Chapter Text
Smoke curled into the air, distorting the flashing lights from neon signs as Kiryu exhaled from his nose. The night was chilly, the warmth of the spring day had long since faded in these early morning hours, a welcome feeling after the heat from the press of bodies in the club. Kamurocho was still alive around Kiryu, people scurried around Theater Square, their excited talking and laughter a constant buzz. It all used to be so familiar to Kiryu, but now it seemed so foreign to be in the city that was once a part of him. The lights seemed too bright at this time of night, drowning out the stars he had grown accustomed to. The voices were too loud, more jarring than the sounds of night insects and the roaring of the ocean in Okinawa.
Kiryu took another drag of his cigarette, and he heard the door behind him swing open, letting the thrumming music from the club escape unfettered before the door swung closed, once again muffling the sound. A warm body made an impact with his back, and arms draped loosely over his shoulders, encircling him and driving away the chill of the night air. “Yo, Kiryu-chan, what’cha doing out here all alone? You’re missing your party.”
“My party?”
Majima leaned in, resting his chin on Kiryu’s shoulder and huffed out a laugh, breath tinged with alcohol and cigarettes that tickled Kiryu’s ear, “Sure, why not? It was Taiga’s party, but you lasted way longer, so it can be yours now.” Kiryu struggled to understand the logic Majima employed, or the lack thereof. It was true, at the beginning of the night Majima had dragged Kiryu along with Saejima to Bantam to do shots and shoot pool, then Karaokeken, back to a bar and on and on. Majima and Saejima had bickered and ribbed each other in a way that both made Kiryu smile and ache deep in his chest. He didn’t know Saejima as well as Majima did, but he was pleasant company, his quiet steadiness a good counterpoint to Majima’s manic energy. At some point in between the bar crawling, Saejima had excused himself, with much less protest from Majima than Kiryu had expected, but Kiryu recognized the look in Saejima’s eyes, he had felt the same those 6 years ago when he had first returned to Kamurocho. The lights, the sounds, it was all too much after ten years of the same hallways and four walls. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Saejima, after twenty five. After Saejima’s departure, Majima decided to round out their night at the club Debolah. Kiryu hadn’t been dancing since the 80s.
“I don’t think this party was ever for anyone but you,” Kiryu frowned. When Majima huffed another laugh and Kiryu heard the smile in Majima’s voice he knew he had blundered into a trap,
“Oh? So it’s my party then? Well, come on Kiryu-chan, if I'm the birthday boy I wanna party with my favorite guy."
“Your birthday isn’t for another month. And anyway, aren’t you almost 50? I think it’s about time to end the night,”
“‘M 45, still got plenty of life left in me, and there’s still plenty of night. Don’t be such a downer, Kazu-chan,” Majima plucked the cigarette from Kiryu’s fingers when he tried to bring it back up to his lips, and pulled away from him. The chill of night air against Kiryu’s back made him shiver, colder than before after the loss of warmth. When he finally turned to face Majima he couldn’t stop the slight smile from tugging up the corner of his mouth. Majima looked smug with his mouth around his stolen cigarette, his single eye crinkled with amusement. His face was softer than Kiryu was used to seeing it, he looked a little sleepy from the late hour and the alcohol, but the exhausted, bone-tired look was gone and Kiryu understood his desire to not let the day end. Kiryu would only be in Kamurocho for another day, and he had no idea if it would be mere months or a full year before he saw Majima again, he would enjoy the time they had left before he returned home.
By some miracle of persuasion, or excessive bribery, Kiryu’s reentry to the club was welcomed by the nostalgic familiarity of an 80s pop song by a once-famous idol. The brief pang over the memory of this song being Nishiki’s favorite was eased when Majima enthusiastically grabbed his arm, dragging him onto the dance floor, “C’mon let’s dance battle. I wanna see what ya got. They used to call me the king of disco back in Sotenbori so you better bring it!” Majima spun in an artful turn, striking a dramatic pose.
“Heh, you’re on, niisan. I used to have a bit of a reputation for being a king of disco too.”
-
It turned out, dancing was not a skill that Kiryu had retained after his stint in prison. Majima disco-danced and break-danced circles around Kiryu, cackling with wild abandon. Kiryu accepted the loss graciously, he would just have to pummel Majima into the ground the next time they went bowling to even the score. Sweaty, slightly winded and eyes burning from the neon lights, Kiryu found himself once again dragged along by Majima, who was in an uncharacteristically merciful mood. He led Kiryu up to the empty second floor into a booth in a corner that was as quiet and dark as it got in this club. Kiryu slid into the booth first and Majima flopped in next, practically on top of him. “You sure throw a hell of a party, thanks Kiryu-chan I can’t remember the last birthday I had that was this great.”
“It still isn’t your birthday.” Kiryu huffed as Majima fidgeted beside him, knocking their knees together and jostling Kiryu annoyingly. He finally slung an arm around Majima's shoulder, an invitation that Majima took, leaning into him and settling his movements.
"I guess that means you'll have to throw me an even bigger birthday party, then!"
Kiryu didn't reply, they both knew Kiryu wouldn’t be around for it. He’d be back in Okinawa and Majima would be here. Kiryu rested his head on top of Majima’s and let his mind wander. He wondered what Majima would look like in the fading sunlight, the ocean breeze through his hair… His eyelids fluttered shut just as Majima started his fidgeting back up again. Majima's head impacted harshly with Kiryu's cheekbone and his eyes shot open. It was not a precursor to further violence, just an accidental collision Kiryu realized when Majima's mouth intentionally collided with his own. The action came as no surprise to Kiryu, and he welcomed it, shifting backward in the booth so Majima could climb atop him. Majima’s hands pressed down onto Kiryu’s shoulders, balancing himself, and Kiryu’s hands ran up Majima’s sides, settling in place at the base of his skull where he could run his fingers through the shaved back of Majima’s hair. He smoothed his fingers down, feeling how soft the hair was, then ran them back up, the texture rough when he went against the grain. Majima exhaled through his nose and shifted over Kiryu, shivering pleasantly at the sensation.
Voices broke out from the sounds of the club music pulsing, growing louder as they ascended the stairs. Kiryu felt a flash of panic and abruptly shoved Majima off of him. Majima let out a surprised “Haw?” as he was launched out of the booth and onto the floor from the force of Kiryu’s shove. The voices cut off in surprise at the sight of Majima tumbling to the ground in front of them, and the group eyed Majima and Kiryu warily, frozen in their tracks. Kiryu’s mortified gaze shifted from Majima to the group of strangers. Under different circumstances he could have laughed at Majima’s bewildered expression, he was crumpled on the floor where he landed on his ass, eye wide and mouth open in shock, mirroring the group behind him. After a few seconds, Majima let out a brief cackle and nimbly slid back to his feet, dusting invisible dirt off of himself. He settled back into the booth next to Kiryu, several inches away from him this time. “Kiryu-chan. What the fuck.”
The group of strangers moved on at the lack of further spectacle, settling into a booth as far from the two as possible, starting up their conversation again. Only infrequent glances betrayed any further interest on their part. “Apologies, Majima-san.” Kiryu offered, bent over with his elbows on his knees avoiding eye contact with Majima.
“S’fine. Don’t know what you’re so worried about, most people don’t give a shit about seeing two dudes making out at a club like this, and if people gossip I’ll just stab ‘em. I’m the big, bad Mad Dog, the Tojo boys know better than to say shit about this.”
Kiryu risked a glance over at Majima, he was tense now, the loose, easy manner from earlier was gone. Kiryu’s hand twitched where it rested on his leg. He wanted to reach out to Majima, to smooth it over but he couldn’t bring himself to move. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. It wasn’t uncommon for Kiryu and Majima to engage in makeouts and heavy petting in places that weren’t exactly private, but witnesses always made Kiryu pull away and shove Majima aside. Majima would grumble about it, but that was all. Kiryu didn’t know how secret their relationship was, but despite Majima’s assurances the idea of it being known made him nervous. It wasn’t what people would say, that never bothered him…
Majima stood up with a dramatic yawn, stretching toward the ceiling, “Well! I’m beat,” he ducked his head down to make eye contact with Kiryu, his face serious, “Let’s take this to your place, get some use out of that nice bed.” By “your place” Majima meant the ridiculously expensive hotel suite that he had rented for the remainder of Kiryu’s stay in Kamurocho. Kiryu scrambled to his feet to follow after Majima’s long strides, relief and guilt alike swirled in Kiryu's chest when Majima didn't press him. Majima never did.
-
"Buchikowashitaru de! Kyou kara TRY AGAIN!" Kiryu jolted awake, his flailing limbs tangled in the bedsheets and he tumbled out of the western style bed and onto the floor of his hotel room. “Wakare tsugeyou itsu mo no TRAUMA e,” the caterwauling that Majima called singing was blaring from the alarm clock on the bedside stand. It was some upbeat pop song that both Majima and Haruka were fond of. Kiryu struggled to untangle himself from the sheets and crawled his way across the floor to the stand to shut the alarm clock off, his head was pounding and his eyes were bleary. He looked at the display on the clock, 10:30 a.m., changing over to 10:31 a.m.. He rubbed his palms into his itchy eyes, by his estimate he and Majima had stumbled into the hotel around 3 a.m., and he suspected they didn’t get to sleep until close to 5 a.m., leaving Kiryu sufficiently sleep deprived.
Kiryu didn’t need to check the room to know that he was alone, Majima never stayed the full night, but he knew Majima was out there somewhere laughing at his expense. No doubt he was very pleased with himself for the prank. Kiryu stumbled into the bathroom to piss. He glanced at his face in the mirror as he was washing his hands. He really did look like shit, but his mouth tasted even worse. Majima really needed to stop smoking so much, and possibly start eating more fruit. Kiryu brushed his teeth, dressed himself, and found his phone where it had been tossed out of his pants pocket in the haste to get them off. He flipped it open and there was one new message from Majima's number.
"yo! kiryu-chan, had some stuff to take care of at work, unfucking all the stuff u fucked at the hills. consider ur little wake up call evening the score >.)"
Kiryu texted back, "My apologies, niisan, I regret making even more work for you." That whole business had been a mess, not the messiest confrontation he'd had at the top of a Kamurocho Hills skyscraper, but the fact it had happened twice was a little much.
Kiryu had only just flipped his phone closed again when it buzzed with another new message, "eh dont sweat it too much, u know i cant stay mad at u. not when u were there for taiga and yasuko-chan while i was in the clink… buuuut if u try to sneak outta town today without saying bye i'll never forgive u"
Kiryu didn't feel like he had been much help in that situation, if Yasuko-san hadn't been so quick to draw her gun they all could have died up there. Kiryu hadn’t been able to save Saejima, Yasuko-san had done that, and she had been shot for it. The bullet had buried itself in her back, barely missing anything vital, but she had only just been released from the hospital. From what Kiryu could tell Majima loved her like she was his own sister. It felt strange meeting Saejima and Yasuko-san, they were Majima’s family, people he had a history with. So much of Majima’s past was like a black hole to Kiryu. They’d never even spoken of the empty lot or Makoto. Kiryu knew Majima had been there in Sotenbori, protecting Makimura-san, but Kiryu didn’t know the details. He had tried asking, once, but Majima’s reaction assured he’d never try to broach that subject again. Personal questions were off-limits with Majima.
Kiryu had until 5 p.m. before his flight back to Okinawa, he would stop by New Serena to say his goodbyes, and then head over to the Kamurocho Hills construction site as Majima had instructed. Kiryu typically didn’t do drawn out farewells, if Majima hadn’t asked he would have left last night as his send off from Majima, and he was mildly surprised that Majima had asked to meet up again. Kiryu tidied up the room, and packed his few belongings into his small suitcase. He liked to travel light.
Kiryu had a peaceful walk out of the Hotel district, across Shichifuku St. and halfway down Theater Avenue before he was accosted by anyone. He smiled softly to himself thinking that must be a record, maybe the suitcase made him seem like less of a target, somehow. In any case, the suitcase did make an excellent object to bludgeon the small group of punks with until they gave up and scurried away, carrying fresh bruises and broken noses. Kiryu’s stomach grumbled, and he realized he hadn’t yet eaten, so he decided to stop at that rice bowl place on the corner of Tenkaichi St., it was on the way to New Serena anyway. The bell rang as he entered, the interior of the cafeteria style restaurant was loud as always. The employee behind the counter hesitated, giving him an odd look before his eyes settled on Kiryu’s face and he nervously greeted him with overly-forced enthusiasm to cover up the rudeness. Slightly confused, Kiryu ordered a large beef bowl and a kimchi bowl, lighter than his usual order, but he had places to be today. He ignored the odd glances from other customers, it was probably something stupid like maybe his socks didn’t match, and sat down in the corner to scarf down his food.
It was close to noon when Kiryu finished his meal and exited the restaurant, he walked briskly to New Serena, the bar wouldn’t be open so early, so he walked around the back alley to let himself in that way. Kiryu stomped up the metal stairs and pushed the backdoor open. The lights were all on, and Date was there, behind the counter organizing stock. At the sound of Kiryu’s footsteps he turned, face at first breaking into a grin when he saw Kiryu, but then his eyes traveled down and he frowned. “Oh uh… Kiryu-san you may want to button your shirt up.”
Kiryu looked down, his chest and neck was covered in little bruises and bite marks. He flushed red up to his ears and buttoned his shirt until only the top button was still undone. There were still a few marks visible high on his neck, but there wasn’t much to be done about those. “Honestly… I guess he does live up to his name, you look like you were used as a chew toy.” Kiryu grimaced at Date’s words, he never had the best opinion of Majima. “What are you making that face for? Now I’m the one who has to imagine it…” Date shuddered theatrically to show what he thought of the idea of Kiryu having sex with Majima.
Kiryu sat down at the bar, lighting a cigarette and Date scooted an ashtray toward him. “So… You’re heading back today then?” Date asked.
“Yeah.” Kiryu answered, flicking ash from his cigarette into the tray.
“That’s a shame… You really need to visit your old friends more often.”
“I’m sorry… I just have a lot of responsibilities,” and memories he always got too wrapped up in when he returned to the city.
Date seemed to understand Kiryu’s silence, and returned to unboxing bottles of alcohol and tidying the shelving behind the counter, with his back still turned he spoke, “Well, whatever you decide, you’re always welcome back here.”
“Thanks, Date.” Kiryu finished his cigarette in amicable silence, and as he stubbed the remains of his cigarette into the ashtray his phone buzzed. A message from Majima.
“Yo kiryu-chan dont bother coming to the construction site its a real fuckin mess, i’ll meet u somewhere, where u at now?”
Kiryu replied to tell Majima he was at Serena and Majima replied with, “i’ll have nishida-chan get the car an meet u at the tenkaichi entrance. drive u to the airport after too.”
Kiryu still wasn’t used to texting, and he frowned in concentration as he typed each response. “Everything alright there, Kiryu-san?” Date asked.
“Yeah… I’m leaving, Majima-san wants me to meet him. Date, thank you, for everything.” Kiryu said.
“Don’t worry about it, just visit more often!” Date waved as Kiryu departed.
-
It was just after 1 p.m. when Kiryu departed New Serena and made his way down Tenkaichi St toward the neon red arch. Kamurocho was as crowded as ever, and Kiryu was jostled along as he walked, his suitcase occasionally bumping against another person’s legs. Downtown Ryukyu, and especially the outdoor market, could draw crowds but it always felt more relaxed. In Kamurocho people were always rushing along to another destination. Kiryu stopped at the corner in front of the arch, as out of the way as he could be, and sat his suitcase down beside him, leaning his back into the building. Traffic was always so heavy, walking was almost faster, so he knew he’d be waiting on Majima for a bit, but he didn’t mind. It was a warm day, the sun was out, and Kiryu felt a bit sweaty with his shirt buttoned. Maybe when he got in the car he’d unbutton it again, surely Nishida wouldn’t mind.
Kiryu was snapped out of his thoughts by the screeching sound of tires spinning out on pavement, followed by popping noises. A black car swerved into the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding colliding with pedestrians, before it did collide with the side of the underground shopping center overhang. Kiryu recognized the style of car, all Tojo patriarchs rode around in the same black cars and SUVs. His heart was immediately pounding in his chest as he sprinted toward the wrecked car, fighting against the stream of screaming civilians rushing in the opposite direction. He heard more squealing tires, and popping gunshots before he looked up and saw a black van speeding away from the smoking wreckage.
Kiryu cut into the road, any traffic had been cut off by another wreck further down the street. The windshield of the car was shattered, and smoke poured steadily from under the hood. Kiryu stumbled his way to the backseat, yanking the bullet-ridden door open. The door to the driver’s seat opened behind Kiryu, and he could only barely hear the panicked cries of “Oyaji!” under the ringing in his ears. Majima was slumped over in the backseat, broken glass glinted on the leather seats and in his hair, he wasn’t buckled in which made it easier for Kiryu to hoist him out. Something- a gun- clattered out of Majima’s hands as he was pulled out. Kiryu knelt down on the ground, propping Majima up against the car, he slumped to the side unless Kiryu held him upright, so he did.
Kiryu barely registered Nishida crouching beside him, and he didn’t at all register what he was saying. The front of his suit felt sticky and wet where it was clinging to his front. “Majima? Hey, Majima,” Kiryu shook Majima’s shoulders when he didn’t respond, his head rolled limply. “Majima. Majima!” Kiryu shook him harder. The ringing in Kiryu’s ears was getting louder. It can’t- Majima couldn’t. Kiryu stopped shaking Majima, and looked down. Kiryu’s trembling hands and Majima’s torso were soaked in red. He could- he could see where it was coming from- the blood dripping from- from. Kiryu’s vision narrowed, black spots floated in front of his eyes, and his vision was going blurry. This wasn’t… it couldn’t be real.
"Buchikowashitaru de! Kyou kara TRY AGAIN!"
Kiryu bolted upright, his cry of “MAJIMA!” not quite making it out of his dry throat, fuzzy from a night of a lot of alcohol and little water. He fumbled around, his limbs trapped in the sheets and he fell out of bed and onto the floor. He scrambled around, confused, while Majima’s karaoke recording continued to play. Kiryu’s heart was racing like he was about to have a heart attack, where was Majima? Why was he here, back in his hotel room? Kiryu crawled his way to the alarm clock, hitting the button on top to shut it off. 10:31 a.m., it read. Kiryu stumbled to his feet, searching for his phone, when he found it where it had been tossed onto the floor, he flipped it open, and it buzzed in his hand. A new text message from Majima.
Kiryu didn’t even read it before he hit the call button. It rang twice, “Oh, Kiryu-chan, something up?
“Majima!” Kiryu yelled into the phone.
“Yeah? That’s me. What’cha yellin’ for?” Majima sounded confused, a little annoyed.
“N-nothing. I just had a weird dream, I guess. I needed to check something. Bye.”
Kiryu hung up the phone without waiting for an answer. Hearing Majima’s voice had been a relief. He was fine. That had all just been a very bad dream. Kiryu finally looked down at his phone screen to read the message Majima had sent him, "yo! kiryu-chan, had some stuff to take care of at work, unfucking all the stuff u fucked at the hills. consider ur little wake up call evening the score >.)"
That was odd… Kiryu remembered reading this same message, vaguely. All at once Kiryu began to feel uneasy once again, that dream had been so vivid, and hadn’t Majima sent him this same message in his dream? Not only that, his alarm had been set to play the same song. Kiryu paced around the room, he was being ridiculous, it was just a dream. He was on edge after the last few days, worrying about Yasuko in the hospital, seeing Majima arrested. Still, the idea of waiting around made him anxious, he’d get ready and head straight to the construction site. When he saw Majima in person he knew he’d feel better, and he’d be able to forget about the dream.
Kiryu got ready in the bathroom, and as he was brushing his teeth he looked in the mirror, he definitely looked hungover, then his eyes ducked lower. He noticed the bruises and bite marks along his chest and neck, visible from how open his shirt was. He spat into the sink, and set his toothbrush down, then he buttoned his shirt up more. This isn’t unusual, he told himself, Majima had a bit of an oral fixation and he was always biting on Kiryu when they were together. The fact that he had the same marks in the dream didn’t mean anything.
Kiryu exited the hotel, suitcase in hand and made his way up the hotel district. There was an alley he could cut through to make it to the construction site faster. Park Boulevard tended to be one of the less populated parts of the city, and Kiryu hurried along the sidewalk, not quite walking but not dedicated to actually running. He found the Kamurocho Hills construction site chaotically bustling, forklifts and cranes were running, people scurrying past carrying broken mannequins and the like. Embarrassed, Kiryu averted his eyes from the aftermath of his rampage. Recognizing him, the workers paid him no mind except to nod at him as he passed or call out greetings. If Majima were around he’d yell at them to pay more respect to the former chairman, but Kiryu preferred it this way. In any case, it made it easier to navigate around everyone when they weren’t bowing and scraping.
It was easy enough to find Majima, the construction site was loud, but Majima was even louder shrieking through his megaphone, “Hurry it up, numbnuts! We’re way behind schedule! Namikawa! You dumbass, what the fuck do you think you’re doin’ with those pylons?,” Majima had his back to Kiryu but as soon as he was within 10 feet Majima looked over his shoulder to address him. “Kiryu-chan!” He yelled, still using the megaphone, “Ya got here fast.”
At the sight of Majima’s face Kiryu finally broke into a run. “Majima-no-niisan.” His voice was urgent. Majima lowered the megaphone in surprise, and Kiryu awkwardly stopped himself when he was a foot away from Majima. “I uh…” Kiryu coughed into his hand and then continued, “you said you wanted to see me before I left?”
Majima scrutinized Kiryu for a moment before he spoke, and Kiryu couldn’t tell what the look in Majima’s eye meant. “You’re actin’ real weird there, Kiryu-chan. Somethin’ happen?”
Kiryu hesitated. He stared at Majima’s face, then lower at his bare chest. His skin was pale and unbroken, only old scars present, but Kiryu still couldn’t shake the apprehension from the dream. His hands shook at his side from suppressing the urge to reach out and run his hands down Majima’s chest, to pull him in close and feel that he was still whole, that his heart was still beating behind his ribs. “Actually… I had something I wanted to ask you. Has the Tojo Clan been adjusting well? The Saejima-gumi is all settled, and no one is questioning Saejima-san’s promotion or your support for him?”
He swore for a second he saw disappointment on Majima’s face, but the expression was gone so quickly he couldn’t be sure. “Yeah, sure. Taiga’s got Kido-chan as his captain, the kids well liked, people seem to talk about him a lot but he ain’t uppity about it. He was a good choice. And ya don’t need to worry about my little family, it just ain’t in my nature to make enemies. I can be real charming.” Majima’s voice lowered an octave at his last sentence, and he leaned in just that much closer to Kiryu.
“Hmmm…” Kiryu crossed one arm across his chest and rubbed his chin with the thumb on the other while he thought, “What about the Omi? I wouldn’t put it past them to try to take advantage of the fighting amongst the Tojo and the Ueno Seiwa…”
Majima squinted and took a step back, “The fuck’s with all the questions, do ya know something or are you just being nosey?”
“It’s nothing really… I was worried. You were a target in the last conflict, you’ll always be a target with how influential you are, niisan.”
Majima’s shoulders tensed, his typically languid posture became more rigid, “Yeah? Well I’ve been here holdin’ down the fort, I’ve gotten along this far so unless ya really have something, quit your worrying. I get enough of the mother-hen shit from Taiga and Yasuko-chan.”
"Majima-san, wh-"
Majima cut him off before he could say more, "Eh don't mind me, I'm just bein' all moody 'cause ya wrecked my shit! But don't sweat it, you know I can't stay mad at you. You're just too cute, 'specially when you get that little consternated, constipated look, heh." Majima demonstrated the expression he meant by furrowing his brows and then pressing a gloved index finger in between. Just then, there was a loud bang and a clattering noise, Kiryu immediately stepped toward Majima, arms out in a move to defend him. Majima looked at him oddly for a moment, before turning, lifting his megaphone, “Namikawa! You waste of space, I didn’t spend all that cash on your forklift training for you to drive it around like that!”
Kiryu relaxed. One of Majima’s men, Namikawa, had backed a forklift into a stack of wooden pallets, sending them all flying. “Sorry, Kiryu-chan, we’ll talk later. These fools can’t get along for five minutes without me telling ‘em to pull their thumbs outta their asses.” Kiryu stood there lamely. Then his stomach growled and Majima snickered at him, “You go get some food. Something greasy, probably get some coffee too, or a lil hair of the dog, heh.” Majima’s slitted eye slid downward to look at a particularly dark bruise that Kiryu’s shirt didn’t quite hide.
“Wait, niisan, I’m serious, just keep an eye out for anything… strange.”
“Sure, sure, just get goin’ I don’t have time to play right now.” Majima said dismissively waving a hand, but then he softened looking at Kiryu, “I’ll call ya later, I can have Nishida-chan get the car and we’ll drive you to the airport.”
-
Kiryu finally left the Kamurocho Hills construction site, still feeling uneasy. Seeing Majima alive and whole and not bled out from multiple gunshot wounds had done a lot to ease his mind, but there were still so many things that were bothering him. There were all those small similarities between events of the day and things that had happened in his dream. He decided to first take Majima’s advice, and get some food in him. Kanrai was a bit on the pricey end, but it was close, and Kiryu didn’t want to stray too far from Majima. Once seated, Kiryu ordered the first thing on the menu, and he barely tasted the food. His phone buzzed in his pocket, another text message, this time from Date, “Kiryu, I hope you’re not trying to duck out of town without saying bye to the rest of your friends, you should stop by New Serena before your flight.” Kiryu frowned, he had forgotten about Date. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but Kiryu wanted to make sure Majima was safe. Maybe he would try to get Majima to come along with him, Date probably wouldn’t mind too much.
After settling his tab, Kiryu headed back to Kamurocho Hills. It wasn’t quite 1 p.m. yet, and there was much less activity than before, he supposed everyone was on break for lunch. “Oh, Kiryu-san!” He heard a voice off to his left shout, it was Nishida hurrying over to him with his perpetually harried expression. Kiryu couldn’t blame him, with Majima for a boss. “Are you here to see the boss again? You’ve probably noticed he’s been especially moody today, but he seemed a little happier after you left this morning, he’ll be pleased you’re back.”
“Ah. Thank you, Nishida.” Kiryu found himself doubtful that Majima’s mood would be better, with the way he had hustled Kiryu away, but Nishida seemed to know Majima better than anyone. Maybe Saejima and Yasuko would know how to read Majima’s mercurial moods, but Kiryu always found himself lost when it came to Majima. He didn’t always see it as a bad thing, sometimes it was nice to just get swept up in Majima’s presence, but Kiryu found himself wishing he could read Majima’s mind sometimes, too.
“The boss is in his office Kiryu-san!” Nishida bowed and then hurried off to whatever task Majima had probably assigned him.
The Majima Construction office was a surprisingly modest metal trailer set atop cinder blocks. Majima usually preferred gaudy and maximalist, like his office in the Millenium Tower that was painted a bold red and decorated with antiques and expensive furniture. It also had a large, flatscreen television and an impressive collection of DVDs and VHS tapes, but it was less impressive than the collection Majima had in his apartment. It was a mystery to Kiryu why and how Majima had so many movies. The zombie and martial arts films were fun, but Kiryu refused to watch any of the tapes or DVDs that had either handwritten labels or no labels at all, too disturbing…
Kiryu didn’t knock, he just pushed the office door open. Majima was there behind his desk, chair tipped back and his feet were slung over the desk in front of him. He had his unsheathed tantō in hand, fidgeting with it. “Oh, my second dose of Kiryu-chan in one day. Lucky me!” He said, as if meeting up hadn’t been his idea.
“Majima-san, I need to stop by New Serena before I leave, do you want to come with me?” In his dream, it had been around 1 p.m. that Majima had died. Kiryu knew that if he could just stay with Majima until then and confirm that he was fine, he’d finally be able to get over that nightmare and accept that it hadn’t been real.
“You want me taggin’ along with you like some little doggy?” He tucked his tantō away and swung his feet off the desk, the front legs of his chair clattered back to the floor, and he stood all in one smooth motion. Majima’s movements were always strangely graceful, “Sure, why not.” He tore his helmet off, hanging it on a hook by the wall and then strode out of his office, Kiryu followed behind, feeling more like he was the one tagging along.
Outside, Nishida was standing suspiciously close to the door, and looking suspiciously like he was trying to not look suspicious. Majima didn’t seem to mind that his right-hand had been obviously eavesdropping, and he barked out an order as he passed, “Nishida-chan, me and Kiryu-chan are headin’ out, make sure it doesn’t all go to shit again while I'm gone.”
“Yes, oyaji!” Nishida responded. As they passed, Kiryu observed Nishida for a moment. His hands were clasped together, his fingers were fidgety and his forehead was sweaty. Nishida was prone to nervousness and worrying, but he was always reliable. Kiryu just didn’t know what there was for him to be so worried about. When Nishida noticed Kiryu looking at him, he gave a strained smile.
-
Kiryu and Majima walked side by side down Park Boulevard. They were so close, the smooth leather of Majima’s glove occasionally rubbed against the back of Kiryu’s hand, but neither spoke or acknowledged this, content to treat it as a little accident. All at once, Kiryu noticed that the street was weirdly quiet and empty, and from the way Majima tensed beside him, Kiryu could tell Majima noticed it too.
In front of them, a group of about a dozen stepped out from an alley, fanning out and blocking their path. Behind them, an engine roared, and Kiryu turned to see a nondescript black van pulling up that he still recognized, the realization chilling him. The van halted with a screech of tires, and another half dozen men poured out. They were all dressed in clothing as nondescript and black as the van. With Majima beside him, Kiryu would have laughed at the foolishness of them picking a fight, but they weren’t here to fight, this was an execution. Every person in the group was armed with a gun, a man who was in the group that had gotten out of the van spoke, “Step aside, fourth chairman. We’re here for Majima and we don’t wish to involve you.”
Kiryu shook his head, standing firm, “If you don’t want me to involve myself, you shouldn’t come for my friend.”
“Kazuma. Don’t. This is my fight.” Majima had always been inhumanly fast, his unsheathed tantō was already in his hand, and he moved too fast for Kiryu to stop him. He ran forward, low to the ground, his movements were fluid and he weaved unpredictably, shots rang out, but Majima didn’t stumble. At the final moment, Majima leapt into the air, bringing his tantō down to connect with his unfortunate target’s shoulder, blood arcing into the air.
“Majima!”
More shots rang out, and this time Majima did stumble.
-
"Buchikowashitaru de! Kyou kara TRY AGAIN
Wakare tsugeyou itsu mo no TRAUMA e”
Kiryu’s eyes snapped open in alarm, but this time he just laid there letting his anguish and confusion roil over him. The alarm clock continued to play,
“Rame-iro shita ashita e FLY AWAY
Me no mae ni wa kagayaku SHINING GATE”