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the nighttime air in sotenbori was cool that night, but tolerable enough for people to wander around with short sleeved shirts on. the streets were packed, of course - what’s sotenbori without it’s night life - the atmosphere was lively. a man stood on the bridge playing guitar for a crowd, girls were going on dates with their boyfriends, all was good in sotenbori.
nishiki couldn’t feel the cool air, nor could he feel the cool december breeze go through his hair; it didn’t go through his hair at all. that’s one thing nishiki hated about the aftermath of the blast - he couldn’t feel the air ruffle his hair. he missed the feeling. he also missed talking to kiryu all the time, whom he found himself following all the time, no matter where he went. it was something that he enjoyed doing, even if kiryu didn’t seem to notice him.
currently, nishiki was following kiryu through the streets of sotenbori to an arcade. he sometimes wondered - no, scratch that, always wondered - why his kyoudai got wrapped up in such odd situations all the time. his original quest to form a pact with the omi alliance drifted to getting this man with a ufo catcher addiction his ‘little girl’ back, and nishiki found himself intrigued, but terribly bored. ‘geez, kiryu, can’t you not get wrapped up in trouble?’ he had said as kiryu left the arcade, but of course, kiryu didn’t hear him. kiryu just shivered a little as a breeze ran through his hair - maybe that would send the message to get on with his actual task.
but, of course, to nishiki’s dismay, he continued to look for the man’s daughter - at least that’s what nishiki thought - and he watched as kiryu got into fight, after fight.... after fight. after fight. nishiki tried to should constructive criticism from the sidelines - which nobody heard - but he did it anyways. as he (questionably) cheered kiryu on, nishiki recalled that one time they fought together back in kamurocho... even though he wouldn’t admit it, it was a fond memory of his.
finally, kiryu got to where he was told to go by the yakuza he beat up - to a man in a red suit? (nishiki didn’t bother listen to the details) to get the little girl (who he had also not bothered to catch the name of). nishiki caught a glance of kiryu’s confused look when the pair arrived, and asked, "what’s up, kyoudai? you seem puzzled."
kiryu was the only person nishiki opened up to. kiryu was the only person who saw through nishiki’s hard exterior, and saw through to his old self; nishiki grew to be fond of that ability of kiryu’s, so he let himself open up again. it felt nice.
there was no response from kiryu, which ticked nishiki off a bit - kiryu never answered him lately - and he watched kiryu go up to the man and ask about... yukako? whatever the girl’s name was. kiryu looked down after he got an answer, and nishiki followed his gaze, seeing a white cat.
"... a cat?" nishiki asked, dismay evident in his voice. kiryu didn’t answer, but instead said to the man in the red suit, "a cat?"
"yeah, the little fuzzball nearly scratched my face off," complained the man. "yukiko... giving such a name to a devil of a cat... it’s so unfitting!"
kiryu shook his head and picked up the cat. he held yukiko in his arms, observing her reaction. nishiki commented, "so, yukiko is a cat? what a plot twist, hey, kyoudai?"
"... at least she’s not struggling," said kiryu under his breath, to nobody in particular. "let’s get you back to jongka."
kiryu walked down the boardwalk that lined the river, cat in his arms. nishiki followed beside kiryu, hands in his pockets, whistling a small tune - sotenbori looked amazing at night, illuminated by the neon signs of the buildings lining the riverside and the lights on the bridge and boardwalk. nishiki knew kiryu had always been a sucker for scenes like that; he recalled having ramen with kiryu after the issue with makoto makimura and sohei dojima blew over, how kiryu talked and talked and talked about how much he loved the scenery of the sotenbori river at night.
speaking of the sotenbori river, he snickered softly at how kiryu took the cat along the boardwalk, silently admiring the view. typical kiryu, he never changed - he somehow always found time to appreciate the small things he liked.
"having fun, kyoudai?" nishiki teasingly asked, poking at kiryu’s shoulder. "carrying a cat along a riverbank, like it can understand what you’re thinking... you never change."
kiryu only shivered as if a breeze hit him again. he sighed and looked at the cat. "it’s breezy out here, isn’t it, yukiko?" he murmured. nishiki pouted a bit when kiryu blatantly ignored him, but ended up smiling when the cat looked up at kiryu and meowed in response.
"damn, looks like the cat can understand you," said nishiki.
kiryu continued walking through sotenbori with the cat, and nishiki kept following. sirens sounded distantly in the background, along with the sound of people chattering. nishiki looked around at the neon signs that lit up the streets of sotenbori as they continued on to their destination. "not much different than kamurocho," said nishiki absently.
no response - nishiki got used to that - but kiryu did trip over a parked bicycle, earning a cackle from nishiki. kiryu just apologized to the spooked cat in his arms, petting her as if to apologize to her for alarming her; nishiki always found kiryu’s love for cats endearing. how he treated them like they could actually understand him.
they finally reached their destination - club sega, nishiki noted - and the old man with the weird hat and glasses (who he assumed to be ‘jongka’) was standing out front. as kiryu approached the man, the relieved expression on his face seeing kiryu - well, more yukiko - was one that, for some reason, made nishiki smile a bit. of course, he wasn’t acknowledged by anyone.
the pair exchanged a couple words before exchanging the cat for a mahjong tile and a mahjong strategy guide that jongka wrote himself. after bidding each other farewell, kiryu left off back to the mahjong parlour, and nishiki began to talk as they walked.
"looks like you saved the day again, kiryu," nishiki said, putting his hands behind his head. "well, you saved the night- but same thing, hey, bro?"
nishiki watched as kiryu flipped his phone on, checking his emails. nishiki continued, "yknow, i... i admire how you can always swoop in and solve things, kiryu. even if it’s the only way you know," nishiki chuckled, "with your stupid fists."
kiryu paused for a minute and looked up - he grimaced a bit as a group of thugs shouted for him, so he took a small detour into a nearby restaurant, nearly crashing into nishiki.
"oi, watch it," nishiki yelped, following kiryu into the restaurant.
"... i guess i am hungry," kiryu muttered. "i’ll eat while i’m here."
so, nishiki went and sat down at a table while kiryu ordered. kiryu went and sat down at a totally different table, which made nishiki groan ‘really, bro? you always do this’ as he moved to sit across from kiryu, watching him eat as he babbled on.
"what happened to you starting fights all the time, bro?" nishiki asked. "you avoiding fights is so unlike you. where’s my bro? give him back!"
kiryu ate in silence - he eventually finished and left the restaurant again. nishiki laughed as kiryu smacked into the door as he checked his watch while trying to leave the restaurant; after he was done laughing, he asked kiryu if he was okay. kiryu just shrugged out his shoulders after nishiki asked, to which nishiki took as an ‘i’m okay’. kiryu was never really verbal with him anymore.
"... i miss our chats, kiryu."
nishiki looked at kiryu, who’s gaze was trained ahead, not acknowledging nishiki’s presence.
"... i miss you. i..." nishiki looked down at their feet as they walked. "... i wish you could talk to me again. i... i’d die again just to be able to apologize for everything, kiryu."
tears formed in nishiki’s eyes.
"i hate being dead," sighed nishiki, his voice wobbling. "i’m so sorry, kiryu. i wish i was actually beside you."
nishiki hated being a ghost, unable to interact with the living. although nishiki wouldn’t admit a lot of things, he could safely say that he would indeed die again just to talk to kiryu again - just to feel his touch once again.