“Security?! Are you going to force Jin back?!” Ueda wanted more than anything to squat Nishikido’s hand away, but in the end, his efforts fell motionless.
“If you just remembered - Jin wouldn’t want to see me! The best you could do for him now is just let him leave. It’s always been his dream to escape this place.”
“I know.”
“You seem to know a lot about Jin.” Ueda stared coolly at Nishikido who had still refused to remove is grasp. Not that the latter minded. “For someone who claims to hate him…you know a lot.”
“I never once said that I hated Akanishi.” Nishikido cleared.
Ueda raised a partially curious, well-trimmed eyebrow. “He hates you.”
Nishikido smiled wistfully. “I’m…I’m well aware of that.”
Having to face Nishikido’s pained expression; Ueda shut his mouth again, not quite understanding why he had agreed to making a mental note to speak his mind less frequently around Nishikido.
“He has every right to hate me.”
“Why?” Ueda felt obliged to ask.
Nishikido chuckled in amusement. “Curious little fairy, aren’t you?”
“Fairy?”
“Nothing.”
More moments of nothingness had passed as Ryo let his grip fall and continued to hack away at his food. Even Ueda cautiously took a sip of his water, feeling more useless than ever.
Ueda’s “when will this end?” was all it took for Ryo to drop his fork and stare back at the man, intently.
“This?” He asked, confused.
“Anything, everything - pretending. I’m sick of it. I want yesterday back. I want Jin back.” His voice was barely above and whisper and Ryo still had a hard time trying to figure out how he had heard the words. He was getting used to Ueda. He didn’t like the concept of that, either.
“It’s the only way to protect him.” Ryo stated vigilantly between bites. “This, I mean.” He inelegantly pointed to his spaghetti, much to Ueda’s puzzlement. “Just hold tight. The sky’s usually clearer after the storms’ passed.”
“Usually.”
“Better than never.”
“Perhaps.”
And perhaps, Ueda thought as he looked back at Nishikido who was happily eating away his food, the person who needed the most protecting was this man.
◦●○◦
“Let me go!” Jin struggled fitfully against the two men towering over his listless body, most of his efforts easily restrained by the handcuff that were oh-so-conveniently tied down.
“I’m not going back!” He shouted heatedly, continuing to fight his way against the deadweights soaring over him. “Get the hell away from me!” He even managed to land a very spiteful blow across one of the men’s faces.
“I’m not going!”
Jin was a little surprised once the man only recoiled but made to attempt to hit him back.
“Akanishi-san!” The second one hollered, crouching down so he was now eyelevel with the restrained man. “Hold still, it’ll only hurt more if you struggle.” He explained as calmly as he could.
Hold still.
“N-No…”
It’ll only hurt more if you struggle.
Jin’s eyes snapped widely open and instantly he couldn’t help but to bristle. Punts and punches were thrown so rapidly that the men had no time to even interpret what had happened. “Let me go!”
With that blow, Jin was sure the second man was going to have a black eye come morning. “Get off!” For a second he remembered the scrawny man and the feelings of fright he must have felt. All of a sudden, Jin felt his stomach aching.
The first man roughly grabbed the struggling Jin’s feet and forcefully held them in place. “Akanishi-san!” He cried out angrily, putting as much weight as he could on the legs.
“We’re trying to free you!” The security guard explained hurriedly, but the reserved man wasn’t listening.
“Free me?!” Jin laughed hastily. “You want me to go back!” He wasn’t about to become deceived by these men. He had been through too much to simply throw his trust to complete strangers. Strangers from A. Jewelry, no less.
Jin was better off left to die. “Get lost!” He barked ungratefully.
“Do you know how much he went through to get you this?!” The second man yelled back, and for a second, Jin let his guard down. A second was all it took for the first man to cautiously slip his hands towards the pole and begin his handy work against the cuffs.
“Akanishi-san…you’re locked against a toilet pole. It’s best you just hold still and wait for us to unlock these handcuffs.”
“Who do you think are the ones who put them on me in the first place?!” Jin spat back but gave up most of his resistance. There wasn’t much of a point anymore.
“What’s with you guys anyway; trying to get me to go back to that extent.” Jin growled irritably, waiting for his palm to be freed from its harsh manacles. “It’s the stupid president isn’t it?!”
The first man stood up, and took a step back, allowing the second to un-cuff Jin. “But, Akanishi-san, the president-”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” Jin cut in, turning his head to the side. His long lashes were covered by his muddled hair. “I don’t care about him.”
The man sighed. “It wasn’t the president who sent us.”
Jin was taken aback. He turned back to the standing man. “What?”
“Hold still.” The second snarled as Jin began moving again. Jin did as he was told, watching fretfully as he took out a key and began to turn it mercilessly.
“Then who was it?”
“I don’t think it matters who it was, Akanishi-san.”
Of course it does matter, Jin thought darkly, but said nothing. Asides Ueda, Jin trusted no one else in the company. No one looked out for him; that was what he had convinced himself of. “If it wasn’t the president…”
“There.”
Jin looked down at his freed wrist. “Huh?”
“You’re free to go.” The second man stood up and joined the first outside of the stall.
Jin remained flabbergasted. They were letting him go? Clumsily he pushed his ragged body off the floor and stood on his two uneven feet. “W-What,” he croaked.
“We did say we were trying to free you, didn’t we?”
“I didn’t think you meant literally…”
The two shook their heads in a feign unison. “We don’t. You’re not free yet, not completely anyway.” They stepped aside to let Jin through and carefully, the three walked out of the bathroom and into the airport.
“Yes, it’s true that we were sent to handcuff you but that was only part of the condition seeing as the person who sent us knew you wouldn’t listen to us. We’re only here to explain what’s going on with you.”
More than anything, Jin was curious about this person. “Explain what?”
“By doing this, you’re not free from A. Jewelry. You may never be - you already know that.” Jin didn’t nod or shake his head. He already knew the answer to that.
“You have five weeks of paid-leave. Please enjoy.”
Instead, Jin tapered his eyes dangerously. “W-What? Paid-leave?! I’m not coming back!”
Wearily, the guards looked at each other. Had this man always been so stubborn? Now they lightly understood the meaning behind having Jin handcuffed before explaining anything. He wouldn’t listen otherwise.
“You can’t live like this. You’re Akanishi Jin of A. Jewelry - how long do you think the president will let you run around like this? Let you tarnish the name of the company like this…”
Jin ignored this and instead began to massage his abused wrist. “Who was it?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who was it? That sent you here…”
The two looked at each other, unknowing of how to answer the question. He had never given any particular instructions on what to do if Jin had asked such a thing.
The security ran a hand through his sleeked hair as he threw the open cuffs to Jin.
With his athleticism, Jin had would have caught them too, had it not been for the word that followed after.
“General Manager Nishikido.”
He felt his heart beat increase threateningly at the mention of the name. How long had it been since he had last spoken to Nishikido? Too long, Jin was sure. He was also sure that the latter had no reason to do anything for him. “R…Nishikido?! Why?!”
“If that’s all, please enjoy your vacation, sir.”
Jin felt the two escaping his sights as they began to head off, faces lost in the crowd of many. “W-Wait!” He called out with what little energy he had left. “Nishikido?!”
“Why would he…” Why would he care what happens to me?
◦●○◦
It was just a sign; that was what Kame had tried to convince himself of - a sign that he was not ready to return to Tokyo yet. And yet, no matter how many times he had told himself this, he refused to believe it.
His plane had left. His impetuously spent money for his two-way ticket had also gone to waste. His luggage was lost on the plane he had never gotten on.
And it was all his fault.
Kame bitterly thought back to the perverted thief in the bathroom. It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he told himself over and over. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it couldn’t get any better than that.
Grudgingly, he made his way out of the airport and forced himself to the one place he could find solace. It was a rather long trek from his house - he didn’t plan to return home that night - but it was also the only other place he could seek comfort.
“Is it even possible to lose so much in one day?” Kame sighed, his question remaining unanswered. If someone, somewhere were to ask him this yesterday, he could have laughed off the question. But they hadn’t. And it wasn’t yesterday.
Minutes of walking had passed and finally, Kame had reached his destination. He grinned weakly and almost immediately threw himself down against the open, empty fields. Almost.
Kame noted the strikingly hazel strand of hair sticking out of the darkened grass. Any feeling in his body stopped for a minute, and out of blind curiosity, he walked closer to what he prayed wasn’t what he thought it was.
He could only take so much in one day.
“Ah!” Kame couldn’t help but yelp as his suspicions were confirmed. He clasped a ready hand over his mouth and instantly regretted his decision.
The head of hazel turned back, sitting up and resting their weight on shaky hands as they glared up at Kame with glassy, lost eyes.
“Wuaah!” They screamed back, now completely off the floor and to their unsteady feet. It didn’t take much else for them to completely course off balance and fall back against the verdant grass.
At the same time Kame heard himself scream out “It’s the pervert!” the pervert in question had yelled back in defense, “It’s the scrawny man!”
Taken aback at the insults, both men stared stingingly at each other before blurting out a unison, “What?!”
The hazel-head snorted and gracelessly sat back up, not bothering to turn around and spare Kame a fleeting glance. “Look who’s talking,” he uttered in a hoarse tone, “scrawny!”
Kame folded his fuming hands over his upper body. “Excuse me for not being as fat and perverted as you!”
“Fat and perverted?!” Jin cried out, appalled. Just who did the man think he was? “Hey, I’ll accept the perverted…but fat?! That’s just downright low!”
“You’ll accept the perverted part?!” Kame cautiously walked up to the man before seating himself a good distance away. “You really are the worst.”
The thief noticed this and smirked in a sort of low victory. “So you’ll sit beside me? After being as revolted as you were, I’m surprised. What do I owe this miracle to?” His sarcasm was raspy and evident.
“Shut up.” Kame snorted, “This is where I come to think. You’re just intruding my space.” He threw the pervert-thief a disgusted look. “But you seem to be really good at that already don’t you?”
When the head of musky hazel said nothing, Kame could feel a little pang stringing away at his insides. He was expecting another rude comeback, another snippy remark, but he received none.
When he spoke again, it was in a softer tone, hushed, but even though it still held the same strip of frustration, it was a little more sympathetic. “I missed my plane thanks to you.”
The man looked back and snorted. “So?”
So much for feeling understanding.
“My luggage was on that flight!”
“…Who cares? Just buy new things.”
Kame couldn’t believe his ears. “Ever heard of “money doesn’t grow on trees”?!” He asked, rather loudly, too.
The man positioned himself and got to his feet hurriedly. Looking at him now, under the dim lights of the evening shade, Kame had to admit he wasn’t so bad looking. In fact, he was actually pretty good looking for someone who was in the line of business - stealing and whatnot - that he was.
His grey t-shirt was a little muddled and the hem was forcefully crumpled; Kame figured this to be from the two policemen he had been running away from when they had met earlier. Maybe if he hadn’t been so foulmouthed, they could have actually been friends.
“What’re you pinning the blame on me for?! If you’d just shut up for a few seconds, I’d have let you go!”
Then again, maybe not.
Kame rolled his eyes at the estrange logic; “hah!” he laughed forcibly, “don’t make me laugh.” The evening was already ending and Kame could now feel the cool fall breeze penetrating his white sweater. He shivered.
How could the older man - Kame assumed him to be older - withstand the chill with his mere t-shirt? It was probably his broad body, he agreed.
Kame blinked compulsorily at the thought. Now I’m turning into the pervert! He mentally screamed.
Just as Kame was contemplating things, the thief began to head off. “I have better things to be doing than being yelled at by you.” He sputtered at the newly-flustered Kame, “bye.” He tossed Kame a customary, callous wave-of-the-hand as he walked off.
Interestedly, Kame watched as the stain-steel cuffs dropped out of the man’s pockets. So he thinks he can get away without paying me back, huh?
Money certainly did not grow on trees, and Kame was willing to show the egocentric man just what that had meant.
“H-Hey!” He called out, scrambling to his unhinged feet as he ran off in hot pursuit after the man. The hazel-haired man hadn’t gotten too far, thankfully for the exhausted Kame. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”
The latter stopped mid-step and turned back. “What do you want?”
“You haven’t paid me back yet.”
“Pay you back?!” His eyes widened at the seemingly unreasonable demand. “What do I need to pay you back for?”
“Luggage expenses…plane ticket…everything. Everything was your fault!” Kame loomed in dangerously and grabbed the thief’s wrist crossly.
“Let me go!”
Kame was getting used to hearing that phrase, but he didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t let go, either. Instead he grabbed the steel cuffs and made a beeline for the now-fretful man’s maltreated wrist.
“It’s not my fault so I don’t need to pay you back anything!” Jin drawled out.
Click.
Jin watched in horror as the man cuffed him roughly, and then slowly did up his own side. Jin felt his mouth hanging open and Kame only smirked back, teasingly holding out his own handcuffed wrist.
And just like that, without knowing it, the worst yet best five weeks of both men’s lives had begun.
◦●○◦
Hehe more MLS (My Lucky Star) moments. And then one more MLS moment next chapter…and that’s it. AKA not much humor afterwards XD