Sequence of Upsets: A Heisei Kumi Fanfic (14/23)
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 ficMy 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 | 12 | 13
The days that followed were a whirlwind of weirdness and change. Hikaru moved into the Kumi-cho quarters, and Yabu took Hikaru's old room, leaving Chinen to the room he had shared with Ryutaro. Ryutaro was still missing. They'd put all of the underlings on full watch, with the orders to catch and return him to their house. Keito was skeptical about that course of action. Ryutaro was a good fighter, he didn't think any of those kids could really keep him subdued enough to take him somewhere he didn't want to be. Takaki didn't seem to think that Ryu wanted to stay with the Kumi at all anymore, but whenever he voiced this opinion he always got death glares from most of them, with the occasional whack to the back of the head from Yabu or Daiki. Chinen insisted that Ryutaro wanted to come home, but he felt that he couldn't, because he was blaming himself for Chinen stepping down.
Chinen seemed distraught by Ryutaro's disappearance, and he spent from dawn to dusk every day out searching for him. While Keito understood his desire to look, it seemed unrealistic to him to think that Ryu would allow himself to be found that easily. That didn't stop him from going out and looking himself a couple of times. It took him by surprise just how much he missed the younger guy. He found himself worrying about him constantly, but he wasn't the only one. All of them, even Takaki despite his belligerent front, were visibly concerned about him. They all glanced at the door more often, as if expecting him to just walk back in, they left him a seat at the table, and they all would wait up a little bit longer than usual every night, hoping he'd turn up.
The ones that stayed up the latest were always Takaki and Chinen. Takaki stopped going out clubbing as soon as Chinen stepped down, and now he was spending every night with their former leader curled up in his lap, the younger man's head buried under his chin. They'd sit in silence waiting by the door until Chinen fell asleep, and then Takaki would always carry him up the stairs, tucking him into Ryutaro's old bed before going to sleep himself. It was bittersweet to watch. The way Takaki looked at Chinen in those moments it was so easy to see just how in love with the small man he was, but Chinen had blinders on, unable or perhaps unwilling to acknowledge Takaki's feelings for him.
Hikaru meanwhile was barely been around the weeks that followed, often either holed up in his new office or out doing who knows what at all hours of the day or night. He was always there for dinner, but he rarely spoke, and he always looked heavy and weary. Despite that there was a different atmosphere with him at the head of the table. Keito had been a bit worried that he would clam up and distance himself from the rest of them, the way Chinen had, but despite him not being around as much it felt like they could still treat him more or less the same, and ask him anything. It was nice.
Chinen meanwhile seemed to have let his guard down significantly. He talked so much more than before, and Keito realized that Chinen was ridiculously, naturally smart. He was amazing at mahjong, and brain puzzles, his logic skills making any game he was involved in fun to watch. He probably could have gotten into a university, despite never having even gone to high school. He seemed to love physical affection, often curling up next to Takaki or sometimes Yamada on the couch. Keito thought it was amazing, and he sat back and watched as Chinen came out of his shell. The only problem was that he never smiled. Not the way Keito had seen him smile when he was with Ryutaro, or the way he had smiled in pictures from when he was younger. He would occasionally flash weak, false looking smiles for Takaki, but for the most part he didn't grin at all.
One night Keito and Shoon were sitting together on the couch, Shoon nestled under Keito's arm, his legs halfway in Keito's lap, and they watched as Chinen finished up a game of cards with Takaki, frowning and pouting one second before reaching up to bop his older companion playfully on the forehead. Keito found himself smiling, and he couldn't help but say
"It's amazing how different Chinen is." Shoon hummed in agreement.
"You never saw him before he was leader. He was glued to Takaki and then later on Ryutaro. He had Takaki wrapped around his finger; he'd do anything for Chii. Chinen was always good at getting what he wanted, and he was cute enough, and manipulative enough to make people happy to do things for him. He was really fun when he first joined, always trying to figure out how best to get his way with everyone. He was a cutie pie." Keito giggled a bit at that. Chinen, his former leader, someone he knew to be an amazing warrior, described as a cutie pie. Shoon sent him a teasingly hurt look.
"What?! He was!" Keito placed a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.
"If you say so." Shoon just huffed a bit, nuzzling his nose into Keito's neck, planting kisses there, making Keito blush. Shoon had recently been more openly displaying affection with Keito. Whether it be with the Kumi, or just out on the street, he would hug and kiss as if they were all alone back at his apartment. Keito wasn't sure what to make of it, honestly. It wasn't that he didn't like it; he just didn't want to make anyone else uncomfortable. He was saved from any further embarrassment however, because Shoon tucked his head onto Keito's shoulder, drawing his knees up and resting them in Keito's lap, and within minutes he was asleep, dozing peacefully there on the couch.
Keito rubbed contented circles on Shoon's back as he slept, and after a few minutes he was joined by Yamada, who had just returned from a swindle, his first job since the raid. He looked good, strong and healthy, and more confident than Keito had seen him in a while. It was really nice. Yamada caught sight of Shoon's position and he smiled, shaking his head.
"Dai-chan is just like that-once he's asleep, nothing can wake him up." Keito grinned.
"Yeah. It's nearly our anniversary." It had begun to nag him a little. Their one year anniversary was coming up in a few weeks. He wanted to make it something really special, but he wasn't sure what he could do. "What do you and Daiki do on your anniversaries?" Yamada cocked his head a bit, thinking.
"Daiki usually does stuff for them; he's really into that type of thing. Let me think. Our first year he got my katana refurbished as a surprise, then our second year was when we picked out our necklaces together." Yamada reached up, fingering the silver skull he had dangling around his neck. "Our third year he got a cake, and last year he took me out on a really nice date." He paused. "Dai-chan's been really great." Yamada was smiling warmly as he talked, and at that moment Daiki plopped down next to him on the couch, and Yamada took the opportunity to kiss him, tangling his fingers in Daiki's hair, holding him there in the kiss. Keito blushed, looking away until they pulled apart, Daiki looking surprised but happy.
"Ryosuke, what was that for?" Yamada shrugged, smiling.
"I just wanted to." Daiki let out a warm chuckle, putting a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.
"Want to go to bed early tonight?" Daiki took Yamada's hand as he asked the question, his eyes glistening with love, and Yamada nodded, standing and hand in hand they retreated up the stairs. Keito was left with Shoon, still sleeping in his lap to contemplate the possibilities alone. Well, he still had a few more weeks to figure something out.
That night he and Yuto were brushing their teeth together in the bathroom when Yuto said
"The seventh is Friday." It took Keito a moment to register what Yuto was talking about.
"Oh, the anniversary of Raiya's death, right?" Yuto nodded, spitting in the sink.
"It's the ten year anniversary..." He trailed off, giving Keito a look through the mirror. Keito too spit in the sink, answering the unasked question.
"Of course I'll go with you." He put his toothbrush away, and Yuto nodded, looking relieved.
"Thanks." Keito slung a comforting arm around Yuto's shoulders.
"I'll always go with you you know. You don't need to ask every time, Yuto." Yuto nodded silently, obviously grateful, and his fingers traced over the tattoo on his chest of his brother's name in blood.
As promised, that Friday Keito dressed himself in his best, most somber black suit, silently helping Yuto tie his tie. Yuto could have tied it himself, but it was a quiet bit of moral support, one Keito knew his friend needed. They met Yamada at the bottom of the stairs, and Hikaru had a bouquet of flowers for them that he handed to Yuto before letting them out the door. Like every year there was a limousine waiting for them a few blocks away, ready to take them to the cemetery. There were few words spoken during the entire process. Once they reached the cemetery Yuto took Keito's hand, gripping it tightly as they wove through the grave markers to find Raiya's final resting place.
Just as they did the past few years, they all cleaned the grave site, decorating it with the flowers Hikaru had given them, and Yuto knelt down in front of it, praying silently for a minute. Keito stood behind his friend, thinking. Yuto's reality was his greatest fear. He didn't have any siblings that could die, but he had his housemates, and Shoon. Losing them would be the worst possible thing he could think of. He felt a great wave of sadness wash over him at the thought. He didn't think he could handle ever having to go and visit the grave of say Yabu or Daiki. They might be good fighters, but they were still just human, and humans were fragile. He thought of how Kamiki had died right there in the living room only a few months before. That could easily have been Yamada, or Inoo or any one of them.
His negative train of thought was interrupted when Yuto pulled himself to his feet, and Keito blinked back the oncoming tears, giving Yuto a small smile.
"Are you ready?" Yuto nodded, face somber but dry, no tears running down his cheeks, and together the three of them returned to the limo, making another long and quiet drive back into their territory. They returned to the house and changed out of their nice clothes, and just like that the day continued on like normal. Keito was feeling down, grave visits always left him feeling weary and a little upset, and usually he could count on Shoon to cheer him up, but his boyfriend was nowhere to be found, and not wanting to be needy or troublesome-Shoon never moaned or complained seriously when he was with Keito-he turned to the second best person; Hikaru. After most of his housemates had gone to bed he found himself knocking on the Kumi-cho's office door, and at Hikaru's call he peeked his head in. Hikaru was in pajama pants, sitting at his desk with one knee drawn up in the chair, a large Manila folder open in his hands, but he set it down when he saw Keito, gesturing for him to come in.
"I don't want to be any trouble." Keito said, but Hikaru smiled.
"Keito, you're no trouble. Come sit with me. What is it?" Keito slipped inside, shutting the door behind himself, and as he took a chair across the desk he said
"I just wanted to talk to you. You're more busy now...I don't get to see you as much." Hikaru smiled, reaching across the desk to tousle Keito's hair.
"You're such a fucking softie, Keito." He retracted his arm. "That's something I've always thought was weird about you. You're yakuza royalty, and yet you come to visit me in my office because you've missed seeing me." Keito was confused.
"What about it?" Hikaru shrugged.
"It's just different, that's all." Suddenly, the door to the office burst open, and Yabu was there holding a pair of jeans in one hand.
"What the fucking hell, Hikaru?!" Yabu looked terrifyingly mad, his anger radiating from him in waves, and Keito froze in shock, but Yabu didn't seem to even realize he was in the room. Hikaru too looked surprised, his eyes wide. Yabu continued. "These are yours right?! You just wore them today. Do you know what I just found in the pocket?!" His voice was shrill, and he looked like he was about to throw a punch at Hikaru's face. Hikaru had gone pale, and Keito was confused, but intimidated, the atmosphere heavy.
"Keito, give us a minute-Yabuchii, I can explain." Keito stood, holding his breath as he slipped past Yabu, the door shutting behind him. It was barely shut when Yabu screeched
"HEROIN?!" That one word made Keito freeze. What?!
"Look, I'm not going to say that it's not mine-" Hikaru started, and there was the sound of a fist connecting with bone. Yabu was yelling.
"You promised! You swore you'd never do to again! After what happened with your parents, after everything Shoon did for you! How could you?! God, I'm going to kill you! I swear to God, I will strangle you!" Keito felt rooted to the spot, just outside the door, doomed to hear the conversation whether he wanted to or not. Hikaru sounded frantic, his next phrase so rushed Keito could barely make it out.
"I never actually used it! I swear! I never used it. Yabu, I promise." There was the sound of another punch hitting bone, and Hikaru cursed loudly, Yabu still sounding beside himself.
"I don't fucking believe you! You had it on you! It was in your fucking pocket!" Then, Hikaru was yelling back at him.
"Do I look like I've been shooting up to you?!" He paused, taking his voice a notch quieter. "Do I honestly look like I've had any of that shit?!" Everything fell silent to a long moment, Keito's heart racing in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Finally, Yabu spoke.
"No. No you don't." He still sounded angry, but now his anger was tainted by confusion. "What I don't understand is if you're not using, then why the fuck do you have it?" There was another long pause, and Yabu said "Well? You have five seconds before I fucking beat your ass." He was met with an answer almost immediately, Hikaru's tone rough, his words pouring out in a rush.
"I know things, okay? Life's been a fucking train wreck for me for the past month or so, in case you haven't noticed! I kinda had to figure out how to run the Kumi when Chinen was injured, with no help. Then the little son of a bitch put me in charge, which was fine and all, except that Ryutaro decided to cut off his finger and take off my first day on the job! And on top of that Shoon's cancer is back, and he's dying, and no one else knows because he made me swear not to fucking tell anyone!" He paused, and everything was quiet for a moment inside the room. Outside of it, Keito felt a huge weight drop out of his stomach. "So I've been a little stressed out recently, and I haven't been able to tell anyone, or do anything about any of it. Do you know how desperate that made me? So yeah, I might've thought about shooting up a few times, but I never did. I just...I just didn't know what else to do. I just wanted it all to stop." By then end Hikaru sounded desperate and upset, and Keito felt a clawing, biting terror beginning to rip at his insides.
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