Sequence of Upsets: A Heisei Kumi Fanfic (12/23)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Keito/Shoon (Shoto?), with some side Ariyama and Chiitaro
Rating: R, for violence and dark themes
Genre: Slice of life/Angst
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Summary: Keito has been in the Heisei Kumi for nearly 2 years now. He has a wonderful boyfriend, and he's become a strong fighter and an important member of the Kumi. Life has been good, but life as a Yakuza can never stay peaceful for long. This is a direct sequel to my first Heisei Kumi fic My New Family. This fic may be confusing if you haven't read that one, which you can find here. This fic takes place 8ish months after My New Family ends, so...yeah. I hope you like it!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
He ended up coming to the conclusion that Shoon must be breaking up with him. He didn't know what else in reference to Shoon would explain Hikaru pitying him like he had. As soon as the concept made itself a possibility he began to feel sick, dread gnawing away at his insides, and he began to become undone inside, despite nothing having happened just yet. He didn't get much sleep that night; instead he sat up worrying about everything, wide awake on his top bunk, listening to Yuto's steady breathing down below.
The next morning Shoon came around just after Keito had breakfast, and Keito's stomach dropped at the sight of him. He wasn't going to sit around and wait until Shoon thought it was the appropriate time, or some other nonsense like that, he decided. And he took Shoon out into the alley, sitting down next to him on the concrete stairs right by the door. Shoon seemed very confused by the whole thing, so Keito just asked.
"Are you planning on breaking up with me?" Shoon seemed very confused by the question.
"Breaking up...? No. Where did you get that idea from?" Keito felt a wash of relief before he'd even completely processed Shoon's words, and he couldn't help but ask
"Really?" Shoon took in his face and he grinned, slipping his hand into Keito's.
"Keito...as of right now I plan on being with you for the rest of my life." Keito knew he was crying a little, but they were tears of relief. He was just being stupid. Shoon loved him. He pressed a kiss to Shoon's lips, and Shoon squeezed his hand tightly.
"I will never voluntarily leave you, you crazy bastard." He almost looked sad as he said those words, but Keito wasn't quite sure; he still had a tear in his eye. "I love you." Shoon murmured into his neck, placing a kiss at the little spot where his neck and shoulder met, sending tingles down his spine. Keito responded with a kiss to Shoon's nose, then his cheek, and then up by his eye. The kissing lasted a while-until Keito had calmed down-and Shoon was rubbing circles on the back of his hand with a slightly trembling thumb, both of them having fallen silent.
"I've left my job." Shoon announced. Keito was surprised. That wasn't much time.
"When?"
"Today, just now. Before I came by I went by the office." He paused, playing with Keito's fingers. "I still have a lot of money saved up, so I'll be fine. I'm going to keep my apartment, but I was thinking about spending more time here. I could cook and fight and be of more use with the Kumi. That's what I talked with Hikaru and Chinen about last night." Keito hummed, indicating his understanding, and Shoon slipped an arm around his waist, his fingers slipping under the waistband of Keito's sweats.
"Wanna come back to my place for an hour or two? We have all day." Keito leaned in, placing a lingering kiss on Shoon's lips, the older man responding enthusiastically. Once he pulled away he found himself smiling.
"Sure."
From that point on Shoon was around every day. He would run errands, play cards, cook, and spar with the others. Some days he was around from morning until dusk, while others he would only show up for dinner, before returning back to his apartment. Everyone quickly got used to him being around, and they squeezed him in at the table, on the corner between Hikaru and Keito. As time rolled by, the days grew hotter, and one day Keito was out in the alley, watching as Shoon and Yuto sparred, their bare tops glistening with sweat as they threw punches and shuffled around each other. Keito was admiring Shoon's muscles when he realized just how tan his boyfriend had getting.
His once creamy white skin was bronzing, and as it did old scars that had faded away were brought to light, stark white in contrast with the tan. Shoon was covered in scars. He had these pale stripes zig zagging all over his arms and chest, up his neck and over his shoulders, crossing each other and patterning his body as if in some morbid tiger-like design. Keito was amazed. None of the others looked nearly as bad as that. It got him thinking. What had Shoon's Kumi life really been like? He had been the first after all. He'd had to figure it all out on his own. He hadn't had a father, or a group of people to reach him the ropes. There must have been a lot of learning things the hard way.
A week or so later they were cuddling in Shoon's bed, sweaty and naked, basking in the afterglow of satisfaction, their bodies still tangled up together under the sheets. Not as exhausted as his boyfriend, Keito let his fingertips trace over the scars, running down one until it crossed paths with another and then changing direction. His trail went up Shoon's chest, and he paused once he reached Shoon's shoulder, unable to go any further. Silently Shoon obligingly rolled onto his stomach, allowing Keito to continue tracing down his back. Once there however, instead of letting his fingers trace the lines of the scars, he let them run along the ink lines defining Shoon's tattoo. His fingertips curled along the clouds, bumped down the sides of the mountains, and danced across the little rooftops, before he came to the huge, golden sun with its rainbow rays of light bursting from its core.
It was there that he rested his head, wrapping his arms up under the weight of his boyfriend's body to grip him in a hug. He felt even then the raised lumps of skin outlining scars from old wounds. He hummed happily, placing a chaste kiss on Shoon's back.
"I love you. I love your body. I love your tattoo." He muttered, and he felt Shoon chuckle underneath him.
"I love you too, you menace." Shoon twisted himself back around, lying on his back and pulling Keito to his chest, wrapping his arms around Keito's shoulders, lacing their fingers together.
"Tell me about it." Keito muttered, closing his eyes, listening to the pulse of his boyfriend's heart.
"It?"
"Why you got it."
"You know why."
"Tell me anyway." Keito leaned forward and up, placing a kiss on Shoon's jaw line before settling back onto Shoon's chest. Their skin was tacky with sweat, but he was too tired to care. The endorphins were still there, but he wasn't buzzing with it any longer, and he was starting to get tired. Shoon's grip on his hand tightened fondly for a moment before he started.
"Taiyo was always the happiest kid. He was a dork; he was clumsy and he was silly, he always made everyone laugh; although admittedly not necessarily on purpose. And he was a lot taller than the other boys his age. All of this made him really different from all of the other kids. Because he was...well, Taiyo, the others teased him a lot when we were younger. He usually didn't care, but as he got older it really started to bother him sometimes, especially since he wasn't our strongest fighter. It really started to affect him. He didn't see how important to the group he was.
"I got my tattoo as a symbol. Taiyo means sun. The sun is him bringing happiness to every situation; to even the most angry and messed up of people. Because that was who he was, and what he did. When he saw my ink it reinstalled his confidence in his place in the group. It cemented his belief that he was wanted in the family." Shoon adjusted his grip on Keito's body; but Keito was already feeling warm, his body heavy, and within moments of Shoon finishing his story he was asleep, Shoon quick to follow.
The next morning, Keito was brushing his teeth in Shoon's tiny little bathroom when his eye caught on two little identical boxes sitting on the counter, by the soap. He picked one of them up, examining it. It was a hair dying kit. Did Shoon want to dye his hair? But he probably wouldn't need two just for himself would he?
"Shoon?" He finished up, wandering into the kitchen, the little box in his hand. Shoon had been making breakfast, but he stopped when Keito came in. Keito showed him the box, sending him a questioning glance, and Shoon said
"It's something I've thought about doing. I never could because I was a lawyer, but now that I'm not, I thought it could be fun to do together." Keito looked down at the little box in his hands. He'd never dyed his hair before, but how hard could it be?
Very hard, apparently. After breakfast they returned to the bathroom, stripping down to their underwear so as to not get dye on their clothes, and got to work. Shoon had Keito read the directions, and they got to work. They somehow managed to get hair dye all over Shoon's tiny bathroom, ruining three of his towels in the process. The whole ordeal was actually rather fun, Keito enjoying being able to do something for Shoon as he scrubbed the dye into his boyfriend's scalp. Despite any errors, in the end they both were sporting light golden brown locks, not unlike Takaki or Daiki's hair color.
After they had cleaned up Keito stared at himself in the mirror. He hadn't expected it to be so big of a change. The lighter color reduced the contrast between his skin and his hair, and as a result he appeared to be more tan. Shoon too seemed darker, and he somehow seemed a little bit shorter to Keito. Keito wasn't sure he liked it, but then Shoon caught sight of him staring at his reflection and he smiled, coming over and pressing his body flush up against Keito's from behind, burying his hands in Keito's hair, his eyes peeking over Keito's shoulder to look into the mirror. As Shoon's fingers massaged his scalp he couldn't help but smile and he turned around, scooping Shoon up in his arms in one swift movement and carrying him to the bedroom.
He loved the light Shoon got in his eyes when he did that. The happy, loving, fun look that was almost exclusively followed by a crack of laughter that nearly swallowed his eyes completely in its grin. He poured Shoon onto the bed in a mess of limbs, and after giving him a second to regain his balance he pounced; running his fingers teasingly along Shoon's sides, tickling him until his boyfriend begged for mercy, peals of laughter and lighthearted shrieks filling the room. Keito couldn't help but laugh along with the older man, and wrapped up in enjoying each other’s company they lost track of time.
It was after dinner time when Keito finally left Shoon's apartment that evening. It had been a while since he'd been home-a little over twenty-four hours-and it was strange feeling. Keito and Shoon hadn't actually ever ended up eating anything else after breakfast, and he hadn't realized just how hungry he was until he was on his own wandering the streets, and he took the liberty to get himself a carton of strawberry milk from the first conbini he came across to drink on his way home and get something in his stomach.
When he popped in the tiny store he didn't expect to see any familiar faces, but as he glanced around he caught sight of Yabu and Takaki across the top of the shelves. They were curled up in a corner of the place, sitting around a cheap plastic table, styrofoam cups in their hands. Takaki was visibly upset, and Keio immediately was concerned. He wanted to go over and ask what was going on, but he knew that Takaki wouldn't confide in him-despite Takaki obviously trusting him in a fight, the older man didn't seem to trust him with his thoughts. Instead he browsed the shelves, quickly finding his drink and paying for it, hoping that he wouldn't be recognized. They didn't even look his way, and he grew more bold, sneaking around behind them and settling himself into a chair near his housemates' table, listening in on their conversation.
"He nearly died you know." Takaki was saying. Yabu sighed loudly as if he'd grown sick of the discussion, as if no matter what he said it was getting nowhere.
"We have all nearly died before, Takaki. Each and every one of us has been in critical condition before at some point."
"No we haven't. Yuto hasn't. You haven't. The closest anyone's come to being that hurt was..." He paused, thinking. "that time that Keito was in a coma for two weeks. And that was back before he was any good at fighting." Keito cringed a bit at that, but Yabu came to his defense.
"He wasn't that bad. Sure, he sucked in the beginning, but by the time you're talking about he was alright. Not amazing or anything, but he was useful."
"That's not the point. The point is that it's my fault Chinen's hurt." Yabu scoffed at Takaki's declaration.
"Takaki, did you fucking shoot him?" There was a pause.
"No."
"Did you hold him still so that someone else could shoot him?"
"Well no, but-"
"Then it's not your fault."
"But I'm the reason he joined the Kumi in the first place. He wouldn't have been there to get shot if it wasn't for me asking him to come live with us." Yabu groaned.
"You're being an idiot!" The phrase came out almost like a growl, and Keito jumped a bit in surprise, fumbling his milk. He'd never heard Yabu get that short tempered with someone. "Chinen wouldn't have been shot if he wasn't the Kumi-cho, correct? And who made him our leader?" Yabu paused, as if speaking to a five year old. "He did. Chinen did it to himself, he put a target on his back when he usurped the position, instead of just respecting Shoon's opinion and letting Hikaru take over." He sighed. "Look, it's upsetting, I know it is, and I was really worried about him too, but you have to stop blaming yourself for this. No one else does, not Chinen, not even Ryu-" Takaki scoffed at the mention of Ryutaro, but Yabu ignored him. "-it's just you. Besides, he's nearly well enough to be getting out of bed now anyway."
There was a moment of silence, and then the sound of someone getting to their feet.
"Let's go." Yabu announced, closing the topic, and Takaki too got to his feet, the two of them exiting the conbini without another word. Keito just sat there, mulling over what he'd heard, sipping his milk. One thought crossed his mind. Yuto would be proud of him for eavesdropping so successfully.
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