[KiyoharuxTora] "The Good Samaritan", 07/0?
"THE GOOD SAMARITAN", 07/0?
BANDS/ARTISTS: Kiyoharu, Alice Nine, SCREW, Kagrra,, Danger Gang
CHARACTERS: Kiyoharu, Tora, Shou, Byou, Nao (ex-Kagrra,), Rei (ex-Danger Gang)
PAIRINGS: KiyoharuxTora (not the focus, though; see genres)
RATING: PG13-15 for the entire series, may get higher in the later chapters
GENRE: AU, adventure, action, crime
WARNINGS: violence, language (the whole series)
DISCLAIMER: The author has no connections to the mentioned artists; this is a work of fiction.
A/N: My cast for the fic is finally full! :D I've been home for a few days, having nothing better to do than write, so I've progressed quite nicely. Next week I'll be a bit busy, so I'll try to post one more chapter during this week.
SUMMARY: The Good Samaritan saves Shou's life one night but little does Shou know about the not-so-biblical business that has employed his rescuer.
PREVIOUS: | 01|| 02|| 03| | 04a| | 04b|| 05|| 06
"Oh fuck."
A frizzy-haired young man of lean built was standing in the doorframe. He was wearing a t-shirt and boxers, and he had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. It was a miracle that the toothbrush hadn't fallen already; his mouth was gaping wider and wider by minute. Shifting tensely, he tried both to avoid my companion's intense glare and answer it confidently. The result was quite amusing, like a scolded puppy trying to act offended while simultaneously begging for a cookie. One thing was sure, though: the man was petrified by horror.
This was how I met Nao.
Slowly, Nao pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. "Um, hi, Kiyoharu. It's... been awhile."
Kiyoharu, then again, wasn't in the mood for the mandatory greetings. "Tora isn't answering his phone. Care to tell me why?"
Nao grimaced. "Not in the hallway!" He checked frantically around but there were no other people than us three. "Let's talk inside," he said and moved aside, letting us inside his apartment.
As I followed the two I watched curiously our host. Compared to Tora, Byou and Kiyoharu, he seemed far more humane; he had bright eyes and a fun-looking face. In other circumstances, meeting him would've been an absolute joy.
Now, however, he seemed to be at the verge of some sort of nervous breakdown as he watched Kiyoharu who was currently moving about in the small one-room studio flat.
"Would you like a cup of coffee? Wait, no, I've ran out of coffee but I have juice? Would you like some juice..?" His voice trailed off as Kiyoharu re-fixed his eyes on him. Nao swallowed and quieted obediently.
"Now, Naoran." The said man winced at the nickname. The name which had been born in affectionate context turned into a vicious verbal whip in Kiyoharu's mouth. "Answer me. Where's Tora? Is he okay?"
"Well, he... Have you tried calling him again? He's been very busy lately, so..."
Kiyoharu arched a brow elegantly. He shook his head as if he was deeply disappointed at the answer. "Several times, Naoran, several. I've been driving over three hours this morning, and I've tried contacting him every half an hour. Do the math, boy, and tell me how many calls does that make."
Nao raised his hands up. "Okay, it was just a question. No need to flip."
Kiyoharu ignored the comment. He picked a shirt from the couch and sat down, dropping the garment onto the floor. "Have you been working with him lately?" He settled comfortably on the piece of furniture. He seemed relaxed but I noticed not once did he leave Nao out of his sight.
"Yeah, we had... Have, I guess, a job in progress. Listen," he added abruptly, "is it really okay for him to be here?" He waved in my direction.
Kiyoharu was beginning to get irritated. "Don't mind him. What kind of job?"
Nao gave me a hesitant glance but then he sighed heavily and shrugged. "Stocks and foreign trade. Big bucks."
"And?"
"At first everything went awesomely but the last couple of days have been a bit... I don't know, odd. Tora's been a little out of it. We were supposed to meet yesterday but he never showed up at the meeting place."
Kiyoharu leant forwards. "Is that all?"
"Well..." Nao was downright squirming now under the scrutiny of the older man. "The thing is, we were supposed to wrap up the shit today. It makes one wonder. Did he somehow get the money early or has he been forced to postpone the final move..? Truth is, I don't know what's going on either. I saw him forty-eight hours ago and back then we were still on schedule."
"Shou." Kiyoharu snapped his fingers softly. "Tell Naoran here what's 'going on', so to speak."
Nao turned to me expectantly. I cleared my throat. "I met Tora around a month ago, and due to certain circumstances he's been kind enough to let me crash on his couch. Yesterday he came home in the morning and said something about a bunch of guys who had followed him, I guess, and a few minutes later someone kicked the door in but then Tora shot him, and then..." I was sliding into my nervous babbly mode again. I cleared my throat again and tried to get a grip of myself. "Well, there was a fight. I haven't seen him since. He had told me to wait for him in a nearby restaurant but he didn't come. So, now we're thinking that something might have happened. We were hoping you might know something."
"Do you?" Kiyoharu asked.
Nao didn't seem to hear: he was gawking at me. "Wait, wait, what do you mean, his place? I thought..?" He turned to Kiyoharu. "But I've understood that the two of you are living outside the city? Did someone attack your house? Because that sounds bad."
"No, he's talking about the fake downtown apartment."
"Oh. But... I was there a few days ago. We had to bring this one guy in for a meeting but I didn't see you there?" He was looking at me again, this time curiously. The conversation was progressing so quickly that I barely had the time to keep up. 'Fake', what did he mean by that?
"He was with me. Nao, focus. Do you know something?" Kiyoharu interfered again.
Nao was sucking his lower lip, looking uncomfortable. Kiyoharu's steady stare remained unmoved, and finally he had to confess: "Shit. See, there are these guys... Oh fuck. The job had some complications towards the end. At some point I even thought that Tora had exposed himself. But," he rushed to add as the older man shifted ominously, "I thought he was able to fix it somehow. Apparently not, then."
"What happened?" The two words were more than enough to inform both me and Nao that if Nao didn't quickly tell everything he knew and with as much detail as possible, Nao would find himself picking his body parts up from the floor after we had left.
Nao looked at me pleadingly but all I could do was shrug. He inhaled and faced Kiyoharu's deep glare again. "Tora, he acts pretty well. He's super when we're working with drug trafficking or, the total opposite, with the crème of society. His face fits there. But bank and stock market, he... His appearance sticks out. I tried to tell him that, suggesting we should hire one more guy do the actual inside part but he insisted he could do the scam himself. I don't know whether it was something he said or did but one day the atmosphere went really weird in the target's office. When we left, I saw some shady looking guys -perhaps the one you saw too," he added, glancing at me, "in the lobby. I didn't have to say anything, Tora noticed them too. But... they didn't follow us, they just... Kept an eye on us until we left the building. It was strange but since nothing happened, I assumed they were just guards of some sort, or something."
"What did Tora say about them?"
"Nothing much. You know how it goes, he rarely tells me anything. 'The less Nao knows the better' is his slogan. If I get caught, I can't ruin the entire job. I know the basics but details, he keeps them to himself. And, if I may say, it has been working rather nicely."
Before Kiyoharu got to scold Nao -because his face certainly looked like he had a word or two for the man- his phone rang, effectively bringing the discussion to a halt. He answered the call. "Hello? Thanks for calling back... No, no, it's a relief to hear you're okay. I understand. Yes, that's actually why I..."
I would've liked to further eavesdrop on the call but Nao didn't let me: he padded to me, grinning widely. "Well, Kiyoharu's certainly taking it well," he whispered. "Though, I would've never guessed of Tora. He's so devoted, I didn't think bigamy was his thing."
"Excuse me?" I was dumbstruck.
"Hey, I'm not judging. You're cute. Not quite my type but I can see why he'd be attracted to you."
I laughed awkwardly. Kiyoharu was right next to us, he had to hear the nonsense Nao was spouting. "You've gotten it totally wrong. I'm not... There's no..."
Nao's face brightened up. "Oh, it's more like a threesome, then..? That's cool. I've known Tora for about six years now, and still everyday I learn new things about him. Well look at that. He's- Ouch!"
Kiyoharu, who was still on the phone, had smacked Nao on the head with a TV remote. As Nao rubbed his head miserably, Kiyoharu cast him a bored look and returned his attention to the person he was speaking with over the phone. "That? It was Nao. He's alright. Foolish as ever but that's even beyond your healing powers, I'm afraid."
I tried to bit back a laughter but I couldn't prevent a small chuckle slipping from my lips. Nao scowled at me in an offended manner.
Kiyoharu flipped the phone's lid shut. "Nao, get dressed. You're coming with us."
Nao pouted. "Why? Where?"
"Rei's in Aoyama. She sounded worried, so we better get going."
"Kiyoharu!"
As we opened the door to the apartment that served as the meeting place with mysterious Rei, a young woman flew across the room and flung herself at Kiyoharu. I and Nao exchanged baffled looks; the girl was crying. Our baffled expressions turned into utterly confused ones as Kiyoharu wrapped one arm around the girl's shaking shoulders.
"There, there. It's all right now," he murmured gently and kissed the girl on the forehead. "We're here now."
"I'm so sorry. Yesterday, I just knew something bad had happened when he didn't send a confirmation to one of my mails. You know my intuition is usually spot-on. I should've called you right away but... I wasn't sure, and he always says I shouldn't bother you with these things. I didn't want to disappoint him by fussing over nothing."
We heard her inhaling determinedly amongst the sobs. Soon she emerged from Kiyoharu's embrace, smiling brightly. The smile was a charming one, despite her simultaneously wiping tears away. "Oh god, what I'm babbling here? Nao, come here you idiot!" She hugged Nao quickly. "You look good." Lastly she turned to me. "Tora-baby's little pet. Shou, right?"
I nodded slowly. This wreck of a girl, Rei, knew me. I took in her long, golden hair, big friendly eyes and smooth, pale skin. She was dressed in the latest fashion, and even her nails looked stylish with little rhinestones and stars on them. As I moved my attention to the familiar-looking apartment we were in, I experienced a sudden enlightenment. I had been here before.
"You're the one who treated my wounds," I said in wonderment. She smiled at me, and now that the tears were beginning to dry away, she looked beautiful. "Yes. It's nice to meet my patients afterwards. Seeing I've managed to save someone is quite an ego boost."
I couldn't get my eyes off of the curly-haired girl. So, this was Rei, Tora's right hand. She didn't quite look like the underground-ruling die-hard nerd I had expected to meet.
"We have a lot to talk about," Kiyoharu said, placing a hand on Rei's shoulder. "What if we sit down and try to make some sense of this all?"
BANDS/ARTISTS: Kiyoharu, Alice Nine, SCREW, Kagrra,, Danger Gang
CHARACTERS: Kiyoharu, Tora, Shou, Byou, Nao (ex-Kagrra,), Rei (ex-Danger Gang)
PAIRINGS: KiyoharuxTora (not the focus, though; see genres)
RATING: PG13-15 for the entire series, may get higher in the later chapters
GENRE: AU, adventure, action, crime
WARNINGS: violence, language (the whole series)
DISCLAIMER: The author has no connections to the mentioned artists; this is a work of fiction.
A/N: My cast for the fic is finally full! :D I've been home for a few days, having nothing better to do than write, so I've progressed quite nicely. Next week I'll be a bit busy, so I'll try to post one more chapter during this week.
SUMMARY: The Good Samaritan saves Shou's life one night but little does Shou know about the not-so-biblical business that has employed his rescuer.
PREVIOUS: | 01|| 02|| 03| | 04a| | 04b|| 05|| 06
"Oh fuck."
A frizzy-haired young man of lean built was standing in the doorframe. He was wearing a t-shirt and boxers, and he had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. It was a miracle that the toothbrush hadn't fallen already; his mouth was gaping wider and wider by minute. Shifting tensely, he tried both to avoid my companion's intense glare and answer it confidently. The result was quite amusing, like a scolded puppy trying to act offended while simultaneously begging for a cookie. One thing was sure, though: the man was petrified by horror.
This was how I met Nao.
Slowly, Nao pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. "Um, hi, Kiyoharu. It's... been awhile."
Kiyoharu, then again, wasn't in the mood for the mandatory greetings. "Tora isn't answering his phone. Care to tell me why?"
Nao grimaced. "Not in the hallway!" He checked frantically around but there were no other people than us three. "Let's talk inside," he said and moved aside, letting us inside his apartment.
As I followed the two I watched curiously our host. Compared to Tora, Byou and Kiyoharu, he seemed far more humane; he had bright eyes and a fun-looking face. In other circumstances, meeting him would've been an absolute joy.
Now, however, he seemed to be at the verge of some sort of nervous breakdown as he watched Kiyoharu who was currently moving about in the small one-room studio flat.
"Would you like a cup of coffee? Wait, no, I've ran out of coffee but I have juice? Would you like some juice..?" His voice trailed off as Kiyoharu re-fixed his eyes on him. Nao swallowed and quieted obediently.
"Now, Naoran." The said man winced at the nickname. The name which had been born in affectionate context turned into a vicious verbal whip in Kiyoharu's mouth. "Answer me. Where's Tora? Is he okay?"
"Well, he... Have you tried calling him again? He's been very busy lately, so..."
Kiyoharu arched a brow elegantly. He shook his head as if he was deeply disappointed at the answer. "Several times, Naoran, several. I've been driving over three hours this morning, and I've tried contacting him every half an hour. Do the math, boy, and tell me how many calls does that make."
Nao raised his hands up. "Okay, it was just a question. No need to flip."
Kiyoharu ignored the comment. He picked a shirt from the couch and sat down, dropping the garment onto the floor. "Have you been working with him lately?" He settled comfortably on the piece of furniture. He seemed relaxed but I noticed not once did he leave Nao out of his sight.
"Yeah, we had... Have, I guess, a job in progress. Listen," he added abruptly, "is it really okay for him to be here?" He waved in my direction.
Kiyoharu was beginning to get irritated. "Don't mind him. What kind of job?"
Nao gave me a hesitant glance but then he sighed heavily and shrugged. "Stocks and foreign trade. Big bucks."
"And?"
"At first everything went awesomely but the last couple of days have been a bit... I don't know, odd. Tora's been a little out of it. We were supposed to meet yesterday but he never showed up at the meeting place."
Kiyoharu leant forwards. "Is that all?"
"Well..." Nao was downright squirming now under the scrutiny of the older man. "The thing is, we were supposed to wrap up the shit today. It makes one wonder. Did he somehow get the money early or has he been forced to postpone the final move..? Truth is, I don't know what's going on either. I saw him forty-eight hours ago and back then we were still on schedule."
"Shou." Kiyoharu snapped his fingers softly. "Tell Naoran here what's 'going on', so to speak."
Nao turned to me expectantly. I cleared my throat. "I met Tora around a month ago, and due to certain circumstances he's been kind enough to let me crash on his couch. Yesterday he came home in the morning and said something about a bunch of guys who had followed him, I guess, and a few minutes later someone kicked the door in but then Tora shot him, and then..." I was sliding into my nervous babbly mode again. I cleared my throat again and tried to get a grip of myself. "Well, there was a fight. I haven't seen him since. He had told me to wait for him in a nearby restaurant but he didn't come. So, now we're thinking that something might have happened. We were hoping you might know something."
"Do you?" Kiyoharu asked.
Nao didn't seem to hear: he was gawking at me. "Wait, wait, what do you mean, his place? I thought..?" He turned to Kiyoharu. "But I've understood that the two of you are living outside the city? Did someone attack your house? Because that sounds bad."
"No, he's talking about the fake downtown apartment."
"Oh. But... I was there a few days ago. We had to bring this one guy in for a meeting but I didn't see you there?" He was looking at me again, this time curiously. The conversation was progressing so quickly that I barely had the time to keep up. 'Fake', what did he mean by that?
"He was with me. Nao, focus. Do you know something?" Kiyoharu interfered again.
Nao was sucking his lower lip, looking uncomfortable. Kiyoharu's steady stare remained unmoved, and finally he had to confess: "Shit. See, there are these guys... Oh fuck. The job had some complications towards the end. At some point I even thought that Tora had exposed himself. But," he rushed to add as the older man shifted ominously, "I thought he was able to fix it somehow. Apparently not, then."
"What happened?" The two words were more than enough to inform both me and Nao that if Nao didn't quickly tell everything he knew and with as much detail as possible, Nao would find himself picking his body parts up from the floor after we had left.
Nao looked at me pleadingly but all I could do was shrug. He inhaled and faced Kiyoharu's deep glare again. "Tora, he acts pretty well. He's super when we're working with drug trafficking or, the total opposite, with the crème of society. His face fits there. But bank and stock market, he... His appearance sticks out. I tried to tell him that, suggesting we should hire one more guy do the actual inside part but he insisted he could do the scam himself. I don't know whether it was something he said or did but one day the atmosphere went really weird in the target's office. When we left, I saw some shady looking guys -perhaps the one you saw too," he added, glancing at me, "in the lobby. I didn't have to say anything, Tora noticed them too. But... they didn't follow us, they just... Kept an eye on us until we left the building. It was strange but since nothing happened, I assumed they were just guards of some sort, or something."
"What did Tora say about them?"
"Nothing much. You know how it goes, he rarely tells me anything. 'The less Nao knows the better' is his slogan. If I get caught, I can't ruin the entire job. I know the basics but details, he keeps them to himself. And, if I may say, it has been working rather nicely."
Before Kiyoharu got to scold Nao -because his face certainly looked like he had a word or two for the man- his phone rang, effectively bringing the discussion to a halt. He answered the call. "Hello? Thanks for calling back... No, no, it's a relief to hear you're okay. I understand. Yes, that's actually why I..."
I would've liked to further eavesdrop on the call but Nao didn't let me: he padded to me, grinning widely. "Well, Kiyoharu's certainly taking it well," he whispered. "Though, I would've never guessed of Tora. He's so devoted, I didn't think bigamy was his thing."
"Excuse me?" I was dumbstruck.
"Hey, I'm not judging. You're cute. Not quite my type but I can see why he'd be attracted to you."
I laughed awkwardly. Kiyoharu was right next to us, he had to hear the nonsense Nao was spouting. "You've gotten it totally wrong. I'm not... There's no..."
Nao's face brightened up. "Oh, it's more like a threesome, then..? That's cool. I've known Tora for about six years now, and still everyday I learn new things about him. Well look at that. He's- Ouch!"
Kiyoharu, who was still on the phone, had smacked Nao on the head with a TV remote. As Nao rubbed his head miserably, Kiyoharu cast him a bored look and returned his attention to the person he was speaking with over the phone. "That? It was Nao. He's alright. Foolish as ever but that's even beyond your healing powers, I'm afraid."
I tried to bit back a laughter but I couldn't prevent a small chuckle slipping from my lips. Nao scowled at me in an offended manner.
Kiyoharu flipped the phone's lid shut. "Nao, get dressed. You're coming with us."
Nao pouted. "Why? Where?"
"Rei's in Aoyama. She sounded worried, so we better get going."
"Kiyoharu!"
As we opened the door to the apartment that served as the meeting place with mysterious Rei, a young woman flew across the room and flung herself at Kiyoharu. I and Nao exchanged baffled looks; the girl was crying. Our baffled expressions turned into utterly confused ones as Kiyoharu wrapped one arm around the girl's shaking shoulders.
"There, there. It's all right now," he murmured gently and kissed the girl on the forehead. "We're here now."
"I'm so sorry. Yesterday, I just knew something bad had happened when he didn't send a confirmation to one of my mails. You know my intuition is usually spot-on. I should've called you right away but... I wasn't sure, and he always says I shouldn't bother you with these things. I didn't want to disappoint him by fussing over nothing."
We heard her inhaling determinedly amongst the sobs. Soon she emerged from Kiyoharu's embrace, smiling brightly. The smile was a charming one, despite her simultaneously wiping tears away. "Oh god, what I'm babbling here? Nao, come here you idiot!" She hugged Nao quickly. "You look good." Lastly she turned to me. "Tora-baby's little pet. Shou, right?"
I nodded slowly. This wreck of a girl, Rei, knew me. I took in her long, golden hair, big friendly eyes and smooth, pale skin. She was dressed in the latest fashion, and even her nails looked stylish with little rhinestones and stars on them. As I moved my attention to the familiar-looking apartment we were in, I experienced a sudden enlightenment. I had been here before.
"You're the one who treated my wounds," I said in wonderment. She smiled at me, and now that the tears were beginning to dry away, she looked beautiful. "Yes. It's nice to meet my patients afterwards. Seeing I've managed to save someone is quite an ego boost."
I couldn't get my eyes off of the curly-haired girl. So, this was Rei, Tora's right hand. She didn't quite look like the underground-ruling die-hard nerd I had expected to meet.
"We have a lot to talk about," Kiyoharu said, placing a hand on Rei's shoulder. "What if we sit down and try to make some sense of this all?"