Hubris - Chapter 5/? [The Gazette - Reita/Ruki; Reita/Aoi (one-sided); to be revealed]
Title: Hubris
Author: pelting_rain
Rating: NC17
Genre: Violence | AU | Smut | Action | Romance | Slight Fluff | Angst | Slight Humour
Chapter: Chapter 5/?
Warnings: Generally Violence | Violent Reita | MxM sex | Heavy plot
Band[s]: The GazettE
Pairing[s]: Reita/Ruki | Reita/Aoi - onesided (To be revealed)
Synopsis: Reita Suzuki is the boss of Japan’s strongest Mafia organisation, the Hayato. His cruel and cold-blooded personality is challenged when he gets involved in a car accident, and ends up housing a guy who has completely lost his existing memory.
Comments: As promised, chapter 5! I sort of like this chapter a lot, especially Reita. XD And we finally get a peek into what made Reita. ^^ Complications will arrive soon after as well, and to make it clear, Reita’s feelings for Ruki aren’t exactly affection- YET. So enjoy, and comment. :D
Previous Chapters:
[Chapter 4]
[Chapter 3]
[Chapter 2]
[Chapter 1]
[Prologue]
He couldn’t register what had happened in that flick of a moment. He hadn’t even finished his sentence before the chair across him was sent flying by its occupant. There was a slam of the door against the wall, and he was pretty sure the latter was damaged from the force applied on the metal furniture. Guns were raised and aimed, and the tension between the two the two crowds rose.
The brunette, apparently second-in-command, had his gun aimed straight to the boss’s forehead. The mafiaso’s expression was unreadable, almost as if he was desperately trying to suppress his feelings. The boss gave his signal, and then triggers were pulled and shots were fired.
It was total chaos in that room, but the volume of it couldn’t battle the complications in that blonde running down the streets that instant.
The churn inside his stomach intensified as he grew closer towards his destination. Akira dashed out of the lift the moment the doors opened, and he headed straight for his apartment. The door was ajar, and he knew something was wrong. He broke into a desperate run, and with a swift movement he kicked the door open. The living area was in a mess, furniture out of place and the coffee table was out of place.
But what had angered him most was the sight of the torture before him.
Ruki was held up by his neck, and the attackers around him were laughing. It was mockery, Akira judged. His mind blurred at the sight of the shorter blonde, hurt and beaten thoroughly. Akira bit his lips, and he let the fury within him rise. He broke into a smile once more, one that was poisonous enough to kill.
Throwing one of the attackers against the wall, Akira counter-attacked his opponents. They were reasonably stronger than the ones the gang had sent previously, but the disgust and pain in him seemed to secret strength into his attacks. He drove punch after punch into the attackers’ flesh, and it didn’t take moments for him to finish the job. The men in black were strewn all over the floor, some injured and unconscious, and some slowly losing their life force.
Anger was still brewing carelessly in the blonde, and if an entire mob had came at him, he would have finished them off with the fatal attacks. But he decided he would deal with this later, and his heart sank at the sight of Ruki. Blood was flowing from his lips, and Akira knew the guy suffered no minor injuries. Without proper attacking and defending skills, it was a surprise a normal person could hold out so long.
He strode across the area, taking no measures to avoid stepping on the stray bodies. Placing an arm underneath the knee and another around the shoulders, Akira lifted Ruki off the ground gently. The injured blonde needed medical care immediately and Akira took special care not to make great movements. He assumed Ruki was unconscious, until a hand grasped lifelessly at his suit.
“Please don’t leave me…”
Akira crossed his fingers as he sat outside the emergency room. He could tell Ruki was badly hurt, but if anything was to happened to him, he would literally skin that fucker alive. At the mention of the old man, Akira felt the fury emerge once more. He knew that guy had something up his sleeve the moment he stepped into the room- for a mere gangster to have the guts to face off the leader of Hayato was almost ridiculous. Yet no matter how far his imagination stretched, he couldn’t expect him to go as far as to hold Ruki captive.
He would deal with the gang later, and he made sure he would personally torture them to death. Nobody messes with him, Akira Suzuki, or better known as Reita. He wouldn’t let this go so easily, not after the losses they had dealt to him. Granted, Ruki was just a guest, a stranger he had knocked into and picked up. Yet he felt a sense of responsibility, and attachment to him. He would deny it to himself, and dismiss off this fact previously. But after what the incidents had proved, he couldn’t help but admit that he couldn’t just let the guy die off like that.
Akira wasn’t sure what feelings he were about to deal with. He felt annoyed and irritated with Ruki all these while, bringing himself into trouble and still stay strong after Akira screamed at him. Yet the emotions Akira had countered in the run back to his apartment were contradicting his beliefs. It was frantic, it was worry, it was anger, it was fear. He wasn’t sure what he was afraid of that instant- but the fact that Ruki had encouraged so many emotions within him was frightening. Akira hadn’t felt anything except for wrath and irritation for ages. Ever since he became boss, the only things he found fun in was torturing and injecting fear into others, and consuming even more power. The feelings of sadness and happiness had long disappeared along with his past, yet now, they were emerging all because of a stranger.
The sound of footsteps disrupted his thoughts, and Akira perked up. His senses were at their highest, and he turned, looking for any signs of attackers. He heaved a sigh when he realised it was only Kai, and he waved him over. The brunette panted heavily before flopping himself carelessly down onto the hospital seat, panting desperately for oxygen. He must have been running all the way to the hospital, and he had only himself to blame for not working out from time to time.
“H-how’s he?”
“I don’t know, they haven’t been inside for long.” Akira pointed at the unit room door. “Why are you here?”
“Aoi called.”
Akira nodded in acknowledgement, before returning to stoning silently. Surprise was dealt to him when he felt a strong shove to his shoulder, and he prevented his face from being disfigured by supporting himself off the ground just in time.
“The fuck?!”
“Why the hell did you let this happen, Akira?! He wasn’t supposed to be involved in your mafia crap!”
Akira went silent at the accusation, and his expression went blank. He felt a strong sense of guilt stab at him when he realized Kai was right. If it weren’t for him, Ruki would have been safe and sound. If he hadn’t exposed him to the fight, Ruki would have been protected. It he had known sooner to stay at home and keep an eye on Ruki, any of this wouldn’t have happened at all. It all led back to him, and Ruki was completely innocent.
Their discussion was interrupted when the light of the emergency sign switched off. Akira pushed himself heavily off the chair and strode to the door anxiously. Kai followed behind, and they felt butterflies in their stomach when the doors opened. The nurses rolled out a mobile bed, and Ruki had plasters on his face. He was bandaged heavily, and the doctor emerged soon after.
“Are you the patient’s family?”
“Y-yeah, I mean, I’m his friend.”
“Alright, the patient’s suffered some major injuries, especially in his abdomen and a ribcage was broken from the force of the attack. I’ve cleaned his external wounds up and bandaged them, so he’ll be fine for now. There are no traces of fading life forces, so he’s health should return in a few days’ time. He’ll have to stay at the ICU for a day for observation, and he’ll be discharged as long as he’s walking.”
“Thank you, doctor. Can we visit him at the ICU now?”
“Yes, you may. But you know the drill; refrain from talking too loudly or disrupting the patient. He’ll regain conscious soon after, but for the meantime, he needs the rest.”
Akira nodded in understanding and the doctor headed for his next assignment. Kai’s eyes met Akira’s, and they proceeded to the ICU Ruki was stationed in swiftly. The entire journey was spent in silence, both grownups feeling slightly awkward from the small argument they had on earlier. Despite the embarrassment of it all, both their defenses were let down when they entered the ICU. They understood they were here for a reason, and that reason was lying immobile in front of them.
Akira stood at the end of the bed solemnly, and Kai placed a hand gently on his shoulder. The blonde heaved a sigh when he realized he needed to prevent any of such things from happening again.
“Kai, I need your help.”
“Anytime.”
“Will you take care of Ruki for me?”
“What?”
“I mean, will you let him stay at your house?”
“Akira…”
“I can’t let any of these happen again. You know words spreads fast in the underground, by now my enemies probably already know about Ruki. They’ve been eyeing for the Hayato for ages, Kai. And the moment they have something in their hands, they’ll strike. And now’s the perfect timing- Ruki isn’t safe with me.”
“So what? Now you want to rid all responsibilities for him?”
“You know I don’t mean that. I just… I have to disappear from his life, as much as he needs to from mine.”
Kai sighed, before giving Akira an earnest smile.
“Akira, listen to me.” Kai turned Akira around, and his heart sank at the sight of the disheveled state his best friend was in “We both know Ruki needs the protection. And I can’t give it to him- only you can.”
Akira felt comfort rain over his guilt, and he couldn’t help but smile sadly. Kai was right, if anyone were to provide protection, he was the only one strong and powerful enough. Granted, danger would lurk as long as it comes to Akira, but only he himself could make sure Ruki would be unharmed under his wings.
The blonde returned his gaze to the unconscious patient in front of him.
I’ll protect you, no matter what.
Few years back, Reita and Aoi, timeline: Reita age 18, Aoi age 18
Reita kicked the can in his way off the sidewalk. His hands were in his pockets, and he regretted not wearing his gloves in this winter. He cursed under his breath, until he felt someone grasping his hand. He turned around to face Aoi, who pulled his gloves out and handed them over to Reita. The brunette had a smile on, and Reita felt warmth in his heart.
“No thanks.”
“Come on, take it.”
“What about you?”
“I can manage.” Reita nodded, and put on the gloves Aoi had handed him. His stiffened hands softened reasonably, and he could almost feel immediate condensation. Reita rubbed his gloves together as they arrived at their destination, and they entered the café swiftly. The warmth of the heated room embraced them in welcome, and they headed for the seat at the corner.
It was their favorite place, where it was especially cozy and peaceful. They ordered their chocolates, and Reita felt himself staring into the snow. It reminded him of the last winter he had spent with his parents, but he shrugged the thought of quickly.
“So… can I ask you something?” Aoi had a nervous look on his face, and it made Reita suspicious.
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve never really known why you entered the mafia, you know…” Aoi seemed to be alarmed at Reita’s expressionless face “W-well I’m just asking, haha.”
“No don’t worry.” Reita nodded at the waitress who placed their hot chocolates on their table “My parents died.” There was a pause “No, scratch that. They were murdered, assassinated.”
“Oh… I’m sorry about that.”
“And I joined for a reason, and only one reason.”
“For revenge?”
“No,” Reita took a sip from the cup, and the warm liquid slipped down his throat easily, “For power.” And that oh so familiar smile graced his lips.
Few years back, Reita and Aoi, timeline: Reita age 22, Aoi age 22
“Reita,”
The blonde looked up from the black folder he was reading from. He nodded when he realized it was Aoi.
“We’ve news you might want to hear.”
Reita frowned at the sudden statement, but nodded and signaled for Aoi to sit down. It was weird requesting Aoi to do that, and he wouldn’t have thought of this happening. Everything had changed after he became boss- the ones that had once doubted him were silenced, the ones that respected him simply treat him like god now, and the ones that hated him simply disappeared. Yet Aoi had stuck with him throughout the long eight years, and he was the only one who had witnessed him change.
“Them.”
Reita raised his eyebrows, and his eyes widened when he realized what Aoi was talking about.
“The top- and sole- assassination squad in the country, their killers capable of massacring the entire country. They work under the immediate orders of the boss, and their main goal being eliminating the corrupted government. They’ve worked their way upwards, recruiting more members by the years and increasing their power with every target they kill. Few of the government’s officials have been outed by them, and the president isn’t happy. They’re not widely known since the government try to keep the happenings as low as possible, but they are made famous in the underground by several major killings,” Aoi paused for a moment “Especially the burning of the Suzuki manor.”
“Hmm.”
“And the government wants a deal with us. They’re willing to cover us, in return for the destruction of the squad.”
Reita’s face turned expressionless at the mentioning of the incident. The flashbacks of his old house, his status, and his parents all came back to him. That incident was the sole reason why he had lost everything and anything that had meant something to him. Now that he had the chance, he would made sure every single one of them was tortured, humiliated, and ultimately, dead.
“They’ve provided us with the name of the organization, also known as the brotherhood.”