PoT Yazuka AU
Right, so instead of studying, I ficced instead. *smacks forehead*
Warnings: Yazuka AU. Rated PG. OC involved.
Keeping Watch
“Huh!”
There was a meaty thud, satisfying to the ear and to the eye.
“Nnghhh-!!”
“Today must be your lucky day, punks. You get to limp on home and tell your boss that Hyotei doesn’t welcome repeated bullying in Roppongi. You got that? Or do I have to put another hole through your head to help your hearing?”
There was a vehement shake of the head and the defeated dragged himself and his buddies away as quickly as they could.
“Tch,” muttered a figure that just emerged from the dark alley, brushing dust off his jacket. Yellow lamp light illuminated some flecks of blood that were swiped away quickly. “Call them yakuza? Can’t even throw an uppercut properly without getting thrown to the ground. Gekidasa daze.”
“You have to remember not everyone matches up to the finesse which you seem to put into dirty fighting, Shishido.”
“I don’t go in for your fancy moves, Oshitari.”
“Did I say you did?”
Shishido didn’t reply. “Got the money?”
Behind him, Oshitari glanced back and smirked at a portly man who bowed. “Yep.” He turned back and proceeded to stride after his partner who’d already started walking a few feet ahead. “So,what’s put you in such a good mood anyway?”
“What’re you going on about?”
Oshitari had slid his hands into his pockets, the slight weight of the firearm within his inner jacket pocket brushing against his arm. He was in a dark suit, a stark contrast to leather jacket toting Shishido who wore dark jeans and heavy boot-like shoes. His weapon of choice was slung casually over a shoulder - a baseball bat, chipped and stained.
“I mean,” continued the Kansai born man, “What’s with the sudden restraint? Usually Atobe has to drive it into your thick head that we can’t go around killing off people just because they look at us funny.”
Shishido snorted derisively. “That’s Hiyoshi. And I’m feeling lazy today, alright? Got nothing to do with good moods.”
Oshitari knew well enough to leave it at that. It was more likely this new subdued version of Shishido had something to do with him nearly being killed by another rival gang, Neo Fudomine.
They were once part of an older organization but had been left under an incapable boss. They lost men, territory and respect with each passing day. It wasn’t till some stranger from Kyuushu rebelled against such a structure and broke away with several other members, creating and leading Neo Fudomine. This new gang turned out to be aggressive when provoked and Shishido had chosen the wrong place to pick a fight. It’d required all three of Oshitari, Ohtori and Jirou’s negotiations to get Shishido back into Hyotei territory.
To add salt to the wound, Atobe had had to negotiate with their own sponsor and assure him that Shishido was still capable of being in Hyotei. The latter himself had chopped off his locks as a symbol of swearing revenge on the Fudomine leader - Tachibana Kippei. Ever since that incident, the man had been killing less, biding his strength more and with the help of his new partner, Ohtori, acted wiser.
For now, Ohtori had been assigned to the southern border patrol with Hiyoshi, leaving Shishido and Oshitari to check on the east side of town. It was the monthly collection of protection fees and it just so happened that some small time gangsters had decided it’d be fun to pick on and rob a local shopkeeper. Oshitari had stayed behind to collect money while Shishido took care of business.
Same old, same old, really…
“…do you hear that?”
Oshitari looked up, straining his ears past the endless noise of their surroundings. What Shishido had detected earlier soon reached him and he recognized it, inwardly rolling his eyes. “Sounds like some people have decided to be heroes tonight.”
Shishido showed no sign of amusement, merely growling in annoyance. “I thought Atobe’d made it clear to the new punks that we leave them alone on these nights.”
“Like I said: hero types.” He raised an eyebrow in Shishido’s direction. “So are you goin’ to teach them a lesson? Or are you too lazy to be bothered?”
Shishido glared at him. “You’re in this too Oshitari. I’m not doing all the dirty work by myself.”
“Heh. Let’s go then, ‘aniki’.”
Still growling and rapidly falling into a worse mood than before, he and Oshitari quickly stormed into the streets ahead of them.
Shishido’s mood plummeted by several degrees into the ‘piss me off any more and I’ll turn you into a truck bumper decoration’ zone.
There, right in front of them, several ladies, all of whom seemed to be dressed to kill, were being harassed by Hyotei gang members. Members who seemed to think that belonging to Hyotei merited them the right to mess around with the upper brothers’ way of doing things in their area.
“We agreed not to entertain you people on these days! Now lay off or I’m going to complain to Atobe-san!”
“Aw, c’mon, oyabun’s not here. So what’s with breaking a rule or two? We’re yakuza! It’s what we do!”
It was this type of attitude that really got on Shishido’s nerves.
Before he could say anything though, Oshitari had already spoken. The latter shared Shishido’s intense dislike for this kind of behaviour but had a higher measure of self control. He knew better than anyone that talking usually worked before resorting to fist fighting.
“You can break any other rule except ours, Rai. I thought we'd already told you that important clause when we initiated you...”
The mentioned gang member and his fellow cronies looked up. Blood immediately drained from their faces when they saw two of the strongest fighters in the Hyotei-gumi standing right before them and catching them red handed. “O, Oshitari-san! Shishido-san!”
“What the hell do you think you're doin’?” demanded Shishido, tightening his grip on the baseball bat end. “You’re supposed to be at the docks!”
“W, we finished early, Shishido-san. We didn’t mean any harm, we just-”
“But nothing!” he barked. “Get back to where you usually hide your sorry asses. NOW. We’ll see what Atobe says about this tomorrow.”
“B,but, Shishido-san-”
Oshitari smirked further. “Do you need an exclusive invitation card, Higamoto? Beat it.”
“H, hai…!”
They scurried off, Shishido’s dirty glare following them. When he turned back, the girls had all sidled up to Oshitari, cooing their thanks. The man was no better, smirking charmingly at them. He rolled his eyes at the flirting that soon ensued, about to sarcastically mention that y’know, they could still have an entire round of money to collect from the local stores.
“Shishido-san.”
He turned, seeing the tiny smile of a girl in a red halter top and dark, tight pants. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail, face made up rather heavily.
“Koto.” He raised an eyebrow at the low neckline of her shirt. “What’s with that getup? You’re usually less… showy.”
There could have been a blush on her face but the powder covered it too well. She shrugged, her thin shoulders going up. “The girls thought I could use with some… dolling up. So I thought, y’know just for tonight…”
He sighed. “Fine, whatever.”
“…is something bothering you, Shishido-san?”
“Hmm? Nah, just the usual.” He tossed a sideway glare at his partner who’d just finished commenting wittily at something, causing twittering laughter. “Getting stuck with Oshitari isn’t a walk in the park.”
Koto chuckled. “…thanks for getting us out of that though. I’ve never seen them before…”
Shishido glowered at the thought. “They’re new. We’ll deal with ‘em tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.”
“…okay.” She looked at her friends, still flirting with Oshitari while she stood beside Shishido, the latter duo obviously not as eloquent as the others.
“…am I going to see you tomorrow?”
Shishido looked at her, a flash of guilt running through his face. “Sorry, Koto. I’ve got to go with Choutarou over to Chiba for a couple a’ days. Somethin’ to discuss with Rokkaku-kyodai.”
Koto’s heavy mascara didn’t disguise the disappointment. “Oh. That’s okay then.” She smiled slightly. “Good luck for that.”
“Thanks.”
More silence and Shishido sighed inwardly. What could be said really?
“…I’ll try and make it up to you next week.” I said this last week, didn’t I?
And the week before that. “Yeah. Sure.”
Shishido stole a glance at her and felt more guilt settle on his insides. He was about to say something when Oshitari called.
“Oi, Shishido.”
The other man grinned slightly. “Time to move on.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hang on a sec…”
He looked back to Koto who smiled up at him.
“Go on. We’re just going to karaoke so we’ll be alright. Don’t worry.”
He nodded and there was a short pause before he said anything again.
“…Koto?”
“Hmm?”
He checked to see if Oshitari was looking his way. Then, ducking very quickly, he whispered, near enough for his lips to brush against the side of her cheek and her ear.
“Take care of yourself for me.”
As quickly as he ducked, Shishido retreated and strode onwards with Oshitari behind him. Koto watched him go and though he didn’t look back, she smiled.
You too, Shishido-san.
“…”
“……”
“………”
“…………”
“……what.” snapped Shishido as he suddenly stopped midway across a pedestrian bridge.
“Nothing…”
“There’s always SOMETHING when you’ve got that look on your face, Oshitari. Spit it out.”
Oshitari restrained his grin a little. “I didn’t know you were that fond of Shimizu Koto…?”
...#$@*!%#, he SAW.
You could practically see Shishido’s hackles rise in either embarrassment, irritation or what a wise betting man would place odds on: a good combination of both. “None of your damned business.”
“Shishido and Shimizu… not a bad ring to it…”
“Knock it off before I knock you off this bridge.”
“Seriously though… ever think that she might not be worth all the money you’re spending on her?”
“…”
“She’s a… how do you say this nicely… a courtesan, after all.”
“……”
“And you know what they’re like-”
“Koto’s different,” said Shishido abruptly. “I don’t pay her.”
“…what, you’re a preferred-”
“Damn you, Oshitari, I’m not.”
Oshitari blinked at the tone of voice. The only time he’d seen Shishido this angry was when he’d returned to Hyotei after that brief stint with Neo Fudomine.
“…I don’t sleep with her, if that’s what your damned inquiring mind wants to friggin’ know, alright? It'd be crossing that damned line. We just…”
Shishido rested one free hand on a railing and gripped it tightly in his frustration.
“…we just look out for each other. That’s all. I watch her back and she… takes care of mine. That’s all we can do.”
Hard eyes looked down onto the traffic below them.
“That’s all I can do for her anyway. And I don’t even manage that right,” he muttered under his breath, unheard by anyone but him.
The other man looked at him for a while. He waited for Shishido to collect his thoughts and shake himself. “C’mon. Let’s just get this over with.”
Oshitari merely nodded without words.
~*~
The next day, Oshitari waited outside the Hyotei-gumi’s headquarters. Atobe should have finished briefing Shishido and Ohtori for that business in Chiba by now.
Sure enough, out came the duo, in serious discussion. Or rather, Ohtori was poring over some documents they’d been handed while Shishido looked grim and uncomfortable.
He sauntered over to the two. “Good luck.”
Ohtori looked up and smiled. “Thanks, Oshitari-san.”
Shishido just nodded. “We gotta leave before that train does.”
Oshitari let them get a few steps away before he called out. “Oi, Shishido.”
The latter didn’t bother stopping or turning around. “What.”
“I’ll watch out for your harp until you get back.”
He smirked when Shishido glanced backwards a little and then continued walking without seeming to break his stride.
Ohtori glanced at his friend and smiled slightly.
“Nice of Oshitari-san to do that.”
Shishido said nothing, merely folding his arms and looking straight ahead.
“…I hate it when he does that,” he commented finally.
“Why?”
“Means I owe him one.”
But Ohtori had already noticed the brief look of relief that had stolen across Shishido’s face when Oshitari had called that out to them.
Even if Oshitari-san was renowned as Hyotei-gumi’s resident lady killer, he didn’t touch any girl who was already spoken for. And while the task of watching over Koto-san usually fell to Ohtori when his partner was away, it looked as if Shishido-san had gotten the voluntary help of another brother.
The silver haired man said nothing more, merely smiling further and going back to his notes.
End.
A/N: Right so to explain things a little...
Koto is... well, a courtesan. Shishido is a yakuza gang member. You can't fall in love with the former since... well courtesans deal with a very negotiable kind of love. You can't fall in love with the latter because yakuzas are dangerous and love doesn't exactly fit into their vocabulary without trust. You can't trust a courtesan either.
But then, you know.
...yes, Shishido's life sucks.
Koto = Japanese harp. Yes, you can see the Kansai sense of humour stealing in here...
But I suppose my point here was to illustrate some sort of... trust between Oshitari and Shishido. I dunno. I blame DL3 since both Saito and Kenta did that Manzai act together as well as that bump-fists moment during "Seasons". So uh... yeah. Shishido n' Oshitari friendship fic combined with Shishido angsty romance. 2-in-1! 8DD
...I'm going to go hide now...
EDIT: axtar dipped a hand into the AU with this Ohtori-centric fic: Soft Hearted. *grins widely* Go read - good stuff. ^^
Warnings: Yazuka AU. Rated PG. OC involved.
Keeping Watch
“Huh!”
There was a meaty thud, satisfying to the ear and to the eye.
“Nnghhh-!!”
“Today must be your lucky day, punks. You get to limp on home and tell your boss that Hyotei doesn’t welcome repeated bullying in Roppongi. You got that? Or do I have to put another hole through your head to help your hearing?”
There was a vehement shake of the head and the defeated dragged himself and his buddies away as quickly as they could.
“Tch,” muttered a figure that just emerged from the dark alley, brushing dust off his jacket. Yellow lamp light illuminated some flecks of blood that were swiped away quickly. “Call them yakuza? Can’t even throw an uppercut properly without getting thrown to the ground. Gekidasa daze.”
“You have to remember not everyone matches up to the finesse which you seem to put into dirty fighting, Shishido.”
“I don’t go in for your fancy moves, Oshitari.”
“Did I say you did?”
Shishido didn’t reply. “Got the money?”
Behind him, Oshitari glanced back and smirked at a portly man who bowed. “Yep.” He turned back and proceeded to stride after his partner who’d already started walking a few feet ahead. “So,what’s put you in such a good mood anyway?”
“What’re you going on about?”
Oshitari had slid his hands into his pockets, the slight weight of the firearm within his inner jacket pocket brushing against his arm. He was in a dark suit, a stark contrast to leather jacket toting Shishido who wore dark jeans and heavy boot-like shoes. His weapon of choice was slung casually over a shoulder - a baseball bat, chipped and stained.
“I mean,” continued the Kansai born man, “What’s with the sudden restraint? Usually Atobe has to drive it into your thick head that we can’t go around killing off people just because they look at us funny.”
Shishido snorted derisively. “That’s Hiyoshi. And I’m feeling lazy today, alright? Got nothing to do with good moods.”
Oshitari knew well enough to leave it at that. It was more likely this new subdued version of Shishido had something to do with him nearly being killed by another rival gang, Neo Fudomine.
They were once part of an older organization but had been left under an incapable boss. They lost men, territory and respect with each passing day. It wasn’t till some stranger from Kyuushu rebelled against such a structure and broke away with several other members, creating and leading Neo Fudomine. This new gang turned out to be aggressive when provoked and Shishido had chosen the wrong place to pick a fight. It’d required all three of Oshitari, Ohtori and Jirou’s negotiations to get Shishido back into Hyotei territory.
To add salt to the wound, Atobe had had to negotiate with their own sponsor and assure him that Shishido was still capable of being in Hyotei. The latter himself had chopped off his locks as a symbol of swearing revenge on the Fudomine leader - Tachibana Kippei. Ever since that incident, the man had been killing less, biding his strength more and with the help of his new partner, Ohtori, acted wiser.
For now, Ohtori had been assigned to the southern border patrol with Hiyoshi, leaving Shishido and Oshitari to check on the east side of town. It was the monthly collection of protection fees and it just so happened that some small time gangsters had decided it’d be fun to pick on and rob a local shopkeeper. Oshitari had stayed behind to collect money while Shishido took care of business.
Same old, same old, really…
“…do you hear that?”
Oshitari looked up, straining his ears past the endless noise of their surroundings. What Shishido had detected earlier soon reached him and he recognized it, inwardly rolling his eyes. “Sounds like some people have decided to be heroes tonight.”
Shishido showed no sign of amusement, merely growling in annoyance. “I thought Atobe’d made it clear to the new punks that we leave them alone on these nights.”
“Like I said: hero types.” He raised an eyebrow in Shishido’s direction. “So are you goin’ to teach them a lesson? Or are you too lazy to be bothered?”
Shishido glared at him. “You’re in this too Oshitari. I’m not doing all the dirty work by myself.”
“Heh. Let’s go then, ‘aniki’.”
Still growling and rapidly falling into a worse mood than before, he and Oshitari quickly stormed into the streets ahead of them.
Shishido’s mood plummeted by several degrees into the ‘piss me off any more and I’ll turn you into a truck bumper decoration’ zone.
There, right in front of them, several ladies, all of whom seemed to be dressed to kill, were being harassed by Hyotei gang members. Members who seemed to think that belonging to Hyotei merited them the right to mess around with the upper brothers’ way of doing things in their area.
“We agreed not to entertain you people on these days! Now lay off or I’m going to complain to Atobe-san!”
“Aw, c’mon, oyabun’s not here. So what’s with breaking a rule or two? We’re yakuza! It’s what we do!”
It was this type of attitude that really got on Shishido’s nerves.
Before he could say anything though, Oshitari had already spoken. The latter shared Shishido’s intense dislike for this kind of behaviour but had a higher measure of self control. He knew better than anyone that talking usually worked before resorting to fist fighting.
“You can break any other rule except ours, Rai. I thought we'd already told you that important clause when we initiated you...”
The mentioned gang member and his fellow cronies looked up. Blood immediately drained from their faces when they saw two of the strongest fighters in the Hyotei-gumi standing right before them and catching them red handed. “O, Oshitari-san! Shishido-san!”
“What the hell do you think you're doin’?” demanded Shishido, tightening his grip on the baseball bat end. “You’re supposed to be at the docks!”
“W, we finished early, Shishido-san. We didn’t mean any harm, we just-”
“But nothing!” he barked. “Get back to where you usually hide your sorry asses. NOW. We’ll see what Atobe says about this tomorrow.”
“B,but, Shishido-san-”
Oshitari smirked further. “Do you need an exclusive invitation card, Higamoto? Beat it.”
“H, hai…!”
They scurried off, Shishido’s dirty glare following them. When he turned back, the girls had all sidled up to Oshitari, cooing their thanks. The man was no better, smirking charmingly at them. He rolled his eyes at the flirting that soon ensued, about to sarcastically mention that y’know, they could still have an entire round of money to collect from the local stores.
“Shishido-san.”
He turned, seeing the tiny smile of a girl in a red halter top and dark, tight pants. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail, face made up rather heavily.
“Koto.” He raised an eyebrow at the low neckline of her shirt. “What’s with that getup? You’re usually less… showy.”
There could have been a blush on her face but the powder covered it too well. She shrugged, her thin shoulders going up. “The girls thought I could use with some… dolling up. So I thought, y’know just for tonight…”
He sighed. “Fine, whatever.”
“…is something bothering you, Shishido-san?”
“Hmm? Nah, just the usual.” He tossed a sideway glare at his partner who’d just finished commenting wittily at something, causing twittering laughter. “Getting stuck with Oshitari isn’t a walk in the park.”
Koto chuckled. “…thanks for getting us out of that though. I’ve never seen them before…”
Shishido glowered at the thought. “They’re new. We’ll deal with ‘em tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.”
“…okay.” She looked at her friends, still flirting with Oshitari while she stood beside Shishido, the latter duo obviously not as eloquent as the others.
“…am I going to see you tomorrow?”
Shishido looked at her, a flash of guilt running through his face. “Sorry, Koto. I’ve got to go with Choutarou over to Chiba for a couple a’ days. Somethin’ to discuss with Rokkaku-kyodai.”
Koto’s heavy mascara didn’t disguise the disappointment. “Oh. That’s okay then.” She smiled slightly. “Good luck for that.”
“Thanks.”
More silence and Shishido sighed inwardly. What could be said really?
“…I’ll try and make it up to you next week.” I said this last week, didn’t I?
And the week before that. “Yeah. Sure.”
Shishido stole a glance at her and felt more guilt settle on his insides. He was about to say something when Oshitari called.
“Oi, Shishido.”
The other man grinned slightly. “Time to move on.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hang on a sec…”
He looked back to Koto who smiled up at him.
“Go on. We’re just going to karaoke so we’ll be alright. Don’t worry.”
He nodded and there was a short pause before he said anything again.
“…Koto?”
“Hmm?”
He checked to see if Oshitari was looking his way. Then, ducking very quickly, he whispered, near enough for his lips to brush against the side of her cheek and her ear.
“Take care of yourself for me.”
As quickly as he ducked, Shishido retreated and strode onwards with Oshitari behind him. Koto watched him go and though he didn’t look back, she smiled.
You too, Shishido-san.
“…”
“……”
“………”
“…………”
“……what.” snapped Shishido as he suddenly stopped midway across a pedestrian bridge.
“Nothing…”
“There’s always SOMETHING when you’ve got that look on your face, Oshitari. Spit it out.”
Oshitari restrained his grin a little. “I didn’t know you were that fond of Shimizu Koto…?”
...#$@*!%#, he SAW.
You could practically see Shishido’s hackles rise in either embarrassment, irritation or what a wise betting man would place odds on: a good combination of both. “None of your damned business.”
“Shishido and Shimizu… not a bad ring to it…”
“Knock it off before I knock you off this bridge.”
“Seriously though… ever think that she might not be worth all the money you’re spending on her?”
“…”
“She’s a… how do you say this nicely… a courtesan, after all.”
“……”
“And you know what they’re like-”
“Koto’s different,” said Shishido abruptly. “I don’t pay her.”
“…what, you’re a preferred-”
“Damn you, Oshitari, I’m not.”
Oshitari blinked at the tone of voice. The only time he’d seen Shishido this angry was when he’d returned to Hyotei after that brief stint with Neo Fudomine.
“…I don’t sleep with her, if that’s what your damned inquiring mind wants to friggin’ know, alright? It'd be crossing that damned line. We just…”
Shishido rested one free hand on a railing and gripped it tightly in his frustration.
“…we just look out for each other. That’s all. I watch her back and she… takes care of mine. That’s all we can do.”
Hard eyes looked down onto the traffic below them.
“That’s all I can do for her anyway. And I don’t even manage that right,” he muttered under his breath, unheard by anyone but him.
The other man looked at him for a while. He waited for Shishido to collect his thoughts and shake himself. “C’mon. Let’s just get this over with.”
Oshitari merely nodded without words.
~*~
The next day, Oshitari waited outside the Hyotei-gumi’s headquarters. Atobe should have finished briefing Shishido and Ohtori for that business in Chiba by now.
Sure enough, out came the duo, in serious discussion. Or rather, Ohtori was poring over some documents they’d been handed while Shishido looked grim and uncomfortable.
He sauntered over to the two. “Good luck.”
Ohtori looked up and smiled. “Thanks, Oshitari-san.”
Shishido just nodded. “We gotta leave before that train does.”
Oshitari let them get a few steps away before he called out. “Oi, Shishido.”
The latter didn’t bother stopping or turning around. “What.”
“I’ll watch out for your harp until you get back.”
He smirked when Shishido glanced backwards a little and then continued walking without seeming to break his stride.
Ohtori glanced at his friend and smiled slightly.
“Nice of Oshitari-san to do that.”
Shishido said nothing, merely folding his arms and looking straight ahead.
“…I hate it when he does that,” he commented finally.
“Why?”
“Means I owe him one.”
But Ohtori had already noticed the brief look of relief that had stolen across Shishido’s face when Oshitari had called that out to them.
Even if Oshitari-san was renowned as Hyotei-gumi’s resident lady killer, he didn’t touch any girl who was already spoken for. And while the task of watching over Koto-san usually fell to Ohtori when his partner was away, it looked as if Shishido-san had gotten the voluntary help of another brother.
The silver haired man said nothing more, merely smiling further and going back to his notes.
End.
A/N: Right so to explain things a little...
Koto is... well, a courtesan. Shishido is a yakuza gang member. You can't fall in love with the former since... well courtesans deal with a very negotiable kind of love. You can't fall in love with the latter because yakuzas are dangerous and love doesn't exactly fit into their vocabulary without trust. You can't trust a courtesan either.
But then, you know.
...yes, Shishido's life sucks.
Koto = Japanese harp. Yes, you can see the Kansai sense of humour stealing in here...
But I suppose my point here was to illustrate some sort of... trust between Oshitari and Shishido. I dunno. I blame DL3 since both Saito and Kenta did that Manzai act together as well as that bump-fists moment during "Seasons". So uh... yeah. Shishido n' Oshitari friendship fic combined with Shishido angsty romance. 2-in-1! 8DD
...I'm going to go hide now...
EDIT: axtar dipped a hand into the AU with this Ohtori-centric fic: Soft Hearted. *grins widely* Go read - good stuff. ^^